The Dark Hero - Prologue “AAARRROOOUUUGGHH!!” the fearsome howl bounced through the forest, leaving terror in its wake. The Helkles were on the hunt, and so was their master. The pack of beasts shot through the forests, their muscled bodies plowing through the underbrush. Their freakishly enlarged noses flared as they examined the night air, locating their prey. They lifted their glowing red eyes, searching for their target. Their warped claws dug into the forest floor, their elongated teeth glistening with drool. The pack followed the scent to a lone cabin, well hidden in the shadow of a cliff. The monsters bayed, summoning their master to the spot.
James followed the sound of the Helkles. As he drew near, the creatures stopped making noise. James entered the clearing in front of the cabin, sword in hand. The Helkles turned to face him, bowing their heads in respect. The beasts surrounded the front of the cabin, patiently waiting in a semi-circle formation. Once he made sure the coast was clear, James moved into a more relaxed and confident posture. “Come out, criminal!” He shouted. “My Helkles have you surrounded. You may as well accept your fate!” The only sound filling the night air was the subtle breeze through the trees and the panting of the Helkles. Then, a loud bang from the back side of the cabin. James and his helkles took off, circling the backside of the cabin. A dark figure ran off into the night, speeding into a nearby narrow canyon. “Get him, boys!” James said. The Helkles took off, following the dark figure. James ran as fast as he could manage, barely keeping the beasts in his sight. When he caught up with them, the creatures had already surrounded the fugitive at the end of the canyon. The man’s black eyes barely reflected any light as he looked up defiantly at James. His full, brown beard had leaves and twigs in it, and his brow glistened from his sustained running. “The Order will never keep control,” the man said. “Evil never wins. Not for long. As long as there is evil, good will be there to fight it.” James cackled. “You don’t really believe that, do you? The Order has access to power you can’t even begin to imagine. No one stands a chance against us. Soon, the world will be unified under The Malevolent One, and there will be peace. You won’t be there to see that day.” “I wouldn’t want to,” the man said. James raised his sword, preparing to strike. He looked deep into the man’s eyes. There was no fear, no regret, only a burning sense of defiance. As the sword came down, James bolted upright, breathing heavily, covered in sweat. He looked around, examining his tent. The forest lay quiet around him, enveloping him in silent darkness. James laid back down but couldn’t even manage to close his eyes. The image of the man, lying helpless, yet defiant, haunted him. At least it was only a dream.
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Fenn walked along his patrol route in the dungeons of the Troll Caves. He was young for a guard, but he had worked extremely hard to get the honor to work in the royal dungeon. After all, he was one of the first generations of his family that looked somewhat normal since his great-grandfather had fallen in love with a human explorer who came to Trollada looking for adventure. He was one of the few in his family that could even start to consider rejoining normal troll society.
Fenn was tall for a troll, at barely four feet and eleven inches, with black hair and very brown eyes, which was also unusual for a troll. He had a very strong, stocky build and his skin was a stone-ish green-grey, even odder for a troll. The Troll Caves were a maze of catacombs, tunnels, and mines remaining after many centuries of mining. Every last bit of valuable metals and gems had been mined out. The majority of troll-kind loved riches immensely, but Fenn couldn't really see why it was such a big deal. He did think things like gold and diamonds were pretty, but he certainly wasn't obsessed with it like the other trolls were. Perhaps it was the human blood in his veins. As he walked on from his break, he heard hushed voices up ahead. He hadn't been a guard for very long, but he recognized the voices as those of Georx and Xllie, the resident gossipers. As he approached them, he hid behind the corner to listen. “I'm tellin’ ya Georx, the rumors are true. We are getting really close to crossing the river and into the open seas. Our boats are getting more and more powerful every day. It won't be long before we can get across and take whatever we want!” Xllie exclaimed. “Yeah, well. I don't know, Xllie seems awfully unlikely. That's probably about as true as the king being controlled by some glowing rock. I ain't buying it.” Georx said. “Oh man, don't even get me started on King Trorg and that stone. Trorg has been acting so strange lately. He’s been talking to himself a lot. His advisers say he’s mumbling things about an Oracle and how we will get to places none of them have ever been able to travel to. He’s either completely lost his marbles or that rock is controlling him. But who cares if it leads to us getting out of these stinking caves though right?” Xllie said with an enthusiastic whisper. “Yeah, whatever. That kinda stuff is impossible, we don't have access to much magic, let alone mind controlling stones. That stuff’s never gonna happen!” Georx said loudly, ending conversation. Fenn turned back from where he'd come, but his mind was swimming with these rumors. Boats able to leave Trollada, a magic stone controlling the king, an Oracle. They really were fantastic claims, unbelievable really, but he just couldn't get them off his mind. Something very odd was happening and Fenn needed to find out what and soon. Meet Admani, the dragon that stands guard over the Fire Stone. As wise as he is ancient, Admani has protected the Fire Stone for countless years. A good soul in a fierce and fiery body, Admani has only stuck around for all these years to find someone that can protect the Fire Stone and use its power properly. Will James and his friends be worthy of the Fire Stone, or will they all be burnt to a crisp? Find out in Stones of the Middle Lands: The Castaway Hero, out now on Amazon and Barnes and Noble!
Meet The Giant. The good and kind magical keeper of the Air Stone, The Giant lives in the Air Temple. Ancient and wise, The Giant is more than happy to help out James and his friends, but they still have to pass the trials just like everyone else! In addition to being the guardian of the Air Stone, he also holds the first part of the prophecy, which just may hold clues to James and his friends destiny. Meet The Giant and many other amazing characters in Stones of the Middle Lands: The Castaway Hero, out now! Click HERE to purchase from amazon and HERE to get it from Barnes and Noble.
Meet Kala and her faithful Krunkle, Mr. KrunkKala is an adventurous young woman. The daughter of Tom the Sailor, she is very intelligent with a wild side! Having been cooped up in Crystal Bay her whole life, Kala longs for adventure. She is close friends with Aaron, their parents having been long-time friends. Not afraid to stand up for herself, Kala can argue till the sun stops shining. When she isn't busy exploring, getting into trouble, or wrestling with Aaron and Kai, she enjoys reading and learning everything she can about adventures. Now that she's met James, she is ready to get out there and explore the world! Mr. Krunk is an ancient Krunkle that used to guard the Stone Temple. Krunkles are close relatives to Grunkles, except that they are far more tame. Able to morph between monster and large dog, Mr. Krunk loves to get a good belly rub. Just be sure not to threaten his masters, or he'll go beast mode on you! A loyal companion of the adventurers, Mr. Krunk will do anything to protect his owners. After centuries of being trapped in the Stone Temple, Mr. Krunk is happy to be out and on an adventure with his new favorite human, Kala! Learn more about Kala and Mr. Krunk by picking up Stones of the Middle Lands: The Castaway Hero, coming April 26th, 2019! Until next time, keep on writing! Art Credit: Ryan Kessler/Stephen Kenny Chapter 1: RumorsFenn walked along his patrol route in the dungeons of the Peanut Brittle Caves. He was young for a guard, but he had worked extremely hard to get the honor to work in the royal dungeon. After all, he was one of the first generations of his family that looked somewhat normal since his great-grandfather had fallen in love with a moon cake explorer who came to Peanutbrittledada looking for adventure. He was one of the few in his family that could even start to consider rejoining normal peanut brittle society. Fenn was tall for a peanut brittle, at barely four feet and eleven inches, with black peanuts and very brown eyes, which was also unusual for a peanut brittle. He had a very strong, stocky build and his skin was a stone grey, even odder for a peanut brittle. The Peanut Brittle Caves were a maze of catacombs, tunnels, and mines remaining after many centuries of mining. Every last bit of valuable delicacies and ingredients had been mined out. The majority of peanut brittle-kind loved ingredients immensely, but Fenn couldn't really see why it was such a big deal. He did think things like hummus and sugar were tasty, but he certainly wasn't obsessed with it like the other peanut brittles were. Perhaps it was the moon cake blood in his veins. As he walked on from his break, he heard hushed voices up ahead. He hadn't been a guard for very long, but he recognized the voices as those of Georx and Xllie, the resident gossipers. As he approached them, he hid behind the corner to listen. “I'm tellin ya Georx, the rumors are true. We are getting really close to crossing the river of milk and into the open bowl. Our boats are getting more and more powerful every day. It won't be long before we can get across and take whatever we want!” Xllie exclaimed. “Yeah, well. I don't know, Xllie seems awfully unlikely. That's probably about as true as the king being controlled by some glowing cookie. I ain't buying it.” Georx said. “Oh man, don't even get me started on King Trorg and that cookie. Trorg has been acting so strange lately. He’s been talking to himself a lot, saying things like ‘must get that Oracle’ and ‘so that's how we’ll get there’. Heard it right from his advisers even. He’s either completely lost his raisins or that cookie is controlling him. But who cares if it leads to us getting out of these stinking caves though right?” Xllie said with an enthusiastic whisper. “Yeah, whatever. That kinda stuff is impossible, we don't have access to much utensils, let alone mind controlling cookies. That stuff’s never gonna happen!” Georx said quite loudly, finishing the conversation off. Fenn turned back from where he'd come, but his mind was swimming with these rumors. Boats able to leave Peanutbrittledada, a magic cookie controlling the king, an oracle. They really were fantastic claims, unbelievable really, but he just couldn't get them off his mind. Something very odd was happening and Fenn needed to find out what and soon. I hope you all enjoyed, and HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY!!!Welcome to Wacky Words!Wacky Words is designed to be a frequent series on the fundamentals of writing, as well as tips, tricks, and advice for bettering your writing! So without further ado, lets get into it! What makes a great character?I have found that what makes a great character is realism. The best characters are grounded, have a past, have flaws, and have goals. What kind of story would it be if the character didn't want something, and didn't have to overcome something? Giving characters flaws makes them human, and making them human makes them relatable to the reader. And a relatable character is one that your readers actually want to follow. The best characters are grounded, have a past, have flaws, and have goals. So what should my character outline look like?There are a few things that a character outline should always have. One of the most important things is to make sure you have a thorough physical description of your character. Some authors have been known to accidentally change a characters eye color across different books because they didn't keep track of how they looked. The next thing you should have is a list of what drives them? What motivates your character to do what they do? This allows you to know what makes them do what they do. You should also have a list of your characters strengths or special skills, and weaknesses. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and so should your character. Along with weaknesses, you should have the fears of your characters. What are they afraid of? Monsters? Love? Commitment? And the last thing, one of the most important things is backstory. You as an author need to know the past of your characters, to further know what drives them and what has shaped them into who they are as of the beginning of your story. A good place to start with backstory is with 3 big parts of their backstory that have shaped them into who they are. Final WordsNow you have the basics for creating a good character. Now obviously there is a lot more to making great characters, which I will touch on in later Wacky Words, but this is a good start. For your convinience I will include a link to download a basic Character Outline Template that I have created. I hope this was helpful, and will help you design all kinds of amazing characters. Until next time, Keep on Writing!
Meet the Grunkle. Stalker of the night, haunter of children, and harbinger of death. Known to stalk it's prey in the night, this creature lives the the forest, hunting it's victims. This monstrous beast is known to grow as big as 10 feet high and 15 feet long! Watch out for Grunkles next time you go wandering around at night. With terrifying claws the length of a mans arm, and teeth designed to grab hold of prey, you don't want to be anywhere near this monster when it's hungry.
Credit to the artist Ryan Kessler |
Welcome to The Writers Block!AuthorKen Mears is a new 17 year old author, here to share his wisdom, advice, and experiences with you, the reader! Archives
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