Week 6 Storytelling: Rules Made To Be Broken

(Image Source)

Disclaimer: This story contains somewhat graphic violence and themes dealing with suicide. If that is not your cup of tea, read my story from last week.

"Rules Made To Be Broken"

Rule #1: You are food, nothing more.

Rule #2: Remember: you are the prey, they are the predators.

Rule #3: No fraternizing, friendship, or romance.

Rule #4: You live nocturnally now.

Rule #5: Species may not be changed. You will stay human.

Rule #6: If you break any of these rules, you're dead.

Rule #7: If your Master breaks any rules, they're dead.

***

I was born a Blood Slave. My parents were Blood Slaves, and they passed it onto me. When I was twelve I was sent to live with one of Them, who was to be my Master. 

His name was Xavier. He was a vampire, and I was to be his Blood Slave for the rest of my life.

(Xavier)

I didn't think sticking to the rules would be so difficult.

A year after I was given to Xavier, I started to notice how silky his long black hair was and how soft his lips felt on my neck. I also started to take pleasure in his drinking of my blood. 

But, rules are rules, and besides, I wasn't into other guys, I couldn't be.

Blood Slaves were supposed to find another Blood Slave of the opposite sex, so that we could make babies that would become Blood Slaves when they came of age. 

Besides the rules, my love was surely unrequited. I mean, I'd seen him entertain beautiful Noble girls, and even kiss some of them. Afterall, I was just a Blood Slave boy with dull brown hair, brown eyes, and rags for clothes. 

Each day it got harder and harder, and now, at sixteen, it was nearly impossible. I couldn't take living this painful existence any longer, and so I ended it prematurely. 

I slit my wrists with a knife, and watched the blood drip down my arms and onto the hardwood floor like a splatter of paint on a canvas.  I soon grew too weak to stand, and fell to the ground.

I could hear Xavier's sweet voice shout, "Lucas!" 

Through blurred vision, I saw him come to my side and embrace me in his arms. If I was going to die, to die in his arms was going to be a heavenly way to die.

The world fell to black, and I fell out of this world, and into the next.

Or so I thought.

I jolted awake, opening my eyes and sitting up. Xavier was still holding me. 

"What happened?" I asked.

"I saved you from certain death," Xavier said in his velvety soft voice. 

"What do you mean?"

"You were going to die, but I gave you another life," he said. "An immortal life."

No, it couldn't be!  "Are you saying that I'm a..." 

"Vampire."

"But that means..."

"Does it matter?" He asked. "We were going to break the rules anyway." 

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said and looked away from him.

"Lucas," he said softly and cupped my face in his hand, angling my face to look at him. "I know your feelings towards me."

"I don't--"

"I feel the same way," he said. "Maybe it was selfish, but that is why I saved you."

I didn't know what to say. I spent four years wanting to hear those words, but now that they came I had a hard time feeling happy. All I could think about is how we broke all the rules.

"I love you, Xavier," I whispered.

"As do I."

"But this can't be, we can't be...I can't be..." I muttered, and my vision was blurring from a curtain of tears. "They'll kill us."

"Not if we can't catch us," he said, and he pulled my face towards his. "Run away with me, and we can live together, forever."

"Yes," I said. "I'll follow you through Hell if I have to in order to get to Heaven with you."

"Being by your side has been like heaven for me," he said before pressing his lips to mine.

As I kissed him I was maddened by the thirst of blood. My fangs slid out of my gums, and I bit his lips. His blood filled my mouth, and it tasted like copper pennies and raw honey.

"What's going on here?" A voice asked from behind us.

I pulled away from Xavier in horror, to see his Mother standing in the doorway.

"Fraternizing with your Slave, an a boy none the less?" Mavis snapped, and approached us. Her eyes were on my fangs.

"You have broken every rule, you fool," she yelled and struck Xavier across the face. He fell to the ground.

"Rules are made to be broken," he shouted.

"You are no longer my son. There is only one option," she said with a blank expression. Her nails elongated into claws and she stepped towards us.

Xavier lunged at her with his own set of claws, but she was faster. Her claws sunk into his chest, surely piercing his heart.

"Lucas, live on without me..." He whispered as his body fell, lifeless, to the floor.
 
I roared, sounding more animal than human, and my nails turned into claws. I lunged at Mavis with my claws, and I dug them into her chest, pulling out her heart, and tossing it to the ground like a piece of trash.

I kissed Xavier's cold, dead lips and left the room to raid the mansion for valuables. I came back for Xavier's body and carried him in my arms.

For Xavier I would live, but I would spend eternity to find a way to bring him back to life.

(Lucas)  

Author's Note:
This week I read the Mahabraata (PDE) and in section 64, where a line said: "Men were maddened with the thirst for blood." That line made me think of vampires, so I set out to write a Young Adult short story with vampires.

Vampires are actually my favorite supernatural character to write about. I actually finished a novel that has vampires in it, and In Laura's Mythology class I made a Storybook with vampires!

I decided to pick a male character, since all my other short stories have has a female protagonist. Additionally, for a change of pace, I decided to make Lucas gay.

I'm so sorry for making such a sad and tragic ending. I actually originally wrote a happy sappy ending where Xavier and Lucas managed to escape and lived in the country for the rest of their life, but I felt like it was too easy, and too sappy and happy. I felt so bad to do that to Lucas, but I think it was a much more evocative ending.

I may make a sequel so we can find out if Lucas found a way to bring Xavier back to life.

I created a world and sort of class system for vampires and blood slaves, and I really liked what I came up with. So, you might see more of this world, perhaps from the point of view from one of the vampires.

Reading Diary B: Mahabharata (PDE)

PDE Mahabharata

(Vyasa summons the ghosts)

Part D:
61. Bhishma Falls

• "Great which was the carnage he wrought."
• It being fated that someone will die.
• "The ancient hero"
• "All the Warriors stopped fighting and looked on."
• A blood-drenched plain.

62. Drona in Command

• "Dark some cloudy masses angry gusts of storm divide"
• I like the way this is written. It's written poetically and lyrically. This would an interesting technique to try.

63. Abhimanyu and Jayadratha

• Vowing revenge on someone.
• "Slaying one on one"
• A red sun. 
• A black eclipse.
• Introducing symbolism in my stories would be something I'd like to try. 
• I'd also like to portray the setting as so dark as is well done in these stories.

64. Ghatotkacha

• Fighting in the dark. People on the same side fought each other.
• "Men were maddened with the thirst for blood." (I know this is in relation to war and battling, but I want to take this sentence and turn it into a vampire story! It will have a boy main character, of course it will be young adult. I'd like to do a concept were vampires are born as vampires from parents. Maybe he's an orphan, and then at the age of sixteen, he starts becoming "maddened with the thirst for blood" and is confused as so what is going on. 
• Idea, he stumbles across a cafe that has an irresistible scent. He goes in to find that they put blood on their coffee and pastries. There is a female waitress or barista that helps him discover what he truly is: a vampire.
• OR the thirst for blood could also be for a demon or a Rakshasa, OR for a were-wolf. I could do the point of view of Colt in the story, The Demon's Guard Dog.

65. Death of Drona

66. Bhima and Duhshasana

• Behind cut off his head, and drank his blood, and said it was the finest drink. Warriors cried out, "This is not a man, for he drink th human blood." Another quote to use to back up my vampire story. (Or my demon, or werewolf story.)

67. Arjuna and Karna

• Comparable to the Trojan War, and the confrontation between Achilles and Hector.
• It's not manly to cut down a weaker foe. 

68. Duryodhana in the Lake

• Using supernatural powers to talk refuge beneath the waters of a lake. Reminds me of mermaids, merpeople, water faeries, or nymphs.

69. The Raid

• A night raid, attacking the enemy while they sleep. What happened to honor?
• Being driven by revenge. 

70. Ashwatthaman's Jewel

• A gem on one's forehead that protects one from hunger, thirst, poison, attack of wild animals, and other things.
• A great jewel that gleams in darkness.

71. Mourning

• A somber tone, and difficult themes.

72. The Pandavas and Bhishma

• Waiting until the solstice before dying. 
• Sandalwood
• "The Supreme Eternal Soul"

73. King Yudhishthira's Horse

• A horse sacrifice to atone for sins.
• A moon-white horse, with a yellow tail and one black ear.
• Another tough story to read! I was really upset about the horse. 

74. Parikshit

• Mentions of a witch. A story idea: a modern day witch, discovers she actually has magical abilities. 
• A funeral pyre.

75. Horse Sacrifice

• A full moon. (I need to add more nature and setting in my stories! 

76. The Mongoose

• A golden creature. 
• A famine.

77. The Forest and its Ghosts

• The Ganges River.
• Funeral ritual. 
• Reminds me of a scene in the Ramayna. 
• Ghostly warriors. 
• Princesses. 
• Narmada, the sage.

78. Death of Krishna

• Terrible omens
• The chakra of someone. 
• Incarnation of the world serpent, reminds me of the world serpent in Norse mythology. 

79. The Pandavas Depart

• A sage telling someone it is soon time to depart the world. 

80. The Afterlife

• A final test. 
• Forest of nether regions. 
• A wicked forest.

Reading Diary A: Mahabharata (PDE)

PDE Mahabharata

(The Himalayas)

Part C:
41. Life In The Forest

• Surya, the Sun God.
• Tempests and Heavy rain

42. Krishna's Visit

• Krishna, a Hindu deity. 

43. Arjuna and Shiva

• Obtaining the image of the Great God
• The Himalayas, a mountain range in India.
• Trees, streams, blossoms, and birds.
• An exiled person, wearing rags, eating grass and plants, and someday living off of air.
• A clay figure of a deity. 
• Fighting a boar with a bow.
• The forest was strangely and sollemnly still.
• Fighting for game to hunt.
• The huntsman is a God in disguise. What a cool concept!

44. Arjuna and Indra

• Indra, King of Gods
• Varuna, God of Waters
• Yama, King of the Dead
• Kubera, Lord of Treasures
• A heavenly city
• Asparas (I still want to write a story with this supernatural creature)
• Kama, God of Love.
• "Bright eyes and silken hair."

45. The Himalayas

• A celestial city: palaces of crystal and gold, walls studded with jewels, and turrets adorned with streamers. The winds smell like perfume.

46. Bhima and Hanuman

• (NO! Not the monkeys again. I am NOT a fan of talking animals, or animal creatures in fiction. Unless they are were-creatures, of course.)

47. Duryodhana and the Gandharvas

• Prince's and courtiers. Ladies of the royal household. 
• Sullen and angry
• Purifying oneself. 
• Silent meditation 
• Offering up sacrifices in a great fire.

48. Karna and Indra

• Clad in golden armor and earnings that are imbued with invincibility. 
• Dart called Vasava.

49. Jayadratha and Draupadi

• A damsel in distress motif. Story idea: lad in distress. So genderbend the damsel in distress concept. Have a girl heroine, and a boy that she saves) 

50. Riddles at the Lake

• Banyan tree.
• A Yaksha, benevolent forest spirits. 
• A exchange of riddles, like Golemn and Bilbo in The Hobbit. I know J.R.R. Tolkien was familiar with mythology, so I wouldn't be surprised if he actually read this myth.

51. The Court of King Virata

• Durga, giver of boons, a Goddess. 
• A promise of dharma.

52. Bhima and Kichaka

• A brave and fierce warrior, but truly twisted and morally evil.

53. The Cattle Raid

54. Preparations for War

• Finishing an exile. 

55. Krishna and His Armay

• A kshartiya, a warrior.  

56. Krishna's Mission to the Kauravas

57. Krishna and Karna 

• Peace-makers, arbitrator. Something also seem often in Arthurian Legend and Lore. Interestingly enough, I have seen many elements of Arthurian Legend and Lore in these Indian Epics that we've read.

58. The Armies at Kurukshetra
59. Bhagavad-Gita

• Bhagavad-Gita means "Lords Song."
• Written like a poem (well, or a song.)  

60. The Battle Begins

• Armies waiting for the battle. Dawn was darkened by dusk clouds. Blood dropped. Like rain out of heaven. 
• Jackals howled, vultures screamed. The earth shook.
• I like scenes like this, where the chaos and violence of the situation is literally shown through the physical world.

Thoughts About Comments

The most helpful comments that I recieve are also similar time to the kind that I give. Those comments are called sandwich comments. Those comments are where there is a compliment, a criticism, and another compliment.

I also find comments to be the most helpful when they give me specifics. Because I have gotten comments where they say "you have typos" or "you have too much commas", but don't tell me specifically where those typos or comma errors are, and those comments are not helpful! What is helpful is when they give me specific typos and sentences with the comma errors, so that I can fix those errors easier.  

So, I like sandwich comments that are specific, and those are the sort of comments that I usually do.

Week 5 Storytelling: Autumn Storm

(Jobey, the main character!)

"Autumn Storm"

After my parents divorce, the library was my only solace. I couldn't be around my Dad anymore, he just reminded me of my mother who had run off with a guy half her age.

I read anything I could find in the library, until I found the author Autumn Storm, and then that become the only shelf I went to. She had a series of books called "The Darklands Chronicles", that took me to a fantasy world of the Darklands--a world that I wanted to be part of.

The land was filled with magic-users, elves, faeries, vampires, and shape-shifters.

I wasn't the only one who was a fan of hers. I mean, I didn't know any fans, but online there were many fanfictions and fanart about her series.

There was one thing I wanted to know: who she was. But, she never revealed her identity. Her name was no doubt just a penname. She didn't even allow interviews.

So, after school I went to the section of the library with all of her books.

One day as I arrived to the shelf, there was a fruity smell in the area in front of her books. The smell was across between cotton candy and raspberries, and it was intoxicating. Each day I went to her shelf at the same time, and I smelled that perfume.

It sounded crazy, but, I had to know whose perfume if was.

I knew that whoever wore that perfume, also loved Autumn Storm books. I imagined it was a beautiful brunette girl, or maybe a blonde, or maybe she had pink or purple hair!

So, I started to get there earlier, to see if I could find her, but whenever I arrived there was only the smell.

I became obsessed. I had to find her.

I had an idea in my head each time I went to the library. This day it was a meek girl with mousey  brown hair and glasses. I half-wondered if the girl was younger or older than me. I hoped she was my age, 16.

Would she like a guy like me? I hadn't cut my hair since mom left. I just stopped caring about a lot of things. Dad never did laundry, so my clothes were dirty. I didn't smell good, not like she did.

I got there earlier and earlier, and finally I skipped my last class to go to the library.

I imagined a pretty girl with black hair and red lipstick, who dressed in Gothic clothes, as I headed to the shelf with my Autumn Storm books.

When I reached the shelf, I smelled the perfume. I walked towards the Autumn Storm books, and saw a girl with her back to me and a nose in a book.

I was surprised to see someone much like what I imagined. She had long black hair, and a frilly black dress that was covered in lace.

"Hey," I said. I wasn't usually so bold, but I'd been trying to find her for weeks!

She lifted her head, and turned to me. She was Asian, and wore bright red lipstick. "What?"

(The Girl With The Perfume) 

Her voice was deeper than I expected, her hands were large, and her chest was flat. She may not actually be a she, but she was still beautiful to me.

"I..." I stammered.

What was I going to say? Hi, I'm Jobey, I've been looking for you for weeks.

I finally asked, "Do you like Autumn Storm?"

"Not really," she replied.

"Seriously?" I stepped back I was so shocked. "Why not?"

"It's hard to explain," she said.

I sat in front of her. "I have time."

She smiled, blush across her cheeks. "You like Autumn Storm?"

"Is that even a question." I laughed. "I've read each book like twice. Her books are amazing."

"You think so?"

"Oh yeah, and I mean when I'm not reading her books, I'm reading fanfictions, and looking at fanart," I confessed. "I guess I'm a little...obsessed."

"Obsessed, huh?"

"Yeah, so why are you sitting here, with an Autumn Storm book if you don't like her books?"

"I guess I like seeing them here," she said. "I don't know if I like them or not. It's hard to say."

"Well, you gotta start with book one," I said. "Seriously, trust me. You will love them."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!" I said. "Here." I handed her the first book. "Seriously, read this, and then tell me you don't like her book."

"Alright," she said, smiling, and taking the book. She turned away from me, and started to read it.

I got out the book that I was re-reading, and sat next to her.

Truth be told, I had a hard time focusing on the book. I kept glancing at the girl. She really was pretty.

It was about to be closing time when she closed the book, and laid it in her lap.

"So, what do you think?" I asked.

"You're right, it is pretty good," she said.

"Pretty good? It's amazing!"

She laughed and said, "Alright, it is pretty amazing."

"I knew you'd change your mind," I said.

"Yeah, well, I have to go home," she said and stood up.

"Wait," I said, and stood up. "What's your name?"

"Autumn Storm," she said with a wide smile.

Author's Note:
To clear things up: No, the girl wasn't joking, she actually is Autumn Storm. Also, yes, she is transgender (hence why she isn't exactly a she.) But, Jobey doesn't care about that. He still likes her and thinks she's a pretty girl. I'm sure he likes her even more after that last line!

I got the story idea from section 3 of the Mahabharata (PDE). In there was a story about a man who smelled a girl's perfume, and found her, and well in love with her.

I made it a modern Young Adult story, and I thought the whole he had a favorite author and the girl with the perfume ends up being the author would be cute. I also wanted to add diversity, and so I thought of Autumn, who I think is so adorable!

If you guys really like Autumn and Jobey, I can try to make a sequel.

Reading Diary B: Mahabharata (PDE)

PDE Mahabharata

(Water Fairy or Water Nympth)

Part B:
21. The House of Fire

• Twins
• A beautiful palace, soaked in oil, and made of wood. The fiery plot! But, they manage to escape.

22. Bhima and Hidimba

• Living in wilderness (Nice setting for a story. Maybe a character who is trying to live off of the land, or lives with wind animals. Idea: a character raised by wolves, or maybe raised by WERE-wolves. Setting: a wild forest)
• Hidimba the Rakshasa. Long sharp pointed teeth. Eats humans, flesh and blood.
• Rakshasa woman who fell in love with a human. Instead of killing him for her brother, she assumed the shape of a beautiful woman. Clad in flowers and such.
• "Eyes like lotus blossoms"

23. Bhima and Hidimbi

• A Rakshasa son. Rakshasa are born full-grown (I feel bad for the mother...)
• "O celestial being..."

24. Bhima and Baka

• Weapon: a mace.
• Asuras are akin to Rakshasa but are good or bad. They can be benevolent (unlike Rakshasa.)

25. Brith of Draupadi

• Disguises and mistaken identity! Always a nice plot device.
• Supernatural birth.

26. Draupadi's Swayamara

• Swayamara, a tournament of sorts where a woman's husband is selected.
• A magical bow. (Takes me back to the Ramayana)

27. Wife of the Five Pandavas

• A woman with five husbands. (Or a girl with five boyfriends. What if in the story five guys like one girl, and she can't decide which guy she likes. At the end she chooses one, or she chooses none.)
• Alternatively: what if a girl is dating a guy who has five personalities (due to a split personality disorder.) So she is essentially dating five guys, even though they are all technically the same guy.)

28. The Story of Nalayani

• Karma

29. Indraprastha

• Forest robbers (trying in with an above story, the setting is a wild forest, an a girl is a forest robber. Possibly a Robin Hood sort of theme) 

30. Arjuna and Ulupi

• Setting: the jungle 

31. Arjuna and the Asparas

• Fairies! A story with fairies. 
• Water nymphs. 
• A story containing fairies, water fairies, or water nymphs.
• Something that allows one to never be killed by something in the water.
• Fighting an alligator, who becomes a lovely girl.

32. Arjuna and Chitra

• Kama, the Goddess of Love.

33. Arjuna and Subhadra

• Maya, the Goddess of Illusions. 

34. The Burning of the Forest

35. Maya's Palace

• Palace of Illusions
• Heavenly palaces
• Mistaking crystal for water and for a doorway. The King as a fool. 

36. The Pandavas Victorious

• A Rajasuya sacrifice. 

37. The Gambling Match

• Warriors must accept a gambling match.
• Loaded dice. Should be punished by the Gods or something for cheating.

38. Draupadi Lost

• FATE. Story themes or morals: You cannot escape fate. 
• Serving as a slave in a castle. 

39. Draupadi in the Assembly Hall

• Princess 
• Flames of wrath

40. The Second Match

• Just when you think someone's safe...they're not! 
• Bad omens: jackal's howl and donkeys and raves reply. 
• Dark omens
• Blind person 
• "Noble Queen", "virtuous daughter"

Reading Diary A: Mahabharata (PDE)

PDE Mahabharata:

(Apsara)

Part A:
1. Vaasa and Ganesha

• Brahma is the creator God, who has four heads.
• Ganesha is the remover of obstacles. He also has an elephant head.
• WEIRDEST creation story EVER!
• Dwaipayana: island born.

2. King Shantanu and Ganga

• Ganga of the Ganges River.
• Eight Vasus.
• Ganga in human form: wearing celestial garments with the splendor of lotus blossoms, rare ornaments, and teeth radient as pearls.
• A lot of infanticide in this story... (Insert horrified emoji here.)
• Ganga deserts the King. 

3. King Shantanu and Satyavati

• A sweet and alluring perfume coming from a maiden. 
• A man follows the perfume to the maiden. (This would make a cute YA Romance story. Maybe a boy is at a bookstore and smells a perfume, tracing it to the girl. Or maybe her perfume lingers and he always misses her just by moments, but then one day he finally gets there on time and finds the girl who wears the perfume.)

4. Devavrata's Vow

• Flowers falling from heaven. 
• Apsara is a female creature from the clouds.  They can change their appearance at will. They are also beatiful, elegant, and great at dancing. They can also change the fortune of gambling games and such. They often marry Gandharva, who are skilled singers. They love to listen and dance to their music
• The Apsara is an interesting supernatural creature and could be a great character in a short story!

5. Bhishma at the Swayamvara

• Asuras are benevolent Devas (or deities.) Asuras are a supernatural creature, usually compared with Rakshasas and ghosts.

6. Amba

• Shiva is one of the three major Gods. He is known as "The Auspicious One" or "The Great God". He can be in the form of Vishnu and Brahma. But at his highest form, he is formless and transcendent. This is a very different God than what I am used to in Mythology.

7. Dhritarashtra and Pandu

• Sadhu is a good man or a holy man. He usually has paint on their face and wear saffron clothing.
• Pandu means "the pale one".

8. Kunti and Her Son

• Kunti is of celestial origin. Her mother was a nymph, and father was a holy Brahmin and her brother was the father of Krishna.
• Surya is God of the sun. He wore celestial earnings.
• Her son had Surya's earnings and a  invulnerable coat of mail.
• She set the basket afloat with him in it. (Hmmm, sounds familiar...?)

9. Pandu and His Wives

• Being in animal guise. Reminds me of shape-shifters or were-creatures. 
• Arrows with golden feathers. 

10. The Sons of Pandu

• A funeral pyre, or a sati, is when a widow burns herself on her husband's funeral pyre.  

11. Gandhari and Dhritarashtra

• Being blindfolded. 
• A blind person.

12. Pandavas and Kauravas

• A royal city. 
• Chariot
• Lions

13. Bhima and the Nagas

• Nagas are snake creatures. 
• City of serpents in the Underworld.
• King of the Nagas.
• A draught of strength. (Had the strength of Giants.)

14. Drona

• Brahmin are priests, teachers, and protectors.
• Kshatriya (warrior) is the ruling and military class. 
• Guru (teacher) 

15. Drona Trains the Princes

• Becoming the greatest archer. (Or crossbow-er OR gun-totter in modern times. 
• Becoming a mighty swordsman (or woman!) 
• Someone being the most modest, perfect, and fearless.
• Knowledge of astronomy. 
• These qualities are interesting when comparing these knights to the chivalrous Knights from the Middle Ages.  

16. Ekalavya

• Being outside of a caste system, but having their own culture and society. What an interesting on concept. This would make an interesting story comparing royalty to, well, rags.

17. The Contest

• A mock fight that gets serious 
• Displaying skills in a tournament (takes me back to Arthurian Legend and Lore!) 

18. The Arrival of Karna

• An unknown warrior! A mysterious stranger...
• His eyes "flashed fire." 

19. Drona's Revenge

• Garuda, a large bird creature.
• Cover the ground with "rivers of blood."
• The sky "rained" arrows.

20. Duryodhana's Jealousy

• Telling lying tales.
• Deceit and treachery! 
• An evil and cruel Prince. 
• A wicked plan: soak furniture in oil, so it can be burned easily, and then the palace is to be set on fire, with the inhabitants in it.

Week 4 Storytelling: A Band of Demons

(Image Source)

"A Band of Demons"

"Okay, okay, just let me sing it one more time," Greyson said.

I groaned. "Seriously? You've been singing it for weeks."

"Yes," he said. "And I am singing it again."

I rolled my eyes as he burst into singing his favorite song, from his favorite metal band, Nocturnal Pandemonium. Soon his singing turned into a low growl, and then a high-pitched screech.

I liked metal, and I liked the band, but I hated the song after hearing it now, probably, about a hundred times in the past week. Living with Greyson was tiring at times, but I loved him.

I was tossed around foster home after foster home until I was fostered at Greyson's house. We were both twelve at the time, and we just clicked. His mom ended up adopting me, and I became his sister.

Now, 16, we were inseparable, but that had it's annoyances like now. But, I was here to support him.

"Hey, Ember, you think I got a chance?" He asked.

"Well, you look like you're already part of the band," I said.

His pale skin was smeared with black, and his eye were lined with smokey eye makeup that I had applied for him. He also wore an ensemble that I helped him sew, made of faux-leather.

He looked like everyone else from the band, except for his white blonde hair that went to his shoulders. The others had black hair, but since he was trying out to be their lead vocalist, he thought he'd try to stand out. After all, he was trying out to be the star after the previous Vocalist's untimely drug-induced demise.

The line moved forward, and we were the next to go in.

"I'm so excited!" He chirped.

"Really?" I asked, dripping with sarcasm.

But before Greyson could say anything, the bouncer opened the door and ushered us in.

It was a dingy dive bar with a stage, that we'd seen them play on countless times. The band was on stage, with their two guitarists, bassist, and drummer. There was a stand with a mic in the middle.

The whole band was wearing their usual leather outfits, and all had black hair in assorted wild haircuts. To finish the look they all had black makeup on, black paint smeared on their bodies, and most of them had piercings on their face.

In front of the stage were all the people that were in the line with us. I assumed that after they tried out that they stood in that crowd.

"Alright, who is the next," Asmodeous, the lead guitarist said, and then growled, "Victim?"

Each band member was named after a demon.

His eyes flickered over to us, and his eyes stopped at me.

"That'd be me!" Greyson shouted, and ran towards the side of the stage.

Asmodeous' eyes didn't waver, but were fixated on me, even as Greyson stepped in front of the mic. He finally broke the gaze, and turned to Greyson.

"What song?" Belezebub, the bassist, asked.

"Home Sweet Hell," Greyson said.

"Nice," Azazel, the drummer, said. "A classic, huh?"

Greyson nodded, and tapped his thigh as the band broke into the song. He sang and growled flawlessly. He sounded just like the old vocalist.

"Alright, thanks," Asmodeous said as soon as the song was over. "Now, join the others and we'll nakje our decision when we've heard everyone."

And suddenly his eyes were on me, again. I couldn't say I minded too much. I mean he was gorgeous. He had silky black hair that was choppily cut, and framed his face. He had wild black eye makeup around bright green eyes and a black lip piercing. He only wore a vest, and exposed a well-defined chest and abs, smeared with black paint.

(Asmodeous. Image Source.) 

"What about you?" Asmodeous asked, his eyes on me.

"What?" I muttered.

"Come on, get up here," he said.

"I'm not trying out--I'm just here for my brother!"

"So what? Get up here," he said.

"I don't even sing!"

"There's not a lot of singing involved, honestly," he said, and the rest of the band and the crowd laughed.

Greyson looked uncomfortable. I didn't want to steal his thunder.

Besides, I wasn't dressed up enough. I had on a pair of black skinny jeans with countless holes in them, and a black and white tanktop. Not to mention, my black hair was probably a tangled mess, and my eyeliner was likely smeared.

"Come on, come here," Asmodeous said, and I felt a strange pull as if I were on a string and he pulled me until I was in front of the mic and everyone in the crowd.

My heart thudded and I could hardly breathe. How was I supposed to sing? Let alone scream like a metal vocalist?

"What's your favorite song?" Asmodeous asked.

"Nocturnal Bloodlust," I said and suddenly the band was playing the song. It was time for me to scream and suddenly a gutteral cry came out of my throat. I sounded just like the old vocalist. I surprised myself, and the crowd seemed just as surprised that a girl could scream like that.

The chorus came up and I sang in a voice I didn't know I had. When the song was over, I stood in shock.

Asmodeous looked at me, and he walked over to the rest of the band. They looked like they were talking, but I didn't hear any voices. He turned around, and clapped his hands together, "Well, we have made our decision!"

"There's still people waiting outside," someone shouted.

"I don't care, we have our new vocalist: Ember," Asmodecous said.

I stumbled back. I never told him my name.

"After all, we need a demon for our band of demons," Asmodeous said and winked. His eyes had flames in them.

For a moment I looked at the band and they all have twisted black horns, claws, and red eyes. I stumbled back from them, and fell in front of a mirror.

To my horror found the same pair of horns, claws, and my eyes glowed bright red.

I was a demon, just like all of them.

"Welcome to the band, Lilith," Asmodecous said, and held a hand out to me. I grabbed it, and he pulled me up and into a kiss that tasted like campfires and burned like hot coals.

(Lilith AKA: Ember. Image Source)

Author's Note:
I feel bad for Greyson though, he really wanted to be the new vocalist! But, it is a band of demons after all, and Ember, as it turns out, is actually a demon. And, not only a demon, but to clarify: she is probably the reincarnation of Lilith, the famous female demon!

I also want to clarify: the demons can appear as human, but other demons can see their demonic form. However, if they wanted to show their demonic form to humans, they can. This is similar to how the Rakshasa are in the Indian Epics that we've been reading.

This week I read Wilson's "Rama's Quest", and in section one it had a line of words that Insprited the entire story. It said that there was a "band of demons." Of course they meant a group of demons (Rakshasa,) but I thought how cool if they were an actual BAND of demons!

And of course I put my Young Adult spin on it, since I am a Young Adult author. I also snuck in a little bit of romance in there at the end, since I usually add that into my stories.

So, I made this another with a girl discovering that she is a demon, because that is one of my favorite sort of stories. I thought especially for this story that it would be a nice plot twist.

Additionally, I made these demons look more like our Western view of demons, and not quite like in the Ramayana.

Reading Diary B: Wilson. Rama's Quest

Rama's Quest Part B:

(Image Source)

Section 9: The Battle Begins

• Being alone with "Night".
• Lying to the princess, telling her that the prince is dead. Even uses magic to make an illusion of his head.
• Fainting heart was revived.
• The sound of brass instruments and snarling and growling.
• A God-like radiance, supernatural magic.
• "Remember the greatness of my heart, be true to thyself."
• Mission: to clear the world of evil. (Rakshasa) 
• Story Idea: a story about Rakshasa, or demon Hunter's. I previously thought of having a duo of brothers or sisters. Like the show Supernatural, but they only hunt demons (or Rakshasas.) Perhaps they hunt them because the demons killed their parents. Their ultimate goal is to kill Ravana, King of the Demons.

Section 10: Kumbhakarna Awakens

• The Demon King, Ravana, has a brother named Kumbhakarna. He is mischevous, but without malice. He is fairly dim.
• Dancing maidens.

Section 11: The Fight Continues

• Rama, friend of all living (good) creatures (Unless Rakshasa are not considered to be "living"?)
• Narada, messenger of the Gods.
• God takes a form of a human in order to kill the evil of the world. 
• Referring to the story idea in Section 9, maybe one of the brothers (or sisters, depending which one I pick to go with) is actually a God or Goddess of the hunt, and they are imbued with supernatural abilities as a result, sort of like with Rama.
• Beautiful, magical weapons. The magical bow.
• An army of creatures (in this case, monkeys.)
• Kumbhakarna falls dead.
• Fighting in a chariot.

Section 12: Rama's Victory

• Chariot of the Gods.
• Fighting between Light and Darkness. 
• "Aim for the heart, the seat of darkness." Maybe that is the only way to kill Rakshasa (or demons) is similar to vampires: a stake through the heart!
• Maybe demon Hunter's also use a bow or a crossbow (to make it a little more modern,) or perhaps even a gun to take it even more modern. Maybe the gun has wooden bullets. (This will be used in the story proposed in Section 9.)

Section 13: Sita Tested

• "Rama is victorious. Ravana is dead."
• A palanquin is like a lectica (from the time of the Greeks and the Romans.) A box carried with poles and people carry this vehicle.
• Princess dressed in beautiful clothes and jewels and perfumed.
• "The demon of great jealousy took" them over.

Reading Diary A: Wilson. Rama's Quest

Rama's Quest Part A:

(Rama. Image Source)

Section 1: Rama and Sita

• "A deep shadow in this city of sunshine."
• A sacrifice to gain the God's favor.
• Rama has extraoridinary strength, skill, bravery and beauty.
• A large amount of creatures will be useful to someone at some time.
• A community of hermits.
• A band of demons! (What if the story is about a popular rock BAND that is comprised of DEMONS, in other words, a band of demons!)
• Tarika, the ogress.
• Attacking with a bow, and having great archery skills.

Section 2: Rama's Exile

• Winning a lady (or man) through a tournament, or contest.
• Banished for 14 years.
• Lovers that cannot be seperated. ("I will follow you into Hell...")
• A royal chariot.

Section 3: Bharata and Rama

• An exiled individual being begged to come back.
• Golden sandals.
• Going from hermitage to hermitage.

Section 4: Life in the Forest

• Magical powers. Hermits who possess magical powers.
• The princess being dressed up in beautiful garments.
• A wife and husband hermitage.
• Rakshasas.

Section 5: Ravana and Sita

• The damsel in distress, taken by the Rakshasa.
• A hermit taking form of a warrior.
• Guarding a treasure.
• A rainfall of flowers.
• Ravana, King of the Rakshasa.

Section 6: The Monkeys

• Taking form of a Golden deer.
• A dying vulture tells a tale.
• Sugriva, the monkey King.
• Moving as fast as the wind.
• Being carried on someone's back.

Section 7: Hanuman in Lanka

• Hanuman, son of the wind.
• A garland of scarlet flowers. (More flower imagry)

Section 8: Sita and Hanuman

• Isle of Rakshasas
• Many stolen women in the lair of the evil demon king. 
• "A lion among men."
• Prince of monkeys.
• Hanuman's tail set on fire.
• Spirit of the Sea, Queen of the Ocean.
• In order to gain access into Ravana's realm, they must build a mole, which I looked up and found is a type of pier or structure built on an ocean.
• What if Ravana's Realm is a demonic world. (Story idea: focusing on world, exploring what the world of demons would be like. Use it to introduce Ravana and his Prince's and princesses. Ravana will be more humanized and a hybrid of the Western conventional idea of a demon and the concept of vampires.)

Week 3: Review

My Favorite Thing From The Current Announcement:

(Image from: Laura)

Why It's My Favorite:
I'm a sucker for Classical heroes, and so seeing Hector, a classical Trojan hero, it stuck out to me. I didn't know that his name turned into now meaning being a bully, even though Hector is an admirable hero. How strange!

Inspiration for the Upcoming Week:

(Image Source)

My Goal for the Upcoming Week:
Last week I worked ahead of time, and it made school less stressful. I will continue to do that in this coming week! Week by week I can beat procrastination.

Writing Tips:

(Image source)

Storybook Styles: Rakshasa Anthology

Storybook Topic: Rakshsa and Rakshasi.

(Image from: Pixabay)

Possible Titles: "My Life As A Teenage Rakshasi," "The Rakshasi/Demon (tome, files, codex)," "The Rakshasa Royals," or something else.

Storybook Style--Anthology:

• An anthology with a set of stories that follow a girl (OR a guy) who discovers that she/he is a Rakshasi. It will follow her/him as she/he struggles to be a Rakshasi in a human world. She/he will encounter Rakshasa and Rakshasi that are benevolent and malevolent and try to have her/him join either side. The ultimate ending of this story will be which she/he chooses.
• OR a set of stories. One involving the story told above. The other involving other Rakshasa and Rakshasai.
• OR a world that has been tales over my Rakshasi, they now rule the world. This is a set of  Urban Fantasy Dystopian stories. Demons VS Humans. There will be three or four stories either: following a hero that will in the end save the world, OR follows several different stories of humans and demons living in this world. (The world may be ruled by Rakshasa Royality, that I could instead focus on, which is described next.)
• OR an anthogy with a set of stories based around Rakshasa Royality, involving a King, Queen, Prince and Princess. It will have stories involving: Prince or Princess that falls in love with a pauper, Prince or Princess that falls in love with a human, the Prince or Princess that wants to run away and live from riches to rags, and someone who wants to assassinate the King so that the Prince or Princess can immediately become King or Queen. I will make the royalty concept different than the tales of royals in my Storybook,  "The Vampire Lexicon." (Can you tell royal supernatural creatures is a favorite trope of mine?)

Extra information: 

• All the main characters will be teenagers, as this is Young Adult. Most of these have Romance, but others are survival based, and mystery based. So within the genre of Young Adult I will also explore the sub-genres of Young Adult Fantasy (or urban fantasy) with elements of: romance, dystopian/survival, or mystery. Some stories may even contain one or all of these.
• Additionally since Rakshasa are a hybrid between vampires and demons, my story will either portray them as vampires OR demons, OR I will create my own design of a Rakshsa, and portray my original concept.
• The tone should be somber, creepy, and mysterious. 
• It will be filled with characters of grey (or questionable) morality.

Storybook Sources:

• Ramayana (PDE)--Almost every story in here has Rakshasa involved.
• Comic books that involve Rakshasa.
• The Mythology of Supernatural: describes Rakshasas in a show that I like to watch, as well as discusses the Rakshasa in other things such as the Ramayana.
• Tigress Book I, a free Kindle book that is an ADULT Romance novel, involving a Rakshasa. It is based off of Rakshasa mythology. Though this is not a SOURCE per say, it would be a nice read for inspiration as some of my stories will be Young Adult Romance.

Week 3 Storytelling: The Demon and Her Guard Dog

(Image from: Moira Fee)

"The Demon and Her Guard Dog"

Warning: There is strong language twice. If this bothers you, read my previous story.

"I'm a what?" I asked the strange man that stood in front of me.

He had flowing locks of wavy black hair, and was clad in all black. He had twisted horns protruding from his head that matched the same ones on my head. Something I didn't even know I had until moments ago.

He smiled slyly, revealing a set of sharp teeth, sharp like mine.

"You're a Rakshasa," he said. "Which is basically like a vampire and a demon had a baby and, well, that made you. But, we are our own race apart from those lesser creatures."

My head was spinning. I was just trying to figure out that I was some kind of demon, and now there's not just creatures like me, but also demons and vampires? "What else is there, witches, werewolves, shapeshifters?"

He glanced at Colt and he smiled a crooked little smile that I didn't trust or like one bit. "And lion, tigers, and bears, oh my!"

I turned to Colt, who was brushing his messy bottle-dyed black hair back. He looked like he was on the edge, deciding if he was going to run like hell away from me, or not.

"Well, I'll be off," the man said and turned on his heel.

"Wait, what do you mean? I don't even know how to handle this! I don't even know your name!"

"It's Lucien," he replied cooly, before turning around."I'll return when I am once again needed. Besides, I think that you have more than enough company."

And with that he was gone.

"What the..." Cold said.

"FUCK!" I screamed, and all of my frustrations and confusions turned into screams.

He held his head in his hands. "So, you're a...a..."

"Demon..." I whispered.

He backed away from me.

"No, Colt, please!" I pleased. "Not now. I can't handle you leaving me, I need you here with me!"

"I can't handle this," he said, looking down. "I'm sorry. But...I loved you as a human, Bullet. Now that you're a demon? I need to figure this out."

I screamed as he ran away, but he was right. And besides, he knew where I'd be.

I punched the wall so hard that it broke the skin on my knuckles. I cried out in pain, pulling my first away from the bricks, to see blood dripping down. The wound wasn't healing. So I didn't have some kind of supernatural healing. That was disappointing.

"Wot is that lovely smell?" I heard an unfamiliar voice say in a cockney accent.

Suddenly from the shadows appeared a girl. She had shoulder-length bright red hair, smokey eye-makeup on, and red lipstick, and pale, pale skin.

Before I could react she was suddenly in front of me, her finger under my chin, lifting my eyes to hers. Her eyes were as bright red as her hair and her lips.

"'Ello poppet," she whispered. "Aren't you a lovely creature?"

"I don't know what you mean," I said and my heart hammered against my chest.

She leaned into my neck and inhaled deeply. "You're no human are you? I smell something far sweeter in your blood."

"Get away from me!" I said, and it came out like an inhuman roar, but as I pushed her away, she didn't budge.

She hissed And I felt tiny pin pricks on my neck. She was a vampire.

I tried to push her off, and suddenly I felt my fingers blaze with fire as I grasped her upper arms and pushed her.

She recoiled back, and looked at the hand-shaped burn marks on her arms. Her nails extended into claws and she lunged at me, claws first. She ripped my clothing to shreds, and scratched my skin in thin, bleeding lines.

I fell back against the wall and she leaned into my neck.

I heard a growl and a bark behind me and suddenly a Siberian husky appeared, and leapt on the back of the vampire. The vampire fell down, with the dog on top of her.

The dog held the vampire down and I held my hands out shouting, "Fire!"

Once again my hands blazed with flames and they shot out at the vampire. The dog jumped off as the vampire cried out, was engulfed in flames, and turned into ash.

The dog looked up at me with bright blue eyes.

(Image from: Karl) 

The dog's bones moved and his skin rippled, and suddenly turned into Colt. He was kneeling and naked on the ground.

"What the..." I whispered.

"Fuck," he said.

"Meet your literal guard dog," Lucien's voice said. His voice seemed to be coming from my head like thoughts. I turned around, but I didn't see Lucien anywhere.

Author's Note:
This is actually a continuation of three stories that I have written with Colt and Bullet. If you want to read about how Bullet found out she's a Rakshasa, read, "I Got Your Heart and You Got Bullet Holes." And, if you want to read about Colt and Bullet's relationship read, "Colt Collides with Bullet."

I continued my writing about Rakshasa (which are a reoccurring creature in the Ramayana PDE, and my favorite creature in Ramayana. Additionally, when reading Part C and D, I encountered many animals. These animals could talk, so it got me thinking about shapeshifters. So, I made Colt a shapeshifter! In here he turns into a dog, it's possible he can turn into other animals.

This story had to be cut short due to the word count, so if you have any questions, I am happy to answer them!

If this your first time reading about Colt and Bullet, what do you think about them? You might see Colt and Bullet again in even more stories, because I REALLY like them.