Showing posts with label Week 6. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Week 6. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Week 6 Storytelling: Rules Made To Be Broken

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.


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.

Monday, February 22, 2016

Reading Diary B: Mahabharata (PDE)

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

  • 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
Part C:
41. Life In The Forest

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

42. Krishna's Visit


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.