Week 11 Storytelling: The Pirate Treasure

I mean, what else did I need?

I was already at the Pirate King at age sixteen. I ruled the seas. I guess I thought that all that I wanted was all the gold, gems, and riches of the world.

(The Pirate King Diarmud)

But I learned there were some things in this world that were more important than the wide blue ocean.

There were some things more of a treasure than and the gold and gems in treasure chests.

There was something more important that bump, ba, bumped in my body. 

It happened one day. It was the first time I met him that I truly felt alive.

The ship wasn't headed in any direction. We left it afloat. I lounged in a lifeboat that was tethered to my ship.

I had fallen asleep when I suddenly felt water on my face. I sat up and saw a fin lower in to the water.

It's some dolphin, I'm sure, I thought.

When suddenly a boy turned to me. He smiled widely. Had had wet tangles of Light brown hair around his face. He was beyond beautiful.

"What are you doing in the water?" I asked. We were in the middle of nowhere, and I didn't recognize him from my crew.

"Swimming," he said. "What else?" His voice was so goddamn cheerul.

"Well, come--" I started to say. I was going to invite him on board.

But he leaned back, his hands behind his bed, and he floated on top of the water, and a tail fin rose from the water. I followed the fin all the way up to his waist.  

(The First Meeting)

"There's no way..." I muttered.

"What that mermaids exist?" He said and laughed. "Of course I do." 

He grabbed onto my boat, and tipped it over. I cried out as I fell into the sea. "What the hell?"

"Get your sea legs, captain," he said and winked.

"I'm no Pirate Captain, merman--" I said in between heavy breathes as I doggy paddled to wade the water.

"Well, Captain, I'm not just a merman, my name is Aranis," he said.

"I told you! I'm not a Captain! I am Diarmud the Pirate King!" 

"Pirate King, huh?" He asked. "Impressive"

"Quite so, Aranis." I managed to climb back into my boat, and I sat in it.

"Well, if we're being technical...my name is  Prince Aranis. I live in the Underwater Realm of Atlantis where I will someday rule as King."  

"So, I rule the seas up here," I said and gestured around. "And you will rule the waters down below?"

  

"Correct," he said with a grin. "Well, I'll be off!" And just as quickly as he came, he ducked down into the waters.

"Wait!" I cried out. My heart was beating in a manner I'd never known. It felt like my greatest treasure of all was sinking into the seas.

"What?" He said as he came back to the surface. 

I felt relief flood my body as I saw his gentle face, his soft blonde hair, and his chiseled physique. I was starting to fell the effects of what I once thought was a myth, a fiction. But I was thinking that this was love at first sight. 

"I'll be back," he said with a wink, and then he swam down below.

"Drop anchor!" I shouted. "The ship stays here!"

"Aye, aye captain!" My crew replied.

***

And at the same time the next day, Aranis returned.

"Hello," he said, holding the sides of my boat.  

"Aranis," I said. "If I may be so forward: I missed you..."

"Even if that is so," he said. "Nothing can ever come of this, my King."

"As King of these Seas, what I want can happen, Aranis."

He smiled softly, and lifted himself up, and he leaned into my face, kissing me softly. I kissed him back and we never stopped.

***

It was like this for days. 

(The days spent in love) 

But soon my crew grew tired of staying in the same place, and we were running low on supplies.

"Come with me," I told Aranis.

"But it cannot be?"

"I have found a way, my pet," I said, and I held out my hand to him, "Do you trust me, my treasure?"

He gulped down hard as if he could swallow down his anxieties. He took my hand and said, "Yes."

***

I live on the seas. My crew and I get supplies, and then go back on the water. I send my crew out on fool's errands, on trips with treasure marks that only sometimes lead to gold.

I didn't care.

I walked into my quarters, where the only treasure I needed was there.

Aranis swam behind glass. He held his hand out, pressing it to the glass, and I pressed my hand against his. He mouthed, "Help me. Free me."

If he weren't in water, tears would stream down his face. He was full of the deepest sorrows.

But he was my greatest treasure, and as Pirate King? I would never let him free. 

I had my Prince and that was all that I would need.

(The Pirate's Treasure)

Author's Note

This story is a take away from my other stories, huh? Straight-up romance, but well, with a tragic twist (of course!) I am incapable of writing a happy ending to a story it seems! I'm sorry this ending in such a messed up away. I feel so bad for Aranis!

Once again I've put a gay relationship in here for diversity! And because Diarmud and Aranis are too darn cute! Diarmud DID love Arranis...just not in a conventional way. I tried to string it along so readers would think this was going to be a happy sappy romance and then NOPE! Tragedy and really messed up ending. Oh, my. My brain is a strange place.

OKAY, so I digress. 

So how did I get Pirate Kings and Mermen out of Indian Myths? I've been reading Asura: Tale of the Vanquished. This week's chapters had a very interesting character named: Pirate-King! So, obviously I  wanted to write about the Pirate King! 

Our Merman, Aranis, came from my imagination. I thought, well I don't want to write about my Pirate King with sea battles or going off for a treasure quest. I wanted something different: a pirate romance! And,  as I said I made the relationship between two men for a change of pace.

Anyways, I hope you liked my story, as well as I hoped you like Diamud and Aranis!

Extra Reading Diary: Asura III

Asura: Tale of the Vanquished Pt. I

(Himalayas)

Chapters 19-26

Chapter 19:
-A dark soul
-The emperors of Asuras
-A pirate King, the king of pirates
 
Chapter 20:
-A marriage
-The demon king gets married
-Pirates
-Heroine
-"Pray. Pray for your soul..."

Chapter 21:
-Jewellery
-"The prisoner is ready for the punishment."
-"This devil's marriage..."
-"Then my pride came back, my anger returned and I was myself again."
-"And my dreams became my story."

Chapter 22:
-"I fell into the mouth of death, into the howling ocean."
-Deva Devils
-Anger, jealousy and sadness
-"But the stench of equality stuck. Soon, I got used to that too."

Chapter 23:
-Pirate King!
-Night cruise
-"You are either a ghost or you refuse to die!"
-Someone "wearing a mask"
-"This man was the devil incarnate."

Chapter 24:
-Dismay and anger
-Biggest rival and rebel.
-Darkness
-"Moonlight illuminated her face."
-"I had the sudden urge to kiss her.

Chapter 25:
-Loitering about the streets
-A dagger
-Deva girls
-Ahsoka trees

Chapter 26:
-Himalayas
-"It was a new dawn"
-Setting: swamp

-"First brave fools"

Reading Diary A: Asura II

Asura: Tale of the Vanquished Pt. I

(Ravana)

Chapters 10-18

Chapter 10:
-Banyan tree
-Armaments
-Incorporating thoughts in italics within the action
-Dharma.
-Devas
-Fake gems

Chapter 11
-"tears sprouted in my eyes"
-the leader mistake for being a spy
-"I cried for the fact that I was no longer human, but a vampire thirsting for the blood of the Devas.
-"I wailed for the dark depths my soul had fallen into."
-Owl hooted, is it a dark omen?
-"It was a dark and silent night."

Chapter 12
-"I hoped the spy was dead"
-Wearing all black
-Graphic violence when fighting, "splintering skulls."
-"Raw power"
-Monsoon

Chapter 13:
-"A magical village tune"
-An ancient light-tower
-A center of art
-"The most cosmopolitan city in the world."
-Someone vanishing

Chapter 14:
-"But now I just wanted to lie down and sleep for a hundred years."
-a dagger blade
-"Then one day, unexpectedly, my wishes came true."

Chapter 15:
-"I was surprised that I was still alive"
-A lamp that cast a history light on their faces
-"felt warm blood splash on my face."
-Dark shadows
-A stream of abuse followed him
-"Howled like a wounded wolf."

Chapter 16:
-Raising a sword
-Seeking audience

Chapter 17:
-"A lowly creature"
-Time: midnight
-"at that moment I knew that I had fallen in love"
-"As emptiness filled me."

Chapter 18:
-A cobra

Week 10 Storytelling: My Life A Teenage Nobody

(The "Teenage Nobody")

My name? It shouldn't matter, it doesn't matter. Not really. I could be anyone couldn't I? I'm just a screwed up kid, living on the wrong side of the railroad tracks.

I had a name once, Daughter. But I threw that all a way.

"You're evil," my mother told me with wet and wavering eyes. "You are a demon."

The thing is? I could not deny her that fact. I was starting to think I really might be.

She tied me down to a chair, you see. She doused me with Holy Water while she shouted bibical quotes at me. She waved a cross in my face a couple of times.

"Why isn't it working, Kali?" She screamed and shook me so hard I could feel my brain hit the sides of my skull.

She took out a lighter, and waved a small metal cross over it, and she pressed it to my skin.

"It's bubbling!" She screamed. "You are resisting the cross!"

(The "Devil Daughter")

 
I screamed and cried, but she didn't stop. I was down there for hours. Or days? Weeks. I don't know. I was on a steady diet of Holy Water and sacramental wafers.

But that's about when I started feeling numb. Pain and pleasure and displeasure were all starting to blend together into a cocktail called Misery.

To add an umbrella onto the cocktail, she took me to the Catholic Church. She walked into the office of Father Wood. She sounded like she was raving mad, screaming about a demonic daughter. Saying she could see horns coming from my head and that my eyes were red.

Okay, she was raving mad about that. Too raving mad for Father Wood.

"We do not do exorcisms anymore, m'am," he said.

"What do you mean you don't 'do exorcisms'?" She yelled. "My daughter is a demon, Father! Cure her!"

He rolled his eyes and he poured oil on my head. He said some bullshit in Latin.

All the bullshit of which my mother cried with happiness.

"We'll have a new life together now, Daughter," she said and smiled as she walked into the front door. Of her house.

I didn't belong there. I didn't go into the front door, no.

I ran.

And then I became a different name, I was called Girlfriend.

Darren was perfect. That's what the problem was. He was too perfect, and I was too perfectly imperfect. For him, and for anyone it seemed.

"Kali," he said. "It's like a switch. One minute you're an angel and the next moment..."

"A devil," I finished for him.

He nodded softly. "I can't anymore. I can't be with you..."

That was when I became empty. It was like someone took an ice cream scooper and scooped out all of my insides. There was nothing in there but poison.

It started my life as a teenage nobody.

Author's Note:
This week I read Chapters 1-9 of Asura: Tale of the Vanguished. This book is basically the Ramayana, expect it is told in the perspective of the Rakshasa (demon) king, Ravana!

I loved the way that this story was written. It is in a first person perspective but very heavily close to that person. We get every thought and sensory details. In fact, the story has very little dialogue or action. Most of it is the reader in Ravana's mind, which I loved!

I know that on many of your stories I comment that you need dialogue and such. But, this story has taught me that there is a time and place for such close introspection in a story.

Thus, this story is a close introspection from my character from my Storybook, My Life As A Teenage Rakshasi!

Reading Diary A: Asura I

Asura: Tale of the Vanquished Pt. I

(Ravana)

Chapters 1-9
Chapter 1:

• "Tomorrow is my funeral"! What a great first line! As a writer, one can never forget the power of having a real hook of a first line!  I mean, right from the start I am wondering how Ravana got in this situation, and how he knows that his funeral will be tomorrow.
• Following is some great, graphic, violent details! It's so visceral. I tend to write dark stories with heavy violence and visceral themes, so this is great inspiration.
• Finally, I love how this chapter is called "The End". How beautifully unorthodox!

Chapter 2.

• Weather, something I forget to add into stories--but oh how it sets the mood!
• I love all of this internal monologue! It could become boring, but it's such strong and vivid writing that it continues to captivate me.
• Some brief backstory, no heavy info dumping--always good.

Chapter 3:

• Asuras are a casteless society.
• A roaming tribe that hunted and traded, settling along river banks and in cities. 
• Too much info dumping here. (Is my literature minor showing yet?
• The title "Purendara" means 'Slayer of Cities'.
• "A defeated race often uses its cultural supremacy to cover the shame of defeat."
• A LOT of backstory on Asuras, may need to come back to this. There is possibly too much to note of.

Chapter 4:

• The mightiest of Asura Kings.
• Finally dialogue and interactions. The first person is nice for a while but we need to get out of Ravana's head
• You know what this whole book reminds me of? It's like an Indian Paradise Lost, with Ravana and The Ramayana instead of Lucifer and the Bible.

Chapter 5:

• "He rambled on," what a great verbal tag.
• More history.
• "Nothing is more commendable than selfishness. A man who thinks of himself alone is the most unlucky person of all."
• Sometimes this book has some amazing lines.
• "Go Ravana, own the world!"
• "Jealousy is the driving force of progress, envy is the motivating force of life."
• "I do not believe in a heaven where you will be given all that you purposely denied yourself in this world."

Chapter 6:

• "I had been fighting this fool's war for the last few years..." Another great opening line.
• A character being honest in its thoughts is always good to do.
• Good description of a battle!

Chapter 7:

• "Lore of the Losers" what a great chapter title! 
• Huge funeral pyres
• "Drunk with succes  
• Battles

Chapter 8:
Chapter 9:  

• Importance of jewelry 
• Tiny flying tigers
• Blood caked on one's face
• Kubera, the money God.
• "The rich did not care who ruled, as long as they were allowed to be rich. The poor could not afford to care and nobody asked their opinion in any case. Only the middle class mattered and any half-witted ruler knows how to pamper them."

Week 9 Storytelling: Home Sweet Hell

"I can't do this anymore," Lukas said.

"Do what?"

"Be with you," he said, messing with his long brown hair.

His words hit me like a bullet straight to the heart. But as quickly as I felt sadness, did I feel an all-consuming rage. It felt like flames licked my skin and my insides.

"You can't leave me!" I screamed.

He started to run from me, but I grabbed his wrist with a strength I didn't know I had. I heard the bones in his wrist break in my hands and he screamed like bloody murder.

"Shut up!" I yelled, and all I could see was fire and flames and fury.

I covered his mouth with my hand, but he thrashed around. I pushed him and his head hit the side of my vanity.

I stood, stunned, looking at Lukas' lifeless body until I felt the ground shake under me.

The floor opened up, spewing flames as it opened up. Out of the flames was a tall boy who didn't look much older than me, I was 18 at the time.

(Hell's Butler)

He wore a tight-fitting black velvet coat and black skinny jeans. He bowed to me, and his messy black hair hung in front of his face. "Hello, madam."

"Who are you?" I asked.

"My name is Damon," he said and straightened his posture. "I'm a butler of sorts."

"Of sorts?"

"You'll see," he said. "Now, if you'll follow me."

He held his white-gloved hand out to me, but I was hesitant to take it.  I looked to Lukas' lifeless body and realized I didn't have a choice. If I didn't go with Damon, I'd be going to jail. I grabbed his hand.

"Very well," he said, and he pulled me into the flames.

We were suddenly in an elevator that had six-hundred and sixty-six floors on it. He pressed the buttons in a certain order and the elevator shot down so fast I fell to the ground. The elevator stopped and he helped me up.

The elevator doors opened up, and we both stepped into what looked like nothing. It was darkness, save for wispy cotton-like things flying through the air..

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Limbo," he said. "For the unbaptised...the pagans...those who don't belong anywhere else."

"Wait--limbo as in...?"

"Yes, as in Hell," he said. "Come now."

I followed him as we got back into the elevator. It went down a floor and the doors opened up.

This place looked like a state fair with all the fried foods and sweets, with a mud pit in the middle. Pigs sat at the food stands, gorging himself with food, and other pigs wallowed in the mug.

"Gluttony," I said.

"Exactly," he said before we got into the elevator again.

"Is there a reason I'm getting a tour of Hell?" I asked, but he didn't reply. He just pressed the next button.

He didn't step out this town. We just watched from the elevator. This looked like a burlesque club, and the audience was filled with beds. I'll spare you the details.

Damon pressed a button and winked at me.

We went down one more floor and he held his hand out. I shrugged and grabbed it, and stepped out of the elevator. It looked like a set from a scripted wrestling match on TV. There was a massive cage in the middle, and an audience surrounded it.

"Here," Damon said.

I turned to Damon and he handed me a sword. "What is this?"

"I showed you the circles above yours so perhaps make you feel better about your new home," he said.

I took the sword.

"Fight, Eva, fight for the rest of your life," he said. "Welcome to the circle of Wrath, your little slice of home sweet Hell."

Author's Note:
This week I read Kali the Mother, which mentioned The Divine Comedy which included The Inferno. I know a lot about The Inferno because I am currently taking a class about it!

In my Storybook, Kali will be visiting the underworld, so I wanted to start world building and make the Underworld that she will go to. This underworld is actually a combination of the world in The Inferno and from the second part of The Divine Comedy: Purgatorio.

My version has more emphasis on the seven deadly sins and has a more modern veneer.

Reading Diary Part A: Kali the Mother

Kali the Mother by Sister Nivedita

(I am reading this before Asura, since my character is named Kali in my Storybook. I wanted to get some research about the actual Kali to supplement my stories with.)

(Kali)

Part A:
1. Concerning Symbols

• Twilight, the space between day and night
• Light through a mask
• Consumed in fire
• Dissolve in an ocean
• Shadows
• The shadow of the soul
• Bringer of sanctity and peace
• Hide and seek

2. The Vision of Siva

• The beauty of snowpeaks and moonlight
• Beauty imagry "the great Mother, were clothed in raiment of green, broidered with birds and flowers and fruits, and veiled in blue, adorned with many jewels"
• More lovely description: "Something white and austere and pure; something compelling quiet; something silent and passionless, and eternally alone."
• Concept of duality. Light and shadow, attraction and repulsion.
• Anthromorphic
• (This isn't quite what I thought it would be.)
• Being the ideal householder, ideal judge, ideal ruler.
• "To him she is all beauty." 

3. Two Saints of Kali

• Othello slays Desdemona 
• The mention of the Divine Comedy was interesting to me. She basically said aid you need to know a lot about Florence and such in order to understand the Divine Comedy, and she's not wrong. I am currently taking a class over the entire Comedy and it really does require a lot of information about medieval Florence, specifically in relation to politics, and there are also many historical figures, mostly classical figures you need to understand as well.
• Her toy is a kite.

Additional Notes about Kali: 

• Goddess of time, creation, change, preservation, and destruction) 
• Goddess of empowerment 
• Mother Goddess 
• Associated with darkness 
• Kali means time, but also means black. 
• Kali will "devour all."