Clan of the Broken Banner -- Pt. 3

Two weeks later, while I was half engaged in eating a bowl of cereal before I left for school, I had another “daydream”. I imagined myself in downtown Seattle, next to what the locals call, “The Jungle”. It is a public park next to the iconic Smith Tower on Second Street. I had a friend who worked there as a security guard. He shared with me some horrific stories of riots, drugs, rape, and other crimes that happened during the late hours of the night. It was those stories that convinced me to go to college, but I digress.

I imagined that I was a pedestrian, walking down the hill between the Smith Tower and the Jungle, heading towards the Starbucks to get my morning fix. I heard a scream as I walked by the alley behind the Tower and saw a woman on the ground. Her sweater was torn down the back. A huge man stood over her pointing a switchblade at her throat. I ran in to the alleyway.

“Hey, get away from her!” I yelled, sprinting towards the man. The man froze and pointed the knife at me. In my supposed daydream, the man slashed his knife at me. I stepped back and grabbed the man’s wrist, locked it, flipped the man onto his back and then kicked the knife away from him. The woman got up and ran, calling for help.

The man was winded, but reached into his coat and grabbed a gun. Before he could pull the trigger, a UPS driver came out of nowhere, kicked the gun out of the man’s hand. A shot was fired, but missed both of us completely. I stood still, shocked that another would be so kind to assist me in my daydream.

“Grab the gun!” the UPS driver yelled. I grabbed the gun, handed it to the UPS driver, who then pointed it at the man's head. “One bad move and your gone,” he said. The man nodded and put his hands on his head. The UPS Driver motioned for the man to stand, and the man did so. “Turn around,” the UPS driver said. The man turned and the UPS driver pistol whipped him in the back of the head. The man fell unconscious and the UPS driver dissembled the gun in an instant.

“How did you do that?” I asked in my daydream.

"Where are you from?”

“Lynnwood,” I said. 

“What’s your name?”

“Kevin Bargrey. Why?”

“You’re not one of us, are you?

Then the dream ended.

That wasn't how my dreams were supposed to go! This was my daydream. I was supposed to be the hero! I was supposed to be the one asking questions and playing out simple, non detailed plots in my head.

But it wasn't a daydream.

Clan of the Broken Banner -- Pt. 2

749 BC Northern England

A father sat, dying upon his throne, unprepared to name his successor and future king of the people. The eldest of the three, Rinehart Blackbane swore claim to the throne, he being the stronger, older and more experienced of the three in battle. His fighting arm was uncontested in the kingdom. The second brother,  Amon BarGrey,  understanding his elders strength, conceded his claim to the throne, knowing that single handedly he could not defeat his brother. It would take time and planning to take what by intelligence, he deemed his own.

The third brother, Aodhan Whitehand was like his elder in strength, and though not as experienced in battle, felt that the kingdom should be divided amongst them, and that together, with an alliance, they could defend their rightful kingdoms.

But power is not shared lightly…

Before the king died, he called his three sons to him. “My sons, my sons, I soon go to meet the gods, and you are left with my kingdom.” Aodhan and Rinehart smiled while Amon shrugged. “But this kingdom shall not be given to one of you, but to the three, to Rinehart, the north, to Amon, from western shore to eastern shore, to Aodhan, the south. These three kingdoms will be unified equally by all three and you will be known as the clan of the three brothers.” He motioned to a servant who stood vigil next to his throne. The servant held a red pennant with three knots. “These knots represent you and your kingdom. As long as you are unified, your success will be limitless, but if one of you falls, then does the kingdom. Rule wisely.”

The debate concerning the successor was decided and the three brothers accepted it graciously.

Two weeks after the kings funeral, the three brothers counseled in their great hall about what portions of the castle would belong to whom, what resources would be traded amongst the three new kingdoms and the division of military to each kingdom.

As they were debating, and old sorcerer walked into their hall. He was a short, scraggly man, with missing teeth and stiff tangled hair. Rinehart stood and approached the man.

“What do you want? You were not invited to this council.”

“I may not have been invited by you, but I was invited.” Rinehart looked at each of his brothers, who shook their heads, signaling that neither of them had invited the man. “By your father…”

“But he has been dead two weeks. How is it he invited you.” Both Amon and Aodhan shook their heads at each other smiled. Aodhan was the first to speak up.

“He was invited to this council prior to our father’s passing. He is meant to be here.”  

Rinehart pretended to understand, but it was clear by his blank expression that he failed to grasp his father’s foresight.

“Your father was blessed with a gift given to him from the gods, one that I am going to pass to you three, and it shall be the last gift that is ever given to this world.”

“And what is this gift sorcerer?” Amon asked skeptically.

“It is the power to control others. It was what gave your father his overwhelming success in battle, and if used wisely, will defend your kingdom from the many afflictions that are to come.  But there is a choice within this gift. You may choose to control another completely, or control a populous partially, driving their desires, passions, and motives, but not their actions. Imagine leading an entire army without fear.”

“I wish to control many,” Rinehart said.

“As do I,” Aodhan followed.

“And you Amon, what is your choice?” the sorcerer asked.

Amon smiled.

“I choose one.” 

Make your writing Good vs Good, not Good vs Evil

A simple blue print to good writing:

Once upon a time there was a [Character with a decent description] who wanted [something or someone (calling this thing 1)] more than anything else in the world because [enter back story to set up a solid motive]. [Character] sets out on a quest or journey to get [thing 1]. When [Character] comes close to attaining [thing 1] he realizes that he must give it up to get [thing 2] which is something else that [character] has grown attached to during his quest that fills a gap, or fixes a flaw  in [Character]. [Character] learns this, and must overcome a villain in order to get to [thing 2]. At the end, [character] defeats villain and transforms into a new [character].

Simply put, the blue print to writing is to follow the cosmogonic cycle.

Think of Pixar's UP when Carl Fredrickson wants nothing more in the world than to get his house, and thus his wife, to Paradise Falls, because he crossed his heart in a solemn oath, and then lost her before he was able to do so. Think of Dreamwork's "How to Train Your Dragon" when Hiccup wants nothing more in the world than to slay a dragon and become one of the clan, but realizes he cant when he has captured Toothless. 

Within this cycle, there is a good versus bad (Charles Muntz or the Big Dragon that eats the other smaller dragons) but there is also a more important good versus good. When Carl gets his house to Paradise falls, he realizes that it came at the great cost of saving Kevin from Charles. When Hiccup doesnt kill the dragon during his last training session, he looses his father's blessing. That conflict, of good versus good, is and its resolution is where a story comes to life and makes an good story, great.

Emblems of Power, book one of "The Silver Sheen Chronicle"

Which would you choose: stopping a psychopath, or saving an entire city from starvation? In “Emblems of Power”, a young adult fantasy novel, a talented and prideful sixteen year old guardsman must make this choice.
 

Noiknaer, a city known for its pristine schools of trade and higher learning suffers from poverty. The hungry and destitute line the streets, begging for bread, yet the government officials live affluent lifestyles. The School of the Faye is in charge of planning the secret routes of the Government Caravans which are the only reasonable source of food for the people of Noiknaer.
 

When one of these caravans is ambushed by a black hooded figure, Kosai, the young guardsman of Noiknaer is nearly killed. An investigation is started in the School of the Faye to find who leaked the route information. Kosai learns at this school that he is the only one who can kill the Hood, a former teacher who almost destroyed the School of the Faye, and also nearly killed him during the ambush.
With each passing day, more people die from starvation. Uncertain about who is willing to help him in his learning, Kosai must make the choice, or loose everything.
 

This is a story about trust and betrayal, about being torn between two good choices, and learning that no matter how talented you are, you need help to stand on your own two feet.

Available for download at

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/526153