Love that Aarik fought to rescue one of his men, damn but that was awesome and I love the creeping sense of horror and the Eucatastrophic ending and the last line in particular. A really fine piece of fiction, I loved it and must admit that it is one of my favourites hereon Substack thus far. Are you gonna write a more extended tale after this?
This is great to hear and I’m so glad you liked it! The eucatastrophe is something I deeply believe in, and I think sometimes the best tales are ones that end sadly but are nonetheless eucatastrophic. I try and catch a bit of that in every story.
Also horror is something I rarely explicitly set out to channel, but to me horror is to stories what salt is to cooking — most dishes are enlivened by at least a dash. Not a surplus, but a dash.
It’s funny you ask about an extension, originally this whole story was the premise of Book 2 in my novel series. It was gonna involve Aarik hiding in the ship overnight and the next morning sallying out to rescue others instead of sailing away. There are motifs of that in my new idea for Book 2, but the whole geology and biology of these isles was notable enough I wanted to make sure they still saw the light of day. Very glad Wyrmslayer made it to a place where I could share it!
I do agree about hte eucatastrophe, I try to do the same.
I’ve been trying to do the same with horror, but aren’t as skilled as you evidently are. I find it easier to mix in the horror in French than in English oddly enough.
As to that extension ouah you sound brilliant mon ami!
Either way, gimme another of your tales and I’ll happily lap it up.
Bienvenue mon ami, least I can do, you came recommended by the best from what I can see in the comments, @Eric Falden is someone I’ve been trying to lure over to my own works for some time without success so for him to love your work this much means it’s in the top 10 best hereon the site.
[Spoilers] I genuinely love this story. The ending brought a huge smile to my face because I definitely thought this was just a pure horror sort of ending.
I also love that Aarik’s triumph was born from his desire to protect his man. It wasn’t just that he had to face it and win, he was only given the opportunity because he was willing to put himself in danger to help Lyssak.
Thanks so much, Keith! I'm a strong proponent of getting the jargon right. It can present a learning curve for the reader, but I also think it can have an immersive effect.
Fantastic to hear, thank you! The archaic language is something I might eventually write a post about. I try to use it to enhance immersion and instill a sense of period.
I absolutely love this. I came to this after rereading and editing one of my earlier works, which is much denser in this archaic style of language, to post it. I've always loved the feeling that this seemingly ancient style brings to a story; something that contemporary literature cannot think to touch. It is easily foreboding and effortlessly builds dread in a way that I can't get enough of. Well done, and I can't wait to read some of your other stuff.
Thanks so much, John! I too love the old words and styles for many reasons, but one is that I believe many of these terms we call archaic still have life to them, and I don’t want them to fade.
I enjoyed this story. It took me a few minutes to get used to the archaic language, but once I did, the action kept me scrolling till the end. Well done!
Love that Aarik fought to rescue one of his men, damn but that was awesome and I love the creeping sense of horror and the Eucatastrophic ending and the last line in particular. A really fine piece of fiction, I loved it and must admit that it is one of my favourites hereon Substack thus far. Are you gonna write a more extended tale after this?
This is great to hear and I’m so glad you liked it! The eucatastrophe is something I deeply believe in, and I think sometimes the best tales are ones that end sadly but are nonetheless eucatastrophic. I try and catch a bit of that in every story.
Also horror is something I rarely explicitly set out to channel, but to me horror is to stories what salt is to cooking — most dishes are enlivened by at least a dash. Not a surplus, but a dash.
It’s funny you ask about an extension, originally this whole story was the premise of Book 2 in my novel series. It was gonna involve Aarik hiding in the ship overnight and the next morning sallying out to rescue others instead of sailing away. There are motifs of that in my new idea for Book 2, but the whole geology and biology of these isles was notable enough I wanted to make sure they still saw the light of day. Very glad Wyrmslayer made it to a place where I could share it!
I do agree about hte eucatastrophe, I try to do the same.
I’ve been trying to do the same with horror, but aren’t as skilled as you evidently are. I find it easier to mix in the horror in French than in English oddly enough.
As to that extension ouah you sound brilliant mon ami!
Either way, gimme another of your tales and I’ll happily lap it up.
I will certainly do so! And thank you again for the show of support!
Bienvenue mon ami, least I can do, you came recommended by the best from what I can see in the comments, @Eric Falden is someone I’ve been trying to lure over to my own works for some time without success so for him to love your work this much means it’s in the top 10 best hereon the site.
[Spoilers] I genuinely love this story. The ending brought a huge smile to my face because I definitely thought this was just a pure horror sort of ending.
I also love that Aarik’s triumph was born from his desire to protect his man. It wasn’t just that he had to face it and win, he was only given the opportunity because he was willing to put himself in danger to help Lyssak.
I love the high adrenaline action, but I always fear it will eclipse character. Very happy to see it shined through!
Really great story with horror vibes and beautiful descriptions and knowledgeable terminology.
Thanks so much, Keith! I'm a strong proponent of getting the jargon right. It can present a learning curve for the reader, but I also think it can have an immersive effect.
It certainly does add a depth to the story here and I think it fits the tale perfectly.
I love the archaic language. The tension and action were awesome and that ending was perfect.
Fantastic to hear, thank you! The archaic language is something I might eventually write a post about. I try to use it to enhance immersion and instill a sense of period.
I absolutely love this. I came to this after rereading and editing one of my earlier works, which is much denser in this archaic style of language, to post it. I've always loved the feeling that this seemingly ancient style brings to a story; something that contemporary literature cannot think to touch. It is easily foreboding and effortlessly builds dread in a way that I can't get enough of. Well done, and I can't wait to read some of your other stuff.
Thanks so much, John! I too love the old words and styles for many reasons, but one is that I believe many of these terms we call archaic still have life to them, and I don’t want them to fade.
I enjoyed this story. It took me a few minutes to get used to the archaic language, but once I did, the action kept me scrolling till the end. Well done!
Dude.