Saturday, October 11, 2014

Here's another chapter of A Decaying World. And that's about all I have to say for now. I should really try to realize my horror collection soon, but I'm not sure I'll find the time to finish it up in the coming days as I've got some things coming up.

 

Chapter 17: In the Depths of Belia's Tower


Drake hadn't had a good night's rest since the destruction of Arlington, but when the beast overpowered his mind he was plunged into darkness, into an almost comatose state. He could see flashes of reality when the vampire's hold on his body was compromised, but they never lasted for long and quickly faded like a dream. Only when a radiant light penetrated every corner of his mind did he finally resurface.
Cold wind howled past his ears when he sat up. It had already chilled his body to the bone, so he rubbed his freezing hands while inspecting his surroundings. Grey rocks could be seen in every direction. They were illuminated by a ghostly flame floating above. Similar flames could be seen in the distance, but the area in-between was filled by impenetrable darkness.
Look who's finally awake,” said an awfully familiar voice from above. Drake's own voice, just more deeper, more menacing.
What the...?” Drake jumped to his feet and looked up, discovering his spitting image floating through the air. It was sprawled out on a disc made of darkness. “Who are you?”
His doppelganger chuckled and brushed through his slicked-back hair before he spared him a glance. His crimson eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. “Come on, have you already forgotten me? I'm the darkness slumbering within your mind. The source of your power.”
Drake furrowed his brow and looked around in confusion. “Why does it looks so different this time?”
Because we're not inside your head.”
Then why are we separated? Have I been cured?”
The beast laughed and his voice reverberated throughout the darkness, echoing back and forth from barriers unseen. “There is no cure. The only way to destroy me is to destroy us both.” He raised his right hand and snapped it shut, as if grasping onto something that couldn't bee seen. “But there's magic in air, magic so powerful that it was able to split us apart. Don't get your hopes up, though. It's only temporary.”
Drake sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “How did we even end up here?”
Some elven bitch threw me through a portal. Said she'd let me go if I survived this place.”
So why haven't you left yet? Couldn't you just float to the exit?”
I tried, but whoever created this place must have made sure that his puzzles aren't circumvented.”
What puzzles?”
See that lever over there?” The beast pointed towards an object that Drake had mistaken for a stalagmite. “Give it a shove and you'll see.”
Drake had no reason to trust the beast, but seeing as the rest of the island was empty, he didn't have much of a choice. So he strolled towards the lever, wrapped his arms around its top, then gave it a good push. The darkness seemed to grow brighter and a faint hum filled the air.
Look behind you.”
A path paved with glowing platforms had appeared in the air, connecting this island to another in the distance. It faded out of existence the moment Drake let go off the lever.
See? None of us can cross over unless the other holds onto the lever.”
Couldn't you have used your magic to hold it in place?”
Do you think I'm retarded? I've already tried everything I could think of, but I can neither float away nor manipulate the lever without actually touching it.”
Drake wrapped his arms around his body and rubbed his freezing flesh. He might as well have not worn anything, so easily did the cold penetrate his body. “What did the elves hope to achieve by throwing us in here?”
I guess they want us to cooperate so that I don't take over your mind again.”
You did what?” Drake looked up, his voice mad with anger.
The beast shrugged with a smile on his face. “You're the one who lost control and almost got himself killed. What choice did I have? If you'd simply accept what you are, we wouldn't be in this situation.”
I accept that I'm a creature of the darkness, but I'll won't let myself be consumed by my hunger!”
And that is why we will always wrestle for control.”
Whatever. Let's just get this over with,” Drake grumbled and turned around, activating the lever again.
The disc below the vampire dissipated and he fell gracefully, his descend slowed down by his fluttering robes. “You're letting me go first? How nice of you.” He vanished instantly, accelerating faster than the eye could see.
Another path appeared in front of Drake, prompting him to let go off the lever. He stared it for a moment, trying to conjure the energy needed to cross it as fast as his counterpart, but whatever magic had separated them had also returned him to his original state. So he sprinted across instead, just in case the beast decided to drop him into the void.
Two levers were waiting for Drake on the other side. One of them occupied the northern edge, the other the southern edge. It was only logical to assume that these were part of a puzzle, but they looked identical to each other and there were no hints to be seen.
Hey, did you also—” You don't need to scream. We're still connected. Okay. Did you also have two levers to choose from? No, the island looked like a reflection of the first. Hmm...
Drake squinted into the darkness, examining both directions thoroughly. There was a single island up north, about as far away as the first. He couldn't see anything in the opposite direction, however.
Could it really be that easy?”
He walked to the northern lever and gave it a slight push. It refused to budge. So he wrapped both hands around it and applied all of his weight, which still accomplished nothing. Only after kicking it a few times did it finally relent. As soon as it snapped into position, a distant growl echoed through the cave.
What did you do? I pushed the lever, what else? And made the entire ground shake in the process. I didn't feel anything. Must have been too weak for a puny human to notice. Stop trying to insult me and go to the next island! I'd like to, but there's no path.
Drake let go off the lever, yet it remained in place. He stared it for a moment, then peered into the darkness. The sound he'd heard only moments ago had sent a shiver down his spine, so it seemed like a good idea to undo whatever damage he'd done. But the lever refused to be pulled back and was too close to the ground to be kicked again.
Dammit.” What is it? Nothing.
He walked towards the other lever and pushed it down without encountering any resistance.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

And here's chapter 16 of A Decaying World. It's relatively short with only 4k words, which is why I decided to continue with the next chapter instead of switchting back to Loop. That one might be a bit longer, but I doubt that it will go over 10k words. Which means that my plan of having 26 chapters overall will most likely fail. Not that it really matters.

 

 Chapter 16: Losing Control


Drake's slumped over figure rested in front of a pillar that a dozen enchanted ropes bound him to. He had been thrown into a small, dank chamber devoid of furniture. Its exit was located far above and inaccessible by normal means. Even a rope would have been insufficient as there was nothing to affix it to.
A rectangular section of the wall flared up, transforming it into a door made of stones. When it swung open, a tall elf dressed in white stepped through. A small clearing could be seen above his shoulder, but the walls wobbled when his feet touched the stones, swallowing the portal.
The elf raised his right hand and turned its palm skyward, conjuring a pea-sized ball of energy. It exploded from the inside out, doubling in size, continuously repeating the same motion until he could wrap his fingers around it.
“I'm ready.”
A ripple of energy tore through the walls as the elf aimed at the vampire, leaving a series of white concentric circles behind. They pulsed in anticipation as the elf let go, propelling the orb into the vampire's chest.
Drake's body reared up and his muscles spasmed as his consciousness was pulled from the darkness. He slammed his head into the pillar and let out a gut-wrenching scream as the sacred energy tore through his flesh, partially destroying the corruption within his blood. Repeatedly bombarding him with such power could have cleansed his vampirism, but the chances of surviving such therapy did not exist.
His screams echoed from wall to wall for an entire minute before his voice died down and his head dropped onto his chest. Fluttering eyelids unveiled a mixture of light and darkness coursing through his pupils, wrestling for control. His fingers twitched, his chest convulsed, and his flesh began to emit smoke, which caused the ropes around his body to glow.
“Why are you here?” said the Elf after pulling a chair out of thin air and planting his behind on its seat.
The vampire raised his shaking head, still unable to keep his eyes open. His mouth opened and closed, as if crunching something into a million pieces.
“Why”—the elf raised his hand and conjured yet another ball of sacred energy—“are you here?”
Drake's eyes open wide, as did his mouth. He shot forward, as far as his shackles would allow, and his flesh changed, fell in on itself, transformed into a mask of pure horror. Blackened, dripping, grotesque. Huge eyeballs atop an even wider mouth. Fangs so sharp they could have crushed a skull with ease.
The darkness dissolved when the orb of light penetrated the vampire's chest, revealing Drake's unchanged face. His head slammed into the pillar once more and an even louder scream fled his throat. Wisps of smoke followed the sound and turned solid upon coming into contact with the air, lashing out at the elf.
“Fool!” The elf vacated his seat as a dozen tentacles tore through it. He landed close to the wall and slammed his palm into the nearby circle before rolling away, evading yet another attack.
A deafening buzzing noise filled the room as a myriad orbs were disgorged from the walls. They honed in on Drake and spun around his screaming figure, dissolving the darkness and hiding his body from view.

Monday, September 15, 2014

And here's chapter 15 of A Decaying World. It could have gone a bit faster, but I've worked on another project a few days ago, where I ended up writing about 10K words in only three days. If only all my projects were progressing so fast...
Anyway, I'm going to return to Loop next. I've already had it lying around for too long without progressing the story. And I'm still going to release short stories during the next few weeks before I release the entire horror-collection.

 

 Chapter 15: Amidst the Ruins

A hundreds tiny grains of sand dug into Drake's skin like crystal shards, slowly rousing his dormant consciousness. His eyes fluttered open and fell upon two massive legs connected to a beast made of stone, a lapucuz. Its leathery tail entwined the vampire's chest, dragging him from the wreckage of his ship to a nearby forest.
Wha—” It was a mistake to open his mouth. A load of sand invaded his oral cavity, eliciting painful rattling coughs.
All motion came to a halt. The beast turned around, sluggishly moving one foot at a time, until half of its hideous face could be seen. One lidless eye focused on Drake while a giant mouth opened up, freeing the beast's snake-like tongue. It darted forward and connected with the vampire's skin, ramming a dozen tiny needles into his flesh.
Within seconds, he was paralyzed, incapable of offering any resistance. But his eyes were still open, able to take in his surroundings. He had never been on this continent, but the endless sea of trees and the giant one towering above them revealed that he had reached his destination, despite plunging into an icy grave.
Need a hand? Yeah, but not yours. Still defying me, after everything I've done for you? Modera might have crushed your mind if I hadn't pulled you back from the brink of despair! That doesn't mean I have to like you. Why don't you go back to sleep? No chance!
Another beast had joined the first, with Maximilian in its clutches. He was still unconscious, unaware of the sand cutting into his face. But it was only a matter of time until his skull would bang against the stones scattered across the forest floor.
So, who's going to save you now? Feyadal might still be out there. And if he's not? Are you just going to let them kill you? They could have done so a long time ago. Maybe they're using us to stock up on supplies. Why wait when we could be free within seconds?
There was no reason to wait, yet Drake refused to change his stance. He didn't want to depend on his inner darkness unless it was absolutely necessary. But when the beast could set him free, he should have been able to do so by himself.
He tried to close his eyes, but his captor's poison had frozen his lids in place. Even such a motion as simple as breathing was impossible. If the same applied to Maximilian, he might have already been dead. Good riddance. Fuck you!
Grasping the power trapped within his body, he tried to imagine a wave of energy surging through his body, dissipating the paralysis. A tingling sensation rippled through his flesh, but when it died down, only his fingers had come back to live. His arms were still trailing behind him, so the best he could have accomplished was to throw a fireball into the sky. A few more attempts might have done the trick, but both beasts stopped dead in their tracks, releasing fulminant roars from their cavernous bodies.
I could be mistaken”, said a squeaky voice from nearby, “but those creatures don't look edible at all.”
But we to them!” replied a much deeper, rumbling voice. Its owner seemed to have trouble using Meceruun's common tongue, as every sentence came in quick bursts and every T ended up sounding like a D. “Else they wouldn't grabbed those guys.”
The lapucuzs roared once more and raised their tails into the air, allowing Drake a glimpse of the newcomers, none of which were human. One could have been mistaken for a human child, if not for his sallow and wrinkled skin. A giant schnozzle was poking out of his face while the rest was covered by unkempt hair. The second creature was the complete opposite: tall, muscular, hairless, and dark-skinned. His four beefy arms could have easily crushed a human's skull.
Since the lapucuzs had no intention of letting fresh meat get away, they flung Maximilian and Drake into the sand and hurled themselves at the newcomers. The smaller creature, a gnome, shrieked and sped away, swirling up the earth beneath his feet. But his companion, a gialuk, was not inclined to take flight. He slammed his fists together, then pulled all arms back and propelled them forward. A shockwave rippled through the lapucuz's shell, partially rupturing it. But the impact hadn't been powerful enough to reach its fleshy bits.
It slammed into the gialuk and pushed him back, but the creature reacted quickly and rammed his feet into the earth, stopping their movement. A manic smile crept onto his face as he slung his arms around the lapucuz's body, lifting the beast from its feet.
Knowing that it couldn't land a direct hit, the lapucuz opened its mouth. Its poison was powerful enough to take most creatures down, but even though gialuk's aren't the brightest of creatures, this one was quite crafty. He threw the lapucuz into the air, grabbed its tongue wit its upper arms, and began to spin the beast like a lariat.
You like that?” yelled the gialuk derisively. “Or do you want down?”
The lapucuz screamed and snapped, as if trying to bite off its own tongue, but there was nothing it could do. And then the gialuk let go, sending it off into the sky. It ascended in a wide arc and them came hurtling down like a comet, audibly taking at least half a dozen trees with it.
The gialuk laughed and stretched his limbs just as the gnome came back, screeching for help. The second lapucuz was close on his heels, rolling through the sand like a cannonball.
Get behind!” bellowed the gialuk as he twisted his body halfway to the right. Then he pulled back his arms, taking a big swing. If timed correctly, the lapucuz's momentum could be used to smash through its shell, maybe even strike it down with a single move. But if the gialuk screwed up … well, it wouldn't be pretty. The lapucuz was moving too fast to be stopped like the first.
The gnome reached his companion and grabbed onto his burly legs as he slithered over the earth. When it came to a halt, it peered over a mountain of muscles at the rapidly approaching threat.
You got this?” asked the gnome, not quite as loud this time.
I do!”
The gialuk concentrated, focusing all power into his right arms. Any other member of his clan would have sidestepped the attack, but Gorn was more than confident in his abilities. He would not lose to a mindless beast that had to coat itself with stones to survive.
Moments before impact, his arms shot forward and time seemed to freeze. Neither did his fists penetrate the lapucuz's shell, nor was he squashed. Then, a crack appeared, followed by another, and then another.
The lapucuz screamed in agony and flew off, cutting a swath into the forest. Gorn smiled at this glorious sight, spread his arms, and let out a mighty roar. His companion chimed in, despite sounding like a broken whistle.
Drake would have been thankful for the rescue, but the gialuk gathered him and Maximilian from the sand and slung them roughly over his shoulders while the gnome stared at them with a watering mouth.
Their captors might have changed, but their fate was still the same.

Thursday, August 28, 2014


...at least not until you've written a lot of other stories and have improved your skills, so that you can go back and revise your old works with a new perspective on all its flaws.

I myself made that mistake, and while I never wanted to go back to my first story, I'm still sitting at it again, still trying to improve upon what I wrote almost a year ago. But it will never be perfect, as I would have to revise almost everything from the third chapter on and excise an entire character. Sure, it could be worth it, but the story was just an experiment and even based on a character that I didn't create, so I lack the incentive to go through all the trouble.

But if you find yourself in a smiliar situation, it might be best to either let the story rest or simply write it from scratch, as the second version can only turn out to be better than the first. You can try to revise it of course, but you might spent more time on fixing a written story than if you were to simply start anew.


So don't make the same mistake I made, no matter how excited you are about having turned your thoughts into an actual story. Just write, and write, and write, until you think that've you reached a point where you can actually publish something worth reading.
Have I myself reached that point yet? Maybe, but there's still a lot to be improved upon.

But whatever the case, I'm going to start releasing my short stories on Amazon soon, followed by my horror collection. Since the latter contains the former, there's really no point in purchasing them one by one. I just want to increase my visibility.

I still have two stories lying around that won't be included, but while one of them might be publishable, the other is not, as I haven't even looked at it after writing it down.

Thursday, August 21, 2014


At the moment, I'm trying to finish up my horror collection to release something once again, but I really didn't want to spend all my time on it. But I also didn't want to write the next iteration of Loop before I could fully concentrate on the story. So I did something different and simply wrote the next chapter of a Decaying World! That was only possible because it was so short, though. The next chapters will most likebly be longer, although not as long as the final chapters of the first half. At least not at first.

 

Chapter 14: Across the Sea


Somewhere, in the middle of the ocean, a small vessel was trapped within the grasp of nature. The wind howled like a banshee, swooping down onto the ship, spurring on the ocean. Gargantuan waves crashed against wood, pulling and pushing it in every direction. It creaked and groaned and burst apart, not able to withstand the nature of this storm.
Barely visible figures scuttled across the planks, running and jumping and slipping, doing their best to keep what was left of their transport afloat. But it was a battle they couldn't win. What crew they had was either trapped below deck or had already met the kings of the underworld. Only a handful were still participating in their futile struggle.
A lightning bolt emerged from the cloud that was following them—a cloud so dark that it rivaled the night sky—and it ripped through the main mast, nearly toppling it over. The lone sailor who had held his position in the crow's nest screamed in terror, but it was too late. He was grabbed by a gust of wind so strong that it might as well have been the hand of a titan, and was plunged into the depths, certain to meet the planks head-on.
Cat-like eyes fell upon his flesh, alerted by his screams, and a blurry figure jumped into the sky, catching him moments before his rendezvous with death and laying him to rest in a corner from where he wouldn't meet his end, at least for the next few seconds.
T-t-t-t-t-thank you ….” stammered the man, but his savior had already disappeared.
Another lightning bolt cut through the main mast, snapping it in half. It cracked and lurched, slowly descending onto deck, but two people sped below where it would fall, raising their swords into the air.
A snake made of light and darkness coiled itself around the mast's wood, embracing it like a lover, then destroying it with the force of a supernova. A hole was blown into the deck, but the damage was acceptable. Having a spear made of wood crash into it would have resulted in the imminent destruction of the vessel.
Are we anywhere near the continent?” yelled Maximilian over the raging storm, swallowing raindrops that burned in his throat.
I didn't see anything the last time I checked,” replied Drake, shielding his face from the onslaught of the chaos. “I'll have another look, as long as we still have a mast left.”
Then he jumped into the air and grabbed onto the ladder placed on the outside of the mast. Under normal circumstances, he might have been able to jump all the way to the top, but he hadn't regained his full strength since the destruction of Arlington. And there was no telling where the storm would have pushed the ship by the time he would have arrived at the top.
They'd been in the middle of nowhere for more than a month now—a journey that they began about a week after his encounter with Assar. Most of the trip had been a breeze, until bad memories came surging back to haunt the vampire. The storm that was chasing them was the same that had destroyed his hometown, that had taken his girlfriend from him. It might have been acting its part this time, but a mere glimpse was all it took for Drake to see through the charade. If they stopped for even a moment, time would come to a halt, then loop, then end forever. And if he was trapped within, then everything was lost.
Fucking liar! You said you'd give me time!” grumbled Drake through gritted teeth while he ascended the final rungs.
The ship groaned and screamed once more, precariously falling, almost toppling over. The vampire stumbled sideways, nearly vacating his vantage point the moment he had reached it. Only his strong grip made him keep his position. Not that falling would have mattered. When he peered into the distance, there was nothing to be seen. Just an endless chaos of waves, all of which were focused on their vessel, no matter how little sense their movement made.
Gazing down, he saw Feyadal wrestling with the steering wheel. They'd lost the captain right at the start, had to watch him get burned to ash, and lightning had struck that same spot on a multitude of occasions since then. I'm surprised the wheel itself hasn't been destroyed yet. Are you still toying with me, Assar? Why not get it over with?
A demonic scream filled the air, and a gust of wind as powerful as a hammer slammed into Drake's vantage point, hurtling him backwards and onto the planks, exactly the way he had fallen from Modera's tower after his fateful encounter.