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Musings (working title), Chapter 1

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young adult, fantasy, novel
2nd
Draft

Published on:

Apr. 26, 2008, 4:26am

Word Count:

788

Last Edited:

May. 5, 2008, 2:47am

Work Description

a gnome girl discovers a ring while working, and finds the fairy world.

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Prologue

I jogged past the entry guard, navigating through many connection tunnels until reaching my destination: a locked door.  I fitted a small steel key into the lock, turned it and pushed the door open.  Once inside, my beloved smithy welcomed me; I put down my pack to begin. I tied my long black hair in a high ponytail.

          I was relieved to be at my true home again, and I sighed contently. A chunk of white-blue metal lay on my worktable.  I picked it up and approached the furnace.  Turning the handle, I opened the hatch and peered inside.  The earthy and metallic smell of hot coals met me; I inhaled deeply.  I began placing the chunk of silvery adamantine in the inferno, when the door flew open. Someone had come bursting in, yelling my name frantically.

          "Loryn, Loryn!"  shrieked my younger cousin, Trellyn.  "Come see, come see!  Ooh, it's terrible and everyone is supposed to come help!  Come on!"  

I looked up from my work, startled.  "Trellyn, what is it?"  I asked.  He said nothing, but tugged incessantly at my hand.  I dropped my tongs on my anvil, allowing Trellyn to lead me through the lantern-lit halls.  I willed myself to not panic, whatever the situation.  Through the damp corridors we went, passing other gnomes who hurried anxiously alongside us.  They seemed to be traveling in unusually close proximity to the nut-brown walls, as if afraid of being in the middle.  No one seemed to know exactly how bad the damage was, but the steady murmur of attack was evident.  When we reached the merge of the pathways, Trellyn stopped dragging me; I drew a sharp breath.  A huge gash in the south wall was causing the entire central chamber to collapse!  The ceiling had a large hole in it, exposing the aboveground sunlight.  Neighboring dwarves streamed in from side passageways, attempting to rebuild the falling walls.  Their thickly muscled arms seemed to help very little, but they accomplished more than the much smaller gnomes did.  I rushed over to Orrdinn, our gnome leader. 

          "What happened here?” I shouted over the tumult, though a possibility was already forming rapidly in my mind. 

          "The black dragon!" replied Orrdinn.  "Scoundrel broke through the ceiling first, and then rammed our wall!  Treasure-thirsty beast he is!  Can't even wait for the monthly tribute!"  he exclaimed angrily.  Every full moon, we gnomes prepared a large sum of gems and gold for the fierce black dragons. . If not paid, the dragons would wreck our settlement, killing several of us.  Occasionally, the black dragons would decide to destroy our underground colony just for the thrill of it.  The payment agreement had been made by some of the first gnome metalworkers and an evil dragon, when our ancestors first began to dig.  The dwarves, also, had been disrupted from their underground peace. They in turn made a pact with the harmless gnomes: to defend us in return for raw metals.  We eventually evolved into a friendly community and work together harmoniously. 

          "Where's Carlin?"  I asked, referring to Orrdinn’s mage friend.  "Isn't he supposed to help us when these things happen?"  Just as I spoke, a section of packed earth fell from above, nearly smothering a gnome worker.

            “He’s away on ‘business’ and can't return in time to be of any help,” returned Orrdinn grimly.

            I knew that if something didn’t happen soon, we could all be killed by the black dragon. I concentrated as much as I could given the circumstances. I focused my mind on purple scales, smoking breath, lilac fire. Leniera…Leniera…Leniera… Vaguely and distantly, I heard my dragon call back. I relayed our dilemma through my thoughts; Leniera reacted by increasing her wing speed. 

            I’m near the birch copse in Crane Valley, came her response. 

            I spotted Trellyn beside Orrdinn before he was blocked from view by another out-of-place dirt clod. A roar from the sky drew my eyes upward. Leniera had arrived! She now battled the black dragon. Long fangs and sharp talons flashed. Lavender and ebony scales glittered in the sun. Tails whipped and twined. Stiletto claws tore at fleshy underbellies. Terrified for my best friend’s safety, I channeled

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Discussion

 You have an interesting beginning here.

With the descriptive words you are using to describe your MC's  'true home' my imagination says I am somewhere in Ireland.  Is that what you intend? 

Do you plan to tell your readers where the MC came from that makes her so happy to be at home?

a cavern, warm, glowing, and locked

  Is there a window in the cavern that allows light to filter out? 

No one seemed to know exactly what had happened.    "

What happened here?” I shouted over the tumult.

 "Dragons!" replied Orrdinn"

Orrdinn knows what's happening and he's in the middle of the destruction.  I think the first line quoted above is illogical unless you explain that no one except Orrrdinn knew what was happening.

Their thickly corded arms

Corded with muscles? 

 Neighboring dwarves were streaming in from side passageways, attempting to rebuild the falling walls. 

The walls began patching themselves up, and earth from the floor of the chamber was levitating upward.  It packed itself into the gap in the ceiling, sealing the sunlight out. 

 

 Do the dwarves do the rebuilding or do the walls repair themselves?  If the dwarves and walls work together perhaps you can tell the reader.

 

 

I think you're on to something fun here.  I'll be waiting to read more of your story. 

 

This critique applies to the 1st draft of this work.

 

i loved, an excellent job, as always. i love the amount of details that you used in the chapter. the idea that you start out as a gnome, which im assuming is not one of the major races is a clever idea for the amount of hardships that a creature of that type would have to go through. The idea that the gnomes have a problem with a dragon is another idea i just found to be clever, weaker races having to pay stronger races for protection. I wonder if you're going to include any races that you yourself have created, that would add another cain of excitement to this already breathtaking tale. There was only one thing i had a problem with, and it isnt even that significant. The fact that you did not explain what gnomes in general look like... that would have been a starting point to forming the look of every significant characters. Besides that great job at writing. 

 

I think your rewrite of the proglogue is very good.  I enjoyed reading it.  You've taken away much of the original ambiguity and now the story makes more sense to me.  It also reads more smoothly to my mind.  The description is strong.  I personnally like sentences such as the one below

I tied my long black hair in a high ponytail.

 as they are descriptive but add clarity. 

the inferno, when the door flew open

Occasionally, the black dragons

 

I'm no grammar expert but I don't think you need  these commas because you don't need a pause in the action.

You might want to check a grammar source on commas somewhere.

Otherwise, I thought the piece read well and I'm looking forward to Chapter 1.

 

 Hello Fainne- I got around to reading the revision!  LOL finally right?

okay first things first--

I still like the plot, and especially the shift in POV. I think that this really helps us as the reader to relate and understand the Main Character more.  A couple things regarding my confusions:

Were Loryn's ancestors dragon riders too? Maybe if you put in a little history/ background, it would help us to understand the significance of the Loryn/ Leniera relationship.

Also, a question about the dwarves/ gnomes relationship: What do each of the races make? do they sell to another race or trade maybe? Or are things made to deal with the dragons? If so, how the gnomes support themselves?  I think that a little clarification on this economic web would really add positively to the plot.

I really enjoy your use of adjectives and adverbs: I can see clearly now, the detail is here!  Stupid thing to say, but all the description really does add wonderfully to the story.

Why is Loryn so relieved to be at the smithy? is her home life stressful or hectic? If yes, perhaps some basic info about this could be insert ed. I think that if we knew a little more about Loryn, we would be able to follow a little more closely.  

Also, how did Loryn come to be 'with' Leniera?  A family connection, bonding, etc...what?  And how, when, where, why does she have magic?  She seems to be the only one aside from Carlin who can help, and that automatically singles her out. But why?  Why is she special? 

Tell me what she has to lose, and what she wants to win. Tell me her motivation, why she does what she does in the story. Basic things like these will make it clear to the reader exactly what Loryn is fighting for, and how she will get there, and what will stop her.  That's all for now Folks!

Hope some of this helps and I look forward to reading more!

 -- --  your good and faithful friend Fyrenne

 

 

 

 

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