The Assassin's Redemption Chapter 1 Part 2

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Writersdomain
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Hey there Kanen! At last, I have made it to chapter 1 part 2. ^^ This was quite a bit better than part 1--good job! I can tell you are taking past suggestions in mind as you write and edit more. As always, your writing style is easy to read, and it flows well. A lot of my suggestions are going to be along the same vein as what I suggested the last part, but I am going to point out specific parts where you can work characters into the prose, okay? You're already doing a lot better with it, but there are parts where you can improve even more. :wink:

King Jairon sat in his study, poring over reports. The room was one of the most lavish in the entire palace. Great silken tapestries and ancient weapons, some said to have been used by the great Korian to drive out the Rendorians and reclaim the land, adorned the walls. A stone fireplace covered half of the left wall, under which a giant fire crackled. Rich velvet rugs lay on the floor. But Jairon paid no attention to any of this. His concentration was focused on the papers in front of him. Uprisings were brewing all over the kingdom. Layne Nightlander was said to be gathering an army in the south. The King was sending more and more soldiers out each day, accompanied by the tactical minds of his Assassins.


Your description of the office is nice--but I've never really understood the entire 'description of place... but so-and-so didn't care' set up. This beginning seems to herald largely from Jairon's point of view, so why do we get such a detailed description? Even if Jairon is focused on something, chances are something about the atmosphere catches his attention. The fire crackling--he can hear that while he's working. And, when other things affect him, you can color the description with your character. Try to avoid flat-out telling us scenery for the moment--try relating the scenery and the situation back to your character. The crackling of the fireplace--does it distract him? The tapestries--does he look at them when he's thinking? How do they make him feel? And the situation you describe at the end--how does he feel about that? Does he have some anxious visceral reaction? Is he unworried about it? You don't want to include too much of this detail, but, especially when we are first being introduced to your character, it really helps to fuse together setting and character, how the two affect each other, so your atmosphere and your cast work together towards painting pictures for the reader.

“My Lord Jairon, it’s time for the knighting,” he said softly. Rising from the oaken table, Jairon slipped into his best robe, the one he only used for Court, which Malik held out. He sighed softly. Jairon adjusted his clothing by the full length mirror resting in the corner. The evening would most likely be boring. He’d met the Duke of Caldrea’s son before and found him to be annoying and weak. But Caldrea was a powerful ally. In addition he had four daughters, and Jairon was looking for a new bride. His last two had proved… unsuccessful in giving him an heir. Glancing one last time at the mirror, Jairon walked out of the study, followed at a respectful distance by Malik.


We have some better body language here! Lovely. Here we learn that Jairon does not like the son of the Duke of Caldrea. His dislike for him is a statement though, one which is not well backed up by character or by voice. There's many ways of going about this--my two personal favorites are adding body language to the thought and messing with voice. Making him grimace a little, changing his face, giving him gut reactions when he thinks about so-and-so. The other favorite way is infusing Jairon's voice into his dislike a little more--tapping into his head and putting the way he thinks about it down without breaking into the parentheses. Basically, taking his own words and putting them into the prose. That will give us a better feeling for the exact things he feels towards the Duke of Caldrea's son. If you want examples of these, just PM me and I can provide, but it might be better to just dive in and try it.

The Hall of the Kings was magnificent in the fading sunlight. The light shone through beautiful stain-glass windows, casting pools of color on the marble floor. Giant stone pillars shot thirty feet into the air and supported the high-arched roof. Above, balconies pushed out of the walls for the use of special members of court, including the King, when traveling theatres came to the city. Statues of Kings long past lined the walls. Hundreds of people crowded together in the hall, dressed in the finest suits and dresses. A suffocating aroma of perfume and sweat filled the air.

Dracon glanced around. These parties are a disaster waiting to happen. We won’t be able to see a threat till it’s too late. For some reason, Dracon couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen tonight. He stood in one of the corners, studying the faces of the crowd as they danced around the floor. Two guards stood by the doors. Only two. That’s hardly enough. He’d tried to find Ramar and tell him about it, but the man was lost in the mob. He’d probably forgot to add men to the guard duty. His old master had been under a lot of stress lately, with the uprisings and everything. He was bound to slip up. But what if he slipped up bad?


Again, I think some setting-character fusing would make this more powerful. Give us a better feel for the hall AND for Dracon.

“Today, we gather to honor a young man who has made a great achievement. That achievement, knighthood, has taken years of training to achieve. Many don’t make it. But this young man has proved he is smart and strong. He has a courageous heart. Come forward, young man,” Jairon said. A young, slightly pudgy, man walked forward. He was dressed in rich robes that rivaled the king’s. His dusty blond hair sat cemented to his head. He moved up the platform, kneeling before the king. Jairon raised the sword, tapping the boy on both shoulders.


Okay, maybe this is just me... but this seems like an odd knighting speech. You know Jairon better than I do, but it seems awfully informal for knighting someone. Maybe look up some knighting speeches for examples?

“I name thee Sir Talom Caldrea, Knight of Tierena.” The boy rose and the crowd erupted in applause and cheers. Dracon remained silent. He’d been to too many of these parties to find him interesting.


Body language speaks louder than telling! If you give us more detail on Dracon remaining silent, perhaps glancing around boredly, we don't even need you to tell us that he's been to too many to find it interesting!

Movement above caught Dracon’s eye. A man stood in shadows of one of the balconies, something small in his hands. From the angle Dracon could hardly tell what it was. It looked to be a mixture of metal and wood. A bow? A Crossbow! Following the man’s eyesight, he saw the weapon aimed at the king.

Dracon sent his mind into the calm state of battle. Rushing forward, knocking people to the floor as he ran, he made for the king. As the man released the arrow, Dracon pushed the king aside, the arrow puncturing his arm. A huge gasp sounded from the crowd and a look of shock rippled across Jairon’s face, before seeing the arrow imbedded inside of Dracon. Sharp pain radiated from his shoulder. Looking up, Dracon saw the man bound for the door and Ramar running for the exit, attempting to head him off.


This ending seems rather distant right now--mostly due to the fact that we get very little insight into what Dracon's 'state of battle' is. Try to clip the prose to mirror his thought process, like you did in the first part of the chapter. I know he's calm, but more connection between Dracon and the events at hand would help this immensely!

So, you are certainly improving on the character development front! This is looking much better in that respect--but those are some specific instances where I felt you could really take the character development up a notch and start drawing the reader closer to your characters. It's getting better. :wink:

As for the characters themselves, I'm getting more reaction from Dracon in this which is making him slightly more believable, but he still seems a little distant, so keep connecting the reader with him and try to let him shine through more. Jairon seems interesting, but I don't have a good feel for him yet--I think more interaction between himself and his setting would help with this. Also, keep an eye on switching around in too short of scenes, one of the pitfalls I mentioned in that tutorial I gave you last time. It's not out of hand, but it's something to keep an eye on and something you want to think about.

Nice job with this! You're doing well! Do keep writing! I will try to get to chapter 2 at some point, but I can't say how soon. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me!

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GoldenQuill
Review

Hay Kanen! Aushy here again, as requested. :}

And here I go...

KanenRenoir wrote:Here's the second part of the chapter. I just finished typing it so there are bound to be tons of mistakes. Tell me what you think. Note: I changed Lu'nac's name to Katric. Something is going on with my computer so my paragraphs are messed up. Pay no attention to that.

Spoiler
***

King Jairon sat in his study, poring pouring?over reports. The room was one of the most lavish in the entire palace. Great silken tapestries and ancient weapons, some said to have been used by the great Korian to drive out the Rendorians and reclaim the land, adorned the walls. A stone fireplace covered half of the left wall, under which a giant fire crackled. Rich velvet rugs lay on the floor. But Jairon paid no attention to any of this. His concentration was focused on the papers in front of him. Uprisings were brewing all over the kingdom. Layne Nightlander was said to be gathering an army in the south. The King was sending more and more soldiers out each day, accompanied by the tactical minds of his Assassins. It might be my own observation, but 'assassins' shouldn't be capitalized, should it? Technically, no, but perhaps they're the name of some organization or something. Of course. :}
These men are fools, he thought. No one has ever defeated the Order. They spoke of freedom, end to monarchy. Who knew what was better for the land than its king?
They had to be eradicated. Food was short, most being sent out to the army, and the people were starving. It was necessary though. He would teach the land who ruled, even if it meant razing every city to the ground.
A sharp tap on the door startled Jairon from his thoughts.
“Enter,” he grunted. Malik, the Keeper of the Palace and his personal servant, walked in, head bowed. Servants were forbidden to look the king in the eye without permission.
“My Lord Jairon, it’s time for the knighting,” he said softly. Rising from the oaken table, Jairon slipped into his best robe, the one he only used for Court, which Malik held out. He sighed softly. Jairon adjusted his clothing by the full length mirror resting in the corner. The evening would most likely be boring. He’d met the Duke of Caldrea’s son before and found him to be annoying and weak. But Caldrea was a powerful ally. In addition he had four daughters, and Jairon was looking for a new bride. His last two had proved… unsuccessful in giving him an heir. Glancing one last time at the mirror, Jairon walked out of the study, followed at a respectful distance by Malik.
***
The Hall of the Kings was magnificent in the fading sunlight. The light shone through beautiful stain-glass windows, casting pools of color on the marble floor. Giant stone pillars shot thirty feet into the air and supported the high-arched roof. Above, balconies pushed out of the walls for the use of special members of court, including the King, when traveling theatres came to the city. Statues of Kings long past lined the walls. Hundreds of people crowded together in the hall, dressed in the finest suits and dresses. A suffocating aroma of perfume and sweat filled the air.
Dracon glanced around. These parties are a disaster waiting to happen. We won’t be able to see a threat till it’s too late. For some reason, Dracon couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen tonight. He stood in one of the corners, studying the faces of the crowd as they danced around the floor. Two guards stood by the doors. Only two. That’s hardly enough. He’d tried to find Ramar and tell him about it, but the man was lost in the mob. He’d probably forgot to add men to the guard duty. His old master had been under a lot of stress lately, with the uprisings and everything. He was bound to slip up. But what if he slipped up bad?
Katric appeared out of the crowd, arms wrapped around a powdered face
young woman. His hands hung a little too low to be considered polite. Typical,
Dracon thought. As the lieutenants of the High Assassin, they were guestguests? at the
party, but Ramar had asked them to watch the king.
A loud trumpet sounded through the hall, bouncing off the walls. The entire room
fell silent. King Jairon stood on the raised platform at the front, twenty feet from Dracon. His white hair, though he wasn’t a day over fifty, tumbled to his shoulders. He wore a rich robe of red and gold, his crown resting on his head. He held a jeweled sword in his hand.
“Today, we gather to honor a young man who has made a great achievement. That achievement, knighthood, has taken years of training to achieve. Many don’t make it. But this young man has proved he is smart and strong. He has a courageous heart. Come forward, young man,” Jairon said. A young, slightly pudgy, man walked forward. He was dressed in rich robes that rivaled the king’s. His dusty blond hair sat cemented to his head. He moved up the platform, kneeling before the king. Jairon raised the sword, tapping the boy on both shoulders.
“I name thee Sir Talom Caldrea, Knight of Tierena.” The boy rose and the crowd erupted in applause and cheers. Dracon remained silent. He’d been to too many of these parties to find him interesting.
Movement above caught Dracon’s eye. A man stood in shadows of one of the balconies, something small in his hands. From the angle Dracon could hardly tell what it was. It looked to be a mixture of metal and wood. A bow? A Crossbow! Following the man’s eyesight, he saw the weapon aimed at the king.
Dracon sent his mind into the calm state of battle. Rushing forward, knocking people to the floor as he ran, he made for the king. As the man released the arrow, Dracon pushed the king aside, the arrow puncturing his arm. A huge gasp sounded from the crowd and a look of shock rippled across Jairon’s face, before seeing the arrow imbedded inside of Dracon. Sharp pain radiated from his shoulder. Looking up, Dracon saw the man bound for the door and Ramar running for the exit, attempting to head him off.


This, as always, is another example of your fantastic work. You have a really wonderful writing style, perfect for action/fantasy/adventure. I really have no negative critique for this. Keep up the good work! :}

Don't forget to PM me or come to my shack whenever you need anything else reviewed. And yes, I'm on my way to chapter 2.

Love & Blessings,
Aushy

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KanenRenoir
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I changed the story to add in the edits. Thanks so much for the help. I decided to go with a crossbow and on a balcony.

Alrighty, I'm ba-ack!Let's get right to it, you know the drill. :smt016

King Jairon sat in his study, poring over reports. The room was one of the most lavish in the entire palace. Great silken tapestries and ancient weapons, some said to have been used by the great Korian to drive out the Rendorians and reclaim the land, adorned the walls. A stone fireplace covered half of the left wall, under which a giant fire crackled and cooed #FF0040 ">(I have never, ever heard a fire coo.). Rich velvet rugs lay on the floor. #FF0040 ">*Jairon paid no attention to any of this. His concentration was focused on the papers in front of him. Uprisings were brewing all over the kingdom. Layne Nightlander was said to be gathering an army in the south. The King was sending more and more soldiers out each day, accompanied by the tactical minds of his Assassins.

#FF0080 ">These men are fools, he thought. No one had ever defeated the Order. They spoke of freedom, end to monarchy. Who knew what was better for the land than its king?

They had to be eradicated. Food was short, most being sent out to the army, and the people were starving. It was necessary#FF0080 ">, though. He would teach the land who ruled, even if it meant raising #FF0080 ">(? perhaps burning?) every city to the ground.

A sharp tap on the door woke Jairon from his thoughts.

“Enter,” he grunted. Malik, the Keeper of the Palace and his personal servant, walked in, head bowed. Servants were forbidden to look the king in the eye without permission.

“My Lord Jairon, it’s time for the knighting,” he said softly. Rising from the oaken table, Jairon slipped into his best robe, the one he only used for Court, which Malik held out. He sighed softly. Jairon adjusted his clothing by the full length mirror resting in the corner. The evening would most likely be boring. He’d met the Duke of Caldrea’s son before and found him to be annoying and weak. But Caldrea was a powerful ally. In addition he had four daughters, and Jairon was looking for a new bride. His last two had proved… unsuccessful in giving him an heir. Glancing one last time at the mirror, Jairon walked out of the study, followed at a respectful distance by Malik.

***

The Hall of the Kings was magnificent in the fading sunlight. The light shone through beautiful stain#FF0080 ">ed-glass windows, casting pools of color on the marble floor. Giant stone pillars shot thirty feet into the air and supported the high-arched roof. Statues of Kings long past lined the walls. Hundreds of people crowded together in the hall, dressed in the finest suits and dresses. A suffocating aroma of perfume and sweat filled the air.

Dracon glanced around. #FF0080 ">These parties are a disaster waiting to happen. We won’t be able to see a threat till it’s too late,he thought. For some reason, Dracon couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen tonight. He stood in one of the corners, studying the faces of the crowd as they danced around the floor. Two guards stood by the doors. Only two. That was hardly enough. He’d tried to find Ramar and tell him about it, but the man was lost in the mob. He’d probably forgot to add men to the guard duty. His old master had been under a lot of stress lately, with the uprisings and everything. He was bound to slip up. But what if he slipped up #FF0080 ">badly?



Katric appeared out of the crowd, arms wrapped around a #FF0080 ">young woman, her face covered with powder. His hands hung a little too low to be considered polite. #BF0080 ">Typical,Dracon thought. As the lieutenants of the High Assassin, they were guest#FF0080 ">s at the party, but Ramar had asked them to watch the king.



A loud trumpet sounded through the hall, bouncing off the walls. The entire room fell silent. King Jairon stood on the raised platform at the front, twenty feet from Dracon. His white hair, though he wasn’t a day over fifty, tumbled to his shoulders. He wore a rich robe of red and gold, his crown resting on his head. He held a jeweled sword in his hand.

“Today, we gather to honor a young man who has made a great achievement. That achievement, knighthood, has taken years of training to achieve. Many don’t make it. But this young man has proved he is smart and strong. He has a courageous heart. Come forward, young man,” Jairon said. A young, slightly pudgy, man walked forward. He was dressed in rich robes that rivaled the king’s. His dusty blond hair sat cemented to his head. He moved up the platform, kneeling before the king. Jairon raised the sword, tapping the boy on both shoulders.

“I name thee Sir Talom Caldrea, Knight of Tierena.” The boy rose and the crowd erupted in applause and cheers. Dracon remained silent. He’d been to too many of these parties to find #FF0080 ">them interesting.

Movement behind a statue caught Dracon’s eye. A man stood in shadows, something large in his hands. A bow?! Following the man’s eyesight, he saw the bow pointed at the king.

Dracon sent his mind into the calm state of battle. Rushing forward, knocking people to the floor as he ran, he made for the king. As the man released the arrow, Dracon tackled the king. A huge gasp sounded from the hall and a look of shock rippled across Jairon’s face, before seeing the arrow imbedded in the wall. Looking up, Dracon saw the man bound for the door, knocking the guards easily aside. Ramar followed him out hurriedly.



Alrighty, then. Not too many errors in this one. But I have a problem-- this is really cliche. I mean, king tackled at party by servant to save him from assassination? Not quite original. I dunno. This is well written, but you should change things up a bit. Add in a twist. Keep writing!

--Dreamy

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Ranger Hawk
Review

Hey there! I'm here to review part deux!

Again, beautifully written, and I love that you're bringing in action; always a sure win for me. There were only a few things I noticed.

KanenRenoir wrote: Fools these men are, he thought. No one had ever defeated the Order. They spoke of freedom, end to monarchy. Who knew what was better for the land than its king?


I'm not an expert on the proper way to show thoughts, but I'm pretty sure that you only use italics for a direct thought from the character. For example: I wonder what's going on? he thought. - as opposed to - He wondered what was going on.
You see how the one in italics is exactly the wording that's going through his head? And what you have in italics seems to be more like the general line of thought of the king's.

He would teach the land who ruled, even if it meant #FF0000 ">raising every city to the ground.


I think you mean "razing." ;)

A sharp tap on the door #FF0000 ">woke Jairon from his thoughts.


Sounds wrong, I would use a different word.

“Today, we gather to honor a #FF0000 ">young man who has made a great achievement. That achievement, knighthood, has taken years of training to achieve. Many don’t make it. But this #FF0000 ">young man has proved he is smart and strong. He has a courageous heart. Come forward, #FF0000 ">young man,” Jairon said. A #FF0000 ">young, slightly pudgy, #FF0000 ">man walked forward.


Notice how many times you use "young man" to refer to the knight-to-be? You don't want to have so much repetition in a single paragraph.

Movement behind a statue caught Dracon’s eye. A man stood in shadows, something large in his hands. A bow?! Following the man’s eyesight, he saw the bow pointed at the king.


As much as I like this, I can't help but think that a man with a bow, which he's drawing, is bound to gain more peoples' attention. After all, he has to be in a spot where he's got enough draw room, and I get the impression that it's pretty crowded there.

Maybe using a crossbow would be easier. For one thing, just about anyone can use it, as all you need to do is pull the bowstring back with a winch and then pull the trigger. It's smaller, more portable, less conspicuous, easier to aim with and easier to use. And the man won't need the massive power of the longbow at such a short distance; a crossbow would work just as well and make it less complicated for him to use.

Sorry for ranting on about that, I tend to get really talkative when it comes to medieval weaponry. I'll leave it to you to decide what weapon he uses. :smt003

Anyways, well done yet again! Please let me know when you post more! :D

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Spitfire
Review

Well hey there! Here to review!

KanenRenoir wrote:Katric appeared out of the crowd, arms wrapped around a powdered face
young woman. His hands hung a little too low to be considered polite. Typical,
Dracon thought. As the lieutenants of the High Assassin, they were guest at the
party, but Ramar had asked them to watch the king.

I don't know why, but this entire part takes up just the middle of the page.

KanenRenoir wrote:Dracon glanced around. #FF0000 ">These parties are a disaster waiting to happen. We won’t be able to see a threat till it’s too late.

Okay this part here, I would italicize it too, because it's as if he's thinking it, especially if it's in the present tense.

I didn't really find any other mistakes... I thought the story and writing were good! I enjoyed the chapter, although the King's a jerk :smt002



Love is not an emotion. Love is a promise.
— 12th Doctor