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Young Writers Society



The Black Wolf (Chapt. 1 / Part 1)

by Red Ashes


Hi there, this is the very first bit of the story I am planning, I just had lots of trouble beginning it so I wanted to have it seen by you guys. :D I actually had no idea where to put this, but I guess, for now, it suits here best. I don't know... :?

Anywho, here it is:

My birth was marked with sorrow.

Even the gods did not want me to walk upon their land, for, in the weeks that led up to my birth, darkness near consumed my people. Black clouds swarmed in the sky; white threads of lightning pierced the night and rain drenched the world, bringing down tents and sending horses skidding across the mud. Ravens alighted upon our camps; scavenging for our meagre food supplies and warming their feathers at the fire.

The Priestesses chanted day and night for the gods to relent. The women sat in caves for many days at a time, chanting prayers and sipping the traditional pulque made of fermented milk and mountainside herbs. The horses bolted at each and every sound and could not be ridden, so my people were locked within the boundaries of our camp.

The people huddled deep in their dens, and my mother – their Queen – shut herself from the world in her red and gold pavilion as her stomach grew rounder and rounder by the hour. Her most honorary advisors sat with her, as did the Primary Priestess and her apprentice. But the darkness stayed, despite their fasting and their many tributes to the gods.

It was one night when my mother’s first pains began. She lay for the whole of that night and through the next day, bathed in her own sweat and writhing in agony. I was not meant to come out, but through my mother’s pure determination I slid, screaming, into the world.

The Priestesses cried out in delight – their Queen had been saved, and yet I, a Princess of the tribe, was put aside; back into the shadows. While my mother was washed in sweet, lavender water and had protective charms said over her, I lay forgotten. The apprentices were burdened with the chore of feeding, watering, bathing and bedding me, as the Queen tried desperately to remove the little hiccup from her memory. It was quite a few weeks later, when the darkness receded and the Priestesses returned, that I first had a flavour of the love that should have been bestowed upon me, as Princess.

The Old Mage took me in, nurtured me like a mother. I had, up until now, been called Little One, Babe, and many other names which were hardly the kind ones used for a child, but Old Mage had the heart to go and ask my mother for a name.

“Myra.” The Queen had replied sharply, and returned immediately to dressing. Old Mage had bowed low, a frown crumpling her face, and walked back to her tent. Myra, meaning apology to the gods, in my people’s language.

That was what my life meant to the Queen. She was ashamed of my birth, so much so that she used my name to apologize. And that was how my life began.

***

Hope you like,

~Ash~


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Wed Dec 22, 2010 9:55 pm
KhardanJakk wrote a review...



#FF0000 ">You reviewed my own works, so I'm deciding to come and review yours! Sort of like an eye for an eye, eh? Anyhoo...


My birth was marked with sorrow. #FF0000 ">I really liked the beginning here. It drew me in immediately.

Even the gods did not want me to walk upon their land,#FF0000 ">don't use a comma right after land, but keep it going after the word "for." for, in the weeks that led up to my birth, darkness near consumed my people. Black clouds swarmed in the sky; white threads of lightning pierced the night and rain drenched the world, bringing down tents and sending horses skidding across the mud. Ravens alighted upon our camps; scavenging for our meagre food supplies and warming their feathers at the fire. #FF0000 ">Ooh, I liked these last few sentences. It flows nicely.

The Priestesses chanted day and night for the gods to relent. The women sat in caves for many days at a time, chanting prayers and sipping the traditional pulque made of fermented milk and mountainside herbs. The horses bolted at each and every sound and could not be ridden, so my people were locked within the boundaries of our camp. #FF0000 ">That would suck.

The people huddled deep in their dens, and my mother – their Queen – #FF0000 ">Don't put spaces between the hyphens, okay? And...did I spell that wrong?...shut herself from the world in her red and gold pavilion as her stomach grew rounder and rounder by the hour. Her most honorary advisors sat with her, as did the Primary Priestess and her apprentice. But the darkness stayed #FF0000 ">Maybe use the word "remained" instead of stayed? It's such a common, stale word..., despite their fasting and their many tributes to the gods.

It was one night when my mother’s first pains began. She lay for the whole of that night and through the next day, bathed in her own sweat and writhing in agony. I was not meant to come out, but through my mother’s pure determination I slid, screaming, into the world.

The Priestesses cried out in delight – their Queen had been saved, and yet I, a Princess of the tribe, was put #FF0000 ">Maybe use the word "cast" instead, so it's: cast aside?... aside; back into the shadows. While my mother was washed in sweet, lavender water and had protective charms said over her, I lay forgotten. The apprentices were burdened with the chore of feeding, watering, bathing and bedding me, as the Queen tried desperately to remove the little hiccup from her memory. It was quite a few weeks later, when the darkness receded and the Priestesses returned, that I first had a flavour of the love that should have been bestowed upon me, as Princess.

The Old Mage took me in, nurtured me like a mother. I had, up until now, been called Little One, Babe, and many other names which were hardly the kind ones used for a child, but Old Mage had the heart to go and ask my mother for a name.

“Myra.” #FF0000 ">Use a comma after the name "Myra," not a period. It looks unprofessional... The Queen had replied sharply, and returned immediately to dressing. Old Mage had bowed low, a frown crumpling her face, and walked back to her tent. Myra, meaning apology to the gods, in my people’s language. #FF0000 ">This looks wrong...Maybe word it as: Myra meant apology to the gods, in my peoples' language. Oh, and the appostrophy (spelled wrong?) after the "e" in peoples' isn't in the right place. Hard to explain...

That was what my life meant to the Queen. She was ashamed of my birth, so much so that she used my name to apologize. And that was how my life began.

#FF0000 ">Well, I LIKED this! Keep writing :)!




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Thu Feb 18, 2010 11:22 pm



wow the imagary was great. i felt like i was their, suffering with the people. usually when i try reveiwing work i read the first few lines then get really bored and look for something else, but this had me hooked from the first line. i loved it




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Wed Dec 30, 2009 6:51 am
Red Ashes says...



Thank you all very much for reading this. :D
Yes, it is meant to be lacking in action for now. I tried telling all this in different ways but I find this the most effective, but I can understand why it could be added to. Um... I'm so happy you liked it! I was really unsure about it and stuff so it's good to have another view on it.
But for some other information that I need, as to why they all hate Myra so much, I'm having trouble slipping it 'coyly' into the story so I'm brainstorming how to do that now. :? Anywho, thanks all of you! It's made my day.

~Ash~




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Tue Dec 29, 2009 9:05 pm
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pudin.junidf wrote a review...



Hey Ash!
What's up?
I liked your piece, It is beautiful and...epic, really epic!
As Demi said, you were setting the background and the important information for your story Let me tell you, it was not boring for it kept me with my eyes on it all the time. Also your hook, is great, you had me interested ever since the beginning. But, there is always room for at least a little action. In stories like this, action reigns, well action in its own epic way.lol. But it is interesting. Spice this piece a little more, add a little more action.

For Myra, your main character, try showing us how she felt, and how that hate from her mother affected her and how she feels towards her mother. I guess you would want to put that later, but a little more from Myra would be good to the story.

Something I did notice was your sentence structure. At the beginning, your sentences were extremely long.

My birth was marked with sorrow.

Even the gods did not want me to walk upon their land, for, in the weeks that led up to my birth, darkness near consumed my people. Black clouds swarmed in the sky; white threads of lightning pierced the night and rain drenched the world, bringing down tents and sending horses skidding across the mud. Ravens alighted upon our camps; scavenging for our meagre food supplies and warming their feathers at the fire.

You should add the first sentence to the whole paragraph it doesn't need to be separated, why? Because , either way, you continue the sentence in the paragraph so what's the point.But the sentences are pretty long, trying giving the sentences a smaller length.

And well that's all I can say and I'd love to see more from you, I like this.

XOXO
Pudin




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Tue Dec 29, 2009 7:39 pm
borntobeawriter wrote a review...



Hi Red,

Well, you had me totally hooked from line one. I really enjoyed the flow of this first part and I have absolutely nothing negative to say . . . Please send me a pm when the next chapter comes out?

Thanks!
Tanya :D




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Tue Dec 29, 2009 6:32 pm
Demeter wrote a review...



Heya Ash,

I saw this had no reviews yet so I decided to drop by!

Your writing is quite easy and smooth to read and I didn't find any noticeable grammar mistakes, either. :) I also sort of liked the fact that the story has an omnipotent narrator, even though it's in first person. Sometimes omnipotent narrators annoy me for some reason, but I think it fitted here.

So, this is just the first part of the first chapter, but there still wasn't really any action. This very part consisted mainly of background information, which can get tiring if there's a lot of it in one place. It's more interesting for the reader if the info is coyly placed between the action bits so that everything sort of fuses together. But, as said, it's only the first part so maybe I'll let you get away with that now :)

All in all, I found it intriguing how the mother and the other people didn't really approve of the child and it makes me think why. This seemed a bit like Fantasy fiction, which I'm not a big fan of, and even though this isn't something I would usually read, I couldn't find anything really bad to say about this. :D But maybe I'll keep an eye on the story and read more when you post and I have time!

Good luck!


Demeter
x





Did you ever hear the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the wise? I thought not. It's not a story the Jedi would tell you. It's a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midichlorians to create life... He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying. The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. He became so powerful... the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. It's ironic he could save others from death, but not himself.
— RazorSharpPencil