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Griffinkeeper
Review

So, Chapter One starts with introducing the protagonist and ends with the King dead and the City burning.

You might consider pacing this a bit. Why not show us a day in Custovis's life? That way we can get to see how life is like before it gets turned upside down?

Some additional thoughts:

Custovis Callim woke the way he always did; to the smell of his master's wife coming home with biscuits from the bakery next door. He could hear the squeak of wooden cart wheels and the grinding of horseshoes on the rocky streets. The shouts of townspeople bustling around the city were as loud as they always were.


Custovis is waking up way too late for an apprentice. Apprentices wake up when the streets are quiet; because they are the ones who wake the streets up with their labor. If you're still asleep when your mistress has had time to go out, buy things from people, and then return; then you're asking to be beaten by an angry master. Which isn't a bad way to begin a story.

Being an apprentice means work; hard work. Masters give apprentices all the jobs that they don't want to do. Which means that apprentices are never idle. You should incorporate this aspect into your story; show him being busy; it will establish that your character isn't a loafer that spends his time eating cheesy-poofs on a couch all day. He's a guy that is strong and has a tough work ethic; and eventually wants to become something other than an apprentice.

Gazing out the window, he saw the horse, Gavron, who Custovis had to feed, but never got to ride since he was always either too busy working at his apprenticeship or too tired after a long day. After eating his biscuit, Custovis was very thirsty and his mouth was dry. He went outside to the small yard where Gavron was tied and pumped some water for himself from the well. He gazed longingly at Gavron. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to just ride him up the street for a minute or so," thought Custovis, "my master is asleep and his wife is in the kitchen; she couldn't see me." So Custovis quickly untied Gavron and hopped up onto her back. He steered the horse out the gate, onto the rocky streets of Marinmir.


Except it would hurt. A lot. The master and the mistress would beat him senseless, first for taking their horse for a joyride (the equivalent of a kid taking his parent's car out without permission.) Second, for the aforementioned idleness.

The reason an apprentice cuts out the leather is because, at any moment, his master will descend and he'll want to start work. If the leather isn't ready when he gets down, then he'll know; because he probably got his start as an apprentice.

Also, how poor is this cobbler if he's able to afford a horse? If you have a horse, it's either because you're rich or because you need it for your work. Soldiers, messengers, farmers, they all can be expected to learn how to ride a horse. You already mentioned that things like bakeries are within easy walking distance, since the mistress can leave the house and come back in short time periods. The horse has to earn his living; just like the apprentice; and right now, it doesn't look like there is a reason for there to be a horse; other than it being convenient for Custovis to take and escape the city with.

Custovis was in shock over the news he had just heard. The king and queen were their only hope for keeping Auromod safe from Pavoria, and now that was gone.Custovis and Gavron raced back to the shop to inform the cobbler and his wife of the loss of their beloved King Cedric and Queen Guinevere.


It doesn't surprise me that King and Queen were the only hope for keeping the city safe. Otherwise it would have been a lot harder for the Pavorians to just come in and burn the city. I mean, where are the city defenses? Guards, soldiers, forts, walls, etc? What idiot didn't notice the Pavorian army over there?

And why should the Pavorian's burn the city to the ground? Why not kill the men, rape the women, take everything that is valuable, and burn what's left? This is historically the protocol of invaders. If you're able to capture a city intact, why not add it onto your empire? Why not send messengers out saying, "You can either die in support of a dead King, or you can start a new life under a new King. Your lives will more or less be the same; you just have a new King."

Overall, the story doesn't seem very well thought out; but it's not a bad first draft. My advice would be to put this chapter to the side and then write a couple "What if" chapters.

For example: What if the cobbler didn't have a horse? What if the Pavorians were unable to penetrate the gates? What if the story starts with the mistress beating him for being lazy? Write a chapter for each scenario. When you do, you may find that you prefer the direction that one chapter takes over the one you started with. It's not a bad thing when you do.

Thanks for your review! I will rewrite this to check my facts and make more sense historically.

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emeraldfox
Comment

sorry-the first and last paragraphs got messed up (formatting) when I posted them



I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter.
— Walt Disney