Tag Archives: Fiction

The Redemption of Erâth: Book 3, Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Crossing of the World, Part I

There was much work to be done in preparation for the voyages of Ermèn, Athalya and Brandyé, and it was some weeks before they were able to make their way to the port of Viura Râ in search of a vessel that would take them hence. Brandyé came to the conclusion that, as high a position as the Sarâthen held in the world, even they were not able to travel on a whim to whatever kingdom took their fancy, or to speak with whichever leaders they desired. (It did not occur to him that the Sarâthen might well be able to do so, but he could not.)

There was much planning to be done, also—planning of where they would go, with whom they would speak, and what they would say. Over the following weeks Brandyé learned much of the world of Erâth, and it was all of it new, and different to him. Deep in his mind he knew that his own experience of the world, remembered or not, was as nothing compared to what he was about to discover; entire lands and countries awaited him, vast oceans to be crossed, mountains to be scaled, and plains to be traversed, and he marveled at what unimaginable wonders he would encounter there. In this regard, he could not wait to be departed, and each day that dawned ached with anticipation.

Yet another part of him, however, remained silent and sad, and it was this part that spoke to him of the mysteries of the world, and that there would soon be far fewer left than ever before. Erâth had, until that point, seemed unimaginably vast, and the thought that they were to cross the entire world from end to end in a matter of months frightened him. It seemed to him almost that the world ought to remain vast, and that they should be able to bridge its farthest corners so easily spoke to him of just how advanced the world of men was here. He knew in his heart that such travel would have been utterly impossible in his past life, and he yearned for a larger world, one in which he was familiar with only a part.

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Thought of the Week: Supporting Independent Artists

I’d like to introduce you to a favorite music genre of mine: doom metal. If you haven’t heard of it, don’t worry—it’s not the sort of music that’s likely to show up on the Billboard Top 100 any time soon. You have to hunt for it, though not too far—there’s a lot to be found. The incredibly dedicated website doom-metal.com has nearly 2,000 bands listed that classify as doom metal of some kind.

Doom metal itself has its roots in the late seventies/early eighties, and is defined by Wikipedia as:

… an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much “thicker” or “heavier” sound than other metal genres.

Doom metal can be split into a variety of sub-genres (sub-sub-genres?), including (again according to doom-metal.com) atmospheric doom, death doom, epic doom, funeral doom, sludge doom and stoner doom. Many of these have overlapping elements, and I wouldn’t blame the uninitiated for failing to understand how funeral doom can have death metal elements, yet not be classified as ‘death doom’. In fact, to the untrained ear most doom metal would likely sound similar: heavy guitars, thumping bass, and comparatively slow tempos.

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The Redemption of Erâth: Stalling

As I sit here in my basement, cold and hungry, four empty mugs sitting on the desk beside me, it occurs to me that I’m doing just about everything I can to not write any more of The Redemption of Erâth: Ancients and Death. I tinkered with this website all morning (do you like it?), updated my status on Facebook and Twitter a bit, watched some of Alexandra Corinth’s book videos (well-worth the watch, by the way), and twiddled my thumbs.

It seems I’m stalling.

I feel depressed about the whole thing (outside of my usual depression). I don’t like where I’m going with the book, which is unfortunate because it all started so promising. Elven was on his own, there were some very disturbing deaths, and he came to a new kingdom and became a part of the country there. I enjoyed the writing, and enjoyed the story. Elỳn’s magic came to the front, and was spectacular.

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