First Story Coming Soon! · 8:51pm Aug 3rd, 2015

(Hopefully.) (Seriously, The Lunar Samurai, this is your notification!)

As soon as I publish this blog post, I will be submitting my very first story.

No, it's not an Esperanto translation of an existing story.

No, it's not an irrelevant backdoor publication.

This is an original, standalone, relevant story that I am about to submit.

So why am I saying "hopefully"?

Because my prereader, Shinzakura (see previous blog post) told me via PM that the story is "as off the beaten path as it gets," and that the story approvers here are a bit avoidant of that material. So if this gets shot down, I might have to make it a backdoor publication.

But, because I'm such a nice guy, I'll impart a sneak peek:

Canto I, Verses 15-18

“Soft, mother!” returned Thorn, “I’ll be fine–
The Everfree Forest isn’t as bad as it seems!
Sure it’s dark and thick, but I find it divine,
The sort of thing I can only find in dreams.
I don’t understand why others find it malign,
Look at this stone here! Beauty it screams!
There’s more to the Everfree than first glance,
If only you can brave giving it a fair chance!”
“A chance?” asked she, “Thorn, are you mad?
The Everfree is the most vile thing that exists!
Around every corner there’s peril to be had,
Throughout the forest, only antagonists!
Only after leaving this place will I be glad,
Beauty, perhaps, but of vile mischief it consists!
Hasten, now, and pray, let us depart–
Let us not dally about, and stare at art.”
So the two pressed on, along the beaten trail,
Through a sun-lit part, under a clear blue sky.
Through one clearing, Thorn could see a vale,
So random, so majestic– he let out a sigh.
He stopped to gaze upon such fine detail.
“Come along!” said she. Thorn had to comply.
But the sight of the vale stayed with him,
It seemed so wide, and yet as well so slim.
He too paused to observe a harmless sparrow,
So graceful, so gentle, and so delicate.
Its beak pointed down the path like an arrow,
And its feathers were ruffled like velvet–
Nay, wait a minute, that indeed is an arrow!
And it was aimed directly at the path’s exit.
But pray, why was it pointing at that thing?
Perhaps it could be telling Thorn something?