Shadows of Future's Past
by
Maxwell Alexander Drake
By unanimous decision from every member of
Cultus Draco, the story has been chosen!
In a realm where knowledge is gold and memories are currency, one needn’t train a skill but merely purchase a lifetime of experience to gain mastery. Bargains are sealed not with handshakes but with intimate gazes, an exchange of something remembered from one mind to another.
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Meet Oray, a common woman by all accounts. Until that fateful day when she paid not with a relic of days gone by, but a haunting glimpse of what was yet to come. On that day, whispers enveloped her village in a cold grip of dread. As her foresight manifested with eerie precision, the community branded her cursed.
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In a bid to purge the alleged malevolence, the village elders ordained a harrowing sacrifice: the searing of Oray's eyes to ensure no other could be infested by her evil. Reduced to a mere shadow of a person, tethered to her elder brother, solitude became her silent prison. Until fate once again intervened and led her to an enigmatic stranger who did not see a vile creature to be shunned, but a giving caring soul who would while away the days with him.
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Yet, which is the one seeking comfort, and why?
Should you desire to read this exclusive tale, you have but to...
Missive from the Bard
Venturing into the chasm of my craft, I find myself eager to toy with uncharted motifs and narrative mechanisms as yet untouched by my quill. In contemplating what I want to do with this brief saga, two distinct opportunities emerged in my mind:
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First, I've long declared a desire to pen a chronicle from a protagonist deprived of sight, and I feel this is my chance. Because I am ever bound by the sacred rules of true third-person limited, this will mean my descriptions must forsake all visual narration. Instead, I will need to paint a vivid tapestry for this tale using solely the melodies of sound, the perfumes of the air, the zest of flavors, and the caress of surfaces. A formidable challenge indeed, yet one that sets my heart ablaze with anticipation.
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Second, my affection for the macabre tales of Penny Dreadfuls has always been a dark delight. In this tale, I shall assume the role of a M.A.D. alchemist, wildly fusing story elements as if they were volatile ingredients. This tale shall be a sinister fusion of the blood-thirsted Dracula, the abomination of Frankenstein's Monster, and the tragic enchantment of Beauty and the Beast.
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Will my quill be able to deliver on such a lofty promise? Only those bound by the sacrament of Cultus Draco shall learn this answer.