Tag Archives: writing

Original Fiction: “The Running Man”

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So I thought it was about time to offer up some of my fiction–some of my real fiction, not some silly fan fic I threw together for a writing contest. I’m rather cagey about my writing, and this does not come easily to me, but I’m always complaining that no one reads my stuff, so I might as well put my money where my mouth is and offer up something to the teeming hordes of the interwebz.

“The Running Man” is a very short little story I wrote when I was tinkering with the concept for my last/current novel, “The Touch of the Saints”–a novel I have currently given up on due to lack of motivation but hope to return to someday. It establishes one of my central characters, as well as the magic system of this universe, which I believe to be one of those very rare semi-original ideas I trip across.

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The Running Man

© 2011 by Tyler F.M. Edwards.

“Tell me a story, grandmother,” Fayn said, huddling by the warmth of the fireplace.

Night had fallen, and all was quiet but for the crackle of the fire and the sound of Fayn’s parents cleaning up after dinner. Soon, the family would retire, but Fayn was still restless.

Her grandmother chuckled, leaning back in a rocking chair and almost invisible beneath her many blankets. “Have you heard the tale of the Running Man?”

“No, grandmother. Tell me.”

Her grandmother closed her eyes. “Long ago, after the fall of the Demons but before the age of peace we enjoy today, there was a small kingdom across the Wolf’s Mouth. It was not a great or mighty kingdom, but in it lived many men and women with strong and pure hearts.

“Though the Demons were gone, that was still a time of violence and peril, and the ruler of this kingdom dispatched many people to patrol its northern borders, on the edge of the Broken Lands, to keep watch over the wicked men and beasts that dwelt there.

“One day, one such man saw a dark shape on the horizon. A chill ran down his back, and he watched as it grew, and grew, and grew some more.”

Fayn shivered.

“Soon, it become revealed as a great army of brigands in black armor. Conquest was on their minds, and murder was in their hearts. And they were headed straight for the kingdom.

“And so the man ran. He ran down the hills of the Broken Lands and into the forests of the south in the hopes of bringing warning to his people. He ran until he could run no more, until his body ached and screamed. He ran until he had nothing left to give, and still he was miles away from his own people, and still the army of brigands marched.”

Her grandmother paused, and Fayn shifted anxiously.

“What happened then?” she asked. Her grandmother rarely told her sad stories, and she didn’t want this to be one of them.

A ghost of a smile touched her grandmother’s wrinkled face.

“He reached down inside himself, and he found the core of strength that is in all good men. He prayed to the Saints, and they blessed him with their fervor. And he ran on.”

Fayn grinned.

“He ran day and night without rest. He ran through shadowed woods and across bright plains. He ran until his shoes shredded, and the ground tore at his feet. But with the Saints’ blessing upon him and the purity of purpose in his heart, he persevered. His feet withstood the sharp pebbles and hard earth, and his body survived the exhaustion and deprivation.

“When a mountain blocked his path, he ran around, moving so fast he lost no time by the change in course. When a lake or a river stood in his way, the Saints blessed his feet with the lightness to run upon the water.

“He ran for ten days and ten nights and went to three of the kingdom’s border keeps. In each, he stayed only long enough to deliver his warning before moving to the next.

“Three full weeks after the Running Man had first glimpsed it, the brigand army entered the kingdom. When it did, they met an army of defenders, pure of heart and filled with the light of the Saints, brought fourth by the Running Man’s warnings. A terrible battle was fought, and both forces suffered terribly, but at the end of the day, the brigands were beat back, and the defenders of the kingdom stood triumphant.”

Her grandmother paused, and it seemed the story had ended.

“But what happened to the Running Man?” Fayn asked. The vivid images of her grandmother’s tale burned in her mind, and she wanted to know more.

At that moment, her father’s voice came from the other end of the family home, telling her to prepare for sleep.

“A tale for another time, my dear,” Fayn’s grandmother said.

Fayn frowned, disappointed, but moved to obey her father. But even as she went to bed, she remained restless, still excited by her grandmother’s story.

* * *

The night was unusually cool for summer, and Fayn shivered as she crept through the darkness. She would be doing extra chores for a week if her parents realized she’d snuck out, but she was too restless to sleep, her grandmother’s tale still fresh in her mind.

She reached the pond at the edge of town. She took off her shoes and socks and stared at the glassy surface, steeling herself.

She knew that some people could do things that others couldn’t. Those with strong minds and the purity of the Saints in their hearts could go beyond the normal limitations of the human race. In less pious lands, they called it magic, she had been told. The Running Man must have been one of those people.

She closed her eyes and furrowed her brow, focusing with all her might. She said a prayer to the Saints, beseeching them for this one blessing.

And then she ran.

A moment later, she was in the water, coughing and spluttering. Water plunged down her nose and burned her throat, and she swallowed several mouthfuls before she started to swim.

There would be no hiding her outing from her parents now. She was soaked to the skin. But she had no regrets.

She looked back at the bank, and saw she was further into the pond than a simple leap could have brought her. And she knew that, for just a moment, she had been running on the water. Just as the Running Man had.

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All comments and criticisms are welcomed so long as they are constructive.

Retro Review: Black Company

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Retro Review: Black Company:

The Black Company is series of twisted fantasy novels by author Glen Cook, and it’s one of the most unique reads I’ve ever had–which is both a positive and a negative.

The Black Company books follow, not surprisingly, the Black Company, Last of the Free Companies of Khatovar,* the baddest, roughest, toughest, meanest mercenary company around.

*(A fact they are very proud of, despite the fact that they’ve been around so long they no longer have any idea what Khatovar is or what happened to the other Free Companies.)

On paper (no pun intended), the Black Company books are very ordinary. Blah blah ancient evil returns, blah blah last stand against the darkness. The universe is extremely traditional, right down to wizards jealously guarding their true names lest they lose their powers.

What’s unique is the execution. When the evil Ten Who Were Taken escape from their eternal prison, the Black Company is hired by them. When the last stand against the darkness comes, the Black Company is there to help crush the last hope of freedom.

Needless to say, it takes some getting used to. These are very, very dark books, and it can be difficult to identify with the protagonists when the best among them are just not participating in the rape and torture going on all around them–they’re not trying to stop it.

What saves these books is the writing. They’re all written in first person perspective; whose perspective that is varies a bit from book to book (to the author’s credit, each character has a unique voice, and it’s fairly easy to distinguish between them), but most of the time, it’s Croaker, the Black Company’s physician/chronicler. Supposedly, the books are his chronicles of the Company–the Black Company’s devotion to its history borders on the religious.

These books are worth reading just for Croaker’s dry wit and profound cynicism. The most horrible atrocities are just oddly amusing when told through his wry voice. I really have to give Glen Cook credit for the quality of the writing here. It does not feel like you’re reading something written by Glen Cook; it feels like you’re reading a book by Croaker. And Croaker’s about as close to a good person as you will ever see in the Company, so that helps.

It’s also worth noting that the Company is not on the side of the bad guys for the entire series–it’s really just the first few books. Whether or not they ever really qualify as the good guys is arguable, but at the very least, they wind up as the lesser of two evils.

One other thing I need to mention about these books is the Black Company’s two wizards, Goblin and One-Eye. Simply put, they are made of awesome.

Each is described as “older and uglier than sin,” which is an interesting coincidence, since sin is their favourite pastime. One-Eye is a tiny, wiry witch doctor from some primeval jungle in the ass end of nowhere, and is known for his hideous appearance, his eye patch, his association with every black market in every settlement everywhere, and for being the owner of the oldest, ugliest, filthiest hat in existence. Oh, and did I mention he’s the Company dentist?

Goblin is fat and squeaky, and just as steeped in criminality as his cohort. Both spend the vast majority of their time trying to make the other’s life miserable with an endless spree of magical pranks and jokes–such as making each other vomit hundreds of spiders. The only thing more hilarious than their endless brawling is how incredibly blase about it the rest of the Company is.

For the sake of expedience, I’ve been reviewing this series as one homogenous block, but it’s really not at all. This is a very long series that covers several different story arcs. It varies in tone, content, and quality by quite a bit. All I can say is that if you average it out, it’s pretty good. It’s also worth noting that the overall trend in Black Company’s quality is upward–it gets better the farther into it you get. You need to have a somewhat strong stomach, but if you’re in the market for something a little different, I highly recommend this series.

Overall rating: 8/10

These days, the books are usually sold in four omnibuses (the books are both small and numerous, so it makes sense), and my Amazon Affiliate is no exception. For the record, the proper reading order is “Chronicles of the Black Company,” “The Books of the South,” “The Return of the Black Company,” and “The Many Deaths of the Black Company.”