Sunday, April 16, 2023

Flash Fiction: Amidst the Sleeping Castle, by Liam Q. D. Hall

A few days ago, we shared a Flashes of Wonder writing prompt titled "Rendering Villainy through Costuming." We received several responses, and our favorite came from Liam Q. D. Hall. In his piece titled "Amidst the Sleeping Castle," Liam has created a captivating character--a queen who is as inorganic and inhuman as a crystal, with sharp edges to match. To fully appreciate the effect of this story, we recommend checking out the original writing prompt that inspired it.

Amidst the Sleeping Castle
By Liam Q. D. Hall

The black figure’s footfalls resounded off the paving stones, echoed off the white walls of the castle, carried his arrival to the denizens. Bodies crowded the court, dressed in the colors of red, blue, and purple. They wore the emblem of citizenry in patches upon their shoulders, on brooches on their bosoms, and on buckles on their belts. 

Only the soleil clad solein exile in black moved among the reposed crowd. Sighs and snores could be heard in the quietude. Some chests rose and fell, eyes flitting behind lids on sweating faces dreaming of spring while trapped in winter. Other’s stared sightless from grinning skulls, their bodies opened, the ribs white upon the clean white stone. 

The Exile’s recusant blood refused to slumber under the spell. He walked through the immaculate arches and marmoreal colonnade, avoiding the sprawled bodies with ease. He approached the keep which gazed down with ridicule in its tall and slitted oculi.  

He went to the quatrefoiled door of bronze, the porter a skeleton at his post. He entered the maw, steps calling to its inhabitor. 

Clack, clack, clack through the passages, the Exile wended. The light hushed like evening sunshine, silencing the grave stillness already present. 

Crossed spears in stiff grips, the owners desiccated but still standing sentinel heralded the throne room.

Within sat a queen arrayed in yellow, her terrible eyes hidden beneath a hood at once ancient but opulent. Jewelry adorned her chest, great chains of platinum and gems, their luster seemingly dimmed in shade. Her arms were bare and as stark as a corpse’s. They were covered in scratches as if some unsatisfiable itch was beneath the skin. They ran to wrists covered in simple but regnant bands. She licked her cruor crusted lips as the Exile entered her hall. 

With rusted nails upon long and beautiful fingers, the gyden of the citadel gestured and her pet from beyond the throne came forth. Its scales were tarnished electrum, a paucity of xanthous beneath. Cinders were in its lambent gaze, expectation in its regard and in its taut musculature; a roar ready to blaze forth.  

Energy built in the angsty room long unaccustomed to pregnant moments.

"Welcome to the feast," the queen said as she motioned the Exile forward with ringed finger. A frisson shook his frame but he advanced, loosening the shroud upon the irregular bladed cross on his back. The hame of dubious origin fell to the cold stones. The Exile smiled, his fangs glinted. The Queen, fiendishly buttressed, stood and pulled back her hood, the red maligning stress of her eyes an apocalypse.

Thursday, April 13, 2023

Flashes of Wonder Prompt: Rendering Villainy through Costuming


UKA THE UNDYING, the zombie sorcerer, is experimenting with flashes of dark magicks to blast the minds of bards! Illustration provided by Mustafa Bekir.

"Flashes of Wonder" is posted irregularly. It will feature a sword and sorcery flash fiction prompt. -JRC

Rendering Villainy through Costuming

Sword and sorcery villains bear a lot of narrative weight. Memorable villains have complex personalities, their evil actions driven by specific and often contradictory motivations and psychodramas. But how can writers externalize such internal psychological elements for readers without resorting to long passages of inner monologue, a narrative technique often (though not always) precluded by sword and sorcery genre expectations? One often-overlooked tactic is costuming. Imagine a sword and sorcery villain and describe their costume in detail, using clothing, accessories, and colors to symbolize their inner psyche, i.e., to signal their motivations, their contradictory impulses. For example, maybe they wear all black to represent their cynical worldview, or they might display flashy jewelry to demonstrate their greed, or they might wear religious icons or symbols to clarify their loyalty to dark powers. Moreover, give a sense of time to their costuming; show how their appearance has evolved over time, thereby giving the reader an opportunity to reflect on their growth or descent into darkness. How does their wardrobe interact with the setting and other characters? Let the clothing speak for the villain and deepen their personality in unexpected ways. 300-500 words.

Note: We are interested in publishing a flash fiction responses to Flashes of Wonder prompts. If interested, please e-mail spiraltowerpress@gmail.com with the subject line, "Flashes of Wonder." 

WHETSTONE on Facebook.
WHETSTONE on Discord.
WHETSTONE on Twitter.
Sword and Sorcery on Reddit.