Story Lab: EmpoWord

There were many sections in the chapter I read from this article but if you read below you will see that I pick and chose the ones that I found most applicable to bettering my writing ability and ones that I thought were particularly thought-provoking.

Scope

• refers to the boundaries of your story and plot
• I felt like some of my stories contain too broad of a scope and that makes them have a lot of general information instead of good detailed information about the scenarios.
• This made me think of using the phrase "a mile wide and an inch deep" to describe some of my stories
• they contained a lot of information but lacked a good level of depth

Sequence and Pacing

• refers to the order of events of your story and how quickly different situations progress
• This section talked about a story line pattern called In Medias Res
• this is the style where the beginning of your story starts in the middle of the action of the plot then later circles around to explain why all of the action was happening in the first place
• I thought this would be a great technique to try since I don't believe I have used it for any stories all semester
• This may help with my Scope problem because it allows me to begin with the exciting parts without having to trudge through the set-up information where I feel readers may lose a lot of interest

Building Characters

• this section talks about characterization which is something I would like to improve on
• I feel like I do well with directly describing a character but what I want to work on is indirect descriptions
• ask questions like: How do their actions reflect their traits? What's on their mind that they won't share with the world? What is the tone, inflection, and timbre of their voice?
• I usually have my characters hold a dialogue but I rarely describe the way their voice sounds of their inflection or tone.

Dialogue

• one of the most intriguing ideas I read in this section was that dialogue should be telling more than one thing
• it should convey more than one kind of information such as body language in addition to words
• I think my stories are missing a lot of non-verbal dialogue
• I seem to not think about adding more indirect forms of communication such as body language and that causes me to miss out on a very human aspect of communication

Bibliography

EmpoWord: Telling a Story -- found here

Image Information

Photo of an ancient book -- found on flickr

Reading Notes: Brother's Grimm Hunt (Part B)

Bearskin

• A soldier returning from war has no trade skill and needs to find work
• meets a mysterious man in the woods who tests his courage and resolve
• soldier must never bathe and must always wear a bearskin and a coat for if he does this for 7 years he will always have all the money he would need
• the man who made the deal turns out to be the devil and is referenced as Greencoat
• Bearksin as the soldier became known, always gave money to the poor and helped those in need as he wandered for 7 years
• he helped an old man whose estate had dwindled and the man promised him a wife of his daughters
• only the youngest conceded to marry Bearskin and the two older ones taunted her about the appearance of her husband
• he gave her half a ring while he kept the other half
• Finally after 7 years the devil returned, dismayed that the soldier had held out, and washed and groomed him and returned his cloak
• Soldier returned to the village to seek out the wife he hadn't seen for 3 years
• he was much more handsome than before and appeared to be a prestige general
• the two older sisters who had rejected him were trying hard to earn his favor, and the youngest averted her eyes still clothed in black like the day he left
• the soldier placed his half of the ring in a glass of wine to give to her and she noticed it after she drank it and saw that it matched her piece
• the sisters ran out of the home in rage and one drowned while the other hung herself
• devil comes back to taunt soldier saying he got two souls instead of one

Hans the Hedgehog

• a boy was born half hedgehog half man
• his family didn't want him but he never complained and left them to make a life for himself in the forest tending a herd of pigs
• 2 Kings travel through the forest lost and ask for directions
• he helps them if they promise to give him the first thing that approaches them when they reach the palace
• both times it was a king's daughter
• first King orders everyone to kill a man resembling Hans if they appear at his castle for he didn't want to give up his daughter
• the second one welcomed him and his daughter committed to Hans
• Hans shed his hedgehog skin and became a handsome man and they lived happily ever after

Bibliography

Bearskin from the Brothers Grimm (Hunt) Unit

Hans the Hedgehog from the Brothers Grimm (Hunt) Unit

Image Information

Image 1: Illustration of Bearskin - wikimedia

Image 2: The Devil grooms Bearskin after 7 years - wikimedia

Reading Notes: Brother's Grimm Hunt (Part A)

This unit contains fewer but longer stories. I thought this was much easier to read because the stories had more time for development.

Hansel and Grethel

• Hansel and Grethel live in a very poor family with their good-hearted father and mean step-mother
• the stories never mention anything about the children's real mother
• consider writing a story about their real mother and why she either died or left the family
• since the family is poor they have very little food so the stepmother sends the children out into the woods in hopes that they would get lost and eaten by animals so that the adults would have enough to eat
• the first time they are led into the woods, Hansel uses white pebbles to find his way back
• the second time he uses bread crumbs to leave a trail but birds ate all of the crumbs
• why did the mother wish to light a bonfire every time she took the children to the forest to be abandoned? 
• to attract wild animals, to create comfort so that the kids would sleep, other reasons...
• they find a house made of cakes, sugar, and bread in the forest that is occupied by an evil witch
• witches have red eyes and cannot see far but smell very well
• Grethel pushes the witch into the oven and burns her alive to save Hansel
• they grab treasure from the witches house and take it home to their father 
• the step-mother is dead at this point but the story never mentions how
• only been 3-4 days since the children had left the house this second time

Hansel is trapped in the cage by the evil witch.

Allerleirauh

• a King plans to marry his daughter because she looks strikingly similar to his wife
• to delay this and hopefully prevent the marriage from happening the daughter requests to have 3 dresses and a mantle of a thousand different kinds of fur and hair sewn together
• she thought this to be an impossible task but the King had it completed
• the girl runs away with the mantle and wears it as she falls asleep in the woods
• the King's guards find her while out hunting and initially believed her to be some rare animal because of the coat
• it would be interesting to give the girl the power to change into the different animals of the mantle at will 
• Story Idea: Hansel and Grethel were left in the same forest Allerleirauh escaped to. The bonfire attracts Allerleirauh to the area that Hansel and Grethel were in. She uses the powers she has and her mantle to help them defeat the witch and goes home with them to marry their father.

Bibliography

Hansel and Grethel from the Brothers Grimm (Hunt) Unit

Allerleirauh from the Brothers Grimm (Hunt) Unit

Image Information: Hansel in a cage. Found on publicdomainpictures.

Week 13 Story: St. Kavin's Blessings

**Find this story on my Portfolio here**

Many years ago in Glendalough village there lived a holy man named Kavin. Kavin lived a humble life, opting to live as a hermit near the lake to become closer to God by living more intimately among the nature he created. He lived this way for quite some time and became known as a very wise man to whom many traveled seeking guidance and wisdom. Over time, Kavin acquired a good number of disciples who wanted to live as he did and so he created the first monastery of Glendalough. During the course of his life, due to his wisdom and God's intervention, he was able to perform miracles and provide the people with answers to all their questions. Because of this he was canonized a Saint not too long after his passing. Since his death he has safeguarded the village of Glendalough and guided and blessed those that were pure of heart.

It had been a long time since St. Kavin had made his presence known in the Glendalough area. Few people outside of the royal family still paid him homage and perhaps that is the only reason the Prince Lyn was able to embark on his quest. Prince Lyn had taken to the task of searching all of Glendalough and even the nearby mountains to pray for forgiveness and to ask a favor of St. Kavin.

You see, a week prior, Prince Lyn had made a horrible mistake. He had come back from a hunting trip to be greeted by his favorite and most ferocious, yet gentle, greyhound at the entrance of his compound. Normally he would be excited to see Caemgen but today he quickly realized something was amiss. He was already suspicious of the dog since it hadn't come to him to go on the hunting trip even though he called out his name several times. Now that he looked closer, he realized that Caemgen had dried blood all over his fur and some still clang to the fringes of his mouth and dropped to the floor with every other pant.

The Prince feared for the worst and sprinted upstairs to check on his son. He rushed into the room panting with exhaustion from the run and frantically scanned the room for signs of his child. The room was in shambles but most concerning was the sight of the crib thrown on its side with all of the torn and bloody rags strewn around the room. Prince Lyn assumed the worst and in anger shoved a spear through the heart of poor Caemgen. As the greyhound yelped in pain and collapsed, the sound of a baby crying could be heard. Prince Lyn whirled around to face the direction of the sound. Upon further inspection he noticed that a large wolf was tangled up in the cloth! The wolf suffered several lacerations around its body and appeared to have died from a deep wound to the nape of the neck. The fabric began to move and the Prince dashed towards it, lifted up the cloth and was relieved to discover his son was unharmed! However the excitement was short lived. The Prince realized that his favorite greyhound hadn't ignored his call to go hunting to harm his child, but to protect it from the wolf menace. The Prince was distraught. He sat down to help dampen the pangs of regret and tried to think about how he could remedy his mistake. He knew he had only one choice: to seek out St. Kavin and pray that he could bring Caemgen to life.

The Prince set off the next morning with a determined look and a small bag of supplies. He first visited the monastery asking the monks about what sort of heading would provide him with the best chance of encountering St. Kavin. The abbot informed him that St. Kavin was known to be rather fond of animals and often spent much time around a nearby lake where he spent his hermitage, although no one has been able to find the cave in which he resided for over a hundred years. Upon hearing this, the Prince knew he would find what he was looking for in that cave.

Once he arrived at the lake he sat upon a tall rock along to scan the shores in search of a crevice or some indication that a cave might be near. He wasn't able to discern any promising spots from his current vantage point so he decided it would be best to go ahead and walk around the shore in its entirety, he wasn't going to leave without finding the grotto.

Several hours had passed since he began his trek. He had seen every bit of the shoreline that could have been reached by a man on foot long ago. The Prince sat on a large bit of driftwood to take a break from walking about in the heat. A sense of despair started to set in and the Prince began to doubt the success of his venture for the first time. Just as the idea of failure snaked its way into his thoughts, the Prince heard the foliage behind him rustle. He jumped to his feet and whirled around to confront the source of the noise! He caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a dog, strikingly similar to Caemgen, trotting off deeper into to brush.

Prince Lyn cautiously crept up to where he believed the dog walked into the shrubs and stepped through to find an old, worn down path! He followed it a short distance up the hill to discover a wall of vines covering the entrance to a grotto. He had found the place of St. Kavin's hermitage! He removed the vines to allow the sunlight to filter in and brighten up the room. As the rays of sun penetrated the darkness there appeared a man and a dog, it was St. Kavin and Caemgen!

St. Kavin's lost grotto.

"I've been wanting to meet you for some time now, Prince Lyn" said St. Kavin.

The Prince fell to his knees in prostration as he was suddenly overcome by the aura St. Kavin radiated. "I need your help St. Kavin. I've made a terrible mistake and killed my most faithful friend and companion. If you can, I would ask that you restore him to me so that I can pay him the respects he is due for saving my son."

"I must admit I was a little disappointed to see that you returned my dog to me so quickly Prince Lyn. Caemgen is a fine animal and I knew he would be able to serve you well one day as your character was worthy of such a creature. Because of your faith and your persistence in arriving at this sacred place, I will grant you what you ask. Once you return home you will find Caemgen awaiting you, just as he always does. Remember what your faith has rewarded you with today."

With that St. Kavin was gone as quickly as he had appeared. The Prince was able to make it back home safely to find Caemgen waiting for him, just as the Saint had said. Prince Lyn was able to live a long and prosperous life and the loyal dog Caemgen was able to serve his family for generations to come as he was blessed by St. Kavin.


Author's Note
This story is heavily influenced by the story of King O'Toole and His Goose and is my addition to the tale of Beth Gellert from the Celtic Fairy Tale Unit. In the original story the Prince returns from his hunting trip and kills his favorite dog Gellert because he suspected him of killing his infant. As soon as he kills the dog he realizes his infant was actually safe and the dog had protected it similarly to my rendition. However, in the original story the tale ends with Gellert simply receiving a monument built for him. Since I had read about the healing powers of St. Kavin from the King O'Toole story I thought I should bring him into this story to bring back Gellert. And so my rendition has the Prince set off on a quest to rid himself of his grief and regret by trying to find the Saint that was known to be present in that region and request that he heal his dog. I thought it was fitting to throw in the fact that Gellert belonged to St. Kavin a long time ago because when I did some extra research on the Saint it said that animals were very fond of him due to the amount of time he spent in nature. The name that I gave Gellert in my story was Caemgen which I found was an old Irish spelling of the Saint's name.

Bibliography
King O'Toole and His Goose --- here
Beth Gellert --- here
More information about St. Kavin --- found on Wikipedia

Image Information
Grotto in the Woods --- found here

Reading Notes: Celtic Tales (Part B)

I would have to say I enjoyed the second set of Celtic stories as much or more than the first. Again, these stories often carried the message of having good character. A lot of characters have their characters tested, for the saints and other mystical creatures favor those who do good even when no one is watching.

King O'Toole and His Goose

• a good king who greatly enjoyed being able to go out into nature and hunt
• he becomes stricken with the ailments of old age and can no longer hunt so he buys a goose to occasionally hunt for him and keep him distracted because he was sad that he could no longer hunt
• the goose grows old and can no longer hunt either so the king becomes even more upset
• St. Kavin disguised as an ordinary man finds the king at the lake and tells him he can fix his goose
• the king agrees to offer him all of the land the goose can fly over if he is made well
• St. Kavin fixes the goose and the king stays true to his word
• the king and his goose live happily, until the goose dies of his own mistake and the king passes away from old age

The Chapel of St. Kevin.

Beth Gellert

• Prince Llewelyn had a special greyhound named Gellert who was gentle with kids and fierce on hunting trips
• one day Gellert didn't come when his master called so the Prince went hunting without him
• when he returns he sees Gellert waiting at the gate covered with blood
• the Prince runs up to the nursery to see blood everywhere
• he assumed Gellert had killed his heir while he was off hunting
• in his rage the Prince stabbed and killed Gellert only to notice afterwards the dead carcass of a wolf in the nursery
• Gellert had stayed behind to protect his child and had killed the wolf trying to take away his son
• Gellert could not be brought back to life so he was buried on a spot outside the castle walls that was in view of a great mountain and decorated heavily
• I would rather create an ending where Prince Llewelyn goes on a quest to revive Gellert
• maybe Gellert remains in the castle a guardian spirit who stays by the Prince's heir, guarding him as he grows up
• he could eventually become St. Kavin's dog so that I could draw a relationship between the Gellert and Goose stories

Bibliography

Celtic Fairy Tales unit found here

Beth Gellert --- here

King O'Tool and His Goose --- here

Image Information --- St. Kevin's Chapel in Ireland. Found on wikimedia.

Reading Notes: Celtic Tales (Part A)

I found it interesting to discover that most of these tales, if not all, typically ended with a happy ending. If any characters didn't fare well in these stories it was due to the fact that they weren't great people. In the Celtic tales it seemed like the good people were always rewarded for their kindness and sense of adventure.

Connla and the Fairy Maiden

• at first only Connla could see the Fairy Maiden who walked up to the group
• only Connla could hear the Fairy Maiden at first 
• would be a get character attribute to have in a story
• creates an air of mystery and makes people uncomfortable when they believe something to be there but can't see it
• the Fairy Maiden talks of a land where there is no death, no aging, everyone is always happy
• should Connla go, he won't age either and he will receive a fairy crown 
• Connla's father, Conn, brings by a druid to say some enchantments to dispel the Fairy Maiden 
• before vanishing due to the spells, she threw Connla an apple from which he survived on for a whole month
• the apple always grew back, keeping whole no matter what
• Connla eventually leaves with the Fairy Maiden to go to the Plains of Pleasure in a crystal canoe that everyone was able to see cross the water

The Shepherd of Myddvai

• a shepherd spotted maidens arising from the lake near which he was tending to his flock
• eventually he is able to marry one of them but she says if he strikes her 3 times she will leave
• when they married she brought many farm animals with her as a gift
• the man ends up hitting her 3 times and she leaves him
• even though one of the cows she brought had been slaughtered, when she called for it it got up and began walking to her cured of any wounds
• interesting magic to apply to a story

Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree

• a king had a wife named Silver-Tree and a daughter named Gold-Tree
• similar to the "magic mirror" from Shrek, the queen finds a trout in a well that tells her who the most beautiful queen in the world is
• she learns that her daughter is the most beautiful and that infuriates Silver-Tree
• Silver-Tree tries to kill her daughter a few different ways
• by trying to get her husband to kill her to "cure" her own illness
• poisoning her daughter (successfully)
• poison drink 
• Golden-Tree dies from the poison her mother pricked her finger with but another girl comes by her resting place and picks the poisonous item out of her finger and she awakens
• the same girl who removed the poison also gets Silver-Tree to drink the poisonous drink she was going to give to her daughter
• Silver-Tree dies in the end and Golden-Tree, her husband and his other wife live happily ever after

Silver-Tree waits for Gold-Tree to poke her finger through the key-hole so she can prick her with the poison.

Bibliography

Celtic Fairy Tales Unit found here

Image Information: Silver-Tree waiting to poison her daughter -- found on wikimedia.

Story Lab: Writer's Advice

This week I decided to take a look at the writing website to find some storytelling tips! I was able to find a few promising articles that I feel provided some great information that I can use to better my writing. I'm looking forward to implementing these tips in next week's story.

45 Ways to Avoid Using the Word 'Very'

• Essentially this post consisted of a large image that had very helpful examples of how to replace using the word 'very' 
• included a few quotes by popular authors that gave me an idea of what kind of opinion a great writer has of the word 'very'
• "Susbstitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very,' your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be." - Mark Twain
• another author claimed that 'very' was the most useless word in our language and that it only weakens your writing (Florence King)

Mark Twain deep in thought.

Cheat Sheets for Writing Body Language

• this article lists the top 5 rules you need to follow when using body language
• one of my favorite arguments the article makes is when it says that over 50% of human communication is nonverbal
• this emphasis how important including details of a characters body language is to your story and to the reader who is trying to understand your writing
• the article also said that body language needs to be used to show your reader something instead of just narrating everything to them
• it gives the reader a break from reading paragraph after paragraph
• the article also has several examples on how to describe the different emotions a character may experience through body language

Must-Have Scenes That Reveal Character

• There are 3 key character scenes you need to have when writing
• the Monogram scene
• give your character 3 or so qualities
• now write a scene that shows him performing actions that demonstrate he has those character qualities
• Momentum scene
• when your character makes a decision to do something, they always progress towards acting on that decision
• make sure to include the buildup to acting on that decision
• how did your character arrive to the point to be able to conquer their goal?
• Glimpse
• make sure to let the reader know that the character has at least a little humanity or imperfection
• too much of an invincible charisma can put off readers

Bibliography

Must-Have Scenes That Reveal Character - found here

Cheat Sheets For Writing Body Language - found here

Ways to Avoid Using the Word 'Very' - found here

Image Information: Mark Twain pondering. Found on wikipedia

Reading Notes: Alice in Wonderland (Part B)

In the second half of the Alice in Wonderland reading she encounters the Mad Hatter at a Tea Party along with the March Hare and a dormouse. Their iconic conversation ensues and reading it now at a later point in my life it actually starts to make more sense. There is a lot of word play and selective hearing going on during the conversation which makes it very hard to follow.

A Mad Tea-Party

• Alice finds the trio sitting at a large table with plenty of room for several more people but when she approaches they notice her and yell out that there is no more room
• Alice sits anyways 
• The March Hare asks Alice to have some wine, she remarks that she doesn't see any wine.
• The Hare then tells her that there isn't any and Alice claims that it wasn't kind of him to offer something he didn't have
• The Hare retorts that it wasn't nice of her to sit down without being invited
• May want to write a story including this kind of humor from the Hare
• this group is very particular on wording things exactly as people's thoughts are intended
• if you use a "saying" it is taken literally
• the Hatter says something that would lead us to believe that time in Wonderland remains the same although days and years pass through
• it is always "tea time" for them
• the speak of Time as if it is a living being, a male in fact
• Mad Hatter says that depending on your relationship with Time, he will speed up or slow down time to help you if you are on good terms
• once the Mad Hatter sang for the Queen and she didn't like it and mentioned that he was murdering time so now Time doesn't care for the Mad Hatter and makes sure it is always 6 o'clock for him

Depiction of Alice when she learns Time is a "He".

The Queen's Croquet-Ground

• Alice uses a flamingo to hit the croquet ball which is actually a hedgehog forming a ball
• the game is incredibly hard as the flamingo and hedgehog don't get along with each other, much less everyone else's
• Alice finally gets a chance to talk to the White Rabbit but never even asks what he was doing in her world in the first place
• The cat appears to her while she plays the game but only allows its head to be visible
• the King dislikes that cat and asks for it to be executed which causes some confusion since it has no body at the present moment already
• We find out the Duchess is in prison for boxing the Queen's ears
• she seems to be the only character who physically assaults the Queen and isn't too afraid of her

Alice's Evidence

• Alice sits through a lengthy, absurd court hearing about who stole the Queen's tarts
• Finally she has enough and confronts the King and Queen claiming they are "just cards" at which point they all fly up in the air and swarm here
• she wakes up soon after to find herself next to her sister on the bank just like at the beginning
• it was all a dream

Bibliography

Alice in Wonderland Unit here

Mad Tea-Party here

Croquet-Ground here

Alice's Evidence here

Image Information: Alice at the Tea Party found on flikr

Reading Notes: Alice in Wonderland (Part A)

This week's reading will be of the original Alice in Wonderland story. The first section covers Alice spotting the rabbit, chasing it down the hole, and entering Wonderland.

Down the Rabbit-Hole

• Alice was reading with her sister on the bank of a lake or river and is bored because the book her sister was reading had no pictures
• Alice is young and simple
• It was a hot day, and it made her "sleepy and stupid"
• She spots a white rabbit with pink eyes who mentions how late he is and pulls a stop-watch out of his waistcoat-pocket
• Alice immediately gets up to chase the rabbit and jumps down the hole
• I wonder what her sister is thinking at this time
• Alice falls down the hole for an extremely long time
• the hole is lined with shelves full of books and jars, some with labels some without
• Alice begins talking to herself quite a bit and exhibits her creativity and imagination with some of the thoughts she has
• As she gets closer to the bottom of the hole, she gets the feeling that she is starting to doze off and get sleepy
• She lands at the bottom of the hole just in time to see the rabbit hurrying down a long passage and she chases him only to lose him around the corner
• Alice is in a hallway lined with many doors
• She finds a table with a key, and a bottle labeled "drink me" sitting on it which she drinks to become smaller
• Alice eventually goes through the door and enters Wonderland and meets the caterpillar smoking hookah

Advice From a Caterpillar

• the caterpillar peppers Alice with existential questions
• Alice can't answer the questions and becomes frustrated and angry
• Alice claims she can't remember things so the caterpillar asks her to recite a rhyme she should know
• Alice is having memory loss
• Eventually the caterpillar tells her to eat the mushroom to grow bigger again
• one side makes her smaller the other bigger
• Alice eats some of the mushroom and her neck grows so long she is mistaken for a snake by birds

Pig and Pepper

• Alice meets the Duchess and the Cheshire cat
• she takes care of a baby which turns into a pig
• perhaps all the snorting the baby does due to the pepper causes it to make pig noises and therefore turns into a pig

Bibliography

Alice in Wonderland Unit here

Image Information: The grin of the cheshire cat Alice encounters at the house of the Duchess. Found on flickr

Week 11 Story: Koyo Enters the Spirit Realm

"I'm sure this is the direction the woman pointed towards earlier", thought Koyo as he hiked through seemingly untouched portions of the woods. He had been traveling for several hours at this point and the woman mentioned she remembered the village being about 5-6 hours away, so he should be getting close.

It had only been a couple short months since Koyo had begun his quest to confront and eliminate evil beings across the land. His last successful venture consisted of him decapitating a snake chief who had been stealing all of the good pieces of meat from other members of the village leaving them with scraps to survive on for the Winter. Once he defeated the greedy chieftain he was able to distribute the meat among the poorest of the village to ensure their survival and well-being. After going from village to village performing the same actions, Koyo became a tribal legend. For many he was considered the equivalent of a native Robin Hood. Currently he was on his way to what he believed would be his final mission. He had heard rumors of a village suffering from the tyranny of a cannibal chieftain. The stories say that the chief was somewhat of a giant and consumed a member of the village each week as compensation for his protection. Should any of the villagers try to escape he would capture them, chop them up, and stew them for dinner.

The sun began to set, the wind began to pick up, and the trees of the forest began to cast tall, ominous shadows across the ground. Koyo smelled something peculiar as he walked along. Every time the breeze kicked up, he caught the scent of a sour, putrid odor coming from the direction he was walking. As he got closer he was able to distinguish a soft glow in the distance: campfires. At this point the sun had completely disappeared from the horizon and the glow of the moon began to shine through the clouds.

"I will go down to the village tomorrow when it is light", Koyo thought to himself. He found a small clearing a kilometer or so outside of the village and made camp for the night. He lit no fire that night for he did not know what kind of attitudes the villagers may have towards outsiders. "Perhaps they might all be cannibals", he pondered. Koyo went to sleep against a tree, waiting to venture into the village once the sun has been up awhile.

Rays of sunlight pierced through the brush of the forest waking Koyo. He began his trek towards the village once again but noticed a smaller puff of smoke rising above the trees not far from him. He was in no hurry to reach the village and decided he could spare some time to discover what caused the smoke. The smoke billowing up became thicker the closer he got until finally he glimpsed a homely lodge sitting in the woods. He crept up to the door, knocked, and awaited a response.

"Come in Koyo, I've been waiting for you for some time."

Hesitantly, Koyo entered the lodge and saw an elderly woman working at a table grinding some herbs together.

"Who are you, and why were you expecting me?" he asked.

"I'm called Grandmother, and once I heard of your triumph over the Snake chieftain I knew you would be on your way here. I know what goes on in the village and I assumed, correctly, that you would be interested in intervening. Before you head in to the village, you must know that the chief is protected by a curse cast upon him by the spirit of these woods. You won't be able to defeat him until you destroy the spirit."

"Grandmother, I have no way of reaching the realm of spirits and besides that I have no intention of visiting my ancestors prematurely. I have heard the stories of those who visit the Ghost Camp and never return."

"You must take these herbs I've been preparing, Koyo, and make tea out of them. I've included in here a mixture of Pine, Cedar, and Sage which, once consumed, will allow you to reach the spiritual plane. Remember, you must take only 4 sips of the tea for should you drink any more you will remain a spirit forever. By taking only 4 sips you will obtain 4 hours of time to locate and destroy the spirit."

Koyo took the herbs and sat near the fire in Grandmother's lodge. He set them in the pot and watched as it began to boil. The smell aroma was pleasant and warm, then suddenly he felt a chill race down his spine as his eyelids grew heavier and the light of the fire began to fade from his vision.

Koyo awoke suddenly and sprang to his feet. As he glanced around he noticed everything was a haze. The walls of the lodge moved out of his way like smoke, and the bright fire he remembered before closing his eyes now emitted only a soft glow. Though he had never been here before, he knew he had crossed over into the spirit world.

To be continued...


Author's Note
This story was strongly influenced by the stories of Kut-O-Yis as well as the Camp of the Ghosts from the Blackfoot Unit. I changed the name of Kut-O-Yis to something that sounded similar but wasn't as complicated to type out haha. I liked how his character helped the poor people of the community by taking away from those that were being greedy. I also really liked the spiritual aspects of the ghost camp story I had read from part A so I thought I'd try to combine the two.

Bibliography
The Camp of the Ghosts here
Stories of Kut-O-Yis begins here

Image Information
Sunset in the woods. Found here (pxhere)
Inside Grandmother's Lodge. Found here (flickr)