Week 14 EC Microfiction

The Goblin Platoon

Author Note: I decided that I wanted to write a story about goblins. I wanted to create a story where goblins are a separate, but relatively peaceful society. They only hunt animals in their territory, but then humans start expanding their cities. This leads to humans attempting to exterminate goblins to take their territory. My story follows a group of goblins fighting back.

Goblin Platoon

Humans kill all, we fight back.

Depiction of a goblin by John D. Batten in 'English Fairy Tales'

Goblin Platoon

Humans have decided to expand their territory and for us goblins that means death. We only sought to live our lives, but they grew greedy. To defend our homelands we have decided to take up arms. The humans are a lot bigger than us, sadly for them, they are muscle-bound idiots. They seek only to crush us, but they did not expect us to retaliate. This is our land, we know it better. They may have armor and weapons, but we have population. Every battle we win the stronger we grow. We take their armor and weapons. We will win.

Week 15 EC Microfiction

Grim Noir

Author's note: I decided to write a story using the novel Hard Magic as inspiration. It is a very interesting book series that I highly recommend. As you can see from the title is a play on grimoire and the genre noir. Where old school crime story meets magic.

Grim Noir

Even with magic, you need detectives.

A shot from 'The Big Combo' a stylized noir film.

Grim Noir

The world was filled with magicians, but we have no idea where this magic came from. A couple of years ago we saw people being born with magic. As we understand it now, there are distinct categories of magic. You are born only able to cast magic from the category you are born in. The problem with magic is that it doesn't leave a trail to the magician. This made it easier for criminals. This is where I come in. To find a magic killer, all you need is a magic detective. Maxim Baker at your service.

Week 15 Microfiction

Microfiction: Fragile

Author's Note: This is another story where I wanted to take a song and create a story from it. This song is also a bit of a sadder tone like my last song microfiction. The song is very good I highly recommend it. I did the six word, and 100 word stories.

Again I have included the song to listen to while you read.

Fragile

Even though we're done, thank you.


Fragile

I don't know if you remember the me when we first met, but I was a mess. I had given up on love, but giving up does not change the pain I felt in my heart. I was closed off from the world, but no one was willing to try to reach the real me. Meeting you was the best thing to happen in my life, you taught me to love.  You taught me to feel happy again. Because of you, I will never be afraid to open up again. Thank you for all you have done for me.

Week 14 Microfiction

Giant's Awakening

Author's note: I wanted to take the story that I used for the storybook assignment and rewrite it in short forms. I really find it interesting to rewrite stories in more restrictive formats. I already wrote a long-form rendition of this story, but I want to stay truer to the source material.

Giant's Awakening

Hundred foot man, woken by elephants.

Giants's Awakening

The giant was feared even by the gods. Tricked into a life of slumber, he rarely awakens. The times he does awaken are truly disasters, his hunger leads him to eat all in sight. One day he was needed by his brother. His strength was needed for a battle of revenge. His brother was humiliated by Rama in battle. The giant was forced to sleep, but he was still an intelligent man. He tried his best to talk his brother out of battle, but the giant was still a loyal man.

The Awakening of Kumbhakarna

Week 13 Storytelling: Kans and Devaki

Kans and Devaki

Source

Whispers in the Mind

When a member of the family is to be married we hold a feast so all the family can meet their significant other. This tradition is old, but we have decided to keep it going. This is how we ended up at this point. I, as the current head of the family, had to host. We finally got to meet the bride to be, but for me, it was not a completely happy occasion. The first time I laid eyes on Devaki, the woman marrying into our family, I could hear a whisper coming from the back of my mind. This whisper felt like an itch at the back of my mind at first, but that feeling would not last for long. I pushed the sound away and continued to welcome the guests into my house. 

After a while we got the feast started and all of the family started celebrating. Every time I locked eyes with Devaki I could hear the whisper return, and every time it whispered it got louder. I tried to hide in the kitchen but after a while, Devaki came into the kitchen to check on me. Apparently, I was in the kitchen so long that some of the guests thought I might be sick, and she offered to check on me. 

That is when I finally was able to make out the whispers, "Her child will be the one to kill you." 

The whispers pressed in from the back of my mind, and at this point, the whispers were deafening. I could see Devaki speaking, but all I could hear were the whispers. The only thing I could say for certain at this point I that her child would be the one to kill me, and I could not let that happen. The moment my hands wrapped around her neck the whispers all stopped at once, but I did not kill her. Her husband stepped in before then. I had to make sure the whispers would not return so I decided that I would make sure their kids would not kill me.

Whispers in the Mind

Author Note: In this story, I wanted to tell the story of how Kans was told that Devaki's eighth child would kill him. These kind of prophecies are normal within Indian epics, but I wanted to tell the story of receiving a prophecy as if it was a horror story.

Week 13 Reading Notes B

Reading Notes: Krishna and the Gods Part A

Source

One day, within a prosperous kingdom, the king has a son. All is not prosperous with the birth however, there are many bad omens.  The king asks wise men to tell him what all of these omens mean. They tell him that his son will work with the powers of evil, and oppress the followers of Krishna. This quickly became evident when Kans as a child would strangle people he met. He eventually overthrows his father, gathers armies of demons, and becomes a powerful ruler over a terrible wasteland. The gods took action- they went to the strongest of the gods and asked for help in stopping Kans. He tells them to be born as mortals and that he will follow suit in time.

During a feast, Kans is told that Devaki's eighth child will be his downfall. He grabs Devaki and throws her to the ground, yelling at her. Vasudev convinces Kans to allow them to continue living but that Kans can do whatever he wishes with any children they have. Kans kill all of their children before they are born. Before having a seventh child, Dewaki prays to Wishnu, the mightiest of the gods. She gives birth to the seventh child, and Wishnu takes the child to another house to be raised. Kans comes looking for the seventh child- they tell him the baby died before it was born. He doesn't trust them, so he locks up both Devaki and Vasudev. Eventually, the gods come and free Devaki and Wasudew from their prison.

Krishna is born to the Wasudew and Devaki amid trumpet sounds and nature collectively celebrating. Krishna's godly form is presented to his parents. He tells them that he needs to be taken away to another city so that he can one day put Kans to death. Then he makes Wasudew and Devaki forget his godly form, but they remembered his message. Krishna puts guards to sleep, opens the door, and frees Wasudew from his handcuffs. They swap Devaki's eighth child with a baby girl. As Kans goes to kill this baby girl, the gods intervene and inform Kans that Devaki's eighth child will still kill him.

Krishna did everything possible to make the people of Brindaban love him. He put out forest fires and defeated evil an evil serpent that plagued the land. In doing this, Krishna became more popular among people than Indra. Indra became jealous and sent torrential rain to destroy the city. Krishna protected the city by holding a mountain over it. Indra comes down and worships Krishna. The people of the city realize who Krishna truly is. They also worship him. Yet, he wipes their minds so he can continue to live in peace and secrecy.

Krishna and Balaram went to the wrestling grounds. A great elephant blocked their path. They tell the rider to move the elephant or it will die. The elephant goes to attack Balaram, who swats away the elephant's trunk. The elephant attacked in pain and fear. His tusks passed right through Krishna. The brothers battled demons, warriors, and wrestlers, defeating all of them. Kans, in fear, told his men to go kill Ugrasen, Wasudew, and Devaki. Krishna killed his men on the spot. Then he jumps towards the throne. Kans tries to defend himself with his sword, but Krishna ultimately grabs Kans by the hair and splatters him across the ground. He defeats all of Kans' brothers. He then performs funeral rites for Kans with the many widows of Kans.

Rukmini was so beautiful that word of her beauty traveled throughout the land. Krishna falls in love with the idea of Rukmini. She then hears great stories of Krishna from a traveling bard. she starts to pray that Krishna may become her husband. Her two brothers each propose husbands. The first proposes Shishupal. The second proposes Krishna. The first brother is outraged and claims that on Shishupal is fit for Rukmini. When Rukmini finds out she is to marry Shishupal, she sends a messenger to Krishna, asking him to come to marry her. The older brother and Shishupal plot to get rid of Krishna once he arrives in the city. Their schemes don't work. Yet, when Krishna gets Rukmini into his chariot and he raises his sword, Shishupal flees. In fact, no bloodshed occurs. Krishna and Rukmini are married.

Week 13 Reading

Reading Notes: Alternate Ramayana 

Ramayana as told by Krishna Dharma

Two Kingdoms existed. The kingdom of Koshala, the capital being Ayodhya, was ruled by Dasharatha, the father of Rama. The other kingdom was Mithila, ruled by Janaka. The capital city Ayodhya flourished and the king, Dasharatha, was able to relax in his palace. The palace was guarded by a thousand powerful warriors, and he was served by eight sages along with two priests, Vashishtha and Vamadeva. Even with all of this prosperity, the king was saddened because he had no son. Dasharatha decided to proceed with a horse sacrifice to get him a son. Kaushalya, the king's main wife, slew the horse after it was prepared for sacrifice. Offerings were also presented to the gods. The gods promised that the king would have four sons.

Ravana, the king of Lanka had exhibited piety that led to Brahma, the creator god, to bless him with protection from gods and devils. Ravana the oppressed all the gods, and they sought help from Vishnu. Vishnu said that Ravana could be hurt by monkeys and humans. The gods should go to earth and take on the form of apes. Vishnu would be born in four parts as the four sons promised to the king. The four sons being Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana, and Shatrughna. The child Rama was the most beautiful. 

Rama and Lakshmana did battle with a rakshasi. Rama took off her arms with arrows, and Lakshmana took out her nose and eyes. The devil went invisible and using sound alone Rama shot a final arrow to kill the devil. Rama was then given celestial weapons. Later on, he used these weapons to slay a group of devils that attempted to attack some sages. Rama and his brother explored the city and their looks were commented upon by the masses. The next day they decided to collect flowers and ended up finding the Garden of King Janaka. They admired the fruit trees, flowers, and peacocks. With the sound of bells, Rama knew that the woman he would love approached. It was true with one to look at him and Sita, King Janaka's daughter fell in love. They parted and Sita prayed for their love to flourish. To win the hand of Sita, Rama had to draw the bow of Shiva. Many had attempted, but none had succeeded. He unsurprisingly was able to draw the bow. He used so much force that the bow broke. He had won Sita's hand in marriage. Rama married Sita, but his brothers also married Sita's sisters. All the brothers would be married to Janaka's daughters.

The king Dasharatha decide he had to decide on an heir among his sons. He sought to make Rama his heir, but he asked his advisors and lords underneath him for their opinion. They all were of the same mind, the wanted Rama, the eldest, to be the heir. They said he exhibited great values and would be a great king. The King's youngest wife, the mother of Bharata, had in the past saved the King's life and had been promised two favors in the future. Convinced by her slave, the hunch-backed Maharajah, who hated Rama; the queen sought out the king and asked for her favors. She wanted her son to be the heir and for Rama to be sent to exile. This news, when given to Rama, was told to him by the young wife for the king was so grief-stricken that he could not speak. Rama was more than willing to accept the new orders to maintain his father's honor. Rama told the news to others, his wife Sita and his brother Lakshman. They both decided to follow him, and many of the villagers had similar thoughts. They could follow Rama to the jungle. In the castle, the king sought to give him many things to make his exile easier. Rama refused and asked only for bark, a spade, and a basket. Rama and Lakshmana quickly put on the bark, but Sita who had lived only in comfort would not wear the bark.

Rama atop His Chariot

Week 9 Story: Self-Taught

Self-Taught

I grew up in a tribe of people called the Nishada. We lived in the forest and most of the tribe was made up of hunters or fishermen. Our hunters were well known for their skill with the bow, and that was no different for my father. He was probably the best with the bow in our tribe, and supposedly I would grow up to be a great archer like him. Even though we were highly skilled, there are things you can not hunt. We occasionally had to trade with those in the city for supplies, as I got older I slowly realized how others treated us on these trading trips. It was clear that many others, like those of the noble-caste, considered us lesser. We were considered low-caste. I grew up fairly normally, but my daily life changed when I witnessed something truly amazing. A man, who I later learned was called Drona, was able to retrieve a ring from a well using a bow and arrow. I wanted to learn from this man. This man decided to set up a class to teach archery, but I learned that I would not be allowed to participate as the class was for noble children. I decided then and there that I would learn archery with this man as my mentor, even if he himself would not teach me. In the forest we call home I was able to create a statue of the man to watch over me as I train my archery. Anytime I felt stuck in my training I could look at the statue and be reminded that my mentor was always watching over me. 

↞↞↞↞↞↞↠↠↠↠↠↠

Years of training came with rewards, I eventually was the best archer of my tribe. I never neglected my training for a single day. Eventually, these skills with the bow were seen by those outside the tribe. I went on a trading trip with my sister, but we were attacked. Someone had left their dog out without any guidance, and this dog sought to attack my sister. The dog charged and barked repeatedly at us, and during one of these barks, I saw my chance. In the small frame of time that it opened it's mouth to bark I shot seven arrows into the mouth of that dog. My skills with the bow were seen as excellent by all those present, but that did not change how I was viewed in the caste system. I was someone from a lower-caste, and as such I could not destroy the property of those in the upper-castes. This dog turned out to be just this kind of situation. I had at the time of the event had decided to tell those present that the man Drona was my mentor. Eventually, words of the crimes of one of his pupils reached the ears of Drona. I had to show up at a trial for my crimes.

"So I am your mentor, correct?" I snapped around and saw that the man I saw as a guru had shown up at my trial.

"I consider you my mentor." I may have been surprised by his arrival, but I still saw this man as my mentor and a mentor deserves respect. 

"Then I would like to collect my teaching fee," stated Drona calmly.

"I will gladly pay your teaching fee then sir."

"My teaching fee will be your right thumb."

I knew what this meant for my future. I would no longer be able to draw a bow, but I also knew this was his way to punish me. He sought to take my skills from me to prevent shame from being put on his name. I knew that I had gotten myself into this mess, and I would always listen to my mentor. I drew my knife and in one motion took off my right thumb. After resheathing my knife I picked up the thumb and handed it to him. Since there was nothing left for me here I returned to my tribe in the forest. 

Ekalavya giving up his thumb.

Author's Note: I decided to write the story of Ekalavya from a first-person perspective. I have the key story points to hit, but the Mahabharata version I read this week left a lot of room for creative liberty.

Bibliography:  http://iereadingguides.blogspot.com/2015/05/reading-guide-week-1-nivedita.html

Nivedita Mahabharata.

Nivedita Mahabharata Part B Reading Notes

Nivedita Mahabharata B

9. King Drupada still wants a son to get his revenge so he decides to pray. Shiva promises to grant him his wish, but the son he wants will first be a daughter. He has a daughter and they raise her as a guy. They even betroth her to a princess of another kingdom, this causes problems when it is revealed that she is a girl. She runs to the forest and meets a forest-spirit who helps her. They trade genders and she is now a man. She helps her father, but the god of wealth informs the forest spirit that the change was permanent. Bhishma learns that she is the reincarnation of Amba.

10.  Amba is the oldest of the princesses that Bhishma kidnapped. She had secretly sworn to marry the King of the Shalwas. She tells Bhishma about her previous arrangement. He sets her free to go marry the King of the Shalwas.  She goes to the King of the Shalwas. He treats her terribly as he was embarrassed by the kidnapping event when he lost to Bhishma in battle.  She leaves him to become exceptionally pious. She is so Pious that she attracts the attention of Shiva, who decides to offer her a boon. Amba wants Bhishma dead she is angry and believes that Bhishma had ruined her chance for a happy life. Shiva says that she will reincarnate Amba as a man so that she can kill Bhishma in future life. Amba burns herself alive to be reborn.

11. While the Pandava are in exile the King gathers an army to fight them, Bhishma commands the king's army. Draupadi's brother commands the Pandava army. Bhishma dies on the tenth day of the battle. Drona takes over but is deceived when the Pandava trick him into thinking his son died on the battlefield. Karna takes control now, but after 18 days the King's army falls. 

12. Shikhandin, the daughter now son, is in this battle. Bhishma refuses to fight them though, he says he will not fight someone born a girl. On the tenth day, Shikhandin and Arjuna ride out to fight Bhishma. Bhishma recognizes Shikhandin and refuses to fight them, Arjuna and Shikhandin still attack though and Bhishma falls. 

13. Karna is the son of the sun god, his mother is Kunti. Kunti is also the mother of the Pandava, she gave Karna up at birth and he was adopted by a charioteer. He is loyal to the king, so he can't join the Pandava. At birth, he had divine protection. He was born with earrings and armor that protected him. He traded these to Indra for a deadly dart that can be used only once. After Drona dies he becomes the general of the King's Army. Arjuna kills Karna's son. Karna attacks Arjuna but the gods sink his chariot wheel in mud, throwing his aim off. He is killed by Arjuna.

Karna and Indra trading items.

Bibliography- http://iereadingguides.blogspot.com/2015/05/reading-guide-week-1-nivedita.html

Nivedita Mahabharata

Nivedita Mahabharata Part A

Nivedita Mahabharata

1. How The Princes Learned to Shoot- The princes lose their ball in a well, but a man capable of magic helps them out. This man is the Brahmin, Drona, and his talent with a boy quickly impresses the princes. The new king, Drupada, disrespects Drona. Drona recruits the princes to help him with his revenge in return he will train them with the bow. A rivalry begins between Arjuna and Karna. There is the side story of Ekalavya is a non-noble, Nishada boy. Drona refuses to teach him. The boy goes into the forest and trains under a statue of Drona he builds. He considers himself a student of Drona, and trains to be highly capable with the bow. When his skills are revealed and he claims Drona as his mentor; Drona makes him give him his right thumb as his teaching fees. This makes Ekalavya lose his skill with the bow.

Ekalavya Training in the Forest

2. The Trial of the Princes- Drona arranges a tournament. Arjuna quickly distinguishes himself from the other princes. Karna then enters the tournament and matches Arjuna's feats. He then asks to duel Arjuna. Arjuna, son of Indra the Storm God. Karna, son of Surya the Sun God. Karna is able to rival Arjuna. Karna becomes king of Anga.

3. Teacher's Fee- Drona makes the princes capture King Drupada. He sends the Kaurava cousins in first, but they could not capture him. Arjuna then goes in and gets the king. Drona takes half of Drupada's kingdom, and Drupada seeks to have a son to take revenge.

4. House of Lac- The Pandavas are sent to Benares, there is already a house of lac built. It will light on fire easily. Vidura discovers the plot to kill the Pandavas, so he makes sure there is an escape path for the crown prince. The Pandavas build an escape tunnel. When the palace is lit on fire the Pandavas escape and live in Ekachakra disguised as Brahmin beggars.

5. How the Pandavas Won a Bride- Drupada is still looking for a son to get revenge for him, so he sets a challenge to win his daughter's hand. They are dismissive of those of lesser birth like Karna. When Arjuna completes the challenge, still in his beggar disguise, the other suitors attack. Then Arjuna is recognized. The brother's share the bride, but their identities are revealed. King Dhritarashtra now knows the Pandava are alive.

7. Fatal Dice- The crown prince of the Pandavas is challenged to a dice game when his visitor is jealous of his wealth. The prince loses all his possessions, his siblings, and their wife Drapudi. Those lost in the bet are brought before King Dhritaradhtra as slaves. Drapudi argues that the prince lost his life in the bet, but then he could not have bet the other's life. Scared by bad omens the king decides to grant her boons. She gets all their freedom and possessions back. The crown prince then proceeds to lose another game and all the Pandava must spend 12 years in exile and 1 year in disguise.

Bibliography- http://iereadingguides.blogspot.com/2015/05/reading-guide-week-1-nivedita.html

Nivedita Mahabharata.