Storytelling Time: The Girl and The Sword

Welcome to the first Storytelling Time. I don't know if I will keep this up or if it will be a one off thing but here we go.

I have been writing stories since I was a kid. The one I have been working on the longest is called The God Factor. It takes place in modern times but I also had ideas for what would happen far in the future and past of that story world. I had a whole timeline reaching to the beginning of the universe all the way to the far future. And at some point I started to incorporate a lot of story ideas into The God Factor timeline.

In recent years I have taken a look at a lot of my story ideas and made major changes to them. The God Factor is no longer primarily about the character Dominick Kellen but I chose to change the starting point of the series and make Dominick's apprentice Nadia the main focus of the narrative. And a lot of those stories that I incorporated into The God Factor timeline could easily work as stand alone stories or parts of different series with just a few small changes. Today I am going to talk about one of them.

 

THE GIRL AND THE SWORD

The Girl and the Sword is a working title that could change one day but it is indeed about a girl and the sword she wields and fights against.

 In The God Factor timeline this story would have taken place in a post-post-apocalyptic world where humanity has begun to rebuild and magic is returning to the world. It would still take place in a similar setting where the world has begun to recover from some great disaster a century or two back but now it would be unrelated to anything happening on Earth as we know it.

 

KATARINA RAO

collage includes art by artists Musspell and Waterskies from deviantArt

 When Katarina was a child she witnessed the deaths of her parents at the hands of bandits. But her mother and father were both skilled warriors and took all of the bandits down with them so their children and the rest of their caravan was safe.

Katarina grew up with people telling stories about what a great hero her father was but hardly anyone acknowledging her mother's heroics. Katarina was determine to train to be a fighter but in a community that was not very progressive on gender equality. So Katarina observed martial arts lessons whenever she could and taught herself.

Her life changes when her younger brother is chosen by the Order of the Divine Palm as a candidate to be a great hero. There is more to it but we will get to that. Katarina is able to travel with her brother to the Divine Palm temple and, well a lot of stuff happens and they eventually encounter the titular sword of the story which is incredibly powerful and dangerous. The sword once belonged to a great hero but since his death the living weapon has gone mad and just wants to destroy. And it turns out Katarina is one of the few people with an affinity to bring the sword under her control, but a lot of people want that sword and the power they think it can give them.

 

SHAWN RAO

collage contains art by jnetrocks on deviantArt

 Shawn is Katarina's younger brother. He was very much the golden boy of the village they grew up in. He was the son of a well known hero after all. They gladly trained him to be a great fighter so that he might become a great hero one day. Shawn recognizes the unfair way his sister is treated but he also knows she can fight for herself.

When the Order of the Divine Palm invited him to their temple it seemed like he was starting on the heroic path he was always destined for. But the time at the temple does not have the results he was expecting and that heroic destiny starts to feel far out of reach. This leaves Shawn vulnerable to the temptation of the evil swords deadly power.

 

ANDREW OLIN

collage contains art by jnetrocks on deviantArt

 Andrew in an orphan raised by the Order of the Divine Eye. He is a gifted spellcaster and brought to the temple as a hero candidate just like Shawn. He quickly becomes friends with Katarina and together they recognize something is off about the whole hero candidate shtick. It is clear to Andrew that it is all a scam and the Divine Palm monks are pulling in a play for power. But there are other forces at play that no one is ready for and Andrew will be forced to push himself beyond the limits he did not know he had.

 

ZACHARIAH WALKER 

collage contains art by jnetrocks from deviantArt

Zachariah is the first son and heir of a wealthy merchant family and the third hero candidate summoned by the Order of the Divine Palm. It seems he fit the bill for the final member of the heroic trio they were hoping to create with the three boys. But as the ruse behind it all is exposed, Zachariah finds himself drawn into a heroic journey with the others, whether he wants to be there or not.

 

MADAME DESCHANEL

collage contains art by jnetrocks and slashchicken from deviantArt

 Madame Deschanel makes a dramatic appearance at the Divine Palm Temple to announce that she is the true heir to the heroic legacy they are trying to co-opt for their own gain. She has had a prolific career slaying creatures that feed on humans. By trying to claim their candidates are the new heroes the Divine Palm monks have made themselves a target for Madame Deschanel's enemies, so she takes them with her to the big city to keep them safe.

Katarina is eager to learn from Madame Deschanel and so is Andrew. Zachariah tries to make the best of his confusing situation while Shawn grows bitter over the destiny he feels was denied. It is not long after this that the ancient sword comes into play.  Madame Deschanel may wish to keep her wards safe but the sword can't be allowed to run wild or nowhere will be safe.

 

BARNABUS

 And finally we come to Barnabus. His history is complicated but that is a moot point. If I am going to divorce this story from The God Factor timeline then I will probably have to cut Barnabus from the story completely and create a new character to take his place.

He is an ancient being well acquainted with the history of the evil sword and a strong interest in keeping it from being used. He joins forces with Madame Deschanel and the kids to defeat their enemies and seal the sword.

 

And that is the concept for one of my many stories. I noted in the captions where the collages have art that was done for me by actual artists where I still have a record of it. Most of them also include image from heromachine, heroforge, a few different dress up games, and a few AI generated images.