Author: Ricardo Victoria

The D&D Book Tag: Tempest Blades Edition

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The Witty & Sarcastic Bookclub blog began a series of authors comparing fantasy characters to what would be their respective classes in D&D. Now, it’s not secret (because I have made sure of that), that I’m an egomaniac and that I want to develop a game/campaign setting inspired in Tempest Blades. And due to that, there are certain classes that inspired my main cast. After all, Fionn is based on my very first D&D character (and the one that survived his campaign).

Thus, I will do that but with my own main cast of Tempest Blades. Because yes, I’m an egomaniac, and I have a new book to promote… which reminds me, “The Magick of Chaos” The third book in the series is to be released on June 13th, preorder it!

Anyways, let’s begin:

Fionn Estel The Greywolf: as he is based around my first character in D&D he was/is/would be a multiclass Monk/Ranger, with some fighter feats and skills, such as Iajutsu, for quick, devastating, one-shot attacks with Black Fang. Yes, my DM was pretty permissive if it made sense in-story. He is the template for my demonhunters, as his favored enemy would be demons.

Gabriella (Gaby) Galfano: she is multiclass Bard/Rogue. The bard part represents her musical skills and the inspiring special features of the class, as in story she is called a Battlebard when she rocks during a battle, everyone increases their combat prowess and focus. The Rogue part is to exemplify her training at the assassin/spy school Sisters of Mercy and her infiltration skills, plus the Sneak Attack with her twin blades.

Alex Leon: he is through and through an Artificer, who along the way picked up several fighter skills, such as Ranged Weapon Proficiencies -with his bow- and Martial Weapon Proficiencies -longsword with Yaha, bare-fisted attacks as in martial arts-. As to why he is an Artificer? Well, he helped to build the Figaro, built shock absorbing vest and bracers instead of armor, and more importantly, his first collapsable bow that 3D printed the arrows as he nock them and charged them with electric energy.

Samantha (Sam) Ambers Estel: she is a Sorcerer. That’s it. Like most freefolk magi, she doesn’t use a grimoire or rituals to cast magick, she just does it. And at her level, she mostly thinks about them or just use a word or two to make them work. In Theia, humans do have to use rituals and books and so on, so they would be wizards. She also picked a few fighter feats thanks to the training from her dad and her girlfriend (from her boyfriend she is picking up some crafting skills).

Kasumi Shimizu: like Fionn, she is a Monk/Ranger with demons as the favored enemy, and Improved Weapon Proficiency, in this case, her naginata Breaker. She is also picking some feats to allow her to use magick items such as talismans and rituals to purify places and exorcise ghosts.

Sid: he is a multiclass Artificier/Rogue. Why? He built mostly by himself an airship (which means he has some engineering skill ranks). And Rogue? Because before that and before he was expelled from the samoharo society, he was a master assassin trained to kill empowered people before they became a problem. This means he can take on pretty much anyone on this list but Fionn.

Yokoyawa: he is a Paladin. Straight as an arrow, compassionate, a superb fighter with a divine connection to his deity and oath, plus a divine weapon. Also is a lightning bruiser with grappling and bare-fisted/unarmed feats. The only thing he still hasn’t used in game terms is sitting.

Joshua: he is the most difficult to pinpoint as he began as what could be described as a human with the vampire template, for a peculiar version of a vampire in my setting. And he doesn’t remember much of his past life. Nowadays, he is a Fighter, with feats to use a double-bladed spear.

Vivienne (Vivi) Ortiga: the newest addition to the group, she, like Sam and by virtue of being a freefolk is a Sorcerer, who has focused on healing and plant spells. That connection to plants speaks that she is multiclassing into Druid.

Harland: the least combat-focused member of the team, he is a Bard, specifically a Lore School Bard, like the Harpers. he has also a Noble background (hence his financial resources), plus really high Diplomacy and Persuasion skill ranks, despite not being very obvious his high Charisma (due to his height). It’s all in his baritone voice.

So there you have, this is my main cast as D&D characters. But given the way they end multiclassing, I might have to create my own classes for a homebrew campaign. Anyway, I hope you like this.

Awards Eligibility Post 2022

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This year I haven’t had much to share, because I’ve been working hard to have stuff for next year. That said, here are a couple of short stories that were published in audio format by the Simultaneous Podcast produced by the fine folk at Space Cowboys Books.

Category: Best Short Story

Last Witness. Genre: Science Fiction. Available here: https://spacecowboybooks.com/simultaneous-times-episode-52-is-live/

First Flight. Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy. Available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg5F960t01s&ab_channel=SpaceCowboyBooks

Misspelled. Genre: Horror. Available here: https://youtu.be/SS_74hPryFo

Toy. Genre: Horror. Available here: https://youtu.be/_e63QbIiLcg

Thank you for your consideration.

Eligibility post 2021

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Hello everyone! It’s that time of the year when I get to collect all the work published or release this year. So join me on this ride through the memory lane.

Novels

This is a kickass cover if I can say it so.

“Tempest Blades: The Cursed Titans” the second book of the Tempest Blades saga (and a book I’m very proud of), which came out July 2021 from the Shadow Dragon imprint of Artemesia Publishing. Cover is by Salvador Velazquez.

A tournament to decide the fate of the Free Alliance, new friends, new foes & a hero struggling with his inner demons. It’s the worst time for the Cursed Titans to rise again! In a world where magic and science intermingle, anything is possible.

Short Stories

“Steel Serpents”. Roman engineering, Greek ingenuity, and a dash of the fantastic come to the aid of the troubled Emperor of the Greco-Roman Empire founded by Alexander the Great centuries ago, in this comedic alternate history story, published by Inklings Press anthology “Tales from Alternate Earths 3”

Episode 1103: “The Sound of Madness” at the Wicked Library Podcast. Exploring the cosmos is a risky proposition. Cold, silent, uncaring, vast. No matter how well prepared, how careful you are, nothing can protect you from the unexpected. Especially when it comes to finding signs that we were not alone in the universe, when those signs come from forms of life beyond our expectations or comprehension. It can go even worse when those forms of life are ancient, insidious, and can mess with your head for their own ineffable reasons.

Non-Fiction

“No elf is an island. Understanding worldbuilding through system thinking”, chapter published in Worlds Apart: Worldbuilding in Fantasy and Science Fiction, an academic book edited by Francesca T Barbini and released by Luna Press Publishing imprint Academia Lunare. Written in collaboration with my friend and beta reader Martha González-Alcaraz.

Book Review: Six Dreams about the Train and Other Stories

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This cover is a good representation of the dream-like kind of stories inside.

Have you heard the term “Actor’s actor”? It refers to a thespian who is so good at their craft, that other actors can’t but admire them, because they teach them things that are not possible for the rest, without being a showoff or overbearing, because their work has an attention to detail, a finesse that is not seen frequently. Well, there should be a similar term from authors, an “author’s author”, someone whose skill with the written word only needs a few pages to shine.

The point of that intro was to say that Maria Haskins is an “author’s author”, and her latest book, a short story collection entitled “Six Dreams about a Train and other stories” is solid proof of that. Writing short stories takes a lot of skill because one as a writer has to do the same heavy lifting in terms of character development and worldbuilding in way fewer words than a novel, but without it being cumbersome for the enjoyment of the reading. Haskins does that with such ease that one can’t but marvel. The twenty-three stories on the book show a wide range of genres, philosophies, unabashed love for rock & roll, of liminal and dreamlike realities all woven into stories with a lot of heart. Some of them could easily be expanded into a novel, or even be transformed into a movie franchise, like “Tunguska, 1987” with its surprising twists and turns. Others, like “Dragon Song” or “Six Dreams about the train” could easily be made into animated shorts that should be included in the Netflix anthology series “Love, Death & Robots”. They are that good and need more recognition.

My personal favorite though, was “Seven Kinds of Baked Goods”, a fantastical mix of fantasy, bakery, following your own path, revenge, and humor. Some bits of it touched some personal fibers (not the revenge part, but the one of breaking the mold of your family to go following your dreams), others made me laugh. But to me is a masterclass in worldbuilding, the clever use of ‘Chekov’s gun’ trope, and a well-planned ending. Yes, I’m unabashedly a fan of Maria’s writing. This story is a reason why

My only complaint, as is a very small complaint in the larger scheme of things, is that there is a story that Maria wrote that I would have loved to see in the collection: “Stars Above, Shadows Beneath”, another personal favorite of her stories. Other than that, this book is a must for any lover of short stories.

It would be the perfect reading, the best present for this Christmas season. I suggest you get your copy now, you won’t regret it.

5 out of 5 Ninja Stars. Yes. 5. Because now there are 5 Ninja Turtles as well. And this book gets them all.

You can find the link to order the book at the Zon, here.

Next book in the dock? A Few Good Elves, by Diane Morrison.

Celebrimbor: a cautionary tale

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Celebrimbor and Annatar (WETA Shadow of Mordor)

Note: this was an academic paper that my friend and beta reader Martha and I submitted for consideration to an academic book about the Tolkien Legendarium, but didn’t make the cut. So we thought in sharing it here for you to read.

Celebrimbor: a cautionary tale

Ricardo Victoria-Uribe

Martha Elba González-Alcaraz

Abstract

Fairy tales were meant to be cautionary tales to teach children about the dangers of the world. Like the legends and fairy tales that inspired it, the Tolkien Legendarium contains several lessons, including but not limited, to important ecological messages or how easy it is to fall prey of evil even with the best intentions. In particular, this last lesson derives from being responsible of our actions and considering their impact on the wider world, best exemplified by the tale of Celebrimbor.

Celebrimbor is possibly one of the most tragic characters of the Tolkien Legendarium. Previously only known by being the creator of the rings of power, fooled and later betrayed by Sauron, his life ended in a gruesome, sad way. His use in the videogames of Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War brought him wider recognition to the casual fans, speaking of how interesting this character is. In Celebrimbor’s character arc, it’s possible to see the practical application of the old saying ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions’. As the last surviving member of the House of Feanor entering the Second Age, Celebrimbor sought to redeem the evil deeds of his ancestors –especially those of his father Curufin, of whom he renounced- by creating works that helped others, by fostering friendly relationships with the dwarfs and by trying to be a good person. But it was in this quest that he fell prey of deception because he never stopped to consider one of the fatal flaws of his kin: it is not a question of whether you can do something, it’s a question of whether it is a good idea to do so. In a way, Celebrimbor is like modern creators that conceive objects at fast pace, rarely taking the time to consider the impact that their actions and designs have in the world around them.  This paper aims to explore the character of Celebrimbor and how it became a cautionary tale.

A brief review of Celebrimbor’s life and times

Celebrimbor was the son of Curufin, fifth son of Fëanor and Nerdanel, which meant that he was somewhat akin to a Noldorin prince by bloodline. During the First Age, when his grandfather dragged the Noldor back to Beleriand to recover the Silmarills from Morgoth –and in turn was included in the Doom of Mandos-, Celebrimbor fought alongside his family in the battles of Dagor-nuin-Giliath, Dagor Aglareb, and Dagor Bragollach. After that last battle, he moved alongside his father to Nargothrond, where he remained in good standing after repudiating his own father due to the later’s evil deeds and eventual banishment from the realm of Finrod Felagund. He later fought at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad and in the Sack of Nargothrond. After the fall of Nargothrond due to the ill thought advise of Turin Turámbar, Celebrimbor moved to Gondolin where he integrated into the life of the city until its fall. Unlike the rest of his family, he survived the War of Wrath and decided to stay in Middle Earth.

During the Second Age, Celebrimbor established in Eregion, at the time ruled by Galadriel and her husband Celeborn. It is interesting to note a couple of things here, as Celebrimbor becomes a more present character during the Second Age than during the First (where he admittedly was somewhat of a background character). To begin with, his relationship with Galadriel. It is well known that Galadriel had no love for Fëanor or his house, as she didn’t return to Beleriand to follow him in his foolish quest for the Simarils, but rather so she could rule a kingdom on her own, and she even fought on the side of the Teleri during the Kinslaying at Alqualondë. She also had a marked animosity towards Fëanor, who requested at least three times one of her golden hairs, request that she rejected every time (unlike with Gimli, who only asked once and received three hairs in a crystal locket). However, it seemed that Galadriel and Celebrimbor were in good, or at least decent terms, as she allowed him to enter Eregion and even counseled him later on. Here is where things become a tad muddied as there are two versions of what happened next: in one version, Galadriel and Celeborn left of their own accord, moving to Lothlórien and eventually becoming its rulers after the last Sindar King, Amroth, was lost at sea, leaving Eregion under the rule of Celebrimbor. In other version, Celebrimbor staged some sort of soft coup d’état or peaceful takeover of Eregion from Galadriel, after which she and her husband left to Lothlórien (Voices of Geekdom, 2021). Regardless of which version happened, the relationships between both kingdoms and their rulers remained friendly.

It was as leader of Eregion, when Celebrimbor made the two biggest changes on elven culture at the time: The first was the friendship with the dwarves of Moria and the elves of Eregion. Of note was the creation of the West Gate alongside his friend Narvi, a renowned dwarven craftsman. It was this friendship that allowed to have peace and stability in the region for a time.

The second one was trying to recover, or at least preserve, what was left of the essence of the land where the elves had been living for millennia and that had been in decline since Morgoth arrived to Beleriand during the First Age. What jumpstarted the project was the arrival of Annatar, Lord of Gifts and supposedly a representative of Aüle, the Valar of craftsmanship. Under his guidance, and against advice from Galadriel, who didn’t trust Annatar, Celebrimbor and his Elven smiths forged minor magic rings and later on the Rings of Power. Unbeknownst to them, the technique taught to them by Annatar, incorporated secret binding spells. Said spells had a resemblance to what Morgoth did during the Song of the Ainur, pouring his very essence, and thus creating evil upon the land, on Arda. The rings just did it in a smaller scale. At some point Celebrimbor must have suspected something, for he crafted the Three Eleven Rings on his own and in secret. By the time Annatar revealed himself as Sauron, forging and putting on his finger the One Ring, Celebrimbor had sensed the treason and sent away the Rings to Galadriel for safekeeping and distribution among those elves she considered worthy. This ignited a war in which Eregion was devastated, the elves fled the region, the dwarves closed Moria (Scott, 1972) and Celebrimbor –after a valiant effort to defend his people– was captured and tortured, dying at the hands of Sauron. His body was later used by the orcs as a ‘banner’ of sorts as they attacked the elves. This ended the lineage of Fëanor and the Doom of Mandos was fulfilled, as Sauron casted a shadow over Middle Earth for millennia to come, until his final defeat during the War of the Ring.

Overcorrection, overconfidence, or gullibility?

It is interesting to examine Celebrimbor’s personality. Of the House of Feänor, he is the closest to his forebear in skill at creating things. One could say that the rings of power have as much weight historically wise as the Silmarils. However, Celebrimbor is for the most part described as the further opposite to Feänor and to his father Curufin.  While Fëanor was selfish and hotheaded, and Curufin, for lack of a better term, was devious and evil, Celebrimbor is portrayed in the stories as someone selfless, kind and who easily shared his creations with others. Even heroic in the defense of others, as his actions during the First Age wars and the defense of Eregion during the Second Age demonstrate. It was argued that he wasn’t prideful, but it is the belief of the authors that Celebrimbor was full of pride, although unlike his forefathers, he usually kept said pride in check, and channeled it by taking bigger challenges instead of doing boastful remarks about his skills. His character became taciturn and anxious once he sensed what Sauron was doing with the Ring of Power, but by then it was too late.

Going back to the point of pride, it could be argued that like Fëanor, Celebrimbor sought to transcend the limits of what was possible to do, of his own existence (Ellison, 1990). While Fëanor managed to capture the light of the Two Trees and transform something that belonged to all into a possession coveted by him and later both his sons and Melkor himself, Celebrimbor worked to create the Three Rings trying to capture something elusive: the atemporal beauty of a land that was no more. Both were overconfident in their skills because they were that good. But whereas Fëanor became overly possessive of the Silmarils and went to war against Melkor for them, Celebrimbor went the other way and parted with them to keep them from Sauron. Fëanor never allowed to let go of the Silmarils voluntarily –in fact, he refused to hand them over to heal the Trees after Ungoliant drained and poisoned them. Celebrimbor decided to send away the rings before they were captured by Sauron, thus leaving them open to the Dark Lord.

Another aspect worth noticing of Celebrimbor and how he differentiates for his forebears are his relationships with others, especially with the Dwarfs and Galadriel, as noted in the previous section. He sought friendship where Fëanor only sought adulation and domination, and where Curufin only saw either pawns or obstacles for his ambition.

This leads to ponder whether Celebrimbor was like that by nature: less selfish and more cautious; or whether he made a conscious effort to distance himself from the worst aspects of his family and kept the family pride in check. Some children develop the opposite personalities to their parents, and it is more marked when said children are immortal elves that have had millennia to develop their own personalities. In either case, this led him to ignore other flaws he had: his gullibility, or naivety.

Why did he trust Annatar? It is clear that Sauron, as a former Maia of Aüle, did know enough craftsmanship to teach things that Celebrimbor and his elven smiths ignored or weren’t capable of discovering on their own. It has to be noted as well, that in “The Lost Tales” it’s mentioned that on those times, Sauron still possessed part of his original Maia beauty and shapeshifting powers, and remained a powerful sorcerer, which certainly helped to keep his true identity hidden, with only the most insightful elves, such as Galadriel, suspicious of the real menace beneath. Added to an evil insight which clearly Celebrimbor didn’t have, the task of creating rings that could preserve things was an attractive proposition to the elf. Celebrimbor was eager to achieve the maximum expression of his craft, thus when a stranger came with teachings that allowed him to do that, he jumped at the opportunity. It was this flaw that Sauron exploited, as he was more devious than his own former master in that regard. Whereas Morgoth was evil like a hammer, Sauron was a scalpel, and thus perhaps more dangerous to the people of Middle Earth.

Even after Galadriel warned Celebrimbor against working with Annatar, the former kept doing it. Why? It could be argued that a combination of pride, naiveté and overconfidence led Celebrimbor to think that he could overcome any danger.  After all, he had survived the War of Wrath and the previous battles. It was only when Sauron revealed his hand that Celebrimbor realized the ruse. In his search to create a magical device that would preserve the elven lands as timeless regions, he had helped the Dark Lord to create the most powerful weapon Middle Earth had seen till then. It does sound familiar to what has happened in the real world with our technology and its impact.

The impact of our actions on the wider world

Although Tolkien was adamant to refute any suggestion that elements from his legendarium were inspired by events of the real world –and for this, we must take the intention of the author at face value- it’s hard to not draw certain parallelism with Celebrimbor’s actions and those from the developer of the first chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Without trying to fall into an argument by hindsight, the story of Celebrimbor and the Rings of power certainly draws parallels with the development and application of the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), or with Oppenheimer’s development of the atomic bomb. While he lamented that the bomb killed thousands, he kept still looking for ways to make them more effective and never regretted having created it. It seems that he was actually proud of how well it worked. We are enamored with our technological development but barely consider the unintended consequences of their creation. But first, it is necessary to understand why the Rings, and in particular the Elven Rings were created.

In the elven rings, the elves projected their need to attempt preserving the world into which they were born at first and that had been severely scarred and in decline due to the wars against Morgoth. Decline that while initiated by Morgoth, the elves were complicit in accelerating, in particular thanks to Feänor and his sons. The Three Rings symbolize the fear that the elves had of fading away in a world increasingly dominated by Men –and not even the Edain-. It is in this bout of nostalgia and yearning for a past long gone, that Sauron wedges his influence under the guise of Annatar, Lord of Gifts, directing these desires into the crafting of the first sixteen rings, with the willing participation of Celebrimbor, who no doubt, thought this would be an undertaking that would rival the Silmarils or at the very least would be recognized as one of the finest and wondrous in all elven history.  

Celebrimbor had been around since the First Age. Had witnessed the best of elven creation and the horrors of the wars against Morgoth. It is a normal motivation to want to improve things, or to return them to a time where they were ‘better’ from certain point of view. Although warned by Galadriel, who suspected of Annatar’s identity and intentions (Voice of Geekdom, 2021), Celebrimbor continued. The fact that he forged the Three Elven Rings on his own and in secret could point to the assumption that at the end he was somewhat suspicious of Annatar, but not enough to cut all ties with him. He has just suspicious enough to try and use the magic techniques taught to him by Annatar on his own (Voice of Geekdom, 2021) to pour this ‘elven’ essence into the rings. In a crude modern analogy, it can be argued that all the Rings of Power, if they were software, share the same source code, although the Three Elven Rings work inside a walled environment that kept them somewhat freed from the One Ring’s corruption, but still open to Sauron’s influence if not used carefully.

This is where parallels can be drawn to modern technology. Isaac Asimov (1982) in his essay “Ring of Evil”, offers the argument that the Ring of Power, and by extension the other rings, works as an analogy of our dependence on technology and how it is causing severe damage to the world. We are reluctant of letting go technology that while highly polluting, it’s easier to use, cheaper. We are so bewitched by our creations that we prefer to remain in our zone of comfort rather than look for better options because they are unknown to us. The Three Elven Rings represent a similar desire to keep things within the familiar, the comfortable. Afterall, we now have the power to shape our own world at an unprecedented scale. Victor Papanek (1985), one of the first designers to speak about sustainable design once famously wrote that “Designers, have become a dangerous race”, for their ability to churn out products of little real value, to create needs people didn’t have before and making them more and more attached to their own possessions and technology (which on itself has an interesting parallel to the effect that the Rings of Power have on the Dwarfs).

Using the example about the development of the CFCs, these chemicals were developed to solve an increasing human need: to prolong food storage by keeping it cold for longer periods without using ice. At the time these chemicals were developed, it was unknown that they would create the ozone-depleting and greenhouse gas effects on the atmosphere, for these effects started being detected after 30 years of use. In both cases we can see that, by trying to make life more comfortable, the creations had bigger impact on the world than what was originally intended.

Fate or Freedom of choice?

Was Celebrimbor doomed from the start? It depends on which perspective it’s seen from. Let’s review first the basics of the Doom of Mandos, which comprised eight conditions (Tolkien, 1977):

1. No one who follows Fëanor or his followers will be able to return to Valinor.

2. Anyone under the Doom will suffer greatly.

3. Fëanor’s oath to recover the silmarils will drive their lives, but it will also betray them and cause them to lose the treasures they pursue.

4. Anything they start will end badly, even if it started well.

5. Those from the house of Fëanor and his followers will always be dispossessed.

6. They will have gruesome deaths. Either murdered, tormented or in pain.

7. Their spirits will not be able to return to life for a very long time and they will find little pity around them.

8. Those who don’t die will grow weary of the world and become as shadows of regret before the humans appear on the world.

There are a couple caveats to this Doom that have to be mentioned.  While it was aimed mainly to Fëanor family’s, it also applied to any Noldor that decided to follow Fëanor’s lead into Beleriand. However, Galadriel, her siblings and family barely escaped it because while they went there, it wasn’t because they liked or followed Fëanor, rather they had other ideas in mind, mostly protect their people from his madness or in the case of Galadriel, forge a kingdom of her own. Thus, they stayed out of the House of Fëanor misadventures, except when they involved in their schemes, as was the case with Turgon (founder of Gondolin) and with Finrod Felagund (founder of Nargothrond); or like Thingol, king of Doriath, who tied his kingdom’s destiny to that of the House of Fëanor by requesting Beren to go and find a Silmaril in order to allow him to marry Lúthien.

Although Celebrimbor didn’t join in the evil deeds of his father (even getting him expelled from Nargothrond) and grandfather, he was still of the House of Fëanor and left Valinor, and thus, the Doom followed him. The interesting thing with prophecies, -which is what the Doom ultimately is- is that they can be interpreted in all different ways, in order to fit the agenda or the historical perspective of those that follow it. The very same text of Lord of the Rings provides what is perhaps the best example of this via the ‘No living man being able to kill’ prophecy of the Witch King, which got upended by Eowyn cleverly pointing out that she was no man. Some prophecies, both in real life and in fantasy, on the other hand have the tendency to become self-fulfilling, as with Turin, which draws parallels to Oedipus’ own tragedy. Lastly, prophecies in literature are as much a study and a commentary on human nature as a fantasy element to guide the plot. Thus, it could be argued that the Doom Mandos casted upon the House of Feänor was a self-fulfilling prophecy because Mandos knew very well the kind of psyche Feänor had and had instilled in his own family. In a way, the Doom was as much a prophecy as it was a warning about how the flaws of the family would spell problems for them if left unchecked, which is what happened at the end.

From a meta level, of course, he was doomed because the story required him to be. Regardless of how Tolkien merged his initial legendarium with the later works of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, by the time the reader gets to know about Celebrimbor, his doom is a done deal, a necessity to explain the backstory of the Rings of Power. In the same meta level, the writer is the creator god of the story, manipulating the events to fit the narrative they wish to tell. Thus, the characters fit what a growing number of philosophers and even scientist argue, which is that free will does not exist and everything is preordained (Burkeman, 2021). This would absolve Celebrimbor of any misgivings because he wasn’t responsible for them. However, aside the fact that taking that perspective would open a can a of worms outside the scope of this paper, it would be better to keep an in-story perspective.After all, this paper is about the character as it exists within the story and not about the intention of the author when creating it.

Then, from an in-story point of view, like all the other Noldorin elves that followed Fëanor, was followed by the Doom. He showed again and again that he was willing to go against the tide that was the House of Feänor if their course of actions contradicted his own beliefs. The problem was, as mentioned above, and Mandos knew that very well, that the whole house shared some inherent traits and flaws, be it that they were inherited or instilled, and the biggest flaw of the house was pride. They were a prideful people, well acquainted with their own unparalleled skill that thought that any challenge thrown their way would be easily conquerable. In that regard, while Celebrimbor was described as having ‘an almost “dwarvish” obsession with crafts’ (Tolkien, 1980), he was also a more thoughtful, conscientious elf than his forebears, and yet, he still went willingly and helped forge the rings without asking himself not whether he could, but whether he should create them. An elf his age knew very well, or at least should have heard of the kind of trickery that Morgoth first, and Sauron later, were capable of. But he found very tempting the challenge to help Sauron as Annatar, to create the rings.

In Celebrimbor two major flaws collide, pride, like Feänor, and gullibility (Voice of Geekdom, 2021), which certainly is a curious contrast to his grandfather’s paranoia. The extremes touch at some point. Celebrimbor dedicated most of his time to his craft, which yielded tangible results. It could be argued that once he saw the development of the Rings of Power and decided to create his own improved version to prove himself the superior craftsman. Or craftselve in this case. Fisher (2008) considers that the creation of the Three Rings and their destinies, echo the work of Feänor and the Silmarils. Following this path, Celebrimbor, like Feänor before him, had at every moment an opportunity to back off, to change of idea, and in the case of former to investigate his new associate, of listening to Galadriel’s warning. But the pride and the allure of seeing himself as a legendary craftsman blinded him until it was too late, and the changes he did to the Elven rings were too little. However, in his defense, and unlike Feänor who coveted the Silmarils over anything else, Celebrimbor gave away the Three Rings to keep them away from Sauron and thus they remained somewhat unspoiled by the corruption. This proves that he had choices, that he could have changed paths if he so desired. It was just too late to change paths by the time things came to a head. Many of us tend to act the same way, forced to change our patterns or habits only when things have reached an extreme that puts at risk something we care –health, family, the planet-, not always managing to solve the problem.

Celebrimbor had the opportunity to change that fate by returning to Valinor instead of remaining in the Middle Earth after the Downfall of Melkor, but he didn’t. He fell prey of his own flaws because he never stopped to consider them, to reflect upon the failings of his predecessors and how they formed his own choices. Being member of an immortal race, one may have expected that his apparent superiority and long life should have made him more reflective, and yet, his pride over his craftsmanship won over. The pride that resulted from such action called forth the Doom and dragged him, the remaining elves in Middle Earth and pretty much the whole world into a conflict that would turn into the land a lesser version of what it used to be, the very opposite effect of what the elves wanted to achieve.

Conclusion

Celebrimbor serves as a cautionary tale in many levels: the need to be socially responsible of our actions and choices, the need to keep in check our own pride, to be aware of our own flaws, of the use of our technological prowess without carefully examining possible consequences. Celebrimbor is in a way, one of the best examples that the road to Hell, or in this case Mordor, is paved with good intentions.

Celebrimbor fell prey to Sauron’s tricks and although Galadriel warned him about it, he didn’t listen because he was busy trying to achieve the next level of craftmanship, which may or may not have equivalent to his grandfather’s Silmarils. Good intentions alone are not enough, we need to make a conscious effort to keep out worst instincts at bay and ponder the effects that our decisions have in the world at large.

References

Asimov, I. 1982. Ring of Evil. Asimov on Science Fiction. New York. Avon Books.
Burkeman, O. 2021 The clockwork universe: Is free will an illusion? The Long Read. The Guardian. Available through: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/apr/27/the-clockwork-universe-is-free-will-an-illusion [Accessed April 28 2021]

Ellison, J. 1990 “From Fëanor to Doctor Faustus: a creator’s path to self-destruction.” 5th Tolkien Society Workshop.

Fisher, J. 2008. Three Rings for—Whom Exactly? And Why?: Justifying the Disposition of the Three Elven Rings. Tolkien Studies 5, 99-108.

Mulder K.F. (2013) Impact of New Technologies: How to Assess the Intended and Unintended Effects of New Technologies?. In: Kauffman J., Lee KM. (eds) Handbook of Sustainable Engineering. Dordrecht, Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8939-8_35

Papanek, V. (1985). Design for the Real World. New York. Pantheon Books.

Scott, Nan C. (1972).”War and Pacifism in The Lord of the Rings,” Tolkien Journal: Vol. 5 : Iss. 1 Article 9. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/tolkien_journal/vol5/iss1/9

Tolkien, J. R. R., & Tolkien, C. (1977). The Silmarillion. London, Allen & Unwin.

Tolkien, J.R.R., / Tolkien, C. (1980) Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth. New York, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Voice of Geekdom, 2021. Celebrimbor – Forger of the Rings of Power | DISCUSSION. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1mGQhhZt_g&ab_channel=VoiceofGeekdom [Accessed 27 May 2021].

Carved Dreams of Love & Sorrow. A Dark Dice Podcast Fanfic

/ Ricardo Victoria / Leave a comment

Note: this fanfic is inspired by the Dark Dice Podcast (a live play D&D horror podcast), that I’ve been listening to in recent months as I work towards the release of my second novel next week. They have a fanfic contest and here is my entry. I haven’t write a fanfic in more than 10 years, so this was quite an interesting activity.

Withour further ado here is the story.

Carved Dreams of Love & Sorrow.

By Ricardo Victoria

Under regular circumstances, sleep would be the best respite for the weary, but not for Soren Arkwright. His weary bones claimed for rest after the latest hunt, but his mind wasn’t that kind to go there. To the dreams. Then again a hunter deprived of sleep is of no help to anyone during the job. It’s a risk. And Soren preferred to minimize risk if possible. In his line of work, the hunter that manages to live to old age is the one that gets into the practice of managing risk. And he was not planning to die soon, even if he felt like he had been living for thousand years.

 The barn that has been hosting him since his arrival to Ilmater’s Hope, while not exactly the best accommodation in the town, had something that the local inn didn’t have: privacy. For Soren’s dreams were not the kind to be shared by mumbling in his sleep. While he didn’t want to sleep, he would have to or he would collapse from exhaustion.

Soren took his equipment off, leaving it neatly accommodated in a corner near the improvised hay bed. Then there was the lamp. That accursed object that he has had for who knows how long. Really useful, utterly creepy, completely unsettling and cursed. And yet he couldn’t remember a day since he had become Soren, that he hadn’t have it by his side. The things it did to the souls of the dying or long dead was nothing but torture. But useful torture nonetheless for his line of work. He put it as far away as he could from his makeshift bed.

“No need to add fuel to the fire of the nightmares,” Soren muttered to himself, and the goats keeping him company. His best hope was for a dark void of dreamless sleep until the next morning. “Then again, I never get what I want.”

Soren looked at the makeshift hay bed. The owner of the barn had been kind enough to lend him a couple of threadbare blankets to use over the haystacks.

“I’ve seen worse,” he muttered. “I’ve had worse”.

It wasn’t the best bed in the world, but certainly beat sleeping in the cold floor, or worse, in the limits of the town, where the Dead Pines began. At this point in life, he would take this as an improvement. If only it meant that he could rest.

Soren lay upon the bed and staring at the ceiling of the barn, closed his eyes in an attempt to conjure a blank sleep.

This was one of those time he wished sleep had evaded him.

It always started the same way. Darkness, voices whispering the name of the “Carver of Dreams”, a temple lit by torches, a foul smell, his hand bloodied as he lifted a dagger from the open wound of a being he had sacrificed to It. To the god that had promised to return to him what he had lost. It was a weird experience to see himself from afar doing those acts, carving sentient beings with the help of his hooded followers. It was as if his body, his mind and his soul were separate entities now.

“Hahahahahaha!” Soren heard himself laughing. And his heart ached. The pain was so great that he dropped to his knees while grabbing his chest. As he struggled for air, gasping, the room twisted around him, rotating at incredible speed, as if he were at the eye of a small tornado.

Soren blinked a few times as his eyes accustomed themselves to the bright light of day. He was in a younger body, fitter, stronger, full of vitality.

“Soren!” a female voice called after him.

He knew Soren wasn’t his real name. Not in the dreams in any case. But he couldn’t remember his real, original name, if he ever had one. Thus in his dreams, he was Soren, as always.

Sitting under a tree, during a warm summer day after a hard day at helping repair the walls from the damage caused by the last monster attack, Soren was taking a needed break. Wearing only his leather pants and a white shirt, the young man was spreading avocado over a couple of toasted slices of bread.

“Soren! Soren! Where are you? Oh! There you are!”

Sored looked up to see who was calling for him and saw her. The woman that occupied his dreams and every free thought he had while awake. She smelled of raspberries. Her dark brown hair flowed freely as she ran towards him, carrying a small bunny in her delicate hands. Her most striking features were her eyes., Bright, full of hope and determination. Her voice was clear, melodic, sweet and but with a hint of hidden force. Soren couldn’t remember her name, as hard as he tried. But he knew his heart belonged to her since the first day he saw her at the castle.

Soren looked up to her.

“That is a nice bunny you have there.”

“Phillipus? Yes, he is. The only good thing from that meeting with another suitor. I hate those things. They are so vain, so boorish. They think that their riches make them better than anyone.

“Would you like to share an avocado toast m’lady?” Soren offered one of the toasts to her. “Maybe it will help erasing the bad taste said meeting left in your mouth.”

“That sounds delicious my gallant knight,” She sat next to him, set free Phillipus and took the toast.

They ate in silence for a few minutes. As Soren prepared a third toast, he looked at her and smiled.

“I don’t think your father would approve of you consorting with the likes of me, m’lady.”

“If I listened to my father,” she replied with a laugh. “I would be prancing around in silly dresses, blushing at the poor attempts of seduction from the entitled brats of the ruling families of this place. Luckily for us, I prefer to listen to my heart.”

“And what does your heart say, m’lady?” Soren looked at her eyes, making her blush.

“That I want to have a life outside this walls. To live a free life, next to a gallant knight,” she replied, staring wistfully to the few clouds in the otherwise fine day.

“Lofty dreams m’lady. But I don’t see how you plan to achieve that.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I have a good idea where to start, with the gallant knight,” She smiled this time. Her smile turning into a wide grin showcasing her pearl-like teeth. They made her eyes shine with greater intensity, like stars.

“Then allow me to offer you a helping hand,” Soren took her hand as he leaned to kiss her softly in the lips.

As he kissed her, the tornado engulfed them. Soren was transported once more to another time, another place.

+++

He was tending to his horse as the sun set in the horizon. It had been a long week of combat and he barely made it alive. If he didn’t know better, he could swear that his liege was trying to get rid of him by sending him into increasingly dangerous missions. But that would mean that he found out about Soren and his daughter sleeping together several times.

Right in cue, as it is bound to happen in the dreamscape, she appeared, running towards him. Her face betrayed her increasing fear. She grabbed Soren’s hand and led him to his horse.

“He found about us. I’m not sure how. You have to escape. My father won’t let us stay together.”

Soren looked at her. He knew this was a possibility and had been running possible scenarios in his head. Maybe if he talked with the lord. Maybe he had earned the right to be a suitor of her by virtue of his skills at the battlefield. Surely he would prefer to have a son-in-law capable of defending his domains from attackers, instead of those spoiled brats. But deep down he knew that wouldn’t ever happen. No. she was right. Running away was the only option. But not without her.

“I can’t leave you. I will face him if I must. I will earn his approval one way or another,” Soren said, looking at her and kissing her hands, to reassure her that everything would be fine.

“The only thing you will earn is your death!” her father yelled across the stables, followed by his two most trusted bodyguards, the same men that had trained Soren for years and had made him the most lethal knight in the land.

“I don’t want to do this sir. You are my liege. I bound to serve you,” Soren said, trying to defuse the situation. To gain some time.

“And yet you disgraced said bond by besmirching the honor of my daughter!”

“He has more honor than any of your sycophants, father!” She replied, interposing her body between Soren and her father. But Soren gently set her aside with one hand, as he drew his sword with the other.

“Silence child! After I’m done with him, I will deal with you!”

“You won’t do anything of the sort,” Soren replied through gritted teeth. He knew how the lord dealt with his wife when she disobeyed. Soren wouldn’t allow him to put a hand on her. “To protect her, I will do what I must.”

“Attack! You filthy brigand!” the lord launched an attack that Soren parried with effort. The old man might had been a great fighter in decades past, but not anymore. Soren was more concerned about the two bodyguards. They would prove a tougher challenge.

“Stand aside,” the lord said to his bodyguards with seething voice. “Honor demands that he is mine.”

A great fighter, Soren thought, but not a smart one. The duel was quick, barely a couple of parries and attacks before Soren’s sword skewered the man through the heart, result of the age gap. A quick and painless death was better than the man had deserved, and Soren was regretful of doing it in front of her, but the dice were cast.

The bodyguards launched into an attack to avenge their lord, while Soren prepared for the battle of his life. As he raised his sword to block an attack, the tornado swallowed all of them, and everything went dark.

++++

Soren’s body was aching, every bone in his body hurt, every cut throbbed. Bu the worst pain was that of his soul. If felt as if someone was carving his dreams for some nefarious purpose that eluded him. Soren opened his eyes once more. His body was older, as currently, bleeding from the left arm, as her, his wife was tending to his wounds. She smiled at him and Soren returned the smile. He looked around, they were sitting outside in the porch of their humble home, in the outskirts of the forest. They were wearing peasant clothes. Her hands were delicate no more. They had grown stronger and with calluses, the mark of hard labor. Her eyes were the same though, shining like stars.

“I’m sorry for having you dragged you into this life,” Soren said, breaking the silence.

“I have no need for material things. I don’t care if we have to sleep with the pigs during winter, and break our backs during harvest. As long as I have you at my side, I’m happy my dear Soren,” She replied with her sweet, melodic voice, barely changed by the years of hardship. “But I do wish you had left those soldiers alone. You are all bruised and you attracted more attention than needed.”

“I had to do what I was raised to do, protect others.”

“Always my gallant knight,” she said, as she kissed him in the forehead.

Noise of horses galloping in their direction broke the kiss. Both looked towards the road and saw a band of knights riding towards them. Soren stood up, looking for his sword, the only thing he hadn’t sold after escaping. The only thing left from his time as a knight. She took the pitchfork that was near the door and stood in front of him.

The riders stopped, and the leader of men, a man taller than Soren, decked in armor plater, with long, flowing hair kept away from his face by a silver circlet on his head, dismounted his warhorse and approached the couple, his hands raised in sign of peace.

“Soren Arkwright?” the man asked, with a deep voice and a thick accent.

“Who wants to know?” she asked.

“I’m not here to hurt you m’lady,” the man made a small curtesy towards her. “Or Soren. I’m here because I have an offer for you. From the king.”

“From the king you say?” She asked again.

“Yes. May I come in? I will leave my weapons outside, with my companions,” the man looked at the other riders, still on their saddles.

Soren and his wife looked at each other. Years of loving marriage under the stars had allowed them to develop the silent language that only soulmates can.

“Alright,” Soren said, looking at the man to the face, dropping his voice an octave. “But if you attempt anything or hurt her, you will see firsthand why I’m a wanted man.”

“That’s part of the reason why I’m here. I’m Commander Asphodel,” the man said, extending his hand to shake Soren’s. “Of the High Guard. The Darklands have become a very dangerous land.”

“Well,” Soren replied as he shook his hand and led him to the inside of the house “You can’t expect different from a land with such name.”

Soren, his wife and Asphodel took a seat at the wooden table that made the main piece of furniture in the room.

“Our King and the King of the Elves have been creating a pact with other forces that I’m not in liberty to disclose yet. With the aim to stop whatever is creating such perils.”

“And what does that have to do with me? With us?” Soren asked, confused.

“I’m under orders to put together a band of the best fighters, warriors, hunters on the region, to serve as strike force to destroy anyone or anything helping this source of evil in planned, secret and precise attacks while the Kings march to war. A covert team if you will. Of course I would like to have the fabled former knight Soren Arkwright in my team. Your skills at arms and as a tracker are the stuff of legends, even after this time.”

“It seems that what I’m not good is to keep hidden,” Sored replied, ruefully.

“No offense, but we knew where you and m´lady were staying since day one. Her father was after all, someone close to the crown. But the King is a romantic at heart so he ordered us to leave you alone as long as you keep your head down. Which you did until that bar fight. Was all that necessary?”

“Those guards were hurting the waitress. It was necessary,” Soren said with a tone of voice that left no room for further argument.

“Anyways,” Asphodel said, retaking the original topic of conversation, “The King wants you, like me, to join us in this effort.”

“And if I say no?” Soren asked, looking at his wife. “It’s a dangerous request. And I won’t leave my wife alone.”

“You will then be taken prisoner. Which really I don’t want. It will be a waste of resources.” Asphodel rubbed the back of his neck. “But if you say yes, and being aware of both the dangers and the need to keep safe your wife, the King has allowed me to offer you the following: just payment for every job you come with us, protection for your wife while you are away and within certain time, a royal pardon, freeing you from persecution from any past or recent crime. And after that probation time is done and the pardon granted, you are free to go. You could even take a few extra jobs of your choosing to get better payment. I think is a good offer.”

“What do you think my dear?” Soren asked to his wife.

“I don’t like the idea of being separated from you, or that you are risking your life.” She replied

“But it could free us.”

“Sigh,” She said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Ok, take the offer, but only if you promise that once you get the pardon, you will stop.”

“I promise.”

“Good,” Asphodel said, standing up. “We leave the day after tomorrow. I suggest you put your business in order.”

“The only business to order is spending the day with the love of my life.”

As Soren kissed  his wife, the tornado grew again, transporting him to another time. Taking him away from his beloved wife.

+++

“One last job my dear,” Soren said as he packed up his things.

“You always say that,” His wife replied, ruefully. “The King pardoned years ago and yet you keep taking jobs. You always promise that one last job and you break that promise. You have done it so many times by now that I don’t expect anything from you. It’s like you don’t want to be with me anymore.”

“Please, don’t say that.” “This is my last job, I swear. The payment I will get from helping to bring down that warlock and his cult will set us for the rest of our lives. I can finally give you what you deserve.”

“How many times I have to tell you that I don’t care for those things?”

“You say that. But I see you staring at the ladies in the town, and the dressed they buy, at their houses. I just want to give you the life you deserve”

“What about what I want?” She raised her voice.

“I swear. One last job and then I’m done for good. I will become a gardener here in town if you want.”

“If you exit that door, I can’t promise you I will be here when you return.”

“Yes you will. Because you love me as much as I do. And I always return to you and you know it.”

“Not anymore.”

“I will see you soon my love.”

As soon as Soren crossed the door, darkness swallowed him.

++++

“If you let me go, I will give you anything your heart desire. Riches beyond your imagination. Your own fiefdom.” The warlock said, begging for his life as he crawled away from Soren. They were alone, in the deepest part of the warlock’s hideout, a cave barely lit by torches. The fight had been long, as the warlock led a band of cultists dedicated to a god with no known name. Both sides had lost men, until Soren had managed to break the cult´s defenses and carved his way through them, chasing the warlock. A depraved man that had murdered countless as sacrifice for his eldritch deity.

“I don’t need anything of that. What I’m being paid to kill you is enough for me. And I already possess the most valuable thing I could want in this plane. And I’m going back to her as soon as I finish with you. Any last words?” Soren said, sarcasm dripping from every word he uttered.

“Ah, so you are one of those. A hopeless lover that regrets leaving who he loves behind every time someone hires you,” the warlock said, mocking Soren.

“Interesting last words you are saying,” Soren replied, pointing the tip of his sword to the chest of the man.

“Even love can be destroyed, fade away. People die. But if you let me go, I will give you that,” the warlock pointed to a lamp resting of a wooden table. “That lamp has the ability to bring back the souls of the deceased to their body.”

“They would remain dead anyways.”

“Not if you use the lit the lamp next to them right after their death. They will linger between life and death long enough for you to find someone to heal them.”

“You are lying.”

“I swear it is true. My god gave it to me. It never lies.”

“Well,” Soren smiled.  “There is only one way to verify that, don’t you think?”

He pushed his sword through the heart of the warlock, and the air echoed with a preternatural scream.

++++

Soren found himself walking under a fading snowfall, down the familiar road to his house. He smiled. His last job, and he meant it this time, had secured him a small fortune. Enough to take his wife away from exile at the edge of a forest and to a nicer house, with all the amenities she desired. As he walked, his smile faded away, for a column of smoke rose on the horizon, from the exact location where his house was. He dropped everything but his sword and the lamp and ran, as faster as he had ever run. Until his lungs hurt and his drumming heart was knocking the walls of his chest with force.

Knock.

Soren arrived at what was left of his home. Everything was burned to ashes,

“No. No. No! Not again! Not this.”

He grabbed the lamp and placed it near her lifeless body. If what the depraved warlock had told him was true, it could bring her back to the land of the living, just long enough to find her a healer. To make a miracle work. He was Soren Arkwright after all, the hero that had made the impossible, possible. He had done that to serve others. Why he wouldn’t do that to serve himself?

Knock

Seconds, more akin to eons for him passed. As if hit by a bolt, her body trembled and she sit, screaming at the horror of her bloody wounds, at the churning pain caused by her broken body.

“What you have done my love? Why you are making me suffer like this?”

“I… I… I need you.” Soren replied as he hugged her, sobbing. “I don’t want to lose you. I can make this better. I can find someone to heal you. To bring you back.”

“It can’t be my love. I’m dead. I have to go.”

“No! Please don’t go. Don’t leave me.

“There is nothing you can do my sweet Soren. You can’t change the past. Your abandonment.”

Knock.

“I know I could have done things better. I could have been a better husband. To pay you more attention… I know I can be better. I promise!”

“It is too late now. See, I’m dead now. A spirit about to cross to the beyond. You lost me, you lost us. You squandered our love. You are still alive. You have to return to the living, move on from here. It’s not healthy to remain trapped in this space..”

“No! Please let me stay a little bit longer. I promise I will never leave your side again. I will be a better husband!”

“It can’t be my love. I don’t belong to this plane of existence anymore.”

“Please I beg you! I will do anything!”

Knock.

“Anything you say?” Her smile turned into a wide, wicked grin showcasing rows of sharp teeth, her eyes shapeshifted into two red orbs, with a third one appearing in her forehead. It wasn’t his wife anymore, but a creature made of… the very same matter that nightmares are made of. A mockery of a human being he once loved with all his heart.

“Yes!” Sore replied without doubt, tears running down his face

Knock

“I can give you want. More time with her. If you seek me once more,” the creature whispered with a voice that didn’t sound human.

Knock

“I don’t care; I just want to see you again. I will seek anyone that can help me to achieve that.”

Knock

“Do you seek him?” the creature whispered before disappearing as if it were a mirage.

Knock

The knocks on the door became louder as Soren stirred from his sleep. Pulled from the deep well of memory, regret and sorrow, his mind broke free as he opened his eyes. Groggy, he stood up and lit on the lamp near the barn’s door. His breathing was heavy, his chest hurt and there was this void in the mouth of his stomach. The dream eroded from his mind as he took a few steps towards the door. It was nothing but a distant, confusing memory now.

Soren opened the door just enough to see who was. In the darkness of the night he couldn’t see anyone in his line of sight. He blinked a few times to wake up properly.

“Down here,” a female voice called, startling him. There was something… familiar in that voice. Something that reminded him of the past, of the lady in his dreams, a fading memory.

But it can’t be, he thought, as his heart gave a jump.

He looked down and stared at his interlocutor. In front of him there was a woman, a dwarven paladin. Her soft features betrayed the strength of her heart and the worries currently running through her head. But her most striking features were her eyes. Her eyes had a spark Soren hadn’t seen in… who know how long. Those eyes full of hope and determination that rekindled Soren’s soul. A reminder of another soul, another time that he yearned for but now it was long gone, to never return.

“Are you Soren Arkwright, the Monster Hunter?” the dwarven paladin asked. Her voice was clear, melodic yet firm and forceful. His heart ached, as the woman continued. “I’m Sister Tsavorite Cavernsfall, I here because I have an urgent matter to discuss with you.”

Soren smiled. Monster Hunter was a better moniker than the other whispered in his nightmares. He smiled at Sister Cavernfall. Maybe she would like to share an avocado toast while they talked.

The End?

Geeky updates and Free Cursed Titans chapters for you

/ Ricardo Victoria / Leave a comment

As you can notice, I have fallen behind once more in updating the blog. I mean, I can see the cowebs al over the place. In part is because I’ve been so busy with my day job that I can barely have respite. Let me tell you, teaching online is not as easy as it sounds. I actually find it more stressing (although I welcome the rest of my work activities that allow me to do them from home, which is good for someone who suffers from anxiety and doesn’t get along with his colleagues). Another reason is that Geoff -my editor- and I have been putting the final touches on “The Cursed Titans” to get it ready for launch later in July. And the final reason, is that I have been missing motivation to write about something not being a short story or the Tempest Blades Universe. But I will try to correct that with some quick comments about the geeky stuff I’ve been doing:

-I wanted the Snyder cut. Much virtual ink has been written about it, so I will keep my thoughts succint: it’s is way, way better, the characters are more fleshed, more akin to their comic counterparts, specially Batman and Flash. The final scene with Flash rings true to what the character is actually capable of doing and not the comic relief that Whedon made him be. The use of Darkseid as the big scope villain was awesome (he is one if not my favorite villian due how nightmarish he is). And lastly but more important: Cyborg. He is the central character of this film, the heart of the story and the way Whedon mutilated Ray Fisher’s work is a travesty. Ray and by extension Cyborg, deserved better. But I’va learned that since the ending of the DCAU, WB and DC can’t avoid getting in their own ways when it comes to using their characters in media representation. I have no hopes for a larger DCEU and I guess I will have to settle for good individual movies.

-Marvel on the other hand is knocking it out of the field with their tv shows. Wandavision was innovative, creative and possibly, one of the best depictions of depression and mourning ever made in media. Very cathartic given the times we live. The ending could have been slightly better, but I’m eager to see what Wanda does in Doctor Strange 2. While Wandavision is the superior show, I’m enjoying more Falcon & The Winder Soldier. Despite it’s flaws, the way the stakes are increasing, the cast and above all the discussions on systemic racism and legacies are what make this show work. Wyatt Russell is doing a super job as John Walker and his slow descent into madness, Daniel Bruhl should have his own show/movie leading the Thunderbolts as Zemo, Sebastian Stan is portratying Bucky with the world weariness aura of a soldier tired of fighting but not knowing what else to do to redeem for his past mistakes (sound similar to Fionn). But in my opinion the best has been Anthony Mackie. His portrayal of Sam as a good person who is a hero because it comes naturally to who he is, is making of Falcon one of my favorite Avengers ever. Heck at this point I’m wondering if Mackie’s Sam will eventually be able to lift Mjolnir. Because he is worthy and you can see from the very first minute why Steve chose him as his successor.

-Also, I liked the ending of Attack on Titan, even if I find it depressing. No idea why people keep saying is a run of the mill shonen ending. It’s barely bittersweet!

-I might have plotted the whole Tempest Blades story for the next (and final) 2-3 books. More details later.

-Finally, and as courtesy of my publisher, Artemesia Publishing, you can read for free the first 2 chapters of Tempest Blades: The Cursed Titans, by using the QR code in the below promotional image. And remember that if you like that preview, you can pre order the book here (I will be sharing non-Amazon links once I have them).

P.D. Would you be interested in purchasing either a collection of storiestaking place in the Tempest Blades Universe, or a book in the vein of ‘World of Ice & Fire’, written in character by Harland and talking about the myth and lore of the Tempest Blades Universe.



New Year, New Book, New Cover for The Cursed Titans

/ Ricardo Victoria / Leave a comment

So, first of all, Happy (belated) New Year! We survived 2020 and now we need to focus on surviving 2021.

That said, I have a new book coming out this year, on July 20th, to be exact. The second book on the Tempest Blades series, “The Cursed Titans” follows up on the consequences of the events in the previous book (but don’t worry, it’s written to be also a stand-alone adventure). And the main focus changes from Fionn to Alex (the 2nd book will be Gaby-centric and hopefully the 4th one will focus on Sam). So with a new book, comes a new blurb, and a new cover, which I will be revealing here.

The blurb is:

“The triennial Chivalry Games have returned! After helping to destroy the Withered King, Alex and the rest of the group find out that saving the world has consequences. While he is secretly battling with depression and with the Alliance on the verge of collapse, a diplomatic summit and the Chivalry Games—to be held in the far off Kuni Empire—may give everyone the opportunity to turn things around. Alex builds a team to represent the Foundation in the Games, facing off against the best fighters in the world.

When an ancient being tries to raise legendary nightmares known as Titans using the peace talks as a trap, Alex has to find a way to save everyone before it is too late. Alex must learn that he is not truly alone to save the world from the chaos of the Titans.

In a world where magic and science intermingle, anything is possible.“

And here is the full cover art. Like the last time, it was created by my friend and fellow Mexican artist Salvador Velázquez. I have to say, this one is more impressive than the previous one. On it, you can see Alex, Kasumi (new character!), Sam, and Sid battling a biomechanical wyrm outside a temple at the Kuni Empire capital.

This is how it looks with the blurb (ISBN barcode pending):

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And this is the Front cover:

You can start preordering the book at this link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1951122208/

This is looking to be a pretty epic book, between the cover and the story. Remember, 20th of July. 

Forty Candles

/ Ricardo Victoria / Leave a comment

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So yeah, in October of this year of the Lord, 2020, year of many, many, many events, I’m reaching my 40th birthday. That’s a big number isn’t? If these were the Middle Ages I would be considered an elder of the village. In prehistoric times, I would be downright ancient. So I’m taking this with some perspective.

If I’m honest, I never expect to reach this age. When I was 16, I had the odd feeling I wouldn’t go past my 30s’ at best. Why? I’m not sure. I guess a general sense of dread of the future plus depression at the time. That’s why I perhaps was in a hurry to achieve things, to leave a legacy.

Reaching 40 has put things in perspective. I’m in the middle of the way. Reaching this age in 2020 has a peculiar meaning to boot. This year, with all the things that are going on have made me meditate in the future -anxiety included- and in doing things I never imagined to do, like a will (yes, because you never know and you don’t want to leave problems behind).

But I consider mysefl lucky, perhaps priviliged, because I’ve been able to achieve some of the dreams-transformed-into-goals I had at 16. I was able to study a postgrad, to live in a different country for an extended period of time, to visit several countries, to get married, to write a book (more on it later). There were some goals I never considered, like owning a house (well, I’m still paying for it, but you know the meaning), doing road trips with not even where to sleep being planned, reaching the finales of a competition (Heroclix in this case), working on a comic book shop, and so on. Others were planned for after I reached 40 and yet I managed to do them last year (like taking my wife to her dream holiday to Tokyo, after a gruelling year of work and savings, starting something, which was Inklings Press). I’m not bragging. I consider myself lucky because not many can do or live what I have been able to. I know all of the above have been a privilige. That’s why this month, full of reflection is teaching me to not take it for granted. Because I know there are goals that won’t come to fruition and I have to learn to let those go and as a friend told me a few weeks ago, set up new goals to keep me motivated.

On the book thing (remember I said there was more on this), I recall I has this sense of dread that if I didn’t write a novel and publish it before my 30s’, I would never do it. I had this idea that to leave a legacy I had to be this famous writer. When the book didn’t materialize out of thin air, I moved the goalpost to my 35 birthday. Well, I started to write a book, but didn’t finish it till a couple of years later and certaintly took a couple more to get it published (because the reality is that the publishing industry is an endurance race). And fame hasn’t arrived. But I think that’s fine for a few reasons: I wouldn’t have been able to write the books, the stories I’m writing now, if I hadn’t had more life experiences, more maturity. I needed this growth in order to write a book that I hope, connects with the reader in an emotional level, beyond a simple thrill. And in the case of fame, well, fame is overrated. I mean, having extra money to pay my mortgage (or move to a better zone), to take my wife to more trips so she can increase her photograph catalogue, or adopt more dogs would be awesome (Netflix, call me). But paraphrasing and editing Master Yoda’s quote, “Fame. Fortune. A good person craves not these things.” I think it is more important to be a good person who learns to enjoy the little, the medium, the large, the simple and the complicated things life gives us. To enjoy the little triumphs we achieve (including getting up from bed in a bad day) and learn from the fails we endure. To help and lift others in whatever capacity we can. We are what we leave behind.

I still think that the Ancient Greek had it right. True immortality is the legacy, the memories, you leave behind. I just hope for the next 40-50 years allow me to leave a good legacy behind and people remind me kindly.

And I still want that TV Tropes page dedicated to my writings.