Tag Archives: The Story of Jasmine

Jasmine Snippet #46

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Notes from The Story of Jasmine continue:

Jasmine Faction card of Ahearn from the “Jasmine: The Battle for the Mid-Realm” collector card game.

With the gathering of the handful of survivors left, Ahearn mourned the loss of those Bardulf had struck down. Though he could never condone Bardulf’s actions, he could understand Bardulf’s anger. He did not like it either when he was told the princess was essentially unavailable. Ahearn realized Bardulf had the same stake in the matter as he: the Kingdom of UR. The Kingdom would belong to any man who succeeded in marrying this particular pawn. Take the princess out of the equation and, and … success would be much harder to achieve.

Jasmine was the name of the star-like white flowers that bloomed at the grotto at the entrance. The Guardian kept referring to her as “Jasmine.” The Guardian volunteered some important information. It was completely unnecessary for Ahearn to retrace “Jasmine’s” exact path underground. The Guardians freely told Ahearn precisely where they told her to go. All he needed to do was to head for The Great White Throne mountain to an old temple situated there. It was a ride a little past Oxted,

Bidding the Guardians farewell, he turned to leave. Then he paused. Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out some coins as a gesture of appreciation. Placing the coins in the elder Guardian’s wrinkled hands, he thanked them again for their trouble and for their information. “For candles,” he said. The Guardians of Wisdom graciously accepted the offering and bowed.

Returning back to the grotto above ground, Ahearn was grateful to see his well-rested horse. He found the animal undisturbed and still waiting on him. Ahearn could not discern for how long he had stayed underground. Within the cave, conversing with the remnant of the Guardians left, time seemed to pass at a slower rate — if it had passed at all. After a short but happy reunion with his equine companion, it did not take long before Ahearn was mounted. Soon, he and his horse were winding their way back to the main road.

© 2018 DARLENE

Jasmine Snippet #45

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The notes for The Story of Jasmine continue:

The “Crystal Caverns” Castle Card from Jasmine: The Battle for the Mid-Realm collector card game.

True to his word, the little old man was filled with information. Ahearn spent several hours conversing with him. For someone who did not get out to socialize very much, the little man was charming and affable. Ahearn came to understand that Bardulf was still somewhere within the cave system, lost. They monitored his progress. At first, he went in circles. Then he “discovered” a passage that took him well beyond what the Guardian considered their borders. The latest report had Bardulf nearing the dwarven mine settlement off to the northwest.

When Ahearn asked about the Great Book that had gone missing, he was told it was started by the wizard Erlkyng with the intent it be presented to the “lad” to learn everything about defeating his enemies. He chuckled. Erlkyng expected the result of his magic would produce a son. They all thought that. But as fate would have it, a daughter was born! So everything Erlkyng wrote in the book addressed a lad. Until recently, the Tome of Wisdom had been safely stored away in the Crystal Caverns.

“We had only brought the book out of the Crystal Caverns to show the lass. We were so excited for her to see the resources that were prepared for her success…”

Curious, Ahearn interrupted, “The Crystal Caverns?”

“The Crystal Caverns were a refuge to the wizard Erlkyng,” one of the Guardians told him. Ahearn bade him continue, “We were good company for each other. Our kind live a long life and we’ve seen a lot. We shared with him many secrets that he found of use. He urged us to record all we knew into a great volume of knowledge. He told us this practice would give our lives purpose. We accepted his challenge and have been expanding the knowledge within Erlkyng’s book ever since.

“The Tome of Wisdom contains all of the secrets of the Mid-Realm. Now that it’s out of our hands, we fear the worst for the Mid-Realm. If used in a selfish way, the information can easily be used to destroy. Now it’s in the hands of a man who loves gaining power through manipulation, dabbles with the power of magic, feels superior over others and who kills indiscriminately and without remorse. I’m now sorry we agreed to write anything at all.”

The Guardian of Wisdom became solemn and kept silent for a long time after he voiced those words. Indeed, the stealing of the Tome of Wisdom was something to ponder. If Bardulf was this powerful without the Tome, just imagine how much more powerful a book of secrets will make him. The Guardian was right. This news pointed to something much more devastating than a maiden forgetting she was a princess.

He did not fully understand what the Guardian meant when he spoke of “Jasmine” being an intricate part of a decades long plan to defeat the evil that has been creeping down from the west.

It further confused Ahearn when the Guardian spoke of her destiny as something beyond a princess. Didn’t her birthright matter? How could anything change the fact that she was the daughter of a King? As a prince, he himself knew very well he was subject to certain rules of tradition. He was subject to certain obligations expected of him by his father and those ruled by him How could this princess not be subject to the same rules?

Thinking about the princess was always troublesome. Although she was fair to look at, he did not really like her. He considered her to be the worst type of maiden — spoiled, head strong, ill-humored, manipulative, and rude. Yet, he did not recognize the same traits in himself. The princess’s worth to him and his country was political. Her only redeeming quality as a person was the fact of her blood. All she had to do was to exist. She did not have to be deserving. She did not have to be nice. It would not matter. She would still be Queen.

© 2018 DARLENE

Jasmine Snippet #43

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“The Story of Jasmine” Notes Continue:

“I hate you,” Thorne said in a forced whisper, “I’ regret pledging my sword to your cause, as my bird lies dead because of you. Curse that lizard creature that follows you… curse you and your problems. Try to stay out of my way!”

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How interesting. Thorne now has a hawk! Where was that bird when she was at the Inn? I’ll have to account for it in the rewrite.

© 2018 DARLENE

Jasmine Snippet #42

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“The Story of Jasmine” Notes Continue:

Suddenly, the princess Flavia of UR’s disappearance made complete sense. She could very well be a prisoner within this cave. Recalling the disturbed vines, it then occurred to Ahearn he was not the only one on the trail of the princess. Suddenly, a rash of questions bombarded his mind. Who had come before him? How long ago? What did they discover? Did they find her? What will he find? What will he encounter?

Although he yearned to rush ahead, he returned to the grotto above. He took special care to tend to his horse. He moved his horse to a small spring, so it would not thirst and also took this opportunity to feed the beast. There was no telling where the cave would lead him, or for how long he would be gone.

Ahearn cared well for his steed. They were good together. They had an understanding. This was partially why Ahearn was lauded  in his country as the Lord of Horses. The knot he tied was a special one, made in such a way the animal could free itself if it should become necessary. He removed the saddle, and placed it on a low branch off the ground. Holding the animal’s great head gently, Ahearn looked into its dark dewey eyes. He paused to rest his forehead against the front of it’s muzzle. The animal knew the significance of this action and acknowledged him with a whinny and a toss of the head.

Satisfied, Ahearn quickly packed some supplies to carry with him and disappeared into the mouth of the cavern.

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I should probably think of a name for Ahearn’s horse.

© 2018 DARLENE

Jasmine Snippet #41

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Notes for “The Story of Jasmine” continue:

In the glowing whiteness and silence of the mountaintop they found themselves whispering, as if in great reverence to nature’s accomplishment.

Standing on the outer precipice, they looked across the wide expanse of low hills and plains which they had just covered. It was then they realized they were between heaven and hell, between the sublime and the _____*

For a place known as the “Meeting Place of the Winds,” it was very still. It seemed to be a place of silence and secrets moved only by the wind.

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*These are merely notes to myself. Obviously, I had not yet figured out what word to use.

I recognize this snippet as being much further along in the story.

© 2018 DARLENE

Jasmine Snippet #40

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Notes for “The Story of Jasmine” continue:

The northern trek eventually led Ahearn into an area within the forest where there was a small grotto. At the grotto, he saw a strange and unexpected sight. From the looming darkness, it looked like there were thousands of glistening stars. He paused for a moment to make sense of what he was seeing. Moving closer, the stars became flowers. Small, delicate white flowers blossoming everywhere in this space.

Moving into the grotto, he noticed a greater thickness of flowers. Upon closer inspection, he discovered these bloom clusters enveloped a stone statue of a woman. He thought perhaps she was the guardian of this grotto until he studied the face. The workmanship was too real for a statue to be hidden in the forest. He quickly concluded it was a work of witchery. A woman had been turned to stone.

The statue was a young woman, who looked remarkably like the Princess of UR. If he hadn’t made a habit of studying faces, he might have mistook the statue for the princess. He logically concluded this must be her mother. He mused. “No wonder the Queen was never seen again after the birth of her daughter. There’s something foul to this mystery. Why was the woman turned to stone?”

Ahearn regarded the stance of the figure. It looked almost as if she had been protecting something behind her. Moving past the figure, he noticed many flower blooms had been disturbed. Many plants had been torn away and stomped upon. Someone had been here before him. The damage seemed to be recent. Parting the plants, he noticed a tunnel made of the living roots of trees, which led him to the entrance of a subterranean cave.

© 2018 DARLENE

 

Jasmine Snippet #39

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“The Story of Jasmine” notes continue:

The place of ambush happened at a juncture where a road diverged from the main one to the south, as if to avoid the inevitable hilly outcropping of stone. The main road continued eastward. However, by a small spring gurgling further away from the road, it looked like a lone rider traveled swiftly. Judging from the depth of the depression of the hoof marks, he did not travel light. But he was traveling fast in a new, southeasterly direction.

Ahearn followed these tracks into rocky terrain, where they were harder to discern, but distinct nonetheless. The tracks led Ahearn to a large, now abandoned, enemy encampment.

Not too long ago, there had been a lot of activity here, and a lot of men. The signs told him this was a large encampment. And as large as it was, he did not see any trace of bloodshed. He could easily tell the amount of activity entering and exiting the camp. At first, the task seemed daunting, to guess which of the three roads leading out of the camp were taken.

There was a road that continued eastward. Another tracked northward, while another still took a southernly route. Of the three routes, the northern trek, a steep rocky climb that promised to get steeper, seemed to be the least likely. But going south appeared equally unlikely. The logical direction they would have taken would have been east.

Yet, she did not arrive in Swartzborg. Therefore, she did not take the eastern road. So, north or south? To go south would be to eventually hit the coast. If they were planning that, they would have turned south immediately at the ambush site. That route was fast and easy. A good plan would be to have a ready ship in the harbor to sail them to Swartzborg. But as he already knew, she didn’t end up within the walls of Bardulf’s prison castle.

It’s north then, to the mountains, and on to more difficult terrain. As expected, the twisting and turning route headed towards higher ground. Traveling in between obstacles of boulders and gnarly trees, the way was cumbersome and slow. The path was also forested. Single file was the only way a group of men on horses could manage. This left their defenses vulnerable.

© 2018 DARLENE

Jasmine Snippet #38

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Notes from “The Story of Jasmine” continue:

To discover what fate befell the Princess of UR, there was nothing left for Ahearn to do but to trace the east-west main road, the supposed route she had taken from UR’s Eiodel Castle. He was determined to discover the story of her abduction in the marks left on the ground. And found them he did.

He clearly found significant signs in a place where a grove of trees sprung up in the middle of a meadow. It was an attractive stopping point, an oasis in the prairie lands where travelers and their animals could rest and renew themselves. It was an ideal spot, right before the meadow lands become a rocky, hilly landscape.

There, he discovered recent signs of battle The battle marks proved there was a struggle, and likely an abduction. Not only that, nearby, there were recent marked graves probably made by some passing URians, for the noble fallen. Ahearn mused, “no traveler  would want such a pleasant spot to be sullied by the sight and smell of stinking bodies.”

When he found a pink ribbon snared on the branches of a tree, he sighed. She had made it this far and did not die. If she had, there would be plenty of proof of it. He found himself glad she was alive. His promise to her father could be fulfilled. If there was a deeper reason as to why he was glad she was still alive, he didn’t entertain the thought.

© 2018 DARLENE

Jasmine Snippet #36

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Notes for “The Story of Jasmine” continue:

It took Rogan two days to reach The Great White Throne. The unearthly glow served as a beacon to guide him. As he neared the ruins, he passed many stone statues. The thought occurred to him that these statues appeared to be too new to be gracing an ancient temple. But he wasted no more thoughts pondering this anomaly.

When his horse finally reached the periphery of the temple, Rogan was amazed to find the entire area littered with the same type of statuary. All were frozen in various gestures of surprise and fear. Then, for the first time Rogan became concerned. They looked like soldiers.

Could these statues once have been men … perhaps, maybe Bardulf’s men? This, he was about to find out.

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*I need to figure out just how far away the mountain shrine is to the village. I’m leaning towards one half a day’s walk for Jasmine, but much faster on a horse.

© 2018 DARLENE

Jasmine Snippet #35

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The “Story of Jasmine” notes continue:

Ieithoedd

The midday shadows began to lengthen toward evening as the dwarf Glynn Oakenshield sharpened his weapon. The dwarf had not yet made camp as there were several more hours of day left, yet he could not travel with a dull battle axe.* As he scraped away the metal burr of the blade, he sensed some movement a little ways off behind him. Now distracted, Glynn grabbed his half-honed weapon and stalked toward the sound.

Traveling on higher ground, above the main road, his vantage point and concealment was excellent. “What’s this?” He said to himself, scratching his chin through his thick reddish beard.

“Must be a woman.” He thought as he watched the progress of a willowy figure cloaked in grey. Disgust overcame him as he recalled a new independent attitude held by many young lasses. As he watched her regal stride, he judged this wench to be very foolish to travel alone without an escort of several armed men.

He wondered, “Could she be unaware that highway men and robbers frequent this road?” Then he remembered the two ruffians who worked the bridge up yonder. He sighed, shaking his head. Those unsavory men at the bridge were scum indeed — and he himself would not want to further dull the edge of his blade on them. That reminded him to take out his whet stone and finish what he started.

“That poor wench has nothing of value they could want,” mused Glynn, “save perhaps her virginity.” They will probably make sport of her first before they killed her.

“Such is stupidity’s reward.” He muttered out loud and hurried his task. He wanted to be well out of earshot of the girl’s inevitable screams.

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Obviously this snippet happens right before Glynn and Jasmine meet.

*The name of Glynn’s battle-axe is Ieithoedd.