Spherean & StoryVerse Update
A first glimpse at Draft Zero (wip), a SV teaser and new nodes
Welcome, dear reader, to another episode of The World of Spherean!
After last week’s cloudy Foto Friday excursion, we’ll return to the mirky waters of Draft Zero from the point of view of our hero, Hein. Hein Sorenson. Scientist and hapless bachelor who has gone through a lot at this stage (50k words of stuff) and has now “arrived” at the midpoint of his “hero’s journey.”1
I’ve been struggling a bit with the implementation since I reused previously written text for this, which I ended up mostly rewriting, as I mentioned last time. After that, it became obvious that I had to extend his storyline and add another chapter.
Here’s an excerpt from Chapter 11. Spoiler Alert! At this stage, Hein is expected to perform a task (revelation) he does not think he can perform, nor does he want to, as it threatens everything he cares about.
Needless to say, the text below will undergo heavy editing once Draft Zero is finished. It may even be cut completely.
Hein woke to the sound of birdsong and rays of light dancing on his face, the warmth making him smile. Rubbing his sand-ridden eyes, he could make out the empty rocking chair beside the half-drawn curtain by the window.
The house was quiet, and for a while, he lay there listening, eyes closed, wondering where Zel had gone off to so early. She must have taken Tia with her, he thought. Their daughter was a regular whirlwind and would have used him as a trampoline by now if she were at home.
Where were they? His mind started to wander. He could not recall going to bed the night before. He remembered the voice, the crackling of the fire, the old man, the dream, Felice, and sat up with a jolt.
It isn’t real!
The words echoed in his head, and his mind returned to the moment Felice whispered into his ear. Shut it down. How? Even if he wanted to, he had no way to do what she asked; he had lived so long in this world that it had become his reality—his only reality: no technology, no terminals, no GAIN, and no mole to scratch. In a force of habit, his hand reached for the spot on his cheek.
He heard people outside, more arriving every minute, a regular commotion until it sounded as though the whole village was assembled. He got up, parting the curtains enough to look outside, only to be spotted immediately.
“There he is! He’s awake!” the mob cried.
“Open the door—Break it down—Get him—He is the Licaiy—He must go!” a litany of angry, frightened, fanatical, ecstatic voices shouted. […]
—Spherean, Chapter 11
The chapter then continues with the arrival of a figure of authority named Chendrâh; the dude is an archmage and not to be trifled with. So he disperses the crowd and tries to talk some sense into Hein to go on this damned quest to fulfil his prophecy, as is foretold. So it is written, and so it shall come to pass.
Chapter 12 then switches back to the plot line of his travel companions, Kay and Felice, who are still looking for him all this time. At some point, soon, these two lines will converge. What happens then? Will they convince him to go through with this ominous task? Will they prevent him from fulfilling this prophecy? Well, I already know which way that will go, but I don’t know exactly how it will come about. And that’s where the fun is. Let it be a surprise!
If you found this content interesting, you may also like “In Gain We Trust – Part I.”
StoryVerse Update
We have new nodes! Here’s a teaser trailer I’ve thrown together really quickly, trying out Luma (image-to-video AI). The adventure continues.
The StoryVerse is a “choose your own adventure” about a hapless writer trying to write a newsletter (will they ever get to that part?), a story in which you are presented with two choices at each scene or node, and it’s still growing!
A big thanks to all participants so far:
, , , , , , , , , and !If you’re interested in participating, DM me. Create your own nodes. It’s fun!
Today
continues from where has led us to the last time, and again, we’re presented with two choices, and hilariously so. Thank you, Shoni!You can jump right back in here or start at the beginning.
Last time on StoryVerse…
Community Outreach
Do you know someone who would enjoy this newsletter? You can refer a friend (and get free comp months) or gift a subscription.
Please leave a like, comment, or share this post on Notes or with a friend.
Thank you for being here and supporting my work. Let me know if you have other ideas or want to say hi. If you like to hang out with other TFTD readers, join us on Discord.
StoryVerse is the best place to get lost in and turn into a zombie. Heheh.
That’s a nice wee excerpt, Alexander 👍🏼
Will need to check out the new StoryVerse entries. Sound like a lot of fun 😃