Chapter 17 of Phantom Dawn drops today (and I'm not entirely sure when I dropped the sub title from it, but it may have been formatting related due to the way I do my sub headings). Hoping to have the story wrapped up before 2026 starts (I just got a shudder typing that year, where is all the time going, and can I get a refund?).
In other news, I tried doing something new the other day, what I think is called exploratory writing? Basically, I have a basic point in my head, in this case a mix of genres, and just start writing with no end goal or anything else story related in mind. My attempt so far is so-so but I've got plenty of ideas now on how to improve it, and to develop the idea even further, even some that explain how things came to be! I'd probably expect to see it turn up here soon enough...
Besides all that, I'm still trying to get the other books re-uploaded to amazon but a mixture of time and fear is slowing me down here, especially with the Brennan and Riz releases as I was able to get a letter proving I own the rights to Daemon Soul, no such luck with the other two. Keep watching this space.
With all that said, let's move over and see what Riz is actually getting up to in his time alone...
The Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz
Yeah, this really isn't going to end well is it? Some oddities snuck through in the drawing phase here, like Riz’s hand towards the end and how small it looks compared to the other one. Still I think I set myself up for a really fun one next week..
Short Diversions: Phantom Dawn Chapter 17
I can see the end of the story, it's close but to get there...Ho boy! At the very least this chapter gets to tease a bit more about Rose's mystery, and then set the stage for the final confrontation....of this story anyway. I'm aware there's some plot holes that are glaringly obvious but I will sort them, either in the next few chapters or when it gets edited into a more coherent whole.
Anyway, on with the chapter!
Phantom Dawn Chapter Index
Chapter 17
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Chapter 17: Urgency
Rose’s eyes opened weakly, recognising the black sea she found herself in. She tried to move her arms but found they were unresponsive.
Why am I back here again? She thought to herself. The events that had just happened slowly dripped back into her head, and she remembered the fight, she remembered the monster retreating, and she remembered falling to the ground. She brought her knees up to her chest and allowed herself to float there, suspended by the dark waters. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do now, but there was something different about where she was. It was subtle at first, she didn’t even recognise it. Then it became more prominent till she opened her eyes again, and looked up, seemingly out of the water and to whatever lay beyond it, as there, shining away in all its malevolent glory, was the Phantom Dawn.
What’s that doing here? She stared up at it, and felt a force tugging at her, causing her to slowly rise. A moment later, she broke through the water that she’d been trapped in, and hovered there. She looked to see if there was any sign of a horizon, but saw only the endless ocean, the Phantom Dawn’s reflection twinkled tantalisingly, almost beckoning her back into the depths, but she continued upwards, towards the source of the ethereal light itself. As the light filled her vision, she passed through its boundaries.
“She’s moaning again,” Si said, peering over the sofa at her. “Shouldn’t we do something?” He asked Neal, but the old man shook his head.
“No, we can make her comfortable, but there’s not a great deal we can do. I doubt we could rouse her so easily. She clearly needs the rest.”
“Doesn’t look like she's enjoying it though.”
“Well..” Whatever Neal was going to say never left his lips as both he and Si heard the same sounds that has caused Kurz and Mason to panic.
“What, was that?” Si said, already looking for the best exit out of the room, and then formulating how long it would take him to run for safety.
“Now of all times…” Neal muttered. “Si! You have to help me to move her! We need to protect her till she wakes up!”
“Well, when will that be!” Si cried out. “I should be over that hill and far away right about now!”
“Just help me!” Despite his age, Neal moved swiftly, motioning Si to grab Rose’s legs while he gently picked her up by the shoulders. Relenting, Si obliged.
“And we’re supposed to take her where? If that thing is as massive as its roar was, we’re thoroughly screwed.”
“Ah…” Neal tried to think, almost uttering several places, but discounting them all.
“I can tell you where we’re going to take her,” Kurz said as he barged in the room, breathing heavily. “We’re going to take her to the middle of the town, we can’t be sure of which direction that monster out there is going to attack from, so this is the safest plan for now.”
“Yeah! What he said,” Mason agreed, coming in behind him. He stopped to take a quick breath then stepped in front of Si. “I’ll grab her, we can move faster with only one person doing the carrying!” He didn’t wait for the others to say anything, he just picked her up.
“I have lots of questions right now, but my safety takes precedence. So where the hell should we be going then?” Si asked animatedly.
“The centre of town, at least till we’ve established which direction the threat is coming from. So Mason, granddad, you two head there, me and Si are going to warn everyone else!” Kurz decided, much to Si’s horror.
“Wait, what? I didn’t agree to anything!” he protested, but Kurz wasn’t having any of it, and ignored him.
“Organising a defence is going to be tougher, but all we have to do is distract until an evacuation route is secured,” Kurz led the small group to the door.
“Looks like Finch is going to get what he wanted after all…” Mason admitted.
“If that monster turns this place into a crater then it’s going to be no use to him anyway. Besides, we’ve got a couple of aces up our sleeve,” Kurz looked at Rose, knowing that she was one of them, despite his reluctance to fully accept it.
Mason had caught on quickly to what he meant, but still wanted to know what other chances they had.
“...And aside from her? What are the other aces?”
“There’s people poking and prodding the Heaven’s Rods. They get those back online, then we’ve won.”
“...And the chances of that are?”
“A hope is a hope isn’t it?”
“We are all going to die aren’t we?” Si despaired.
After she phased through the Phantom Dawn, Rose found herself standing in a whitespace, her surroundings giving her the impression that she was somewhere liminal. She was able to move normally but there was nowhere to go to. Nothing seemed to exist, nothing in any direction. She daren’t call out in case her voice shattered the realm, casting her back to the place she was before. Taking a few careful steps forward, she looked around to see if anything had changed, even the slightest vibration. When she was beginning to lose hope, she felt like she was being watched keenly. Then, as if in response to that feeling, multiple figures appeared around her, each one semi transparent and cast in shadow. There was no distinct features that Rose could make out on these figures and they were grouped together, but she didn’t know why. Each of them were posed as if they were portraying a scene. She reached out for the closest one, and her fingers passed through it, disrupting the image and caused her to recoil.
“Why are you so afraid, child?” a distorted female voice called out. Although she didn’t recognise it, she was glad to have someone else there. “Don’t you recognise these?”
Rose went to speak, but found she couldn’t.
“You are still nothing like your old self, such a pity. At least you’ve started to remember something…” As the voice spoke, roses sprang up from the ground, stretching as far as the eye could see. “Maybe if you find this palace, a garden of roses, then you can remember everything, even your lost name. We both depend on it.”
Rose tried her hardest to speak, wanting to call out to the voice who clearly knew more than what she was saying, but still, there was no words.
“Even without your memories, you could be complete, but you must have lost it when you crashed. So sad. Your hand calls for it, I can tell by the way you wielded that cheap imitation before…”
Looking down at her hands, Rose didn’t know what she was going on about. She wasn’t holding anything, and the only thing she remembered from before that she was holding was the sword that Mason gave her. Was that what the voice meant?
Is she talking about the sword? Should I have my own sword? As the thoughts went swirling through Rose’s head, the voice spoke again.
“Seems like you have a lot to think about, but it’s time for you to return to oblivion, until their voices reach you. See you soon, Rose,” the voice chuckled and Rose suddenly started to fall through the floor, grabbing at each of the flowers in vain, but the black ocean was awaiting her again.
“Do you think she’ll wake up soon?” Mason asked Kurz as they approached the nominal center of the town.
“I hope so, we could really use her right now…” Kurz replied as the monster’s roar filled the air again, but it was now uncomfortably close, Si and Neal had done their best to wake people and get them moving and it was their screams that hinted at the horror they were now facing, as the beast was finally close enough to see as it bore down on the town.
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Next Chapter (not finished yet!)
That's your lot for this week,
Till next time,
Keep on writing
Peter James Martin
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