The main event today is chapter 5 of Phantom Dawn for your reading pleasure, but that's not the only thing! I've got some new pictures that I want to share about Daemon Soul, including a character whose place in things seems fairly uncertain these days!
But, let's check in with a certain guy and rat duo shall we?
The Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz
I mean, you do have to wonder where Riz was going with this, don't you? Unless Riz knows things about Pigeons we mere mortals don't. Plus given they're often called rats of the sky, there is something fitting in Riz dressing up as one. Can't at all understand why Brennan would say no to it of course (that's sarcasm, I completely understand why he said no).
Daemon Soul Awakening Update
When this blog goes live, Daemon Soul Awakening will be mere days from release (five to be exact). It's getting increasingly real that this story will be out there for people to read and I'm starting to get apprehensive about it. Will people like it? Will people want to lynch me because a certain character doesn't get the whole book to be a smug git? (He'll get his due, don't worry). Will anyone even care that it's out there? These are all questions that I'm trying to avoid.
Things will be what they'll be I'll guess.
If you want to preorder your ebook, ready for the 31st March release, then check out the links below!
I do want to share this though:
Here we see Terry Baker, the protagonist of the story, that evil looking shadowy figure behind him? Well...Don't think I can say yet! You do meet him in chapter 2 though...
So, turns out I couldn't say much about him, but I can say a bit about this guy:
This is Zero. Zero was set to appear in the original Daemon Soul book 3, in the second epilogue. Here readers were taken to an alternate dimension were Zero was the 13th Daemon Soul (basically Terry chose a different name). His name wasn't the only difference as I had chosen a different colour for his outfits, white to Cypher’s black, and his powers were also changed. If that wasn't enough, his life was fundamentally different, in that his world was post apocalyptic. Yes, he was the Daemon Soul in a world where the demons had won, and humanity struggled with survival. Zero's temperament reflected this as he became more of a commanding presence, it was him that marshalled the remains of any armed force he could find, and forged them into something that could fight back...that they in turn would see him as sort of a messiah was an unintended consequence, something that definitely didn't sit well with him. He was designed to contrast against where Cypher would have been mentally (read: broken and depressed).
However, I'm not sure he really has a place now. His original inclusion came from a drawing I did of a more worn Daemon Soul, one that battled the elements just as much as demons. I refined the idea more and more, getting close to Zero as he was above. His world was developed alongside him, but I never found a way to satisfactory merge it within the larger Daemon Soul narrative. The idea I came up with left much to be desired and has since been supplanted by newer ideas taking route when I redrafted Daemon Soul Awakening. This has left Zero (and a lot of other alternative Daemon Souls) in a precarious position of being scrubbed entirely, and I'm not sure it's a bad thing to be honest. Afterall it might be too confusing to bring in doppelgangers but then again...Zero, and by extension, his world, has a lot to offer.
In short, I don't know what to do at this moment in time...but I need to figure it out sooner rather than later.
Short Diversions: Phantom Dawn- Memories of a Rose
We're back for another chapter! Things are definitely shaping up for this story. While so far the content will be familiar to anyone who read the Comic I did (started
here) we'll soon be venturing into unknown territory! Yes, the story will veer off into new grounds as it deals with Finch (Void and the twins are being saved till later...they're too important to things to truly let go).
For now, let's get on with the show.
Phantom Dawn chapter Index
Chapter 5
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Chapter 5: First Impressions
Kurz didn’t wait for the man to say anything else, and moved to block the man with the mohawk from getting to Rose or Neal.
“You really think a scrawny guy like you can do anything to me? Come on then, give it your best shot!” he laughed as he flexed his arms.
“Kurz! Don’t rise to him!” Neal called out, wanting his grandson to avoid the fight that he knew was coming.
“Stay out of this! I can handle Mason on my own. It’s about time someone put him in his place, this is the last straw for me.”
“What’s going on here?” Rose asked politely.
“Mason is one of Finch’s thugs, it would be best to stay out of it,” Neal advised. The memories of her fight with the monster were still fresh in his head, but he didn’t want to force her to get involved if he could help it. There was no telling what she may do to Mason, or anyone else for that matter, and he didn’t want to find out.
Rose turned away from Neal, and back to Kurz and Mason. She was still none the wiser on why they were fighting, but as they were squaring off against each other, she didn’t know what else to do. As far as it looked, the fight didn’t need to happen. She didn’t say anything though, she didn’t know if she should. She just watched nervously.
Kurz started the fight off, running in at Mason preparing to throw the first punch. Mason stood firm with an impenetrable smile, his arms folded as if he knew he had nothing to fear. Kurz threw his right fist forward, reaching up to plant it into Mason’s face, and it connected perfectly, but to Kurz’s annoyance, Mason was still smiling, and without saying anything, he threw his own punch at Kurz, almost knocking him off his feet as it crashed into his head.
“What were you hoping to do with a punch like that?” Mason laughed. “It was like getting tickled by a baby.”
Kurz shook his head, and although he was a bit wobbly, he wasn’t going down to one punch, he had too much to prove to do that. He’d been afraid that the difference in their physical strength was going to prove to be a tough obstacle that he might not have been able to overcome, to have that proven true wasn’t a fantastic feeling, just like his head at the moment. He needed to have time to think of a different method of attack.
Before he could, Mason wanted to press his natural advantage, lunging for Kurz and connecting with another blow, this time coming from his left, staggering the young man, and putting him on the wrong foot. Kurz tried to react with a kick, but the angle was all wrong, and it was pushed aside by Mason who followed it up with a smash from his elbow, knocking Kurz back to the wall.
“Y-You got him on the ropes!” Si called out with a hiccup, oblivious to the fact that his friend was the one who was losing.
Kurz wiped some of the blood away from his mouth, his lip having been cut up by the impact. He growled in anger, his sensibility telling him to back off, that there was valour in retreat, but his pride wouldn’t have that.
“Mason!” Neal shouted, summoning the courage to step forward, he’d wanted to adhere to his grandsons wishes but it was clear, even in the first two minutes, that it was hopeless. Kurz wasn’t built the same as Mason, being leaner. “Stop this! Please.”
“Begging for his sake?” Mason replied, grabbing hold of Kurz by the collar and lifting him off the ground a few inches, further showing their difference in strength. “I might consider it, but it’s going to cost you, then, if you pay me more, I might not tell Finch I ran into you lot!” he laughed.
“He’s been on my arse for ages about putting a stop to you and your little enterprise.”
“Then why didn’t you do something sooner you arsehole?” Kurz asked, trying to pry his captor’s hands away.
“Because you guys are harmless? You’re like those annoying flies that turn up when you want to enjoy the weather. Pests but you’re not exactly changing the world are you? I’ve still got all the power I need, Finch is still on top, and you’re barely eking out a living! All I had to do was wait a month or so, and the problem would have taken care of itself. Then, that drunken twerp there had to go and put me in a bad mood…Funny how things work out,” Mason explained, acting like he’d been the one doing them the favour.
“What do you want me to do?” Neal asked, sighing heavily as his shoulders slumped.
“For starters, you can empty out everyone’s pockets for me, then I’ll have to think about what comes after that,” Mason forced Kurz against the wall again with a loud thud. “I’d hurry up about it as well, I’m getting bored.
“Don’t you dare old man!” Kurz hissed. “We’re not giving in to this guy! I don’t care what he does to me. We’re going to keep helping people, and it’s tough luck if Finch doesn’t like that, besides, you’re not being a good attack dog are you? Not obeying your master!” Kurz tucked his legs in, and then kicked out with everything he had in him, hitting Mason hard enough to cause him to let go.
“I’m no one’s dog!” Mason cursed as he got his breath back. Running back in, Kurz jumped up, crashing his knees into Mason’s head as he was still bowled over. Unlike the punch earlier, this had a better impact as it was Mason’s turn to be staggered. He was quick to recover though, and he shoulder barged Kurz against the wall, almost shaking the house, and started crushing him against the brick work.
“No more mister nice guy! I’m going to break you then take all your stuff!” Mason declared, but another voice challenged him.
“No more fighting!” Rose strode past Neal who felt powerless. He looked at her, and her sense of purpose as she went. “Let him go now!” Her words carried a weight to them that wasn’t there a few moments ago.
“Very bold for a…” Mason’s speech left him as he turned his head to look at her. “...Dainty, precious thing.” It was almost as if someone had flicked a switch in him, he threw Kurz to the ground, letting him become nothing but an afterthought. The way he stared at her, made everyone’s skin crawl. “Long have I wandered alone through this world, with nothing but my convictions to keep my company. In you, I see a beautiful flower, bursting from the desert, to give hope,” Mason waxed poetically.
Kurz couldn’t believe any of it, he became convinced that he must have bumped his head when the big brute threw him, there was no way that this was reality right now.
Even Si, in his drunken stupor, was finding the situation impossible to grasp, tilting his head like a dog trying to understand what was going on.
Mason was now standing right in front of Rose, towering over her wanting to show off his physique in a way she couldn’t miss.
“Let me take you away from this, take you to a place where the stars bow to us. You may become my Queen, and I your King.” He reached out with his left hand, grabbing her shoulder.
Neal’s heart was in his mouth:
“You idiot! Get your hand off her!”
“Shut up old man! Can’t you see me and my Queen are discussing our future here? I can tell from her silent treatment that she is completely in my power. My poetry has melted her heart,” Mason was oblivious to the way Rose’s eyes had glazed over again, and the way her hair had started to lift.
Neal saw this, however and quickly realised what was about to happen, the very thing he was worried about.
“Don't do it…” he said, his voice was trembling so much that it was barely audible. He envisioned the horror that she was capable of inflicting on a normal human, someone that lacked the monstrous endurance of the creatures that lurked in the wastes. His pleas fell on deaf ears as Rose grabbed Mason's hand that held her shoulder, and started crushing it, causing him to let go with a squeal. He finally looked at her face, and the expressionless glance she was giving him. With little effort, she twisted his arm around and pushed him into the side of the building, shaking it further and causing him to yell out in pain. This, in turn, made some of the other people within to come out, to see what had made one of Finch's enforcers cry out. There was some laughter when they saw that it was a girl that had just manhandled him.
Now realising that he had an audience, Mason’s anger overtook his affection and he charged at Rose, who in turn showed no reaction. When he was an inch away from her, she prepared her right hand into a fist and then swung it forward into Mason’s stomach. The impact of the blow shook the building behind him even more, a visible series of cracks that mirrored the point of impact spread out like a spider's web. Mason stood there, he coughed once, then collapsed to the floor, fully unconscious. The same people who had been laughing were now silent in front of such a display of power. They took one look at Rose and then retreated to relative safety.
Si roused himself from his drunken position to add his comment.
“I t-think I’m in love,” he said, slurring his words and then falling asleep once more.
Kurz said nothing as he picked himself up, he hid his surprise, as there was no two ways about it, the red haired girl had done what he couldn’t and made it look easy. He had no context for why his grandfather had been on edge the whole time, or why he look relieved when Rose hadn’t reduced Mason to a bloody pulp. He hauled Si up to his feet.
“We should go, before someone tells Finch what happened,” Kurz suggested.
Neal heard what he said, but wasn’t focused on that, instead, he was watching Rose, as her hair flopped down, and her eyes returned to normal. It was just the same as before, when she fought off the creature.
“It happened again didn’t it?” Rose asked Neal, she quickly looked over Mason’s prone form, and her mouth turned to a happy smile when she saw that her opponent was still breathing and looked to be in one piece. It was this smile that Mason saw as he briefly regained consciousness for a moment, looking up at her, before passing out once more
“It did, but for now, let’s just go, we don’t want to make more of a scene then we already have.” Neal cast a nervous look around, to see if anyone else was going to approach them, but Rose’s display was enough to give anyone second thoughts.
“But, what about him?” She motioned towards Mason, surprising Neal a little.
“You’re concerned about him?”
“We can’t just leave him like that, i did this to him…”
“Finch’s men will take care of him. So please don’t worry on his behalf.”
“If you’re sure,” Rose commented.
“Will you two come on!” Kurz shouted, getting impatient while they talked about nothing in his eyes. “Si is pretty heavy and we should be gone!”
Rose gave one final look at Mason and then followed Neal as he in turn followed Kurz who dragged Si along. She didn’t know where they were going, but she was starting to get a sense of the despair that lingered in this world she had woken up in. She didn’t take any enjoyment over what happened, it felt wrong to her to be using her strength, wherever that had came from, like this, but at the same time, she couldn’t have stood back and said nothing while Kurz was fighting. This was creating a mix of feelings within her that was making her sick. She had to hope that whatever followed this encounter would give her sometime to make sense of everything.
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That's everything for this week!
I'll be back to celebrate the release of Daemon Soul Awakening next week, but till then...
Keep on writing!
Peter James Martin
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