I like to have more than one writing project. I usually have a whole bunch of ideas, and this keeps me from getting too burned out.
Furthermore, I would like to write several stories that take place in the same world. "Era hopping" is awesome and there are a few things that tie every single story together, similar to Redwall and The Chronicles of Narnia.
For this particular story, I thought it'd be neat to have some "fantasy pirates." This story will take place after Terence's time, but before Reid's time.
The current king of Daire will be Tobias, but aside from his daughter, most of the Lactantius family will be taking a back seat for this one. Beowulf will be in this one, too, but only for about half of it.
Most of the focus will be on a teenage boy named Finn Burroughs, the son of very wealthy parents. Not quite royalty, but plenty prestigious in their own way.
In stark contrast to Reid's parents, Finn's parents watch him like a pair of hawks and take it upon themselves to live his life for him. They mean well, as most parents do, but they come down pretty hard on anything their son does that they don't approve of...which, it goes without saying, is virtually everything the boy does.
Kind of like King Triton in The Little Mermaid, along with a female copy.
What Finn wants more than anything is adventure, particularly adventure on the open sea. His biggest idol is Captain Marcus Daggers, a half-elf who is also a notorious pirate.
You can tell he's half-elf because of his beard; true-blue elves don't have any facial hair, apart from lengthy sideburns.
No one really knows who he is or where he comes from, and he never gives anyone who asks a straight answer. He resorts to the "Multiple-Choice Past" trope.
Whoever he is, one thing is for sure: he can be quite charismatic. He knows how to lure people in like fish in a net, and he knows he's caught an especial whopper with Finn Burroughs.
As you may have guessed, there's more to Daggers than meets the eye (there's a rather sinister reason why they call him "Daggers") and Finn is about to get a most unpleasant dosage of reality.
This is where Beowulf comes in. Beowulf and Daggers have "a history" with each other; the old werewolf has been chasing the old buccaneer all over the place for years. Daggers has done many things for which he got off scot-free, but he finally did something that sends Beowulf out for his blood. Beowulf intends to "catch" him once and for all.
Thanks to Finn, Beowulf's got a lead once again, and in the werewolf's own words,"That slippery eel won't get away this time."
So, yes, Finn is your typical "be careful what you wish for" protagonist who finds himself way in over his head, who learns the hard way that the life of a pirate isn't all it's cracked up to be, that maybe (just maybe) his parents had a valid reason for their strictness after all. To be fair, his parents also have a lesson to learn about being too strict, about trying too hard to shape your children's lives to suit your own standards, about driving your children (however unintentionally) into the open arms of bad influences. I'd say Finn and both his parents have equal share in the blame.
Such a lesson comes to call when Finn gets to know some of the crew better, the pirates who turn out to be quite honorable, who are only pirates in the first place because they have nothing else, who would give anything to have a permanent home to call their own.
Introducing Hock, Grim, and Crow:
Hock is the faun. Being the friendliest of the bunch, he's the first to take Finn under his wing and help the boy out. He's also the first to react badly to Finn's deliberate renunciation of home and family; he asks the boy loud and clear, "What were you thinking?"
Hock's parents abandoned him when he was very young, and to the present day, he would give an arm and a leg to have what Finn has. He gets along well enough in the world, every bit as kind as he is clever, and he loves the ocean as well as any sailor would...but the ocean's not "home." Finn slowly starts to realize his mistake when Hock tells him in no uncertain terms how lucky he was to have a home, to have parents who cared about him in spite of their harsh ways, and how stupid he was to give all that up for a life of so-called "freedom."
If they were in Toy Story 2, their argument would go something like this:
"I don't have a choice, Hock. This is my only chance."
"To do what, Finn? Spend the rest of your life on a ramshackle boat, watch the entire world sail right past you, and never be loved again? Some life!"
Grim is the dwarf. He's half-blind, but as tough-as-nails as they come. Yes, he's a bit rough around the edges, but once you get past his hard shell, you'll find an extraordinary amount of good stuff underneath.
He'll eat just about anything; some say he'll eat raw squid if he gets hungry enough, and he won't refute such a claim. He also gives Captain Jack Sparrow a run for his money when it comes to his love for rum: "WHY IS THE RUM ALWAYS GONE???"
While Grim takes the longest to warm up to Finn, he'll eventually defend the boy with his own life, and give the boy as sound a Scotch blessing as Hock gives him once word gets out that the boy left home on purpose. Grim lost his entire family through no fault of his own, and so, like Hock, he had to go where he could and make the most of what he had. He'd give up a whole cellar's worth of rum in exchange for a place to stay for good.
Crow, the human, made the same mistake that Finn made in his own youth: running away from home in search of adventure. Unlike Finn, however, Crow doesn't have a home to come back to anymore. His whole family is long gone, and his loss haunts him every day. Beneath that cocky smile, he harbors a wonderful amount of pain and regret. Upon learning Finn's story, he's torn between empathizing with the lad and raking him across the coals.
Crow's not very strong, but his agility and cunning make up for his lack of brute strength in spades. He lets people believe he's not too bright, including Daggers. But the moment that silly facade disappears, even Daggers is in for a big surprise.
With these three ship mates, Finn's greatest ambition soon changes from "leaving home at all costs" to "getting home in one piece at all costs."
Beyond that, it isn't long before he starts seeing them less as "ship mates" and more as "family." After all, family goes far beyond mere biological ties.
Sounds pretty predictable, and I suppose it is. Still, it's in the early stages and there's no rush. You've got to start somewhere.
Besides, I'm finding myself getting more and more excited about it. That's what counts the most, right?
As of now, I don't plan to make this a series; it will be a standalone book.
And it's always fun to bring my characters to life in illustrations. These illustrations serve as necessary fuel to keep my creative mind going.
