What is this blog all about?
A novella type thing that I’m writing... and I’ve just got to get my thoughts out about it.
Synopsis
At the edge of the world is a castle embedded in the snowcapped mountains, where a cult of ice apparitions have taken refuge. Although he is always absent, their king sees all, knows all, and has kept them in a state of superstition and subservience to spirits that supposedly live in the castle with them. The Queen is succumbing to madness... apparently. And the prince has some sort of condition which has burdened him with constant fatigue, hallucinations, and dreams that he’s stuck in the castle. However, he learns through one strange occurrence after the other that his “condition” is something he shares with his father, and it not only explains his absence but reveals the true reason their subjects live in perpetual fear.
Genre: Mystery/Drama, with some elements of gothic horror.
What inspired the story?
I was approached by the prince in my dreams, when I was fourteen. He told me exactly who he was and begged me to find his palace, said he was trapped and the only one left. Seemed terrified and highly dramatic. As dreams like this don’t usually occur, the whole thing held my fascination for many years to come, and it was originally going to be a weird fanfiction for the game Paper Mario, which is where the palace he was talking about actually came from. It was terrible, and it wasn’t original, so I gutted the whole thing, but still really liked the idea of a mysterious ice palace and all of the fuckery that may have been possible. I wanted to explain how the prince could have ended up in my dreams, making those claims.
Other things that have lent inspiration:
-- Folklore about ice creatures, especially Japanese koorime and tsurara-onna. -- Astral projection and its claims, especially about different planes and the akashic records. -- No Doubt’s very strange song “Tragic Kingdom”, which is actually about Disneyland, but when I was a young child I took it at face value. Re-discovered the song shortly after my dream and my jaw dropped.
Main characters:
The Prince -- highly intelligent, but terrible at strategizing. Short-tempered and always tired. A mix of masculine and feminine energy. Has no idea just how dramatic he is. His Servant -- tight-lipped, stoical, and just trying to survive. Seems to be awfully pious, dedicated to rituals. Looks after the prince obsessively but emotionally avoids him. Really seems to know something, but isn’t helpful at all. The Queen -- losing her mind and off limits to almost everybody. The prince can only see her every few months. It’s not clear what she knows and her involvement in it. The King -- plastered all over the walls, the subject of the prince’s bedtime stories. Lives in the most haunted part of the castle and sleeps during the day. Apparently a “true phenomenon”, despite his advanced age. Controlling and scary, but also negligent and aloof.