Writing Index
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Preface: No Home 'Round These Parts Preamble: A Myth of A Man Fair With The Family Distinction The Lamb Heist Disaster Mission In The Woods
Act 1: Iron Will Lost Inside the Forest's Throat The Trapper's Son Resignation and High Hopes The First Notoriety of Renard Cox Easy Accolades Cased in Steel Cold and Cavalier The Dove Foxed Usurpers Ill Thought Taking Water From Pilamine Peace Sprig Kingslayer Near to Heaven Putting Down Your Best Friend
Act 2: An Old Knight In New Lacren The Everyday, Normal Bounding, The Consequence The Source of All Sin in The World The Party Mirror of The Pit Audience With Verdan The Indifferent Night Good Role Model Denies You Again Only a Killer
Act 3: Love Affairs Who Massacred A Million Monsters A Sweet Touch For A Hard Man Scheming The Hunt in Fayette The Purpose of Slaying Ghouls Colette Too Much Of What You Want Stuck in a Corner A Notch of Aspiration All Possibility The Last Open Door
Act 4: Prodigal, Prodigious Settling Only For Her The Call Arrival in Ashurst That Boy, Fidel A Day of Adventure Into The Forest Left It To Fester Cleanup Leaving Ashurst The Best Course Inevitable Drift Concurrent Lives Off The Old Block Always Opportunity Unsheathe Planning The Offensive
Act 5: Nix Welcome To Nix Breathless The Shadows The Independent Summit Respite and Regroup Plunge Into Depths Hard Press Knotted Roots Searchlight The Night Glen Confronting Arsene Fight Against Evil One True Way That Monsters Are Vanquished Renard Cox Postscript

A Myth of A Man

November 2022 | R-16 | 155,661 words Characters: Renard | Arsene, Camellia
Warnings: Graphic violence, suicidal ideation, body horror

Renard Cox, the bumbling son of a trapper living in a small, rural Western kingdom, is thrust into a conflict sure to shape nations as he becomes the favoured ward of his nation's new Lord. Yet soon he discovers that the true battleground is inside the heart, and that only in knowing the distinction between hollow devotion and true righteousness can any hero be forged.

Fair With The Family

Heralding the end of spring and start of summer, the town’s annual summer festival kicks off. As he does every year, Isen is attending. Since he spends most of the year living with the local lord, this festival is one of the rare opportunities where he can visit home. Just as much as the townsfolk celebrate the turning of summer, they always celebrate this return of Isen. Cheers peal through the main square as his carriage rolls into town.

The dappled Percheron pulling his painted carriage halts. Isen, dressed in richly-dyed silks and armed with a real sword on his hip, smiles and laughs his hellos as friends and townsfolk crowd around to hug him.

Renard uncrosses his arms and kicks off from the post where he’s been watching, stung by the fanfare, but accustomed to it. Isen smiles upon seeing him. Renard welcomes Isen with unsubtle teasing about him visiting ‘us little folk’, but Isen, accustomed to Renard’s provocative manner of expression, is reassured to hear that he’s fine. The crowd backs away as he speaks with Renard. After filling in the broad catch-up of ‘yes, the parents and I have been fine,’ Renard grins and audaciously reveals that once the festival’s over, he’ll be leaving town.

It’s an impulsive confession, and the first time he’s put the sentiment to words. But now that he’s confided it to Isen, it feels refreshingly like a commitment. Before tomorrow night, he’ll march right out of town and follow the road to the grand city Sebilles, where he’ll look for work as perhaps, an exterminator. Isen is surprised to hear it, but supportive. However, sensing the subtext that Renard intends to leave without telling their parents, he invites Renard along to see them first. Renard is reluctant and urges Isen to go ahead alone, but relents when Isen entices him by noting he’ll get to ride in the carriage.

On the short trip to their home, Renard asks what Isen has been up to. He’s an established squire now, not too far from securing his knighthood. He has participated in active combat and is a veteran of several battles served at the side of the Lord, and though he doesn’t go into detail, that he’s on the precipice of breaking into higher noble circles is unmistakable. While Renard is awed at this news, it also leaves him feeling quite hollow.

They arrive home. They greet their mother, who is waiting for their father to return from checking his traps before they set out to the festival. On cue, their father returns with several baskets of hares. While the family chats, Isen looks to Renard, questioning if he’s going to tell their parents he’s leaving, but upon seeing Renard’s wince of discomfort, lets the issue pass. Their father asks for one of them to sort out getting the hares bled, skinned, and sold. Flipping back into cheerful boisterousness, Renard volunteers himself to do it before Isen can speak. Fine with that, their father tasks the job to Renard.

The brothers load the hares into the carriage and return to town. As Renard sets to skinning the shrieking hares and draining their blood into water distillers, Isen watches pleasantly and eventually offers to help. Inexplicably infuriated by the offer, Renard yells at Isen that he doesn’t need help and angrily returns to the work. The flash of rage peters out quickly, leaving Renard confused and already regretful. Isen, changing the topic to Renard’s departure, carefully offers that he could put in a good word to get him connections, or at least give him a ride to Sebilles. Again, even more furious, Renard yells at Isen to shut up and bangs his fist on the table. And again, this anger simmers out quickly in the ensuing silence.

Isen quietly sets to smoothing out the skinned pelts. Renard soon lets his frustration drop enough to gesture Isen to skin some hares, and as they sit together in the silence, finding the rhythm to the work, Renard finds himself grateful that Isen didn’t leave. They sell off the hides and meat for a higher profit than normal, getting a sympathy bonus for working during the festival. Surprised, and realising that their father won’t notice its absence, Renard starts to consider pocketing the surplus coin as funding for his trip to Sebilles.

Isen notices Renard contemplating this. Though as a knight-in-training he should discourage penny theft, as a brother he sees no problem with Renard cushioning himself and advises him to keep the money. Before Renard can figure out the right way to negotiate this, Isen’s girlfriend arrives and whisks him away to finally partake in the festivities — people are wondering where he’s been. Unable to refuse, Isen joins her, leaving Renard.

Renard feels alienated and abandoned as he exits the building and sees the people celebrating through the streets. Rather than join them, he goes to the edge of town and looks over the long road to the city. The coins lay heavy in his palm as he considers. If he’s going to leave, this feels like the right moment.

Still carrying the money, Renard sighs and decides the right thing to do is pass the coins to his father. He returns to town and hands the money over; his mother, father, and their friends are attending the festivities now, watching the younger folk dance in a great circle. Noting the great time everyone’s having, Renard’s father urges him to join in. Unable to argue against it, Renard does, smiling outwardly but internally cringing for every hop and skip to the music.

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