hotpot.ai/art-generator
Unlike most of the rest of the Dwarves’ habitations, the corridors leading to the King’s audience hall were designed to be used by taller folk. Wynforr and the others did not have to stoop as they walked through. After the long walk up the stairs, and down the corridors, they were fairly tired when they stopped in front of the large doors at the top, where stood two Dwarf guards.
“I have come as an ambassador to the King,” Seth said, coming up to the guards.
“An ambassador from whom?” queried the Dwarf on the right, the sergeant. It would be extremely odd for the Elf to be sending an ambassador… but not that odd for someone else to send an Elf.
“From the King of the Farmers,” said Seth.
The Dwarf scowled, “The King will not see you, then.”
“Oh,” said Seth, “there is no way that he will see me?”
“Not you,” the Dwarf replied.
“What if he sent his Son?” Seth asked.
“No, especially not him.”
“Hmmm. What if he sent a Visser, or a Marshman?”
The Dwarf was bemused at the way this conversation was going. “No, not them either.”
“What if…” said Seth, “what if he sent a Dwarf?”
The Dwarf mused over this. “If he had sent a Dwarf, then I would have had to let him in. By law, all Dwarves have the right to petition the King. I am not saying it would be a wise Dwarf who did so, since the King would be most angry. But I would have to let him in.”
At this Seth turned and yelled, in Dwarf, “Witnesses!”
The head guard jumped at the cry. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“Witnesses!” Seth shouted again, ignoring him, and a small crowd began to gather. Calling for witnesses to some important transaction was a serious Dwarf custom, and the crowd stood, quietly, waiting to perform their role.
“I call you to witness,” said Seth, beginning the time-honored ritual, “what this man has just said to me.”
The crowd hushed and turned toward the chief guard, who reluctantly repeated what he had said.
“You are witnesses,” Seth said.
“We are witnesses,” the Dwarves intoned, in their time-honored fashion.
Seth turned to the chief guard, and said, “So, you thin bearded, ham fisted, fish head, you are telling me that I cannot see the King. Let me tell you something about your ancestry…” and Seth began pacing in a circle, waving his hands about, and heaping egregious insults on the Dwarf guard--all in Dwarf, of course. The audience watched, fascinated. Insults were a Dwarf custom, and the more inventive, yet clean, the more credit one gained for the insult.
But they were rather confused as to the lad’s purpose. Surely the guard was not going to violate his rules just because someone offered an excellent exchange of insults. And not that it was going to be much of an exchange, as the guard stood silently, as confused as everyone else.
hotpot.ai/art-generator
Suddenly the focus of the crowd shifted rather dramatically. It became very still, and very intent. Seth was changing. Before their eyes he was changing. He was getting shorter, stockier. His face was changing. Unbeknownst to the crowd, his eyes were changing, shifting to add infrared to his vision and his ears began picking up the ultrasonic impulses that they were all putting out, and that he would soon be as well. The left side of his brain, the creative, artistic side, was gaining priority. In short, in front of everyone, Seth was becoming a Dwarf. The crowd gained in size, with whispered conferences as each new person joined. Elders and other leaders pushed to the front. Finally, as his speech had gained almost a fever pitch, Seth stopped.
He turned, looked at the Dwarf guard, and said, “And why can’t I speak to the King?
Links
Island People
Island People is a young adult fantasy book centring on a young prince. The book starts with his kidnapping and follows his adventures as he not only escapes from his kidnapper but gains critical allies and friends.
The entire book is scheduled on Substack, and there are several sequels. This is a book I wrote years ago, so it is in a bit of a rough form. Critiques and comments are more than welcome, they are requested.
Chapter 3: Transforming Culture
Chapter 7: The Better Part of Wisdom
Chapter 8: To Sleep, Perchance to Dream
Chapter 9: He who has Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear
Chapter 11: Unto the Third Generation
Chapter 12: Payment for Services Rendered
Chapter 13: Down the River (again)
Contract Marriage
Contract marriage is an adult dystopia examining the issues of marriage. Like 1984 and Brave New World, Contract Marriage treats the relations between the sexes as a fundamental aspect of how a society is formed and, thus, how a society can go wrong.
Unlike those dystopias, Contract Marriage isn’t all horrible all of the time. The characters for the most part have a good time and get along in their society. But the issues of sexuality, of marriage or not, monogamy or not, faithfulness or not, and gender roles… keep coming up and causing tension and conflict and joy and pain.
My desire is that my readers would be thinking along with my characters about these issues and perhaps even arrive at the same place (minus the flying cars).
Introduction
In which I lay out the themes that I intend to explore in this light Dystopia, and ask others to participate.
Trade Master: First Chapter
In which Fenestra, our heroine’s mother, puts in her application for the job of 'Trade Master’ on the planet Libertas, and finds out that it isn’t that easy.
En-Drek Contract
In which Fenestra finds out that, on Libertas, everyone must be in an ‘En-drek’ contract… a long-term, live-in, heavy date between a man and a woman for the purpose of producing one child after the other with one date after the other.
Disappointment and Meditation
In which Jellia, the daughter and our heroine, finds out about her mother’s job opportunity, including its difficulties, and commits herself to meditating on the situation. (And internally commits herself to encouraging her mother to take the job.)
Decision Reached
Jellia tells her mother that she thinks she should take the job, and so her mother puts in her application… and gets the job!
First School
Jellia goes to school and gets to tell everyone about her new adventure.
First Work
Fenestra goes to work, and tells her coworker about her new opportunity.
Writing Class
Jellia writes a poem (a limerick) and tells her classmates more about her new adventure.
Trader Galloway
In which a man comes over for a ‘date’ (Ie to sleep over with her mother) and to tell them all about his time as Trade Master for their company on Libertas. And as how he was almost executed for asking a woman out on a date.
Shopping
In which Jellia and her mother go shopping for the last time, and we explore some of the nature of the planet she is leaving.
Language
In which Jellia starts using some new words at school, and everyone gathers round to find out what they mean.
Images
I got the images from:
hotpot.ai/art-generator
It didn’t exactly follow my instructions, but it did come up with some cool pictures.
I tried another one with the following prompt:
A teenage elf boy in leather armor, arguing with two dwarf guards in a courtyard
and this is what it gave me:
https://perchance.org/ai-photo-generator
I don’t think I’m quite ready to use AI images, but these were kind of cool.