Alright, here is an introduction to my new story thread, The Assassin's Bamboo Brush, as well as a brief explanation on how it can be read.
The story is basically from the viewpoint of an assassin who is still quite young (est. late twenties or so). He has been there, done that, and now wants to retire (read Death's Final Moments) and travel with his three good friends, something they were planning for al long time but never got round to doing.
He is something of a writer, and likes to pen mostly prose, but comes up with some poetry now in then during bursts of inspiration. His writing overall is rather sporadic and hence, not very high in quantity. I determined that inserting what he writes now and then in the story itself can be quite distracting, and breaks the rhythm, so i decided to place them all at the front few chapters (indicated with "inverted commas" around the title). You can read them when you feel like it, and in whatever order you like. It does not affect the storyline, but gives some insight into the assassin's character.
Shortening a long story, the chapters with "inverted commas" are not vital to the storyline. Effectively, the first chapter of The Assassin's Bamboo Brush is
An End and a Beginning. The prelude is Death's Final Moments (you don't have to read it either).
Enjoy
*UPDATE*
Alright, the pieces are beginning to fall into place, and my thoughts are starting to crystallise. I've visualised a tie in with the two main long storylines I'm writing, "The Assasin's Bamboo Brush" and "Hooded". The two stories occur at about the same time, but their characters only meet about 1/3 way into their stories. Since they are chronologically overlapping, you can read either one first, or both at the same time. Hopefully, one will help you to have a greater understanding of the other. The integration at the 1/3 way mark should be smooth, given the time working on it, but either way, this work is highly experimental, and as usual, written to amuse myself (and bored office workers who happen to stumble upon this blog).
Much of the recent lack of writing can be attributed to lack of direction. I didn't know where I was going with my new and old characters with their apparently very different worlds. For a long time, merging the stories was debated, as it is a very risky move. I do believe now, however, that I've hit on something cool, and have filled in many of the plot gaps, managing to come up with a skeletal timeline.
Much of the focus, I guess, will be on character development. From my first story, (the one for the RPG), the characters were all papery and two dimensional (and perfect), which some may say, is inevitable for a piece that short. However, I'm exploring the possibilities now, looking way back in the past when the princess and Derrick first met. I have envisioned chips and imperfections in them, but because of the sentimental value of this couple, I'm being very careful to make sure I know what I want. How were they in the past? How did their relationship look like at first? How did it develop? How did it make them into the people they are "today"? Very complicated, many factors involved. On top of that, they're not the only main characters.
Just as Derrick symbolises immaturity at this point, I want Shiro to symbolise self-discovery and Thomas, perhaps, the final product. This makes Thomas very difficult to flesh out, since I'm not THAT old, and experienced in life. It's hard to say what the final product should be. Then again, it's pretty subjective, and so, Thomas is something like, a physical realisation of aspiration. In other words, he's a 'man of wax'. Of course, that doesn't make for a very realistic character, so I've toned him down abit. But he's nonetheless very difficult to grasp. Perhaps you could say his minimally being in the story (as compared to Shiro, or Derrick), is some form of escapism for me. I wouldn't blame you.
You could say that I'm being unrealistic, clinging to Ciralen and Derrick; characters I dreamt up years ago. Now that I'm supposed to have matured as a writer, I should move on to greater things. Yet, I'm highly sentimental, and IF I can make this story work, it will be very beautiful (at least to me). I'm taking my time on it, as you can see. Even after it's completed, I can still see myself editing it indefinitely.
As a final note, I hope this long story amuses, impresses and inspires you. I hope that you can see, feel and maybe even fall in love with the characters, without need for the usual abrasive, grindingly dramatic stuff. Most of all, I hope you find something meaningful within these blocks of prose.
Look forward to the next chapter that I render into words!
*Spoilers*
The latest episode of the Assasin's Bamboo brush occurs at the same time that Sir Derrick gets knighted. So, for people who want to get the order exactly right, this is the mental guideline I'm using. Note that some (many) of the chapters are in my mind, but not written down yet. So if you really hate spoilers, you might wanna try reading the storylines by yourself in your own order. I'll try my best to include as many chronological tie-ins as possible, but it's probably still gonna be confusing, and you've probably still gotta read it again.
(Relevant) Timeline:
Thomas sends a spy into the country in the west to determine the reason for its rapid military growth (not recorded)
Derrick selected to represent Rennon in the games. (not recorded) : Shiro investigates the runaway husband (not recorded)
Derrick trains with Thomas himself in preparation (not recorded), Thomas' spy completes mission, heads back to border as scheduled for extraction {hooded 1,2}: Shiro concludes the investigation and decides to retire with his friends {Death's Final Moments}
Derrick fights Rasheed {hooded 3,4} : Shiro works as a waiter with Nichirasu (not recorded)
Derrick knighted. {soon} : Shiro quits his job and concludes any business he might have left {An end and a beginning -to- Obasan}
Derrick on his first assignment, protect the emissary. Thomas sets out for the western border on a secret mission {soon} : Shiro starts his sight seeing with friends (may not be recorded)
Derrick travels south with the emissary, writes frequently to pen pal out of boredom. Thomas receives distressing news about his contact, changes meeting spot to somewhere in enemy territory, tries to enlist Shiro one last time. {soon} : Shiro receives sudden influx of letters from pen pal and Thomas, who had hired his services several times in the past. {soon}
Thomas manages to get Shiro's reluctant agreement for one last assignment. Meets contact. Derrick still on the road south, still bored (soon). : Shiro watches Thomas fail his mission and get captured, tracks him for the next week. (soon)
Emissary reaches first town, meets villagers, detects general unease. Derrick still bored, and oblivious. Thomas brought into new country, transported rapidly to the southern shore. Crosses water back to the southern peninsula.(soon) : Shiro tracks Thomas, suspicions grow.(soon)
Thomas arrives at a large port town south of Rennon, doesn't know where he is. Held and tortured. Emissary leaves village, heads toward port town to investigate and ease, if possible, reported unrest in the port town.(soon) : Shiro realises pen pal's mission is in jeopardy. Rushes to meet and discuss a plan with him/her.(soon)
Derrick learns that emissary is the princess, Ciralen. Thomas captured for one week and running. Tortured over the next two days.(soon) : Shiro meets Derrick. Plans made for rescue of Thomas and his contact. Port town's hidden military presence completely infiltrated by Nichirasu, Orophin, Akamaru within 3 days. Shiro discusses with his sworn brother (one of the lower profile warlords) about the elaborate escape plan. Count Von Mies (aforementioned sworn brother) agrees to provide support. (soon)
The rest is a little hazy, but looks exciting. When it's solidified, I'll add it to the timeline too.
*End of Spoilers*
As you can see, I've only written quite little of it, but it's mostly cos I only recently thought up how to merge the two storylines as seamlessly as possible. Criticise all you like. As I said, it's an experiment. Have fun.