The Apprentice Who Dazzles

Video Description: “The Apprentice Who Dazzles” Trailer. Duration, 43 seconds. “Mystical Town” by Chris Logsdon. Digital drawing. At center, a man seen from thighs up, facing forward with head raised up, eyes and mouth slightly parted. He wears a sparkling shirt with a ruffled front, fancy cuffs, and ornate belt. A sparkling half-cape hangs from his left shoulder and is tied over his right shoulder. His right arm is bent, hand raised to his temple. A dangling earring with linked golden hoops hangs from his left ear. His shoulder-length hair is loosely pinned behind the ear. Title card with the words “Short Story” and “Genre: Horrific Fantasy,” is displayed at center. Tagline is displayed at bottom. It reads: “A self-help instructor helps himself to the most dazzling part of his newest protégé…her soul.” Title card and tagline fade. A watermark of the word “storyfeather” appears over the image. Lines from the story appear in sequence: “This ‘man who dazzles’ seemed to be the real deal. Under the smoothed down hair, and the pressed suits, and the glinting gold cuff links, the rings, the chains, and that slight brush of coppery glitter just at his temples, there was substance. There was a man who could teach others to dazzle as well. I wanted to meet him and talk to him.” Site URL appears at bottom left throughout and fades at end. As the last line disappears, the image blurs, the story title appears at center, animated sparkles appear over the title, and a text card appears at top that reads “Available to Read Now storyfeather.com.”

Video Description: Duration, 7 seconds. Choice wheel made on the Spin the Wheel application. Thirteen spokes or slices in various colors, labeled as follows, clockwise from the top: Objects of Power (the “of Power” is not visible), Prompts, Definitions, Turn Again, Elements, Creatures, S.T.E.A.M., Wildcard, Revisitation, Music, Challenge, Draw!!!, Traveler. The title at top reads “The Wheel of Fiction V4” and below that the words “Spin the wheel.” Below that is a label on left, “Spin date: 9/8/22,” and a label at right, “Story: 10/3/22.” At top left corner is a flag icon labeled with the letter “F.” This represents a function of the application which interferes with true randomness by reducing the probability of receiving the same choice twice in a row. The wheel turns and lands on REVISITATION. As the wheel stops spinning, a eye appears at center with lines radiating from it. The eye blinks and sparkles appear below it.