The Apprentice Who Dazzles

A self-help instructor helps himself to the most dazzling part of his newest protégé…her soul.

Music: “Mystical Town” by Chris Logsdon

Video description

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.”



Welcome to Year 9 of Storyfeather

Every year’s short stories (mostly) follow a theme. This year, I will turn the Wheel of Fiction to help me decide what to write. There are thirteen spokes on this wheel. Eight are occupied by the eight themes from the previous years of stories. One is a prompt to turn the wheel again. One is a wildcard (hmm…curious). And three are covered only in question marks. I suppose I’ll find out what’s beneath those questions as we go along.

Welcome to the WHEEL OF FICTION

The Wheel of Fiction revisits the theme of Revisitation. There are preternatural beings who can only sustain themselves upon the life forces of others.  I’ve written stories about such beings before.  So what could I do that was just a little bit different?  I was helped with the brainstorm by the prompt for the art challenge I’m doing this month, called Mabs Drawlloween Club. The prompt? Glampire.

Ah yes, glamour. Glamour is dazzling. Glamour is…breathtaking.

Video description

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.


Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
Tags: Apprentice, Charisma, Dazzle, Drained, Man Who Dazzles, Motivation, Protege, Speaker


JUMP INTO THE PORTAL BELOW TO EXPLORE MORE STORIES

Portal Button. Elongated rectangle with rings of colored light emanating from the center. Text appears over the rings, reading "Storyfeather Year 9" and below it in larger font, "Wheel of Fiction."

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.