And so, one night a couple weeks ago, I pulled from my shelf one of my novels: EPIC FANTASY *WITH DRAGONS. Why this one? I'm not sure. Perhaps I had a dream which, upon waking, left a smudge of something in my consciousness which dovetailed strangely with an episode in that epic fantasy novel. So I wanted to go to that scene in the book, like picking up a piece of candy, but instead of jumping right there I started from the beginning. Suddenly I was determined to read it straight through, all 660 pages of daring do, merry mirth, strange cities, and all the damn dragons!
I was pleasantly surprised. The novel opens with our hero in his element: hunting dragons. I've always recalled that it started slow, and despite many revisions, I continued to believe that. Upon re-reading it, however, I found it moved along quite well. It had been just long enough that I had forgotten many small details which upon reading again seemed quite delightful and clever. I enjoyed the troubles our hero gets into and how dragons or magic save him, or else, sometimes, others manage to help him save himself.
At any rate, the scene I was heading toward when I started reading the novel again is the argument between our burly hero and the new girl, literally a woman warrior who will not let our hero be the leader. They are camped for the night while on the road, escorting a lady ambassador back to her home. And it goes a little like this:
The woman [warrior Naka Wu] squatted and sliced off
some meat, then extended the dagger to him [our hero Corlan], a juicy cut dangling from the tip.
He reached over and plucked it off the blade and plopped the morsel into his
mouth.
“Thanks,” he mumbled, chewing.
“We must work together now,” she
said. “Like a clan. Everyone to do a part, sharing.” She shot a glance at Rupas [sidekick hunchback] across the spit from her. “We could call ourselves the Wu clan.”
Rupas laughed. “Corlan might object
to that. He started this clan—if that’s what we should call it: a clan. He is a
Tang by birth. It should be the Tang clan.”
“That’s right,” Corlan muttered,
chewing.
“Now I am in charge, you say. I wish
to call us the Wu clan. There is a beautiful sound to the words.”
“Why are you even riding with us?”
asked Corlan in a sour voice. “What of your rebellion?”
“Fa Mei led the rebellion. She rules
in Covin now,” said Naka Wu. “I did my part, as you saw. I will return and be
part of her reign. She has promised me a high command. With my sisters, we
initiated the first step. Now I am bound by my code to escort the ambassador
home.” She regarded Jemma [ambassador], sitting beside Rupas. “However long that may be.”
“Another detour from our original
journey,” Corlan muttered.
“So many detours,” Rupas mumbled.
“It’s a wonder we are not all dead. We’d better avoid cities from now on.”
“The Wu clan is not afraid of
cities,” said Naka Wu boldly.
“The Tang clan is smart enough to
avoid unnecessary dangers,” Corlan countered.
“You two should work together,” said
Rupas. “It doesn’t concern us what we call ourselves. Let it be the Tang-Wu
clan and we will all be satisfied.”
“Let us be the Wu-Tang clan,” said
Naka Wu. “And we will not be afraid of any city yet we shall not be so bold as
to enter any city without caution.”
“Danapo is a safe city,” Jemma cut
in.
“Fair enough,” said Corlan,
tightening his jaw.
“Then it’s done: we are the Wu-Tang
clan,” said Rupas, clapping his hands. “Compromise!”
Amusing perhaps, even if you don't know the reference to a pop music group. The novel is full of puns and malapropisms. It's part of the fun I had writing the thing. At the time, I called it my tour-de-force, declaring that I had said in it everything I wanted to say about life, death, civilization, men and women, law and religion, and the value of dragons. I had nothing more to say on any topic after this novel. That is the goal, I think, of anything deigned to be called "epic". Meanwhile, I seem to have started a new novel, the post-apocalyptic plague story, different from the one I started in March 2020 but soon gave up when real life became too much like art.
So it goes....
I think I might reflect on past works, share some insider information, reveal some quirks or problems I had in writing it, critique my own efforts. It's always good to return to once important things and see them again in what may be a new light. That process is helpful when put in order the materials of one's life and lifeworks.
