Elsewhere, there is Gorgomehurst (555 hits)
Category: GeneralLabels: Fiction
Rating: 1.21 on 27 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Kaos-King (antius777) (View user info) at 2009-05-12 01:54:23 EDT
Elsewhere, there is Gorgomehurst.
For almost three hundred years it has stood overlooking the rocky shores of the Midean Sea, high above on the cliffs of Cali-Uhrn. Uhrn itself had been toppled just a century before by the Reyan Empire, but few had actually noticed. The Reya were disciplined and just people, leaving the culture and societies they conquered in peace. The conquest had come not with the strike of a blade but with the stroke of a pen, and Uhrn now had found itself a principality. The Reya paid little attention to the broken alliances and treachery that had taken place in the small country shortly after it fell; as long as their loyalty stayed intact and tithe was paid. It is conceivable that the new royalty that took to the minor throne of Uhrn either had forgotten of Gorgomehurst or cared not. That the Reya were never even aware of its existence is certain.
Gorgomehurst. Two hundred years previous, the mad, mad King Metheles had seen his only son, the prince of Uhrn, die young in a terrible hunting accident. A bolt from Metheles own crossbow had misfired and pierced through the leg of Prince Khaimlar. He had bled out in full before the summoned Healer could even leave his quarters. Gorgomehurst. Some said Metheles built the structure as a memorial to the son he had slain, other said it was a fortress to protect him in his final years. Both could be said true as the immense building did indeed possess elements of the temples found in the Uhrnite faith along with a fortified position high up the ridge. And yes, Metheles did abandon the throne in his later years, never having sired another child and abdicating to his nephew, he fled to live and die in Gorgomehurst.
Ah, but the tale is not so simple, not so mundane as the sorrow a father feels for the loss of his son. Metheles was far more mad, far more driven than many would have thought possible. He defied the laws cast down by both men and gods when completing Gorgomehurst, a place less a tomb than one would believe.
Indeed, ever was there life within the walls.
Her name was Amalette. She glided down the grey stone hallway unafraid, warmed by the many torches that burned along the walls. Almost dancing on her bare tiptoes, her thin black gown swirled around her lithe body, her slender form barely concealed by the sheer material. She humed a tune we don't remember, her pale pink lips in a faint smile. Midnight locks that matched her simple dress, frame her face and trailed down her back in sleek rivulets. They cascaded out behind her as she moved down the hall.
Her name was Amalette, and she had been here for a century but does not remember such things. Her memory washes out with the tide that crashes against the cliffs of Cali-Uhrn below. There was something that always lingerd, a trace, a fragment, a whisper of a thought. Occasionally she awakened with it on her lips, but failed to speak it out loud. Amalette thought perhaps that it was a name. Not her name, nor the name of her blessed and deceased father, Sagamon. No, and not the name of her feeble, failing guardian.
Not the name "Metheles."
So many things drew at the mind of the young woman. She missed her father today more bitterly than most. Lord Sagamon had been a wise and powerful Sorcerer once, he had been instrumental in the creation of the home she now resided in. Gorgomehurst. No, that was not the name either. It was a different name, one she had read in a book, perhaps heard in a dream. Amalette went to the library, the torches guiding her.
She swept inside the massive room, once a favorite of her father's. Here she would often drown the day away under the weight of words. Histories and poems, fables and philosophies, sciences and arcana. She had been an incredibly bright child, her intelligence even more impressive now in her early adulthood. That this word, this name alluded her... it was bothersome.
For hours she poured through book after book, seeking out the elusive name. She sought it in the epics of ancient Uhrn and in the ballads written by both Khemice and Attalay. The Treaties of Unreliable Truth, A Thesis on the Multiverse via Omniverse, and even The Great Book Of Dead Names yielded no results. But it was there, closer than before.
Amalette gave a sigh and closed the last book she had tried. Nothing. Perhaps her guardian would be of assistance. The old man had little to say these days. He spent most of his time deep in drink, quietly sobbing into his cup. Regardless, Amalette was glad that someone else occupied Gorgomehurst along with her. She was not sure if she could carry the burden of the home on completely alone.
To the main chamber she went, gliding, dancing. No door in Gorgomehurst had ever been closed to her, but today she found the Great Room chamber doors shut and bolted. Suddenly afraid for the first time she could remember, she called out to her guardian, to Metheles. What if some tragedy had befallen him as it had her father? She rapped her knuckles against the door once, then a second time with more force as the thought consumed her. Then Amalette put her ear to the door to listen, to hear if Metheles was crying out for help. But no, she heard what sounded like, like...
... voices. Two voices.
The doors swung open and Metheles stood there in his usual attire of a torn shift and a robe. For a moment he looked enraged, as if he would strike her. Then his wizened face soften and he took on the composure of one about to weep. Amalette took her guardian by the arm and led him to his chair. A strong, sturdy wooden affair, she had privately joked to herself that it was much what a throne must be like.
Seated, Metheles reached for his wine, but Amalette tried to retrieve it away from him. He whined like a child, a pitiful noise, and Amalette gave in. Drunkenly, he sloshed the dark red liquid into his filthy cup and drank from it greedily. She watched him with her large dark blue eyes, eyes that always looked slightly red as if she had just been crying. Now however, she did think of weeping. She could see that her guardian did have much time left in this world.
As if he read her thoughts, Metheles confirmed by stating very calmly, "I am dying."
Amalette sought to discourage such sentiments in the old man, but as the words formed she saw the small smile play on his lips and realized that her guardian welcomed the black oblivion. And while Metheles might have favored the dirt, Amalette couldn't help but worry after herself.
"Tell me, me dearest one," Metheles said to her, "What have you done today?"
Amalette told him of her search for the word, her quest for a name. She ranted on for a few moments until she turned back to Metheles and saw the aching sadness in his face. She took his hand and patted it, feeling foolish for upsetting the old man.
"Ah, another failed hunt..." spoke Metheles.
And it was like lightning within her mind. The name, once buried deep and hidden under layers of something akin to ash, it rose like the phoenix reborn. Amalette felt it fill her, inside her heart and across her skin, between her legs and then out of her mouth.
"Khaimlar!" she exclaimed.
Metheles shook with joy, both his cup and bottle fallen away. "You've... you've remembered!"
But Amalette was away, taken by the memory and taken to foot. She fled the chamber and ran down the hallway, the torches burning ever brighter in her passage. The flashes of the past returned to her as the storm drew up outside, its fury growing to match her desperation. The shower of rain came down as she swept past the giant front antechamber, the high glass alcove reflecting the lightning in the darkening skies. There she paused, there Amalette stopped her frantic run and let herself feel. To the north. The North Tower.
Gorgomehurst. It was rocked by the storm the rolled in off the sea. The wind blew gusts so hard that it flung debris about, shattering windows that had held for centuries. Torches blew out all over the home as books fell, tables toppled over. A crack was struck deep within the foundation, down by the small kitchen and the walls rattled. Back up in the Great Room, Metheles had found his bottle. With tears streaming down his face, he succumbed to a laughing madness as Amalette took two steps a time up the North Tower.
There, up higher than anywhere else in Gorgomehurst, there were no windows. Only a small thatch roofing for shade, the tower was open to the elements. The storm battered against the door as she flung it open, open wide to see the young man standing only feet away from her with his arms open wide as if inviting the gods' wrath to tear down Gorgomehurst.
And from her lips came his name. "Khaimlar."
He turned to her, his features sharp and pointed as his father's had once been. Hawk-nosed and pointed chin, his dark blue eyes glowered at her with something unnatural. His dark blonde hair hung loose and full, like a wild cat's mane. He held out a hand to her, oblivious to the rain and wind that pounded the tower.
"I am the dream of Gorgomehurst," he said. "Will you make me real?"
Through the storm, she went to him, she went into his arms. There she embraced him, his arms wrapping around her. It was as if she fit next to him, his lips finding hers with ease. Amalette kissed the once future King of Uhrn and believed in him.
"How can this be?" she whispered into his hair, her lips on his cheek.
"Metheles, once the King of Uhrn, built this place three centuries ago along with his greatest Sorcerer, Sagamon. Time passes much, much slower here. A year is perhaps a day. Sagamon..."
"My father kept me here for three hundred years?" Amalette asked astonished.
"No," said Khaimlar, "He was not your father. He was your creator."
"What!" gasped Amalette.
"This house, this temple... it was constructed to house me. It was into Gorgomehurst that my spirit was thrusted and I was forced to haunt. I wanted no part of it, no need to live again. Ah, but the mad whims of a father's love. A King's love! And Sagamon, evil Sagamon, he transmuted other spirits into flesh. The spirits of maidens long dead."
Amalette pulled away from his arms and stumbled back. "What are you saying?"
"There was Nicolette, then Jaquolette. Never was Metheles allowed to tell them after the first time, they had to remember! To remember me, to believe in me, it was to bring about my resurrection. When it seemed that you were to fail as the other two had, Sagamon looked to destroy you as well."
Khaimlar looked out upon the Midean Sea, the storm the seemed endless. "It's why I commanded my father to kill him."
And with that, Gorgomehurst began to fall.
"What... what does this mean?" screamed Amalette. "Am I just a shade, a dead thing?"
"No!" exclaimed Khaimlar, taking the girl in his arms once more. "You are a living being, as I am now, too. Come, let us flee this place. Let us live among the living."
"What, what of your father?"
Walking through the door, her hand in his his, Khaimlar said, "He built this in memorium, let it be his own."
As they walked, Gorgomehurst collapsed around them. It had done its duty, it sacred calling. In their wake, they left ruin and destruction. Gorgomehurst had a dream once, but in the face of belief? Belief left that dream shattered. Stones crumbled, torches flared, wood splintered, glass fractured. And mad, mad Metheles wept through his tears.
Amalette and Khaimlar walked out upon the grass of the Earth, feeling true ground beneath their feet, and their spirits aligned fully. They had freedom, they had lives, they had belief.
They had each other.
And as for Gorgomehurst? Scholars of Reyan history speak of a structure that fell into the Midean Sea sometime a century after The Reya Empire conquered the country once known as Uhrn. The ruins of this temple, this fortress, this memorial can still be found there today. And also, they say, can be heard the sounds of mad, mad laughter...
User Reviews
Submitted by osmosianist (user info) at 2009-05-26 23:59:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Gormenghast ripoff.
Submitted by Merlina (user info) at 2009-05-15 21:45:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2009-05-13 06:06:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
So, eh... I just noticed there are no hit counts on the newer posts.
When did I miss that???
Was there a reason for Bart to change that???
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2009-05-12 23:10:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
I guess I can understand why someone writes this kind of boring shit...what i CAN'T understand is why anyone would want to READ it.
Submitted by sandmantate (user info) at 2009-05-12 22:50:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
So, uh, this was really fucking long. Was it any good? I'm talking "Bloodsport" good. Was this post as good as watching Jean Claude Van Damme over emoting and making "O" faces?
Submitted by NintendoCzar (user info) at 2009-05-12 22:11:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
what new kind of faggotry is this?
http://pulsehead.com/353
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2009-05-12 08:56:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Good. Felt like a Stephen Donaldson short story which can only be a good thing. Names didn't paticularly bother me, Gorgomehurst is a little clunky I guess, but then I can't pronounce any of the names in the Dostoyevski novels I've read but that doesn't make them shit.
Whatever you do don't get name inspiration from LOTR because half the names are fucking retarded.
Adjective + n=Noun = fucking shit way to come up with a place name.
"Misty Mountains"? What the fuck?
Submitted by F.J.Bell (user info) at 2009-05-12 08:37:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Impenetrable, for me.
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2009-05-12 08:34:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Difficult names or not your creativity is still amazing.
Bravo.
Submitted by orphelia (user info) at 2009-05-12 08:32:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
really enjoyable. but what FALLEN said.
Submitted by FALLEN (user info) at 2009-05-12 08:27:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
"Metheles, once the King of Uhrn, built this place three centuries ago along with his greatest Sorcerer, Sagamon. Time passes much, much slower here. A year is perhaps a day. Sagamon..."
*************************************
"Steve, once the King of Uhrn, built this place three centuries ago along with his greatest Sorcerer, Jimmy. Time passes much, much slower here. A year is perhaps a day.
real names dont work in fantasy.
Submitted by monkeyswithguns (user info) at 2009-05-12 08:15:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by SgtHartman (user info) at 2009-05-12 07:52:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
blah blah names jarring blah blah blah
dont sweat it dude.
hows the diet coming?
Submitted by orphelia (user info) at 2009-05-12 04:13:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Will read it later.
:)
Submitted by EmissionImpossible (user info) at 2009-05-12 03:48:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by TuTs (user info) at 2009-05-12 03:41:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by mystiamoon (user info) at 2009-05-12 15:19:33 WST (#)
Ranking: 1
isn't the whole purpose of an alter to play a character different from your normal persona?
tuts if you're my alter...it's a big fail
-----------
Or it is the cleverest alter ever! I want an alter, I also want to go to bed and take some headache pills and eat cheese.
Submitted by mystiamoon (user info) at 2009-05-12 03:19:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
isn't the whole purpose of an alter to play a character different from your normal persona?
tuts if you're my alter...it's a big fail
Submitted by TuTs (user info) at 2009-05-12 03:05:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by mystiamoon (user info) at 2009-05-12 15:01:51 WST (#)
Ranking: 0
well to echo tuts who echoed me...
they just need a better flow.
smoother sounding.
See all Star Wars and LOTR to see what proper other world names should sound like.
-----------
Look just admit it already. I'm your alter.
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2009-05-12 03:02:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
HAHAHAHA!!!
Submitted by mystiamoon (user info) at 2009-05-12 03:01:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
well to echo tuts who echoed me...
they just need a better flow.
smoother sounding.
See all Star Wars and LOTR to see what proper other world names should sound like.
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2009-05-12 02:59:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Heh, it would be pronounced gor-gOm-herst. And Uhrn would just be urn.
Submitted by TuTs (user info) at 2009-05-12 02:47:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
The people names are fine. Just say the place names out loud, Gorgomehurst? Sounds gross dosn't it? Gore- go-me- herst is how I'm reading it and Uhrn- like a grunt. Your tale though, go with what you will.
Submitted by mystiamoon (user info) at 2009-05-12 02:45:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
wtf tuts?
get outta my head..
damn you do that all the time.
there's not enough room in there for you and the rest of the voices...sheesh..
kaos go look at my camwhore for shlongy..not exactly a profile but if i took a black and white shot with my hair against the side of my face like this you would swear we were twins.
its really freaking me out...she stole my face!
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2009-05-12 02:42:10 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Hmmm...
Okay, so question - should I have gone with more traditional names? I could have done that with the characters, but it would have been difficult with the locations. I think it would have lost some of the "fairy tale" quality.
Any suggestions???
Submitted by TuTs (user info) at 2009-05-12 02:38:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
The positive rating was for the ending. I did like this. The names that you use for places and people though are jarring. I would have to re-read some sentances that had the strange names in them and I don't know in what accent they are pronounced which pissed me off.
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2009-05-12 02:34:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Uhhh...
HAHAHA!!! Mysta, what the fuck? I'm sure you're fine.
Anyhow, I actually had a real difficult time with the names. I kinda wanted this to be like a fairy tale or something. I'm not really sure. My neighbor told me to write a "Gothic Romance." I didn't want to do some lame-ass vampire shit, so I went this route. It's like, I had a sensation of what I wanted the story to be, but I really wasn't terribly sure on how to get there. I kinda wanted to also make it so that the reader really didn't know what, when or where this was taking place; hence the silly names. But you're probably right.
Submitted by mystiamoon (user info) at 2009-05-12 02:28:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
I'm being honest so don't get angry at me.
I think your names for things in the worlds you write about need some work.
I know it's like a LOTR, fantasy type deal, but I found myself getting tripped up by the names and it pulled me out of the story.
However,
I have never tried to write fiction so already
You > Me :)
In other news that's a cool pic and I think that girl is my long lost, MUCH HOTTER, sister.
I swear to God her facial profile is near identical to my own.
I blew up the pic and it's fucking freaky. almost like the side of my own face was imposed onto her, actually she has my hair too, mine used to be that long most of my life but now it's a few inches shorter.
She even has my down turned trout mouth, prominant eyebrow line and semi-large nose.
She's the hotter me, like i was the reject prototype that she evolved from...