Prompt: Journey to the Past

[Prof. Sky Alton]

Whether they’re a survivor of dark magic, a victim of a radioactive spider bite, a prince cursed for discourtesy or a woman jilted at the altar who decided to spend the rest of her life in her wedding dress, all characters have an origin story.

An origin story sets your character on their path in life. It might grant them a destiny, give them special powers, help them to find a purpose, give them a chip on their shoulder or maybe just establish one of their ruling personality traits. They’re very important but there isn’t always space for them in a book or film (though flashbacks can be pretty useful).

So, here’s your chance. I’d love you to write me an origin story or an important event from a character’s past. It must be 200 words or more and preferably about an original character of your own creation (if you don't have one that'll suit, come up with a brand new one). If you’re doing a story for HolWriMo, this might be a nifty way to get to know one of your character’s a little better.

There is no deadline as such for these prompts but if you’d like it to count towards your chance of earning the award for a specific year, we’ll need it by the end of that school year. If you’re comfortable sharing, then post below. If not, email your story to us via hol.bookclub @ gmail.com (without the spaces). Oh and remember it’s a good idea to check through your piece carefully for spelling and grammatical errors as they make it harder for people to properly enjoy your work.

[Katya Snow]

it's long, sorry, but i had fun writing it!)

It was cold today but it was a pleasant feeling for the young man gracefully walking through the thick forest. The thick snow was piled up in huge piles between the roots of the trees and the full moon shone through the leaves, reflecting off the snow lighting up the paths between the trees. The young man was as pale as the snow in which he walked in and his eyes nearly so. Though it was easily below freezing there he wore nothing but a silk robe and silk slippers.

He was The Oberon. He was Cernunnos. Lord High Lord of the Fairies and Ruler of the Wild Hunt. He Ruled over all of the Tuath Dé Danonn. The Oberon Cernunnos was Lord High Lord of the Fairies and held rule over the two races, Seelie, and Unseelie Sidhe. The Summer and Winter Courts. Like all Kings before him, upon his crowning he shed all previous names and titles and became The Oberon, an ancient Fey title that named him as Ruler of All. He Ruled over all things magical, whether they lived within the Otherworld or not. His Word was Law and not even the Faerie Queens The Mab and The Titania would go against him.

It was an unusual day today for him however, to be walking in the dark forests of the Otherworld when by all rights he aught to be sleeping. There was something wrong, something deep and pulsing in the night air. Magic was acting up in the middle of the forest, he could feel it building. Bringing something from the Mundane realms. It was very rare that someone entered the Otherworld and it's realms through a Sidhe. It was even rarer that someone entered through the Otherworlds potent magical barriers. Whoever this was was magically powerful to the extreme. Cernunnos would have to be prepared to defend his lands as he reached the pulsing point of magic.

With a crack and a flash of light so bright the King of the Faeries had to shield his eyes, the being was brought in through the Magic Mists and the magical barriers. Cernunnos was stunned he could not react. It was no powerful being that had appeared at his feed, but a child! A young child dressed in tattered rags, barefoot and sick. It was a male child, no older than five but so thin he could see the bones and count ribs where the shirt had slid upwards. The young boy was sick too, the shallow, rattling breath speaking of pneumonia and the high fever threatening his life. Cernunnos knelt down, gently set his hand on the boys skin, wincing at how cold the child was. Hypothermia had well set in, this child was near death and needed the healers immediately. Her thought nothing of lifting the boy into his arms and shedding his dignity the sprint through the wood, riding the wind to go even faster. Children where so rare in the Otherworld that every child was cherished, even the mundane ones. Cernunnos could no more leave the child there then he could leave his lungs behind. No matter the mysterious manner in which the child had arrived. It was good timing anyway, he had been thinking about adopting a child. This one would do just as well as any other.

[Prof. Maxim Trevelyan]

While this story is HOL appropriate, it might be triggering (car accident) for some.

There is yelling, outright screaming. Heavy rain barely drowning out the fearful voices that seemed to join the cacophony of sounds with each passing minute.

‘Mom!’ I scream, looking left and right, but I cannot find her. All I can see is bent metal everywhere, cars piled up on top of one another and people running away, or worse, still.

I check the driver’s seat again, but she wasn’t there. I try not to think about the human-sized hole in the front window. I move away from it, ignoring the stinging pain in my chest. ‘Mom!’

I hear sirens in the background, but I keep stumbling around the cars, around the people, until something grabs me from behind. I try to fight, but I notice the black and yellow reflective uniform and a logo on the sleeves, our town’s fire department.

‘You okay kid?’ a gruff voice asks. I look up and see a stern man, around my dad’s age, but with kind eyes. He is supporting a teenager, who has a pretty deep-looking wound on her arm.

‘I’m looking for my mom,’ I say in a small voice.

‘I’ll try to find her kiddo,’ he said, looking between us. ‘Can you do me a favor, champ?’ the man asks, as I nod. ‘Why don’t you take her and go to those tents over there,’ he points to the left where I can just barely see the white tops. ‘Your mom might be there.’

I glance at the teenager again, she looks to be close to tears. I nod and the man gently put her arm around my shoulders. ‘You’re very brave kid,’ he says as he leaves.

‘Come on, it’s not that far,’ I tell the girl and we start our slow walk to the tents.

***

I come back to reality when a solid, but light, punch hits my shoulder.

'Come on rookie, multiple MVA on I-95,' my partner says as we jump into the rig, me in the back and he behind the wheel. 'Don't freeze,' he yells as we speed down the roads cars moving out of our way because of the siren.

It takes us ten minutes to arrive, mostly due to lighter traffic than usual and my partner's excellent car maneuvering while speeding. I sigh as I see the crowd of onlookers.

We take the stretcher from the back of the rig and start pushing through the crowd. I admit I am quite liberal with the use of elbows.

‘EMTs, move away!’ I yell for added effect and the people slowly step back.

I kneel down by the person lying unmoving on the ground, ignoring the coppery smell already wafting through the air.

Time to get to work.

[Silas Hipolito Crist]

It was a terrible rain and there was barely anything to see; there was no thunder yet, but Charles would not be surprised it would be one very soon. He was running down the street with newspaper on his head and with his glasses on his eyes, altough it was even harder to see with glasses. He was not so far from his home, but there were still a few minutes of walking and running in rain till he would arrive.
He had such a bad luck when storm got him. Ordinary and beautiful afternoon became dark and deadly.
Out of nowhere he heard something. It was faint, but it was reapeating on and on. Charles stopped and listened for some seconds. It was still repeating. So he stepped some steps closer in direction of where the sound was coming from. Finally he detected it, it was dog barking. And it was barking of a dog puppy!
Charles pushed his way closer into the stree full of different trashcans and even garbage outside them. He put newspaper in the nearest trashcan and listened again. It was obviously coming from the end of the street. Quickly he stepped even closer and opened his mouth in shock.
Without thinking he reacted. Puppy was in the metal box and it was full of water. Puppy was drowning. Charles put his hands in the box and grabbed little puppy with his big hands. Barking was finally ended, it became just soft squeking while doggy was laying in Charles' hand.
Man smiled and immediately headed for the nearest vet to take care for the puppy.
Next week they were both laying on the couch in Charles' house and watching TV. Charles became totally different then.

[Iverian Gnash]

When people thought of Katherine, they thought Princess Katherine, the next queen. She was the daughter of the king and queen whom people feared. The girls her age despised her, but weren't allowed to say so. To Katherine, though, she was a girl born on the outskirts of town. The queen's best kept secret. As much as the king disliked having anything to do with her, there was nothing he could do without blowing the biggest secret the kingdom had held, well, maybe not the biggest, but a major one. Thinking about these things, Katherine thought way back. Before she could remember, based off of what the queen had told her.

It was hectic. The snow whipped down the streets blinding anyone who tried to step outside. In the outskirts of town, a young woman gave birth to a small child - a girl. Moments later, clutching her baby, the sweet lady passed away, leaving her child almost alone in the world. News spread quickly that the mother had died. Reaching the castle, the new queen was frantic and heartbroken. Her sister, her dear sister was dead and she was now an aunt. The child would be an orphan, unless... the queen had a plan. With her most trustest guard, she made the three hour long trip to her sister's house. No one noticed the small carriage through the blinding snow and no one noticed it coming back. The baby wouldn't know her true parentage until thirteen years later.

[Hannah Lovegood]

You Think You're Tough but She's Tougher

Sofia had a little flashback to when she went to school. She remembered that she wanted to be one of the popular girls who got to sit at the popular table. They said, “You can sit at our popular table after you do this challenge. You'll have to race Austin into the woods.” Austin was the 8th grade bully. So that evening, she went down to the woods where Austin was waiting. Austin immediately made fun of her. “Oh, you're as skinny as a rat. I was expecting something tougher like me.” Then, he spit in her face. Sofia took a lot of her energy not to say something mean back to him. Then she said, “Ok, I guess let's get this race started.” So, then she counted, “3 … go!” and took off. He ran fast after her but he wasn't as fast as her plus it started to get dark and creepy and all the animals and poisonous snakes came out. So, he got really creeped out and ran out of the woods and got into his car and drove away. While Sofia kept on running all the way to the finish line where her older sister was waiting for her. Then Sofia popped back to reality and she smiled at her sister who was sitting next to her.