Tales from The GrowlerVerse

Welcome to Growler's Universe of Ideas. Or 'The GrowlerVerse' for short.

Character based entertainment set in our world but slightly different.

Featuring original science fiction and fantasy, action adventure storytelling.

The GrowlerVerse: Great Characters, Great Stories!

Rawle Austin presents...

Continuing the story where Tech Sorcery left off.

The ancient power of the Enmorians has seeped into everyday existence threatening the very fabric of life as we know it.

The Sorcery trilogy will conclude with Carbon Sorcery.

Going home from work one cold winter's evening a male Civil Servant spots an abandoned scarf on a tube seat.

Takes it and puts it on. As long as he wears it he has amazing powers! The Crimson Scarf is born!

First wears it in the normal way around his neck but gradually experiments on his arm, around his waist like a belt and wrapped around his head like a mask.

London has it's first superhero!

One creative soul that has inspired me is George Lucas. The story of how he got his dream project, Star Wars, off the ground is nothing short of amazing!

And to turn it into a worldwide smash was just icing on the cake. When the film first debuted in 1977 it broke the mold in sci-fi feature films with its incredible special effects and created the term blockbuster movie.

As a pioneer, Lucas went on to create studios for sound and special effects which are still in use today.

But the real achievement was the story of Star Wars.

An action adventure like no other, the first trilogy remains one the best pieces of cinema storytelling ever devised. Great characters, great locations and great action. The films are just as fresh today.

It shows that making great stories can be done.

My own attempt at a wuxia story.

Wuxia are sword, chivalry and fantasy tales which often involve characters with the ability to run up and down buildings, fly short distances and have superb martial arts and weapon skills.

Set in Ancient China in an amalgamation of the Tang and Qing Dynasties.

By day Princess Cai Zhi Hua is a pampered royal, by night an accomplished fighter.

This is a love story.

In the old days, superheroes had a clear cut mission. Good versus evil.

A big bad or villian of the month was enough to form the spine of a good story.

Coupled with great character interaction between the hero and their supporting cast.

Nowadays, sophisticated readers like myself demand more complex stories.

Keeping the awe and wonder of the fantastic, but asking for a little more thought into crafting the story.

Writers have a new mission, to engage the readership and keep them coming back for more.

What will superheroes fight for today?

I don't have the answer for that yet, but I'll keep looking for the solution while creating tales for the GrowlerVerse.

I always liked the classic uncanny X-Men motivation of fighting to protect those who hated and feared them.

It made for some great stories...

A new superheroine for a new age.

This is an idea I've had for a while and have just dusted it down.

Still tweaking it though.

The basic premise is that Celsius can project heat from her eyes and cold from her hands.

She can raise her body temperature and generate thermal currents giving her the ability to fly.

The temperatures she can create range from 300C to -100C (Absolute Zero).

New to her powers this will be a voyage of discovery and a coming of age.

She will grow as a person throughout and end up in a different place emotionally and physically.

A sense of purpose will evolve and the world will gain a new protector.

Not perfect by any means and subject to a few challenges.

Life will never be the same but will hold adventure and danger in equal measure.

A man suddenly discovers he has super speed and while running through the streets runs head first into a pigeon who has taken off from the pavement.

Both man and pigeon lay sprawled on the ground after the impact.

She may contain the greatest power the world has ever seen.

But if she can't control her seizures, she may bring about the end of humanity.

She has epilepsy.

It's a secret and a burden she carries everyday.

Her greatest gift may become her greatest curse.

John Berbice is a medieval warrior.

Thrust from the Middle Ages into our world.

Gaining a new powerful ability on route!

A man in the wrong time and the wrong place.

Trying to adjust to a new age.

But something has followed him through time.

And he may not survive its coming.

The time is long in the past.

The place is very definitely not ours.

How many griffins can you count soaring the skies above you?

How many satyrs do you see roaming the grounds alongside you?

There are people, if they can be classed as that.

More creature than man.

Beasts of every size and shape.

With a civilisation highly complex and advanced with a medieval sensibility.

A palace comes into view.

Figures are seen.

Elder gods.

Talking about the upcoming tragedy. The mood is grim.

Elsewhere in the palace, younger gods have other concerns.

Concerns of a political nature, and the state of the regions...

A group of young adults are mysteriously imbued with the powers of ancient gods.

For what purpose?

What was long forgotten will now be remembered by all.

Set in modern London.

Two people sitting on top of a double decker bus. One at the front one at the back. Oblivious to the other passengers they are having a fierce mind battle.

After a while one wins as the other slumps in his seat. The winner gets off at the next stop.

Elsewhere, two superpowered combatants fighting atop a moving double decker bus in Central London. One is being chased by the other.

They jump from bus to car to street lights and across rooftops of buildings to the astonishment of bystanders.

I've had the good fortune to re-discover the storytelling quality of the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

I used to catch the odd episode when it showed on TV and enjoyed it casually but I never appreciated the complexity of the whole series, season by season.

Until now.

Watching the characters being introduced, grow and change organically has been a revelation. I'm currently watching season 4.

The screen writers have enthused a level of quality that I haven't seen since reading the best superhero fiction in comic books.

The continuity and consequences, the way past events are remembered and added to future storylines are just ingenius.

The dialogue between the characters is so fresh and like nothing else out there. Covering the range of emotions to laugh out loud funny to tear wrenching despair. With a little bit of romance thrown in for good measure.

No wonder so many screen writers are now writing superhero comic books and vice versa. This cross pollination has lead to greater quality in superhero fiction across the board.

Joss Whedon, the creator of the Buffy universe, both writer and director is a true inspiration.

I loved his recent film Serenity and have to admit as of the time of writing I've yet to watch his TV series Firefly which set the scene for that movie.

I'll get to it though, because I want to examine and learn the craft and enjoy work from one of the best in the business.

An idea I've had is to make all these concepts reside within a shared universe. All bound together by one central character who discovers them in separate story arcs.

There are possibilities for meet ups and team ups, of course. But first I want to give them their own breathing space.

The adventurer/explorer Nabaclis Jones will be the common thread and will be our eyes throughout this journey.

The titles could be in the fashion of the classic Tintin and Asterix titles,

i.e, Nabaclis Jones and the...

What if an everyday accident spawned the dawning of a new age!

Featuring a superhero select committee consisting of ministers of strength, flight, speed, wisdom, energy, magic and more!

Meet Folklorian! Subprime! Muse! Derivative! Futurist! Equity! and Sisyphus the Brave!

New superheroes for a new age!

And the world will never be the same again...

What if a young female student discovers the world is not as it seems...?

Adventuring into the unknown realms of science fiction and fantasy!

What if the internet was a fully functional, sentient cyborg?

The only one of its kind.

Alone.

Would the world welcome this, or fear it?!

What if four individuals gained special abilities against their will?

What will they do?

Meet Typhoon! Hurricane! Tornado! Cyclone! and Turbulence!

Arriving in a gale force to shake the world!

What happens when a man suddenly grows wings?!

How does his life change?

Where does he go from here?

The answers will surprise and shock you!

What if a group of young, reckless teenagers suddenly get powers?

What choices would they make?

Will they all survive the experience?

This concept is inspired by the X-Men and the Fantastic Four.

What if two fantasy lands collide in all out war?!

How do their populations react?

Who is behind all this?

Featuring a host of mythical creatures including centaurs, minotours, chimeras, sphinxes and satyrs.

Inspired by Lord of the Rings and the tales of Narnia.

What if a young man was handed the power to control space and time?

A legacy character with the responsibility of power handed down from previous owner.

This is inspired by the science fiction of Doctor Who and the superhero fiction of Spider-Man.

The GrowlerVerse is inspired by the many writers, past and present, of Marvel Comics and DC Comics, but mainly Marvel.

I would like the characters to reach such a stature where they could one day crossover with the characters of the Marvel Universe in credible, entertaining stories.

Other sources of influence include the multitude of quality science fiction and fantasy films and books that have been produced over the years.

First will come concepts, then characters, then plots and then stories.

All stories will be based in London and the U.K.

In the ancient land of Enmore, some 5000 years ago, a great evil awoke.

After a fierce battle, the Enmorians defeated their enemy with the aid of a stranger wielding a primeval force.

But something of the enemy survived.

A sect was formed by the stranger to protect Enmore from possible future attacks using that very force.

That was then, this is now.

In the beginning there were many...

...now there are only two...

...and their love may doom us all.

The fight begins here.

TECH-SORCERY™

With special thanks to Tracey Chin and Donald Martin for early inspiration.

Tech-Sorcery © 2000 - 2007 Rawle Austin

This is my first short story (post school days) and was originally dated 31st May 2000.

Brian left work early. The endless sea of paperwork had begun to merge into a haze of nonsensical figures and images which, after an extra long day was not quite what the Doctor ordered.

Winter was well and truly here and he longed to return to the bosom of his comic book collection and immerse himself into the world of The Crimson Scarf.

The comic book was based on the mysterious, real life superhero who had appeared from nowhere and was capturing the hearts and minds of the nation whilst attracting the attention of the powers that be.

The Crimson Scarf was a masked, swashbuckling vigilante who didn't take no crap and fought for justice using unrecognised energy based powers coupled with the power of flight.

The short walk to the train station was bearable at best. Well, what could be expected, traversing through the heart of the city alongside tens of thousands of people commuting home.

The swarming throng making their way towards the entrance did little to alleviate the throbbing headache that had rudely decided to make itself known.

Rubbing the side of his head, Brian stopped at the edge of the crowd to learn that the station was temporarily closed due to platform overcrowding.

It was going to be a long journey home...

Getting anxious to make a move he started to plan the rest of his evening. Go home, have a bite to eat, read then watch his daily fix of news before bed and another day of work.

Time was getting short. He decided to wait till the station re-opened rather than opt for the long walk to the next station.

Tightening his scarf and fixing his winter hat he again drifted to his pride and joy and wondered when he would eventually start writing stories himself.

It would sure beat the daily grind and flex his presently caged creativity. The station attendant announced all was back to normal.

Stepping off the train at his stop, he grimaced as the crisp cold air slapped across his face with a force not felt since childhood.

Zipping up his coat, the freezing weather just reaffirmed to himself that this was definitely not his time of year.

This was why his comic collection would take centre stage, likening himself to a squirrel, enjoying his acquisitions after hibernation.

Oblivious to the world, The Crimson Scarf was racing through his mind, doing battle with his arch nemesis, The Rhyming Rascal, who would orate bad proverbs during every conflict.

He was just one of a vast rogues gallery that the Crimson Scarf had to contend with.

The last issue had ended with a cliff hanger and this was to be the final resolution of their epic struggle.

This is what Brian lived for, the pure escapism from the drab, dreary, bill ridden humdrum of everyday life.

Could it get any better than this?

Only time would tell...

The story begins with a fateful union. Meet Apollo, god of the sun, music, medicine, poetry and all fine arts. Apollo was the son of Zeus, King of the gods and Leto, the goddess of dark nights.

Now allow me to introduce you to Calliope. She was the Muse of heroic poetry. There were nine Muses altogether and they were the patronesses of poetry and music. All were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory.

Apollo met and fell in love with the beautiful Calliope, helped in part by their mutual love of music and poetry.

They had a child. Orpheus.

Orpheus inherited his parents’ musical and poetical gifts. His musical skills both vocal and with instruments, were unmatched and loved by all who heard them. He always carried his favourite instrument, a lyre, with him.

This talent grew greater over the years and his fame was widespread. He travelled far and wide giving great concerts that were packed with thousands of adoring fans in the largest stadiums.

He also played to smaller crowds in open-air areas such as parks and fields.

During one of his performances at a smaller village venue he happened to catch a glimpse of a beautiful woman at the front of the crowd. Her name was Eurydice and he was smitten.

She had heard about this great musician and came to the performance to see what all the fuss was about. After playing, he caught up with her, determined get to know her better.

Gradually, he fell deeper in love with Eurydice and used his musical skills to woo and serenade her.

She initially spurned his advances, due to his fame and legion of female admirers, but she soon gave in and gave her love to him in marriage. This was the start of pure bliss for both of them. Months passed and their relationship was rock solid, growing ever stronger each day.

One evening Eurydice walked home alone in the fields surrounding her village. It had been a long day and she looked forward to be in the arms of her one true love.

Suddenly, she was attacked seemingly out of nowhere, by a man named Aristaeus. A jealous former lover, he now tried to come on to her.

Shocked and repulsed by this she fled from him as quickly as she could to get back to safety and the arms of Orpheus.

But in her haste to escape, she trod on a poisonous snake lurking in the long grass, which immediately turned and bit her heel.

After a short period of agony and pain, Eurydice died at that very spot and her spirit was taken to the terrifying realms of Hades, the kingdom of the dead. Orpheus was left completely devastated upon hearing the news.

Inconsolable and in a final act of desperation, Orpheus wandered to Olympus, home of the gods. Once there he begged Zeus to restore his wife to his arms by bringing her back to life.

Zeus took pity on Orpheus and gave him permission to go down to Hades' realm to seek his wife but warned him that what he wanted to do was extremely dangerous.

The kingdom of the dead was like a raging, cavernous inferno filled with the screams of millions of souls. Forever trying to escape their never ending torture.

Undaunted, Orpheus rushed to the entrance of Hades realm where he encountered a chilling sight. Cerberus, the giant, three headed dog who guarded its gates. He allowed no living being in or spirit out.

He began to growl fiercely but Orpheus kept his nerve. He began to play his lyre so sweetly that Cerberus was pacified and allowed him to pass by.

He continued to play while walking, wowing the spirits and even the tortured souls of Tartarus (the worst part of the Kingdom of the Dead), stopped their toil for a moment, and ended their sighs and groans to listen.

This was the first time any living being had gotten so far into Hades' terrifying realm.

Orpheus continued until he came to the throne of Hades who sat, with his wife Persephone, in silence with the Fates at his feet.

The three Fates - the sisters Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos - spun, twisted and cut the thread of life and thus determined the life span of every human being on Earth.

Orpheus made known his request to this audience, telling his tragic love story and moving them to tears. They consented to restore Eurydice to life but on one condition.

He must leave the kingdom of the dead immediately without turning back to look at Eurydice who would follow behind him. Cerberus would not trouble him at the exit.

He joyfully agreed and began the long, winding journey back looking only straight ahead.

As he walked, the thought of being reunited with the love of his life made him excited and anxious. He wondered if Eurydice had changed during her time in Hades realm.

Forgetting the condition of Hades, the longing to feast his eyes on his beloved was too strong. Just as Orpheus reached the end of Hades' realm - so close that he could smell the fresh, sweet air of the outside world - he turned around to look at her.

Just as he did so and to his horror, the form of his wife slowly vanished right in front of his eyes just like smoke on a breeze. He just managed to catch a glimpse of the fear on her face before she disappeared.

It was over. He had tried and he had failed. No hope remained and he returned home, utterly defeated, to mourn his loss.

Days passed and he often thought he saw Eurydice - in the distance and in the shadows - with the expression she had upon her face when she vanished from him.

Weeks later, still in state of disbelief and muttering the name Eurydice as he walked, he encountered some drunken Bacchantes in a forest.

Bacchantes were the female followers of Dionysus (or Bacchus), the god of wine and parties.

They stopped him in his tracks near a river bank that ran through the forest and surrounded him. Abusively, they told him to play some joyful music that they could dance to because they had heard of his famous musical skills.

Still in mourning, he told them he was in no mood to perform, and if he could he would only be able to play sorrowful music.

Enraged by this refusal, they attacked him, tore him limb from limb and threw his remains in the river.

As his severed head floated down the river, his lips still murmured the name Eurydice, for even in death he could not forget his wife.

The surrounding streams, trees and fountains caught the cry and repeated it again and again.

The spirits of Orpheus and Eurydice were at last re-united in Hades realm.

THE END

The ancient Greek myths and legends have always appealed to me with their powerful, often tragic stories.

I thoroughly immersed myself in them during my school days and the story above is one of my favourites that I wanted to share with you.

Orpheus and Eurydice.

Taken from the book 'The Myths of Greece and Rome' by H.A. Guerber.

I retouched it a little to flesh out and modernise certain scenes.

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All original concepts are ™ & © 2000 - 2008 Rawle Austin

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