Seth is a smith. But despite that and the fact he spends most of his time in his smithy, metalworking is not his passion. No, what puts a spring in Seth's step is the thought of working on one of his many novels at the end of a long day.
Will Seth carve out a successful life as a novelist? The resounding success of his short horror story "The Mysterious Case of the Missing Miner" indicates it is at least possible. Out of all of Seth's acquaintances who are literate, only Edwin disliked what he dismissively called "that penny dreadful garbage". That is promising.
Story
Seth's success with his first horror novel inspired his current magnum opus: "100 Years of Chaos"—a daring first-person account of the rise and fall of the Marquez Dynasty. For anyone privileged enough to read his first draft it is, by all accounts, a thrilling work of biting social commentary and high-minded ideals.
What drives the humble blacksmith to feats of writing? "The long conversation of the soul," as he put it, "inspired by a friendship with an older man of the cloth who through long conversations on the power of the written word moved my younger self immensely".
"Let me explain my journey with a dream I once had when I was younger. I felt like I was constantly searching for something in my room—I didn't know what. All I knew is I had to find it and I did! It was a page hidden deep within a pillow that told me to search for the First Holy Site... and in my dream, I found it. But then this hope of mine turned moldy and my ideals turned to dust. So I kept searching and then I found under my bed, the dying body of my younger self."
"I am a firm believer that daylight will always come even if there is no sun! If you understand me, Pella, I believe you and I can both have confidence that a good day, a better day, will come."
So writes Seth to one of his younger readers.
