TITLE: SECRET
GENRE: Adult SECRET
Welsan was out of souls to sell. This was a problem, for two reasons. One: It meant he had no money. Two: It meant he had to stay in this hell-hole a little longer.
The hell-hole in question was a resurrection hall, so well concealed that those who needed it most were hard pressed to find it. A dark barrow ribbed with subterranean vaults, it lay deep in the cleft of a sunken valley, far from disapproving eyes. Hoary trees hemmed it in, and choked its tunneling length with their roots. Unlike the reputable charnel houses governed by the Mortuary, the resurrection hall was a butchery. A purveyor of all things forbidden by Charnel Law, it was a desperate choice for those too poor to afford the last rites, and a coveted vendor for those willing to pay for dark desires in gold.
Miss Snark's First Victim
PARANORMAL
ReplyDeleteThis is cool. I took souls to sell literally, since you follow it with a bit of exposition. Otherwise, it could have been a bit of figurative language.
Side note: Cool premise, but the second paragraph is too on-the-nose for me. You can let us know all of that cool world-building stuff without telling us directly. Use it subtly to let us know he is literally in a hell-type place.
Paranormal
ReplyDeleteVery descriptive.
paranormal!
ReplyDeleteFantasy - I thought Urban because of the tone but the descriptors don't fit that.
ReplyDeleteFantasy. The setting, charnel law and an organization known as the Mortuary indicate to me that this is a Fantasy world.
ReplyDeleteFantasy.
ReplyDeleteAn alternate world.
Fantasy
ReplyDeletesouls to sell, a resurrection hall, roots choking a tunnel
Fantasy/Dark
ReplyDeleteA resurrection hall, selling souls, charnel house.
FANTASY
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought URBAN FANTASY, because the voice in the first paragraph is so modern, but 'charnel house', 'valley', and 'gold' suggest a non-Modern/Urban setting
Steampunk Fantasy
ReplyDeleteThe dark style leads me to think it could be set in Victorian times (resurrection hall, barrow, vaults, hoary). Fantasy because he's selling souls and the currency's gold.
Steampunk Fantasy
ReplyDeleteThe dark style leads me to think it could be set in Victorian times (resurrection hall, barrow, vaults, hoary). Fantasy because he's selling souls and the currency's gold.
Urban Fantasy
ReplyDeleteIt has the flair of a rogue lead in a fantastical world, kind of like Dresden Files
paranormal?
ReplyDeleteresurrection, soul-selling.
Fantasy
ReplyDeleteselling souls, dark style, barrow, hoary trees
Paranormal
ReplyDeleteFantasy, seemed more like a different world than paranormal creatures in a contemporary space. Really well written.
ReplyDeleteHorror (2nd Guess -- Fantasy)
ReplyDeleteClearly not our world, so it could be fantasy, but the focus on death and illegal resurrection makes me think horror.
Fantasy
ReplyDeleteI thought paranormal at first, but the world building aspect makes me think fantasy.
Paranormal
ReplyDeleteYou talk about selling souls
Paranormal. He sells souls.
ReplyDeleteDark Fantasy.
ReplyDeleteThe guy sells souls. Charnell Laws and the Mortuary sound like powerful establishments in this fictional world.
Fantasy, with the selling of souls.
ReplyDeleteHello! I am the author of this post. My work is Paranormal Fantasy. This was such a great exercise! I learned a lot just from everyone's guesses, on this thread and the others. Thanks to all who commented!
ReplyDelete