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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jul 15, 2016 21:01:05 GMT -5
The Three Word Story Revolution Novels - No.4 Diary of a Colorman Introduction
Dear Friends,
Out of all of the many, many Colormen and Colorwomen, I have perhaps had the most mundane and uneventful life of all of them. You see, I work deep within the Great Hall of the Colorfolk, in the Colorfolk Archives. I'm keeping a tradition that began many years ago. My father was the Keeper of the Archives, as was my grandfather and all the men before that.
As the current Keeper of the Archives, I don't usually come out much, as I'm always busy looking through and sorting out texts and documents, and I haven't even gotten halfway through yet! It takes a lot of energy and caffeine to do what I do.
However, one of the benefits of the job of being the Keeper of the Archives is that I have time to write down the day's events. Since I was a little boy, I always kept a journal of what went on, so that I could read through it again many years later, sort of like digging up a time capsule. I also hoped to pass on my journals to my children and grandchildren so that they could see what life was like for me.
I recently read through my journals again, and found that life hasn't been all that dull for me. I've found that there have been a lot of adventures and incidents which I have recorded, and they all make for an excellent read, if I do say so myself.
I showed them to Lisa Minton, the Woman In Silver, and, to my surprise, she urged me to get them published. I took her advice, scoped around for a publisher, and, well, here they are!
I sincerely hope you enjoy reading my notes and writings from my journals!
Yours truly,
Steven Criddleton The Current Man In Gold
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jul 15, 2016 21:01:34 GMT -5
The Three Word Story Revolution Novels - No.4 Diary of a Colorman Part 1: The New Man In Gold (2006)
Dear Friends,
This was one of the best moments of my life, one of my fondest memories that I have. I remember it clear as a bell, and I remember feeling so proud of what I was now - the new Man In Gold and the new Keeper of the Colorfolk Archives.
I'm referring, of course, to the day when my father passed on the powers of the Man In Gold to me. However, I still remember that in the weeks that came before it, it wasn't just celebrations - no, there was a lot more than that!
The Author
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jul 15, 2016 21:01:59 GMT -5
Celebrations
Today was my father's fifty-sixth birthday. We've had a grand time today, celebrating his birthday with family and friends. This morning, when he came to the breakfast table, we didn't have the cards and presents out yet, as we were planning a surprise for him in the afternoon. When he came to the table, he looked dejected - and I wouldn't blame him, I would hate it if anyone forgot my birthday. My mother greeted him with a "Good morning," and he stared at her like she'd gone off her head, before finally sitting down. "Dear," he said, "What day is it today?" "Tuesday," she said. "Why?" "Oh, no reason..."
My mother and my sisters and I had a good laugh afterwords as we prepared the party! "Oh, dear," smiled my mother, "the poor man. It must be awful not to have anyone remember your birthday!" "I hope he'll be surprised when we suddenly appear!" laughed my youngest sister, Delores. You see, we had all come back to the Great Hall to celebrate my father's birthday. I was first to arrive, with my wife Lucretia and my son Percy (who were at the moment trying to make a cake) - but we came on the pretense that we just wanted to visit. Delores and Annabelle arrived this morning, and, so as not to arouse my father's suspicions, only my mother and I have seen them as of yet.
The party was to be held in the meeting hall in the Great Hall, and as such, we were busy setting things up. My father was busy working in the Archives; as Keeper of the Colorfolk Archives, he's almost always busy, trying to straighten things out and get things organised. Today he was working quite hard to master one of the many Aboriginal languages so that he could deciphere a document from the 985, and so we knew that he would probably stay in the Archives from most of - if not all - of the day.
After we took a break and ate lunch together - without Delores and Annabelle - my father went back to work (after hurling profanities about breaking his pencil), and we went back to the decorating. It was a grand sight indeed once we had finished. We had put up flowers, ribbons, and the like, making the Meeting Hall a very different site indeed! The other three Colormen and their families came in shortly before the party was due to start, each bearing presents all nicely wrapped up. They set them down, and then Andrew Erdagovern (the Man In Blue) inquired about how we were getting on. "I think we're ready," said my mother. "Right," said Erdagovern, winking at us, "I suppose it's time I brought the ol' boy up, eh?" He laughed, as he walked out of the room down to the Archives to bring my father up.
A few minutes later, we heard a "But Andrew! I'm far too busy for-" He broke off as we opened the door and shouted, "Surprise!" My father went from a face of botheration to a face of surprise. "What is this?" he said, at a near loss for words. "It's your birthday party, old friend!" said Man In White. "Well bless my soul..."
Erdagovern laughed, "Your wife thought that it was high-time you had a birthday to remember." "Yes," laughed Mother, "it's the first surprise party you've ever had. You're not getting any younger, you know, so I thought it was time that you actually had a surprise for once." "Well, it certainly is a surprise," said Father, "I thought you'd all forgotten about my birthday!" Then he turned to me. "So that's why you came! It wasn't because you 'felt like it', it was part of the surprise!" He turned to Annabelle and Delores. "And you're here too! This IS a wonderful birthday!"
After that, we gave him our presents - a new jacket from Man In Blue, a special writing table from Man In Silver, a specially designed pen from Man In White, two books from Annabelle and Delores, a hand-knit scarf from my mother, a CD of classical music from my wife, and a pair of socks from me. ("I got them so often for Christmas from you that I thought I'd return the favor!" I quipped.) But I felt very proud - and I'm sure Lucretia did, too - when Percy gave my dad a baseball cap, which he'd saved up for with his very own money.
We had some cake and ice cream later on (Man In Silver is on a no-sugar diet or something, though, because he said profusely that he wouldn't have any!), and then we talked of old times together, of days long past gone. In fact, we were so caught up in the moment that Man In Silver even took out his guitar and played "Auld Lang Syne" - followed by "Birthday" by The Beatles in celebration. (Surprisingly, that's actually still his favorite band; you'd think that being a metallic Colorman he'd probably like heavy metal music, but it seems that that isn't the case!)
As the party came to an end, my father suddenly looked a bit sad. "Whatever's the matter?" asked Man In Blue. "Ah," he sighed, "I was just thinking, if only the other Colormen could have been here." "Ay," said Man In White, "but nevertheless, we've had a very good time today!"
And indeed, we've had a very good day. We'll be staying here for another week at least, and I'm hoping that the days we spend here will be as full of fun, enjoyment, and merriment as today - I know it probably won't be the case, but one can hope!
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jul 15, 2016 21:02:30 GMT -5
Changes
It's been a few days since the birthday party, and it looks like we're all still in the joyful mood. The Men In Blue, White, and Silver and their families are all rather cheerful, as are my mother, my sisters, Lucretia, Percy, and me. The only one in the Great Hall that doesn't seem to be in the best of moods is, ironically, my father. I'm not saying that he's unhappy, he just looks like he's got a lot on his mind. Man In Blue even commented on this the other day, and he asked my father what was wrong. "Oh, I'm just very deep in thought," replied my father. "I'm trying to make a very big decision."
This morning, Lucretia, Percy, and I went on a picnic and fished on a lake. Percy surprised us by catching the biggest fish of all - we ended up making a fine meal out of it! When we came back to the Great Hall, my father was waiting for us. "Steven," he said, "would you mind coming with me?" "Um... okay," I replied, wondering what this was about.
He led me into the Archives. I'd been in there many times before, but, like always, I was amazed at how big it was, and how many documents there were in it. "I can see why you're always so busy," I quipped. Father laughed. Then he said, more seriously, "Now, my son, I need to talk to you about something." "What is it?" I asked, a bit concerned.
He cleared his throat. "On my birthday, your mother said something that struck me as being very proufound." "What did she say?" I asked. "I'm about to tell you," he said, a bit annoyed by my interruption. "She told me that she'd made the surprse party because I'm 'not getting any younger'." "So?" "So, I've been thinking over that for the last few days. My son, I'm already 56, and I know that I won't live forever. Things can come in the blink of an eye, and I don't want to die suddenly and leave the Great Hall in turmoil. "That is why," he continued, "I feel that the time has come for me to pass on the powers of the Man In Gold and the position of Keeper of the Colormen Archives to you."
Whatever I had expected to hear, it was most certainly not that! "What?!" I said in amazement. "Yes," said my father, "I do think it's time for a fresh face to take control to the Archives." "But, I mean-" I was at a loss for words, and could only stutter! "I know what you're thinking," he said, "I'm after all only 56. But nevertheless, I'm four years away from 60, and you are almost 40. I do want to have a ceremony like your father had for me, and his father before him. I don't just want to die and leave you in charge suddenly." "I understand," I said hesitantly, "and I knew that this day would come, but... I didn't expect it to be so soon!"
He laughed. "I know, I said the same to my father when he passed down his powers to me." Then he paused, and suddenly it looked as though an idea had come to him. "Tell you what," he said, "how's about you help me out in the Archives for the next few days, so that you can get the hang of things before I pass along the torch?" It sounded like a rather good idea to me, and I told him so. "Then it's all settled!" he said. "Tomorrow you'll help me out down here, so you can see what the life of the Man In Gold is like!" And with that, he went back to work, while I took a walk to get my thoughts together.
I talked things over with Lucretia this evening, and she thinks that the time has come for me to take up the position of Keeper of the Archives. "It's just... well, I think I'd like to have an adventure for once before I settle down to it," I told her. She smiled, "Well, at the very least, you can see what it's like being the Man In Gold while you help out your father. And who knows? You might actually like it." Those are some wise words indeed, and I can only hope that that'll be the case.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jul 15, 2016 21:03:05 GMT -5
At Work in the Archives
My father let the other Colormen know about his plan on making me the new Man In Gold, and about how I would be helping him out in the Archives for a few days. Man In Blue initially questioned the idea of letting a currently non-Colorman help with a Colorman's work, but he was eventually swayed over due to the soundness of the idea.
And so, I got up early that morning, ate breakfast (with a good deal of coffee), and went straight down to the Archives. Dad was already working in it, and greeted me warmly as I walk in. "Now then," he said, "let's get to work. Steven, I'd like you to start organizing this section:" he indicated a few shelves that dated back to the Middle Ages. "I'd like them to be in the order of oldest to newest, can you do that?" "Of course," I said.
If I thought this would be easy, I was wrong! There were over one hundred documents from 678 alone (don't ask me how they had the time to write so much back then!), and I wasn't even half-way through - nay, not even three-fourths through - by the time we took a break for lunch! Over a plate of sandwiches, Father asked me how I was getting on. I told him, simply, "Slowly but surely!" He laughed, "That sums up everything about this job!"
We soon got back to work. It took me all of the afternoon and evening just to sort them out by date, and by the time I was through, I was ready to hit the sack! But my father had other ideas, "Good work, Steven," he said. "Now we can start translating them." I groaned, and nearly said that I just wasn't cut out for the job, when Lucretia came in with some nice, hot, very black coffee. "I thought you might be needing this," she said, winking at us.
After I downed some coffee, I was refilled with vigor, and ready to get back to work. I was determined not to let it beat me! I started translating a German manuscript with a little help from a German-to-English dictionary my father has. (Being the son of the Keeper of the Archives and 'heir' to the title, I had been taught many different languages, and am semi-fluent now in nine - English, French, German, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.)
We kept working until about 11.30, and then we hit the hay. I woke up early again this morning, and got right back to work, and started translating some more. Indeed, my father was surprised to see that I'd beaten him to the Archives! I kept right on, translating a Hungarian document, a Latin document, and an Egyptian document. It took me a while, and I even had to break for lunch in between, but good old dad was helping me out, so it was rather fun.
Then, I found a scrap of paper that I must have missed the day before. It was in a language I had never seen till then. I looked at it, then frowned. I had no idea whatsoever on how to read it. I handed it to my father, who glanced at it, and then stared in surprise. Then he read it:
Hvaðan við komum, þá skalt þú fljótlega vita. Við erum þeir hugrakkir landkönnuða lit menn ætterni, og við fórum til undarlega, langt-burt land sem engin önnur litur maður hefur farið áður né síðan.
Við erum Islenska lit menn.
"So... what is it?" I asked, puzzled. It sounded like gibberish to me. "It's a language that I never thought I would find in the Archives," replied my father. "Steven... this document is in Icelandic!"
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jul 15, 2016 21:03:25 GMT -5
Unlocking the Truth
I didn't have time to finish writing my last entry, nor did I have time to write an entry for the next few days, but I've finally got some time, and let me tell you, I am very much excited! After the surprising revelation, I asked my father, "So what does it mean?" He looked as though about to tell me, but then changed his mind. "No," he said, "I won't help you this time. I feel that this is your discovery, and as such, you need to decipher it for yourself." "Okay," I said, and immediately went over to the shelf to look for an Icelandic-to-English dictionaries, but my father stopped me. "Since Icelandic is a language I never expected to find in the Archives, and nor did my father and the men before him, we don't have an Icelandic-to-English dictionary. You're going to have to do more than that, I'm afraid." Even then, I was going to head over to the computer to translate it from Icelandic to English when I remembered that Man In Steel had short-circuited the system only the day before when he was trying to fix something in the main computer. As such, I really did need to do more than just simple translation - I needed to learn some of the Icelandic language.
So, I went straight over to a local bookstore to look for a book on the Icelandic language. I didn't care what kind of book it was, as long as I could get something that I could use to decipher the paper. Unfortunately, the bookstore had nothing on the Icelandic language, and so I left there empty-handed. Next I went to the library. Luckily, they did have some books on the Icelandic language and how to learn it, so I checked them all out and brought them back to the Great Hall.
I started to read through the books, trying to pair up the words on the paper with those in the books. I had only just started when Man In Blue walked into the Archives. "Steven," he said, "would you please go and find Man In White? He was out in the forest, but his car broke down. I'd like you to pick him up." I started to tell him that I was busy with translating the paper, but he cut me off. "If you're going to be a Colorman, you're going to have to learn that being a part of our team means that you will have to drop everything at a moment's notice sometimes. I think it'll be a good practice for you - hence why I asked you to go." It made sense, and so I hopped into my car and drove off to find him.
I found Man In White in the middle of the forest, grumbling and complaining. "In my days," he was ranting as I pulled up, "cars were built to last, not to break down suddenly when you least expect it!" He was quite cross, but he looked almost comical, and I had to stifle my laughter. As we drove home, he grumbled some more. "I tried to hail a big green engine there in the woods, but all he was doing was mumbling about 'how beautiful the forest is' and 'I love coming here' and 'the Wishing Tree looks wonderful this time of year'." I decided not to say anything, lest I end up laughing on accident.
When we got back to the Great Hall, he thanked me for helping him, and then I went straight back to the Archives. I went straight back to deciphering the paper. It took me a little while, but I kept on with it. I was determined to solve the riddle! Finally, late in the evening, I felt that I'd finally gotten it. I looked at the paper and reread everything to myself in English. Then I stared. I reread it. Could it be...?!
I called over my father. "Did you figure it out?" he asked. "I think so, sir," I said. "I've read up on Icelandic, and I think I've made an important discovery." "All right then, what does it say?" "It says:
From whence we came, you shall soon know. We are those brave explorers of the Colormen lineage, and we went to a strange, far-off land that no other Colorman has gone before or since.
We are the Icelandic Colormen.
My father looked at me and smiled. "Good job, son, I'm proud of you. Not only did you make a momentous discovery. but you kept at it and translated it too. Well done." "Thanks," I said. Then I looked at him. "Dad?" "Yes?" "I think I am ready to take up the torch." He just smiled.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jul 15, 2016 21:03:46 GMT -5
Taking Up The Torch
Well, here I am. It's 11:00 in the evening. I've had an amazing day. I'm almost at a loss for words, but I'll write it down anyway.
This morning my wife woke me up. "Well Steven," she said, "this is your big day. Are you ready? Are you excited?" "Well... I think I am. I wonder what it'll be like to be the Man In Gold and the Keeper of the Archives. It's really an honor... I only hope that my father's trust in me is not misplaced." Lucretia smiled, "I can truthfully vouch that it isn't." I smiled. "I only hope that you're right, too!"
Everyone was gathered there in the afternoon outside of the Great Hall. Lucretia, Percy, my parents, my sisters, the other Colormen, they were all there. Man In Blue made a speech. "Dear friends, we are gathered here today for one of the best occasions in Colormen history, when the torch is passed from one Colorman to his son. On this day, my dear friend Man In Gold is going to pass that torch to his son Steven. Here is the current Man In Gold."
Father stood up. "Thank you, Man In Blue. I just want to say, I'm proud of my son. He discovered something no one has ever dreamed of. He discovered a piece of paper with Icelandic writings, and he kept at it and translated that writing. As it turns out, it's the very first thing we've discovered about the Icelandic Colormen - yes, there are Icelandic Colormen! I'm very proud of my son with his discovery. It's truly amazing to see him step up and take up the torch as the new Man In Gold. I still remember the day my father passed that torch to me - and now my beloved son will become the new Keeper of the Archives. It's truly amazing."
I felt honored hearing his words. I smiled. Lucretia squeezed my hand in support. Then Man In Blue said, "I believe it's time. Steven Criddleton, please step forward." I came up, and father turned to me. He was holding the Spear of Criddleton, the artifact of the Men In Gold. Apparently, when wielded and a spell is said, the Man In Gold will get golden armor and his power increases.
I looked upon it in awe. This was soon to become MY artifact. Father looked at me and he said, "I now hereby pass on the powers of the Man In Gold to you, Steven." And so saying, he handed me the Spear of Criddleton. There was a bright light, and then everything returned to normal. I realized - I was now truly the Man In Gold. I was a Colorman. I was Keeper of the Archives. I could hardly believe it.
We had a good time for the rest of the day. It felt a lot like my father's birthday. Indeed, I wondered in amazement at the fact that I came for a simple birthday party - and ended up becoming the new Man In Gold. There were speaches all around - Lucretia, my mother, my sisters, all gave a speach. It was really a day to remember.
As the day drew to a close, I myself stood up and gave a speach. "My very dear friends, Mom, Dad, Lucretia, Annabelle, Delores, all of you - I'm very blessed. I thank you for a wonderful day, and I sincerely hope that I'll live up to my title and be the best Man In Gold and Keeper of the Archives I can possibly be." "Here, here!" said Man In White, and the others followed suite.
I talked to Dad about what he wants to do now that he's no longer needed at the Great Hall. "Well, I always loved the Isle of Mann, I think that I'd like to live there..." and he smiled.
And so, thus it ends on a happy note. I'm now Man In Gold, I honestly can't believe it, I'm really amazed... I'm just mumbling on now in my astonishment. It's almost midnight now, so I might as well finish up. I can only guess at what the future holds... but I certainly hope that for me at least, it's filled with joy and wonder.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jul 15, 2016 21:45:23 GMT -5
A great story D-11. Really, my only two things are:
Remember, it is the Colormen Archives and Great Hall of the Colormen; the Colorwomen are a separate faction, but in the new era are free to access both. A tiny thing, but an important thing.
I was surprised you did not include Simon Criddleton (Herman's father), as he was also alive at the time.
Otherwise, you did a good job here; keep up the great work.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jul 15, 2016 22:04:54 GMT -5
Thanks Frank, I did think about adding in Simon Criddleton, but I decided not to. I'll use him later on though. As for Colorfolk VS Colormen, I might have messed up, but I'm pretty sure I only used those terms at the beginning. I'll read through it again tomorrow.
The idea for this has been going around in my head for a while now, and it's coincidental that I posted it during the anniversary.
I'm glad you like it; I will say this though, Part 2 is going to be a lot more thrilling...
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