Thomas Lundmeir's Splitting Headache

Well, to be truthful, it is also my splitting headache but Thomas Lundmeir's was definitely worse.

As "Child of the Earth" was progressing and a certain worry began to develop in the mind of Yesil Batur, that very same thought began to kindle an idea in mine. See, Yesil and Thomas Lundmeir were the last two remaining Sultans with active interest in the Mortenson Mine. After the events detailed in "Sestina of the Sultans", a Tale that would emerge three years later though was one of the first conceived, these two were all that remained. Of the others at that dinner, Alexander Gitney and Xavier Huggins were no longer, um, available. Charles Chesterfield was absent as well, but in a completely different way having abandoned all interests in the Mortenson Mine and removed himself from the region. William Nesmith, the old Confederate Colonel who had developed a penchant for placing dolls out for the dead was still in Baird's Holler, but divorced from all operations having been strongly encouraged to cede his role by the others in this company. The only other remaining Sultan, Jonathon Kearns, was still in the region just through the ore tunnel on the other side of the ridge. His separation from the company was more complete than Nesmith's having been driven forth with no love lost amongst his former companions.

With Yesil and Tom in total control of the mine, they were the two most powerful men in the town of Baird's Holler, or at least what remained of it. There was no competition between these two, instead a cooperation which ignored the scandalous nature of their partnership and quieted any outrage such would produce. Their interests and predilections copacetic, their partnership allowed each their own hours of primacy. As Yesil was an early riser regardless the debauchery attended to each night, he took the morning shifts. That left Tom the ability to sleep off his debauch late into the morning. Thus while Yesil was working through his morning constipation, the straw-bosses looking for him failed in their search, the out-houses never being the obvious place to look. Due to Yesil's patient absence, a runner was sent to their residence to rouse Tom. These details appear in "Child of the Earth", hints dropped to this effect when Yesil emerges and is appraised of the situation developing in the mine and the anxiety Yesil feels knowing Tom did not wake gently when woken before he rose of natural course.

Tom was woken early.

Now, I ended up with a raw word count of 7,567 when I set this piece aside to finish the 12 tales planned for the year. As it was developing, I realized early on that this was not going to be a simple tale and thus the reason for the hold. What has developed since has grown in scope and scale well beyond any original intent and as the year rolled around again to the summer of 2018, I added another 9,213 words and a gross concept. This was to be a novel, and will be so, but there was something going on behind it, or around it, that began to build.

If "Child of the Earth" was a self-contained short starting the five days of devastation which needed to be, and if I had at least two other stories planned, I figured I could continue Tom Lundmeir's journey and span it the entire five days to the pay-off which I new needed to be. That left the shorts which fit, at this point, at the beginning, halfway through and at last, a detail of the last hours described in a report at Fort Whipple following the final ruination of the town. It was an idea that has gotten out of hand.

Now, I have a name for this project, at least the chapters which focus on Tom. The name, the meaning of which will remain to be revealed, was "Circle of Midnight Black". This was to be the story of Tom Lundmeir exclusive, those five days focused from his POV. As for the shorts, each told from diverse POVs spread throughout those five days, would comprise a second volume detailing the same events, or at least the progression of events not central to Tom but important to what was happening. These would fit, if shuffled together with Tom's story, in between the chapters of "Circle of Midnight Black" (CoMB). For these loose Tales, I use the term "Outside the Circle of Midnight Black" (OtCoMB) for my own categorization. The ultimate collection will look, and this is indicative of where I am on it, like this.

OtCoMB : A Rill Off the Sultana - flash piece taking place a month prior but informative of a certain degree.

CoMB : Prelude - flash short to establish theme and foreshadow.

OtCoMB : Child of the Earth

CoMB : Chapter 1 - Thomas Lundmeir's Splitting Headache

OtCoMB : All Dreams Must Conclude

CoMB : Chapter 2 - The Value of Damnation

OtCoMB : Mama Death

CoMB : Chapter 3 - The Devil's Anvil

OtCoMB : Girl Rattled

CoMB : Chapter 4

OtCoMB : Twelve-Thirtyfour

CoMB : Chapter 5

OtCoMB : There is Clearly Something Amiss

CoMB : Chapter 6

OtCoMB : The Conversion of Heng Jaingou (unwritten)

CoMB : Chapter 7

OtCoMB : The Old Man and His Dolls

CoMB : Chapter 8

OtCoMB : When the Ghosts Hollered (holding title for report at Fort Whipple, unwritten)

CoMB : Epilogue

Now this list is not complete. Up through "Girl Rattled", all the stories take place on the first day. The following OtCoMB stories listed cover events which conclude on each following day. Now, not knowing fully how Tom's Tale will flow, I fully expect each day to have two OtCoMB Tales represented and thus corresponding CoMB chapters which means this list is about 2/3s of the way complete and that is the hold-up on this project. Trying to balance what Tom is experiencing as well as filling in further details of this five day event.

As is quite evident, this is not a small project. When this is done, it should have no less than 13 shorts attendant and an equal number of chapters for CoMB. Since the shorts do not reveal themselves to me until they are ready, or at least the details of such, this is where it is holding while I finish the work I am on. Once this current project is finished, the title working being "A Sestina Writ in Darkness", I plan on turning with greater focus to this. I might not finish it in 2021 as there are other themed selections which have developed and which I have stories waiting to come out, but it will not be much longer than that.

In the end, when this project has fulfilled itself, I will have a 2nd novel complete as well as a collection of short stories equal in length. I figure they could exist separate as two different volumes, but can also be folded into each other creating a single tome. As can be seen, it has some distance to go, the greatest difficulty being balancing the two, both inside and outside that circle. As one informs the other, the reverse is true. Thus as CoMB advances, it will inform other events needing to be told, of which I can already think of at least three other tales outside the novel I have in mind. These shorts as well inform the events of the novel so it becomes at this point a challenge to see what the second day will bring and how it will expand the whole.

I've got some work to do...