There is Clearly Something Amiss

 What has become the "Circle of Midnight Black" and "Outside the Circle of Midnight Black", began as three separate story ideas centered around the tragic end of Baird's Holler in 1890. The first of these, the earliest of that trio, was also the first written, "Child of the Earth". The other two had emerged in my head as taking place mid-week and in the form of journal entries and of the end of the week as told in an oral report to a commanding officer. This is the story about that hump-day madness.

Okay, there has been this story going around the interwebs for some while purporting to a report on a Soviet sleep deprivation experiment where the people in it go raving mad. This is all total bullshit, nothing more. Whole story is fake... but it does plant deep seed. The original idea had been for one of the assistants to the Mine Inspector sent down from Prescott to have salvaged the notes of the principle protagonist in this story, a very humble Mr. Archibald L. Temple. That was pretty much it, a rescued artifact documenting a quick onset madness of intense and irredeemable proportions from the victim's perspective. I had no idea how this was going to play out nor what the impetus was of that madness. To get to an understanding of what happened, I figured I'd just follow Mr. Temple from the first notes in his journal relating to this journey.

I have been to Palace Station a few times and at that time, it was the busiest stage stop on the busiest road in the Bradshaws, the highway named for the Senator Mine. I have stood over the graves of Matilda Spence's husband and some of her grandchildren who died at birth. There is not much of Palace Station that remains today beyond this small graveyard and the main house, a modest structure reinforced and used today by the Forest Service. All the rest is gone... but Matilda was there. I hope my portrayal is acceptable.

Thoughts that I had been chewing on as well as new ideas springing forth the whole time filled this tale. For example, knowing what day Mr. Clark, the gentleman running the furnace, resigned his post in "Twelve-Thirtyfour" was important. As well, knowing the state of Mr. Batur following his recent adventures in "Child of the Earth". Then there were the barely planned being made real such as what was found in the meadow. This has led directly now to two other stories connected to this story arc, "Girl Rattled" and "A Rill Off the Sultana", though the second is a month before discovered as I followed the threads of what happened there.

This Tale, "There is Clearly Something Amiss", was completed on April 11, 2019, arriving at 7,346 words... a complete and utter finger given to my goal of remaining in the 5k arena. Thing is, this Tale needed it. As well, being "Child of the Earth", the primary short that begins the whole debacle, is longer than that limit (and done before the decision to hold at that length), the middle story might as well be of a larger size to act as a balance. I plan on having the last independent Tale in this series as well being around this length while all the others that fill around come in below. I know, this all sounds crazy, but it works for me and I suspect that when this is done, it will work in full, giving the reader variation in pace through these side Tales.

There is an awful lot that goes on in this story, too much to even want to get into. Besides, that's what makes this one fun. There are hints all over this, both to other events happening while this is going on as well as to the first listing of which Sultans were around in 1878 on... as well as, told through the nutty old Colonel Nesmith, a brief summary of what happened to them. Uh, looks like I have my work cut out for me figuring out how to interpret some of these, especially whatever the hell happened to Pedro Guzman and to Radul Ivkov. Alas, this is how these stories appear...

The one thing I can truly and honestly say about this Tale is that "There is Clearly Something Amiss". As this works into the series and I expand through the later days, this gives me a clue what to expect. It also offers me a delightfully obnoxious character to play against from the perspective of Mr. Lundmeir as I work through "Circle of Midnight Black". Knowing how Mr. Temple things of him and the encounters they had, it will be interesting hearing Lundmeir's side. I'm suspecting it will include quite a few blue words and phrases.