Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
This is the Six Sentence Story bloghop.
Curated by Denise, populated by a group of mutant bloggers (and bloggerinae) who’ll chase you across the schoolyard and wrassle you to the ground, shouting, “The inciting incident in this Six ain’t nothing! I gots narrative arcs and hell, possibly even a denouement, binyon!”
This week, we return to London’s Whitechapel district during the late Victorian.
Previously, on the Whitechapel Interlude…
Anselm and Sarah are living proof of the wisdom of the Order of Lilith’s recruiting and training philosophy. It was grounded on the premise that talent, however buried in upbringing or shackled by the demands of contemporary culture, will seek outward expression. The remainder was simple, if not difficult: finding and nurturing the inner drive of exceptional individuals. Anselm fought against a life-long desire to garner approval while believing he needed validation for his ambition. Sarah, on the other hand, by virtue of chance possession by a hunter demon, confronted an internal struggle, not with the world around her, rather the forces now within her. What made them valuable to the Order was that each, in their own way, found a way to incorporate, if not integrate, these influences.
The prompt word:
GRIP
“How do you feel about risking your life?”
{Still was the seated speaker; of the three others in the room: one swayed a millimeter out-of-true as fear and ambition moved in opposite directions, one leaned into the voice, following a word-borne scent, and, the third stood confident, knowing the character of all in attendance.}
“The Order requires one of you to travel to the Transylvanian city of Brașov and return with a certain mechanism, now in the possession of our sister, Mother Schader; the peril is great, yet if successful, we may well attain an advantage over the time traveler.”
{Although none of the other three in the office failed to observe her smile, all differed in their silent interpretation; one felt youthful confidence tighten it’s grip, a gladiator to the emperor’s nod; one returned the smile, a silent roar of the predator at the scent of it’s prey’s exhaustion, and, the third saw the acceptance of responsibility in knowing that both would be necessary, each to shore up the other’s weakness while imposing restraint against their strengths.}
“Sarah, Brother Abbott has suggested you accompany Anselm on his mission, do you accept?”
{Closing her eyes, the final discharge of her authority complete, she nevertheless felt from the three others in her office: one dampening the energy of anticipation, one clutching at pride and duty like tree roots, a handsbreath away on the bank of a storm-quickened river, and, the third sensed a predator seeing a gate of it’s cage momentarily left unlocked and under-attended.}
About clarkscottroger
Love the line “as fear and ambition moved in opposite directions.” Great 6!
thanks, D
Dramatic ending!
I fear chaos will ensue if Sarah handles the mechanism. Yikes!
Ministry lends an appropriately industrial vibe.
Cool Six.
Thanks. (Challenge this week was one I tried in Almira. Create a scene of dialogue with no explicit ‘instructions’ as to ‘who said what’
Nice phrase reminding me of the firing of a weapon: “final discharge of her authority complete”. I also liked the “under-attended” cage of the predator.
Thanks, Frank!
Gripping! …and, do we get to ride that wonderful train??
For sure.
This was a classic, story research by internet, as I found the image as I read up on travel during the Victorian Era.
Best I can make out at this point, Sarah and Anselm’s route will be across the Channel to Calais, then to Paris and, from there, on to Bucharest by train. (What do you want to bet that, the final leg of the trip, from Bucharest to Brașov will be by carriage.)
… damn! Now you’ve got me imagining the return trip, which we all know is, almost always quicker and less eventful… more than likely by ship leaving from Odessa.
Remind me to check with Ford, he did a most excellent Six involving ships and mysterious passengers from the darkest of eastern Europe.
Yes, the line still operates and welcomes all passengers. Just beware of any ventriloquial acts booked, 800-year-old vampires, and authors with a penchant for murder… though if Molly Jane Hardy is aboard then anyone from the Order of Lilith will find most excellent protection by her (ghostly) hand.
Dude! Am I not already out of my depth with the extant characters?
lol. Your shipborne vampire will be getting a re-read on my part, the sense not only of the ship but the port of entry. I’m figuring I be visiting Mageville a bit, in the coming weeks.
Most welcome, Clark.
superb. the fear and ambition line is supercalifragilistic. or something like that.
Thanks, man
Very nicely written, very engaging.
Hoo, boy. Deeper and deeper.
I know, right?
Your ‘cosmetics’ on this installment are spot on! The song and poster each add to the expert level craftmanship.
The dark cloak and dagger intrigue gets deeper with every installment, sir. Having to wait for more is agonizing. ;-)
Thank you, Susan. There’s a bunch of fun in the finding image and tuneage that is part of my Six writing process. (In fact, there have been not a small number of times when I stumble across a song (or image) that kick-starts the writing.
As I read this next sequel allowing us to see clearly the personalities of the three in the office, I couldn’t help but wonder how much the Wakefield Doctrine had entered this SSS, and who better than the writer to share a little of his knowledge of such. Nicely done.
I do, in fact, go to the Doctrine when writing, more to the perspective (on the world at large) of characters. It’s fun and helpful.
Thank you.
Love how you composed this sentence:
” {Still was the seated speaker; of the three others in the room: one swayed a millimeter out-of-true as fear and ambition moved in opposite directions, one leaned into the voice, following a word-borne scent, and, the third stood confident, knowing the character of all in attendance.} ”
it has a poetry to it, and an economy that manages to say much about those present.
The Orient Express poster is a treat seeing the French and English language represented. Ministry doing Radar Love… ha, cool 😎
Thanks, Ford.
Not a drummer but the ‘extras’ in the bass line. Rather pleasing.
This, besides an installment in the series, was one of those posts that started as a challenge to myself. Write dialogue with a minimum of tags and explanations. (In my WIP, Almira, I wrote a dinner scene (six characters in the dining room of the protagonist’s adoptive parent’s home) without mentioning any names… just dialogue. Figured it should be possible (and there’s the challenge to me as the writer) for any Reader familiar with the story to figure out who’s talking and what they mean.