As this year comes to a close, I find myself working on a new short story. The impetus came from an anthology call, titled Coffins & Dragons. It got me to thinking about all sorts of possibilities. And then when it came time to set the story somewhere, I decided to set it in an alternative French Colonial setting. Right here in Louisiana! Below is what I have so far. I'm sure it will change so much as to be unrecognizable by the time it gets printed. Enjoy:
Storms
“What are we to do, Thomas? Father was due back two months ago and the storms are coming.”
“We’ll think of something.” A southern wind blew through the remains of Thomas’ hair.
“How will we defend the colony? We cannot head south. The Robber is there…”
“I’ll think of something…”
Thomas has a problem. Well, two problems really. A dragon who raids from the northwest and vampires to the south. His father had not returned from a trip to get aid for the colony. The storms were forming to the west, and that meant the dragon would soon be coming to hunt. What was he to do? Would this be the end of the colony in Louisiane?
The dragon attacks were nothing new. They had been going on since the very founding of the colony. Some years the dragon did not come, but when he did it was always on the leading edge of the warm summer storms. Last two years had been dragon-free. The dragon had never been absent three years in a row. He would be coming soon with his fiery breath and hunger for livestock. No doubt about that. The colonists used to head downriver and hide in the swampy bayous under the huge cypress trees, but that was not an option anymore because the vampires in the south were growing in strength and numbers.
The greatest threat from the south is known throughout the colony as the Robber of Life, though his real title is René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, late of the first rulers of Louisiane. When he was alive, René was the first explorer of the region, coming down from the north to claim the land for King Louis. He settled at a bend in the mighty Colbert River, now called the Mississippi. For the next several decades his people, the French, ruled the newly-founded Louisiane.
Under French rule, the colony suffered through many trials and tribulations: devastating diseases like Yellow Fever, floods, neglect from their European-based rulers, attacks from the natives, and the occasional raids from the dragon that came from the West with the summer storms. Rene died one year while trying to return to the colony with supplies.
After his death, the colony was taken over by the French brothers Iberville and Bienville. The colony tried to hang on through all the problems, but one self-inflicted issue the early pioneers could not abide was the loss of the few young ladies of the colony. There weren’t many Frenchwomen to begin with, and the ones that were there were not the greatest stock, being women of ill repute forced to come to the colonies. The women started to disappear in greater numbers than expected. The colony might not survive their loss.
The only bright spot during this time was the French brothers were able to stave off the dragon’s attacks. This made the colonists happy and they worked hard to keep the colony alive. But then the source of the brothers’ abilities came out: they were using the blood of the missing women to protect the colony. This was magic of the New World.
The people rose up and overthrew their bloodthirsty rulers.
The Brothers Bienville and Iberville had mastered magical secrets of the new continent and they were able to fly forth from the castle and continue their evil experiments from the comfort of the swamps south of the colony, further down the Mighty Mississippi.
There they strengthened their alliance with the bloodthirsty swamp natives, the cannibalistic Atakapa, and in return their powers were increased further and they were granted the secrets of the re-risen. Their first true test of their new power was the raising of the first explorer, René Robert Cavelier, and his assistant Henri de Tonti, the Iron Hand. Their return marked an increase in French power again in the region. But the colonists were afraid and stayed away from the southern swamps.
From that moment on, the colony was truly on its own. The French King across the sea did not want to waste any more money or people on a rebellious colony with so many problems, especially one where the dead came back to life.
Thomas’ people [Spanish?] took over the colony.
The colony’s largest problem was now they had no defense against the storm dragon. How would they survive his next visit?
When the winds shift and come from the south, the people worry about the vampires coming from the south instead. Basically, the people of Louisiane feared winds from any direction. And when the winds blew from both directions, well, that’s when the worst storms blew and all colonists stayed inside and took shelter from the storms powerful enough to blow houses down.
Picture for today is an old old map of the Gulf coast...
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