The Black Shuck

Chapter-1

The Siege

Vikings based in England decide to go on a raid and their leader named Sojourn is leading an army to a castle of an Anglo-Saxon king named Stuart the Third who was one of the enemies of Sojourn. One of the men in Sojourn’s army by the name of Rudolf was quite tentative to fight and was mostly peaceful but was forced by his mother to join the Vikings. After the kings gave their speeches, the siege was instigated. Stuart thought his defenses were impregnable but his sewage system was not defended and that’s where Rudolf was deployed. They told him to enter the castle and open the main door. He was deployed with some others and asked one of them “Aren’t you filled with trepidation on what’s going to happen to us.” And the Viking replied, “One day you will die but that day should be the day all remember and for me, there is no honor in any other vocation.” They all went into the sewage system, it had a fetid smell but they continued. They then in an intersection split into groups of five. As they were going through the tunnel meticulously to circumvent haphazard they saw some enemies in the tunnel. They waylaid Rudolf and his group, and a fight broke out, Rudolf tried his best and killed one enemy by blocking his attack and hitting him from behind but there was a glut of perpetrators and then Rudolf with some others started running. Everything had gone awry and while running they reached a dead end. The Vikings who were left and were with Rudolf started fighting against uneven odds just to die a hero but Rudolf saw a dirty river of garbage and muddy water so as a way to escape he jumped in it but before he did he was slashed by one of the Anglo Saxons and he passed out. He then woke up in a verdant forest and saw a black creature which looked like a demon dog standing on his body and sniffing him. It had red flaming eyes and a black body; it had a tall and robust build with sharp claws.

Chapter-2

The Demon Dog

Rudolf threw the dog away and started running but the dog caught up to him and bit him on his leg gently so Rudolf kicked him on his face. Rudolf ran far away and as it was night time started looking for sticks to build a shelter for the night which could handle him but while finding sticks he encountered a bear. The bear in a trice got on top of him but arbitrarily ran away when it saw the demon dog. Rudolf thought to himself “Why is a bear afraid of this enigmatic dog.” Rudolf got up and held a stick to scare the dog but it just ate the stick and approached him happily. He wasn’t the most endearing dog as he looked like a demon to Rudolf but he tentatively started to fondle the dog. The dog was taller than Rudolf and had flaming eyes so he wasn’t a dog so then what was he and why was he so feared? Rudolf let the dog sleep in his shelter for the night. He woke up in the day and tried to ask the dog where the nearest village was through sign language. The dog told him where it was by just barking in that direction, whatever he was he had great communication skills. Rudolf rode on the dog to a village. When they reached the village they saw a farmer, before the farmer could say anything he became petrified and started screaming. In a trice the whole village became alarmed and forthwith started routing, a man started screaming “Run the Black Shuck is here with his master.” Seeing the commotion and haphazard Rudolf felt respected and he felt like he mattered. As he saw the terror in the people’s eyes he felt like he mattered in life even if others saw him as the perpetrator. He had more respect than he could ever get in the army, now he wasn’t just another soldier who would throw his life away for the Vikings. He felt august as the rider of The Black Shuck. After the people started running Rudolf got off The Black Shuck and drank some water. He also ate food from a bakery. Then he got on The Black Shuck and started riding to Sojourn’s castle. While traveling on a road The Shuck saw a runner from the village The Shuck also needs to eat, he pounced on the runner and ate him. Rudolf who was still on The Shuck was rather apathetic when it came to the brutal death of an innocent man at the hands of his pet as he sort of let go of the trait of being peaceful and munificent because of a change of heart as he liked this new found respect that people gave him.

Chapter-3

The Castle

Rudolf and The Shuck continued their journey to Sojourn’s castle. They ultimately reached the castle and the guard standing at the drawbridge asked Rudolf’s name and called Sojourn to ask questions about The Black Shuck as the guard didn’t understand what it was. The king asked Rudolf “What is that creature you are riding on; it has the eyes of a demon and the body of a monster.” Rudolf replied, “I found him in the forest; they call him The Black Shuck.” The king let both of them in and then Rudolf slept with The Shuck at an inn. In the middle of the night, The Black Shuck felt a preternatural feeling of biblical energy. The Shuck got up and went outside the inn to sniff this palpable feeling with his powers. The Shuck then reached a house and entered with dark magic. Inside the house, there was a nun and her son praying and The Shuck brutally murdered them both. The Shuck then returned to Rudolf. The next morning as people got wind of what had happened they discovered vestiges of black magic which was discovered by the shaman. The shaman tracked the black magic to the inn in which Rudolf and The Black Shuck were staying in. Soon an inordinate rabble was engendered outside the inn. The shaman brought Rudolf and The Black Shuck out of the inn. The Rabble was dumbfounded to see such a creature and they were also surprised by the fact that Rudolf had developed Black eyes which had black veins surrounding them. Somehow by staying with The Shuck, Rudolf was becoming more queer and tainted. Sojourn when he saw this, ostracized Rudolf and threw him and his pet out of the kingdom. Rudolf was now impecunious and was vexed over the injustice that the king had done to him. The dog was purportedly demonic and responsible for a murder, Rudolf thought he was framed.

Chapter – 4

The Bandits

Afterward, Rudolf and The Shuck became itinerants who after traveling for a prolonged time reached a bandit camp, Rudolf thought they would be belligerent and didn’t want to make an encroachment so they treaded meticulously. One bandit saw them and alerted the camp, when the others came they all arbitrarily became docile after gazing into The Shuck’s eyes and it was like The Shuck could see the deep desire of evil inside them and transmute it into using it for his gratifications. Rudolf saw this as a perfect opportunity to take revenge. He would use the bandits as an implement to attack Sojourn’s fort, the same people who kicked him out. The Shuck commanded the bandits to prepare for a raid and when everyone was ready, the army started to trudge towards the fort. The army was ready at the dead of night for a siege on the fort but was not wearied in any way due to The Shuck’s black magic. The army then attacked by putting ladders on the castle walls and climbing them. For the receivers, this was a bolt from the blue and soon there was a lot of haphazard throughout the fort. Rudolf saw that gluts of innocent people were being killed and he had this split second of contrition. He then remembered his jovial mother’s face when she sent him out to the Vikings and now Rudolf was killing those his mother thought he would protect. He tried to stop the bandits from impairing the people with what little humanity he had left. Then out of nowhere The Black Shuck struck from behind and in that moment Rudolf perceived the fact that he had been changed by The Shuck; he went from a noble and peaceful Viking into an ignoble killer just because he wanted respect; Rudolf wasn’t the master of The Shuck, The Shuck was the master of him. The Shuck stared into Rudolf’s soul and saw all that thirst for respect and glory which could be slaked by bloodshed. The Shuck then took control of Rudolf and he tried to resist but The Shuck was too strong to resist. The Shuck then made Rudolf kill an innocent woman and then aim the blade at himself and slowly move the blade towards his chest but just before the blade could penetrate Rudolf’s body he saw the shaman cast an incantation which broke the imprecation. In a trice, Rudolf’s eyes turned normal and he regained control over his actions and with another spell, the shaman had put The Shuck into a trance. The shaman then told Rudolf to run to the top of the main tower. Rudolf ran as fast as he could and ignored the battlefield. He ran up the tower where he met Sojourn who said to him “You traitor!” Before Rudolf could explain his situation, Sojourn put him against a railing and was about to push him off but before he could do so, The Shuck attacks Sojourn and kills him. The Shuck then pounces on Rudolf but Rudolf dodges and gets ready to face the demon. Rudolf attacks with his sword but his sword bounces off. The Shuck then strikes blow after blow and makes Rudolf moribund. Just as Rudolf is about to die, he feels himself regaining energy. The shaman had done a summoning in which he summoned an angel to give Rudolf powers. The shaman wanted Rudolf to cause a feint which would give him time to summon an angel who would give Rudolf angelic powers. With his newfound powers, Rudolf gets up and starts to fly with his wings, he dives and kicks The Shuck off the tower and forthwith drops down on him with a powerful attack from above. He then strikes blow after blow with his sword, sapping The Shuck’s powers. The Shuck as a last resort looks into Rudolf’s eyes endeavoring to transmute any evil left inside him. Rudolf feigns a look of struggle but then in a trice, he uses his eyes to look into The Shuck. This time Rudolf had no greed of glory in him but The Shuck himself would get a taste of his own medicine. The impairing gaze of Rudolf penetrates The Shuck weakening his powers and ultimately banishing the demon from existence. At that moment, the bandits regained control and stopped fighting. The bandits then left the castle and everything was nigh back to normal. The Shaman found Rudolf and said to him “The people who you trust may be perfidious to you; you need to learn the difference between bad and good company. The moment I saw you at the inn you looked corrupted and knew you were the only person who could stop such a creature.” Rudolf replied “Thank you for trusting me but with the king dead there will be a lot of haphazard but I think someone like you is fit to handle the onuses of this kingdom” Then the shaman said, “I grow old and weak unable to give the provision this place needs so some young and zealous adult would bring the Vikings glory.” Then Rudolf replied “I am fraught with the need to matter and be respected so I must reflect on myself and meditate. Until I don’t find myself I am not fit to rule. Giving me the throne would just give me more power” Saying this Rudolf went to the jungles to introspect, meditate and make himself a more competent human being.

Title: The Black Shuck

Genre: Adventure Fiction

Age Range: 12-18

Words: 2,075

Name: Dilshan Singh

Why my book is a good fit: It is about

an urban legend called the Black Shuck which is found in England and thw potrays the adventure between that creature and his master but this book is a good fit because not only is it an adventure story but a story which has a great plot twist and an important moral. The creature first accomponies the master in a cordial way but as time goes on the creature uses his master and shows his malevolent side. The Shuck gave his master all his deepest darkest desires of power which blinded the master. It shows the importance of good company and how power blinds people and in the mordern day world many powerful people in the thirst for more power lose their morals as when you have power you can only see ahead not where you came from.

Hook: Seeing the journey of The Black Shuck and his master. Seeing the master of the Black Shuck slowly corrupt as the creature shows its dark side and feeds his master power to the point where the Black Shuck was the master as the power blinded his master. Also on a side note I use he to reffer to the Black Shuck as I want to insinuate he is a demon.

Audience: Mostly teenagers because this book is a lot about discovering yourself and picking the right company also it uses a difficult language.

Platform: I post on poetry soup and wattpad

Synopsis: A viking by the name of Rudolf is in the viking army. The army was raiding a castle and Rudolf with some other soldiers was tasked to infiltrate through the sewers of the castle but everything goes wrong and Rudolf escapes but ends up in a forest where he meets a demon dog like creature. First he attacks the dog but then builds affection. Both go to a village where everyone starts to run and seeing the power Rudolf had as the master of The Black Shuck made him jovial even though it made others scared. Both of them go back to their kingdom where both sleep in an inn. At night The Black Shuck kills a nun and her son which gets both Rudolf and the shuck kicked out. Rudolf thought that that action was injustice as in his mind he trusted The Shuck more than anyone and he developed dark veins around his eyes. Both of them find some bandits who The Shuck controls with his dark magic. Rudolf attacks his own kingdom with his bandits as revenge for exiling him. The Shuck makes Rudolf commit atrocities and realises he was a peaceful viking not an ignoble killer as he was killing his own people because of the power that blinded him. He fights the shuck and in that fight just as he was about to die the shaman summons angelic powers to protect and help him. He then banishes the shuck and realises he was blinded by power.(I did not cover everything)

Bio: I am a writer and a poet. I have been writing since I was 8 and have got many medals in IEO for first place. I have got a pretty good track record in English

Hometown: Amritsar, Punjab

Writing style: I like writing adventure stories with a metaphor or moral and with very high vocabulary

Hobbies: Story writing and poetry

Education: I am in 7th grade

Experience: I have many popular stories on Wattpad