Scott Purdy is at it it again! Meet The Historian, a character from my work in progress, The Old God. Here’s more about The Old God: Jamesport, Rhode Island, 1895: listen in the alleys and you will hear whispers of the city’s mysteries. Strange beings slumber in the salt marshes. Viking runes, sigils of some forgotten magic, appear at low tide near the wharf. A ruined stone tower of unknown age and purpose stands in the city square. Do not speak too loudly of these mysteries, lest the Old God send his servants to silence you. Fear Jacob, the most loyal and gifted of these assassins. Peer into his eyes, however, and you may see a hint of doubt. You may sense in those eyes what you have known all along—that the world is about to turn itself upside down. The Historian squats in the abandoned marketplace, across from Jamesport’s wharf. His insanity keeps him occupied. He speaks as three people, each with a different voice. But he knows everything. His voices tell stories from before the millionaires came, before even the Portuguese and, it seems, the original settlers ejected from Massachusetts Bay in the 17th century. The Historian has encyclopedic knowledge of the region’s oddities—the strange Viking writings near the wharf, the mysterious ruined tower in the center of Jamesport, the skeleton in medieval armor that emerged from the muck of the salt marshes, and much more. The Historian sat atop a mound of fish skeletons, each perfectly cleaned of meat by vermin. He hissed and leaned into a shaft of light. Jacob rarely saw that face, and shuddered whenever he did. The Historian had been burned, once. His skin was stretched and splotched, as if it had melted. He had no eyes, no nose, no hair. He was a mouth and empty sockets wearing burlap sacks. His arms and legs twisted in strange directions, like one of Ida’s tortured dolls. The limbs had all fallen off and young Ida had sewn them back on herself, though in the completely wrong positions. (Image ©2011 by Scott Purdy. All rights reserved. Used here with permission.)

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Scott Purdy is at it it again! Meet The Historian, a character from my work in progress, The Old God.

Here’s more about The Old God:

Jamesport, Rhode Island, 1895: listen in the alleys and you will hear whispers of the city’s mysteries. Strange beings slumber in the salt marshes. Viking runes, sigils of some forgotten magic, appear at low tide near the wharf. A ruined stone tower of unknown age and purpose stands in the city square. Do not speak too loudly of these mysteries, lest the Old God send his servants to silence you. Fear Jacob, the most loyal and gifted of these assassins. Peer into his eyes, however, and you may see a hint of doubt. You may sense in those eyes what you have known all along—that the world is about to turn itself upside down.

The Historian squats in the abandoned marketplace, across from Jamesport’s wharf. His insanity keeps him occupied. He speaks as three people, each with a different voice. But he knows everything. His voices tell stories from before the millionaires came, before even the Portuguese and, it seems, the original settlers ejected from Massachusetts Bay in the 17th century. The Historian has encyclopedic knowledge of the region’s oddities—the strange Viking writings near the wharf, the mysterious ruined tower in the center of Jamesport, the skeleton in medieval armor that emerged from the muck of the salt marshes, and much more.

The Historian sat atop a mound of fish skeletons, each perfectly cleaned of meat by vermin. He hissed and leaned into a shaft of light. Jacob rarely saw that face, and shuddered whenever he did. The Historian had been burned, once. His skin was stretched and splotched, as if it had melted. He had no eyes, no nose, no hair. He was a mouth and empty sockets wearing burlap sacks. His arms and legs twisted in strange directions, like one of Ida’s tortured dolls. The limbs had all fallen off and young Ida had sewn them back on herself, though in the completely wrong positions.

(Image ©2011 by Scott Purdy. All rights reserved. Used here with permission.)

posted : Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

tags :

  • Scott Purdy
  • art
  • the old god