• Member Since 16th May, 2013
  • offline last seen 28 minutes ago

PaulAsaran


Technical Writer from the U.S.A.'s Deep South. Writes horsewords and reviews. New reviews posted every other Thursday! Writing Motto: "Go Big or Go Home!"

T

Somewhere in the Frozen North, a griffon expedition has gone missing. As the only airship specifically designed for the frigid environment, the Aurora Dawn and her crew's first mission out of the shipyards will be to find and rescue this lost expedition.

If only they knew what the expedition was really out there to find...


Story is fully written and will be updated over the course of ten days (or roughly 10% of material/day).

Inspired by the collective works of H.P. Lovecraft, though familiarity with Lovecraft's works are not necessary to get this.

I experimented quite a bit with narrative in this story, specifically in using different narrative voices depending upon the perspective. I'll leave it up to the readers if I pulled this off effectively.

My thanks to JawJoe for the exceptionally helpful prereading and suggestions on how to make this story all the better.

Chapters (41)
Comments ( 30 )

I’ve been called a lot of things but an airship is new. :P

Love lovecraft inspired works. I will have to check this out.

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Second that! I'm getting Mountains of Madness spoilers just looking at it.

This is going to be good.

Inspired by the collective works of H.P. Lovecraft, though familiarity with Lovecraft's works are not necessary to get this.

I was gonna say, the premise feels vaguely Mountains Of Madness.

Oo... Mountains of Madness is a good guess, but I'm thinking things'll go a different direction. Just gonna put on some proper music and start reading:

Remote expedition gone missing...Lovecraft influences...

...you have my attention.

If this is the state of things up here, I cannot imagine the frozen, wet, screaming hell that must be the ground!

I'll bet you can't...

I’m getting vibes of Shackleton here

“And who am I, once made pathetic and helpless under the yoke of that blight upon equinity whose name I dare not utter even in these writings, to refuse Her Highness, Princess Cadance, who rescued my race from said blight?”

This confused me for a bit, but he must be speaking of Sombra.

No less astounding is the nature of the storm at our stern. It extends north and south seemingly forever, creating a singularly intimidating wall of gray, churning violence. I sent a scouting team of pegasi led by our best, Major Sleekwing, who came back with a most peculiar report: the storm appears to be stationary. Stationary! Whoever heard of a stationary storm? Yet he adamantly insisted on the truth of the idea, and his four wingmates backed him up with utmost seriousness. Not a one of them dared enter that roiling chaos, as they did not when the ship was bumbling its way through, for even the greatest of them would likely be torn apart by its vicious winds, crackling lightning, and deadly hailstones.

"Dear Billy. You ever look into a hurricane and decide 'maybe I should fly straight through it'? 'cuz that's what's about to happen!"

Ooh, ominous. Rusty Iron has hidden depths, just as I think the glacier may have...

Now this I can get behind. The suspense is building slowly but surely.

I suppose only our arrival on the scene can clarify things at this stage. We should arrive in just over an hour.

🍿

Well gee, this Gilderoy was just asking for it, wasn't he? At least the Miskatonic expedition of At the Mountains of Madness genuinely had no idea what they were getting themselves into.

Those idiots at Mystery Tonic University couldn’t stop me no matter how hard they tried. Oh, did they try. Secrets are not theirs alone to hoard like a bunch of dragons. They think I don’t know that they dabble in the obscure? Granted I have not and will likely never be able to produce a shred of proof, for they are far too careful in covering their tracks. There can be no other reason for them to collect and refuse to share such a trove of ancient artifacts! I know it, they know I know it, and they would end my career to ensure none believe me.

Ahahaha, clever. xD

I’ve had them set it up in the middle of his iris, just as the tablets told me.

Totally not ominous at all…

a mysterious blot of inky purple-green-black

Just off the top off my head, that color scheme strikes me as rather Sombra-esque; something connected to the umbrum, perhaps? Either way, looking forward to finding out!

It was one of the zebras, Mr. O—whom I name that way because writing it out is all but impossible, to say nothing for pronouncing it!—who first pointed out the whistling, and now we all can hear it. This is likely the same sound that the diamond dogs were complaining about yesterday, only now it is exposed through the crack. What in the world could be causing such a low, mournful sound?

Tekeli-li!

Subject: Second Daily Progress Report

Pretty sure this is the third daily progress report.

That buffoon, Rusty Iron, insisted it was dangerous, some hideous product of the occult and likely the selfsame threat that destroyed poor Gilderoy’s team.

Captain, you literally live in Equestria. When someone suggests that there may be dark magic involved, you should at least take the idea into some consideration.

Ok, there's sticking to your duty in the face of adversity, and then there's being dumbass. Equus is a deathworld, with all sorts of monsters all over the place. It's pretty clear this is one of them.

Still don't believe in the occult now, bud?

And this is where he chose Fuck Around. All that’s left is to see the Find Out.

Jade Dawn #26 · Sunday · · · ??? ·

...welp, someone's officially gone loopy.

It took me a couple seconds to realize the fonts are going erratic the longer Captain Dawn writes...

:rainbowderp:

...welp...guess this is the part where it hits the fan...

Ah, so now it's Alien starring an acidic shoggoth.

When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you.

I...wouldn't say I have chills from this revelation, but something pretty darn close at the very least as the full weight of it sinks in.

The story isn't done yet, but I'm gonna say it now: well done.

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