Meta: Dacey Allora (trope bingo fill)
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trope_bingo prompt "tall tale", 642 words of meta about folklore Dacey Allora, featured in my WiP novel referred to by it's in progress title of Juliet.
In my WiP novel, there's a celebration called Dacey Day:
A voice could be heard in the distance. "Today will be hot and dry. There has been a sighting of a crocodile by the far north bridge over the Erland Estuary so watch out. Today is the celebration of folk hero Dacey Allora, so have a few ales in his name, eh, and come to the Dacey Drama if you've a mind."
Bryce nodded enthusiastically. "Dacey Day. With all the excitement of your arrival I'd almost forgot."
"Who's Dacey Allora?"
"We'll be seeing the traditional play later, so I won't spoil it for you," Bryce said. "Though I will say you have to admire a man who could wrestle a crocodile."
Sophia heard another door open followed by Iona moving toward them." Crocodile? The herald said there's one in the river."
"Yeah, the herald gives us a head's up if there's dangerous creatures found close to the city. Crocodiles, venomous snakes, herds of wild camels, scorpions."
Sophia blinked. "I don't know what half of those creatures are!"
Bryce gave another grin, nodding to Iona. "We'll take a tour later. Show you some of our not so dangerous creatures and some dangerous ones that we've got in captivity for studying. And we've got some excellent books with colourful illustrations. I think we sent a set as a gift to King Jonathan a while back."
"Yes," Iona said, "the Chief Physician has found them to be intriguing and a useful reference."
Bryce stifled a yawn. "Well, excuse me. I'll have a dip in the pool before I get dressed. Then we can breakfast together and see about this tour. Later there'll be the Dacey's Day play and another feast. Diplomacy must still wait, your highness."
He padded off down the corridor. Iona and Sophia exchanged glances.
"Who or what is Dacey?" Iona asked.
Sophia shrugged. "He fought a crocodile I think. And no, I don't know what one of those is but Bryce is very keen for us to find out."
As can be seen from that excerpt, the people of Terrasude celebrate Dacey Day by hosting a feast and a re-enactment of the supposed exploits of folk hero Dacey Allora. It's widely acknowledged that he probably never actually existed, but his legend lives on and is a highly anticipated part of the social calendar.
The performance, the Dacey's Day play is held annually at the palace, and widely attended by the public. It's often referred to as the Dacey Drama. The actor chosen to portray Dacey is usually tall and muscular. Dacey has a love interest but she is more a sidekick than a damsel in distress.
The most important and well known part of Dacey's story revolves around his wrestling of a crocodile, an animal native to Terrasuade but unknown to most other countries with their cooler climates, including Valydore, where Sophia and Iona are visiting from.
The play features a puppet of a giant crocodile that has to be operated by two people. It looks impressive, if not especially realistic.
The feast is laid out on a long table which includes a fake crocodile head. Within the head is cold water and it is used to keep jugs of ale cool during the festivities.
After the play, the Prime (Terrasude's elected leader, Bryce, in the excerpt) gives a speech and then the feasting begins. The party goes on late into the night, often into the early hours of the next morning. A band plays and there is dancing.
Outside of that celebration, people often make reference to their hero:
Jax tugged off his shirt to reveal impressive muscles and a scar on one shoulder. A tooth hung on a cord around his neck. "Crocodile tooth," Jax said when she asked. "Found a dead one, didn't it kill it myself like Dacey."
trope_bingo prompt "tall tale", 642 words of meta about folklore Dacey Allora, featured in my WiP novel referred to by it's in progress title of Juliet.In my WiP novel, there's a celebration called Dacey Day:
A voice could be heard in the distance. "Today will be hot and dry. There has been a sighting of a crocodile by the far north bridge over the Erland Estuary so watch out. Today is the celebration of folk hero Dacey Allora, so have a few ales in his name, eh, and come to the Dacey Drama if you've a mind."
Bryce nodded enthusiastically. "Dacey Day. With all the excitement of your arrival I'd almost forgot."
"Who's Dacey Allora?"
"We'll be seeing the traditional play later, so I won't spoil it for you," Bryce said. "Though I will say you have to admire a man who could wrestle a crocodile."
Sophia heard another door open followed by Iona moving toward them." Crocodile? The herald said there's one in the river."
"Yeah, the herald gives us a head's up if there's dangerous creatures found close to the city. Crocodiles, venomous snakes, herds of wild camels, scorpions."
Sophia blinked. "I don't know what half of those creatures are!"
Bryce gave another grin, nodding to Iona. "We'll take a tour later. Show you some of our not so dangerous creatures and some dangerous ones that we've got in captivity for studying. And we've got some excellent books with colourful illustrations. I think we sent a set as a gift to King Jonathan a while back."
"Yes," Iona said, "the Chief Physician has found them to be intriguing and a useful reference."
Bryce stifled a yawn. "Well, excuse me. I'll have a dip in the pool before I get dressed. Then we can breakfast together and see about this tour. Later there'll be the Dacey's Day play and another feast. Diplomacy must still wait, your highness."
He padded off down the corridor. Iona and Sophia exchanged glances.
"Who or what is Dacey?" Iona asked.
Sophia shrugged. "He fought a crocodile I think. And no, I don't know what one of those is but Bryce is very keen for us to find out."
As can be seen from that excerpt, the people of Terrasude celebrate Dacey Day by hosting a feast and a re-enactment of the supposed exploits of folk hero Dacey Allora. It's widely acknowledged that he probably never actually existed, but his legend lives on and is a highly anticipated part of the social calendar.
The performance, the Dacey's Day play is held annually at the palace, and widely attended by the public. It's often referred to as the Dacey Drama. The actor chosen to portray Dacey is usually tall and muscular. Dacey has a love interest but she is more a sidekick than a damsel in distress.
The most important and well known part of Dacey's story revolves around his wrestling of a crocodile, an animal native to Terrasuade but unknown to most other countries with their cooler climates, including Valydore, where Sophia and Iona are visiting from.
The play features a puppet of a giant crocodile that has to be operated by two people. It looks impressive, if not especially realistic.
The feast is laid out on a long table which includes a fake crocodile head. Within the head is cold water and it is used to keep jugs of ale cool during the festivities.
After the play, the Prime (Terrasude's elected leader, Bryce, in the excerpt) gives a speech and then the feasting begins. The party goes on late into the night, often into the early hours of the next morning. A band plays and there is dancing.
Outside of that celebration, people often make reference to their hero:
Jax tugged off his shirt to reveal impressive muscles and a scar on one shoulder. A tooth hung on a cord around his neck. "Crocodile tooth," Jax said when she asked. "Found a dead one, didn't it kill it myself like Dacey."
