Blind Fury (short story): Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox Story
{{Infobox Story SMW
|image          =DW 2011 Blind Fury.jpg
|image          = DW 2011 Blind Fury.jpg
|series        =[[Doctor Who annual|''Doctor Who'' annual]]
|series        = [[Doctor Who annual|''Doctor Who'' annual]]
|main character =[[Presus]]
|main character = [[Presus]]
|featuring      =
|featuring      =  
|setting           =[[Gallifrey]], the [[Rassilon Era]]
|enemy          = [[Death's Messenger]]
|writer        =[[Justin Richards]]
|setting       = [[Gallifrey]], the [[Rassilon Era]]
|illustrator    =[[Tomislav Tomis]]
|writer        = Justin Richards
|publication    =[[Doctor Who The Official Annual 2011]]
|illustrator    = [[Tomislav Tomis]]
|next          =Secret of Arkatron (short story)
|anthology      = Doctor Who The Official Annual 2011
|release date  = 5 August 2010
|next          = Secret of Arkatron (short story)
}}
}}
'''''Blind Fury''''' was a short story printed in [[Doctor Who The Official Annual 2011]].
'''''Blind Fury''''' was a short story printed in [[Doctor Who The Official Annual 2011]].


== Summary ==
== Summary ==
{{Section cleanup|Much of this is text taken from the story word-for-word}}
''Blind Fury'' is set in the village of [[Slothe]], which is full of lazy people. They overhunted the wild game in the region and over-harvested the wild fruits, as the villagers were too lazy to plant crops and keep livestock. Due to the villagers' laziness, [[Death (mythology)|Death]] sent her [[Death's Messenger|messenger]], who was invisible to the villagers, to punish them.
A tale from the [[Old Time]] on [[Gallifrey]] tells how [[Death (Timewyrm: Revelation)|Death]] sent his messenger to the village of [[Slothe]] in the foothold mountains of Outer Gallifrey. The villagers of Slothe were lazy. They got lazier with every passing generation. They took what they wanted from the land without ever working to put anything back. They sowed no crops and raided nests till the land and its wildlife were exhausted. Like locusts, they moved around and bled the land, the rivers and its fruits empty. By their thoughtless actions the people brought Death on themselves.


Three times, Death's Messenger came to the village, each time leaving dead loved ones in its wake. The Messenger went unseen, except for those in their dying moments, who saw the creature that had been sent to bend the villagers to Death's will – a creature with sharp teeth and claws that sought out first the old and then the young, before returning for the remainder.
Death's messenger killed many people on its first two attacks. The few surviving villagers appealed to [[Presus]] to help them, but Presus refused all three times and went to bathe in a river. He saw the reflection of Death's messenger in the water and ran home, terrified. The [[Seer (Blind Fury)|Seer]], a prophetess whom Presus had often made fun of before, met him and told him to kill Death's messenger so that the message "the sons of Gallifrey will sleep no more" can be sent to Death. She died soon afterwards from the injuries the Krafayis inflicted on her.


Surviving the slaughter was [[Presus]], the laziest of all men in Slothe and son of the prelate. Although strong, swift and silent, he was lazy and remained unconcerned by the deaths. Even when the villagers came to Presus to save them, he simply sent them away.
Presus discovered that all the remaining people in Slothe, his parents included, had been killed by Death's messenger while he was bathing in the river. He took a long sword from the wall of the [[Opticon]] and his father's shield, which he covered in the leaves of the ulanda tree so that it would be able to reflect the image of the Krafayis in it. Presus tracked Death's messenger to a cave, where he fought the creature without rest for three days.


Bathing down by the river, Presus caught a glimpse of the creature in its reflection in the water and he was scared for his life. Hiding in his home, he was visited by the Seer that Presus had previously mocked. Before she died and Death Messenger had come a third time -stealing away Presus' own family, the Seer told him that he was chosen to send a message to Death, that Gallifrey would one day not yield to Death, and that one day the sons of Gallifrey would sleep no more. Presus suddenly understood his fate and taking a long sword from a wall in the Opticon (the village meeting place), and covering his shield with the shiny leaves of the [[ulanda]] tree, he hunted the monster to a cave in the foot of Mount Perition guided only by the reflection it cast in his shield. For three days and three nights Presus and Death's Messenger fought across the foothills of the [[Gallifrey|Mountains of Solace and Solitude]]. Locked in battle, each side never rested. Blood was spilled on both sides and for the first time Presus the Indolent thought (and fought) for others. Finally Death's Messenger was slain and, still weary from his battle, he returned and built a funeral pyre for the dead that could be seen across the [[Gallifrey|Continent of Wild Endeavour]].
When Presus finally killed Death's Messenger, he broke his sword and threw away his shield. He built a funeral pyre for all the dead villagers of Slothe and burned it. Presus finally lay down to sleep beside the pyre, content that this is the first and last time he cared for others. He dreamt of his dead parents, the Seer's prophecy that the people of Gallifrey would [[regeneration|no longer need to fear death]], and of a mysterious figure holding a broken sword and an hourglass watching him.
 
His work done, Presus rested and dreamed of the Seer and her words and her prophecy of holding back death. He is still dreaming... of a figure with an hourglass in one hand and a broken sword in the other.


== Characters ==
== Characters ==
* [[Presus]]
* [[Presus]]
* [[Death's Messenger]]
* [[Seer (Blind Fury)|Seer]]


== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
* Gallifreyan life forms included [[trunkike|trunkikes]] ([[bird|birds]]), [[yaddlefish]] ([[fish]]), and [[ulanda]] ([[fruit]]-bearing [[tree]]s with silvery leaves).
* Gallifreyan life forms included [[broakir]]s, [[trunkike]]s, [[yaddlefish]], and [[ulanda]].
* Gallifreyan landscapes mentioned include the [[Continent]] of [[Wild Endeavour]] and the [[Mountain]]s of [[Solace]] and [[Solitude]].


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
''to be added''
* The tale is presented with a post-it note from the Doctor to [[Amy Pond]]: "You wanted to know what Gallifreyan fairytales were like, Pond, well, here you go! This is the one I told you about when we visited [[Vincent Van Gogh]]."


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* Gallifreyan landscapes mentioned include the [[Gallifrey|Continent of Wild Endeavour]] and the [[Gallifrey|Mountains of Solace and Solitude]]. ([[TV]]: [[The Sound of Drums (TV story)|''The Sound of Drums'']])
* Gallifrey has two suns, and the leaves on the trees on Gallifrey are silver. ([[TV]]: ''[[Gridlock (TV story)|Gridlock]])''
* Although never named, the description and illustrations of this tale suggest that Death's Messenger was in fact a [[Krafayis]], invisible to most and a ferocious hunter. ([[TV]]: [[Vincent and the Doctor (TV story)|''Vincent and the Doctor'']])
* The tale is presented with a post-it note from the Doctor to [[Amy Pond]]: "You wanted to know what Gallifreyan fairytales were like, Pond, well, here you go! This is the one I told you about when we visited [[Vincent Van Gogh]]." ([[TV]]: [[Vincent and the Doctor (TV story)|''Vincent and the Doctor'']])
* Gallifreyan trees have silvery leaves. ([[TV]]: [[The Sensorites (TV story)|''The Sensorites'']], [[Gridlock (TV story)|''Gridlock'']])
 
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[[Category:2010 short stories]]
[[Category:DWAN short stories]]
[[Category:Short stories set on Gallifrey]]
[[Category:Short stories set on Gallifrey]]
[[Category:Stories set in the Rassilon Era]]
[[Category:Stories set in the Rassilon Era]]
[[Category:Stories set in the Dark Times]]
[[Category:DWAN 2011 short stories]]

Latest revision as of 16:21, 25 March 2024

RealWorld.png

Blind Fury was a short story printed in Doctor Who The Official Annual 2011.

Summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

Blind Fury is set in the village of Slothe, which is full of lazy people. They overhunted the wild game in the region and over-harvested the wild fruits, as the villagers were too lazy to plant crops and keep livestock. Due to the villagers' laziness, Death sent her messenger, who was invisible to the villagers, to punish them.

Death's messenger killed many people on its first two attacks. The few surviving villagers appealed to Presus to help them, but Presus refused all three times and went to bathe in a river. He saw the reflection of Death's messenger in the water and ran home, terrified. The Seer, a prophetess whom Presus had often made fun of before, met him and told him to kill Death's messenger so that the message "the sons of Gallifrey will sleep no more" can be sent to Death. She died soon afterwards from the injuries the Krafayis inflicted on her.

Presus discovered that all the remaining people in Slothe, his parents included, had been killed by Death's messenger while he was bathing in the river. He took a long sword from the wall of the Opticon and his father's shield, which he covered in the leaves of the ulanda tree so that it would be able to reflect the image of the Krafayis in it. Presus tracked Death's messenger to a cave, where he fought the creature without rest for three days.

When Presus finally killed Death's Messenger, he broke his sword and threw away his shield. He built a funeral pyre for all the dead villagers of Slothe and burned it. Presus finally lay down to sleep beside the pyre, content that this is the first and last time he cared for others. He dreamt of his dead parents, the Seer's prophecy that the people of Gallifrey would no longer need to fear death, and of a mysterious figure holding a broken sword and an hourglass watching him.

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The tale is presented with a post-it note from the Doctor to Amy Pond: "You wanted to know what Gallifreyan fairytales were like, Pond, well, here you go! This is the one I told you about when we visited Vincent Van Gogh."

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Gallifrey has two suns, and the leaves on the trees on Gallifrey are silver. (TV: Gridlock)