Rimetongue: Part I

Rimetongue: Part I is a high fantasy piece that would act as a part of a larger work. It takes place in what our world calls the late Seventeenth Century in lieu of the traditional medieval setting and is very loosely based off of the French colonization of Canada. It is centered around Vurkoth, a member of a non-human race called the Ozhenka, as his life is terrorized by a malevolent entity known as “The Grinning Man.”This piece was an experiment in order to challenge myself to tell a story using a time period I wasn’t familiar with, from the point of view of someone that is distinctly not human, with an underutilized monster figure found in modern paranormal accounts for a villain. The critical essay will tackle the “Otherworld” trope that appears frequently in the fantasy and science fiction genres. It examines how the trope is used in various instances in mythology, religion, and modern science fiction, and works to establish how Rimetongue mixes up the formula.