Excerpt from Book 1: A visit to Victorian London

“Mornin,” called a man who was walking quickly towards them. He tipped his hat.

“Good morning,” replied McVale, giving the man a smile. Yas nodded nervously also in acknowledgement, then turned and looked at him once he had passed.

“So, they’re real and they can see us then?”

“Yes,” replied McVale. “Most are actors, playing out a storyline in response to the intentions of readers.”

“Intentions?” enquired Yas.

“Absolutely,” continued McVale. “Intentions are the images and actions we imagine in our mind’s eye as we read. The actors are created or are coerced into performing whatever it is that we, the readers, imagine for them. The same is true in dreams in some respect, although there is a lesser connection.”

Three storey buildings lined the side of the street they were walking along. The park and the exhibition building on the other side disappeared away into the mist more as they headed north. A wall of buildings emerged up ahead of them. The feel of the place indicated that it was an upmarket area of London. There were some business fronts on the ground floor of some of the buildings, but others were just residential.

“Woah!” exclaimed Yas, as she watched an ethereal person appear in the street ahead of them and float in their direction.

“Readers,” McVale replied matter-of-factly, stepping aside for the ghostly person to pass between them.

“So, they don’t see us?”

“They have a ghostly presence here because they are present in the outer realm, explained McVale.”

“The real world, you mean?”

“Yes,” replied McVale. “You sound like your mother.”

“Sorry,” replied Yas, not really sure what she was apologising for.

“No need,” dismissed McVale with a wave of her hand. “You have her determinedness and your grandfather’s sense of curiosity, rolled into one. I believe it will serve you well.”

McVale continued, switching topics again. “The human mind has a great ability to ignore things that don’t make sense. On some level readers do see everything, but they are expecting to see a particular story play out in their mind’s eye, and so they ignore anything else that doesn’t fit.”

Yas heard children’s laughter somewhere above her and looked up, straining her eyes against the fog. She glimpsed children flying, holding hands, before they disappeared over a rooftop.

 “We each imagine things slightly differently,” explained McVale. “To a reader, the realm offers Victorian London. Different stories, different paintings of scenes can be played out here, without a reader of one book consciously aware of what another is reading or seeing in their mind’s eye.”

“Like theatre stages?” asked Yas, remembering something her grandpa had said to her a long time ago. “So, the realms are a collection of stages on which different stories can be played out by readers?”

“Yes, quite so,” confirmed McVale. She seemed pleased that her student was understanding how the realms worked. “They may not always be geographically or historically accurate, but the realm provides a gathering place for the most read stories. “Look up there,” she pointed to a rooftop further up the street, where chimney smoke billowed upwards and characters were dancing.

As they moved away from the park, Yas looked around with renewed interest. She was intrigued to see what other stories she could spot. Either side of them were more business fronts and shops, with two or three floors above. Occasionally also, there were steps leading down into basement dwellings.

Up ahead, at the entrance to an alley, police were gathered around someone who was still on the ground. They caught glimpses of a plain clothes detective bending over, wearing a distinctive hat. Several ethereal readers floated about the scene.

“Is that?” Yas pointed. “Yes,” replied McVale. “You know your fiction.”

Intrigued to learn more?

The above excerpt helps explain how the realms work within the Word Guardians series. If you want to learn more, please visit the link below and buy book 1.