PAWN: Fantasy Project * - Starting January 21, 2016

Background: Medina, NY

Medina, New York: February 1, 1845
LaForte's Pawn Shoppe
Alcina La Forte, Prop.


We will begin our new group project* with  a prologue piece entitled "The Missing Pawn". This is the backstory for the book:

Alcina LaForte is the new proprietress of ‘LaForte’s Pawn Shoppe’ in Medina, NY.  She is an unmarried young woman who recently inherited the shop from her late father, Albert. In the mid 1800’s, women were not yet allowed to own property or engage in commerce, but she finds a loophole, and she re-opens the shop for business the day after the funeral.

Albert LaForte died mysteriously during a trip he had undertaken to investigate a lead as to the whereabouts of the last piece needed to complete a one of a kind, extremely valuable chess set now known as  “_RICHESSE_” (that’s French for “Wealthy” – and a chess pun), which once belonged to King Louis the Sixth (1008-1037 AD). Each piece of the chess set was hand forged and carved out of  Silver and Ebony. It was claimed that whoever owned the set would achieve fame, wealth and power beyond all measure, and rumor had it that the set also had had magical properties instilled into it through alchemy during the Renaissance. Because of this, there were frequent successful attempts to steal the set, or to incapacitate its power by damaging one of the pieces. Such was the fate of one white pawn. The set’s owner had sent for a master craftsman to repair the piece, but he never arrived. The nobleman who owned the set quickly experienced defeat and the chess set “disappeared”.

Alcina’s ancestors were the most recent keepers of the chess set. Banished from their estate, they undertook a centuries-long quest to find the lost set in order to reclaim their title and land. By the time our story opens in 1845, all of the pieces have been found and reside in relative obscurity in Medina - except for the one white (presumed damaged) pawn. It now falls to Alcina to fulfill the quest - or die trying.

Alcina is an average-looking woman in her mid 20’s, but she is slowly learning to wield power through magic. Her given name means “Mistress of Alluring Enchantments”. She was once betrothed to a local merchant she dearly loved, but he also perished while searching for the missing pawn.

As proprietress, Alcina breaks with tradition by allowing customers and visitors to play actual matches with the priceless chess set. Alcina, as undefeated winner, always plays with the black pieces and the challenger must play with the white, which is missing a pawn. However, the challenger is allowed to provide his or her own substitute pawn. Will anyone be able to win against the reigning champion?

What happens to the chess set when it is not in use? Remember- it’s got magic.

Medina, NY is a small village located near the Canadian border, a small settlement founded in 1792 by French lumberjacks. It is located on the Erie Canal (which opened there in 1832) and made the small settlement more accessible by boat, which enabled trade, tourism, and so on. Medina was once famous for its ‘health spa treatments’ which would have been a major attraction at the time of this story. It is also located on the St. Lawrence Seaway, which provides access to the Great Lakes (Lake Ontario in western New York).

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If this story arc intrigues you in any way, you are cordially invited to participate in its creation.  Feel free to write as many episodes as you wish – whether set in the past, present (1845) or the future – that’s up to you. Suggested episode length can be from 100 to 1,000 words unless you need more for a good reason.

You will be responsible for creating one or more characters to interact with each other and sometimes with Alcina and the shoppe. You’ll do some research for appropriate names, clothing, social customs, history, and so on.

“PAWN” will need many characters:  allies, servants, merchants, villains, travelers, neighbors, children, fools, magicians, wizards, chess players, cunning suitors for Alcina’s hand in marriage, clergy, governing officials, etc…use your imagination! The characters will create the plot.

Go back backward in time, or forward. Together we will create numerous alternate realities as the search for the missing pawn continues – indefinitely.

* Our current plan calls for publication as an ebook, but we’re not ruling out producing a hard copy.

Does this sound like a fun project?  If you’re interested in participating, please contact CJ with your ideas. whitesborowriters@gmail.com .