Monday, August 31, 2015

82 000+!

Thank you for visiting!


xxx

The King's Challenge #32

TKC 32

When dawn eventually finds us, we are able to see where we are. The plateau rises above us, but it has less presence, for we are on ground higher than where the lower city was raised. Here there is more rock, less marsh.

We are also a fair way south of Normur, but this south is not near far enough away from the threat in the heavens. We cannot stay here.

Damin has a map he retrieved from the shack on his outcrop. He removes it from an oilskin of protection inside his runic. “Many have died possessing this,” he murmurs to me.

I see why. Our maps tend to reveal only the uplands, and only that which is east of the plateau and north of Normur. According to our maps, the rest of this world does not exist. Damin’s shows the south and the west.

Mirlin hunkers nearby. He is staring at me. “What do you know of times before?”

“Mirlin is a historian,” Damin explains.

I blink at the older man. “I know there was a war a long time ago and it is the reason we live on high ground today. The plateau serves as a wall against incursion.”

Mirlin nods. “This is true, but are you aware when the war happened?”

I shake my head. I assume a long time ago, beyond living memory.

“More than two thousand years ago,” Mirlin states. “There were two empires, the Ilfin and the Glonu, and they fought for territory. Few lived north of the plateau due to the cold, but eventually the Ilfin were pushed into the uplands. Loss of life was catastrophic on both sides, thus here at the wall ceasefire was called. The immediate lowlands became neutral territory.”


“How do you know this?” I ask, staring at the map.


Friday, August 28, 2015

The King's Challenge #31

TKC 31

The torrential rain drums out sound, but I am yet amazed by the silence behind me. I hear nothing, not even a child crying out in fear or wonder. Not daring to look around, in the event the action loses me the forward path, I begin to question whether anyone follows.

Damin, are they with me, I think. My answer comes when an image of a blue flower appears in my mind’s eye. Well. That is a different talent to seeing and hearing, but now is not the time to question Damin.

I go on.

The path is ankle deep water amid curving walls of swaying liquid. It is the strangest sight. It is also beyond frightening, for those shifting barriers are almost at head height. If I falter but once, we are doomed.

I cannot tell how many hours pass, but eventually I realise I am climbing. By slow degrees my shoulders emerge into the open night air, then my waist, thighs, and soon I am splashing in genuine ankle swirls. I am on high ground.

Something warns me to stand there without glancing back to see how the others fare. I must maintain the path until the last has crossed also. For what feels like eternity I simply stand, looking ahead.

People swirl around me as they pass, and no one says a word. I think Damin warned them to be silent until all are safe. Finally I feel him at my back and his hands settle onto my shoulders.

“Lyra, it is done,” he whispers.

I focus.

Before me is a host of survivors, every one with a hand over a heart. It is homage, and it stirs me as little else has. My tears emerge then, of gratefulness and utter exhaustion.


I turn into Damin’s arms. I weep as they enclose me.


Who are you when you write?


Thursday, August 27, 2015

The King's Challenge #30

TKC 30

By nightfall it has started raining again. Great torrents pummel us and the land. Within an hour of its renewal, the water level has risen. Walking out, as Damin suggests, will not be easy. In fact, it is now more difficult to achieve.

Everyone congregates as the lowest point of the outcrop. Men, women and children all now depend on me. I see Mirlin and his two henchmen in the crowd, all three eyeing me doubtfully. Well, they are not alone in that. I have no idea what to do next.

Damin shifts through the crowd to stand beside me. “I see blue flowers amid the red suns,” he whispers. “Many here trust in you and are now calm.”

“Many still fear,” I mutter back.

He nods. “Concentrate on serenity, Lyra. Forget the doubters.”

“Which direction?” I ask.

“South, always south.”

South, yes, to escape not only these waters, but also the fireball in the heavens. Damin is right. One does not see the stars here. Few have realised what is on approach.

It occurs to me that I desire to live. I want also to lead the community of Grenmassin to safety. It means surviving this night. It means, I understand, walking out.

As I comprehend what is needed, the way is opened for me. I feel my feet grow warm, then hot. I have boots on, but I see slivers of light escaping the seams in the leather. My feet are glowing.

Winking then at Damin, I step into the swirling water. Behind me I hear a collective breath of expectation. The water parts. With rain sluicing over my face, I wade further in. The water parts.

“Come,” I say without turning around. I know without doubt my task now is to look only ahead.


The survivors of lower Normur follow me into the flood.


Review: Lucem by Poppet



This is Imagination



Wednesday, August 26, 2015

The King's Challenge #29

TKC 29

“What is a Delver?” I ask first.

“Someone able to see into minds,” Damin replies. “That is the simple answer.” He keeps his voice low, for this admission will see him hung, but he does not look away.

“How are you a Delver?” I ask next.

“We are born with the gift, as you are.” He smiles then. “I heard you singing once, while I wandered the forest back home. When I tracked the sound to you, I found you sitting on the flat rock overlooking the river. Your mouth wasn’t moving, Lyra, and yet you were singing. I thought I was mad or something and only later understood what had happened.”

I swallow. “You never told me.”

Damin shrugs. “How do you tell someone this?”

“Do you see into all minds?”

“Most, but they are generally images to signify emotions. A red sun, for instance, means fear … saw many red suns this night.” He pauses to thread a hand through his fair hair. “When a Delver hears, though, the one he hears is fated to be his partner. This can be a man or woman. Lucky for me, you are a woman.” Damin offers a wicked smile.

“Is this why you left?” I whisper.

He nods after a moment. “I heard you all the time. I needed to find a way to control it. Listening is an invasion of privacy.”

“Can you control it?”

“Yes, but last night I discovered that frenetic action is able to sunder my holds.” Damin touches my face. “I do not listen, Lyra, to your innermost thoughts, not anymore, and I will find the means to control this breach also.”

I stare at him. I do not know this Damin. “Fate?” I say. “Where is love in fate?”

He takes my hands into his. “Lyra, love enables our gifts.”




TKC Collage 2

After another two weeks of posting episodes for the King's Challenge, here's a collage of the images used :)


Put aside the Ranger


Tuesday, August 25, 2015

The King's Challenge #28

TKC 28

Women touch my cloak as I pass, eyes filled with hope. Men bow their heads, eyes containing both relief … and doubt. Children scamper asking question after question, not one of which I have an opportunity to answer before another is aired.

This is expectation, and it frightens me.

I will lead them to safety? How dare Damin tell them that?

I cannot even think about the how, when all I have in my mind is Damin’s kisses. Idiot man. If he needs me thinking straight, he should be more constrained. Never mind the fact that I now believe he is able to read my mind. By the stars, how did life become this complicated?

Damin shoos the kids away, sits me on a wet tree stump and hunkers before me. “You can do this, Lyra. I have researched the two eyes …”

I shake my head.

“Just listen,” he says. “There are four types. Rainmakers, Sages, Elementals and Healers. All have the essence of each talent, but one is ever dominant. The Healers have the blue and green eye combination, as you do. What you did with the water may appear as elemental magic, but you were saving people … as a healer would.”

“None of what you say tells me how to save them,” I whisper. “Do you expect me to forge a path through the floodwater?”

“Yes,” he answers simply.

I throw my hands in the air. “How?”

“You believe it. You trust yourself.”

I lift an eyebrow at him. Now that is not an answer, not for me. I need specifics.

“Specifics will cloud your mind,” he murmurs.

That does it. I fall to my knees before him. “Damin, you are hearing my thoughts. How?”

He grins. “Only a Delver partners a Healer. Did you not know?”



Arcana Omnibus!

All four Arcana tales will soon be available in one book, with extras!

The Infinity Mantle
The Kinfire Tree
The Drowned Throne
The Dragon Circle
and
Secret Remedies


Monday, August 24, 2015

The King's Challenge #27

TKC 27

In the ensuing silence Damin takes my face into his hands and kisses me. It is a long, searching kiss that has every nerve in my body jumping.

Never has he given me more than a peck. Back in Grenmassin such familiarity is frowned upon, and then he left before we could speak our marriage vows.

This is new for me. Damin is new to me. I am guessing I may also be new now.

The kiss ends as a roar of sound rises. We break the intense connection to look around us. They are cheering. The survivors of the lower city are on their feet and cheering us.

I glance at Damin. Did he kiss me to reveal to them he is with me? They know him, after all, and he has now bestowed upon me his blessing.

“Lyra,” he murmurs, “you think too much.”

Now I stare at him. Did he just read my mind? Perhaps he simply sought to draw my attention away from the strange act moments ago. I turned the waters of death. Am I a witch?

“You are a healer,” he says softly.

By the stars, the man is reading my mind!

Smiling, he takes my hand and hooks me in to draw me to his side. “This is Lyra!” he calls out. “And she is with us!”

Again there is cheering. I feel the need to hide. Maybe I do think too much, but I need to examine what just happened. I need to know myself again.

“Take the boats and look for survivors,” Damin continues. “Bring everyone here.” He pauses, glances at me, and says, “Tonight we leave Normur. Lyra will lead us to safety.”

As more sound erupts, he pulls me to a quiet space … and kisses me again.



Scurryfunge and Verbigeration



Sunday, August 23, 2015

The King's Challenge #26

TKC 26

The screaming begins.

Even the youngest child understands there is no running from this. We will all die in the next few minutes. The wall of water is massive and it is filled with strength and intent. It will sweep us to eternity.

The screaming stops. Everyone simply stares in mute fascination. No one runs. There is no running to do that will change this fate.

I feel then heat in my gut, as if someone has branded my internal organs with a hot poker. My hands start to shake uncontrollably. I stare down, wondering what is happening. The heat inside me causes more fear than the wall of water does. Only for an instant does the irony of that flit into my mind.

My hands are glowing. I see the bones, veins and muscles inside, as if there is a light source within. I have no control over this. My skin is afire. My gut feels as if it will explode outward, to throw my entrails at the wall of water.

Water.

I lift my head. By the stars, here it comes.

Some force lifts my glowing hands into the air. That same force issues an eruption of sound from my mouth. I scream at the tidal wave and I gesture at it. The wave and I become one and I command it to go elsewhere.

For a moment all time seems to freeze … and then the wall of water parts. One half veers towards the plateau; the other half swerves south. Swiftly the churning heights lose integrity, and small waves lap away into the distance.

A beam of light pierces the silence then. The sun is rising.

I stare at my hands, and then I look around me to find men, women and children staring at me. As one, they kneel.



Extraordinary things


Justine's Journal: An Interview


Justine and I got together this week to discuss the book we are planning to release soon, but more on that when the time comes. The point of this post is to give you my thoughts on what the last year of entries has meant.

To that end, instead of me rambling here on and on about what I thought we achieved and how I regard the changes I noticed in Justine, I decided to do an interview. On seeing Justine, I ran it by her and she was at first reluctant, citing that an interview was too personal. When I pointed out that every entry she wrote and I posted for her was also personal and yet she gave of herself week after week, her choice, she agreed.

We then agreed to keep it short, ten questions only. I have to tell you that choosing even one question was hard, choosing ten became quite a mission. Once I started writing potential questions down, I discovered there was a host of them I would like to ask!

***

1 Why did you choose a pseudonym?

Well, you know yourself I don’t have much of an online presence, so it wasn’t the digital world’s response that had me worried. I do have a large circle of real world friends, though, and many of them would have been too judgemental. That is what I thought at the time anyway. Now I realise real friends don’t judge in the way I thought they might. Today I would consider using my real name … well, maybe. I sort of prefer the anonymity, I must admit. It freed me to say things I wouldn’t normally say.

2 What exactly prompted you into starting the Journal?

I felt alone, really isolated, pretty scared, and saw no future. I didn’t have a life, I thought. Then, one evening, I sat and watched a cactus I had on my windowsill at the time, begin to bloom. It’s one of those that bloom once every so many years or something, and only for one night. It hadn’t bloomed before and for weeks a bud sat there waiting. I saw pink pushing through and I was quite excited. Okay, now imagine sitting and watching a flower – nothing happens when you watch it! Hours later, though, there were furled petals and by morning (I was up early) the full flower was there. It was like magic! By evening of the second day it had begun to shrivel.

I saw myself in that bloom. Waiting. Suddenly something clicked inside and it started to change, after so long waiting. For a brief time something beautiful emerged. And then it returned to waiting, but I knew it had the ability to emerge one day again, when everything was ready for it to bloom once more.

The next day I cried (lots) and decided it was time to emerge, if only to be for a brief moment something beautiful.

3 In three words describe your state of mind when we began this journey.

Lost
Alone
Depressed

4 In three words describe your state of mind when we ended this journey.

Awake
Aware
Happy

5 Which one thing made you sit up and think?

The déjà vu thing with the dog running across the road as I turned a corner! Until then, the premonitions I had experienced were somewhat distant, although they were real. That dog was right there in real time. All the hairs on my arms, legs and neck stood up. I really started thinking then.

6 What scared you the most?

When my partner lost his phone while visiting family up the coast, I assumed the worst. It is frightening how easily we think the worst first.

7 What disappointed you the most?

I can’t say anything disappointed me. Everything was part of the journey and remains part of the learning process. If I had to choose, then I would say I was disappointed that I couldn’t always find the right words to explain what I was feeling.

8 What made you laugh the most?

People! Not people as a concept, but the people I met at charity functions. Because I put myself out there, I discovered laughter. I realised we like to laugh together. This is a great feeling.

9 What made you the happiest?

Definitely reconnecting with my brother!

10 And finally, where to now?

Nowhere far in geography, but I will definitely build on what I have learned. I intend to continue my journal entries, for the blank page is now my therapy. Also, I am looking forward to strengthening my relationships, with my partner, with my brother, with you and with old and new friends. I am no longer alone. This too is a good feeling.

Also, I have an idea for a new book. It’s as if all this has opened doors in my creativity as well. Maybe I’ll publish soon, maybe I’ll wait until I’m ready, but I will be writing no matter what. A really good feeling!

***

I admit, I cried when Justine spoke of the bloom on her windowsill. She never told me that before. I also understand her disappointment with words – sometimes they simply don’t do justice to what is inside. As for Justine’s writing? I have read some of her work (she’s still a bit reluctant to share, fearing judgement) and it’s good. I hope she does publish. That will be the real ‘Justine’. Watch out world, the girl has stories to tell!

A final note from me. I want to thank Justine for doing this. She has not merely helped herself stand up again; she has helped me stand up again. Thank you, Justine.

Keep smiling!



Saturday, August 22, 2015

The King's Challenge #25

TKC 25

The second boat joins us. The two men also successfully negotiated the currents. Together, we retrieve as many flood victims as we are able to without overloading our vessels. We then ferry them to the outcrop where I first met Damin. It is relative high out of the water still.

On the second delivery I leave the boat also. This way there is space for another and I am able to create some order in the chaos on land. It is chaos indeed. Everyone is wet and cold. The children cry and mothers are wide-eyed silent. Men rush about. Many shout across the dark waters, each hoping for an answering call.

Many have drowned this night.

How dare Normur’s city fathers call themselves civilised?

When Damin returns with another load of survivors, he leaves the boat as well, and another man takes his place. Together we survey the desperation all around us.

“This is wrong,” I murmur. “I understand now why you stayed.”

Damin sighs then and his arms enfold me, holding me close. I allow it, for I need the comfort and the warmth and I suspect he does too. I make smoothing motions on his back, marvelling at the lean muscle my fingers encounter. We draw apart and I know Damin will kiss me. I want him to.

It is not to be.

A scream tears through the night, this one far more intense than any of the wails we have heard thus far.

We move apart and run towards the sound.

A woman gesticulates wildly near the edge of the outcrop and already many surround her. Looking ahead, we see the grey light of dawn to the east … and a churning wall of black water on swift approach.


“The dam upriver has burst,” Damin breathes.


"Thomas puts the 'q' in quirky ..."



Thank you!

Friday, August 21, 2015

The King's Challenge #24

TKC 24

Both men hold the boat Damin, Mirlin and I clamber into. The raging water threatens to sweep it away and us along with it. We bounce as if we are to overturn. When they release it, we are swept into the darkness.

How those two will manage alone with the second boat, I have no idea. All sight of them is lost within moments.

We hold on. There is some light from above and in its shadows I realise Damin dares not even touch the oars. The water is insane under us. The rushing noise is overwhelming. I begin to wonder if the lower city exists at all now. How many bodies will we discover churning in this morass?

There are points of light, however, ahead in the darkness. Lanterns lit for night. Those on high ground summon the less fortunate to haven.

Our boat grinds over something below and our swift progress finally slows.

“Walkway!” Damin bellows. He reaches for the oars and starts digging into the water.

Soon he is the one determining direction, not the current. The fear closing my throat subsides somewhat and I am able to breathe.

Mirlin lights his lantern again. I swallow convulsively when I realise we are rowing through a sea of bodies.

“You highborn can’t stomach reality,” Mirlin growls at me.

Instantly I desire to throw him overboard, to join the dead. How dare he?

“Quiet, Mirlin,” Damin snarls. He is about to say more, when a desperate shout arrests him. It has all our attention, in fact. Damin swings the boat.


Clinging to a tree we discover a woman and two children. Damin bumps against the tree and snags a lower branch. Hazardous as it, swiftly we have them with us. The little girl cries uncontrollably. Her mother draws her close.


81 000+!

Thank you for visiting!


xxx

LOTR


Thursday, August 20, 2015

The King's Challenge #23

TKC 23

The stairway is carved by nature and therefore twists where one least expects it to. Willing hands have made adjustments to ease the way, but it remains dangerous. Especially when this wet and particularly in the dead of night.

My cloak does not help either. After it has snagged three times on exposed roots as we go down, I finally tuck the flapping ends into my belt. My feet are my eyes. Never has my heart thudded this fast. With every step I expect to plunge into the abyss.

Then we hear it. I am not the only one who comes to a halt on the twisting decline.

Water. Rushing, churning, gurgling. Insane water.

Ahead, Mirlin reignites the lantern. The resultant glow reveals three men poised in various stages of descent before me, my own precarious position, and Damin looking down into the darkness behind me. It also touches on a swirling mass of black water.

My gut hollows. That is a torrent. It may kill all of us.

Mirlin looks back … at Damin. In his eyes there is doubt. Perhaps even fear.

“We have no choice,” Damin mutters, and I feel his warmth as he steps carefully onto the level I occupy in this moment. Raising his voice, he says, “Go on.”

Nodding, Mirlin continues. Soon he vanishes as a curve in the way hides him. When we reach the same place, I see two boats on a shelf of rock. In the dry the shelf would be high off the marsh; now the floodwaters have risen to mere inches from the filthy hulls.


The two others are already tossing camouflage aside. The dead branches are swallowed so swiftly into the current, my breath shortens. Many have already died in that insane current. We may soon join them.


Steinbeck: Writing Tips


Wednesday, August 19, 2015

The King's Challenge #22

TKC 22

The jailhouse is a squat stone building surrounded by high walls. Damin leads us through a gap and whistles softly.

“Here,” a voice responds.

Mirlin is old, but one look into his dark eyes and I know never to underestimate him. This one is a survivor and possibly a killer.

“Why bring the woman?” he demands.

In answer, Damin flips my hood briefly back.

Mirlin nods. “Indeed. Come then. We can’t afford to waste this night.” Glancing around a last time, he heads for the same gap. “Two others wait for us at the stairway,” he throws over his shoulder.

Soon we are running. Mirlin sets the pace and his urgency communicates. I suspect this has more to do with the foul weather suddenly ending and thus leaving us without our veils of protection, than with a feeling of being watched. I know Attis watches, but his is the good kind.

Near Normur’s northern limit, Mirlin turns abruptly west for the edge of the plateau. Between ancient and crumbling buildings, which seem to teeter and sway as if about to plunge into the abyss below, we come to a mess of wire and stakes. This is to discourage climbers from the marsh … and it hides a hidden set of stairs.

Not that I see them, for darkness is now absolute. Damin told me what to expect.

Mirlin finds a lantern in the rubble nearby and lights it. In the wavering pool of yellow, I see two others and they shift the barrier aside. Everyone moves fast. The rain is lessening. Sound alone will now give us away.


“Go, Lyra; I’m right behind you,” Damin whispers, and I set feet to this dangerous path and endeavour. There is no turning back. Three men are ready to kill me if I even think it.


Thomas hits the City!

My second Thomas H short story went live yesterday. I love writing about Thomas, for it's all tongue-in-cheek fun!


Blurb

After a disastrous beginning in the country, Thomas Henson begins his new life and career in the city. He must now step up or fail in this issue of being an adult. There is no trust fund and the silver spoon has long been melted.


Thomas will negotiate the ways of city living, of city working and of city romancing. We do hope dear Thomas finds himself now, although we know so well how everything, simply everything, is an issue for our Thomas. Fingers crossed!

First Review!

Thank you Poppet!



Tuesday, August 18, 2015

"... finger on the pulse of what fantasy is all about ..."


Thank you, Monique, for a wonderful review!



The King's Challenge #20 and #21

TKC 20 and 21

After Attis has delivered both food and dry clothes and after eating to the last crumb, we sleep. This entails stiff postures from both of us, as we attempt to lie on the same bed without actually touching, but sleep we do need. Tonight we will go for the boats; we need to be alert and strong.

Soon the sounds of a city awakening to a new day no longer bother me and Damin’s soft snores tell me he is asleep. I relax and oblivion takes me.

Hours later I suddenly snap into awareness when a particularly loud noise penetrates the fog of sleep. I realise someone is at the door. The knocking there is loud and repeated. I also realise Damin’s arm is across me. For a moment I consider not moving, to lie there forever with that warmth on me, but the knocking becomes insistent.

In a flurry of movement meant to jar Damin into wakefulness, I leave the bed. By the wan light in the room, I can tell evening draws near. It is still raining.

“Lyra, wait. We don’t know who it is,” Damin whispers as he rolls from the bedding to stand. From the sodden bundle of discarded clothes in the corner he withdraws a dagger and then stealthily approaches the door.

I have a similar dagger in my pack and I swiftly have it to hand. All the young of Grenmassin are taught how to fight and for that I am now thankful. In silence I step into the darkest shadows.

Damin nods at me and then says, “Who is there?” in a normal tone.

The knocking ceases immediately. “Attis.”

Rolling his eyes, Damin unlocks and hauls the lad inside, quickly locking again. “Boy, you just told the entire inn where we are.”

“Mirlin told me to wake you no matter what,” Attis gripes. “I tried to be quiet, but you weren’t listening.”

“Mirlin is here?” Damin snaps out. “How do you know Mirlin?”

The tousle-haired boy stands arms akimbo before Damin and I hide a grin. “Mirlin is my uncle. I am his eyes in the city.”

Damin glares. “Well, you could have told me that in the lower city. I almost had you killed, by the stars.”

Attis turns away, looking for me. “Lyra would not let anything happen to me, I knew it. Lyra?”

I step from the shadows. “You are safe where I am, yes. Now tell us your news.” This time I smile widely when the boy perches on the rumpled bed as if he is part of our family.

“Mirlin came as the sun lowered, said to wake you, saw you come here, he was watching for you. Says the lawmen concentrate on the edge, pushing folk back into the water, so it’s safe to go east as planned.” Attis squints up. “What is in the east?”

“Never mind,” Damin mutters. “Did he say he will meet us?”

A nod. “At the jailhouse.”

“When?”

“He’s already there,” Attis shrugs.

“Then we must make haste,” Damin says, but I shake my head and add, “We eat first. Attis?”

The boy nods vigorously and scoots off the bed to go to the door. “Supper is ready downstairs. I’ll bring yours up.” Unlocking, he vanishes.

Damin stares at me. “It will be dangerous, Lyra.”

“And people are dying. Whatever this night brings, we get as many to safety as we can. We use the rain to hide us from sound and sight.”


Sighing, Damin starts donning boots and gear. “That was the plan. This rain is the best defence, even as it is the cause.”


Two TKC posts today!

Hi, all! Due to personal commitments yesterday, I was unable to post (or even write) the next TKC episode and therefore there will be two today :)
Watch this space!

Sunday, August 16, 2015

The King's Challenge #19

TKC 19

Mother told me the tale of the two eyes. Any colour, she said, but two different. Many fear the arrival of the two eyes, claiming witchery. Others celebrate such a birth, believing the two eyes are great healers. Both are true, Lyra, she said, but that is not the whole of the story.

This is what Damin refers to when he says I will keep survivors alive. It is about healing, but on a massive scale, using methods no one will name as traditional.

A long time ago, mother said, there was another with two eyes and she came when death was a spectre no one could ignore. Drought and famine would soon take the last. She stood on a rock in the desert and summoned rain. More than that, she summoned flakes of sustenance to feed everyone until the new harvest, and thus was civilisation saved.

How, I asked. I cannot say, Lyra, but you will know. It is inside you.

I do not yet know. All I have are legends, and they give no details. Damin became my betrothed, the only man in Grenmassin who would have me. We are childhood friends, we know each other well, and yet most were surprised when Damin approached my mother. My father died a year before, and I believe he would have said no to Damin. My mother said yes.

Now I understand why the elders of Grenmassin sent me to find Damin. He lends my words credence. He allays their fears simply by choosing to bond himself with me. The Mur name carries weight inland. They also sent me, I now realise, to test my latent gift somewhere else first.


If I fail in either gift or returning Damin to the fold, they will remain in Grenmassin. They will all die.


Saturday, August 15, 2015

Justine's Journal #52


And here we are, this is Justine's final journal entry! Next week we'll do a final post for insights :)

Week 52

And here we are at the end of our 52 week challenge! I feel strange writing this final entry, knowing it will be the last. Now I look forward to the book, for I am intrigued by how it will feel to have it in my hands at some future time, to then look back at a year in my life. We learn from our mistakes and admitting them often leads to reward, a soul’s reward.

This has been intensely satisfying. The act of forcing myself to be honest and to think has opened doors in my mind, heart and spirit, and I intend to continue doing so in my private journal. Thank you for reading. I hope you too have reached a state of acceptance of self.

We make mistakes. Often we don’t think first. Sometimes emotions cloud our perceptions. All of these are factors I have come to realise. Understanding ourselves, I believe, smooths the path we walk. It isn’t without bumps and mountains, but we are better able to deal with obstacles. Know this, though. We also have a tendency to ignore lessons learned, for our egos end up interfering. If we keep that in mind, most of the time we can pause first and then take the necessary action. If not, if we lash out without thinking, we need to understand we are human and not beat ourselves up in the aftermath. If you falter, breathe, think, and then fix.

As humans we have much to teach each other, on every level. If only the world will hear this. Let us talk to each other, listen to each other, offer a smile and project acceptance and love to all ages and creeds. If we do this, peace will be ours. Personal peace and world peace. The majority wants this – why then is peace elusive? To answer that will entail an essay of note, and I am not the one to offer it. I have not the words to explain every factor. I do have the hope we will get there one day, if only a moment at a time, a smile at a time. The road to peace begins in each of us, so concentrate on your journey.

On a more personal note, I faltered this week. My neighbour was nosey about my writing, and made those snide comments writers dread. Are you published? It takes long to write a book, doesn’t it? Seems it doesn’t pay, maybe you should get a real job … and so forth. She was speaking from her point of view, of course, having no understanding of the process. I should have explained with a smile, but I rudely told her to mind her own business. Very rudely, in fact. After, I understood her point of view and I went over to apologise. It turns out, she is writing children’s stories, and she needed someone to know that, to tell her it’s okay if it doesn’t all come magically together. Neither of us has published, but now we can laugh about it and support each other.

See? Ego. If we falter, breathe, think and then fix. Now there is peace between neighbours!

Final note, before I leave you to your future. Love yourself first. The rest comes to you when you accept yourself. And smile!


Thank you for coming on this journey with me!


Potion Post


The King's Challenge #18

TKC 18

“Dying is not an option,” Damin mutters. “We start the so-called revolution by saving the folk of the lower city from the floodwater.”

“How do you propose to do that?” I ask.

He gives me a smile. “We have been busy. We built boats and hid them. If we can get to them, we row folk to a place where the plateau is more accessible.”

It sounds like a plan, yes. It also sounds dangerous. Rowing laden boats in a flood? Attempting to get to those boats from here, with the lawmen on the look-out? Dangerous. I say so and earn a look of censure.

“What happened to the Lyra who swam the torrent back home to save a puppy?” Damin demands.

“She grew up,” I snap back. “I did not say I will not do it; I am saying it is dangerous. This too can get us killed.”

He blinks at me. “Maybe you should stay here.”

“No, I am not sitting in a cocoon while you risk your life. I need you alive and I need you to come home with me to convince the stubborn old folks to pack up and head south. So I am going with you. Argue all you want, it will help none.”

Those blue eyes stare into my soul. “I missed you,” Damin murmurs.

His words anger me. Until I showed up in his enclave, he gave me no thought and now he missed me? “Not enough to send word.” I glare at him.


“I tried, Lyra, but all post is confiscated.” He comes to sit beside me and takes my hand. “Learn a trade I said, and I did. I learned how to lead people. We need leadership desperately. We also need your talents. Lyra, I will lead them to safety, but you will keep them alive.”


Like floating candles


Friday, August 14, 2015

The King's Challenge #17

TKC 17

The silver buys us three days at the inn. Attis brings the book up and I sign us in as Lyra and Horin Parse, brother and sister. Horin is my brother, but he is only seven and is back in Grenmassin.

I hand Attis another copper for food and ask if he can find dry clothes for us. The boy absconds with a grin, taking book and coins with him.

Damin is undressing when I turn and I avert my gaze.

“Lyra, now is not the time for prudishness. Remove your wet clothes or you will be ill by nightfall,” Damin says. He throws the bed’s coverlet at me.

Prudish? Ha. I do, however, do as bid, keeping my back to him.

“Underclothes also, Lyra,” he says in amusement.

Muttering dire threats, I remove everything and wrap myself into the coverlet’s warmth before turning. He is similarly wrapped. I must admit I already feel much better. I give him a look and sit on the bed.

Damin hunkers before me. “I stayed because I saw we have need of an army. We cannot turn this tide alone, Lyra. Unfortunately, all I achieved was the fury of the authorities, for they see it as revolution. It is, but we are nor revolting against them. We seek to save everyone.”

I swallow. “Your vision is larger. I sought to save only those we love back home.”

“One rarely sees the stars here,” Damin says. “How big is it now?”

“The size of a silver,” I whisper. “Bigger daily. It is very bright.”

He slaps his thighs as he rises. “We have to get everyone south, to the heat! Can they not see we will freeze if we stay here?”


“They do not care. Those with coin have already left. We will be left to die.”


A fierce reader!


Thursday, August 13, 2015

The King's Challenge #16

TKC 16

The rain intensifies. The switchback path is already a river of mud. Slipping frequently, we run as fast as the wet slope allows.

With the end in sight, Damin veers off, seemingly entering the cliff itself. As he still has my hand, I am dragged with him.

“They will be waiting up there. If not for us, certainly for anyone from the lower city. We have a secret entrance we use to fool them.”

Who is this Damin? I ask myself, but time is of the essence. Those questions can wait. I ask instead, “They keep folk down there even knowing many will drown? That is barbaric.”

“The reality of Normur,” Damin murmurs, and finds his hidden door. “Come.”

Water seeps in rivulets into the tunnel. Given Damin’s haste, I assume it will soon be impassable. An age later, he heaves his shoulder against a trapdoor. Rainwater pours in through the seams. Grunting, he gets it open. A deluge soaks me.

Soon we are running the cobbled streets of Normur. I have recognised the tower of the inn I noticed when I first arrived and we head towards it, threading through alleys to keep it in sight. It has now rained for almost an hour. The wet season has arrived.

Bedraggled and cold, we finally knock on the backdoor of the inn. Dawn approaches; someone should be awake. As the stars will have it, Attis opens to us. His eyes round and then he gestures, rolling his eyes in every direction. With a finger to his lips, he leads us up a flight of stairs and into an empty suite.

“Can you pay?” he whispers. “I can say you came in the night and I signed you in.”


Nodding, I hand him a silver. “How long with that?”


45 Ways to avoid 'very'


Wednesday, August 12, 2015

The King's Challenge #15

TKC 15

A solid item in a heavy fist starts banging on my coffin. The din is incredible, and my entire body shakes. Almost I shove the covering upwards, seeking to end it.

I hear shouting over it and then I hear something else. It is the silence of absence, but the lack of sound does not last long, for I hear something more.

Rain.

To the stars with this. I heave the lid up employing hands and feet to remove it, to get it away. Gasping, I straighten. Never will I voluntarily clamber into a coffin again. It is the most terrifying experience, and also humiliating. Not caring about safety, I abscond the confining box for the dead.

The deadhouse interior is emptied of everything but coffins. The old man has vanished also. Rain hurtles down to drum upon the tin roof. That din I am able to live with, though.

“Damin!”

Two shaped shadows away, a lid crashes open. Damin sits up. He appears disorientated. “What is that noise?”

“Rain,” I mutter.

He stares at me. “It is raining?” Suddenly his confusion is gone and an insane kind of glee replaces it. “It is raining! That is why they went.” Then he sobers and swiftly leaves his coffin. “We must go too. If it rains more than twenty minutes, it means the wet season has arrived. It will flood within an hour and we will not reach the path to the plateau.”

This is the longest, most intense night of my life, but it is not yet over. I drag my cloak free and swing it on. “Then let us go.”

Flashing his grin, Damin takes my hand and heads for the door. No one is in the vicinity.

“Lyra, now we run until we are above this.”


We run.


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