#hallendrest

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Find the word

Thank you for the tag @avrablake :)

I'll pass tags on to: @toribookworm22, @ryns-ramblings, @beachback and @ladywithalamp

If you want to your words are: Hope, determine, blue, morning and none.

My words were: Metal, Dash, Outer, Pressure, and Frown.

I only have one of those in Hallendrest, so I'm gonna use The Shadow of Vale also.

Metal: (From The Shadow of Vale)

              “It’s exciting to have someone from Earth in the castle. I mean, you aren’t really from Earth, but all the same.  You know more about it than anyone else here, I am sure. Beside Halvar of course.”

              Zuriel remained silent, not sure how to respond. 

              Undeterred, Chiron continued, “The magicless realm that made their own magic.  I hear it’s a remarkable place.” He turned suddenly to walk beside Zuriel, “Is it true they fly in great metal bird contraptions?”

              Zuriel smiled, infected by Chiron’s childlike enthusiasm.  “Yeah.  They’re called planes.”

Dash Rush (From Hallendrest)

              Kallias fell against the door and waited for his stomach to settle enough for him to cross the room to his bathroom. He closed his eyes but opened them again when the effect was simply to feel the world spinning. He pushed off the door and rushed across the room making it to the toilet just in time for his stomach to reject the pitiful offering he’d made it at breakfast.

Outer (From The Shadow of Vale)

              “They have elemental magic.  Most breath fire, as you said, but many can also summon ice, water, and lightening.  That is why I want you to link a dragon.  As you learn your magics, you will have an understanding of theirs that goes beyond what any naim could.” Agur paused briefly before opening an exterior door and continuing on to a courtyard. 

              “Where do I keep it?” Zuriel asked as he caught up to the wizard near a door in the outer wall. 

              “Keep it?  It’s a dragon, it will live where it chooses.  Probably in the forest.”

              “Do I have to feed it?”

              This brought a laugh from Agur, “No, dragons care for themselves.  They aren’t pets.”               Still confused, Zuriel followed Agur through the door. 

Pressure (The Shadow of Vale)

Zuriel could only shake his head. “I don’t, I don’t…” He closed his eyes; the world had begun to dim.

“Zuriel?” Aila called to him.

“I’m alright. I’m just, dizzy,” he broke off, falling onto his knees, then back to a seated position. Halvar hurried forward as he collapsed.

“He pushed it too hard. Bleeding powder isn’t meant for that size of a wound, or that amount of blood pressure.” He pressed his hands against the wound calling for the medics.

Frown (From Hallendrest)

              “That’s very encouraging.” Prince Narvi said with a grin in response to something Kedar had mentioned.

              Travastol frowned at the prince and let out a sigh. “That’s far less than we anticipated. We’ve just added Hastow as a providence and soon Adullam will join us.” His brow creased further, which struck Kallias as he wasn’t sure he could frown any deeper. “That’s a lot of mouths to feed while magic continues to sap the life from our world.”

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Six Sentence Sunday

Thank you so much for the tag @toboldlywrite!

Sundays have become one of the only days I consistently write so here are six lines from my work yesterday in Hallendrest.

“I made vows to you that I cannot keep.” Reena took a breath to steady herself. “You mean to keep me at a distance with other women.” Kallias frowned, “No. I mean that I made promises about ruling with you and seeing after your safety. Things that sound normal to the public, vows they expect their king to make, but vows which I am powerless to keep.”

I'll tag, no pressure: @andromeda-grace, @ashen-crest, @dustylovelyrun, @permissiontobreathe, and @axl-ul

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First Seven Lines Tag

I got tagged twice for this, so thank you to both @avrablake and @j-1173

Rules: post the first 7 lines of something - it can be a WIP, a chapter, a scene, anything.

For one I will share the first 7 lines of Reena's first POV in the Hallendrest story:

              Reena pushed back a strand of her dark brown hair as she read back the last few lines she had written. Satisfied, she continued writing out the ideas she had for the remodel of her rooms. For the first time in months her mind was occupied by something that didn’t fill her with a sense of dread and helplessness. She gave herself to the task completely. So much so that she failed to hear the repeated knocks at her door.

              “Reena?”

              The princess paused her writing and looked to her brother who stood in the door way.

And for a change of pace, the first 7 lines of Callan's POV in Claws of God.

              I tried not to roll my eyes when Phoebe read the caption above 2 Timothy 3. It was the actual last days, and that somehow made me want to avoid any scripture that had anything to do with it. I knew that was stupid. They had literally never been more relevant, but I still felt like it was uninspired. Were we digging through it because we though it mattered, or did it just seem like what we should be doing?

              Who were we to say it really mattered? We can’t stop it.

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Hallendrest scribbles

In celebration of getting this story past 20k I decided to share some scribbles.

              Reena watched as her guards with three of the others made their way back toward their rooms. The mood shifted immediately as they made their way in the opposite direction. There was a sort of smugness that settled over their guides while Kallias seemed to grow increasingly pale and nervous.

              They descended a stairwell and Reena noticed that there was no décor in this part of the castle. The walls were blank, the floors simple and even the door they came to at the bottom of the stairs looked dull.  She looked to Kallias and found with a start that he was now being dragged by one of the guards as he tried to pull away. His ashen face stared wide eyed ahead.

              Reena looked with her own pulse quickening and saw an old man dressed in the elaborate blue and gold robes of the council step out from the shadows. His wrinkled face bore a cruel smirk.

              “So, you do still understand the consequences of disobedience.” The man said with a shockingly powerful voice. “It seemed you had forgotten.”

              “I wasn’t disobeying,” Kallias said adamantly. “I only delayed.”

              “Hmm,” the man said looking down his nose at the king. He turned and opened the door from which Kallias flinched once more. He glanced back briefly before stepping into the passage beyond.

              The group started forward at once with the guards pulling Kallias along while Reena moved forward on numb legs. Beyond the door was an unfinished passage with a dirt floor, rough stone walls and lights hung in a string nailed inelegantly along the top of the wall at unequal distances both from each light and the ceiling.

              In the narrow passage, Kallias was led before her with the guard on his right still gripping his arm though he had stopped trying to pull away. Reena glanced to her side and behind her and found she was also surrounded by grim-faced guards with the councilmen following behind. Ahead she could see a rough wooden door before which Travastol stood waiting. When the group drew near, he opened the door and slipped inside.

              As the guard brought Kallias near the doorway, he pulled back once more, turning away. A feeble and involuntary attempt at flight. His eyes met Reena’s for just a moment; they were filled with fear and regret.

              With the flinch of an escape attempt over, Kallias walked beside the guard through the door and Reena behind allowed herself to be corralled into the same room.

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First lines tag

Thanks for the tag @kaiusvnoir

Rules: Post the first line/paragraph from your current wip(s).

I'll do my two most active projects that have first lines written. (I'd include The Shadow of Vale, but it is currently in a strictly outline form so there is no first line for it at the moment.)

For Hallendrest:

              King Kallias Adlay sat enthroned before a long table in a luxurious, but somewhat close mezzanine.  He looked over the councilmen and their apprentices as they sized up the latest addition to their kingdom of Vonterre: Prince Narvi of Hastow.

For The Elker Rex:

              Edmund watched Sara with interest as she turned the smooth round onion into a pile of tear inducing slivers.

              “Need me to do another?” She asked, using the knife to point to the pile of onions.

              Edmund shook his head. Prepping food was a step up and he didn’t want to appear as though he wasn’t able to do it, though he could tell by the burning of his eyes and the tears on Sara’s face that he had been given the worst of the prepping tasks. He hadn’t expected much else. He was a Rex boy. No name, no family, no prospects.

No pressure tags for: @j-1173, @authortobenamedlater, and @catkin-morgs

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Find the Word

Thank you for the tag @toribookworm22!

I will tag @beachback, @lovely-ashes09, @wordswrittenbynight, @aohendo, @emelkae if you so wish your words are:

Frank, odor, light, board, and grey.

My words were: Yes, gone, double, teeth and staple.

Yes (fun fact I thought I used Yes excessively, but it was all the eyes.)

              Sitara clasped her hands before her as her blush faded, “It is regarding my brother, your majesty.”

              “Zane, yes.” He cut in, tilting his head slightly.

              “Yes, my lord,” she nodded, “he is nearing the end of his probation and I know the word of the king would do a great deal in helping him become a full apprentice.”

              Kallias stood studying her in silence until her cheeks flushed once more and her eyes drifted from his steady gaze. He noticed with interest that her eyes wandered to his right, toward his bed.

Gone

              “We know.” Berquist, the other chair seated beside Travastol opposite Khalid wiped his mouth and tossed the napkin on his empty plate as a servant hurried forward to collect it. “You can’t rule a kingdom of this size without understanding basic concepts of politics.”

              “I didn’t mean to imply you didn’t.” The prince muttered; all of his confidence now gone.

              Kallias grinned and looked out to the floor below as the music struck up, finishing the phrase it had broken off in the middle of some half hour earlier.

Double

This word is missing from the draft so an interesting fact about Hallendrest is most of the history since the founding of Vonterre has been falsified. Most people don't realize it's being done.

Teeth

              “It-” The king began but was cut off by another servant at the door.

              “Your majesty, you are needed in the council chambers.”

              King Adlay ground his teeth slightly as he turned. “I’ll be there shortly.”

              Unperturbed by the growling reply of his king, the servant gave a slight bow and turned on his heel to deliver the king’s reply.               Kallias took a deep breath and returned to the prince and princess. “Forgive me, you’ve arrived on a rather difficult day.”

 Staple

This word is also missing. So another fun fact, Hallendrest is my youngest WIP and was the result of random world building.

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I wrote today. Here's some scribbles.

On the last day of the journey, Reena sat up as she realized the number of plants wasn’t tapering off as it had in the other lands. In fact, they were growing denser. Trees began to line the streets. Strips of grass and flowers decorated the spaces before the buildings. As the buildings grew closer together, they seemed to find more imaginative ways to include lush green plants. Many of the buildings were decorated with plants growing over the sides of the walls. Even the trees often had flowering vines curling around the trunks and lower branches.

“Welcome to Kalt.” Kedar said with a slight smile noting the princess’ reaction.

“Its alive.” She half-whispered, smiling despite herself. Hearing of the wealth and bounty of Kalt had done nothing to prepare her for the sight of it. The buildings were beautiful, the streets were clean, and there was green everywhere.

“This is the goal, what we wish for all of Vonterre to be. It’s a hard road.”

Reena only half listened as she pressed against the window, trying to see more of the tall buildings that now loomed over them resplendently. The carriage paused in some thick traffic as they neared the palace. The streets were packed with people as well as other carriages.

The carriage inched forward until she could see down a street into a sort of court yard which seemed to be the center of the bustle. The place all the people were pushing to get to. There were stands and banners that kept her from seeing what was happening on the stage, though she could see a young girl sitting in a cage just on the edge of the platform. She looked around the stands and spotted the royal flag of Vonterre hanging on a high tower. She could just make out the stern expression of the man seated in it. Kallias.

She shivered as the carriage came free of the crowd and moved down the road allowing the buildings to block her view again. She had been so intoxicated with the beauty of the city she nearly forgot why she had come to Kalt. She was to marry King Kallias, the brutal, unhappy man perched over the spectacle.

“What was that?” Reena asked, finally turning from the window.

“Order being maintained. Hallendrest being protected.” Kedar’s expression grew cold for a moment.

Reena frowned.

“An execution. Its important the people understand the severity of what magic is doing to our world.”

Reena turned back to the window, though the beauty was somewhat deadened as she thought of the girl on the platform.

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From Hallendrest story

Toying with dropping the first draft which I never completed and revising it as it’s already changed a great deal from when I began it. This is a snippet from my ideas for the restart.

             Taking his seat, Kallias looked sternly at the modestly dressed pair of elders before his throne. He recognized the woman’s face, but couldn’t place it at first.

             “Your majesty,” The woman said and they both bowed deeply to their king before pleading their case.

             Kallias steeled himself, he remembered her now. She was from Kadyn. A small town which he had ordered destroyed after seven members of their community were handed over for execution for use of magic. There was one final execution scheduled. That of the child they had been protecting which had been the justification of the destruction order. The order which had not been rescinded despite her capture and pending death.

             “We come before you,” she began, “to appeal to your great mercy. Helia is just a child, she doesn’t understand the damage of what she has done. We can train-”

             “Enough!” Kallias cut her off, more to spare himself than anything. He couldn’t revoke the order. He forced a wave of revulsion aside and continued. “Hallendrest is dying. Vonterre is the last haven where life thrives and it is due to the struct order we keep. Perhaps she could be reformed,” he grabbed the arms of his throne to keep his hands from shaking, “but who would see that and take it as a free pass? How many crops would fail? How many would starve as a result?” He sat back, looking coolly at her.

             “But you’ll still destroy us.” She said softly.

             “We are not sneaking in the night. You have until the execution to flee Vonterre.”

             “To die in the gray land.” Her eyes seemed to be filled with fire as they met those of her king.

             “Kendra,” the man took the woman’s arm softly. “The king has spoken.”

             She kept her eyes locked on his for a moment longer before allowing herself to be led away.

             Kallias watched them until they turned the corner out of sight. He took deep slow breaths to calm himself and control his pitching stomach. He turned to the guard the council had sent. “Is there any other matter for me to address?”

             “No, my lord.” His lip twitched slightly, as if he wished to smirk but thought better of it.

             Kallias glared at the man briefly before standing. “Then I’ll be in my chambers should there be need of me again.”

             When he returned to his chambers, he found Gavriel lounging in one of his chairs having helped himself to some wine.

             Gavriel grinned and finished his glass before standing and returning to his corner.

             “That was unnecessary.” Kallias growled settling back into his favorite chair.

             “After your escapades, the council thought you needed and reminder of your duties.”

             Kallias looked up at the drapery on the wall before him. It bore the image of his father, Kaisar Adlay, in a regal pose, the crown of Vonterre on his head. He shuttered, recalling his first introduction to his duties.