I managed to finish Chapter 4 "Lord of Bloodshed and Lady Death" for the final day of @cassianappreciationweek! This chapter depicts Cassian and Nesta the night before the battle with Hybern's army at the Winter Court.
Start from chapter 1, read the new chapter, or find a snippet below!
Cassian’s blood hummed with the coming battle, his body still writing with their victory in the Summer Court. It wasn’t the first of this war, but it was certainly one of the most important. Hybern’s attack against Summer had been swift and vicious, the Prythian forces winning by a narrow margin - too narrow for his liking. Then they’d learned Hybern was headed to Winter.
The march had been brutal, transporting that many soldiers and supplies across courts was a logistical nightmare. Cassian had refused to fly ahead until the last stretch, not wanting to leave his men unguarded.
And now they had one night to camp, one night to try and rest from their northern push before they could fight once more. Rhysand’s glamor still held, so at least they’d have the element of surprise.
Finish the chapter on AO3.
Let me know if you want on or off the taglist! @born-to-riot @chunkypossum @bubybubsters @queercontrarian @yams-77 @fieldofdaisiies @iftheshoef1tz @secret-third-thing @jules-writes-stories @the-darkestminds @climbthemountain2020 @amalhe-kofee @molcat07 @sleepyy-ollie @astra-aeterna @popjunkie42
For @cassianappreciationweek day 6, I'm posting the first three chapters of this fic! "Bound By Braids" is a 5+1 story depicting Cassian's life from when he started training to after the Battle of Hybern told through the Illyrian culture of hair braiding. Today you get:
Ch 1: The Conscript and The Mother
Ch 2: The Hopeful and The Haunted
Ch 3: The General and The Orphan
This fic has no beta, we die like Cassian's soldiers.
Use the link above to start the first chapter, or read a snippet of it below! Stay tuned for chapters 4-6 hopefully tomorrow.
Cold air whipped through his hair as Cassian pulled himself from the freezing mud that formed the fighting pits. Boys at the side of the rink pointed and laughed while CAssian pulled at his curls, trying to tuck them back into the leather he’d cut from the hem of his pants that morning. He’d seen the tightly coiled braids the other boys had come to the rink with, butt try as he might, he couldn’t make his hair cooperate. He wasn’t even sure how to twist the strands together, or how many strands it would take, to form the intricate designs adorning some of their heads. The braids were tight, regimented, screaming of rank and ritual, things he hadn’t ever been taught.
If you asked Cassian why he had started training, he would say it’s because that’s what an Illyrian man is supposed to do. Because he wanted to be a warrior, the best warrior. He would never admit that he joined camp as an orphan with no parents or guardians to send him away because the snack they received between morning and afternoon sessions was the only food he was ever guaranteed in a day. While the rest of the boys prayed to the Mother for Sunday to come, Cassian dreaded it. That was the only day without practice, which meant it could be a day without food at all.
Logically, he knew that without more food there was no way he would ever become the kind of warrior he claimed to want to grow into. But Cassian had bigger problems. In the summer, it was easy. Animals roved the trees for food, leading him to edible vegetables before he butchered them for his supper. Then the fall came, and nuts fell from the trees, full of nutrients. Animals made their last desperate efforts to get food before hibernating. As the frost fell, sending the animals to hiding and killing off most of the roughage, Cassian felt the dread set in. Winter meant cold, and even less food than before. He’d used the too-worn leather from his tent the year prior to make his only training clothes—a set of pants intentionally too big so no one would see if he lost weight, and so he’d have room to grow if he ever got enough fuel to do so.
Finish the fic on AO3.
Let me know if you want on or off the taglist! @born-to-riot @chunkypossum @bubybubsters @queercontrarian @yams-77 @fieldofdaisiies @iftheshoef1tz @secret-third-thing @jules-writes-stories @the-darkestminds @climbthemountain2020 @amalhe-kofee @molcat07 @sleepyy-ollie @astra-aeterna @popjunkie42
