» Imraa led me through the palace with a bounce in her step. Just as her smile, her laugh, this excitement that seeped out of her, even if it was subtle, was contagious. She did not tell me where she would bring me, but I knew she had a plan, I sensed it, and I did not ask. Something in me trusted her. I shouldn't be following her. I should stay away from her, as far as I could. This path was wrong, and yet I walked it, pushed away all that had threatened to crush me these past days. «
❖ Evara Galetha | 26 years old, oryth mage (”second tier” mage), bisexual (leaning towards women), middle child, war survivor, stepdaughter of a sovereign, artist, taught herself herb lore, troubled, resilient, adaptable, open-minded, liar
❖ Imraa Haleesa | 23 years old, Princess of Baduraan (third in line, two older siblings), bisexual, trained in combat/sword fighting since a young age (like every royal), “rebel princess”, charming, curious, selfless, tries to see the good in people
Despite being awfully tired these last days and fighting a migraine, I did manage to write more than I thought. I’m still doing this more casually, without setting myself a real goal, though my daily goal is 300 words and so far I’ve surpassed it every day. This WIP doesn’t have an intro yet or a title, but here’s a few snippets anyway!
Day 1
“You did it,” he said, coming to a halt beside me. His fingers folded like mine on the balustrade. Scars ran along his right hand. The same scars that spread over my left arm and shoulder. Skin scorched by magic.
I breathed in the crisp gust that swirled around us and made the door to my chambers snap shut. “Did what?” I asked, trying to sound nonchalant, even if I knew what he meant.
Day 2
For a long while I had to live without it, without him. But leaving was the right choice. A choice I had made that day when victory calls filled the air that was still thick with the smell of death.
Day 3
My skin prickled. Whenever I came here, I felt watched, as though the gods looked right through me and knew every single emotion of mine, every thought I ever had, every movement I ever did, every action I hadn't dared to do. A sense of shame swelled in me.
Swallowing against the lump in my throat, I touched the Callahan, let my palm rest against the cool stone.
I was tagged by @bebewrites and @ellatholmes. Thank you! I’m doing this for my Camp Nano project, Sage and Spirit.
Here are they in order of appearance:
Evara and Ephelian (her step-brother)
“You did it,” he said, coming to a halt beside me. His fingers folded like mine on the balustrade.
“Did what?” I asked, trying to sound nonchalant, even if I knew what he meant.
Ethyra (Evara’s sister)
With her leather glove, she pointed behind me. “He was my father, too.”
“Oh, was he? That took you many years to realise.”
Dimanor (the antagonist)
Instantly, my mood darkened as my step-father walked through the door. His visits were never a good sign. “Evara,” he greeted with a smile.
Imraa
“You will catch a cold, stranger,” said a voice behind me. It was rich and laced with a smile.
Senan
“Ah!” The man grinned, gaze darting between Imraa and me. “So you did find her.” Find her? Me?
Jirani
“It lies close to Maraza,” said Jirani before I could answer, though not looking at me but her brother. [...] “Though your dialect sounds northern.” With those words, her gaze slid to me, inquiringly.
I’m tagging: @weaver-of-fantasies-and-fables, @howdywrites, @akindofmagictoo, @dontcrywrite, @caillevch and @the-orangeauthor | Feel free to ignore.
Thoughts: Final Day! I did it! I managed to write every single day, and with each day I delved deeper into this story and world. I didn’t set a goal for myself, but I’m happy that I reached 36k. I also didn’t have an outline and only had some vague ideas when I started writing, but during camp nano I learned so much about this story and it was a fun experience. My next goal? Keep writing and hopefully finish the first draft!
To celebrate, here’s a little longer snippet of some platonic banter between Evara and Ounira
(tw for injury on abdomen)
With a cautious movement, I removed her bandage and she flinched under my touch.
“Damn you. Why are your hands always so cold?”
“Oh, forgive me.” I rubbed them together, and for a brief moment I let my magic seep into my fingers and palms to warm them.
Ounira grimaced. “Sometimes I believe you're doing that on purpose, to torture me.”
“I've come to treat you, not torture you. Now, sit still.”
I knelt before her and inspected her wound. It had healed nicely. She had been fortunate that the creature hadn't slashed too deep into her flesh, yet no ointment could prevent a long scar. A mage healer would have been able to prevent it if they had treated her in time, but that was not my power. Oryth mages could become healers if they were trained properly, but Dimanor had wanted to make a weapon of me instead.
“You have a gentle touch,” said Ounira. “If I didn't know better, I would think you wanted to seduce me.”
Slightly tilting my head to the side, I glanced up to her through my eyelashes. “First you say I want to torture you. Now you believe I want to seduce you. I have to disappoint you that the latter is just as incorrect.”
She grinned down at me. “Pity.”
There was another scar, much higher just below her last left rib. A clean, straight line the length of a finger. It hadn't been my business to ask, but today my curiosity got the better of me. “How did you get that other scar?” I asked as I applied the cooling ointment to her sore skin. A scab had already formed on some places, the skin fresh and deep pink at the edges where it already had crumbled.
Ounira followed my gaze as though she had forgotten it was there. “Oh, that.” Her voice was a wry sound. “I was stabbed.”
I stilled. “Stabbed?”
“Let's just say I knew the wrong people. I was sixteen.”
Grabbing the clean bandage, I continued my work and wrapped it around her torso. “And did you repay them?”
She gasped, a sound that couldn't have sounded more feigned. “How dare you imply I took revenge?”
I looked her in the eye. “Believe me, I would be the last to judge you.”
“So you're familiar with the concept?”
“Familiar with the thought, yes. Unfamiliar with the action.”
I was tagged by @zmlorenz to find these lovely words: soft, hug, hold, and gentle. This is for Sage and Spirit. Sadly, there isn’t too much softness in this story yet, and Evara is having a hard time, but it will come! Also you wanted tenderness so I’m giving you two for soft cause the only instance for gentle actually contains some angst...
soft I
“You should rest now.” Imraa's voice was soft as she approached me, her eyes, her beautiful brown eyes had a sheen of worry. “Falling from a horse might not knock you out, but I see it does affect you in some way. You are not as good at hiding it as you believe you are.” She offered me her hand. “Come.”
“Once again your concern for me is rather touching,” I said, and couldn't keep the smirk from tugging at my lips. Did she remember our first conversation? Why did I?
soft II
She leaned closer, her warm, bitter breath on my skin. Then her lips brushed against mine, carefully but curious. A taste so bitter and yet so sweet.
Oh gods, I truly was doomed. Utterly doomed. I had asked the gods for a sign, but this couldn't be it. My fingers were on her soft cheek, found their way into her hair, my lips yearning for hers.
hug embrace
Now it was me smiling at him as I pulled away and put a hand on his shoulder. “You are the only reason I stayed this long.”
“And yet you want to leave.”
“And yet I have to leave.” Once more I embraced him, and he squeezed me a little too tightly, how he often did when we were younger and he wanted to show me how strong he had become.
hold
A warmth spread from my inner core. “I am a mystery? I always thought of myself as an open book.”
“A book of which I have read only the first chapter.”
I lifted my chin and smirked. “Perhaps I will let you read the second.”
“It would be an honour.” Imraa bowed her head, placed a hand to her heart. “Good night, stranger.”
“Good night.”
She swirled around and marched towards the gates that were obscured by the night. I strode into the opposite direction, holding the ring still tightly, and turned my head once. Imraa did the same.
I’m tagging: @ellatholmes, @wickerring, @vesrayn, @viskafrer and @akindofmagictoo (I know you always have a lot of tag games, but rarely from me ;) ) Your words are: night, spark, carry and soft (because I also want some softness)
I was tagged by @akindofmagictoo, but I don’t have all words, so I will just combine all your tags and choose a few. Up, hit, wriggle, crack, salt, fire, sleep, fray, find, river, rock, slide. Thank you!
These are from my Camp Nano project Sage and Spirit.
Up
And then she looked my way. Not angered or startled, but rather curious. She smiled, and despite that she had caught me and my face was aflame, I held her gaze and returned the smile. For a silly moment, I thought of standing up and walking over to her. If I was here for a different reason, I might have done just that. But I couldn't let myself get distracted, no matter how beautiful she was.
Hit
Magic could do horrific things to bodies. When I had failed to keep my shield up and a blast had hit my left arm, I could have lost it, could have lost my life. How I was still walking with merely a few scars, I still could not fathom. Something had saved me that day. Someone.
Fire
An invisible force pushed me back, so hard that I landed on my back. All air was knocked out of my lungs. A groan escaped me and I couldn't move for a moment. I rolled on my side, forced my legs to carry me. Through my body still buzzed magic, not mine but [redacted]. It seethed like fire.
River + Crack + Rock
The trees even climbed the side of the rocks, but the steepness looked deadly for anyone walking on two legs. From the left wound a river through the fields and led into the city. But there was something else slithering beside the river, something I didn't notice at first glance. A slim crack in the ground that seemed to follow the water behind the walls. Goosebumps crept across my skin. I knew what it was.
Find
They must have a library, an archive. Perhaps I could find something. Anything. I shouldn't feel this way, shouldn't care about these people that were not my folk, and yet I did and loathed myself a little bit for it. I belonged nowhere. Not the lands my stepfather ruled and not here, not anywhere.
I’m tagging @ellatholmes, @bebewrites, @siarven, @howdywrites and @magnoliaash. Your words are: free, year, soft and quick.
Am I the only one confused about all these different line tags recently? Anyway, thanks so much to @zmlorenz, @cyruswrites, @weaver-of-fantasies-and-fables and @chazzawrites for tagging me! :) This is from my camp nano project, Sage and Spirit!
“Ah yes, the stray princess.” Her chuckle was a humourless sound. “She better keep her ass in the palace instead of wandering through the city. One day she'll get herself killed.” Dark curls twirling around her face, her head shot around to me. “Don't tell anyone I said that.” I lifted a hand to assure her I won't. “She's a rebel, nothing like her sister. Her life in the palace is exquisite, but for some reason she rather spends her time outside.”
If she wasn't a rebel, I would have never met her. Yet Onira's words made me curious.
I’m tagging: @dreamsofbooksandmonsters, @astridmayewrites, @sedonawritess, @vesrayn and @stardustspiral | Feel free to ignore :)
Rules: Post any line or paragraph, regardless of quality and without context, just because you can, because you want to.
I was tagged by @zmlorenz and @akindofmagictoo. Thank you both! :) Here’s part of a little fun dialogue I wrote yesterday.
Tiny snowflakes drifted through the air as we strolled through the streets. They were stark against Senan's dark hair. He asked me if I had tried a tajos yet, and when I said no, he vanished into a bakery and returned with a steaming … thing. It was dough, twisted to resemble a flower.
“Shi'saara's speciality,” he said, grinning. “Can't find it anywhere else, but here.” I reached for my pouch, but he waved a hand. “Not for that.”
“Thank you.” The pastry was so warm, so soft that my fingers sunk into it. Its sweet smell crept up my nose.
I’m tagging: @writingrosesonneptune, @ashen-crest, @chishiio, @vesrayn and @chauceryfairytales, and anyone else who wants to share some lines! :)
