3seed

74. Grace and Memory

Note: there's a reference to family violence in this chapter. I've marked the relevant paragraph with ^^^ for those who may wish to skip over it.

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The bowl was polished mahogany, like the one that taught me the Healing Water spell, except shallower. The style felt similar though, like they’d been shaped by the same artist. The design on the inside was similar too. It depicted a snake’s body curving around the bowl’s rim, the head diving inwards toward...

73. An Unexpected Gift

Sheedi toured the glen to look for a good place for the shrine. I followed along and steered her away from anything that might disturb the pool. Those were Ikfael’s instructions to me prior to the villagers’ arrival.

We settled on a spot just above the deer thicket to the south The idea was that it’d be a small, fortified building with a room for a statue of Ikfael and a couple of smaller rooms for storage. Tucking the shrine into the hillside, though, would allow the artisans to ...

72. A Spy in the Glen

The next few days were uncomfortable. Otwei’s presence in the glen was a barb under my skin, but then, I had a barb under hers as well. Only, she didn’t know it.

The portion of uekisheile inside Otwei spied on her intentions and ensured she didn’t plan to harm any of the residents. The spy also, ironically, made the time Otwei spent in the glen deeply satisfying. Because she was bored--so incredibly, out of her skull numb with boredom--she filled her time by practicing her qi spel...

71. A Weapon at the Ready

The next morning, I arrived early at the Hunter’s Lodge, but Inleio was at his desk instead of training a hunter. He must’ve seen the disappointment on my face.

“The day after a hunt is a good day to rest,” he said, “but it’s also good to be young and hungry.” He grabbed his spear, and we headed out back.

Inleio was right about the need for occasional rest to reflect and recover, so we took it easy. The exercise was more intellectual than physical; moving through the...

70. Truths and Visitations

We waited an hour beside the gap between boulders. I spent the time thinking about kevlar gloves, the kind used by veterinarians to deal with feral cats. Not that they’d actually protect my arms from something like a blynx’s claws...unless maybe they were stitched with small sections of iron? Like brigandine, but smaller? No, that’d make them too heavy. Bone might work, though. Or lacquered wood, like the samurai used.

The other thing I considered was the blynx’s ability to...we...

69. Don't Blynx

The Family’s evening meal was interrupted by someone clapping outside the door. “It is Ghitha. I come with the gift of meat.”

Aluali paused his story about being dared to put his head inside Jesei the giant dog’s mouth by one of the neighbor kids. From the proud expression on his face, my guess was that he’d succeeded, but I wouldn’t know for sure until the story’s conclusion. I gestured to him to wait and got up to open the door.

Ghitha and Banan stood outside, the ...

68. The Hunt Day

A handful of teams were already gathered in the lodge’s courtyard. They busily checked over their gear, while making small talk. Their actions were familiar and easy going, but there was also an intensity of attention. The hunters honed blades, oiled leather, tightened straps, and made sure every other detail was attended to.

Billisha and Aluali recognized the mood in the air. They wished me a safe hunt and left, so that I could get to work. We’d caught up during the walk to the Hun...

67. Title TBD

Woldec and Kiertie’s bodies laid beside each other in the big room I’d taken to calling the Main Hall. The space was bigger than I remembered, and I walked around, playing the light from the candlestone along the floor and walls.

Evidence remained of our battle--places where Woldec’s zombie had manipulated the stone with his Earth-Touched Talent. A handful of spikes rose from the ground. The shattered remains of stone javelins cluttered the ground.

The room was peaceful now,...

66. Knowledge is Power

Since it was just me and Ikfael in the glen, the uekisheile could hang out in the open as much as they wanted. I spent the next few days looking like a miniature fuschia bigfoot as a result; their tufts all over my face, arms, torso, and legs. They enjoyed the freedom, as well as the opportunity to eat different kinds of qi again. I mean, I was still the most delicious, but the fish and small game I caught were also good.

We were a little tentative with each other at first, and we did o...

65. Growing Pains

Ikfael’s response to my story was unexpected--that is to say, she didn’t have much of one. All she did was to glance sideways at me, her expression reminiscent of my daughter Alex when she was teen--a mixture of “why are you so weird”, “how do you get into these situations”, and “I told you so”. 

I thought she’d react more. After all, Ikfael was wary of the uekisheile when I first brought them home. She kept her distance for four-five days before eventually decidi...

64. Making Deals, Making Donuts

Mumu escorted me to Biheila’s place. The rest of the village was still training their Militia Arts, so the paths between longhouses were as empty as before. We didn’t talk much. I could tell she had questions, but she was sensitive enough to know I wasn’t in the mood for chitchat. 

At Biheila’s, I checked over my backpack to make sure everything was in order for the trip back to the glen. That meant looking over the supplies for making Ikfael’s donuts. While I was busy wi...

Eight: Knowledge Base

Inspired by comments on Royal Road, I put together a knowledge base for the novel. The information includes details like the currency and calendar systems, but there's also a cast list, the spells and beasts Eight knows about, and even a handful of Diaksh proverbs.

The things included are those that Eight has learned about, although there are a few details that haven't made it into the novel yet.

2020-05-23 18:18:13 +0000 UTC View Post

63. Ghosts and Consequences

The fields outside of Voorhei’s gate were full of people, the whole of the village practicing their Militia Arts. To the right, the villagers took turns to cast arrows at a string of archery butts. To the left, the villagers marshalled with long spears to practice their formations. I noted how every second spear had lugs below the spearhead to keep an injured animal from working its way down the shaft to attack the wielder.

People called out to Mumu as we walked past. A few waved to m...

62. An Uncomfortable Talent

Note: I tweaked Chapter 61, starting from when Eight dreamed of the Deer God. The events are the same, but the tone is now more in keeping with what I originally intended. The post's been updated with the changes.

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“Do you have bad dreams often?” Mumu asked.

We sat across from each other, the moonlight falling around us. I still felt harrowed from dreaming of the Deer God, but my heart was my own again. That is to say, I’d calmed down. Mostly. ...

61. Gift and Opportunity

The kids were up early to help me get ready, which was good because I could barely move from being sore all over. At the other end of the longhouse, Aluali brought a jug of frothy goat’s milk, still warm. Billisha ladled corn porridge into a bowl for me. 

The porridge was chunky with blue potatoes and dotted with flecks of meat. The potatoes were a nice find, and I’d asked the kids to buy some so that we could fry them up later.

“Tomorrow is the end of the tenday,” Bi...

60. The Hunter's Lodge Gossips

In the late afternoon, the lodge bustled with activity. Groups of hunters chatted as they cared for their weapons and tools. The murmur of conversation was punctuated by the twang of bowstrings from the courtyard behind the lodge. The place smelled of oil, iron, blood, and guts.

Two of the butchering tables were occupied. On one, a deer was getting skinned. On the other, three badgers were laid out, their fur streaked orange and red, like the paint job on an old hot rod, flames coursing...

59. Gift and Curse

When I was a kid--it must’ve been the fourth grade, because the assignment was for Mrs. Magilicutty--I had to write a report on the courthouse in downtown Portland. Mi abuela offered to take me, which surprised everyone in the family until she showed them a year-old letter informing her that she needed to review some paperwork for her green card.

That wasn’t a fun day. The two of us went from office to office, and I had to translate the frustrated requests of the civil servants into...

58. Intent

The next morning, I found Inneioleia and Haoleise training in the courtyard behind the Hunter’s Lodge. The sun wasn’t up yet, and a fine mist blanketed the village, muffling the sounds of people readying themselves for another day in the fields. With “hups” and “hahs”, the two hunters struck at each other, the air around their spears distorted by Spiral Pierce.

Never did I wish for a camera more. Their movements were beautiful--not quite wire fu, but damn close. And more imp...

What spell should Eight choose?

I have my choice, but I want to know your thoughts. Which one should Eight pick? Please mark your top three selections.

(Also, my thanks to Adrian Gorgey for inspiring this poll.)

57. A Little Pot Full of Questions

Everyone who participated in the hunt received a share of the bounty--five eltaak, plus another five for the meat, hide, bones, and razors--for a total pool of ten eltaak.

Mulallamu and Haoleise each got two extra shares for leading the party and dealing the killing blow. Integnei received an extra share for teaching the apprentices. That left two eltaak for me and Teila, the other apprentice. Except, Mulallamu and Haoliese each voluntarily gave up half a share to me for finding signs o...

56. Initiation II

On the way back to Voorhei, I came across a mountain lion’s tracks at the village’s border. They showed the animal pacing at the boundary before heading into the woods. I followed for a quarter mile, just to make sure it wasn’t lingering in the area, and found a helter skelter of slashes in the bark of a cedar tree. I took a chliapp lion’s razor and fit it perfectly into one of the grooves.

“Shazbot.”

Time to withdraw. I clung more closely to at one with the land 2020-04-04 17:34:52 +0000 UTC View Post