I promised to write a post today, did I? Really? Why did I do that?
I just got home, and now I'm cooking and eating and blogging and showering at the same time, because I need to be back in the city in an hour and a half, because I'm gonna go see Gravity.
And I'm not yet sure how I'm gonna spend the rest of the day, so I'm gonna have to write now, even though I have no time. So it is going to be a short post. But I'm pretty sure it's ok, we have written enough for the year. Beginning next year is all yours. I will be waiting for Friday.
I have a few things to say about the story we wrote. I just don't remember any of it right now. But I'm gonna try.
First. I'm just curious. Did you see the mom coming? I'm basically asking because neither of the two people I know have read the whole thing didn't. Not at all. I don't see how that's possible, because there was enough talk about the mom all the way through the story that there had to be something bigger about the mom coming up later. The point is that the only thing I knew from the very beginning is that the mom will have something to do with what happens in the end. After it was established there was a Queen, it was clear that's her. Or at latest when the Freedom Fighters showed up. Or in general, what did you expect to happen in different parts of the story?
Second. How are the pictures coming along? We want pictures!
Third. You never commented on printing the story with the åictures. Or rather have some guy at a photobook company print it.
I had some other thoughts, too, but I can't remember them right now. The most important thing is I had a lot of fun!
It is the last day of the year.
It was the year I went to Ausrtalia.
It was the year I went back to school.
It was the year I met (or at least saw) some of the greatest fantasy writers in the world.
It was the year you moved to US. And I'm sure you did some other big stuff too.
It was a year we both (as far as I've understood) spent trying to figure out what is life. Though I'm pretty sure it will not be the last one.
I hope the next one will be just as good.
One thing that I have learnt this year is that the best advice you can ever give anyone for any situation is, in fact, Don't panic.
~matu
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Cinnamon, Part 24 - Mother
December had finally arrived. It was the first day. I was still sleepy,
lying in my bed under the sheets in the warm, just between wake and
sleep, still in a dream but conscious; I was there and it was December.
My head was in a shadow, but there was light all around so I knew the
sun was rising. And that I had slept late. Not that it mattered, I
didn't have to be anywhere today, other than where I wanted to. And
right now I wanted to let the sleep completely fade away before getting
up.
Eventually I found all of myself in the real world and sat up. I had had the weirdest dream, something about magic and mythical creatures and a revolution. I blinked lazily and looked around the big, decorative room. Wait. I blinked again. This wasn't my room.
Everything came flooding back, and hit me like a sledge hammer in the head. I groaned and lifted my hands to my face, but winced and put them down again when pain shot through my right shoulder. It was wrapped in a bandage. Oh, right. I had been shot. Something stirred on my left side and I turned to look just as Hizi sat up and rubbed his eye. When he saw me sitting his eyes went wide.
"Oh," he said and then a wide smile spread on his face. "OH! You're awake! She's awake! Oh praise the heavens, you are alright!"
He leaned over and hugged me (being very careful with my right shoulder, for which I was grateful), before letting out a shaky breath. There was a loud noise from somewhere, like furniture falling down, and the door from across the bed slammed open. There were several people in the door way, with Pessi dashing in first, and Em flying not far behind. He jumped onto the bed without much finesse, but with surprising agility, and pulled me into an extremely tight hug, muttering something along the lines of "oh thank heavens you're ok we were so worried we thought we'd lost you i'm so glad you're awake", while Em latched herself onto the side of my head.
"Guys, guys! Can't breathe!" I wheezed from underneath the hugs and the both of them drew back, looking embarrassed. I smiled. Behind them Azer, Narada, Celer and, to my surprise, Lucifer had entered as well and they all looked very relieved to see me.
"It is good to see you awake," Azer said. "We were very worried. The arrow that hit you was enchanted and had it not been for the wool of the Ram, you would have been lost beyond our ability to help."
"The tunic stopped the magic, but the wound is still there," came a voice from behind them. "Would you kindly move, I need to see her shoulder." From behind them emerged a fae, who simultaneously looked worried, relieved and pissed, all the while seeming to glow with a weird sort of light, which in my opinion was a very great accomplishment.
"Of course, Raya," Azer said, as the fae moved to the bed, where they stopped and looked pointedly at Pessi. He looked back with faked innocence, but climbed off of me and bounced off the bed, giving Raya a small peck on the forehead on the way.
"Don't worry, you're in good hands," Raya said with a radiant smile,while starting to peel the bandage off my shoulder. I looked around the room and noticed that the others weren't without their injuries. Celer had a bandage on one of his front legs, Pessi had a big bandaid on his cheek and he was holding his left side a bit gingerly. Hizi's ear had a tear in it, but he'd already had a few of those, so I'm not sure it bothered him much. Everyone looked very tired. I feared to ask, but I had to know.
"What happened?"
Everyone traded looks, until finally Azer cleared his throat.
"We won. The prince is dead."
~x~
It turned out that it was a good thing I had blacked out, because the description of Folius' demise was not pretty. Apparently they had not been kidding when I had been told lemons were the most terribly toxic thing to them. After Folius' men started to realize he was dead, they stopped fighting and surrendered. Though I'm not sure it should be considered a surrender, seeing as most of them didn't want to be there in the first place. The wounded, me included, had been rushed back to Castle Town, and I had been brought to the palace, by order of the Queen, once she learned what had happened. I had been asleep for two days, while Raya and other sunbeams were healing my wound. While the wool had protected me from death, the enchantment had taken it's toll on me, hindering the healing and keeping me unconscious.
So I was in the palace. And the Queen wanted to see me. Needless to say, I was nervous. When I was strong enough to leave the bed, I was taken to see her. We stood in front of the door to the throne room with Azer by my side and Em on my shoulder, and with several higher-ups, including Celer. Hizi had also tagged along, because no one could keep him away, and he was standing on my other side, if a bit behind me. He was looking even more nervous than me, if it was possible. I glanced down at him and he swallowed and gave me a strained grin. Then the doors were opened.
The throne room was large and high, and had a roof like the Great Hall, where it didn't really look like a roof. On one side of the room stood several sunbeams, all radiant and beautiful, and who I assumed were their Queen. (Next to her stood Raya and, for some reason, Pessi, who waved his hand at me when he noticed me. Raya glanced at him disapprovingly, if not with a bit of endearment.) And on the other side several other radiant and beautiful people (suddenly I felt really plain and ordinary, and wondered how they had managed to get all these beautiful people to gather in one place) and someone who looked like their Queen. Lucifer was standing among them, so I assume they were Stars, or whoever were their representatives here on earth. And in the middle was the throne. A big, wooden throne, with detailed engravings, much like the ones in the Witch's hut and the Babylon candle. And sitting on the throne was...
"Mom?"
Everyone's eyes widened. The Queen smiled, stood up and walked down to me. I was glued to the spot, unable to move or even think coherently.
"Sweetheart," she whispered, placing her hands on my shoulders. "Cinnamon, dear, I've missed you so much." She pulled me into a hug and I clung to the back of her dress like my life depended on it. I felt something wet roll down my cheeks, but I didn't care.
"But how?" I whispered when she pulled back and she smiled, wiping the tears off my face.
"How am I here? You see, this is the world I come from. This world is my home. But every now and again a portal opened, leading into your world. It fascinated me, I wanted to learn more about it and the other world. So I studied it, and eventually found a way to recreate it. I was so thrilled, and often when my presence was not needed here, I would do through. There I met your father. He was a kind man, helping me find my way in that new, exciting world. And I fell in love with him.
"I started spending more time there, whenever I could. I suppose that was my mistake. Folius was a young man at the time, about the same age as you now, and in the beginning he held his responsibilities well. But while I spent time with your father and, by that time, you and your sister, he grew more and more addicted to the power. He was very proud, like all high elves, but the power suited him ill, and it corrupted him. When I finally learned about the horrible things he'd done in the name of the throne I confronted him, tried to reason, but he was beyond redemption... I couldn't let him get to your world, so I had to say goodbye to your father, and closed the portals. But eventually you did find your way here, and for that I am eternally glad."
She led me by the hand to the throne. I still didn't know what to say or do. My brain was desperately trying to process everything she told me, but it was all so much.
"Wait," I said, looking down at the throne, "Does that mean I'm..."
"An heir to the throne, yes," Queen, uh mom, said. "If you want it. If you prefer, I can help you get home. Back to your friends and sister. Back to your normal life. It's your choice."
I looked at her. My normal life, huh? She looked hopeful. I knew she hoped I'd stay. I looked at the throne, and all the familiar faces in the crowd. All my new friends. And I though about home, my sister, father, friends. I thought about Christmas. I thought about everything I'd have to leave behind. And everything I'd gain. I thought about myself.
And then I smiled.
FIN.
___________________________________________________________________
Open endings are the best aw yiss. It's totally up to your own interpretation now. BTW, I totally made some concept sketches of Cinnamon. She's cute, I think. I'll post a sketch dump here as well, once I draw a bit more.
Merry Christmas everyone! Or everyone who celebrates it anyway. I hope you have a fun time not having to do anything. I have nothing else to say now. So bye~
Pie out.
Eventually I found all of myself in the real world and sat up. I had had the weirdest dream, something about magic and mythical creatures and a revolution. I blinked lazily and looked around the big, decorative room. Wait. I blinked again. This wasn't my room.
Everything came flooding back, and hit me like a sledge hammer in the head. I groaned and lifted my hands to my face, but winced and put them down again when pain shot through my right shoulder. It was wrapped in a bandage. Oh, right. I had been shot. Something stirred on my left side and I turned to look just as Hizi sat up and rubbed his eye. When he saw me sitting his eyes went wide.
"Oh," he said and then a wide smile spread on his face. "OH! You're awake! She's awake! Oh praise the heavens, you are alright!"
He leaned over and hugged me (being very careful with my right shoulder, for which I was grateful), before letting out a shaky breath. There was a loud noise from somewhere, like furniture falling down, and the door from across the bed slammed open. There were several people in the door way, with Pessi dashing in first, and Em flying not far behind. He jumped onto the bed without much finesse, but with surprising agility, and pulled me into an extremely tight hug, muttering something along the lines of "oh thank heavens you're ok we were so worried we thought we'd lost you i'm so glad you're awake", while Em latched herself onto the side of my head.
"Guys, guys! Can't breathe!" I wheezed from underneath the hugs and the both of them drew back, looking embarrassed. I smiled. Behind them Azer, Narada, Celer and, to my surprise, Lucifer had entered as well and they all looked very relieved to see me.
"It is good to see you awake," Azer said. "We were very worried. The arrow that hit you was enchanted and had it not been for the wool of the Ram, you would have been lost beyond our ability to help."
"The tunic stopped the magic, but the wound is still there," came a voice from behind them. "Would you kindly move, I need to see her shoulder." From behind them emerged a fae, who simultaneously looked worried, relieved and pissed, all the while seeming to glow with a weird sort of light, which in my opinion was a very great accomplishment.
"Of course, Raya," Azer said, as the fae moved to the bed, where they stopped and looked pointedly at Pessi. He looked back with faked innocence, but climbed off of me and bounced off the bed, giving Raya a small peck on the forehead on the way.
"Don't worry, you're in good hands," Raya said with a radiant smile,while starting to peel the bandage off my shoulder. I looked around the room and noticed that the others weren't without their injuries. Celer had a bandage on one of his front legs, Pessi had a big bandaid on his cheek and he was holding his left side a bit gingerly. Hizi's ear had a tear in it, but he'd already had a few of those, so I'm not sure it bothered him much. Everyone looked very tired. I feared to ask, but I had to know.
"What happened?"
Everyone traded looks, until finally Azer cleared his throat.
"We won. The prince is dead."
~x~
It turned out that it was a good thing I had blacked out, because the description of Folius' demise was not pretty. Apparently they had not been kidding when I had been told lemons were the most terribly toxic thing to them. After Folius' men started to realize he was dead, they stopped fighting and surrendered. Though I'm not sure it should be considered a surrender, seeing as most of them didn't want to be there in the first place. The wounded, me included, had been rushed back to Castle Town, and I had been brought to the palace, by order of the Queen, once she learned what had happened. I had been asleep for two days, while Raya and other sunbeams were healing my wound. While the wool had protected me from death, the enchantment had taken it's toll on me, hindering the healing and keeping me unconscious.
So I was in the palace. And the Queen wanted to see me. Needless to say, I was nervous. When I was strong enough to leave the bed, I was taken to see her. We stood in front of the door to the throne room with Azer by my side and Em on my shoulder, and with several higher-ups, including Celer. Hizi had also tagged along, because no one could keep him away, and he was standing on my other side, if a bit behind me. He was looking even more nervous than me, if it was possible. I glanced down at him and he swallowed and gave me a strained grin. Then the doors were opened.
The throne room was large and high, and had a roof like the Great Hall, where it didn't really look like a roof. On one side of the room stood several sunbeams, all radiant and beautiful, and who I assumed were their Queen. (Next to her stood Raya and, for some reason, Pessi, who waved his hand at me when he noticed me. Raya glanced at him disapprovingly, if not with a bit of endearment.) And on the other side several other radiant and beautiful people (suddenly I felt really plain and ordinary, and wondered how they had managed to get all these beautiful people to gather in one place) and someone who looked like their Queen. Lucifer was standing among them, so I assume they were Stars, or whoever were their representatives here on earth. And in the middle was the throne. A big, wooden throne, with detailed engravings, much like the ones in the Witch's hut and the Babylon candle. And sitting on the throne was...
"Mom?"
Everyone's eyes widened. The Queen smiled, stood up and walked down to me. I was glued to the spot, unable to move or even think coherently.
"Sweetheart," she whispered, placing her hands on my shoulders. "Cinnamon, dear, I've missed you so much." She pulled me into a hug and I clung to the back of her dress like my life depended on it. I felt something wet roll down my cheeks, but I didn't care.
"But how?" I whispered when she pulled back and she smiled, wiping the tears off my face.
"How am I here? You see, this is the world I come from. This world is my home. But every now and again a portal opened, leading into your world. It fascinated me, I wanted to learn more about it and the other world. So I studied it, and eventually found a way to recreate it. I was so thrilled, and often when my presence was not needed here, I would do through. There I met your father. He was a kind man, helping me find my way in that new, exciting world. And I fell in love with him.
"I started spending more time there, whenever I could. I suppose that was my mistake. Folius was a young man at the time, about the same age as you now, and in the beginning he held his responsibilities well. But while I spent time with your father and, by that time, you and your sister, he grew more and more addicted to the power. He was very proud, like all high elves, but the power suited him ill, and it corrupted him. When I finally learned about the horrible things he'd done in the name of the throne I confronted him, tried to reason, but he was beyond redemption... I couldn't let him get to your world, so I had to say goodbye to your father, and closed the portals. But eventually you did find your way here, and for that I am eternally glad."
She led me by the hand to the throne. I still didn't know what to say or do. My brain was desperately trying to process everything she told me, but it was all so much.
"Wait," I said, looking down at the throne, "Does that mean I'm..."
"An heir to the throne, yes," Queen, uh mom, said. "If you want it. If you prefer, I can help you get home. Back to your friends and sister. Back to your normal life. It's your choice."
I looked at her. My normal life, huh? She looked hopeful. I knew she hoped I'd stay. I looked at the throne, and all the familiar faces in the crowd. All my new friends. And I though about home, my sister, father, friends. I thought about Christmas. I thought about everything I'd have to leave behind. And everything I'd gain. I thought about myself.
And then I smiled.
FIN.
___________________________________________________________________
Open endings are the best aw yiss. It's totally up to your own interpretation now. BTW, I totally made some concept sketches of Cinnamon. She's cute, I think. I'll post a sketch dump here as well, once I draw a bit more.
Merry Christmas everyone! Or everyone who celebrates it anyway. I hope you have a fun time not having to do anything. I have nothing else to say now. So bye~
Pie out.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Cinnamon, Part 23 - Light
I had been able to interpret the map correctly. We were on a cliff, the road just below us. It was just low enough for us to not be too far away from the road and just high enough that I felt safe about probable archers trying to shoot us from the road. It wasn't a smooth cliff, but one with big stones that gave an excellent place to shoot and hide before anyone saw you. We could see a surprisingly long way, considering we were in a forest. The road was seven, eight meters wide, and we could see almost fifty to the direction where Folius was supposed to be coming from, and maybe twenty to the other. So we sat and waited for something to happen. We were expecting Folius around midday. It wasn't too far away, but having to wait made it feel like forever. It gave me too much time to think. I tugged nervously at my hair, which for once wasn't covered under the huge hat.
I wasn't feeling very good. I was supposed to be a hero today. I was supposed to kill the evil and free the land. I wasn't ready for it. I wasn't ever going to be ready for it. I wasn't hero material. The heroes in stories were always bold, and fearless, and they had special skills. They were self-confident. They were born to be heroes. They were everything I was not. And, most importantly, they were always, always, sure about their cause. They always knew they were doing the right thing. In stories, there always seemed to be a good and a bad. There was always clear evil, that had to be gotten rid of. That wasn't real life. There isn't a plain right or wrong in real world.
Then again, I wasn't sure this was a real world. This was a world with witches and goblins and centaurs and talking lions and magic. It was in precisely those worlds where there was a clear evil.
But I was in this world now, and I didn't feel like I was good. Not really. So why was I the ultimate good guy in the story I had been thrown into? I didn't want to be the good guy. I obviously didn't want to be a bad guy either, they always went down in flames. I just didn't want to take sides. No, it wasn't that. Of course I wanted to be on the side of those fighting for their freedom. It felt like the right thing to do. I didn't want to be in a situation where I had to pick a side. I didn't want to be in what felt like a fairytale. And killing someone for our cause didn't feel right.
I didn't know anything anymore. I knew what was right, but I didn't. This is a fairyland, I told myself, In this land, there is good, and there is evil, and the evil must be destroyed in order for the good to bloom and life to grow.
And then I heard the noise. The battle had begun.
~x~
I never remembered much of the actual battle. I don't know how anyone does. Remember battles well, that is, if they have been there themselves. I remembered horns. I remembered flags. I remembered looking down at chaos.
I concentrated my mind on finding Folius. The battle was taking place right below us. I didn't know what he looked like, but Narada was there with me. She knew. She helped. Besides, a high elf looking completely full of himself shouldn't be hard to miss.
But it took a long time. A long, long time. The fighting just went on. The time slowed. There was a scream. Another. There was nothing but scream, and metal clatter, and the smell of blood. I couldn't tell what was happening below us. There is nothing glorious, nothing heroic about battles, no matter what stories tell us. Only chaos, and death.
I had poked some of the arrows into the lemon before. I had them all ready. Narada wouldn't go near the arrows.
I saw the elf prince, in the middle of the chaos, when his hood came off. He was riding a horse. I couldn't tell who were with us and who against. But I had a target.
I couldn't think.
"You are the light that banishes the darkness."
It was Narada.
I had an arrow in my hand, smelling of lemon.
Shwing.
It hit someone. I never knew, who.
There was another arrow, just by my ear, pulled back on my bow.
All I had to do was not think. My mother's tune was playing in my ears. It was me humming. I didn't know if anyone else heard me.
I felt the bow. It was a friend.
Shwing.
Something appeared on Folius' thigh. My arrow.
There was something on my shoulder. In my shoulder. I felt something wet and hot running down my arm and side.
And then everything went black.
___________________________________________________________________
You want to continue, but don't know how? Don't worry, I had already figured out how the rest of the story should go, I think, when I finished my last part. We'll just see if you agree with what I think the ending should be.
So I think I will make wrapping it up a little easier for you with my topic. I hope.
Your topic, last topic, for tomorrow is Mother.
Christmas Eve is tomorrow. We'll be celebrating Christmas then. You'll do the next day.
I suggest, about the future posts, that we take a week's break, and I'll write the next post after tomorrow's next Tuesday. As in New Years Eve. And then we'll continue our normal Tuesday-Friday from there.
I don't believe in greetings, so I will not wish you a merry Christmas.
However, what I will do, is give you an example of what all Christmas carols should be like. This.
Of course for any of it to make sense, you need to realise he's Australian. So when it's Christmas and they go outside, instead of freezing (it's too warm here to have anything more snowy that slush right now) they get sunburns and skin cancer.
Have fun with the last part.
~matu
PS. Someone tell me if there is someone in Malaysia actually reading us, or did one of us write something that has caused our blog to pop up really often when people google something there? Our stats say we've had like 50 pageviews there in the last two days.
I wasn't feeling very good. I was supposed to be a hero today. I was supposed to kill the evil and free the land. I wasn't ready for it. I wasn't ever going to be ready for it. I wasn't hero material. The heroes in stories were always bold, and fearless, and they had special skills. They were self-confident. They were born to be heroes. They were everything I was not. And, most importantly, they were always, always, sure about their cause. They always knew they were doing the right thing. In stories, there always seemed to be a good and a bad. There was always clear evil, that had to be gotten rid of. That wasn't real life. There isn't a plain right or wrong in real world.
Then again, I wasn't sure this was a real world. This was a world with witches and goblins and centaurs and talking lions and magic. It was in precisely those worlds where there was a clear evil.
But I was in this world now, and I didn't feel like I was good. Not really. So why was I the ultimate good guy in the story I had been thrown into? I didn't want to be the good guy. I obviously didn't want to be a bad guy either, they always went down in flames. I just didn't want to take sides. No, it wasn't that. Of course I wanted to be on the side of those fighting for their freedom. It felt like the right thing to do. I didn't want to be in a situation where I had to pick a side. I didn't want to be in what felt like a fairytale. And killing someone for our cause didn't feel right.
I didn't know anything anymore. I knew what was right, but I didn't. This is a fairyland, I told myself, In this land, there is good, and there is evil, and the evil must be destroyed in order for the good to bloom and life to grow.
And then I heard the noise. The battle had begun.
~x~
I never remembered much of the actual battle. I don't know how anyone does. Remember battles well, that is, if they have been there themselves. I remembered horns. I remembered flags. I remembered looking down at chaos.
I concentrated my mind on finding Folius. The battle was taking place right below us. I didn't know what he looked like, but Narada was there with me. She knew. She helped. Besides, a high elf looking completely full of himself shouldn't be hard to miss.
But it took a long time. A long, long time. The fighting just went on. The time slowed. There was a scream. Another. There was nothing but scream, and metal clatter, and the smell of blood. I couldn't tell what was happening below us. There is nothing glorious, nothing heroic about battles, no matter what stories tell us. Only chaos, and death.
I had poked some of the arrows into the lemon before. I had them all ready. Narada wouldn't go near the arrows.
I saw the elf prince, in the middle of the chaos, when his hood came off. He was riding a horse. I couldn't tell who were with us and who against. But I had a target.
I couldn't think.
"You are the light that banishes the darkness."
It was Narada.
I had an arrow in my hand, smelling of lemon.
Shwing.
It hit someone. I never knew, who.
There was another arrow, just by my ear, pulled back on my bow.
All I had to do was not think. My mother's tune was playing in my ears. It was me humming. I didn't know if anyone else heard me.
I felt the bow. It was a friend.
Shwing.
Something appeared on Folius' thigh. My arrow.
There was something on my shoulder. In my shoulder. I felt something wet and hot running down my arm and side.
And then everything went black.
___________________________________________________________________
You want to continue, but don't know how? Don't worry, I had already figured out how the rest of the story should go, I think, when I finished my last part. We'll just see if you agree with what I think the ending should be.
So I think I will make wrapping it up a little easier for you with my topic. I hope.
Your topic, last topic, for tomorrow is Mother.
Christmas Eve is tomorrow. We'll be celebrating Christmas then. You'll do the next day.
I suggest, about the future posts, that we take a week's break, and I'll write the next post after tomorrow's next Tuesday. As in New Years Eve. And then we'll continue our normal Tuesday-Friday from there.
I don't believe in greetings, so I will not wish you a merry Christmas.
However, what I will do, is give you an example of what all Christmas carols should be like. This.
Of course for any of it to make sense, you need to realise he's Australian. So when it's Christmas and they go outside, instead of freezing (it's too warm here to have anything more snowy that slush right now) they get sunburns and skin cancer.
Have fun with the last part.
~matu
PS. Someone tell me if there is someone in Malaysia actually reading us, or did one of us write something that has caused our blog to pop up really often when people google something there? Our stats say we've had like 50 pageviews there in the last two days.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Cinnamon, Part 22 - Hideout
The wake up was early. Very early. Before the sun had risen. During the night I had been brought new clothes, that included a surprisingly light chain mail and a golden over tunic, probably made from the magic wool. There was also the green hooded cape and mask that everyone else also had. After I dressed, I braided my hair and attached the golden feather to the end with a piece of string.
Outside, everyone was preparing. Tents were being torn down, breakfast was eaten and weapons were polished and sharpened. When I stepped out of the tent everyone seemed to quiet for a second and looked at me. They were all so happy, so excited. I couldn't imagine how. They were walking to a war, and not all would be walking back and the rest wouldn't be the same. But still I smiled at them, a little awkwardly, and waved my hand, and they soon turned back to their preparations. Lu brought me breakfast when I sat down by the fire, and another bag of the honeyed nuts as she had once before. ("I thought you'd need a little something extra," she said with a small smile. I thanked her before she disappeared to get food for the other soldiers.) It felt like such a long time ago, I could hardly believe it had been only a dozen of days. I eat my breakfast alone.
Azer, Em and Narada found me soon after I'd finished.
"Today is the day," Azer said. "Are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess," I said. I wasn't all that convinced of this whole plan, but I had to try, didn't I? Azer nodded in approval.
"We'll be counting on you," he said.
"Just do your best," Em said with a smile. "I know you'll be fine."
Then they left, and I was alone with Narada. She gave me more arrows to fill my quiver and I thanked her as I put them in.
"We should leave as soon as possible," she said and I nodded. "Are you ready to go?"
~x~
On the way to get the lemon from where we'd hidden it the previous evening we ran into Pessi and Hizi. Pessi had his crossbow and he would be stationed in the trees, where he could shoot without being immediately noticed, and Hizi had two small daggers and would be part of the foot soldiers.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" I asked him. "I mean, isn't it in the middle of the battlefield the most dangerous place to be?"
"It'll be fine," he said with a shrug. "I'm fairly good at dodgin' and if all else fails, I can always use a bit of magic."
"You have magic?"
"Yeah. Din't I tell ya?" I shook my head. "Oh. Well goblins are among the only trolls who can wield magic. It's not super powerful, like elves' or faes', but it's effective enough and it's earth magic, so it'll be good for protection as well. Don't worry about me, just do what you can. I'll be fine."
I gave both of them a long hug and wished them luck, before they left and we continued to the lemon. After that we headed to our hideout, where we set down our things and waited.
____________________________________________________________________
Ugh, I want to continue but I don't know how. So you get to do that now. Two more parts!
I just realized, I am the one who's gonna write the last part (unless we continue to the 25th day! No? Ok..). Oh god. Endings are hard. I apologize in advance that I won't be able to put it all together, but I will try my best.
Your topic is Light! Make it good!
Pie out.
Outside, everyone was preparing. Tents were being torn down, breakfast was eaten and weapons were polished and sharpened. When I stepped out of the tent everyone seemed to quiet for a second and looked at me. They were all so happy, so excited. I couldn't imagine how. They were walking to a war, and not all would be walking back and the rest wouldn't be the same. But still I smiled at them, a little awkwardly, and waved my hand, and they soon turned back to their preparations. Lu brought me breakfast when I sat down by the fire, and another bag of the honeyed nuts as she had once before. ("I thought you'd need a little something extra," she said with a small smile. I thanked her before she disappeared to get food for the other soldiers.) It felt like such a long time ago, I could hardly believe it had been only a dozen of days. I eat my breakfast alone.
Azer, Em and Narada found me soon after I'd finished.
"Today is the day," Azer said. "Are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess," I said. I wasn't all that convinced of this whole plan, but I had to try, didn't I? Azer nodded in approval.
"We'll be counting on you," he said.
"Just do your best," Em said with a smile. "I know you'll be fine."
Then they left, and I was alone with Narada. She gave me more arrows to fill my quiver and I thanked her as I put them in.
"We should leave as soon as possible," she said and I nodded. "Are you ready to go?"
~x~
On the way to get the lemon from where we'd hidden it the previous evening we ran into Pessi and Hizi. Pessi had his crossbow and he would be stationed in the trees, where he could shoot without being immediately noticed, and Hizi had two small daggers and would be part of the foot soldiers.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" I asked him. "I mean, isn't it in the middle of the battlefield the most dangerous place to be?"
"It'll be fine," he said with a shrug. "I'm fairly good at dodgin' and if all else fails, I can always use a bit of magic."
"You have magic?"
"Yeah. Din't I tell ya?" I shook my head. "Oh. Well goblins are among the only trolls who can wield magic. It's not super powerful, like elves' or faes', but it's effective enough and it's earth magic, so it'll be good for protection as well. Don't worry about me, just do what you can. I'll be fine."
I gave both of them a long hug and wished them luck, before they left and we continued to the lemon. After that we headed to our hideout, where we set down our things and waited.
____________________________________________________________________
Ugh, I want to continue but I don't know how. So you get to do that now. Two more parts!
I just realized, I am the one who's gonna write the last part (unless we continue to the 25th day! No? Ok..). Oh god. Endings are hard. I apologize in advance that I won't be able to put it all together, but I will try my best.
Your topic is Light! Make it good!
Pie out.
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Cinnamon, Part 21 - Map
"I found some wool when I woke up", I said to Azer when I got to get breakfast.
"Wool?" he asked curiously.
"Yeah, um, I had this dream where there was a flying gold ram that gave me it's wool."
"A golden..." he began, "You have been given a gift by the spirits of our world. I will make sure someone goes to pick up the wool. We shall make an armour of it for you."
"There was also a feather", I said stuffing bread into my mouth and Azer nodded.
"Good", he said, "Now, we need to go make battle plans. We need you there also."
Well damn. I had already sat through the meeting with the fish, and it was deadly boring. I would've much rather spent my day shooting. But I guessed I had no choice.
"I just need a moment, I need to finish eating first", I said, "It won't be long."
"Good. Come to the command tent after. We will be waiting for you", Azer said, got up and left.
~x~
I pushed the canvas of the door of the tent out of the way and stepped in. All the highest in command were there. Except Celer. I guessed he hadn't gotten back yet. In the middle of the tent was a low, big table, and on it a huge map of what I recognized as the area we were in at the moment. I had seen it from the air, after all. Right across the river by which the camp was there was a plain, but no so far away began a forest. The river ran into the sea surprisingly close, but still way out of sight from the camp. There was a castle by the sea, some way along the shore to the opposite direction from us from where the river joined the big water.
"Cinnamon", Em said, "Please, join us."
I sat down on a cushion by the door.
"So, it has come to our attention that Folius will be travelling through the forest tomorrow, going to visit the forest where he was found by our Queen," began Azer, "That is when we can surprise him, and that is when we have our chance to get rid of him once and for all."
I'm going to have to kill someone.. No, not someone, I'm having to kill a high elf in one day. I did not like the sound of that. I cleared my throat. Everyone turned to look at me.
"Yes, Cinnamon?" Em said.
"Um, well, I mean, these are probably stupid questions, but I'm not from around here, so..."
"What do you want to know", her voice was understanding.
"Is that the castle where Folius and the Queen live?"
"Yes."
"It's quite close. How do you know Folius hasn't heard we are here, and knows to be prepared for an attack on his way?"
"We just know", Azer answered. I decided that if it's something he doesn't want to tell me, I probably didn't want to know.
"Another thing... Do I... Do I have to kill him?"
They all stared at me for a moment.
"How else are we going to get rid of him?" Azer asked, looking confused.
"I don't know, maybe you could just throw him in jail?" I asked, hopeful.
"No, Cinnamon", Em said, "He is a high elf. He is too powerful. If he is alive he will come back and continue his evil work. I do not like it any more than you do, but there is no other way."
"How about..." I was getting desperate, "How about someone just talk to him about it? Make him realize he is doing bad things? I mean, he can't be all bad, right? Elves are supposed to be good, aren't they? There are elves right here in this tent, helping us."
"He has been blinded by the power he has had", Narada said, "You are right, no creatures are profoundly evil or good. But he has chosen the path of terror. We need to get rid of him. The only way him being a high elf makes a difference in that is that it makes him more difficult to kill. I am sorry, Cinnamon, it is the only way."
I nodded. I didn't have a choice. I am doing the right thing.
"Now, to the plans. Folius will be travelling through the forest by this route here", Azer pointed at a thin line running through the green area covered in tree pictures, "We will have troops here, here and here", he kept pointing at the map and at the creatures around the table, "Omnath, you will take your group here, Ny, you are here, and Vella, you position here", everyone nodded, "And Narada. You will be with Cinnamon. Today you need to train shooting in chaos, and hitting the correct target."
"We have already done that", Narada said, "But there is still much to be done."
"You have the day", Azer nodded, "You will be situated here", he pointed at a place on the map that I interpreted to be a small cliff that gave a clear view of the road. Or, being in a forest, at least a part of it. I nodded.
"Also", he continued, "Today you need to go find lemons. One should be enough. But no one else can do it, it would be too risky to have anyone else handle such toxic things as lemons. Cinnamon, by dipping the arrows in lemon juice, you will assure no one hit by those arrows will make it through another night. And you are the only one who can shoot those arrows."
The meeting continues for a little while longer, but then we (me and Narada) were no longer needed, and we were excused to go find some lemons for the following day.
____________________________________________________________________
Illustrations? You should totally illustrate this!
Oh, we could take the illustrations and the text and go to ifolor and make a book out of this!
Yeah, this story isn't quite good enough to be worth it making into a book. But it might be cool anyway if we had the pictures.
Also, I've been putting this up on google drive as one story so that it's possible to just read the whole thing without bouncing from post to post, I could link it up here in the end. This thing is by now some 20 000 words and like 20-something pages long, and we're still missing a little. So that's pretty cool.
I assume you do have access to the internet, so your topic for tomorrow is Hideout.
Three more parts!
~matu
"Wool?" he asked curiously.
"Yeah, um, I had this dream where there was a flying gold ram that gave me it's wool."
"A golden..." he began, "You have been given a gift by the spirits of our world. I will make sure someone goes to pick up the wool. We shall make an armour of it for you."
"There was also a feather", I said stuffing bread into my mouth and Azer nodded.
"Good", he said, "Now, we need to go make battle plans. We need you there also."
Well damn. I had already sat through the meeting with the fish, and it was deadly boring. I would've much rather spent my day shooting. But I guessed I had no choice.
"I just need a moment, I need to finish eating first", I said, "It won't be long."
"Good. Come to the command tent after. We will be waiting for you", Azer said, got up and left.
~x~
I pushed the canvas of the door of the tent out of the way and stepped in. All the highest in command were there. Except Celer. I guessed he hadn't gotten back yet. In the middle of the tent was a low, big table, and on it a huge map of what I recognized as the area we were in at the moment. I had seen it from the air, after all. Right across the river by which the camp was there was a plain, but no so far away began a forest. The river ran into the sea surprisingly close, but still way out of sight from the camp. There was a castle by the sea, some way along the shore to the opposite direction from us from where the river joined the big water.
"Cinnamon", Em said, "Please, join us."
I sat down on a cushion by the door.
"So, it has come to our attention that Folius will be travelling through the forest tomorrow, going to visit the forest where he was found by our Queen," began Azer, "That is when we can surprise him, and that is when we have our chance to get rid of him once and for all."
I'm going to have to kill someone.. No, not someone, I'm having to kill a high elf in one day. I did not like the sound of that. I cleared my throat. Everyone turned to look at me.
"Yes, Cinnamon?" Em said.
"Um, well, I mean, these are probably stupid questions, but I'm not from around here, so..."
"What do you want to know", her voice was understanding.
"Is that the castle where Folius and the Queen live?"
"Yes."
"It's quite close. How do you know Folius hasn't heard we are here, and knows to be prepared for an attack on his way?"
"We just know", Azer answered. I decided that if it's something he doesn't want to tell me, I probably didn't want to know.
"Another thing... Do I... Do I have to kill him?"
They all stared at me for a moment.
"How else are we going to get rid of him?" Azer asked, looking confused.
"I don't know, maybe you could just throw him in jail?" I asked, hopeful.
"No, Cinnamon", Em said, "He is a high elf. He is too powerful. If he is alive he will come back and continue his evil work. I do not like it any more than you do, but there is no other way."
"How about..." I was getting desperate, "How about someone just talk to him about it? Make him realize he is doing bad things? I mean, he can't be all bad, right? Elves are supposed to be good, aren't they? There are elves right here in this tent, helping us."
"He has been blinded by the power he has had", Narada said, "You are right, no creatures are profoundly evil or good. But he has chosen the path of terror. We need to get rid of him. The only way him being a high elf makes a difference in that is that it makes him more difficult to kill. I am sorry, Cinnamon, it is the only way."
I nodded. I didn't have a choice. I am doing the right thing.
"Now, to the plans. Folius will be travelling through the forest by this route here", Azer pointed at a thin line running through the green area covered in tree pictures, "We will have troops here, here and here", he kept pointing at the map and at the creatures around the table, "Omnath, you will take your group here, Ny, you are here, and Vella, you position here", everyone nodded, "And Narada. You will be with Cinnamon. Today you need to train shooting in chaos, and hitting the correct target."
"We have already done that", Narada said, "But there is still much to be done."
"You have the day", Azer nodded, "You will be situated here", he pointed at a place on the map that I interpreted to be a small cliff that gave a clear view of the road. Or, being in a forest, at least a part of it. I nodded.
"Also", he continued, "Today you need to go find lemons. One should be enough. But no one else can do it, it would be too risky to have anyone else handle such toxic things as lemons. Cinnamon, by dipping the arrows in lemon juice, you will assure no one hit by those arrows will make it through another night. And you are the only one who can shoot those arrows."
The meeting continues for a little while longer, but then we (me and Narada) were no longer needed, and we were excused to go find some lemons for the following day.
____________________________________________________________________
Illustrations? You should totally illustrate this!
Oh, we could take the illustrations and the text and go to ifolor and make a book out of this!
Yeah, this story isn't quite good enough to be worth it making into a book. But it might be cool anyway if we had the pictures.
Also, I've been putting this up on google drive as one story so that it's possible to just read the whole thing without bouncing from post to post, I could link it up here in the end. This thing is by now some 20 000 words and like 20-something pages long, and we're still missing a little. So that's pretty cool.
I assume you do have access to the internet, so your topic for tomorrow is Hideout.
Three more parts!
~matu
Friday, December 20, 2013
Cinnamon, Part 20 - Wool
The feeling of flying on a griffin is something that can never be replicated. It was even more scary and cool than when Celer had galloped through the forest. The wind in my hair was crazy and I had to hold on to my hat so it wouldn't fall off. Min seemed to know exactly where he was going, and surprisingly quickly I noticed a river up ahead, and on it's bank several familiar tents. When we got closer, I heard shouting from down on the ground as they started to notice us. When Min first touched ground, several guards circled around him, some of whom had weapons drawn. Min seemed unimpressed. I slid down from his back just as Azer pushed through and when he noticed me he let out a happy roar.
"Cinnamon! I am so glad you are safe," he bellowed. Then he turned to Min, giving him a bow, and he returned the favor.
"Good luck," he said and gave me one last glance, before flapping his wings and setting flight. We all watched him disappear behind the trees in silence. I was a bit sad I didn't have more time to get to know him, but I knew there were more important things at hand. I turned to Azer, who put his paw on my shoulder.
"Come, let's go to my tent. You need to tell me everything."
~x~
I did tell him everything. How me and Celer escaped to the forest and found the Babylon candle. About the will-o'-the-wisps, that had apparently lead us to the foot of the mountain and how Lucifer found us there. About what he'd told us and how Celer had stayed behind, temporarily of course, so that Min could bring me back. When I noticed Lucifer for the first time, everyone seemed surprised, and after I finished Azer let out a low hum.
"I have heard rumors that Stars walk among us, but I never had hoped that you might cross paths with one. This is quite a serendipity! Stars are indeed powerful beings and it is a great benefit to us if even one is on our side." He stood up from behind his table and walked to my side. "But mostly I'm just glad you are unharmed," he said, and placed his paws on my shoulders. I believe he really did mean it, and not just because I was useful as a tool to end a tyranny. It put a smile on my lips. He smiled as well, and said: "It is almost time for lunch, why don't you go relax for a bit. This war is far from over, and you need all the strength you have."
I was glad to comply. Even if I had slept incredibly well the previous night, I still could use some peace for a moment. I left the tent and wondered around camp for a while, before I found Pessi and Hizi sitting in front of our tent, talking. As I walked closer, Pessi turned to me with wide eyes and suddenly I found myself with an armful of troll. I chuckled lightly and hugged him back. Then he pulled away and looked at me sternly.
"We have been so worried, what happened?!" he demanded with a fake angry voice, but the enthusiastic swishing of his tail kinda ruined the illusion.
"I'll tell you over lunch," I said and he looked overly scandalized. "Now I need a break." My eyes fell on Hizi, who had not moved. He looked sad, and suddenly it all came back to me. I had been a real jerk, and I needed to apologize, even if he wouldn't accept it. Next to me Pessi's tail stopped swaying and the world seemed to quiet down. "Hizi, I'm..." I started, but the words broke in my throat. Just 'I'm sorry' wouldn't cut it. But how could I make him understand how sorry I really was for what I had said? How terrible I felt? I was scared. When he stood up, I actually flinched. He would leave, I was sure of it, but instead he walked in front of me and stopped. I swallowed.
Hizi's face broke into the biggest relieved smile I have ever seen. He tugged my hand and I fell on my knees, so I was on his level, and he wrapped his arms around my neck.
"I am so glad you are alright," he whispered and I let out a sob.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," I bawled.
"I know."
"I didn't mean- I didn't know-"
"I know."
"I'm so so sorry....."
"Cinnamon," he hushed, "I know."
~x~
Lu's cookings were delicious, as usual. During lunch I told everyone who had gathered around the fire what had happened to me and Celer, though I did leave out what Lucifer had whispered to me. Everyone was so excited when I told them I had met an actual Star and many voiced their jealousy. I also asked what had happened here after we left. There hadn't been many casualties, six in total. But Folius's men hadn't been prepared for so many people, and had been outnumbered and easily overpowered. After that they had continued to the rendezvous site and had been waiting there from the previous morning. Em joined me after lunch at the range (she had been training when I had arrived, and was very excited to chat with me while I practiced) and I spent most of the day shooting targets. They were already really far away, and Narada said that in a few days I could be able to perform a kill shot from a hundred meters. That sounded very impressive, but I didn't really know for sure. We called it an early evening and I returned to the tent. After changing my clothes, I was asleep in a matter of minutes.
~x~
That night I had a dream. In it, I was walking on a meadow when I came across a ram. First I didn't think much of it, but then I noticed that is shined like gold in the sunlight. And that it had wings. It baad at me and turned around and I chased it across the meadow to the edge of a forest. It stopped there and I walked next to it. There was a small chest there and inside the chest were blade shears. I picked them up and the ram baad again. I looked at it. And then at the shears. And then back at it. Then I started shearing. Soon I had a pile of golden wool on the ground and ram smiled. I hadn't known sheep could smile, but it did and it said to me:
"This is my gift to you. Use it well."
Then it plucked a feather from its wings, added it to the pile of wool and flew off. I just stared after it, shears still in hand.
When I woke in the morning, I found a pile of golden wool and a feather on my bed.
_______________________________________________________________
Haha, I don't even know. Magic flying sheep giving out magic golden wool in dreams. Perfectly normal. But I think shit will need to start happening in the next part (the topic of which is: Map). Four more parts left, ooooooh.
Aah, now I can't stop imagining Celer and Lucifer taking care of little baby griffins together and Celer being all awkward around them and Luci being naturally charming and they love him and climb on him and play with him and Celer will be surprised by Lucifer, because he's always held Stars in high respect like all centaurs and Lucifer is nothing like he imagined, but not in a bad way and they bond a little and when Min comes back, Celer let's Lucifer ride him and they join the Freedom Fighters together for the final battle aaaaaaaasdfgsdf
Krhm. Sorry. I'll go now.
Pie out.
P.S. There's this cool schedule thing on the sidebar, which allows me to set the time this gets posted so you don't need to. Awesome, huh.
P.P.S. I totally wanna illustrate this thing. Is that a bad idea?
"Cinnamon! I am so glad you are safe," he bellowed. Then he turned to Min, giving him a bow, and he returned the favor.
"Good luck," he said and gave me one last glance, before flapping his wings and setting flight. We all watched him disappear behind the trees in silence. I was a bit sad I didn't have more time to get to know him, but I knew there were more important things at hand. I turned to Azer, who put his paw on my shoulder.
"Come, let's go to my tent. You need to tell me everything."
~x~
I did tell him everything. How me and Celer escaped to the forest and found the Babylon candle. About the will-o'-the-wisps, that had apparently lead us to the foot of the mountain and how Lucifer found us there. About what he'd told us and how Celer had stayed behind, temporarily of course, so that Min could bring me back. When I noticed Lucifer for the first time, everyone seemed surprised, and after I finished Azer let out a low hum.
"I have heard rumors that Stars walk among us, but I never had hoped that you might cross paths with one. This is quite a serendipity! Stars are indeed powerful beings and it is a great benefit to us if even one is on our side." He stood up from behind his table and walked to my side. "But mostly I'm just glad you are unharmed," he said, and placed his paws on my shoulders. I believe he really did mean it, and not just because I was useful as a tool to end a tyranny. It put a smile on my lips. He smiled as well, and said: "It is almost time for lunch, why don't you go relax for a bit. This war is far from over, and you need all the strength you have."
I was glad to comply. Even if I had slept incredibly well the previous night, I still could use some peace for a moment. I left the tent and wondered around camp for a while, before I found Pessi and Hizi sitting in front of our tent, talking. As I walked closer, Pessi turned to me with wide eyes and suddenly I found myself with an armful of troll. I chuckled lightly and hugged him back. Then he pulled away and looked at me sternly.
"We have been so worried, what happened?!" he demanded with a fake angry voice, but the enthusiastic swishing of his tail kinda ruined the illusion.
"I'll tell you over lunch," I said and he looked overly scandalized. "Now I need a break." My eyes fell on Hizi, who had not moved. He looked sad, and suddenly it all came back to me. I had been a real jerk, and I needed to apologize, even if he wouldn't accept it. Next to me Pessi's tail stopped swaying and the world seemed to quiet down. "Hizi, I'm..." I started, but the words broke in my throat. Just 'I'm sorry' wouldn't cut it. But how could I make him understand how sorry I really was for what I had said? How terrible I felt? I was scared. When he stood up, I actually flinched. He would leave, I was sure of it, but instead he walked in front of me and stopped. I swallowed.
Hizi's face broke into the biggest relieved smile I have ever seen. He tugged my hand and I fell on my knees, so I was on his level, and he wrapped his arms around my neck.
"I am so glad you are alright," he whispered and I let out a sob.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," I bawled.
"I know."
"I didn't mean- I didn't know-"
"I know."
"I'm so so sorry....."
"Cinnamon," he hushed, "I know."
~x~
Lu's cookings were delicious, as usual. During lunch I told everyone who had gathered around the fire what had happened to me and Celer, though I did leave out what Lucifer had whispered to me. Everyone was so excited when I told them I had met an actual Star and many voiced their jealousy. I also asked what had happened here after we left. There hadn't been many casualties, six in total. But Folius's men hadn't been prepared for so many people, and had been outnumbered and easily overpowered. After that they had continued to the rendezvous site and had been waiting there from the previous morning. Em joined me after lunch at the range (she had been training when I had arrived, and was very excited to chat with me while I practiced) and I spent most of the day shooting targets. They were already really far away, and Narada said that in a few days I could be able to perform a kill shot from a hundred meters. That sounded very impressive, but I didn't really know for sure. We called it an early evening and I returned to the tent. After changing my clothes, I was asleep in a matter of minutes.
~x~
That night I had a dream. In it, I was walking on a meadow when I came across a ram. First I didn't think much of it, but then I noticed that is shined like gold in the sunlight. And that it had wings. It baad at me and turned around and I chased it across the meadow to the edge of a forest. It stopped there and I walked next to it. There was a small chest there and inside the chest were blade shears. I picked them up and the ram baad again. I looked at it. And then at the shears. And then back at it. Then I started shearing. Soon I had a pile of golden wool on the ground and ram smiled. I hadn't known sheep could smile, but it did and it said to me:
"This is my gift to you. Use it well."
Then it plucked a feather from its wings, added it to the pile of wool and flew off. I just stared after it, shears still in hand.
When I woke in the morning, I found a pile of golden wool and a feather on my bed.
_______________________________________________________________
Haha, I don't even know. Magic flying sheep giving out magic golden wool in dreams. Perfectly normal. But I think shit will need to start happening in the next part (the topic of which is: Map). Four more parts left, ooooooh.
Aah, now I can't stop imagining Celer and Lucifer taking care of little baby griffins together and Celer being all awkward around them and Luci being naturally charming and they love him and climb on him and play with him and Celer will be surprised by Lucifer, because he's always held Stars in high respect like all centaurs and Lucifer is nothing like he imagined, but not in a bad way and they bond a little and when Min comes back, Celer let's Lucifer ride him and they join the Freedom Fighters together for the final battle aaaaaaaasdfgsdf
Krhm. Sorry. I'll go now.
Pie out.
P.S. There's this cool schedule thing on the sidebar, which allows me to set the time this gets posted so you don't need to. Awesome, huh.
P.P.S. I totally wanna illustrate this thing. Is that a bad idea?
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Cinnamon, Part 19 - Children
I just stared.
"I...", I mumbled, "How do you know me?"
"I am a star", Lucifer smiled, "I am as ancient as time. I know things. I was there when the prophesy was made."
"What do you want from me?"
"I want to help you", he said with a serious face, "We stars aren't supposed to take sides, but I suppose I have been here for a very long time. I have become more like the creatures of the Earth than I used to be. And Folius is bad for this world. So I want to help you stop him."
"What can you do to help me?"
"I'm a star", he smiled again, "I can give you two things."
He leaned closer and whispered in my ear. At that moment, time lost all meaning. It was a beautiful language I had never heard before. It was like a tiny stream of silver, trickling into my ear. It was like music, like an ancient song. Like time itself, and life, and beauty, and the world and all the other worlds. It was something more beautiful than anything I had ever heard before. And I understood every word of it. I understood it all.
Luficer backed away. It all had disappeared. I had no idea anymore what he had just said. All I knew is that it was something amazing, that it was the most important thing anyone would ever say to me. But I didn't remember what it was. I only knew it had changed me, though no matter how hard I tried I couldn't make sense of how. It was one of those moments you knew you had realized something very, very important, but couldn't get a grasp of what it was you had realized.
Again, I just stared.
I felt empty and so full I would explode, all at once. It was... everything. I was too overwhelmed to... anything. I opened my mouth and gasped for breath.
"The other thing I have for you is someone who can help you along", Lucifer said. He handed me my bow and quiver I had apparently had on my back when we escaped into the woods, and gestured for me and Celer to follow him. Threw my only possessions of the moment on my back and followed him into one of the tunnels of the cave. Soon it became pitch black, but somehow I knew where to step and which way to go so that I wouldn't trip and I would always stay close to the fallen star. This wasn't the horrifying dark of the previous (the one before that?) night, but a safe and comfortable dark. Soon I felt the tunnel began to rise. We were walking uphill. We walked for a quite long time. What ever the cave was in must have not been just a small hill.
Finally I saw a dim light and heard a noise. Something tumbled down the tunnel we were walking up. Two somethings, seemingly fighting. Not very big somethings, just about the size of a big (well, huge) house cat. I was able to make out a tip of a wing and a tail or two. The somethings straightened up when they noticed us coming up the tunnel. It took me a moment to realize what they were. Griffins. Small griffins. Baby griffins?
"Uncle Lucifer!" the other one screamed as we reached them.
"Hello, little ones", Lucifer answered to them and they followed us enthusiastically out of the tunnel. I had to shade my eyes in the bright of the day.
We were on a huge flat, not even nearly at the top of the mountain. On the other end was a huge nest, and in the nest was a big griffin. A very big griffin. And a few smaller ones. I counted five, all together.
"Dad, uncle Lucifer came by", one of the little griffins that had tumbled into us in the tunnel shouted.
"I can see that", the big griffin in the nest answered in a low voice. He got up and padded to us slowly.
"Go play", he said to the kids and turned to Lucifer, "Well, what brings you here? I see you brought company."
"They have grown", Lucifer said, and then, "I need your help. Or to be more exact, Cinnamon here does."
The griffin eyed me up and down with his eagle's eyes.
"So, this is Cinnamon", he said, "So tiny. Well, I guess being small might be used as an advantage. My name is Min. With what do you need my help?"
I was about to say I didn't know, really, but Lucifer cut in.
"She needs to get back to the troops", he said.
"Yes, she might be more of use there", Min said, still eyeing me. His gaze was very sharp, and it was making me quite uncomfortable.
"I was hoping, that for the sake of all of us, you would take her there", Lucifer said. Min turned to look at him instead of me. They shared a long look. I didn't know if it was about something between them earlier, of if they knew something about the general picture that I didn't. I felt it was the latter. Their look made me feel there was something bad, very bad coming up that no one knew about except the two of them.
"What about the centaur?" Min asked.
"I suppose he can make his own way back. His presence isn't as urgently needed", Lucifer said.
"And my children?"
"They will be taken care of while you are gone", the two of them stared at each other for a little while longer.
"As much as I hate flying with someone pulling me down, I will take Cinnamon to the main camp of the Freedom Fighters, if the centaur stays here to look after my kids while I am gone. At least then I can say I've done my part in this nonsense on a war", Min finally said. Celer looked like he was about to object, but a small hand gesture from Lucifer shut him up.
"Don't worry, Celer", Lucifer said to him, "You have done well. You have done extremely well. The attack was a real attack by the men of Folius. There is a good chance you would have lost this land's only hope if you hadn't taken her into safety. You have already done more than your share."
"I'm glad to hear that", the centaur nodded, "But I still do need to go back as soon as possible. There is always more I can do."
Lucifer nodded in approval.
"You need to go now, Cinnamon", he said, turning to me. Min lay down, so I could climb onto his back.
"I wish you all the best of luck", Lucifer said to me, "Remember my words."
And then we took flight.
____________________________________________________________
Yeah, sorry about ditching the star, but we only have five parts left and we have to be able to somehow wrap this up. Anyway, I have a feeling he will show up later in at least one of the parts left somehow.
I've got nothing more today.
Your topic for tomorrow is Wool.
~matu
"I...", I mumbled, "How do you know me?"
"I am a star", Lucifer smiled, "I am as ancient as time. I know things. I was there when the prophesy was made."
"What do you want from me?"
"I want to help you", he said with a serious face, "We stars aren't supposed to take sides, but I suppose I have been here for a very long time. I have become more like the creatures of the Earth than I used to be. And Folius is bad for this world. So I want to help you stop him."
"What can you do to help me?"
"I'm a star", he smiled again, "I can give you two things."
He leaned closer and whispered in my ear. At that moment, time lost all meaning. It was a beautiful language I had never heard before. It was like a tiny stream of silver, trickling into my ear. It was like music, like an ancient song. Like time itself, and life, and beauty, and the world and all the other worlds. It was something more beautiful than anything I had ever heard before. And I understood every word of it. I understood it all.
Luficer backed away. It all had disappeared. I had no idea anymore what he had just said. All I knew is that it was something amazing, that it was the most important thing anyone would ever say to me. But I didn't remember what it was. I only knew it had changed me, though no matter how hard I tried I couldn't make sense of how. It was one of those moments you knew you had realized something very, very important, but couldn't get a grasp of what it was you had realized.
Again, I just stared.
I felt empty and so full I would explode, all at once. It was... everything. I was too overwhelmed to... anything. I opened my mouth and gasped for breath.
"The other thing I have for you is someone who can help you along", Lucifer said. He handed me my bow and quiver I had apparently had on my back when we escaped into the woods, and gestured for me and Celer to follow him. Threw my only possessions of the moment on my back and followed him into one of the tunnels of the cave. Soon it became pitch black, but somehow I knew where to step and which way to go so that I wouldn't trip and I would always stay close to the fallen star. This wasn't the horrifying dark of the previous (the one before that?) night, but a safe and comfortable dark. Soon I felt the tunnel began to rise. We were walking uphill. We walked for a quite long time. What ever the cave was in must have not been just a small hill.
Finally I saw a dim light and heard a noise. Something tumbled down the tunnel we were walking up. Two somethings, seemingly fighting. Not very big somethings, just about the size of a big (well, huge) house cat. I was able to make out a tip of a wing and a tail or two. The somethings straightened up when they noticed us coming up the tunnel. It took me a moment to realize what they were. Griffins. Small griffins. Baby griffins?
"Uncle Lucifer!" the other one screamed as we reached them.
"Hello, little ones", Lucifer answered to them and they followed us enthusiastically out of the tunnel. I had to shade my eyes in the bright of the day.
We were on a huge flat, not even nearly at the top of the mountain. On the other end was a huge nest, and in the nest was a big griffin. A very big griffin. And a few smaller ones. I counted five, all together.
"Dad, uncle Lucifer came by", one of the little griffins that had tumbled into us in the tunnel shouted.
"I can see that", the big griffin in the nest answered in a low voice. He got up and padded to us slowly.
"Go play", he said to the kids and turned to Lucifer, "Well, what brings you here? I see you brought company."
"They have grown", Lucifer said, and then, "I need your help. Or to be more exact, Cinnamon here does."
The griffin eyed me up and down with his eagle's eyes.
"So, this is Cinnamon", he said, "So tiny. Well, I guess being small might be used as an advantage. My name is Min. With what do you need my help?"
I was about to say I didn't know, really, but Lucifer cut in.
"She needs to get back to the troops", he said.
"Yes, she might be more of use there", Min said, still eyeing me. His gaze was very sharp, and it was making me quite uncomfortable.
"I was hoping, that for the sake of all of us, you would take her there", Lucifer said. Min turned to look at him instead of me. They shared a long look. I didn't know if it was about something between them earlier, of if they knew something about the general picture that I didn't. I felt it was the latter. Their look made me feel there was something bad, very bad coming up that no one knew about except the two of them.
"What about the centaur?" Min asked.
"I suppose he can make his own way back. His presence isn't as urgently needed", Lucifer said.
"And my children?"
"They will be taken care of while you are gone", the two of them stared at each other for a little while longer.
"As much as I hate flying with someone pulling me down, I will take Cinnamon to the main camp of the Freedom Fighters, if the centaur stays here to look after my kids while I am gone. At least then I can say I've done my part in this nonsense on a war", Min finally said. Celer looked like he was about to object, but a small hand gesture from Lucifer shut him up.
"Don't worry, Celer", Lucifer said to him, "You have done well. You have done extremely well. The attack was a real attack by the men of Folius. There is a good chance you would have lost this land's only hope if you hadn't taken her into safety. You have already done more than your share."
"I'm glad to hear that", the centaur nodded, "But I still do need to go back as soon as possible. There is always more I can do."
Lucifer nodded in approval.
"You need to go now, Cinnamon", he said, turning to me. Min lay down, so I could climb onto his back.
"I wish you all the best of luck", Lucifer said to me, "Remember my words."
And then we took flight.
____________________________________________________________
Yeah, sorry about ditching the star, but we only have five parts left and we have to be able to somehow wrap this up. Anyway, I have a feeling he will show up later in at least one of the parts left somehow.
I've got nothing more today.
Your topic for tomorrow is Wool.
~matu
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Cinnamon, Part 18 - Red
I woke up to find that my muscles no longer ached. And it felt amazing. I sat up and stretched, rolling my pain free shoulders. I had never felt that good before, and I took a deep breath, smiling like an idiot. Then I remembered what had happened, and suddenly realized I had no idea where I was. It was rather dark, but I could tell I was no longer in the forest, but rather... A cave? The walls and floor were stone, but the room was perfectly round and smooth and it was hard to believe it could be a cave.
There was light streaming from the other side of the possibly-cave, and I stood up and tiptoed towards it. It was a short tunnel, which lead into a wide area, which proved that my suspicions were in right and I was in a cave. The mouth was very big and overlooked the forest we had no doubt been wandering the previous night, and I noticed several other tunnels on the back wall, similar to the one I was currently standing in. The main area of the cave was wide and fairly high, and had several cushions and low tables scattered all around. In the middle was a fire place, with a cast iron pot hanging above it. The fire was lit and Celer was laying down next to it, talking with a man (or man-shaped being). He was tall and lean and had the most red hair I have ever seen. It was intense, almost as if the color were alive, like the flames flickering the blackened pot he was stirring. Both of them turned to me when I stepped out of the cave.
"Good morning," Celer said and gestured me to come sit by the fire. "I trust you slept well?"
I nodded. "Better than ever," I said, with a smile and sat down. "Where are we?"
"This is my home," the man said. From up close I noticed how delicate his features were, how incredibly beautiful he was, and I started to doubt my original assumption that he was in fact "he". "I found you in the forest yesterday and brought you here. You slept right through the day and the following night. But I'm glad to see you are awake now." He took a bowl and scooped food out of the pot into it, before offering it to me. It looked like stew of some kind and it smelled delicious.
"Thank you." He smiled down at me and it felt like the whole room got brighter. "So, uh, who are you?"
"My name is Lucifer," he stated and I almost choked on my food. Celer placed a hand on my back.
"Lucifer?" I wheezed after I managed to stop coughing. "As in the angel who rebelled and got cast out of heaven?"
"An angel..? No, I am a Star. But I did fall out of heaven." He looked melancholic when he said that and I suddenly felt bad for him.
"Oh, I'm sorry..." I started, but he shook his head.
"No need, I fell on my own terms." His smile was back on. I let out a relieved sigh. "Lucifer means 'the morning star'. I was the last of us still awake when you little people started waking up in the morning. Well, except the nocturnal ones. And I always found you so, so fascinating. I decided to come down to Earth, to see you closer. I could still go back, if I wanted to. I just have to find my wings, and I can be off any day."
"You have wings?" I asked, excited. I had always been curious about flying creatures.
"Of course. They fell off when I fell, and I as I haven't wanted to go back to heaven yet, I've not yet bothered to find them. They should be nearby here, probably in the forest." He looked out of the cave, to the forest beneath it and he seemed serious for a moment. Then he shrugged. "But enough about me. Let's talk about you!"
"Wha- me? Why would we talk about me?" Had Celer told him who I was? But he looked just as surprised as I was. Lucifer grinned.
"You are are Cinnamon. Aren't you?"
__________________________________________________________________
Yay,angels stars! I just really wanna write more about the mythology and history of White Island. Do you mind if I start developing the place more after we finish this thing?
You know, originally I wanted to base the mythology of this place in Finnish mythology, and that was going great until BAM! Lion. Like, what? Dude, this is not Narnia. But Aslanzer is pretty cool, so whatever.
Also, when I wrote Celer, I kinda imagined he'd speak really properly, you know? Literary English, with very fancy words and everything. But that didn't really happen either. I don't really have much variation in your dialogue, have you noticed? They all talk very similarly....
That gingerbread house is awesome, by the way. I wanted to do one as well, but it wouldn't have gone well with the kids, and I don't really have time to do something like that alone, so....... Maybe next year. Make it a competition! Who makes the awesomer gingerbread house!
I feel like I had something I wanted to say, but I don't know anymore. Well, ta!
Pie out.
There was light streaming from the other side of the possibly-cave, and I stood up and tiptoed towards it. It was a short tunnel, which lead into a wide area, which proved that my suspicions were in right and I was in a cave. The mouth was very big and overlooked the forest we had no doubt been wandering the previous night, and I noticed several other tunnels on the back wall, similar to the one I was currently standing in. The main area of the cave was wide and fairly high, and had several cushions and low tables scattered all around. In the middle was a fire place, with a cast iron pot hanging above it. The fire was lit and Celer was laying down next to it, talking with a man (or man-shaped being). He was tall and lean and had the most red hair I have ever seen. It was intense, almost as if the color were alive, like the flames flickering the blackened pot he was stirring. Both of them turned to me when I stepped out of the cave.
"Good morning," Celer said and gestured me to come sit by the fire. "I trust you slept well?"
I nodded. "Better than ever," I said, with a smile and sat down. "Where are we?"
"This is my home," the man said. From up close I noticed how delicate his features were, how incredibly beautiful he was, and I started to doubt my original assumption that he was in fact "he". "I found you in the forest yesterday and brought you here. You slept right through the day and the following night. But I'm glad to see you are awake now." He took a bowl and scooped food out of the pot into it, before offering it to me. It looked like stew of some kind and it smelled delicious.
"Thank you." He smiled down at me and it felt like the whole room got brighter. "So, uh, who are you?"
"My name is Lucifer," he stated and I almost choked on my food. Celer placed a hand on my back.
"Lucifer?" I wheezed after I managed to stop coughing. "As in the angel who rebelled and got cast out of heaven?"
"An angel..? No, I am a Star. But I did fall out of heaven." He looked melancholic when he said that and I suddenly felt bad for him.
"Oh, I'm sorry..." I started, but he shook his head.
"No need, I fell on my own terms." His smile was back on. I let out a relieved sigh. "Lucifer means 'the morning star'. I was the last of us still awake when you little people started waking up in the morning. Well, except the nocturnal ones. And I always found you so, so fascinating. I decided to come down to Earth, to see you closer. I could still go back, if I wanted to. I just have to find my wings, and I can be off any day."
"You have wings?" I asked, excited. I had always been curious about flying creatures.
"Of course. They fell off when I fell, and I as I haven't wanted to go back to heaven yet, I've not yet bothered to find them. They should be nearby here, probably in the forest." He looked out of the cave, to the forest beneath it and he seemed serious for a moment. Then he shrugged. "But enough about me. Let's talk about you!"
"Wha- me? Why would we talk about me?" Had Celer told him who I was? But he looked just as surprised as I was. Lucifer grinned.
"You are are Cinnamon. Aren't you?"
__________________________________________________________________
Yay,
You know, originally I wanted to base the mythology of this place in Finnish mythology, and that was going great until BAM! Lion. Like, what? Dude, this is not Narnia. But A
Also, when I wrote Celer, I kinda imagined he'd speak really properly, you know? Literary English, with very fancy words and everything. But that didn't really happen either. I don't really have much variation in your dialogue, have you noticed? They all talk very similarly....
That gingerbread house is awesome, by the way. I wanted to do one as well, but it wouldn't have gone well with the kids, and I don't really have time to do something like that alone, so....... Maybe next year. Make it a competition! Who makes the awesomer gingerbread house!
I feel like I had something I wanted to say, but I don't know anymore. Well, ta!
Pie out.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Cinnamon, Part 17 - Sleep Deprevation
We walked in the dark for hours. For longer than I thought the night should last, but it never got any lighter. Neither of us ever spoke a word - the only sound around us was the sound of Celer's hoofs and my feet against the warm, weird snow the whole of White Island was covered with. The Will-o'-the-Wisps led us along. It seemed to me I never saw anything else, except the next blueish flame ahead of us, and the trees around it. Time passed and I got tired. I didn't feel tired, but I somehow knew I was. My muscles didn't feel like they were hurting any more, but I knew they were. I didn't feel anything, really. I just somehow knew, that I was tired, exhausted. Hurting, hungry. I knew all that without actually feeling any of it. It was like someone outside of my body was telling me how I felt, and I believed it without actually feeling any of it, because a part of me knew it must be true. I think Celer's hand in mine was the only thing keeping me sane through the darkness, the only thing that made me to keep on.
From the corner of my eye I saw something move, not very far away from us in the dark woods. For the first time in hours I snapped my vision off the lights and to what ever I had seen. My head began to swirl. I felt dizzy. My vision went blurry, though I know I could still see clearly. There was nothing there. The feeling in my head returned back to normal. I had just turned my head too fast. I turned it back slowly, to face the light again. I squeezed the hand in mine.
Celer was looking at me. Not directly, but his head was turned a little and his eyes were staring right at me. I looked back at him.
"What is it?" he asked. I'm not sure if his voice was even as loud as a faint whisper, but it was enough. I heard him.
"I thought I saw something", I answered, not hearing my own voice.
"It's nothing", he answered, but he looked worried.
"You're sure?"
"You're just tired, that's all", he said, "There's nothing out there."
"Are you telling me, that in a world filled with creatures people in my world can only imagine, there are none of the creatures who live in dark forests exist?"
"We will be fine", I wasn't sure if we was trying to convince me or himself, "Just keep your eyes on the lights and we'll be fine. There is nothing here besides us. Us and the lights. They are taking us to safety. We're safe."
We continued to walk in silence. I never took my eyes off the next light on our path. Not even when I could swear there was something moving on the edge of my vision. There was nothing there. I knew it, the same way I knew that I was tired. A part of me knew, that all those flashes were, were my brain not having had enough sleep. I hadn't slept for... I didn't know how long. I had woken up in the morning, before we began to move the camp. It was... It was so long ago. I couldn't believe all that had been just the previous morning. It had been ages. For ever. So much time had passed. It couldn't be. Then again, I didn't know how time actually passed in this world. I didn't know, if all the nights actually stretched for weeks, for months. I just went to sleep after it got dark, and woke up again when the sun had risen. I didn't know how much time passed in between. I just had never come to think the nights could be longer than I assumed they were. Or maybe nights were different length if you were asleep than if you were awake. The nights of the ones awake stretch on for days, driving insomniacs crazy. Or maybe it wasn't about the length of the night. Maybe it was this place. Maybe the lights had lured us into a place that was forever dark. Into a night that never ended. It made sense. Weren't Will-o'-the-Wisps, in all stories I knew, the ones that guided inexperienced and careless travellers onto swamps and other places where they drown and die and are never found? I thought that was right. Was it? Although Celer seemed to trust them, so maybe I was wrong. Maybe these were friendly fires leading us into the darkness. I was so dark. I couldn't see anything. But it was warm. Not hot, just gentle warm. Soft warm. Dark, soft warm. The kind you never got back at home. I noticed I had started to hum my mother's tone, in a very, very low, soft, almost indistinguishable voice. Somehow everything felt better, then. The creatures in the dark, or in my imagination, seemed just a tiniest bit less scary.
And we walked on in the dark, following blueish, flickering flames.
I opened my eyes. I could see Celer's face right above mine, in the gloom glow of one lonely flame. There were no more lights to follow. Just the last one, and Celer's calm face.
"Sleep now, Cinnamon."
__________________________________________________________________
You just forgot? You forgot. Awesome.
I had to write the 15th post when I did, I was running out of time. I wasn't gonna postpone it until past midnight.
Oh, oh, oh. On a more positive note.
Let me represent you.
The gingerbread house (=towers) of 2013.
First one to have a photo up here!
I am oddly proud of building a gingerbread house (castle?) that cool.
People have been asking me: "How did you make the towers round?"
My answer to those people is: "I'm simply that good."
Your topic for tomorrow: Red.
Don't ask. I have no idea.
~matu
From the corner of my eye I saw something move, not very far away from us in the dark woods. For the first time in hours I snapped my vision off the lights and to what ever I had seen. My head began to swirl. I felt dizzy. My vision went blurry, though I know I could still see clearly. There was nothing there. The feeling in my head returned back to normal. I had just turned my head too fast. I turned it back slowly, to face the light again. I squeezed the hand in mine.
Celer was looking at me. Not directly, but his head was turned a little and his eyes were staring right at me. I looked back at him.
"What is it?" he asked. I'm not sure if his voice was even as loud as a faint whisper, but it was enough. I heard him.
"I thought I saw something", I answered, not hearing my own voice.
"It's nothing", he answered, but he looked worried.
"You're sure?"
"You're just tired, that's all", he said, "There's nothing out there."
"Are you telling me, that in a world filled with creatures people in my world can only imagine, there are none of the creatures who live in dark forests exist?"
"We will be fine", I wasn't sure if we was trying to convince me or himself, "Just keep your eyes on the lights and we'll be fine. There is nothing here besides us. Us and the lights. They are taking us to safety. We're safe."
We continued to walk in silence. I never took my eyes off the next light on our path. Not even when I could swear there was something moving on the edge of my vision. There was nothing there. I knew it, the same way I knew that I was tired. A part of me knew, that all those flashes were, were my brain not having had enough sleep. I hadn't slept for... I didn't know how long. I had woken up in the morning, before we began to move the camp. It was... It was so long ago. I couldn't believe all that had been just the previous morning. It had been ages. For ever. So much time had passed. It couldn't be. Then again, I didn't know how time actually passed in this world. I didn't know, if all the nights actually stretched for weeks, for months. I just went to sleep after it got dark, and woke up again when the sun had risen. I didn't know how much time passed in between. I just had never come to think the nights could be longer than I assumed they were. Or maybe nights were different length if you were asleep than if you were awake. The nights of the ones awake stretch on for days, driving insomniacs crazy. Or maybe it wasn't about the length of the night. Maybe it was this place. Maybe the lights had lured us into a place that was forever dark. Into a night that never ended. It made sense. Weren't Will-o'-the-Wisps, in all stories I knew, the ones that guided inexperienced and careless travellers onto swamps and other places where they drown and die and are never found? I thought that was right. Was it? Although Celer seemed to trust them, so maybe I was wrong. Maybe these were friendly fires leading us into the darkness. I was so dark. I couldn't see anything. But it was warm. Not hot, just gentle warm. Soft warm. Dark, soft warm. The kind you never got back at home. I noticed I had started to hum my mother's tone, in a very, very low, soft, almost indistinguishable voice. Somehow everything felt better, then. The creatures in the dark, or in my imagination, seemed just a tiniest bit less scary.
And we walked on in the dark, following blueish, flickering flames.
I opened my eyes. I could see Celer's face right above mine, in the gloom glow of one lonely flame. There were no more lights to follow. Just the last one, and Celer's calm face.
"Sleep now, Cinnamon."
__________________________________________________________________
You just forgot? You forgot. Awesome.
I had to write the 15th post when I did, I was running out of time. I wasn't gonna postpone it until past midnight.
Oh, oh, oh. On a more positive note.
Let me represent you.
The gingerbread house (=towers) of 2013.
First one to have a photo up here!
I am oddly proud of building a gingerbread house (castle?) that cool.
People have been asking me: "How did you make the towers round?"
My answer to those people is: "I'm simply that good."
Your topic for tomorrow: Red.
Don't ask. I have no idea.
~matu
Cinnamon, Part 16 - Candle
Riding that fast was simultaneously the greatest and scariest thing I had ever done in my life. I felt almost as if we were flying across the forest, the wind rushing on my face and the trees flashing by. Celer dodged the trees incredibly nimbly. Although it was probably to be expected; he was a centaur after all.
After a while he slowed down to a walk and glanced back. No one followed us, and at least I couldn't hear anything aside from Celer's footsteps and the wind gushing through the trees.
"Have we lost them?" I whispered. Celer turned his ears (which were in fact quite similar to those of a horse's) around and then relaxed. I took that as a good sound.
"I believe we have, though I do not know whether we were pursued to begin with," he said and turned to face forward again. I realized I was still holding onto him pretty tightly and leaned back a bit.
"What happened?" I asked. He shook his head.
"I am not certain, but I believe it was an ambush. It is unlikely they were expecting us specifically, there have been reports of bandits around these parts. But better safe than sorry. I had to protect you, in case it had been Folius's men. It is of utmost importance that your presence here is kept as quiet as possible. We still don't know how much the Prince knows, but the less the better."
"What now?"
"Now, we travel to the place we were supposed to make camp tomorrow. We will meet with the rest back there. But we must take a detour, just in case, so the trip might take a bit longer. You may stay on my back if you like, it will quicken our trip."
We traveled in silence for some time, and soon it grew dark. I could hardly see where we were going, but luckily I didn't really need to. The quietness of the forest was starting to get to me. My head was too quiet, and the ambush had brought back the memories of my nightmare. I tried to force myself to not think about the blood and the laugh, but it circled around me. I drew a deep breath and started to hum quietly. My mother's song. It had always helped me calm down, even as a child, and during many dark and lonely nights after her passing, I had soothed my sister and me to sleep with it. I closed my eyes and rested my forehead on Celer's shoulder, my hands hanging loosely around his waist. I could feel his head turning as he glanced back at me before he let out a quiet sigh and turned forward again. Seeing that it didn't bother him, I started to hum louder, enveloping us in the melody.
Suddenly he stopped. I opened my eyes, and was just about to ask him what's wrong, when I saw it too. There was a table. It was fairly simple, wooden and dark, with three spirally legs. On top of it was a beautiful candlestick and one pale yellow candle.
"A Babylon candle," Celer breathed out.
"A babbling candle? What's that?" I asked as he stepped carefully closer to the table.
"A Babylon candle is a magic tool. It is old magic, the power of which is rarely seen this day, and it is rare. I haven't heard of anyone seeing one in centuries. It is told that great fortune comes to whoever lights one and they are even said to grant the person their deepest wish." I hopped down from Celer's back. My muscles were still a bit stiff from all the training and sitting all day, but we stepped slowly next to the table. From up close I could see that there were runes engraved into the table and the candlestick. Next to me Celer let out a sigh. "How I wish I had a tinderbox."
My eyes were glued to the candle, as I absentmindedly dug into my bag and pulled out my lighter. It was odd that such a small thing was so captivating. I flicked the lighter a few times before it caught fire. Celer made a small "oh" sound, but I barely noticed him. I followed the runes with my eyes and felt like if I concentrated enough I could make out what the said. I brought the lighter to the flick and it burst into a blue flame.
There was a small cooing sound.
Both of us turned around to see a small light floating up and down a few meters back. It made another soft coo and a second small flame appeared behind it. I frowned.
"Are those-?"
"Will-o'-the-Wisps," Celer whispered. "The legends are true."
A few more flames popped up and they all cooed at us. And somehow it looked as if they were gesturing at us to come closer.
"Do we follow them?" I asked, looking at Celer, who looked down at me.
"I think we should," he said and offered me his hand. I looked back at the candle and then the small cooing flames.
I took his hand and we followed the trail into the forest.
________________________________________________________________
DUNDUNDUUUUUN.
You know, I've wanted to include will-o'-the-wisps for the beginning, but I'm glad I hadn't yet. They fit really well here, and it was good to establish some form of a plot at the beginning of the story. So yay.
My lack of interest in writing has probably been due to not feeling like this is my story. I mean, I do consider it my story as much as I consider it your story, but it just feels kinda alien. I guess, I just gotta plan stuff and as I write I sorta plan things and then you write the other half and into the trash goes half of my ideas and it's just all kinds of weird. I don't really do collaboration projects of this kind. But yeah, it's a good experience I guess.
And as a heads up, we are going to Charlotte (where Maria's parents live) for Christmas, and we leave on Friday morning (which means I have to write my post on Thursday). Now, I don't know the circumstances, they do have an internet connection, but I don't know if it's wireless or what, so there's a possibility you're gonna have to write the last four days by yourself. But I'll make inquiries. This might not be a problem at all.
Pie out.
Oh, and btw, if there's someone out there who cares about my personal life, it's basically this. Plus 45hrs/week of childcare. So yeah.
After a while he slowed down to a walk and glanced back. No one followed us, and at least I couldn't hear anything aside from Celer's footsteps and the wind gushing through the trees.
"Have we lost them?" I whispered. Celer turned his ears (which were in fact quite similar to those of a horse's) around and then relaxed. I took that as a good sound.
"I believe we have, though I do not know whether we were pursued to begin with," he said and turned to face forward again. I realized I was still holding onto him pretty tightly and leaned back a bit.
"What happened?" I asked. He shook his head.
"I am not certain, but I believe it was an ambush. It is unlikely they were expecting us specifically, there have been reports of bandits around these parts. But better safe than sorry. I had to protect you, in case it had been Folius's men. It is of utmost importance that your presence here is kept as quiet as possible. We still don't know how much the Prince knows, but the less the better."
"What now?"
"Now, we travel to the place we were supposed to make camp tomorrow. We will meet with the rest back there. But we must take a detour, just in case, so the trip might take a bit longer. You may stay on my back if you like, it will quicken our trip."
We traveled in silence for some time, and soon it grew dark. I could hardly see where we were going, but luckily I didn't really need to. The quietness of the forest was starting to get to me. My head was too quiet, and the ambush had brought back the memories of my nightmare. I tried to force myself to not think about the blood and the laugh, but it circled around me. I drew a deep breath and started to hum quietly. My mother's song. It had always helped me calm down, even as a child, and during many dark and lonely nights after her passing, I had soothed my sister and me to sleep with it. I closed my eyes and rested my forehead on Celer's shoulder, my hands hanging loosely around his waist. I could feel his head turning as he glanced back at me before he let out a quiet sigh and turned forward again. Seeing that it didn't bother him, I started to hum louder, enveloping us in the melody.
Suddenly he stopped. I opened my eyes, and was just about to ask him what's wrong, when I saw it too. There was a table. It was fairly simple, wooden and dark, with three spirally legs. On top of it was a beautiful candlestick and one pale yellow candle.
"A Babylon candle," Celer breathed out.
"A babbling candle? What's that?" I asked as he stepped carefully closer to the table.
"A Babylon candle is a magic tool. It is old magic, the power of which is rarely seen this day, and it is rare. I haven't heard of anyone seeing one in centuries. It is told that great fortune comes to whoever lights one and they are even said to grant the person their deepest wish." I hopped down from Celer's back. My muscles were still a bit stiff from all the training and sitting all day, but we stepped slowly next to the table. From up close I could see that there were runes engraved into the table and the candlestick. Next to me Celer let out a sigh. "How I wish I had a tinderbox."
My eyes were glued to the candle, as I absentmindedly dug into my bag and pulled out my lighter. It was odd that such a small thing was so captivating. I flicked the lighter a few times before it caught fire. Celer made a small "oh" sound, but I barely noticed him. I followed the runes with my eyes and felt like if I concentrated enough I could make out what the said. I brought the lighter to the flick and it burst into a blue flame.
There was a small cooing sound.
Both of us turned around to see a small light floating up and down a few meters back. It made another soft coo and a second small flame appeared behind it. I frowned.
"Are those-?"
"Will-o'-the-Wisps," Celer whispered. "The legends are true."
A few more flames popped up and they all cooed at us. And somehow it looked as if they were gesturing at us to come closer.
"Do we follow them?" I asked, looking at Celer, who looked down at me.
"I think we should," he said and offered me his hand. I looked back at the candle and then the small cooing flames.
I took his hand and we followed the trail into the forest.
________________________________________________________________
DUNDUNDUUUUUN.
You know, I've wanted to include will-o'-the-wisps for the beginning, but I'm glad I hadn't yet. They fit really well here, and it was good to establish some form of a plot at the beginning of the story. So yay.
My lack of interest in writing has probably been due to not feeling like this is my story. I mean, I do consider it my story as much as I consider it your story, but it just feels kinda alien. I guess, I just gotta plan stuff and as I write I sorta plan things and then you write the other half and into the trash goes half of my ideas and it's just all kinds of weird. I don't really do collaboration projects of this kind. But yeah, it's a good experience I guess.
And as a heads up, we are going to Charlotte (where Maria's parents live) for Christmas, and we leave on Friday morning (which means I have to write my post on Thursday). Now, I don't know the circumstances, they do have an internet connection, but I don't know if it's wireless or what, so there's a possibility you're gonna have to write the last four days by yourself. But I'll make inquiries. This might not be a problem at all.
Pie out.
Oh, and btw, if there's someone out there who cares about my personal life, it's basically this. Plus 45hrs/week of childcare. So yeah.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Cinnamon, Part 15 - The Walk
I was really confused by you not writing a post yesterday. It was your idea to write every day, after all, and you never said you wouldn't be able to write. I've spent the whole day trying to come up with a solution to this problem, and this is what I finally came up with:
Even though you didn't write a post yesterday, I will write part 15. You should (and will) write part 14 once you realize you failed to write it on the correct day. So have fun with filling in the gap I left for you, and writing the next part. Please write them tomorrow, I don't know what I can do if you still don't write anything, I should be writing my bits too and it's pretty hard to write a story without having any idea what has happened just before that. And, if you could, make them two separate posts, if for nothing else then at least so that they can be found separately and the story can be read in order later (as if anyone would ever come back to read it...)
I know it's hard to find time to write two bits a day, but I believe you can do it. So. Just... ok?
____________________________________________________________________
The next day we marched again. Azer said we had to move the camp, so we wouldn't be found. And we had no business to do with the merfolk any more, at least not right now, so we didn't have to stay. I was sore everywhere. All the training was too much for my body. I was in a pretty good shape considering I didn't really work out very much, but this was a lot (a lot) more than I was used to. I think more than anyone was used to. Narada was a very good teacher, but tough and demanding, so I rarely caught a proper break. And now I had to walk again. At least the muscles of my upper body could rest.
Or so I thought. Narada showed up soon after we had left, and told me that it was a great day for practising moving targets. So I sighed, took my bow (I thought of it already as my bow, and I had actually named it already: Eleri, after my mother) and, after she had convinced Azer I was safe with her, followed her to the edge of the slowly moving line. There we shot at trees as we walked, running to get the arrows we had shot. I guess it was some kind of fitness training too, since we could never stop, and we had to run back and forth to keep up with the rest of the group to not lose any of the arrows.
I was grateful when the midday meal break came along. Narada walked me back to Azer and Em.
"I think we're done training for today", she said before she left and I sighed with relief, "I know that this is hard on you and you humans need to rest. You've done good. Very good, actually. So take the rest of the day off."
"She is pushing you hard?" Em asked after Narada had left.
"Mm-hmm", I nodded. I was starving and had already stuffed my mouth full of something delicious the house elf (whose name I had finally found out to be Lu) had given me when I arrived.
"Good", Em nodded and Azer looked approving too, "You need to learn as much as you can as fast as you can."
"I might learn better", I swallowed, "If everything didn't hurt and I could actually move properly."
"The pain is good", Em said, "It means you're developing."
I supposed she was right.
Hizi came along to get some food too. I hadn't seen him since yesterday night.
"Hizi", I began. He shot me a sharp, surprisingly hurtful glance.
"Hizi, I'm sorry for what happened last night. I never meant to..."
"Save it", he snapped, took his bowl and left me staring after him. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to make everything right, but I didn't know how. How would I know how to make peace with a goblin, I didn't know how their minds worked. Or very much of them at all. I wanted to run after him, but I couldn't get up. Having Hizi mad at me hurt, even though I had only known him for a very short time. But at the moment getting up would've hurt even more.
Em saw the hurt in my eyes.
"I'm sorry", she said, "But goblins are known for their hate, and for their skill to forgive. He can't be like that for a very long time. Give it a day, or two. He will be back."
I nodded and stuffed more food in my mouth.
"It's not just that, actually", I said, "I was thinking of going after him, but it's really hard to get up. I wouldn't want anything more than just to lie down and actually rest for the rest of the day."
"I might be able to help", Celer the centaur had showed up out of nowhere. I looked up at him questioningly, "I can give you a ride."
"You...?" I didn't quite know if I had heard correctly. In all stories I had ever heard, centaurs hated people riding them.
"I usually wouldn't, it's horrible having someone on your back", he said, "But for you. If rest is what you need to help us, then rest is what we should help you get."
"Well, thank you", I said, still not believing what I heard, "But I've understood that riding is actually really hard work too. I'm not sure I'd get any more rest than walking myself."
"You have apparently never ridden a centaur", Celer smiled, "I will make sure you don't drop. All you have to do is sit, like you would sit anywhere else. I promise you, it will be as smooth as any ride you have ever taken."
So when we started to move again, I climbed (with some help) to the back of a centaur. It was absurd. And every bit as comfortable as Celer had promised.
~x~
We walked for long hours. I chatted with Celer and started to maybe begin to be friends with him a little. I listened to war plans Azer was making with the group highest in charge. I sang songs I knew from my childhood. The others laughed. It was surprising. They were always so serious. They were trying to make a rebellion, after all. But my songs made them relax, if even just for a while.
Suddenly, there came a sharp sound from somewhere. In a fraction of a second everyone fell completely silent and still.
Shwing.
A small troll some three, four meters behind me fell, with an arrow sticking from his eye. I saw Azer and Celer exchange a look. A very fast, fleeing look full of meaning.
And then everyone was moving again. Including Celer. I had to grab his human torso around the stomach in order to not to be thrown off his back. Everything was a blur. And then, suddenly, all I could see was green and white. Trees. Nothing else. We were racing through the forest with a speed I couldn't even start to guess, and we had left everyone else behind.
___________________________________________________________________
So, yeah. I really hope you'll write parts 14 and 16 tomorrow. Your part 14 -topic is still Gingerbread, and your part 16 (a in tomorrow's) -topic is Candle(s, your choice).
I don't know what I'm gonna do on Tuesday if you don't write these now. They don't have to be very long (though hopefully longer than the Lemon one), but I do need know where to continue the story. It would be stupid if i just wrote bits of a story by myself, always missing a chunk in between.
I've had some bad days too, while we've been writing this. But then somehow when I've started writing, it has turned out not to be so horrible and difficult as it felt before.
~matu
Even though you didn't write a post yesterday, I will write part 15. You should (and will) write part 14 once you realize you failed to write it on the correct day. So have fun with filling in the gap I left for you, and writing the next part. Please write them tomorrow, I don't know what I can do if you still don't write anything, I should be writing my bits too and it's pretty hard to write a story without having any idea what has happened just before that. And, if you could, make them two separate posts, if for nothing else then at least so that they can be found separately and the story can be read in order later (as if anyone would ever come back to read it...)
I know it's hard to find time to write two bits a day, but I believe you can do it. So. Just... ok?
____________________________________________________________________
The next day we marched again. Azer said we had to move the camp, so we wouldn't be found. And we had no business to do with the merfolk any more, at least not right now, so we didn't have to stay. I was sore everywhere. All the training was too much for my body. I was in a pretty good shape considering I didn't really work out very much, but this was a lot (a lot) more than I was used to. I think more than anyone was used to. Narada was a very good teacher, but tough and demanding, so I rarely caught a proper break. And now I had to walk again. At least the muscles of my upper body could rest.
Or so I thought. Narada showed up soon after we had left, and told me that it was a great day for practising moving targets. So I sighed, took my bow (I thought of it already as my bow, and I had actually named it already: Eleri, after my mother) and, after she had convinced Azer I was safe with her, followed her to the edge of the slowly moving line. There we shot at trees as we walked, running to get the arrows we had shot. I guess it was some kind of fitness training too, since we could never stop, and we had to run back and forth to keep up with the rest of the group to not lose any of the arrows.
I was grateful when the midday meal break came along. Narada walked me back to Azer and Em.
"I think we're done training for today", she said before she left and I sighed with relief, "I know that this is hard on you and you humans need to rest. You've done good. Very good, actually. So take the rest of the day off."
"She is pushing you hard?" Em asked after Narada had left.
"Mm-hmm", I nodded. I was starving and had already stuffed my mouth full of something delicious the house elf (whose name I had finally found out to be Lu) had given me when I arrived.
"Good", Em nodded and Azer looked approving too, "You need to learn as much as you can as fast as you can."
"I might learn better", I swallowed, "If everything didn't hurt and I could actually move properly."
"The pain is good", Em said, "It means you're developing."
I supposed she was right.
Hizi came along to get some food too. I hadn't seen him since yesterday night.
"Hizi", I began. He shot me a sharp, surprisingly hurtful glance.
"Hizi, I'm sorry for what happened last night. I never meant to..."
"Save it", he snapped, took his bowl and left me staring after him. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to make everything right, but I didn't know how. How would I know how to make peace with a goblin, I didn't know how their minds worked. Or very much of them at all. I wanted to run after him, but I couldn't get up. Having Hizi mad at me hurt, even though I had only known him for a very short time. But at the moment getting up would've hurt even more.
Em saw the hurt in my eyes.
"I'm sorry", she said, "But goblins are known for their hate, and for their skill to forgive. He can't be like that for a very long time. Give it a day, or two. He will be back."
I nodded and stuffed more food in my mouth.
"It's not just that, actually", I said, "I was thinking of going after him, but it's really hard to get up. I wouldn't want anything more than just to lie down and actually rest for the rest of the day."
"I might be able to help", Celer the centaur had showed up out of nowhere. I looked up at him questioningly, "I can give you a ride."
"You...?" I didn't quite know if I had heard correctly. In all stories I had ever heard, centaurs hated people riding them.
"I usually wouldn't, it's horrible having someone on your back", he said, "But for you. If rest is what you need to help us, then rest is what we should help you get."
"Well, thank you", I said, still not believing what I heard, "But I've understood that riding is actually really hard work too. I'm not sure I'd get any more rest than walking myself."
"You have apparently never ridden a centaur", Celer smiled, "I will make sure you don't drop. All you have to do is sit, like you would sit anywhere else. I promise you, it will be as smooth as any ride you have ever taken."
So when we started to move again, I climbed (with some help) to the back of a centaur. It was absurd. And every bit as comfortable as Celer had promised.
~x~
We walked for long hours. I chatted with Celer and started to maybe begin to be friends with him a little. I listened to war plans Azer was making with the group highest in charge. I sang songs I knew from my childhood. The others laughed. It was surprising. They were always so serious. They were trying to make a rebellion, after all. But my songs made them relax, if even just for a while.
Suddenly, there came a sharp sound from somewhere. In a fraction of a second everyone fell completely silent and still.
Shwing.
A small troll some three, four meters behind me fell, with an arrow sticking from his eye. I saw Azer and Celer exchange a look. A very fast, fleeing look full of meaning.
And then everyone was moving again. Including Celer. I had to grab his human torso around the stomach in order to not to be thrown off his back. Everything was a blur. And then, suddenly, all I could see was green and white. Trees. Nothing else. We were racing through the forest with a speed I couldn't even start to guess, and we had left everyone else behind.
___________________________________________________________________
So, yeah. I really hope you'll write parts 14 and 16 tomorrow. Your part 14 -topic is still Gingerbread, and your part 16 (a in tomorrow's) -topic is Candle(s, your choice).
I don't know what I'm gonna do on Tuesday if you don't write these now. They don't have to be very long (though hopefully longer than the Lemon one), but I do need know where to continue the story. It would be stupid if i just wrote bits of a story by myself, always missing a chunk in between.
I've had some bad days too, while we've been writing this. But then somehow when I've started writing, it has turned out not to be so horrible and difficult as it felt before.
~matu
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Cinnamon, Part 14 - Gingerbread
After three more days of nonstop training, my skills had improved greatly. I had also never felt as physically exhausted before. After getting a quick bite to eat, I wandered back to the tent. Hizi was already there, and he smiled up at me when I stumbled in and fell face first onto my bed.
"You alright?" he asked and I let out a groan. "Narada's pushin' you hard, huh? Here, this'll help you get your strength up." I turned my face away from my pillow as Hizi dug around his bag and pulled out something brown wrapped in paper. He broke off a piece and handed it to me as I sat up. It appeared to be bread of some kind and smelled really nice. A bit like... "That's gingerbread," Hizi said. "It's really rare around these parts, but us goblins are fairly good at finding ginger roots. So it's something of a specialty of ours." I smiled at him and muttered a thanks before tasting it a bit. It was really good. It tasted a bit like gingerbread back home, but it was much more, how should I put it, rich. I felt a bit of strength coming back to me already.
"This is delicious," I said and Hizi looked pleased. "You know, ginger isn't really rare from where I come from. Gingerbreads are actually a typical Christmas dessert. Though back home, they're much more like cookies than actual bread."
"Interesting," Hizi said. He was quiet for a while, before continuing, "In goblin culture, offering someone gingerbread is a sign of great trust." I looked up at Hizi in surprise. He was looking at the ground, appearing embarrassed. He really trusted me that much? It felt weird, we had literally met a week ago. But at the same time it didn't. We had talked a lot, during the meals and in the evenings before going to bed, and I felt like I had known him longer than that. Like time wasn't really a factor in all this. I didn't know what to think, so I stopped and instead smiled and placed my hand on Hizi's shoulder.
"Thank you."
~x~
I woke up in the middle of the night, screaming. Blood. So much blood. It was everywhere, covering every surface, every wall, every single no longer breathing being. The blank eyes on everyone's cold faces were still staring at me, right through me, right into my soul, and I could still hear the manic laughing echoing around me. No. Make it stop!
Hizi was kneeling next to me before I had time to realize what was going on. His hands were on my shoulders and I clutched his arms in a desperate need to ground myself, to know what was real.
"It's okay," I heard him say, and I tried to focus on his voice, but it was hard. The laughing was too loud. "It's okay, yeah? It was just a dream. Just a dream, you're safe here. You're safe here, nothing can get you. Shh, it's okay. Nothing can hurt you here."
I let out a shaky breath and a sob. Hizi's thumb drew circles on my shoulders. I noticed that my face was wet and tried to wipe it off on my sleeve, but more tears rolled down on their place. I was distantly aware of people entering the tent, but they stopped at the door.
"There was so much blood," I managed to whisper. Hizi's fingers stopped and his grip tightened. "Everyone was dead and I was alone. And he just kept laughing, He just laughed, he was crazy, and you want me to kill him!" I snapped at the figures at the door, who visibly flinched. "You want me to kill him and I can't do that, I can't!" The rage was bubbling up, fueled by the nightmare and my confusion. "It's impossible, I can't take the responsibility of freeing an entire land. I can't just kill a person! It's too much!"
"Cinnamon..." I heard someone say, but I didn't listen.
"You need someone else, I can't do it!"
"Cinnamon, calm down," Hizi said. "You had a nightmare, you're overreacting. I'm sure-"
"No! You can't be sure, you don't know me! You don't know anything, you're just a goblin!"
Everyone gasped, me included. I slapped my hand over my mouth and turned to Hizi, eyes wide and horrified.
"'Just a goblin'?" he said. His voice and expression were completely void of emotion. "I see. I suppose I'll take my leave then." He stood up and I struggled for words.
"Hizi, I'm-" I reached out for him, but he slapped my hand away and pushed out of the tent, before disappearing into the night. I felt empty. All the anger I had had was gone and all I could do was stare after Hizi.
"Goblins are very sensitive about their worth," I heard Em's voice quietly. Now that I could focus I saw who were standing in the tent. Pessi sat down next to me, putting his hands around my shoulders, and Em sat on my knee. Narada got the candle tray and lit the candles with a flick of her wrist. "Back when the land wasn't united, many folk were scared and prejudiced towards the others. There was much hate, especially towards trolls, who were judged harshly on their appearance and resentment of daylight." I glanced at Pessi, who had a sad look on his face. "Goblins were treated especially poorly, and deemed unworthy and useless, even by some other trolls."
"It's gotten better," Pessi said, "since the Queen united every folk, but the stereotypes are hard to uproot, and many folk are still very selfconscious about what the others thought of them. This includes most of the goblins, who can get very upset if they are belittled or made feel useless."
"I didn't know, I didn't mean-" I tried. Em nodded.
"We know. Let's just hope he does too."
___________________________________________________________________
Hahaaaaa, part 14. Yay. I remembered this like half past midnight, and was like "nnnaaaah, man, I need to sleeep" and then I didn't have time to write it on Sunday because we went swimming and to a puppet theater and stuff, and then you'd written your part and I figured, it's already too late, I can write it tomorrow. But here it is now. Waaaaa~
I don't have time to write the next part atm, but I'll write it in the evening, so sit tight!
Pie out.
"You alright?" he asked and I let out a groan. "Narada's pushin' you hard, huh? Here, this'll help you get your strength up." I turned my face away from my pillow as Hizi dug around his bag and pulled out something brown wrapped in paper. He broke off a piece and handed it to me as I sat up. It appeared to be bread of some kind and smelled really nice. A bit like... "That's gingerbread," Hizi said. "It's really rare around these parts, but us goblins are fairly good at finding ginger roots. So it's something of a specialty of ours." I smiled at him and muttered a thanks before tasting it a bit. It was really good. It tasted a bit like gingerbread back home, but it was much more, how should I put it, rich. I felt a bit of strength coming back to me already.
"This is delicious," I said and Hizi looked pleased. "You know, ginger isn't really rare from where I come from. Gingerbreads are actually a typical Christmas dessert. Though back home, they're much more like cookies than actual bread."
"Interesting," Hizi said. He was quiet for a while, before continuing, "In goblin culture, offering someone gingerbread is a sign of great trust." I looked up at Hizi in surprise. He was looking at the ground, appearing embarrassed. He really trusted me that much? It felt weird, we had literally met a week ago. But at the same time it didn't. We had talked a lot, during the meals and in the evenings before going to bed, and I felt like I had known him longer than that. Like time wasn't really a factor in all this. I didn't know what to think, so I stopped and instead smiled and placed my hand on Hizi's shoulder.
"Thank you."
~x~
I woke up in the middle of the night, screaming. Blood. So much blood. It was everywhere, covering every surface, every wall, every single no longer breathing being. The blank eyes on everyone's cold faces were still staring at me, right through me, right into my soul, and I could still hear the manic laughing echoing around me. No. Make it stop!
Hizi was kneeling next to me before I had time to realize what was going on. His hands were on my shoulders and I clutched his arms in a desperate need to ground myself, to know what was real.
"It's okay," I heard him say, and I tried to focus on his voice, but it was hard. The laughing was too loud. "It's okay, yeah? It was just a dream. Just a dream, you're safe here. You're safe here, nothing can get you. Shh, it's okay. Nothing can hurt you here."
I let out a shaky breath and a sob. Hizi's thumb drew circles on my shoulders. I noticed that my face was wet and tried to wipe it off on my sleeve, but more tears rolled down on their place. I was distantly aware of people entering the tent, but they stopped at the door.
"There was so much blood," I managed to whisper. Hizi's fingers stopped and his grip tightened. "Everyone was dead and I was alone. And he just kept laughing, He just laughed, he was crazy, and you want me to kill him!" I snapped at the figures at the door, who visibly flinched. "You want me to kill him and I can't do that, I can't!" The rage was bubbling up, fueled by the nightmare and my confusion. "It's impossible, I can't take the responsibility of freeing an entire land. I can't just kill a person! It's too much!"
"Cinnamon..." I heard someone say, but I didn't listen.
"You need someone else, I can't do it!"
"Cinnamon, calm down," Hizi said. "You had a nightmare, you're overreacting. I'm sure-"
"No! You can't be sure, you don't know me! You don't know anything, you're just a goblin!"
Everyone gasped, me included. I slapped my hand over my mouth and turned to Hizi, eyes wide and horrified.
"'Just a goblin'?" he said. His voice and expression were completely void of emotion. "I see. I suppose I'll take my leave then." He stood up and I struggled for words.
"Hizi, I'm-" I reached out for him, but he slapped my hand away and pushed out of the tent, before disappearing into the night. I felt empty. All the anger I had had was gone and all I could do was stare after Hizi.
"Goblins are very sensitive about their worth," I heard Em's voice quietly. Now that I could focus I saw who were standing in the tent. Pessi sat down next to me, putting his hands around my shoulders, and Em sat on my knee. Narada got the candle tray and lit the candles with a flick of her wrist. "Back when the land wasn't united, many folk were scared and prejudiced towards the others. There was much hate, especially towards trolls, who were judged harshly on their appearance and resentment of daylight." I glanced at Pessi, who had a sad look on his face. "Goblins were treated especially poorly, and deemed unworthy and useless, even by some other trolls."
"It's gotten better," Pessi said, "since the Queen united every folk, but the stereotypes are hard to uproot, and many folk are still very selfconscious about what the others thought of them. This includes most of the goblins, who can get very upset if they are belittled or made feel useless."
"I didn't know, I didn't mean-" I tried. Em nodded.
"We know. Let's just hope he does too."
___________________________________________________________________
Hahaaaaa, part 14. Yay. I remembered this like half past midnight, and was like "nnnaaaah, man, I need to sleeep" and then I didn't have time to write it on Sunday because we went swimming and to a puppet theater and stuff, and then you'd written your part and I figured, it's already too late, I can write it tomorrow. But here it is now. Waaaaa~
I don't have time to write the next part atm, but I'll write it in the evening, so sit tight!
Pie out.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Cinnamon, Part 13 - Stars
"Well," Em said when I arrived at the campfire in the evening. It was a cloudy night, "How did it go?"
"I love archery", I said. I felt myself glowing with excitement, even though I was exhausted after the whole day of training. It had been hard work, "I first sucked at it, but then I found the right bow, and I just... Wow. And I'm good at it. I didn't actually ever hit the bull's eye, but every time, with that bow, it was really, really close. So close that it doesn't matter. Other than I can't say I would've hit the target exactly where I wanted to."
"That is amazing", said Em, "I take it you're a better fighter from a long distance than from close by?"
"Definitely", I answered. I sat down on the log next to the fire. The house elf handed me some food, smiling shyly, and I gratefully accepted it.
"I think we can use your archery skills to our advantage", Azer said, "I don't think Folius won't expect an archer to be the one to defeat him. He doesn't ever have to even see you. We just have to figure out how to get you in a shooting range from him."
"We can attack, create a distraction", said the centaur, who's name I had learned to be Celer, "On a clear field, under the stars. They will help us. She just has to learn to shoot the right target far away among dozens of similar things, in the dark."
"In.." I almost choked on my food. I coughed it up and continued "In the dark a single target among dozens of similar? When exactly do you want me to be ready for that?"
"The sooner the better", Azer answered.
"Well, I'm pretty sure it will take a very long time for me to learn skills like that", I said, "Why do you want to attack in the dark anyway?"
"The stars", Celer said, "The stars are out in the night. Up and awake. They can guide us. But if they're asleep, they cannot."
"What makes you think the stars will help us?" Azer asked, "I think they have better things to do than help tiny creatures on the face of a tiny planet to kill..."
"I need to kill him?" I asked, baffled, but I was ignored. I didn't want to kill anyone. I couldn't kill anyone. Why were they expecting this of me?
"...another tiny creature simply because the they don't like him? How would that be a concern for the stars in any way?"
"The stars are alive?" I asked, still shocked of the whole killing thing. This timeI was heard.
"Of course", Em said, "Are they not alive in your world?"
"Well, they're big balls of fire and stuff fusing together to create energy", I said, hearing the hesitation in my voice.
"That's..." Azer said, "That's one of the most absurd things I have ever heard. The stars are the mothers of the world. In the beginning of time, they created everything. They created the creatures, and gave them language so that they could speak and work together to make the world they created for them a good place to live for themselves and everyone who comes after."
"Folius is their concern", Celer said, "Because he is not doing what they wish all creatures in the world to do. He is not creating a good world. He is turning all that used to be good into scary and foul. He is not good, the stars must see it."
"You know what", I said, "Why don't you stay here and plan your plans, and I will go sleep, because I am exhausted from all the training today. And I assume I need to have the energy to keep training tomorrow."
"Yes, that is good", said Azer, "Go, and rest, and learn more tomorrow."
I got up and walked to the tent with Hizi. I got out of the sweaty training clothes and put on a light layer of clean(er) ones. By the time my head touched the pillow I was already asleep.
I woke up in the morning and failed to get up. Everything hurt. Literally everything. And I found some bruises I didn't know I had. Finally, after a good way of trying, I got my muscles working enough and figured out how to ignore the pain to get up, dressed and out of the tent.
And then I went to train the whole day all over again.
_______________________________________________________________
Sorry this one's a little shorter than the ones before have been. I have stuff to talk about, too. I'll write a longer one again on... Sunday? Sunday.
First, about your last bit of the story.
As a capoeirista anytime anyone who doesn't actually do capoeira says anything about it, I need to clarify what it actually is. It is not a dance. It is nothing like a dance. Or choreographed fighting. If it was choreographed (or a dance), I wouldn't have half a dozen huge bruises right now from getting my ass kicked on Monday.
Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art developed by African slaves who got too fed up with being slaves. It was illegal for a really long time, because obviously the slave owners didn't like their slaves running off every night to practise fighting. I heard a story once from our mestre, that back when he was a kid and in Brazil, their academy (I might misremember the story, but the point stands) was in a not-so-friendly-neighborhood, but it didn't matter, because no one in their right mind would go fight capoeiristas. Except other capoeiristas, but that was the exact place they had learned everything they know, so they had nothing but respect for the place and the people there.
The reason people mistake it as a dance, is because it involves music. There is music (I have never heard an actual answer to why there is music, this is only how I've understood it) in capoeira, because, well, it's origins are in African-Brazilian culture. How do you not have some rhythmic with that combination? Also, back when capoeira was illegal, it was super handy to be able to change your capoeira practise into dancing in a half a second if the police happened to show up. Yes, there is a dance that is kinda like capoeira, called makulele (not sure of the spelling, Portuguese is a weird language), with the same rhythms and the same setting as a roda di capoeira (roda=circle).
So there you go. A very brief history of capoeira. Don't ever call it a dance.
I will probably talk more about capoeira in the end of January, because we have a batizado then and I'm getting the second belt.
Oh, and another thing that might actually interest you and I'm not sure you've heard. The equal marriage rights -bill is finally being handed over to the parliament today. It gathered 166851 names, in the end. Now we just have to wait and see first how long the parliament will take to go through it and then, some time in the spring, if they will actually let it pass. I've understood it's not all that certain it will, because Timo Soini has decided that everyone in their party has to vote against it no matter what they think. All the other parties are just telling their people that this is one of those issues in which everyone should vote as they feel right. But Perus Suomalaiset is a big enough a party that if they really all vote against, it will be difficult to make the bill pass.
I'll keep you updated on this. Unless you actually hear about anything going on in Finland from somewhere else.
Sorry all this other stuff was so long.
Your topic for tomorrow: Gingerbread
Keep writing! We're half way there!
Now I need to go stand behind a table for three hours hoping that someone what's their gifts wrapped.
~matu
"I love archery", I said. I felt myself glowing with excitement, even though I was exhausted after the whole day of training. It had been hard work, "I first sucked at it, but then I found the right bow, and I just... Wow. And I'm good at it. I didn't actually ever hit the bull's eye, but every time, with that bow, it was really, really close. So close that it doesn't matter. Other than I can't say I would've hit the target exactly where I wanted to."
"That is amazing", said Em, "I take it you're a better fighter from a long distance than from close by?"
"Definitely", I answered. I sat down on the log next to the fire. The house elf handed me some food, smiling shyly, and I gratefully accepted it.
"I think we can use your archery skills to our advantage", Azer said, "I don't think Folius won't expect an archer to be the one to defeat him. He doesn't ever have to even see you. We just have to figure out how to get you in a shooting range from him."
"We can attack, create a distraction", said the centaur, who's name I had learned to be Celer, "On a clear field, under the stars. They will help us. She just has to learn to shoot the right target far away among dozens of similar things, in the dark."
"In.." I almost choked on my food. I coughed it up and continued "In the dark a single target among dozens of similar? When exactly do you want me to be ready for that?"
"The sooner the better", Azer answered.
"Well, I'm pretty sure it will take a very long time for me to learn skills like that", I said, "Why do you want to attack in the dark anyway?"
"The stars", Celer said, "The stars are out in the night. Up and awake. They can guide us. But if they're asleep, they cannot."
"What makes you think the stars will help us?" Azer asked, "I think they have better things to do than help tiny creatures on the face of a tiny planet to kill..."
"I need to kill him?" I asked, baffled, but I was ignored. I didn't want to kill anyone. I couldn't kill anyone. Why were they expecting this of me?
"...another tiny creature simply because the they don't like him? How would that be a concern for the stars in any way?"
"The stars are alive?" I asked, still shocked of the whole killing thing. This timeI was heard.
"Of course", Em said, "Are they not alive in your world?"
"Well, they're big balls of fire and stuff fusing together to create energy", I said, hearing the hesitation in my voice.
"That's..." Azer said, "That's one of the most absurd things I have ever heard. The stars are the mothers of the world. In the beginning of time, they created everything. They created the creatures, and gave them language so that they could speak and work together to make the world they created for them a good place to live for themselves and everyone who comes after."
"Folius is their concern", Celer said, "Because he is not doing what they wish all creatures in the world to do. He is not creating a good world. He is turning all that used to be good into scary and foul. He is not good, the stars must see it."
"You know what", I said, "Why don't you stay here and plan your plans, and I will go sleep, because I am exhausted from all the training today. And I assume I need to have the energy to keep training tomorrow."
"Yes, that is good", said Azer, "Go, and rest, and learn more tomorrow."
I got up and walked to the tent with Hizi. I got out of the sweaty training clothes and put on a light layer of clean(er) ones. By the time my head touched the pillow I was already asleep.
I woke up in the morning and failed to get up. Everything hurt. Literally everything. And I found some bruises I didn't know I had. Finally, after a good way of trying, I got my muscles working enough and figured out how to ignore the pain to get up, dressed and out of the tent.
And then I went to train the whole day all over again.
_______________________________________________________________
Sorry this one's a little shorter than the ones before have been. I have stuff to talk about, too. I'll write a longer one again on... Sunday? Sunday.
First, about your last bit of the story.
As a capoeirista anytime anyone who doesn't actually do capoeira says anything about it, I need to clarify what it actually is. It is not a dance. It is nothing like a dance. Or choreographed fighting. If it was choreographed (or a dance), I wouldn't have half a dozen huge bruises right now from getting my ass kicked on Monday.
Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art developed by African slaves who got too fed up with being slaves. It was illegal for a really long time, because obviously the slave owners didn't like their slaves running off every night to practise fighting. I heard a story once from our mestre, that back when he was a kid and in Brazil, their academy (I might misremember the story, but the point stands) was in a not-so-friendly-neighborhood, but it didn't matter, because no one in their right mind would go fight capoeiristas. Except other capoeiristas, but that was the exact place they had learned everything they know, so they had nothing but respect for the place and the people there.
The reason people mistake it as a dance, is because it involves music. There is music (I have never heard an actual answer to why there is music, this is only how I've understood it) in capoeira, because, well, it's origins are in African-Brazilian culture. How do you not have some rhythmic with that combination? Also, back when capoeira was illegal, it was super handy to be able to change your capoeira practise into dancing in a half a second if the police happened to show up. Yes, there is a dance that is kinda like capoeira, called makulele (not sure of the spelling, Portuguese is a weird language), with the same rhythms and the same setting as a roda di capoeira (roda=circle).
So there you go. A very brief history of capoeira. Don't ever call it a dance.
I will probably talk more about capoeira in the end of January, because we have a batizado then and I'm getting the second belt.
Oh, and another thing that might actually interest you and I'm not sure you've heard. The equal marriage rights -bill is finally being handed over to the parliament today. It gathered 166851 names, in the end. Now we just have to wait and see first how long the parliament will take to go through it and then, some time in the spring, if they will actually let it pass. I've understood it's not all that certain it will, because Timo Soini has decided that everyone in their party has to vote against it no matter what they think. All the other parties are just telling their people that this is one of those issues in which everyone should vote as they feel right. But Perus Suomalaiset is a big enough a party that if they really all vote against, it will be difficult to make the bill pass.
I'll keep you updated on this. Unless you actually hear about anything going on in Finland from somewhere else.
Sorry all this other stuff was so long.
Your topic for tomorrow: Gingerbread
Keep writing! We're half way there!
Now I need to go stand behind a table for three hours hoping that someone what's their gifts wrapped.
~matu
Cinnamon, Part 12 - Archery
The next morning was a clear, if a bit chilly. After breakfast Em took me to the practicing range that had been set up slightly off the camp. There were already several creatures there practicing. Fighting with swords, maces and spears, as well as archery, magic, and even regular fist fights. Many paused their training when we arrived and nodded at us, before continuing what they'd stopped. A few of them came to stand by Em's side. They looked like they were high in ranks.
"Alright then," Em said. I turned to look at her. "We need to train you up. These are our head instructors, each of whom have their own special area. We should start with the basics, hand-to-hand combat." She gestured at a faun, who saluted. "This is Nentus. He's the best when it comes to battling without weapons. Have you had any previous training?" They all looked at me expectantly.
"Oh, well... I have been doing capoeira for some time now," I suggested. They all looked very confused. "It's sort of a martial arts. I mean, many call it dancing, but it's more choreographed fighting really. And if nothing else, it has kept me flexible and in decent shape."
~x~
We trained for the whole day. I did hand-to-hand combat with Nentus until lunch (which the house elf brought us) and by then I had gotten a good hang of it. Nothing compared to most of the fighters, of course, but enough to give me a fighting chance (excuse the pun) should it come down to it. After lunch we tried the swords, which was taught by two forest elves, or fae, I suppose. It was much harder than movies make it look, but I managed to learn a basic stab-and-defense. The mace was ridiculously heavy and the centaur just laughed as I failed to pick it up. We moved on from that pretty quickly. Em even wanted me to try learn some magic, but that didn't really work out. I did manage to gather some energy within me, which made me feel stronger and more durable, but I was unable to get it out of my body. Em was slightly disappointed, but she did say magic was generally harder for humans to learn, and most couldn't even get as far as I had.
As we settled for a break and some dinner (brought again by the house elf, who was actually quite lovely and always seemed to know exactly what everyone needed), I had managed to learn quite a bit of hand-to-hand, some basic sword fighting, how to throw a dagger and that a ball and chain is a fricking terrifying weapon and one should never be near it. I almost bashed myself in the head when I tried to spin it. There was only one thing left to try: archery.
The teacher was an elf. Like, a proper elf. Lotr elf. She had long hair with braids and high cheek bones and a regal expression. Her skin was dark though, but that made her look even more stunning. Her name was Narada, apparently, and she could really shoot an arrow.
"You must concentrate on the bow," she said as she drew another arrow. "It will tell you how to shoot. All you need to do is listen." And I watched in awe as she split the previous arrow in two. "Now, lift up your bow."
I lifted up my bow and placed the arrow. I had shot with a bow a few time before and it had been fun, but this time it was different. Somehow. Like my eyes were open.
"You draw the bow," she told me and I complied. She leaned over and adjusted my position slightly, lifting my elbow. "Do not fear it. Respect it, and it will respect you back." I took a deep breath and aimed.
Shwing.
It hit the edge of the target.
I left out a frustrated huff. Narada shook her head.
"Don't be frustrated. It takes time to learn to listen. You must practice your position, your aim and find the best bow for you." She offered me another, slightly longer one. "Try this."
I tried. Not much improvement. I went through several different bows Narada gave me, but none felt right. Finally I decided to pick one for myself. I gazed at the different bows on the stand. A shorter bow had felt better, so perhaps... The one of them caught my eye. It was smaller than the rest, and was almost hiding behind the other ones, as if ashamed to even be there. It didn't look like it fitted with all the other bows, mighty and sturdy, made for war. I picked it up and it felt good in my hand. It was a dark wood, and had engravings on it, forming a spirally braid all over the handle.
"Oh," came Narada's voice behind me. She seemed surprised. I walked back to position with the small bow resting in my hand. I placed the arrow and took a deep breath. It's you and me, I thought to myself. I don't fit here either. And it was almost as if the bow had started to sing. It sang in my ear and I took aim and we released the arrow together.
And it was a bull's eye. Well, almost.
_______________________________________________________________
Haaaaah, I am terribly lacking in motivation to write this, I am sorry....... Oh well. At least the story's progressing.
I made gingerbreads today. Well, the dough. We'll be baking them tomorrow. Nomnomnom.
Your topic for tomorrow: Uhm.... Stars. I don't think that's been used yet?
Pie out.
"Alright then," Em said. I turned to look at her. "We need to train you up. These are our head instructors, each of whom have their own special area. We should start with the basics, hand-to-hand combat." She gestured at a faun, who saluted. "This is Nentus. He's the best when it comes to battling without weapons. Have you had any previous training?" They all looked at me expectantly.
"Oh, well... I have been doing capoeira for some time now," I suggested. They all looked very confused. "It's sort of a martial arts. I mean, many call it dancing, but it's more choreographed fighting really. And if nothing else, it has kept me flexible and in decent shape."
~x~
We trained for the whole day. I did hand-to-hand combat with Nentus until lunch (which the house elf brought us) and by then I had gotten a good hang of it. Nothing compared to most of the fighters, of course, but enough to give me a fighting chance (excuse the pun) should it come down to it. After lunch we tried the swords, which was taught by two forest elves, or fae, I suppose. It was much harder than movies make it look, but I managed to learn a basic stab-and-defense. The mace was ridiculously heavy and the centaur just laughed as I failed to pick it up. We moved on from that pretty quickly. Em even wanted me to try learn some magic, but that didn't really work out. I did manage to gather some energy within me, which made me feel stronger and more durable, but I was unable to get it out of my body. Em was slightly disappointed, but she did say magic was generally harder for humans to learn, and most couldn't even get as far as I had.
As we settled for a break and some dinner (brought again by the house elf, who was actually quite lovely and always seemed to know exactly what everyone needed), I had managed to learn quite a bit of hand-to-hand, some basic sword fighting, how to throw a dagger and that a ball and chain is a fricking terrifying weapon and one should never be near it. I almost bashed myself in the head when I tried to spin it. There was only one thing left to try: archery.
The teacher was an elf. Like, a proper elf. Lotr elf. She had long hair with braids and high cheek bones and a regal expression. Her skin was dark though, but that made her look even more stunning. Her name was Narada, apparently, and she could really shoot an arrow.
"You must concentrate on the bow," she said as she drew another arrow. "It will tell you how to shoot. All you need to do is listen." And I watched in awe as she split the previous arrow in two. "Now, lift up your bow."
I lifted up my bow and placed the arrow. I had shot with a bow a few time before and it had been fun, but this time it was different. Somehow. Like my eyes were open.
"You draw the bow," she told me and I complied. She leaned over and adjusted my position slightly, lifting my elbow. "Do not fear it. Respect it, and it will respect you back." I took a deep breath and aimed.
Shwing.
It hit the edge of the target.
I left out a frustrated huff. Narada shook her head.
"Don't be frustrated. It takes time to learn to listen. You must practice your position, your aim and find the best bow for you." She offered me another, slightly longer one. "Try this."
I tried. Not much improvement. I went through several different bows Narada gave me, but none felt right. Finally I decided to pick one for myself. I gazed at the different bows on the stand. A shorter bow had felt better, so perhaps... The one of them caught my eye. It was smaller than the rest, and was almost hiding behind the other ones, as if ashamed to even be there. It didn't look like it fitted with all the other bows, mighty and sturdy, made for war. I picked it up and it felt good in my hand. It was a dark wood, and had engravings on it, forming a spirally braid all over the handle.
"Oh," came Narada's voice behind me. She seemed surprised. I walked back to position with the small bow resting in my hand. I placed the arrow and took a deep breath. It's you and me, I thought to myself. I don't fit here either. And it was almost as if the bow had started to sing. It sang in my ear and I took aim and we released the arrow together.
And it was a bull's eye. Well, almost.
_______________________________________________________________
Haaaaah, I am terribly lacking in motivation to write this, I am sorry....... Oh well. At least the story's progressing.
I made gingerbreads today. Well, the dough. We'll be baking them tomorrow. Nomnomnom.
Your topic for tomorrow: Uhm.... Stars. I don't think that's been used yet?
Pie out.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Cinnamon, Part 11 - The Oath
The lemon smelled really good. I mean, really good. Hizi kept staring at me. I was tired and annoyed, so I decided to ignore it. It was just a lemon. I pushed my nails through the skin of the yellow fruit and some juice squirted out. Hizi let out a horrible scream.
"What?" my voice sounded way more annoyed than I had intended it to.
"It's a lemon", he gasped.
"So?" I peeled off a small bit of the skin and sucked at the juice within. Hizi kept making horrible sounds, like he didn't want me to even touch the lemon, but never made a move to stop me.
"You... are ok?" he breathed as I sucked at the fruit, wincing at the bitterness.
"Of course I am", I said. I just wanted to go to sleep, "It's just a lemon."
"Just..." he gaped, "We need to go find Azer."
He marched out of the tent and I followed him, sighing, with the lemon in my hand. On the way a centaur glanced at me, at my hand, and startled, taking a few steps backwards. Why do they all seem to think lemons are dangerous?
We found Azer soon. He was at the main fire, talking quietly with the highest in charge of the Freedom Fighters. Hizi cleared his throat and the creatures around the fire turned to look at him.
"I hate to interrupt your meeting, high sires, but..." he hesitated for a moment, "I have good news and bad. Both very important, or I wouldn't be bothering you."
"Let's hear the bad news first", said Azer calmly.
"I believe someone tried to kill Cinnamon", Hizi said.
"What?" I blurted out. Kill me?
"How?" Azer asked, ignoring me.
"That brings us to the good news", Hizi said quietly, "Who ever tried to kill her failed, because apparently our guest is immune to lemons."
This was the moment when everyone's gaze turned towards me. I lifted the lemon I had in my hand. A drop of juice was running down my hand, so I licked it off without even thinking about it.
"I, um... I found a lemon on my pillow when we got back to the tent", I said, just wanting to break the silence and make everyone stop staring at me. It didn't work, "It's a really good lemon, sweeter than any I have ever tasted."
"You are immune to lemons?" Azer asked, like he didn't believe what he saw.
"Um..." I said again, "Immune? Um... I guess. I mean, they don't cause any problems. Sure, they're really bitter so my face flinches when I'm eating them, but..."
"You never thought to mention you were immune to lemons?" Azer said, with a serious face.
"I... never thought it was relevant. What is this fuss with lemons anyway?"
"Lemons", Em began, "Are the most terribly toxic thing to anyone from this world. Just one drop on the skin is enough to kill. Even holding one for too long can make you ill with a sickness that is sometimes fatal."
"Seriously?" I asked, my voice now sounding like I didn't believe what they said. Though that would explain everyone's reaction to the lemon I was eating.
"Yes", Azer answered, "But you, you are immune to that. You can touch lemons? You can eat lemons?"
"Well, yes", I said stupidly. I wasn't quite sure if I had just fallen asleep right after entering the tent and everything from the moment of seeing the lemon was just a dream. But no, I was awake.
"Do you know what this means?" Em asked.
"I have a superpower?" I asked, "Can I please go to bed now, I'm exhausted."
"Soon", Azer answered, "We can use lemons to defeat Folius. You can use. That's why we need you. No one else could do it."
"Awesome", I said simply. Seriously, lemons? What was up with this place?
"We need to keep this a secret", Azer said, "Everyone. You have all witnessed and heard things that cannot be told anyone else. We have a weapon no one would ever imagine we could use, but they are wrong. We can use this assassination attempt to our benefit. Stand up!"
The creatures around the fire stood up.
"You have to take an oath. An oath saying, you cannot ever tell anyone, what you saw here this night."
The creatures lifted their hands (or what counted as a hand) to their hearts, which of some where in very weird places. Azer began to talk again, words I did not understand, in a language that sounded as ancient as time. The other creatures closed their eyes and repeated in low voice the words Azer spoke.
And then, finally, after a detour with Hizi to bury the lemon someplace no one could ever find it and find it eaten, I was allowed to go to sleep.
_______________________________________________________________
About the topics I've been giving you: they've been weird and out of context for a reason. If I gave you a topic that actually has to do with the story, I'd feel like I'm guiding you to write something along the lines I see the story going. And I don't want that. I mean, if I didn't give you stupid topics, we wouldn't have lemons as a lethal weapon. Stupid topics is what make the story more interesting. Or at least more weird (which in this case probably means more interesting, since its interest won't come from well thought out characters and plots).
Fine, I'll give you a little easier (=something that might quite clearly actually have something to do with the story) topic for tomorrow: Archery.
I don't think I've got anything else today.
~matu
"What?" my voice sounded way more annoyed than I had intended it to.
"It's a lemon", he gasped.
"So?" I peeled off a small bit of the skin and sucked at the juice within. Hizi kept making horrible sounds, like he didn't want me to even touch the lemon, but never made a move to stop me.
"You... are ok?" he breathed as I sucked at the fruit, wincing at the bitterness.
"Of course I am", I said. I just wanted to go to sleep, "It's just a lemon."
"Just..." he gaped, "We need to go find Azer."
He marched out of the tent and I followed him, sighing, with the lemon in my hand. On the way a centaur glanced at me, at my hand, and startled, taking a few steps backwards. Why do they all seem to think lemons are dangerous?
We found Azer soon. He was at the main fire, talking quietly with the highest in charge of the Freedom Fighters. Hizi cleared his throat and the creatures around the fire turned to look at him.
"I hate to interrupt your meeting, high sires, but..." he hesitated for a moment, "I have good news and bad. Both very important, or I wouldn't be bothering you."
"Let's hear the bad news first", said Azer calmly.
"I believe someone tried to kill Cinnamon", Hizi said.
"What?" I blurted out. Kill me?
"How?" Azer asked, ignoring me.
"That brings us to the good news", Hizi said quietly, "Who ever tried to kill her failed, because apparently our guest is immune to lemons."
This was the moment when everyone's gaze turned towards me. I lifted the lemon I had in my hand. A drop of juice was running down my hand, so I licked it off without even thinking about it.
"I, um... I found a lemon on my pillow when we got back to the tent", I said, just wanting to break the silence and make everyone stop staring at me. It didn't work, "It's a really good lemon, sweeter than any I have ever tasted."
"You are immune to lemons?" Azer asked, like he didn't believe what he saw.
"Um..." I said again, "Immune? Um... I guess. I mean, they don't cause any problems. Sure, they're really bitter so my face flinches when I'm eating them, but..."
"You never thought to mention you were immune to lemons?" Azer said, with a serious face.
"I... never thought it was relevant. What is this fuss with lemons anyway?"
"Lemons", Em began, "Are the most terribly toxic thing to anyone from this world. Just one drop on the skin is enough to kill. Even holding one for too long can make you ill with a sickness that is sometimes fatal."
"Seriously?" I asked, my voice now sounding like I didn't believe what they said. Though that would explain everyone's reaction to the lemon I was eating.
"Yes", Azer answered, "But you, you are immune to that. You can touch lemons? You can eat lemons?"
"Well, yes", I said stupidly. I wasn't quite sure if I had just fallen asleep right after entering the tent and everything from the moment of seeing the lemon was just a dream. But no, I was awake.
"Do you know what this means?" Em asked.
"I have a superpower?" I asked, "Can I please go to bed now, I'm exhausted."
"Soon", Azer answered, "We can use lemons to defeat Folius. You can use. That's why we need you. No one else could do it."
"Awesome", I said simply. Seriously, lemons? What was up with this place?
"We need to keep this a secret", Azer said, "Everyone. You have all witnessed and heard things that cannot be told anyone else. We have a weapon no one would ever imagine we could use, but they are wrong. We can use this assassination attempt to our benefit. Stand up!"
The creatures around the fire stood up.
"You have to take an oath. An oath saying, you cannot ever tell anyone, what you saw here this night."
The creatures lifted their hands (or what counted as a hand) to their hearts, which of some where in very weird places. Azer began to talk again, words I did not understand, in a language that sounded as ancient as time. The other creatures closed their eyes and repeated in low voice the words Azer spoke.
And then, finally, after a detour with Hizi to bury the lemon someplace no one could ever find it and find it eaten, I was allowed to go to sleep.
_______________________________________________________________
About the topics I've been giving you: they've been weird and out of context for a reason. If I gave you a topic that actually has to do with the story, I'd feel like I'm guiding you to write something along the lines I see the story going. And I don't want that. I mean, if I didn't give you stupid topics, we wouldn't have lemons as a lethal weapon. Stupid topics is what make the story more interesting. Or at least more weird (which in this case probably means more interesting, since its interest won't come from well thought out characters and plots).
Fine, I'll give you a little easier (=something that might quite clearly actually have something to do with the story) topic for tomorrow: Archery.
I don't think I've got anything else today.
~matu
Cinnamon, Part 10 - Lemons
I really, reaaaallly don't feel like writing today, ugh. So this will be short and terrible. Sorry.
__________________________________________________________________
The meeting got boring quickly after that. Azer and the mer-king discussed strategies and opportunities and all kinds of details, none of which I understood or really cared about. I only wanted to go home, not be a part of any revolution. I understood that this prince or whatever was a really bad person, but I was tired and still confused and this wasn't actually my problem. Finally, after what felt like eternity, the meeting ended and we returned to camp. The conclusion, I believe, was that the fish would not be an active part of the rebellion, but if we ever needed them, we could count on their help.
The house elf offered me a small bag of honeyed nuts as a light snack for the evening and I gratefully accepted it. I got to the tent slightly before Hizi, who had stopped to chat with a fairy by the main tent, and when I got in I noticed something on my pillow. I picked it up just as Hizi walked in and he froze in spot.
"Bloody hell," he whispered as I turned the yellow fruit in my hand. "It's..."
"A lemon," I said. Hizi's eyes were wide open with fear.
__________________________________________________________________
Screw you and your lemons, what kinda topic is that? I've at least tried to give you topics that I think would make sense. But ahh, I have had a terribly tiresome day, so I really don't feel like trying to come up with something better. Your topic tomorrow: An Oath
And, yes, I'm aware it sucks that you get these things on the following day, but I don't really have time until the evening. I can try to write these things the previous evening, ad then I could post it in the morning, but stuff happens. Yeah. I'm out. Smell ya later.
Pie out.
__________________________________________________________________
The meeting got boring quickly after that. Azer and the mer-king discussed strategies and opportunities and all kinds of details, none of which I understood or really cared about. I only wanted to go home, not be a part of any revolution. I understood that this prince or whatever was a really bad person, but I was tired and still confused and this wasn't actually my problem. Finally, after what felt like eternity, the meeting ended and we returned to camp. The conclusion, I believe, was that the fish would not be an active part of the rebellion, but if we ever needed them, we could count on their help.
The house elf offered me a small bag of honeyed nuts as a light snack for the evening and I gratefully accepted it. I got to the tent slightly before Hizi, who had stopped to chat with a fairy by the main tent, and when I got in I noticed something on my pillow. I picked it up just as Hizi walked in and he froze in spot.
"Bloody hell," he whispered as I turned the yellow fruit in my hand. "It's..."
"A lemon," I said. Hizi's eyes were wide open with fear.
__________________________________________________________________
Screw you and your lemons, what kinda topic is that? I've at least tried to give you topics that I think would make sense. But ahh, I have had a terribly tiresome day, so I really don't feel like trying to come up with something better. Your topic tomorrow: An Oath
And, yes, I'm aware it sucks that you get these things on the following day, but I don't really have time until the evening. I can try to write these things the previous evening, ad then I could post it in the morning, but stuff happens. Yeah. I'm out. Smell ya later.
Pie out.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Cinnamon, Part 9 - Fish
"Wake up", there was a small, gentle sound in my ear, "Cinnamon, it's time to wake up."
I swiped my hand through the air trying to get a grasp of reality and almost hit Em, who was floating in the air next to me.
"Oh", I mumbled, still half asleep, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."
"It's ok", the fairy said, "But you do need to get up. We have a lot to do today. We need to move the camp."
"Why?" I asked, finding some clothes someone had apparently laid out for me during the night. I began to dress.
"We need to meet with the fish", the fairy answered.
"The fish?"
"The merfolk", Em said, "We need to move the camp to the sea. Come out once you're done, get some breakfast. We're leaving as soon as everything is ready."
I nodded, and Em flew out of the tent. I finished dressing and braided my hair to make it easier to hide. I pulled on a huge, blue cap and stuffed the braid and all the loose hair under it the best I could.
When I stepped out of the tent I was blinded by the daylight. It had been dark in the tent, behind only a thin layer of cloth... Oh, right, faerie magic. There was a fuss all around me, the packing of tents and equipment, some creatures eating breakfast. I walked through what was left of the tents back to where the fire had been the previous evening. I ran into Azer on the way.
"Good morning, Cinnamon", he said in his low, liony growl, "Go just around the corner there, Em will give you something to eat."
I nodded and headed the way I was showed. There were only a couple of people around the fire that looked like it had just been put out. I was handed something like bread to eat. I sat on a big, fallen tree and watched the chaotic disappearance of the camp. Well, I supposed it wasn't actually chaotic. Just looked that way.
I wondered how I had gotten there. From getting ready to get ready for Christmas to being some kind of hero from a prophecy in a land that's not supposed to exist. I didn't have a long time to think, though, because soon I was told the crowd was ready to go. Everything was packed and ready. So the journey began.
A couple of hours into the walk I spotted Hizi. He walked up to me (and Azer and Em, who had insisted me to travel with them), looking apologetic.
"I'm sorry I disappeared on you", the goblin said.
"It's ok", I said. I had hardly noticed him missing, with all the being a future hero and all. I had someone keeping me busy all the time.
"I was ordered to go and work with the other goblins. But from now on I will stay where you are."
I smiled at him. I was getting tired. We did, luckily, have a break soon after that. Some rest for the feet and food to keep us going. Most of my time I spent hoping I could be alone for even a while. That I would have some time and space to think through and actually understand what was happening to me. I never got the time.
After another five, six hours I saw the sea. It was huge and blue and turquoise. Soon we were by the shore, but not quite on the sand yet. About twenty creatures gathered around us and Azer gave them orders. The tents were to put back up. Fires started to get everyone some food.
I walked to the waterline with Azer, Em, Hizi and a bunch of other creatures in the higher places of command.Azer let out a sound I can't quite describe, other than it was a sound I never thought could come out of a lion. Something appeared twenty meters off the beach and started towards us. I could soon make out it was a merman. The skin was greenish and there was skin between his fingers, but otherwise he looked surprisingly much like a human. Well, the top of him at least. He was holding a spear in his hand.
"You're the Freedom Fighters", he stopped a few meters away from us, "The ones on the land."
"Yes", Azer answered, "I am Azer, and I lead these people. This is Em", he gestured to the glowing fairy in the air next to him, "My second in command. We would like to speak with your king."
"Regarding what?" the merman asked in a doubting voice, "We cannot do anything to the evil Prince. He walks on the land"
"He terrorizes you too. And you can do more than you think. All help is needed. That's why were here. That, and her", Azer pointed at me. I waved awkwardly at the merman.
"Is that...?" he began, eyes widening.
"Yes", Azer said, "Would you be so kind and go tell your king we would like to speak with him?"
"Yes, sir", the merman disappeared into the waves. We were all silent, staring out into the sea, for some minutes, that seemed to last forever. Then the merman appeared again.
"My king says he will meet with you. At sunset, come to the Bay."
"We will. Thank you", Azer nodded and the merman turned and disappeared once again.
"The fish seem nice. A little mistrustful, though", I said to Em when we walked back to the tents (that someone had put up for us).
"They are both", the fairy said, smiling, "Although you might want to avoid calling them fish when they are around. They don't like it very much, though they do understand that it is not meant for hurting them", I nodded.
The house elf cook was making something on a fire. We had just time to eat before we had to leave again. The Bay wasn't far away, and it wasn't much of a bay either. It was a place where the beach stopped being a sandy beach and the bedrock came out. The shore just ended and the water began. It was like a cliff, but the drop to the water was barely half a meter. I could clearly see why this would be a place to be chosen for the creatures from the land and the sea to meet.
Hizi started a fire, to give us light when it would come dark. I sat on a log with the other creatures staring into the fire. Others were chatting about something, possibly serious business. I wasn't listening.
The moment the sun first hit the horizon out at the sea, something appeared to the surface of the water. Many somethings. Six or seven. I shaded my eyes with my hand to see the merfolk swimming towards us against the sun. When they got close, I saw two of them were wearing something that were probably crowns. Unlike in the little mermaid, the mermaids were not wearing a seashell bra. They simply had long hair and seaweed that stuck to their wet bodies like clothes. The seven of them jumped to sit on the edge of the cliff.
"I understood you wished to speak with me?" said the one in the middle that was clearly the king. He looked like a king in every way.
"Yes", Azer said, bowing, "I thank you for coming."
__________________________________________________________________
Try to be a little earlier next time. Preferably have the post on the right day for us too. Though I know, writing every second day is surprisingly a lot of work, so I'll ignore the hour you were late. Just don't do it again.
I don't think I have anything else to say today. Have fun with the fish.
Your topic for tomorrow is Lemons.
~matu
I swiped my hand through the air trying to get a grasp of reality and almost hit Em, who was floating in the air next to me.
"Oh", I mumbled, still half asleep, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."
"It's ok", the fairy said, "But you do need to get up. We have a lot to do today. We need to move the camp."
"Why?" I asked, finding some clothes someone had apparently laid out for me during the night. I began to dress.
"We need to meet with the fish", the fairy answered.
"The fish?"
"The merfolk", Em said, "We need to move the camp to the sea. Come out once you're done, get some breakfast. We're leaving as soon as everything is ready."
I nodded, and Em flew out of the tent. I finished dressing and braided my hair to make it easier to hide. I pulled on a huge, blue cap and stuffed the braid and all the loose hair under it the best I could.
When I stepped out of the tent I was blinded by the daylight. It had been dark in the tent, behind only a thin layer of cloth... Oh, right, faerie magic. There was a fuss all around me, the packing of tents and equipment, some creatures eating breakfast. I walked through what was left of the tents back to where the fire had been the previous evening. I ran into Azer on the way.
"Good morning, Cinnamon", he said in his low, liony growl, "Go just around the corner there, Em will give you something to eat."
I nodded and headed the way I was showed. There were only a couple of people around the fire that looked like it had just been put out. I was handed something like bread to eat. I sat on a big, fallen tree and watched the chaotic disappearance of the camp. Well, I supposed it wasn't actually chaotic. Just looked that way.
I wondered how I had gotten there. From getting ready to get ready for Christmas to being some kind of hero from a prophecy in a land that's not supposed to exist. I didn't have a long time to think, though, because soon I was told the crowd was ready to go. Everything was packed and ready. So the journey began.
A couple of hours into the walk I spotted Hizi. He walked up to me (and Azer and Em, who had insisted me to travel with them), looking apologetic.
"I'm sorry I disappeared on you", the goblin said.
"It's ok", I said. I had hardly noticed him missing, with all the being a future hero and all. I had someone keeping me busy all the time.
"I was ordered to go and work with the other goblins. But from now on I will stay where you are."
I smiled at him. I was getting tired. We did, luckily, have a break soon after that. Some rest for the feet and food to keep us going. Most of my time I spent hoping I could be alone for even a while. That I would have some time and space to think through and actually understand what was happening to me. I never got the time.
After another five, six hours I saw the sea. It was huge and blue and turquoise. Soon we were by the shore, but not quite on the sand yet. About twenty creatures gathered around us and Azer gave them orders. The tents were to put back up. Fires started to get everyone some food.
I walked to the waterline with Azer, Em, Hizi and a bunch of other creatures in the higher places of command.Azer let out a sound I can't quite describe, other than it was a sound I never thought could come out of a lion. Something appeared twenty meters off the beach and started towards us. I could soon make out it was a merman. The skin was greenish and there was skin between his fingers, but otherwise he looked surprisingly much like a human. Well, the top of him at least. He was holding a spear in his hand.
"You're the Freedom Fighters", he stopped a few meters away from us, "The ones on the land."
"Yes", Azer answered, "I am Azer, and I lead these people. This is Em", he gestured to the glowing fairy in the air next to him, "My second in command. We would like to speak with your king."
"Regarding what?" the merman asked in a doubting voice, "We cannot do anything to the evil Prince. He walks on the land"
"He terrorizes you too. And you can do more than you think. All help is needed. That's why were here. That, and her", Azer pointed at me. I waved awkwardly at the merman.
"Is that...?" he began, eyes widening.
"Yes", Azer said, "Would you be so kind and go tell your king we would like to speak with him?"
"Yes, sir", the merman disappeared into the waves. We were all silent, staring out into the sea, for some minutes, that seemed to last forever. Then the merman appeared again.
"My king says he will meet with you. At sunset, come to the Bay."
"We will. Thank you", Azer nodded and the merman turned and disappeared once again.
"The fish seem nice. A little mistrustful, though", I said to Em when we walked back to the tents (that someone had put up for us).
"They are both", the fairy said, smiling, "Although you might want to avoid calling them fish when they are around. They don't like it very much, though they do understand that it is not meant for hurting them", I nodded.
The house elf cook was making something on a fire. We had just time to eat before we had to leave again. The Bay wasn't far away, and it wasn't much of a bay either. It was a place where the beach stopped being a sandy beach and the bedrock came out. The shore just ended and the water began. It was like a cliff, but the drop to the water was barely half a meter. I could clearly see why this would be a place to be chosen for the creatures from the land and the sea to meet.
Hizi started a fire, to give us light when it would come dark. I sat on a log with the other creatures staring into the fire. Others were chatting about something, possibly serious business. I wasn't listening.
The moment the sun first hit the horizon out at the sea, something appeared to the surface of the water. Many somethings. Six or seven. I shaded my eyes with my hand to see the merfolk swimming towards us against the sun. When they got close, I saw two of them were wearing something that were probably crowns. Unlike in the little mermaid, the mermaids were not wearing a seashell bra. They simply had long hair and seaweed that stuck to their wet bodies like clothes. The seven of them jumped to sit on the edge of the cliff.
"I understood you wished to speak with me?" said the one in the middle that was clearly the king. He looked like a king in every way.
"Yes", Azer said, bowing, "I thank you for coming."
__________________________________________________________________
Try to be a little earlier next time. Preferably have the post on the right day for us too. Though I know, writing every second day is surprisingly a lot of work, so I'll ignore the hour you were late. Just don't do it again.
I don't think I have anything else to say today. Have fun with the fish.
Your topic for tomorrow is Lemons.
~matu
Cinnamon, Part 8 - Hat
Everyone stared at me in silence, expecting me to say something. I didn't really know what to say. It was, it was huge. It was crazy!
"You think that's me?" I finally managed to get out. Azer looked confused and the group stared intently at him.
"It has been foretold, and with Yule so close at hand it only makes sense. You are the Cinnamon, who will free this land," the lion said. I was flustered and kept looking around.
"No, but- I can't possibly do that! I wouldn't know how and Cinnamon isn't even my real name, it's-"
"Halt! Show yourself!"
Everyone turned to look at the source of the sound. The guards were pointing their weapons into the dark, where a small outline of a creature could be seen.
"Woah, woah! Hold your horses!" came a voice that I instantly recognized. The centaur snorted in anger and raised his spear higher. "I don't want trouble, I'm just lookin' for someone."
"Hizi, what are you doing here?" I asked and the guards looked back at me. Hizi smiled as he stepped into the circle of light.
"I promised the Witch I'd protect you, din't I? I'm just glad someone found you before that bloody squirrel lead you straight into the swamps, because let me tell you, those spirits ain't nice and they-" He trailed off when he saw Azer standing behind me. "Oh," he continued. "You must be the freedom fighters. Well that's nice and all. If they've taken a shine on you I suppose you just might be the one in the prophecies."
"You knew about that?" I asked and Hizi shrugged.
"Of course, everyone does. Very bad poetry, if you ask me, but it's generally wise to take note of game changin' prophecies."
"And Folius knows as well," Azer said. "So I believe it wise if you try to lay low and not tell anyone your name until you know they can be trusted. I hope the news of your arrival haven't spread very far." He gestured at the one who had been in charge of the group that brought me in and he saluted. "You must be tired. Pessi will show you to an empty tent. The goblin stays here, I need to make sure he can be trusted." Hizi looked up at me and then back at the lion, his eyes wide. I didn't stay to find out how Azer determined his trustworthiness as Pessi gestured me to follow him and we walked between the trees into the darkness.
~x~
We weren't in the darkness for long. We arrived in front of two trees, leaning into each other in an unfinished A, where Pessi stopped and whispered a word I didn't catch. The air seemed to shift, somehow, and when we walked under the trees the whole scenery changed. We were in a clearing with rows and rows of tents and I just stood there, mouth agape.
"But-" I said and Pessi turned to look back at me. "How?"
"Faerie magic," he said, as if that explained everything. Although I suppose it did, because hey!, magic. We walked along the corridors of tents until he stopped in front of one and pulled the door open for me to get in. It wasn't all that big, with room for three or four people, a lot of fur and blankets and pillows, and a clay plate with three thick candles in the middle.
"You will need a hat," Pessi said suddenly. "And some new clothes. You stick out like a sore thumb in what ever that is you are wearing." I looked down at my clothes. Jeans and a black t-shirt with a big purple eye in the middle. Yeah, I needed to change.
"I get the clothes, but why do I need a hat?" I asked. Pain flashed in Pessi's expression.
"Because of your hair. Ever since the prophecy was made, Folius has been obsessed with getting rid of everything that has to do with cinnamon. We've all lost friends to his madness." His voice was small and sad, but then he shook his head and his expression turned determined again. "I'll go see if I can find you something to wear," he said and turned to leave
"No, wait," I splurted out and he stopped looking surprised. "Maybe... Stay? For a while. I just have so much I still don't understand and I really don't want to be alone right now." He blinked a few times before huffing and smiling. He sat down in front of the plate of candles and started to try lighting them with what I presumed to be a tinderbox. I sat down across from him while digging the canvas bag for my coat pocket and pulling out my lighter. Pessi looked up at me curiously as I reached across and his eyes widened in surprise as I lit the candles with the lighter.
"Woah," he said and I smiled as I put the lighter away again.
"So, um," I started, not really knowing how to be polite about this. Pessi tilted his head. "Are you like a... A troll? Or something?"
"Oh," he said, like he hadn't expected that. "Yes, but you should know that there are several kinds of trolls. The mountain trolls and the forest trolls and meadow trolls and so on. So not all trolls are quite the same." He shrugged. "Kinda like not all elves are the same, and not all fae. But yeah, I'm a troll. Specifically a menninkaenen or a, uh, hobgoblin."
I nodded. It was all still confusing, but getting to know a little about the creatures here helped me sort out my thoughts.
"And your freedom fighters want to get rid of the elf prince? Why would you care? Don't you have a troll prince?" Pessi snickered, though I didn't know what he found so funny.
"Yes, there is a troll prince. There is also a troll king, and the mountain trolls have their own king, but we are all subjects to the Queen, for she has great power at her command," he explained.
"But Folius's is greater." I said. Pessi nodded.
"He is a high elf. He already has great to power within himself, and added to that of the Queens's... He terrorizes everyone, regardless of race and class. Most are too scared to too anything, but our group will no longer put up with the way he treats his subjects."
"Is that why you fight?" I asked. Pessi looked embarrassed.
"Well, that's, uh, basically the reason," he said, scratching his neck. His ears were flushed.
"Is there... Is there someone you like?" He ran his hand through his hair.
"Is it that obvious?" he asked and I nodded. A small smile was playing at his lips. "Ah, it's embarrassing, really. There's this sunbeam..."
"A what?"
"Oh, they're fae. They are creatures of light magic and in charge of the sun, making sure it rises and sets on time and all that. And their Queen and our Queen and the Queen of Moons were all in really good terms but Folius messed that right up. And now he has everyone hostage and sunbeams don't know what to do but their jobs. You know, trolls aren't really supposed to go out in the sun, it makes us slow and weak and give us a bit of a rash really. Mountain trolls can even turn to stone, or so I've heard. And if the light is too intense, it can burn our eyes out.
"But this one night I was up really early, before the sun had set properly and I met one of them. The last one, the youngest. And the beauty, oh, the radiance. He smiled at me, and everything about him was perfect, and I fell in love instantly. We talked for a bit, about the situation with the Queen and I promised I would do everything in my power to help the fae. But then the sun set and, well... I'm a man of my word, and so I joined the Freedom Fighters. And now you are here and the hopes are high. The day of change is near."
He sounded so excited, and that made me feel terrible. These people were putting their hopes on me, but what could I do? I didn't know anything about this world or leading an guerrilla army or revolution. I had seen Les Mis, but they hadn't really been all that successful! Hizi came in soon after that, looking shaken up and when I asked what had happened, he shuddered and said "Faerie magic" as if that explained everything. Although I suppose it did, and I really didn't want to know. Pessi left and I went to sleep, feeling even more overwhelmed than I had before.
________________________________________________________________
I wrote this thing for almost three hours so you better appreciate it! I don't know how the rules apply, since I really started writing this at ten on the right day, but it's like ten to one right now. Your call, I guess.
Yay, more characters and dialogue. I had a big sob story about Pessi's big brother having a cinnamon coat and getting killed and their father going to the palace with an army, effectively wiping off most of their species, but that seemed kinda harsh. And cliche. And besides, I've been working on a sunbeam and the troll inspired thingie for a while now so yay, a place to put that in. Also, you don't get rid of Hizi that easy, hahahahahaha.
Your topic fortomorrow today is: Fish.
Pie out.
"You think that's me?" I finally managed to get out. Azer looked confused and the group stared intently at him.
"It has been foretold, and with Yule so close at hand it only makes sense. You are the Cinnamon, who will free this land," the lion said. I was flustered and kept looking around.
"No, but- I can't possibly do that! I wouldn't know how and Cinnamon isn't even my real name, it's-"
"Halt! Show yourself!"
Everyone turned to look at the source of the sound. The guards were pointing their weapons into the dark, where a small outline of a creature could be seen.
"Woah, woah! Hold your horses!" came a voice that I instantly recognized. The centaur snorted in anger and raised his spear higher. "I don't want trouble, I'm just lookin' for someone."
"Hizi, what are you doing here?" I asked and the guards looked back at me. Hizi smiled as he stepped into the circle of light.
"I promised the Witch I'd protect you, din't I? I'm just glad someone found you before that bloody squirrel lead you straight into the swamps, because let me tell you, those spirits ain't nice and they-" He trailed off when he saw Azer standing behind me. "Oh," he continued. "You must be the freedom fighters. Well that's nice and all. If they've taken a shine on you I suppose you just might be the one in the prophecies."
"You knew about that?" I asked and Hizi shrugged.
"Of course, everyone does. Very bad poetry, if you ask me, but it's generally wise to take note of game changin' prophecies."
"And Folius knows as well," Azer said. "So I believe it wise if you try to lay low and not tell anyone your name until you know they can be trusted. I hope the news of your arrival haven't spread very far." He gestured at the one who had been in charge of the group that brought me in and he saluted. "You must be tired. Pessi will show you to an empty tent. The goblin stays here, I need to make sure he can be trusted." Hizi looked up at me and then back at the lion, his eyes wide. I didn't stay to find out how Azer determined his trustworthiness as Pessi gestured me to follow him and we walked between the trees into the darkness.
~x~
We weren't in the darkness for long. We arrived in front of two trees, leaning into each other in an unfinished A, where Pessi stopped and whispered a word I didn't catch. The air seemed to shift, somehow, and when we walked under the trees the whole scenery changed. We were in a clearing with rows and rows of tents and I just stood there, mouth agape.
"But-" I said and Pessi turned to look back at me. "How?"
"Faerie magic," he said, as if that explained everything. Although I suppose it did, because hey!, magic. We walked along the corridors of tents until he stopped in front of one and pulled the door open for me to get in. It wasn't all that big, with room for three or four people, a lot of fur and blankets and pillows, and a clay plate with three thick candles in the middle.
"You will need a hat," Pessi said suddenly. "And some new clothes. You stick out like a sore thumb in what ever that is you are wearing." I looked down at my clothes. Jeans and a black t-shirt with a big purple eye in the middle. Yeah, I needed to change.
"I get the clothes, but why do I need a hat?" I asked. Pain flashed in Pessi's expression.
"Because of your hair. Ever since the prophecy was made, Folius has been obsessed with getting rid of everything that has to do with cinnamon. We've all lost friends to his madness." His voice was small and sad, but then he shook his head and his expression turned determined again. "I'll go see if I can find you something to wear," he said and turned to leave
"No, wait," I splurted out and he stopped looking surprised. "Maybe... Stay? For a while. I just have so much I still don't understand and I really don't want to be alone right now." He blinked a few times before huffing and smiling. He sat down in front of the plate of candles and started to try lighting them with what I presumed to be a tinderbox. I sat down across from him while digging the canvas bag for my coat pocket and pulling out my lighter. Pessi looked up at me curiously as I reached across and his eyes widened in surprise as I lit the candles with the lighter.
"Woah," he said and I smiled as I put the lighter away again.
"So, um," I started, not really knowing how to be polite about this. Pessi tilted his head. "Are you like a... A troll? Or something?"
"Oh," he said, like he hadn't expected that. "Yes, but you should know that there are several kinds of trolls. The mountain trolls and the forest trolls and meadow trolls and so on. So not all trolls are quite the same." He shrugged. "Kinda like not all elves are the same, and not all fae. But yeah, I'm a troll. Specifically a menninkaenen or a, uh, hobgoblin."
I nodded. It was all still confusing, but getting to know a little about the creatures here helped me sort out my thoughts.
"And your freedom fighters want to get rid of the elf prince? Why would you care? Don't you have a troll prince?" Pessi snickered, though I didn't know what he found so funny.
"Yes, there is a troll prince. There is also a troll king, and the mountain trolls have their own king, but we are all subjects to the Queen, for she has great power at her command," he explained.
"But Folius's is greater." I said. Pessi nodded.
"He is a high elf. He already has great to power within himself, and added to that of the Queens's... He terrorizes everyone, regardless of race and class. Most are too scared to too anything, but our group will no longer put up with the way he treats his subjects."
"Is that why you fight?" I asked. Pessi looked embarrassed.
"Well, that's, uh, basically the reason," he said, scratching his neck. His ears were flushed.
"Is there... Is there someone you like?" He ran his hand through his hair.
"Is it that obvious?" he asked and I nodded. A small smile was playing at his lips. "Ah, it's embarrassing, really. There's this sunbeam..."
"A what?"
"Oh, they're fae. They are creatures of light magic and in charge of the sun, making sure it rises and sets on time and all that. And their Queen and our Queen and the Queen of Moons were all in really good terms but Folius messed that right up. And now he has everyone hostage and sunbeams don't know what to do but their jobs. You know, trolls aren't really supposed to go out in the sun, it makes us slow and weak and give us a bit of a rash really. Mountain trolls can even turn to stone, or so I've heard. And if the light is too intense, it can burn our eyes out.
"But this one night I was up really early, before the sun had set properly and I met one of them. The last one, the youngest. And the beauty, oh, the radiance. He smiled at me, and everything about him was perfect, and I fell in love instantly. We talked for a bit, about the situation with the Queen and I promised I would do everything in my power to help the fae. But then the sun set and, well... I'm a man of my word, and so I joined the Freedom Fighters. And now you are here and the hopes are high. The day of change is near."
He sounded so excited, and that made me feel terrible. These people were putting their hopes on me, but what could I do? I didn't know anything about this world or leading an guerrilla army or revolution. I had seen Les Mis, but they hadn't really been all that successful! Hizi came in soon after that, looking shaken up and when I asked what had happened, he shuddered and said "Faerie magic" as if that explained everything. Although I suppose it did, and I really didn't want to know. Pessi left and I went to sleep, feeling even more overwhelmed than I had before.
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I wrote this thing for almost three hours so you better appreciate it! I don't know how the rules apply, since I really started writing this at ten on the right day, but it's like ten to one right now. Your call, I guess.
Yay, more characters and dialogue. I had a big sob story about Pessi's big brother having a cinnamon coat and getting killed and their father going to the palace with an army, effectively wiping off most of their species, but that seemed kinda harsh. And cliche. And besides, I've been working on a sunbeam and the troll inspired thingie for a while now so yay, a place to put that in. Also, you don't get rid of Hizi that easy, hahahahahaha.
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Pie out.
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