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runicloreRuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnne. Throw an inspiration brick at me! Please?
Amethystine Dreams - Chapter Four
By: Amber Michelle and Rune Grey
The day that dawned on Nisan after the battle with the rebels was unseasonably warm, and the scent of dust, woodsmoke, and grass hung like a pall over the city once the sun had cleared the jagged wall of mountains that embraced the valley. The streets were already busy by the time Miang had donned her formal robes and left Elly's house; shops were opening and the street was alive with shouts and quips from store to store as their owners set out their displays on covered tables. Long lines stretched from the coffee houses and restraunts. The city was crowded, almost bursting at the seams, and it would worsen before the sun reached its peak.
Despite the masked man's admonishments, Miang had already given up on patience and descended into frustration. Finding one voice in a city /full/ of voices was harder than it sounded, and he wasn't going to make it any easier for her, was he? Oh /no/. /Patience/! Pah.
She heaved a sigh and wished she hadn't; the scent of sweets and spiced tea reached her nose, tempting. Elly's home hadn't yielded an easy breakfast, so she had simply left without eating, a decision she regretted wholeheartedly now. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a proper meal. It simply hadn't occurred to her.
But as quickly as the thought came, she pushed it away. Her status as a member of the clergy would be worth a free meal at any one of those establishments, but she had ventured out to search for someone, not to waste her time waiting in line at a cafe. If her body became insistent about it she could return to the cathedral to eat - indeed, she would have to return anyway, sooner or later, so she might as well time it right and arrive for dinner. God would live if she neglected her prayers until then just this once.
Live. God would /live/. What a terrible joke.
If only terrible jokes would bring her benefactor out of the woodwork. They had once before. He'd hated Krelian's dry, sarcastic little quips - that much, she remembered.
Krelian. Was he waiting at the cathedral with Sophia? What would she think of the horrible things he had done to his hair? It had been such a shame to watch him bleach that beautiful indigo shade away.
Miang shook her head and halted in front of a butcher's shop, leaning back against the whitewashed wall to catch her breath. Voices inside caught her attention for a moment, before she dismissed them both as unimportant - they weren't the least bit similar to the tone she was looking for. A butcher would not carry himself the way the masked man did, and from the look of it, most of the city-dwellers didn't either. All the better for her search, even if it /was/ a touch irritating. Just /where/ was he hiding? /What/ was he afraid of?
He would stick out like a sore thumb, if he truly did wander the city as she thought he might. It had been speculated before, though Miang had not paid much attention to her sisters' discusions in the past. There was a spy in their midst - that much was clear, and it was someone of intelligence. The average bandit was illiterate at best, stupid at worst. An idiot couldn't rule that rabble, so it seemed reasonable, now that she considered it.
But what an odd thing for a leader to do. Impractical. A general should always stand back and keep sight of the bigger picture.
*****
It has been at least three months since I wrote this, so I can see a few problems that need to be fixed. Like... pacing. There needs to be a little more between the first two paragraphs. I should probably get rid of the unfunny joke. (It wasn't supposed to be funny, but still.) I should play a little more with her mix-up of time, so it isn't so out-of-the-blue. Or heck, since we've done it before, maybe it's fine. I don't know.
This is only the beginning. I have vague plans for a scene with Emeralda and Miang, something about Elly and the weight of the sisterhood's regard, and then... I think it's about time the mysterious man reveal himself, at least to Miang. There's nothing like ending a chapter with a revelation like that - it may not be good, but it'll give me the pleasure of torturing whoever is still reading this. I don't write many real stories these days, so the opportunity is rare. :p
Eh. I could leave this story for dead, but that would be such a shame.
Amethystine Dreams - Chapter Four
By: Amber Michelle and Rune Grey
The day that dawned on Nisan after the battle with the rebels was unseasonably warm, and the scent of dust, woodsmoke, and grass hung like a pall over the city once the sun had cleared the jagged wall of mountains that embraced the valley. The streets were already busy by the time Miang had donned her formal robes and left Elly's house; shops were opening and the street was alive with shouts and quips from store to store as their owners set out their displays on covered tables. Long lines stretched from the coffee houses and restraunts. The city was crowded, almost bursting at the seams, and it would worsen before the sun reached its peak.
Despite the masked man's admonishments, Miang had already given up on patience and descended into frustration. Finding one voice in a city /full/ of voices was harder than it sounded, and he wasn't going to make it any easier for her, was he? Oh /no/. /Patience/! Pah.
She heaved a sigh and wished she hadn't; the scent of sweets and spiced tea reached her nose, tempting. Elly's home hadn't yielded an easy breakfast, so she had simply left without eating, a decision she regretted wholeheartedly now. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a proper meal. It simply hadn't occurred to her.
But as quickly as the thought came, she pushed it away. Her status as a member of the clergy would be worth a free meal at any one of those establishments, but she had ventured out to search for someone, not to waste her time waiting in line at a cafe. If her body became insistent about it she could return to the cathedral to eat - indeed, she would have to return anyway, sooner or later, so she might as well time it right and arrive for dinner. God would live if she neglected her prayers until then just this once.
Live. God would /live/. What a terrible joke.
If only terrible jokes would bring her benefactor out of the woodwork. They had once before. He'd hated Krelian's dry, sarcastic little quips - that much, she remembered.
Krelian. Was he waiting at the cathedral with Sophia? What would she think of the horrible things he had done to his hair? It had been such a shame to watch him bleach that beautiful indigo shade away.
Miang shook her head and halted in front of a butcher's shop, leaning back against the whitewashed wall to catch her breath. Voices inside caught her attention for a moment, before she dismissed them both as unimportant - they weren't the least bit similar to the tone she was looking for. A butcher would not carry himself the way the masked man did, and from the look of it, most of the city-dwellers didn't either. All the better for her search, even if it /was/ a touch irritating. Just /where/ was he hiding? /What/ was he afraid of?
He would stick out like a sore thumb, if he truly did wander the city as she thought he might. It had been speculated before, though Miang had not paid much attention to her sisters' discusions in the past. There was a spy in their midst - that much was clear, and it was someone of intelligence. The average bandit was illiterate at best, stupid at worst. An idiot couldn't rule that rabble, so it seemed reasonable, now that she considered it.
But what an odd thing for a leader to do. Impractical. A general should always stand back and keep sight of the bigger picture.
*****
It has been at least three months since I wrote this, so I can see a few problems that need to be fixed. Like... pacing. There needs to be a little more between the first two paragraphs. I should probably get rid of the unfunny joke. (It wasn't supposed to be funny, but still.) I should play a little more with her mix-up of time, so it isn't so out-of-the-blue. Or heck, since we've done it before, maybe it's fine. I don't know.
This is only the beginning. I have vague plans for a scene with Emeralda and Miang, something about Elly and the weight of the sisterhood's regard, and then... I think it's about time the mysterious man reveal himself, at least to Miang. There's nothing like ending a chapter with a revelation like that - it may not be good, but it'll give me the pleasure of torturing whoever is still reading this. I don't write many real stories these days, so the opportunity is rare. :p
Eh. I could leave this story for dead, but that would be such a shame.