Seven Snippets Seven People

Seven Snippets Seven People

I'm catching up with my tags this week after toiling on the first chapters of Enchanted Illusions and Realms of Loss. I was Tagged by @tabswrites, here! Thank you so much!

(These snippets are from the WIP Realms of Loss)

One -

“Do you think the starlight can see us?”

The prince whispered, almost to himself, and Nesrynna frowned, confused at the strange question as she settled down beside him on the hard rock ground, nursing her injured hand. Behind them, the others kept themselves busy setting up camp for the night. “Whatever do you mean?”

TWO -

Her twin blades shimmered in the faint starlight, and Sara traced the edge with the tip of her finger, thinking, her mentor's words echoing in the back of her mind. 'We cannot change what were born as. But we can use it to our advantage.'

She glanced at her reflection on the frosted river, ghostly white hair flowing like an omen in the wind, so much like her mother's. Long ago, Sara had decided, clinging desperately to the hope carried by those words - maybe a monster could save lives, if it turned its fangs towards worse evils.

Three -

Adaria inched forward, leather boots soundlessly sifting through the snow as she stalked, in her hands, her bow and arrow were poised to strike. Moving behind a tree, she waited for the telltale signs of the approaching caravan. The sounds of iron wheels scraping against the frozen forest floor snapped her attention, and as it barrelled into view, her arrow flew, perfectly aimed.

Four-

"Listen, fancy pants."

Gwain growled, marching up to Oryon with such confident anger the wizard stumbled away. The young man grasped the collar of the other's gilded robes, almost lifting Oryon up from the ground.

"I had to do what it took to survive, it’s not a matter of choice. Ever know what starving feels like? No, you don't. I had to use what few broken tools I still had at my disposal, and pray I could make them work - and maybe, just maybe, my siblings and I would survive the Lost Lands' winter. Not everyone has a silver spoon stuck that far up their backside like you do. So don't you dare,"

His eyes burned with such fury Oryon could've sworn Gwain was a Caster like him. The wizard squirmed, regretting making his previous comment already as Gwain continued, staring him down so closely their noses almost touched.

"Don't you dare act like I've ever asked for what I had to do. You wouldn't understand. And if I ever catch you digging around my thoughts uninvited again, my daggers won't be so polite."

Five -

The cold winter chill whipped through his ears, snowflakes clinging to Viktoras’ long onyx hair and wet clothes, as his horse raced through grey road. It had been a long journey from the barracks on the edge of their kingdom, and with the cold seeping from his clothes and into his bones, the young man prayed there wouldn’t be any surprises on the way home. 

Beside him, his elder cousin, Prince Hael, led a few of their trusted soldiers, who followed them close behind. The unmistakable clinking of armor echoed through the blizzard, along with the rhythmic hoofbeats of their warhorses. It was a sound he’d grown to know all too well - so much so it was almost soothing, were it not for the blood staining his cousin’s sword. 

Six -

He stood at the crossroads between blind duty and doing the right thing. On the one hand, he could become a praised knight, like his adoptive father before him, but it would mean ignoring the lies told to him by the Crown. On the other, the chance to do the right thing and fight for the people he swore to protect - and help a thief commit treason against their ruler.

Kassien knew the choice should've been obvious when it came to traitors, that his Oath to the Queen should reign absolute over any other option. But as his white-knuckled grip on the blade loosened and he moved its tip away from the thief's throat, he found that he might not know himself that well after all.

Seven -

Lucian peeked into the dungeons, the smell of rust and dried-out blood burning into his nostrils and memory.

Father might as well cut off his head if he caught Lucian prowling around here, but as the young man sneaked past the guards, heart thundering in his chest and sweaty hands shaking, he forced himself to ignore all of that. He'd heard the rumors about the outsider locked away behind iron and steel, and they felt all too familiar. They called the outsider dangerous, selfsame as they'd always called Lucian disgraceful.

He'd seen what this person's magic could do. And so, Lucian forced himself to ignore the risk - not out of curiosity. But because this was his one and only chance to meet someone like him.

Tagging (gently): @crowandmoonwriting, @moonluringfrost, @the-mindless, @autumnalwalker, @writernopal, @rickie-the-storyteller, @lassiesandiego

Happy Worldbuilding Wednesday, Sam!

What is the most otherwordly/strange/ethereal (positively or negatively) location in the world of your WIP? Is it somewhere anyone can have access to at some point or is it restricted/unreachable in some way? + What makes that place so unique?

Hi @mysticstarlightduck, happy belated WBW💜

I'm going to talk about the Sun King's Palace in the Clouds here.

It is very much otherworldly in that it has been created initially as a palace on an artificial floating island, made by the Dancer, the King's spouse, who was the most powerful Elemental Dancer in history. It was a show of her mastery, the pinnacle of what can be achieved with human hands.

With time, people's beliefs took hold of it and raised it higher and higher, until it was pushed out of the earthly plane and became another dimension entirely. Nowadays, only those with level of power comparable to a dragon can reach it. Also, they need to have means of flying.

It's said to be a place of incredible beauty, a land of eternal summer, where there's no death or illness. The Sun King and the Dancer live there with their honour guard.

BG3- My rogue high elf Tav, upon finding Araj Oblodra again in Act 3 Lower City, after the drow (very creepily) hit on Astarion on Moonrise Towers in Act 2:

Heads Up Seven Up

I was tagged by @oh-no-another-idea, here! Thank you so much for the tag!

This one is a slightly smaller snippet from a Rewrite of a climactic confrontation that takes place in Act 2 of my WIP Tales of Wilted Flowers.

“So you kept it a secret.” Lorelai crossed her arms over her chest, brows furrowed as she scrambled after Xarian, who had stormed off anxiously into the woods.  Xarian doesn’t look over his shoulders, which tensed up as he walked faster, hands fidgeting his sides. His usually soft voice was now bitter and sharp as he answered with a quick, “Yes. I didn’t think it would matter.”

Tagging - @the-mindless, @writernopal, @crowandmoonwriting, @meerawrites, @unstablewifiaccess, @sm-writes-chaos, @steh-lar-uh-nuhs, @aziz-reads @sam-glade and @rickie-the-storyteller

Last Line Tag!

I was tagged by @crowandmoonwriting for this one! Thank you so much for the Tag!

This is the last line I've written from Enchanted Illusions (Chapter 1, Agatha Greenwoods' POV)

She heard the door open to the lobby behind her, and without looking back, Agatha scampered her way down the large staircase, skipping steps and nearly tumbling down until she reached the first floor.