So as most of you probably know, I'm taking part in Royal Roads Anniversary Writathon. The goal of this is to write 55,000 words in 5 weeks with a half way point of 25k by midday tomorrow (UK time).
I'm currently at almost 16k words and I believe I can write 9k more by that initial deadline if I keep writing through the day. However, if I ...
2021-11-14 15:13:48 +0000 UTC View PostThe girls left Baromiir as soon as they were ready. They rode hard and fast and remained quiet for the most part until the town was but a distant memory. Rowan was glad to be done with the place, but at the same time she was a wee bit sad. Baromiir was a nice enough town, but Rowan would never be able to look at it the same way again. It would f...
2021-11-09 13:45:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Seres rose early the next morning. Being woken up by the ring and the fear of losing Rowan had given fuel to her own nightmares. They weren’t as bad as Rowan's, but there was no escaping it after the many years they had spent in the caves. Seres was even convinced that Amran’s nights had to be at least slightly haunted. The anger f...
Content Warning: This chapter features a vivid account of an attempted rape and security harassment. If this bothers or is likely to trigger you, read the second scene at your own discretion.
"I'm surprised they let us in without so much as a question."
The two gir...
2021-11-03 03:26:52 +0000 UTC View PostRowan woke up screaming. The nightmares were finally back in full force. Flashes of pain and suffering so real, so visceral, that she could feel them now. She had dreamed of the eclipse in vivid detail, only every mistake, every moment of terror was punctuated by the touch of the Silent Sisters. Rowan's back roared in agony.
That isn't wha...
2021-10-28 05:31:55 +0000 UTC View PostRowan gave the Queen a pointed look which was returned by her own piercing sea green gaze.
"Why did it take you so long to discover the raiders and their operation?"
"That's a good question," Queen Elarin responded, "I'm surprised you hadn't already asked it."
"It hadn’t crossed my mind until yesterday."
"Well the answe...
2021-10-18 23:13:32 +0000 UTC View PostA few days had passed since the ball. In that time, Queen Elarin met with everyone that had been involved in the escape, from the other prisoners to Ædarik and his party. She made sure that they were fully rewarded or given a head start where appropriate.
From what Rowan could tell, part of that included arranging transport for those that...
2021-10-18 22:46:00 +0000 UTC View Post“Ah ah choo.”
Rowan woke up sneezing loudly from a wandering tail tickling her nose. Not exactly the most romantic start to the morning after your first time. Alas, there was no helping it as Alena had found her way into the nook of Rowan’s armpit, and while she was fast asleep, purring away, her tail had a mind of its own.
Unf...
2021-10-18 22:27:16 +0000 UTC View PostTwo river petals and a dawn flower to go and Tehri’s bouquet would be complete. She had spent the entire morning picking out flowers from the now surprisingly abundant flower garden that she had been tending to for the past four years. It wasn’t much but it let her stretch her creative juices without being overly expensive; which is to say i...
2021-10-18 22:25:57 +0000 UTC View PostNot a moment had passed after the two girls had sat down for breakfast that Seres started to inquire about Rowan’s dawn time exhibitionism.
“You don’t need to answer me, Rowan, but why did you decide to present yourself to gardeners in the nude?”
“That wasn’t my intent,” Rowan answered with a face redder than the tomato...
2021-10-18 22:20:55 +0000 UTC View PostThe touch of crimson settled on Rowan’s cheeks as a euphoric tingling rushed through her body, jolting her awake. She settled back down into the plump mattress that had been struggling to lull her to sleep since she had arrived. Last night it had finally succeeded in bringing her comfort. Unfortunately, that comfort was now marred by a slight ...
2021-10-18 22:19:12 +0000 UTC View PostIn the brief moments where Rowan was alone she realised that she still wasn’t dressed. This left her with the highly awkward conundrum of whether or not she should rush to get dressed. In the end she decided against it as she was convinced that her brother and Seres would walk in while she was half naked or even completely naked if she was unl...
2021-10-18 22:17:37 +0000 UTC View PostRowan stood in the training grounds, a gentle breeze caressing her face. She held Elan Fiir in her hands. It was an exhilarating feeling; difficult to describe. Stronger and more nimble. Weightier and more graceful. The Resonance of the sword ripple through every inch of her body.
“It’s bizarre, isn’t it?” Tyris asked from where he...
2021-10-18 21:50:37 +0000 UTC View PostRowan’s heart was beating a thousand times a minute. She could hardly believe that Tyris was right there on the other side of the door. Part of her was scared. A large part. It was all so sudden. What happened to being given a chance to prepare? How had Tyris had the chance to prepare? Her thoughts were racing; a feeling she still wasn’t use...
2021-10-18 21:49:31 +0000 UTC View Post“Hoist the sails! We’re bringing her into port.”
The large captain of The Wind Rose boomed instructions at his crew as he took the helm. The change in the ship’s energy was palpable; Rowan felt it in her bones. That isn’t to say that everyone felt the same way. Many were excited or, at the very least, relieved, but a sizable few ...
2021-10-18 21:48:25 +0000 UTC View PostOn the sixth morning, Rowan sat against the aft railing and looked up to the sun over the port side of the ship. She still couldn’t quite believe it wasn’t all some cruel dream or a new form of torture that the Silent Sisters had devised. Even so, she could not deny how real the warm light felt or how it filled her with hope. There was too m...
2021-10-18 21:46:54 +0000 UTC View PostThe sun was low in the sky when The Wind Rose raised its anchor. Everyone was on board and they had been given as much room as Dralik could spare. Admittedly, that wasn’t much as his hold was filled with goods and food for the voyage.
The crew was remarkably quiet as they set sail. Ædarik hadn’t expected it with how boisterous Captain...
2021-10-18 21:45:53 +0000 UTC View PostThe small group sighed in relief as they stepped out into the soft blush of dawn. Freedom! They had finally done it. Gone were the hellborn caves that had come so close to breaking them. They had been destroyed by Illyria’s wrath. The first part of Rowan’s quest was complete. She hadn’t saved everyone, far from it, but she had made a start...
2021-10-18 21:44:07 +0000 UTC View PostÆdarik was face-first on the ground and seeing stars. The earth shattering quake had brought the cave ceiling down around him and his escort. One of them was crushed from the waist down by a large boulder. The other went running for the hills and he was alone. He could feel the blood trickling down the back of his head.
“Fuck!” His he...
2021-10-18 21:42:53 +0000 UTC View PostÆdarik felt cold from anger and the ebon flow of night as he followed the two shrouded men garbed in thick, black gambeson. He wanted to kill them, to gut them mercilessly for what they did. In the long hours he had waited, listening to the poor girl’s cries, he knew true torment and that was nothing compared to what she had suffered. If he c...
2021-10-18 21:41:07 +0000 UTC View PostContent Warning: Heavily implied rape and sexual abuse. If this is something you wish to avoid at all costs, follow this link to learn where the scene in question begins.
A melancholic lord of perhaps thirty looked down at his indignant son. “No ...
2021-10-18 21:39:26 +0000 UTC View PostAgony. That is what Kiriin felt as her torturer worked his craft. She was strapped to a chair and she was adorned with a crystalline crown. He played a grim melody on the crystals that Resonated deep within her soul. Each note gave rise to a different kind of pain. The only way she could hide from it was by retreating into her mind. She found a ...
2021-10-18 21:37:46 +0000 UTC View PostTehri woke up screaming; a silent cry that no one could hear. Night terrors. She had been suffering from them for almost a year, ever since she had woken up in that strange room. They haunted her every single night and they would wake her without fail. She had nothing. Her family was gone and she was alone; at night at least. No one could hear h...
2021-10-18 21:36:24 +0000 UTC View PostFor many long arduous hours, Rowan was tortured by the Silent Sisters. As they worked their grim art, a warden, one of the educators, droned on with an unrelenting tirade of blame. Each word hammered on that Anri’s death was her fault, that Rowan’s unwillingness to act and her feeble attempts at comfort led Anri to the irrational decision th...
2021-10-18 21:35:15 +0000 UTC View PostContent Warning: Descriptions of violence, implications of rape and graphic depictions of unintended suicide
For two weeks, the Silent Sisters continued to torture Rowan, trying to break her and for two weeks, they failed. Amran remained strong of mind in the face of adversity as always. With Seres, they had slowly starte...
2021-10-18 21:33:32 +0000 UTC View PostContent Warning: Vivid descriptions of torture and attempts at coercion.
Three days had passed since Anri returned to the cell and Rowan was almost entirely healed. It had only been seventeen days since the strange symbol had been carved into her back. Such rapid healing for a wound that large was unfathomable. Rowan orig...
2021-10-18 21:30:11 +0000 UTC View PostFor what felt like hours, Tehri ran, her body growing weaker with each passing moment. She was confused and terrified. Everything that had happened since she woke up made no sense. Cruel people had surrounded her while she lay with her hands bound and mouth gagged. They wanted to kill her or sell her and they nearly did when they dragged her awa...
2021-10-18 21:28:21 +0000 UTC View PostThe days that followed Rowan’s rather awkward first encounter with the Ferran boy passed much as the rest had, except for the embarrassment that she felt towards the matter. After some encouragement from Anri and Seres, she worked up the courage to approach him again and apologise for her awkward behaviour.
This time, the boy was looking...
2021-10-18 21:27:00 +0000 UTC View PostContent Warning: Significant descriptions of emotional and physical trauma.
For several days, perhaps even a week after the attack, the raiders rode hard and fast. It was difficult for Rowan to say for sure, especially with the canvas sack over her head. After the first day, it became even harder when the raiders replaced...
2021-10-18 21:23:43 +0000 UTC View PostContent Warning: Significant descriptions violence and physical/emotional trauma.
Rowan’s mood improved little as evening approached on the day of the eclipse. If anything she felt confused and conflicted and her mood was a cacophony of emotion. If only apologising were easy. If only things had never gotten to this poin...
2021-10-18 21:19:49 +0000 UTC View Post