The more Nori brushed, the dirtier she felt. When she had been covered in grime, that had just been the way of life. But once she removed the splotches from her tan skin, the clean parts served to highlight the dirty ones. With each scratch of the bristly brush, her destination weighed heavier and heavier in her mind. She didn’t need to just b...
2025-03-03 23:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post“Okay, take your kitchen shears and cut along the top of the shell. Just let it chip off. Don’t go all the way. Don’t hit the meat.”
Nori demonstrated as she spoke, taking a cluster of acorn barnacles that looked like three volcanoes stuck into a ball, the recesses of each section holding a chunk of meat. She worked the edges to wi...
2025-02-28 18:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostArchie’s feet slid across the dirt as he dug in and squatted, solidifying his base. With a powerful step forward, he unleashed a mass of noodles that made a warbling sound as they stretched and extended toward his target. He was fast. Faster than ever.
But not fast enough.
Picea dashed forward, closing the distance between them and...
2025-02-27 18:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post“He does not like you,” Brûlée told Julienne during their second week of lessons.
Julienne watched as Orzo grabbed Yarrow’s shoulder and laughed over some inside joke.
“He’s been nice to me,” Julienne argued.
“No. He’s acted nice. His nice toward you is not like his nice toward us.”
“I mean, he’s t...
2025-02-26 18:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostJulienne missed many things about Ambrosia City, but he did not miss its air. Everything was so packed together, forcing a hundred otherwise pleasant aromas condense into one overwhelming, unidentifiable smell.
But in Toral, where lawns separated buildings and the old mossy stone absorbed any stenches, the air was pure bliss. As a gondola ...
2025-02-25 18:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostJulienne softened his footsteps as he neared the quarters where he had grown up. He heard voices coming from an anteroom, wondering if they belonged to his parents. There were two, a man and a woman, but he couldn’t make out the intricacies of his voice. He needed to get closer.
His feet grew heavy. He was breathing far too heavily. His ...
2025-02-24 18:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe welcome at Toral’s gates had been enough for Julienne. Unfortunately, it had not been enough for the people of Toral.
Trumpets blared as a well-organized crowd of lords and ladies bowed and curtsied in their fancy dresses. Chefs stood in three rows of a dozen each to welcome Julienne. He scanned their faces, searching. Every noble fr...
2025-02-23 18:00:18 +0000 UTC View Post“So, Julienne,” Mindy started as the carriage hurtled past the countless vineyards and chateaux of Labrusca. “Are you excited to be going home?”
Julienne stretched his neck to one side and rubbed his shoulder. A day and a half in the carriage had taken a physical toll on him, but the mental toll was far worse. He hated the idleness...
2025-02-22 18:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostThe air grew stale in the harbor. The wind dared not blow. Even the waves subsided, crashing on the rocks beyond the cove but not willing to rock the Harper ship. A dozen large ships and three dozen more little fishing vessels waited out in the open ocean, the Harper blockade refusing to let them in.
The sailors of Khaldeer had gotten used...
2025-02-21 18:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post“Ship coming in!”
“Ship coming in!”
The call echoed through the harbor, accompanied by the ringtingting of a little bell. Nori pushed off Sauter’s boat and swam over to the wooden ladder. She tossed a palm-sized barnacle up to the dock.
“What’s it look like?” she yelled, her voice drowning in the c...
2025-02-20 18:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post“So what’s the deal with this truffle, anyway?” Yarrow asked as the carriage bumped along. They had to clear the Roots before giving the horses a full course of movemash.
Oliver shifted around and cleared his throat. “Well, you see—”
“—I was asking Julienne,” Yarrow interrupted.
Oliver feigned great offense, t...
2025-02-19 18:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post“Attention!”
Julienne snapped up at the call. Every Chef stood at attention. Even Uncle Julienne. It didn’t matter that he was technically Executive Chef. It didn’t matter if something was burning. When Great Aunt Julienne entered, everyone stood up straight and waited.
The kitchen doors swung open and the Chefs broke into a ...
2025-02-18 18:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostA thousand smells filled the kitchen. Mint, rosemary, thyme, and something lemony that Picea identified as a mint leaf called lemon balm. Turnips, parsnips, onions, all serving as a complement to the savory smell of bone broth. From separate corners of the kitchen, the smells of gutted fish and fresh bread battled.
Unlike the Academy, the ...
2025-02-17 18:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostThe impact of the quarterstaffs sent a stinging jolt up Archie’s arm. Even as the aggressor, each hit hurt. First he felt it in his knuckles, then his elbow, then his shoulder. Soon, his entire arm tingled with a thousand ant bites.
“Control the center line!” Picea barked. “Nori! Low guard! Archie! Rudder guard!”
Archie put...
2025-02-16 20:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post“There’s only one rule in fighting. If you die, you lose.”
Picea paced back and forth in the training ground of the yard. The Academy crew plus Hawthorn stood at attention in a line.
“Two ways to mitigate the damage of an essence attack,” Picea continued. Perhaps inspired by the upcoming combat training, she had added anoth...
2025-02-15 20:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post“You’re not going to be able to meet the Bhante,” Hawthorn said as he barged into Archie’s room.
Sutton shrieked and dropped a book. Archie jumped—more at Sutton’s reaction than Hawthorn’s entrance.
“What’re you doing here?!” Archie asked. He had warmed up to Hawthorn over their week of working at Buart’s, but h...
2025-02-14 20:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post“Am I supposed to achieve inner peace or something?”
Barley glared at Archie. Archie didn’t know Barley knew how to glare.
“You said you wanted to experience our culture,” Barley whispered. “The only way to do that is to submit yourself.”
Archie looked around the plaza. There had to have been three hundred people ...
2025-02-13 20:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post“So Nori,” Shiso chatted while they worked. “What was it like growing up on Kiham?”
Kiham was the prize island of Uroko. Situated in the midst of the Urokan archipelago, Kiham had the benefit of shallow waters and temperate weather. On top of producing many of Uroko’s ground crops, it also held the nation’s capital, Boseki. Nat...
2025-02-12 20:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post“As I was saying, on my thirtieth birthday, before I was king, I visited Ambrosia City and had the privilege of being served by Colby. He made a special dish, just for me, that he called…the Kingmaker.”
King Tritsun flashed his hands in the air for dramatic effect.
Nori took her fifth bite of octopus, finishing it off. Sh...
2025-02-11 20:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostNori hadn’t brought a dress to Khala, just her Chef jacket, cold weather clothes, and some rags to sleep in. So when she needed to get dressed for a dinner with the king of Khala, she stared in solemn sadness at her unsuitable clothes.
Luckily, she had Blanche. Her more dinner-party-inclined roommate had brought a dress, some blush, and ...
2025-02-10 20:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post“Here she comes, right on time! The Pruh-zerv-er-ance!” Sauter hollered.
“Do you mean the perseverance?” Nori asked in an attempted correction.
“Nope!”
While Nori watched the distant Harper ship, Sauter cheered and welcomed the arrival of his ship.
“Lookadat, Nori! You ain’t ever seen such a beaut!”
<... 2025-02-09 23:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostAs the ground sloped down to the harbor, the chaos of the city ramped up. Ramshackle buildings, always under construction and repairs, were crammed together so tight that only children could navigate most alleys. Roads were made of mismatched clay bricks, cobblestone, and wooden planks, none of which were made for even ground.
Massiv...
2025-02-08 23:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostAfter washing up, brushing the undercoat out of a yak, washing up, chopping wood, and washing up again, Archie’s hands still smelled like yak dung.
It didn’t have the knockout quality of the pig pens near Sain, but beneath the earthy smell of grass, a pungent undercurrent lingered.
“We stockpile wood throughout the year,...
2025-02-07 22:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post“What’s that?” Archie pointed at a compact array of dirt disks stuck to a stone wall. Near the monastery, none of the buildings had the disks, but the farther out Hawthorn led them, the more the disks appeared.
“You don’t know?” Hawthorn asked, his mouth open in his typical grin. He looked at Barley, who barely contained a laug...
2025-02-06 22:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe next morning, Archie and company met downstairs to eat breakfast. They didn’t feel comfortable helping themselves to the kitchens of the Monastery, so they sat in the great public dining area with a hundred other people.
Compared to the long, backless benches of the Academy, the Monastery’s seating seemed luxurious. Each bench seat...
2025-02-05 22:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostArchie’s headache lasted through the night. If the layout of the monastery weren’t so simple, he’d have gotten lost getting to his room. Whereas the ground floor was open to the public, the upper floors were for the Chefs. The single hallway made a square around the courtyard, bedrooms lining the exterior wall. Kitchens lined the interior,...
2025-02-04 22:00:01 +0000 UTC View PostAs the road wound between two mountains, the first signs of Khaldeer started to show. Inns welcomed newcomers. Temples gave departures one last place to pray for safe travel. Barracks stood ready to lock down the narrow passage in times of war.
Down a bend, the land opened up into Khala’s largest and flattest valley. The plains of ...
2025-02-03 22:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post“Hold on, hold on. I don’t like having my back to the open.” Blanche picked up her bedroll and situated herself between Archie and Barley. She pulled her blankets up to her chin and grinned. “Okay, I’m ready.”
A cool breeze weaved its way through the dark stable, the hay rustling and the goats and horses perking up and the flam...
2025-02-02 22:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostBook 2 - The Summer of Legends
Archie had always called the hills between Sain and Ambrosia City ‘mountains.’ And why shouldn’t he? They stood hundreds of feet tall, the largest thing he had ever seen in his life. They hosted entire forests and rose in steps and had cliff faces. If it required a vertical climb, it must have be...
2025-02-01 22:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostAnd that's The Academy of Ambrosia.
I have a lot of thoughts. I'll try to section them out so you can scroll through and decide which ramblings are worth your time.
First topic: You.
Thank you so much for your support. The confidence and excitement that I've received from having people w...
2025-01-27 15:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post