NaNoWriMo hasn’t even been over a week yet and I’m back to my same old habits – namely, almost being late with my blog post.
But as excuses go, the why for this one is a pretty good one. I got caught up editing a short story for the anthology last night and forgot all about the blog post. So now the race is on to see if I can get the post finished before I have to leave for my MRI this morning (to figure out the reason for the headaches I’m no longer getting).
The good news is, I’ve kept the habit of working in my office during the day. And I haven’t even tried to use the excuse that my office could use a good cleaning, I’ve been getting actual work done.
Mostly what I’ve been working on is the book flood anthology (the one I want to make for friends and family for this year’s book flood). One of the stories I wanted to include was the very first story I ever wrote, and I had to re-type it because I did not have an electronic version. The story I got bogged down editing last night was (I think) the second one I ever wrote.
Because they were written so long ago they’re a little dated and while it’s tempting to give them a quick nudge into more modern times, I think that would take away from their charm so I’m leaving them alone. It’s interesting that they both have small town settings, but they’re totally different tales.
I didn’t set any goals for myself on Sunday, so I can’t really report on that. Usually the month right after NaNo is a dry spell for writing and I use it to figure out my game plan for the following year. This year I'm still doing that, but I'm also continuing to work.
I’m focusing on the anthology rather than Wandering Wizards for now, so I don’t have an excerpt from that today, but I do have one last one from Spirit. This is from near the beginning when Nakeisha (
an Elemental Wind) is starting to have questions.
Taja looked at her sister. “What is it?”
“This prophecy business bothers me, it always has.” Nakeisha set her cup down. Rising, she went over to look out the view port at the stars streaming by before turning back to her sister. Her hands slid automatically into the opposite cuffs at the end of the sleeves in her robe in the position Chaney dubbed “the wise ambassador” pose.
“Before I learned to control my winds, when I was with Chaney and the Burning Star down on Anchyre, the Illezie tested me for my elemental power.”
“You never told me that before!”
“You never wished to develop your own gift so it never seemed relevant,” she said with a slight shrug. “It was something they did only to the elementals who showed a measure of strength in their gifts.”
Taja had set her cup aside and was listening intently. “Why would they do this?”
“At the time I was told they were seeking “the one,” although the one what I had no idea. All I knew was that I was found somewhat lacking, and I had the sense they were somewhat bewildered by this.”
“Fancy that, the great, all-knowing Illezie perplexed by something.” Taja digested what her sister had told her for a moment.
“When we were on Sikka, both Rayne and Pyre were tested, and it was discovered for the first time that different elementals could combine their gifts into something more.”
“Yes,” Taja said dryly. “And look what it got us. That half-sentient beam of elemental energy loose in the galaxy.”
The energy came from the attempt to stop a volcano from wrecking havoc on Sikka. While Nakeisha used her wind and Rayne used her control of the storms to try and contain the flow of lava, Pyre pulled the heat and energy from the volcano into himself. Unable to control it or release the energy back to its source, he sent it into space.
“And were it not for that beam of energy we might never have found Chloe, or Gra’anna,” Nakeisha pointed out. “Gra’anna, who believes they were wrong for all those centuries. It was not “one” the Illezie were looking for, but “five who are one.” But it still begs the question, why? And what role do these five play in the prophecy?”
“Five who are one,” Taja repeated thoughtfully. She straightened up in her seat suddenly. “Five who are one! There is something else that beam is responsible for, it also brought us Pyre, and Ravi, and Chloe – three of the most powerful elementals ever known – and when you add yourself into the mix, it’s four.”
“You are correct,” Nakeisha said without a trace of modesty.
“But it still doesn’t answer the question, who is the fifth?”
“I have asked Chaney that very same question, but it is a question without an answer.” But she felt a measure of reassurance that she was not the only one who was questioning the Illezie and their prophecy.
