Roleplay Applications!

Hi there!
This is a middle of the week update, but I felt like posting something anyways!

Before NaNo, I finished two applications for roleplays on deviantART and wanted to share them here, where I rant unabashedly about my characters and their universe anyways. WARNING: this is going to be me just ranting about character backstories that will probably never really amount to anything.

Tea Essence: Jane Exina. [Link to dA full app] (Accepted! :D)

Aside from having the most plain name (as far as I know) in my stories, Jane's also one of those characters that I majorly changed a few years back when I re-warped my entire imaginary world. For the roleplay she doesn't do any magic but summoning her tea essence, but in my worlds, she's still in a dark magic prodigy with an interest in psychology. The differences though: her age shrunk, originally from around 20 to 6 and finally to around 15. Her frame shrunk and grew along with those changes as well. Most significantly though, she's now physically frail and quite sickly.

The original Jane was in Dawn Eternia's background stories (first part linked from here) and could technically be the same person, but I'm not quite counting on it. Since Dawn's story hasn't changed, I suppose I'm just considering it a different person? :P Go me and my complicating weirdness. >.<"

TRW-exclusive trivia! Again in my story version of her, she's the leader of a superhero team called J.U.L.I.E.T.. There'll be more on J.U.L.I.E.T., probably around when I introduce the Sixteen. Her codename is "Shadowlight" which was created by some civilians who saw her using "dark" and "light" colored magic. Her favorite food, as indicated in the Crack OC meme is pumpkin pie XD. Her mother was part of a military "supergroup" as well

Grand Cross Academy: Fiana Lunaltusiem. [written profile] [artsy profile] (they're the same thing, just different formats). (Accepted! :D)

This is the same Fiana that's shown up as a super side character in the Spring Ball Trouble arc as well as the ECA segments. And being a minor character in a bunch of stories is kind of how she caught my attention. Let's be a little silly and break some fourth wall barriers here:

So I'm working on a few character profiles, just tidying things up and drawing relationship trees when I realized that Fiana shows up as a relation for a lot of characters in the Sixteen (16 characters I'm considering my main protagonists; I'll introduce them sometime).
And so I laugh and say "Well, that's good. She's a good minor character. I'll never have to write her story out."
But she's obviously not as complacent and as much a identity-confused pushover as I had initially thought of her as because she decides to tell me: "I'm a little tired of being a minor character for everyone. Can I...walk away from my life and have my own adventure?"
Being the magnanimous writer I am, I looked into her story a bit and told her, "Yea, if you can find the courage to get up and actually walk away, I'll give you your own adventure." And she actually does it. So based on the only notes I had for her before (white haired, yellow eyes, demigod, always looks sad, healing and weapons class, likes reading, identity confused) I revised a few things about her person and let her in a roleplay. Thus far, I think she likes the artistic attention. :)

TRW-exclusive trivia! Fiana's got a bunch of different surnames, all of which give her a different person and identity to associate herself with. Also included are a bunch of character relations.

Tallwater: Her father's, Ivian Tallwater, surname. Fiana uses this name for most of her childhood. He's  very protective of her, to the point of being controlling and demanding. His sour relationship with her step-brother (his step-son) causes rifts sometimes, but underneath everything he is always proud of her achievements and her effort.

Maur: Her stepmother's, Jemma Pryce Maur, surname. Jemma is a very famous actress and the niece of the lord of their fief, so Fiana is sometimes referred to as such. Neither she nor her step-mother appreciate this naming. Although outwardly Jemma seems to dote on her stepdaughter, she thinks Fiana is quite silly and weak. For a laugh she might hang scary pictures in the hallways to intimidate her. Jemma does not approve of Fiana's mainly aesthetic use for magic.

Synisar: Her seraphic parent's surname. Aldis and people at the temple sometimes call her "Fiana Synisar" to remind her that she is her own person, not just an extension/ property of her father.

DiEntario: Her step-seraph parent's surname, given in the hope the she might bring peace between her mother and this seraph by marrying a son of this seraph. Ironically, Fiana's step-brother would fill this criteria. Both of them strongly reject the idea.

Fin Fian/ Fiana Villosa: A title that's supposed to mean "Healer of the Mind" because of her work in the psychological illness field later on in life. Even though it was meant to be an honor, Fiana grows almost irritated because to her, it comes to represent the almost unreasonable expectations placed on her by society.

Lunaltusiem: After Fiana becomes recruited to become a "Ghost of Cieonna Halls"--a servant of the Master of the mystical Cieonna Halls and Keeper of the Chasm of Secrets--a moon-rabbit friend recommends the name to her: a combination of "Luna" for Moon, and "altus" for High Priestess. Her master thinks it's a cruel and funny thing and calls her by that name; she doesn't pick up that he is mocking and instead sees it as something original. Thus, almost ironically, this is the name that she eventually adopts.

A few last notes:
Unfortunately due to NaNo and then school and my procrastination abilities, I haven't actually been able to draw, much less submit a lot of stuff. I'm barely keeping up with the December drawing challenge as is and only the first two-three days have actually post-able quality and content material.

We'll talk after finals. If you read all the way down here, then I commend you and apologize for ranting like this. Good luck to anyone taking finals soon! :D

December First

Hey! :D 

So as the above buttons can inform you, both Ashmac and I made it to 50,000 words this month! 

This blog post is basically a really long update on some Nano stuff and plans for this following month. Even I think it's really long >___<

About NaNo:

The breakdown of my 50,027 words this month is somewhat like this: 

Where green is 1,667 or more words; yellow, orange and red indicate less progress than 1667, with red being atrociously few words. That long stretch of red can be explained by midterms falling on that week. The last few green spots had to make up for that, which explains why I'm rather behind, but not impossibly behind, in just about everything now. XD

At about 25K words I started getting really stuck and didn't like the redundancy in what I was writing. This led to some major revisions in the writing once I decided what to do. 

The original concept was based off of three settings: The elementary school, the university, and the Land of Dreams. I decided to cut out the part at the elementary school altogether even though original concept I had back in 4th/5th grade was situated in an elementary school and I had always envisioned the Campus Curse story as taking place in an elementary school. Like my college writing professor Collier Nogues suggested, "Sometimes a good idea doesn't make it into the actual essay" (heavily paraphrased). In regard to the rhetorical analysis I was writing, she said: "It's a good idea. And it's done what it could to get you started, but I think it's done what it can". She had a metaphor in there as well, but sadly I dont' remember it exactly. The point was, in order to go forward and write a better essay I would need to drop the original inspiration. Method acting isn't mentioned in my RA paper at all. I decided the elementary school won't appear in Campus Curse. 

With that settled, I concentrated on the situation at the university. Originally there were just two people there. I picked up a rather cliche stone and set up a zombie apocalypse situation where a group of students are trapped on campus with an army of the undead led by a power-hungry and revenge-driven necromancer surrounding them. The part in the Land of Dreams remained mostly unaltered. Since the protagonist is a comic-artist, there are a few scenes towards that feature her world.

So yea. I didn't want to give too much away while still reflecting on my experience. I tried a lot of ways to get myself to write, and found that I could definitely write about 500 words a day and up to about 750 or 1,000 on a weekend or on a day with more time. Past 1K it got harder, even if there was no shortage of scenes I still had to write. My writing style was, as usual, very sporadic and got very stuck in the middle. Instead of writing coherently from beginning to end, I jumped to whatever scene I felt like writing and expanded on that however much I felt like. When I was running low on inspiration I went back and finished or expanded other scenes. This led to an insane amount of in-congruencies, and I have a sheet  that's over a thousand words in itself and filled with notes such as "add __" or "__happened. O_O? Make it make sense" or my favorite: "TENSE SHIFTS". This jumping around really shouldn't have surprised me. That's how I write these blog posts too. The data above seemed to confirm that I write most under pressure T_T". I can also say I have fallen asleep typing now and am extraordinarily grateful that I can touch-type, because I probably wrote a good few thousand with my eyes drooping. 

Thus, even though the is a beginning scene and a final scene and a bunch of scenes in between, the story isn't really complete and it definitely isn't coherent. I'll get to finishing and stringing it together as well as finding a consistent pace. I hope I can keep a steady writing pace, even with the art projects this month and what not (more on that later in the post). 

I'm extremely grateful for the support I got from friends, the NaNo facebook group and my brother (who sat in my room and reiterated that "You're not going to make it" every time I did something other than write or study.) So thanks everyone! :)

December Art Challenges

Last December I tried my hand at a drawing challenge and got about 10 days in before something happened. Later, my computer died; thus only days 1-9 remain because they were posted online previously. Day 1 from last year can be found here. This year I'll be trying some similar ideas: 

The 30 Day Drawing Challenge was, as far as I can figure out, first started by Sylvia Tran, who came up with the version linked to above. It was popularized by Allison Lehman's version and the idea went "viral" on online communities such as deviantART and tumblr. (see #30DayDrawingChallenge on tumblr!)

For this challenge I'm going to be doing mostly traditional pencil-and-paper drawings or little digital sketches.

The 30 Day Drawing Challenge: Superheroes is exactly what it sounds like; a 30 day drawing challenge, but more structured and organized and focused. The original is here, I believe.

I'm actually doing this in Janurary, but I'll be sketching ideas as well. If it takes too much time, I'll just leave it entirely for next month.

I have no clue where I found the December photo challenge but I was linked to it from my friend's instagram on facebook and figures I'd try it as well. If it turns out to take too much time and effort I'll probably drop this one as well.

The "November is Writing, December is Art" motto seems to be a pattern with me. :) 

Other Projects

Aside from finals creeping up on me, I'll most probably be getting back to Sun Dagger and ECA as major projects and maybe a random story or so on the side. So expect the second part of Ani's cheat sheet....next week?

Thanks for reading!

~Minerva

Crack OC Meme

Hey! Should be studying for midterms, not, perfect time to post something that I finished just before NaNo started! (can it be? Only 10 days ago?) 

This was a meme I found (and will be reposting) on deviantart. I'm going to break some of this up and add my comments for posting here though! :)

RULES:

- Pick 10 of your OC in any order. If you don’t have 10 characters use canon.

- Don't look at the questions while picking the characters!

- Link back to the blank.

- Have fun! 

PICK YOUR VICTIMS!

*I put in ages and occupations for reference. 

**For the sake of following the meme and having fun, some of this is slightly out of character. But that was to be expected, after all. And they’re not all from the same time. I have stories thought out for some of them and this might be before or after their tales. >.<

1.  Alina Zephyr  (16; soldier, dollmaker)

2. Fiana Lunaltusiem  (16; student, healer)

3.  Jane Exina  (14; reader, teamaker)

4. Sonora Li (19; student, tarot-summoner)

5.  Auris Eternia  (9; student)

6.  Evan Blackthorn  (19; student, prince, mercenary)

7.  Ever Blaize  (8; servant)

8.  Emile Errolheart (10; student)

9. Tkalis Kaza  (11; mage-priest-medic)

10.  Elysia Intana Kieran  (20; swordsman, temple sister)

The ten victims!

1. Alina: Even though I haven't actually written her story out, I think she's one of my favorite OCs. Naturally, that means I like picking on her. :)

2. Fiana: A roleplay character for the roleplay I found this on. Obvious choice. I've also been drawing her a lot recently.

3. Jane: Another recent roleplay character! (I have a blurb on Fiana and Jane I'll post soon too)

4-8. Sonora, Auris, Evan, Ever, Emile: All are characters in my NaNoNovel, so I figured I would get a chance writing them before I got into NaNo. Um... not all of them actually behave this way in the novel...because some of it is after the story...It's confusing XD

9. Kaza: From Sun Dagger! :) This is actually minorly plotspoilery because it indicates some of the stuff he does later. Not really that much though :P

10. Elysia: The ECA representative. I was debating whether to throw her or Celestine or Arlin into the pot and almost randomly decided on her. So...yea!\

I just noticed, I probably should have included Eileen/ Enlaika in this...but I didn't...oh well. :x

-------------

1. How will [1] describe [6]? 

1=Alina Zephyr. 6= Evan Blackthorn

Alina: Prince Blackthorn? Huh. He is a good fighter, I suppose, and kind enough to spar with me, though I am an Object. I know others better acquainted with him that have described him as “decent”. Thus far I have seen no evidence that he is not. He does not aim to take the Avis Fior co-rulership, but I think that if he were to, he would not be a bad king.

 2. [5] and [4] were locked in a closet together. What does [10] see when he/she found them? 

5= Auris Eternia, 4= Sonora Li, 10= Elysia Intana Kieran

Sonora is sitting against one wall, Auris against another. They’re talking alternatively about astronomy and possession when Elysia opens the door, looking for a piece of armor she misplaced…

Auris: THANK GOODNESS. I mean, thank you for unlocking the door. 

Elysia: *raises and eyebrow* Did the two of you finally decide to have your talk? And you couldn’t find a quiet room except for the closet?

Sonora: It was an accident, *awkward chuckle*. Um…it was nice talking to you, Auris. 

Auris: Likewise, Miss Li. Um…I look forward to working more with you…later?

Sonora: Of course. (Later to Elysia): Thank you for coming to our rescue. That was seriously the most awkward conversation I’ve ever been in. It was like…

Elysia: Talking to a character from a book you wrote?

Sonora: Exactly. It was stranger than I’d thought it would be.

Note for #2: Minorly references something that happens in Campus Curse. 

 3. For whatever reason, [7] decides to kiss [2]. How does [2] react?

7= Ever Blaize, 2= Fiana Lunaltusiem

Ever: *kiss on cheek*

Fiana: Ah-h? What…

Ever: Thank you for always taking care of me. It must be such a hassle…. I know you don’t have a lot to spare for someone small like me who can’t do anything, but you and Aldis always take care of me…. I don’t have a lot of friends, so you’re…like the older sister I never had. 

Fiana: Aww… Don’t worry. You do your best. And it’s horrible to be lonely in life. We can be each others’ sisters. *Hug*.

 4. [2] randomly walks in and sees [9] is at least half naked. 

2= Fiana Lunaltusiem, 9= Tkalis Kaza

Fiana: *humming as she walks into the pool room.* A nice relaxing swim would be the perfect way to start the day. Oh hello Kaz—eek! Sorry! *Quickly covers her eyes and turns around, burrowing her face in her towel.*

Kaza: ahh…sorry about that. *quickly finishes drying up and puts on a breechcloth and robe*

Fiana: I-I did I walk in the wrong room? I-I’m sorry!

Kaza: Oh, no. I was just using the warm water from the warm pool for healing…the only major healing spell I know doesn’t work very well with clothes….and um…I was hoping no one would go for a swim so early….

Fiana: I’ve never heard of such a spell…Are you finished dressing?

Kaza: Yes. Sorry about that.

Fiana: I’m sorry for randomly barging in. 

Kaza: It’s ok… I should have posted a warning….I’m going to go now… I’ll um…show you that spell sometime…

Fiana: That’s be lovely! I’m always open to new methods of healing. Oh but would it be…proper?

Kaza: *realizes the same thing and blushes* On second thought, I’ll just write the ritual down…. 

Note for #4: This was rather awkward and hilarious to write. I didn't think this was a very good pair for this question :P

 5. What is [3] theme song? Favorite food if [3] doesn’t have theme song.

3= Jane Exina

Jane: Whitney Houston’s “One Moment in Time”, undoubtedly.

For music I also enjoyed “Diary of Jane” by Breaking Benjamin, though that may just be because of the rhythm and the title. Sometimes I play Avril Lavigne’s “Keep Holding On” or “Innocence” when I’m upset. “Europa” by Globus is an excellent choice as well.

 My favorite tea is rooibos, of course. African red bush tea. But you didn’t ask for that. Pumpkin pie, no cream, is my favorite food. The two go well together. 

 6. And what is [8] opinion about [3] theme song? If [3] doesn’t have a theme song make [8] eats [3]’s wallet. 

8= Emile Errolheart, 3= Jane Exina

Emile: “One Moment in Time”? Honestly? You’re a rich little girl! You always have choices. And what do you care about tasting pain or breaking hearts? You’re a cold-hearted little witch.

 And the other choices… “Diary of Jane” and “Europa” are nothing like “Keep Holding On” or “Innocence”, none of which suit you at all. Well, maybe “Europa”. It’s bloody enough for you, isn’t it? I thought “Breathe Me” by Sia would better suit you. You’re a sick, masochistic little girl.

Note for #5/6: I actually really liked writing these last two. It was pretty fun writing about Jane with her talking and getting Emile, who's a pretty blunt, mean little boy, to comment on it. 

 7. [5] has a drink in a bar and discovers [10] is a strip dancer. 

5= Auris Eternia, 10= Elysia Intana Kieran. 

Tired from walking home, Auris stops by a bar and orders a water. He is about to leave when he notices and recognizes Elysia walking off the stage. Rubbing his eyes in disbelief and casting a spell against illusions and visions, he tracks her outside where he confirms it’s her.*

Auris: Ely-Elysia—what-what there—I-what—what were you doing?! 

Elysia: …And what exactly do you think I was doing?

Auris: You-you were on the dancing stage, where all the-the scantly clad women were. 

Elysia: Uh…huh….and why were you in this place where the “scantly clad women” are?

Auris: Oh, well, I was just going to well you see, I’m learning about the Seraph of the Devil now? And that seraph is also the patron of such houses. I decided it would be an educational experience to try my hand at working in one of these houses to further my understanding of the Fifteenth Seraph. 

Auris: Oh…I-I thought you practiced the Sign sect though?

Elysia: The Sanctus Aedes—Holy House—does not differentiate between the sects. A good Sister would be knowledgeable in all branches of belief. Though I don’t encourage this, it’s necessary to understand it.

Auris: …O-okay…if you say so….

Note for #7: This was....really really weird to write. Because Auris is...9...and nine-year-olds don't go in bars. And Elysia works in the religious house of her world...and wouldn't be a stripper. So... I thought of Elysia saying her lines sarcastically, but she's so deadpan when she says it that Auris, who doesn't really understand sarcasm yet, doesn't catch it.

 8. So [5] was completely drunk and wakes up in bed next to… [9] and [1]?! 

5= Auris Eternia, 9= Tkalis Kaza, 1= Alina Zephyr

Auris: UGhhh what’s going on? What happened?

Alina: Kaza, I never thought I would meet a person with a more curious spell than my unlocking one. But this drunk-state inducing one is certainly very curious. 

Kaza: *slurring words* It-watshn’t suhpposed to make heem drunk…

Alina: I suppose it was not meant to backfire either. 

Auris: Something about a spill? I have a rag to clean it up.

Alina: That is my pillow, thank you very much. Now go back to sleep, both of you. The effect will wear off after a good night of rest.

Kaza: Esht thees how eets suuhpposed to feel ahfter dreenking?

Alina: It depends. Go to sleep.

Auris: I’m too short to make a slam dunk…

Alina: Sleep!

Kaza: Hwat’s a slam dunk?

Alina: …=_=

Note for #8: This was funny. I didn't like it too much though. Aside from writing a drunk Kaza slurring his words and hearing things wrong.

 9. Something exploded and now [2], [6] and [8] are gender bended! How do they react? 

2=Fiana Lunaltusiem, 6= Evan Blackthorn, 8= Emile Errolheart

Female!Emile: Ughh… *cough cough* ahh What happened to my voice?!

Male!Fiana: Oh dear…I feel very strange…*decides to stay quiet.*

Female!Evan: …great, I have breasts now! And why is my hair so long? *Tries to comb his now-long hair out*

Emile: I’m a GIRL?!!!

Fiana: It seems our genders have been…swapped. Hm…I suppose I can still do everything I used to….

Emile: I’m a GIRL!! D: *despair*

Evan: Fiana, I can’t believe I’m asking you for this, but do you have a comb or brush? And a hair tie? 

Emile: I am soooo not cooking for anyone. And I am totally not going shopping. That’s just too much.

Fiana: Here you go, Evan. Hm… I just realized I might be able to lift larger loads at the library and hospital now…this is actually quite fine. 

Emile: And heels and makeup and purses. No way. 

Evan: Fiana you actually look pretty nice as a guy. Short hair looks nice on you. Though the skirt… We should call you Fin. And Emile, you make a cute girl. If you tied your hair in pigtails you might even look and sound a little like Ever. 

Emile: I sound like Ever? *Excited*

Fin: *giggles a little, which comes out as a deep chuckle* I don’t actually mind the short hair… You can be Evana then? It even means the same. 

Evana: Evana Blackthorn, assassin and seductress *strikes a pose* I mean, princess and student. Haha, why not? What about you, Emile? How does Emily Errolheart sound?

Emile Emily: Noo… *wail* This isn’t funny! Change me back! T_T

Note for #9: This was probably one of my favorite questions in this meme, as the length probably suggests. And of course, I had to give them new names for their new genders. I was really excited to find names that were similar to their original names. Especially Fiana's, since one of her other names is "Fin Fian" and in her male form she becomes "Fin."Fiana was too ok with her new gender that it wasn't that interesting, but I think the guys--I mean girls'--reactions were fairly amusing.

 10. [1] suddenly feels an urge to chase after unicorns. What do [3] do to help him/her? 

1= Alina Zephyr, 3= Jane Exina

Jane: Hello Alina. Where’re you going out to?

Alina: I am going to chase unicorns now. It suddenly struck my fancy to. 

Jane: Collecting potion ingredients? Or just for the exercise?

Alina: I have not yet decided. Probably just to amuse me. 

Jane: If you don’t mind a slowpoke, I’ll come with you. I’ve read that they like rainbows. Perhaps if we brought some water we could tempt them to come closer.

Alina: Excellent idea. I would enjoy the company. 

 11. [4] is getting married to a rainbow dinosaur. How did it happen? Does [7] do anything about it? 

4= Sonora Li, 7= Ever Blaize

Sonora: A rainbow dinosaur? Why do my arranged marriages suck so much? First I get paired with an oily, power-hungry hermit, then an arrogant, perverted geek, and now a random, rainbow dinosaur? We’re not even the same species this time!

Ever: I don’t know…maybe just…bad luck? You should be glad so many people want to marry you, Sona. 

Sonora: But I already have someone I like…Why does my love life suck so much? Why is it that every time some group needs a peace treaty my hand and heart go to the chopping block?

Ever: That’s a good question actually…who started the war with the rainbow dinosaurs? 

Sonora: No one knows….Well, if it means peace, I suppose. 

Ever: And knowing your track record, peace will be established and you won’t actually need to be married!

Sonora: And maybe the dinosaur will be nice. Maybe he’ll be friendly and content with life. Oh! What if he was a pterodactyl? Those fly! Maybe he’ll teach me to fly!

Ever: That’s the way to think of it! Can I be the flower girl?

Sonora: Only if I have to go through with it. And don’t set the flowers on fire. 

Note for #11: This might be a bit of an inside joke that only I and maybe my brother would get. heh.

 12. [8] is being chased by evil toys in a locked toy factory with a pen as his/her only weapon. Does he/she survive through the night? 

8= Emile Errolheart

<i> He’s screwed. Majorly, unless he has someone more creative and magical to protect him. </i>

Emile: Well, I suppose I’d be ok. I mean, as long as I don’t have to worry about anyone else, I think I could manage. I mean, they’re just toys, right? What’s the worst they can do? Make a giant pile around me? I’d just chill by the door until morning. 

And what’s with the useless pen? What am I supposed to do? Doodle on them if they get too close? Seriously.  

Note for #12: Irony is a very good part of my image for Emile hehehe!

 13. [5], [7] and [10] is having a picnic. Suddenly a giant pink donut falls out from the sky. Which one of them is likely to get hit by it? 

5= Auris Eternia, 7= Ever Blaize, 10= Elysia Intana Kieran

Auris: Watch out! Incoming donut! *Summons his phoenix and takes to the sky, grabbing Ever with him as he escapes through the hole in the center.*

Elysia: Huh? Oh, huh.

Elysia looks up too late to move and grabs her sword. As the donut comes down she unsheathes and swings, aiming to slice the donut so it won’t hit her. Her cut is fine, but then the jelly filling flies out and rains all over her, leaving her covered with jelly, donut and pink frosting. 

Ever: Oh dear…um…we’ll help you eat it? 

Elysia: Doesn’t seem poisonous. Be my guest. 

 14. [8] stole [6] most valuable item (or person). What happen next? 

8= Emile Errolheart, 6= Evan Blackthorn

When Evan discovers the theft, he stalks and corners Emile. 

“Errolheart….”

Emile turns. Behind him is a wall of shadow, darkness radiating off a vaguely humanoid figure. Even anti-magic Emile can feel the gravity of the black magic gathering in front of him, pulling at the bonds between his soul and body. There is no order to this magic. It is everything and nothing at once, a black hole sending off an occasional spark of color. At the center of this shadow, unmoving in a constantly shifting cloud of energy and power, are two small points of light: bright, colorless slits that drill through everything, exactly like the event horizon that warps and razes everything that so much as grazes it.

Emile balks, forgets that he can speak, forgets that he can move, forgets why this demonic spirit is after his blood. All he can remember is that he is alive, very pitifully alive, and that he is about to feel what eternal torture means.

<i> Actually, knowing them, it’d go somewhat more like this: </i>

Emile: Evan. I stole your most valuable item. What’re you going to do about it?

Evan: Uhh…what’s my most valuable item again?

Emile: *facepalm*

 15. [10] found a Death Note! Who dies? 

10= Elysia Intana Kieran

Elysia: Oh, cool? Dear Seraph XIII, Death. How do I use this?….Oh, that’s helpful. Completely helpful. Because I completely didn’t know that much. Well then.

 *Writes: Vesper Jinan Wisteria. Cause of death: Asphyxiates when he next says something rude or arrogant.* 

Elysia: Well then, I’m giving him a chance to live. But if he doesn’t…hehehe. We’ll see just how well this note works. >:)

Note for #15: I couldn't think of anyone Elysia would want to kill from the list, so I used someone from her story. I don't think that's actually against the rules. 

 16. [1], [2] and [4] are staying at [9]’s house while the house is surrounded by zombies! Wait, what do you mean [1] was bitten by a zombie? 

1= Alina Zephyr, 2= Fiana Lunaltusiem, 4= Sonora Li, 9= Tkalis Kaza

<i> Wait…Kaza doesn’t have a house…. :X </i>

Sonora: Kaza and I are back, Fiana. This side of the camp is clear….Where’s Alina?

Fiana: You’re safe! I-I don’t know. I haven’t seen her since the start of the attack…

Sonora: Hmm.. She’s an Object though… I’m sure she’ll be alright. 

*Outside, a zombie-fied Alina screeches bloody murder in zombie-language.*

Kaza: *peeks outside the adobe hut.* Oh. Um. Well. I don’t think it’s her we should be worried for. Fin Fian,…do you have anything that would help against these…zombies?

Fiana: As far as a cure? N-no…I have my notes with me though and can run through them?

Kaza: You can use the herbs here. Suddenly I don’t mind living in a storeroom. 

*Zombie!Alina charges at the doorway*

Fiana: eek! I-I’ll hurry!

Kaza: Right! *Gets in a defensive position in front of the door* Sonora, try not to hurt Alina! We don’t want to hurt her if we can help it!

Sonora: *takes up a position in front of Kaza.* Way ahead of you! 

*They proceed to try to capture Alina and heal her, while fighting off the rest of the zombies.* 

Note for #16: [Shot of heros riding into the sunset. Fade to black. Cut and wrap.]

 17. [7] found a time machine. What does he/she do? 

7= Ever Blaize

Ever: hm….Hey, Auris, you want to go back in time and find your birthparents? 

Auris: Oh…I don’t know…what would I do about it anyways? I mean, I like Dawn as my mom just fine. 

Ever: Oh, well, if not, why don’t we go back and see the beginning of the universe? 

Auris: Genesis of our world? Or the Writer’s world? That sounds pretty cool.

Ever: Of everything. Of the beginning of our writer’s writer’s writer’s writer’s—etc. existence.

Auris: Ok. I’ll go do some research. Can you pack me a jacket? I’m afraid the beginning of the universe might be a bit chilly. 

Note for #17: I actually like how this one turned out. It's cute, I think, and probably not what what 8 and 9 year olds would actually do. 

 18. [3], [4] and [5] decided to rob a bank. How does it go? 

3= Jane Exina, 4= Sonora Li, 5= Auris Eternia

Auris: Um.um.um. Hi…I’m here to withdraw some cash?

Sonora: Alright! Wallets in the air and hands where I can see them! You there! Hand out the cash! *Brandishes her sword.*

Jane: Hey, you can’t just—

Sonora: Silence! *Swishes her sword down, holding Jane at swordpoint. Jane quiets, quivering visibly.* Wallets over here! Slide them over! 

Auris glances over and chucks the a bunch of paper and cash and pens at Sonora. While Sonora is distracted, Jane sneaks away, ducking under the counter and taking cover with the bank tenders. Acting nervous, Auris throws objects from around them at her. Others join in. Sonora deflects the projectiles with her sword or a shield of energy and the two basically create a ruckus. Meanwhile, Jane slips into the back and picks or otherwise breaks all the locks and loads all the loot. When she’s done, Sonora flees, pretending to be routed and Auris is hailed as a hero. They rendezvous later and split the pot. 

Note for #18: I kind of find it funny that Jane and Auris were chosen to rob the bank: Jane's plenty rich since her mother's basically a celebrity/ superhero and her dad owns the equivalent of Barnes and Noble; and Auris, who's innocent, honest and volunteers at any volunteer place he can find in any city he can find, and who grew up with a step-mother who once survived on the streets without doing anything illegal and grew up to be successful.

 19. Oh no! [8] was hit by a fire truck! Who (in the list) will be the first one to show up in the hospital? 

8= Emile Errolheart

Ever Blaize and Auris Eternia (they’d go together, which would irritate Emile XD). Ever would have brought brownies and Auris a card. They would sit there in awkward silence until Evan came, to check out how his “lil bro” was doing. That would ease the tension a bit.

 20. Tag someone? If you don’t do tagging, tell me [6]’s dark secret. 

6= Evan Blackthorn

Evan: Well…I know Sonora likes me yet I feign obliviousness because… I don’t know how to reject her without hurting her feelings…and I like being liked, as selfish as that sounds. I know our friends think I don’t confront her about it because they think I don’t know. They think I’m “decent” about it, like I am about everything. I tell myself it’s less awkward this way. But I’m just being a selfish coward. Everyone sees me as this honest guy, but I’m…not. I’m really horrible.

Note for #1/20: I actually really liked how this meme started and ended with Evan (though that's probably how the meme was designed and all...) This isn't exactly his "darkest secret" or anything, but it was the first one that popped into mind and I actually like how it came out. I actually think I like most of Evan's interactions in this meme. He's quite lucky, haha

I'll be posting that random little bit on Jane and Fiana soon and hopefully another clip from my NaNo! I"m terribly behind word count, but I'll make it eventually, I'm sure! :)

Thanks for Reading! Comments are loved! :)
~Minerva

Nov 5: "Elementary"

Hey! Random status update!

I'm at 7016 words right now (actually 7033 since I added a few subheadings), which is a little behind, which is really bothering me, but not enough for me to panic. Yet. *Proceeds to panic*

I've been writing mostly chronologically with a few snippets out of order as they spring to mind or clammer for attention. It's actually not that hard, with four characters to switch between whenever I get tired of one person's perspective.

In other news, I saw Argo and Wreck-It Ralph yesterday at the theater. (*Sigh* Why does everything have to happen in November? T_T" ) The former was pretty good and definitely very good at establishing the tension of the ex-filtration CIA mission to rescue six escapees of the Iran Hostage Crisis.  Personally though,  I preferred Disney's Wreck-It Ralph, which is about a video-game villain that game-jumps in his quest to be good and the other characters he meets, including his colleague Fix-it Felix Jr., Sergeant Calhoun from Hero's Duty and Vanellope von Schweetz from Sugar Rush. Amazing characters and a cute tale. A definite must-see.  (Trailer!)

Anyways! Thanks for reading! Here's a short 366 word clip from the end of the first part  of my NaNo project to keep you entertained :)

It would be awesome to get some ideas on how to give the end more of a punch too :) I also think the end part is a little...too brief. But please! Any constructive criticism welcomed! I'm trying not to edit too much until December, but it'd be great to get some ideas now too! :)

Chapter 1: The Last Day of School
Part 1: Elementary

Auris stopped again. Emile stopped, getting impatient. “What now?” he asked exasperatedly. 

“You just said they lock the backstage doors so civilians using the auditorium can’t get into the school.”

“Yes. I know what I said.”

“But the backstage doors were unlocked. That’s how we got here.”

“Yes, I know that. What are you trying to say?”

“Isn’t there something wrong with that?”

Emile shrugged. He supposed it was odd, but nothing worth worrying about. Maybe the janitors just hadn’t gotten around to it. “And if the janitors are still here, then we should be able to get one of them to open the door for us!” 

Auris looked skeptical but Emile decided he was just being a bore, as usual. “There’s no way they could have gotten the key to that as well,” he assured. “The key to this auditorium stays in city hall unless they need to close it for repairs or maintenance or something. My dad works there, he would know.”

“Okay…what else do you think it would be though?”

“Ghosts?” Emile joked and laughed. “Let’s get out of here.”

They pushed through the curtain dividing the theater area from the reception and snack booth area. Emile could see the parking lot through the clear doors from here. He could see Miss Morinay’s car with the chipped blue paint. She was standing at the trunk, squinting at the school. He picked up his pace and grasped the door bar. He pushed and the bar gave way. The door was unlocked. He pushed through and the door opened easily, as it always had. It made contact with something firm, but there was more than enough room for two boys to slip out.

He had one foot out the door when he saw what he’d hit. Staring at them with black button eyes with a body covered in faded cloth rags and fingers made of plastic drinking straws.

Behind him, Auris screamed. 

Emile took a startled step back before lifting his hand to brush the doll away. He was about to remind the other boy it was just a prank when he noticed a set of straw-fingers wrap itself around around his wrist.

NaNoWriMo 2012!!

Theme track for the post: 1667 words by Matt Guion (bandgeek8408) 

So. It's Halloween! Which means that NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow! I'm going to be working with my first novel idea from way back in 5th grade, which is tentatively titled "Campus Curse". 

As NaNo's going to be my creative focus for the next 30 days, everything else is being put on hold. (Knowing me, this might mean indefinitely. Hopefully not.) I have a few posts already mostly written and ready for posting (some Sun Dagger stuff, a little rant on a few roleplay characters and stuff on deviantART :P) but aside from those, the most I'll be writing aside from my novel are status updates, such as the lovely word counter here:



Again, idea of making status updates instead of trying to keep up with other posts (which I know I'd never be able to do) is credited to AshMac. XD 

So right now I'm waiting anxiously waiting for NaNo to start, finding plot holes that will need to be filled, and still deciding which weapons the characters have. XD

Thanks in advance for your patience with me this month! 

Ani's Cheat Sheet--Terms

Hi. Ani here. So I’m going to give you something that’s going to change your life—a cheat sheet. Yep. If you’re like me, you need a useful little dictionary—I mean brother—to define some of this wacky ancient lingo for you. And since I’m such a generous guy, I wrote down a bunch of the Tkalis terminology to share with you. Who’s your favorite character now? 

Life— a few terms that you might need that describe our world. 

Anasazi Xhihalla…the name of the land we live in. It literally means the Ancient Land Shines Ever Brighter. We share the land with other tribes.

Council…a bunch of old Wise guys that meet every few cycles to review and revise the laws of the Tkalis lands and the state of the tribe. They also talk to people from other tribes and negotiate treaties if needed. 

Gran Tkalis…The creator of all Tkalis people who lives in the Sun and produces light. He doesn’t have direct control over us mortal people once we’re alive, but offers his home of eternal paradise to us when we die, assuming we’ve led good lives. (Sometimes, I hear, very rarely, the Gran Tkalis exerts an extra effort to influence individual lives. The legends say that in the time of Ykali Xhihalla, the Gran Tkalis took the form of her horse so that he could guide and protect her and give her a mount worthy of her in battle.) Along with the other Great Gods, he weaves the destiny of mortals and protects the Anasazi Xhihalla from any aliens. (I figure he’s too old to be battling aliens, but Kaza says he’s got plenty of youth in him, whatever that means….)

Headman…the head of a city, who overlooks the daily operation of the city. He performs ceremonies and (with the help of the pharin) settles conflict in the city. He and his family receives any people from other cities or tribes and represent the city when traveling.  The title of headman can be bestowed upon a man or woman regardless of age, so long as they are master of his or her class. Oftentimes they are also one of the Wise on the Council. The headman has a consultant and friend in each class in the city. He must also have a pharin somewhere in his family to show his relation to Sun Tribe. He can appoint his successor at the approval of his consultants. A Y is added to the beginning of his or her name. (Best heads ever: My PARENTS. Tyeruinga and Yasuvide. :)

Manta…dress. For girls, obviously. The boys only wear breechcloths, or kilts for formal events, like Meets.

Meet…At the end of every week everyone in the city gathers in the central courtyard. The sahrea show off their work and the pharin tell stories and the weonat and hathai classes give reports. The headman conducts any ceremonies at this time. Generally, this is a time for people of different walks of life to gather and exchange news (and sweets!). At the meet, people sit in groups depending on their occupation; apprentices sit on one side and masters another. The headman sits between the masters and retired elders, If necessary, the headman can also call a Meet for emergencies, though this is quite rare (and not cool).

Otowa… city. So Otowa Hopa is the City of Hopa. 

Peaceful Nations…the tribes of Anasazi Xhihalla that live and trade in peace with each other. 

Sanctum…the ceremonial and prayer houses. The pharin live here as well.

Sun Tribe & Sun Spirits…Assuming they haven’t done something extraordinarily atrocious, when Tkalis people die they join Sun Tribe as a Sun Spirit. The Spirits live with the Gran Tkalis.

Spark…A magical gift. People without Sparks can also use magic, just not as powerful and epic spells. 

Tkalis…the united tribe name of the Akali, Ekali, Ikali, Okali, Ukali and Ykali family houses.

Vele Tribe…a nomadic tribe that’s been bothering the Tkalis tribe. (Kaza says their name means “ethereal energy” but I think it should just mean “annoying poo-chasers”)

Wise…also known as the Elderwise, they’re a bunch of old smart guys that populate the Council. There’s usually one or two from each city. (I used to think they were chosen for the length and whiteness of their beards, but Father doesn’t have a beard and he’s the awesomest one on the Council, so…I guess my hypothesis isn’t right.)

Note—Tribe, House and City

There used to be six tribes that made up the Tkalis United Tribe—Akali, Ekali, Ikali, Okali, Ukali and Ykali. Ykali Xhihalla (not related to the Ykali tribe) brought the six together and since then all six tribes identify themselves as a common tribe called Tkalis. The original individual tribes became known as “houses”, though Ykali house no longer exists. A city is usually about a hundred people and consists of people from all of the houses. People now identify with their city before their house, and since many houses intermarried, house doesn’t really matter besides as an interesting pastime. A child can be named after either the father or mother’s house. (So I am Ani, foremost a Tkalis, then a weonat of Hopa, then a member of Akali house. After that it can be noted that I’m technically also part of Ekali because of my mother. Beyond that no normal person really cares.)

Occupational Classes—the four paths that a Tkalis person must choose by the time they are 10 cycles old, though they can start as early as 5 cycles old. They can change their decision once, but it should be within a cycle of starting their last path. Sahrea and hathai are the most common roles for girls and boys respectively since the pharin and weonat classes must choose and accept their apprentices. (I have no clue why Kuresi accepted Kaza if she’s so mean to him…) After becoming a master of a class a person can go on and learn traits from the other classes as well (like my mom! :D)

Sahrea…The sahrea are the city’s weavers and cooks and are all girls. Their colors are red and yellow. Of course, everyone can cook something (aka porridge), but the sahrea are the best at it and make the afternoon and night meals for most of the city. (They also make sweets XD) They also make all clothes and blankets and door-hangings. Sahrea paint or perform the stories of the City so that other cities can see and be jealous of their city. At the weekly Meets some of their artwork is hung around the courtyard, and they will occasionally put on dances for the city. Along with the pharin, they also teach and care for the younger children. They also help the hathai, especially in the harvest times.

Hathai…The farmers, merchants and animal -keepers are all boys. Their colors are green and indigo. They can choose whether to stay in the fields or travel to the other cities trading goods or even work in cycle-long shifts. In addition to maintaining the fields and stores, they study numbers and how to build and repair buildings. 

Pharin…The mage-priest-medics of the city are traditionally girls, but after the time of Oru the Disfigured, crippled men are sometimes accepted into the work as well. Their colors are orange and purple. Their most important jobs are to heal and speak to the Spirits of Sun Tribe and keep the City in the good graces of the Gran Tkalis, though they also work in conjunction to the headman to resolve conflicts. Those with magical Sparks can also learn magic to help in various ways (like my uncle Tkaruanhe could shape the sand to help in battle or with construction and my cousin Tkawaqi could make it rain to hamper enemies or water crops in a drought). They study the history and legends of the Tkalis Tribe and those of the other Peaceful Nations. In planting season they help prepare the seeds for planting and may help in the harvest season. Along with the sahrea, they also teach and care for the younger children.  Their names begin with a K, though I’m not sure why they get a special distinction.

Weonat…I saved the best for last. The warrior-hunters are traditionally all boys, though in recent years a few girls have learned parts of the weonat way (most noticeably in Otowa Hopa, my MOM :D). Our colors are blue and black. Aside from protecting the city from attacks and hunting game, we also run messages for the headman to other cities. We train fighting with a bow, sword, spear and club. Since we ride, we also learn to care for our horses. We learn to repair equipment and draw maps. In peacetime the masters help out the other classes, especially the hathai, but we have to maintain sharp fighting skills at all times. Most headmen come from the weonat class; this makes sense in a way because the weonat of a city represent the city, much like the headman has to. The really good ones sometimes try to learn combat magic, but it’s a very dangerous art and not encouraged. The losses are greater than any gains we might reap. 

So…that’s it for this sheet. If Father doesn’t find out that I’m borrowing his ink then I’ll write up a list of characters for you soon. And a map. I don’t want you getting lost bringing me sweets, do I?

Sun Dagger--Acceptation

Hiii!
I'm late, but I bring the next part of Sun Dagger!

Sometime during the week I should post a guide to some of the terminology that's popped up in the story. It also includes random bits of info on the world :) Yay bonus stuff.
After that I believe the narrator of that guide-segment has another segment about proper nouns in this story. So look forward to those!

I struggled to make this part as brief as possible since I think everyone expected it from the start. While writing it, I looked to the Warriors series when I didn't know how to continue but hopefully didn't copy too much.. XD Unfortunately there's also the introduction of a lot of people, some important some not so much, in this part. I did my best to conciseify stuff without making it sound weird. Any tips of where I could trim stuff would be appreciated!

This part concludes the first "slate" of Sun Dagger too. Which means the next Sun Dagger post will be approaching the actual plot stuff! Finally done with all this setting up. XD

Comments are loved! I respond to stuff in the comments too! XD
~Minerva

At least once a week, all hundred-some residents of Otowa Hopa gathered in a circle around the central courtyard for the routine Meet. After the existing pharin and Yasuvide led the city in a short prayer, one of the pharin apprentices, Aza’s old friend Keri, told the story of Oru the Disfigured. Afterwards, Aza wondered if she had picked that tale in particular. Oru had been born ugly and missing limbs, but he had put forth his best effort and eventually found a place in the pharin’s sanctums as the first male pharin. 

The warrior-hunter weonat and merchant-farmer hathai gave their reports next.When everyone was assured that the game and crop were doing well it was time for any masters or apprentice ceremonies. After lovely 8-cycles-old Una was accepted to train as a sahrea in the arts as most women did, it was finally Aza’s turn.

“The pharin of our city are our spiritual guides. They communicate with Sun Tribe for us, heal us, and help us with magic. Today we welcome two new apprentices to join the path of the pharin.”

Aza fidgeted a little. He was older and would thus be presented first. The few seconds before his father called his name seemed like seasons. “Tkalis Aza,” Yasuvide said, using the formal name. “Please stand.” 

Aza stood from his spot between Ani and his friend Uzo and bowed, ignoring the whispers that sprang up around the ring. A healthy male leaving the way of the weonat for the path of the pharin? He had not shown any great potential in mage work. The elders grunted. They did not like it. It was a man’s work to hunt and defend or farm and trade. It was a woman’s work to weave and entertain or pray and heal. To go against that was to invite the disapproval of the Gran Tkalis and their Sun Spirit ancestors. Some of the young adults whispered that his mother had been Tyeruinga, the woman who rode like a man. They reminded their elders that she had saved Hopa time and again with her skill with a bow. This was strange, but not unheard of. Still they grumbled. 

His father waited until it was quiet again to continue. “Do you wish to train in the ways of the pharin and learn the mysteries of Sun Tribe and the Gran Tkalis to serve your city?”

“I do.”

“Then would the current pharin and apprentices please stand.” 

They did, bowing to the headman. 

“Mistress, do you accept this boy as an apprentice?”

Kuresi, the only master pharin of Hopa after Aza’s uncle’s death frowned. “I accept Tkalis Aza as an apprentice,” she said after a long moment. If her frown disproved of him, her voice did not.

“Apprentices, do you accept this boy as a peer?”

“We accept Tkalis Aza as a peer,” the three young pharin girls of their city said in unison. His father nodded to him and Aza bowed, first to the headman, then to Kuresi and finally to the apprentices. Aza walked to the center of the ring to where his father stood and was joined by Esuna.

“Tkalis Ani, Tkalis Uzo, will you stand to show support for Aza?” Esuna asked.

Ani got to his feet, his face as calm as he could make it. Uzo looked surprised at being asked to stand. He chanced a glance around the warrior-apprentices’s group. On his left, Oko rolled his eyes with a jeering taunt on face. Seeing no support anywhere else, Uzo glanced around him before looking sheepishly down, staring at the ground as though he did not hear his name. Around them a few children snickered and “oohed”. Adults bristled and grandparents shook their heads. Uzo had shown Aza disrespect by refusing to stand as his friend. 

Aza couldn’t get Uzo to meet his eyes. Part of him felt betrayed, but when he felt tears he pinched himself and watched Ani instead. He copied Ani’s mask of seriousness. If Ani can remain calm, so must I, he told himself. He didn’t know that his brother trembled with indignation and was thinking curses to Uzo.

The tribe waited. A few of the crowd sighed with relief. Even Tyeruinga had been a sahrea before she had proved herself a warrior. She had earned her syllable of mastery from the arts.  A fit boy training as a mage would be too strange. 

Yasuvide was about to announce a cancellation due to lack of support when a small boy in the back of the warriors-in-training group stumbled to his feet. He murmured something inaudible. A girl in the pharin-in-training group standing next to him nudged him a little. He looked to her with a half-pleading, half scared look and murmured something else. The girl shook her head. The small boy took a deep breath and opened his mouth but no sound came out. People chuckled. He tried again. 

“I- I am Tkalis Eli!” he squeaked, sounding younger than his 10 cycles. “I will stand for Aza,” he continued, a little more confidently. The girl nudged him again. “As his peer.” Eli added hastily. “And… friend.”

Ani shot a grin back to Eli as the ceremony continued. 

“Tkalis Eli, why do you stand for Aza?” Yasuvide asked, as was proper when a volunteer stood. 

Eli shivered, whether from the cold or nervousness, but replied firmly. “Out of duty and gratitude. Aza stood with me for Keri last season when she started training as a pharin,” he said. He paused but Yasuvide did not continue. More reason was needed to stand for someone than because they had done the same for their family. “Also, when we were six cycles old and I couldn’t climb down from the High Rock, he and Ani climbed up to rescue me. They walked me back home and stayed with me until Mother came back from the fields. I owe him my thanks.”

Eli looked directly at Aza as he continued. “Father always said that Tkaruanhe was no less a man than he was, even though Tkaruanhe wielded a spell and he a spear. I expected Aza to become a warrior as well, but if duty or sentiment compels him to follow the path of a pharin, I will support him.” Eli bowed to Yasuvide, indicating he was finished, and then to Aza, who gratefully returned the bow.

Aza’s apprenticeship ceremony continued. With Esuna, Ani, Eli and the pharin group standing, the headman raised his hands in the air and said, “With Gran Tkalis and Sun Tribe as my witnesses, I, Tkalis Yasuvide, by my authority as headman of Otowa Hopa, ask Aza to join the pharin of Hopa. I name you Tkalis Kaza. May you serve Sun Tribe and your city honorably in your new role.”

After a moment’s hesitation, the crowd greeted him by his new name; the newly named Kaza bowed to the headman and walked over to join the current pharin- apprentices. The girls didn’t seem particularly moved by his presence, but Keri made space for him between her and Kuresi. Everyone sat when the headman did.

“Tkalis Iwa, please stand.” 

Iwa had the gray eyes originally from Ikali but her straight hair was too light a brown to be pure-bred Ikali. One of her parents must have come from Okali or Ukali. She was short and petite, and walked on small, silent feet. Aside from her exceptionally sharp ears, she was quite ordinary-looking. 

Kaza looked back at the group where the children who had not decided their paths sat. At 9 cycles old, Iwa was the oldest child there; her ceremony had to take place soon, for she would be 10 by the first new moon of spring. Her mother was known to have a great magical Spark at an early age, but Imami had flatly refused to become a pharin and took the path of a sahrea instead. To have her apparently Spark-less daughter become a pharin- apprentice surprised everyone. 

Kaza stood along with the other apprentice shaman and accepted Iwa with them. Even though she had rejected this path, Imami blessed her daughter. “I accept your decision, Iwa. Use your head and bring honor to yourself, your family, your city and your people.” She made the mark against evil on Iwa’s forehead before releasing her. Una and Eli stood for her at Imami’s request. Iwa was named Kiwa and joined the apprentice shaman next to Kaza. 

When the Meet was over, Kuresi ordered Kaza and Kiwa to bring their belongings and bedrolls to the rooms adjoined to the sanctum. Yasuvide and Ani were still out talking to other members of the city, but Esuna had returned to the headman’s rooms and was rolling up Kaza’s bedroll for him when he got there. The young one slept in her basket next to the hearth. Kaza joined Esuna quietly, packing his few belongings. When he discovered his mother’s bow would not fit in the basket, he unstrung it sadly and tucked the regular hemp string with the silk bowstring his mother had left him. Ani would keep it safe for him. At the end, he realized he had very little: some clothes, two strings, a bedroll, a knife. 

He went to the small, secured box that housed their family’s most precious items: a curved knife decorated by braided string, a comb with nearly- transparent thread, a small slat of writing, and two bright red and orange feathers. He took out one of the feathers. His mother had come back from a hunt one day and given her two sons each a feather. She said it was from a phoenix, but everyone else had decried the idea as folly. It didn’t matter to the boys. They kept it safe with the other personal treasures, only occasionally taking them out for comfort. He stared at the other items in the box, treasuring his last few moments at home. 

“I know…that I’m not your birthmother,” Esuna said behind him. “I know that you and Ani don’t see any of my sister in me. But if you run into trouble or need someone to talk to, I hope you will still confide in me. I am still here to help you.”

Kaza smiled and tucked his feather back in the box before turning around. “We know you try. Ani and I…just aren’t used to having a mother that offers to wash and mend our clothes and speaks to everyone very formally and politely.”

Esuna smiled as well. “I was always covering up for Eru’s mishaps and remarks.” She touched the top of his head. “I think you will do well in the sanctum, Kaza. And…thank you, for volunteering.”

He shook his head. “It was my duty.”

“Nevertheless.” Esuna subtly indicated to the sleeping bundle. “It is traditional for a pharin to name newborns if the mother does not have a name prepared by the naming ceremony. Why don’t you think of one for her?”

“A name?” Kaza was startled by the offer. He blushed with the respect shown him. Usually only master pharin were asked to choose names for young ones. “I’ll do my best to think of one before the fortnight ends,” he promised.