Archive | May 2016

Landing Page: Inner Circle

In the world of the Circled Plain, most of humanity lives within walled cities, protected from the monsters outside.

The cities’ walls are nested, circle within circle within circle, and the richest and most powerful live the deepest in the city.

They call the social and economic climb from the outer rings towards the inner the Ladder. The climb is hard, but there are always ways to jump rungs.

Jumping Rings
Taslin and Valran have both knelt in service to climb the ladder.
But they will have to make it through their ten years before they’ll see the fruit of their labor.
Jumping Rings updates every other Tuesday.

Chapter One: Taslin (LJ) Kneel
Chapter Two: Valran (LJ) Kneel
Chapter Three: Taslin (LJ) Duck
Chapter Four: Valran (LJ) Duck
Chapter Five: Taslin )LJ) Thrust

subsequent chapters posted here.

Other Stories
…This turned out a little creepy… (LJ) Marri & her Patron, Biccon
Meeting (LJ) another Servus
The Flow and the Fountain (LJ) – why one doesn’t use too much magic
Remembering the Fallen (LJ) – how the Flow changes one
Now Hiring (LJ) – fic around demific
Meeting the Archmage (LJ)
(LJ)

Meta
Teswarnen Eshmarn, the Second Circle Deputy Oligarch of New Indapala
(LJ) – character information
The Lands of the Circled Plain (LJ) a setting story for 3WW

Worldbuilding 1: Architecture (LJ)
Worldbuilding 2: Inside and Outside (LJ)

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/773360.html. You can comment here or there.

The Deep Inks (beginning) reposted for Patreon

May18

This is what started the Stranded World – a short story, more the beginning of a tale than a story in and of itself, and the very beginning of my first NaNoWriMo novel, continuing it. The novel itself is, uh, not good. But this part, I think, is nicely indicative of the world & of Autumn.

Originally posted November 3rd, 2010 – as a Three-Word Wednesday!

“I heard you did divinations.”

It had been a quiet day, grey and chilly for early August, and Autumn had been putting the final touches on a new drawing of Grandmother Maple. The man’s intrusion was so unexpected, so sharp and abrupt, that only quick reflexes saved her from spilling her inkwell and ruining the whole thing.

“You want the blue tents over in Psychic Alley,” she answered without looking up, carefully capping her ink and setting her pen down.

read on…

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/1106714.html. You can comment here or there.

Enchanting, a story of the Faerie Apocalypse for Three-Word Wednesday

May18

Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.
Elves are marvelous. They cause marvels.
Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies.
Elves are glamorous. They project glamour.
Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment.
Elves are terrific. They beget terror….
-Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett

Alwin was giddy. She’d touched him. She’d brushed her hand over his, and she had smiled at him!

The lady had called herself Titania. When everyone who happened to be nobody at all was claiming gods’ names – there was that thing with “Zeus” in Greece, that thing with “Hera” in New York City, and nobody really wanted to think about the problems with Czernobog in Buffalo – it wasn’t surprising that a beautiful woman would take on a beautiful name. But she wasn’t standing in the center of town declaring her godhead like those nutcases, or trailing fanatic followers like some of the others – Bast. Bast had been a bad case, according to the news.

No, she was just sitting in a bar – some might say “holding court,” but Alwin thought they were snobs. She was just sitting at The Last Dock, drinking beer and smiling that enchanting smile at everyone.

Alwin’s smile faltered. Her gaze had moved on from him – of course, she had other things to thing of, other things to worry about. But she was smiling at Joe from down the street now, and her fingers were brushing over his hand now.

He’d have to get her to look at him again. He’d have to do something to get her attention.

Alwin finished his beer and picked up a pool cue.

for the 3-Word Wednesday prompt here

From the middle of the apocalypse blogged on faeapoclive and FaeApocLive

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/1106622.html. You can comment here or there.

Writing is like the monkeys in the silo

May16

I was minding my own business yesterday, doing the dishes and thinking about something on the news, when bam, an idea hit me.

I was playing the “what if” game: “What’s his story? Why did that really happen? What if it happened this way?”

That idea is gone, sadly… I didn’t write it down… but it sparked the idea for this post.

When I was a kid, I’d ask my mom or dad while we were driving: “tell me about that silo out there” or “tell me about that chimney” (around here, you can often find chimneys sort of hanging around with no house). “Tell me why this road is named Hubbel… why this is named Euler.”

(there’s another story there, too…)

And my mom would tell me about the monkeys in the silo, or my dad would tell me about Hub Bill, who wanted the world to revolve around him, or the You Learns (our road is pronounced you-ler, not like the scientist, oddly).

Writing is like that. You look at a thing. You ask a question. And the question leads to a story.

Tell me about that chimney, mom. Tell me about Reed Road, Daddy.

Tell me about that guy walking down the street. He’s carrying bags on a ski pole like a modern yoke. What’s his story?

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/1106252.html. You can comment here or there.

Landing Page: Edally Academy

May15

Getting into the legendary Empress Edaledalende Academy of Higher Learning at Ileltedez was just the first step; what will Tairiekie do now that she’s here? How will she and her new teammates get along, and how will they cope with teachers and staff that just don’t like them?

The Angry Aetherist posts Wednesdays; any week Paypal Donations reach $20, there will be an additional chapter posted on Sundays.

You can find the whole story on EdallyAcademy.com.

The Angry Aetherist

Chapter One (and on DW) Welcome to the Academy
Chapter Two (and on DW) Welcome to House Akaizepennen
Chapter Three (and on DW) An Introduction to Aether
Chapter Four (and on DW) Discovering the Power Structure
Chapter Five (and on DW) Into Threes, Nines, and Eighteens
Chapter Six (and on DW) New Friends and New Teams
the story continues on EdallyAcademy.com.

Edally Academy is part of the Reiassan setting in the Steam Era.

Draft Map of the School

(LJ)

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/766265.html. You can comment here or there.

Rin & Girey’s Campsite, Updated

May14

The Cartographers’ Guild does a monthly Lite Mapping Challenge, so I took my Five-Minute Map sketch and … made it better.

Not perfect, but better.

And then I had a small panic attack, and then I submitted it.

It’s one of Rin & Girey’s campsites, early in the story.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/1105755.html. You can comment here or there.

Time for Yardwork!

May13

~~It’s Spring! It’s time for all the chores~~

We’ve come to the time of year when I can almost rely on the weather not being frosty overnight – it reached the 70’s yesterday! (Low 20s C) – so now is the time for all the yardwork, and planning all of the house stuff.

I’ve started keeping a notebook, writing down everything that I need/want to do on the house. I think a couple basic things in the bathroom & the foyer are first there – especially the things we already have everything for.

But that’s this weekend. I started on the garden way back in March – the peas I planted are coming up; the carrots & beets aren’t. But that means it’s time for another round of seeds of both of those.

We won’t put starts in the ground until Memorial Day, but my Egyptian Walking Onions, Horseradish, mint, chives, and oregano are already up from last year.

And I’ve been making fire!

We have a Giant Brush Pile I’ve been working on knocking down, with the help of an electric chipper-shredder (mostly last year) and a small fire pit. Now that’s fun – sitting out there feeding wood into the pit, the table ton my lap, writing in between chopping up wood for the fire.

And last year’s firewood is mostly cured, so it moves into the garage now – it’s stacked along the garage door wall for the first year, to get the sun – to make room for the wood we’ll be ordering in a week or two. It’s hard, satisfying work with direct, tangible results. I like it.

Of course, today it’s raining. Maybe I’ll work on a skirt this evening.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/1105234.html. You can comment here or there.

#ThrowbackThursday: 2012

May12

May 12, 2012: My “Call of Nature/Origins & Creations” Giraffe Call.

And I wrote two throwbacks: the origins, or some of them, of Baram:

“Monster.” The witch twisted in Barypos’ arms and spat in his face. “Monster. Cretin. Beast.”

He lay his knife at her throat. “Soldier.” Her language wasn’t his, but they were close enough, and a warrior learned what he had to, fighting in these lands that weren’t home. “Father. Son.” He shrugged in apology. “I fight where I have to.”

“You killed my husband. My son. My baby.”…

continue reading “Cursed”

… and the Aunt Family’s houses…

“Here.” Carrie and Thomas glanced at each other, and then back at the land, and nodded.

“The road’s almost here, it won’t take us much to bring it this far. We’ll put the main house right on the road, and then we can build two more there and there,” Carrie pointed down the road a ways, “and a small place over there.”

“Woah, woah.” Thomas grinned at Carrie. “The small house is for your sister, then? Sarah? What are the others for?”

continue reading “Building the Homes”

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/1104957.html. You can comment here or there.

Landing Pages Updated: Superheroes, Reiassan (mostly), Facets of Dusk & Space Accountant

May12

Superheroes (LJ) (there were actually new posts to this!)
Reiassan (LJ) (the temporary add-on page) (still missing a couple…)
Space Accountant (LJ)
Facets of Dusk (LJ)

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/1104733.html. You can comment here or there.

Buffy: the Invitation (an Addergoole Crossover), Part III

May11

Part I: http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/1096503.html
Part II: http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/1100922.html

“Hey, Buff, Will. Giles-man.” Xander strolled into the library, took in the scene, and froze. “Uh. Maybe it’s just me, but generally the library involves less glaring and anger and more, you know, research and punning and wisecracks? I know I was a little late, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t start without me.”

“Oh, hello Xander.” Giles blinked owlishly and looked away from Buffy. You could nearly hear the pop of the air as he broke what had been a death-glare staring contest a moment earlier. “Buffy, Willow, and I were just discussing a small field trip we might be taking.”

“Won’t be taking,” Buffy corrected. “It’s ridiculous, and I’m not doing it.”

“Might be taking,” Giles disagreed.

“Field trip? Sign me up! Anything to get away from the Snyde-ster for a day or two!” Xander plopped into a chair. “I mean, unless we’re visiting another Hellmouth or something. I could live without that. I think even the Snyde-man is better than another Hellmouth. There aren’t other Hellmouths, are there?”

“Several, yes, although the closest known Hellmouth is in Cleveland and we are not going there.” Giles frowned. “However, I do not believe it would be wise for you to come along on this particular trip.”

“Oh. Is it shoe shopping? I can live without the shoe shopping. I have shoes, and that is enough for me.”

“There’s never enough shoe shopping. Giles, will there be shoe shopping in… nowheresville North Dakota? If there is, I might be convinced to check this place out.”

“Buffy…” Not for the first time — not even for the first time that week — Giles looked as if he’d like to put his face in his hands and cry. “If it will convince you that we very much need to take this field trip, I will go out of my way to take you shoe shopping. I may even —”

“Don’t offer to buy them shoes,” Xander cut in hastily. “I mean, I don’t know what they pay school Librarians — or Watchers — but it can’t be enough to handle what two teenage girls can do in a shoe store.”

“Hey!” Willow glared indignantly at him. “Watch it what you’re doing with those stereotypes, buster. Just because it’s this image that teenaged girls like shoes…”

“I like shoes,” Buffy chirped. “But you don’t have to come along, Xander. We’re not going, shoe shopping or not. It’s ridiculous, it’s not like I can even go to a private school, and Willow won’t go because there’s not going to be magic there.”’

“No magic? As in, none at all? No demons, no bug-people, no vampires? Sign me up! I mean… maybe they need a janitor? I can jan. Janet? What is the thing that janitors do? Help me out, Giles.”

“I think it would be quite interesting if Xander were to come along. Perhaps we can aim him at Dr. Avonmorea.”

“Oh, come on, Giles, she can’t be that bad.” Buffy patted Xander on the shoulder. “And, really, what’s Xander going to do? If there’s no magic, there won’t be any demons to follow him around. Or bug-people, or…”

“All right, all right. I can tell when I’m not wanted. I’m not wanted, right? ‘Cause, I mean, a place with no demons…”

“You should certainly come along, Xander, if you believe your parents would be fine with it.”

“My parents? They might notice if I’m gone past trash day more than twice.” Xander’s smirk didn’t falter, but his voice got a little louder. “You know, once it started to really stink in there.”

“Ahem. Well, then, it’s settled. I’m inform Principal Snyder — not of the specifics, of course — and we’ll leave Friday after lunch.”

“Wait, settled?” Buffy frowned. “Nuhn-unh. What about slayage? What about the whole Hellmouth here thing? What about the Bronze?”

“I believe all three of those things can wait for the length of time it will take us to travel to North Dakota and back. Although I am not certain I will survive a trip with the three of you, I believe it must be done.” Giles looked over his glasses at Buffy. “And if that is the case, then you can survive a weekend without the Bronze.”

“I’m not talking you out of this, am I?” Buffy pouted the question out as if she didn’t already know the answer. “Look, it’s a lost cause. They don’t want me, and I can’t go even if they did.”

“Yes, well. Be that as it may, we’re going to have to explain that to them. Possibly in a series of very long words.” Giles pinched his nose, looking as if he’d rather be anywhere else.

“That’s all you. I’m all with the short words. Like stakes. Short and pointy.”

“Oh! Will there be staking of this Doctor lady? Maybe she’s a vampire?”

“If you’re going, Xan, I’m sure she’ll be a monster,” Buffy reassured him.

“That,” Giles muttered, unheard by any except Willow, “is precisely what I’m concerned about.”

Next: http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/1108537.html

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/1104619.html. You can comment here or there.

Alder's Grove Fiction

The Worlds of Lyn Thorne-Alder