The path did not go by a straight route at all. It switched back and forth, and dove in and out of buttresses of rock that jutted from the cliffs like outthrust bows of ships, or walls, or the askew bones of giants. The way had clearly been cut and carved to make progress easier,…
On Colours and Evil
Audio for those who’d prefer to listen. DARKNESS, BLACKNESS, COLOUR & EVIL: A DISCUSSION This little essay came about because of an earlier reddit post, where a redditor asked the not unreasonable question: why is darkness and blackness so often associated with evil in fantasy? There were some thoughtful and interesting answers in the post,…
A Charm for the Nameless Child #71
“Could it be an encamped army?” Dapplegrim shook his head. “No. I don’t think so. It smells too lived-in, if that makes sense. There’s something nearer too. Over this way.” Dapplegrim strolled off through the thistles, crushing them down to white fibrous stalks under his hooves and seemingly not noticing the finger-length spikes. The others…
Possibly the world’s worst immune system?
I’m only just recovering from being sick again. It seems like any small preschool bug the children bring home just knocks me out. I am very much looking forward to them getting old enough to get past the ‘constantly sick’ phase. Hopefully, hopefully, I’ll be able to get back into a bit of a run…
A Charm for the Nameless Child #70
Fleat returned after about a half-hour. “What news?” said Caewen getting up and stretching her arms. As soon as he was done shedding his fathers, he said, “There is a way through the mountains. It’s overgrown, but I think there’s a road under the ivy and tangles. It looks disused. I saw no signs of…
A Charm for the Nameless Child #69
After an hour, Fleat returned with news that the lands were clear of patrols and hunters. For now at least. Finally, at around mid-morning, Caewen, woke. She was bleary, slow to move, and clearly still suffering from the previous days’ exhaustions. At first, barely willing to leave her bedroll, she made her way to the…
Back into posting
Hi everyone. I should be back to posting again in a regular way. The usual thing knocked me over: preschooler home sick for a week, and the various flow-on effects, needing to catch up, and so on and so on. However, I’m caught up now, so I should start to get some posting done.
A Charm for the Nameless Child #68
He didn’t know how to cipher or write. At least, that had been true yesterday. He picked up a stick, and rather clumsily wrote the words – I – can – write – in the loose dirt of the ground. What language was that? It wasn’t the common Altongue that everyone spoke day-to-day. It was…
A Charm for the Nameless Child #67
The boy returned to camp. He wasn’t sure if he should say anything about the strange fight he’d just witnessed. The shadow-thing hadn’t forbidden him from talking about it, but somehow it had felt private. He thought that probably he would mention it to Fleat first, and see what the owl-child thought. But Fleat must…
A Charm for the Nameless Child #66
Dawn broke like water seeping among the trees. A wind from the mountains was seething in the treetops, but down at ground level there was barely a stir of air. The boy woke early, made himself something to eat out of the stores, listened to birds singing and felt a bit at loose ends. Both…