Gabriele

On 6/3/2016 at 9:02 PM, Slowswift said:

Just posting this here, in case anyone is interested: 17th Shard Camp NaNoWriMo cabin

I'm already in a cabin since someone talked me into doing July Camp. I should know better.  The camps never work for me the way November Nano does. But I got an invasion of plotbunnies now. Shooo, dang critters.

The plotbunnies I keep catching are always either

- Roman (A Land Unconquered featuring the Battle in the Teutoburg Forest and Germanicus' campaigns 9-16 AD; its semi-sequel Eagle of the Sea featuring the Battle of Mons Graupius and Domitian's campaigns in Germania about AD 83; Beyond Dark Mountains shows the last years of Septimius Severus ~ AD 210; Never to Return the Battle of the Harzhorn AD 235),

- early Middle Ages (The Battle of the Blue Swords about the Battle of Nechtansmere is 7th century, the Saga of House Sichelstein which features, among others, the battles of Brunanburh, Riade and Lechfeld, early 10th century) ,

- high Mediaeval (Kings and Rebels, the monster that turned Fantasy on me, is still mostly based on 12th century Europe). 

Of course, the stories are about much more than the battles, but those serve well as timeframe, and they do play a significant role in the books. Besides the politics, intrigues, clashes of culture, a bit of romance, loyalties divided, evil schemes, dysfunctional familes, blood feuds and whatever fun I can come up with within the frame of history - which is a fair bit, considering those times aren't too well documented.

First world writer problems: 

 

 

Seriously. Right now, the two top contenders are "Albert" and "Bertrand," with "Egbert" running a distant third. And I don't like any of them.

 

Edit: I'm toying with calling him Augustine, after Augustine of Hippo. (No, I am not going to name him Hippo, no matter how tempting the prospect. ) It'd make sense for him, given his background and parents. 

Those tripartite Roman names I have to deal with are fun, too. *sigh* Or trying to find 1st century AD Germanic names that have not been tampered with by Tacitus.

Thank you, Elbereth. It's far from being finished, and outside Nano I write more along the speed of GRR Martin but I'll get back at you once I got enough of the monster done for at least the first part to make sense.

From my NiP Kings and Rebels, the only Fantasy novel among the bunch of historical fiction projects in my files:

Goscelin nodded. "As I said, the magic is in our blood. Our line goes back to Trevelyan, the grandson of Merlyn. If Kêr Ys still stood you would be the Ri an Cael Arcant, the King of the Silver Hall. A title more ancient than the line of any king now alive."

 

"Ri an Cael Arcant," Roderic said in a dreamlike voice, "the Elven king of the Aremorican ballads I sometimes sing, and I never knew they were the very music of my ancestors."

 

"The music is part of our heritage, too. As is the Jewel of Kêr Ys and the Keepership."

 

I ended Nano with 58,5K. Not so bad. Here is a bit from Kings and Rebels - The Shores of Exile. Fresh from the press, so to speak.

 

"We are beneath the cellars of the keep now," Goscelin said. He pressed against another stone in the wall and a second secret gate swung open. They stood in a small, circular room with a cupola shaped ceiling and a waist high stone slab in the middle, covered with a piece of embroidered cloth. Goscelin put the torch in a sconce and stepped towards the stone.

 

A glance around showed Roderic two stone benches hewn out of the rock, covered with dusty cushions. He beat the worst of it out of them, but the dust only filled the room, the motes dancing in the torchlight.

 

Goscelin destroyed several more cobwebs enshrouding the stone slab and the ceiling above the seats, this time using his sword. He cleaned it with a grimace.

 

"I admit I am curious why you brought me down here," Roderic said. "Surely not to admire the variety of cobwebs you've bred."

 

Goscelin grinned and took a seat beside his nephew. "What do you know about the ring Alerot gave you?" he asked, his tone serious now.

 

"That is was a heirloom of my mother, given into his keeping until I had grown old enough to be entrusted with it, that it is very powerful and that I should seek to learn more from you."

 

Goscelin nodded, thoughtful. He could sense the memory of Alerot's death still haunted Roderic. "Have you ever used the ring?"

 

"Once. I was drawn into it when Kjartan called the mists to mislead our pursuers. He used his ring ...."

 

"Kjartan has a magic ring, too?" Goscelin interrupted his nephew. Mithras, this could be even more dangerous than he feared. There were tales about rings in Aremorica as well, and now this Nortvegjan had one, too. One of the lost Vineta rings, most likely.

 

"Yes, and he does not like to use it, but there was no other chance. I felt my finger throbbing and the ring gave away a blue aura, much like Kjartan's. And then I felt the power around us and called the mists. It was a strange feeling. I ... I thought that if I went deeper and channelled those currents swirling in the earth, I could have collapsed a mountain behind us and block the pursuers." Roderic took a deep breath. "I can understand why Kjartan stays away from such magic. And I don't want to have anything to do with it, either."

 

"I am afraid you will have to deal with it, Roderic. This magic is part of our very blood."

 

"How so?" Roderic whispered.

 

"You remember the legend of Kêr Ys of course, how Merlyn gave the realm of Kêr Ys to his daughter Morgase and her husband Gradlon, and how her incesteous affair with her brother Talyesin and her son's revenge caused the cataclysm in which Kêr Ys and the other realms created by the refugees from Atalantis sank beneath the waves the old magic unleashed."

 

"I remember," Roderic said. "Levonais which the bards also call Avallonia, Caer Gwaelod and Vineta were the names of the realms. There is an old lament in the language of Riata that sings about the fall of Avallonia, the loss of its beauty and its ancient magic."

 

He gave his uncle a half smile. "There are also rumours that the old magic has not been lost forever, that some people can still work the power of earth, water and air. Some of the West Coast families are said to be of the old blood."

 

"There are stories like that in Aremorica as well, and they have been told more frequently of late."

 

"But are those tales true then?"

 

Goscelin nodded. "The magic was never lost, only dormant, or weakend. But the currents have shifted and the magic has become powerful again." He rose and went to the stone. "This ...." he lifted the cloth, revealing an egg sized jewel gleaming in a soft blue ...."is one of the stones Merlyn gave to his heirs. The very core of the old magic of Atalantis that shaped the Sunken Realms."

 

"Mithras and Sol Invictus protect us," Roderic said in a low voice.

 

Goscelin could see him staring at the jewel like in a trance. "Touch it with your ring."

 

Roderic rose and slowly stepped to the stone on which the jewel lay. He hoovered his hand over it, hesistantly. As he stood there, tall and fair, hood thrown back from his dark hair and his grey eyes shining, Goscelin was struck how true the old blood ran in him. Bertriz had traces of it, as did several of his ancestors, but none so strong. The ring and jewel were Roderic's heritage, there was no doubt.

 

Finally Roderic let his hand sink onto the jewel. Blue light erupted and there was a sparkling in the air that made Goscelin's hair stand up. The blue swirled in bands of azure, turquois, midnight and cerulean with faint traces of ruby, silver and bright emerald. Roderic closed his eyes, like concentrating on some unseen power, and the swirling colours took on a pattern and slowed down. After a while, something like a crystalline net of colours formed, about the size of the stone slab, hanging in the air. Roderic opened his eyes and lifted his hand off the jewel. He looked at the net and with one brisk move, commanded it to meld with his ring. A flash almost blinded Goscelin. Then the loaded, coloured air became quiet and dull again, only the jewel and Roderic's ring gleamed in a faint blue.

 

Mithras, Goscelin thought, he is so strong. The most powerful magic weaver since Trevelyan, to be sure. Mithras and Morrighan [find Breton goddess] give him the strength to use his power wisely. He will either become the Keeper our time will need, or he may destroy the very continent.

 

Roderic shook his head disbelievingly. "What did I do there?"

 

"You used the jewel to enhance the power of your ring."

 

"damnation, that ring was powerful enough."

 

"No, your instincts were right. Come, sit down, I have more to explain to you."

 

Roderic took a seat beside his uncle, fidgeting with the ring on his finger. "It feels warm, almost hot."

 

"There is a fire deep in the earth which causes the currents of power that fuel the magic of those rings. Hence the heat, I suppose. I have never connected the ring to the jewel so I can't say for sure."

 

"The ring was yours then?"

 

Goscelin nodded. "A most ancient and powerful heirloom. It has been in the family for generations beyond count. I gave the ring to your mother to keep it separate from the jewel. I could feel the currents shift and the magic become more powerful before any magic wielder who is not a Keeper could sense it."

 

"And I brought it back," Roderic murmured.

 

"It needed to be brought back, Alerot was right to send you to me. Bertriz was strong enough to withstand the temptation of the ring and wise enough to keep it hidden from the ambitions of your father, but I do not think she was strong enough to become a Keeper, to channel the powers not only of the ring but of the jewel as well. Few could have done what you did, with the currents so wild."

 

"I don't even know what I did, and how. It just felt ... right."

 

Goscelin nodded. "As I said, the magic is in our blood. Our line goes back to Trevelyan, the grandson of Merlyn. If Kêr Ys still stood you would be the Ri an Cael Arcant, the King of the Silver Hall. A title more ancient than the line of any king now alive."

 

"Ri an Cael Arcant," Roderic said in a dreamlike voice, "the Elven king of the Aremorican ballads I used to sing, and I never knew they were the very music of my ancestors."

 

"The music is part of our heritage, too. As is the Jewel of Kêr Ys and the Keepership."

 

"So the jewels were not lost in the floods. That part the legends do not tell."

 

"That part was deliberately suppressed, or there would have been a hunt to find the jewels. Each jewel controlled several rings, given to members of Merlyn's family or his friends. We do not know the whereabouts of most of these, and when the currents were weak, the magic they could weave was not so strong to be dangerous. But now those rings must be found and controlled. There are people who knew or guessed that the floods and the fire mountain in the Roman Sea, all too close to sunken Atalantis, have changed the power."

 

"And that is the task of a Keeper?"

 

"Yes," Goscelin said in a very serious tone. "Some rings may be in the hands of people like your friend Kjartan, men or women who are careful about the use of magic. But others likely have ended up in the hands of greedy, ambitious people. They must be rendered inactive."

 

"How?"

 

"I cannot say for sure, but I think you will find out. Trust your instinct like you did with the jewel. This is a time of change, for good or ill." Likely for ill, Goscelin thought, even with Roderic's strength with the magic. He had no idea of the whereabout of the other jewels and Keepers, of the number of rings still active, and ambitions and intrigues surrounded him even after he had left the court of King Baldovin. He rose and signalled Roderic to follow.

 

On the stairs, he turned to his nephew. "If ever the jewel is threatened, collapse the castle and the hill over it. It must not fall into the hands of people who use the magic for dark purposes," he said intently.

Oh nice. Once I got the 50K, I'll look for a suitable excerpt, too. I'm at 49K right now so this should not be too long.

My ratio of decent words is better. About 50% of what I write during Nano (and it's my 8th so I have some experience) is ok, and the rest is editable. I tend to overwrite so editing often means cutting needless stuff out.

Do you have an idea how difficult it is to write when your head is lying several steps away from the computer and the rest of your body? 

Oh my, that sounds like I need to get my Roman army from a prior Nano and sic them at the lot. 

I'm RangerofAnor on NaNoWriMo.

 

Gotta say, I'm a tad annoyed because I had spent two weeks drawing out plans for what I was going to write about, and then got hit by a great new idea two days ago and now I'm running with the new idea and shelving the plans. Because, #YOLO, apparently.

 

Wild waters ahead, guys. Don't know if I'm gonna make it

Plotbunnies love doing that. The only way to deal with the critters is to lock them up in the basement. Or a nice castle dungeon, if you live in Europe. 

I'll try to get some words on book 2 of my Fantasy series: Kings and Rebels - The Shores of Exile. And I'm not going to allow that Nechtansmere plotbunny to create havoc of my plans.

Treason and the misuse of magic led to a cataclysm where the legendary realms of Levonais, Kêr Ys, Caer Gwaelod, and Vineta sank beneath the waves. But the magic stones that had shaped them were saved, and the descendants of the Sea Kings decided to keep the stones hidden, carrying on their line in secret.

But now changes in the currents have enhanced the magic of the stones again, and they can no longer be kept secret. Already one stone has fallen into the hands of the sorceress Kazimira of the Avodrite, and Illugi the Black has learned where another stone is kept; bound on claiming it as his own.

Roderic Sinclaire, the former Royal Marshal turned traitor, has fled Riata and lives at the court of the Seacsan Duke who is beset by enemies, among them the Avodrite led by the sorceress Kazimira. Kjartan Haraldsson,  heir of the king of Nortvegja, has to fight the allied rebel forces of Asbjörn and Illugi; Alastair O'Duibhne is a captive in Nortvegja thanks to the schemes of his brother; and the Cymruyn necromancer princess Iverys verc Tegvared has taken to the mountains where she leads a band of brigands against her half-brother and the King of Albinoria. Things can only get worse. :-)

Anyone doing Nano again this year? 

I'm going to get some words on book 2 of my Fantasy series: Kings and Rebels - The Shores of Exile

Treason and the misuse of magic led to a cataclysm where the legendary realms of Levonais, Kêr Ys, Caer Gwaelod, and Vineta sank beneath the waves. But the magic stones that had shaped them were saved, and the descendants of the Sea Kings decided to keep the stones hidden, carrying on their line in secret.

But now changes in the currents have enhanced the magic of the stones again, and they can no longer be kept secret. Already one stone has fallen into the hands of the sorceress Kazimira of the Avodrite, and Illugi the Black has learned where another stone is kept; bound on claiming it as his own.

Roderic Sinclaire, the former Royal Marshal turned traitor, has fled Riata and lives at the court of the Seacsan Duke who is beset by enemies, among them the Avodrite led by the sorceress Kazimira. Kjartan Haraldsson,  heir of the king of Nortvegja, has to fight the allied rebel forces of Asbjörn and Illugi; Alastair O'Duibhne is a captive in Nortvegja thanks to the schemes of his brother; and the Cymruyn necromancer princess Iverys verc Tegvared has taken to the mountains where she leads a band of brigands against her half-brother and the King of Albinoria. Things can only get worse. :-)

 

Interesting ideas. I see one problem with that concept, though. You will always need a lot more farmers than merchants, and less leaders than the other classes, for a society to work. Does that mean that children assigned leadership will more likely die? 

And where does the system leave important crafts like smiths, bakers, weavers .... are they part of the farmer (hard labour) or merchant (because they can sell the wares they produce) class? 

Since you speak of 'children', I assume gender doesn't play a role, which would be cool.

 

Also re-listening to The Phantom of the Opera. Love the musical, love the book, should really try some of Lerounx's (spelling...) other works.

Have you read Pratchett's Maskerade? 

I wrote the basic plot summary for a fantasy novel with nothing but historical events transposed into a fantasy world, and the first response I get is, "You are asking for too much suspension of disbelief." Real history is too convoluted and unlikely to be accepted as fiction. Apparently, I had to tone down the riots, destroyed city and fifty thousand deaths caused by a sports match, the general who sent his own physicians to help the wounded king he was currently at war with, the force of three thousand overcoming an army of nine thousand, and a dozen other plot points which were considered too unlikely.

That sounds like chariot race fans in Byzantium gone hooligan, Saladin and Richard Lionheart, and about a dozen historical battles, Cannae, Issos, and Azincourt among them.  What's not to like.

Bernard Cornwell (Azincourt) and Stephen Lawhead (Robin Hood trilogy) have written historical fiction with Mediaeval settings where the bow plays an important role. And don't forget Legolas.

And large temperature differences will lead to some really big storms.

I'm amazed about the creativity here. I like to read Fantasy, but I'm not good at coming up with cool Fantasy concepts. Luckily, I like historical fiction as well and I'm better at writing that. 

Though I do have that alternate world where the lost towns/realms of legend have been real (you know, like Kêr Ys, Avalon, Lyonesse, Vineta, Cantre'r Gwaelod ...) and left dangerous magic behind when they sank in one big cataclysm. That one grew out of a hist fic idea where I could not match the story I had in mind with the history of the time. It's in the drawer right now, but I sometimes fiddle with it a bit. I need a better grip on the magic before I'm going to rewrite the first part and continue with the story. But I do like some characters and plot ideas well enough that I don't want to give up on it. Maybe Nano this year? The Roman and AngloSaxon stuff is in a stage where Nano won't work to continue one of those NiPs. 

As someone whose research is a year behind because of mouse breeding problems, I'll just say that sometimes you wish you could take more extreme measures than just waiting.

 

Ah, lab mice. They don't cooperate just to storm off the poor researchers. Try rats, they can be argued with.

 or really bizarre things like guns with bullets that can turn people into mice and knives made of cold fire? 

Do you have an idea how fast mice procreate? You really don't want that sort of magic. 

Cuttlefish-velociraptors totally deserve an upvote.

A vast deal. Admins have much greater authority.

They wield shard spammer hammers.

Can we get separate Book and TV/Movie threads again?

It's difficult to find any book-related threads among all that other stuff I know zero about because I don't watch US/UK TV or play games. And I don't think I'm the only one not into media but much into books.  

You mean like King Louis the Fat?! I'm related to him!

Sorry, though. Already in the Sharder cabin.

That's cool re. Louis the Fat.

I've been running that cabin since you can start your own. The first Nano camp a friend and I got sorted with two other people who hated history. The sorting hat must have had a bad day with that pick. Inviting people is a better way to make sure that you can have fun in a cabin. 

My kings of choice (for the Nano novel, that is) are Henry the Fowler and Otto the Great.  

I'm already Captain of a Cabin. It's open for people who think discussing Mediaeval kings is actually fun.