NaNo - Day 9
Today: 
Overall:
Well, I made up for my lack of writing on Wednesday by totally over-achieving on my daily word-count goal today. Coupled with yesterday's surplus, I am back on track and don't have to worry too much about exceeding my goals for the next day or two. I blame my big push on the fact that the first song in my playlist to come up was from Pan's Labyrinth, and the entire soundtrack's hauntingly beautiful arrangements had inspired me prior to NaNo of sacred temples and such, so I decided to forgo the randomized playlist to focus on setting the mood for the scene in the cathedral, skipping Kei's midnight trek across the castle rooftops to sneak out of the castle after yesterday's embarrassment. I was able to get through the whole soundtrack and the entire scene, and once I was done I went back to pen her little escapade leading up to the ethereal encounter in the great sanctuary, and my playlist obliged me by moving into the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtracks. Nothing like writing about a girl climbing towers and falling off ledges to the swashbuckling music of the high seas.
Today's excerpt comes from the opening description of the cathedral. It's been a while since I've had to do such thing and my MUSHing days are far behind me, so hopefully I was able to live up to my reputation as scene-setter extraordinaire.
The Cathedral was silent in the still night. The moonlight was twisted into soft tendrils of colour as it passed through the stained glass high above the altar. The funeral pyres of her parents were gone, and only the odd flower petal lingered on the floor. The altar was devoid of anything, save for the stone table covered in the cloth cover, the symbols of the Goddesses embroidered along the hem. The pews glistened in the light, shadows covering the back half of the Sanctuary. It was peaceful here, as if the world outside moved in a different realm than the quiet solitude of this place.
Kei stood in the shadows of the colonnade to the right of the altar, near the back of the room. Her breath and the sound of her heartbeat sounded like thunder to her, and she was certain that someone, one of the Clerics perhaps, would hear the noise and demand to know what she was doing here. Her eyes never left the altar as she emerged to walk along the back row to the center aisle. With a quick glance at the thick double-doors at the entrance, she turned to face the altar and began to walk slowly and careful down the aisle. Her footfalls rained on the stone floor, the echoes oddly seeming to fit with the sombreness that the dead of night offered to those seeking refuge within these walls. Her eyes travelled up the columns to the ceiling, the images of the creation of the world and the carved reliefs of the Goddesses and their Guardians flanking each of the windows, as if holding them in place. The white marble lent a sense of purity to the building, and Kei found comfort in the small solace of feeling that no evil could penetrate this place.
Could this be where the fabled power of the Goddesses resided? It was told, as everyone knew, that the gate way to the Golden Land resided in the center of Hyrule, and if Kei recalled her geography lessons, then this Cathedral stood in the exact center of the land. Was this why she was called here, mayhap? Kei shook her head as she reached the foot of the aisle, stopping at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the dais.
She lowered her hood and gazed up at the large stained glass picture that stood as a silent sentinel over the Sanctuary. It was an image of the same carving found in the throne room, that of the Triforce and the three Goddesses flanking it. Instead of the cold stone, however, the brilliant colour and skilfully used shadows gave the scene a depth that the sculpture failed to capture for the young Princess. She always felt a connection to this piece of work, unlike the feeling of starkness she had felt when approaching the throne.
Overall:
Well, I made up for my lack of writing on Wednesday by totally over-achieving on my daily word-count goal today. Coupled with yesterday's surplus, I am back on track and don't have to worry too much about exceeding my goals for the next day or two. I blame my big push on the fact that the first song in my playlist to come up was from Pan's Labyrinth, and the entire soundtrack's hauntingly beautiful arrangements had inspired me prior to NaNo of sacred temples and such, so I decided to forgo the randomized playlist to focus on setting the mood for the scene in the cathedral, skipping Kei's midnight trek across the castle rooftops to sneak out of the castle after yesterday's embarrassment. I was able to get through the whole soundtrack and the entire scene, and once I was done I went back to pen her little escapade leading up to the ethereal encounter in the great sanctuary, and my playlist obliged me by moving into the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtracks. Nothing like writing about a girl climbing towers and falling off ledges to the swashbuckling music of the high seas.
Today's excerpt comes from the opening description of the cathedral. It's been a while since I've had to do such thing and my MUSHing days are far behind me, so hopefully I was able to live up to my reputation as scene-setter extraordinaire.
The Cathedral was silent in the still night. The moonlight was twisted into soft tendrils of colour as it passed through the stained glass high above the altar. The funeral pyres of her parents were gone, and only the odd flower petal lingered on the floor. The altar was devoid of anything, save for the stone table covered in the cloth cover, the symbols of the Goddesses embroidered along the hem. The pews glistened in the light, shadows covering the back half of the Sanctuary. It was peaceful here, as if the world outside moved in a different realm than the quiet solitude of this place.
Kei stood in the shadows of the colonnade to the right of the altar, near the back of the room. Her breath and the sound of her heartbeat sounded like thunder to her, and she was certain that someone, one of the Clerics perhaps, would hear the noise and demand to know what she was doing here. Her eyes never left the altar as she emerged to walk along the back row to the center aisle. With a quick glance at the thick double-doors at the entrance, she turned to face the altar and began to walk slowly and careful down the aisle. Her footfalls rained on the stone floor, the echoes oddly seeming to fit with the sombreness that the dead of night offered to those seeking refuge within these walls. Her eyes travelled up the columns to the ceiling, the images of the creation of the world and the carved reliefs of the Goddesses and their Guardians flanking each of the windows, as if holding them in place. The white marble lent a sense of purity to the building, and Kei found comfort in the small solace of feeling that no evil could penetrate this place.
Could this be where the fabled power of the Goddesses resided? It was told, as everyone knew, that the gate way to the Golden Land resided in the center of Hyrule, and if Kei recalled her geography lessons, then this Cathedral stood in the exact center of the land. Was this why she was called here, mayhap? Kei shook her head as she reached the foot of the aisle, stopping at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the dais.
She lowered her hood and gazed up at the large stained glass picture that stood as a silent sentinel over the Sanctuary. It was an image of the same carving found in the throne room, that of the Triforce and the three Goddesses flanking it. Instead of the cold stone, however, the brilliant colour and skilfully used shadows gave the scene a depth that the sculpture failed to capture for the young Princess. She always felt a connection to this piece of work, unlike the feeling of starkness she had felt when approaching the throne.