can any human being ever reach that kind of light
A fascinating link regarding a great editor.
Crowd-sourced publishing. An interesting idea, though we’ll have to wait and see how it goes.
xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx
Edinburgh bears the unfortunate label of “not Japan” in my head, and so I tend to give the place short shrift, and easily forget just how lucky I am to be here. Since the culture and language are much closer to that of my native place, I don’t experience the same degree of foreign-ness, and so I don’t appreciate the city as much as I should.
So it’s good for me to go by North Bridge every once and a while, because out of all the places in the city somehow the view from their reminds me of just how lucky I am. And it reminds me that Edinburgh is an incredible place, a vision in buff stone, a place of history and wonders and mysteries if only I dig beneath the everyday to find them.
And it figures that I don’t have any particularly great photos of the view from there. It’s rather difficult to capture such a grand view on a 2D camera-- half the magnificence is the wonders receding further back into space. Carlton Hill with its whimsical structures falling away to the sky and the far-off waters of the ocean, seagulls wheeling in the wind, the impressive sweep of the bridge over the great ravine that holds the train station, the height of the hills on either side, the ornate stone buildings decorated with mythic beasts and reclining gods . . .
Here’s the one shot I do have of Carlton Hill. They hold the Samhain and Beltain celebrations up there-- both of which I missed, alas. But if I were going to pick a likely spot for magic in Edinburgh this’d be it, with the eclectic buildings, the observatory dome, the obelisk, the tower. It would be a great location for a school of wizardry, a part of the town and yet separate, a lofty place between land and sea, sky and rock, looking over both the cultured city and the barren wildness of Arthur’s Seat.
xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx
I wanted to put up more writing for saiun_challenge’s birthday celebration, but alas it seems this is all I’m going to manage. And I still have one more bit to write before it’s really complete! ::sobs:: Oh, and I haven’t edited it yet, so it’s probably so terrible as to be embarrassing. But I’m too tired to look it over now, and the deadline will be past if I wait to do so until I’ve had some sleep.
This AU makes me nostalgic for high school. How weird.
Dark Jewels Saiunkoku
Roseford's Queen: Part 1
Roseford's Queen: Part 2
Roseford’s Queen: Part 3
Shuurei quickly made her obeisance to the other queen and escorted her to a seat at the table, her mind racing fruitlessly. What possible reason could these two grand personages have to be sitting in her small and homey cottage? Karin seemed somewhat flustered, but the Warlord Prince was still all disarming smiles, conducting introductions and making pleasant inquiries with a studied lack of urgency, pouring tea for all without concern.
Karin didn’t share his ease; she put her teacup down on its saucer barely touched. “As pleasant as this is, there is a reason we came,” she said in clipped tones. “Shuurei, you have been Queen of Roseford for some years now, and in that time the township has become a model of efficiency.”
“I hope there hasn’t been some sort of problem?” Shuurei asked, a bit nervously. “It’s not often that we get such illustrious visitors.”
“No, no, nothing of the sort,” Karin waved dismissively. “Indeed, Roseford is so well-run that it never really comes to my attention at all. Even your taxes are perfectly in order, and returns are higher than I would have expected.”
“We had some good yields from our crops after we instituted a new system of field rotation,” Shuurei explained. “If you would care to look over the account books, I keep them personally. I can show you--”
“Quite all right,” Karin said quickly. “I’m sure they’re in order. Actually, I wouldn’t have come by to bother you at all, except . . . well.”
“I asked her to come,” the Warlord Prince said from behind his teacup. He, at least, seemed utterly relaxed. “Your tea is excellent, I must say. Do you grow your own leaves?”
Shuurei could see Karin trying not to set her teeth. “Prince Shi said that he had a very important request for you. One so urgent it could not wait, and required both of us to drop whatever we were doing and depart for Roseford in all haste.”
“Ah, yes, that. Well, to you and me it’s important. To Roseford’s Queen, not so much.” He sipped from the cup again.
“Well then,” Karin grated, “perhaps we should tell her what it is?”
“It’s nothing that you really need to concern yourself with too much,” the Warlord Prince said, holding out his empty teacup. Shuurei moved automatically to fill it. “We just wanted to ask you to become the Queen of Saiunkoku.”
Shuurei dropped the teapot. Only a fast movement from Shouka prevented it from smashing, but no one noticed. “What?!”
Ryuuki sighed and regretfully put his empty cup down on its saucer again. “Become the Queen of Saiunkoku Territory,” he said. “It shouldn’t be too hard, all you have to do is move into the Manor. Well, perhaps redecorate a bit, but the staff will help with that.”
“I-- but-- wait, wait. The Queen of Saiunkoku Territory?! Saiunkoku already has a ruler-- you!”
“That is true, right now,” the Warlord Prince nodded. “But it doesn’t have to remain true. A Territory should be ruled by a Queen, don’t you think? I am not a Queen. I’m a man, you see. Contradiction in terms.”
“But-- I’m just a Township Queen! I can’t possibly become the Queen of the entire Territory!”
“Why not?” He blinked at her. “It’s not like it’s different from being Queen of a Township.”
“It’s different! It’s completely different!” She found herself on her feet facing down complete and utter incomprehension. “Townships are much smaller!”
“Well, yes,” he agreed, still puzzled.
“My jewel is just Purple Dusk. That’s not nearly dark enough to hold a Territory.”
“Your earrings are lovely. Have you seen mine?” He stood up, and the quality of the air changed, and Shuurei became aware of the silence that surrounded them. The Warlord Prince pushed back his blond hair to reveal a Gray jewel set in a cuff that hugged the rim of his ear, and the golden light slanting through the window caught in a deep flaw in the stone and set it afire. He leaned forward and placed his hands flat on the tabletop, perfectly mirroring her stance and looking deeply into her eyes. “But the color of your jewels doesn’t matter either, you know,” he said softly. “Not when you have a much more important qualification.”
It was becoming harder to breathe, somehow. “What’s that?”
He smiled. “You’re not afraid of me.”
She blinked and glanced aside, and saw that Karin was tensely sitting upright, her hands clenched over the arms, her face drawn. Shouka seemed calm, but he had gone absolutely still in his chair, and she caught a glimpse of metal in his hand-- he must have called in one of his jewels, and he never wore them, not ever. And Seiran was in the doorway, poised, as if the slightest provocation would cause him to spring forwards.
As soon as she broke eye contact Ryuuki sat back down, as if the tension in the room was completely unimportant. She found herself panting, and used the excuse of settling back into her chair to calm her racing heart. But he was right-- she wasn’t afraid. It was something else, something--
“A Queen doesn’t need a dark jewel to rule,” he said, unperturbed by the stares of everyone in the room. “Not when she has the support of her Court. And you’ve already got a good start on one, haven’t you?” The Warlord Prince gestured nonchalantly towards Shouka and Seiran. “Three Warlord Princes with dark jewels is enough to keep anyone from questioning you, I think.”
“Three?” Shuurei asked weakly.
He nodded. “Two plus one-- me. As a condition of your acceptance I will request a position in your new Court. Hmm, Master of the Guard doesn’t really suit me-- Consort would do, I think.”
“Consort,” she repeated dumbly, unable to even begin listing her objections.
He grinned at her cheerfully. “Exactly. And I’ll give you my existing Court as my dowry, although of course I’ll negotiate with your father on the details. It’s traditional, or so I’ve heard. I think you’ll like them. I know they’ll like you. They’re rather strange, but not too bad as Courts go.”
“Surely,” Shuurei managed, “someone will object. The Province Queens--”
“Will support you, of course. Karin speaks for them. She promised me. Isn’t that right, Karin?” The Warlord Prince smiled at the Province Queen sweetly.
She went completely pale, and sweat broke out on her forehead. “O-of course.”
“See? It’s already taken care of.” Ryuuki lifted his teacup again, found it still empty, and set it down once more with a disappointed sigh. “I’ll arrange the handover of the Territory, you’ll announce your Court, the Queens will swear fealty. Then you can get down to redecorating. Simplicity itself.” He started to put on his jacket.
“Wait-- I haven’t agreed yet, I-- I have to think--” Shuurei stammered.
“Of course, I understand.” He nodded as he rose. “You can think about it. Take all the time you need. But-- not too much time.” He had somehow gained possession of her hand; was bowing over it, those strange too-bright eyes seeking hers. “You have all the time in the world, my Queen,” he said. “But I do not.”
He nodded to Shouka, and then was gone.
Crowd-sourced publishing. An interesting idea, though we’ll have to wait and see how it goes.
xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx
Edinburgh bears the unfortunate label of “not Japan” in my head, and so I tend to give the place short shrift, and easily forget just how lucky I am to be here. Since the culture and language are much closer to that of my native place, I don’t experience the same degree of foreign-ness, and so I don’t appreciate the city as much as I should.
So it’s good for me to go by North Bridge every once and a while, because out of all the places in the city somehow the view from their reminds me of just how lucky I am. And it reminds me that Edinburgh is an incredible place, a vision in buff stone, a place of history and wonders and mysteries if only I dig beneath the everyday to find them.
And it figures that I don’t have any particularly great photos of the view from there. It’s rather difficult to capture such a grand view on a 2D camera-- half the magnificence is the wonders receding further back into space. Carlton Hill with its whimsical structures falling away to the sky and the far-off waters of the ocean, seagulls wheeling in the wind, the impressive sweep of the bridge over the great ravine that holds the train station, the height of the hills on either side, the ornate stone buildings decorated with mythic beasts and reclining gods . . .
Here’s the one shot I do have of Carlton Hill. They hold the Samhain and Beltain celebrations up there-- both of which I missed, alas. But if I were going to pick a likely spot for magic in Edinburgh this’d be it, with the eclectic buildings, the observatory dome, the obelisk, the tower. It would be a great location for a school of wizardry, a part of the town and yet separate, a lofty place between land and sea, sky and rock, looking over both the cultured city and the barren wildness of Arthur’s Seat.
xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx xOx
I wanted to put up more writing for saiun_challenge’s birthday celebration, but alas it seems this is all I’m going to manage. And I still have one more bit to write before it’s really complete! ::sobs:: Oh, and I haven’t edited it yet, so it’s probably so terrible as to be embarrassing. But I’m too tired to look it over now, and the deadline will be past if I wait to do so until I’ve had some sleep.
This AU makes me nostalgic for high school. How weird.
Dark Jewels Saiunkoku
Roseford's Queen: Part 1
Roseford's Queen: Part 2
Roseford’s Queen: Part 3
Shuurei quickly made her obeisance to the other queen and escorted her to a seat at the table, her mind racing fruitlessly. What possible reason could these two grand personages have to be sitting in her small and homey cottage? Karin seemed somewhat flustered, but the Warlord Prince was still all disarming smiles, conducting introductions and making pleasant inquiries with a studied lack of urgency, pouring tea for all without concern.
Karin didn’t share his ease; she put her teacup down on its saucer barely touched. “As pleasant as this is, there is a reason we came,” she said in clipped tones. “Shuurei, you have been Queen of Roseford for some years now, and in that time the township has become a model of efficiency.”
“I hope there hasn’t been some sort of problem?” Shuurei asked, a bit nervously. “It’s not often that we get such illustrious visitors.”
“No, no, nothing of the sort,” Karin waved dismissively. “Indeed, Roseford is so well-run that it never really comes to my attention at all. Even your taxes are perfectly in order, and returns are higher than I would have expected.”
“We had some good yields from our crops after we instituted a new system of field rotation,” Shuurei explained. “If you would care to look over the account books, I keep them personally. I can show you--”
“Quite all right,” Karin said quickly. “I’m sure they’re in order. Actually, I wouldn’t have come by to bother you at all, except . . . well.”
“I asked her to come,” the Warlord Prince said from behind his teacup. He, at least, seemed utterly relaxed. “Your tea is excellent, I must say. Do you grow your own leaves?”
Shuurei could see Karin trying not to set her teeth. “Prince Shi said that he had a very important request for you. One so urgent it could not wait, and required both of us to drop whatever we were doing and depart for Roseford in all haste.”
“Ah, yes, that. Well, to you and me it’s important. To Roseford’s Queen, not so much.” He sipped from the cup again.
“Well then,” Karin grated, “perhaps we should tell her what it is?”
“It’s nothing that you really need to concern yourself with too much,” the Warlord Prince said, holding out his empty teacup. Shuurei moved automatically to fill it. “We just wanted to ask you to become the Queen of Saiunkoku.”
Shuurei dropped the teapot. Only a fast movement from Shouka prevented it from smashing, but no one noticed. “What?!”
Ryuuki sighed and regretfully put his empty cup down on its saucer again. “Become the Queen of Saiunkoku Territory,” he said. “It shouldn’t be too hard, all you have to do is move into the Manor. Well, perhaps redecorate a bit, but the staff will help with that.”
“I-- but-- wait, wait. The Queen of Saiunkoku Territory?! Saiunkoku already has a ruler-- you!”
“That is true, right now,” the Warlord Prince nodded. “But it doesn’t have to remain true. A Territory should be ruled by a Queen, don’t you think? I am not a Queen. I’m a man, you see. Contradiction in terms.”
“But-- I’m just a Township Queen! I can’t possibly become the Queen of the entire Territory!”
“Why not?” He blinked at her. “It’s not like it’s different from being Queen of a Township.”
“It’s different! It’s completely different!” She found herself on her feet facing down complete and utter incomprehension. “Townships are much smaller!”
“Well, yes,” he agreed, still puzzled.
“My jewel is just Purple Dusk. That’s not nearly dark enough to hold a Territory.”
“Your earrings are lovely. Have you seen mine?” He stood up, and the quality of the air changed, and Shuurei became aware of the silence that surrounded them. The Warlord Prince pushed back his blond hair to reveal a Gray jewel set in a cuff that hugged the rim of his ear, and the golden light slanting through the window caught in a deep flaw in the stone and set it afire. He leaned forward and placed his hands flat on the tabletop, perfectly mirroring her stance and looking deeply into her eyes. “But the color of your jewels doesn’t matter either, you know,” he said softly. “Not when you have a much more important qualification.”
It was becoming harder to breathe, somehow. “What’s that?”
He smiled. “You’re not afraid of me.”
She blinked and glanced aside, and saw that Karin was tensely sitting upright, her hands clenched over the arms, her face drawn. Shouka seemed calm, but he had gone absolutely still in his chair, and she caught a glimpse of metal in his hand-- he must have called in one of his jewels, and he never wore them, not ever. And Seiran was in the doorway, poised, as if the slightest provocation would cause him to spring forwards.
As soon as she broke eye contact Ryuuki sat back down, as if the tension in the room was completely unimportant. She found herself panting, and used the excuse of settling back into her chair to calm her racing heart. But he was right-- she wasn’t afraid. It was something else, something--
“A Queen doesn’t need a dark jewel to rule,” he said, unperturbed by the stares of everyone in the room. “Not when she has the support of her Court. And you’ve already got a good start on one, haven’t you?” The Warlord Prince gestured nonchalantly towards Shouka and Seiran. “Three Warlord Princes with dark jewels is enough to keep anyone from questioning you, I think.”
“Three?” Shuurei asked weakly.
He nodded. “Two plus one-- me. As a condition of your acceptance I will request a position in your new Court. Hmm, Master of the Guard doesn’t really suit me-- Consort would do, I think.”
“Consort,” she repeated dumbly, unable to even begin listing her objections.
He grinned at her cheerfully. “Exactly. And I’ll give you my existing Court as my dowry, although of course I’ll negotiate with your father on the details. It’s traditional, or so I’ve heard. I think you’ll like them. I know they’ll like you. They’re rather strange, but not too bad as Courts go.”
“Surely,” Shuurei managed, “someone will object. The Province Queens--”
“Will support you, of course. Karin speaks for them. She promised me. Isn’t that right, Karin?” The Warlord Prince smiled at the Province Queen sweetly.
She went completely pale, and sweat broke out on her forehead. “O-of course.”
“See? It’s already taken care of.” Ryuuki lifted his teacup again, found it still empty, and set it down once more with a disappointed sigh. “I’ll arrange the handover of the Territory, you’ll announce your Court, the Queens will swear fealty. Then you can get down to redecorating. Simplicity itself.” He started to put on his jacket.
“Wait-- I haven’t agreed yet, I-- I have to think--” Shuurei stammered.
“Of course, I understand.” He nodded as he rose. “You can think about it. Take all the time you need. But-- not too much time.” He had somehow gained possession of her hand; was bowing over it, those strange too-bright eyes seeking hers. “You have all the time in the world, my Queen,” he said. “But I do not.”
He nodded to Shouka, and then was gone.