Fiction, second attempt: 9 Walls chapter 1
This one much longer so chunked larger. Thoughts?
The compound was well hidden, high up in the Appalachian Mountains past a tiny ramshackle village that was lucky to boast a post office and a corner store. The road wound past houses built in the 30’s and not repaired or renovated -- or painted -- since then, over a bridge that looked ready to fall into the gorge below- though Lidia knew it was both well-supported under its creaky exterior and capable of splitting at the center to drop unwanted guests into the roaring water hundreds of feet below.
The road continued around the rocky face of the mountain, dipping into a valley as it reached the far side. The compound came into view, nestled in the verdant valley like a bear trap left in a flower garden. Lidia stopped the car and just stared. She'd heard about this place, a castle hidden in the middle of the poorest part of the country, but seeing it was another matter altogether.
It was huge, a true castle surrounded by a high wall, complete with corner towers. The eastern stronghold for her tribe, it had been built to be defensible against anything the Wyrm could throw against it… and had stood against attacks for the last 2 centuries. Tribe legend had it is was an exact replica of a castle in the homeland, but Lidia doubted it. She pulled her car ahead to cul-de-sac where the road met the castle walls, and got out. She stood starting at the heavy wooden gate for a long moment, a slight frown on her face.
Lidia, Stays-Till-Last, was 25 years old. She had survived the destruction of two Wyld caerns and four spiral hives, and had more notches on her klaive than most Ahrouns her age. And yet, her tribal elders had sent her here, to have babies.
She sighed and walked to the smaller door set beside the large gate. With a fist that had seen more brawling than cuddling, she pounded on the door. The door swung slowly outwards and a burly man peered at her. “Who?’ he grunted.
“Lidia Reidhar, Stays-Till-Last, Athro Theurge,” she introduced herself, and stood and waited, arms crossed over her chest.
“Come in,” he grunted, and closed the door in her face. She blinked and shoved back a growl that wanted to edge its way out, just as the larger gate swung open. She drove the car through the gateway, past the door guard, and into a stone courtyard.
The compound was well hidden, high up in the Appalachian Mountains past a tiny ramshackle village that was lucky to boast a post office and a corner store. The road wound past houses built in the 30’s and not repaired or renovated -- or painted -- since then, over a bridge that looked ready to fall into the gorge below- though Lidia knew it was both well-supported under its creaky exterior and capable of splitting at the center to drop unwanted guests into the roaring water hundreds of feet below.
The road continued around the rocky face of the mountain, dipping into a valley as it reached the far side. The compound came into view, nestled in the verdant valley like a bear trap left in a flower garden. Lidia stopped the car and just stared. She'd heard about this place, a castle hidden in the middle of the poorest part of the country, but seeing it was another matter altogether.
It was huge, a true castle surrounded by a high wall, complete with corner towers. The eastern stronghold for her tribe, it had been built to be defensible against anything the Wyrm could throw against it… and had stood against attacks for the last 2 centuries. Tribe legend had it is was an exact replica of a castle in the homeland, but Lidia doubted it. She pulled her car ahead to cul-de-sac where the road met the castle walls, and got out. She stood starting at the heavy wooden gate for a long moment, a slight frown on her face.
Lidia, Stays-Till-Last, was 25 years old. She had survived the destruction of two Wyld caerns and four spiral hives, and had more notches on her klaive than most Ahrouns her age. And yet, her tribal elders had sent her here, to have babies.
She sighed and walked to the smaller door set beside the large gate. With a fist that had seen more brawling than cuddling, she pounded on the door. The door swung slowly outwards and a burly man peered at her. “Who?’ he grunted.
“Lidia Reidhar, Stays-Till-Last, Athro Theurge,” she introduced herself, and stood and waited, arms crossed over her chest.
“Come in,” he grunted, and closed the door in her face. She blinked and shoved back a growl that wanted to edge its way out, just as the larger gate swung open. She drove the car through the gateway, past the door guard, and into a stone courtyard.