Primal Magic...and the writing continues...
I’ve been writing all this time on Primal Magic, but my beta’s been a bit busy…this means no edits. So, instead of making you wait, here is the word count as if chapter 11 (which I just finished) and an excerpt from chapters 2 and 3. I hope ya’ll enjoy the taste.
31,071 / 75,000
(41.4%)
Lily ran her hand over one of the larger indentations in the wood and grinned. “I nearly cut my finger off chopping mandrake roots the day this one was made. You should have heard your Grams go off in Navajo. To this day I have no idea what she said, but she sure was pissed. I learned to be much more careful after that.”
“How old were you when you started training with my Grandmother Kai?”
Lily’s brow furrowed in thought. “About Drake’s age, I think. I had my first bloods that fall, but my family couldn’t afford the tuition for the Academy. Miss Kai was a great boon to our family then, she taught me and my sisters so much. Not just about working with plants, but about stones and all sorts of natural magics. She’s the reason I became a teacher.”
Lily knelt by the small wood stove in the corner and opened the grate. Sky watched her work to get the fire going, but something Lily said hung in her mind. “Quadrivium you mean? Is the tuition really that expensive?”
“It was until the mid nineties, after the treaty. About that time a sizable scholarship fund was established so that anyone who made it through the tests could go to the Academy, no matter if their family could afford it or not.” A fire burst within the belly of the stove in the pile of wood scraps and Lily carefully closed the grate. “That should do. We’ll need a pan and a wooden spoon to start. Oh, and see if your Aunt left any beeswax sitting around. I brought some, but I didn’t have a lot left.” Lily point to the set of shelves that lined the wall opposite from the stove.
On the heavy wood shelves built into the wall where rows of amber and blue colored bottles with cork stoppers, ceramic tins and boxes, as well as many sizes of jelly jars. On the lower shelves the carnelian colored glass and glossy clay pots covered one side of the board, while two long boxes sat alone on the other end. Sky lifted the lid of one and removed a well worm, but clean wood spoon from the stack of other utensils.
With the spoon stuck in one of the larger clay pans Sky returned to the oak worktable. A large carpet bag took up the back end of the table and Lily reminded Sky a bit of Mary Poppins as she pulled what seemed like endless supplies of bags, jars, and bottles from inside its depths. “When Zoya and I cleaned out all the old tinctures, oils and herbs I don’t remember seeing any wax anyplace.”
“No worries.” Lily unwrapped a paper bundle to reveals a yellowish brick inside. “There’s plenty of shops in this town that carry what we need. This’ll do for now. You’ll want more for salves later and for candle making if you’re interested in learning to do that.”
“I would.” Sky felt so comfortable around Mrs. Segmann, though part of her felt guilty about hurting Lily’s son. Even though things didn’t work out between Sky and Roger, he was still a good man. Being with his mother now, there was no doubt where he learned it from. “Drake said Roger was telling him about the Academy. Something about tests and the treaty changing things? I take it that was more that just the scholarships?”
Lily nodded and unscrewed the lid from a jar of dark green oil. “The treaty happened in nineteen ninety four, if I remember the date correctly. A group of Clan, Fae, and Conclave gathered together and sealed an allyship against the enemies of the magical races and the Mother. It’s always been a shaky alliance, but it’s stuck to this day.”
“Fae…and Clan?” Sky’s brain struggled with the idea that there were more then just the Magi she’d come to know. “You mean like in fairies, right?”
Lily pointed to a stack of thick, hairy leaves. “Take the comfrey and chop it coarsely without bruising it too much. Then fill that empty jar with it. Fill it loosely, don’t pack.” As Sky cut the leaves Lily continued. “Yes, the Fae are the fairyfolk, though not all in the way you might imagine. Think of them also like nature spirits, as varied as the world around us can be. There are those that follow a darker path, but even most of these find it advantageous to stick to the rules of the treaty.”
End of chap 2 clip ;)
***
A symphony of smells lingered in the cool night air and Sky breathed in the feeling that accompanied them. The feeling of community, of family. Strings of small electric paper lanterns hung from between the house and the tree, lighting the three wooden picnic style tables which bore the weight of the potluck feast. While Sky and the Segmann’s were in the kitchen, the Harpers had been outside doing their own creating. Wicker chairs and decorative wool blankets littered the lawn in a ring around a wide-rimmed iron bowl that contained a lively fire.
Sky walked the length of the tables and by the time she reached the end her plate was piled high with a colorful collage of food. Spiced potatoes, grilled corn still on the cob, a thick packed burrito, and a talk glass of warm cider weighed heavily in her arm. Sky ducked through a trio of preteen girls giggling just outside of the circle of adults. Her aunt Zoya waved, and Sky made her way to sit next to her and the other crones near the warm fire.
“It’s what I feared,” said Bethany Harper in a low tone. So close to the dancing flames the Harper matriarch’s hair seemed a part of them. “The tribunal did an investigation on the factory a few years ago, but they found nothing they could charge the owner’s with. It’s aggravating to feel like your hands are tied, and the Sect are getting away with murder.”
“It the way it’s always been.” Zoya sighed and pulled a strand of grey hair from out of her face. “We can’t even all agree on whether or not the Sect exists, much less have a united front against their evil.”
Sky blew over the top of the hot cider, hesitating to ask the question that itched at the tip of her tongue. She understood the basics about the Sect, at least what the Segmann’s believed to be the truth. The fact that once they and the Conclave were one, but it was believed that hundreds of years ago the Sect broke off in secret from the Conclave, intent on gaining power from themselves however they could. Whereas the Conclave believe in working with the earth, as part of it, according to Kenneth and Lily, the Sect strip the earth of what power they can, regardless of the damage it does to the magic of the land or to the people.
Finally, Sky pulled her mug from her face and waited for the first break in the conversation to speech. “I thought you all believe that the Sect were the ones responsible for the attacks on Sacru Teren. Both those at the beginning of October, and when my brothers and sister was killed.”
“We know it was them, but proving it to the rest of the Conclave is not so easy,” Lily explained. “Here in Green Grove we’ve seen some of the less cautious acts of Sect sabotage and greed. You have to remember the Conclave itself is stretched out all over the world. Some of the large cities and providences the Sect’s trouble goes largely unnoticed, often mistaken as accidents or the act of human criminals. There are few protected towns lefts. Most places where are people gather now they are mixed within the human population. It makes for easy targets, and very little Tribunal control.”
“Why is the Conclave so spread out?” Sky asked.
“Many reasons.” Bethony threw a bit of chicken in her mouth and paused speaking long enough to eat it. “A lot of it has to do with the increase of human populations causing wards and magical barrier to be breached. Much of the Conclave immigrated to America as they were able in hopes of setting up save havens in a new place.”
Zoya nodded. “That would’ve worked too, if we were the only people who moves here, but that wasn’t the case. We made good ties with the tribes, and things were going very well until the human government started getting greedy. They wanted the tribe’s lands, and were willing to lie and kill to get it.”
“Some of the old ones say that the Sect was a part of many of the evils that went on during that time.” Lily lowered her voice. “Everything from the introduction of alcohol within the trading between the humans and the natives, to the retraining of the Indian children by the missionaries has been rumored to be a Sect plot to weaken the tribal connection to the ley lines beneath the earth so the Sect could claim the power for themselves.”
End of chap 3 clip ;)
Oh, and if anyone knows of a more fun word meter, feel free to post the links
31,071 / 75,000
(41.4%)
Lily ran her hand over one of the larger indentations in the wood and grinned. “I nearly cut my finger off chopping mandrake roots the day this one was made. You should have heard your Grams go off in Navajo. To this day I have no idea what she said, but she sure was pissed. I learned to be much more careful after that.”
“How old were you when you started training with my Grandmother Kai?”
Lily’s brow furrowed in thought. “About Drake’s age, I think. I had my first bloods that fall, but my family couldn’t afford the tuition for the Academy. Miss Kai was a great boon to our family then, she taught me and my sisters so much. Not just about working with plants, but about stones and all sorts of natural magics. She’s the reason I became a teacher.”
Lily knelt by the small wood stove in the corner and opened the grate. Sky watched her work to get the fire going, but something Lily said hung in her mind. “Quadrivium you mean? Is the tuition really that expensive?”
“It was until the mid nineties, after the treaty. About that time a sizable scholarship fund was established so that anyone who made it through the tests could go to the Academy, no matter if their family could afford it or not.” A fire burst within the belly of the stove in the pile of wood scraps and Lily carefully closed the grate. “That should do. We’ll need a pan and a wooden spoon to start. Oh, and see if your Aunt left any beeswax sitting around. I brought some, but I didn’t have a lot left.” Lily point to the set of shelves that lined the wall opposite from the stove.
On the heavy wood shelves built into the wall where rows of amber and blue colored bottles with cork stoppers, ceramic tins and boxes, as well as many sizes of jelly jars. On the lower shelves the carnelian colored glass and glossy clay pots covered one side of the board, while two long boxes sat alone on the other end. Sky lifted the lid of one and removed a well worm, but clean wood spoon from the stack of other utensils.
With the spoon stuck in one of the larger clay pans Sky returned to the oak worktable. A large carpet bag took up the back end of the table and Lily reminded Sky a bit of Mary Poppins as she pulled what seemed like endless supplies of bags, jars, and bottles from inside its depths. “When Zoya and I cleaned out all the old tinctures, oils and herbs I don’t remember seeing any wax anyplace.”
“No worries.” Lily unwrapped a paper bundle to reveals a yellowish brick inside. “There’s plenty of shops in this town that carry what we need. This’ll do for now. You’ll want more for salves later and for candle making if you’re interested in learning to do that.”
“I would.” Sky felt so comfortable around Mrs. Segmann, though part of her felt guilty about hurting Lily’s son. Even though things didn’t work out between Sky and Roger, he was still a good man. Being with his mother now, there was no doubt where he learned it from. “Drake said Roger was telling him about the Academy. Something about tests and the treaty changing things? I take it that was more that just the scholarships?”
Lily nodded and unscrewed the lid from a jar of dark green oil. “The treaty happened in nineteen ninety four, if I remember the date correctly. A group of Clan, Fae, and Conclave gathered together and sealed an allyship against the enemies of the magical races and the Mother. It’s always been a shaky alliance, but it’s stuck to this day.”
“Fae…and Clan?” Sky’s brain struggled with the idea that there were more then just the Magi she’d come to know. “You mean like in fairies, right?”
Lily pointed to a stack of thick, hairy leaves. “Take the comfrey and chop it coarsely without bruising it too much. Then fill that empty jar with it. Fill it loosely, don’t pack.” As Sky cut the leaves Lily continued. “Yes, the Fae are the fairyfolk, though not all in the way you might imagine. Think of them also like nature spirits, as varied as the world around us can be. There are those that follow a darker path, but even most of these find it advantageous to stick to the rules of the treaty.”
End of chap 2 clip ;)
***
A symphony of smells lingered in the cool night air and Sky breathed in the feeling that accompanied them. The feeling of community, of family. Strings of small electric paper lanterns hung from between the house and the tree, lighting the three wooden picnic style tables which bore the weight of the potluck feast. While Sky and the Segmann’s were in the kitchen, the Harpers had been outside doing their own creating. Wicker chairs and decorative wool blankets littered the lawn in a ring around a wide-rimmed iron bowl that contained a lively fire.
Sky walked the length of the tables and by the time she reached the end her plate was piled high with a colorful collage of food. Spiced potatoes, grilled corn still on the cob, a thick packed burrito, and a talk glass of warm cider weighed heavily in her arm. Sky ducked through a trio of preteen girls giggling just outside of the circle of adults. Her aunt Zoya waved, and Sky made her way to sit next to her and the other crones near the warm fire.
“It’s what I feared,” said Bethany Harper in a low tone. So close to the dancing flames the Harper matriarch’s hair seemed a part of them. “The tribunal did an investigation on the factory a few years ago, but they found nothing they could charge the owner’s with. It’s aggravating to feel like your hands are tied, and the Sect are getting away with murder.”
“It the way it’s always been.” Zoya sighed and pulled a strand of grey hair from out of her face. “We can’t even all agree on whether or not the Sect exists, much less have a united front against their evil.”
Sky blew over the top of the hot cider, hesitating to ask the question that itched at the tip of her tongue. She understood the basics about the Sect, at least what the Segmann’s believed to be the truth. The fact that once they and the Conclave were one, but it was believed that hundreds of years ago the Sect broke off in secret from the Conclave, intent on gaining power from themselves however they could. Whereas the Conclave believe in working with the earth, as part of it, according to Kenneth and Lily, the Sect strip the earth of what power they can, regardless of the damage it does to the magic of the land or to the people.
Finally, Sky pulled her mug from her face and waited for the first break in the conversation to speech. “I thought you all believe that the Sect were the ones responsible for the attacks on Sacru Teren. Both those at the beginning of October, and when my brothers and sister was killed.”
“We know it was them, but proving it to the rest of the Conclave is not so easy,” Lily explained. “Here in Green Grove we’ve seen some of the less cautious acts of Sect sabotage and greed. You have to remember the Conclave itself is stretched out all over the world. Some of the large cities and providences the Sect’s trouble goes largely unnoticed, often mistaken as accidents or the act of human criminals. There are few protected towns lefts. Most places where are people gather now they are mixed within the human population. It makes for easy targets, and very little Tribunal control.”
“Why is the Conclave so spread out?” Sky asked.
“Many reasons.” Bethony threw a bit of chicken in her mouth and paused speaking long enough to eat it. “A lot of it has to do with the increase of human populations causing wards and magical barrier to be breached. Much of the Conclave immigrated to America as they were able in hopes of setting up save havens in a new place.”
Zoya nodded. “That would’ve worked too, if we were the only people who moves here, but that wasn’t the case. We made good ties with the tribes, and things were going very well until the human government started getting greedy. They wanted the tribe’s lands, and were willing to lie and kill to get it.”
“Some of the old ones say that the Sect was a part of many of the evils that went on during that time.” Lily lowered her voice. “Everything from the introduction of alcohol within the trading between the humans and the natives, to the retraining of the Indian children by the missionaries has been rumored to be a Sect plot to weaken the tribal connection to the ley lines beneath the earth so the Sect could claim the power for themselves.”
End of chap 3 clip ;)
Oh, and if anyone knows of a more fun word meter, feel free to post the links