Elaina J. Davidson's Blog, page 395
August 26, 2015
TKC Collage 2
After another two weeks of posting episodes for the King's Challenge, here's a collage of the images used :)
August 25, 2015
The King's Challenge #28
TKC 28
Women touch my cloak as I pass, eyes filled with hope. Men bow their heads, eyes containing both relief … and doubt. Children scamper asking question after question, not one of which I have an opportunity to answer before another is aired.
This is expectation, and it frightens me.
I will lead them to safety? How dare Damin tell them that?
I cannot even think about the how, when all I have in my mind is Damin’s kisses. Idiot man. If he needs me thinking straight, he should be more constrained. Never mind the fact that I now believe he is able to read my mind. By the stars, how did life become this complicated?
Damin shoos the kids away, sits me on a wet tree stump and hunkers before me. “You can do this, Lyra. I have researched the two eyes …”
I shake my head.
“Just listen,” he says. “There are four types. Rainmakers, Sages, Elementals and Healers. All have the essence of each talent, but one is ever dominant. The Healers have the blue and green eye combination, as you do. What you did with the water may appear as elemental magic, but you were saving people … as a healer would.”
“None of what you say tells me how to save them,” I whisper. “Do you expect me to forge a path through the floodwater?”
“Yes,” he answers simply.
I throw my hands in the air. “How?”
“You believe it. You trust yourself.”
I lift an eyebrow at him. Now that is not an answer, not for me. I need specifics.
“Specifics will cloud your mind,” he murmurs.
That does it. I fall to my knees before him. “Damin, you are hearing my thoughts. How?”
He grins. “Only a Delver partners a Healer. Did you not know?”
Women touch my cloak as I pass, eyes filled with hope. Men bow their heads, eyes containing both relief … and doubt. Children scamper asking question after question, not one of which I have an opportunity to answer before another is aired.
This is expectation, and it frightens me.
I will lead them to safety? How dare Damin tell them that?
I cannot even think about the how, when all I have in my mind is Damin’s kisses. Idiot man. If he needs me thinking straight, he should be more constrained. Never mind the fact that I now believe he is able to read my mind. By the stars, how did life become this complicated?
Damin shoos the kids away, sits me on a wet tree stump and hunkers before me. “You can do this, Lyra. I have researched the two eyes …”
I shake my head.
“Just listen,” he says. “There are four types. Rainmakers, Sages, Elementals and Healers. All have the essence of each talent, but one is ever dominant. The Healers have the blue and green eye combination, as you do. What you did with the water may appear as elemental magic, but you were saving people … as a healer would.”
“None of what you say tells me how to save them,” I whisper. “Do you expect me to forge a path through the floodwater?”
“Yes,” he answers simply.
I throw my hands in the air. “How?”
“You believe it. You trust yourself.”
I lift an eyebrow at him. Now that is not an answer, not for me. I need specifics.
“Specifics will cloud your mind,” he murmurs.
That does it. I fall to my knees before him. “Damin, you are hearing my thoughts. How?”
He grins. “Only a Delver partners a Healer. Did you not know?”
Arcana Omnibus!
All four Arcana tales will soon be available in one book, with extras!
The Infinity MantleThe Kinfire TreeThe Drowned ThroneThe Dragon CircleandSecret Remedies
The Infinity MantleThe Kinfire TreeThe Drowned ThroneThe Dragon CircleandSecret Remedies
August 24, 2015
The King's Challenge #27
TKC 27
In the ensuing silence Damin takes my face into his hands and kisses me. It is a long, searching kiss that has every nerve in my body jumping.
Never has he given me more than a peck. Back in Grenmassin such familiarity is frowned upon, and then he left before we could speak our marriage vows.
This is new for me. Damin is new to me. I am guessing I may also be new now.
The kiss ends as a roar of sound rises. We break the intense connection to look around us. They are cheering. The survivors of the lower city are on their feet and cheering us.
I glance at Damin. Did he kiss me to reveal to them he is with me? They know him, after all, and he has now bestowed upon me his blessing.
“Lyra,” he murmurs, “you think too much.”
Now I stare at him. Did he just read my mind? Perhaps he simply sought to draw my attention away from the strange act moments ago. I turned the waters of death. Am I a witch?
“You are a healer,” he says softly.
By the stars, the man is reading my mind!
Smiling, he takes my hand and hooks me in to draw me to his side. “This is Lyra!” he calls out. “And she is with us!”
Again there is cheering. I feel the need to hide. Maybe I do think too much, but I need to examine what just happened. I need to know myself again.
“Take the boats and look for survivors,” Damin continues. “Bring everyone here.” He pauses, glances at me, and says, “Tonight we leave Normur. Lyra will lead us to safety.”
As more sound erupts, he pulls me to a quiet space … and kisses me again.
In the ensuing silence Damin takes my face into his hands and kisses me. It is a long, searching kiss that has every nerve in my body jumping.
Never has he given me more than a peck. Back in Grenmassin such familiarity is frowned upon, and then he left before we could speak our marriage vows.
This is new for me. Damin is new to me. I am guessing I may also be new now.
The kiss ends as a roar of sound rises. We break the intense connection to look around us. They are cheering. The survivors of the lower city are on their feet and cheering us.
I glance at Damin. Did he kiss me to reveal to them he is with me? They know him, after all, and he has now bestowed upon me his blessing.
“Lyra,” he murmurs, “you think too much.”
Now I stare at him. Did he just read my mind? Perhaps he simply sought to draw my attention away from the strange act moments ago. I turned the waters of death. Am I a witch?
“You are a healer,” he says softly.
By the stars, the man is reading my mind!
Smiling, he takes my hand and hooks me in to draw me to his side. “This is Lyra!” he calls out. “And she is with us!”
Again there is cheering. I feel the need to hide. Maybe I do think too much, but I need to examine what just happened. I need to know myself again.
“Take the boats and look for survivors,” Damin continues. “Bring everyone here.” He pauses, glances at me, and says, “Tonight we leave Normur. Lyra will lead us to safety.”
As more sound erupts, he pulls me to a quiet space … and kisses me again.
August 23, 2015
The King's Challenge #26
TKC 26
The screaming begins.
Even the youngest child understands there is no running from this. We will all die in the next few minutes. The wall of water is massive and it is filled with strength and intent. It will sweep us to eternity.
The screaming stops. Everyone simply stares in mute fascination. No one runs. There is no running to do that will change this fate.
I feel then heat in my gut, as if someone has branded my internal organs with a hot poker. My hands start to shake uncontrollably. I stare down, wondering what is happening. The heat inside me causes more fear than the wall of water does. Only for an instant does the irony of that flit into my mind.
My hands are glowing. I see the bones, veins and muscles inside, as if there is a light source within. I have no control over this. My skin is afire. My gut feels as if it will explode outward, to throw my entrails at the wall of water.
Water.
I lift my head. By the stars, here it comes.
Some force lifts my glowing hands into the air. That same force issues an eruption of sound from my mouth. I scream at the tidal wave and I gesture at it. The wave and I become one and I command it to go elsewhere.
For a moment all time seems to freeze … and then the wall of water parts. One half veers towards the plateau; the other half swerves south. Swiftly the churning heights lose integrity, and small waves lap away into the distance.
A beam of light pierces the silence then. The sun is rising.
I stare at my hands, and then I look around me to find men, women and children staring at me. As one, they kneel.
The screaming begins.
Even the youngest child understands there is no running from this. We will all die in the next few minutes. The wall of water is massive and it is filled with strength and intent. It will sweep us to eternity.
The screaming stops. Everyone simply stares in mute fascination. No one runs. There is no running to do that will change this fate.
I feel then heat in my gut, as if someone has branded my internal organs with a hot poker. My hands start to shake uncontrollably. I stare down, wondering what is happening. The heat inside me causes more fear than the wall of water does. Only for an instant does the irony of that flit into my mind.
My hands are glowing. I see the bones, veins and muscles inside, as if there is a light source within. I have no control over this. My skin is afire. My gut feels as if it will explode outward, to throw my entrails at the wall of water.
Water.
I lift my head. By the stars, here it comes.
Some force lifts my glowing hands into the air. That same force issues an eruption of sound from my mouth. I scream at the tidal wave and I gesture at it. The wave and I become one and I command it to go elsewhere.
For a moment all time seems to freeze … and then the wall of water parts. One half veers towards the plateau; the other half swerves south. Swiftly the churning heights lose integrity, and small waves lap away into the distance.
A beam of light pierces the silence then. The sun is rising.
I stare at my hands, and then I look around me to find men, women and children staring at me. As one, they kneel.
Justine's Journal: An Interview
Justine and I got together this week to discuss the book we are planning to release soon, but more on that when the time comes. The point of this post is to give you my thoughts on what the last year of entries has meant.
To that end, instead of me rambling here on and on about what I thought we achieved and how I regard the changes I noticed in Justine, I decided to do an interview. On seeing Justine, I ran it by her and she was at first reluctant, citing that an interview was too personal. When I pointed out that every entry she wrote and I posted for her was also personal and yet she gave of herself week after week, her choice, she agreed.
We then agreed to keep it short, ten questions only. I have to tell you that choosing even one question was hard, choosing ten became quite a mission. Once I started writing potential questions down, I discovered there was a host of them I would like to ask!
***
1 Why did you choose a pseudonym?
Well, you know yourself I don’t have much of an online presence, so it wasn’t the digital world’s response that had me worried. I do have a large circle of real world friends, though, and many of them would have been too judgemental. That is what I thought at the time anyway. Now I realise real friends don’t judge in the way I thought they might. Today I would consider using my real name … well, maybe. I sort of prefer the anonymity, I must admit. It freed me to say things I wouldn’t normally say.
2 What exactly prompted you into starting the Journal?
I felt alone, really isolated, pretty scared, and saw no future. I didn’t have a life, I thought. Then, one evening, I sat and watched a cactus I had on my windowsill at the time, begin to bloom. It’s one of those that bloom once every so many years or something, and only for one night. It hadn’t bloomed before and for weeks a bud sat there waiting. I saw pink pushing through and I was quite excited. Okay, now imagine sitting and watching a flower – nothing happens when you watch it! Hours later, though, there were furled petals and by morning (I was up early) the full flower was there. It was like magic! By evening of the second day it had begun to shrivel.
I saw myself in that bloom. Waiting. Suddenly something clicked inside and it started to change, after so long waiting. For a brief time something beautiful emerged. And then it returned to waiting, but I knew it had the ability to emerge one day again, when everything was ready for it to bloom once more.
The next day I cried (lots) and decided it was time to emerge, if only to be for a brief moment something beautiful.
3 In three words describe your state of mind when we began this journey.
LostAloneDepressed
4 In three words describe your state of mind when we ended this journey.
AwakeAwareHappy
5 Which one thing made you sit up and think?
The déjà vu thing with the dog running across the road as I turned a corner! Until then, the premonitions I had experienced were somewhat distant, although they were real. That dog was right there in real time. All the hairs on my arms, legs and neck stood up. I really started thinking then.
6 What scared you the most?
When my partner lost his phone while visiting family up the coast, I assumed the worst. It is frightening how easily we think the worst first.
7 What disappointed you the most?
I can’t say anything disappointed me. Everything was part of the journey and remains part of the learning process. If I had to choose, then I would say I was disappointed that I couldn’t always find the right words to explain what I was feeling.
8 What made you laugh the most?
People! Not people as a concept, but the people I met at charity functions. Because I put myself out there, I discovered laughter. I realised we like to laugh together. This is a great feeling.
9 What made you the happiest?
Definitely reconnecting with my brother!
10 And finally, where to now?
Nowhere far in geography, but I will definitely build on what I have learned. I intend to continue my journal entries, for the blank page is now my therapy. Also, I am looking forward to strengthening my relationships, with my partner, with my brother, with you and with old and new friends. I am no longer alone. This too is a good feeling.
Also, I have an idea for a new book. It’s as if all this has opened doors in my creativity as well. Maybe I’ll publish soon, maybe I’ll wait until I’m ready, but I will be writing no matter what. A really good feeling!
***
I admit, I cried when Justine spoke of the bloom on her windowsill. She never told me that before. I also understand her disappointment with words – sometimes they simply don’t do justice to what is inside. As for Justine’s writing? I have read some of her work (she’s still a bit reluctant to share, fearing judgement) and it’s good. I hope she does publish. That will be the real ‘Justine’. Watch out world, the girl has stories to tell!
A final note from me. I want to thank Justine for doing this. She has not merely helped herself stand up again; she has helped me stand up again. Thank you, Justine.
Keep smiling!
August 22, 2015
The King's Challenge #25
TKC 25
The second boat joins us. The two men also successfully negotiated the currents. Together, we retrieve as many flood victims as we are able to without overloading our vessels. We then ferry them to the outcrop where I first met Damin. It is relative high out of the water still.
On the second delivery I leave the boat also. This way there is space for another and I am able to create some order in the chaos on land. It is chaos indeed. Everyone is wet and cold. The children cry and mothers are wide-eyed silent. Men rush about. Many shout across the dark waters, each hoping for an answering call.
Many have drowned this night.
How dare Normur’s city fathers call themselves civilised?
When Damin returns with another load of survivors, he leaves the boat as well, and another man takes his place. Together we survey the desperation all around us.
“This is wrong,” I murmur. “I understand now why you stayed.”
Damin sighs then and his arms enfold me, holding me close. I allow it, for I need the comfort and the warmth and I suspect he does too. I make smoothing motions on his back, marvelling at the lean muscle my fingers encounter. We draw apart and I know Damin will kiss me. I want him to.
It is not to be.
A scream tears through the night, this one far more intense than any of the wails we have heard thus far.
We move apart and run towards the sound.
A woman gesticulates wildly near the edge of the outcrop and already many surround her. Looking ahead, we see the grey light of dawn to the east … and a churning wall of black water on swift approach.
“The dam upriver has burst,” Damin breathes.
The second boat joins us. The two men also successfully negotiated the currents. Together, we retrieve as many flood victims as we are able to without overloading our vessels. We then ferry them to the outcrop where I first met Damin. It is relative high out of the water still.
On the second delivery I leave the boat also. This way there is space for another and I am able to create some order in the chaos on land. It is chaos indeed. Everyone is wet and cold. The children cry and mothers are wide-eyed silent. Men rush about. Many shout across the dark waters, each hoping for an answering call.
Many have drowned this night.
How dare Normur’s city fathers call themselves civilised?
When Damin returns with another load of survivors, he leaves the boat as well, and another man takes his place. Together we survey the desperation all around us.
“This is wrong,” I murmur. “I understand now why you stayed.”
Damin sighs then and his arms enfold me, holding me close. I allow it, for I need the comfort and the warmth and I suspect he does too. I make smoothing motions on his back, marvelling at the lean muscle my fingers encounter. We draw apart and I know Damin will kiss me. I want him to.
It is not to be.
A scream tears through the night, this one far more intense than any of the wails we have heard thus far.
We move apart and run towards the sound.
A woman gesticulates wildly near the edge of the outcrop and already many surround her. Looking ahead, we see the grey light of dawn to the east … and a churning wall of black water on swift approach.
“The dam upriver has burst,” Damin breathes.
