Monday, August 26, 2013

I hit the 50 K mark!! This novel's going to be longer than I thought...



                She ran through the forms until she was drenched in sweat and her arms felt like she couldn’t lift them even if she had to save her life. Sunrise was still a few hours off so she perched on Feoras claw and worked through her magic lessons. She started with the simple exercise of lifting items from the ground, and made her way up to setting specific items on fire then putting them out. Just setting things on fire was not enough, she needed to control the flames.
                ‘I want you to throw rocks at me.’
                ‘Little one, I believe you have lost your mind.’ His large brown eye was close to hers and she could see just how sweaty and un-kept she looked, and she realized that she didn’t care.
                ‘Throw them at me, there’s some rubble over towards the wall where you can reach.’ She pointed over to the large pile that had fallen from the top of the battlements. ‘Start with the smaller ones, and we’ll get to the bigger ones.’ She slid down from his claw and unclasped her cloak. Leaving it and her staff on a tree stump Vanya often used for her seat, Riona carefully rolled up her sleeves so that her arms were bare. She had to admit that even she noticed a difference in how her body was looking. Her arms were harder, and her skin had taken on a golden sheen from training in the sun.
                Feoras just stared at her, not moving. She straightened her stance.
                ‘Look, if I can lift and throw them, then I should be able to block them or redirect them.’ Feoras huffed out steam, she could tell that he really wasn’t convinced of her logic, but he reluctantly stood and made his way to the pile.
                ‘If you get squished, I am not explaining to your mother.’ Sitting back on his haunches Riona had to giggle when his head was higher than the wall and his claws searched for the smallest of the rocks to throw.
                ‘Are you ready?’ his question was more than in just the words. He was asking if she was sure that she could stop them.
                ‘Just toss it over here, Firebreather.’ She felt and saw him bristle his wings in agitation. But she also saw his forelegs awkwardly bunch as he pulled back to throw the first boulder.
                She broke their connection, she didn’t want to cheat herself by knowing ahead of time where exactly he was going to throw them. Since she already had been practicing her magic rose to her fingertips faster than she thought possible. Her fingers glowed in the half light, but she kept the flames from emerging, she didn’t want fire, she just wanted power.
                She almost broke and ran as the large rock hurtled towards her head. But instead of moving she imagined herself pushing out her power into a half circle in front of her. In her mind she formed it into a type of shield that the rocks would hit and then deflect to one side or another. She used the same logic as blocking a staff blow. It took more energy to stop the blow than to deflect it.
                Still, the shock of the rock slamming into her shield was more than she had thought it would be. To her surprise the rock crumbled and the pieces slid to either side of her body landing harmlessly on the grass at her feet.
                ‘Are you okay Little One?’ his voice was tentative, and though she had blocked her from his thoughts, he must have felt the impact of the rock against her shield.
                ‘Yes I am.’ she looked at the ground and noticed that she had sunk into the ground to her ankles from the impact. She stood straight and shaking out her arms, moved to the right. ‘Another.’ She readied herself again, this time making the shield even more rounded so that there was less of a flat surface for it smash against.
                This time it worked better. By the fourth rock she had learned to attach the shield to either one of her arms and how to move to let the rock fall away without causing so much force on her. The rock hitting the shield didn’t hurt in the same way getting whacked by a staff did, but she still felt the force behind the rocks.
                ‘Enough, you are shaking Little One, it is time to stop.’ Feoras dropped back down to all fours and slowly made his way to her. She gratefully leaned against him. Her whole body was shaking, and it felt like her legs would not support her for much longer. She was covered in sweat and some of her hair had fallen out of its plait.
                ‘Let’s get you a bath.’ She turned and climbed to the saddle, her whole body aching with the effort. Feoras stood and launched himself into the sky before Riona could even strap her legs in. ‘We don’t have much time before the others wake up.’ He flew straight towards the lake.
                ‘That waters going to be cold, isn’t it?’
                ‘Yes, very cold I should think.’ Riona groaned. She missed the hot bath at the outpost already.
                She must have nodded off on their flight, the next thing she knew she was being splashed as Feoras dropped into the lake. Since she hadn’t even bothered with strapping her legs in, she simply slid from his back into the thigh high water.
                Wading to shore she began the task of unlacing her corset, boots and pants. Her fingers didn’t want to work thanks to the early time cold and her exhaustive training session. She rolled her head around on her shoulders and was tempted to walk right back into the lake fully clothed when a voice made her jump.
                “Let me help you with those.” She whirled around towards where the voice had come from, flame sputtering at her fingertips despite her tiredness.

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