athenajbrooks

[athenajbrooks]

Unattuned (and Awkward)

-The Forgotten Prophecy

    “I feel like I swallowed a bunch of wriggling worms,” Cloud groaned. He rested his head against the hoverbus window, focusing on the cityscape in the distance in an attempt to ease his vertigo. An hour-long ride after an attunement testing session was not easy on his insides.

    His twin, Keldie, scooted a couple inches away and held her adventure novel against her chest protectively. “Don’t you dare throw up.”

    It had happened before. Cloud had always had terrible motion sickness. He’d ruined one of Keldie’s precious books once, and since then, she refused to sit next to him on long car rides. Unfortunately for her, the school bus was packed, so she had no choice.

    “It’s all the magic they did on me,” Cloud said. “If it weren’t for that, I’d probably be fine.”

    “How did attunement testing go this time?”

    Cloud sighed. “Inconclusive, as always.”

    He looked at his school uniform, which was gray, the color of the Unattuned. He’d been Unattuned long enough to have traded out his original uniform for one that fit, after its owner became a water type. That was last semester. He was one of the last Unattuned left.

    It’s not that he didn’t know what type of magic he wanted. He thought it would be neat to control the wind. He admired both the soothing rhythm of a light breeze and the power of a heavy gale. But when he underwent the attunement ritual on the first day of school, the spell failed and left his body tingling painfully like he’d touched a live wire.

    That typically means you’re already attuned to something, the school’s arcanomedic told him. Come visit me once a week. We’ll figure out what it is.

    By now, Cloud had already been tested for all fourteen branches of magic. Some of them twice. The arcanomedics were running out of techniques to try.

    “We might be getting somewhere, though,” Cloud elaborated. “They made a stronger potion specifically for me and then tested me for dream magic. I think it worked. I couldn’t do the illusion spell they had me try, but I felt different.”

    “Sicker?” Keldie guessed.

    Cloud laughed. “That, too. The potion was really strong. But when I do non-elemental spells, I feel a little tug in my chest when my powers activate, and I’ve been feeling that sometimes ever since. It’s really, really faint.”

    “Hm.” Keldie frowned thoughtfully. Cloud could almost hear her analytical side click on like a light switch and bring a little glimmer to her eyes. She could never resist a puzzle. “Is there a pattern to when you feel it?”

    “Dunno. It’s only been an hour since they tested me.”

    Keldie spoke the Summon incantation, and a notepad and pen faded into existence in her palm. She tossed them onto Cloud’s lap. “Here,” she said. “Every time you feel that tug, write down what you were doing.”

    That sounded like too much work. There was a reason Keldie was studying enchanting and not him.

    “Maybe later. Right now, I’m trying really hard not to barf all over my shoes.”

    “Did you not bring any medicine?”

    “The bus ride is only an hour. I wasn’t expecting it to be this bad.”

    Keldie turned to a pretty brunette girl across the aisle, who was drawing something in her sketchbook. “Larael?”

    Oh, no, please don’t, Cloud wanted to say, but Keldie had already spoken. He wanted Larael to think he was cool. Being motion sick was not cool.

    Maybe Keldie chose Larael on purpose. Cloud side-eyed her.

    If Keldie noticed, she didn’t care. “Do you know any healing spells? Cloud doesn’t feel good.”

    Cloud kicked her. Keldie kicked him back.

    “Um…no, I don’t,” said Larael in her sweet, shy voice. “But I always carry some nensozi sap with me, just in case. Let me…”

    She rummaged through her tote bag while Cloud tried his best to hide his unmanly green-tinged face behind Keldie. He jabbed his sister in the side and gave her a look. Really?

    “You’ll thank me later,” she whispered. “Did you know that people are more likely to like you if they do a small favor for you?”

    Cloud hoped that was true.

    Larael shook out a pill from a crystal bottle she’d pulled from her bag and leaned over to hand it to Keldie, who passed it to Cloud.

    Cloud met Larael’s eyes. Those gorgeous round sage-green eyes that perfectly matched her uniform.

    “Thanks,” he eked out.

    Larael nodded a "you’re welcome" and returned to her sketch.

    In no position to turn down a remedy, Cloud popped the amber pill in his mouth and chased it down with water.

    Keldie leaned in toward Cloud. The corner of her mouth poked up cheekily. “You know,” she said, “Larael sits by herself a lot. Maybe she’d be happy to have a study partner at the museum.”

    Cloud timidly shook his head. “She doesn’t need one. She’s really good at history.”

    “That’s why you should go for it! She loves history. She’s already in a good mood. What could go wrong?”

    He could inadvertently ruin her good mood, is what could go wrong. Cloud didn’t have a single clue how to talk to girls.

    “Come on,” Keldie encouraged. “You’ve hardly said more than a dozen words to her all year! You should try. If things go badly, I can bail you out.”

    That would be humiliating. She had a point, though. The school year was going to be over before he knew it, and Larael might not be in any of his classes next year.

    Keldie opened her book and settled in for the last quarter of the bus ride. Cloud tried to keep his eyes on the steadily-approaching cityscape outside, but his eyes kept drifting to Larael. She was so pretty. And they were both artists. An image floated into his mind of him inviting her to his dad’s art studio someday, where they would joke and laugh and tag each other with paint. Maybe they would watch the sunset at the beach afterward.

    The sudden jolt of terror at the thought of it pulled him out of his daydream. It didn’t last long, though, and by the time the hoverbus glided to a stop, Cloud had made up his mind.

[athenajbrooks]

Baby's First Demon Fight

The Tablet of Abrahath deleted scene snippet

    “What’s this room do?” Alchemy asked.

    Laijha’s eyes gleamed, like this was his favorite room in the training center. “Watch this.”

    He pressed the button on the screen. At the center of the room, a flash of light shot down from a single hologram generator in the ceiling, and took the shape of a flying demon the size of a large eagle. It looked like a mutant bat, with coarse fur, a wrinkled face, and an upturned nose. It had two sets of leathery wings and poison foaming and hissing at its mouth, and its blank, yellow eyes stared right at them. Cloud jumped backward in revulsion.

    Laijha drew his firesteel sword halfway, but then put it back. “Actually, this is only a lesser demon. You could probably take it down yourselves.”

    “WHAT?!” Silverwren, Alchemy, and Cloud shrieked simultaneously. Larael stared at him, open-mouthed in disbelief. Carlarai, however, drew her dagger in determination.

    “There are five of you and one of it,” Laijha justified, “and you have weapons. It doesn’t even have magic. Try it. I’ll step in if you need me.”

    With that, he leaned against the wall to watch.

    Lovely, Cloud thought, and extended his staff.

    The demon had been hovering, sizing them up, but finally decided the Adventurers were worth fighting. It reared upright and shot a stream of poison in their direction.

    “Run!” Alchemy shouted unnecessarily, as the apprentices had already scattered.

    “How the heck do we fight this thing? We don’t even know how to use our weapons!” Cloud cried, ducking and running as the demon chased him. It swooped over his head, its extended claws barely missing him.

    “Are you a Mystic or not?!” Carlarai shouted from the other side of the room. She had her firesteel dagger in one hand, and the other hand was outstretched. She’d removed one of her matching bracelets, though Cloud wasn’t sure why that was necessary. Its fur burst into flame, and it hissed and shrieked in pain.

    At the same moment, Cloud called up a swift gust of wind, which snuffed the flame out in seconds. He and Carlarai looked at each other awkwardly.

    “Thanks for the help,” Carlarai said sarcastically.

    “Sorry!”

    Alchemy had a throwing star in hand. He tossed it, but he missed by a mile, and Silverwren yelped as the throwing star hit the floor near her feet. At the sound of her high-pitched voice, the demon whipped around mid-flight and dove at her.

    Larael notched an arrow and pointed it at the monster, but she looked so unsure of herself, Cloud doubted she would actually shoot.

    Cloud raised the staff above his head. He didn’t know how to make it spin like Riptide had demonstrated, but hopefully he could still give the monster a good whack on the head.

    He didn’t have to. The demon suddenly started thrashing and tossing its head in pain. It turned with an angry screech to where Silverwren stood with a loose fist above her head, her mouth set in concentration. Cloud became aware of a ringing noise so high-pitched, even he winced, and he wasn’t the focus of her spell. The demon fell to the floor, where it lay dead for a few seconds before disappearing in a burst of light.

[athenajbrooks]

I'm intimidated by the writeblr community, ngl. You all have such good and creative ideas and aren't afraid to share them. I follow writers with hundreds, sometimes thousands of followers. It freaks me out to interact with you guys. But just know that if I follow you, I'm here, lurking in the dark like a lil timid gremlin, giving you a thumbs up from the bushes.

[athenajbrooks]

Let's be real: the real world doesn't make any sense, and kinda sucks. My world building for Aldea was mostly me being like, "I'm going to make a place that works the way I wish the world worked." Aldea isn't perfect. Utopias are boring. But it is still a place I would love to live.

I also enjoy the logical aspect of it. I like puzzling out how, for instance, society might be different for a race that's naturally highly empathetic. How would disputes be solved? What policies would be seen as most important? That's fun to me.

Fun fact about Nunepi!

Mystics (the magical humanlike race dominating the planet) probably originated as settlers from another planet, placed on Nunepi to take care of Earth, Nunepi's parallel world that had just begun to show signs of life. The ancients created the demons in order to keep their descendants focused on their mission of being Earth's caretakers.

This will be, at best, only lightly alluded to in the story, but I think it's so cool.

Writeblr Live in May

Questions will have a bout a ten minute delay while I flit about bothering everyone I can get to with follow-up questions.

And remember;

This is a live ask event!

What that means is I will be active for the hour, hopping into ask boxes with followup questions as I am able, while encouraging you to do the same.

Answering the questions tells me you are cool with this.

You may answer all questions via reblog, reply, hopping in my askbox or even reposting. Just remember the #writeblr and #writeblr live tags if reblogging/reposting so we can find ya.

We’re here to help rebuild interaction in the community, so get in there and have fun with it!

[athenajbrooks]

Cloud's dad is actually responsible for the whole plot of The Forgotten Prophecy. Upon finding out his son is a Chosen One(TM), he erases all memories of a vital prophecy from everyone who ever knew of its existence, knowing it could doom the kingdom.

And then Alchemy's family ends up taking the fall for it...which results in Alchemy's dad working for the enemy to support the family... it's a whole lot of drama.

Cloud's mom was one of the researchers for the Six Saviors Project. Basically, she's half the reason my MCs have special powers. She was also killed in action as a demon-slayer. It's why Cloud's dad raised him to be so cautious--and why he freaked out when he learned about the prophecy.

Larael, Silverwren, and Carlarai have parent issues, too, but it's mainly just backstory. Larael's guardian hates her. Silverwren is the child of celebrities who put her in way too many extracurriculars and expect her to be perfect at all of them. And Carlarai has health problems due to a magical mishap, so her mom is a bit overprotective of her. Though none of that ties into the main plot, it strongly affects why these characters are the way they are.

Writeblr Live in May

Questions will have a bout a ten minute delay while I flit about bothering everyone I can get to with follow-up questions.

And remember;

This is a live ask event!

What that means is I will be active for the hour, hopping into ask boxes with followup questions as I am able, while encouraging you to do the same.

Answering the questions tells me you are cool with this.

You may answer all questions via reblog, reply, hopping in my askbox or even reposting. Just remember the #writeblr and #writeblr live tags if reblogging/reposting so we can find ya.

We’re here to help rebuild interaction in the community, so get in there and have fun with it!

[athenajbrooks]

More fun quotes from my novels-in-progress

    “I hope not,” said Cloud. “Indigo just said Abrahath’s tomb can make you very, very dead. I vote let’s not go there.”

-------

    “Stop looking at my stuff!” Cloud scolded. Still, he read the paragraph over. He sighed. "You’re right, though.”

    He picked up his eraser and rubbed it over the last five words.

    “Now make it even more formal.” Just to be annoying, Keldie leaned over his paper further. “‘The glorious kingdom wherein we abide–’”

    “I’m going to erase your brain cells,” Cloud said, squishing his eraser against her forehead.

    “But I need those!”

------

[talking about a new antagonist]

    “He’s got scientific papers published regarding the genetics of demons.”

    “He’s a nerd?!” Indigo exclaimed.

------

[playing a video game involving creating Creatures(TM), Spore style]

    “Who’s abomination is this?!” Miraj cried.

    “That’s mine,” Silverwren said proudly.

    “It’s hideous!”

    “Don’t body shame her! She’s perfect.”

    “I hope it loses,” said Miraj. “If you win with that…that…eldritch rotisserie chicken–”

    The group’s uncontrollable laughter intensified.

    “--I will rage quit!” Miraj finished.

-------

    “Nothing personal,” Xijikh assured, catching her when she collapsed. He gently placed her on the ground. “Sleep well. Make better decisions in the morning.”

------

    Carlarai huffed jealously. “She turned into a dragon?! That’s not fair! I wanna turn into a dragon!”

    “It’s probably a good thing you can’t,” said Alchemy.

    “Aww, come on! Can you imagine all the havoc I could wreak?”

    “Yes,” Silverwren, Alchemy, and Cloud said at once.

[athenajbrooks]

Announcement!

Ok, so I've changed some titles again. This may or not be the last time, we'll see, lol.

My series is now called The Saviors of Aldea.

Book #1 is called The Forgotten Prophecy.

Book #2, The Tablet of Abrahath and book #3, The Warbringer, have stayed the same. Books 4-5 remain untitled, but I hope I still get to call one of them Within Hiphehoun because reasons :)

I'm working on getting my tags and intros updated accordingly.

[athenajbrooks]

Blue Flame

After weeks of writer's block, I've officially broken ground on The Forgotten Prophecy! Here's a piece of the inciting incident:

    Leaves rustled. The sound of footsteps pounding against dirt grew louder. Carlarai got into a runner’s stance, ready to dart forward the second Zkaye finished her spell.

    A boy in a dusty-rose uniform burst out of the bushes. Carlarai pouted.

    A slip of paper materialized in his hand, which he unfolded with such haste, he nearly tore it.

    “Double Magnet. Okay, easy. Bosi!” he yelled, and two chunks of amethyst around the base of the magical energy meter flew into his hand. The meter’s holographic screen blinked to life.

    Calculating…53.6 [unit]

    Easily beyond the 40[unit] minimum. The boy yelled to Silverwren, “You got this!”

    “Thanks!” Silverwren said, and rushed toward the climbing wall.

    “Zkaye!” Carlarai screamed into the bushes. “Hurry!”

    “I’m coming!”

    A second later, Zkaye stumbled out of the maze, her red uniform spattered with mud.

    “He created a rattlesnake noise at my feet and scared me!” she explained as she unfurled her instructions. She performed the quickest Shrinking spell Carlarai had ever seen and shrieked, “Go, go, go!”

    Carlarai was already sprinting.

    Silverwren saw her start to climb and stomped the air with her foot. A faint shimmer appeared beneath her foot like a magic floor tile before fading into invisibility. She let go of the handholds and started jumping from one invisible platform to the next–a little Skydancer trick that got her halfway up the cliff in seconds.

    “HEY!” Carlarai yelled at Silverwren. She let go of her handhold to shake her fist at her opponent. “Cheater!”

    Silverwren giggled. “What? Magic is allowed!”

    Very well, then, Carlarai thought. She directed a finger at the top of the cliff, where Silverwren would have to land eventually. Fauxfire crackled to life and enthusiastically jumped into the sky. Silverwren shrieked and nearly fell to the ground below.

    That bought Carlarai a little time, but it wasn’t long before Silverwren figured out the flames were harmless and skipped to the top of the cliff with Carlarai at her heels.

    “I did it!” she cheered over the swelling roar of the crowd.

    “Don’t celebrate just yet,” Carlarai growled, pulling herself onto the ledge. She dismissed the Fauxfire.

    A slip of paper faded into existence in her palm. Hands trembling with adrenaline, she opened it. Heat, it read.

    Easy. She snatched up a soaked square of fabric from an aluminum tray full of water at the base of her magical energy meter.

    The banner, behind its force field, fluttered seductively, the School of the Kingdoms crest on the navy-blue fabric shining proudly. She was so close.

     She and Silverwren cast their spells at the same time. That was annoying. Now the winner would be determined by who could get the higher meter reading.

    Carlarai focused her powers into the fabric, imagining the magical energy bound to every atom awakening. The cloth steamed, and a split second later, it was dry.

    The number on Carlarai’s meter went up. 60. 72. 78. She turned to gloat to Silverwren.

    A tiny, yellow flame flickered to life on the corner of the fabric.

     80. 100. 125.

    “A…a hundred and…” the commentator stammered. “I-I have never seen such a high score from a first year before. This is…This is incredible!”

    Carlarai watched the flames envelope the cloth in her hand. Her body grew warm as her powers ran wild, feeding the magical energy in the cloth. The flames turned a scorching blue. The cloth disintegrated into ash.

    165. 182. 199.

In a panic, Carlarai willed her powers to shut off. It felt like holding back a waterfall.

    “T-two hundred…!” The commentator gasped. “I’ve seen sixth years struggle to reach that threshold!”

     Stunned, her heart pounding, Carlarai dumped the ash out of her hand and watched it stream to the ground. Sixth-year-level magic? Carlarai had only had her powers for six months.

    The ash was still burning hot. Smoke snaked into the sky, and a delicate flicker of fire rose up from the stone.

    Carlarai and Silverwren jumped back. Carlarai tried to stomp out the spreading flames, but every scattered grain of ash carried enough heat to blaze anew. Panic pulsing through her veins, Carlarai mentally shouted, Etim! Etim! Cancel!

    Although a heat spell had started it, the fire itself wasn’t magic. The Cancel spell had no effect.

    Without need of wind to push it along, the white-blue fire spread rapidly like a hungry swarm, melting the stone. Silverwren scrambled away, screaming. Laijha, the school’s head of security, commanded everyone to evacuate the grounds, nanomicrophones picking up his voice and sending it soaring over the panicked cries of the crowd.

    Carlarai felt lightheaded. She barely registered the sound of the spectators stampeding away from the school and toward the woods, coughing from the smoke, or the feel of the cool mist from a dozen water spells. Her heart beat faster as she tried her Cancel spell again and again--the only solution she knew of. Still, nothing happened. Fire crept closer to her feet. Her breath grew shallow.

    A hand with glitter-painted nails grabbed her wrist and pulled her off the cliff.

    Carlarai wished the Gentlefall field wasn’t there. Yes, she’d break some bones when she hit the ground, but at least the fall would be over quicker. Instead, she had to float like a feather in the breeze with plenty of time to see the shocked expressions of the spectators. All of them were watching her. Her mom was on her feet, tripping over people as she pushed her way through the crowd, screaming Carlarai’s name. The Crownsguard ushered the royal family away. Carlarai made direct eye contact with Queen KiAdra.

    Her feet hit the ground. Silverwren immediately dashed away, but Carlarai couldn’t look away from the little trickles of molten rock making their way down the cliff.

    She’d done that. With a level 0 spell, she’d turned stone to lava. She didn’t get scared easily, but this fire terrified her. Her own powers terrified her. Her magic had escaped her control.

    “Go, Carlarai! Join the others!”

    Carlarai tore her gaze from the inferno to see her spellcasting teacher, Rloji, stretch his arms wide, like he was trying to create a barrier, and his sun powers stopped the angry flames from advancing further. His form shimmered like a mirage from the heat. It was a good thing he was fireproof, like all sun types were. “Don’t worry, it’s okay. We’ll take care of it.”

    Carlarai couldn’t stand the sight of the chaos she’d caused any longer. Rather than joining the crowd, however, she ran toward the school’s main building, hiding her face behind her thick, black hair, desperate to leave the judging eyes and pungent smell of smoke far behind her. She was fireproof, too. If the building caught on fire, she’d be fine.

    She didn’t stop running until she closed the door to an empty classroom. She bent over, a hand on the wall, trying to catch her breath through the tightness in her chest and the smoke lingering in her lungs.

    I could have killed someone back there. The thought echoed horribly in her mind. She thought of Silverwren, who, if she hadn’t been such a quick thinker, might have been trapped on the wall and devoured by flames. Silverwren was annoying, but she certainly didn’t deserve that.

    Ever since school began, Carlarai had been proud of her unusually strong powers. Now, horror stifled her pride. The smoky smell seemed to grow stronger--a persistent reminder that she no longer had control over her own magic. She hated situations that she couldn’t control.

    A flicker of light at her feet caught her eye, and she screamed. The scent of smoke really had been getting stronger. Sparks fell from Carlarai’s fingers, igniting the carpeting. Carlarai clenched her hands closed, but the damage had already been done. Flames licked the air.

    Carlarai gulped back a whimper. Knowing there was nothing she could do to stop the fire on her own, she had no choice but to run back outside for help, tears in her scarlet eyes.

[athenajbrooks]

Someone help me get out of bed. I actually have time to write today but I’m just laying in bed. Where is the logic?? Help me 😭😭

[athenajbrooks]

As you write middle-grade, I must ask;

Have you found many differences between middle grade fantasies and adult fantasies? Things you have to keep in mind while writing or simply tropes that don't quite mesh with the age group as well?

I think middle grade and adult fantasies can be pretty similar in terms of tropes and plotlines. The only major difference is how you write them. For kids, if you want to write a complicated plot, you can, but you need to introduce new information much slower. This is why the middle grade stories with the biggest casts and most complex plots tend to last three or more books instead of just one or two.

And then obviously there are subjects and tropes that might be too dark for kids. But again, I don't necessarily think you have to avoid them entirely. Kids know more about dark stuff than you might expect. I was writing about characters getting tortured at age ten, so...yeah. Just so long as the presentation of said material is age-appropriate (nothing too graphic), it's fine, IMO.

[athenajbrooks]

Some of my favorite quotes from my novel-in-progress

    “That spell makes you unremarkable,” Laijha explained.

    Carlarai spoke up, “Why’d you bother casting it on Silverwren, then?”

---------

    Pollenay’s sweet smile faded. “You have a big mouth. I come to see if you’re okay and you insult me. How’s that fair?”

    “Of course I have a big mouth. The better to taunt you with,” Silverwren said.

    Pollenay pouted. “Do I at least get a ‘good morning’?”

    “No. Mornings are never good.”

---------

“My, what a big ego you have, Polly! You should really get that looked at.”

-Silverwren

-------

    "There it is. See?" Keldie pointed to a paragraph near the top of the page. "It says here that Ishkambarr the Second was King Abrahath's right-hand man during the first year of the Aldea-Monr War, before he was slain in a duel with Xijikh Hkeoh," she quoted.

    "Abrahath must have been really left-handed if he needed a right-handed man to help him in battle,” Cloud said.

-------

    “Sir, what if we can’t make any sense at all out of that riddle?” Cloud asked.

    “Hey, Cloud,” Carlarai spoke up sarcastically. “You know that brain thing people do?”

    Cloud scowled. “You mean thinking?”

    “Yeah, that. You should try that and see if it works.”

--------

    As the dragon sailed closer, Jmokoh realized someone was riding it. She cursed. Hurriedly, she reverted from her half-demon state, though she feared it was too late. If she could see the rider, it was likely they could see her, too.

    “Glade, you snitch!” she yelled at the dragon.

[athenajbrooks]

I’ve spent way too much time trying to find the perfect character workbook. Something that actually goes deep, asks the right questions, and helps me figure out who my characters really are. But nothing ever fully hit the mark… so I made my own.

This is just one page out of a whole bunch. The workbook covers 15 main and side characters, dives into all the juicy stuff like personality, backstory, habits, looks, and even includes a big list of good & bad traits to mix things up.

If you’re a writer and love building characters as much as I do, feel free to check it out. Maybe it’ll be the one you’ve been looking for too.

📖 Get your Workbook on Amazon now!

[athenajbrooks]

Hello! Here's the ask you requested!

Can you sum up Hayes's personality in 1-2 sentences?

Where did each of those personality traits come from?

If the plot wasn't getting in the way, what would he be doing instead?

What hobbies does he have? Why does he like doing these particular things? Who taught him how to do them?

-athenajbrooks

Thank you so much for helping me flesh out this character a little more!

Personality - Hayes is a very straightforward and literal person, he gets right to the point and he's very precise with his questions and answers - he sees no point in wasting time with superfluous details but at the same time spends probably too much time on the little details that no one else would care about or notice. He's very focused and stubborn, to a fault, and always thinks he's the smartest person in the room which can make him very aggravating to other people but he doesn't care - in fact, he sort of likes it because then he has the chance to argue with them and prove he is right. His traits come a lot from nature, his mother is very similar to him in a lot of these ways which is what makes her such a great spy/assassin. He also grew up as the youngest with two older sisters who liked to boss him around. So he learned early on that knowing how to argue was a big advantage in those situations. Being the youngest he also enjoys being the center of attention which probably impacts why he likes to annoy and aggravate others.

If there was no plot getting in the way he would still be training as a sporecaster under Corduff. He wouldn't know that his mom and one of his sisters are still alive which I imagine he would want to know - but that knowledge comes at such a cost to his life in Rosen. Without that knowledge, he would be continuing to focus on his revenge against Grosev for causing the deaths of his family. He'd probably be trying to flirt with Siobhan (unsuccessfully), wrestling with Bo, or playing with Corduff's dogs (Ruby is his favorite).

His hobbies are training (classic gym bro mentality), hanging out with friends, and he's a sucker for puzzles. For training, this is just a really normal thing in Rosen, their military strength is a key part of the nation's identity so he didn't necessarily learn it from anywhere but the culture he grew up in. For hanging out with friends, he always saw how many friends his older sisters had and how they would go out all the time, and grew up thinking that was just the normal thing to do as well. He would never let anyone know but he secretly loves things like scavenger hunts, code-breaking, anything that challenges him intellectually. When he was a kid he used to play "spy" and would ask his mom to set up mysteries for him, but she was usually too busy with her actual spy work to do so. He also loves to collect random trivia and facts that no one could possibly know already or ever want to know and then act like other people are dumb for not knowing that super specific fact about whatever it was.

[athenajbrooks]

I've got some extra time today, so...

Got a worldbuilding/plot/character element you need to flesh out more? Send it to me and I'll ask you questions about it to get you thinking! (You don't have to answer them if you don't want.)

IDK about you, but I sometimes get stuck thinking, "eh, figuring this out sounds too hard. I'll do it later." But, if I get an ask about it, I feel like I have to come up with an answer. So hopefully this will be helpful for someone.

[athenajbrooks]

An Urgent Message

(The Tablet of Abrahath deleted scene snippet)

    The door opened, and the castle messenger stepped in. He bowed to the king and princess, his windblown brown hair falling into his eyes. He held an envelope in his right hand. That piqued Astrid’s interest. Paper mail carried messages too sensitive to be sent digitally.

    Following him was Queen KiAdra. She had a soft, beautiful face that nearly always wore a kind smile. Today, it was absent, and instead, her soft brows were furrowed with worry. She went to her husband’s side, who greeted her with a smile and an arm around her waist.

    “Your Majesties,” the messenger said to the king and queen. “This is an urgent message from the School of the Kingdoms. Laijha suggests you read it immediately.”

    “Can’t it wait?” the advisor asked dully. “As you can plainly see, King Viir and I are discussing a very important issue right now. Come back later.”

    “But I can’t! This is important, too! The entire fate of Aldea is at stake!” the messenger protested.

    “Exaggerations are akin to lies. I will not allow them,” the advisor sniffed.

    Queen KiAdra hid an amused smile.

    “Perhaps it’s not an exaggeration,” King Viir intervened. He turned to the messenger. “What has happened?”

    “I-I don’t know, sir. I came here in a hurry. Here, this will explain everything.”

    He gave the letter to King Viir, who cracked open the seal and unfolded the paper within. The room was silent for a minute as he and Queen KiAdra read, their expressions growing more tense with each word. Finally, they looked up from the letter to exchange fearful looks.

    “It’s begun,” the queen breathed.

    “What is it?” Astrid asked.

    “Well, Astrid,” her father said grimly, giving the letter to her. “We have quite the crisis on our hands. You and the Adventurers have a lot of work to do.”

[athenajbrooks]

WTW Power Prompts - Origin

First of all, thank you to the folks at WelcomeToWriteblr for giving me an easy way to return to this blog! I'll be hopefully completing this event for my WIP Hounds of Corduff.

I've decided to explore each of the prompts through the lens of a textbook written for preliminary students around age 7 - 9 in the country of Rosen. Vocabulary words and other important words will be bolded and there will be reading checks at the end of each chapter. Most importantly there will be pictures. Also, expect a sprinkle of religious dogma because it's Rosen so it cannot be escaped. I made all the "textbook pages" in Canva.

Text under the cut:

Before there were cities, castles, or people and the world was wild it was ruled by creatures called Elementals. These creatures were huge and roamed over Isfyd in the sky, sea, and land. These creatures weren’t like anything we know today, they weren’t animals made of flesh and blood, they were made purely of spores.

There were eight Elementals total, each one made of a different kind of spore. These creatures did not live in peace with one another. They fought each other over territories and resources. When they fought, their attacks shaped the world, giving rise to mountain ranges, carving rivers, and splitting forests.

The DaySpore shined brightly, made entirely of lightspores, this Elemental covered the land in a blinding light. The NightSpore cast impossible shadows, made entirely of darkspores, this Elemental makes everything vanish from sight.

The GaleSpore howled through the skies, made entirely of windspores, this Elemental stirred devastating storms. The TideSpore rode along the waves, made entirely of waterspores, this Elemental crashed into the land, eroding it away.

The ScorchSpore blazed with heat, made entirely of firespores, this Elemental burned through everything in its path. The QuakeSpore rumbled beneath the ground, made entirely of earthspores, this Elemental cracked and bent the land for its own benefit.

The ShockSpore sparked and flashed, made entirely of lightningspores, this Elemental split the sky with bolts of pure power. The MeltSpore hissed and fizzled, made entirely of acidspores, this Elemental dissolved even the most stubborn of obstacles.

Humans came to Isfyd through one of Destiny’s Gateways after the world was shaped. At first, the people were afraid of these powerful creatures. Some people hid from them and some abandoned Destiny to worship the Elementals as their new gods. Others fought the creatures to protect themselves.

Over time the people began to notice something new, they could sense the energy of the magic of the Elementals. They could sense the spores. Some could even change them like the Elementals. The first to use this ability were called sporecasters.

They learned to summon fire from the ScorchSpore, call the wind from the GaleSpore, and calm the waves from the TideSpore. They practiced and taught others, being able to cast spores became essential to their early survival.

The more people used the spores the less fear they had for the Elementals. The Elementals became overwhelmed. Their powers were far greater than those of the sporecasters individually, but the great downfall of these great creatures was that they did not work together while the people did. One by one each Elemental was pushed back, into hiding or hibernation.

With the Elementals gone the era of sporecasters began. While the Elementals no longer rule Isfyd there are those who wonder if they might return one day. Are the Elementals truly gone? Are they sleeping somewhere waiting to be awoken? Did they leave to another world? These are questions asked by many philosophers.

Reading Check:

What were the Elementals made of?

How did the Elementals shape the world?

Why did some people worship the Elementals?

How did people first start using spores?

What were the Elementals greatest weakness?

You finished this chapter! Great job!

The next chapter will be about the first sporecaster clans.

[athenajbrooks]

Hey, writers! This is your friendly reminder to watch some Kitboga and protect yourself from publishing scams 😊