#niv and the neverwhere

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Me, discovery-writing chapters 1 and 2: Okay so this will be YA. Good to know.

Me, realizing in chapter 4 the mc is about to brutally murder a man: okay so maybe not

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Last Line Tag

Tagged forever ago (as usual, my bad...) by the lovely @ink-fireplace-coffee, thanks!!

From Niv and the Neverwhere

“You all right?” Enzo asked, his voice low, any echo dampened immediately by whatever pressed endlessly against the Neverwhere. Yreen…Atoski’s scream…Nez…the Sunstone… “I need to go home,” she [Niv] whispered, not for the first time today. If ‘today’ even exists in this place with no sun. Niv had torn through Yreen with magic and red lightning, dropped more bodies than she could count, and then left the village to the Scholar’s mercy. What destruction had she created? What ruin had she wrought? “You’ve got people on the other side of that schism waiting for you,” Enzo shook his head. “I checked a few times, they’re posting guards. You can’t go back right now. They won’t let you through.” “But Yreen-” “Yreen is more good to them alive,” said Enzo. It was a reluctant question. Not a reassurance, not a proclamation, not knowledge meant to be fact. He’s afraid for them, too. “You don’t know that,” said Niv. Her voice shook, a rattle in a leafless tree.

I tag (no pressure!!): @akindofmagictoo, @hyba, @avrablake, @lacependragon, @thegreatobsesso and open tag for anyone who wants it!!

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WIP Intro - Niv and the Neverwhere

[Image ID: a red banner streaked with lightning, and the words "Niv and the Neverwhere" in glowing red letters across the bottom. End ID.]

Please pardon my dust! This introduction is under construction due to a plotter attempting to discovery write!

Title: Niv and the Neverwhere Genre: NA Portal Fantasy Themes: Family and duty, promises kept and broken, caution and curiosity, other worlds, exploration and excitement, love and loyalty

Setting: Below a tiny village at the edge of the ocean lies a secret cave, hewn into the rocks by strangers long forgotten. And in that cave, a glassy red stone floats above the tides, shadows moving in its depths. A crack in reality, a split between existence, where the Neverwhere leaks into the world.

Story: A young woman with a strange secret jumps between worlds to protect her home.

The Characters:

Nivya “Niv” Nizani - Niv promised to protect a secret, and she is prepared to lose almost everything to keep her word. It wouldn’t be her problem, but she’s the one who was reckless enough to climb around on the cliffs and discover the weird red rock, so here she is.

Nezzit “Nez” Nizani - Niv’s brother, who will teach her the scientific method if he has to drag her through it kicking and screaming. Also maybe if he wasn’t equal parts brillaint and stupid his sister wouldn’t have literally thrown him into a new world.

Enzo of Eranthus - middle-aged gentleman who gave up on being the grumpy old man a while ago, but isn't quite ready to admit he's happy to be here.

Sym of Eranthus - the walking definition of “that’s so cool!” *gets glared at. “I mean, horrible!” She came out to do awesome stuff and is honestly having such a good time right now.

Are there more characters? Yes! Do I know anything about them yet? No!

Plot and Kettle: A young woman hiding a secret she doesn’t understand “accidentally” kills one of the most important people in the world, discovers she can jump between worlds with a weird magic stone, and completely upsets the political landscape of her entire continent. The three great kingdoms, with their three great crowns and their thrice-cursed curiosity, are coming. Even the deepest secrets can’t hide in shadowed stones forever, and Niv was never meant to stop them. The Schism of Salt waits, and the Neverwhere will not be contained.

Stuff That Is Nifty:

The Neverwhere is a magical dimension brimming with power, where pockets of existence are separated by the Void Sea, an untraversable expanse of void and raw magic. The planetary world formed as the Neverwhere leaked into this reality through cracks, called schisms. Earth became the way for creatures to move between pockets of existence in the Neverwhere, and eventually humans as well.

Magic on earth is all drawn from the power that leaks from the Neverwhere through schisms. It is strongest near a schism, making them points of power and importance. The farther from a schism you get, the harder it is to do magic.

Status Check: First draft in progress (as my July Camp NaNo project!) I am discovery writing this and editing as I go - the exact opposite of everything in my usual process - so we’ll see how this goes, lol

Note - I have snagged the wip intro template from @sleepyowlwrites, because she already did the work to make a good one!

Tag list: @thelaughingstag, @enchanted-lightning-aes, @sleepyowlwrites, @akindofmagictoo, @yumiraaa, @tryingtimi

Ask to be added/removed :-)

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Penguin Classics Cover Tag

Tagged by the lovely @pluttskutt, thanks!!

Done with this link!

This was fun! I'm terrible at cover design so it's fun to see it lay out like this :-)

Firetide rising image is art done by the absolutely incredible @shaheenarnitipsyart of Iri and Goldie, the two main dragons.

Deathdancer image is from unspash. Niv and the Neverwhere I blatantly sourced from pinterest because I couldn't find a better picture...

I tag (no pressure!!): @afoolandathief, @thegreatobsesso, @ink-fireplace-coffee, @winterandwords, @writingonesdreams and OPEN TAG for anyone who wants it! Seriously, take it, I have no idea who has or hasn't done this one before... :-)

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Ya'll, Niv and the Neverwhere is basically just turning into an excuse for me to go absolutely FERAL. Different dimension has glowing flowers? Sure! How about a constant magic storm overhead? Sounds great! Moss that looks like gemstones? Sign me up! Purple dirt? Why not!

Maybe I should dial this back, but I'm having way too much fun putting Niv through every psychedelic dream I ever had as a child. This is a different world. It may as well really seem like one.

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Niv and the Neverwhere "Cover"

I slapped this together in Canva, so clearly the next thing to do is inflict it on you all, lol. I really only did it so I'd have a cover to use on the NaNoWriMo website for the project, and I'm not super happy with it. But I do feel like it sort of gets some of The Vibes across, so I'll take it for now, lol.

[Image ID: a digital book cover. The background is red watercolor with white and tan speckles. In the center is a circular geometric design, over a line art mountain range. The words "Niv and the Neverwhere" are at the top, and the name "Diphthong" is at the bottom. End ID.]

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Word Find Tag

Tagged a million years ago by the lovely @sleepyowlwrites! Thanks for the tag, even if it has taken me an eon to get to it!

Magic (Niv and the Neverwhere)

The cave didn’t make sound. Not really, not like any other sound she’d ever heard. But the world around her almost seemed to hum, vibrating in the rocks, buzzing in her bones. Pressing on her ears with something that wasn’t quite sound, and wasn’t quite silence. It was strongest down here, but sometimes she could feel it up above, too. So could the others. Some of them said it meant change was coming. Some that it was the sound of dreams, or the pieces of magic that still slumbered in the stones. All Niv really knew was that the searchers used it to find places like this. Which meant her first move whenever they showed up was to silence it.

Love (Niv and the Neverwhere)

“As for your lovely sideways nose,” Enzo added, “that will hurt.” Niv had never reset a nose. She’d dislocated and subsequently relocated finger joints before, but had no idea how that compared to something on her face. “All right,” Enzo reached out, bracing his hands on her cheekbones. “Try to hold still.” Her head pounded, and she pressed it harder into the back of the chair, giving him as steady a base as she could manage. “In three,” he said. “Two-“ Niv’s nose cracked, and pain ripped across her face, twisting at the back of her eyes and the roots of her hair. She yelped, she couldn’t help it, even as Enzo’s hands held her still. “One,” he finished. “That’s not how countdowns work,” Niv rasped, eyes streaming. “Silly me.”

Friend (Niv and the Neverwhere)

“Making friends, are we?” asked a new voice. “Always,” Niv scooted slightly, making room for her brother to perch on the rock next to her. “What did he want?” asked Nez, frowning after the guard. “To offer me a fortune,” she sighed bitterly. “He wasn’t very impressed with my singular spark, either,” Nez commented. “Don’t take it personally.” “I’m not.” “So you’re just tense for no reason then,” he said, mildly. “I’m not tense.” Niv pushed a little too hard, and the bark she was using to clear the mud snapped traitorously. “Right,” said Nez, smirking. “You’ve committed bark murder by mistake.” “Shut up.”

Grow + Bonus Moon (Niv and the Neverwhere)

Spires of white rock spiked straight into the air, some with trees growing at the top. Their roots wove down, wrapping the stone like a basket trap, a wide vein of rusty red light tracing along each one. Purple-red leaves the size of Niv’s entire torso fluttered in the crackling wind, tiny streaks of lighting occasionally tracing through them. Literally everything seemed to glow. Nothing glowed back in Yreen, except for fire. And the sun. And the moon. And stars. Okay, so maybe we have glowing stuff, too. But it was nothing like to this.

BONUS

Ghost Specter (Niv and the Neverwhere)

“What about shadows that shouldn’t be there?” he asked. “Maybe shapes in the darkness?” Every night. Niv didn’t know who else could see the shapes that rose somewhere between sleeping and waking, the specters and red smoke and shadows that didn’t belong. No one else ever talked about them. She’d given up trying to sort out what they were a long time ago. “Nah,” Niv shrugged. “You’d do well to show us some modicum of respect,” he snapped. “You’d do well to earn it.”

I tag (no pressure!!): @the-orangeauthor, @uraniumwriting, @asomeoneperson, @zmwrites, @dragon-swords-prophecies and open tag for anyone who wants it!!

Your words are: Quiet, Hate, Enemy, Fall, Life

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Guess who wrote a whole entire 12 words today and is genuinely thrilled with that output?

It’s me. I did. Sometimes the “little” wins are the biggest battles.

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Last Line Tag

Tagged forever ago 2x by the wonderful @talesofsorrowandofruin, thanks!! Because you tagged me twice I'm using it as an excuse to post a longer thing :-)

This is technically yesterday and today, because I got stopped in my tracks yesterday attempting to name this poor man, lol. From Niv and the Neverwhere!

The figure stepped forward, red rising in the dark, shadows shifting in the haze. Arms and legs that could only be described as lanky. A mess of brown hair grown far too long and far to wild for it’s owners narrow head. Sunken eyes that glinted black against pallid skin. He wasn’t even that much older than her. Niv had seen enough haunted faces to know there was youth hidden somewhere under the sharp lines and shattered edges carved into his face. “Who are you?” she asked, and the sound died almost immediately, snatched away, swallowed by the Neverwhere. She almost didn’t think he’d hear her. “Kal.” He had a voice that wasn’t meant to rasp. Wasn’t meant to shudder. Wasn’t meant to catch like a hangnail on a loose thread. “Are you real?” he asked, tipping his head to squint at her through the dimness. “Yes.” Niv bit down the instinctive sarcastic answers. She had a terrible suspicion he wasn’t in any position to appreciate them. “My name is Nivya.” “Nivya,” he repeated, mumbling to himself more than her. “Nivya. Nivya. Nivya-” “Hey,” Niv cut him off. He jumped, blinking up at her. “How long have you been in here?” He looked away, frowning, muttering to himself again. Niv’s heart sank. She’d seen Della delirious once, glassy-eyed and sick with fever, rambling into her sweaty sheets. Kal didn’t look ill, not like Della had. But he had the same flat wildness to him, the same frantic disconnect as he shook his head, still mumbling something Niv couldn’t understand. He’s been down here a while. “Look at me,” Niv prompted, trying to soften out her voice, to ease away the edges.

I'll tag (no pressure!!): @thegreatobsesso, @hyba, @the-orangeauthor, @avrablake, @akindofmagictoo, and open tag for anyone who wants it!

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Word Find Game

This one comes from the wonderful @avrablake, thanks!!

Wind (Niv and the Neverwhere)

“Silent earth,” Nez swore softly, all the blood draining from his wind-tanned face. “Those people don’t just burn villages Niv, they literally salt the ground behind them. You won’t find so much as a knuckle bone if they turn on us.” “Don’t get too worked up,” said Niv. Her voice came out a little too brittle. A little too quiet. She swallowed, and pushed on. “Those are just rumors. And he’s not even good at being a bad guy. No subtly, no nuance, his version of intimidating is just smacking people and throwing a few insults at them.” “He could still ruin us.” “I know, I know. I didn’t insult him again.” “Good for you.” There was no comforting sarcasm in her brother’s voice. He reached for Niv’s hand, and she took it, their cold fingers curling together. It’s just a few days. We just have to make it a few days.

Disappoint (Deathdancer - Zaul POV)

“Pleasure doing business with you,” Zaul nodded, holding out the envelope. She snatched it immediately, rifling through the papers. “If these don’t hold up to scrutiny-“ “They will. I’ve already filed the corresponding travel documents. Welcome to Aramzind. I hope your caravan enjoys their time here.” Without a word, she swept away, leaving Zaul alone in the alleyway. He darted off the other way, running a few streets away at random, making sure he wasn’t followed before turning back towards the Oasis District. It was an easy precaution to take, and things already felt off tonight. The stranger sneaking around the Oasis had set him on edge for some reason. Maybe he should have stuck around, alerted one of the Dumdarin that someone was near the Zazari’s offices and residence. But then he would have missed this meeting, and something told him this was not a woman he wanted to disappoint.

Roof

Niv’s mother had told her a story once, about a man with a red shadow. Not bright, like a fire or a sunset, but muted. Quiet. A flower hidden in the shadows of jagged stones. Blood-soaked black sand in the moonlight. We were just children, she’d said, smirking slightly, knowing the reaction she was about to get. Sitting on the roof. It was the first time your father and I were truly alone, if you know what I mean. Mom! Nez had wrinkled his nose, waving his hands in front of his face, trying to banish whatever unwanted image of their parents he’d already conjured up.

Weak (Deathdancer - Zaul POV)

“Wait,” rasped Hita, chest heaving, face set into grim lines. “Make me.” Hita shook her head. “Zaul, you-” A lawkeeper yelped. Zaul jumped, whipping around to see what had happened, in time to see a figure that looked frighteningly like Orvon launch out of a wagon and bolt. An instant later, a tall woman dived after him, her mass of black coils bouncing as she waved the lawkeeper away. Zaul’s knees went weak, head spinning from their wild run. If he could have, he’d have done a long, dramatic exhale, but given he was lucky to manage not passing out that wasn’t really on the table. She’s alive.

I tag (no pressure!!): @sleepyowlwrites, @sleepysera, @memento-morri-writes, @shaheenarnitipsyart, @akindofmagictoo, and open tag for anyone who wants it!

Your words are: Still, Proud, Floor, Strong

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Word Find Game

Tagged twice by the always lovely @sleepyowlwrites, thanks Sleepy!!

Attempt (Niv and the Neverhwere)

Out of every Order recognized by the Tizzori government, they had the longest reach and the most power. Niv was pretty sure genocide was frowned upon, but even that might be deemed justifiable in their pursuit of information. “What?” she asked shortly, going back to her boots with renewed vigor. The mud had nicely covered up any sign of her oceanside excursion. “You tell me,” he said, in the most boring attempt at getting information these people used. “I’ve heard it all before,” Niv told him, not looking up. “Yes, sometimes it sounds like something is humming. No, I don’t know where it’s coming from.”

Attain

Attribute (Deathdancer - Ailin POV)

Footsteps clattered as Zaul and Dymas pelted down the stairs. Ailin pivoted on her toes, knives up, keeping Orvon away from the door. “They can go,” he growled, his Latoryi accent stronger than ever. “There is no hiding from me.” Ailin didn’t answer him, heart racing. Hopefully he attributed it to her reputation as a silent fighter, and not that her voice currently wasn’t working. He’s right.

Attitude

Accident (Niv and the Neverwhere)

“Really?” the woman’s eyes lit up. “Yreen? What are you doing in here?” “I didn’t mean to do it,” Niv muttered, not sure what to do with the sudden excitement gleaming on her face. “Really?” she was very nearly beaming now. “How did that work?” “I panicked and fell through a rock?” “That’s amazing!” She positively vibrated with glee, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet. “Nivya, this is Sym of Eranthus,” said Enzo, mildly. “Don’t mind her, she’s easily excited.” “She accidentally came through a schism!” Sym blurted out. “How are you not excited by that?”

Beyond

Niv glanced up, she couldn’t help it. The cliff edge dwarfed her, nearly shear walls of stone reaching three hundred feet above the water. Flickers of light from the village were the only reminders that she wasn’t wholly alone in the world. In the dark rock, dull glimmers peaked from the shadows. There wasn’t much, just little hints of blue, tracing unnatural veins across the cliff face. They weren’t visible from the land above, and no one had ever reported them from the sea. In fact, they vanished from Niv’s sight if she got more than a dozen paces away. This beach, in the shadow of waves that could swallow her whole, was the only place that allowed any glimpse into the worlds beyond. Niv didn’t know what worlds, exactly. Past? Future? Dream? Just…somewhere else?

Tired (Deathdancer - Ailin POV)

And her body hurt. Not the usual hurt though, not this time. She was full of echoes of things she couldn’t quite remember. Her throat burned, just above the collarbone, traces of something grating all the way through her against her vertebrae. She kept forcing down the urge to cough. Still, sleep was another risk in a night full of death. A necessary one, and one that could be tempered with caution, but still a risk. A risk you have to take at this point. She wasn’t in herself enough to be properly tired, but she could recognize the sensations. She knew what it meant when her muscles trembled under their own weight, when her ears filled with cotton and her head rattled with sharp silence.

Shadow (Niv and the Neverwhere)

We’re all going to die. Niv pressed her forehead to the ground, gasping for air, her fingers digging into gravel and reaching for the stone below. Salt that wasn’t sea spray traced over her lips, and she screwed her eyes shut against the traitorous tears. Far below, she almost thought the Sunstone pulsed once, warming her fingertips. Red world find me. Whatever lurked in the depths of the Sunstone, whatever the specters in the shadows were, Niv reached for them. If ever there was a time to pull on the magic Bani had told her never to touch, it was now.

BONUS

Atrocious

Attack (Deathdancer - Ailin POV)

Ailin took a deep breath, and turned her back on him, slipping the dagger away. There was no sudden rush of movement, no sweeping sensation from a surprise attack the second her eyes were off him. He just stood there, waiting quietly, seemingly oblivious to the terrifying absence of sensation in her time-sense. How long had it been, since she’d turned her back on someone without so much as a flicker of violence?

Create (Niv and the Neverwhere)

“I need to go home,” she whispered, not for the first time today. If ‘today’ even exists in this place with no sun. Niv had torn through Yreen with magic and red lightning, dropped more bodies than she could count, and then left the village to the Scholar’s mercy. What destruction had she created? What ruin had she wrought?

Trance

I tag (no pressure!!): @girl-of-the-sea-and-stars, @void-kreechur, @theprissythumbelina, @sleepysera, @ink-fireplace-coffee, @akindofmagictoo, @thegreatobsesso, @dontjudgemeimawriter and open tag for anyone who wants it!!

Your words are: Succeed, Fail, Purpose, Numb, Protect

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3 Pics Tag Game

@dontjudgemeimawriter tagged me to post 3 pics that exemplify my WIP. This is a fun one, I hadn't seen this one much before! Thanks for the tag!

For Niv and the Neverwhere!

[image id: three pictures next to each other. The first is a foggy, very tall stone cliff with a hazy person in the distance. The second is a red sky with dark clouds and red lightning. The third is art of a forest with the trees done in blue and purple, blue and purple sunbeams, and a rocky stream. End id.]

I'll tag (no pressure!!): @afoolandathief, @winterandwords, @talesofsorrowandofruin, @memento-mori-writes, @akindofmagictoo and open tag for anyone who wants it!

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Last Line Tag

Tagged forever ago (as per usual) by the wonderful @talesofsorrowandofruin, thanks!!

Technically this is from yesterday, but I forgot to post it yesterday. From Niv and the Neverwhere. We have now entered the "portal" part of the portal fantasy, and I am very excited!

Time froze. Blinding red-white light filled Niv’s eyes, blocking out the cave, blocking out Yuva and the others, blocking out everything. Was she falling, or was she flying? Lightning fractured around her, a singing storm the stretched forever, and Niv couldn’t feel her heartbeat. The storm pulsed, just once, a swell of light that burst across her like a wave. Time restarted. And Niv’s back slammed into stone.

I tag (no pressure!!): @athenswrites, @theprissythumbelina, @adayforducks, @asomeoneperson, @akindofmagictoo, and open tag for anyone who wants it!!

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Last Line Tag

Tagged by the wonderful @thegreatobsesso, thanks!!

Last line(s) from Niv and the Neverwhere!

She [Niv] still had a chance. The thought of it burned her heart, boiling every any last, desperate strand of mercy. Niv balled her hands into fists, nails digging like fire pokers into her skinned palms. She pressed harder, tears starting in her eyes, reaching for the tension. Magic rose to meet her, lifting her to her toes, setting her half-destroyed clothes floating as if in water. It was exhilaration come alive, dancing in her blood, racing in her lungs. “No!” Yuva’s eyes widened, and she threw out her hands. Her spout of fire caught in the magic whirlwind around Niv, spiraling just past her head, heat blistering her cheek. Niv stumbled, nearly falling from the pedestal, and her hand fell against the Sunstone. It was sticky, her palm actually sinking into the glass-smooth surface. Red shadows rose, stretching over her shoulders, seeping into her veins. Niv didn’t fight them, fingers digging into the stone that wasn’t a stone, reaching into every phantom fire, into every silent song at the heart of the world. And the world reached back.

I tag (no pressure!!): @athenswrites, @talesofsorrowandofruin, @pluttskutt, @sharraus, @uraniumwriting, and open tag for anyone who wants it!!

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Last Line Tag

Tagged an eternity ago by @the-orangeauthor, thanks!!

The last lines of chapter 4 of Niv in the Neverwhere!

Niv's vision pounded with red echos, and she shook her head, trying to clear them. They melted away, smoke in a soft wind, fog in the sunrise. A footstep sounded behind her. Niv whipped around, just in time to see one of the scientists raising a heavy rock. She jerked back, stumbling, and the scientist darted forward. A sharp crack. A searing pain. Everything went dark.

I tag (no pressure!!): @thatprolificauthor, @theprissythumbelina, @winterandwords, @papercutsunset, @thegreatobsesso, @enchanted-lightning-aes and open tag for anyone who wants!

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Last Line Tag

Tagged probably two months ago (or more?) by @afoolandathief, thanks!! From the end of chapter 1 of Niv and the Neverwhere, my camp nano project. Technically this isn't the last thing I wrote today, but I couldn't post it when I wrote it due to lack of internet so I'm inflicting it on you now :-)

With a final scream, Niv blasted her hands apart. Magic exploded, searing across the Sunstone, flooding the cave with white. Her heart burst, sparks scraping through her veins, lightning chattering in her teeth. The humming stopped. For an instant, everything else stopped with it. Niv dropped to her knees in the silence, blinking uselessly against blinding light, ears ringing painfully. The world hung for a moment, dead still and endless. The white void stretched, unmoving, unmarked by shadow or stone.

I tag (no pressure!!): @avrablake, @sleepysera, @akindofmagictoo, @ink-fireplace-coffee, @hyba, and open tag for anyone who wants it!!