Celian

and here I thought I could get back into your good grace 😭 Seems like a probability. Sawyer is smarter than he seems. Or at least on an emotional level.

The summer heat might spoil one's appetite, but the pleasant coolness of the slaves' basement counteracted it to the extent that they ate properly anyway. Accordingly, Sawyer leaned back in his chair after dinner, full and content, while Greg and Dennis cleared the table. Well, maybe not quite so content. Dante was no longer in the house and Tom came here practically only to sleep. Soon Tom wouldn't be here either. He hadn't said it, but Sawyer wasn't stupid, Tom would be moving in with Mat

@drsawzall and @RainbowPhoenixWI now I will add a wake-up moment just for you two

In a world, where humans and orcs are forced to live in symbiosis, the shaman’s apprentice Thokk is deeply conflicted. On the one hand, he recognizes the need for his people’s survival; on the other, he despises humans for their weaknesses. That is, until he meets Henry...

Thokk had his arms crossed over his chest, his brow furrowed, and was glaring sullenly at the women who had gathered for the tithe selection. He had advanced so far in his studies that he had been allowed to accompany his master on the journey, but his enthusiasm had long since faded. He hated the surface. The sun burned his skin if he wasn’t careful and dried it out; the healthy light green had given way to a dull gray-green. His fur-stripe was dirty and smelly. There was mud everywhere. I

I'm afraid he's heading into/is already in a mental space where once again no one cares about him further than what duties he fulfills. Everyone wants something or is ignoring him. Yes, that's a big point in life. And living on a farm, where not even neighbour's kids are close around, makes it not exactly easier. He has no opportunities to even meet someone his age. It's a pretty busy time for everyone, that for sure. Absolutely, a powder keg with a burning fuse. He and Dante manouvered themselves into some stalemate, where every movement causes just more venom to be spewn... Alice's commentary wasn't a smart move, though maybe Frank is just in this "moment" of letting of all the accumulated stress and frustration etc out. Meaning, he might have gone off on her anyway, or a day later or the like. In his eyes, he's free of his mask, but still in chains, as long as he has this official "retarded" stamp on him. And seeing him being totally in line with the infamous Mitchell temperament, I don't think he'll listen to anyone... totally agree on this one, let's hope for the best!

I think it's safe to say the are already an issue... It hurts to watch... right? While in theory a nice option, this would be humiliating, now especially. In a year or maybe two, not so much anymore. But even telling Matthew she's not enjoying their bettime activities would probably break something in him. Absolutely right. Henry is going through a lot, that's true. At least he has some older brother figures. As for Sawyer... you will get an answer soon

The only one who didn't treat Dante as if he were a ticking time bomb was Sawyer. Dante didn't even understand why the others did, because apart from his emotional outburst towards Frank and, in the shock wave that followed, towards Tom, he was absolutely calm. This could not be said of Frank, who was like an unpredictable geyser, giving a lot of people a piece of his mind, which was perhaps necessary and probably healing for Frank, but when viewed soberly, one could even feel sorry for Lucia, w

@RainbowPhoenixWI, @drsawzall I started already with a second short story (which might get longer than I thought, hmm 🤔) which has a young shaman as MC. But to not let you starve and die, I will give you some quick answers: priests are the true defenders of their beliefs in the Old Mother, they lead the important rituals, listen to the stone, etc, they have to be chaste and stand above the shamans shamans are more gray eminences and can be part of a ruby court, they are dealing with prophetic advice, reading their "prophetic advice" out of situations/people, they lead the rituals that are more for the community then for their deity human men can be invited into a court as servant of whatever sort, as craftsman or silk-favorite (aka male concubine) or simple servant for the baths etc, brothers of the chosen women are often welcome, because they are good for their mental health The Void is in their belief an entity of its own, kind of the archenemy of the lifebringing Old Mother who created the earth and everyone on it, the void beasts are the children/warriors of The Void. they are winged catlike creatures traveling through rifts in reality, the silverdrop bushes repell them, they cause the void fever and eat human flesh with relish (I love lore enthusiasts ❤️)

That night, Karl slept even worse than the night before, but when he got up, Mathilda was already sitting at the table, brushing her hair. They barely spoke a word, barely managed to eat a bite, and when it was time to set off, Karl felt sick. Promising light-gray clouds hung in the sky, but Karl didn’t want to get his hopes up that they might bring rain, even though the air was colder than it had been the days before. The dust from the road covered their shoes, crept up their

This is a short story and I plan to make a couple more to explore this world, maybe one or two longer ones.

The morning dawned hazy. The air felt damp, yet dust swirled around their feet as Karl and Mathilda walked toward the market square. The orc delegation was already there. Three of them were guards; Karl recognized one as a shaman by his four-colored robes. Two more orcs sat in a cart resembling an open carriage, drawn by a massive swamp boar. Besides Mathilda, there were only four other young women of the right age, a fact the elders must have informed the orcs of, for no soone

Thank you. There one or two more chapters coming to this short story, in the hope Karl is sorting things out

In a world, where humans and orcs are forced to live in symbiosis, Karl has to face the harsh truth: he is not the one deciding his fate. The only thing he can do is make plans for what comes after he got an answer to whether or not the orcs will take his sister Mathilda as tithe or not...

Karl stood on the back porch of the house, his fingers clenched tightly around the rotting railing, and stared at the cloud of dust hanging between him and the setting sun. The orcs had set up camp; some of them had already entered the village, and it wouldn’t be long before the Council of Elders officially announced what they all already knew. Tomorrow morning, all young women between the ages of 16 and 24 who were childless were to gather in the town square. Only the head of the family wa