Palantir

Kieran and friends, after an eventful holiday time in Mparntwe and a quick visit to the Realms, head for Melbourne to check out the successfully purchased Realm Tree site.

Great start. You made me smile. You made me intrigued. I like the natural flow of your writing and, oh my, there's so much potential for where the story might go.

Remember them? Good grief! I play their music almost weekly.

1. Heinlein is one of the greats. 2. Reading is highly subjective and personal, and the old saying 'one man's meat is another man's poison' very much applies. Stating as fact, rather than opinion, that a particular novel or piece of writing is poorly written, wonderful, boring etc, can be taken with great exception by readers with different views. 3. Amended number 1. I regard Heinlein as one of the greats. 4. DNF. Good grief! I think this is a powerful tool for anyone who loves reading. There are more wonderful reading experiences available than anyone could ever get through, so why waste time reading stuff that doesn't do anything for you?

Great little story - you should write more,

Yay! I used the meaning of 'widdershins' to create the title of my fantasy novel - 'Widderkin'.

What a delightful story. Your characters piqued my interest from start to finish and the story flowed gently but seemlessly. Thank you.

Wow! You have a gift for evoking mood from surroundings and and adding mystery and unease to the ordinary.

When I was in Primary School I was the ink monitor in one of the classes and it was my job to fill all the inkwells from a great big bottle of ink.

I have to say wow because I watched that movie just last night and here it is referenced on GA.

You're right of course - The PM's efforts really resulted from the inspiration of Woorawa and friends impacting on his personal as well as his political life. Yep! - Nathan gets to visit the penguins in the near future. 🐧 'getting themselves ready' - Kieran's expectation of getting used to 'ordinary' times is a misconception of epic proportions.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Yes, there are major surprises to turn the friends on their heads.🤐

What's next? Singing orcas, yabby races, power eyes and who knows what else. I'm delighted to know you enjoyed the story.

I was trying to think of some special kind of clever trick for ages and then the conscience vote came to mind. We actually do have it in the Australian parliament, though I haven't a clue how it really works. Lol - author's licence is very handy.

A few notes from the author. My apologies for the delayed post. I hope the double size compensates somewhat. Chapter 25 brings Woorawa’s challenge to a conclusion and I want to thank all the people following the story for their interest. I want to say a bigger thank for all the varied reactions. And I offer heartfelt thanks to the readers who gave their time and thoughts with the comments I love and regard so much. Laughs, challenges, praise, anticipation, conjecture – what a wonderful mix they present. VOE was written in line with Ranevargar’s injunction to keep Realm and Human interaction low key. There were a few close calls with Min Min lights, sentinel eagles, meeting shenanigans etc. There’s no injunction like that for the next section of Widderkin so what might happen is up for grabs. A tentative name for what’s to follow could be ‘The Great Pearl’ but I don’t really like that and by the time it’s ready for posting it will be something different. Sorry, I’m only a bit over 20K words so far, so posting is quite a way down the track. A milestone. I’m quite chuffed to note that somewhere in Chapter 25 I clock up a million words on GA. YAY!

Widderkin VOE. Chapter 25. "Madam Speaker, before we proceed with the business of the day I request that the Floor acknowledge the august visitors watching from the public gallery." A murmur of surprise went round the chamber at this departure from convention and the Speaker, caught off guard, leant for a hurried discussion with her adviser. "Prime Minister, I don't see this as appropriate. We give acknowledgement to visiting heads of government or their representative

Ok - you've got me flummoxed. Maybe you mean Rory, the PM's aide and confidante, who at times will liase with security? We did meet Arthur , the security chief, at the rotunda, and Ranevargar gave him a thumbs up so he's definitely onside. Lol - Rom would be no threat. We've seen how well Nathan has trained him - dogs are excluded from National Parks - and Kieran would take over if necessary. 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

The PM's support seems to be pretty much a given - but will it be enough? Time is short and the numbers are against them. 🕚 Nathan's eyes? What a curious development. 👁️👁️

Wow! It warms my heart to hear that you regard the chapter as 'joyful'. Yes, Nathan does get to see the penguins - but not in this Valley Of The Eagles posting of Widderkin - we'll have to wait a while. Meeting the companions has brought challenge, insight and gratitude to the PM and we'll see how he responds. Next? - well, we're off to parliament.

WIDDERKIN VOE. Chapter 24. "Dad! Dad!" The group in the shade house jumped at the excited yell and turned to watch Nathan running flat out towards them. The Prime Minister, first on his feet, staggered as bodies met and he was held ever so tightly. He returned the hug and looked wonderingly at the head nestled against his chest. "What?" The head lifted and father and son shared a look. The Prime Minister was nonplussed at the sight of tears trickling against a backd

Words Fail.

You love a puzzle don't you. ❓ ❓ - There can't be too many more -

Complication on complication seems to be the name of the game - as evidenced by the friends' own litany of complaints about never being able to keep up. - Tan was the instigator for complication in this particular case and his forceful decision to nurture Nathan left Kieran with no other option. Some kind of mystery condition that none of the vets could figure. Rom's healing sure is inexplicable - maybe the glimpse Ranevargar gave the PM left him open to accepting the inexplicable. You're right though - the PM and Rory will be brimming with questions. 🐶

Yes, Power Eyes - and I haven't figured out exactly what they mean myself. 👁️👁️ I used author's licence and modelled Nathan's report on a student I had many years ago. 🐶

That's for sure - and as we'll see it's a whole family of friends.