Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Tuesday Still Spends Most of Her Time Writing

First of all, wedding pictures!

Secondly, I have begun the immigration process, a frightening process indeed. If I don't get past this first step (visa validation and all that), I'm basically going to have to leave the country for the next fourteen months... the country where my house and husband are. So that's great.

Thirdly, my JAB is once again informing you all that I am writing, as I always am. I've begun the early planning stages for my NaNoWriMo! (Does anyone else do NaNo? I'm Ophiucha over there, you should friend me.) It is, by the way, National Novel Writing Month. Good stuff, done it for years to get out early drafts. This project actually has a plot, too, which is something new. It's called The Memory of Stone, and it is about ~palaeontology~. Yep. Basically, the world is a sort of quasi-Wales, but all animal life - save for humans, protected by their magic - have died. Millions of years ago, mind. They've adapted, certainly. Every bit of land that can be spared for farming is dedicated to it, and they use any waste (from the obvious to the bodies of the dead) as fertilizer. And humans have grown used to getting their protein and whatnot from nuts, beans, and veggies. Nonetheless, the story follows a woman (about ~30) named Olwen, who can sense the presence of fossils beneath the stone, and can bring them back to life... well, sometimes. She doesn't have the power to bring anything but small animals back, bugs and the rare rodent or baby bird. Magic is gained through murder in this world. Kill a man, get his magic. And as much as she craves power, she doesn't have the heart (or, to be frank, the talents) to murder a few dozen men.

And she'd need to for what she wants to do. Beneath the Isle of Draig, the capital of Cymry, there is a gargantuan, intact fossil of a dragon - one as large as the island, with a wingspan spreading out into the sea. Even if she had the power, though, it is buried deep in the sediment, far beyond the reach of her chisel and hammer, needless to say. She comes up with a plan, though, that will work in her favour twofold. There is a woman named Arianrhod (Aran) who fought during the last war, whose magic alone would give Olwen the power she needs. And she wouldn't mind killing her, either. But she's the King's best friend, and top advisor, and Olwen knows he'd defend her with his life. She contacts Roderick and Gareth, two lovers who were once Aran's friends. They fought in the war with her, gaining just as much power, and combined, the two were able to move mountains. Aran feared that power, feared for Cymry, and cursed them. One would turn to stone by day, the other would turn to stone by night, so that they may never be together again. Olwen offers them a very simple trade. Help her fight Arianrhod and King Cadwgan, allow her to kill Aran, and wipe away the layers of stone hiding the dragon's fossil, and she will return them to flesh, allowing them to see each other once more.

Not particularly keen on defending their old friend, and willing to do just about anything to see each other again, they agree. And that's your basic set up, there. I'll leave you with this hour long video of Bill Bailey, which is an hour of beautiful orchestral performances, comedy, and even a bit of musical education.

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