Book Review The Mountains Sing

Book Review – The Mountains Sing 🌄

"The Mountains Sing is a book that will stick with me for years to come. It taught me that after sacrifices made throughout life- holding on to a kind heart can lead towards happier endings."

"...I couldn’t help but be pulled in and feel great sympathy with them in their hardships and journeys faced at their doorsteps..."

"Each chapter held an abundance of voice and vivid illustrations of the lives of those within the book."

Full review can be found on Goodreads!

Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks for the tag! This is an excerpt from the start of a chapter in Exiled Sanctum in the veiwpoint of Faine, one of the main character’s, that I wrote last:

Why did I bother scavenging for that damn keycode on my own?

One wrong move and the entire Qredo Restriction Regiment are on my heels. Their Stiffler's flare dense shocks among the overcrowded streets. Strong enough to paralyze me in a single bolt. Sunlight trickles through skyscrapers, mismatching advertisements lining every crevice that mimic a sprawl of realistic movements into the air above. For a split second, the electric lines and murmurs from the year-old government action hum a silent melody. The hard drive quivers with minuscule, white sparks in the nest of my front pocket. 

Good, at least I had enough time for my mechanical magic to sink into its interior wiring. 

I swerve my way across neon-plated passageways, my throat hitching as I narrowly avoid tripping on air from the adrenaline rush.

“Come back 'ere you grimy Exile! You can’t run forever!” I shiver, creating more distance. I recognize that voice anywhere, a rough snarl of muddied sewage. Commander Slyff. In charge of keeping all of the Exile's in line.

I need to get back to safety in the Saigh District so Juro can send the hard drive information over to our informant. Fast. Just have to slip by Sector Patrol, easy.

Gently tagging: @iloveanimalsmorethanhumans, @enne-uni, and anyone else who would like to play!

Last Line Challenge

Thanks @blind-the-winds for the tag! And boy, did I hoist myself on my own petard by waiting this long to post this, because the last scene I wrote was a heartbreak and a half. This will be way more than just one line, but I would do it a disservice by omitting the preceding few.

From Shadows, a Don't Starve/Borderlands Rhack crosssover...

“Fuck you.” Rhys’s shattered voice is barely above a whisper. Jack should not be able to hear it from where he stands. But the words ring through his ears just the same. “I have to save my daughter, Rhys. There was no other way.” Jack turns his back on the throne once more and walks. He’s barely taken two steps by the time Rhys’s heavy silence behind him gives way to more curses, then pleas, then promises of help, promises of anything and everything: as long as Jack stays, as long as he doesn’t leave, please, Jack, please, for the love of everything, don’t leave me alone here, you can’t leave me, please, Jack, please, I’m begging you, JACK, PLEASE— Fists clenched so hard that his knuckles are cracking, Jack keeps walking forward, covering the unbearably long distance to the open portal step by agonizing step. He does not look behind him a second time.

Gently tagging @maddstermind, @worldsfromhoney, @reading-by-the-pale-moonlight, and leaving the tag open for anyone who wants to play.

10 a.m., original poem Ⓒ Claire Kroening

10 Songs Tag

Thanks for tagging me, @dyrewrites!

Rules: Use your WIP playlist and put it on shuffle. Write the first 10 songs that come up and quote your favorite lyrics from each song and/or the lyrics that fit your WIP best (they might be the same lyrics), then tag 10 people.

Tagging gently: @thepitflower @worldsfromhoney @unmellowyellowfellow @iloveanimalsmorethanhumans @enne-uni and any others.

Since I only have a playlist for Cloaked in Dusk, thus that's the WIP I'm working with for this! This is a WIP I haven't mentioned much yet. Some lyrics may link/hint to the story in some way too, but that's another reason why I love them!

Capture the wild things and bring them in line

Ashes - The Longest Johns

And own what was never your right to confine

The lives and the loves and the songs are what matters

I'll tend to the flame, you can worship the ashes

Where I go, will you still follow?

Thus Always to Thryants - The Oh Hellos

Will you leave your shaded hollow?

Will you greet the daylight looming?

Learn to love without consuming?

Rage against the waking dawn

Battle Cry - The Family Crest

Take the seconds of this life

And pull them through your palms

And we'll be drinking through memories, and laughing with enemies

So Close To Magic - Aquilo

We made back when we were so young

Pain is what you desire

Start a War - Klergy

The pen is mightier than the sword

Home to Me - Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

How dare you love me like you never known fear

You've got more troubles than minutes in a year

Never let them take the light behind your eyes

The Light Behind Your Eyes - My Chemical Romance

I failed and lost this fight

Never fade in the dark

Every word I say is kindling

Curses - The Crane Wives

But the smoke clears when you're around

All the living are dead and the dead are living

In Our Bedroom After The War - Stars

The war is over and we are beginning

So why are they pointed at my head?

Liar - The Arcadian Wood

All have been lead astray

We've all fallen short in some way

From Where the Wind Blows, original poem Ⓒ Claire Kroening 🪷

trick or treat! (if youre doing it!) -@maddstermind

Thank you for the ask, @maddstermind!

Here, have... a treat! 🍬 It comes with spooky decorated cookies and some worldbuilding info from one of my WIPs, Exiled Sanctum!

Qredo's Magic System

Qredo works as a tech needs magic and magic needs tech in order to function. With the nameless kingdom (political ruling) restricting the certain grades of magic to be done by certain groups of people, particularly those with under c-grade being primarily in the lower middle class and downwards.

A Few Examples of the Magic Available:

Mechanical - involves manipulation and enhancement of a range of mechanical elements such as weapon creation, hacking, etc. (More to be added about). Can be made through any means necessary, a powerful and useful magic skill for factory workers but also those in the Sactum of Saigh District. Defenses- coexists with mecha tech but focused on the creation of powerful weaponry through a singular source. Cross-connect - similar to mecha tech, this involves the ability to transfigure and encrypt data such as disrupting hidden files, send information to parties without detection, and cut power grids. Rare but not hard to spot if someone is using.

Thank you again! Have a good rest of your day/evening/night and happy (almost) Halloween! 🎃