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Seawrack: Chapter One
The storm came up out of nowhere, as if summoned into being, and smashed into the coast without warning. Huts and houses were torn to shreds in minutes, and even sturdy stone structures lost bits of their roofs. Livestock huddled in hollows and caves, many of them drowning when the caves flooded. Some of them were grabbed up by the furious winds and flung to their deaths. Trees bent in the wind,…
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Seawrack: Chapter One, Part Two
Seawrack: Chapter One, Part Two
“You’re nothing but a piece of trash Aunt Tilly found after the big storm!” “And you ain’t nothin’ but a bully who can’t so much as take a shit without his mommy holdin’ his hand!” “You take that back!” Fists flew, but she was quick and she was stronger than she looked. Tucker fell back, wheezing, holding his middle. “Run and tell your mommy if you want,” the redhead snarled, “but I promise,…
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Seawrack: Chapter One, Part Three
Seawrack: Chapter One, Part Three
The storm descended, and with it, winter closed his claws around the town. The fields, already sere and bare, turned to mud and slush. The streets of the town began to look dirty, no matter how much you swept the stones. When it wasn’t rain, it was sleet, and when it wasn’t raining or sleeting, it was bitter cold. Berylla didn’t like winter very much. It was familiar, like an old boot, but it…
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Seawrack: Chapter Three, Part Two
Seawrack: Chapter Three, Part Two
Berylla’s dockside job had been her first – when she’d arrived in Sudhaven, still sore in heart from losing her foster mother, she’d not had a lick of experience in doing much of anything. But she was Gorran, and Madhelan, and so she knew her way around a boat. Just enough to sign on with the rough crews of the Docks Belly fleet. “Fleet” was more like an honorary term. The “Docks Belly” part…
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Seawrack: Chapter Four, Part One
Seawrack: Chapter Four, Part One
Two travelers stepped past the Remnant Gatekeeper and stood patiently in the queue to hand over their travel tokens. Just two among the throng, they moved with ease and confidence, clearly accustomed to the crowds. The man was a Tass, his cat-like ears pricked forward and tail kept close to his body to protect it from the crush; the Zeru woman with him was of similar build, but the sun sparkled…
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Seawrack: Chapter Four, Part Two
Seawrack: Chapter Four, Part Two
“Berylla? Hey, wake up, will you?” “Hmn?” The warrior leaned up on her elbow, rubbing at her face with her other hand. “Wha’samatter?” “Sorry to wake you up,” Penny told her, “but there’s a man here to see you. Says it’s important.” She hesitated. “He’s a Goldcoat.” “Eh?” Berylla sat up, and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “That’s weird.” She covered her mouth, hiding a yawn. “Yeah,…
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Seawrack: Chapter Four, Part Three
Seawrack: Chapter Four, Part Three
Captain Owain waved Berylla forward. “Clear our path, lass. We’ll be on your heels.” His voice was quiet, but the confidence in his tone was clear. The red-haired warrior nodded once. She charged forward, and within seconds the rest heard the hair-raising screech the Madmen used as their battle-cry. The fighters poured into the tunnel, pike men in the lead, adding their voices to the…
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Seawrack: Chapter Six, Part Three
As our chapter concludes, Tahn checks in with Lady Miruna, and Berylla has a thing or two to think about...
The small box on the inn table held a lovely mirror, but Tahn was not admiring his reflection. Instead, the silvered glass showed another face entirely – that of the Abbess. The sending-mirror was one of the secrets that the Stargazers did not talk about, but being able to communicate over vast distances with such speed was vital to their work. Tahn listened to Lady Miruna’s words and nodded.…
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Seawrack: Chapter Seven, Part One
As the mission concludes, Berylla is approached by someone new.
The captain of the Maggie had kept the ships moving all night long, but even so, the sun was still high when they finally made port. The slavers’ nameless vessel was in better condition than the Maggie, of course, but with only a skeleton crew manning her, it was best that she simply follow the smaller ship. The folks aboard the captured ship had rounded up all the chains and manacles on board,…
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Seawrack: Chapter Seven, Part Two
Tahn and Yashta make Berylla an offer.
“Well, hey there, stranger! Haven’t seen you in a week, my girl!” “Hi, Daffyd.” Berylla grinned and gave him a quick hug. The Gorran man’s amber eyes sparkled a bit as he grinned back at her. He knew good and well why she’d been gone so long, but clearly he wanted to make much of her in front of these folks. She wondered why, but she was content to wait and see what happened next. Yashta and…
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Seawrack: Chapter Seven, Part Three
It is time to leave Sudhaven...
The moment Berylla was out of sight, Tahn turned to Yashta. “She’s going to fit in just fine.” “Perhaps.” Yashta tapped her lips, thoughtful. “She will have a great deal to get used to. We haven’t had new applicants for over a year.” “Ah, not quite.” Tahn’s smile was smug. Yashta glanced at him, then looked again. “What? You have had word from Lady Miruna?” “I spoke to her while you and the…
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Seawrack: Chapter Eight, Part One
Berylla arrives in Copper Bluff
Berylla stepped out into the main square of the town of Copper Bluff, and took a good long look around her. The sky above her head was a shade of blue like nothing she’d ever seen over the Brightcoral Coast, with barely any clouds to soften the sun’s rays. It was just as hot here as in Sudhaven, too, except there was no water in the air: the breeze wafted over her and snatched the sweat off her…
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Seawrack: Chapter Eight, Part Two
Seawrack: Chapter Eight, Part Two
The solar was a graciously large chamber, with south-facing windows that also followed the curve of the outer wall, giving a view of the ocean to the west. The entire floor was covered by carpet here, and the walls were covered by white plaster and narrow tapestries set between the tall windows. The room should have been very warm, given its orientation and the fact that all those windows were…
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Seawrack: Chapter Eight, Part Three
Seawrack: Chapter Eight, Part Three
“We can get you settled in just a few minutes,” Lady Miruna was saying to Berylla as they stepped out of the solar. “Ah! Another new recruit?” Lady Miruna turned and smiled. “Alys, Peregrine, it is good to see you both safe. Yes, this is our newest applicant.” The people she spoke to were tall, slim elves, obviously twins, with white-blond hair in long braids, gorgeous blue eyes, and pale skin…
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Seawrack: Chapter Nine, Part One
A year has passed, and Berylla receives an unexpected reward.
Berylla stood before Lord Rhyon Achnelith, one of the wealthiest men in Niniveh, staring at him in astonishment. Beside her, Peregrine was smiling, while Limston and Elanna leaned on the fence, watching the horses grazing in the pasture beyond. The morning sun was only half as bright as the grin on the old lord’s face, and he tossed his head as the breeze made his white hair fly into his eyes.…
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Seawrack: Chapter Nine, Part Two
Lady Miruna wants Berylla to learn something new.
The setting sun slanted through the windows of the solar, making Berylla’s hair look like living flame and setting Miruna’s own hair to glowing with the illusion of renewed youth. The Abbess sat with her legs crossed and her hands in her lap, listening to the warrior’s informal report. On the low table between their chairs, a tray rested, bearing a tea service and the remains of a plate of…
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Seawrack: Chapter Nine, Part Three
Peregrine gives Berylla her first lesson in the arcane.
Peregrine had already observed, over the two weeks of the recent mission, that Berylla was no dunce. A practical minded woman, yes, and unsophisticated, but not an idiot. He did not need to water down the information to any great extent. Perhaps he ought to try connecting the initial concepts to phenomena with which she was already familiar. He gestured upward at the twilight sky. “You are no…
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Seawrack: Chapter Ten, Part One
Moving forward in learning about magic...
Peregrine took three breaths, and entered a very light trance, just enough to allow him to tune his senses to the aether of the woman in front of him. Among his own people, such techniques were part and parcel of early learning, even for those with the barest ability to sense the energies around them. Living with magic as they did, it was vital that every citizen of Beacon learn to understand…
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Seawrack: Chapter Ten, Part Two
A week later, Berylla is ready to become a full fledged Champion
The women’s bathing chamber was quiet at most any hour – the majority of the resident members in the Priory were men – but not tonight. Tonight, voices rang off the damp tiles as Berylla, Elanna, and Rosa sat in the communal soaking pool. “Berylla,” Elanna sighed, leaning into the Gorran’s hands, “you’re a blessing, you know that?” Berylla smiled, and continued rubbing her friend’s shoulders.…
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Seawrack: Chapter Ten, Part Three
Just before the Awakening Ritual, Lady Miruna receives a most vexing visitor
“All right, I’m off to the market,” Elanna said, standing up from the table. “You just wait right here for me, and we’ll get you all ready for the ritual. By suppertime you’ll be a new woman!” Berylla smiled up at the brawler before finishing the mug of ale in her hand. Elanna walked towards the door, passing Rosa, who came in with a tall thin blond human fellow walking behind her. The man shot…
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