I had thought I'd posted something about NaNoWriMo this month but when I looked back at my posts for the month so far, I saw that I hadn't! I have no idea how it slipped my mind but here we are!
I'm participating in NaNoWriMo this year!
I know what your going to say: Laura, didn't you join for the summer camp?
Why yes, yes I did! Except I didn't really get any writing done because I had no ambition whatsoever and had a ton of other things to be doing. But this month, I'm determined to get at least 40,000 words down! Currently, I have 3,988 words and will be writing more tonight!
Of course, it isn't going to be easy this month either because I have school and 6 college essay's to write and a bunch of long-term research papers due. But no matter! I will persevere!
If anyone wants to be writing buddies, my username is Laura33 with the same flower that's my profile for everything as my profile picture!
Here's the first chapter of my beloved work in progress! I'm planning on posting it all on Goodreads once the month is over and I spend some time editing as well.
That morning was one of the worst I had ever experienced since passing through the veil and into the mortal world. Normally, I don’t have to kill three monsters before breakfast but unfortunately, with the strange behavior coming from the portal, their numbers just keep increasing. It took quite the trick to keep the mortals from understanding what was going on and by the time everything was cleaned up, I was already late for class.
That was two hours ago. Currently, I’m laboring through marching band, sweating under the early September sun. I was a Winter faery, or I used to be, and heat didn’t agree with me one bit.
“Talya,” I twitched as someone to my left whispered my name. “Move back a step.”
I shifted the way they had asked and cast my eyes in the direction of the voice. Ryan. Of course, Mr. Perfectionist couldn’t be happy with a slightly sloppy line. He was always correcting the other students.
I sighed. This class was moving slower than ever and I still had work to do back at my apartment.
Boom. Something large thudded against the ground behind me, coming from the trail that led into the woods behind the school. Boom.
That certainly wasn’t normal.
I whipped around. The sound of trees cracking and groaning echoed over the suddenly silent practice field as the students around me fell silent.
I shifted my peripheral vision so I could check on my two friends, Maya and Austin, while still keeping my focus on the trail. They both had expressions of uncertainty plastered to their faces as they slowly backed up with small, cautious steps.
A low growl shook the field. I knew then what I was facing.
“Go!” I yelled behind me as I dropped my drill in the grass at my feet. “Get into the school and stay there!”
I tore across the field, drawing out my powers as I reached for my weapons. You’re dead meat, lizard. Ice threaded through my veins as my hands grasped the handles of the twin blades strapped across my back. Never leave home without them.
I was about 30 meters from the edge of the forest when the monster burst out of the trees. It was larger than anything I’d ever seen before. It stood on all fours and each leg was at thick as my body. Its head sat atop a mottled blue torso, with scales protecting every inch of flesh. It looked familiar to me but somehow, I couldn’t place the memory. I ran a quick scan as I neared the beast. Eyes: large and doubled-lidded meant stellar eyesight. Nose: wide nostrils equalled an unparalleled sense of smell. And finally, the armour. I knew the tell-tale glint of unbreachable drakon scales when I saw them. I’d never forget them. This thing was old, older than I could possibly fathom. So why was it here? How did it escape the Nevernever?
And suddenly, the creature was upon me and I stepped out of my consciousness. I always fought best when I removed myself from myself. I’d been trained not to think, to just do. My master had run me through the drills over and over until I my form was flawless.
I mentally thanked my master for his foresight and launched myself at the monster. It swung a thick, clawed foot at my head and I dodged easily, swinging myself under its stomach. I cut at the belly of the beast, but, as I predicted, they were drakon scales and even feary-forged blades couldn’t breach its hide.
I darted back around and distanced myself from it while it lumbered toward me. That was my advantage. With such a large mass, I would always be quicker than the monster. I flew past it and it swiveled its large head and it tried to keep me in its sights. I slashed at its legs and side as I went, hoping to aggravate it into following me back into the woods. I had a bow and arrow stashed there with just the thing I needed.
Bolting around the creature’s legs as it tried to crush me, I streaked to path that curved away into the woods. The monster had widened the path when it first came down the trail and I leapt into the trees.
The beast bellowed an angry cry and thudded after me. Ice was churning in my veins and I felt more like myself than I had in the past two years since I had joined the mortal world. I passed familiar foliage until I came upon the tree I was looking for. Murmuring an ancient incantation under my breath, I draw the symbol of opening on the bark of the tree. Then, without hesitation, I plunged my hand where I had just traced the symbol. My hand went right through the tree and I grasped at something within it. When I pulled my hand out, I was holding my bow and quiver, both carved from the ancient white woods found only in the deep forests of the Nevernever. These had seen many battles and without them, I would have died far too many times.
The crashing of trees grew ever nearer as the beast lumbered toward me. I quickly closed the compartment and scaled the tree. I positioned myself for the perfect shot. In an instant, the monster came into view and I readied my arrow.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
The monster breathed deeply and I could tell it was preparing for another roar. Bringing the arrow up to my cheekbone and drawing it back, I readied myself.
Rooaa-
It’s bellow was cut short as I released the arrow and it flew straight into it’s throat. I never missed.
Something I’d learned after fighting my first drakon: the inside is always the most vulnerable.
The beast choked and with a shudder, it collapsed to the ground, twitching.
There was a sigh of relief below me and I whirled around to seek out the source. A man was standing at the foot of the tree.
I blinked.
“Adylis?” I asked in disbelief.
“Talya,” Adylis murmured “how I’ve missed you.”
“Why are you here? How did you even know I where I was?”
“How else would the monsters who came through this portal disappear without a trace? As for why, well, that’s an entirely more complicated answer.”
I slung my bow over my shoulder, along with my quiver, and jumped from the tree.
“What has been happening in the Nevernever, Adylis? Why are there so many creatures making it through the defenses?”
“The darkness grows stronger, Talya. That same darkness you fought two years ago is creeping back. This beast that you have fought is just the beginning. There are worse things lurking in the shadows of Murkwood Forest. The situation has grown worse. I’ve come to escort you to the king.”
“Well imagine that,” I mused “the king undoing his order of exile.”
Adylis smiled grimly. “He never would have if the situation hadn’t grown out of control. Tread carefully, dear Tayla.”
I stored Adylis’ words away for future reference and followed him into the depths of the woods, toward the portal that would bring me home.
I'm actually really enjoying writing this because I get to research faeries and all that fun stuff! It's also slightly easier than I thought it would be! I don't know, maybe I'm still in the easy beginning phase... I still have no idea how it's all going to end and I have literally nothing planned out... Oops?
