Majay Mistrocoli

Merry Christmas break, everyone!  I hope that you are surviving well on this fine winter day.  It has been snowing here, which is great with me.  Here is a picture of our backyard:

This is a beautiful sight!

And now, here are a few snippets from The Dragon Bstirvm, which I dug up when I came home for break and am working on now.

I sipped the thin soup from my bowl.  Soups seemed thinner now than they had been.  I looked into Mother’s face and saw that it was worn greatly.  Perhaps it was only the light of the fire, but I thought that I could see tears in her eyes.  Looking at Janik, I could see how thin her arms were beneath her ragged sleeves, and how her hands trembled as she held the scrubbing reeds.  I stared down at my own clothes, noting their threadbare condition, seeing for the first time the holes in my skirts and the ripped edges of my sleeves.  My eyes were opened.  For so long I had lived in fantasy that I had not noticed the worsening conditions around me.  For the first time in my life I saw things not as I wanted to see them, but as they appeared to everyone else.  When danger reared its head, it tore the blinders away from my eyes.  I was not a princess in disguise, Janik was not a little fairy, Father was not a kindly giant, our house was not the ancient ruins of an enchanted castle, King Edwin was not a grumpy dwarf, and Rusa was not a magical city in the sky.  Instead we were poor, we were common, and we were oppressed.  I had seen only flashes of reality before this, but now that our family could be torn apart, I saw the full blackness of my life.

~The Dragon Bstirvm

As I walked from the smithy I could see soldiers tramping down the street.  They stopped at our front door.

“Father, look!” I cried.

            He came to the doorway and looked out grimly.  “I don’t know what they want.”

            My only thought was that they had somehow heard about Mother.  Perhaps they were going to take her away.  I dropped the basket and ran to the house and in through the kitchen door.  The soldiers were already in the front door, and Mother was standing before them with her hands on her hips.

            “What are you here for?” she asked.

            “Your house has been chosen by lot,” said the captain of the soldiers.  “Have you any daughters?”

            Mother put her arm around Lansel’s shoulders, for Lansel happened to be standing beside her.  “What would you have with our daughters?” she demanded.

            “Orders of the king, woman,” the captain said, flashing a piece of parchment sealed with scarlet wax in front of her face.  “We are to take your oldest daughter.”

~The Dragon Bstirvm

We flew up, up, upward, towards the height of Castle Kaldrob.  The wind was bitter up there, and the air sharp and thin.  We were nearly to the crumbling entrance of the castle when the dragon flew low and dropped me on the ground.  I lay, panting for breath that did not seem to come, as the beast effortlessly soared around the tower of the castle and circled back toward me.  He alighted down beside me and watched as I struggled to breath in the thin air.

            “You are weak from the journey,” he said in a low voice.  He seemed to be stating a fact as opposed to asking a question.  “Catch your breath, Princess, and tell me your name.”

            I looked up at him, meaning to tell him that he was mistaken; I was no princess.  Then I thought of Gabrielle, and I snapped my mouth shut.  If I spoke, the dragon might become annoyed and destroy all of Rusa.

            “What have you brought me here for?” I gasped.

            “What is your name?” he demanded, ignoring my question.

            “Majay,” I whispered.  “My name is Majay.”

~ The Dragon Bstirvm

Thanks for reading and God bless,

More About Lonish

Since coming to college, I have not been writing nearly as much as I did this summer.  I am certain that all of you college people can relate.  However, I have been getting a little bit done here and there, and recently I have dug up Lonish & Co. for a dusting.  They were so happy to see me!

I should think we were!  Leaving us all cooped up in the limbo of non-production!  Some friend you are!

Sorry, Nevarl.  I meant no harm.  Perhaps you should sometime try to get an English Ed. degree.  You need to see for yourself how much extra time I have.

Nevarl

Aye, for I too have a good deal of time at my disposal.

Nevarl, be nice or I will shove you back into the pages where you belong!

There, she is going to be quiet.  Thank heavens!  She is my most troublesome character, you know.  And now, some delightful snippets from Lonish the Swordmaster:

The Maiden of Rugema Ruvin slowly revived, her eyes seeing little, her head paining much.  With great difficulty she forced herself out from under the body of the Dragon.  Dismayed, her eyes fell on the apocalyptic scene about her.  The Estackam had left no living.  Cheol Ruvin bodies lay about her in heaps in the garish light of early morning.

            Birinin walked through the smoking ruins of Rugema with a sinking heart.  The beautiful houses were laid waste, the Cheol stones were broken, and everywhere Death had flung his darkening cloak.

            She found the ruins of her house, and stood there for a long while, her golden light growing paler and paler until it was almost out.

            “They are all gone, and I alone am left,” she said, letting the despair flood her deepest being.

            On the ground outside the remains of the house of the Younger Lord, she found her father’s body.  Behold, a feeble light yet glimmered in his face.  She dropped to her knees and held her father’s face in her hands.  He looked up into her blazing eyes, his own glassing over.

            “Daughter,” he said slowly, before the last of his light sputtered out.  Birinin closed her eyes and bent over her father.

            “But in the stillness of the evening there shall come a sudden attack, and the slaughter shall be great.  In that time know that the end of the Cheolame is near,” she quoted through tears.  “Beware, those that see this day.  Thou shalt not joy again for many a long season.”

~ Lonish the Swordmaster

Oln came clattering back through the forest, this time with several other Cheol Equav at his hooves.  “See, I have brought my brothers and my sister,” he neighed proudly.

            “We are most saddened by this grave day,” said one of the other Cheol Equav.  He looked very much like his brother, so much so that Lonish could barely distinguish between the two.

            “The Estackam are strengthening,” said Nevarl.  “They seek this Mortal Man.  I hate nothing more than a Mortal Man.”  She did not seem vengeful or fierce when she said this, yet Lonish could not help recoiling in disgust at her evident hatred.  “I have shed more tears in the past two days than I have shed in my entire lifetime,” she said quietly.  “Thou art the cause, Mortal Man.  Thou art the cause, and thy family.”

            Lonish resisted the urge to lash back at her.  He turned to the Cheol Equav with obvious exasperation stamped on his face and widened his eyes at them.  Oln smiled a horsely grin at Lonish and snorted.

~ Lonish the Swordmaster

Thanks for reading, and God Bless,

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!

It's Thanksgiving Break!  First day, and I am so thankful to be out of the dorms and in a real house, sleeping in a room with just myself, baking to my heart's content, and having all the time I want to write!
Yes, I have definitely been baking today.  I made two pumpkin pies and two loaves of bread, and I am planning on getting up early tomorrow to make some cinnamon rolls for breakfast.
As for The Daulots, I have worked on it a little.
Other good news!  I received an email today, and I am being put into the 2012 International Who's Who of Poetry book!  This is AMAZING news!  I have so much to be thankful for.
So, God bless you all, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends!
Thanks for reading,
Kathryn

Loren D'Nore

I AM OFFICIALLY EXCITED!!!!!
Thanksgiving Break is in THREE (3, III) days!
And here is a post about Princess Loren from The Daulots.

Loren is sixteen at the time of The Daulots.  Her father is the reigning monarch of Torte, but even though she is next in line to the throne, she is physically weak and most people don't think that she would be a good ruler.  Many of Torte's leaders think that Elizabeth, who is ten, healthy, and possessing a strong personality, might try to take the country for herself when the king dies.
When Zame Jadrez, the most pwerful man in Torte, stumbles across a group of weak, recently escaped Amian boys, he learns of a plot hatched by Slograv to take over the great kingdom of Torte.  Part of that plan includes killing both Loren and Elizabeth.  It's at this time that Loren has to prove herself strong, even though she can barely lift her father's sword or stay conscious in a crowd
One really good thing about Loren is that she loves to read, especially fairy tales and old legends.  Because of this, when Srlago sends a desperate message for help, Loren knows exactly where to turn, even though she can't ride a horse or shoot a bow.

I really do like Loren.  I wanted to create a character exactly opposite from the stereotypical warrior, bow-and-arrow princess that is in so much of our modern fantasy fiction.  Even Arda won't be doing much fighting.  Kalai certainly won't be fighting, and Enlavaria only fights in one battle and that is an emergency.  The mysterious sister fights, but that is her whole job in the first place.  Most of the actual fighting in The Daulots is done by the men.  I wanted to give the whole story an air of chivalry and have the men do the fighting and the women sit in the castles and do everything else.  I wanted to give The Daulots a knight and lady approach, and that is actually a little harder to do than you might imagine.  The temptation is great to give Arda a bow and finally allow Loren to lift a sword, but I am not going to do so.
By the way, here is Slograv and Kalai's son:

What do you think of him?  I still don't have a name for him, but he does seem like he could be a villain's little boy, doesn't he?

Slograv, except that he should have black hair

Kalai (She would have been Queen of Amia one way or another.)

Let me expand on that caption under Kalai's picture.  She was betrothed to marry the rightful king of Amia before Slograv kidnapped her.  Of course, she didn't really like her conceited cousin at all, but she likes Slograv even less.  We shall see what comes out of that!

Thanks for reading and God bless,

Kathryn

Arda and Srlago

Arda and Srlago at the Schlezimein ruins

Were ever two less alike?  The sister and brother that figure first in my story The Daulots are definitely not the closest in personality.  With my characteristic bigotry, I made Srlago, the boy, the steady, sensible, clever, likable, courageous one.  Arda, on the other hand, is scatterbrained, know-it-all, and sometimes she is really annoying.  She is one of those characters that really gets on my nerves.  She refuses to take advice and is always trying to push the limit, whereas Srlago makes it a point to ask for help and is always ready to take others advice.  In a way, they are the perfect companions, because they sort of balance each other out.  Alone, Srlago would be vulnerable to the crafty devices of so-called friends; Arda provides enough suspicion to get them through potentially tough situations.  Alone, Arda would stubbornly refuse to get anywhere even if she thought she was working hard; Srlago has enough common sense to know when to turn to someone else for help.

Arda during the flight to Eltra

When they were younger, they had to flee to the mountain refuge of Eltra for safety.  Now that they're both ten years older, their uncle Mendan has sent them both on a mission--they're to penetrate Slograv's castle and prepare the way for an all-out attack.

Srlago during the flight to Eltra

Of course, nothing goes the way that it is planned.  The first problem is that Arda and Kalai look so much alike.  The only way to get around that problem is to disfugure Arda's face. (I can't wait to get to that scene!)  Unfortunately, you won't see any pictures because there aren't any that I have seen of Arda just the way I imagine her face to be when Srlago gets through with her.
One of the other interesting elements that I forgot to mention is that Slograv and Kalai had a son.  He's five at the time of the story.  I haven't given him a name yet, but that will come.  He's really important.  By the way, I made a poster for the book.  What do you think?

Thanks for reading and God bless,

Kathryn

The Daulots: Main Character List!

Here it is!  The main character list for The Daulots, as well as pictures for some of them.

When I saw this picture, I knew that I had found my two main characters:  Arda and Srlago Daulot.  They are a brother and sister, children of the Royal House of Amia.  Somehow I can't separate them, so it was appropriate that they should be together in this picture.

Meet Slograv the Korvaskian, the villain and invader of Amia.  Imagine him with black eyes.  (You probably have an idea of how impossible it is to find exact pictures.)  Slograv is one of those people that you sort of like even though he is rotten clean through.  He has taken over Amia, and he has also kidnapped and married

Kalai Daulot, also of the Royal and older sister to family Arda and Srlago.  But Slograv's injustices have also extended to the commoners, including                                                                     

                                                      

Timotheus, the son of an Amian barbarian warrior, who has been suffering for ten years at the hand of his conqueror.  Now Slograv is about to use Timotheus for his own ends, which include taking over the rich and powerful nation of Torte.  Part of the plan includes killing the two daughters of the king,

Loren and Elizabeth D'Nore.

  Now the greatest hope for Amia and Torte seems to be Maldr Daulot, the rightful heir to the throne of Amia.  The only problem is...Maldr doesn't want to accept help from those who can help him.  Maldr is proud and unforgiving.  Maldr is as unfamiliar to the meaning of mercy as Slograv, which is pretty sad if you think about it.











Also important is Enlavaria Daulot, the cousin of Maldr and Arda, Srlago, and Kalai.  She has shorter hair than that, though.  In case you're wondering how this family works, Maldr has three brothers.  He's the son of the king who was killed in the invasion of Amia.  Then there's Kalai, Arda, and Srlago's dad, who was also killed. He was the king's brother.  Enlavaria's dad is still alive; he's the youngest of the three brothers and his name is Mendan.  I don't have a picture of him just yet.  I do have a picture of Eltra, though, which is the retreat of the Daulots when they were running from the Korvaskinas.  This is a place in the mountains that is so well hidden that there is hardly any way for the Korvaskians to find them.
Don't forget Kabiak!  He's Slograv's general and right-hand-man.  In some ways he is worse than his ruler.  Kabiak is selfish, evil, and thoroughly disgusting in every way.  He even has horrible table manners, which is going to add to an important (hopefully funny) scene in the novel.












In the end, a mysterious brother and sister come to Amia in response to a desperate message sent out by Srlago.  The only problem is, the rest of the Daulots need to learn to swallow their pride and accept the help of others if they are truly going to be free.









Thanks for reading and God bless,
Kathryn

Writing a non-Christian Book with Biblical Influence

Yes, I really think it's important to implement Christian principles into all the stories that I write.  That's why I try NOT to have feminist heroines, which are VERY annoying anyway.  That is why my heroes are actually manly, not whining little wimps.  That's why the bad guys get punished in a bad way, and the good guys get rewarded.  That's why my children get into serious trouble if they don't listen to their parents, and my older characters are wiser (for the most part) than my young ones.
But, in case you haven't noticed, I am not writing Christian books.  That is, I am not writing books in which characters are Christians (obviously, since I write fantasy set in a different time period!).
HOWEVER, you may have noticed that not every good book is strictly Christian.  And I don't want to write to only Christians.  To use a phrase I learned in English class, I want to write to a "broad, general audience." I want my work to appeal to many people, but I also want it to glorify God.  Is that possible?
Maybe we should look at my current favorite book, A Tale of Two Cities.
I really don't think that Charles Dickens was a saved man, but he certainly exhibited a very Biblical principle in the end of this book.  Sydney Carton, the main character, is despairing about the sacrifice he is about to make until he realizes an important truth:

A trading-boat, with a sail of the softened colour of a dead leaf, then glided into his view, floated by him, and died away. As its silent track in the water disappeared, the prayer that had broken up out of his heart for a merciful consideration of all his poor blindnesses and errors, ended in the words, "I am the resurrection and the life."

Carton gains peace through this great verse, which he repeats several times.  (My overbloated imagination likes to say that he got saved, but I don't know if Dickens really intended for that to happen.)
The point is, in a secular book, the fact that Jesus is the only Savior comes across clearly.  And Dickens books are certainly enduring classics.
Aside from this, there is always the fact that people are influenced by what they read, much as they try to deny it.  If you can put principles directly from the Bible into your writing without saying that it is from the Bible, if you can make the theme of your story moral without directly quoting the Bible, and if you can portray wickedness in the evil light in which it should be portrayed, then you have my great respect.
So much modern fiction today is so dry, and even Christian books, so called, are really Christian in name only.  If we could raise the quality of literature back up to where it was two hundred years ago, when secular books expounded the Bible, then we could, I believe, raise the quality of society itself.
After all, people WILL be influenced by what they read.
So...how should we do it?
First of all, pray that the Lord would bless your endeavors to glorify Him through writing for many people.  Think of a main theme for your story that is directly from the Bible, such as "You reap what you sow," "Children obey your parents," or "Obey them that have the rule over you."  Make certain that the characters in your stories get WHAT THEY DESERVE.  None of this getting away with wrong trash, please and thank you!  It's OK to have characters that are role models, too.  I promise, writing a non-Christian book with a Christian theme is rewarding!
Thanks for reading, and God bless,