Thibby bent over until his cheek touched the dirt, carefully checking the alignment of his thumb and the red marble. With his left hand he reached out and pushed a tiny fragment of something out of the way, then lifted his head again. He straightened up, steadied himself with his left hand and both knees, […]
“Kandoro sure likes flowers, doesn’t he?” laughed Hafsah. Kandoro and Nelchaka, playing side by side on the blanket, burbling happily at the little wildflowers waving in the breeze, or crawling after the occasional butterfly that wandered by. The two baby boys were about the same age and size, although Nelchaka was mostly pink and tan […]
I introducted the Chabra surname in the Book of Jake, although Ridhi Chabra does not appear in the Book of Chabra itself. I wanted to expand the region around the Night Ocean, in the far east of the base map, and decided that a Chabra family would do nicely to bind that area together. It […]
Tonight was the summer solstice. And the summer solstice was the day of the Festival of the Horned God, one of the most important days for House Penia, which relied almost entirely on farming for its livelihood. They grew wheat, barley, corn and several other grains, a range of vegetables and fruit—especially grapes—and livestock including […]
– 1 – Donn slumped back on the bed and watched the Trooper’s Friend suck his blood. It pulsated slowly, rhythmic bulges flowing down its mottled red-and-brown body from head to tail. It didn’t really have a head or a tail, just a slug-like body with a mouth at one end. Empty it was the […]
Noor sat with the twins and three-year-old Donnal, waving goodbye, until Shurala was out of sight on the road down to the village. He was off to Dylath-Leen with a group of villagers to sell the year’s wool, along with a few lambs that had been born a bit early and were now big enough. […]
It was good to see House Penia again after all this time. He stopped to savor the view. The road from Dylath-Leen turned downhill from here, through scattered groves and fields and houses to the river, branching off here and there, before reaching the village proper. The waterwheel was turning, driving the millstones and the […]