Progress

Well its nice to see that some people are interested, gotta love pageview counters. :)

I didn't get a whole lot dont yesterday, crazy workschedule and all, but I did get some more done on Chapter 7.  Debating on how I want to end one particular scene, might as well write it both ways and then decide which is better.  I'm excited to finally have the juices flowing again and the words coming out.  I do have a highly personal stake/reason in this book, and I will get it finished one word at a time.

But in the meantime I'm going to leave you with an excerpt from the prologue.

"The lone woman walked across land that wept with blood from the devastation that had taken place mere days before. Her waist-length, black hair flowed behind her as she moved. Brilliant, sapphire blue eyes surveyed the destruction. The pitch black crow sat regally on her shoulder.

The residents of the isle of Erinn, later to be known as Ireland, knew her as the Goddess Morrigan. She was the Goddess of war, Magick, Fertility and Strife. She was called the Great Mother at times and at others she appeared in one of her triple forms; the Maiden, the Mother, or the Crone. She chose and guided the souls of those who died in battle to the Summerlands, where they could find rest before returning to this world. She had lovers and children; but being part mortal they tended to grow and die in the blink of an eye.

Even a Goddess could grow lonely.

The current battlefield had been cleared of the souls and very little was left to cover the land that was still stained red. Pavilions had been razed and burned to the ground; animals lay dead in their surrounds. Life was almost gone from what was once a thriving village.

One of her many siblings possessed the gift of prophecy. And being a Goddess herself had been vague the last time they had spoken, if only for the pure amusement of it. She had sent Morrigan to this village with the promise that if Morrigan could accept the price of what she could receive then she would know what her sister had seen in the Fires of Fate. So Morrigan, her own curiosity peaked, had come.

The crow cawed in her ear, his head tilting as he ruffled his feathers. “Easy Kaenir,” she said her voice husky and rich. “You have done well dear one.”

Something pulled at her as she walked thru the village, sending the lingering warriors’ souls to rest. It pulled at her in a way that hinted of joy, longing, fulfillment, but also of pain, death and suffering.

That Something pulled her toward a pavilion towards the edge of the forest, partially hidden by the trees. Life was inside, pure life. No corruption, bitterness or hatred dwelt in the souls inside. She wanted those inside with every fiber of her being. She would be Mother, Teacher, and Mentor.

Words formed in her mind as she stared at the outside of the pavilion. “If you take them and claim them as yours, you will be completed in body and soul. But if you claim them the Chain of Erinn will break and must be re-forged. The choice is yours, Morrigan. Claim them, and the Prophecy an Slabhra will come to you.”

It was Lugh’s voice. He was one of the male gods and one of her former lovers. She paused for only a moment before entering the pavilion, using her Magick to break the protective circle that had been cast by the now deceased druids. Inside were thirty dirty, mostly frightened, youths of varying ages.

“I am the Goddess Morrigan. From now on you shall call me mother,” she said, her voice calm and comforting. The thirty adolescents, fifteen male and fifteen female, looked up at her. She looked different than the people they had known before, more otherworldly. The bloody battle that lay around them had left them all orphans. Everything they had known was gone.

Morrigan looked at the children lovingly for what she said was now true, these children were now hers. Soon they would come to understand what that meant. She rose and started to walk knowing they would follow her. Mists slowly crept towards them licking at their ankles before completely surrounding them, leaving them momentarily sightless. Gasps and whimpers of fear could be heard as they kept trudging close to one another.

In the time it took to take eight full breaths, the fog cleared as if parted like the Red Sea. In front of them stood The Morrigan, the blue and black hues of her dress shifting with the wind, as she watched them with an amused twinkle in their sapphire depths. They looked around. The land was very different than the home that they had known; rich green grass swaying in the wind, a thick elegant forest behind them. Crystal blue waves beat against the rocky cliffs far in front of them. They felt safe."

Chapter Count:  7/30ish
Word Count:  22,070/100,000ish