National Novel Writing Month 2018 is here, and I’m working on yet another new thing.  Good, bad, ugly…whatever, I’m working on it cause it’s fun.  The general goal for a novel is a bit over 50,000 words.  To reference, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is 76,944; Starship Troopers is 84,769.  Fellowship of the Ring is 187,000.

Thankfully I’m aiming more for Harry Potter than Lord of the Rings…but every epic starts somewhere!  For fun, I figured I’d put out the first 1,000 or so words of somewhat fairly raw material.  I’d love to hear what you think!

 

Colin

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WHENEVER

“I was born the day before the old world died.  During some of his lighter moments, my father liked to joke that I brought magic into the world, but it wasn’t me. 

A story steeped with the tragic beginning – a drunken driver, a dying mother in labor, a squalling child born with a father still unaware of his wife’s tragedy – a story like that should have a happy ending, wouldn’t you think?

I wouldn’t know.  It hasn’t ended yet. 

NOW

The sparks from the explosion behind me gave off just enough light for me to count my attackers.  The good news was that there was plenty of light now.  The bad news was that it was because there were constant explosions.

“Is the best you idiots can do?” Achilles yowled from his place behind the counter.

“Don’t push them!” I shouted back.  “They’re still holding back.”

“Because they’re cowards!” Achilles shouted even louder.

“I doubt it’s that,” Clavis’ synthesized voice said from where she was perched on my shoulder.  “The likelihood of them performing a frontal attack as part of a diversionary maneuver is greater than 87%, rising at a rate of three percentage points per…”

“Quiet, Clover!” Achilles snapped.

“It’s Clavis!” the hummingbird buzzed angrily, “and I’ll thank you to remember it.”

Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried to cut out the noise and think, but the explosions just wouldn’t stop.  Stupid show-offs are probably making magical explosions to protect the lab.  No sooner had the thought gone through my head then silence broke out in the lab.   Oh yeah, so that’s what not being shot at sounds like.

Achilles, of course, couldn’t have that.  “What’s the matter, cowards?  Decide to give up?”

A deep chuckle from across the room told me who we were dealing with.  Funny, I hadn’t seen Taranis since he’d rejected me from the Runic School during my Divination testing.  What are the odds he wouldn’t remember us?

“Hey, Achilles, remember that little gift you left me?”

Crap, not good.

“It was more than you deserved!” Achilles growled.

“Truly, it was more than anyone deserves.  Listen, any chance you can convince Cass to come out and make this easy on us all?”

“Me, convince her?  You moron, why would I go and do that?”

“Good question.  How about this instead, Achilles?  You like presents?  I got one for you.  Here, catch!”

Peeking my head up from behind our hiding place, I saw a ball soar in a high arc, stop in midair, and make a beeline towards my beloved cat.  Instinct being what it is, Achilles reared up to bat at the ball, but I couldn’t have that.  No way some dumb Runic magic touch my cat, no way, no how.

Reaching out, I grabbed the ball just as I heard Clavis vibrating on my shoulder to keep away from it.  “No, Cass, it’s a Runic Grenade!”

Well sh-

 

THEN

 

Seventeen days ago

 

7:52 AM

 

“So which of these idiotic schools do you think will have the eternal honor of your presence?”

Leave it to Achilles to bring a smile to my face on what I had always feared would be the darkest day of my life.  “Well, Sorcery would be my first choice, I think, but I’ll be happy with anything, you know?”

“Cassiopeia Troi Callahan, don’t you dare sell yourself short.  You are far from the idiot everyone else on this planet seems to be.”

Ignoring his triple-naming of me, which was as close as he ever got to talking down to me, I gave his bronze-colored fur a stroke.  Truth be told, it was more to calm my own nerves than his, but I let him believe the opposite.  “Well thank you for your vote of confidence, oh wise and powerful one.”

“Scratch behind my ears and I’ll forgive you your insolence.”

Forgive indeed.

I let it slide; after all, I needed the peace it gave me.

Allowing myself several more minutes of fur-babying than I should, I broke off when the clock downstairs bonged 8:00.  “Come on, the Divination Center opens at 8:30.  The sooner we get there and finish my testing, the sooner we can start our new life.”

“Is this one truly so bad?  The Provider has yet to fail you, after all.”

The Provider, aka my father, did the best he could with what he had.  I was told he was a different man when he met my mother…when she was alive and everything.  The pictures I’ve seen of them dating, getting the nursery ready for me, all those smiling, happy pictures…yeah, that’s not the man I know.  Burdened at a young age with the loss of his love and the difficulties of being a single parent couldn’t have been easy.  Lord knows I didn’t make it easy.  Still and all, Achilles was right – he did the best he could.

Once I got my magic on, I’d come back for him.

Grabbing my vintage Star Wars backpack from its place of honor on the wall, I stuffed it with my five magical notebooks…not that the notebooks themselves were magical, just that they contained everything I’d written on the particular schools of magic.  Since I wanted to make a splash with whatever school chose me, I figured showing them my research and ideas couldn’t hurt.

“We should leave the Provider a note.”

“No need, he knows where I’m going.”

“Still, I should leave him a gift in thanks for his provision over the years.  Perhaps…”

“No,” I said, spinning around to meet Achilles’ emerald-green eyes.  “No gifts.  Remember the last one you left for him, the one he didn’t find for a week, the one that stunk up his room so badly we had to air it out…in the middle of winter…during a snowstorm?”

“How was I to know he’d be gone for a week on a drive?”

“You could have told me…you know what, never mind.  I’m not doing this again.  No, no gifts, end of story.”

“As you wish, my mistress.”

Oh good, he’s calling me his mistress again.  Ignoring him, I zipped up the backpack and slid it over my right shoulder.  “Are you so angry that you’ll stay behind?”

“And leave you alone in that place?  Never.”  Achilles hopped down from his place on the desk and rubbed against my leg.  “I could never leave you, Cass.”

The smile came again to my lips, and I reached down to pat him on his gigantic, furry head.  “I know, Achilles.  I wouldn’t want you to.  Now come on, let’s go see which school gets to have me.”

“I already told you, not one deserves you.”

“Fine, then which one should I take?”

“All of them.”

That brought me to a halt.  “All of them?  There’s never been a trained mage from all five schools.”

The Maine Coon nodded his beautiful bronze head.  “As fitting, you shall be the first, and as always, I shall be at your side.”

“My right-hand kitty,” I chuckled.  Achilles purred – loudly, of course – and set out for the door.

 

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And that’s it for now!