Soledad's Journal

Because there are days when things actually go well! They are rare, granted, but they do exist. Sometimes.

In this spirit, I'm happy to tell you that not only have I managed to get a Christmas tree a full 3 days before Christmas Eve, but our annual Christmas concert was beautiful, too. I managed to get right all 3 tiny solo parts, Mum loved the whole thing, and we won't have to go anywhere tomorrow.

But the most important news is that - after almost a decade - I've actually finished Emissary of the Mark! No, really! I can hardly believe it myself, but the sucker is in fact done! Granted, the last two chapters are still in a rough, hand-written version, with which I'll have to do a lot of cosmetic corrections while typing them up, but they're done, done, DONE! God, I really feel like Christmas had come early this year!

No, the bewitched Chapter 11 hasn't unlocked itself yet, but I managed to add a few more fragments to the provisoric Chapter 12, which is still progress, isn't it?

Excerpt:
It's perhaps a little long, but it wouldn't make any sense otherwise.

“I shall not betray my oath, Eldest, even if you release me,” promised Imogen, her throat so tight she could barely breathe. “I asked my lord-to-be and he agreed to let me keep my sword; and whenever he rides out to fight the foul creatures of the Black Lands, I shall ride on his side.”

“You are one of the very few who are born with a true warrior’s heart,” said the norna. “Therefore I cannot release you from your battle oath. I can release you from the bonds of our sisterhood, if needs must be; but whenever the fires of war are lit, the battle oath will burst in flame in your heart, too, and your hand will reach for the sword.”

Imogen bowed her head. “So be it. I chose the sword freely; and freely did I give my oath. Freely shall I renew it now, in the parting hour, before the Lord of Nimwarkinh and before you. For even if the bonds of our sisterhood are about to fall off me, my sword will never rest as long as the people of Nimvarkinh may need it. This oath I, Imogen Ragnarsdaughter, swear solemnly.”

“And I have heard your oath and the Lord of Nimvarkinh has witnessed it,” replied the norna formally. “Therefore, in the hour of need, I am willing to release you from your bond, for the good of us all. Follow me to the Chamber of the Honoured Dead.”

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As always, feel free to shout at me, should I have done anything grammatically horrendous. *g*
I hope I'll be able to work on Chapter 12 a little more; there are parts that I only need to translate, and when I've finally wrestled down Chapter 11, progress would be much easier afterwards.

Three more days left of my summer holidays. *sigh*

Dual goodies today. I wrote 3 pages of Chapter 5 of "Atonement" - not much of interest, mostly filling stuff, but that has to be done, too.

Excerpt:
In which the Torchwood gang has breakfast together.

They all seemed in a fairly good mood, laughing and joking about the previous night, which seemed to have been quiet. At least compared to the average.

“Only two stray Weevils and some alien toaster,” Andy was saying when Adam entered the main working area. “Can I have the toaster, Ianto? Jack says it’s harmless, but the power cell is supposed to last a lifetime, so I could use it on camping trips, too, where ain’t any local power source.”

“Not before we’ve checked with the database,” Director Jones, clad in a sharp suit and a purple shirt with a black tie, replied, sniffing the coffee vapours woefully. “If it does check out safe, be my guest. We’ve got too much junk in the Archives already."

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I've also managed to trick the Elfhelm story into some kind of cooperation. I'm still stuck with Chapter 11 (the marriage negotiations), but I've started translating small pieces of Chapter 12 that can be used in Tolkien context. I may not keep everything I'm translating, but at least I've slightly moved away from my dead spot.

Excerpt:
In which we visit a mysterious place.

Deep in the heart of the mountains, not even under the roots of Falun but under Grenaar, roughly three or four miles afar from Ragnar’s halls dwelt Tanfana, the norna, the timeless tutor of all shieldmaidens. The caves of her dwellings reached far under the northern outskirts of Grenaar; beyond them only the few deep halls of the Dwarves still alive under Nimwarkinh could be found, but those were beyond the reach of all living Men.

The Meeting Hall – the only one where outsiders, especially men, were allowed - was a cavernous room. Its arched ceiling held by natural dripstone pillars shaped by the trickling water during countless Ages. The walls of the cave, too, were smoothed by the relentless work of water, resulting in the most fantastic formations. Neither Man nor Dwarf had ever laid hand upon these stones, and yet the mortal eye was tempted to find familiar shapes in them: a candle, a draped curtain, the likeness of animals and monsters.

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As it's still fairly early, I'm hoping to make some more progress with both stories, but that will come in tomorrow's report.

Chapter 09: A Merry Night Between Stone Hills has been posted to FF.Net and Stories of Arda. Beware of the bawdy scenes in the Mead Hall. A little support is always welcome.

Enjoy!
Soledad

I saw that phyloxena friended me. Taking a look at her user info, I realized with delight that I actually still can read Russian. I even understood the one or other word, although not much. But considering that the last time I had anything to do with the language was in 1978, it's still quite a deed.

I invited two of my students to G-mail. Since then, they send me silly e-mails every day. It's very funny, I enjoy it very much. One of them writes Charmed fanfic - alas, in Hungarian, or else I would rec her stuff, she's surprisingy good for a 13-year-old.

The Week of Hell is nearing its end. Yesterday, I spent 11 frigging hours at school, today 10.5, in seven of which I had lessons in one row. My brain feels like a dry sponge, and I'm positive that at least 20 per cent of my brain cells died in these two days.

Nonetheless, "The Young Knights" is making progress. I've started Chapter 8 today and have a concept up to Chapter 18 or so. Whether I'll manage to put together another advent calender this year or not is still uncertain. But I'm having fun with 18-year-old Boromir and his little brother, and Prince Théodred the Brave is just about to make his appearance, together with his future wife and Princess Idis, the Golden.

The Secret Sancta Kavfic is almost done, thank God. They've done the nasty, now I only need to tie up some lose threads and the story is finished. Who says that working under pressure is not efficient?

The Elfhelm fic got some nice reviews on SoA - I just love that archive, the readers are some of the comment-friendlier in the fandom. Too bad I can't post there any of my Boromir fic. Ah, well, we can't have everything.

So, Klose, here is the fragment you wanted to read. *g*

Emissary of the Mark
(Elfhelm's adventures in the land of Rhún)

A few remarks before you start reading:
1) The religion of the Rohirrim is entirely my creation, made up on the basis of the pagan Anglo-Saxon beliefs.
2) Frána son of Gámlód was a name first considered (and then rejected) by Tolkien for Wormtongue. I found it in the HoME-books and created the character.
3) Idis, Théoden's daughter existed shortly aside (or, at some point, instead) of Éowyn. Since it is explicitly said that Queen Elfhild died while giving birth to Théodred, I made Idis a bastard child, who was acknowledged by her father nevertheless.
4) The Lady Aud, Théodred's wife and the rest of Erkenbrand's family are my OCs. To Aud's fate see: ''Ice Blossom''

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