Boanthropy

Moooo!

Exercise One

As a part of my preparation for NaNo, I am undertaking some writing
exercises. This was a five minute piece to develop my descriptive
skills. The idea came from andrea on the EveryTomorrow forum.

***

The water of the lake was dark and grey, mirroring the sky above it.
As the clouds churned and boiled, the surface of the lake was whipped
into little white caps by the strong wind. A Coot, her black
feathers and white flash blending into the choppy water rushed for
the shore, with her frightened chick trailing behind.

Trees bent over in the wind peered into the deep depths of water,
seeking a solace from the atmosphere that would end only in their
dissolution in the water's embrace. The lake held life for the
plants and animals the surrounded it, but it held the ultimate power
over them as well. Life bringer as life taker.

New toy

Somebody reads my blog! Yay!

That same somebody, in a vile and rude alliance with Julian and Nick
Gollop (of X-COM and Lasersquad fame) forced me into buying a
Nintendo DS and Mr Driller. It is very small. But very fun.

Knightly - how apt

A Knight Captain You scored 11 Honor, 8 Justice, 2 Adventure, and 2 Individuality!

Some knights follow the orders given them. Some know when to improvise. The second sort are the ones that grow to power, to become leadeers and Knight Captains. Your sense of duty, honor and justice speaks that your name should be amongst their ranks. Get your squire, your banner, your armor and your sword. You're gonna do just fine.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 91% on Ninjinuity You scored higher than 91% on Knightlyness You scored higher than 0% on Cowboiosity You scored higher than 3% on Piratical Bent

Link: The Cowboy-Ninja-Pirate-Knight Test written by fluffy71 on Ok Cupid

Cecil

There was no plant that Cecil wouldn't' eat. Daffodils; crunch.
Lettuces; munch. Violets; lunch. From time to time, Cecil even went
into the nettle patch behind the shed for a tangy snack. He roamed
over his garden, feasting at will. The other snails, vociferous
eaters themselves, held Cecil in awe. Some of the youngsters would
eve go looking for the toughest, stringiest, most disgusting plant
matter they could find and challenge Cecil to eat it. Cecil always
triumphed.

One day, Cecil was feasting on some fresh cabbage. Without warning,
the sun disappeared into shadow. As swiftly as he knew how, Cecil
withdrew into his shell. But even Cecil's mighty
suction-stomach-foot was not enough to anchor him to the brassica as
the blackbird flapped up in to the air. Cecil quivered in fear,
waiting for the bird beak to rend his flesh away from the loving home
of his shell. But the bird was distracted and Cecil clattered and
bounced into a patch of plants.

The snail waited in his shell for a little while, just to be sure
that the bird had gone. All seemed to be fine. Cecil stuck his head
out and bumped into a plant. Mmm, lunch. The first bite didn't go
down too well; in fact it came back up again. Maybe the impromptu
flight had upset his stomach. Oh well, more food would sort that
out. But no, the second bite wouldn't stay down either. Could it
be? A plant that Cecil couldn't eat? What would he do?

The Story

I was so excited about being at work all day yesterday that I forgot
to write this entry.

The story is going to be set in the north of Medieval England. I
haven't quite decided on an exact time yet, but it will be during the
peak of the Crusades.

The lead character, Owain (the only one with a name so far) is a
Lord. His parents are dead, his Father naturally, passing the title
on to Owain, and his Mother in childbirth when Owain was a youngster.
Owain has a younger brother who was a baby when their Mother died.

Owain is very devout, as was his Mother, and is training and
preparing to take the cross and go on to Crusade. His is a large,
strong man, a champion among knights. His brother will take control
of the land in Owain's absence. Owain is guided and driven by the
family priest, who has served for many years and was close to Owain's
Mother.

The story will start with Owain and the priest dealing with a young
local woman accused of witchcraft and the rise of a dark force in the
land (how very melodramatic).

I do have most of the plot worked out in my mind, but I shall save it
up. Next, I will introduce a few of the characters in more depth.

There will also be a dog.