Feeling a bit better... · 1:07am Mar 16th, 2016
Work is still a pain, but a bit more manageable right now. I regret my current moodiness is still no good to write clop, but it's perfect for writing a war fic. As a result, change of plans--I've begun work on a new Rise of Firefly chapter that will be up next. Currently 6,000 words and growing; look for it to be posted this weekend or sooner, depending, so prereaders stand by. It just notched its 100th like, so it seems appropriate to release a new chapter in commemoration as well.
A preview? As always. It won't show here, but be assured Sunbutt herself will feature prominently.
My meetings over the next two days with Gavian were productive. Very productive. To say nothing of alarming.
I was appalled to learn he could not read or write, until he explained, ashamed, he’d never been taught or so much as spent a single day inside a school before. But he showed a surprising talent for drawing, holding a quill pen in his talons, sketching out the installation he’d seen with the aid of a unicorn healer who knew a memory recall spell or two. ‘Twas the only hobby he had, he said, his escape from his unhappy existence, scratching pictures into beach sand or tree bark with a talon or drawing on scraps of parchment using purloined writing implements.
Sad as that was, more troubling was some of the pictures he drew. The ‘holding area’ the raiders used for kidnapped ponies was apparently far more than that, as one of his sketches showed a glimpse into an apparent lab with a pony strapped to a table, a gryphon mage sitting over him, the end of his stave glowing.
Upon seeing that, I immediately ordered all captured soldiers to wear wing restraints and put under heavy guard, more convinced than ever that their behavior the previous night had not been natural. They protested, and magic scans by our healer team still revealed nothing, but I wouldst take no further chances until specialists from Canterlot had a chance to examine them more closely.
Lunch arrived, and I left for a round of inspections and other duties, asking Gavian to eat and then keep drawing in the meantime, leaving him under the protection of Swift Strike and Fell Flight’s trusted veterans. When I returned late in the afternoon, I found he had drawn many pictures of the city he had lived in previously; the big port city of Cirrus Cassida.
I frowned and felt uneasy as I examined his latest works. He drew hundreds of catapults and rams lined up in rows. ‘Twas siege equipment, which was hardly defensive in nature. At the docks were seaborne ships that not just fished, but which were often armed with some odd form of ballistae and which he said brought in more supplies and troops every day from across the Antlertic Ocean.
From there, he moved on to drawing the nearby base outside of Cirrus Cassida known simply as Eagle Nest. We knew it existed, but had no idea of its size. In it, he depicted row after row of barracks buildings in the large and sprawling base housing many legions of soldiers. There were countless drill and training fields, but worst of all… were the clear mockups of Equestrian towns and bases to practice storming, their architecture far different from that of the base.
Fell Flight and I exchanged a look. This was not a nation simply securing its own border. This was a nation actively preparing for war. For invading Equestria itself. His drawings were immediately dispatched to Division headquarters and from there, to Canterlot. A flurry of communications followed, not all of which I was privy to, but did include some additional questions to ask him the following morning.
Had he seen any rallies or military parades in Cirrus Cassida? Yes. Did he see any speeches? Yes. Did he remember the gryphons who gave them? Only vaguely. Did he remember their names or what was said? No, he was too far away to hear most of it, watching from the shadows at the edge of the crowd. Did he remember what they looked like?
Suddenly his brow furrowed as he recalled something, speaking slowly, as if to himself. “He says there was one tiercel there in particular. A Consul,” Fell Flight translated. “And he says he saw him again at the parley you went to earlier, shown him by Agent Artemis…” With the help of another memory recall spell, he then drew a very detailed picture of a male earth gryphon… one even I recognized, having seen him up close previously.
Another dispatch went out to Division HQ immediately as word reached me that Agent Artemis had awoken.
HYPE PONIES! GET SOME!
I can't say that I am disappointed with this. Though now I am picturing a sudden 90 degree turn in direction for the latest Firefly due to a rapid mood swing half way through the chapter.
I know what you are going by. I have almost been soubling shifts non stop since the start of the year and i feel like shit, i even got into head butts with a co-worker and even my supervisor.
Just curious but what hapend to fiv star's service?
Glad to hear you're feeling better
But...TLaTU isn't clop. It's a well made romance story with clop scenes every now and then.
...But still, if you're at a halt, you could just put your ideas on the paper without writing them like a story, and I could do it.
I could at least make a beta version. I have LOADS of free time.