So yet again... · 4:07pm Feb 12th, 2022
I’m forced to break one chapter into two, because it got too big. The next Feathered Hearts chapter was already well over 17k words and probably on its way to 20k, which is a lot more than I typically allow in a single entry. It also had a natural breakpoint mid-chapter, so I elected to make use of it. This means you will be getting not one, but two new Feathered Hearts chapters in short order, each around 10.5k words each.
The first chapter is in prereads, and the second will be soon. Expect a lot of new lore and revelations to be revealed in the leadup to the opening action at Bale, ending as it should with a rather large, loud and quite lethal lady nicknamed Ma Deuce introducing herself to the Cloven. There will also be a sprinkling of suggestive content as life-or-death situations and threats of annihilation tend to bring passions close to the surface. Be advised that a couple borderline R-rated areas are possible but not yet certain as I start setting the stage for future scenes on the Eros side of things.
Regardless, the first chapter will be released as soon as prereads are in, with the second following a few days behind. And since you’ve been so patient and nice to me of late—I really did appreciate the feedback on my previous blog, folks!—here’s a teaser:
Two minutes later, the convoy entered the gates of the steadholt as Fortrakt’s fifteen soldiers kept watch from the air and the Marines covered the rear. Once they had reached the main plaza, the gates were closed and sealed behind them. The steadholt’s walls would provide no protection against airborne enemies, of course, but would be at least partial proof against grounded ones like more grass lions or the flightless soldier forms pure Cloven were said to take.
The plaza secure, her sky griffons took over defense while the Marines cleared the buildings covered by Nydia’s spellcasting, starting with the largest one—the Main Hall, or Town Hall as the ponies would have called it—in the center of the steadholt.
She watched from the air as the civilians and her two earth griffons protected the cart, sky griffon crossbows covering the windows and balconies in case corrupted corpses should appear within them. She didn’t expect any given the Ravens said they’d already cleared the area and the evening animals were active, but there was no telling what other surprises the adaptable Cloven yet had for them.
But nothing happened. The Marines moved efficiently and cleared the Hall swiftly; no shots from their cannons were heard as the call came back over the radio: “Building clear. But we found something strange, Centurion,” Imlay reported, his voice barely audible over the background crackling.
“Another Cloven corpse?” she asked as Nydia perked up beside her.
“No, sir. But our blacklights picked up something. We don’t know what it is. I think Decanus Nydia needs to see it.”
“Understood. Hold your fire; we’re coming in.”
With a nod to Nydia, they descended to the doorway. Despite their expected approach, they were both greeted with a pair of violet lights sweeping over them; it caused her wings to fluoresce and Nydia’s entire stave to light up with an intense glow.
“Confirmed. No shrouds,” Henderson called out, then issued a challenge phrase. “Eclipse.”
“Occlusion,” she replied to lowered rifles; they were still using a simple sign/countersign system that they’d discarded weeks earlier at the Inn. But as the Cloven didn’t speak, she didn’t think there was an issue with using it out there. “What have you found, Corporal?”
“This,” he shone his violet ‘blacklight’ on the floor near the back of the room, away from the doors and off to the side of the stage from which the Steadholt Master would normally conduct business. The beam revealed a glowing square shape, but there was nothing on the floor itself to suggest a real one was present in the stone surface. “What is it?”
“Interesting…” Nydia raised her staff to scan it with her magic, then frowned.
“Something wrong?” Gilda asked.
“It’s a Shelter spell, sir,” Nydia replied distractedly. “And its magical signature is so faint that if these strange human lights didn’t find it, I’m not sure I would have.”
Gilda frowned in turn. “I see it, but I don’t feel it.”
“You’re not supposed to,” Nydia said, slowly pointing her staff towards it, tugging on the area experimentally. “As it’s meant to hide magically sealed areas, it was designed to be only barely perceptible, if at all.” She opened her eyes again. “In this instance, I think it’s hiding an entrance to an underground area.”
Gilda was tempted to call the Ravens and ask them if they’d sensed such a spell, but as they were now patrolling outside the base walls where the radios could not reach them, they couldn’t be recalled short of firing a flare.
Giraldi then approached. “A shelter spell you say? We used those on the border with the Ascendancy. It’s a defensive spell that conceals an underground storage area. We used them to cache extra food or items for our patrols.”
Nydia nodded. “As you say, Optio. The magic is faint but feels relatively fresh; emplaced in just the past few hours. I’m guessing this steadholt had a mage who cast it.”
Imlay then spoke. “You said they were used for supplies. Can these ‘shelter spells’ also hide people?”
“Huh? Oh. Uh, yes, but it’s not really recommended,” Nydia said; Gilda wasn’t sure that she’d ever heard the word ‘people’ before, but she seemed to get the meaning after a moment’s thought. “It magically seals off the entire chamber to conceal it from scans, and that means it’s not ventilated. Regardless of how big the pocket is, whoever hides inside it will slowly suffocate if the spell is not released.”
Giraldi looked at Gilda as Imlay and the Marines exchanged looks. “Sir, you don’t think that…?”
“There’s a possibility,” Gilda replied. “If the steadholt was attacked, this Shelter spell could be what hid the survivors from the Cloven.”
Her newly minted Optio shook his head. “Slow suffocation or certain death—few grown griffons would choose to go for the former unless the situation was dire.”
“I think we can safely assume it was,” Imlay said. “As nobody is here, but there are bloodstains and broken doors all over, it seems likely the residents were slaughtered, and their bodies taken to fuel the Cloven war machine.”
“Perhaps, Corporal Imlay, but we must also consider the possibility that this is another Cloven lure,” Giraldi reminded him. “It would seem the Ravens did not sense it, so I would proceed with extreme caution. Can you open the Shelter, Decanus?”
“Possibly, but—” Nydia suddenly gasped as her magic probed deeper; her efforts turned the heads of the Ibex as they were led inside in shackles. “I sense living auras inside it, but they’re weak. They may already be running out of air. And worse… I think some of them are cubs!”
Expect the next chapter to be released most likely tomorrow, with the second chapter following midweek. After that, I’m shifting gears to Firefly and Unleash the Magic for a bit, but don’t worry. Feathered Hearts is most certainly not forgotten!
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5635666
We scored big for sure!
And isn't she a classy lady indeed!
I'm so excited to see this double dosage of AWESOME!