Friday Inspiration: Those Foreign Fields

Sometimes it’s the simplest titles…

Socks

Shining pins that dart and click

In the fireside’s sheltered peace

Check the thoughts that cluster thick –

20 plain and then decrease

He was brave – well, so was I –

Keen and merry, but his lip

Quivered when he said good-bye –

Purl the seam-stitch, purl and slip.

Never used to living rough,

Lots of things he’d got to learn;

Wonder if he’s warm enough –

Knit 2, catch 2, knit 1, turn.

Hark! The paper-boys again!

Whish that shout could be suppressed;

Keeps one always on the strain –

Knit off 9, and slip the rest.

Wonder if he’s fighting now,

What he’s done and where he’s been;

He’ll come out on top, somehow –

Slip 1, knit 2, purl 14.

-          Jesse Pope

With Veteran’s Day coming up next week, I thought I’d delve into some of my books on various wars and conflicts. The above poem is taken from a beautiful collection I discovered at a book store once. Called, A Corner of a Foreign Field: The Illustrated Poetry of the First World War, the poems were selected by Fiona Waters and illustrated with photos from the Daily Mail, it is a heart-wrenching tribute to all caught up in the war – from the soldiers in the trenches to the wives, sweethearts and children left behind.

Some books I can highly recommend:

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque.

Following the Drum: The Lives of Army Wives and Daughters Past and Present by Annabel Venning, Headline Book Publishing, 2005.

A Corner of a ForeignField: The Illustrated Poetry of the First World War by Fiona Waters, Transatlantic Press, 2007.

Worldbuilding Wednesday - The Dragon City of the South

Or, Some Ramblings on a City with Dragons

Called Diuzisborg by its inhabitants and Dragonburg by most, the southern port city of the Dragon Guardians are one of the most important in Reiaghy. Two roads lead to the city – the Northern Road and the Water Road; from the east. Along this road many goods are transported to and from the main land. Because of the swampy ground between this and the other port cities further east, many goods are also transported by sea. Trade between the New Isles, the Western Isles and the Southern Lands are also done mostly by sea in order to cut out the laborious land travel and the stark desert of the Death Plain.

Another reason for ships to stop at Diuzisborg is to enlist the help of Dragon Guardians and Dragons on their way northwest to the New and the Western Isles. After the Sundering, Sea Dragons were awakened from the deeps of the ocean and hunt the ocean between the Southern Coast of the Continent and the Sundered Lands. To be able to make a voyage in the Southern Ocean, therefore, ships and their crew needed protection from these Sea Monsters. At this time, ships were still too flimsy to withstand an attack, and the weapons not sophisticated enough for proper defence. Captains therefore enlisted the help of a dragon and its Guardian – two if the dragon’s Guardian was female – to accompany it to the isles and back and fend off any monsters.

Although the dragons were usually enough to frighten off the monsters, some still attacked vessels and even sunk some ships. The dragon would then call to its brethren (if still close enough to the land) to help it save as many of the people as possible – first by slaying the sea dragon and then taking the men to safety. Because of the extra cost of procuring a dragon and its Guardian – as well as the extra space taken up by a Guardian, some owners were loath to pay the extra cost – or even stop at the port to call. Many of these unaccompanied ships were lost – some without any survivors, seeming just to vanish into the vastness of the ocean. Others decided to make their boats and ships seem as dragon-like as possible in hopes to scare off any Sea Dragons. This method was especially employed after the dragons and their Guardians left the city and the Dragon Cliffs to seek a more peaceful isle further west.

Dragons were also sometimes used in transporting goods over the Dragon Cliffs and Dhôr Mountains to the dry lands, which got most of their wealth from the salt mines (some of the best salt purporting to have healing qualities, but even the lowest grade mined still better than most other types in the Western, Southern and Middle Lands).

However, dragons would not be used as constant beasts of burden – and their Guardians would also not use them so. The work the dragons did do; was seen as a way of helping their Guardians and other people of the Continent after the Sundering. For they knew that, if the Guardians should not exist, that they, too, would perish or lose the talent of language bestowed on them. 

Image from: http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/

Blast from the Past: Worldbuilding Dragon Tears

Being up to my ears in my studies, I decided on posting one of the older posts for today's Worldbuilding Wednesday. This post, "Worldbuilding Dragon Tears" gives a good picture of the dragons of Airthai and the mythology around them. 


Next week, if all goes well, I'll have a new post and map ready for Worldbuilding Wednesday. But, let me get back to my studies before I start rambling on...


Worldbuilding Dragon Tears


After the flurry of writing to finish the NaShoStoMo challenge I took the Sunday off to recharge. While I have not worked so much on fiction this past week, I did get some more worldbuilding done in-between my studies. After the couple of pieces about Airthai that I wrote for NaShoStoMo, I decided to focus on the relationship between the “Continent” and the “Sundered Lands”. The stories of Aran and the Ealda, including the black stone dragons, I decided to focus a lot on the mythology of the dragons and their interaction with the humans and other races of Airthai. From the beginning of Airthai – a book called “A Stone of Indigo[1]” – the Dragon Tears have played a role, although that role has changed as the world was fleshed out. At first I thought “Dragon Tears” are just a cool description for the stones, it was only later that I ‘found out’ that the stones were real dragon tears.

So far, there are four main types of Dragon Tear stones. (Yellow and white is still to come, but they feature mainly in the far Western and Northern Lands.) Those that have read “A Dragon’s Freedom” will know about the indigo stones already, but the others only come into play in other stories…

Dragon Tears:

Being an explanation and list of the different Dragon Tear Stones found in the lands of Airthai: Indigo, red, green and black.

Dragon Tears are stones or jewels which that are formed by the hardening of the tears of the dragons in the Southern and the Sundered Lands of Airthai.

There are quite a few different kinds of these stones, all of which are different colours and have different uses; both for the dragons and for other races.

The Indigo Stones  

The stones mostly seen and known of in the Middle Lands, are the blue-purple or indigo coloured stones. Because these are the most common of the Dragon Tear stones, they are usually referred to simply as “Dragon Tears”, unlike the other types which may have two or more names.

These tears are shed when a dragon is in mourning. This is usually when they are captured – like what happened in the Kingdom of Guldargan – or when one of their kin or a dragon’s Guardian dies.

Those that do not know the words with which the stones may be set afire only know the stones as decoration and they may also glow from within in the deepest darkness. They are used for lighting only in the richest of the houses – most notably the large mansions found in Marglóthborg and its surrounds. This glow is well known in the caverns beneath Treddian and the tunnels of Holt Haliern, but the existence of great amounts of these stones is closely guarded by both parties.

The stones beneath Holt Haliern and Adea in Treddian are tears shed in the swamps north of Brenoth Wood (The Great Wood or Blood Wood as it was once known) by the dragons that were set free by Nasja, but who had grown too wild or had fallen and sought refuge there. There they mourned for the sea and for the loss of their kin. These stones came into the rivers in the Brenoth Wood, which led down below Holt Haliern and were washed from there to the caverns beneath Adea in Treddian.

The Red Stones – Fire Stones

Less well-known in the Middle Lands are the orange-red Dragon Tears. These stones are also known as Fire Stones or Dragon Gifts. These stones are mostly found in the Southern Lands and among the Dragon Guardians in Reiaghy. These stones are usually gifted to a specific person. Each Dragon Guardian receives one of these stones once they enter their second year of apprenticeship. Some of these stones have also been given to the rulers of these lands – most notably when the Guardians first arrived on the Southern Shores with the dragons after the Sundering.

The Fire Stones burn much hotter and brighter than the indigo Dragon Tears.  Those that carry these stones may also be found by 'friendly' dragons, as the stones have a way of calling to them should the wearer wish so. This is much like the firebird who may give a feather to a person as a way for that person to call her.

Nasja was also given one of these stones before he was taken by the northern men from Guldargan, but, knowing its power to call the dragons and afraid that he may be forced to use the stone by the northern men, he threw the stone away while they travelled on the Death Plain. It was at this moment, when he tried to get away far enough from his captors to hide the stone that his leg was maimed, making sure that he could not escape. But, by that time, the stone was already hidden beneath the sand and the men from the north did not find it.

The Dragon Seekers also carries a Dragon’s Gift to help them to show wilder dragons that they are friends of the dragons.

The Green Dragon Tears – Knowledge Stones

The Green Dragon Tears are extremely rare and most are owned by the Ealda in the Sundered Lands and the Elves and Rún in the Northern and Western Lands on the Continent. These stones may also be used between humans and other races to call to each other. They are also known as Knowledge Stones as the Elves have found a way to enclose knowledge within the stones. After one of these ‘inscribed’ stones was stolen, though, the Elves had cut most of their dealings with all other races except the Tellerassar. Their Knowledge Stones are also their best guarded treasure. These stones are now thought of as only legends within most of the Middle and Eastern Lands.

Only one of the Green Dragon Tears were gifted to a Wíkla by the Ealda in the Sundered Lands after the Wíkla proved that she wanted her and her kingdom to change. This was also the first time that any of the Wíkla chose to go to the Ealda for learning after the Great Sundering.

The Black Dragon Tears – Blood Stones

Another type of Dragon Tear is also found in the Sundered Lands - Black Dragon Tears. These stones are also known as Blood Stones, or Death Stones by the Ealda. These stones are not truly made from the tears of dragons, but from the blood of those dragons that have been turned to the shadow. These dragons are mostly of a grey or silver colour - as if the blue colour of the dragons have simply faded. Bloodletting is done on these dragons when they are bound and the stones are worn by the Dragon Men who are the guards and warriors of the High Wíkla.

Not too much is known of all the uses of these Blood Stones[2]. Almost nothing is known about them on the continent, with most of the knowledge based in the far west of the Western Lands. The books of the Ealda also tell of this and contain studies about the power of these stones at the Sundering of the Lands.  The Wíkla and the High Wíkla also use these stones in the Sundered Lands after the Great Sundering. They are used by the Wíkla and the other Fallen to try and find the Ealda. They believed that, if they should destroy the Ealda, they would succeed in destroying the Creator's hold on the Sundered Lands. They also believed that the Ealda held knowledge that would make the Wíkla indestructible.

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[1] No, it is definitely not fit for print. Or posting online. Maybe one day that part of Airthai’s history will see publication – after some major rewriting…

[2] Still working on this…

Inspiration Friday: A South African Ghost Story

Not so much 'inspiration' as just a song I love, this ghostly tale was written and sung by Koos du Plessis, although I also enjoy the cover done by Theuns Jordaan and Robbie Wessels on the CD “Kouevuur” (Cold Fire). (Because the original text is quite long, I’ve decided to only post the English, but here’s a link to the Afrikaans. At the end of the post is a video of Koos du Plessis singing the song.)

On the road to Nooitgedacht

On a dark night, deep in the month of July, on the road to Nooitgedacht, where three boulders stand against the sickle moon, I waited for a long time that night.

Because there a thief of old buried a sack of gold next to the road, and every dark night – with the sickle moon – he returns to search for his treasure.

Far off I hear four hooves, like a heartbeat deep in the night; it’s as if the devil is chasing him, because the moon is already low in the sky, on the road to Nooitgedacht.

At the ghost boulders near Nooitgedacht, so the people told me, no man can dare it on a dark night, he finds himself in Hel. But I stood fast and said I would go, man alone, one dark night. I steeled myself and let my horse be fetched, but I never expected such a thing: because sparks of fire flies from its hooves and ten tongues of flame plays in the night and the rider lies against his steed because it knows the road to the treasure of Nooitgedacht.

I saw too much and I thought, maybe, the best place is home, because I know danger, but I got into a tangle, and I wished I was already home. But home is far and the morning star hangs ghost-like over the veldt. This is no place for me, I’d rather go – let the man keep his money.

But the striking of the hooves drones in my ears and the ghost shoots silently from his saddle and sparks of fire flies as he digs next to the road because he’s coming to fetch his treasure.
But the burghers give him no peace – like a veldt fire they’re approaching – and the Mauser fire drones and drops of lead rains down and I thought I was seeing the end.

But two coals glow in his eyes, at once his back in the saddle, and his horse ploughs the air in its hurried flight, because he knows death is coming for him.

On a dark night deep in the month of July, on the road to Nooitgedacht, where three boulders stand against the sickle moon I laid for a long time that night.

And I know no one will believe me, it all sounds like madness in the day... but let everyone who laughs be on the road to Nooitgedacht just once at night. 

I haven’t yet been able to find out whether the story was Koos’ original work or if it is based on another tale, but I can tell you this… In the year 1900, during the Anglo-Boer War/South African War[1], a battle was fought near Nooitgedacht between the British troops and the Boers – many of whom used Mausers.

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[1] Depending on what you wish to call the conflict (in what is now South Africa) between the Boer Republics and Britain. For an overview of the war, see this site, or read ThomasPackenham’s book.

Flash Fiction: The Beacon

This year, Durgt led the lighting of the mountain beacons and failed. Chosen as the new leader, he was the one who should have ensured the lighting of the beacons and our safety for another year. But he failed. He died. And, with him, died the fire. For the first time in five hundred winters the beacons were not lit. And with our failure the darkness and the shadows therein returned from the mountain. But we are a practical people.

We tried to ready more torches and send others, but by the time the oils were readied and the incense gathered, we were too late. Night was falling and we could already see the dark cloud descending. A small company went to light what beacons they could. We watched the lights of the torches as they travelled up the steep slope. Soon three beacons were lit. Then seven; and we found our hearts daring to hope. At last nine of the fifteen beacons were lit. But the cloud crept down the slope and then, as one, the beacons were snuffed.

We waited by the outer wall of the town for the torchbearers to return, but they did not. So the men gathered what weapons they could and waited for the shadows to come.

Our first line of defence fell on the first day. Then the outer barricades. We dared not bury the dead. We dared not go out into the shadow. We gathered what wood or wooden furniture we could and clustered to the one fire still alive in the centre of the town. Then we took up arms once all the men were slain. As I said, we are a practical people, but also a hard-headed people.

We put on our best white dresses; the ones we wore for the Light festival. We twined flowers in our hair. We readied the last of the shot and powder. We gathered what weapons we could, even kitchen knives. We kissed the children and those to old to fight and lit our torches at the last fire. These we carried outside along with the hand-me-down flintlocks we still had at our disposal. Then we waited for the shadows and the darkness to come. We waited to fight. We waited to die. We waited for the light.

These we carried outside along with the hand-me-down flintlocks...

Inspiration Friday: A Poem by One of the Great Masters

When I have seen by Time's fell hand defaced
The rich proud cost of outworn buried age;
When sometime lofty towers I see down-razed
And brass eternal slave to mortal rage;
When I have seen the hungry ocean gain
Advantage on the kingdom of the shore,
And the firm soil win of the watery main,
Increasing store with loss and loss with store;
When I have seen such interchange of state,
Or state itself confounded to decay;
Ruin hath taught me thus to ruminate,
That Time will come and take my love away.
           This thought is as a death, which cannot choose
           But weep to have that which it fears to lose.

-        

                                - Shakespeare, Sonnet 64

Ruins of tower at Kuskuam palace covered by vegetation

And now a bit of a ramble…

Although most people who have taken English classes know (or at least know of) Shakespeare’ssonnet 18 and 116, I firmly believe that most students do not want to study the Bard’s work (or even bother to read it) because they have been told that ‘it is too difficult’ (Not to mention ‘so not cool’ to like it).

I am very thankful for a mother who loved Shakespeare, told my sister and me the stories, and recited parts of the plays and sonnets. We both also received the Wordsworth edition of Shakespeare’s complete works (the grandest books I owned at that time; three hardback volumes in a slipcase). This was also a time when I really started to realise that most of what I was reading was considered ‘too difficult’ for my age (about 13) by some teachers and other adults. Classics like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Dickens, or Roald Dahl’s short stories and even The Neverending Story.

My point is not ‘give children a pile of thick books to read’ – although that is not really a bad thing. My point is children (or even teenagers) should not be told that something is ‘too difficult for them’ without even letting them try. Not to place that mental block there before they’ve had a chance to decide for themselves. Some books are not age appropriate, yes. But to base ‘too difficult for them to read’ simply on a book that looks ‘too thick’ or one containing words you have to look up in a dictionary is completely silly. 

Bennie Boekwurm

Worldbuilding Wednesday – Newfangled Digital Dictionary and Glossary

Last week I revealed a priceless artefact – the Dictionary of Airthai Languages. This week the first part of the dictionary is available by clicking here, as well as by opening the Dictionary and Glossary tab at the top of the blog.

The words and phrases are listed alphabetically, with both English and Afrikaans translations given for the words in the Airthai languages. For instance; the word khalla has both “servant” and “dienaar” listed as meaning, but both “dienaar” and “servant” are also listed separately, with the translation “khalla”.

Although only a rudimentary reference page for now, I hope to build it into a proper dictionary and glossary of Airthai; listing place names, characters, etc. in due time.

Now I must just find those blog elves…