Things to take on an adventure

1. Extra socks. Not only is it good hygiene, but certain socks also make a fine pouch for carrying items you find.
2. A pocketknife. Whether you are escaping from vikings or gutting a fish, a knife is a useful tool to have on hand.
3. Food and water. No journey will last long if you faint.
4. A walking stick. Good for hikes or for defending yourself from a rampaging goat.
5. Some type of hat. Preferably one that actually helps to keep the sun out of your eyes and rain from dripping down your face.
6. Friends! Adventures are more fun with a friend, and they might have a necessary skill that you don't.
7. A journal. Whatever the adventure may be, something will happen that you'll want to remember. So write it down.
8. Currency. No matter where you go, money will most likely be vital to your success.
9. Hairbrush or comb. You might not know when the next town will appear, so care for your hair or cut it off before the adventure.
10.  A bag. Juggling may be fun, but it is best to keep things organized while traveling.

Claustrophobia

Willow's heartbeat increased in intensity as the Warden's agents came closer to where she hid. She had to get away, but couldn't think of how. Then suddenly one of the flashlight beams crossed over her, and the a man's yell of triumph echoed through the warehouse. "Got her! She's over here!" Willow closed her eyes as panic raced through her veins.

This was the end.

Then suddenly the floor seemed to transform into quicksand, sucking her down. "No! She's getting away!" Someone yelled, dropping a flashlight and attempting to tackle her. She felt a strange sensation as the man skidded right through her and hit the wall. As her neck began to disappear into the floor, Willow let out a shriek of terror. She cried to fight her way back up, but couldn't. When her head finally disappeared into the floor of the warehouse, tears of fright rolled down her face. This couldn't be happening. It had to be a dream. A horrible nightmare that combined her two worst fears. The Warden.

And Claustrophobia.

Things that are fun to tat

1. Butterflies!They are an obsession...

2. Animals! I've tatted a bear, turtle, cat, and butterflies!

3. Necklaces! This one was a gift for a friend of mine.

4. Flowers. An excellent place to use picots!

5. Edgings! This one can double as a mushroom.

6. Bookmarks! This one was done with sewing thread.

7. Snowflakes! A wonderful gift for the the holidays.

8. A box! This was a present for another friend of mine.

9. Marbles! Tatting provides a new use for all those marbles in the closet.

10. Bracelets! They double as a method of annoyance for my cat!

Well, I hope this Ten Reasons has helped to explain what I mean when I talk about tatting!

Terrarth: Tales of the Old Ones II

Disgrace

Time has passed, the world has grown.

New creatures have grown in power, claiming our empire as their own.

And my people let them.

I watch now as the appointed leaders argue and bicker about what our role will now be.

“..we are not to interfere! This is their time, and we are to watch, nothing more!”

“We shaped this world, it is ours to command! We cannot simply sit back and let them destroy our vision!”

On and on the arguments went, neither fraction giving way. The Other Kind kept silent, watching and waiting for our decision, for they had already made their choice.

What it was, they had yet to share.

I ran a hand through my dark hair and left, disgusted by their indecision.

The answer was simple, and always had been.

I felt her follow me, as she always did. But I continued down the corridor until coming to a pathway that led outside.

Only once we were out in the open, did I stop and turn to her. Today she had her golden hair in a long braid, though her moonlit eyes were tired.

“Well?” I asked, searching her eyes. They spoke to me, as nothing else did. Though I had no idea what she saw in mine, which were the color of smoke.

“They do not want to come to a decision, because they fear the change which would inevitably follow. They fight, so that a decision can never be made.” Her voice spoke the truth, yet I turned away. I knew the answer, and knew how it could be implemented.

But I feared what it would mean.

“It is so simple for your people. They do not have to face the moral questions that the solution brings. Why must it be like this, Nayeli?”

I knew my use of her name would bring light to her eyes, for I seldom did so. But I did not look at her.

Instead, I looked out past the valley we lived in, to the forest which bordered it. Due to the magic of the Other Kind, our home was shielded from those young creatures who ruled the world from our ancient empire. Though every once in a while, one of those creatures would stumble into our sanctuary, and we would turn them away after stealing their memories of this place.

I saw one now, stumbling through the long grass.

This creature was one of the animal kind, a species with the shortest lifespan of all Terrarth's creatures. This one was young, barely a yearling. I watched it, wondering what had brought it to our land.

“Wait for me in the council room.” I told my companion, making a decision.

If my people would not choose to take the first step, I would.

I allowed my form to fade, until I was nothing more then shadow. Then I slipped though the dark pathways, until I was behind the creature. I rose out of shadow, solidifying enough to get hold on the creature, yet still be able to take it through the dark pathways. It didn't realize what had happened until we were in the smoky otherness of the pathways. I chose a path, taking it to the council room while the creature struggled against me.

It was young, and now that it had shifted to its bestial shape, I could identify the animal within. I had caught a coyote. It was male, and having realized that it couldn't escape my grasp, the pup shivered in terror.

I came to the end of the path, and left the dark pathways. As my form reshaped itself to a more solid state, silence was broken by cries of outrage.

“What is that creature doing here? Explain yourself, Nifol.” Lemiunix the Elder brought silence to the room with the quiet command of his question. I bowed my head in respect of his attention, though he did not deserve my loyalty.

“Elder, I have brought a solution to our new role in the world.” I let my gaze travel across the room, meeting the eyes of both my own people and the Other Kind. “We need not interfere with the growth of the younger species, but we cannot isolate ourselves from them any longer.” The council members, our appointed leaders, listened in silence, their thoughts impossible to determination. But I would not keep silent any longer. “We have a gift. We are the shadows of this world. We walk the hidden pathways, but is that the only use of our power? No.”

I lifted my left hand, allow them to see the ring I had borne my entire life.

“This ring, my buan, is the key. With our buan, we can live with those other creatures, without fear of discovery. We know the power our buan holds, yet we have feared using it!” I looked at Lumiunix, and knew what the look in his pale eyes meant.

He would convince them to use my idea, but they would not accept it at this time.

And it would be the death of me.

But I looked at Nayeli, and slipped off my ring.

It gleamed silver in the light of the council room, a promise to seal my fate.

I turned to the young coyote that, though I had released my hold on it, was frozen in terror next to me. I grabbed its hand, and slipped my buan onto its finger.

It was painful, having part of myself linked to another. But I forced myself to carry on with my idea, not quite knowing if it would work.

My form shifted into shadow, and flowed into the ring. Then, through the connection my buan had created with the creature, the were-coyote, I took control.

It was hard, for the coyote was terrified of me. But it was weak, still just a pup. So I was able to take hold of its mind, and place myself in the fore.

I looked out through the coyote's eyes, to meet the astonished faces of my people. Then astonishment became a horrified uproar.

“...we can't posses other creatures!”

“It's a removal of choice!”

“But we could be among them, part of them, without interfering!”

“This is interfering!”

And on it went, the coyote's ears picking up every voice.

Lumiunix raised a hand, and silence fell.

He looked at me. “Nifol, this is going too far. Though there may come a time for this use of the buan, it is not now. But because you have shown us how this may be used, we cannot simply ignore this action. So from this moment until we deem otherwise, you are banished from our places.” Another uproar, for none of our people had ever been banished before. I felt cold, even though I had seen this possibility.

I bowed the coyote's (or my) head, and back out of the room. Nayeli followed, as she always did. Even after this, she was still my companion.

“You do not have to stay with me.” I spoke, the young coyote's voice higher then my own. She touched my shoulder, forcing me to turn and look at her.

“Nifol, even in this form, you are my companion. We are a pair. I will not leave you.”

I bowed my head, letting her words touch my heart.

Living in disgrace wouldn't be as horrible as my people imagined.

Future tatting projects

1: Four bookmarks.
2: Anne Bruvold's  Minor Norwegian Dragon.
3: Thirty-nine snowflakes.
4: A blanket.
5: A two color scarf.
6: Baby booties.
7: Edgings for handkerchiefs.
8: Something using the dizzy double-stitch.
9: Cobbogoth's cover art (once I figure out a pattern for it...)
10: A challenge from you! (Just leave a comment with a suggestion. If possible, I'll tat it and post a picture of the finished piece.)

The Djinn and the Vartija, part VII

Emrri

The Djinn's will became one with mine, everything happened as it always did. Then as I returned to my self, something was torn from me.

I hadn't noticed Muritage cross the bridge between us.

Hadn't noticed a bit of his will remain his own.

I had taken him. Made him into a loyal servant.

The Djinn had stolen my heart.

And now there was nothing either of us could do to reclaim what was lost.

The
Beginning

Common palindromes

1. Reviver.
2. Level.
3. Radar.
4. Racecar.
5. Sagas.
6. Madam.
7. Deed.
8. Noon.
9. Mom.
10. Dad.

Palindrome: "A word, phrase, verse, or sentence that reads the same backward or forward."
-The American Heritage College Dictionary, fourth edition.

The Djinn and the Vartija, part VI

Muritage

“How would you like to die?”

The question rolled off my tongue, leaving a bitter taste behind. I could simply break the chain holding her to the cliff and allow her to fall, or I could snap her neck. Drown by water molecules combining within her lungs, or roast internally. Any of these techniques were available to me, but I would allow her to choose.

It doesn't make this easier, my first kill...

Silence stretched for some time as she thought. I was in no hurry, listening to her heart beat under my hand. I had scarcely noticed my hand drift to her chest. But now I focused on the beat of her heart. It had slowed, as if she had finally accepted what had to happen.

“Muritage.”

She spoke my name, I looked at her face. Into her eyes.

“You've decided.”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“My death,” Her free hand came up, pinning my hand to her chest. “might actually be yours.”

There was something digging into the back of my palm, something in her hand.

I couldn't tear my gaze from her eyes, or my hand from her grasp.

She's in my head.

I could feel her, entering through our linked gazes. But I could also feel her. Through this connection, her heart was left open.

Open and unguarded.

As she worked through my mind, I found the path that had brought her into me, and followed it back to it's source.

Her heart.

Emotions, power, it resided here. She was changing me, bending my will to hers. But I wouldn't go without a fight.

“You might make me into a servant, but I will hold your heart.”

With the remaining willpower I had, I found the well of her power, the key to her heart.

And claimed it for myself.