Videos!

Hello all,

I said I would share the link to my joint vlogging endeavor with Chantel, so here it is: 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgPOMlVm1ZrDMzUWMX0V9rA

Chantel drew our banner and our profile picture. You can follow her art on Tumblr here:

http://curiouslittlechantyhears.tumblr.com/

The Rainon updates will continue as usual, and may be featured as one of my writing sessions. If you have any questions for little old me, comment below! I'm always open to suggestions and constructive criticism, as well as tips for video editing and how to use the Internet. I didn't know what high-speed was until I moved out of my parents' house :)

Danika

Rainon, Part 4

Now you are settled in Crossroad Village,

and it's time to start finding experiences that may trigger your magic. Mages in the Order rambled on and on about the different ways to fan the spark of magic into flames, but there were no established rules. Some mages found their magic in a dream, while others found it walking down the same street they walked every day. More popular mages found magic while traveling far and wide to the lands across the sea and over the mountains to the east, and some while living by the Fae Forest. Already the forest is affecting you, and the weariness of your journey is an old memory. 

Elia would not return for another fortnight; the next meeting landed on a new moon, and as you continue to hear, the Fae do not leave the forest when the moon is not in the sky. No one is sure why, and it puzzles you. Surely people who live so near to the Fae must know why they remain in the forest. You add the oddity to the list of thing you hope to learn before returning home. 

The sun didn't shine today, and a thick gray cloud spanned the sky while the summer air remained; the villagers went about their business with small frowns. The village is still too new, and you are still thrilled with the grassy streets and beautiful fountains to care much about the muggy weather. Mayor Elwood mopped his face with a kerchief and gestured to the empty space of the village green, telling a woman with a scroll something long-winded. The summer solstice drew near, and you heard the festival here was a real treat. The young women of the village who turned sixteen before the festival were recognized in the Ceremony of Maidens, a local coming-of-age celebration. 

You return to your cottage, convinced nothing new would happen on a day like this, and Elia is standing on your doorstep. Her complexion looks human in the light of the day, and if it weren't for her ears, she could have walked down the Imperial Road without a second glance in her direction. 

"Come," she said, and held out her hand. "The Fae Lords will see you now."

Up next...

We get to venture into the forest now! Hooray!

After a few weeks exploring the Fae Forest, we will move to a different part of Rainon. The journey to find your magic will be well-rounded. 

Chantel and I have created a schedule for video releases. I will attach links here once she sends them to me. We are going to detail the creative experience from an artist's and a writer's perspective, interruptions and all, in vlog style. 

As always, comments/suggestions/constructive criticism are welcome.

Danika

So I Have a Fantastic Idea...

And an announcement!

My artist friend (and best friend) Chantel and I are starting a video blog. Since the journey to create new content can be frustrating, we've decided we want to record the creative process from beginning to end and make it something fun instead. It's still a growing idea, but I will let all of you know as soon as we make our debut video. 

I will be detailing what happens as I write and complete my first book, and Chantel will be doing something art-related (she hasn't decided on anything yet). 

The adventure into Rainon will still continue, and may give you an insight to the world my book will take place in. 

Thank you!

Danika

Rainon, Part 3

The first thing you decide to do

is explore Crossroad Village after night. The other mages said it was a village that never slept, and you had to see why such a small place would earn such a reputation.

Your small hut outside of the willow grove was more than comfortable compared to your rooms at the Order, and all of your things fit into the bedroom without cluttering it. Mayor Elwood was warm and welcoming even if the town was not, but he assured you they would come around. 

The night air was still and warm, and the full moon in the sky lit the grassy streets of the village. Beyond the willow trees, an eerie glow emanated from the Fae Forest, and strange birds called as if it were sunrise instead of night. The mayor warned you to stay away from the forest, especially after sunset. The Fae didn't much like the mages, and the forest didn't like humans in general. He spoke about the forest as if it were more alive than the Imperial City.

The closer you drew to the village, you saw more and more Fae. You learned in your history books that the Fae glowed in moonlight, but it was one thing to see a drawing and another to see it in person. Few lamps burned in the market square. The place was lit up by the skin of the Fae. Stranger goods carried in stranger carts by strange creatures turned Crossroad Village into a different place.

You wander to a lavender-glowing Fae selling wares from her cart, and she stands up a little straighter when you approach. It may have been dark, but she could still see the mage's emblem on your chest. She turned her cart into a table, and displayed a variety of fabrics, pieces of jewelry, and small ornate daggers.

"This side is for humans," she said, gesturing to the jewelry and daggers. "This side is for Fae." The fabrics looked more appealing to you know.

"What is the fabric made of?" you ask, and look closer. You didn't dare touch it.

"The forest," she answered cryptically, and narrowed her eyes. "What is a mage doing so close to our beloved forest? Surely Mayor Elwood didn't allow you here on his own accord."

"I appealed to him months ago," you said. "I am not a mage yet, technically. I am only an apprentice. My mentors suggested I spend time near nature. They believe my power lies in Earth."

"And they sent you here to grow on us and turn you into a spy?" It was more of a statement than a question. She didn't hide her dislike for mages.

"Quite the opposite," you say, and she cocked her head to the side. "I was asked not to come here and disrupt any progress with your kind."

"Yet you came anyway," she said, with a little smile.

"I am certain this is where I will find my magic," you say, and she nods. Her previous dislike was gone, and her disposition turned friendly.

"My name is Elia," she supplied, and held her glowing hand. "Perhaps I can help you find this magic you seek. I am here two times per fortnight when the moon shines. We do not leave the forest solely under starlight."

Hello again!

I have no real excuse for missing my deadline this time, so here we are. Any comments, remarks, suggestions, or criticisms are welcome. 

Danika

Rainon, Part 2

The town and the forest

drew nearer with each step, and what appeared to be a normal village surrounded by normal trees bustled with midday activities. As a central hub of trade between the Fae and the humans, the village square looked a bit too full and too many carts crowded the grassy road. You weave through the crowd and see people from all over the region, and even one of the Fae. The olive skin and dark hair of one man from the industrial city, Yerl, made the vivid greenish white of the Fae man look alien. He looked like someone tried to replace his skin with dragonfly wings, and his long ears were tattooed with strange lettering. His eyes were too bright, and his passing glance over you made your spine tingle. Other than his humanoid stature, he didn't look human at all. 

Even though the crowd was diverse, everyone was staring at you. Nothing about you was different, except for the emblem embroidered on every piece of clothing you owned: an eye, lined in blue, encircled with the different elements mages manipulate. That made all the difference. You are grateful when the portly man at the door of the inn waves you down. He made a hasty bow as you drew near, and closed the inn door behind you. He looked like he hadn't been getting much sleep.

"Welcome, welcome. I am Mayor Elwood," he said, and made wild gestures to the young girls standing in a loose circle holding something to clean with or something dirty to appear busy. They gave up the pretense and took your things from you. He mopped his brow with a clean kerchief and said to the girls, "To the empty house up the road from the willow grove." He addresses you. "I trust your journey went well."

"It did, thank you," you say. "I'm looking forward to my stay in Crossroad Village. I hear your summer solstice festivities are the best for a hundred leagues."

He puffed up at the praise, and now his fatigue made sense. 

"You're just in time," he said. "If you had taken any longer, I feared bandits might have swiped you off the road. They're getting awfully bad, I tell you. I hear news of more bandits every day. In any case, you're here now, and the festivities begin the morning after next. Let us appeal to Mistress Lelan in the kitchens and find a bite to eat, shall we?"

Hello again,

and thank you for taking the time to delve a little deeper into Rainon, my fictional world. I'm practicing second-person writing (for fun mostly, I don't plan to use it anywhere else) and I'm fleshing out the world I created while attending Full Sail University. I have a lot of ideas for stories based in Rainon, and I want it to be as deep and comprehensive as it is in my head. Any feedback is welcome, and thank you again!

Danika

League!

I am addicted to League of Legends.

There, I said it. Somehow, between my full-time day job, my full-time college career, and doing the whole parenting and writing gig, I found time to start playing League. It's been a few months, and I started thinking I would lose interest after a few weeks. 

It's my favorite form of procrastination, right on up there with Pinterest and my pinning addiction. 

What is your number one procrastination destination?

I've received some reading suggestions recently, and I am always looking for more. Maybe the longer the reading list, the longer the life. (Hopefully.)

Welcome to Rainon

The mid-afternoon sun beats down on your back,

and the gravel road is losing ground to flattened grass with each passing mile. Birds and small animals sleep in treetops and bushes, but you press on. It's been hours since you last saw a farmhouse, and the heavy pack perched on your back is heavier and bulkier than you remember. As an apprentice at the Order of Mages, it is your duty to set out and discover your powers. These powers have stirred inside you for years, begging to be let out. Part of becoming a mage is this discovery, and you've decided to go to the most powerful place in Rainon you could think of: North Forest, or as everyone else calls it, the Fae Forest. 

Humans are not allowed in the Fae Forest. History lessons Mage Thaia ruthlessly drilled into your head are still there. Since the formation of the first kingdom, men have desired the forest and the natural power that lives there. Many times kings have tried and failed to take the forest from the Fae, and the Fae have not forgotten. Human history is a fresh memory for an immortal. King Feliorn raised powerful wards around his beloved home to protect his ancient family. 

When you think you can go no farther, the tops of homes are visible through the haze of heat. Crossroad Village, the only human settlement the Fae set foot in, is closer than you could have hoped. Mayor Elwood has given you permission to stay in the village, and a dwelling of your own awaited. Now your true journey begins.

Hello everyone!

Thank you for taking a minute out of your day to adventure into the world of my novel, The Empire of Rainon. Updates on the journey of an apprentice at the Academy of Mages happen on Friday nights.

This is a new undertaking, and feedback and comments are welcome.

-Danika