The fifteen minute novel writing experiment is a attempt to write a complete (and very rough) draft of a novel by writing for fifteen minutes each day. I have taken a timed writing from one of the daily prompts done in 2021, cleaned it up a little and used it as my jumping off point into a story. Each day I will take the last line of the story written the day before and use it as my sentence starter and write for fifteen minutes, growing the story as the year progresses.
Day 67: “He mentioned something about time running out?” Anya asked.
“He mentioned something about time running out?” Anya asked. The woman nodded.
“He believes that the alignment of the stars signals the release of the magic.” She looked up and Anya tilted her own head up, eyes studying the stars. She remembered the church in Tyrin condemning those who prophesized because it was not the role of man to understand the future but to live within the time he was allotted and to deal with each days trials and tribulations as they arrived.
Anya remembered a scathing sermon accusing those who looked to skirt the trouble of the future by leaning into prophecy of attempting to avoid the just wrath of god for their wrong doings. There were exhortations to mend their wicked ways instead of avoiding punishments. Anya recalled serums against searching the fire for meaning after certain herbs had been added to the blaze and remembered being confused when their priest argued against searching the inner workings of animals for signs from the gods. She didn’t remember anyone mentioning the stars.
‘At least the stars are less gruesome than the rabbit liver and intestines,’ Anya thought. ‘Not that I mind rabbit livers.’ There was a dish they made when one of the boys caught a rabbit that was quite tasty. She just didn’t see how it could pertain to the future unless seeing it meant you would have a delicious meal.
“Are there specific ones?” Anya asked. The stars were pinpricks of light in the darkness, white dots surrounded by a slight rainbow glow. Anya didn’t see how they could predict the future any more than the rabbit’s insides.
“His prophecy bases it on those three there,” The woman pointed out the stars in question. They were in different parts of the sky and each a part of different constellations. The woman drew a line in the air with her finger showing that all three of the stars lined up.
“The constellations shift the stars placements slightly within the course of a year. They are only fully aligned like that every one hundred and fifty years.”
“And that is significant?” Anya asked.
The woman shrugged. “It means that the last time they were in this alignment was one hundred and fifty years ago,” she said. She looked at Anya and smiled. “Sometimes the stars are just stars.”
Anya tilted her head back down and looked at the woman again. “So they aren’t important?”
“Lord Mathis thinks they are,” the woman said. “So he thinks that his prophecy is about to come true.”
“And how long will these stars be in alignment?” Anya asked.
Ten til Midnight 