The fifteen minute novel writing experiment is an 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 192: “No matter, the area remains the same.”
“No matter, the area remains the same.”
Anya nodded. As she did a thought occurred to her. “Did you ever visit the temple to…” Anya tried to remember the name the statue gave her in her dream. “Bendis?” The name sounded odd as she felt as though she should say the full saint’s name of Bendeasa instead of shortening it.
“Our lady of the Moon,” Deran said nodding. “I did on many occasions.”
“Was there a statue there?” she asked.
“Many, why?” he asked.
“A statue about this tall,” Anya held her hands apart to indicate the size of the statue. “Of a woman?”
Deran laughed. The amusement sparkled in his eyes. “All of the statues were of the Lady of the Moon,” he told her. And yes there was one about that size if I recall. Why the interest?”
“There was a statue like that in the church of Tyrin. It was old, older than the town and was rescued I think after the destruction of Ced.” Anya told him of the church and the saints. He found it as amusing as the statue in his dreams had.
“Polara and Bendeasa are both saints?” he chuckled. “I’m sure both find that amusing.”
“The others didn’t always remember Bendeasa,” Anya told him. She mentioned how often she was the only one who remembered all fifty one despite the lessons.
“And some only remembered fifty?” he asked.
Anya nodded.
“I’m not surprised,” he said. “Especially if the statue was taken from the temple. The Lady Bendis really only cared for those she marked. He held up his wrist showing the mark on his arm, the one identical to the one on Anya’s arm. “She had little patience for anyone else and little need for hordes of followers. Often those who didn’t bear her mark had problems even finding the temple or remembering it was there. The statue might have carried some of that even in the new location with the new name.”
“Did the statues watch you too,” Anya asked. She felt the heat creep to her cheeks as she asked. To her surprise Deran didn’t laugh. He nodded.
“It was said that the lady could look through the eyes of her statues and we could therefore be in her presence where as her actual presence would destroy our poor mortal frames.”
Anya thought of the painful laughter of the statue in her dreams and nodded slowly. “So she watches through the statues.”
“That’s why there were so many of them in the temple,” Deran said. “That way she could use different vantage points and talk to various people who visited the temple.”
“And in their dreams?” she asked.
Ten til Midnight 