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 237: “Three hours after the sun sets, you will use the pendant to call your advisor. His name as Arkaron. If you wear the pendant when using the orb he can see and speak with you.”
“Three hours after the sun sets, you will use the pendant to call your advisor. His name as Arkaron. If you wear the pendant when using the orb he can see and speak with you.”
Anya nodded. Can anyone see and speak with me when I wear the pendant?” Anya asked.
“There is someone else you wish to consult with?” there was a note of curiosity in Bendesea’s voice.
“No,” Anya said not wanting the statue to think she wished to consult another. “I just don’t want to be seen by anyone else if I am looking in on them. Like Lord Mathis or his hunter. Although it might be good to be able to be seen by Marta, maybe.”
Anya chewed her lip. While it would be good to talk to Marta directly, she wasn’t certain how she could do so without terrifying the woman by making her think she was seeing a ghost or hearing voices.
“Ah a good question then. Intelligent to ask. Others can see you if you wear the pendant when looking. You will appear mostly present but not fully corporeal. It would be best not to wear the pendant if you do not wish to be seen. Be sure to ask the orb to take you to Arkaron directly and it is little likely that you need to worry over being seen by others while wearing it.”
Anya thought of Deran and thought that she would appear to others more or less like he appeared to her. He was mostly solid but she was able to see the rest of the room behind him in a shadowy outline through him. ‘
‘And I had best remember to the off the pendant when I am not speaking to this Arkaron.’ She reminded herself. She didn’t know if this was a onetime consultation or not but once the conversation was finished she would make certain to put the pendant away so there would be no mishaps.
“Thank you,” Anya said as she realized Bendeasa was waiting for a response. “I will be certain to do as you say. I appreciate the advisor.”
Bendeasa seemed pleased with her response. “I will let you go then and give you time to recover your strength before speaking with your advisor. It will not take as much strength from you as it does to speak with me but it will still take some and you should rest before the meeting.”
“I …” Before Anya could complete her thought, the temple swirled away into a misty haze and Anya found herself sitting in the chair by the fire. Her hair was dry but the toweling around her neck was dam where it was folded around her neck. Anya pulled it off from around her neck and noticed that she was still wearing the medallion she was given in the dream.
‘I guess it came back with me,’ Anya said. ‘It would be pointless to give it to me if I couldn’t take it with me I suppose.’ Still the sight of the pendant necklace was somewhat disconcerting to see. Taking items from dreams that weren’t entirely dreams didn’t settle well inside her for reasons she couldn’t quite explain.
Anya noticed the log she put on the fire was now half burned though and stood up to add a new one to the fire. As she stood and walked over to retrieve the necessary fuel, she felt exhaustion sucking at her.
Ten til Midnight 