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 252: Knowing the corridors would be cold, Anya put her cloak over her dress after she banked the fire and prepared to gather her supplies.
Knowing the corridors would be cold, Anya put her cloak over her dress after she banked the fire and prepared to gather her supplies. The corridors were just as cold as she expected but Anya kept moving and reminded herself that once she was done, she would have less of a need to travel from her quarters.
‘I will still need the library,’ she mused as she walked. Given the amount of books she already collected, Anya knew that would not be a daily trek.
The gathering of supplies not only took her on winding paths through the mountain but through areas where people routinely congregated. She could hear the talk drift through the walls but most were engaged in quiet winter time pursuits. In her mind’s eye she could see them. Patching up garment and repairing small rips and holes in fabric and knitted items. She imagined that some items would be created wholesale out of fresh cloth and new wool. Those who sought the House of the Star and stayed there year round each had some ability that marked them as different. They were gifted in ways different from the children of the moon but they had abilities. Unlike Anya’s abilities were reputed to be, the abilities of the Star waxed and waned with the seasons. When the season was high, their abilities were strong.
Their strength seemed to flow in like the harvest arriving in the autumn before the winter set in. Anya wasn’t sure how early their abilities arrived, but she knew that it would have to be mid to late summer at the earliest. Her arrival was just as autumnal winds were beginning and she was told the season had just begun.
During the off months she knew that in addition to living their daily lives, those of the House of the Star would study so that when the season arrived they could better use their abilities. This study was a quiet one as well and Anya moved slowly and with stealth through the passages that came closest to the occupied areas.
As she concentrated on moving unseen and making certain that the items she took were un noticed, Anya thought about abilities. Everyone from Lord Mathis, to the Matron and Marta to Deran and even Arkaron and the Lady Bendeasa seemed to think she would have abilities. This far Anya knew she could use the magical things that others created and the mountain itself seemed to respond to her presence by repairing and refreshing itself as though it was getting ready for use.
Thus far while she enjoyed using items like the orb and was willing to believe that the ability to use them spoke of some other inner abilities, Anya felt a bit like a failure on the magical front. She didn’t feel magical. Part of that she knew was because the magical spells she was being taught all required components she didn’t have. All Anya could do at the moment was to study and learn for when those components were available.
Ten til Midnight 