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Hi yes it's Saturday. Thanks to everyone keeping up with this and all your wonderful advice – I'm going to have to be a bit disappointing today. I've got a lot of school. It's been a packed couple of weeks (midterms, ect…) I do have words written, but I don't have the complete scene written because I skipped a part to write the part I was very excited for. So I have some words, a gap, and then quite a bit of words. I'm not going to post everything I have written, because the gap would leave you confused, but I'll at least post the start of the scene.
Hence why I say, "a bit disappointing." I still am posting writing, it's just a sadly small amount. You do, at least, find out what Temell said even if you don't get the Court's decision on it! I am going to try and write tomorrow to fill in that gap, but I wouldn't get your hopes up. I have a paper due Monday at 10AM *insert cringe emoji here*
Alas, I shall stop rambling and just post, already. Thanks for reading <3
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The King’s Court was almost back to its original size. Most of the dukes were pressed to return home and had the preparations already in place, so only Duke Simmons, Haynes, and Cooley remained. They all were aware of the reason behind their summons. Lucius had included that in the message, yet the conversation and atmosphere before their meeting wasn’t as tense as he had expected it to be. There was anticipation, but it seemed the pleasant aftereffect of the party made everything more bearable and less worrisome.
Lucius felt it himself – a certain confidence. Parties really were more than a means for fun. They were a unifying experience. And it was the experience of sitting and laughing with his Dukes that truly made Lucius feel as if he was king. Everything seemed so right, now.
He straightened in his seat and looked down the table at His Court. It did not just seem right, but was right. The crown on his head finally settled into place – perfectly even, comfortable, and the perfect fit. Taking a deep breath, he stood and gestured for silence. It immediately came. Eyes looked up at him expectantly, and Lucius spread his arms wide as he began.
“I hope you all enjoyed the celebration last night.” There was a cheer from the group. He sat down while they grew quiet again. “I am pleased by your reaction. Regardless, we do have business to attend to this morning. Ethan!”
The Envoy stood from his chair abruptly at the call. In his hand, he held a small scroll. It was actually quite large compared to most Pigeon messages, but still small enough to travel by air effectively.
Lucius nodded at him. “Please, read for us the message from Temellon.” For a moment, he felt his confidence fade. It could be good news, or news heavier than a pigeon should have to bear.
Ethan cleared his throat. He untied the scroll, his fingers fumbling over the knot. The string fell to the table. The scroll rustled and crackled as it was unraveled. There was silence as his eyes scanned the note – he cleared his throat again. He smiled. “King Eno Blakshir of Temellon sends his greetings to His Royal Highness, King Lucius Maelfesta of Valoria. He is burdened by the events of the coronation, and would like to express his condolences for the attempt on King Malefesta’s life.”
Lucius leaned forward in his chair. He felt his mother’s hand come to rest on his arm as the Envoy continued.
“As proof of goodwill, on behalf of Temell, King Eno would like to request a resigning of the treaty forged between our ancestors, King Gideon Maelfesta and his friend and ally, King Ramel Blakshir. King Eno has every intention of honoring the peace between kingdoms, but would like to restore any lost faith that Valoria has in Temell by reforging and resigning the treatise.”
The note rolled back up as he placed it on the table – a sign of completion.
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also, to clarify, I am probably alternating between calling "temel" "Temellon." And I'm also mixing up "Valoria," with "Vamir." just ignore my blunders.
Anyways! in light of the short section today, I want to ask you a different sort of question! Tell me; what are some of your favorite things to read in a book? This question is vague on purpose; you're welcome to ramble on about genre, characters, plots, worldbuilding, ect. Anything that you just LOVE reading about it is 100% game.
I personally love reading books that aren't just about the story. They aren't written simply to entertain, but they have a message to be discovered. The Chronicles of Narnia is a good example of this, because the Christian message that C.S. Lewis portrayed its pretty straightforward and obvious. Another example would be Metamorphosis by Ovid. It's not an enjoyable read, but Ovid does that on purpose to make the reader think. Really his work is a masterpiece and he has a LOT to say when you look between the lines.
Anyways, that's my ramble. Toodles! Hopefully I'll post the rest of this scene sometime soon.
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Thanks for the update, Jazz! Also, no worries about school, I totally get it. This scene was super essential, and even though I should be happy about Temel (temellon?) wanting to reforge the alliance, it kind of smells kind of fishy. Like, it wouldn't be hard to hire an assasin to try and 'kill' Lucius, and then have her give away that she was hired by Temel, so that King Eno has an excuse to bring Valorian royalty into his kingdom… Suspensful and well-written, like always!
As for your question, I love books with lots of worldbuilding details for some reason 😛 Probably one of the reasons J.R.R. Tolkien is my favorite author; there's so much worldbuilding in his world that it took me months to understand it all lol. Honestly though, I could rant about Tolkien for HOURS… I also like books with characters and protaganists that aren't very 2-dementional. One problem I had with Harry Potter is that Harry as a character felt a little… bland, I guess?
Anyway, I have to go now, so thanks for the update and see you later!!
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*be me*
*realizing Camp NaNo is in like a week*
*Screams*
Why don't they do a Nano in the summer? why are they BOTh like during the middle of semester but also RIGHT before finals? Why? What is this curse? Well, I might try to set a word goal for April. Or I might not. We'll see. I finished my paper today so maybe I'll write more enjoyable creative words lol.
Anyways, to respond to Silver Crystal, YES. I love LoTR! I am reading the series for the first time right now, actually, after watching the extended editions of the movies. So far I've finished the Hobbit and the Fellowship of the Rings. I'm halfway through the Two Towers rn. Tolkein's worldbuilding is SO inspiring and my recent spurt of worldbuilding was 100% inspired by the movies lol. If you need a ranting buddy I'm so down. Have you seen the memes about C.S.Lewis and Tolkein's friendship? I definitely reccomend; they are hilarious.
Also I just looked on the Nano website and apparently they do a July camp too. I'll keep that in mind! For April I think I'm going to try and write 10k words. Why? Because divided evenly between 30 days that is 333(ish) words. Perfect.
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FINALLY another CBer who knows LotR! I know there's a few on here, but I've never really talked to them before about it, and I know exactly 0 Tolkien fans irl that have actually read the books. Also, the memes of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis are sooooo funny lol XD I'd highly recommend reading the Silmarillion after you finish LotR, it's a lot denser and very confusing but it's worth it, I promise! I have to go now, I hope you have a great week 🙂
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I agree with Silver Crystal, Temel must be up to something…
Let's see, I love books where you get the same clues and information as the characters, and you can try to figure out what's going on. Intricate worldbuilding is also amazing, like the DragonKeeper Chronicles.
Hmm, that's not much of a ramble. I'll probably think of more later.
Amazing writing as always, Jazzy! No worries about the shorter scene, my school is taking a lot of time too.
I am also reading LotR for the first time. But very slowly.
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Hello! I am the 100th comment on this thread, woo hoo! I just decided to pop by and give y'all an update on how writing is going as well as say YES LOTR.
I'm glad I'm not the only one reading it slowly, MoonKitten! I started on the Hobbit around Christmas and am in chapter 4 of the Twin Towers lol. And honestly its the best that two of my three readers are confirmed LOTR fans. (I say confirmed because not sure about Peregrine yet! Although I wouldn't be surprised.) And to Silver Crystal; I am definitely planning on reading the Silmarillon. I've heard pretty mixed things about it but everyone says its worth the read.
Anyways – writing. It's going pretty slow. I think this Saturday I'm going to post what I have written and just fill in the gaps with stuff like {poor explanation of something that happens.} The best thing about writing is when you're stuck on a scene and don't know what to write you can skip it and come back to it later. However, knowing that i'm sharing this with people like youuu, I have to at least explain the missing pieces before continuing. And that's what's happened! I'm stuck on some bits of the scene so I'm just going to post a choppy version next Saturday and then I can finally move on to the fun stuff.
Meanwhile though I'm doing a teensy bit of worldbuilding and I had an idea – I could post some close up pictures of my map and y'all could ask generalized questions about something that intruigues you. Like the capital, Belfriese, you could just say, "Tell me about Belfriese now." Then I would come up with random knowledge on the spot and pretend like I've been working on it for months. :3
Let me know what you think of the idea, I guess! I don't want to become a huge time commitment for anybody but I know a couple people mentioned wanting to know more history/info about my world.
As always thanks everyone for reading and even just a little post letting me know people are enjoying my story is very motivating 🙂 TTFN!
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Omg yes, I'm totally up for some on-the-spot worldbuilding XD Also, this totally isn't a 'huge time commitment' or anything like that; I really do love seeing your updates and writing and I'll do anything I can to help!
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Yeah, that sounds really cool!
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Lol, happy Saturday. And I say that with a lot of internal sarcasm. Why? Because today is one of those days where the heart just kinda hurts! I've been actually like genuinely great recently but Friday night I just like crassheddd and fell into old habits and now I'm lowkey (highkey) sad?
In summary: I've written nothing. I do have words to share, though! They are just… super choppy and cut and pasted scenes pretty much. I do have a map to share though, too. I'll post the map here (took the photo on my phone and am uploading this post from my phone) and I'll post some writing afterwords.
Thanks guyysssss. Feel free to ask as many questions as you come up with and I will hopefully answer them! Schools been packed recently and I'm also behind because of today's bought of sadish, but it'll be OK! Come summer things will be a lot easier.
Hopefully the quality of the map is ok….
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Ahh don't be sad!! *sends hugs & positive vibes*
Some questions about the map are:
Are there any blood feud-type things between the Dutch peoples? Have they ever disagreed about land ownership? How much of a cultural difference is there between the different Dutchies? Also, on a more general level, what do the people of Valoria generally look like, and how much diversity in looks is there? Do their people look different than in Temellon? Does Valoria have it's own language? Do people from different parts of Valoria have different accents? Are there certain appearances/accents that are descriminated against? Is this a general Midieval thing, set somewhere in a Europe-like area?
Sorryyy, got a little carried away there :/ Anyway, got to go now, and don't feel pressured to answer all of my crazy questions 🙂
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Okay I have thought a bit about things like race and culture and etc., so I'll focuse on those questions and just word vomit! Good questions Silver Crystal I am very excited to answer them.
I have no idea where to begin, so I'll just start from my original thought process and go from there I guess! I love medieval things, so obviously my story about a king would be based heavily off of medieval England. I also realized, however, that I don't just have to copy/paste something that's already existed. My world would be considered low-fantasy; magic and all of that fantasty stuff doesn't really have a place here, but that doesn't mean I can't be creative!! In fact, because I'm lacking in the magic department, I really felt like I had room to delve deeper into creating my own world with unique cultures, races, ect. I've reading a lot of classic literature in school (Philosphy, Roman lives/culture, Greek culture, Jewish/Biblical culture, ect ect) and it's all had an impact on how I think about my world. Instead of just taking inspiration from medieval England, although the time period my book is based in most closely reflects that era, I also am looking at other unique things from all sorts of things that happened in history. (like, seriously, the Roman government was way cool/complicated.) Anyways, sorry, nerded out there for a second lol. But basically I am always adding more unique things to my world from all sorts of different times and cultures in history so that I end up with a completely unique world, although one that is still pretty realistically built.
Now, to go into detail about some of things I built, I'll explain the history of Vamir a little bit. The continent of Taurion is shared by Vamir and Temellon during the time of Lucius, but it was only a few generations back that neither of those kingdoms existed. Instead, a bunch of individual kingdoms existed all over the continent. (It's worth noting that, while the continent of Taurion isn't huge like Africa or the Americas, it is big enough for several kingdoms to exist without annoying eachother for quite some time. Most of the big cities on the map in Vamir were the individual kingdoms.) Once specific kingdom had grown quite powerful, however, and the King (The tryant that is currently unnamed) of said kingdom began to conquer his neighboring kingdoms until he had built a sizeable empire. Being a tyraant, however, no one liked him. The wars went on for at least 3 decades, if not 4. Two different factions rose up against him: Gideon Maelfesta (Lucius' great-grandfather) led rebellions from within the kingdoms Tyrant had conquered, while the 13 kingdoms on the East of Taurion formed an Alliance in order to defend themselves again Tyrant-dude. Gideon defeated him before they had a chance to defend themselves, however, and pretty much everyone who had been conquered by the Tyrant was willing to join as one kingdom under Gideon's name. (Most of their kings and royalty had been killed, so they all were willing to unite and they all liked Gideon as a friend.) The alliance of the 13 Eastern Kingdoms suddenly saw this huge kingdom become united under one ruler and were very worried, so they formed a permanant alliance known as "The Alliance of the 13 Kingdoms." This is what is currently known as Temellon. They aren't technically one Kingdom, but they do have a leader (King Eno modernly) and function kind of uniquely by being both indepenent and intrinsicly united. Of course, these two huge Kingdoms now had some tension. King Eno's relative (Blakshir) and King Lucius' relative (Maelfesta) agreed on a treaty to ease the tension and that's how the Kingdoms of Vamir and Temellon came to exist as they are at the time of Lucius.
So we have the 13 kingdoms that make up Temellon, and the 9(?) dutchies (that were etablished by Gideon to help him rule over this massive-friggin-kingdom) that make up Vamir. I don't have everything figured out culture-wise within the kingdoms, but I have some of it. Mostly in Vamir because thats the main-character's kingdom lol.
The City of Tamaka is pretty important when talking about race and culture. Tamaka is actually a colony from the continent Alban (It's on one of the first maps I posted, I think.) Because they come from a different continent and culture, they are pretty unique in relation to everybody else. They are referred to as "Albanians." Some of their unique traits are that they are pale, have very bright blue or green eyes (brown and darker shades are rare), are very tall, and are famous for their blonde/white hair which is typically very thin (aka the guys can't grow nice beards T-T). Duke Rivera is Albanian. The culture of the people is loosely based off of Greek/Roman culture, just without the athletic/violent side. They value knowledge and the pursuit of knowledge, wisdom, cunning, ect. (Also the arts, music, math, ect.) Duke Rivera built the Cosmolith (kind of a university) to further bring those pursuits to the rest of Vamir. Tamaka holds the largest library, and Duke Rivera has set up a whole program to have people go and get books/copy them/preserve them from different continents and cultures.
Also important in the conversation of race/culture is the Dreksins. Duke Orth is a Dreksin. They originate from the Ora mountains and were initially divided tribes as opposed to a united kingdom. When the Tyrant captures them, it wasn't a conquering of a kingdoms, it was an anihilation/oppression of an entire race of people. A lot of the individual tribes were all but wiped out, and most were forced into slavery. They came together under Orth's ancestor in order to unite against the Tyrant/with Maelfesta. They agreed to unite with the kingdom of Vamir simply because it was their safest option. At the time of the story, a lot of them still function as individual tribes in the mountains and have begun to flourish again. They are required to help the kingdom in times of war, but their loyalty is undoubtedly to Duke Orth. Also, during the harsh winters they often retreat into Fort Maak. Fort Maak is the home for the majority of the Dreksin's as well as the source of ores/minerals for the kingdom of Vamir. It is a huge, ancient mine. The Dreksin people are quite short and stocky, with tough skin and dark eyes. They are most famous for their bright red hair; which most people consider to be bad luck. Oliver is part Dreksin, but it's kept a secret and he doesn't grow a beard because it shows red. But he is short and wide which is more typical for a Dreksin.
The only other race I have built is the Ramondin's. This is the race Lucius is; dark hair, dark eyes, being tall, thin lips, and freckles are very common. This race makes up the majority of Vamir/Temellon, and is the most based off medieval England, I would say. They also have paler skin, although certainly not as pale as the Albanians! They also have kind of flat noses.
There is another race that I don't really have built that consists of people with darker skins and a culture that is more based on Arabic/Egyptian culture. (Spoilers; their leader is a woman #queen.) We don't actually meet them until book two, however. But there are definitely people in Vamir that are immigrants from the continent of Kashir, and pretty much anyone with darker skin is considered to have Kashirian blood. I should also explain that not everyone with a darker skin is actually just Kashirian; their are different races and cultures that come from Kashir, and different disctinct features depending on those races, but in Vamir they are pretty much all reffered to as Kashirians because of their key feature being darker skin. (Just like all Albanians are called Albanians from the perspective of Vamir because they don't understand the different races that fall under the category of Albanian. Like how we as Americans typically call people Asian/Oriental, even though they are more specifically Korean.)
In building my races, I really didn't want to copy/paste already existing races and their corresponding cultures. I realized that I could build whatever characteristics I wanted! I didn't want to take a race and do it completely wrong. So while I will say all of my races are based on realistic, existing people-groups, I wouldn't say they are the same races we have now. I wanted to have some fun with it and try to be creative so as not to be offensive, if that makes sense.
Anyways, that's a LOT of info, but I'll just put a little bit about languages too. There is a common language, from the Ramondins', but Albanian's have a language and the Dreksins likewise have a language. The Albanian language by the people of Tamaka consider it to be sacred; no one who isn't Albanian can learn it. This also encourages every person that is Albanian to learn the common language because, y'know, they like knowledge. The Dreksin language is based off of Native Alaskan languages and their unique sound, because I've gone to the villages and heard it before. I am not trying to appropriate their language, but I am basing simply the sounds of the Dreksin language off of it. I did that to kind of pay homage to the dying languages and culture of Native Alaska, because it's really tragic how their people are fading. The Dreksins look nothing like Native Alaskans, but I did base a few things off of them.
Okay! Few. Oh my gosh I didn't realize that was so much, LOL. Help. So I guess that is a summary of the Kingdom of Vamir and it's culture/languages in Lucius' time, as well as some explanation of their histories and how they got to where they are.
You're welcome to keep asking questions, although I can't guarantee I'll always be as detailed! (even though these were just summaries? Again, HELP! Lol.)
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Dude. That amount of worldbuilding is just?? insane??? Like wow, that's really cool XD That answered a whole lot of my questions and gave a lot of insight on the whole kingdom(s). Also, funny that you mention the Asian/Korean thing, because I am, in fact, Korean, though I get called Asian a lot just 'cause people don't want to guess the wrong country lol. I also like the diversity and #girl power. Thank you for this wonderful info, can't wait until your next update!!!
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Alright, heres my summary of what happenes between the last scene I posted and the end of the scene.
*BASICALLY they spend a lot of time in discussion and, as always, there are a lot of good points on either side but there ARE different sides. The side that is for accepting the peaceful resolution and renewal of the treaty basically has the argument of: this provides us a buffer of time so we can scope out what Temell is up to/figure out their intentions/have spies in place and even possibly have an actual peace treaty because King Eno KNOWS he can't win head on. The other side essentialy goes: this would give King Eno a buffer to come up with more tactis in which he can catch us by surprise and our kingdom will be walking on eggshells for years. (AKA: Whats the point in a peace treaty you can't trust???)
Lucius has to make a descision and is very conflicted/confused, but it's in his job description to make hard descisions sooo he goes with his original plan. He was the one who proposed the peace treaty renewal anyways, so it would be dishonerable to disgregard such a positive response. And besides, it will be on HIS terms, in HIS kingdom, in HIS castle, because it is HIS life in danger, and King Eno hopefully will respond positively to those demands for the signing or else Lucius is in even deeper do-do.*
The scene that follows in an argument between Balec and Lucius that I've had in my mind ever since I first started creating this story. I've wrote the scene a couple times, but the most recent take you see now is most definitely divinely inspired or something… maybe it was the dramatic music I had going on. Thanks for reading!
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“Lucius, you must understand -” Balec hesitated and closed his eyes for a long moment before sighing deeply. “You must understand that there is more at work here than meets the eye. Your mother had confessed to me her suspicions about King Ignes’ death long before the attempt on your life, and they are suspicions I held myself but wasn’t ready to face until it was nearly too late for you.” He laughed bitterly, “Mourning days for Ignes be *Darned* I should have said something. Do you really think a kingdom so obviously bent on your destruction now so easily wishes to make amends? They are merely covering their own withering hide! What do you think would have happened had the arrow hit it’s mark, Lucius? What do you think?!”
When Lucius hesitated to respond, Balec went on, gesturing wildly with his hands. “The kingdom would have been devastated. For 30 days we would mourn while simultaneously pouring in our minds over who should be crowned king in your stead. If, somehow, Temel didn’t strike during those 30 days, we still would have spent months in furious debate over who should next have the crown. It goes even without saying that the kingdom and court would be harshly divided over who next to choose! Who would rise up and save us from Temel’s attack? We should first have to save ourselves! There would be no time.”
Lucius finally interrupted him, standing from his chair abruptly as he began to pace. “None of those things happened, Balec, and meditating on them adds no support to your defense! Yes, they are true, but could it not also be true that his plans have changed away from war? My life is not so easily accessible now that they have failed; the palace guard has near tripled under Jaque’s care. They would be attacking a kingdom that stands united instead of as divided as they hoped. Their advantage is gone. It would not be wise for them to continue on their original course.”
“A king with his heart set on war will not so easily be dissuaded. You are merely buying King Eno time to implant another disadvantage!” Balec argued, his voice growing desperate as he pleaded with the King.
Lucius stopped pacing and turned to face the man. “And a king with his heart set on peace will also not so easily be dissuaded. You must understand, Balec, that I am not proposing we trust Temellon. We will watch them; we will not grow lenient in the defence of my life or my kingdom. On the chance that King Eno has genuinely given up his efforts, however, I will stake my hopes. This way, there is at least possibility of peace. He may be deceitful, and we will be prepared if that is the case, but even a small chance of peace is better than unavoidable war.”
“You wish to live your life in constant uncertainty of your own safety and peace? You truly wish to live like that?”
“It is not my place to choose comfort!” He couldn’t help raising his voice. Balec flinched, and Lucius took a deep breath to calm his growing frustration, but his words were still laced with energy as he desperately tried to make Balec understand. “I do not choose this path for me but for the people I rule. Should I sacrifice the lives of my soldiers when there is even the smallest hope of there being no need?”
“I do understand, your highness.” Balec pinched his nose between his fingers and sucked in air through his teeth. “But you must understand that by giving King Eno more time to plot you are also making room for the smallest chance of utter destruction.”
It hit Lucius, then. He found himself chuckling and throwing his hands to the sky. “So am I condemned to choose between peace but a lifetime of potential destruction, or guaranteed war but likewise potential defeat?”
His advisor hung his head. Stated so briefly, the decision seemed infinitely more perilous.
“Where is Kalo Nima? Where is the Good in this fate?” Lucius cried. He returned to his chair and bowed his head over folded hands as if in prayer. For the greater part of an hour he sat in silence, Balec seated by his side.
The advisor was startled when Lucius finally spoke, although his voice was quiet. “Am I a fool, Balec?” He looked up from his hands at the man. His eyes were somehow both hollow and yet deeply reflective of the inner turmoil he faced. His expression was resolute, yet sad, as he met Balec’s gaze.
Balec stared at the face of his king, and for a moment remembered a child he held in his arms, long ago. It was the same face, but younger and softer and smaller on the infant prince. It was the same dark eyes and hair, too. He felt like he was speaking to a different person, but Balec knew within his heart that the small child he had seen grow up was the same man that looked to him now. He reached out to grasp the King’s hands in his own. “I do hope you are not made to be.”
Something in Lucius’ heart twisted and he found himself blinking and turning away. “Time will tell, truly, whether I am a fool or not. But I hope also.”
Balec sighed. “Will hope suffice?”
“We shall at least buy time until I have an heir,” Lucius continued dryly. “The chance is greater that way. The people have faith in the Maelfesta name, and selecting a representative is less of an ordeal than a new generation of Kings.”
“You speak too lightly of your life, my king! And forget too quickly that it could occur to King Eno to kill a child that owns in his future a throne.”
“That is a grief too painful to imagine! You make hope difficult to cling to, Balec!”
“You know what I recommend. Will you take my advice?”
“I have already made up my mind.”
“I know, but I hope.”
“If I choose to deny the request for alliance and declare war, there is still a chance of defeat. We may start with an upper hand by taking them off guard, but they are strong. I can predict nothing. If I choose the alliance, there is a possibility that Temellon could betray us in the future. This could very well put us at a disadvantage.” Lucius finally turned back to Balec. “But I will NOT be inactive. We will put measures in place of preparation and protection. Leopold’s spies are already on watch and have heard nothing precarious. At the first sign of betrayal, we can strike! If we remain diligent, there is every possibility of us having the upper hand. I am not making this choice in ignorance!”
Balec nodded gravely. “I know, my king. There is much wisdom in your decision process. I see that. And if I did not know better, I would almost agree with you.” He hesitated, grappling within himself, and then sunk deep into his chair. His voice was quiet. “I am a coward.”
“I don’t understand how that could be so!” Lucius argued, “What do you mean?”
Balec shook his head. “It is not something I shall currently say. I believe your mind is made up, and as such I will do everything I can to ensure this path does not fail.”
Lucius paused, his eyebrows furrowed as he scanned the face of his advisor. “Thank you.” Then, after another brief pause, he turned away from the man and muttered something uinder his breath, so faint that Balec could barely make it out. "I am glad to have you by my side."
The advisor, assuming the statement was not meant to be overheard, merely smiled to himself. But in his mind's eye he spoke the words, "Always, my king," until they resonated unrelentingly within the deepest part of his being.
The two men sat in silence for a while longer. The high walls of the hall stood around them, ever watchful and protective, and sad dramatic music played in the background.
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Lol, I forgot I added that bit about the dramatic music at the end. I'm so hilarious. Anyways, question, what do you think about the reasoning behind the arguments? (I know most of the argument was summarized, but you see a bit more detail in the Balec vs Lucius scene.) Which side would you chose, if you were in Lucius' position? Why?
Ok that's enough for now! Even if you can't answer the questions and just drop in to say hi, I am always open for random chit-chat and conversation! You are welcome to treat me as a friend if you're in need. Y'all are so nice sometimes I just askuhdakhsdjahsdjkhajskd.
Peace :3
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First of all, I'm so sorry that you're feeling down today 🙁 I totally get it though, we all have our bleh days once and a while. Sending out positive vibes <3333
Also, ahHH why is being a king so hard??? Poor Lucius, thrust into this situation so soon after he was crowned king. The debate between Lucius and Balec was so INTENSE wow. For some reason I just can't get myself to completley trust Balec?? Like, I know that he's supposed to be the most trustable guy in the kingdom, but his postition is perfect for backstabbing…
Anyway, I probably would choose Lucius' side. It would be a different story if Lucius was the one going into Temel, but since Temel is coming into Valoria, Lucius should be safe (right?? maybe..? probably not). But for now, Lucius' side seems slightly more reasonable.
ALSO, totally unrelated by I'm highkey frEAKING OUT because I need to choose a school soon and I'm TERRIBLE at making decisions ahhhh-
Thanks for checking in with us Jazzy, lovely writing as usual!!
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Thank you for posting, Silver Crystal! I love your comments as always, and thanks for the positive vibes. Sending some your way, too! Are you trying to choose a college or a high school or something else? I know when I had to choose a college (I had two I narrowed it down to) I spent a week pulling my hair out. There was a college I really loved the community and honors program but it was more expensive; the other college was cheaper, closer to home, 10 minutes from my brother, and had a better program for my major. When I finally made the decision, though, I chose the first college and I felt so much peace. I knew it was the perfect college community wise, and I knew God was going to provide for me. I'm very grateful for that and, even though my college has been completely online this year, the honors program is probably the best thing that's happened to me! I LOVE it!
That's my experience with picking a school! Idk if it will help at all, but I definitely sympathize with the struggle. It takes some inward grappling and struggling to figure it out. I spent quite some time on the bathroom floor absolutely agonizing over the decision. But when I made it, that was it! It was over. I chose what mattered the most to me in a school and I'm really grateful I was able to make the right choice. Good luck!!
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Okay so I'm just gonna vent here for a second, you can totally ignore me if you want XD
Anyway, I have to pick a high school like pretty much by the end of the week. One of the options is a school that is the largest in the city (it's a pretty big city), and there are a LOT of people going there. It's also the school that the majority of the kids at my middle school are going to. Because it's so big, there are a lot more options for classes, and it's also pretty close; I wouldn't even have to change buses.
The reason I haven't really thought about this decision before is the other high school is the undisputed #1 high school in the city, and only around 10% of the students that apply are accepted, so I really didn't expect to be accepted. But I was, surprisingly, and a handful of my close friends got accepted as well. This school is a LOT smaller, and it's very, very acedemically challenging. But there's also smaller classes and a smaller student population, which I kind of like, and I'm pretty sure getting there each day won't be too much trouble. Also, there's opportunities to get classes from the neighboring university.
Basically, the choice is this: Go to the big, big school with more opportunites and less stress about schoolwork/homework OR go to the smaller, selective school with much more challenging classes.
And. I. Can't. Choose. UGHH-
Sorry for that, just needed to rant 🙂
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Wow I feel so young. @Silver Crystal I think you will ultimately be more happy in the future if you go to the challenging high school. It will be hard at first but I know you can get through it and this might be my "my dad's a teacher" side talking but you will be proud of yourself if you take the hard route. But this is up to you. Finding a balance between hardship and comfort is tough but if anybody can do it, it's you.
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Man, that's a tough decision! It really has to come down to what you value more in a school. Are you someone who is really academically focused and will probably have a career along those lines? Going to a prestigious school with difficult classes might really help you prepare for college. Also, if some of your close friends are going, that's a plus!
But if your passion lies in more of the extracurricular classes that the other school has to offer, that might be a better bet!
It also comes down to whether or not you can/are willing to endure the stress of a more prestigious school. It could be really rewarding to go there, but also could end up being really stressful if you're not super passionate about the academics. It would be better to go to the bigger school and get good grades than to go to a prestigious school and struggle. 🙁
A bigger school could also be a downside because it will be easy to be unseen, however! You get less help from professors, ect. But you do get more opportunities!
Yeah, man, that's hard! Good luck. Really just spend some time thinking about what your priorities, desires, and capabilities are in school. I think that might help! It also helped me to contact someone attending the schools and ask what the professors/community is like, but that might be difficult if you don't know anyone going to the schools.
These are good points, Jazzy. Silver Crystal, I'd like to add that you should consider the fact that the smaller school wouldn't have accepted you unless they deemed you capable of doing the work. I think you should consider the pros and cons of both options, then go with the one that just feels right to you.
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Jazzy, I love this scene! You wrote both Balec and Lucius really well. I agree with Lucius, if he refused, King Eno would probably attack in the nearish future? But if he agrees, it buys him time as well as Eno to figure out a better strategy. And no worries if you need more time to get a part of it out, I get the whole being-busy-with-school thing.Silver Crystal, that sounds like a really hard decision. Jazzy and Princess Juniper had some really good points. It's really nice that some close friends would be with you in the smaller school. Have they decided which one they're going to? Good luck with whatever you choose!