Penning Tournament - The Natural Disaster Challenge's Results (And Also Miscellaneous Announcements, Such As Happy Birthday, Percy!)

Hello! Unfortunately, on another Penning Tournament Challenge, dear Lucy was unable to complete it. Aww! :( I really wish she had. However, I did complete it, on the other hand.

So here is my excerpt, form a story as of yet unintroduced on this blog (don't worry, it'll come soon!). Here is a link to the Challenge itself if you need a refresher on what it was about.

***

Owain turned to Feotheire. "Feo, you need to get a grip on yourself"

He looked at Feotheire's face. Feo seemed to be just looking over Owain's shoulder. "Feo", Owain repeated himself. "Feo?"

Feotheire looked at Owain quickly. "Owain..." He nodded behind Owain, and began to step slowly away.

What on earth was with Feo? Suddenly a loud noise broke through the air. Owain looked behind him. The mountain behind them was collecting a huge cloud of dust, almost as though... A humongous rumble sounded from it, and the cloud of dust grew greater in volume. The mountain's side then began to slide down, thundering madly. The mountain was coming down!

Owain then turned around and began to run. Soon enough, Feotheire was at his side, also running at an untold speed. And so they both fled, trying to evade the ever-collapsing mountain as it billowed behind them, neither one daring to look back.

"How in Elliar did it start?!", yelled Feotheire to Owain as they sprinted.

Owain looked briefly over at Feotheire with irritation before turning his attentions frantically ahead of him again. "Feo, do you really think I am thinking of that now?!"

There was no answer, and so the only proof Owain had that Feotheire was still right next to him was the sound of Feotheire's rushed breathing - the only sound audible aside from the roaring of the rockslide behind them.

Owain looked back quickly. The mountain was almost upon them, with only mere yards to span the distance. Owain yelled in warning to Feotheire. Feotheire looked back also, and his face paled when he saw the close vicinity of the landslide. Both Owain and Feotheire - despite their doubtless extreme exhaustion - heaved a huge breath and attempted to run faster.

Owain looked ahead The tree line was coming up close. Soon, they would run out of room to run because the tree line was so thick. And then... Well, Owain shuddered to think of what would be then. How could they avoid it, though? The deafening bellow of the falling rock behind them was not any encouragement to Owain's pondering, to be sure.

Owain looked a little to his side. The trees were already beginning to get thicker. Soon enough, they'd be as thick as armor. Wait. Owain looked more closely at the trees - or, at least, as closely as he could while still running. Once they reached the tree line, those trees would be too thick to run through... but thick enough to walk on.

Owain started heading for one of the trees. He jumped into it and climbed up. He signaled to Feotheire. "Feo!", Owain shouted, hoping Feotheire heard him.

Feotheire glanced over while still moving. His eyes widened in surprise, but nonetheless, he soon also leapt atop the tree with Owain. They both looked back, and on seeing the landslide, hastily scurried into the next tree.

The gaps in between the trees were - as of now - too wide to step over, so Owain and Feotheire jumped. They must have looked quite the ludicrous spectacle, bounding from tree to tree frantically, as an enormous cloud of dust and rock ever grew behind them. Owain grimaced to think of what their father would say... or do.

But they went on, now practically deaf to anything the other found the much-sought breath to say, due to the overpowering raging over their shoulders. The landslide had gotten slower with the short time of its existence, to be sure. But it had, however, also gotten much closer to Owain and Feotheire, due to their pause in climbing the trees. But they were getting to the tree line! Soon, they would be able to regain swiftness and get away from the pursuing mountain.

Then, suddenly, a crack issued from the tree that Owain was in. Owain looked down as he was running, right before the branch he was on gave out beneath him. In a mere split-second, Owain was plummeting to the ground, with branches hurtling above him, and scraping, hitting, and bruising him from every side. After a moment of falling blindly, Owain banged into the ground and his sight went black.

The next thing Owain was aware of was opening his eyes to Feotheire dragging him across the ground quickly. Then Feotheire stopped and looked at Owain.

Owain stood up shakily and pushed Feotheire away. "Feo, we need to go!"

He looked behind him They would be crushed if they sat here dawdling even one moment more. And they had now - because of Owain's clumsy footing - lost their best way of escape. The mountain was still coming... and fast.

Owain started to run, though a pain began to rise in his torso. Soon Feotheire ran up beside him. Owain looked ahead. The tree line was so close... They would have to just navigate their way through as swiftly as possible... and hope that the landslide halted soon.

"What about your fall? You could be injured!", Feotheire yelled to Owain over the rumbling of rocks behind them.

'Could be'?, Owain thought to himself sarcastically as another pang went through his chest.

"I'm fine!", however, was the only reply he gave Feotheire.

The mountain was almost done setting though... The question would be whether Owain and Feotheire would be able to remain out of its path until it did finish settling...

They were so close to the tree ling! They would reach it within seconds. Owain began scanning the tree line for an advantageous point of entry. He looked over at Feotheire. Feotheire seemed to be attempting to do the same thing. In all hopes, they would just make it...

After a moment that seemed like an hour, Owain and Feotheire sprinted up to the front of the tree line. Almost immediately after reaching it, both began to comb it for a good way through. The rockslide  thundered ominously, signaling its approach. Both Owain and Feotheire looked back desperately. In a moment where Owain seemed unable to breathe, the landslide rumbled up in front of them, threatening to crush them, and then halted - quite literally - just at their feet.

A large breath of relief was released sharply from Feotheire. Owain looked over at Feotheire wordlessly. Feotheire met his gaze, also silent, apparently likewise unable to speak.

Feotheire, though, after a moment, seemed to recover, and stepped forward onto the heap of rock before them. Then, as soon as Feotheire's foot touched where the rock had been, it immediately vanished, making Feotheire stumble ahead.

Owain blinked in disbelief. He looked up at the mountain. It was completely pristine. As though absolutely nothing had happened.

Feotheire regained his footing, and stood up next to Owain. He looked up at the mountain as well.

"It's as though... It was never really there...", Feotheire spoke quietly, voicing Owain's own thoughts.

That was almost exactly what it was like... But, then, how could that be...? Unless...

"It wasn't ever really there", Owain said plainly.

Feotheire looked over at Owain and furrowed his brow. Then a look of understanding dawned in his eyes. "Lucyth"

Owain looked over at Feotheire and nodded in affirmation. "Lucyth"

***

Well, that's it. :) I hope you liked it! It's from a story I hope to introduce pretty soon. But, anyways, on a different subject, I have some announcements. One of them is the recent birthday of my character, Lord Percy de Blyrwen. On the twenty-fourth, which I meant to blog about, was Percy's birthday. So, happy birthday, Percy! :D

Ahem. Anyways, though, I am also announcing a hiatus. Because I am participating in Camp NaNoWriMo this April, I will be on hiatus for the whole of that month. There may be one more post during the last remaining days of March, and then I'm done until May. I might still be answering comments, so feel free to still stop by, but I will have no new posts. This means a pause in Catholicism Explained; The Penning Tournament; Meet The Books!; character interviews; and, if worst comes to worst, even Beautiful People. Sorry! :P However, like I said, I will be back in May, and, depending on the state of Camp NaNo, and how busy I am, I may or may not be able to convince myself to do Beautiful People (because I can never bear to miss out on them!). But, like I said, probably not, so I wouldn't anticipate it or anything. Anyways, Arrivaderci! :)

What did you think of the excerpt? What do you think of Owain and Feotheire? Do you like the way I did the Natural Disaster Challenge? Do I have comrades in wishing Lucy's writing had also appeared? ;) I'm sorry for the hiatus, and I do hope that you folks can forgive the lack of CE that has already started and will continue because of this. 



Penning Tournament - The Natural Disaster Challenge

Hopefully this won't seem to rushed, because I assure you that I'm writing this at break-neck speed just so I can post something. I'm sorry it's been a while, but here is the next post, and next challenge in the Penning Tournament.

So, there's a reason that this one is called The Natural Disaster Challenge, and it's not because I'm participating. ;) The challenge is this:
Write at least 1k words, required to be in at least one scene, but allowed to be split into more, of the effects of, or the event of, a natural disaster. Anything from a tornado, hurricane, or typhoon to a volcano eruption, earthquake, or wildfire to a flood, tsunami, or cave-in. Get creative and use any disaster you want. The only catch is that it's due by March the 28th. Good luck to Lucy, me, and anyone else who wants to participate! :)

Again, a reminder is that, due to Lucy's inability to blog this Lenten season, if she finishes this assignment before or with me, then her excerpt will be posted on here either alone, or along with mine. Likewise, if she finishes, her victory post, and the next challenge (which will be set by her) will also be on here. So look for Lucy's lovely writing on this ole place! (Hehe, maybe it will attract more people... You see, haha, evil plot by Belle Anne, mwahahaha!) Let's just hope that my version of this assignment doesn't turn out to be a natural disaster, haha. ;) Yeah... that was a terrible pun, I know. Belle's humor is getting weak. :P Anyways, another reminder, if you need it, on what this tournament is about can found here, and the last challenge can be found here. The location of my fellow tournament competitor's blog is here, at Tanglewebs And Fairy Rings. And obviously you know where to find mine, or else how did you get here? ;) I think that's about it. Around the 28th, I will post updates on the Tournament, and the excerpts of whoever finished the assignment, with a victory post from either me or Luce. After that, one of us will set the assignment, but it will pop up on here.
What do you think of this challenge? Sound as fun as the last one? Better maybe? Think you might participate? If you do, the only rule is to link up here (Lucy's blog would be acceptable also, but she is on hiatus over there at the moment, and so will not see it for a while if you do). I also will read the excerpt, so don't think 'I won't link mine up because Belle is too busy to read it'. I am never too busy to read good literature! So there. ;) Do you think the time frame sounds manageable? Is anybody else frustrated that the pretty picture I tried to design for the Tournament never shows up large enough to read the small type?! Agh! :)

Penning Tournament - Updates

Bongiorno! Yeah, I know you're probably all wondering why I've been gone. Well, in a rather hilariously chaotic chain of events, all I have been able to do over the past few days is answer comments. You see, I was gone for a while, and then arrived home a lot later than I had anticipated to, and then once I got home, I got sick... again. :P So, sorry...? I'm okay now, and so I figured I'll make it up to you guys by this post, and hopefully a good CE on Sunday (shh! I'm not saying anything else about it!). Anyways, I'm here today to give updates on the Penning Tournament. You can find the previous tournament post here. Just as a reminder, this writing challenge is a writing incentive of a sort for me and Lucy@TanglewebsAndFairyRings.

The Results:
I completed the challenge at the very last minute, and Lucy, difortunamente, did not. So, I shall post mine right here and now.

----***----

Leta sat down on the ground. Another mission to be completed, and it felt more hopeless in outlook than any previous ones. This would be the one to decide everything: what Leta and her team had worked for, and whether it would ever come to anything. They only had a couple hours, and then they would begin the impossible-seeming quest.




Leta looked around at the team. Sam was out of sight, undoubtedly checking the flier's readiness. Tsonja was looking over a diagram of the movements for the plan. The only proof that Vance was anywhere near was a lofty figure in the distance, keeping watch quite unnecessarily. Bertie was looking at Leta in an almost observing way, as though not quite sure what to do or say.


Leta looked back down at her feet. She didn't even want to think about how much of the team would be left after this was all over. Could she lose any of them? Technically speaking, she could lose any one of them, especially with the jobs they all had. But could she really afford to lose them? Not just for the team, but for her? It pained her to think of it... yet, she couldn't help it somehow.



She could lose any one of them forever, and be all alone... again. Leta could lose Sam, never to be cheered or assured by his happy words again. She could lose Tsonja, never to laugh at that dry look again. Leta's face grew warm with the threat of tears. She could lose Bertie, never to hear that infectious laugh again... Leta looked up at Vance's shape in the distance. She could lose Vance... never to see that frustrating grin, or that wind-blown hair, or that towering figure keeping watch in the distance ever again... Leta looked down yet once more.




So much could be lost... But losing Vance... How would she ever recover from that? How would she ever feel whole again if that happened? Leta couldn't lose him... She couldn't be alone again.. They couldn't leave her alone.. Never...


Someone sat down next to Leta. A hand neared Leta's. Leta looked up. It was Bertie, still looking at her observingly, but with almost a tinge of worry now.


"You okay, kid?" Bertie's hand went over her own comfortingly.


Leta bit her lip hesitantly. "I don't know, Bertie..."


Bertie smiled. "Don't say you don't know, because I know you, kid, and you're worrying. What's wrong?"


Leta attempted a smile. "Nothing, Bertie... It's just - I - what if one of us - or more than one of us - doesn't come back from this mission?"


Bertie nodded and sighed a little. "I know what you mean. I've been thinking about it a lot too, kid, 'cause I've been there before" Bertie swallowed, and paused for a moment. "I've gone out there with somebody, and come back alone, and it wasn't fun, I can tell you. But I guess that's what we all signed up for, isn't it? We never go out there a hundred percent sure that we're gonna come back, I guess, so what makes this time any different?"


"Yes, but..." Leta looked down. "Well, when I got into this, I signed up alone. I was alone, thought I always would be. I though that if I didn't come back, it'd still just be me... alone... so, I guess it didn't matter as much... I never counted on losing a team... you, or Vance..." Leta trailed off, her eyes going back to rest on faraway Vance.


Bertie turned her face towards his with a characteristic smile. "I know. But don't worry - you won't be alone again. We've got your back, kid"


"But can you guarantee you'll never go?", Leta asked doubtfully.


Bertie smiled again. "You know I can't. But I can promise you, kid, that Vance and I, we'll stick by you. We won't ever leave you, even when it seems like we might"


Leta's eyes flew to Vance again, and a moment of silence ensued.


Bertie also turned out to look at Vance thoughtfully. "You like him, don't you?", he queried finally.


Leta was a bit startled by the question. She recovered after a second, and half-smiled. "Yes, I do..." She laughed. "But not like you mean, Bertie... Not like you and Tsonja anyways"


Bertie turned away from Vance and back to Leta. He raised an eyebrow at her suspiciously, a tiny glint in his eyes. "What about me and Tsonja...?


Leta smiled teasingly, the first real, full smile she'd felt all day. "Oh, nothing, Mr. Dim-Bulb Fleming, nothing at all", she said, so quiet it was practically under her breath.


Bertie shot her a mock irritated look. "Somehow I have a feeling that wasn't supposed to mean 'nothing', kid. And really?" He slapped his hand to his face laughingly. "You 'forgot' my rank again. You know, technically I'm Major Dim-Bulb Fleming! Can't a guy get a little respect, at least from Russian little girls who are under his command?"


Leta shook her head grinningly. "Nope. You'll always be Mr. Dim-Bulb Fleming to me, Bertie"


Bertie eyed her exasperatedly. "Not sure if that was supposed to be disrespectful or sentimental, but either way you're gonna pay for it later, kid"


Leta got up laughingly. "Well, so will you, Dim-Bulb. I believe I'll go over to Tsonja right now and tell her of your being enamored with her"


Bertie got up in disbelief and pushed Leta back down. "You rascal!", he laughed frustratedly. "You wouldn't go and tell her such a story like that! For that, you're in timeout here until we leave"


Leta looked up at him innocently. "It wouldn't be a story, it would be true. And last time I checked, timeout is not a regulated punishment, Bertie"


Bertie chuckled a bit. "Well, it is now. And who told you such a ridiculous story anyways?"


Leta blinked and grinned. "Well, Vance was the one who figured it out, but it's pretty obvious anyways"


Bertie started to walk towards Vance, a reluctant grin spread over his face. "Well, I'm gonna have to have a word with Lt. Vance, then. You stay there, Missy"


Leta called after him, making sure Tsonja was out of earshot, "So when do I need to buy a dress for your wedding?"


Bertie's now-becoming distant figure quaked as though laughing. "Never - you're not invited!"
----***----


What you just read was an excerpt from In Greater Hands, right before an action scene (I apologize for the unstable nature of the scene - it was supposed to be a relief in between intense scenes, and it isn't the full scene). I wrote it for the Penning Tournament challenge (which there's a link to at the beginning of this post). I chose this line of the song If Ever I Would Leave You, my favorite song from Lerner and Loewe's Camelot:


Oh, no, not in springtime, summer, winter, or fall - no, never could I leave you at all!


The next challenge will be posted shortly by me, since Miss Lucy did not finish hers. And there will also be a change in plans for this feature. Since Miss Lucy will be unable to blog during this Lenten season, her writings for the tournament will appear on the blog of yours truly when she e-mails them to me. Her challenges will also appear here. Anyways, I think that was all I had to say. ;) You can count on another challenge being posted soon. At the moment, I'm off to go and think it up. ;)
What did you think? Did you like the excerpt I wrote? Do you like Bertie? Or any of the other characters mentioned? What do you think of the song I chose for this challenge? Anybody else now really wanting to listen to Camelot? :)




The Penning Tournament: First Challenge

Yay! Yes, you will always remember this as the day Belle almost procrastinated and didn't put up the first challenge for the tournament. But she ended up doing it, didn't she? ;) Okay, enough with the quotes and teasiness. I must get on with business. So, I have for you the first challenge, which I shall simply say now rather than having the part where I go on for a while (haha, I'm just nerding it up today with references, aren't I? Pirates of the Carribean, old 50's songs, and Pooh Bear... I am such a dork...). ;) Anyways, here is the challenge for me and Lucy:

A Music-Based Challenge!

So, take either your very favorite song from a musical you like, or a song you simply like from your very favorite musical. Take only one line from this song, and write a scene off of it, inspired by that one line. It must be roughly 1k words or more. You will have until the 28th of February to write it. And... the fact that it's a music-based challenge has nothing to do with the fact that I was singing and going to a piano lesson before I posted this... :P
What do you think? Lucy, your thoughts? I hope that this challenge was creative enough, because I felt like it wasn't altogether too original. In fact... it vaguely reminds me of another challenge we had to do at a different time... hmm... :P Anyways, I suppose since I said I was commentator, I'll give some updates and plans for this thing, at least on my side. Whoever succeeds will give the next challenge. I plan to do this challenge for... hmmm... I think I will use my newest story to write this thing, but I'm not positive yet. It depends on the song I end up going with. But, if I do, that means new characters (new to this blog at least) will be up on here soon. And I will post more updates when the first challenge is finished, I think. Unless of course Lucy wishes to do this. Or unless I don't finish it. Okay, I guess I'll commentate from whatever position seems fit. For the moment, though, konbonwa, friends! ;)
What do you think of the challenge? Do you think this one sounds fun? If it does, you're welcome to try... ;) Do you like writing challenges? Or are you more a self-planning writer? Is Belle's chatter already getting annoying? ;) Note: I will unfortunately be out of town for about a week or so starting Saturday, so I will not be posting anything in that time, including Catholicism Explained. (sowweee!!!) :(



Introducing... The Penning Tournament!

Here today am I to introduce a brilliant idea simultaneously thought of by Miss Lucy@Tanglewebs and Fairy Rings.

You see, both her and I are a part of a guild of sorts for writers. Under this guild both our writing flourished, and with the almost weekly assignments from it, I was writing a completely improvised story (with the help of two lovely readers, including Miss Lucy). Unfortunately, as of recent times, the guild has been temporarily inactive, and so, though it hasn't really been that long since the guild was together and assigning things, I immediately panicked. How was my improv story, made completely off of assignments, going to stay improvised when there was so much temptation to not be patient for assignments?! Well, we had an idea. Both of us, I'm sure, miss it, so we decided 'Why not assign each other some things, except on our blogs?'. So this is what brings me here today. :) We are starting an event called 'The Penning Tournament' (I made this name up, and, uh, without Lucy, so if that name is particularly lame-sounding, don't blame her, but presumptuous me). So, this is how it will work if I remember correctly - we both are given an assignment to write within a certain amount of time. If one of us successfully completes the challenge assignment, then she will be the host of the next challenge, and set the next assignment (if both of us complete it, then we'll just take turns, I suppose? And the same if neither complete it). When we do complete it successfully, before the next challenge, we also get to make a victory post on our blogs, to 'show off' the bit of writing we did in the challenge, and to give updates on the tournament.

I was given the privilege of introducing this thing, as Miss Lucy is ever so gracious to me, a much less experienced blogger, writer, person, etc. ;) Uh... I do not know if there will be a picture or insignia for this tournament, and if there is, it will be posted next tournament post because I do not have one now... :P However, I am both willing to let Miss Lucy make one, or make one myself, so hang in there! ;) Anyways. Ahem. We will be doing this for... uh, however long is mutually agreed by the participant parties as long enough, or just until we procrastinate it into the dusts of time (which is not too terribly unlikely given our particular characters). Now, this post is not the first challenge! This is a heads-up to introduce the thingy, and to let Lucy know I have not forgotten. :) I think I covered all the rules...? Oh yes! While neither of us intended for other people joining in originally, I'm sure anyone who wishes to take the challenges to their own writing is plenty welcome. Now, I think that's everything... Oh, wait! I also may or may not be the annoying commentator person throughout it, giving you every single detail you know you wanted to know about how it's going. So, make sure you're a good distance away, 'cuz I've got a very loud voice and a megaphone to go with it! ;D I also am not sure who will be giving the first challenge assignment. I know Lucy wanted me to start this thing off, but I'm unsure whether she wanted me to assign the first one or not, so I'll have to shoot her an e-mail before we begin officially. Also, the reason I'm doing this now, rather than procrastinating into the summer is because Miss Lucy, I have heard, will at that time be busy being a famous stage actress. :) So, for that, a hand of applause for Miss Lucy! *claps enthusiastically* And believe me, Luce, I'm coming to see! ;) But anyways, enough embarrassing Lucy, I suppose I've got to stop talking, or else this post will be too long for its originally intended minimal length. So, good day to my audience, and to Lucy, good luck! ;)
What do you think of the idea? Isn't Lucy just a genius, thinking of this (and, creepily enough, at almost the same time as I did)? Haha, was my make-shift name for it terrible? Do you think we'll do alright in it? Or will we both become shriveled ink-creatures, hiding from the light and obsessed with the stories? (Not that I'm not one of those already, haha...)