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edenfallingHere is a little Firsthome snippet from the last years of the Estarin Empire, about five centuries before Ekanu is born. I roughed it out longhand at the grocery store this afternoon, which took about seven minutes. Then I took another twenty tonight to type it up and make it make sense, which had the side effect of doubling the length.
Svedanya sin Alar thinks about her new friend and the future. (350 words)
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Tightrope Walking
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Svedanya doesn't see the future. First of all, it isn't like seeing at all. If it's like anything, it's the drawn-tight tension of a rope about to snap, or the breathless pause before lightning strikes.
She can make that comparison with authority now. Sooner or later, anyone who spends time with Tallo sees lightning all too close for comfort. There's a reason he doesn't have many friends.
But back to the future -- and that's the other wrong word, because there's never only one future. Whenever someone figures out her gift, she gropes for a way to make them understand that she's not an oracle. Finally she settles on this: Imagine a pole holding up one corner of a tent. The pole is cracked near the base, and it's starting to lean. Usually you can guess which way it's going to fall...
Except sometimes you'll be wrong. Maybe there's a gust of wind that catches the tent and pulls the pole the other way. Maybe somebody notices the accident about to happen and rushes to brace the wood before it snaps. What Svedanya feels has the same limitations. She knows which way things are most likely to go, but likely doesn't mean certain. Sometimes people change their minds or make a choice without letting themselves consciously realize what they've chosen until they find themselves halfway through an unexpected action. Then Svedanya stumbles, braced for a future that suddenly isn't there to meet her step.
Tallo makes that feeling familiar too. With most people, she can call their next actions and words nearly eight times out of ten. Most people sleepwalk through their lives, acting out well-worn scripts and tired blocking. Tallo doesn't. He's awake. She's lucky to predict him six times out of ten.
This is probably another reason he doesn't have a lot of friends. Most people dislike inconsistency as much as they dislike lightning blazing down beside them.
Most people are boring. Tallo isn't.
Svedanya is learning to stop feeling for his shifting futures and keep her balance in the moment. The challenge is worth it.
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Inspired by the 8/26/11![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
15_minute_fic word #195: warning
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You know, one of these days I really need to write about Tallo's other friend during his adolescence -- Jander Amcar Sintarris, the son of Tallo's owner and master -- and how that connection later drags Tallo and Svedanya into the lead-up to the Three Day Revolution.
Svedanya sin Alar thinks about her new friend and the future. (350 words)
---------------------------------------------
Tightrope Walking
---------------------------------------------
Svedanya doesn't see the future. First of all, it isn't like seeing at all. If it's like anything, it's the drawn-tight tension of a rope about to snap, or the breathless pause before lightning strikes.
She can make that comparison with authority now. Sooner or later, anyone who spends time with Tallo sees lightning all too close for comfort. There's a reason he doesn't have many friends.
But back to the future -- and that's the other wrong word, because there's never only one future. Whenever someone figures out her gift, she gropes for a way to make them understand that she's not an oracle. Finally she settles on this: Imagine a pole holding up one corner of a tent. The pole is cracked near the base, and it's starting to lean. Usually you can guess which way it's going to fall...
Except sometimes you'll be wrong. Maybe there's a gust of wind that catches the tent and pulls the pole the other way. Maybe somebody notices the accident about to happen and rushes to brace the wood before it snaps. What Svedanya feels has the same limitations. She knows which way things are most likely to go, but likely doesn't mean certain. Sometimes people change their minds or make a choice without letting themselves consciously realize what they've chosen until they find themselves halfway through an unexpected action. Then Svedanya stumbles, braced for a future that suddenly isn't there to meet her step.
Tallo makes that feeling familiar too. With most people, she can call their next actions and words nearly eight times out of ten. Most people sleepwalk through their lives, acting out well-worn scripts and tired blocking. Tallo doesn't. He's awake. She's lucky to predict him six times out of ten.
This is probably another reason he doesn't have a lot of friends. Most people dislike inconsistency as much as they dislike lightning blazing down beside them.
Most people are boring. Tallo isn't.
Svedanya is learning to stop feeling for his shifting futures and keep her balance in the moment. The challenge is worth it.
---------------------------------------------
Inspired by the 8/26/11
15_minute_fic word #195: warning---------------------------------------------
You know, one of these days I really need to write about Tallo's other friend during his adolescence -- Jander Amcar Sintarris, the son of Tallo's owner and master -- and how that connection later drags Tallo and Svedanya into the lead-up to the Three Day Revolution.
