12,350 words. Still in Had Ordjah. Ilgamuth and Kinboor (an OC, don't worry about not knowing him) are having a philosophical discussion that will be useful in leading into the closing scenes.
...
There is so much world-building I cannot figure out how to get textually into this story. Like, Ilgamuth and a few other boys encounter a priestess of Azaroth who is Tolkheera of a medium-sized shrine. She doesn't give them her name. I want to explain that this is a thing for people who serve Azaroth -- they are not full-on Nameless, the ones who have literally given away their selves -- but they don't usually offer their names. They introduce themselves by their positions and titles instead.
I wonder if I can get in some of the symbolism around spears, and why they are more important than swords even though the sword is the weapon men carry all the time. The spear is a man's self, while a sword is just a tool. So a spear is burned along with a corpse, to travel into the heavens along with the deceased person. This is why the fountain in the Courtyard of Broken Spears (briefly mentioned in "Out of Season") is 'politically pointed' -- captured rebels had their spears broken so they could not take that part of their selves with them after death. But a sword can be disposed of any old way, as witness the conversation with Alicheen Tabek in "Out of Season," where she's thinking of donating her dead brother's sword to a temple that will break it and put it into a labyrinth, and that in no way reflects on her brother's honor or the state of his soul; it's just an expression of piety.
...
There is so much world-building I cannot figure out how to get textually into this story. Like, Ilgamuth and a few other boys encounter a priestess of Azaroth who is Tolkheera of a medium-sized shrine. She doesn't give them her name. I want to explain that this is a thing for people who serve Azaroth -- they are not full-on Nameless, the ones who have literally given away their selves -- but they don't usually offer their names. They introduce themselves by their positions and titles instead.
I wonder if I can get in some of the symbolism around spears, and why they are more important than swords even though the sword is the weapon men carry all the time. The spear is a man's self, while a sword is just a tool. So a spear is burned along with a corpse, to travel into the heavens along with the deceased person. This is why the fountain in the Courtyard of Broken Spears (briefly mentioned in "Out of Season") is 'politically pointed' -- captured rebels had their spears broken so they could not take that part of their selves with them after death. But a sword can be disposed of any old way, as witness the conversation with Alicheen Tabek in "Out of Season," where she's thinking of donating her dead brother's sword to a temple that will break it and put it into a labyrinth, and that in no way reflects on her brother's honor or the state of his soul; it's just an expression of piety.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-06 02:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-07 04:11 am (UTC)(I really, really want my assigned writer to get back to me about what she wants by way of illustration, because while I can write very fast under pressure, I cannot draw at anything remotely like the same speed. So prep time is very important. *gnaws fingers nervously*)