Yrae Chronicles

I know I should really update on my Cassie holiday, but right now I have to celebrate a MILESTONE of ten years of Yrae Chronicles. Ten years ago today I met my twins in this completely random snippet thing. Back then I only had that image in my mind. Yamin's name fell onto the page, and because I didn't expect this thing to go anywhere, because I expected it to just be a random stand-alone thing, because I didn't want to lose my flow but still needed a sodding name for her sister, I just flipped Yamin's name in reverse.

Since then, Nimay's gone from being the general of the entire Raykinian army, quite handy but nothing spectacular with a sword, to being the general of just those fifteen blokes and ranked about number 4 in the kingdom with her sword (behind Rumal, Emon and Melraan). Also, according to how many fics I wrote on the topic, she was far more assassin than warrior. That's probably her biggest change.

Also Raykin hasn't gone to war in decades. And they ride camels, not horses. And the archers aren't nearly so dominant anymore. And wtf pushing fifty siege rams all the sodding way to Kazin. Though I do remember there was some internal conflict going on in Raykin at the time. I think it may have been halfway towards being Kazin, but the more I got to know those guys, the less merit the idea had. Raykin's too laid back to go to war with itself. Also the yrae is a shitload less impressive than it was back then because it has BOUNDARIES now and I know how the thing works. Took years to work that out. YEARS.

Yamin's pretty unchanged. She's always been shy but happy and friendly. Certain facts have been added, but as far as her character and role goes, she's the same as she was waaaay back at the beginning. NO WAIT. She used to be a scribe rather than a healer. I'm not sure why, tho a healer is a hell of a lot more use in SH now than a scribe was ever going to be. Man, if I'd persisted with the scribiness I'd probably ship her even harder with Nol than I do now >> My otp that will never happen <3

Yan doesn't appear in that fic, but he appeared later that night, along with a WHOLE bunch of story. Yan is the one I have least NO control over. None. I feel like with the twins, with Nol, with the Kazinians and the Own and everyone else, I'm the one changing their professions or giving them certain fears or hopes. Yes, they change on their own more often than not, but they're changes I expect and understand and all is good. Yan feels like a stranger who just rocked up as a complete person and I've only been finding things out about him, not giving life details to him. I learn something and realise I've been writing him wrong all this time and he just won't tell me at the time. He used to kill people on a whim. Now I'm not even sure he killed the twins' parents. I bet he could count the number of people he's killed, over four thousand years of not-life, on one hand. And he regretted every one of them for centuries. He just started out as 'the bastid' and kept that moniker until I realised Ni-Yana was named after him. Yes, the city's name came before the man's. SEE? Learn things about him but don't give them to him. He's the one I can ramble about the most but when it comes to writing him... god he's hard to get across.

AND THEN CAME NOL. I think. I have a funny feeling Melraan came first as the 'I need another army person *POOF*' character which is why he just epitomises the Own. But yes. Nolryn came in several months later (possibly in October, being as that's when his birthday is, but I'm not sure). He was evil. Genuinely he was the villain-who-wasn't-Yan. The charm was a façade to hide the evil. He was working with Yan and hadn't even been manipulated into it. And then he grew, as so often they do, and I think he's possibly my favourite now. As long as he's not talking politics, he's the easiest to write, and I don't think that's just because he's the only one of the three narrators I have at the moment who talks. He just feels like the most complete. The twins... still kind of feel like the product of a teenager's mind at times. Yan, as we've discussed, was not created so much as he rocked up and just let me figure him out as I went along.

The rest came as conscious decisions (I need a Llayan/healer friend/army master/Kazinian royal/parents for Nol/etc I KNOW HERE'S ONE *poof*) and more-or-less developed as I told them to. 'Cept Assili, she's come along much more than I was expecting her to, the little dear <3

Sum total, over a full decade, including two finished SH novels, three uncompleted SH:Rust drafts, one finished and two unfinished NaNovels, a handful of shorts and novellas and hundreds of minifics and writing memes and challenges: 886 245 words. You can bet your backside it'd be over a million if I counted the stuff I've written about it.

And there, all the way from day one a decade ago, there's been one person who's ridden right alongside me with it all. My Sallie, who's read just about every one of those nearly 900 thousand words (give it a month or two and she will have, I'm sure X3). For encouraging me with the crack and the serious, for letting me ramble and plot and throw characters at, for creating some of the most interesting people in Tsyllaes, for reading nearly a million words of my innermost everything: Thank you. I love you so so much. I feel like I'm writing it all for you as much as for myself. I had meant to draw you something awesome in thanks but the deadline has crept up on me much quicker than I was expecting! I'll draw you something this year, have no doubt <3

The other who of COURSE deserves a thing that I haven't yet drawn is Shanra. She's been the first to read every chapter since she hopped on several years back, and always offers the most invaluable advice (and inevitable squees and wails X3) over the course of the writing. You absolutely take to heart my 'rip it to shreds' rule of being a beta reader and I love you so much for it. I could not ask for better <3 It's your demands for MORE that get me off my arse to finish the next chapter X3 I love you. Thank you <3

To all those who've read anything of the Yrae Chronicles, be it a few random minis or the first couple of chapters of Silent Harmony (which, let's be honest, getting on a bit now) to those magnificent two who've persisted through to the end: Thank you all.

Also, this being the year of finishing things, next on the list is Blade Archer! I reread the whole of it last night to remind myself of what the hell's going on in that story, only took 3 hours or so, and I won't be rewriting any of that going forward. Being as that was NaNoWriMo 2004, MANY things have changed in Raykin since then, but I'll sum those things up when the next chapter gets posted. Going from 5000-word chapters back down to the NaNo version of 1667 will be odd but here goes!

Happy birthday, girls. Here's to many more <3

So I've been sitting on this dialogue bunny for four and a half years, possibly five but that's just when I first wrote it down.

I've just written it in context.

Momentous occasion you guys! Man, if I could be arsed, I'd get myself a Bailey's. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow.

I am no longer broken! Hurray! I stopped being broken roughly Tuesday/Wednesday-ish I guess. Fine for work all last week, just still a bit dented, but I'm pretty much good now =3 Definitely good for Sydney next weekend, wheeeee :D

Show day was yesterday, last day of the Show, aww =( I love the Show. I went with my uni friend Alex, since Anna P is currently in Sydney herself, and much fun was had :D The first Friday would have been far more awesome weather-wise, but such is the risk you take going to the Show in September. Anyway, I had an umbrella and it wasn't bitterly cold, so all good.

I spent most money in the Taste SA tent cos it's freaking awesome. I got some honey, two pots flavoured with ginger and a third with cinnamon, which is REALLY nice melted into warm milk X9 Also got a stick of kangaroo metwurst which will be turned into many an awesome sandwich with cream cheese, oh yes. We sampled many a metwurst and scoffed the bumburner for really not burning your bum at all. The XXX Burner, now that was spicy. Mmm, metwurst. I was also tempted by nummy olive oil but managed not to.

Looked at various animals, including very relaxed cats, bunnies that look like balls of fluff with faces, fluffy alpacas and goats that looked like they'd be more at home on some rocky outcrop rather than in a pen, and~ probably some others I'm missing.

I also had a look at the arts before Alex turned up later. I may try entering that some time. The digital art category, which must be new cos I don't remember it from previous years, was largely crap. All the real media was gorgeous, especially the pastels. SO PRETTY. The photography... god so many bad and random Photoshop filters, why? D: There were, like, three people who knew what they were doing. See if I can be arsed throwing something at them next year for digi arts, might be fun =3

We did two rides cos it was cold and wet and this was during a period of no rain. Techno jump is always my favourite, basically a whole lot of bouncing around in a circle and it's awesome fun X3 No making you sick or turning you upside down or HOLY SHIT I'M GOING TO DIE moments, it's just fun :D

Showbags, just the TimTams bag (it has a mug!) and the traditional Bertie Beetle.

We even got to see the fireworks this time :DD I swear every time I've been in my adult life, it's either been too windy or pissing with rain for the fireworks to happen, so that was exciting. AND we got to watch from the special VIP members area, thanks to the free tickets from Cassie's parents X3 It was pretty awesome. Front and centre on the main arena, very nice X)

I love the Show~ <3 Everyone come to Adelaide in September so I can take you. Then, or in February for the Fringe Festival. Either or :D

ALSO. Entirely unrelated, but I've finally finished going through all my stories for the Big Book of Stuff. Well, all except Silent Harmony itself, but that's about 350 freaking pages and I can't be arsed cos I do actually know all that stuff. Anyway, in going through all those, I've rediscovered all these ( unfinished fics I want to finish )

So, Small World Tsyllaes is more than six years old now. The four of them have been hanging above my bed well past their use-by date, so it's well time to redo them. Since this next lot will probably also hang around for years before I redo them again, I want them to look AWESOME, so here, have a wip!

( red lines highly appreciated )