Whoo-Hoo!
I have a thrilling announcement to share with you, especially those of you awaiting the publication of Sons of Starborn. As of today…
I have officially written…
Over FIFTY THOUSAND words in the second draft of Sons of Starborn! FIFTY THOUSAND! This is out of my goal for one-hundred thousand words by November 30th. You think I can do it?
On the page count side of things, I am at over 200 (printer-size) pages out of the expected 400-450. So many pages. I do not look forward to printing this to read through, that’s for sure!
Okay, wow. You realize what an accomplishment this is?! I have been writing Sons of Starborn for over two years now! I started it in the months after the death of my grandfather, my way of coping with his death and honoring him. After he passed away, I became more driven, determined to become the author he always believed I could be. And now I’m halfway done with the second draft out of the expected three major drafts!
Let’s Celebrate!
To celebrate reaching the 50,000-word milestone, I’m releasing two snippets of Sons of Starborn, and you’ll finally be able to meet Theoden and Thoren in person! The snippets are at the end of this post.
(Fun fact for all you LotR fans–I did indeed name my main characters after characters from Lord of the Rings. You’re welcome. ;))
And now, to celebrate.
*dances around like an idiot and throws glitter everywhere*
Okay, now that that’s over with…
On to Sons of Starborn!
Thoren’s Snippet of Sons of Starborn
This had to be the place.
Thoren ducked out of the cover of the clouds and soared lower, Kadeyn and Galena on his tail. He squinted down at the cluster of tents and fires.
The enemy camp bustled with activity, rebels hurrying along in straight lines and snappy turns, duxyrs calling out clear, crisp commands. Even the fires seemed to burn with more precision.
“They would only be this uniform if their leader were here.” Thoren turned to the others, careful to keep himself obscured by the clouds below. “Queen Laverna has to be here.”
Galena scowled. Her earrings jangled as she shook her head. “Those star-bellied sneetches.”
“So we return and tell Karadsyr Lothair we found her?” Kadeyn glanced in the direction of the enemy camp, jaw tight. “Quickly?”
“We need to at least catch a glimpse. So we can be completely certain.” Thoren shook his head. “I have seen her before, when my father summoned the lesser rulers. I just have to get close enough to spot her.”
“But dragons are not built for stealth—Thor? Thor, where are you going?” Kadeyn groaned, but Thoren had already wheeled away and soared closer to the camp, his wings slicing through the clouds. Kad and Galena would follow. They always did.
The clouds hung low that night, which suited Thoren’s needs just fine, as did the half-obscured moon. Mist rolling off his wings, he craned his neck downward and searched the camp for the wine-red scales and ragged wings of the rebel queen.
For a few minutes, nothing turned up. Then silence spread through the camp like a ripple in the water, followed by a wave of bowing. A dark dragoness emerged from a tent in the center of the bowing. Even from a distance, Thoren could make out her muscles rippling with scars, the firm snap of her wings, and the twisting black tattoos that ran along her shoulders and wing bones.
Thoren circled once. He nodded at Kad and Galena, then pointed at Laverna, who strode through the camp, exchanging words with various rebels. They had seen what they’d come for. Time to leave. He would come back and kill her later, when the soldiers weren’t quite so alert. Or he would search her out in the next battle. Either way, she would die. For Ejio.
Kad nodded and whirled back towards their camp, but Galena’s gaze remained on Laverna.
“What is it?” Thoren glanced at the rebel queen one last time.
And she stared right back.
Thoren froze, his breath jerked out of his lungs. They had been spotted. And it was all Thoren’s fault.
Bum Bum Buuum!
Well, that’s Thoren! Poor, reckless, goofy Thoren, along with his two best friends, the energetic goofball Kadeyn–Kad for short–and the slightly crazy but intuitive Galena. I can’t show you too much more without giving spoilers away, but I hope you’ve enjoyed this short glimpse into Thoren’s struggles on the battlefield. Now, onto Theoden!
As a quick sidenote, in Sons of Starborn, the wind is its own entity and has its own personality and goals. It is referred to as Brother Wind. Think of it like the ocean from Moana.
Theoden’s Snippet of Sons of Starborn
The Wind picked up.
“Not the most opportune time,” Theoden grumbled. “Go away, Brother Wind.”
Brother Wind did not go away. Rather, he blew harder. Flecks of something white spattered Theoden’s face. Theoden coughed and blinked his second pair of eyelids. The white flecks melted into beads of water that clung between his scales. Another gust hit him. Combined with the sudden flurry of white, it threw him back a few feet. He crashed into Kea, who yelped and shoved him away.
“Klutz,” she hissed.
Alikah flapped up on Theoden’s right. Wide-eyed, the brown of her eyes dulled by her second, translucent pair of eyelids, she glanced at him. “Snow. It is snowing.”
“Ugh.” Theoden flapped through another gust. “Really, Brother Wind? Now?”
Brother Wind blew harder. Perhaps he liked making things difficult. Theoden ground his teeth. The snow fell faster, in nearly sideways currents of white, seemingly harmless flecks that quickly built into an onslaught.
He couldn’t see anything but white. Theoden flapped hard, but Wind came in from every direction at once, whooshing here while Theoden tried to fly there, shoving him this way when he meant to go that way. Alikah and Kea had disappeared in the storm—Theoden spun around and strained his eyes for them. “Alikah? Kea?”
No answer. Curses.
A sudden blast of wind flipped Theoden. He shouted and frantically twisted in the air. Was he falling? Up and down and left and right swirled together into the same dancing white of the snow.
Theoden slammed into the earth. Pain exploded in his side. He cried out. Then his head hit the ground and the white faded into black.
That’s All, Folks!
Welp, those are the twins. Cunning Theoden and bold Thoren. Twins fighting for survival, fighting to become the heir to the throne. Feel free to comment with your thoughts, or subscribe and receive access to another piece of my writing! And if you haven’t read the introduction to Sons of Starborn yet, you can find it here!
Now, back to my glitter and dancing.
God bless,
–Astor
Leave a Reply