Friday, January 6, 2012

SFFSat January 7th: Adra visits Harbourtown

From my Nanowrimo novel, Dead Transgressions.

Adrasteia, the half-Atherian, half-Ixilean hero, is currently visiting Harbourtown with Duke Leandros of Aeril, the brother of the woman she's sworn to protect from a plot by the Children of IxChel, intent on reclaiming their people's Jade Star. The Duke has taken Adra on a small tour of the countryside while she recovers from her wound. And by countryside, I mean various cities around Athering, as there are no wilds left.

Soon they reached Harbourtown, and Adra was glad for the chance to stretch her legs. The air smelled strongly of brine and seagulls rent the sky with their harsh cries. She and Leandros went down to the seawall, where they took a leisurely stroll, watching the waves come in and out. It was a sunny day but there was a chill in the air — each breath left Adra’s nostrils and lungs feeling awakened. She was glad she had her jacket with her; since her injury she found herself getting cold with more ease.  
Harbourtown was a slow city. More a town, really — the streets were cobblestone, a throwback to a simpler time, and the buildings were still made of wood. Really old wood, she supposed; at some point they’d no doubt have to rebuild in stronger synthetic materials. Until that time came, however, Harbourtown clung to the past. It was almost quaint.





12 comments:

  1. I love the hints that things have progressed beyond the 'quaint old town'.

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  2. Nice worldbuilding. Looking forward to reading more.

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  3. Excellent stuff. Paints a great picture - not just of the town itself, but the world around it. : )

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  4. Great description...definitely builds the world to where we can see it.

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  5. What a wonderful picture you paint of this world. I can't wait to read more.

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  6. Despite a couple of punctuation issues, this is pretty good! Very descriptive!

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  7. Love the description, I can just see it. Great stuff, keep it coming!!

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  8. Interesting world, enjoyed the description.

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  9. Great snippet, and I like the sound of Harbourtown with its cobblestones and wooden buildings. :)

    Oh, and congrats on completing NaNoWriMo!

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  10. I love the Mayan references! One of my undergrad degrees was in Anthropology, and I debated between going into Mayan archaeology or writing for my Master's--writing won out. ;)

    Very excited to read more of this.

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  11. Nice world building.

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  12. Thank you everyone! It's really fun world-building for this story, which is set in the same world as Bellica but in a different time-frame. It's all the same and completely different at the same time. Quite a mental exercise.

    Gayle -- thank you! :)

    Heidi -- Oh, then you'll love this book and the sequel, The Jade Star of Athering. :) I'm close friends with Mayan priests and in line to be trained myself, so Mayan culture holds quite a bit of fascination for me. I also think it's underrepresented in speculative fiction (in a positive light, at any rate).

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