2026 P : Performance

The performance is an excerpt from Dragon Destiny. Although she is not far removed from being a young girl, Anastasia shows her inner strength by performing in front of strangers--and her kin. The setting is celebration and she is using the performer as a thank you to the local residents. She is performing a difficult piece of a legend of fated lovers. Keep on mind that at this time she hasn’t had formal training.

With Uaine’s “good luck” still echoing in her ears, Anastasia climbed the two steps and walked to the center of the stage. Nerves she thought long conquered rose once again and grew stronger when she looked out over the sea of faces turned towards her.

She focused to shift the unease. They are just friends and kinsmen. This is no different than teaching the little ones their letters and numbers. Sucking a breath deep into her lungs, she held it for a mere second then released it as a single, clear note

Once she started, her tension dropped away and she slipped into the familiar words. The broad smile on Uaine’s face and the surprised look on those around him removed the last of Anastasia’s uncertainty and she threw herself into the song. All too soon the last chorus filled the hall... and she realized, Nilbar and the other town musicians had been playing along with her. A flick of her fingers silenced the others, leaving only the sound of her voice. When the story told of the heartbroken Mirianth flying to the moon, Anastasia let her voice trail off until a profound silence filled the room.  

A single clap shattered the thrall left by the music. The sound drew Anastasia’s gaze to the front row—Uaine. Trust him to support me and to show approval when no one else does. 

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2026 O : Obelisk

 

An excerpt from Windmaster of a traveler's detour to the perfect “O” obelisk.

To someone who until recently had eschewed horses for the rolling deck, riding Kaleigh without benefit of saddle or bridle was a new experience. Both her and Dal’s laughter mingled with the soft swoosh of the grass as the fàlaire loped across the meadow, creating wraith-like swirls in the morning mist. Even at a leisurely pace, they reached the ring of stones while the sky was still turning from silver into the bright pink, which at sea heralded bad weather on the horizon.

The call of ancient magic called out with a force Ellspeth felt in her bones. “What is this place?”

“In the times of many ancestors past, this was a place of fiosachd, of good fortune. Eventually someone set up the circle of stones.”

Dal slid from Taer’s back and walked around the stones. Ellspeth could see the five outer ones were as tall as a man. The center stone, a circular spire, twice as tall as the wizard, held court and loomed over a small stone bench. An outer circle of white pebbles, a handspan wide and three or four fingers high, gleamed as a halo around the rocks.

“It is a tradition for mountain people to leave a pebble at a place like this as an offering or just to acknowledge their presence,” Dal explained. “Those embarking on a long journey often take a stone with them for safe travel. We have time. Come feel the music in the rocks.”

The moment her feet touched the ground Ellspeth felt safe. A spot halfway around the circle seemed the place for the pebble in her hand. When she knelt to place it atop a small cairn of similar ones, she thought she could hear the voices of all those who had stopped there. 

~till next time Helen 

If you're following other blogs in the challenge, here's the master list of the participants.

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2026 M : Mothers

 

After April comes May, and with it Mothers’ Day. In honor of mothers everywhere, introducing a few of the women in my life and those of the dragshi and the world of Windmaster.

 Woman who inspired the character
of Eilidh, chieftain of Clan Daimh
and my best table buddy

Helen Boganski Henderson 

     Betty Jane Miller (mother)

     Jessie Treon (grandmother) name used for Anastasia’s dragon soul twin

     Susan Chippi (grandmother)

Lady Ellspeth of the House of Cszabo

     Mirrim captain of the Northern Pearl (mother)

     Rima captain of the Mountain Mist (grandmother)

Lord Dal

    Eilidh (mother) dowager chieftain of Clan Daimh, inherited rule of the clan after husband’s death

     MarEilidh (great-grandmother) gave Dal the amber stone used to unlock one of the clues to the cave of the hidden tool that could control magic

Lord Branin

     Liath (mother)

Anastasia of clan Weiss

   Voirrey (mother)

   Arianrhod (silver circle)

~till next time Helen 

If you want to see my previous postings for the challenge, go here. If you're following other blogs in the challenge, here's the master list of the participants.