Word for Word

....the realization that we have less than 30 days before 2010 hits me like the sound of a massive, ringing bell.

To say that it has been an absolutely interesting year would be an understatement to 2009. I have had SO many experiences, both good and bad, that my mind balks at the measure of trying to compress all these things into the banks of my memory. 2008 has already lapsed into oblivion, leaving mere tendrils of the more important, momentous moments on my cerebrum (wracked as it is by those countless migraine pills. I now have the memory of a gold....oh hey what's that??).

SO! In lieu of that, I decided to get myself an organizer. Though initially I had no intention of expanding those little notes into a detailed chronology of 2009, I believe it IS a good idea to do so.

And so, without further ado, I present to ye, my recollection (Ju, pinjam your ayat XD).

January: Miserable month. Partly due to having left Media Prima, where I've worked for 2 years. I was more attached to the friends, colleagues and job I left behind than I would've thought. And by hell I missed my Kak Boss! So that removal, that...sudden displacement from a familiar territory hit me hard enough to make me weep every few days. To make matters worse, my short story, To Kill A King, was rejected by Writers of the Future. Didn't even make the first cut, and I was too mule-headed to realize the brilliance of the story was dampened by the lack of structure. (Yes bro, it took TEN pages to kill the king! It won't happen again, no worries XD)

February: Attended my very first writer's workshop, with Jeremy Sheldon (I believe?) as the speaker. It was a definite eye-opener. I have NEVER been exposed to a writer's workshop before, and learned a whole LOT. Met new friends too. Eeleen and Sharon! Hi! *waves*

Three letters folks: G...Y...M

That has GOT to be one of the best decisions I've ever made. Gym was great. I was more fit than I had ever been in life, and getting a trainer that eats dumbells for breakfast (kidding) taught me to push my own body beyond my perceived limits. Also, I discovered parts of my body I never knew existed. Unknown until pain and muscle cramps made them REAL.

March: Attended my first reading. READ at my first reading :D Well THAT was an experience I am eager to repeat. ^^ Met Eeleen again (hi eeleen!), and many wonderful folks at Seksan. Imagine my delight in discovering a local writing community.

Training....training...and more training. Spent a lot of time in Shah Alam. By this time, the worries I had of working in the new place have died down :)

Ages of Wonder was launched in Toronto! I sulked the whole day because I couldn't be there to meet my fellow writers and editors. :( But Julie E.Czerneda & Rob St. Martin did such a wonderful job editing the book. I learned a lot from them :D And gosh, to SEE my story turned into BOOK form was just amazing. I can tell you why writers keep writing. That FIRST sale, seeing that FIRST story on the shelves...it's just surreal.

April: *checks organizer*....well I'll be damned. Nothing much happened this month...just work.

May: BANDUNG!!! My mother had been planning to go to Bandung for a very long time, and we decided that this year would be the year to go. The idea was to have my mom visit my dear grandmother first, with us following during Raya this year. BUT, my yearning to see my grandmother got the best of me, and I decided to follow my mom.

IT WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR. I can tell you that :) I rekindled my love for the Vanderkoeck clan, I hugged my grandmother for the first time in 13 years, I met my aunts, my grandfather. Satisfaction :)

It was all bliss, until I went back to Malaysia and contracted....Denggi.

Gahh. That was the most boring 5 days of my life. I was stuck in the hospital. I didn't feel sick beyond having a flaming throat (I am actually VERY thankful for that. Other denggi patients suffer worse, or so I've been told), and missing my mother, yan, my grandmother....And thinking constantly about WORK! With a big exhibition coming, it was a BAD time to be hospitalized. And hells bells, that needle through the top of the wrist HURT! I had to drag my IV carrier around wherever I went, to my roommate's amusement.

But, it was another eye-opening experience. You won't know who your real friends are until you're sick and bed-ridden.

My family of course was there for me :) Yan squirmed everytime I showed him the needle on my hand. Mom was so worried because she was in Bandung. But she was sick too, and I was more worried about HER health!

I think this was when the whole chicadome started, though neither of us knew what to call it yet. :) Jules and Jocey visited almost everyday. They bought me my favorite Starbucks latte, flowers, food, a Scruffy, and stayed with me every night to keep me company. More friends came, Bro, Imran and Pat to cheer me up, and their daily messages to see how I was doing (with pat's constant Can I get you something to make you feel better? texts) warms me heart it does :) Marl came too, and Mak Andak. I think I had visitors practially everyday, so yea :D I felt great, because I must've done something right to deserve such kindness from people :)

To the point where the doctor commented that I won't get better if I keep downing the latte and the scones...and the nurses smiled to see the flowers on my table, reminding me how lucky I was to have such strong support :D

To all who came, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. To all who didn't but sent well wishes and constant reassurances, thank you :) Because of all of you, I recovered quickly, thank god, and was back to work the following week.

June: OGA..
Oh dear lord...what a crazy month. Had a TON of funny experiences...one being stuck in the middle of the uh...road. OGA, the oil and gas exhibition, was very interesting. Tiring! But interesting nonetheless.

Okay, Ra'kir is calling. Time to write POA. Look out for Part II folks :D Have a great night.

Cheers,
Ika

So here's the problem with leaving your story untouched for a week - You come back to it feeling like it's the most horrible piece of crap you've ever written. And because of that one week of absence, you have not only removed your mindset out of that story....you spot all the tiny little flaws that weren't there earlier.

Or then again it could just probably be my mood.

See, I've even lost the mood to write this blog entry.

So yes, I've been busy. The lack of posts would attest to that :D There have been plenty of plot points that stretched the story in places I didn't count on...but all is well.

42500 / 90000 words. 47% done!

I'll write a more detailed version of this post when i have the time. Now it's back to the book :D

So it says here I owe the government about 16k, from the study loan I took about 5 years ago when I was a student. It wasn't a surprise, really, but still...having to fork up the money to start paying the loan is making me wince, especially with the all important Melbourne trip coming up next year. That second job I've been planning to find is no longer something I should put off. Ah well!

There's a birthday entry coming up, plus a snippet, maybe! But for now, I can safely say there's steady progress. A shift in p.o.v that I didn't plan, which might work well with the rest of the story. It's still quite early to tell at this point....geez I'm sleepy.

38000 / 90000 words. 42% done!

And to attest to my previous post, a friend pointed out: "5 years ago you were still peddling bread for a living."

Yay 25!

This space has been neglected for quite a while, obviously. I blame it partly on my current obsession on finishing POA, which I'll get right into in a bit.

So from my post title, it's obvious turned 25 (sometime last week). While that day went by like any other day, it did hit me that I've reached the two and a half decade mark.

People get married at this age, or chug their way towards their dreams, blazing a trail that suits them. Either way, it seems to me that 25 is a crucial stage of discovery.

What's it like to be 25?

In all honesty, the uncertainties are plentiful. I claimed to a friend the other day that not many people could say they're "exactly" where they wish to be at 25. I set out what I wanted to do, achieved several of the goals I crafted for myself when I was 21 (you know the whole, by the time I'm 25 I will etc etc thing). And while there are many moments of contentment and self-assurance, those moments do get weighed down by an equal number of concerns.

To another friend I professed that I woke up a few days after my birthday feeling absolutely sure of myself. Knowing exactly who I am, what I am, and where I should be (sheer bravado and ignorance, i tell ya). But those feelings, tempered at first by the focus of getting important things done and living life in the moment, were ripped apart just as quickly when a particular incident jarred my equilibrium and left me kicking and screaming like a besotted adolescent. Sure of myself? Hah, that was a joke. Perhaps I was, but I need to learn to keep that center present in my head at all times and not let my heart contradict the certainties so easily.

At 25, I see all that. Previously I would've let the emotions ride their course. Now I wake up feeling stupid for throwing unnecessary fits over things that don't matter in the first place. It's a learning process, and I am hopeful that by the time I turn 26, that emotional sobriety will set in completely.

Call it being greedy. We've always been taught that people never get enough of what they want, and plenty of what they need.

So, am I where I wish to be at 25? Yes, I am. I've managed to lay the foundations of my life so far, and am in the process of paving the road now. Next year promises, PROMISES to be even more interesting, with my first ever WorldCon attendance, my finishing POA and sending it out, and the certainty that I will write more stories.

Speaking of which, moving on to POA.

36835 / 90000 words. 41% done!

Ta-da! I admit, it isn't as impressive as those thousands of thousands of words that the pros pile on their WIPs every single day. It took me nearly the span of a month or more to come up with another 7000 words, but, the progress is there, and I'm happy. Lets just hope it turns out well enough to catch the interest of publishers :)

Cheers folks. More entries soon!

So after days of struggling, I finally manage to hit 30,000 words. I'm about quarter-way through the novel, with a few details to tweak, but I'll do those when I'm done with the book.




Speaking of which, AussieCon is next year, and I'm making plans to attend.

More entries soon. I'm in for a very long week.

Currently listening to : Cantiga - Cantiga 281, The Princess Royal

Chapter 7: DONE! That took me faster than I thought, and I've already laid the foundations for chapter 8, tweaked the loopholes in 4,5,6....which sparked a whole new list of things that need to be done.

Primarily, updating the wall. There's a plotline there for the initial chapters, but little on chapters 10 onwards. So, I need at least two whole weekends to do that. A new map needs to be drawn. POA has less characters than EG, so that's one headache gone, but the Dárvian's genealogy needs to be tweaked.


Word count: 26800/90,000


It's looking pretty good and the plot's so much tighter now. I'm pleased, for now. The novel will be a tiny one compared to the giants (those over 200,000 words) but you never know what happens. I've already added 6 extra chapters to the story (initially 20 chapters, then 24, now 26).

And ooh, if ye scallywags want to see a snippet...ye'll have to wait til i reach 30k, which isn't too far off now.

And oh yes, the interview is tomorrow (it's not a job interview, mind you). I'm nervous.

Tally ho!

On some occassions, you might find yourselves in a conversation where someone who is of a suitable size, weight and fitness, comments about how much she is eating. This more often than not happens at the lunch/dinner table. And of course, as all predictable storylines go, the next line which pops up of said girl's mouth would be:

"I'm so fat. I need to lose weight."

Now, depending on my relationship with said girl, I would either offer some consoling words OR roll my eyes and let the conversation slide without me. Why? Because if I did pitch in, half of the time I would get that annoyed, "what-do-you-know?" stare. Half of the women on the table would, for a few moments, simultaneously insist on how lucky I am being THIS thin.

If you count having an overactive metabolism a blessing from god, then we are in serious trouble here folks. On such occassions I usually shrug, revert back to the world inside my head and start plotting the stories I have to write. Hey, at least the people in my stories don't ask me, "does this dress make me look fat?"

Anyway, here's why we're in trouble.

We can't tell the difference between being health-conscious and being fat-conscious. We can't tell the difference between what's healthy for us, and what's detrimental for our bodies.

Whining about your weight because your primary concern is how such weight will lead to a whole catalogue of health problems is a far more justifiable way to act than worrying about weight because "that other girl is so much skinnier than me!"

Understanding the fact that our primary concern should be the status of our HEALTH is the first step to actually making weight-monitoring a permanent lifestyle. Understanding that working out, having a healthy habit IS a lifestyle and not something you do for just a couple of months, is another way of making it permanent. That's another topic altogether, so I'll touch more on that in another entry soon.

If you're starving and killing yourself even when you're already at an appropriate weight, chances are you'll NEVER be satisfied.

Those who are fat-conscious and are constantly checking the width of their thighs will most likely drive themselves crazy at the gym, reducing their weights to an anorexical status. It boils down to the point where even a "little" bit of meat on the bones is considered a plague to society. Those who spurn comfort food like ice-cream , and the punish themselves after that is just plain silly.

"Yes, one small cup of haagen daaz ice cream will turn you into a fat bear. Yup, that's the way the body works, ladies. Kudos!" In the words of a friend from another blog:

"does it make you feel attractive after not eating for 40 days, having bouts of anorexia and "going on a diet". cmon, don't bullshit yourself.

Thank you. Good night.

Currently listening to: Bach's Concerto for 3 Harpsichords.

First off, it’s tradition for me and Julie to do this each year – Our birthday wishlist. Don’t get us wrong. We don’t expect anything…This is purely for fun :D And it’s basically a reminder for me as to what I want and need to get as well, since I have such a bad…recollection of things.

Ra’kir: My, aren’t we full of it today XD

Me: Shush! Hey, you’re up early.

Ra’kir: *points to short story* You have to get back to that, missy.

Me: Okay, in a bit!

Anyway, wish list:
1.Janny Wurts’ Stormed Fortress
2.Patrick Rothfuss’ Wise Man’s Fear (not out yet. Coming soon though)
3.Any volume of L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future anthologies. (It’s so hard to find these books here!)
4.A simple dinner friends. That’ll be the icing on the cake.

That’s all I can think of. See? I’m a woman with simple needs XD Despite Julie’s and Jocelyn’s insistence that I require a new set of clothes, dresses, shoes, and all the paraphernalia that makes a woman a woman, I’m a happy camper as long as I get new material to read every month or so. That…would explain why the slab of wood that’s hanging over my head is overflowing with books….

Ra’kir: And junk…

Me: Growls.

I have a bad recollection of things. I mentioned that earlier, but this is getting serious.

The other day a junior of mine (junior in uni) stopped me at McDonalds to say hi. My normal reaction is normally to stare at these people blankly, trying desperately to recall who he/she is. This isn’t the first time this has happened. So far I’ve counted 3 such encounters in Media Prima…Juniors who apparently know so much about me….But I have no recollection of them. (I’m so sorry guys!)

You’ll have to forgive me. I…tend to wander through life meeting a LOT of people…and well, it’s hard to sort faces out in the spur of the moment….Harder still for me to dig through my memory bank to somehow recall how I was connected to these people. It sounds cruel, but trust me, it just slips my mind.
I blame the migraine medicines I had to take when I was younger. As a result of those wrongly-prescribed pills, I couldn’t even remember much of my high school years – to the frustration of Jules of course, because at times she’d say “hey, remember that one time in school…” then she’d stop herself, watch as my face break out into that silly, sheepish, I-don’t-know-what-you’re-talking-about grin, roll her eyes and say “cheh, nevermind la”

If you think that sounds bad, I can’t even remember half of my relatives. *sheepish grin*

On the short story: 3800 words so far. I might make it to 4000 today. *dances*

The competition looks extremely tough.

Currently listening to: Mercadante. Flute Concerto in E Minor.

Not the polyphonic you might think....(nothing to do with ringtones)

In classical music terms, it means having two or more independent but harmonically related melodic parts sounding together.

Bach seems to have a knack for this. This, and fathering 20 children (I kid you not. Half of them died in infancy, but still...20??).

And no, I still can't play that Bach song. I am terribly intrigued by his compositions and the way he weaves three, four various melodies together without blasting the eardrums and can only admire his gift.

Feh, anyway. Snippet!

From TKAK:

The cadaver was pallid and swollen. His eyes, opened, stared at the ceiling in absolute horror. Whatever it was he had seen in his last moments must have been a terrifying sight. Suspicion brewed within Kegan, a dark poison which chilled his blood with uncertainty.

“So.” Kegan cleared his throat. “What happened to him?”

“No one knows.” The physician pulled the sheet which covered the man aside. The corpse’s body was clean, with neither a scratch nor bruise to shed light on the cause of his death. Curiosity pulled Kegan’s brows together as the physician added, “There were no witnesses around when his majesty was assaulted.”

Like a well-seasoned actor, Kegan let the slightest expression of shock cross his face. “Not even guards?”

“Not even guards!” the physician huffed. “Can you believe that, sir? It’s a shame you have been reassigned to protect the kingdom’s army. Why, back when you were the house Captain the palace’s security had been impeccable. One would have to be a ghost to step twenty paces away from the king without you knowing. This new Captain of the Household is as green as a sapling.”

***

In case you're wondering how busy I am....(yes, I have people telling me owh come on, you can't be THAT busy).

I'm not even going to touch the stuff I'm doing at work. The list would be far too long, and well, basically, feh...You know me...The whole "writer" thing has rooted itself so deeply into my psyche that nothing short of a brain surgery would take it out.

On stories:

1) To Kill A King.
~ Involves an extensive research on carriages, aqueducts, baroque architecture, and what chemicals people use in mortuaries back in the 1600s. If anyone has a clue, please please please drop me a note.
~ 2000 words down...16,000 words to go!
~ I MIGHT miss the September deadline, but that's okay. There's always December, or the following march.
~ I'm driving my brothers (especially red and afi) crazy with all the ideas i've been tossing around but refuse to organize. Sorry!

2) Path of Avarice.
~ Seriously, if my friends and brothers haven't been helping me out, I'd still be lost right now. Learned so many things with the first book that I could spot mistakes better now.
~ POA...definitely one of my fav works. It's taking a long time to complete but it'll get there. 7,000 words down...110,000 to go.
~ Davek (the protagonist), is a jackass, but I love him anyway. He has such a strong voice. Building the world has been a challenge, but the foundations are there, so I'm on the right track.

3) Exile's Gambit.
~ Who knew writing query letters could be so time-consuming? I'm scouring the internet for agents to represent me. No luck yet so far, but then again it's cool :) Learned so much from writing this book, the lessons are priceless. I'm doing so much better with Path of Avarice because of Exile's Gambit.

Gymming.
~ Three/Four times a week. An hour and a half for each session. Weights, cardio...stretching...It's a hell-of-a-challenge, but it's so worthwhile.
~ I slacked off for two weeks and lost my rhythm...AND my weight. Whoever said it's EASY to gain weight doesn't have an endless void in her stomach.

Right, I'm having a headache *laughs*...more entries soon.

That's the working title for my second book. No, it's not a book 2 from the Helsarian Chronicles series, it's Book 1 of a new series.

Avarice....It has a nice "ring" to it. XD

Snippets will be posted soon. I've started the prologue. Going to take a while to get the proper writing rhythm and write as much as I used to. Yeesh. Take just two weeks off writing, and this is what happens.

Currently listening to: Aryeh Frankfurter
Looking forward to read: Patrick Rothfuss's "The Name of The Wind".

Now unless I have my schedules mixed up, this weekend is probably going to be one of those laid back, spend-the-whole-day plotting-on-new-stories weekends.

Today's shtuff:

1) Send the car for routine service. Been there, done that. Luckily the mechanic did not make any snarky comments about how terrible women are with their cars. I take good care of mine, thank you very much.

2) Buy protein shake. Contrary to popular belief, it is far more difficult to actually GAIN weight for peeps of mah body type than to LOSE weight. The struggle is no less frustrating, and yesh, we skinnies whine about wanting to add some meat on our stick-thin body as much as chubby people want to lose theirs. I hate not being able to find any pants that fit without having to use the belt. Must...increase...weight!!

3) Meeting a friend later for dinner. So much to catch up on :)

4) New Novel! As promised, here's a little insight on what I (with the help of my brothers) have come up with. I'll post the prologue when it's done.

- No details! I haven't fleshed out the scenes I want yet, but the story will be set somewhere between the 1600 - 1800s (wide gap there, I know. I need more time for research to pinpoint the EXACT era). But there is going to be less magic, more tech stuff. Steam engines, clockworks, gunpowder, etc).

- If I plan this story correctly, it will be interrelated with the previous series I wrote. So no matter which one sells first, they WILL fit perfectly together. Speaking of which, I'm starting to receive comments from my beta readers for EG and they have been tremendously helpful, spotting out all the tiny little things I've missed. Thanks guys :)

More entries soon. Have a wonderful weekend!

Last week I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't start thinking of a new book/series for at least a week after I finished my last novel. It was a tremendously long, arduous endeavour after all, taking nearly ten years to plan, research, write, tweak, and finally submit. Even after all that jazz it hasn't reached its final destination yet, requiring more tweaking, more editing, more research. If that isn't passion, then I am absoltutely ignorant about what passion is.

At this moment, I am taking a break from EG. (This hiatus isn't going to last,I assure you. Once my beta readers return their comments, I'll be burying my nose back into the story.) Until then, there's a new story, or at least fragments of it, brewing at the back of my mind.

Regardless of all my efforts to stay away from plotting, I find myself doing so more subconsciously than I realize. It takes very little for me to start visualizing the scenes I want, albeit being a uncertain about what the ACTUAL story is. Letting the muse take its own course seems like a wise idea, for now.

Ah yes, the brain plays tricks on you.

Train it to do one specific skill for an extensive amount of time and that skill will come as naturally as breathing itself. (A matter open for debate here. I still require a great deal of practice with writing. Having trained your brain to do something specific does not necessarily give you the license to be sloppy. See how I contradict myself? )

The whole process of how this works requires an in-depth explanation that I, unfortunately lack both the facts and the patience to write. So, if the matter does stir your interest, I say, google away. It explains why master musicians play their instruments effortlessly, coordinating their finger-hand-feet movements to what they see on the score sheet. It explains how gymnasts time their body perfectly to execute flawless somersaults and leaps - All of which are matters my mentor had been patiently explaining to me for the past...what, seven years? And one I could not comprehend entirely until NOW.

*hears a glass box shattering*

Well, Janny, that one took a while! Sorry :p

Yes, it does take 5 years to train your brain to do something. I went through that 5 years, and I am STILL discovering new things, new ways to write properly.

Having said that, does it not make you wonder if it is possible for one to "train" a particular talent for yourself?

Off to bed now. More entries soon, if the new story doesn't get to me first.

Good night, everyone :)

ps:- This is NOT the original issue I intended to blab about. Diversion. I has it.

This week's Good News Bad News:

Good news:

After a few weeks of searching, I finally found the ant colony that has been hiding in my room.

Bad news:

They built their damn nest in between the pages of my favourite novels. Took me half a morning to clean the mess.

Currently listening to : Vivaldi's Four Seasons (spring)

The book is OFF my hands and out of my head, for now. If only there are words to describe the sentiment that is flowing through my mind right now.

Relief. Freedom. Anticipation.

Now for the next book *rubs hands together in glee*

Okay, back to what I've been doing for the past three weeks.

1) Going to the gym. Yes. Gym. I've been going to Contours Express to basically gain weight. (Yes, you read right. Gain weight. Go read up on this on the net if you don't believe the effectiveness of gymming for those who seek to GAIN weight)...and tone my body. My stamina's increased, my appetite has doubled, so much so that it's starting to scare the heck of my family and friends, and I feel great! More details of this gym at http://www.contoursexpress.com.sg/

I highly recommended it for young women who are just thinking about starting a healthy routine. The place is specifically made for women (no men allowed), and they have 2 wonderful, spirited trainers who are very involved in making certain their members reach their goal. Plus they're really nice people. So for those of you who want a free 2 day pass, lemme know. I have the coupons. (women only, mind you!)

2) Reading. 3...4...wait...yeah 4 books. Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (thanks reem!) Julie Czerneda's Species Imperative, David Eddings' Tamuli series and Sheepfarmer's Daughter. Haven't managed to finish any of the books yet.

3) Catching up with old buddies. :) Jules especially. Too bad I had to rush back early, as usual. Sigh.

4) Writing. Oh gosh, it's been crazy. Lost some sleep trying to tweak the book, so now that it's done, I find myself itching to get to the next book. It won't have anything to do with the current Helsarian series, but it'll definitely be fantasy. That's all I know for now hehe.

5) Work. Meetings, proposals, write-ups. Um...I think the picture says it all.

Current chapter: 19. Eight to go.

I have this deep sinking feeling in my stomach that my beta readers won't like what I'm sending them.

It's hard to keep up your spirits after seeing rejection slips all month.

Hey folks,

Dropping in to say hello, and wish you all a nice weekend. I "will" be scarce, for at least two weeks maybe.

This month's projects, arranged according to importance:

1) The book. Final edit before it goes off to the beta readers. Unavoidable. This one takes precedence above everything else I'm doing right now. MAJOR tweaking required.

2) Research on Middle Eastern television. Work stuff. Unavoidable too.

3) Catching up with best buddies (you know who you are, wink wink) Well it's not really work or anything, but, blech.

Bye! There'll be snippets soon!

Currently listening to: Cantiga, Country Dances.

Working on Chapter 8. Looking at the way things are moving, I might even finish editing chapter 10 by the end of this weekend. Suddenly, the deadline's not looking ALL that bad *grins*

Here's another snippet. Comments are definitely welcomed :D

****

“You said the king was alone throughout the night?”
The seneschal dabbed the corners of his eyes with his embroidered sleeve, nodded. “His Majesty’s first command when the fire broke out was to be left alone. None of his servants or guards was given leave to see him…not for any reason. Not even his son could enter his room.”
“And no one heard if he screamed? Not even when he dragged the chair down with him?”
“No one could have. You were in the city to witness the fire. You know how much attention it had drawn.” When the commander scoffed and turned his attention towards the balcony, the seneschal pursued him, indignant. “Duncan’s was an illness that kills in silence. We have suffered a heartbreaking loss, but one that has been expected long before you came to our city.”
“Khaaran curse you for all for blind fools.” The man gave a harsh laugh. “A murderer could cut your king’s throat twice and you’d still think he died sleeping.”
That remark tore the seneschal’s polished manners to ribbons. Delicate hands which never felt the exertions of physical labour clenched in a fit of annoyance. “There was no sign of a break-in you harebrained brute!”
The man swiped his hand towards the balcony entrance. “There are other means of getting inside.”
“What, climb all the way up from down there?” The seneschal chuckled, but the mirth quickly turned to sheer incredulity. “You’re not serious?”
The Commander turned and marched to the balcony, with naught but another scornful chuckle as his answer.

From chapter 1 (redrafted)

Gharod crouched beside the cool damp wall of the empty house to trace his hand over the gleaming rune carved on the bottom, snow-crusted stone. The warm prickle of magic sent a rush of energy through his flesh, and the eerie green radiance that the First Captain spotted through the spyglass began to spread like a stain.

“This is it. The last rune. You have a sharp eye, First Captain,” Gharod said. A subtle tremor reverberated through the wall, told him it was primed for burning. Trust the Fox to make destruction simple...

Thalis tossed him a piece of flint. “Light it, now. We don’t have all night.”
Gharod’s fingers froze when he heard the scrape of booted feet upon the cobbled street. Thalis whirled around, motioned his subordinate to remain still.

“What are you two doing down there?” cracked a nervous voice. Two soldiers garbed in the Watch’s tabard appeared at the mouth of the alley, their swordsman’s poise complimented by the menacing black steel held in their hands.

The flash of glee that swelled behind Thalis’ eyes could have rivalled a thief’s in the king’s treasury. At his fullest height, the brute’s Erith’Rim heritage lent him the size and frame of a bear. He measured the Cendarians with the casual deliberation of a hungry predator, an act which caused the two soldiers to exchange wary, unsettled glances with one another.

“Gentlemen, how good of you to join us.” Thalis took one step away from the house, one hand still raised towards Gharod to keep him in the shadows. “The wolf of the north greets you.”

“Wolf of the north?” The first guard straightened and nudged his fellow Watch in the ribs. “See, I told you they were Erith’Rim knights.” He sheathed his weapon, and the faintest shade of relief eased the taut lines on his face. “Beggin’ your pardon, sir knights, but it’s not safe out here. No one in this city apart from the king’s guards is s’posed to know you’re in Cendaria.”

“Oh I hardly think Duncan would mind having a couple of blokes gallivanting in his city. We thought to spend the night admiring Cendaria’s wonderful sites and be awed by the majesty of its renowned buildings.” Thalis eyed the second soldier as the man sheathed his blade, then eased his own posture. Stifling a laugh, Gharod positioned the flint in front of the rune and whispered the cantrip the Fox had taught him for the spell.

“Are you blind?” said the second soldier, his eyes wide. “The entire eastern district is burning to the ground and all you can think about is sightseeing?”
“Sir, I’m afraid we can’t let you stay,” the first guard said, a little more civil. “It’d be best if you come with u – What is your friend doin’?”
Thalis answered with a laugh that would have made a demon cringe. “What does it look like he’s doing?”

Eagerly waiting for that cue, Gharod struck the flint. Fire spread over the stone as though the house had been doused with oil, banishing the alley’s darkness. Cries of dismay became threaded with outraged curses. Gharod retreated from the fire as quickly as his ill-fitting garment allowed him to and spun to face the guards.

“No...stop! Stay back!” he heard one of them yell through the crackle of flames.

Thalis’ assault was a blur of movement, his speed belied by his size. The first soldier fell with a startled yelp before either of them could draw their blades. In the next instant Thalis seized the second Watch’s throat and lifted the poor man several inches off the ground.

“Courtesy of Erith’Rim, and our beloved ruler, King Vincent Wolfhart,” the First Captain said while firelight licked his hardened, merciless face. “May this fire bring your city the warmth it deserves.”