18 September 2022

This is the creation story for my homebrewed D&D story. Or, well, the first part of it. I may add more later. It’s been ages since I’ve played, but I do enjoy it, and I enjoy the worldbuilding aspect it inspires. My setting does differ from mainstream D&D settings in a few ways here and there, but that’s part of the fun for me. I’m not the first person to think of Life and Death being a couple who gave birth to everything else, but it’s an idea I find fascinating.

If I were ever to make this serious, there are definitely some things in this I’d expand upon. Also, this is 100% fiction, and doesn’t represent my actually religious beliefs. I probably didn’t need to say that, but you never know.

Before the beginning, there were only two, Mother Life and Father Death. Some say they were exiled from other realms, others that they wandered from their home to grow beyond the limits of what they were. And they stepped into the dark, and it was empty, and cold.

To stave off the cold, they embraced each other, and Mother Life conceived. To comfort her in her pregnancy, Father Death formed earth for her to lie on, and soon a baby girl was born to them, with flaming gold hair, and brought light to the darkness. In joy, the two gods wept and held their baby close. The Mother’s bed became the earth and the spirit Genbu, and their tears became the oceans and the spirit Aruna.

The baby grew, and as she grew she laughed loud and often. When she did, her hair would flare flames so furious it would boil the new oceans. The first flames fell deep in the earth, and became the spirit Pele. Mother Life wished for her daughter to know beauty, and so with her power grew a garden bed for her little girl. And even as her flames burned it, so too did her light sustain its life.

In time, Mother Life and Father Death again conceived and bare a son, who could shatter mountains with his cries. His first wail became the winds and the spirit Zephyr. With his winds, the boy learned to bring water to the garden the children now shared and let it rain, softening his sister’s flames and creating the first storm.

The two children would often fight and grieve Mother Life and Father Death. When they saw this, the four great spirits gathered and said, “We must do something.” So each shared of their essences to create a being in the image of their makers, and thus the first giant was born. They made many more, and brought them to the children, who stopped fighting to admire them in wonder, and play with them.

Mother Life and father Death were also impressed, and praised the spirits. “However,” Mother Life said, “they do not yet truly live. They are still little more than puppets.”

The spirits sorrowed, and Father Death cautioned, “If we grant them life, we must also grant them death. They will not be eternal, as the gods or the spirits. Do you still wish them to live?”

With one voice, the spirits pleaded for them to make it so. And the Mother and the Father granted life to the giants.

17 September 2022

This is where I started figuring out the beginnings of who Elsenaia really is as a character. It still took me quite a while after this to figure out, and I didn’t quite have a good image of her mental landscape, but it’s where it started. It’s also a lot more focused on the romcom side of the story than some of my more recent shorts set with her.

You’ll see later, but most of this has been rewritten at least once. It’s liable to happen again; it’s just a fun concept to play with.

When I opened my eyes, or whatever I used to see in this astral projection, I stood in a hallway with a red velvet rug running down its length. Scattered down the hall on both sides were doors of every possible shape, size, and material, interspersed with countless small tables. Some had random items, like dolls, books, or even a pair of old boots, whole others projected a 3d image from the surface. The one in front of me had an image of the guard she’d been arguing with before.

I reached out to touch it, and the image sprang to life. “...mean to bond with this… human trash!?” The words were clearly not English, but somehow my brain could interpret what was being said perfectly, as if I’d known Elvish all my life.

Around me, I could feel as the palace itself grew indignant, and the princess’ voice replied, “Of course not! This is merely an interrogation, and it will not be–”

The hallway warped at that moment, and Elsenaia’s voice entered my head directly. “Wha… How did you… You’re not supposed to be here!”

I looked around and stepped back from the image of the guard. “Oh? Why not?”

“Because I’m supposed to be searching your mind, not the other way around!”

I cock my head for a moment. “Aren’t you, though?” Indeed, when I focused on it, I could feel Elsenaia where she’d looked through some of my more recent memories.

“Yes, but–”

“Then what’s the harm?” I ignored the twinge of embarrassment and panic emanating from the palace around me, and picked up a teddy bear from one of the tables. I immediately learned it had been a gift from Tairsi, before… something. A flash of pain and loneliness, and it felt like the memory was cut off.

“Nooo!” Elsenaia popped into existence before me, snatching the bear from me before clutching it to her chest. Instead of her fancy dress and tiara, she wore a simple white one-piece dress, and her hair was loose.

Before I could stop myself, I muttered, “Yep. You definitely look way more adorable relaxed like that.”

Elsenaia’s jaw dropped, and her face flushed pink before turning full-on scarlet. She turned and ran down the hall, still hugging the bear, waves of embarrassment and bewilderment pouring off the palace walls.

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Introduction

A little over a month ago, I committed to write approximately 1 hour every day. I wanted to improve my writing skills, so that way I’d have the skill I needed to tell the stories I actually wanted to tell. So, I gave myself permission to write whatever I feel like, and more importantly, permission to let some of it be terrible, without it being a bad thing. Than I had a thought; I’m writing anyway, why not throw it up on a blog and get my name out there?

Of course, that means everything I post on here is unpolished. I may take a day here or there to revise something I’d written earlier, but even then, it’s not really edited. As I build the site, I intend to make it easier to find the stories worth reading, but that’s going to be a while.

For now, I plan on posting twice a day until I have a one-week buffer, then switch to once a day. Each post will likely have a little bit of my thoughts or explanations about it included in italics before the main post itself, so feel free to skip that. And welcome to the random writings and ramblings of Nathaniel Cloud!

16 September 2022

This was both the beginning of my daily writing, and my introduction to Elsenaia. Definitely pretty rough in places, but it got the idea across well enough. I’m basically ignoring all reason for this opening bit, to be honest; I was writing this for fun, not to be serious. I did start taking it too seriously later, though.

“You’ve seen us, and so you all must perish.” The elven princess swept a cold gaze across us all, then turned to leave. The guards moved to carry out her orders.

Cries of alarm came from several of my companions, and I protested, “Oi, that seems a bit extreme, don’t you think?”

The princess whirled back to me, eyes blazing. “Extreme? After knowing what your people are capable of? I dare say it’s a mercy I don’t order worse.”

I glared back. “Well, I’m not sure exactly what you mean by my people, but regardless, it’s not like we’re all the same, you know? And it seems harsh to kill a bunch of people when our only crime is to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Her eyes flared at that, but she held out a hand, stopping the guards, and stalked up to me. “Very well, then,” she hissed, a dark smile curling at her lips. “Prove it.”

With one eyebrow raised, I asked, “And how do I do that?” 

Her smile grew darker. “By letting me inside your head.”

“Eh? That’s it?” From the way she’s smugly folding her arms, it felt like she thought she’s asked for the impossible. “Does the spell hurt a lot or something?”

Her smile faded, and her forehead wrinkled. “Well, no.”

“Is this gonna make me your slave or something?”

“No, of course not!”

I glance at my other companions, who all shrug. “Then sure, why not? I mean, there’s some things I’m more than a little embarrassed about, but it doesn’t seem like that big a deal.” 

The princess’s eyes just about bugged out of their sockets, and several of the guards’ jaws dropped. I chuckles, then thought for a moment. “Though, if you do find something you get mad about, don’t get mad at these guys for it, alright?” I extended my hand. “The name’s Nathan, by the way.”

The princess nervously accepted the handshake. “My name is Princess Elsenaia Haligwen Serassan, but you may call me Princess Elsenaia.”

“So, how does this work?” I sat, legs crossed, in the middle of a large magic circle.

Elsenaia’s head guard, a woman named Tairsi, replied, “The two of you will clasp hands, and after chanting the spell, the princess will enter your mind and see what manner of fírima you truly are.”

I nodded thoughtfully. “Anything else I should know?”

Tairsi paused. “When we said there was no pain, that is only partially true. The spell itself causes no pain; however, as the princess peers through them, your darkest secrets will be exposed to her, and your deepest traumas may be brought to the front of your mind, which can be…difficult, depending on the life you’ve had.” She sighed and smiled apologetically. “I do believe the princess, for all her thorny exterior, will do her best to spare you from anything too terrible, but it’s not an exact art.”

I grimaced and nodded. “The warning is appreciated.”

A short ways away, the princess argued with another guard, a dour-faced man with long hair graying at the temple. He gestured to me several times, but the princess simply sighed and shook her head. She said a few things in Elvish, which caused the guard to growl and look away.

The princess glanced over where my companions were being held. “Besides,” she said in English, “I made an oath, did I not?”

Without checking the man’s reaction, she strode over and sat down across from me. I eyed Tarisi and the other guards before I glanced back to the princess. “Everything alright?”

“It is fine.” She held out her hands to me. Once I’d grabbed them, she began to chant, and the runes incorporated into the circle began to glow a bright lavender light. I closed my eyes and tried to open my mind. Power surged around me, sweeping my consciousness away.

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