And...Go!

So NaNoWriMo began on Tuesday. After writing over 7,000 words that day, I wrote only 4,000 yesterday, bringing me up to 11,000. But all is well in the world of NaNoWriMo, for I am projected to finish on November 10th-13th, provided I keep up this level of writing! It makes me happy, because I have three days where I have nothing scheduled but writing!

Now, just to display what my characters are getting up to this month, here's an excerpt of my third chapter, as Sonakali and Jakob prepare to leave Environ and head to the Valley of the Kali:

Sona didn’t speak to him again until they reached a small hut on the edge of the village. It, unlike most of the other houses they’d passed, was much like the little house Jakob had woken up in: small, drafty, barely holding itself together, and what was sticking together was mainly there through some complicated combination of wind angle and prayer.
Sona stepped up to the door and gave a little knock. It promptly flew open, to reveal a rather wild-haired older woman. She glared first at Sona, then at Jakob, then grunted. “You’re the Princeling and his Warden, I suppose? Yes, o’ course ye are. I’ve known Jakob Isriel since he was a boy.” She narrowly stared at Jakob for a second, then extended one bony hand and crooked a finger at him. “Come ‘ere boy.”
Glancing at Sona, a bit surprised, Jakob stepped forward to stand before the old woman. She glared up at him, then lightly slapped him on the face. “She tells me you don’t remember who you are, nor where you came from. How careless, boy, to leave your whole life behind you. Useful, I’ll grant ye that, but careless. Look at ye, standin’ there starin’ at me. You and your cousin used ta’ look at me jus’ thataway. Poor Jakov. I figure he’s dead then?”
“We’re not sure where Jakov Isriel is, madam,” Sona said, speaking up for Jakob. “But the Kali are working as hard as they can to find him.”
“They’d better be,” the old woman grunted, then stepped backwards into her hut. “Come inside here. I’ve got your packs, those ones you wanted me to get you. They’re safe. Like I told you. No one ever bothers to come down and see Aunt Yutil. She’s just an old woman, they say…”
Jakob stepped into the hut behind Sona. It was dark inside, except for the beam of light coming in through the door. There were no windows, and he couldn’t see anything but the dim glowing of ashes that were the only remains of a fire in the corner. He could hear Aunt Yutil rooting about somewhere inside the room. Did she need light to see, or was there some sort of magical, mystical process that she used?
Finally, she reappeared in the beam of light, holding two rather old, dirty canvas packs. She thrust one at each of them. “There’s enough provisions and water here to get you to the boundary. No farther. I’m trusting you, Warden, to get him there safely. Watch out for birds. Goodbye.”
She practically shoved them out the doorway, and the wooden plank that served her for a door slammed against its frame. Jakob heard something slam down behind it, along with the rasp of a metal latch.
“She is somewhat paranoid,” Sona explained, throwing the pack over her shoulders.

If you'd like to read more, I'm posting it on Figment as I write! Feel free to tell me here what you think or create an account over at Figment. We love new people, and we don't bite. ;)

Off to reach new heights of word count,

爱於耶穌,
~Liberty (紫涵)