Dust and Wind (Song of Kaelii the Defiant, Snippet 0) [Archives]
A story fragment from the Dustsong Cycle
(Note: Please see the reader poll at the end of this post!)
Kaelii sat cross-legged atop the dune, overlooking the slipface. She squeezed her eyes shut, clasped her bony kneecaps, and tried to relax the muscles in her face. The less at ease your body and mind, the harder it is to hear the wind speak. So they say, Mama and the elders. It didn’t make sense to Kaelii, but she had never heard the wind—not really.
She let go the tension in her limbs, as best she could, and allowed her thoughts to drift. The desert sun touched her face and made a hazy glow through her eyelids. It warmed her shoulders and thighs where her loose camel-hide tunic left them exposed to the elements.
Sand grains bit her bottom and chafed in every crevice where they’d worked themselves, especially under the edges of her garment. Just ignore it, Kaelii. Don’t pay it any mind.
A west wind blew coils of hair across her brow. But it had nothing to say, at least not to her. It never did.
Note from the Author
Hey, y’all! Non-writer life kicked my rear this week, but I dusted off (and spiffed) this opening page I’d handwritten for the first chapter of Kaelii’s story.
My month to prep for our first in-person event became my week to prep, and it’s now become my day to prep. (I’ve got a few dozen wooden miniatures in the basement in dire need of legs and clothes. I’ll be taking some pics to share later.) Here’s hoping some of the folks I meet this weekend will decide to pick up a copy of Dustsong: Len the Wanderer—and check out our Substack community!
I’ll be sharing more of Kaelii’s story as I continue drafting it here and there, this fall into winter. But I want to give one story at a time my best, so my main focus for the next few months will be Delfii’s Song. Then, Kaelii and Egwae can have my less-divided attention.
Speaking of Delfii’s Song, I need some input. What should Cranc’s ridge-cat (think “mountain lion”) be named? (Feel free to post alternative suggestions as comments!)