The Shed 14

Hello wonderful souls of the shed. I am back from the dead and just stopping by to say hi!

a reply to: WalkInSilence

Good morning WIS, and all the lovely creatures of the Shed!

WalkInSilence-- thank you, I'm happy to share the beauty I stumble upon with like minded peeps.
Thank you for finding that quote-- it is indeed intriguing and inspiring!

I love your turtle avatar and also what it means to you. There are definitely ways to slow life down and enjoy the ride

Happy Thursday to all!

Good morfternoon, Shedisans -

Hello Zos, knowledge! Hope you two are having lovely days today!

a reply to: PrairieShepherd

Hi Shepherd, I am indeed having a lovely day, thank you!

Hi knowledge

All my best wishes for a blessed day.

My focus of the day: Unconditional love. If I can put the theory into daily practice, I will be the badass I have always wanted to be Just my thoughts of the past two days, for what it's worth. So sending my unconditional love out to all the Sheddites! Wherever you are today on your journey, know you are loved.

a reply to: zosimov

How beautiful, Zos. Truly - if only we all could/would walk with unconditional love each day. What would we accomplish? What darkness could we eliminate?

a reply to: PrairieShepherd

Thank you Shepherd! I was really hoping not to come across as cheesy.
What trips me out is this act (just loving each other) should be one of the easiest things in the world to accomplish.. and yet in practice is so difficult! Which is why I was so thankful for my friend who recently got me thinking deeply about the topic again.

I love what you wrote about how much we could accomplish if we always practiced that truth. The darkness that could be illuminated.. good news is that even small acts can have a profound effect!

Link to all my story posts in Sheds 11, 12 and 13
(Shed 14) Page 6 - The Cipher
(Shed 14) Page 20 - Kaena Returns
(Shed 14) Page 29 - As Good as a Death Sentence
(Shed 14) Page 32 - A Vow by the Lake
(Shed 14) Page 38 - A Bottle of Ink
(Shed 14) Page 41 - Kaena's Mistake
(Shed 14) Page 54 - A Command Performance
(Shed 14) Page 55 - A Cautious Offer
(Shed 14) Page 59 - The Water Drummer
(Shed 14) Page 65 - Regret
(Shed 14) Page 93 - A Limit of the Gift
(Shed 14) Page 93 - The Ambassador
(Shed 14) Page 98 - The Seeress's Secret, part 1
(Shed 14) Page 101 - The Seeress's Secret, part 2
(Shed 14) Page 109 - The Seeress's Secret, part 3
(Shed 14) Page 113 - What Must Be Borne
(Shed 14) Page 114 - A Woman of Unspeakable Power

Today's episode: The Servant

Gaalen pondered her words. “What about Lady Itaericae? She had hours yet.”

“Yes, you are correct, she was not in immediate danger, though her suffering was great. But the wounds of a gith-gesaarm are not natural. They are of Ngak the Deceiver. I could have healed her puncture wound in minutes, yes, but their venom cannot be extracted, not even with tamborae. At least, if it can, I don’t know how to do it. Other animals’ venom can be removed, but some creatures are different. I am sorry, Lord Braeghe. Please know I would have saved her if I could have.”

He winced as he rose to go to the bureau, poured a glass of water – fortunately set out on the bureau and not the now-destroyed table - and offered it to her. She took it and sipped delicately. The wound in his side ached and he pressed a hand to it. He felt wetness and guessed it had broken open again.

“Seeress…may I…that is…”

“Ask freely, Lord Braeghe.”

“You knew what you were in for, didn’t you?” It was more of a statement.

“Not entirely,” she said simply. “I knew roughly what I was dealing with when I saw her, but I didn’t know quite how bad this was until I Took it. By the time I asked for your help, however, I knew the Expelling would be…difficult, yes.”

“Do you remember it?”

She just gazed at him. Her eyes told him the truth. “All of them?” he asked, incredulous. “How many?”

She continued to stare at him. “Many, Lord Braeghe,” her voice was soft and he sensed bone-deep weariness.

“Why, then? What is that girl to you? That kind of thing happens almost every day. They can’t fight back because the girls can’t control a kir yet. And the boys are beaten until they comply unless their captors are women. They are sold for slaves, or killed when they don’t cooperate. Why her, why put yourself through it?”

Siere considered for a moment. “Why did you interrogate me so harshly after Corporal Baeler was killed?”

“I apologize for that, your Grace. Baeler was my responsibility. If I couldn’t keep him safe, at the very least I could exact justice on the one who took his life.”

“You can do better than that. Don’t patronize me, I’m too weary for it, my Lord,” she added sarcastically.

Gaalen raised an eyebrow. She stared at him flatly, expecting – demanding an answer. Suddenly uncomfortable, he got up and went to the small window, studying the intricate color pattern in the glass idly.

“He was much like I was, once. Scared, but determined not to show it. He was so clumsy – he’d crash right into a chair or a table in the mess hall because he was so wrapped up in what he was going to do next he couldn’t think about what was right in front of him,” Gaalen chuckled, then sobered. “But when he was working his sword, you could see a light in his eyes. Not madness, not the rage that takes some men. It was as if he was a master craftsman…he tried to make the perfect swordfight…the perfect counter to each attack, the perfect attack for each defense…he could become one with the sword…it was magnificent. He deserved better than to bleed out in a market alleyway.”

Gaalen brought himself back from his reverie. How does she do that? I can’t be sentimental for a soldier!

“That is exactly why, Lord Braeghe. Every person is somehow special, every person is magnificent in their way. What if Corporal Baeler had been killed before you ever met him? Knowing what you know now, would that be a tragedy? Everyone deserves a chance to live, to be free and become what they were meant to be. I can’t always give that chance, but sometimes I can.”

“But you can’t protect everyone. Especially soldiers. We die.”

“So I should protect no one instead?”

Gaalen was silent.

“Do you know how the ancient translations of the Book of Voices refer to Seeresses and Seers?”

Gaalen shook his head.

“The word is Maeiosha’i. It translates to the Graytongue as ‘Servant.’ Lord Braeghe, I healed that girl because I could. Because Aomm has given me a rare talent above the Gift, beyond that of other Seers. I don’t know why he did that, but I trust him. Baeler did his duty, though it cost him his life. My duty is to use my talent to help others, and if I must pay a price of suffering then so be it. Should a servant be less than a soldier?”

originally posted by: zosimov
a reply to: PrairieShepherd

Thank you Shepherd! I was really hoping not to come across as cheesy.

What trips me out is this act (just loving each other) should be one of the easiest things in the world to accomplish.. and yet in practice is so difficult! Which is why I was so thankful for my friend who recently got me thinking deeply about the topic again.

I think we are each broken in our own way. That brokenness manifests itself in many ways, but I think most of those ways lead to a resistance to loving one another as we are. It feels to me as though we seem to seek drama, conflict, and darkness. Sarah McLachlan's famous song "Angel" has this profound line in it:
"And this sweet madness | this glorious sadness | brings me to my knees"
Somehow we are drawn to the "sweet madness" and "glorious sadness". Almost as though we don't know how to live another way.

I love what you wrote about how much we could accomplish if we always practiced that truth. The darkness that could be illuminated.. good news is that even small acts can have a profound effect!

Profound indeed. I think we don't know truly how we affect other's lives. I just pray that when I interact with people I bring light to their lives, not darkness.

a reply to: PrairieShepherd

You said this so perfectly. I've have a lot of soul food to get me by lately, thanks for adding to the feast

Comes through the door and grabs a cup of coffee. Just popped in and now have to catch up in here. Hello to whoever is around!

a reply to: Night Star

Hello Night!!

Great to see you!

a reply to: Night Star
Thank you, Night.

I'm catching up again after a frantic couple of days, when I barely even did any "modding" stuff.

However I'll also post a shameless plug for my entry on the YJA contest. The Cottage.

I'm sure most here would know what cottage I'm talking about!

And please, I'm not interested in or trying to win anything. I've just been so amazed by all the entries I've had the chance to read that I really wanted to submit something just to be part of it all, and less than an hour ago I got this concept and just wrote it straight out. So it's not even polished and I'm well aware of that.

a reply to: Night Star

What's up?



How's your day?

a reply to: zosimov

My pleasure, Zos.

a reply to: Night Star

Hiya Night!
*Shep waves from his easy chair near the fire*

a reply to: JustMike
*Shep does a happy dance, then scoots off to read*

a reply to: knowledgehunter0986

Hi hunter!

a reply to: jacygirl
And so do I.

a reply to: swanne

Hi swanne!
How are things in your neck of the woods?

a reply to: PrairieShepherd

Things are going pretty smoothly! I'm about to get bored in fact. I probably should get working on my assignment.

How about you?

a reply to: swanne

Much the same. I code, I hang out in the Shed, I code some more.

*testing? Vas is ziss testing you zpeak of?




ETA: what is your assignment?