Chapter 1 Complete Hi. I do apologize. I actually forgot I had posted my story on this site. Letting you hang in curiosity for 2 month was a little long. I hope the entire chapter is worth waiting for. Thank-you for the wonderful replies. I have written the story through chapter 6 and will post at least weekly. Let's get this rolling. THE DAUGHTER OF THE SHADOW PRINCE Daughter of the Shadow Prince Chapter One The Severing Power Gallantide: Where the Rivers Meet the Sea in Melavaire Celine had always known the hum. For as long as she could remember, it had lived beneath her thoughts, steady as a second heartbeat. When she was small, she thought everyone felt it. They did not. Ten-year-old Celine sat cross-legged on a worn wolf skin in the library, facing her grandmother. Candlelight moved across Amma’s face as the fire crackled in the large fireplace behind them. Leather-bound books climbed the other three walls from floor to ceiling. Between them lay Celine’s miniature wooden cards. She turned each one while Amma finished a story from the Children’s Book of Illusions, which told of noble children with gifts like theirs. The Sentinels wrote the book before they condemned such magic as poison and began rooting it out of houses like the Ashwyns’. Before Celine could ask for another tale, Amma closed it. “Please read one more, Amma.” “Celine,” Amma laughed. “Greedy child. You must sleep before your mother arrives tomorrow.” At the thought of her mother and stepfather returning from his desert estate, Celine shivered. She studied the three cards she had drawn, each small enough to fit in her palm, then gathered them and climbed into Amma’s lap. As she rested against her grandmother, the hum passed between them, warm and familiar. Celine handed her the final card. “Please, Amma, I found a new one. I do not know where it came from. Who put it there? What does it mean besides hope?” “Little Moon, you know all your cards,” Amma studied it. “Where did you get the Hope card?”

This is the beginning of my story of Celine, an illegitimate child possessing “the hum” which gives her empathic abilities. Could you please read the first part of the chapter and let me know what you think? Do you want more? Why or why not? Thank you. Chapter One The Severing Power Gallantide — Where the Rivers Meet the Sea in Melavaire Celine had always known the hum. It had lived beneath her thoughts for as long as she could remember—a soft, steady presence, like a second heartbeat that did not belong entirely to her. When she was small, she thought everyone felt it. They did not. Celine, just ten-years old, sat cross-legged on a worn wolfskin in the library, Amma—her grandmother—opposite her. The chamber was warm with firelight and memory. The little girl’s small wooden tarot cards lay spread carefully before her, each one turned with quiet attention, while Amma’s voice drifted through the final lines of a story from the Children’s Book of Illusions. In soft finality for the evening, Amma closed the book before Celine could ask for another story. Candlelight flickered across Amma’s face. The fire answered with a soft crack. Around them, the books watched in silence—stories of the gifted, written in a time before such gifts—knacks, as they were called among the enslaved—were named a poison by the Sentinels and marked for eradication among noble houses like the Ashwyns. The hum shifted. It became urgent. A warning—and for the first time, frightening. Amma stilled. As her grandmother closed the leather book of children’s stories, Celine tried to delay her bedtime while continuing to flip over her miniature wooden cards. She ensured her voice was as pleading as possible. “Please read another tale, Amma,” the child begged as the candles flickered in their sconces. In the massive fireplace in front of them, a log burned, eliciting the sound of sparks and sputters while glowing flames warmed the room with heat and wood smoke. Books climbed from floor to ceiling on the other three walls, all bound in leather, a signal of Melavaire’s wealth. Scribes wrote this book, telling stories of noble children as gifted as Celine and Amma, published before the Sentinels declared them illegal for the “poison” magic they contained.

A short story depicting a scene when maybe Mary and Elizabeth Tudor decided where they stood with each other over a simple lunch. Please read, enjoy and let me know what you think. I enjoy little imaginary scenes like this. Happy Weekend. Wanstead, Essex — August, 1553 The canvas walls of the private pavilion at Wanstead breathed heat. It was not the honest warmth of open sunlight or the clean exertion of riding beneath the wide Essex sky. This heat was closer, more oppressive, while the heavy canvas trapped too many living bodies inside a space strained with excitement, fear, and triumph. The air hung thick with melted beeswax smoke, horse sweat, damp velvet, crushed summer grass, and the fine dust that drifted endlessly from thousands of hooves grinding the old Roman road toward Aldgate. Outside, England shouted itself hoarse for its new queen. The roar of the crowds rose and fell like surf against the tent walls while parish bells pealed somewhere beyond the fields and heraldic trumpets answered in bright metallic bursts. Men called loudly for ale. Horses stamped and tossed their heads in the growing press of bodies. Along the road to London, polished armor flashed beneath the lowering afternoon sun beside snapping banners, silver harness, and the restless movement of twelve thousand souls surging steadily toward the capital, all eager to witness the return of the rightful Tudor bloodline. Inside the pavilion, however, a heavy, suffocating silence held. With her gloved hand on the polished table, Mary I of England steeled herself before taking a seat. The heavy, stiff purple velvet of her state gown dragged at her shoulders. The thick gold embroidery stitched densely along her bodice seemed to trap the day’s heat inside the fabric itself, offering no relief. Ropes of fine seed pearls looped across her breast in solemn, heavy rows, while large rubies glimmered darkly from the conservative French hood that pressed painfully against her temples. Even the thick ermine lining at her wide, hanging sleeves felt like an oppressive weight now.

Well howdy - I’m so glad you’re here 🖤 This is a relaxed, supportive writing club for fantasy, sci-fi, romantasy (and anyone who loves big worlds, big emotions, and great storytelling). Writemare meant to feel like a real writing club - not a course, not a hustle, not a productivity grind. - come share work - get feedback & beta readers - talk plot problems - join writing challenges - gush about characters - do little workshops & prompts - build momentum together - and ultimately... get freakin' nerdy. It’s free on purpose - I wanted something flexible, low-pressure, and genuinely helpful. Show up when you can. Disappear when life gets busy. Come back when inspiration hits again. All welcome here. 👋 A little about me I’m Laura - a hobby writer who loves fantasy, sci-fi, romantasy, big intense emotional arcs, deep characters, and worldbuilding rabbit holes. Like most of you, I juggle writing with life, responsibilities, and about a million ideas at once. I built this because I wanted the kind of community I always wished existed - friendly, creative, real, and not intimidating. 📚 How to get started - Introduce yourself in the pinned 'Introductions!' post in the Announcements channel - Check out the workshops (short & practical) - Jump into feedback swaps when you’re ready - Join events or challenges whenever you feel like it There’s no right way to be here - just participate in whatever feels helpful or fun. I’m really excited to grow this little writing club together. Let’s build worlds, break hearts (fictionally), and finally finish some stories (at least that's what I'm telling myself!). Welcome to Writemare 🖤

Hurrah. Today I submitted my first chapter for Prowriting Aid’s contest with an hour to spare. Horrors. Your ultimate pantser. It is called Daughter of the Shadow Prince. Chapter 1 is ‘The Severing Power’ Low Medieval Fantasy. Thank you.