Published via Ecency

Hello Readers!

Nothing much to say. Classes are getting busier, and Snaffie spends time with me in the office as I teach. Being the best little writing buddy ever.

Please enjoy this update. I had to do some research on how ancient tattoos were made to write this piece, and I am quite pleased.

Kay flinched. She hated the lectures, and she knew one was coming. She set down the tools that she had been working with. She was covered in filth from working in the herb garden, a punishment she was working through for the armoured save she had done a few weeks ago. She didn’t fight what was coming. Her life with Silens was by no means easy, but she never went to bed without something she had never really known.

The house had grown in the last few months since they had torn down part of it to extend it. They each had a room to themselves, and there were several others that could be used for urgent patients or those who needed to rest.

Kay followed Silens until the older woman sat down heavily in a stuffed chair she had inherited from the previous owner of the home. Kay stood before her, ready to be scolded like a child and not really caring. She had enjoyed feeling her armour on her skin once more.

Silens sighed and rubbed her eyes before she looked into the fireplace. It was almost constantly lit with the need to sanitise and create concoctions. The woodsmen always paid in cured wood for splinter removals, bone setting, and stitches. They were yet to run out of wood, and Kay had already started drawing up plans for a woodshed. Despite her lack of education, she wasn’t stupid.

“Get the bone char and some of the venison tallow.” She said softly.

“This is an odd punishment. I am quite curious.” Said Kay as she set about doing what Silens had asked of her.

Silens had learned early on what it was that Kay needed. Something Kay didn’t even know she needed. A firm but fair hand. To be praised when it was due and to be punished when it was called for. When Saita had asked Silens to help Kay regain her humanity, Silens hadn’t known how to do it. She didn’t understand human culture, even after years of her son being married to one.

But she had seen Kay blossom in the environment that she had provided. Sure, they had their screaming matches occasionally, and Kay was stubborn and combative, but the loyalty she showed for even the smallest scrap of acknowledgement was strong. Silens had been right about one thing: Kay had been terrified of being abandoned. The shaman showing that she wouldn’t abandon her had created this powerful, yet loyal person.

Silens got up and started sorting through the odd collection of bones and teeth close by. She had been meaning to do this for some time, but wasn’t sure how it would be received. Once the sharpened implements were gathered, she gathered clean cloth strips and a bowl of clean water. She then sat on a fur mat that had been gifted to them. She arranged the tools out before her, trying to remember how this was done. She had been putting this off for too long. She was a recognised shaman now; it was time that she started doing this.

Kay returned to the room with a jar of black powder and a bowl of cold lard. She saw the assortment of sharp tools before Silens, and she frowned.

“And this?”

“Sit. I have a story for you.”

“I’m covered in dirt and want to have a bath…” started Kay.

“Now.”

Kay sighed. She knew she could argue, but she knew that she had already pushed her limit with a few microaggressions she had released throughout the day, having spent the whole day where Silens could keep an eye on her. It was a stupid punishment, but it had driven home the point that Kay needed to be wary of her abilities.

She sat down and handed over the ingredients she was asked to bring over. Silens took them and then added them to a shallow rock container, which she placed on the hearth stones to steadily melt.

Now for the tattoo design.

For those of you who have never heard of Fell Dragon you can find Book 1 here, Book 2 here, Book 3 here, and Book 4 here, Book 5 here, Book 6 here, Book 7 here, and Book 8 here
If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I love discussing my books!
As the series continues, it will combine with another book series I wrote. To avoid confusion about what is happening, introductory chapters will be introduced separately so that you don't have to be lost. However, these chapters will contain spoilers. You can find these chapters here:
Races Explained
Banishment
Royal Guard
Saasha’s Direct Family
Saith Characters Recap
Human Characters Recap
Alternate Timeline Brucel
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