Today I have an extract from the “Two Dark Reigns” to whet your appetite. Follow the tweet below if you want more.
“The girl walks slower to the south wall, where three more have gathered to restore Queen Shannon’s mural. The original painter captured the queen exceptionally well. Her black eyes peer out of the wall, focused and intent despite the rain and storm that obscures the lower half of her face.
“She was always my favorite,” Mirabella says. “Queen Shannon and her storms.”
“One of the strongest. Until you. One day your face will eclipse hers on the wall.”
“We should hope not,” replies Mirabella. “None of these murals depict times of peace.”
Luca sighs. “Times are not so peaceful now, with decades of poisoners in the capital. And the Goddess would not have made you so strong if you were not going to need that strength.” Luca takes her by the arm and leads her around the southern dome.
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“One day,” she says, “perhaps after you are crowned, I will take you to the War Queen’s Temple in Bastian City. They have not murals there but a statue of Emmeline—bloody spear above her head, and arrows—suspended from the ceiling.”
“Suspended from the ceiling?” Mirabella asks.
“A long time ago, when the war gift was strong, a war queen could move things through the air, just by the sheer force of her will.”
Mirabella’s eyes widen, and the High Priestess chuckles. “Or so they say.”
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Why I like it: I love the tales of the queens of the past, and these elemental murals are some of my favorite things about the world. I like to imagine them with all their color and fierceness, decorating the walls of the temple.
