willofinfinity

[willofinfinity]

Nosedive - Part 1

Nosedive – Part 1

Minar didn’t know what to make of Saakhi Por. She had a clue or two about Imay, the tact wrapped around tactics and brown-eyed charm of a navigator who knew his way around most situations. He played to his strengths among those weaker than him and to his vulnerabilities around those who had higher protective instincts. If she had met him at a less friendly situation, he would have been the one to…

[willofinfinity]

Checkbox - Part 2

Checkbox – Part 2

Agapura welcomed its champion with streets brimming in raucous cheer, flowers laden in balconies and sweets distributed from Paheri Nok’s kitchens when they caught sight of the expected flying carrier come into view. The malaya vimana was designed with the hues and traits of the monal bird in mind, the shape of the pheasant leading its structure. It was built to withstand high altitude flying…

[willofinfinity]

Protocol - Part 2

Protocol – Part 2

The air had an ability to warn of forthcoming omens, Saakhi believed. Fragrance of moss before a drying well, rotting rice preceding fermentation houses, fertile earth before the rain – it was reliable to her tongue. 

All she could taste in the air entering her lungs right now was a regretful danger. It hit with a bitterness to the back of her throat. 

When neither side spoke for a…

[willofinfinity]

Navigate - Part 2

Navigate – Part 2

Val left Saakhi and Minar outside, letting them handle the horses as he entered the home he shared with Oorja. It was closer to the workshop and had a clear view of the training field, a compromise of both their interests. It wasn’t that he was worried about Oorja refusing the presence of the Por siblings, but Val had heard enough times from Minar that his tendency to drag in people he thought…

[willofinfinity]

Navigate - Part 3

Navigate – Part 3

The walls of Toran Kota were never dull. It had been the first thing to annoy her about her new home when she had come in as the daughter-in-law of the place. There was no visible sign of imperfection, no space for shadow to breathe. The bright blue drapes adorned every possible corner they could find to decorate, the silver sewn into it in rows of miniature rings orbiting around each other in…

[willofinfinity]

Spin - Part 3

Spin – Part 3

Tejo had understood in the first week of knowing the leaders of Swatan that they were nothing like the teachers or elders of Ambaramanila. They weren’t the same as any of the loud-mouthed and fun seeking but combative people of Jevadhi. Leader Gunshi was as kind as the first rain of monsoon, always repaying a smile with his own and never hesitating from helping any of the students any time he…

[willofinfinity]

Spin - Part 2

Spin – Part 2

They had made it past the creek when he heard it – the furious trumpet that was a little too erratic to be a one-off sound. He could sense his horse hearing it too, her hooves faltering midway between one step and another. 

“Pull back,” he said immediately, putting a hand out to signal the other two. It wasn’t common for Jevadhi to have episodes of berserk elephants with the amount of…

[willofinfinity]

Descent - Part 3

Descent – Part 3

“It doesn’t work”

“Neither do you, but you’re still here,” Saakhi tipped her face up to the sun and looked back down at the compass. It wasn’t supposed to be showing them the opposite direction no matter what they tried, was it? Maybe something was off with the weirdly shaped black screw in the center. 

Nami didn’t throw the wet slippers she was carrying and Saakhi was going to consider…

[willofinfinity]

Descent - Part 2

Descent – Part 2

Daybreak was a symbol of calm and renewed life at Agapura. The russet framed magnifying glass nestled in the turret of Paheri Nok welcomed the sun, patiently awaiting the heat to pass through it. It was a well-known ritual of the land, to light the first flame of a home after the offering placed at the turret would catch fire from the sun’s light. Dried wood from the kitchen’s fresh stock, leaves…

[willofinfinity]

SS - Diameter of a Cat

SS – Diameter of a Cat

Janu wiped the counter with a dripping cloth, the edges of black marble still sending drops of milk down. Drip, trickle, slide in jagged lines of white.

Her palm felt sticky when she removed it and she glanced down at it, licking at her fingers idly as the stench began covering the kitchen. Burnt milk clogged the nostril till you could taste nothing but it, no matter how carefully you…

[willofinfinity]

“I had a question,” Saakhi confessed, shrugging when Minar turned her head to shoot her a deadpanned look, “This one’s important, more than any other.”

“Just one?” Minar confirmed with a disbelieving tone.

“That sounds like you’re giving me permission to ask more, be careful,” Saakhi pointed out and turned slightly to look at Minar as she asked, ���Why were you eyeing my bow?”

Minar blinked and frowned, turning more to fully look at Saakhi.

“That’s your question?”

“It’s a sensitive relationship, between an archer and her bow,” Saakhi explained with a put-upon serious look.

Will Of Infinity - Ao3 - Wordpress

[willofinfinity]

Chapter 5 - Checkbox

Chapter 5 – Checkbox

The tents were set up at the outskirts of the central ground, flags fluttering atop each to signify which group it belonged to. The groundskeepers were going through the audience seats, wiping down wooden seats and sweeping the stone floors one last time. The raised balconies for the nobles and royal families were decorated with flower-lines in every hue that Odho could find. She ducked around…

[willofinfinity]

Chapter 4 - Protocol

The first batch of training ended with the cry of the rooster, a sign for the next group to be ready without prompting. Oorja was responsible for the beginning, reaching the carefully cordoned training ground to greet the moon farewell as he recognised it as the crack of dawn. None of the younger ones ever came to his class, hoping against hope that the rooster would choke to death or maybe just fall asleep enough for them to complete their dreams. ...

The air had an ability to warn of forthcoming omens, Saakhi believed. Fragrance of moss before a drying well, rotting rice preceding fermentation houses, fertile earth before the rain - it was reliable to her tongue. ...

Read at Wordpress - Read at Ao3

[willofinfinity]

Chapter 3 - Navigate

Story Summary: Nomad knight Saakhi seeks adventure after her latest employment prospect gets cancelled due to land's chief dying unexpectedly. Finding a discarded compass that seems to be fixated on a single destination, she undertakes an unplanned trip with her brother and a new acquaintance in tow. Reaching the quiet Swatan village, the archer is introduced to the community's leaders, one of whom has a particularly curious relation to the land Saakhi left from. Saanjh was once Paher Minar, the former heir of Agapura, and Saakhi learns why the rumours of her murderous rebellion are deeper than the public know. When the coronation of Saanjh's brother brings up conspiracies and secrets that all tie into the unspoken Moonshadow skills, Saanjh is forced to fight those who seek to use her to finish a long-played game of power. Once raised to believe that those connected to the skills would bring doom, now Saakhi must witness the reality of the Sanhira's legacy. And decide if being a knight is enough to survive a story beyond her control.

Swatan was a picture of contradictions set against the backdrop of its cloud-kissing hills and dense woods forming Nature’s enclosure for the animals left to roam in freedom. ...

Val left Saakhi and Minar outside, letting them handle the horses as he entered the home he shared with Oorja. It was closer to the workshop and had a clear view of the training field, a compromise of both their interests. ...

The walls of Toran Kota were never dull. It had been the first thing to annoy her about her new home when she had come in as the daughter-in-law of the place. There was no visible sign of imperfection, no space for shadow to breathe. ...

Read at Wordpress - Read at Ao3

[willofinfinity]

Chapter 2 - Spin

Story Summary: Nomad knight Saakhi seeks adventure after her latest employment prospect gets cancelled due to land's chief dying unexpectedly. Finding a discarded compass that seems to be fixated on a single destination, she undertakes an unplanned trip with her brother and a new acquaintance in tow. Reaching the quiet Swatan village, the archer is introduced to the community's leaders, one of whom has a particularly curious relation to the land Saakhi left from. Saanjh was once Paher Minar, the former heir of Agapura, and Saakhi learns why the rumours of her murderous rebellion are deeper than the public know. When the coronation of Saanjh's brother brings up conspiracies and secrets that all tie into the unspoken Moonshadow skills, Saanjh is forced to fight those who seek to use her to finish a long-played game of power. Once raised to believe that those connected to the skills would bring doom, now Saakhi must witness the reality of the Sanhira's legacy. And decide if being a knight is enough to survive a story beyond her control.

Working with clay tiles wasn’t the same as working with slate. The weight felt different in her hands even as she balanced her feet on the beams, hooking one red tile after the other. ...

They had made it past the creek when he heard it - the furious trumpet that was a little too erratic to be a one-off sound. He could sense his horse hearing it too, her hooves faltering midway between one step and another. ...

Tejo had understood in the first week of knowing the leaders of Swatan that they were nothing like the teachers or elders of Ambaramanila. They weren’t the same as any of the loud-mouthed and fun seeking but combative people of Jevadhi. ...

Read at Wordpress - Read at Ao3

[willofinfinity]

Chapter 1 - Descent

Story Summary: Nomad knight Saakhi seeks adventure after her latest employment prospect gets cancelled due to land's chief dying unexpectedly. Finding a discarded compass that seems to be fixated on a single destination, she undertakes an unplanned trip with her brother and a new acquaintance in tow. Reaching the quiet Swatan village, the archer is introduced to the community's leaders, one of whom has a particularly curious relation to the land Saakhi left from. Saanjh was once Paher Minar, the former heir of Agapura, and Saakhi learns why the rumours of her murderous rebellion are deeper than the public know. When the coronation of Saanjh's brother brings up conspiracies and secrets that all tie into the unspoken Moonshadow skills, Saanjh is forced to fight those who seek to use her to finish a long-played game of power. Once raised to believe that those connected to the skills would bring doom, now Saakhi must witness the reality of the Sanhira's legacy. And decide if being a knight is enough to survive a story beyond her control.

It was three bells past the midnight’s alarm when the last guard fell, their body hitting the fire-pillar. The sound woke him from his fading consciousness and he tried to see how long he could hold out. ...

Daybreak was a symbol of calm and renewed life at Agapura. The russet framed magnifying glass nestled in the turret of Paheri Nok welcomed the sun, patiently awaiting the heat to pass through it. It was a well-known ritual of the land, to light the first flame of a home after the offering placed at the turret would catch fire from the sun’s light. ...

“It doesn’t work” “Neither do you, but you’re still here,” Saakhi tipped her face up to the sun and looked back down at the compass. It wasn’t supposed to be showing them the opposite direction no matter what they tried, was it? ...

Read at Wordpress - Read at Ao3