Slice of life in Astra

'Heroes' can go on fishing trips too...

Hello friends, I wanted to actually start this post off with a little chat. So, originally this week I was going to release a story I’ve been thinking about for a while called Cae-Rah and the Dune Tracks but I ran into a few bumps in the road along the way that made me want to sit on it for a little while. Instead, this week I wanted to bring you something smaller as well as a little chat about some thoughts I’ve been having.

So first off, I want to thank every single one of the 73 people now subscribed. Numbers aren’t everything, that’s for sure, but it means something to me that people are interested so thank you for giving this a chance. If you choose to unsubscribe at any point, no hard feelings, but I hope that you enjoyed whatever amount of time you spent here. Even more cool that three of my stories have over 100 views. How wild is that?

I also wanted to discuss Astra. I’ve been trying to think of how to describe Astra. It is at it’s core sci-fi fantasy, but it’s also so much more to me personally. It’s a playground, an investigation into internal experience and identity placed upon a fantastical mosaic of a world. It’s simple and yet complex. And it’s part of me. So thanks for sharing in this little part of me. I never thought this many people would show an interest, and I never thought I’d find an audience of any size, really. I’m glad I did though. I hope you can find a little bit of yourself in this journey too and if not then maybe you can just enjoy some fun silly fantastical wonder instead. Regardless, thanks for tuning in.

Lastly, let’s look at the upcoming schedule. We’ll be doing a serial that follows the life of one character from his teenage years into adulthood. The coming of age of a hero. So next week will be the beginning of that and then that will split into the story that becomes The End. I’m excited to finally delve into that!

But anyways, let’s have a look at a little fishing trip…

note: This story actually takes place between the first (complete but unpublished) and second (WIP) novels of Astra. This story has no connections to anything in particular though and was just a slice of life story I had written that was inspired by an episode of the TV show Reservation Dogs. 

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“So…” Ember began, drawing her breath out slowly as the canoe rocked from side to side atop

the lake, “how long do we have to wait?”

“What do you mean?” Yebo asked as she threw her line into the water. The water rippled outwards, sending little organisms darting around, searching for new untouched water. Ember followed suit with her own line.

“We throw it in… and wait, right?” Yebo nodded in reply. “Okay, so how long?”

“The ‘how long’ isn’t the important part, you know? It’s about… the process - the experience. Like, look around us.” With her free hand, Yebo gestured to the forest. The lake was a rather small one, and they were surrounded on all sides by a seemingly endless forest. The water had a slight green tinge to the surface, and murk was kicked up across the floor. Through that, the water was clear - if Yebo focused hard enough. 

She took in a deep breath and smelled the musk of the land. She could smell the wild flowers on the shores, and herbs dancing across the wind. She could hear rustling and the mating calls of insects she couldn’t see or identify. When she opened her mouth, the smell of the lake left a sour taste on her tongue and she grimaced. Ember raised an eyebrow from the other side of the canoe,

“You do realize that they taste the way their home smells, right?” Yebo shook her head,

“It isn’t about how they taste, Ember.” The words sounded pretentious as she scoffed and shook her head, “It’s about the experience.” Ember shrugged and leaned back, her back relaxing into the small of the canoe.

The canoe was old and beaten up, but it floated as well as any other. The ores were tucked into the corners, and Ember kept kicking them on accident as she grew fidgety. She took a deep breath as she felt herself sinking back further. The canoe rocked slightly and she steadied her arms on either side, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the edges of the canoe. 

“Life bringer. Life ender. Share the land with me, leave us to eternity.” Ember mumbled.

“What’s that?” Yebo asked.

“A prayer of the Duchess to the water spirits.”

“The fire goddess has a prayer for the water?” Yebo asked with genuine curiosity. Ember took a deep breath,

“It’s important to keep the water spirits on your side when they can snuff you out.” Ember closed her eyes, her long eyelashes fluttered slightly as her muscles relaxed and she disengaged from the discussion. 

Yebo could swear she heard the creaking of Ember’s bones - or maybe it was something knocking into the boat. Whatever it was, the vibrations trickled through the canoe and up into Yebo’s body. The little sensations climbed up her fingers and toes, through her appendages, beyond her heart, spine, and into the deepest parts of her mind. 

And then they cascaded back down again.

What was that then? Her fingers and toes tingle and she moves them in a gentle array of taps.

What experience is more conscious, more powerful, more Astral than experiencing the most simple sensation and reacting in kind?

She’d heard human poets speak of what it meant to be human - maybe it’s a simple catch all, for her ancestors were human - but it just as much was what it meant to be a child of Oran-Koh. She was gleaming yellow with joy after all and no human could truly experience that. Yebo let out a deep sigh and smiled as she stared out at her surroundings. The world was at peace - if only for this single moment - and she felt that all was right in the world.

“I don’t think I get it.” Ember said, leaning forward. The boat rocked back and forth as she adjusted. Yebo jumped a little and tried to catch her breath, her eyes darted to Ember. She huffed and crossed her arms, “Back to shore? It’s been a few hours.” Yebo pulled her fingers from the canoe and looked down at her prints. Her skin was dazzling gold and as she breathed in, her fingerprints began to deepen - or maybe they just became more clear to her.

“Has it been a few hours already?” Yebo asked.

“Did it feel like less?”

“Well… no it didn’t. It didn’t feel like time at all, I guess.”

“Huh… it sounds like you were meditating. I feel that way when I connect to the plains.”

“I don’t think it was that… I was just… experiencing.”

“I’m not sure what you mean. If you ask me, fishing’s a bust. We can stop in that nearby village and buy some fish from the market.” Yebo nodded in reply but didn’t seem to be able to find the words, as if she was pulling herself from an endless tunnel where beauty surrounded her in a cylindrical endless merry-go-round of serenity. Ember shrugged, “Come on, let's head back. Want to forage in the forest?” Yebo nodded to the last question and reached for the oars. She passed Ember her’s and they began the trip back from the center of the lake. 

As the sun began to dip down below the treeline she spoke out loud to the birds perched atop the pines and the insects pollinating the flowers - the flower’s ears were perched in her direction, she sure - and to every living creature that would listen, she made an announcement - a decree of empowerment,

“I didn’t get it at first… but I think I do now.”

Ember grunted.

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