Nanowrimo 2021 Day 1 - Word Count and Favorite Bit (Patreon)

It's that time of year where I put everything on hold and power through  writing an entire novel in one month. That's right: National Novel  Writing Month is here and it's time to share some good shit with y'all.  Today's word count is 2410. And my favorite bit is as follows:

She wandered the shore of the oasis, drifting farther and farther away from the encampment. Here, alone in the desert, she could cry. Here, alone in the desert, she could allow herself the weaknesses her tribe could not. Here she could be small. Here she could be soft. The sands and cool oasis water would not judge her.

Kneeling in the sand at the edge of the oasis, Aysel let herself cry. Tears rolled down her face, drying quickly in the desert heat. The tracks of salt itched the skin of her face. She rubbed at her cheeks, which only ended up spreading the salt further across her face. She laughed bitterly at her own incompetence, even in such small things. Her mother was right to choose Tesni over her. Though she was younger, Tesni was already the same height as Aysel. Tesni was an accomplished hunter, a skilled fighter, and able to keep pace with some of their fastest scouts. Of course mother would choose Tesni over someone like Aysel. It only made sense. To think she ever hoped was laughable.

She leaned forward, reaching out to the water to wash the salt from her face. The face she saw In the water, however, was not her own. She jumped back with a quiet yelp, scrambling away from the water. When nothing followed her, when Aysel felt her heart rate begin to slow, her curiosity compelled her to lean forward once more. In the water she saw nothing but a pair of deep, unnaturally blue eyes. There was something strange about them, something ancient. The way they stared up at her made her feel exposed, known in a way she had never been known. Something about that was frightening, and yet something else about that was exhilarating.

"Who…?" Aysel asked, though she didn't know who might answer her. Her not-reflection did not move her lips along with Aysel's question, which only confused her more.

"Child of the desert," a voice called, soft and distant. Aysel sat up, looking around only to find that she was alone. Who had called out to her?

"Child of the desert," the voice called again. Aysel looked back down at the water, to the woman's face she saw beneath the surface. "Child of the desert, so scared and alone, why do you cry?"

Aysel felt she must have gone mad with her grief, but she felt compelled to answer the voice. "My mother has abandoned me, for I am weak and cannot lead our tribe."

"Then you seek power?" the voice asked.

Power? No. Aysel had no need for power. Power was for humans, greedy and covetous. Aysel knew the tales, the history that the elders told around the campfires. She'd learned all about the humans who craved power and the metals that hid under the sand. Power drove them to Invade the desert. Power drove them to drain the oasis that gave the Sa'a life to fill their pockets with shiny trinkets. Power drove them to slaughter Sa'a that fought back, and confine those who did not to a singular, watched city.

"Not power," Aysel said. "Strength."

The eyes in the water closed, and for a moment Aysel thought she might have disappointed whatever strange creature hid below the surface. When the eyes opened once more, their gaze felt warm.

"Strength I cannot give," the voice admitted. "But I can grant you power, so that when the time comes, you may turn it into your strength."

"And in return?" Aysel's tribe had dealt with enough traders to know that nothing came for free.

"Faith," the voice said. "All I ask for is faith."

Aysel hesitated. Faith in what? In the oasis? Aysel always had faith In the oasis and their life-bringing water. She'd never known them to go dry. If that was all she had to believe In, then she could promise faith.

Aysel nodded, and she felt her body move as If guided by unseen hands. Her hands dipped Into the cool, sweet water, cupping her hands where the eyes had been. She lifted her hands, and the water within, to her lips, drinking deeply. She felt a rushing wave of cool, Invigorating energy follow the flow of water down her throat, settling deep In her gut. Her whole body trembled, overcome with the sensation. Her vision blurred, tears flowing over her cheeks once more as the voice whispered to her one last time.

"Blessed are you, Child of the Sand. My sage. My herald."