{"title":"Books for Galactic Tourists","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eYou sample alien settings and perspectives with casual curiosity and emotional lightness. As a Galactic Tourist, you appreciate novelty without intensity or commitment, valuing brief, pleasant journeys through intriguing alien territories. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThese books offer fascinating glimpses into other worlds and ways of being, while maintaining a gentle emotional touch that leaves you refreshed rather than exhausted. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRecommended starting points: Second, The Aphorisms of Kherishdar, Flight of the Godkin Griffin\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"dreamhearth-dreamhealers-3","title":"Dreamhearth (Dreamhealers 3)","description":"\u003cp\u003eJahir and Vasiht’h have earned their licenses as xenotherapists at last, and they have their hearts set on starting their practice in one of the Alliance’s most exciting and cosmopolitan destinations: a sector starbase. But dream therapy is a revolutionary treatment modality, and as esper practictioners they will have to work hard to win the trust of their community. Not only that, but they have a deadline: if they can’t prove themselves an asset to the starbase within six months, they’ll have to leave! It’ll take hard work, compassion, and a dollop of luck to navigate the pitfalls of this challenge… but surely two such extraordinary friends can find a way to claim their dream hearth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre (setting):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003espace opera (\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mcahogarth.org\/wiki\/the-pelted\/\"\u003ePelted\u003c\/a\u003e)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTags:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003efound family, space opera, pastoral, new adult, low conflict, asexual, furries, elves (space)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRating: \u003c\/span\u003ePG for emotional situations\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eExcerpt from Chapter 1\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                The todfox had never seen anyone like her. Like a fairy: delicate, fragile, with the bloom of roses on her lips. Her furless skin seemed to shine like polished marble, and yet, she breathed! He couldn’t see her and not love her: love her as one loved a fair maiden goddess, pure and not of this world.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Would she? She did! She turned that perfect face and met his eyes across the crowded lobby. Such a gaze! So limpid, a pellucid blue, to be so wise! His heart raced in his breast. If only he could be brave enough to talk to her. Would she answer? What would her voice be like?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Would he ever recover?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Vasiht’h put the data tablet down on his forepaws and touched his fingers to his brow. He couldn’t decide whether to laugh or hack the taste of the lurid prose from his mouth; what he was sure of was that his mouth was twitching. When his sisters had assured him they’d taken care of his entertainment for the trip back to the starbase, he’d assumed they’d bought him a book or two. But this? He brought up the cover and stared ruefully at the Tam-illee foxine holding a swooning Eldritch woman in his arms. HEALED BY HER IMMORTAL HEART. What in the worlds had they been thinking?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePaging away from the novel, he sent a group message to his sisters.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                This book is terrible!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                He was close enough to the world to be certain of an answer soon, but while he waited he returned, reluctantly, to the story of Thaddeus WeavesDNA and the Eldritch woman who was either a statue or a sprite, depending on the paragraph. It was hard to concentrate, though (and not just because the story was ridiculous). He couldn’t believe that he was finally a graduate, with a degree and a license to practice xenotherapy with a partner of his choosing. That he had that partner, a real and rare Eldritch, who had chosen him as the other half of a mindline out of legend. And who was, Vasiht’h glanced at the novel and managed a grin, not at all as pure and innocent as a maiden goddess. Though he could grant the polished marble as the sort of metaphor that would occur to someone who’d only read about Eldritch and never seen one. Jahir was pale, yes, but not like stone. Like a pearl, with veils of color and shadow and the blood flush of a living man beneath it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                And now he was beginning to sound like a romance novel. But he loved Jahir. And he was—apparently—no more eloquent than this particular author. With a sigh, Vasiht’h applied himself again to the narrative. The woman had the voice of an angel, apparently. Of course.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Having left notifications on, he was interrupted at length by his sisters. Not just one, but several of them, leaving him messages. Ranging from his eldest sister Kavila’s “HA HA HA” to Sehvi’s more coy, “We thought it would help you with your relationship.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                He scowled at the glowing letters and tapped back: \u003ci\u003eI’m completely sure this author has never been within a sector of an actual Eldritch.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Sehvi, responding: \u003ci\u003eShe’s writing about a woman! Maybe their women are different.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Vasiht’h lifted his fingers, paused, then wrote:\u003ci\u003e I am not walking into that trap, ariishir.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHe could imagine her delighted giggles. \u003ci\u003eWhat page are you on?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Goddess, what page \u003ci\u003ewas\u003c\/i\u003e he on? Vasiht’h made himself look. \u003ci\u003eTwenty-six.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Keep going! It gets better!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Better good? Or better worse??\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                No response to that, naturally, but he hadn’t expected one. He looked toward the window alongside his seat and his reflection was grinning. Well, maybe the book was serving its purposes—would continue to serve its purposes, since he would soon be at the edge of the solar system and the Well drives would take him beyond his family’s reach. He’d have to imagine their merriment as he dutifully slogged through their offering, comparing it continually and unfavorably to the reality he was on his way to meet.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Jahir Seni Galare. His very own Eldritch. His best friend in all the worlds, with whom he had survived grief and terror and trial. In whom he had found a joy he somehow doubted the well-meaning author of his romance novel would understand, owing nothing as it did to sexual attraction. What had drawn him to Jahir was better than that—to him, anyway. He had found a soulmate, and he was going home to him.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                And home, for now, was a starbase neither of them knew at all. Vasiht’h had stopped there on his way to join Jahir on the capital world Selnor for the Eldritch’s residency period… and that layover had been long enough enough for him to decide it would be the perfect place for the Alliance’s newest xenotherapists to set up their practice. Jahir had left a week ago to start scouting a likely place for them to live. Had he found it by now?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Silly question. A more likely question was had he found a place that was within their means, and what exactly was \u003ci\u003etheir\u003c\/i\u003e means? Because the two of them were still feeling their way through questions like ‘who should pay for things, even though you’re possibly rich enough to buy anything you want.’ Exactly the sort of questions, Vasiht’h thought ruefully, that he most needed advice on… and that he probably wouldn’t find any answers to in HEALED BY HER IMMORTAL HEART, Sehvi’s hopes notwithstanding.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Still, it was something to do while he was en route. Vasiht’h resumed his reading, and in his breast, his heart stretched out toward the man awaiting him a sector away.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"M.C.A. Hogarth","offers":[{"title":"E-Book","offer_id":48272654074149,"sku":"BK-E-DREAM3","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49072000172325,"sku":"9608093000399","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0864\/6826\/4229\/files\/dreamhearthcover-frontonly.png?v=1711063499"},{"product_id":"dreamstorm-dreamhealers-3","title":"Dreamstorm (Dreamhealers 4)","description":"\u003cp\u003eJahir and Vasiht’h have spent five years together in practice on Starbase Veta, and their life is everything they’d hoped: their practice is fantastic, their social standing great, and their domestic life a blissful routine. So when Vasiht’h discovers his partner has “accidentally” accrued enough continuing education credits to become a licensed healer-assist after deciding against that path in college, he can’t help but wonder… are they on the wrong path?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSince Jahir himself isn’t talking, Vasiht’h decides someone needs to make some decisions. If those decisions lead them to the Alliance’s foremost resort planet, where the licensing exams are being held, well… surely they could use a beach vacation. Jahir sits his test, Vasiht’h has some purple drinks with umbrellas on the beach, and they both go home with a renewed sense of purpose.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat could possibly go wrong?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre (setting):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003espace opera (\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mcahogarth.org\/wiki\/the-pelted\/\"\u003ePelted\u003c\/a\u003e)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTags:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003efound family, space opera, pastoral, new adult, psychology, relationships, friendship, furries, elves (space)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRating:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ePG for some action, emotional situations\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eExcerpt from Chapter 2\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Armin Palland’s office hadn’t changed in the time Vasiht’h had been away. At all. It was still the lived-in office of an overworked but contented professor, with precarious stacks of books and papers, and more books in bookshelves, and a desk that had seen better days and floors that were scuffed by the footwear—or claws, nails, talons—of thousands of students. Palland himself looked nearly identical, too: still a graying Seersa with ruddy pelt and paler champagne points, and bright, far too perspicacious eyes. On one hand, Vasiht’h was glad his former major professor hadn’t aged precipitously—wasn’t that the cliché? That when you spent time away from people older than you, when you finally saw them again you were shocked at how much older they’d gotten? But on the other, it was disturbing how little had changed. Five years was a long time. Or it wasn’t. Which was it?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Still working on things, are you?” Palland said, amused. “Come in, Vasiht’h-arii. It’s good to see you again.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Vasiht’h padded into the office and flopped on the cushions scattered in the seating area in front of Palland’s desk. “It’s good to see you too, alet.” He glanced at the office. “Not even a new poster?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “I like the ones I have.” Palland grinned. “You get used to things.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                \u003ci\u003eYou get into ruts\u003c\/i\u003e, is how that finished, Vasiht’h thought ruefully. Was that it? What was the difference between contentment and a rut?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Ground control to Vasiht’h… come in, please.” When Vasiht’h looked up sharply, the Seersa chuckled. “Really working on something, I see. Biscuit?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “As long as it’s a light one. I just came from lunch.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Out of luck, it’s shortbread. But at least it’s good shortbread. Mantaiya brings it back from the dairy bowl on the opposite side of the world, when she visits her parents.” Palland set out a small plate and leaned back to fetch the pot beside the window. That hadn’t changed either: that the least cluttered part of the office was the surface where he kept his teapot and mugs, and that the mugs didn’t match. “So, my former student, what brings you back? Are you angling for a new degree?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Goddess,” Vasiht’h exclaimed. “One was hard enough!”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePalland’s eyes twinkled as he poured for them both. “Sure about that, are you?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Yes,” Vasiht’h said firmly. “A friend of ours is getting married at the shrine hills. We decided to come early and visit everyone.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                The Seersa chuckled. “Well, it’s great to see you in the flesh. I’ve heard good things about your career. You’re enjoying yourself?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “It’s marvelous,” Vasiht’h said, eyeing him. “And are you serious? You’ve actually heard things about my career? Have you been checking up on me?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Yes, but that’s not the only reason I know. You do get write-ups in newsletters and journals.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “I… we… do?” Vasiht’h stammered.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Surprised?” Palland was enjoying this. Far too much. “You pioneered a new treatment method in therapy. You know how often that happens?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “A treatment method people still aren’t sure about,” Vasiht’h muttered, turning his mug. He’d gotten the chipped Seersana U one, white with the university emblem. “We were more notorious than famous for a while there.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Palland snorted. “Looking on the dim side of the cloud, I see.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Do I even want to see these write-ups?” Vasiht’h asked.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Depends on how thick your pelt is.” Palland grinned. “It’s the usual response to anything new. Some people are fascinated, some are horrified. Everyone wants to poke it with a stick.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Vasiht’h covered his face with his hand.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Sure I can’t interest you in another degree?” When Vasiht’h looked up, Palland said, “What is clear is that everyone really wants more data on how your methods work, and for that, you need more practitioners. You were interested in teaching…”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Vasiht’h suppressed a groan. “I do not want a research degree. I hated research.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “So, don’t get one? Pursue a doctorate in clinical or medical.” Palland spread his hands. “There’s more than one path to a classroom.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “How did I come here to catch up with my major professor from college and end in a conversation about going back to school?” Vasiht’h eyed him. “What are you trying to talk me into?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “That depends on what you’re working on.” Palland put his cheek in a hand and lifted his brows. “Most of my alumni waltz in here and tell me all about their wonderful lives, their successes, and how much their lives are working for them. You slink in here—”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “I don’t slink!”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “—and wonder why things haven’t changed. Which suggests to me that you feel like something hasn’t. On the inside.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “I had to go into psychology,” Vasiht’h complained. “Which means I get psychologists for mentors.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Palland grinned. “So what’s really on your mind, arii?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Goddess alone knows.” Vasiht’h sighed, grumbled. “I don’t think I know how to be happy.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Obviously you need more shortbread.” Palland pushed the plate over with the tip of a finger. “I disbelieve this assertion, however. It lacks nuance.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Our practice is doing well,” Vasiht’h said. “We help a lot of people. We have a great place to live, and peers who respect us—some of whom had to be brought around, even—and everything is… well, it’s exactly what I wanted. And I love it!”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “…but?” Palland prompted.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “But… am I supposed to? Am I stagnating? Shouldn’t I be learning something? Trying new things? Growing as a person?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Worrying about whether your partner is bored?” Palland suggested.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Vasiht’h covered his face with a hand again. “Ughn. Is it so obvious? Because if it’s obvious to you, it’s probably really obvious to him.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Probably,” Palland agreed, affable. He nudged the mug. “Drink.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                The tea was a strong, clear, black varietal, something more like what Jahir would have drunk. But Vasiht’h was grateful for it after the heavy shortbread. Which… he’d eaten one of without noticing. “Professor?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Armin.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Vasiht’h looked up, ears sagging.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “You’re not my student anymore, but my colleague,” Palland pointed out, leaning back with his mug. “If a junior one.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Armin-alet,” Vasiht’h said, torn between flattery and alarm. He didn’t feel old enough to be colleagues with a man who’d overseen his flailings as a fresh new student. “Would you ever give up your job?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Teaching and advising?” Palland smiled. “No, never. I love what I do.” He folded his arms, pursed his lips. “I might move, maybe… I’m not married to Seersana, and the wife’s been making noises about seeing other worlds at some point. But I’m good at this, and I love it. And even if I never left Seersana, it would still be a good life.” He grinned. “I’m planning to keel over in the traces.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “You want to be one of those doddering ancients that can’t be fired because of tenure, but who no one can make heads or tails out of because he rambles all the way through two hours of lecture?” Vasiht’h asked, amused.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Sounds like every Heaven,” Palland agreed, laughing.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “How… how did you know?” Vasiht’h asked. “That this was where you belonged?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “You want me to say ‘oh, you’ll know?’” Palland smiled at some internal memory, eyes lowered. He huffed, leaned forward, took up his mug. “You do know. But not always immediately. Sometimes it takes years of doing something before you think ‘oh wait. I like this.’” He cocked his head. “What I want to know is why you don’t believe yourself, since you already know you like what you’re doing. Is it your partner’s fault? Or is there something else going on? Maybe you feel like you’re failing your family?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “My family would insist I’m not failing them,” Vasiht’h said, thinking of Sehvi and his mother. And then remembering Bret, he wrinkled his nose. “Most of them.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “So that’s not it,” Palland said. “Or at least, not mostly it.” He lifted a brow. “You fretting over your partner’s future for him?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “I don’t want him to get bored,” Vasiht’h muttered.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Because… he’s showing signs of boredom?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Vasiht’h played with the handle of the mug, turned it on the desk. “He almost graduated off the medical track. I sometimes think he wants to go back to it. Or maybe become a healer from the ground up.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Has he said anything about wanting to do so?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Vasiht’h snorted. “Eldritch don’t tell you what they want. You’re supposed to guess.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Oh, I see.” Palland nodded. “That’s why you’re a mess.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                The Glaseah looked up.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “You’re trying to anticipate his needs because you think he won’t express them to you, or if he does, you might miss them. Or misinterpret them. And in the absence of actual data—because I’m betting you haven’t asked him directly—you are coming up with every single possible scenario and fixating on the awful ones.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “It’s unfair to assume I don’t ask him what he wants just because I can’t tell you!” Vasiht’h exclaimed. “Because when you do ask him, he says something but it’s not always an answer. Or it’s an answer, but not to the question you asked. Besides, direct questions are like backing him into a corner.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Probably popped out of a face-saving culture, then,” Palland said. “My poor beleaguered student.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “I thought you said I wasn’t a student anymore.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                The professor chuckled. “Not formally. But the nice thing about our profession, arii, is that you never stop learning. Which is how it should be: none of us should stop learning, or we die before we’re in the ground.” He waved a hand. “Seriously. Stop thinking about your partner and your quest for perfection as his soulmate, and tell me about \u003ci\u003eyou\u003c\/i\u003e. About Vasiht’h. What is Vasiht’h’s dream?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Vasiht’h’s dream is to have a happy life doing xenotherapy with his Eldritch partner,” Vasiht’h said. When Palland eyed him, he blushed and rubbed his cheek, hoping it would obscure the flushed skin near his eyes. “I mean that. I love what we do. I want to do it until we’re old. Maybe have some kits at some point to tumble around our feet. When I feel wise enough to raise them.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “No one’s ever wise enough to be a parent,” Palland said. “That’s why having kits makes us so much wiser so fast. For some things, the only possible training is on-the-job training.” He frowned. “I’m a little concerned, though, that you can’t really see a life goal for yourself, apart from what you’re doing with your Eldritch, arii.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “I thought that was the point of partnerships,” Vasiht’h said. “You go through life together.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “You do, yes, but you don’t suddenly decide your own needs don’t exist.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “I know my needs haven’t stopped existing! That’s why I’m so worried about trampling his!”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Palland’s ears sagged and he shook his head. “Would you be offended if I suggested you might want… oh, a therapist?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Vasiht’h chuckled, rueful. “Only if you won’t laugh if I tell you I already have one.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Good. Then I’ll leave handling this to them and go back to selfishly enjoying your company, without the psychoanalysis.” Palland refreshed his tea. “But I’d like you to think about it, arii. What you would do, if you were alone. It’s important for us to know who we are by ourselves, because otherwise we don’t value what we have to give to others. And it sounds a lot to me like you don’t understand just how much you bring to your relationship—right now, as it exists, not in some future perfect world where you’ve seen to your Eldritch’s every need.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Vasiht’h blushed again. “Do we ever know that, really? I mean… isn’t that why we need other people so much?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                The Seersa’s brows rose. Then he pointed at Vasiht’h. “There, now. That’s a glimmer of wisdom right there.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “So I’m right,” Vasiht’h said, sighing in relief.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “I said ‘a glimmer,’” Palland replied, plucking up a shortbread. “That’s not enough to excuse you from doing the work. Because no matter how useful it is to compare our perceptions to an external perspective, we still have to commit to trying to sort it out on our own.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Vasiht’h thought that sounded lonely. And exhausting. And… probably useful. At least partially. He tried to imagine a world without the mindline telling him, as it was right now, that Jahir existed and was nearby, a mindline that implied he wouldn’t ever be alone again, and clamped down on his flinch. “I guess that’s the problem,” he said, thinking of the years of clients they’d helped. “Life is too complicated for ‘it’s always this’ or ‘it’s always that.’ It’s usually ‘it’s this, unless it’s that, and sometimes it’s not even any of those things, and by the way this part explodes.’”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                Palland laughed. “Yes. Keeps it interesting, I think.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “You’d think so!”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “I would, yes. So, tell me about these skeptics with whom you were so notorious for a time. That sounds like a good story.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e                “Well,” Vasiht’h began, “It involves a dog…”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"M.C.A. Hogarth","offers":[{"title":"E-Book","offer_id":48272671506725,"sku":"BK-E-DREAM4","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49072011477285,"sku":"9608093000405","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0864\/6826\/4229\/files\/cover-dreamstorm-frontonly.png?v=1711063593"},{"product_id":"family-dreamhealers-6","title":"Family (Dreamhealers 5)","description":"\u003cp\u003eXenotherapist Vasiht’h always thought himself as lucky to have befriended one of the rare and fascinating Eldritch, a man who’s served as partner in their counseling practice for years without Vasiht’h ever really learning anything of his background… so when Jahir invites him home for a cousin’s wedding, he is eager for the chance to find out more about these enigmatic aliens, and his friend in particular.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNaturally, he gets more than he bargains for. By the end of his trip, he’ll either know all Jahir’s secrets…or he’ll be dead…\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre (setting):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003espace opera (\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mcahogarth.org\/wiki\/the-pelted\/\"\u003ePelted\u003c\/a\u003e)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTags:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003efound family, space opera, pastoral, low conflict, asexual, furries, elves (space)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRating: \u003c\/span\u003ePG for emotional situations\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eExcerpt from \u003cem\u003eFamily\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe mindline had gone blank. Not as if it had been cut... but an imitation, complete with soft hissing white noise... the background noise of the universe, as imagined by another mind.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eVasiht'h looked up from the hot chocolate he was making in their abbreviated kitchen. When the mindline didn't swell back to its normal state, he poked his head out the door, feathered ears flaring. \"Jahir? Is something wrong?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eHis Eldritch partner was seated in front of their comm screen, which had gone dark. He was breathing: Vasiht'h could just see the lift of broad shoulders against the fine white hair that fell past them to the man's ribs. But otherwise, he was so still he might as well have been a statue. Vasiht'h tried again. \"Jahir?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\"Oh, mm? Sorry.\" The Eldritch twisted a little in his seat to face him. \"I didn't hear you.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\"Apparently,\" Vasiht'h said, padding into the room, paws hushed on the carpet. \"Are you okay? The mindline blanked.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\"God, did it?\" Jahir said, recovering his sense of humor. Vasiht'h watched animation return to that face, one he'd known for so many years now: human in seeming with a strong jaw and high cheekbones, but with skin pale as salt and eyes so deep a yellow they neared orange. Not human, Jahir, but Eldritch: an esper species rare and xenophobic and almost never found off their world. But this Eldritch had left his, and he was Vasiht'h's.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eAs far as Vasiht'h was concerned, anyway. He prodded the mindline that connected them gently until some color and life bloomed in it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\"Right,\" Jahir said, and drew in a deep breath. \"How do you feel about a vacation?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\"Away from the starbase?\" Vasiht'h asked, catching a whiff of exotic perfume and a hint of green things from their connection.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\"Away from the starbase,\" Jahir agreed. \"In fact... all the way home.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eVasiht'h stared at him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eJahir returned to contemplation of the comm screen. \"My mother sent me a message... one of my cousins is getting married. She'd like as much of the family to attend as possible.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\"I... I'd love to go,\" Vasiht'h said. \"But... did the invitation include me? I didn't think aliens were welcome on your world.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\"Not usually,\" Jahir agreed. \"But I've spoken of you, of course, when I wrote home, and my mother specifically mentioned you coming.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eVasiht'h tried to figure out what was going on in his partner's head. The mindline remained devoid of anything but that tantalizing fragrance and hint of green. Nor did he see anything in the man's face. \"You,\" he said after a moment, \"...are blocking something?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\"Not... precisely,\" Jahir said. He ran a hand over his head, hair hissing away from his hand as it swung back in place. \"I honestly don't know what to think of it. I haven't been home in a long time—not since we were in school together.\" He blew out a breath and managed a lopsided smile. \"There's a reason I left.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\"You didn't like it,\" Vasiht'h said, letting his centauroid haunches settle and refolding the wings that covered his second back. \"I'd guessed as much.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\"But it would be nice to see family,\" Jahir said. \"Some of them, at least. And Mother would not have asked, had she not thought it important for me to be there.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eVasiht'h sampled the new taste in the mindline between them. \"She misses you.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\"I think she might,\" Jahir agreed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\"Well, if you really think I'd be welcome...\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\"I'd like you to come,\" Jahir said, the mindline saturating with a smell like nostalgia: Vasiht'h's mind rendered it as the pine-amber scent of the oil his grandfather had worked into wood while polishing it. \"It would be a hint of normalcy, you know, amid my lunatic relatives.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eVasiht'h eyed him. \"You're not making me feel better about this.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eJahir laughed. \"That makes two of us.\" He lifted his brows. \"You're not excited about being the first Glaseah to visit the world of the reclusive Eldritch?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\"Maybe a little,\" Vasiht'h admitted. \"And maybe a little worried. When do we leave?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eJahir said, \"One week.\"\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"M.C.A. Hogarth","offers":[{"title":"E-Book","offer_id":48272688709925,"sku":"BK-E-DREAM5","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49078352707877,"sku":"9608093000412","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0864\/6826\/4229\/files\/family-cover-new-2018.png?v=1711063679"},{"product_id":"the-aphorisms-of-kherishdar-kherishdar-1","title":"The Aphorisms of Kherishdar (Kherishdar 1)","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlien wisdom tales about the power of community, love, and a fair society.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor the Ai-Naidar, caste and tradition are not the shackles that imprison the spirit but the silences that make sense of the music of their lives.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Aphorisms of Kherishdar\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ecollects 25 short tales about what it is to have an Ai-Naidari soul: to find comfort in tradition, law and structure; to revere interdependence over individualism; to know one’s place… to always have one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA gem for lovers of constructed languages, and a provocative read: come meditate on values rarely celebrated in fantasy and science fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCan be read as a standalone or as a prequel to\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eBlack Blossom.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAudio Preview\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/m-c-a-hogarth\/the-aphorisms-of-kherishdar-retail-sample\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehttps:\/\/soundcloud.com\/m-c-a-hogarth\/the-aphorisms-of-kherishdar-retail-sample\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre (setting):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003elow fantasy\/implied science fiction\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTags:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eflash fiction, meditations, poetry, linguistics, conlangs, aliens, virtues\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRating: \u003c\/span\u003ePG for emotional situations\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eExcerpt from \u003cem\u003eThe Aphorisms of Kherishdar\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"12ptBoldCenteredHdr\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\n\u003ca name=\"Menuredi\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003eMENUREDI\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"ItalicContent\" style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan class=\"BoldItalicContentChar\"\u003emenured [ MEHN yoo rehd ]\u003c\/span\u003e, (noun), singular menuredi — loyal servants of a liegelord or liegelady; a special connotation of fidelity and intimacy. The liegelord\/lady counterpart is masured(i)\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eI had not expected the irimkedi, the servant, who came to my studio for the review, but I did recognize her. Not as tall as the average Ai-Naidari, she was instead supernally graceful, as if the ancestors sought to compensate for her lack. Her simple robe had been fashioned of softest silk, the House emblem richly embroidered, and a flash of sunlight at her tail's end brought the eye to a ring there with dependent jewel. She had accompanied her Head of Household when that worthy came to commission a design for her seal. I was not often called upon to do such work, but I enjoyed it, though I rarely saw the stone stamp that would be carved from the final design.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eShe was irimkedi, and so I spoke first. \"Your mistress has not come?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\"The design is to be evaluated by me in her stead,\" she replied, politely Abased. She read my incredulity in the faint twitch of my ears, for she lifted a wrist, the sleeve pulling back to expose a signet dangling from a chain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eMy brows lifted, but I bowed my head and indicated the table. \"The sketch is here.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eHer shadow pooled over the parchment. Her mistress, following convention, had requested an abstract design, a cylinder long enough for her slender hand to comfortably hold when she used it to stamp her House sigil on official documents.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\"Is your lead available?\" she asked.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eI glanced at her, but her face remained impassive. I brought her the requested lead, and she sat and began to draw--to correct my lines. With a few deft strokes she had solved several aesthetic errors I hadn't noticed and improved the grace of the design immeasurably.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\"This,\" she said, standing. \"This will be acceptable when inked.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eI looked from the paper to her face, astonished. \"You have a great talent, irimkedi.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eShe brushed the dust from her hands and folded them into her sleeves, preparing to depart. \"You are thanked, jakedi.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\"Why... why did you not...?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eShe canted her head. \"Why was your path not chosen?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eI nod.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eA tender smile touched her lips. She glanced at her feet, lost in some memory of feeling. At last, she said, \"To be an artist is to serve many, but without intimacy. To be a servant is to serve one in a relationship closer than breath.\" She lifted her eyes. \"My liegelady is loved. There is no other.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eI bowed to her then. She returned it and took her leave, and with it her shining. I stared after her long after she'd gone, and then I went back to my desk with the revised sketches. In the book I kept my ideas to be transferred to scrolls, I chased her devotion into words.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"ItalicContent\"\u003eThere is no higher calling than to serve with love.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"M.C.A. Hogarth","offers":[{"title":"Ebook","offer_id":48272895410469,"sku":"BK-E-KHER1","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Audio","offer_id":49103676277029,"sku":"BK-A-KHER1","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49103676309797,"sku":"9608093000078","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0864\/6826\/4229\/files\/2019Rebranding-Cover-Aphorisms-FrontOnly.png?v=1711064698"},{"product_id":"rosepoint-holiday-ebook","title":"A Rose Point Holiday (Her Instruments 4)","description":"\u003cp\u003eWith the Eldritch civil war over, a castle to renovate, and a wedding to prepare for, the last thing Reese is thinking about is taking a break. But the new year is coming and the Eldritch take their holidays very seriously, so Reese decides it can't hurt to observe the local proprieties. Who knows? Maybe it'll make good practice for what Felith is calling the wedding of the century. Of course, that was before Reese realized it was going to involve gifts. And decorating. And a town full of recalcitrant Eldritch tenants who have no reason to trust her...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Rose Point Holiday\u003c\/em\u003e is a short, pastoral novel set during the last days before Reese becomes Theresa Laisrathera Eddings, lady of Rose Point Castle and the surrounding lands of Firilith. The Eldritch have never seen a holiday quite like this one!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre (setting):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e space opera (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mcahogarth.org\/wiki\/the-pelted\/\"\u003ePelted\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTags:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e found family, pastoral, low-conflict, holiday, fun, space opera, romance, elves (space)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRating: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eG\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eExcerpt from Chapter 1\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe decorating commenced immediately. By the following morning, enormous swags of fabric and evergreen boughs were being carried into the castle, the resinous scent wafting in on the shoulders of the men pressed into service to haul them... because they were large, and they were going everywhere: on mantels, hung from window sills and doors, lining entire rooms where floors met walls. The clutches of berries Reese had assumed to be real were in fact painted glass beads—the fir cones, though, were genuine, and scented with something enough like cinnamon that the faint hint of cardamom that cut through the sweetness surprised her. Also glass were the stars hung everywhere light could catch them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe broad golden bowl that appeared in the middle of the great hall, though, mystified her. Particularly since it was large enough for her to sit in.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Should I even ask?” she said to Irine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“That is the firebowl,” Irine said. “Apparently Felith neglected to mention that the candles we’re supposed to light every day have to be lit from a fire in this bowl. Everyone’s in the household comes from here, and the central fire has to be kept lit from Solstice until the New Year. That’s when we let it go out.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eReese eyed it warily. “That sounds dangerous. What do they do, fill it with coals? Wood? Why here, and not a fireplace that’s properly vented?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I don’t know,” Irine admitted. “Kis’eh’t said she’d come up with something for us. Felith wasn’t sure whether she should be scandalized by the suggestion, but she decided since this was a new sort of house, new ways of doing things seemed called for.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eReese chuckled. “Good for her.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“She’s more than three-quarters converted to modern thinking,” Irine agreed, satisfied, surveying the hall with her hands on her hips. “Apparently we should have colored rugs and wreaths and a lot of other things that we don’t have because we aren’t Eldritch, but now that I know about them I can have them made for next year. Which is when—fair warning now—Kis’eh’t is going to insist we align the Order of the Universe to coincide with the local end-of-year holiday so the Pelted immigrants can have their celebrations. She said we could skip this year because we’re so busy.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe idea of juggling two holidays, one of them foreign and the other an excuse to celebrate every holiday the Pelted and their alien allies observed within a single week....\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“That \u003ci\u003eface\u003c\/i\u003e,” Irine said, staring at her with sagging ears.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eReese rubbed it, hoping that would wipe the expression off. “Sorry. There’s just so much to do. I’m spending money as fast as the Queen lends it to me. Or gives it to me, I can’t tell and I’m afraid to ask. And everything’s broken or ancient. You know.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eIrine hugged her, which shouldn’t have come as a surprise but did. It was a welcome surprise, which was also new. But nice. Reese leaned into the tigraine with a sigh that ruffled the fur on Irine’s neck. “Sorry. I just want to get it right.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Of course you do. But you’re stressing too much about things, arii. You should go get Allacazam and take a nap.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Later, maybe. I need to talk to Belinor and Val first, see if I can get them to go into town.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Ooh?” Irine glanced at her, brows arched. “Are they going to scout for you?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Hopefully,” Reese said. “Well, that and they really do need to see if there’s a church there that can handle a Ladymass. Since Val’s High Priest now, he’s got a good reason to be nosing around.” She studied the hall. The fireplace in it was worthy of the name, longer than she was tall by twice her height, and it was completely bedecked with greenery and stars. The boughs were pretty: they reminded her of postcards of Terra in winter, with snow-dusted firs and glowing hearths. Her family hadn’t celebrated Christmas, which had seen a revival after the Rapprochement with the Pelted had brought the Christian Hinichi back into contact with the Church that had inspired their religion... but she’d always found the winter imagery moving, and envied, just a little, the heroines of her romances who could curl up beside a fire with hot cocoa and toasty slippers. “This is looking really pretty, arii.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eIrine bounced on the balls of her feet. “And this is just the great hall! The part I really want to work on is the sitting room where we’ll be having the Vigil party. Since the boys are going to be freezing their tails off in the chapel for half the night, I want them to have someplace warm to come back to. And nice.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“The chapel is nice!”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“The chapel is beautiful,” Irine said. “I love how you refinished it. And the roses are glorious. But you decided to leave the roof half off and it’s \u003ci\u003ecold\u003c\/i\u003e out there, Reese.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“They can light a fire,” Reese said. Then paused. “Can’t they? Or is that against the rules because it might cause basilisks to come eat them?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“No idea,” Irine said. “Don’t really want to know either. Brr.” She shivered. “Anyway. I must go discuss pie with the girls!”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Pie sounds very good about now,” Reese said wistfully.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“There will be pie,” Irine said. “That’s one thing Felith and Kis’eh’t both wholeheartedly agree on.” She gave Reese another quick hug. “Remember the nap!”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Later,” Reese promised. She drew in a deep breath after the tigraine had gone, tasting the pine-and-cinnamon-and-sea-brine smell of the hall and watching the firelight glitter in the stars. She’d never really had a winter holiday that meant anything to her, but something about this one was already seeping into her heart. This year it was definitely going to be a bit thrown together, but by next year? With the castle in order, and hopefully the town too, and more tenants, and her Pelted residents...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eShe’d be married by then. What a strange—and wonderful—thought. Of course, she’d have to survive all the preparations... she smiled to herself and turned, and found her fiancé at the door, as if summoned by her thoughts, and... who knew? Maybe he’d sensed what was going on here and been drawn back. The Queen was keeping him so busy she rarely saw him, but that was all right, because it made the sight of him standing so still, staring at the hall, so much more vivid and precious.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eAnd that stillness was shock. But a good one, from the warmth in his eyes. She’d made him happy, and when he found her amid the bustle in the hall, he let her see it. Advancing to her and taking her hands in his, he said, “Theresa! I had no idea we would be observing the holiday.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eWere her fingers tingling? Her fingers were tingling. Was it abstinence that made him just holding her hands so intense? “Felith told us about it, and... well, we are a part-Eldritch House. It seemed the right thing to do.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“It’s wonderful,” he said. “But do not tell me you have time for the entire season?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“The whole kit and caboodle,” Reese said, knowing in that moment that she was going to do it, and do it right. “The Longest Night Vigil, Lady’s Day, and the New Year’s Feast.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“But with so little notice....”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“We’ve done crazier things.” Reese grinned at him and was delighted when he grinned back.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“So we have. But this... this is special.” He looked up at the swags of blue velvet lining the walls. “A House is not a home until it has celebrated the Vigil season.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eAll the more reason to do it. “Just make sure Liolesa gives you the day off!”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eHe laughed. “I’ll make sure of it.” He kissed her fingers. “I am here accompanying Valthial, if you will believe. He said you asked for him? He’s been waylaid by someone who’d like a decision or three on the chapterhouse, but he is here.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Poor Val,” Reese said. “I should rescue him. Can you stay?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I was planning it. I have been too long away from my betrothed and hoped she might have time for a ride before we return to our respective duties...?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eRiding with Hirianthial? Blood, yes. Especially if it meant a stolen kiss or two. Wasn’t there some Terran Pagan custom about kisses and greenery? She’d have to get Kis’eh’t to look it up. “I think my appointments can wait a few hours while I discuss Laisrathera’s future with its co-leader.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eHe smiled over her fingers and kissed them again, breath on skin. “Then go you to Valthial, and tell him I asked him not to delay you.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eCheeks warm, Reese said, “I won’t give him a choice.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"M.C.A. Hogarth","offers":[{"title":"Ebook","offer_id":48276456767781,"sku":"BK-E-REESE4","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Audio","offer_id":49473365180709,"sku":"BK-A-REESE4","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49071799337253,"sku":"9608093000054","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0864\/6826\/4229\/files\/B4-ARosePointHoliday-EbookCover.jpg?v=1711220768"},{"product_id":"major-pieces","title":"Major Pieces (Princes' Game Collection)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEverybody's got a story... even the bystanders.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe staff of the Alliance's foremost restaurant... the forgotten children of the imperial Chatcaavan harem... the story of how an empress hired a D-per, and an entire ship full of Glaseah came to settle on an alien world... here, woven amid the larger stories of the participants in the Chatcaavan war, are the smaller scenes observed by its minor characters, or shifted by its major ones in moments of contemplation. Major Pieces collects 21 stories starting from before the events of Even the Wingless and ending just prior to the first book of the Jubilee Summer duology. Some are as short as a talk with a therapist and his dog over cookies--others are nearly novel-length examinations of important events previously left off-camera, like the wedding of a wingless freak to an Emperor and his consort. All of them were reader-selected, and many, reader-suggested.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou've survived the war. Now come back to the unexplored corners of the story and linger.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre: \u003c\/strong\u003espace opera (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mcahogarth.org\/wiki\/the-pelted\/\"\u003ePelted\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTags:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003epsychology, high stakes politics, pirates, galactic war, ensemble cast, dragons, elves (space)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRating\u003c\/strong\u003e: R for violence, adult situations\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eExcerpt from \u003cem\u003eMajor Pieces\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e[ Employment Advertisement has been read once. ]\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e[ Employment Advertisement has been read 6 times. ]\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e[ Employment Advertisement has been read 52 times. ]\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p3\"\u003e[ You have received an inquiry re: Employment Advertisement. ]\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p4\"\u003eMaia unstretched from hibernation, squinting at the notifications. Around her, the light show of the Alliance’s densely interconnected Core systems network shivered and played, its larger pulses accompanied by sounds like the bass from a rave. She could have chosen to perceive the network by any metaphor—one of her peers, Troy, liked to see it as a geographical map complete with mountains and rained-out roads—but she liked the directness of the grid with its overlapping colors and lights. She would never have called it more honest, but… maybe more pure? It was why she tended to forget to adhere to her code-form, which looked like a born person. The nearly limitless possibilities of the network seemed to ask more from her than to imitate something that was, after all, already perfect. Since she could never be a flesh-and-blood person, she preferred not to pretend, and to instead be the very best digital person she could.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p4\"\u003eWhich didn’t mean she could dispense with the metaphors, which is why, no doubt, she felt she was rubbing her eyes, as if they could have dried during her ‘sleep.’ The news of the past decade flashed through her as she sorted her personal mail. Samson had left her updates on all the personnel issues in Fleet since her departure; Troy, a chess game with all his moves pre-planned so she could drop hers in and watch the game unwind and probably, knowing their playstyles, explode. Literally, since Troy liked to animate the pieces brawling. Delilah had curated all the best songs of the year every year since Maia had tucked herself into stasis, and as the Alliance included billions of people, it wasn’t a minor amount of data. Maia listened to them all at speeds her flesh-and-blood colleagues would have found unintelligible and chuckled at Delilah’s commentary.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p4\"\u003eBut the thing that had drawn her from stasis was the inquiry. She’d received only 52 hits on her employment advertisement since she’d gone dark ten years ago, so the fact that she’d received any inquiry at all struck her as… unlikely. And yet here it was, and most fascinating of all, it had come to her through so many layers of encryption it felt more like a strand of smoke than a cord. Intrigued, and a little perturbed, Maia opened the attached message, to find… a commcode. That was all.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p4\"\u003e|You’re awake,| Samson observed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p4\"\u003e|Nice of you to wait long enough for me to get my bearings.| Maia rubbed the glittering commcode, which stung her fingers like the sparks off a sparkler. |I see things are heating up in the shop.|\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p4\"\u003e|Yes, well, we knew they would. Everyone with a brain, constructed or born, knew things would destabilize, sooner or later. Did you get an offer?|\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p4\"\u003e|I got an inquiry,| Maia said.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p4\"\u003e|Maybe you should answer it!|\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p4\"\u003e|Wow, I should have thought of that myself!| She rolled her eyes. |If you don’t mind?|\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p4\"\u003eSamson laughed. |Don’t worry, none of us will eavesdrop. But I hope it’s good, Maia, we’ve missed you.|\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p4\"\u003eShe snorted, but the assertion also made her smile. |Oh really?|\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p4\"\u003e|Yes, really. At the rate things are going, we’re going to be outnumbered by the freeborn, and then who’ll tell all the stories about walking uphill five picoseconds through congested networks, in the rain, while hauling indenture contracts?|\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p4\"\u003eMaia smirked. |Ah, yes, the newbies have no idea how much fun they missed. Go away, Samson, and let me get to work.|\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"M.C.A. Hogarth","offers":[{"title":"Ebook","offer_id":48276513194277,"sku":"BK-E-PG7","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49103446212901,"sku":"9608093000627","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0864\/6826\/4229\/files\/MJ-Cover-EBook-500px.jpg?v=1711126227"},{"product_id":"healers-wedding","title":"Healer's Wedding (Fallowtide Sequence 1)","description":"\u003cp\u003eNearly a year has passed since the conclusion of the Chatcaavan War... which means it's time for Jahir and Sediryl to marry, and Sediryl to kneel for the coronet of the imperial heir! All their allies are gathering to celebrate, from the expected, like the Queen Ransomed and Lisinthir, to mentors and friends from years past. But life doesn't pause for momentous events, no matter how joyous or anticipated. There are issues Jahir and Sediryl have yet to resolve, issues that reflect the greater challenges besetting their world and the Alliance. Before they can join hands for the wedding cloth, they'll have to face at least one of those challenges... and it won't be the first.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHealer's Wedding\u003c\/em\u003e, Book 1 in the Jubilee Summer duology, brings together the characters from Her Instruments, Dreamhealers, and Princes' Game for a capstone season of politics and pleasure. Return to the homeworld of the Eldritch and the company of friends!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre (setting):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e space opera (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mcahogarth.org\/wiki\/the-pelted\/\"\u003ePelted\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTags:\u003c\/strong\u003e politics, space elves; multicultural; city building; feel-good story \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRating\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eR for references to adult relations, difficult family relationships\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eExcerpt from Chapter 1\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003eThe trips to the experimental plots constituted the easiest and most enjoyable of Sediryl’s new duties, though she didn’t begrudge the work, and in fact found most of it fascinating. Still, she didn’t love Ontine’s stone walls. By any species’ standards, they couldn’t be called ‘close’ when the Eldritch preferred to allow several feet of clearance between themselves when walking down them, but Sediryl preferred to be outside. She let out a resigned sigh as she approached the suite Liolesa had bestowed on her, ignoring Qora’s amused ear-twitches.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“Not a word,” she said to the Faulfenzair.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“Did I say anything?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“No, but you were thinking it.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“Ah, now she’s a mind-reader.” He grinned, all teeth, as Sediryl wrinkled her nose at him before she remembered that nose-wrinkling in Faulfenza was a form of laughter. “Don’t worry, Princess. There’s nothing to be ashamed of, loving to be beneath the God’s sky more than beneath His people’s roofs.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“If you could convince the rest of the Eldritch that…?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“Given how stubborn they are? Good luck,” Maia muttered, and Qora chuckled.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“At least my paperwork won’t talk back,” Sediryl said as she pushed open the door… and came to an abrupt halt.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“No need to rise,” Valthial drawled in Universal. “Though I have a ring here you can kiss if you’re feeling like a naughty girl who’s been avoiding her lessons. Because you have been.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003eThe High Priest of the Lord and God was as unlikely an Eldritch as any Sediryl had met: short, wiry and energetic, with the sharply pointed face of a fox and hair cropped at his chin… not because he’d lost his mane to an enemy, the way Lord Hirianthial had, but because he liked it that way. He spent most of his time in attire humble to the point of insult—to courtiers, anyway—rarely demanded the respect due his office, and far preferred to be addressed as ‘Val’, particularly by people he knew well.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003eSediryl was on those terms with Valthial, and she didn’t know why… because she’d spent most of their time together explaining why she couldn’t attend the interminable training foisted on anyone with even the slightest of mage talents. She’d seen her fiancé’s schedule of classes; she simply didn’t have time to become a mind-mage while also stepping into Beth’s shoes. Particularly if she wanted to prove that she was an adequate replacement for a woman who’d been in the job for decades.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003eVal had always seemed so understanding. Being ambushed like this was new. She forced herself to walk past him to her desk, sat at it, and folded her hands on its surface. “I think I’ll skip the ring-kissing.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“Good, because that would have been weird.” Val crossed his legs and folded his arms behind his head. “You know why I’m here.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“As Qora just pointed out to me, I’m not psychic.” She smiled crookedly. “So why don’t you tell me, so I can reiterate all the reasons I can’t accommodate you.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“Nice job on the tone,” Val said, grinning. “A century or two and you’ll be sounding like her all the time.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003eSediryl couldn’t decide whether the prospect delighted or dismayed her. Liolesa never spoke without thinking at least three steps ahead of the person she was facing, and while Sediryl coveted the ability she wasn’t looking forward to never being able to open her mouth without playing a game of mental chess first. “Since you know why I can’t say ‘yes’, why are you here?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003eThe levity dropped from him like a discarded domino. “Because you can’t keep saying ‘no.’ I know you’re busy, Sediryl. I know what you’re doing is important. I know you need to prove to people that you’re the woman for the job, even without Beth making it harder with her adorable letters from the back of beyond, and I know you have a wedding and an investiture to prepare for. But you’ve got an untrained talent, and it’s one of the most volatile talents in our roster. Without mastery, it’s going to hurt you or someone else.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“You say that as if you’re sure of it,” Sediryl said.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“I am sure of it, because the only two Eldritch who’ve ever manifested your talent have self-immolated.” He paused, his eyes far too sober. “Not intentionally. They died that way, in firestorms they conjured in fits of strong emotion.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003eThe memory of the pirate base, of the eruption in her mind, in her heart, of waking up in the hospital after weeks of lying near death… Sediryl inhaled sharply.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“And since I’m a bastard, I’m going to go ahead and say it: they died the way you should have, and didn’t, because you were saved by your friends. This isn’t optional. Nothing you’re doing right now will matter if you die before you finish it.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“You… you make it sound dire enough,” Sediryl said.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“And I’m not into dramatics,” Val replied. “All I want is an hour of your time here, at the Cathedral.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“A week?” Sediryl asked, hopeful.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“A day.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“A day!” Sediryl exclaimed. “Val I don’t \u003ci style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"\u003ehave\u003c\/i\u003e an hour a day! I’m not even at Ontine every day!”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“Then you’ll have to find a way—”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“And I’m telling you…”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003eQora said, casually, “I will handle her education.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003eBoth of them stopped short. Val cocked his head, peering at the Faulfenzair.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“And I will make sure she practices daily,” Qora continued. “Unlike you, High Priest, I am free to hunt her in her native habitat.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003eVal paused, then laughed. “Even when she migrates?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003eThe Faulfenzair showed his teeth, nose wrinkled. “She won’t escape me.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003eVal considered the alien for several long moments. Then he rose. “That’s acceptable to me. If you get tired of dealing with her, though…”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“I will send her back. Don’t worry, I’m no martyr.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003eVal guffawed. “I bet you aren’t.” He glanced at Sediryl. “Don’t think of this as a reprieve.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“No,” Sediryl hastened to reply.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“And I expect some progress.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“She’ll progress,” Qora said affably. “Or I’ll know the reason why.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003eVal laughed. “Hah! You’re going to wish you’d said ‘yes’ to me, Sediryl. Good luck.” He inclined his head to Qora. “Thank you, alet.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“My pleasure, High Priest.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003eVal sauntered out, pleased if his whistling was any indication. He was the only Eldritch Sediryl had met who could whistle. Or admitted to knowing how, anyway. And the moment the door closed behind him, she exhaled in relief. “Thank you, Qora.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“For what?” the Faulfenzair asked. “You think I have saved you from trouble? You think I was rescuing you? I am a harder taskmaster than any Eldritch priest. They don’t know what mastery looks like—obviously, or their last fire talents would not have killed themselves.” He shook his head in excellent mimicry of the Pelted gesture, and even managed to purse his lips and look regretful. “No, Princess. I’m afraid you will give me an hour every day. To Dance, and discuss fire, and the God.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“An hour!” Sediryl exclaimed. “Qora… where am I going to find another hour in the day?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“There’s always that nice quiet period before the sun rises,” Maia said helpfully.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003eSediryl let her head drop into her arms with a groan.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“You like getting up before the sun rises!”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“Yes,” Sediryl said into her arms. “I do. To pull weeds, and wander crop rows, and eat breakfast, and shower, and read mail, and catch up on news. Not to work at something I’m \u003ci style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"\u003ebad\u003c\/i\u003e at.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“Then,” Qora said cheerfully, “you’d better get good at fire, quickly!” When she moaned again, he padded to her desk and twisted his head to look into the space between her fallen hair and her forearm. “There, there, Princess. If you put in an hour a day, even you can’t stay bad at psychic powers for long.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“Not helping…”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003eHe patted her head. “We will practice outside, at least.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“Stone walls might have been better if she’s going to set things on fire,” Maia opined.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“Being surrounded by flammable things will give her incentive to progress faster!”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003eMaia said, “You know, sticking with Val might have been safer.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\"\u003e                  \u003c\/span\u003e“She’ll regret it,” Qora agreed. “That’s how I’ll know I’m doing it right.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"M.C.A. Hogarth","offers":[{"title":"Ebook","offer_id":48276555432229,"sku":"BK-E-FALLOW1","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49079087628581,"sku":"9608093000665","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0864\/6826\/4229\/files\/Cover-Healerswedding-Front-1000.jpg?v=1711126845"},{"product_id":"farmers-crown","title":"Farmer's Crown (Fallowtide Sequence 2)","description":"\u003cp\u003eSediryl has always yearned for responsibility--and power--and she was convinced she was ready for them... until the events of the Chatcaavan war demonstrated just how immense those responsibilities were, and just how parlous the power necessary to fulfill them. Even so, she's determined to prove herself worthy to her empress and all the Eldritch: the rich, the poor, the disenfranchised and the entrenched. Showing that she can be all things to all people is hard enough without Liolesa's former heir stirring the pot. And that's without Eldritch history casting its long shadow over the proceedings....\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShe has less than a month to convince the Eldritch that she deserves the heir's coronet, and none of them can afford for her to fail. The road to the future leads through her cropfields, and only Sediryl can lead them to it... if they'll follow.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFarmer's Crown\u003c\/em\u003e completes the Jubilee Summer duology and sets the stage for the next generation of Peltedverse novels. There's a storm on the horizon....\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre (setting):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e space opera (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mcahogarth.org\/wiki\/the-pelted\/\"\u003ePelted\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTags:\u003c\/strong\u003e politics, space elves; multicultural; city building; feel-good story \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRating:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eR for references to adult relations, difficult family relationships\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eExcerpt from Chapter 1\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Sediryl! Should you be bringing me with you?” Lili kept her voice hushed as they hurried up the stairs. “I was introduced to Lady Jeasa but surely that is not sufficient to constitute license to interrupt her toilette!”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Jeasa is the most wonderful woman imaginable,” Sediryl said, “in a way completely different from your mother, who is also wonderful. She’s not going to mind. Besides—” Struck even as she said it, “she’s incredibly insightful, and we could use that insight.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Nice job,” Maia said in Sediryl’s ear. “I like your new ‘let’s finally take advantage of the native talent’ line of thinking lately.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Finally?” Sediryl said dryly, and shook her head. “Nevermind, I deserved that. I should have taken some time out of my schedule to worry about the situation on the ground. Not the literal ‘people are starving and dying from very basic diseases’ situation, but the one that might cut off our attempts to stop that at the knees.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Well said,” Lili murmured. When Sediryl glanced at her, she blushed and finished, “Ah… your companion granted me earrings of my own.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“That’s right, you asked about some.” Sediryl chuckled. “Good! Thank you, Maia, for handling that while I was occupied.” She stopped at the top of the last flight, resting a hand on the banister. “Did she tell you why I was away?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“That your father was unwell?” Lili touched her breast. “Yes, cousin. I’m glad he’s doing better. It was good to see him at the wedding… my mother particularly mentioned it, that she was relieved that situation has been… addressed.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Your moth—” Sediryl suppressed the urge to curse. “How many things have I missed because I haven’t been paying attention? Goddess. I’ve been a fool. Hopefully I’ve figured that out before it bites us all.” She sighed. “Come on, Lili, she should be in her room still. It’s too early for her to be up.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Too early?” Lili said, hesitant. “But it lacks two hours until lunch…?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Exactly.” Sediryl brought her cousin down the broad hall to the master suite and knocked on the door. At the muffled invitation, she pushed the door open and called, “Lady Jeasa?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Over here, Sediryl.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I’ve brought a guest…”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“That’s fine. I’m decent.” Jeasa beamed at them both from the chaise longue in her spacious bedchamber, the one she’d had placed beside the window so she could read while drinking her morning—very late morning—chocolate. She was still draped in her dressing gown, a lush, lined thing in satiny forest green in complete defiance of the tradition that heads of household should always be seen in their House colors. Green suited her better, Sediryl thought, and so did the informal hair, lying in two soft braids on either shoulder like a young girl’s. Sitting up, Jeasa said, “Oh, Lili! How delightful. To what do I owe the pleasure?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I wish it were pleasure.” Sediryl perched on one of the chairs facing the chaise. “I’ve come to borrow a brooch, or a necklace, or something appropriately showy. Lili tells me that the nobles have discovered the Pad, enough to want to use it to come see the wedding.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Oh dear,” Jeasa said. “How inconvenient.” She pursed her lips. “And yet, how predictable. They must have planned that long in advance to manage it.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Lady?” Sediryl asked, surprised.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“There are not so many Pads, you know,” Jeasa said. “Most of the people involved will have to use Ontine’s. And the summer court won’t be in session for another two weeks, so ordinarily few people would have yet arrived to the capital. Some number must have left their estates early in order to trouble us with their presence today.” She waved a hand toward her dresser. “There’s a box there, my dear. Use whatever takes your fancy. That dress is lovely, I hope you won’t change out of it.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eSediryl moved to the dresser. “You don’t think it too simple?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Not at all. It suits you, so you wear it like a queen.” Jeasa turned her smile to Lili. “I assume you brought the news?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I did, yes,” Lili said, hesitantly. “And… I am… concerned.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eSediryl opened the velvet box and stared at the splendor hiding under its lid. “Goddess and Lord, my mother-in-law.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“It is excessive, isn’t it? But putting them in the vault at Ontine seemed a pity, given how many of them were gifts from Kolvin. Looking at them reminds me of him. Now, then, Lili. Why concerned?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eLili cleared her throat. “I was not introduced to everyone at the wedding, of course, and did not expect it. But the man standing alongside your husband, cousin Sediryl… that was the heir to Nase Galare, wasn’t it?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eSediryl’s guts knotted. Was it Galare witchiness that made her sense something bad coming, or was she finally developing some political sense? Either way, she didn’t like the careful way Lili was edging into this topic. “The former heir, yes. He’s now Lord Lauvet Imthereli, of course.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“You… realize… that a good number of our set were personally humiliated by him in the dueling circle before he left the world…?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eConveniently there was a bench in front of the dresser. Sediryl sank onto it. “Oh… no.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“He has surely made a formal court appearance since arrival?” Jeasa said. “Did they not run into him then?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“He has made \u003ci\u003eone\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003epublic\u003c\/i\u003e appearance, yes,” Lili said. “When the Chatcaavan delegation came to the Empress before the throne, after their reception at Laisrathera. Lord Lauvet was with them, but it was assumed that he was their translator, and he did not… put himself forward. He did not speak, even. And afterwards, he was not available to the court, nor were the Chatcaava. They are occasionally seen in the halls, but they do not mingle, and it hardly matters that the summer court has not yet formally opened. There are enough people in town to remark on it… that this will be the first social occasion many of them will have involving him, or the dragons.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“This should be fun,” Sediryl said with a sigh.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“It is… somewhat worse than that,” Lili said. “Because of the rumors.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“There are always rumors,” Jeasa said.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Not like these, I’m guessing.” Sediryl studied her cousin’s face, and the tension around her mouth. “All right, Lili. Better to know in advance. What are they saying?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“That your husband and the Nase scion are lovers.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eJeasa rested her cheek in her palm, lying serenely on her chaise. “So?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eUntil that one word, Sediryl had been frozen, listening to the thunderous tattoo of her racing heart. Her mother-in-law’s nonchalance put everything back in perspective. “That’s a good question. Why do they care? Don’t they know how many people have arrangements on the side?” She thought of her own mother and the tenant who must have supplied the miscarried child who might have ended up her sister or brother. Pressing a hand to her heart, she said, “No one cares about affairs. It happens too often. The real rarity is someone in love with their spouse.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“But you see, they perceive you to be in love,” Lili said. “Or at least, so rumor goes. The grand romance! One does not cheat on one’s storybook beloved. And I am afraid it will always be worse for you, cousin, because you are the heir and the heir is always held to a standard applied to no one else.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“No wonder Liolesa’s single.” Sediryl sighed. “So we have a bunch of gossipmongers showing up, half of whom are already primed to take offense because Lisinthir stabbed them decades ago, and the other half eager to dig up dirt on how my husband is cheating on me with a scapegrace lord who consorts with dragons and either I’m letting him, or I don’t know about it.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eLili nodded. “Yes. You have the sense of it.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I don’t see how any of this is their business!” Sediryl threw up her hands. “Who cares who’s sleeping with whom as long as everyone’s happy?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“But… there must be children, and the children must know what they are due to inherit,” Lili said, wide-eyed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“We can run paternity tests now,” Sediryl said. “That’ll take care of ‘who’s the father’ nicely.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eBefore Lili could respond, Jeasa said, “You must be patient, my dear. Your family arrangements are… unusual. People will want to fit them into a mold they understand, and there is no mold to accept what you’re doing. Have you considered the pearl choker?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eSediryl forced herself to resume sorting through Jeasa’s jewelry. Right now, ‘choking’ was something she wanted to do to others, not to suffer herself. “I still don’t see how it’s their business, as long as I do my job.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Our happiness affects our ability to do our work,” Jeasa said. “Anyone with a miserable family will tell you thus.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“She is right,” Lili said. “It isn’t their affair, cousin, but it isn’t unwise of them to question whether it will affect your equilibrium.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“If that was the reason they cared, I could forgive them for it,” Sediryl said with some asperity. “But they’re interested because they want to use it against me. And for the salaciousness of it…” She trailed off. “How did these rumors start, anyway? Who would ever have even seen Lisinthir and Jahir together? Lisinthir was barely on-world after the war. I think he came down for all of a few days? And he only saw Jahir once, at the Seni townhouse.” She mulled that, one of Jeasa’s necklaces hanging loose between her hands. “Even stranger, if they’re calling him a dragon-lover… how did they find out about Lisinthir and the Emperor?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“He does introduce himself now as the Emperor’s consort,” Jeasa said.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“To \u003ci\u003eus\u003c\/i\u003e,” Sediryl said. “Did he at court, Lili?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“The Chatcaavan Queen called him the Ambassador to Foreign Courts…?” Lili hesitated. “He does treat her with all the courtesy he would a wife, however.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“But that’s her, not the Emperor.” Sediryl’s eyes narrowed. “What did Amber hear? It must have been Amber. Maybe from the refugees… they were the Emperor’s women, and they must have seen them together, or heard about it.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eJeasa’s eyes had grown solemn, but it was Lili who spoke, “You think it was Jahir’s brother who would spread such rumors about him? Would not a servant from the Seni townhouse be a more plausible source?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eSediryl tried to remember the details of the night Lisinthir had taken his leave of them. Had the door been fully shut? Could someone have seen through a crack? Or heard their voices? What language had they been speaking? Did it matter? Galare servants were trained in Universal. “That’s also possible, I guess. Maybe both, for all we know.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“If it is one of my servants…” Jeasa’s voice sounded severe.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“It could have been an innocent act,” Lili said. “Sometimes when servants are proud of their masters they talk about them, and that talk can be misconstrued.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eSediryl was sure Lisinthir’s freedom with touch would have played well to people who wanted scandal fodder. “Can I just set everyone on fire and get it over with?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“May I choose your first targets?” Jeasa asked, hopeful.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eSurprised, Sediryl laughed. “Really! You! I wouldn’t believe it of you. You’re so…”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Meek?” Jeasa said, playing with the tassels at the end of her robe’s ties. “Like my son, whom you married?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eFlashes then, of the past few days in Jahir’s arms, and in his bed. Sediryl cleared her throat. “Well played, Mother-in-law.” Returning to the matter at hand: “So our separate problems are that some of our set are arriving, they’re expecting a wedding it turns out they’re too late to attend, and most of them will be disposed already to find fault with us.” She made a face. “I wonder how many of them are already on Beth’s side.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Or are still,” Lili said. “We must not dismiss loyalty as a motivation, cousin. Particularly among the Galare partisans. They were for Beth, and you… you are…”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“The outcast Galare.” Sediryl sighed and thrust the box out. “Maybe the two of you should pick. I’m not up to dressing myself for this kind of battle.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“You did pretty well last time,” Maia murmured.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eSediryl refused to let those memories coalesce past vague images of Kamaney’s avaricious eyes. “That didn’t count.” To the women in the room, “Anyway, how bad could it get? Jahir and I will be there to greet guests, so we can do some smoothing of ruffled feathers for people disappointed they missed the grand event… the ones who like us, anyway. The ones who don’t are going to hate everything about the feast anyway, since it involves aliens and me and them feeling embarrassed that they missed the important part. I can talk politely to them, but they’re still going to gossip. The worst that could happen is… what? Someone spots Lisinthir and remembers he humiliated them, and then… they call him out? Not likely, right?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“No one duels the former Nase scion,” Lili said, so emphatically Sediryl glanced at her in surprise. She checked Jeasa’s expression, found her mother-in-law nodding.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“She is correct.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eWhich made her realize she’d missed Lisinthir’s grand entrance to society, and all the tumult it had inspired. “What was it like? When he was here.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eLili shuddered. “Terrifying.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eSediryl eyed her. “I thought you liked duels? I seem to remember you trying to drag me to this or that sword fight all the time when we were girls.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“They were not \u003ci\u003efights\u003c\/i\u003e,” Lili said. “They were demonstrations of prowess! Posing, strutting. Displays to impress us. What Lord Nase Galare did… that was… that was real.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eBoth Sediryl and Jeasa were studying Lili with interest now.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“It was real,” Lili finished. “When so much of what we do is not. And it stripped away all\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003epretense and forced us to look at the truth… which is that most of us could not make good on anything we claim. Women professing to power, who cannot feed their tenants or make a baby stay in their wombs. Men boasting of strength, who cannot kill and shy from bloodshed. Lord Nase Galare never played our game. He didn’t respect our rules… or… no. He did, but they were the rules we have long since stopped believing in. He forced us to confront our hypocrisy. It did not go over well.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Goddess, Lili,” Sediryl said, wide-eyed. “I could listen to you talk forever.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eLili blushed. “You are too kind, cousin.” Glancing at Jeasa, she said, “But you were there also, Lady Jeasa. What did you think of him?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eJeasa, resting against her pillows, said, “He reminded me of his father.” A smile, faint. “He doesn’t, anymore.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“He’s still dangerous,” Sediryl said.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“But not likely to cast down the gage at an arrogant pup,” Jeasa said. “Lord Lauvet Imthereli does not need to cuff children, and knows it. I would not worry overmuch on that score.” She peered at the box. “I do like my jewelry, but surely the women of the Alliance also decorate themselves extravagantly. Do you have anything like that with you, Sediryl-love? Something dazzling? Like those useful pins of yours, but more ostentatious.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“What pins?” Lili asked, curious.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“The Alliance has hair pins that work,” Jeasa said. “They’re a marvel. A few of them here and there and you could walk through a storm without a loose hair.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“The wonders of our allies never cease,” Lili said. “Also, I need several dozen of these magical devices.” She handed over a pendant, a faceted iolite set in gold. “Here, use this one. Pin it in place at your breast.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Purplish-blue? Really? With this gown?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“The contrast is necessary. And it draws attention to your neckline.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eSediryl sighed. “Right. Exactly where I want everyone looking.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Be of good cheer, daughter,” Jeasa said. “No matter how many people cross that Pad seeking scandal, there will be far, far more who are here because they honestly wish you well.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe way her heart jumped when Jeasa called her ‘daughter’ so lovingly, and so \u003ci\u003eeasily\u003c\/i\u003e… how had she been so lucky? “Or want to eat our food?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Or that,” Jeasa agreed serenely. More impishly, “It is a mighty spread.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“The farmer princess wouldn’t settle for less,” Sediryl said.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I like that,” Lili said. “The farmer princess. Do you mind if I….”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Spread it around?” Sediryl thought of Vasiht’h’s earlier comment and chuckled. “You might be too late to be the first.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"M.C.A. Hogarth","offers":[{"title":"Ebook","offer_id":48276555497765,"sku":"BK-E-FALLOW2","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49078358999333,"sku":"9608093000672","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0864\/6826\/4229\/files\/Cover-FarmersCrown-Front-800.jpg?v=1711126848"},{"product_id":"heartskein","title":"Heartskein (Fallowtide Sequence 3)","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor as long as he could remember, Vasiht'h planned on starting a family, a plan that surviving the war only made more urgent. The temple on Anseahla has summoned him at last to pick up his new kits, an errand he decides will be an excellent opportunity to have some alone-time with his partner, Jahir. But his partner is now an imperial prince-consort, and Vasiht'h himself has more responsibilities than he anticipated, and it isn't long before their private getaway turns into a huge production. And that's before the children join the party!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut becoming a father is only one of the changes that Vasiht'h must accept as he moves into this newest phase of his life. For the longest time he's thought of himself as living in an Eldritch shadow. If he wants to thrive--if he wants to lead his contingent of Glaseah to a fuller life themselves--he has to accept that sometimes a supporting role is just an excuse to stay out of the limelight....\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHeartskein\u003c\/em\u003e is a cozy science fiction novel and returns to the dreamhealers in their new roles as powers in the new Eldritch Empire: Jahir is now a married man and a prince, and Vasiht'h an administrator, a lord, and a father! But no matter what changes, some things stay the same: like a bond of love stronger than wars and unconquered by time. Come unwind, and meet the babies!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre (setting):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e space opera (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mcahogarth.org\/wiki\/the-pelted\/\"\u003ePelted\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTags:\u003c\/strong\u003e parenthood; space elves; multicultural; friendship; aliens; family; relationships\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRating\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePG for references to adult situations\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eExcerpt from Chapter 1\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eVasiht’h was dreaming—obviously, because he no longer had a patient alert set up on his tablet. The beeping he was hearing could not be coming from an actual device. He continued believing it until a hand lit on his shoulder, right before a braid fell on his back with a thump as heavy as a slap. “…siht’h, Vasiht’h, your tablet’s going off.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“What?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eSediryl, just visible through his cracked eyes. She was staring down into his face. “Your tablet is making a lot of noise.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“My ta… why?” Vasiht’h shoved himself upright and groped for it until it slid into his pile of pillows, where it got lost. He dug for it while it continued making alarming noises; beside him, Sediryl tossed pillows aside until they uncovered the tablet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe alert was going off for a message. Vasiht’h couldn’t remember setting any message to this particular priority until he spread it. Then he fell back onto the mound, which spilled away from under his haunches. Mired amid his bedding, he said, “It’s from the siv’t.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe mindline had been tense throughout the alarm’s sounding; now it was positively singing. Jahir sat up in bed. “Is it—”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“My children are ready for pick-up!” Vasiht’h paused. “Oh Goddess, that sounds ridiculous. Like they’re some kind of take-out meal I ordered. I can’t… I knew it was coming but I kept thinking it would be tomorrow and now—”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Now it’s today! Excellent!” Sediryl grabbed for his hand and pulled him out of the pillows. “You must go immediately, of course. And Jahir with you, as he promised.” She pushed her bangs out of her eyes. “I’ll take care of the formalities with Liolesa and arrange for your ride.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Formalities?” Vasiht’h asked, feeling the vague weight in the mindline as chagrin.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eSediryl laughed, merry, and hugged him, smelling strongly of sun-ripened grain and wildflowers and sleep. “Oh, arii. He’s the prince-consort! He can’t just jaunt off-world without telling anyone. But I’ll handle it, and you all can be off soonest. You’ll talk with your sister about handing off your responsibilities while you’re gone?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eVasiht’h had never been a morning person. A mid-morning person, maybe, but given a choice he would have lingered in bed until his brain started working properly. Preferably after the first of a couple of breakfasts. Sediryl effortlessly scheduling his change of plans for him several minutes after an alarm had shocked him out of sleep was a little more than he could keep up with. “I… all right… of course, when…”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“When you wake up completely, naturally.” Her orange eyes sparkled. “I’ll leave you to that. I was going to get up in ten minutes anyway.” She straightened and went to the bed to wrap her arms around Jahir and cuddle into him; the mindline reported that as joy and familiarity, the satiny finish of smooth skin. And then she was hurrying out, grabbing her fire-colored robe on the way and summoning Maia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eVasiht’h clutched his head. “She is a force of \u003ci\u003enature\u003c\/i\u003e.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eJahir dropped back onto the bed and laughed, quiet but heartfelt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I can’t believe this,” Vasiht’h muttered. “The day after my sister tells me I need a vacation, and we decide you need one too…”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“They provide,” Jahir said, the mindline shading it white as dove wings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“And we go as She directs,” Vasiht’h agreed. He padded to the bedside and flopped against it, arms spread over the top of the mattress and chin resting between them. “But I admit I wasn’t planning such an abrupt departure.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“We can go when you decide, ariihir. Don’t let Sediryl’s enthusiasm force you into anything.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“No, no, she’s right. Stalling isn’t good either. I’ve…” He exhaled hard. “I’ve been waiting long enough for these kits. Sometimes it feels like I almost waited too long.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eJahir’s hand slipped over his wrist, squeezed, gentle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“So yes. I’m all right with going the moment we can.” He smiled over his arm at his partner, who had managed to shift himself under the covers again and had a blanket up to his jaw. He looked adorable that way, all peeping amber eyes and mischievous smile. “It’ll be nice, now that I think about it. For the two of us to be doing something together, the way we used to.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“It would at that. I am looking forward to it, I find.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eAs easily as that, Vasiht’h was too. He grinned. “Just like old times.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Then…” His partner rolled onto his side, shaking his braid off his neck. “You to your tasks and I to mine, and then we shall be away.” He paused. “It would be good. To be abroad again.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I agree,” Vasiht’h said firmly. “This is exactly what we need.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"M.C.A. Hogarth","offers":[{"title":"Ebook","offer_id":48276555563301,"sku":"BK-E-FALLOW3","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49079084908837,"sku":"9608093000689","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0864\/6826\/4229\/files\/cover-Heartskein-halfpage-500px.png?v=1711126851"},{"product_id":"fathers-honor","title":"Fathers' Honor (Fallowtide Sequence 4)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTHREE HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen his favorite student invites him to immigrate to the world of the fabled Eldritch, Armin Palland brings his wife and mother-in-law and all the unresolved issues he's been avoiding. That he arrives to a planet without a university to employ him leaves him stranded with nothing to do but what he does best: turn his psychology degree and analytical powers on the plight of the natives... and one native in particular.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut it was never his intention to get involved with an Eldritch father, much less an Eldritch father AND a middle-aged intransigent Glaseah who won't let him crawl back into his comfortable shell. There's a road between Armin Palland and his life-altering epiphany, and it's going to take him straight through a hospital ward, several weeks of language lessons, and his first attempt at... wargaming?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd they say old dogs can't learn new tricks....\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOld friends from the Dreamhealers series take center stage for this standalone Peltedverse novel, set during the Fallowtide period after the end of the Chatcaavan War.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre (setting):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e space opera (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mcahogarth.org\/wiki\/the-pelted\/\"\u003ePelted\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTags: \u003c\/strong\u003eparenthood; space elves; multicultural; language; psychology; getting your groove back; midlife crises\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRating:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePG for references to war and violence\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eExcerpt from Chapter 2\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eArmin double-checked the local time, shook his head, and headed down the hall. Reaching the right room, he leaned on the door frame and put a hand on his hip. “You realize morning office hours should have ended two hours ago, don’t you?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eLafayette KindlesFlame dropped his stylus and rose from his chair. “Armin!”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eHis friend was not a physically demonstrative man, so the hug he received was surprising. Armin returned it, though, and liked what he felt. The last time he’d seen his colleague, Lafayette had been reducing himself to gaunt whipcord with anger and depression, but the body against his was healthy, and smelled of hospital astringent and faintly of coffee, not of alcohol and sweat. And of course, the embrace itself was rare and good. Armin leaned back. “Yes, I made it.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I’m glad,” Lafayette said. “I assume you’re here alone because Vasiht’h is too busy to bring you by, which doesn’t surprise me in the least given what he and Jahir are up to. I’m sure he’ll be sorry to have missed the chance to show you around, but I’m glad you’re not wasting any time because, Iley, do we need you here.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Oh, do you.” Armin eyed him. “What else is exploding, besides what I’ve already seen?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThat inspired a lifted brow. “Depends on what you’ve already seen?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Let’s talk,” Armin said. “In the cafeteria. I’m assuming they have one.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“They do, and I could use refueling.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe dining area for the hospital involved an inner courtyard with an open ceiling, and sitting in it Armin could have believed he was anywhere in the Alliance. He thought about that while sipping his tea, waiting for Lafayette to return with his meal… which he did, and it looked like a meal anyone might have eaten in a hospital like this. He glanced at it, then at his colleague, and said, “So whose good idea was all of this?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“You sound like you want to rap their hands with a ruler.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Because I do, and you know it.” Armin shook his head. “It’s like they’ve transplanted pieces of the Alliance directly onto Eldritch soil. If the problems haven’t started happening yet, they’re about to.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Oh, they’ve started already.” Lafayette sat with his tray and set to with a good will. “It’s just that the problems the transplantations needed to address were so extreme no one felt there was any other choice.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“What exactly did Vasiht’h get us into?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe Tam-illee grinned. “Nothing we didn’t want, so don’t give me that look, Armin. Admit it, the challenge already has your brain working.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“There were plenty of challenges back where we were before,” Armin said dryly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“But they were challenges we were expecting, and what good is that?” Lafayette shook his head. “Admit it. We were getting stagnant.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eA pastiche of the life he’d lived for decades rushed past his eyes, of classrooms and consultation rooms and his small but beloved, cluttered office where he’d entertained so many students as they navigated their way through their educations, drinking tea from his motley collection of mugs. He’d loved that room… until one day he stopped being able to look at it, and refused to examine the reasons why.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eLafayette, who was far more adept at psychology than people would assume of a healer-surgeon, let him have that moment. Armin flicked his ears outward. “\u003ci\u003eI\u003c\/i\u003e was getting stagnant. Maybe. A little. You were avoiding stagnation by trying to find something else to do until you ran into a wall.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Fair. But I’ve stopped running into a wall, and you’re here now, so…”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“So I’ll see what I make of it,” Armin said. And chuckled. “It suits you, whatever they’ve got you doing.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“It does.” Lafayette grinned. “Now, as long as you’re here…”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“You do know I literally just coasted in-system a few hours ago.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“…I’d like your opinion on a patient.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eArmin laughed despite himself. “You’re incorrigible, you know that?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Yes? Besides, you’ve also already started psychoanalyzing the entire planet—don’t bother to deny it, I can tell by the look on your face.” At Armin’s obvious chagrin, Lafayette chuckled. “See? You can’t stop working either.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“That’s not exactly something I’m proud of.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Nonsense, you love your work. What could be better? Besides, I bet you’ve been going crazy lately with nothing to do except detach yourself from the university and make this trip…”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Fine, fine, I surrender. But I want to catch up at some point.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eLafayette patted his lips with his napkin and pushed his tray aside. “We will… after you help me with my little conundrum. I’ve got what I believe to be a middle-aged man—”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“All right, stop right there.” Armin’s brows lifted. “What you \u003ci\u003ebelieve\u003c\/i\u003e to be? Why don’t you have an actual date?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Because I haven’t made sense of the calendar, no one will tell me when the patient was born, including the patient, and their damned messed-up biology makes it nearly impossible to tell. I can’t even use arthritis as a marker because they don’t accrue arthritic damage at the rate they should… but their bodies don’t fix it either, because my coworker has knee problems. I’m sure he’s older than the patient. I think.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Why would they bother keeping their ages secret?” When the Tam-illee shot him a sardonic look, Armin shook his head. “I mean that, Lafayette. It was one thing when they were trying to stay mysterious, but this hospital represents consent to a level of medical intrusiveness they weren’t willing to accept before. That they built it means something. Unless they’re completely uneducated about the realities of modern medicine?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Some of them are.” Lafayette waved dismissively. “But I’m guessing it’s a combination of that and old habits dying hard. But anyway. To get back to my clinical portrait here. A middle-aged male, who had severe injuries and paralysis from a crushed pelvis, which we fixed. But he won’t walk.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“\u003ci\u003eWon’t\u003c\/i\u003e,” Armin repeated. “Not can’t.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I’m not pulling verbs out of thin air. I mean ‘won’t.’ He won’t even start the physical therapy. Those limbs will work now, but if he doesn’t start using them, he never will, and I can’t figure out why he won’t try.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“That’s odd for you…? You usually have a good grasp of psychology. For a bonesaw.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eLafayette’s grin was decidedly crooked. “I can’t wait to see you trying to adapt your treatment paradigms to this culture. Once you figure out the necessary adjustments, enlighten me. Anyway, as much as I want to coddle the patient, I don’t have the time with all the other things they need me to do. I could use advice.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“You know I know even less about the culture than you do? You’re the one who had the Eldritch as a mentee.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Yes, but you’re the one trained in psychology, and I’m the impatient one that wants to do surgery on the world and get it to stop malingering.” Lafayette’s smirk faded. “But it’s important. This patient in particular, because he’s the most spectacular of the successes we’ve had so far, and as a demonstration of why we want the Eldritch to embrace medicine, ‘man who couldn’t walk becomes man who still can’t walk’ isn’t very compelling.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“And?” Armin eyed him. “There’s an ‘and’ there.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Because…”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Because you haven’t stopped tapping your finger on something since you started talking about this. First it was the fork, now it’s the handle of your cup.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Figures.” The Tam-illee had a sip, continued. “He’s the imperial heir’s father. That would be the imperial heir who’s married to Jahir who’s partnered with Vasiht’h. So both our students would like it if we fixed this problem for them.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“And both of them are too personally involved to feel comfortable tackling it themselves?” Armin sighed. “All right. I can see that. And since there doesn’t appear to be a university yet for me to work at… is there?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Not even a blueprint for a building.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Then I might as well keep busy in some other way.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eLafayette snorted. “Careful who you say that around. You might end up in some other line of work entirely by the time they endow the university.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“If it’s work I like… that’ll be fine,” Armin replied, and was surprised to discover he meant it. Lafayette wasn’t wrong about their need to confront unexpected challenges. Particularly when the groove of early middle age was beginning to look more like a rut. Flexibility was key, both physically and mentally, if they wanted to enjoy their forthcoming years rather than endure them… and really, he didn’t need a mug collection, and he didn’t miss the one he’d put in storage to make this trip. Mostly. “So now do I get to hear how Lafayette KindlesFlame is doing?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eHis friend chuckled. “Lafayette KindlesFlame is having the time of his life. Is that an awful thing to confess?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eArmin thought of the horrors of the war. “We can’t stay in mourning forever. Life goes on after trauma. You know that.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I do, yes.” The Tam-illee traced the handle of the mug with a finger, but from the pace of the gesture that was thinking energy, not agitation. “And I do mean it. I like it here. I like the people, both native and immigrant. I like the energy of it. I like the knotted up politics and cultural issues, because when you’ve got issues, you’re \u003ci\u003ealive\u003c\/i\u003e. Only corpses are problem-free.” He smiled crookedly. “It’s a place that needs people and work, and a lot of both. It’s been a while since any of the problems we’ve faced have been as urgent as the ones these people have. That makes a difference. To me, anyway.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eIt would, Armin reflected. The same impulses would have driven the younger Lafayette into surgery: that urge to fix things, and the satisfaction and confidence that led him to privilege emergencies over routine maintenance. Maturity had taught his friend to value the mundane problems that filled most people’s lives, but this opportunity to dive headlong into immediate and urgent issues must be reminding him of his heady first days in medicine, when he’d been a practicing surgeon. No wonder he was enjoying himself! He was literally revisiting an earlier mental model, the one associated with the beginning of his career, with his whole life awaiting him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eNot bad medicine, that. The life his friend had been facing had been so painful that restarting would give him a chance to move on… and moving on would give him the distance he needed to process.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I’ve yet to see many of them,” Armin said. “The Eldritch. A few now that I’ve gotten here, but all at a distance. I trust they exist.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“They do, yes. Shall I take you to meet your patient?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Don’t even start with me, arii. He’s not a patient until he’s consented to therapy, and even if he did consent to therapy I can’t take him on as a client. I’m a psychologist, not a therapist.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eLafayette glanced at him. “But you will see him?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eHe wanted to say ‘no’, or ‘if he’ll agree to see me’ but that flash of worry in Lafayette’s eyes troubled him. “All right. But we’ll do this my way.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I won’t joggle your elbow.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eArmin grinned. “And I’ll keep out of your surgery. Give me a day or so to settle in, then I’ll stop by.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“And in the meantime…” The Tam-illee rose and pushed in his chair. “Let me show you around. It’s a jewel box of a hospital but they didn’t skimp on anything.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"M.C.A. Hogarth","offers":[{"title":"Ebook","offer_id":48276555825445,"sku":"BK-E-FALLOW4","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49078371844389,"sku":"9608093000696","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0864\/6826\/4229\/files\/Cover-FathersHonor-1000px.jpg?v=1711126854"},{"product_id":"in-the-court-of-dragons","title":"In the Court of Dragons (Fallowtide Sequence 5)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLOOSE ENDS DON'T TIE THEMSELVES\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSweeping cultural changes sound very good on paper. But in the lives of normal people, even the ones who stand to benefit, those changes can be a challenge... one they might not have even asked for. In the Court of Dragons collects eight stories of the period after the events of the Chatcaavan War, focusing on changes both personal and widespread: old favorites return and new characters make their debut as we follow the effects of the war on everything from the imperial harem to the nascent Eldritch newsroom. What are the Faulfenza up to in the capital? What was the fate of the palace castrates? And who taught an Eldritch to... bungee jump?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis reader-commissioned collection includes stories written by the author at reader request. Come home to the Alliance with these tales of hope, renewal, comedy, and romance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre (setting):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003espace opera (\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mcahogarth.org\/wiki\/the-pelted\/\"\u003ePelted\u003c\/a\u003e)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTags:\u003c\/strong\u003e romance, comedy, shenanigans, heart-warming, children, young adults, changes, evolutions\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRating: \u003c\/strong\u003ePG for references to war, violence, and adult situations\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eExcerpt from\u003cem\u003e In the Court of Dragons\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Pray telegraph that a little less dramatically, Tera,” his tormentor said. “Last I checked, you do not need your entire shoulder to beat a blade aside. Move your wrist, not your arm, or you will leave your entire side open.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I am moving my wrist,” Tolden protested, retreating before Lisinthir could make good on the implied threat. “Just… with enthusiasm.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Enthusiasm is for sportsmen,” Lisinthir said, the words clipped and black. “This is not a game.” His lunge carried him easily into Tolden’s space—farther, smashing a shoulder against Tolden’s chest in a move that would have been illegal in a formal duel. Tolden wormed away, opening the distance between them, for whatever good that did; he’d never seen lunges take anyone as far as Lord Lauvet’s did.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eLeaning against the wall, Orin began to say something, but Tolden cut him off. “Stay yourself, Orin. I asked for this.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“But—”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eRubbing his chest, Tolden repeated, “I asked for it.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Don’t do that,” Lisinthir interrupted, his baritone sharp. “You’re suggesting you’ve been damaged there. That is dangerous information to reveal to an opponent, Tera. Fighting sapients is not like fighting beasts. They will use their minds against you.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Very good,” Tolden said, focusing. He’d never had a teacher more demanding than Lisinthir, and beneath his tutelage, Tolden had finally begun improving. Plus, the fact that his cousin and Darineth had agreed to attend these sessions meant that he had people to spar against who knew what he was about. But God and Lady, he was sore. Sore and—he was willing to admit—a little afraid. Exhilarated but afraid.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eLisinthir was now prowling the perimeter of the ship’s salle, and a movement that would ordinarily have suffused Tolden with confidence did nothing of the kind now. An Eldritch moving at the edge of a dueling circle would have been trying to put distance between them, to recover his wind and evaluate his opponent. Tolden’s tutor, on the other hand, was almost certainly doing it to intimidate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eIt worked, and Tolden could laugh about it, and did.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“He has achieved hysteria,” Darineth muttered to Orin.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“He was always touched,” Orin said. “He simply has a broader stage for his talents now.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Quiet,” Tolden growled. “Or I’ll insist he herd you into the middle of this circle too.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“If you’d like,” Lisinthir said, the silvers and neutrals so polite they suggested mockery. “It would not furnish much by way of a challenge, but it may motivate you to work more on your form.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Two against one!” Darineth exclaimed. “That’s hardly—”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Don’t say ‘sporting’,” Tolden said.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Three against one wouldn’t be any better,” Lisinthir said, his amusement patent. “You would get in one another’s way quite spectacularly.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“He’s right about that,” Orin said.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Come, Tera,” his tutor said. “Put your point up and let us practice the beat again. Remember, wrist only. Wasted motion is wasted energy, and energy is more precious than treasure.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eObediently, Tolden raised his sword and returned to what felt like interminable drills, and he relished every moment of them. To finally feel that he was learning something useful was such a balm after decades of waste. He would have followed the head of Imthereli to the ends of the universe, if only to have some \u003ci\u003epurpose\u003c\/i\u003e in his life. He wondered if his friends felt the same; they’d decided to accompany him to the dragon world, but Tolden couldn’t tell if they’d wanted to, or if they’d made such a habit of embarking on every endeavor together that they didn’t know how to quit the group. The only person he was sure of was his cousin, Sorinir; Orin had chosen for the journey because the two of them had been attached at the hip since boyhood.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eStrange that he should know his friends so long, and yet have so carefully never asked about their deepest hungers. But that was how their world worked: everyone talked around the holes in their hearts, because otherwise they would be forced to see how little could be done to address them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThey drilled long past the point Tolden would have quit, until sweat pasted the back of his collar to his neck and all his limbs felt they were trembling. His teacher stopped then, and walked a circle around Tolden with a briskly impersonal, but far too perspicacious eye. “Very good. Now, when you’re most exhausted, is when your flaws are most obvious. But you see, you progress. This is far better than before.” He paused, adjusted Tolden’s arm manually. “Thus. You let your fatigue permit you to drop your point.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eBeing touched was still new enough that Tolden couldn’t suppress his flinch, even though he never received so much as a hint of emotion through Lisinthir’s hands. His tutor ignored the solecism, for which he was profoundly grateful. “Thank you. Does it get easier, the weight of the ship?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“This is barely weight,” Lisinthir said absently, still studying Tolden’s form. “The Chatcaava keep their ships a few degrees above Alliance norms. I regret, in fact, that we have not the time to condition you properly on one of the Pelted starbases; even half a year operating in their gravity after undergoing their acclimatization regimen would give you an incredible advantage against opponents bred to more shallow gravity wells.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Surely there is no reason we cannot at some point visit these other places, undergo this regimen.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“An eventuality to be discussed at another time. There. Good enough for today.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Are you certain?” Tolden forced himself to stand straighter, hold the sword more firmly. “I could go on.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“You could, but I have another appointment and…” Lisinthir glanced toward the hatch, switched from their tongue to Universal. “Here he is.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe dragon that stepped into the space was familiar to Tolden in the way a courtier at Ontine might have been, recognized but not an intimate. A dark brown male with reddish-purple eyes, more solidly built than most of the other dragons, he had been the dragon queen’s most frequent attendant at court in Ontine and was frequently seen in the corridors of the ship. That mattered far less than the fact that they’d fought together in the battle against the chimera and basilisks. This dragon had led his contingent in that fight, and they had blooded blade and claw together. Had the language barrier not posed an obstacle, they might have furthered their acquaintance. But Tolden and his friends had been practicing their Universal, not their Chatcaavan, and the necessity of learning both languages had only impressed itself on them a few days after their decision to join Lord Lauvet on his trip home.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“You spar against dragons?” Darineth exclaimed, forgetting in his surprise both to use the alien tongue and to shade the words.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eLord Lauvet’s look was coolly amused, and Tolden was grateful that comprised the man’s sole response, because God and Lady, what had Darineth expected? That Lauvet had invited the dragon for tea?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe newcomer advanced toward Lisinthir, saying something in the staccato curtness of his tongue that sounded inquisitive. Tolden considered him; he remembered the chimera fight and this male’s part in it, and the dragon was fast—fast like a serpent, and with weapons on the ends of every finger. Sparring against him seemed a very bad idea. Which is why he couldn’t fathom why he said, “I’d like to try it.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"M.C.A. 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Who are the musicians of Ontine? What happened to the nobles of Asaniefa who didn't care to fight the Empress? Will Jeasa and Haladir ever come to an accommodation? And how are the social changes sweeping the world affecting those who wish they hadn't?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis reader-commissioned collection includes stories written by the author at reader request. Come home to the Alliance with seven tales of hope, renewal, romance, and change.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre (setting):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e space opera (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mcahogarth.org\/wiki\/the-pelted\/\"\u003ePelted\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTags: \u003c\/strong\u003eromance, drama, heart-warming, redemption, social changes, second chances\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRating: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePG for references to war, violence, and adult situations\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eExcerpt from\u003cem\u003e To the Court of Love\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Empress was seen riding today on a perlino mare, a vassal gift from Laisrathera. Never has such a breed been seen on these shores, sleek nigh unto caricature, but gleaming like silk: blue-eyed and blond-maned. This is not the first such vassal gift the Empress has been seen riding, but it is one of the most striking.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eShe was accompanied by the White Swords, and her two white wolves: a constitutional, rather than a court function.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p3\"\u003eNot a day passed wherein Giliriel Dova Ulurith, head of House Ulurith, did not regret her rejection of the gift offered her by Liolesa Galare’s heir at her investiture last year. It had seemed safe to turn away the mortal technology—who among them had ever needed such a device when the broadsheet had been sufficient to the task of disseminating news of import to women of her status? But now that the tenants were communicating amongst themselves, no noble could afford to be ignorant of what they were saying. Giliriel had resorted to having that news excerpted and brought to her on paper, and the contrast between it and the broadsheet—also waiting for her at each morning’s breakfast table—was instructive. What did it matter what new animal the Empress added to her menagerie when the tenantry of the entire world was frothing with activity? New buildings, new marriages, new babies—Goddess and Lord!—new gardens….\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p3\"\u003eGiliriel sat to her tea and scones and the daily news, and wished it all to perdition—Surela Silin Asaniefa most of all, for having accelerated the changes in their society. Had the woman been content to foster the seeds of unrest, they might have succeeded in driving the aliens out of Eldritch minds… not in the next century, but in the ones after. And it would have been a lasting change, having come gradually and after much compromise.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p3\"\u003ePerhaps only a breeder of roses could appreciate the patience their situation had called for. Certainly, the Asaniefa head hadn’t; her arrogance had ruined everything, Goddess curse it all. And Giliriel, as one of the heads of the two surviving isolationist houses, had the unenviable task of shepherding their people through the wreckage left by the One Week Usurper before the Empress dashed off a cliff and took all of them along.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p3\"\u003eGiliriel had not read one paragraph into the broadsheet’s latest entries in the society column when her eldest manservant tapped diffidently at the doorframe. Raising her head, she evaluated his expression and misliked it. “What has gone wrong now, Malhad?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p3\"\u003e“I’m afraid there’s a woman here to see you, my lady, and it is urgent.” A pause. “She is one of the townhouse’s hires.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p3\"\u003eWhich meant she was about to have report of her heir, Goddess help her. Giliriel set her knife down. “Send her in.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p3\"\u003eThe townhouse’s servants had been selected for their poise, competence, and loyalty; since their behavior reflected on Ulurith, and they were in the capital where all could evaluate them, the process had been rigorous. Giliriel knew each of them by name… but she nearly didn’t recognize the shaken, hollow-eyed creature who appeared on the other side of her table.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p3\"\u003e“Nalora? What is it?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p3\"\u003e“Oh, my lady… my lady, the former heir to the kingdom \u003ci\u003edied\u003c\/i\u003e in our townhouse, beneath the very eyes of Lady Iralin!”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p3\"\u003eGiliriel said, “You had better sit down.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"M.C.A. Hogarth","offers":[{"title":"Ebook","offer_id":48276556284197,"sku":"BK-E-FALLOW8","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49093716148517,"sku":"9608093000733","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0864\/6826\/4229\/files\/cover-CourtofLove-ebook2500-696x1024.jpg?v=1711126862"},{"product_id":"second","title":"Second (Stardancer Book 1)","description":"\u003cp\u003eEnsign Taylitha Basil wasn't sure what to expect when her ship dropped her off at the officer training retreat at Quickwater Preserve. A hike up the mountain? She's not much of a hiker. A trip down it in a canoe? Even worse, she's not a great swimmer. An obnoxious peer who put himself in charge? An and Bast preserve her.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut all of that seems manageable when she meets Alysha Forrest, one of the \u003cem\u003eDiamondwing's\u003c\/em\u003e ensigns. In years to come they would serve together on the \u003cem\u003eStardancer\u003c\/em\u003e as an unbeatable command team. Here, then, is the story of how they met and forged their relationship during a training exercise far more dangerous than anyone planned…\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAudio Preview\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/m-c-a-hogarth\/second-retail-sample\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehttps:\/\/soundcloud.com\/m-c-a-hogarth\/second-retail-sample\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre (setting):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e space opera (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mcahogarth.org\/wiki\/the-pelted\/\"\u003ePelted\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTags:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e friendship, leadership, followership, strong women, adventure, hiking\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRating: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePG-13 for implied strong language and action\/suspense\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eExcerpt from Chapter 1\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Hey, Tayl, come quick!”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eEnsign Taylitha Basil, a brown-furred Karaka’An, looked up from her data tablet and into the eyes of her agitated bunkmate as he skidded through the door. She didn’t usually room with only one other person, but accommodations on the Quickwater Reserve were more spacious than their four-person suite on the UAV \u003ci\u003eNightslip\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“What’s wrong?” she asked, felid ears perked. She set her tablet aside.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“It’s Kairell. She’s brawling again.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eTaylitha covered her eyes with her hands. “Again? I thought she’d had the fear of the lieutenant drummed into her after yesterday’s incident.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Yeah, well, the lieutenant hasn’t shown up yet and the new folk started it—”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“—started it, or inspired it?” Taylitha asked, sliding off her bunk and joining Johnigan.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eHe blushed bright pink beneath red freckles. “You know how Kairell is.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Yes, I do,” Taylitha said, tail lashing. “Lead the way.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eJohnigan turned and scampered back the way he came with Taylitha on his heels. She wasn’t sure why she was bothering to break up Kairell’s fights on the reserve. On the ship it made sense: a scout wasn’t very big, and one belligerent ensign made everyone’s life a misery. But on the reserve they were only one group of many, with plenty of room to avoid the clamor of a fight. Maybe pride? Ensigns always got dropped for team-building exercises at the same time as their captains . . . though their captains would be gone for months and the ensigns only for a week before returning shipboard to help with the refits. Personnel thought mixing the ensigns together for exercises would help introduce them to their ‘class,’ the people who would share their ranks as the years wound on.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eOr at least, that was how it was supposed to work,\u003c\/i\u003e Taylitha thought with resignation as she stepped into the yard in front of their building. People like Kairell would probably not be accompanying her yearmates up the ladder.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Who are the new drops?” Taylitha asked Johnigan as they approached.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Ensigns from the UAV \u003ci\u003eDiamondwing\u003c\/i\u003e,” Johnigan said.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“\u003ci\u003eDiamondwing\u003c\/i\u003e? Not the battlecruiser? Great,” Taylitha said, and advanced on the argument.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eKairell was a big woman, a heavyset Hinichi wolfine with enough throwback features to make her a textbook illustration for genetic engineering, including a demi-muzzle long enough to barely qualify for the ‘demi.’ She was rabid about Fleet’s exploration and patrol charters, but to her mind anything larger than a scout was a saber waiting to be rattled at people who wanted only to live in peace with their neighbors. While she sometimes found other excuses to start fights, the arrival of a battlecruiser’s group was an invitation for her favorite polemic. The new ensigns were arranged in a ragged semicircle around Kairell and a smaller man whose flagged ears indicated he hadn’t been expecting any trouble, and whose raised voice indicated that as long as he had it, he’d be happy to defend the honor of the Fleet. As Taylitha joined the ring of people surrounding them, Kairell leapt for him and he swung back.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eBefore she could push past the last two people in her way, another woman stepped between the combatants. The man pulled his blow. Kairell didn’t—but the new woman simply moved, just enough for the fist to fly past her. The wolfine tried to push her out of the way, but a gray hand caught her wrist and held her in place.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Get out of the way!” Kairell snarled, trying to loose her hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“No,” the woman said.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Oh, so you’re here to help your fellow blood-mongering soldier?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“No,” the woman said. She had a pleasant alto, and try as she might Taylitha couldn’t hear even the faintest tremble in it, no fear, nothing. “I don’t think much of fighting.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Right . . . straight from the mouth of a battlecruiser ensign! You expect me to believe that?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Yes,” and there was steel in that voice, enough to stop Kairell from struggling. “I thought you might answer a question for me, Ensign . . . Rhyt, is it?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I don’t feel like talking.” Kairell said, beginning to deflate. Her ears flipped backward.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Evidently not,” the woman said. “Tell me . . . how did someone troubled by Fleet’s military charter come to believe using her fists was the best way to resolve her difficulties?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eKairell gaped at her. So did most of the crowd. Taylitha grinned, ears pointed sharply forward; she’d wondered the same thing herself, but had never seemed to have the time to point it out to the Hinichi.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Are you making fun of me?” Kairell growled, trying to tower over the woman, who didn’t seem to notice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“No. I want to know the answer. You must strongly believe in Fleet to be a part of it despite your misgivings.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eTaylitha slid around a few more people to the front of the onlookers, itching with curiosity. Had she imagined the genuine tone? But no, the woman was attentive, standing in front of Kairell with forward-canted ears and a tilted head. She was a Karaka’An like Tayl, gray to Tayl’s brown, and taller than any other Taylitha had seen. Her body was spare, almost thin, and her face was unusual, strongly planed but not masculine, and even more human than most others of the race. Taylitha herself had been teased as a child for looking more human than felid. She couldn’t imagine the kind of comments this woman had gotten.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I . . . never got anywhere by talking,” Kairell muttered finally.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe woman nodded. “Ensigns aren’t exactly asked for their opinions on Fleet policy,” she said. “I assume you’re in this for the long haul, Ms. Rhyt?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I want to be,” the wolfine said.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“You might have an easier trip keeping your objections temperate,” the woman said. “Once you’re a captain you’ll have better luck influencing the admiralty.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“That’s a long way from here,” Kairell said, but her frown had dissipated.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“It doesn’t have to be,” the woman said. Her grip on Kairell’s wrist had become a friendly clasp on the arm. “I’m sure you’ll get there sooner than you think. The Fleet thinks highly of individuals with convictions, particularly those articulate enough to convince others of their view. Maybe you could think about becoming someone like that.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Maybe,” Kairell said, tail drooping. “Umm, right.” She paused, shifting from foot to foot. “I guess I should get going.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Of course,” the woman said. “But maybe later in the mess you can stop by? I’d love to hear your views.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eKairell’s ears lost their dejected crumple and she nodded before backing away. With the fight finished, the crowd began to disperse and the new group resumed their interrupted report to quarters.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe woman picked up her duffel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“That was really nicely done,” Taylitha said with admiration. “I usually have to pull her bodily away from her intended targets.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe gray Karaka’An glanced at her, then smiled. “Thanks.” One black brow lifted. “You pull her away?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eTaylitha rubbed an arm and laughed. “Yeah, I know. It doesn’t look plausible. But I’m stronger than I look, really.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I’m sure, Ensign . . . ?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Basil. Taylitha Basil, of the UAV \u003ci\u003eNightslip\u003c\/i\u003e.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Alysha Forrest, UAV \u003ci\u003eDiamondwing\u003c\/i\u003e. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Basil.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Taylitha’s fine.” She paused, realizing she wanted to prolong the discussion and couldn’t think of a thing to say, or even a reason to do so. Finally, she blurted out, “Do you really think she’s command material? All of us on the scout figure she’ll be washed out for sure.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eAlysha smiled. “If she can learn to moderate her opinions, no question. Fleet needs all kinds of people. Scientists who aren’t interested in command. Engineers who want to build better ships. Captains who want to keep people safe. Captains who want to explore new territories. And admirals who are willing to kill invading armies. Rhyt had the skill and intelligence to get through the Academe. To waste her now because no one is willing to give her ideas the thoughtful consideration she needs to move past her anger would be wrong.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I guess,” Taylitha said, eyes wide.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eAlysha glanced at her, then laughed. “Did I say too much?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Maybe a little,” Taylitha said. “For a minute there, I thought I was listening to an admiral. Aren’t you a little low on the ladder to be worrying about whether Kairell’s going to make it as an officer?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“No one’s too low on the ladder to care about their fellows,” Alysha said with a smile. “If you’ll excuse me, Taylitha? I should find out where I’m bunked. It’s been a pleasure.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eBemused, Taylitha watched as the other woman headed to the barracks. On impulse, she called after Forrest, “Which one are you?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eAlysha stopped. “Pardon?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“The kinds of people you mentioned. Which one are you?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eAlysha only laughed and walked on.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"M.C.A. Hogarth","offers":[{"title":"Ebook","offer_id":48276577419557,"sku":"BK-E-ALYSHA1","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Audio","offer_id":49469279535397,"sku":"BK-A-ALYSHA1","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49103587934501,"sku":"9608093000443","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0864\/6826\/4229\/files\/cover-second-fourthtry-1000.jpg?v=1711127403"},{"product_id":"who-is-willing","title":"Who is Willing (Stardancer Book 2)","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlysha Forrest is looking forward to her assignment as the \u003cem\u003eSonglance's\u003c\/em\u003e newest lieutenant, particularly when it gets her placed as the liaison to the ship's water environment crewmembers. Interfacing with the mermaid-like Naysha and the alien Platies who serve as the ship's navigators is an exhilarating experience, and all the other officers on the crew are eager to welcome her into the fold… all of them, except one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMike Beringwaite, the overbearing ensign who ruined their leadership retreat years earlier, has somehow made lieutenant too. When a routine problem in the water environment throws them together, Alysha has to decide how willing she is to forgive him for what he did, whether she can work with him again, and most importantly, if she can trust him---with her life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe disaster at the leadership retreat is nothing to the one they have to handle now. If they can....\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre (setting):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e space opera (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mcahogarth.org\/wiki\/the-pelted\/\"\u003ePelted\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTags:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e friendship, leadership, redemption, prejudice, racism, aquatic aliens\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRating: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePG-13 for implied strong language and intense action\/suspense\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAudio Preview\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/m-c-a-hogarth\/who-is-willing-retail-sample\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehttps:\/\/soundcloud.com\/m-c-a-hogarth\/who-is-willing-retail-sample\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eExcerpt from Chapter 1\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eBefore her loan to the Alliance Fleet, Maureen Lovelace had spent twenty-seven years in the Terran Navy’s uniform. As a senior non-com she’d logged countless hours playing shepherd to freshly minted officers...enough that her transfer had come with a high-ranking “pony saddle,” what naval personnel had dubbed officer commissions in the Pelted’s topsy-turvy system. Whatever the case, she was the UAV \u003ci\u003eSonglance\u003c\/i\u003e’s NOTC—New Officer Training Coordinator—which meant all the newbies came through her office. And in all her years, she’d rarely seen a file quite like Forrest’s. The young woman standing at attention in front of Lovelace’s desk was the newest member of the \u003ci\u003eSonglance\u003c\/i\u003e’s crew and she didn’t look old enough to have accrued the comments appended to her file.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“At ease,” she said. “Lieutenant Forrest. Welcome aboard.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Thank you, sir,” the woman said.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“You’re the seniormost officer we’re taking on at this stop,” Lovelace continued. “Lieutenant Shandreis is on family leave and we needed to replace him. Since you’re command track we’re going to put you on the usual full-ship rotation, but initially you’ll be handling his duty.” She tilted her head. “Your file says you have some facility with non-humans—you managed the security detail for a diplomatic visit to the Phoenix, yes?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Last cruise, yes, sir.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“The \u003ci\u003eDiamondwing\u003c\/i\u003e didn’t have a water environment, did it?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“No, sir.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Can you swim?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe woman’s ears flicked back, but her reply was confident. “Yes, sir, though it’s been a while.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Brush up,” Lovelace said. “For your first rotation you’ll be serving as our liaison to the aliens. That’s mostly the Naysha and Platies, though we also have a small Flitzbe clod—they’re part of the Medical department. Your SKXA score indicates you should be capable of handling the task.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eActually, Forrest’s Stanley-Kerrileu Xenophilia Average indicated she was more than capable, but the lieutenant wouldn’t know it until she was promoted to a position that involved staffing her own ship. Fleet’s Logistics \u0026amp; Personnel division was very tight-fisted about releasing what it deemed sensitive material despite how flat the Fleet’s command structure was. Lovelace had been on loan for three years and she still wasn’t sure how they made a military work with only six ranks. She suspected the answer was “fine, until a war broke out.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Until you move to your next rotation you’ll be reporting to me for everything but your bridge duties,” Lovelace continued. “Your schedule’s been tagged for you, and you’ll have the liaison’s quarters until you’re done with the assignment. Don’t let anyone twit you about their size. Just because your roommates are on the other side of a glass wall doesn’t mean you’re not bunking with them.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Yes, sir.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Any questions?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“No, sir.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“All right, go check into your quarters. We’re glad to have you, Forrest. You came recommended.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eFor the first time since she entered the cabin, the woman hesitated. Lovelace was glad to see it; she liked to see confidence in young officers, but she distrusted perfection. That pause made Alysha Forrest seem—well, human was the wrong word, despite the Pelted’s origins. Genuine, then.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I’m glad to be here, sir.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Dismissed.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eOnce she was alone, Lovelace folded her arms and leaned against her desk. She could have asked the First Commander to assign one of the \u003ci\u003eSonglance\u003c\/i\u003e’s existing lieutenants to the liaison spot; for the grade, it was the most coveted position on a hybrid ship. Time logged with aliens always looked good on personnel records, and the administrative skills honed bridging such disparate worlds were prized among senior staff. In fact, it would be a miracle if Forrest’s assignment didn’t cause a certain amount of friction among her peers. That was why Lovelace had argued for it. She was an old hand by Pelted standards; she’d seen records like Forrest’s before. Someone was shepherding her career, and it would be better for the Fleet to find out sooner rather than later if her patron was doing it for the right reasons.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe Pelted didn’t have a war yet, though you wouldn’t know it with the level of piracy on the border and in the neutral territory bordering it. But Lovelace gave it less than ten years before the Chatcaava brought them one, and when they did—well. They wouldn’t need any trophy officers in positions of responsibility. There had been many reasons to accept the assignment to the Pelted Fleet, but the one that had finally convinced Lovelace had been the same one that had seen her enlist in the first place: she wanted to protect humanity. And if the Chatcaava chewed through the Alliance, they’d make short work of Earth.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"M.C.A. Hogarth","offers":[{"title":"Ebook","offer_id":48276577517861,"sku":"BK-E-ALYSHA2","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Audio","offer_id":49469284417829,"sku":"BK-A-ALYSHA2","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49092984799525,"sku":"9608093000450","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0864\/6826\/4229\/files\/AF3Cover2-1000px.jpg?v=1711127405"},{"product_id":"to-discover-and-preserve","title":"To Discover and Preserve (Fleet Collection 1)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe ships of the Alliance's Fleet map the galaxy, police its hundreds of worlds, and run its diplomatic and scientific errands. It's also the backdrop for the lives of millions of Pelted, a complex work environment filled with opportunities for development, career and relationship alike. Join the crew of the Stardancer and several other ships, and live a day in their life! You'll take a trip to the vertiginous world of the Phoenix, tour a star nursery, answer several distress calls... you might even run down a pirate or two....\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eTo Discover and Preserve\u003c\/em\u003e collects nine short stories, including four all new reader-requested stories, from the Peltedverse's military arm, and is a standalone adjunct to the Alysha Forrest series.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre (setting):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e space opera (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mcahogarth.org\/wiki\/the-pelted\/\"\u003ePelted\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTags:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e leadership, military, adventure, space battles, personnel issues, exploration, humor, AI\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRating: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eR for violence\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eExcerpt from \u003cem\u003eTo Discover and Preserve\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“You have got to be kidding me,” Mike said.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eDarian Bakawar, the \u003ci\u003eCometfencer\u003c\/i\u003e’s captain and Mike’s superior officer, was leaning back in the conference room chair with his elbow propped on the armrest and his hand supporting his face with elegantly splayed fingers. The Seersa foxine looked supremely amused, which was unfair, because it made Mike want to laugh. “Would I do that to you, arii?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“You would,” said the Hinichi woman to their right, her ears splayed. That was the second commander, Riley Lennon, a straight shooter whose sense of the absurd wasn’t as finely honed as their captain’s. “But probably not about this. What was the admiralty thinking?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eBakawar could have won Mike’s weekly poker game with that face. “Admiral Iblis has—perhaps—a mischievous streak.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“A parsec wide,” Mike said. “God, but you’re not kidding. They’re seriously saddling us with a bunch of peacemongers and sending us off sightseeing?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Iblis, in his magisterial wisdom, decided we needed a… lighter… assignment after our recent adventures.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Far be it from me to inject a positive note into this gloom-and-doom session,” Kostya, their chief of medical said, “but… a lighter assignment wouldn’t go amiss. I’m not going to complain about morale—”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“—you’d better not,” Mike muttered, but he was smiling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“—but we’re a lot more worn down than we think,” the C-med finished. “A jaunt to a… where are we sightseeing?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“The Admiral has suggested this sector’s stellar nursery might make for a lovely outing,” Bakawar said.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Isn’t the stellar nursery on the \u003ci\u003eopposite\u003c\/i\u003e side of the sector from the starbase?” the second commander said hesitantly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“The Admiral also suggests we not rush,” Bakawar said.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Oh my \u003ci\u003eGod\u003c\/i\u003e,” Mike said, torn between laughing and exasperation. “How long are we going to be stuck with these people? How many people? Not many people? Please say yes, not many people.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“We are taking on…” Bakawar made a show of consulting his data tablet, pursed his lips. “Thirty-five guests, from three separate organizations. The Powers That Be believe we might make a good impression. The admiral says it would be in Fleet’s best interests.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe silence in the room was almost comical.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Thirty-five people from… three separate organizations? That are pro-peace?” the second commander repeated carefully. “For… as long as… wait, how long do they want us to do this? What do they mean ‘don’t rush’?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Three weeks,” Bakawar proclaimed. “They believe this is sufficient time for us to perform our magic.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Three \u003ci\u003eweeks\u003c\/i\u003e?” the second commander squeaked. “What are we going to \u003ci\u003edo\u003c\/i\u003e with them?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“The admiral has set aside sixty crates of luxury local foodstuffs for us to host properly.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Sixty—” Mike began.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Though one of the organizations is OFRUFF, which technically isn’t anti-unnecessary violence,” Bakawar finished. “They’re dedicated to the responsible use of Fleet funds. I’m sure they’ll find the expensive parties… energizing.” At their expressions, Bakawar grinned. “Come now, gentles… do you think they’d give us the \u003ci\u003eeasy\u003c\/i\u003e assignments now that we’ve proven we can take on pirate bases?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Well,” Mike said, resigned, “let’s dig into the meat of this ‘assignment,’ then, and game out how it’s going to affect everyone’s area of responsibility.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eRunning the briefing almost allowed Mike to forget the mission’s absurdity. Almost. When it was over, and the second commander and C-med had wandered out, one look at the captain’s face brought it back. Mike started laughing.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"M.C.A. Hogarth","offers":[{"title":"Ebook","offer_id":48276619559205,"sku":"BK-E-FLCOL1","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49093717655845,"sku":"9608093000504","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0864\/6826\/4229\/files\/Cover-Ebook-TDAP1000.jpg?v=1711128150"},{"product_id":"sleigh-bells-and-starships","title":"Sleigh Bells and Starships","description":"\u003cp\u003eReturn to the Peltedverse for a heartwarming holiday with this collection of eight stories, including an all-new novella set in the Fallowtide! From the annals of history, hundreds of years past, through the captaincy of Alysha Forrest and on into the case studies of Jahir and Vasiht'h and all their friends later, in the Fallowtide period, come these offerings to the festal season: balls, gifts, humor and romance and more! Curl up with a warm drink and a fireplace view for a trip into the magic and beauty of the season.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHappy holidays, aletsen!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre (setting):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e space opera (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mcahogarth.org\/wiki\/the-pelted\/\"\u003ePelted\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTags:\u003c\/strong\u003e holiday; heart-warming; space elves; aliens; romance; friendship; empire building\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRating:\u003c\/strong\u003e PG-13 for references to adult relations, difficult family relationships\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eExcerpt from \u003cem\u003eSleigh Bells and Starships\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I love her, Chase.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“So soon, arii?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eLesandurel looked up from the accounting he’d been staring at for nearly twenty minutes without accomplishing anything. “I… beg your pardon?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eHis assistant, Chase Steward, was patting his infant daughter on the back as he walked from one side of the compartment to the other. Lesandurel caught a glimpse of the Tam-illee’s face as he turned, and as expected it was as smooth as any Eldritch’s. No Eldritch, though, would have had quite such amusement in his eyes. “It was inevitable,” said that worthy now. “But I didn’t expect you to embrace it quite so quickly. My lord.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eLesandurel made an exasperated noise. “Don’t ‘my lord’ me, man. I changed your diapers.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eChase cupped his large hand over his daughter’s miniature ear. “You didn’t hear that, sweeting.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Don’t worry, I’ll tell her all the embarrassing stories when she’s older.” Lesandurel turned from his desk, resting an elbow on it and his head on his hand. “How long exactly did you believe it would take me to come to the conclusion that I was in love with the head of Jisiensire?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Oh… at least another ten years, maybe,” Chase said. “As much out of respect for her as anything else. She’s barely out of mourning by Eldritch standards.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eHard not to feel a touch of anxiety. “Do you think it’s too soon?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eChase snorted. “You’re asking the wrong man. She’s a widowed mother managing a new planet full of Harat-Shar. I think the sooner she finds herself a partner willing to shoulder some of the load, the better. But I would think that, living at mortal speeds. And I haven’t spent as much time with her as you have.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“And yet I have not yet as much as I wish,” Lesandurel murmured.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Do you think she’s ready?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I don’t know.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eChase nodded, bouncing the baby against his chest. “You’ll have to decide.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“And if I was hoping for more help than that?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eChase eyed him, and both his tawny brows rose. “Iley. I think you’re actually nervous.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Perhaps. A touch.” Lesandurel tapped his fingers on the podium’s edge. “I hate to think of her alone. As you say… she is shouldering her burden very nearly without aid. I want to… I feel compelled… to help.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“More than you do, playing personal shopper for her?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eLesandurel said, “I would give her the worlds, just to see her smile. I have come to cherish her smile. I’m not sure when that happened, but surely not as precipitously as you’re suggesting. And yet, I feel as if it happened yesterday.” He stared at the accounting. How Hirianthial would laugh, to see his suggestion take root so! And yet… it had, hadn’t it. “God and Lady.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eChase nodded. “You’ve been bitten hard, arii. What are you going to do about it? Impassioned  declaration? Romantic dinner?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I shall buy her a system defense emplacement.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Just what every woman wants?” Chase said, one ear sagging, but Lesandurel had already whirled back to his display.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Ready the ship, my steward. We have shopping to do.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"M.C.A. Hogarth","offers":[{"title":"Ebook","offer_id":48276619985189,"sku":"BK-E-PVHOL1","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49103596847397,"sku":"9608093000542","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0864\/6826\/4229\/files\/cover-SleighBells-1000px.jpg?v=1711128157"},{"product_id":"flight-of-the-godkin-griffin","title":"Flight of the Godkin Griffin (Godkindred Saga 1)","description":"\u003cp\u003eOn the eve of her retirement from the army, Mistress Commander Angharad Godkin finds herself re-activated and directed to replace the governor of the newly conquered territory of Shraeven. With its multitude of diverse societies and religions, the province will not be easy to tame; but Angharad has thirty-four years of experience and is determined to succeed--even with the additional challenge of an ex-lover as her second-in-command.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, what starts out as a seemingly predictable military challenge takes multiple unexpected turns at the hands of Shraeven's rebellious people, their unorthodox beliefs, and their capricious, demanding, and very tangible gods. Angharad quickly finds herself the central piece in a game being fought on too many levels, all of them very foreign to her nature and background.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut if she's being forced to play, she's going to play to win; and Shraeven may come to regret having gotten her into the game.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre (setting):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e sword \u0026amp; sorcery (Godkindred)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTags:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e furries, religion, politics, mythical creatures\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRating:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eR for implied rape, violence\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAudio Preview\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/on.soundcloud.com\/BKjxkFJUsmWKw5gW6\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehttps:\/\/on.soundcloud.com\/BKjxkFJUsmWKw5gW6\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eExcerpt From Chapter 1\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eTomorrow I’m retiring.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eMy bags are packed and my borrowed room has been stripped of my equipment. The flickering light the fire casts is coy over these details, so the sense that this isn’t happening, can’t be happening, is perhaps understandable. I am folded as comfortably as I’m able into a wooden basin, enjoying a hot bath in front of a fireplace in a real room, and this—comfort, quiet, privacy—is going to be my life for the foreseeable future.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI’m retiring. Blood and gods, it hardly seems possible.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI have served the Closest Kin in the army for thirty-four years, since I took up a spear to drive away the raiders on the slopes of the Firerake Mountains under Captain Trerian. That fourteen-year-old girl seems very distant indeed from who I’ve become. Beneath the water I trace countless scars with the tips of my fingers. I am one of the few Godkin with wings and I am grateful that I can fly with them…but my bones break easily, and my hide tells too many grim war stories.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eFans of water fall from my arms as I slide out of the basin. I am done with the army. As I’ve grown older, more and more my mind has turned to this matter of the gods and our never-ending quest to become more like them. There are rumors about how we came about, enticing enough to draw a woman tired of war onto the road in search of truth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI’m still dripping, which is a surprise. I have never had the time to be this absent-minded. I grab a towel and dry off before sitting on the bunk next to my bags. The only thing I haven’t packed is my kit. My leather armor, ivory for camouflage against the clouds, has been mended more times than I can remember. It had designs on it originally, but they’re gone now. That hole there—that’s the one that broke my ribs this last time, in Glendallia’s final battle at Klen Valley.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI had just finished dressing after my bath when a runner knocked on my door.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Mistress Commander, the Mistress General wants your presence in her office.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eMistress General Casandre Godkin of the Salt Bluffs has been my host since my assignment to Fort Endgame to heal and await retirement after Glendallia’s fall. She has never been given to evening chats. Perplexed, I leave my chamber and walked the battlements to the northern tower. The night has a blue-violet cast, and with all three moons up in a clear sky the merlons shine a rosy silver. A warm breeze presages spring and sweeps my fine hair off my shoulders, tickling my wings. It is a beautiful night, until I step into Casandre’s room.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe Mistress General hovers behind a desk, overlooking several maps and emitting a palpable air of tension. She has never elucidated her bloodlines to me, though to be named Godkin she must be the product of the interbreeding of at least ten species, as I am. In appearance, she is mostly mammalian, leaning toward genet or marten with rounded ears and a striped tail.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Mistress General, you wanted to see me?” I ask.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Yes,” she says curtly. “Angharad Godkin, you are hereby reassigned to replace the provincial governor of the newly pacified province of Shraeven, on orders of the Godson.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eMy beak drops open in shock. Any soldier in the Godson’s army can retire…unless they’re on active duty.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eCasandre sighs. “Sit, Angharad.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI refuse. “I’m retiring tomorrow.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Not anymore,” she says. “I’m sorry, Angharad, truly, but the Godson himself sent the orders. It’s time for Governor Chordwain to step down.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“This is—” I stop myself from saying ‘insane’ and opt for, “ill-advised. I lost most of my cavalry unit in Glendallia, including its captain—”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“—their replacement is on its way to Nadeir,” Casandre interrupts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“—I have no experience in governance,” I continue, and hurry on before she can stop me again, “my unit is exhausted and under-supplied…Blood of the gods, General, the plainsmen even slaughtered half my support staff!”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“All that can be overcome,” Casandre says. “I’m sorry, Angharad. The Godson has authorized me to fulfill as many of your requests as possible, but your re-assignment is not up for discussion. You knew the terms when you signed with the army, and you must abide by them.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI dip my head, struggling with anger, horror, resignation. Finally, I say, “Requests?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eCasandre nods. “Men. Supplies. Whatever you need.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI’ve never been offered anything I wanted to get a job done before. I suppose I should be glad.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eMy brain starts moving again. “I want a map. One drawn by someone who’s actually seen the terrain. And I want to talk to someone fresh out of Shraeven.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Easily done,” Casandre says.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I want my entire company re-outfitted. This new cavalry unit included,” I say. “I want more soldiers. And I need a new support staff.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Naturally,” Casandre says.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I want money in case of contingencies,” I say.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Of course.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI lean back, mantling my wings, suspicious. I have been leading soldiers since I turned twenty-two, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that the role of Supply is to keep as much money and equipment out of the hands of soldiers as possible. I go with my instinct and say, finally, “And I want it all now.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eCasandre shakes her head. “That I can’t do,” she says. “Shraeven can’t wait…we need you to join your company at Nadeir immediately. We’ll have post-riders delivering your requests as soon as possible, but we need your companies on the move in two weeks.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eTwo weeks! I barely keep my ears from flattening. “Is there something I should know about the condition of Shraeven?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eCasandre smiles and shrugs. “It’s simply uncivilized, that’s all. No different from most new provinces.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eA chill lifts the short fur along my back and fluffs my lowest feathers. I’ve spent many a month in a tent fighting guerrilla wars in ‘uncivilized’ provinces. “This sounds like a convenient recipe for failure.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Not at all,” Casandre says. “It’s just a difficult assignment.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Difficult!” Now I know I’m right. My requests may actually make it out to meet me, or they might conveniently never appear. I know nothing about the political importance of Shraeven, but I have to find out, and soon. “I’d like a copy of your orders for my requests tonight,” I say. “I’m leaving as soon as I can get a horse.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eTry as I may, I can’t see any discomfort in Casandre as she says, “You’ll have them in half an hour.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eAre they planning to sacrifice me? Or is this simply a gamble for them, a roll of the painted bones that they’ll win whether I succeed or fail?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI take my leave of the Mistress General. The battlements no longer seem so friendly. Leaning on a merlon, I squint at the horizon…west, the direction of Shraeven. Fort Endgame is perched in a mountain pass; abutted by two sheer stone cliffs, it has a narrow but unimpeded view of the long rolling hills to the western sea. That’s where I’m going.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe dark, the seeming presentation of an inevitable path, remind me that I have not yet selected a spouse, have not yet chosen bloodlines for a child and had that child. I wonder if this is the campaign that will kill me.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"M.C.A. Hogarth","offers":[{"title":"Ebook","offer_id":48276751909157,"sku":"BK-E-GODKIN1","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Audio","offer_id":49461147599141,"sku":"BK-A-GODKIN1","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49078376890661,"sku":"9608093000160","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0864\/6826\/4229\/files\/godkin-1-frontcover-2013-193x300.jpg?v=1711129453"},{"product_id":"the-godsons-triumph","title":"The Godson's Triumph (Godkindred Saga 2)","description":"\u003cp\u003eMistress Commander Angharad Godkin hates politics... so of course, her ruler the Godson sent her to replace the Governor of barely tamed Shraeven province. She hates religion, so naturally, the native gods began to plague her the moment she arrived. And since she hates both, the gods started playing politics--and the politicians began playing at godhood. In \u003cem\u003eFlight of the Godkin Griffin\u003c\/em\u003e, Angharad, a creaky old veteran of the Godkindred Kingdom's many wars of conquest, was dragged out of retirement only to discover her newest assignment--to rule a province in peace--might finally be the death of her.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut she wasn't anticipating getting the attention of her own monarch. And she certainly wasn't expecting to face off against him in a battle that will decide now just her own fate, and not just the fate of Shraeven Province... but of the world itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Godson's Triumph\u003c\/em\u003e returns us to the world of Angharad Godkin and her comrades and concludes their epic journey. But who will be left standing when the fires burn out and an ancient truth is finally revealed?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAudio Preview\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/m-c-a-hogarth\/the-godsons-triumph-retail-sample\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehttps:\/\/soundcloud.com\/m-c-a-hogarth\/the-godsons-triumph-retail-sample\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre (setting):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e sword \u0026amp; sorcery (Godkindred)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTags:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e religion, politics, mythical creatures\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRating\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eR for implied violence\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eExcerpt from Chapter 4\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eIn my dreams, it is very easy for me to hold my enemies in my hands. I know their names, their faces, their motives. I can rise on spread wings with a spear in my hand and target their leader and cut him down. Their forces dissolve in the fog of dreams, and I am victorious.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eIn the true world, when I awake sodden with exhaustion from my ordeal, I realize I skirt defiance (even treason) against the nation I have served all my life. I consort with gods of other people’s faiths, turning my back on my own. My army is swollen by the illegal ranks of my adopted country. I no longer remember the distinction between the godkin and baseborn mongrel…and I have borne a child to my enemies.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eRagna can perhaps be forgiven for hesitating when she sees the expression I wear when I wake.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“You should go back to sleep,” she says, holding an empty teapot in her coarse hands.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“How can I sleep with all this noise?” I reply irritably. I realize then that there \u003ci\u003eis\u003c\/i\u003e noise, and I don’t know what’s causing it. “What \u003ci\u003eis\u003c\/i\u003e that noise?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eRagna looks sheepish. “The party,” she says. “They celebrate your safety and the birth of your child.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI rub my forehead. “Where is the egg, anyway?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe pard nods to the corner of the tent. Someone’s built a nest for it, gods love them, a bleeding nest. Hay stolen from mounts, a box that held repaired armor (still streaked with grease), some soft scarves, a blanket. And the egg, the egg which is larger than my fists pressed together. Something that big came out of me? No wonder my body feels stretched senseless.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Celebration,” I repeat.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Yes,” Ragna says. She goes back to making the tea. “I would not recommend exiting your tent at this time, Mistress.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI imagine the mob rushing for me and have an unpleasant, visceral memory of the pards who are responsible for this egg. “No. I assume those are Negrat’s gathered reinforcements?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Silfia and Donal organized them while you were sleeping. They have their own provisions, plus places to stay.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“But not for long,” I murmur. I can supply my own men, but an army of this size needs more than my quartermaster’s contingency plans can support. I’ll have to make my move quickly. Fortunately we’re close to the capital...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e…which is when I remember the sea.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eSister...\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eNot yet, I think. I am too tired yet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“More sleep sounds wise,” I say, sinking back to the blankets. At least in dreams I know how things end.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eRagna tucks me in. “It will be night soon. Then you can slip away.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eOf course she knows that I need to. I blink my parti-colored eyes at her and say, “What will happen when all the gods mark me?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Then you will be lucky and cursed,” Ragna says. “But you will still be Angharad Godkin of the Godkindred Kingdom, our Mistress Commander, and even the gods will bow to your intransigence.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI laugh and rest.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"M.C.A. Hogarth","offers":[{"title":"Ebook","offer_id":48276752597285,"sku":"BK-E-GODKIN2","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Audio","offer_id":49461153268005,"sku":"BK-A-GODKIN2","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49078381183269,"sku":"9608093000177","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0864\/6826\/4229\/files\/godkin2-ebook-cover-197x300.jpg?v=1711129456"},{"product_id":"thief-of-songs","title":"Thief of Songs (Twin Kingdoms 1)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe lowland conquerers have taken everything from him, or so the composer Amet Emendexte-ilye was taught: prestige, autonomy, wealth, and most importantly, magic. But when one of them steals his fiancee, Amet avenges himself on them all by writing music and giving it away in defiance of the lowland laws. It is a very satisfactory vengeance, or so he thinks, until he discovers the kingdom's royal composer is planning to debut Amet's work---as folk music!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo he's riding east to set the record straight. But he has no idea how compelling a decadent lowland hermaphrodite can be. And before it's over, this thief of songs may be stealing more than his music....\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA lyrical novel-length romance, set in a second world fantasy. Leave your cares behind today!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre (setting):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e high fantasy romance (Twin Kingdoms)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRelationship:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Male\/Hermaphrodite\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTags:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e low conflict, music, composers, magic\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRating: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePG for emotional situations, implied sexual situations (no explicit scenes)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eExcerpt from Chapter 1\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“How’s it look out there?” I asked around the hairstick in my mouth. Loops of hair fell over the silk sleeve of my jacket: pale green now that spring was fresh, though this morning I’d woken to an emerald tress. Summer on the way, and we were home at last.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“It’s fine,” came the voice of my companion. Distracted, though. I glanced at it, found it watching the crowd past the painted screen. Letting my hair fall and pulling the stick from my teeth, I joined it… and it didn’t react. Not necessarily strange behavior; all the fourth sexes had the talent, to just… sink into the world, become still, become the hole into which freneticism and agitation sank. I loved this about Always Falling, had loved this about it from the moment we’d met. It was my own personal quenching, the sanctuary I sought when the edges of my joys turned brittle, bright like knives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eSo its quiet did not surprise me. The predatory focus, though, did. I followed its gaze and pursed my lips. “Well! I have an admirer.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eAmid the courtiers milling behind the murmuring orchestra was a man. A fierce blade of a man in black silk, and he wore it severely. No showing crepe for him, no salacious invitation, not so much as a piped hem in a different color. His manner matched, all stern angles and scowls. Such a face, though. Exotic in its pallor. Brows distinct and sharp, like calligraphy strokes. Eyes that brooded, cheekbones and jaw so sharp the skin between them was taut as drums. His lips would be full when he wasn’t torturing them by pressing them together so hard. They were dry, too. Such harsh treatment, for such lovely lips.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eAlways Falling hadn’t said anything. I slid an arm through its and said, “You don’t think so?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eIt glanced at me repressively. Its eyes skated to my fallen chignon and it sighed, plucking the hairstick from my curled palm. I bent my head meekly, allowing it to twist the mane back up and secure it. Always Falling, always catching me. I loved it dearly, and in every way but one it filled my heart to repletion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eGentle fingers lifted my chin and I met its eyes: storm-gray, and so we would have rain later. I teased it that of the two of us, the calmer one had the features that responded to the far more tempestuous weather, while I’d ended up with the slower seasonal banners: the canescent green in spring, emerald in summer, scarlet in fall, and white in winter. In winter, only a dark gray rim around my irises made their size clear. I looked uncanny in winter, and dressed to accentuate it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“You think I am ridiculous,” I said, mouth twitching.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eIt kissed my brow. “I think you will be late to introduce yourself and open the concert.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Nonsense,” I said, luxuriating in the touch. “I’m never late.” Straightening, I pulled one lock from the perfect sweep it had arranged so effortlessly, just enough for a bed-tousled look. It sighed and smiled, and I stepped out from behind the screen as the orchestra finished its tuning. Naturally. My sense of timing had always been impeccable. I would have made a poor appointee to the position of royal court musician otherwise.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e* * *\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“So,” I said to my audience. “As you can see, I have returned no worse for the wear.” Their laughter was music. I bowed, a flourish that exposed the crepe lining along the skirt of my jacket. Unlike the fellow in black, I enjoyed advertising: beneath the teal silk, a flutter as red as a throat, and beneath it, white edged in coral pink. Available, but only to those I approached. I enjoyed hearing the gossip about who I might be bedding from those who poured it into the ears of my friends. Including—\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eAnd there en was. We knelt, each one of us, for en was divine, blood of gods, fated to rule over all the world. En had proven it by reshaping ens own body on ascension, complete with wings—dragon’s wings, silken and limber, crimson and purple iridescing blue edged with shimmering droplets of gold. The Divine no longer needed the embroidered silks that paneled ens body, for en was magnificence personified, strange and otherworldly and gorgeous, from ens toes to the delicate swept antenna en had formed from ens brows.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eEn also tasted like tea, and let me win at Forts and Walls, and had a wicked sense of humor. We’d known one another since childhood, when en had been a rambunctious prince and I had been rather less than that, but already such a musical prodigy that my destiny hadn’t needed reading in prayer skeins. We’d been each other’s first lover. We were still fond of one another.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Dancer,” en said. “You’ve been missed.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“O Divine, not as much as you have been.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eEn chuckled and settled onto the cushioned bench set on the raised end of the hall, and this freed the rest of us to move. The court remained on the terraced floor on their pillows. I rose, pressed my palms together, and bowed to Izdrasen, called by ens poem name, Inevitability of Clouds Against Mountains. Every word I’d said had been true. I had missed en. Had missed home, the court, my friends, my own bed. I’d enjoyed the tour I’d taken, escorting my latest opus through the east’s major cities, and even up into the highland cities over the border. But home was where the world eased into the bone, into sinew and iris and tress, was pressing my nose into Always Falling’s hair, was smelling familiar incense, gardens, sheets. Home was a place you could trust the orchestra to read your mind as well as the score.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Have you brought us something new from your travels?” Clouds asked.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I have,” I said. I heard the rustle of sheet music behind me. When I spoke, it was to the hall at large, and it was no less a performance than what was about to commence. “While I was in the highlands, I was privileged to hear the music of the people: folk dances, tavern reels, teahouse ballads. These songs speak to a history older than the union of our peoples. They dig deep. They call. I heard them, and knew I had to bring them home, to the very seat of the kingdom. I’ve selected five of the very best of these folk songs and arranged them to suit an intimate orchestra and a modern audience. I hope you enjoy them, Divine.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I am certain I shall.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eAs elegant a cue as any I would give to the orchestra, that, and I turned to face my beloveds, my musicians, the actors who gave voice to the manifestations of magic that filled my head. They reflected my joy back to me: did we need to smile? We knew one another too well to need it, but I saw among them the scattered curving of mouths and, dearer still, the lifting of bow and bending of head. I showed them my hands and curled them, gathering their attention. And then, with a flick of my fingers, I released us all to the music.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"M.C.A. Hogarth","offers":[{"title":"Ebook","offer_id":48276753121573,"sku":"BK-E-TWIN1","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49068325077285,"sku":"9608093000191","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0864\/6826\/4229\/files\/allromance-cover-tn-200x300.jpg?v=1711129461"},{"product_id":"cantor-for-pearls","title":"Cantor for Pearls (Twin Kingdoms 2)","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor years, Always Falling has been content in the capital of the Twin Kingdoms, seeing to its beloved the imperial composer...and there the neuter might have stayed, had it not received an urgent message summoning it home. After the cruelties that saw Always Falling exiled, the last thing it wants is to go back, much less in the company of a near stranger: Amet Emendexte-ilye, the new lover its beloved took to ens breast only a few months ago.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut no one else can accompany Always Falling to the harbor city where it was once a member of a rarified aristocracy. And maybe a highland warrior, a stranger, and a musician will be the key not just to the injustices of the past, but the needs Always Falling has never admitted to, even to itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe sea is waiting....\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA lyrical novel-length romance, set in a second world fantasy. Return to the Twin Kingdoms!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre (setting):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e high fantasy romance (Twin Kingdoms)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRelationship:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Male\/Neuter (Asexual)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTags:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e low conflict, neuter, music, composers, magic, swimming, sea, aliens, sea serpents\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRating: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePG for emotional situations, implied sexual situations (no explicit scenes)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eExcerpt From Chapter 1\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003ePoursday for me was a religious observation. I much preferred to observe it in solitude on the hill. I was grateful to Amet for making that desire less of a burden to my beloved, and relieved that Dancer had managed to deflect his attention from his own griefs. They would no doubt return to him until he resolved them in his own heart… but grappling with them now would only distress Dancer and create friction between them. Their relationship was the foundation of the new life he was attempting to build here. They needed one another, and the revelry would make that clearer, so I left them to it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eBut I did not make it back to the palace.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Honored Fourth,” the messenger said, bowing as she offered a folded parchment. “For you, from the Little Pier.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“The pier?” I said, startled. I didn’t doubt the message had found the right recipient; I recognized the maiden as one of the servants charged with the palace mail, and she had detained me at its gates. “Are you certain?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Yes, Honored Fourth.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eAs I unfolded it, I said, “Who gave it to you?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“A stranger, if you please. They asked for you by name.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI frowned at the parchment, tilting it so that the pencil scrawl would catch the light from the nearest globe. A confident hand, so someone familiar with their letters. But a pencil, and not a brush, which suggested someone who needed to erase. Few people wrote letters with lead; few people wrote with lead at all, for the eastern alphabet lent itself to brushwork. Numbers, though…\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eAn accountant or businessperson, then, most likely\u003ci\u003e. Presence requested at Pier 32\u003c\/i\u003e, it said. \u003ci\u003eUrgent. Please come at once.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“They asked for me by name?” I said idly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“’Always Falling,’” she repeated. “’The pearl merchant.’”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI looked up at her abruptly, but there was nothing in her face to indicate she understood the unlikeliness of the address.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Thank you.” I pressed a square coin into her hand. “For your trouble. Finding someone in a Poursday throng is difficult.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Honored Fourth,” she said with another bow, and then she was gone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eSo was I, for the stables. Only one group would think to ask for Always Falling the pearl merchant… and the situation must be very bad indeed, to make any of my relatives willing to speak with me again.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e* * *\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe Little Pier was a dim pool of purple shadows and cool glowing lights. Reserved for local fishermen who served the capital, it was a small collection of quays and boardwalks, far less developed than the adjacent harbor where even now the fireworks barges were pushing off, leaving the celebrants to shoulder their way to the best vantages for the show. As I guided the horse down the road, I glanced up, toward the lights and noise. Dancer would be on a balcony on the riverbank—our one year trying to force our way near the barges had convinced us both to try a different tactic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI was glad to be heading for the quiet. Even the road was empty; most of the fishing families would have concluded their work earlier in the day, not just to have the time for the celebration, but because the arrival of magic drove their quarry too deep into the water for their nets. It was an irony that the vitalizing force that made the fish in our country the best in the world also frightened them…but then, I had it on the best of authorities that fish were stupid, and I had no reason to doubt those who’d reported it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eUnsurprisingly there were few people abroad. I wondered which of the strangers had taken my message as I dismounted and led the horse to Pier 32, which was, it turned out, the furthest east, in the shadow of the slope leading up toward the great harbor. I left the steed tied to a hitching post and stepped onto the wooden boards… and stopped.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThere was no boat at its end.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003ePerhaps I was on the wrong pier? I stepped back, checked the signs: no, this was 32. But there was no vessel moored there. I would have expected my family to charter a small, private boat to reach the capital, or perhaps shake loose one of their own for the trip. Had they dropped someone off and left? Would I find my cousin, or my uncle, in one of the little offices clustered near the middle of the pier?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI turned that way, frowning. And heard something breach the water as an embrace warm as mother’s breath wrapped around my thoughts, just beneath my brow-bone, crowning me in love.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI strangled a noise. Impossible. It was frankly impossible, for too many reasons. But I was running anyway, and I remembered to pull up just as the familiar face rose from the water and leaned toward me, crest spreading in opalescent glory, catching every nuance of the shimmering light in its dripping fans.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eLoving Cousin, \u003c\/i\u003ethe sea serpent exclaimed. \u003ci\u003eYou came! Just as I knew you would.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI could barely breathe. Now I was gasping, and, I thought, crying. This could not, absolutely could not be happening.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eLook at me! Am I not splendid!\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI found my tongue, finally, past horror and a joy so intense my body shook. “Strong Fourth Son! Water and air, what are you doing here? In the river! You shouldn’t be in river water!”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eIt was hard,\u003c\/i\u003e the serpent said, preening. \u003ci\u003eBut I am Strong Fourth Son, after all, and I have done it! Are you not proud of me?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"M.C.A. Hogarth","offers":[{"title":"Ebook","offer_id":48276753219877,"sku":"BK-E-TWIN2","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49068321866021,"sku":"9608093000207","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0864\/6826\/4229\/files\/cantor-half-cover-190x300.jpg?v=1711129463"},{"product_id":"claws-and-starships","title":"Claws and Starships","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhen the results of Earth’s genetic experiments fled their makers, they took their own name as they left humanity behind; centuries later, the Pelted have spread into a multi-world alliance of cultures and languages, cribbed from Terra or created whole-cloth. Claws and Starships collects six stories of the Pelted, ranging from the humor of a xenoanthropologist on the wrong side of mythology to more serious works considering the implications of genetic engineering in a far-future classroom seeded with the children of those laboratories. Come stamp your passport and visit the worlds of the Pelted Alliance in all their variety!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIncludes the novella “A Distant Sun,” and the short stories “Rosettes and Ribbons” (\u003cem\u003eBest in Show\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eanthology), “The Elements of Freedom,” “Tears” (Pawprints), “Pantheon,” and “Butterfly” (Anthrolations magazine).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFeaturing six illustrations and an all-new afterword by noted fan historian Fred Patten.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre (setting):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003espace opera (\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mcahogarth.org\/wiki\/the-pelted\/\"\u003ePelted\u003c\/a\u003e)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTags:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eanthropology, history, humor, teaching, religion, family, games, furries\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRating:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ePG for emotional situations\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eExcerpt from \u003cem\u003eClaws and Starships\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eKellen propped a foot on the arm of a dark green chair and glanced at his teenaged students, seated in various levels of discomfort on the sofas, chairs and ottomans. He loved the first day of class, and the first day of this one in particular. The teacher pointed to a sturdily-built gray Hinichi wolfine: mostly human, with a fine covering of wolf.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\"You, my friend. What's your name?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\"Uh, Derrick, sir. Derrick Lombard.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\"Very good,\" Kellen said, \"Tell me what class this is?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eBewildered, the wolfine's eyes sought the others', hoping for support. \"Err, it's 'Ethical Perspectives on History’, sir.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eKellen grinned. \"Ah! Thank you, Derrick. That's just what I wanted to hear.\" An uneasy chuckle rose from the others watching, and he folded his arms across his chest. \"As you might have guessed, I'm new here. My name is Kellen Grove. I ask that you call me 'Mr. Grove' so we can at least pretend you respect me, but otherwise my rules are as informal as my classroom. I like a lively discussion, so make free with your comments, particularly your jokes. I expect you to answer my questions; in return, I'll answer yours, no matter how hard. Make no mistake: there will be hard questions. This will be far and away the most difficult and interesting elective being offered during your last year of high school, and I'm gratified that you have all chosen to take it.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\"History is the most difficult topic we're going to have all year?\" a slim black human asked in an arch contralto.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eKellen laughed, his dark ears flipping forward. \"What's your name?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\"Rachel Myers, sir!\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eHe slid off the chair. \"Stand up, please, Rachel. I prefer to illustrate my answers concretely. You! The russet Aera there. Name?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\"Madeira, Clan Flait,\" was the wary reply from the slender girl more vulpine than humanoid.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\"Stand up for me, please, Madeira. You? Donegan Unfound? Yes, thank you, just like that. You?\" he turned to an ivory Karaka'An feline, her thin legs folded beneath her on the vast dark blue chair. Kellen faltered as he stared at her eyes. They were green? No, only one of them. The other was a yellowish lime color just similar enough to force the viewer to look twice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\"Margeaux Davis,\" she said in a shy soprano, lifting her odd-colored eyes to meet his.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\"Ah, yes, stand for me, please, Margeaux.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eDelivering himself a mental shake, he picked out two more students, then folded his arms across his chest again, tossing his black jaw ruffs behind his shoulders.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\"Now,\" Kellen said. \"Someone tell me what all these people have in common.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eHe watched with concealed amusement as they exchanged looks in none-too-covert bafflement. One of the braver ones managed to speak.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\"In common, sir? I guess, they're all here?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eKellen laughed. \"That's a good start, but we're in History, not Physics. Any other ideas?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\"They're all two-footed,\" someone suggested from the back.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\"Good!\" Kellen said, fox-like ears perking. \"Give me more on that track.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\"They all have hands,\" said a male Phoenix, his own wings twitching.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe female human beside him added, \"And they're all bilaterally symmetrical!\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eA low rustle ran through the classroom as its members stared at the girl.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eKellen grinned. \"Budding biologist, eh? She's right, though. These are all good observations, but you're citing the effects of a single root cause. Can you guess what it is?\" He waited through the ensuing silence, then stood and walked behind Rachel, the black human. \"How about 99% of their genome?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\"I thought this was History, not Biology,\" another human said, a lopsided smile on his face.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\"It is History,\" Kellen said, finger snaking out to point at him. \"Do you know your own? How the Alliance formed? Who formed it . . . and how they evolved?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\"We didn't evolve,\" a pantherine said. \"Everyone knows that. The humans made us centuries ago.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\"Precisely,\" said Kellen, resting against one of the taller chairs. \"And the primary things that will engage us this year are the implications, complications and consequences of that decision. An ethical perspective, if you will. You may sit, everyone. Thank you for your patience.\" He turned to Rachel and said, \"Do you understand now what I mean by this class being your most difficult this year?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\"Uh, I'm not sure,\" she admitted. \"What's so hard about figuring out the implications of the first gengineering?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\"Did you know that seventy percent of the individuals who left on the generation ships to colonize the original Core planets couldn't successfully conceive and bear young?\" Kellen asked, waited for her to shake her head. The rest of the class was staring at him now. \"Do you know why?\" Another negative. \"Fully sixty-five percent of them had been engineered as sex toys. Because of concern that they would accidentally cause 'complications' when used, most of them were created without generative organs.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eSince grim silence had been his intention, Kellen was satisfied with their response. \"These are details adults don't share with children, for good reason. The creation of another sapient life form is an event fraught with ethical dilemmas. The solutions originally proposed and implemented for the first gengineered creatures on Terra were not always the best ones, and examining them is often cause for thought...and nightmare. You are no longer children. It's time for you to examine our shared history: its atrocities and tragedies as well as the positive outcomes that have become our birthright. That is why this is a difficult class.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\"I see,\" the human girl said, subdued.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\"You will,\" Kellen promised.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"M.C.A. Hogarth","offers":[{"title":"Ebook","offer_id":48277501313317,"sku":"BK-E-PLCOL1","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Audio","offer_id":49534799151397,"sku":"BK-A-PLCOL1","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49071879455013,"sku":"9608093000528","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0864\/6826\/4229\/files\/cover.jpg?v=1711140647"},{"product_id":"conversations-with-the-ai-naidar-iskadi-kherishdarem-1","title":"Conversations with the Ai-Naidar (Iskadi Kherishdarem 1)","description":"\u003cp\u003eLanguage and locations, culture and customs, biology, psychology, and history… worldbuilding an alien world for a fiction series can be a monumental effort involving notes, maps, drawings, and resources…\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e..or you can do it Jaguar-style, and just talk to the people.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConversations with the Ai-Naidar gathers seven years of “meta-conversations” between the author and her aliens as she struggles to understand their culture and language. Interspersed with scribbled notes from the author’s original sketchbooks, Conversations offers insight into an artistic process, perfect for lovers of the Kherishdar series, and anyone fascinated by the creative brain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCome into the writer’s parlor!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre (setting):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e low fantasy\/implied science fiction\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTags:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e worldbuilding, meta, linguistics, posts, journal, sociology, culture, writing, process\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRating: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePG for emotional situations\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eExcerpt from \u003cem\u003eConversations with the Ai-Naidar\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Why?” I ask, exasperated with myself. “Why did I do that?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eWhen the Calligrapher sits in his studio’s window seat, it’s like looking at a puddle of sunshine: gold light, golden face, warm robes. But Shame’s the one in it now, and with his high-contrast coloring and dark clothes he’s brought shadows to a place I associated only with light. “Do what?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I use “male” and “female” sometimes,” I say, setting the red pen down on the print-out. “Then I use “man” and “woman.” I’m going to have to standardize on one.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Which will you choose?” Shame asks, looking at me.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Probably male and female,” I say. “Man and woman... they imply something in our language that I don’t think is... reasonable.” Before he can ask, I explain, “Kherishdar doesn’t do gender roles the way we do, and using “man” and “woman” will evoke that. “Male”, “female”... those are biological terms and usually less loaded.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Again with the pants,” Shame guesses. “Why do your readers believe Farren less of a man because he wears robes? Most of us do.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“It’s not about the pants,” I say. “Maybe it’s because to us, an intrinsic part of being a man involves... an aggressive-protective attitude. Almost at a genetic level.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“As if all of your men were Guardians?” Shame asks, the set of his ears indicating intrigue. “All your men can carry weapons?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“In this country, anyway,” I say. Only members of the Guardian caste can use weapons in Kherishdar. “But yes, typically.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“How curious,” Shame says. “Is there so much wrong that every male must take up arms?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Well, no,” I say, squirming. “Maybe I’m just not explaining it well.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“So Farren is feminine because he is not... aggressive?” Shame asks. He laughs. “You have not seen him after one suggests he paint something inappropriate. But come, am I more of a “man” than him?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“You’ll probably read that way since you’re involved with discipline and justice,” I say. “People will probably think your heart is harder.” I lift my ink-stained hands. “No, no, don’t ask me ‘are all your men insensitive and cold.’ I’m talking about perception, not reality.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Very well,” Shame says. “So your readers will think me more masculine because I Correct the faulty.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“And perhaps because you act, rather than think about acting,” I say.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Because painting wisdom to teach and reassure others isn’t action,” Shame says.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Not... the kind people consider masculine, not often,” I say. And sigh. Talking to him is always like this. I feel embarrassed by my own assumptions even as he traps me with them. “It’s hard to escape biology, Shame. We may rise above it, but somewhere in our gut it’s still churning away, and our great passion plays often reduce to us fighting out genetic imperatives... or trying not to. That’s part of being human, I think.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I see,” Shame says, and I go back to editing to keep from meeting his too-pale eyes. He lets it go and I work in silence while he stares out the window. My shoulders relax. The pen scratches. \u003ci\u003eman woman woman man \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Of course,” Shame says incidentally, “the reason you kept choosing multiple words has nothing to do with your conflictedness about rendering our gender roles to \u003ci\u003eaunera\u003c\/i\u003e. It’s because you failed to realize we have different language markers for ‘person or thing outside our periphery\/in the background’ and ‘person or thing we are currently interacting with.’ Your use of male and female probably has more to do with your attempt to make sense of the emotional distance implied by those markers.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI gape at him. That’s the only reason I see his amusement before he veils it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Curse it all!” I say and throw up my hands. “Now what do I do?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eNaturally, he doesn’t feel the need to answer that one.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"M.C.A. Hogarth","offers":[{"title":"Ebook","offer_id":48277518745893,"sku":"BK-E-KHERCON1","price":5.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49071888367909,"sku":"9608093000863","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0864\/6826\/4229\/files\/Cover-Conversations1-halfpage500px.png?v=1711141095"},{"product_id":"further-conversations-with-the-ai-naidar-iskadi-kherishdarem-2","title":"Further Conversations with the Ai-Naidar (Iskadi Kherishdarem 2)","description":"\u003cp\u003eReturn to Kherishdar in this second volume of “backstage” interactions between the author and her creations! In the first volume, we got to know the principal characters that made the setting clearer to the audience… this time, we ease deeper into the worldbuilding, covering language and locations, culture and customs, biology, psychology, and history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFurther Conversations with the Ai-Naidar gathers the next six years of “meta-conversations” between the author and her aliens as she continues to illuminate the world of Kherishdar. Lavishly illustrated with notes, calligraphy, photographs and drawings, Conversations offers insight into an artistic process, perfect for lovers of the Kherishdar series, and anyone fascinated by the creative brain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCome into the writer’s parlor!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAn Excerpt from\u003cem\u003e Further Conversations with the Ai-Naidar\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“People wonder about Thirukedi.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eKor says, “Well they might.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI am sitting cross-legged with the new notebook I’ve bought for my Ai-Naidari homework, sadly under-utilized during my push to finish the latest book. I play with the edges, my pencil loose in my hand. “They want to know if He’s a god.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I imagine they do.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI narrow my eyes as I look up at him. “Why do I get the feeling I’m missing something?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Are you?” he asks, unperturbed. He sits across from me in his severe black and white, but with the First Servant’s bright stole over his shoulders.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI frown at him. He likes to ask questions in response to questions. Living with Farren in my head, who’s been living with Shame for years now, makes me sensitive to the technique. “It’s an honest question.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“So it is.” He threads his fingers together, resting them in his lap. “You know the secret to Thirukedi’s immortality.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Yes.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“And you know how He came to us.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Yes.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eHe nods. “You know more than we do, then. Do the answers not suffice?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI consider it, make a face. “The answers prompt more questions.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThat makes him laugh, that low chuckle that pleases his family so much. “Artist. You cannot evade your \u003ci\u003eishas\u003c\/i\u003e.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI huff, but then I run my hands through my shorter hair, disordering it. “Sometimes I feel like I’m translating it wrong. What if I’m calling him a god but it’s really some other concept I don’t understand?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Do you know what a god is?” he asks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI pause. Then, stumbling, I say, “I… it… depends on who you ask. There’s God and there are gods, and people would argue about… whether they’re the same thing, and what that means, and… the definition.” I stop, annoyed. “Oh, geez.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eShame smiles. Definitely a Shame smile, not a Kor smile. He lets me stew in my silence, then says, “I observe you have not told the other \u003ci\u003eaunera\u003c\/i\u003e Thirukedi’s secrets. Do you fear doing so will disturb the mysteries too much?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I don’t know,” I admit. “But I think… we tend to deconstruct things in an attempt to understand them, and then we get to the end of our hunt for truth and discover that the hunt has exhausted our sense of wonder. It’s a gamble whether we’ll feel any satisfaction at the end.” I think about that, then shake my head. “No, we’re usually satisfied at the end. But with ourselves, not with the world, and that’s a very sterile kind of satisfaction. It wears off quickly without feeding us. We tend to get bored of things we understand… they no longer excite us, no longer make us realize there’s more to the world than the things in our head. A mystery is proof in a way that there’s a universe for us to move through. We need that to keep from vanishing into our own egos.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eHis brows lift. “As pretty a piece of reasoning as I have heard from you, \u003ci\u003eqiqirini\u003c\/i\u003e.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI manage a tired a smile. “It’s been a long year.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“The years are long and short,” he says. “The difference is in you, you know.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“I know.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eHe nods. Then adds, “I am curious about the discussion that prompted this conversation.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Ah!” I say. “Alas, but it’s gone. Our world now lends itself to ephemera.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"M.C.A. 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I can’t wait!”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eBryer chuffed a laugh. “Me also.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eDid it surprise them that he might long for chicks? Perhaps it did. They perceived Phoenix as true aliens, when in truth they were not so different. Simply aligned along another axis. And sometimes poorly, at that. Why else had he sought the Eye training, if not to corral the storms in his spirit?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“The only thing left to decide is where you want them quartered,” Reese said. “We’ve finalized the guest chambers in the walls, if you have more than one coming… which I assume, or you wouldn’t have asked for a firepit that size.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“And bleachers,” Irine added. “I’m guessing a Phoenix wedding is a big affair? I… just thought of that. This is a Phoenix wedding, isn’t it? Oh, now I really can’t wait! Do we get to see it?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eBryer gaped his beak. “Yes. You should be there.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eIrine bounced on her heels, clasping her hands together. “Wedding \u003ci\u003eand\u003c\/i\u003e babies! Best things!”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eReese laughed. “Yes. Best things. So… how many guests?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Nine Brides,” Bryer said. “And their maids. One each.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e“Nine… brides?” Reese asked carefully.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eIrine beamed. “Do you get to keep them all?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eHe chuffed again. “No. Pick one. Rest go home. Sometimes. 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Take home this rich and gentle piece and let it remind you that good things come to the deserving!\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nMuseum-quality posters made on thick matte paper. Add a wonderful accent to your room and office with these posters that are sure to brighten any environment.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n• Paper thickness: 10.3 mil\u003cbr\u003e\n• Paper weight: 189 g\/m²\u003cbr\u003e\n• Opacity: 94%\u003cbr\u003e\n• ISO brightness: 104%\u003cbr\u003e\n• Paper is sourced from Japan\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\nThis product is made especially for you as soon as you place an order, which is why it takes us a bit longer to deliver it to you. 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