Author: Derin

First ---- Previous ---- Glossary ---- Archive ---- Next Bette and her children spend their first night in the Green Hills Hive inside the hive itself, in one of the spare residential burrows, but the rest of the group decide to stay in the trader burrow, with their goods. Smon is reluctant to leave her … Continue reading 28: A Map of a Prayer

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Glossary] .......... Next> “A trained engineer would be able to give a better assessment,” Kit explained, “but the Captain and some atil looked over the ship and it’s in remarkably good condition. It’s a – ” he gave some aljik word, some complicated series of clicks and whistles that … Continue reading 19: Pilot Program

First ---- Previous ---- Glossary ---- Archive ---- Next The Green Hills hiveheart is made up of ten people, and as Tyk, Smon and Toi walk into the room, it’s immediately obvious that a slim, delicate-shelled woman named Hahn and the man who’d summoned them, who turns out to be called Kegalt, are the two … Continue reading 27: Rayjo Tau

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Glossary] .......... Next> The thing about humans is that they need to sleep a lot. That made it very easy to wait until Charlie was asleep and then, very carefully and quietly, head off to my mission. There wasn’t really all that much need for secrecy – anybody who … Continue reading 18: Investigation

First ---- Previous ---- Glossary ---- Archive ---- Next The next morning, the caravan wakes to the approach of some Green Hills women, who take their carts to the trader burrow so that the Redstone River visitors can rush on ahead and meet with the hive. Smon is reluctant to leave her farm in the … Continue reading 26: The Green Hills Hive

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Glossary] .......... Next> I needed immediate medical attention. Our darling captain needed it more. But neither of us would be getting it right now, because first I had to convince everyone not to kill her, including herself. This would be the hardest story I’d ever told in the Game … Continue reading 17: A Game of Truth

First ---- Previous ---- Glossary ---- Archive ---- Next Three days after Smon starts riding in the cart, Bette’s old legs begin to fail her, and she caves to her childrens’ fussing and gets in a cart herself. Having two of their group riding slows them down significantly; not only is the weight significant and … Continue reading 25: Red Water Rush

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Glossary] .......... Next> Most of the nest had taken defensive positions underground, and the few atil that were aboveground were on lookout at the shore, hiding themselves under little mounds of sand with their eyes on the water awaiting the approaching army. Without the soldiers to spare for proper … Continue reading 16: Fight For Flight

First ---- Previous ---- Glossary ---- Archive ---- Next Tyk wakes the next morning early and restless. Everyone’s still asleep. The pale stars visible through the burrow opening wake her properly, although she’d rather doze back off – there’s something disconcerting about sleeping so close to the surface, without several tunnels and chambers between her … Continue reading 24: Backup Plans

<<First .......... <Prev .......... [Archive] .......... [Glossary] .......... Next> Careful to stay far away enough to avoid being bitten, I looked up at the fruits on Morlin’s tree. They were vaguely luminous in the rapidly fading daylight, casting a slight red glow through the bone-white branches and onto the black rotting plant material around the … Continue reading 15: Time to Move