Tymely News
Work In Progress #20: Starwitch #3
"Do not test me, ladies. I am the very best war witch this country has ever produced. I would find it particularly easy to blow this entire house to splinters, followed by telekinetically dragging the three of you away."
– Captain Scarth Denholm, an excerpt from Starwitch.
Starwitch is a novel about space-faring witches that I plan to release first as a web series, then for sale in online stores.
You can read short summaries of each day's writing on Mastodon.
Here's a list of previous blog entries on this work in progress novel, in order from oldest to newest:
Chapter 8: Parting Ways
Amelia lies in her bed, aching all over. She's resting to heal, but her mind is quite busy. She still has no option for cushioning wheels, but an alternative has occurred to her: an airship.
The only trouble with that is her best bet for lifting an airship into the air is 'metal phlogiston', which is better known in the modern world as hydrogen, but she's concerned about the explosive qualities of the gas.
After a knock at the door, Mrs. Maccle enters. She expresses her concern for Amelia's health, but when Amelia tells her it's just bruises, her expression doesn't change.
Mrs. Maccle explains that Amelia has been accused of witchcraft. The older woman also reveals that she's a witch, though even weaker than Amelia. This admission earns the older woman even greater trust from Amelia. As it turns out, the mayor's wife has been subtly guiding the locals toward greater tolerant, but this backfired with Amelia, because it was too much, too soon.
Mrs. Maccle says she'll delay things as much as she can and her husband will investigate the accusation, but ultimately find Amelia and her sisters innocent, though they both know that won't be enough. However, it will be plenty of time for the Blackwell family to pack up and leave, before a mob can take action.
Mrs. Maccle tells Amelia of a far off country to the west, beyond the ominously named mountain range known as 'The Burning Slopes', which is presumably volcanically active.
Dugaria, as the nation is named, is (in)famous for publicly accepting witches, though she knows nothing more about it. The journey will take months if they cross the volcanic range or as much as a year, if they go around.
Mrs. Maccle wishes there was more she could do for them and Amelia smiles, because she's gotten an idea, suggesting the mayor's wife can help them some more by buying a bit more time.
In the next scene, Marta is on the roof of Amelia's warehouse/workshop, surreptitiously watching a mob that's gathered by the front door to protest the presence of an accused witch.
Marta heads back inside after reading their signs and hearing them shout about burning witches. She joins Amelia, Iris, their Father and Mrs. Maccle in working on a crude airship that's little more than a big, flat platform with a railing and a building in the middle, though there's enough room for the family's vehicles at either end.
The whole thing is on wheels and has a steam engine that can drive it on the ground or run a pair of propellors.
They finish structurally reinforcing it and Amelia asks Mrs. Maccle to open the back doors.
The ship is rolled outside and Iris ties it off to prepared stakes, while Amelia gets the process of filling the gas bag started. Marta and their father prepare to catch the bag as it unfolds, to avoid punctures, since they've only got one shot at this.
Mrs. Maccle heads off to join her husband, the sheriff and eight of his largest men on the other side of the building.
To serve as a distraction, the sheriff approaches the mob and demands to see their permit for the public gathering. The conversation with the leader of the mob (a lawyer, by the way) implies they don't have one and as they go back and forth about the current situation, people from the mob begin sneaking away.
They argue the merits of whether Amelia is a witch or not, because "Oh my, she flew!" The mayor tosses a paper airplane (they would probably call it a paper bird) through the air and makes a rather logical argument that what Amelia did was a scaled up version of the same. He even insists there was no magic, just science.
There's more arguing as, in the background, the gas bag inflates and Amelia does some work on the control fins attached to it, though the mob is fortunately to distracted to notice.
Again, the matter of the permit is raised by the sheriff, including a threat to arrest everyone. More of the crowd peels off, while the sheriff's men start circling the crowd.
The leader of the mob accuses the mayor and the sheriff of a conspiracy to help a witch (amusingly, this is quite true), but he makes the mistake of jabbing the sheriff with a finger.
She sheriff turns that finger into a serious point of pain and arrests the man for a variety of charges: assaulting an officer of the watch, disturbing the peace, incitement to riot and conspiracy to murder an innocent woman, a circumvention of justice.
The sheriff's men arrest what little remains of the mob.
Meanwhile, the airship takes to the air, flying west. The mayor asks his wife if she knows where they're headed. She tells him they're going to Dugaria, where they hope they'll be accepted, and he groans.
Mrs. Maccle loses some confidence as she asks, "Witches are accepted in Dugaria, aren't they?"
Her husband's response is chilling: "Only because the government uses them as weapons!"
Sadly, Mrs. Maccle hadn't heard that part of the rumors.
Unfortunately, it's far too late to warn the Blackwell family.
Chapter 9: Burning Slopes
Amelia's airship, Airwitch, has been in the air for about two and a half days and with Amelia at the helm at dawn, she finally spots The Burning Slopes, which live up to their name.
The mountain range is a line of volcanoes, which are currently not violently erupting, though lava pours down the sides of some. I think of this similar to the volcanoes of Hawaii, which have been mildly active for generations.
Amelia is concerned about the danger of going over them in an airship that's lifted by explosive hydrogen gas, though the alternative of going around will take at least a month, if not longer, because they'll have to fight against the west-blowing prevailing wind they've been riding so far, if they turn.
They have a family meeting in which Amelia explains her concerns and calls for a vote. She votes to go around the mountains.
Their father abstains from voting, to avoid a potential tie. As a male born to a family of witches, Tim is quite used to letting the women in his life take charge.
Marta votes to go over, because their map shows no civilization anywhere nearby (too many volcanoes, which can be far more active on the moon of a gas giant, compared to Earth) and they only have a month's rations.
Iris agrees, because while they could theoretically forage for food, their mother trained them in a totally different kind of terrain than they've been flying over.
Amelia doesn't like the decision, but accepts it and pushes the engine to maximum power, because she wants to get over the volcanoes as fast as possible, even at the cost of wasting water. She aims them between a pair of volcanoes that seem less active than the others, to maximize safety.
As Airwitch passes between a pair of volcanoes, one of them begins to erupt, but it's too late for Amelia to turn aside, lest she crash the airship into one of them!
Lava pours down the side and pools in the valley beneath Airwitch, producing a powerful updraft that carries them to a dangerous altitude that threatens to make the gas bag brittle enough to burst, because it's only cotton fabric coated and sealed with rubber.
Iris takes the helm, while Marta starts climbing a knotted rope to reach the top of the gas bag, where an emergency valve can be used to release some of the hydrogen, which would reduce their buoyancy. Amelia heads inside, in preparation to refill the gas bag, once they're out of danger.
As it turns out, their father, Tim, hasn't been taking a turn at the helm, because he's scared of all the controls, too nervous to ever touch them. Amelia has been taking his turns, despite the fact she has so much work to do on the ship.
Due to this fact, the system designed to re-compress the hydrogen for later reuse isn't done, forcing this crazy emergency procedure. Thus, he feels responsible.
Tim punches Marta, leaving her lying on the deck with a dislocated jaw (Tim doesn't know his own strength and that was definitely unintended). He climbs in her place and releases some of the hydrogen, while Iris shouts to direct him, though she thinks she's talking to Marta. They lose most of their altitude, until they're just hundreds of feet above the treetops of a jungle.
During his climb back down, Iris and Amelia begin refilling the gas bag and the sudden change in acceleration causes Tim loses his grip on the rope! As he falls to his death, he says a final prayer to the Gods for the safety of his daughters, feeling content his final act in life was saving their lives.
Amelia emerges from the interior, finding Marta lying on the deck, unable to speak. Amelia takes the place of Iris at the helm and Iris treats Marta's injury with a mixture of doctoring and a healing potion. Naturally, putting Marta's jaw back in place produces a scream of agony.
Marta explains what happened and Amelia despairs, because she knows the fall wasn't survivable.
Iris runs to the back of the ship and looks the way they came, hoping to see her father, desperate for a chance to rescue him, but the volcano's eruption has gotten worse and the jungle is aflame. It would not be safe to go back, forcing them to leave their father behind.
Iris collapses and sobs. Marta scoops Iris up in her arms (remember, she's a big woman, built like a lumberjack) and carries her to the front of Airwitch, where the sisters mourn together.
Chapter 10: The Welcome Village
After a day's travel and almost 700 miles crossed, the sisters come to a small village and tether Airwitch to some trees, via a grappling hook.
The villagers stare up as Amelia looks down and one of them asks, "Are you a witch?"
She initially says "No, I'm an engineer!", but the man's wife says they like witches and when Amelia's sisters join her at the railing, they vote to be honest and Amelia admits they're witches.
The villagers were initially nervous about the airship, but the moment Amelia admits she's a witch, they go back to their business, as if women flying around in airships was normal.
They're invited to a lunch of fish and something akin to spinach in the tiny hovel that serves as the couple's home. The man is named Davit and he's the village administrator. He turns out to be very friendly and eager to convince the sisters to settle in the village, because they've been looking for a witch for years.
He shows them the house the villagers have built for their future witch and it turns out to be a rather wonderful home, a small mansion, in fact. His people have been living as paupers, so they can afford to make some lucky witch exceptionally comfortable.
He claims the "humble home" is the best they can do, but it's larger than the one the sisters grew up in!
Amelia questions him about this and he claims the sisters are likely to find far better living arrangements in a larger city.
They ask why Davit's people would put themselves out for a witch like this and he explains:
"When a witch is needed, but there isn't one available, people suffer. Witches heal and brew potions. They help others, because that’s what witches do." Davit bowed his head, "With a witch in the village, we would prosper and know great peace. Witches are a blessing from the Gods."
After a few days to relax and mourn the loss of their father, Amelia and her sisters move on, intent on traveling Dugaria to find a good place to settle down (the village is nice, but too poor for their liking).
Davit gives them a map of the nation to help them on their way.
Chapter 11: A New Home
Six months later, Amelia wakes and walks the halls of the mansion she bought in Rimestar, the capitol of Dugaria. Servants greet her in the halls and she has breakfast with her sisters, while waited on by their butler.
Amelia had no need for such a large house, but bought it for the 40 aches of fenced yard and the location, outside the city, though still within easy reach.
She also had no need for servants, but their salaries (aside from the gardeners) are paid for by the city, as an added incentive for witches to settle in the city.
Her sisters have been working in a local hospital, as doctors/healers. There was a big accident and tending to the injured kept them up all night, so once they're done eating, they head off to bed, for some long-overdue sleep.
Amelia heads out to her workshop, which is on the land she bought. She checks over the construction work taking place at one end. The place is ready to be used, but not finished, since Amelia wants enough room to work on rockets intended to get her to orbit.
She briefly checks on her apprentices, who work on small devices intended for sale in the local market, then heads for the corner dedicated to her current project: Blackbird II. The aircraft is nearly finished and the custom tires arrived the night before.
Vulcanized rubber is the big innovation of Dugaria, something Amelia has been studying, though she's not quite up to the level of the local craftsman that made the tires for her plane.
She cracks open the crate holding the tires and checks them over, quite pleased. She begins working mount them.
Amelia is happy and content to be accepted and beloved by the locals. She's also happy to have so many amazing resources available to her. She reflects on the fact her sisters are also doing well, both of whom have been getting attention from men.
Amelia has also been catching the eye of hopeful young men, but she's always too lost in thought to notice.
However, despite how much Amelia loves Dugaria, she's been cautious about her greatest secrets, including runic enchantments, though that's is mostly a matter of her life-long habit of hiding her magic.
Amelia's work is interrupted by Hobard, the chief butler, who informs her that she and her sisters have guests that insisted on seeing all three of them.
Chapter 12: Assignments
Amelia goes with Hobard and is led to the sitting room.
One of the couches is occupied by a woman in a dark green army uniform and a matching pointed hat, marking her as both a soldier and a witch. Her collar bears a captain's insignia, with the addition of a little, pointed hat, because a witch always has greater authority than any non-witch of the same rank.
Seated opposite the woman are Iris and Marta, who were woken for the meeting. Amelia sits between them.
The military witch introduces herself as Captain Scarth Denholm. She goes on to tell them Dugaria is now at war. By law and declaration of the King, all citizen witches have been conscripted into the army.
Iris objects, saying they've taken a vow of non-violence.
Amelia claims they never agreed to that and the Captain hands her a copy of the constitution of Dugaria. Amelaia reads and learns that they automatically became citizens when they became home/land owners. This is the reason Dugaria gives free homes and land to witches. Amelia reads further, learning the King does have the right to conscript witches, whenever needed for the protection of Dugaria.
Marta demands to know what happens if they refuse, leading to a scene that speaks for itself:
The military woman leaned forward and her hat produced a looming shadow over her face as her eyes glowed like those of a demon, a deep, red shade, like glowing blood, "Do not test me, ladies." Her icy tone was heavy with the promise of dangerous icebergs that could sink a ship, "I am the very best war witch this country has ever produced. I would find it particularly easy to blow this entire house to splinters, followed by telekinetically dragging the three of you away." Her eyes stopped glowing and she leaned back in the couch, "However, that would be tedious," she glanced around herself, eyeing the fine furniture and the many paintings on the walls, "and an insult to the many witches that lived in this house before the three of you.
"Oh, and even if you think you might be able to overpower me with your combined magic, keep this little tidbit in mind: outside, the other six witches of my coven stand ready to support me and each of them is at least two-thirds as powerful as I am, all of them military trained for battle. No little hedge witch could possibly win such a fight, and three would fare no better."
Amelia's eyes narrowed with anger, "So we're to be dogs of the military, whether we like it or not?"
The captain sighed, "Ladies, this isn't much different from the men of this country, many of whom are having a similar conversation, right now, though that's determined by random chance. To make up for the fact that all witches are being conscripted, the King is offering commensurate rewards. The pay is excellent and you'll have whatever materials you desire for personal magical research. Just about anything can be within reach for a military witch. We have but to ask, especially since we're going to war."
"But we have to be the King's magical assassins, right?" Iris glared, her voice filling with contempt.
"If that's where your talents lie." Captain Denholm stood and went on, "So, ladies, what will it be? Do you come quietly, or do we brawl?" Again, her eyes glowed and she smiled, revealing a wild expression that hinted the woman was secretly hoping for a fight.
Waves of murderous intent carried by magic charged the air and the men behind her took a couple steps back.
Marta stood and hung her head, "It would seem we have no choice."
"What about our vow of non-violence?" Iris also stood, but remained slightly defiant.
Denholm shrugged, "Another casualty of war, I suppose, but you'll serve, either way. Go quietly and you won’t have to wear chains."
In the end, the sisters go quietly, because it's obvious they're no match for Captain Denholm. She leads them to Fort Stand, a military post just outside the city, where their magical talents will be tested and they'll receive their assignments.
While the sisters are busy being tested, Captain Denholm returns to their property and Hobard is revealed to be a secret military spy, as are the rest of the house servants.
Hobard leads her to Amelia's airship, inside the workshop, and it's taken away, for study and to ensure the main characters don't fly away. Little does Denholm know, the steam engines have all been removed to power the machines of the workshop (Denholm doesn't even know what a steam engine is) and the canisters of hydrogen have been emptied for the sake of safety, making it totally useless.
The sisters finish testing totally soaked in sweat, because they were pushed to their absolute limits. They're lined up along with six other witches, to hear the results and receive assignments.
Marta's greatest magical talents lie in Fire and Earth magic. Her assignment is to become a front-line Artillery Witch.
Iris has talents for long-range Sensory and Communication magic. Her assignment can't be spoken publicly, implying she'll be doing something secretive, perhaps intelligence work. The other witches glare at Iris with envy, because whatever her assignment will be, they think it's going to be a cushy one.
Amelia is declared to basically have no particular talent for magic and lacks power, a fact she already knew.
Denholm doesn't quite know what to do with her and asks, "What talents besides magic do you possess?"
Amelia answers honestly, by saying she's an engineer, a builder of machines, particularly vehicles, like her airship.
Denholm is shocked by this and briefly loses her composure.
They discuss her airship and Amelia points out the fact she used science to make it fly, rather than magic.
The Captain is quiet for a time, before she assigns Amelia to the basic physical training every War Witch receives, saying she'll have to discuss Amelia's final assignment with her superiors.
Amelia quietly makes up her mind to escape Dugaria, but since they're in the center of the country and will surely be watched, that will not be easy. She hopes to distract people with technobabble and accomplish her true goals behind the backs of those watching her.
Current Progress
Starwitch is about one-quarter finished, with the first three episodes of material in a rough draft state. So far, I'm averaging about one episode a week. I've written about 33,000 words, so far.
This piece will probably end up at 120,000 words or less. Early chapters were heavy with descriptive detail and I was forced to write longer chapters (3,000+ words), due to how intricate everything Amelia builds is, but now that things are starting to move along with more action and slightly less science/engineering, the chapters are slimming down to my more typical average (2,000-2,500 words).
Future Plans
Episode four will begin with a five year skip forward, during which the sisters have been working for the army. My intent with the episode is to produce a lot of character growth for the main characters.
Marta and Iris will get their own chapters dedicated to them, to show how much they've changed and how difficult their circumstances are.
Marta will be shown in the field, using her magic to destroy entire fortifications, while her conscience stings her for harming others with magic.
Iris will be seen using scrying magic (think CIA remote-viewing programs, only far more effective) to get instant results from distant battlefields, so her superiors can make better decisions. I will probably end that chapter with Iris' superiors using her unit of black-ops witches to assassinate high-ranking officers of the enemy army, with extreme-range magic.
Meanwhile, in her own chapter, Amelia will be seen squirreling away resources for a secret project, while Hobard tries very hard to find out what she's up to. During the skip forward, she'll have been working as a government contractor, tasked with designing a horseless, armored "war wagon", a project Amelia has been delaying for years, intentionally detonating prototype after prototype, with the explanation that "steam engines are very hard to stabilize, a design flaw I hope to fix, soon."
The last chapter of the episode will bring them back together, because Amelia insists she needs her sisters on hand, claiming Iris is the best driver and Marta's magic is strong enough to control the blast if the prototype explodes.
They'll drive the new war wagon and go on the run across Amelia's land, toward a tower she's built, while Captain Denholm gives chase, via broomstick. When they arrive, Marta will hold off the other War Witch, while Amelia and Iris blow one whole side off the tower, revealing the hidden shape of Starwitch, while the other half of the tower serves as the rocket's support gantry.
Marta will lose her fight with Denholm, but will have bought just enough time for her sisters to load the war wagon inside the base of the rocket and the three of them will blast off. Denholm will probably try to follow, but she'll be unable to chase them out of the atmosphere.
After that, all future episodes will take place in space.
Tags: writing, work-in-progress, starwitch