the clanlands almanac seasonal stories from scotland

There were five, standing shoulder to shoulder, set on a big flat hearth-stone to keep them from the damp, even though the baskets were woven tight and smeared with pitch.

The glow made a tiny shine on the chieftains’ sollens. The fire heard me and brightened, licking delicately at the twig, then taking hold all at once, flaring and gnawing at the bark. “It’s all right,” I said to it, and soothed it with a fragrant pine twig. The hide dropped heavily behind him, and the tiny flame of the firepot took alarm and struggled wildly. Mind the fire,” he added automatically, though I had already bent to take some twigs from the pile by the hearth. “Oh, it’s you.” He yawned hugely and stretched, then scrambled to his feet. He felt the draft when I came in, though, and his head jerked up, turning round. Toyo was sitting on a auroch’s hide, supposedly tending the firepot but actually dozing, sitting up. If anyone there wanted me, it would most likely be my father. I shrugged and slipped into the Chieftains’ Tent. I didn’t realize that not everyone heard this kind of thing, but I found out quickly when I mentioned it to Ergon, who punched me in the stomach, cuffed my ear and told me to shut up. Echoes in my ear, sounds coming out of the air. No point in standing here listening to the noises in the tent-but before I could leave, someone called me.

It got darker, though, and the blue tent faded into the night. I sighed, but stood there, watching even though there was nothing to see. Was the blue tent moving, or was it only the fire playing on the smooth hide? A long, slender arm suddenly shot out and pulled the hide fully across the entrance. I passed quietly behind the Chieftains’ Tent and paused to look round the edge, down the hill. So I was looking for a “jacks” ending to a brief scene, and found this one. But there is another kind, that I call “jacks”-in which you scatter a number of small, shiny objects around and cause the reader to want to pick them up. Basically (I think), that kind of temporary ending is usually either a cliff-hanger type (even a tiny cliff-hanger will do), or a “resting” ending-where Things have been Happening, and you want everyone to be able to stop for a moment and breathe. (The subject was Endings that make the reader want to go on to the next chapter. Just for fun-rooted this brief excerpt out to illustrate a discussion amongst writers about endings, and I thought y’all might enjoy it.

The clanlands almanac seasonal stories from scotland