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“Ordinarily, of course, a visit such as this would garner a much greater reaction,” the hunter said apologetically as he stepped across the creek. “As you can see, though, we have a goodly number of guests already, and only so much attention to go around.”
“Oh, that’s perfectly okay,” Juniper assured him, splashing through the water. “I’m not much for ceremony anyhow, I’d rather everyone be comfortable. Wow, you really do have a lot of company, though!”
The grove was fairly teeming with activity, the central area encircled by the stream set up with multiple low tables and cushions; elves were seated, standing and chatting everywhere. Some were eating, others apparently giving full attention to their conversations. A circle off to one side were passing around a fragrant pipe. In addition to the wood elves native to the grove, there were at least equal their number in guests. Even to a viewer not sufficiently familiar with elves to distinguish between the shapes of their ears and shades of their eyes, the sun-bleached buckskins of the visitors revealed them to be a plains tribe.
“What with all that is happening in the world lately,” their guide said with a smile, “the elders have deemed it a good time to reach out to others of our kin with whom we may not have much regular contact.”
“Anishai, don’t bore honored guests with tedious tribal politics,” Elder Sheyann said, gliding swiftly toward them from the circular table in the center of the grove. She wore a welcoming smile, but gave Anishai a very flat look. “Would you go help Elraene, please? She is guiding a group of our visiting cousins through the forest.”
“Of course, Elder,” the hunter said, bowing to her, then nodded to his charges with a smile. “You are in good hands, now. Again, welcome, and safe travels to you.” He backed away for two steps, bowing politely, before turning and bounding off into the trees.
“It’s wonderful to see you again so soon, Juniper,” Sheyann said warmly. “And welcome, Marshal, to our grove.”
“My thanks, madam, sir,” Marshal Avelea said politely, tipping her hat. Sheyann glanced over her shoulder, quirking an eyebrow as Elder Shiraki joined them.
“Welcome indeed, daughter of Naiya,” Shiraki said, smiling at Juniper. “Truly, we are blessed to see thee again in our midst. Will thy classmates attend us again, as well?”
“Oh…no, we’re actually dismissed for the summer,” Juniper said, her expression growing more pensive. “I came alone. This is, uh, sort of a personal visit.”
“Ah, so?” Shiraki said, turning to give the Marshal a politely inquisitive look.
“I’m just her temporary guardian, sir,” Avelea said. “Dryads aren’t generally wanted around population centers. Juniper’s a special case, but even she’s not to be in Tiraan territory without a University or Imperial escort.”
“Quite reasonable,” Sheyann said with a bland smile. “Of course, per the Elven Reservation Act, you are not in Tiraan territory.”
“I understand that fully, ma’am,” said the Marshal. “Obviously you’re plenty busy, and the last thing I want is to intrude on your privacy. I’d be glad to retreat, but I’ll need to wait until she’s ready to return to Sarasio…”
“The Act contains stipulations concerning the transfer of such responsibilities between Imperial and tribal personnel,” Sheyann said in perfect calm, still wearing that gentle smile. “You are, of course, welcome to stay and enjoy our hospitality. If you would prefer to contact your superiors or study the rebuilding progress in the town, though, I believe it will be quite acceptable for you to leave Juniper in our care. It will be no trouble at all to notify you when she wishes to depart. We have been made much more welcome in Sarasio recently; many of our young hunters would be glad of an excuse to visit the town.”
“Well, that’s very accommodating of you,” Marshal Avelea said with imperfectly concealed relief. “If you’re sure it’s not an imposition…”
“Not in the least.”
“My thanks, then, ma’am. I’ll be waiting in town; you can find me at the Imperial office. Juniper, I’ll…see you later, then.” She tipped her hat once more, politely, then turned and strode back the way they had come, moving more quickly than before.
“Please don’t be offended,” Juniper said as Avelea vanished into the forest, an elven guide slipping into place alongside her. “It’s nothing against your hospitality, I’m sure. She’s terrified of me. I haven’t got the full story, but from hints, I think she knows someone who had a run-in with one of my sisters. Knew someone, I guess I should say,” she added more quietly.
“I must confess, Juniper, I am nearly as curious as pleased to see thee so soon,” Shiraki intoned. “Pray tell, what wind hast brought thee—”
“Okay, I’m sorry, I don’t want to be rude, but couldja please cut that out?” she said plaintively, turning to face him. “It’s weird and it makes me feel like you’re making fun of me.”
Sheyann made an insincere effort to smother a chuckle behind her hand.
Shiraki stared at Juniper for a moment, mouth slightly open, then gave his fellow Elder a sidelong glance. “Oh…fine. You may laugh, but it impresses the hell out of the rubes.”
“I’m sorry to say I cannot refute that statement,” Sheyann said gravely, but with mirth still in her eyes. “He makes a good point, though, Juniper. What brings you back to see us?”
“Well…” The dryad looked down at her bare feet. “It’s kind of… I mean, I’m not quite sure how to…”
“Why don’t we retreat to my sleeping space, so we can talk in privacy?” Sheyann suggested.
“Um… Sure? But, y’know, everyone here is elves, and I know you don’t have soundproof walls.”
“But,” Sheyann said gently, “it is a comfortable place, where you can relax and take whatever time you need to find the words for what is troubling you.”
“And, being elves, we are amply practiced at not hearing what is none of our business,” Shiraki said solemnly. “I don’t hear all sorts of things right now. Multi-tribal gatherings like this are always mysteriously followed by a good number of births a year or so later. It’s inexplicable.”
Juniper cracked a grin at that. “Okay…thanks. That sounds good.”
To say nothing of not being soundproof, Sheyann’s home didn’t even have walls. A woven roof of vines and leaves kept off the rain; apart from that, it might have resembled a huge bird’s nest in the crook of one of the great trees, if not for the belongings arranged on shelves and pegs affixed to nearby branches. Fallen limbs were arranged to form a bowl-shaped platform, which was heavily padded with straw and feathers, topped with a layer of quilts. She had no furniture, but there was basically no place not to sit.
“I want you to teach me about nature,” Juniper burst out, after a full five minutes of sitting in silence.
The two elves raised their eyebrows in unison, looked at each other, then back at the dryad.
“Forgive me,” Shiraki said finally, “but that begs for a little more explanation.”
“It’s just… I mean… I think I’m a bad person,” Juniper said softly, staring down at the quilt between her feet. “And…I mean that in both senses of the term.”
“What…are the two senses of that term?” Sheyann asked.
Juniper sighed heavily. “Someone who habitually does bad things… And just…” She raised her eyes at last. “And I’m just bad at being a person. I never had a reason to realize it until I started spending time among mortals. But there’s a way to do it, and nobody ever taught me how. I’m learning from my friends, and other people I meet, but there are so many things that just don’t come to me. Stuff everyone’s so accustomed to taking as given that they don’t even know how to explain it.”
“May I ask what brought this on?” Sheyann asked quietly.
“I’ve…had to accept some things,” Juniper said, lowering her gaze again. “My whole life I always assumed…basically, that whatever I wanted was right, and that made it perfectly natural. That’s how my sisters all live, and they were the only example I had, y’know?” She sighed. “Apparently, the word for that is ‘spoiled.’ I don’t want to offend you religiously or anything, I know my mother is very important to you… But honestly the more I learn, the more let down I feel. She didn’t teach me anything. Me, or any of my sisters. She never tried. And we’re not automatically right, and thinking we are and that that is what nature is means none of us even understand nature. Or people. I suck at both. So… I’m learning about people at school, but… I thought elves would be the best people to ask about the natural world.” She glanced up shyly. “You work so hard at being in balance with it.”
“Juniper,” Shiraki said after a thoughtful pause, “will you be offended if I speak frankly about Naiya?”
“I… Probably not. If I am, I’ll get over it. I think more frankness is pretty much what I need right now.”
He nodded. “In frankness, then. We revere Naiya, yes. We also are very respectful of cyclones, earthquakes and wildfires. And diseases. The magic she provides is of great importance to us, but… Reverence does not necessarily connote fondness.”
“Naiya,” Sheyann said, “is an old lady who has gone far too long without being meaningfully challenged. She accumulates ‘daughters’ the way other old ladies collect cats, and with about the same degree of attachment. Woe betide any fool who raises a hand to one of her darlings, but if one wanders off and never comes home…” She shrugged. “Well, that’s life. And there are always more where they came from.”
“Wow,” Juniper muttered.
“It’s entirely possible that you are the most self-aware dryad alive at this moment,” Shiraki said with a smile. “At least, I have never heard of one having this particular conversation. Those of your sisters who have come to face painful truths, or anything particularly painful, have tended to create their own doom.”
“Yeah, I know,” she said sadly. “I guess…I’m fairly lucky to have avoided that. Maybe Avei’s intervention stabilized me a bit…”
“Avei?” Sheyann asked, tilting her head. “Does this have to do with the obstruction in your aura? I do not perceive divine magic directly, but I have learned to recognize its presence by the shadow it casts.”
“She…punished me,” Juniper mumbled. “For something I did. I asked her to. It was pretty harsh, but… I felt better in the end. Like, it balanced me, sort of. Does that make sense?”
“That is what justice is,” Shiraki said, nodding.
“Yeah…I guess so. Anyway, she cut me off from Naiya. I’m, well, on my own now.”
Again, the Elders shared a look.
“To cut you off from your mother is beyond the scope of Avei’s abilities,” said Sheyann. “Naiya’s power dwarfs hers, by a wide margin. Even if such a thing were done, it would simply kill you on the spot; the goddess’s power is what animates you. However, it is well within her reach to place a concealment upon you. Not diminishing the magic of your being, but hiding you from your mother’s sight.”
“Such a thing could only work because Naiya is rather inattentive,” Shiraki added. “Forgive me for saying it, but I feel it is best you have the truth. In all probability she thinks you dead. What she has done about this, if anything, I could not even guess.”
Juniper sighed heavily.
“And so,” Sheyann said thoughtfully, “a dryad comes to us, seeking to learn the ways of the druids.”
“What?” Juniper raised her head. “Oh… Um, not really? I mean, sure, I’m interested in understanding the natural world. I mean, with knowledge. I can communicate with basically anything alive, and I can attune to nature, but… It’s very intuitive? Not really rational. And my perspective is… I think the word I want is tainted. Even knowing, cognitively, how wrong I was, I’m still all mixed up about what is and isn’t right. As if whatever thing it occurs to me to do should be the natural thing, even though I know in my mind that’s not always true. Not usually true,” she added morosely.
“Then you’re already ahead of much of the training,” Sheyann said with a smile. “But druidism is what you want to learn, Juniper. The way of nature.”
“I don’t…think…I need more power. I have lots of power, even if I can’t do much with it. I sort of have the feeling that more power would just give me more opportunities to mess up.”
“That is considerable wisdom for someone so young,” Shiraki said, grinning outright. “But no, you are confusing the path of the druid with that of the shaman. A druid must learn some fae magic, it is true, but mostly for the purpose of doing things which your very nature makes instinctive. For the most part, it is a course of study. Of knowledge, and understanding. The science of the wild.”
“Biology, as the dwarves have it,” Sheyann added. “The distinction seems to help them; perhaps it would help you.”
“Biology,” Juniper mused, then nodded slowly. “Okay. That… Yeah. Maybe that. And also, um, ethics. I feel dumb asking questions about what my friends consider basic stuff. I just… I don’t want to hurt any more people unless they deserve it.”
“We can work on that, too,” Sheyann said gravely.
“I only have three months, though. I’m…guessing becoming a druid takes more time than that.”
“We would not dream of impeding your studies,” Shiraki said dryly. “Versatility is a great asset.”
“In any case,” added Sheyann, “any task worth completing would look impossible if you looked at the whole thing from one vantage. A journey can only be taken one step at a time.”
“Unless you can teleport,” Juniper said reasonably.
Sheyann sighed. “Then again, perhaps we should take full advantage of having you out from under Arachne’s thumb for a little while.”
Shiraki glanced fleetingly through the branches at the gathering below, but placed his full attention on the dryad before she felt any reason to follow his eyes. Absorbed in their conversation, Juniper took no note of the soft stir that resonated through the grove as a small party of drow took their place among the elders at the central table.
The Gods are Bastards 
I think this is the earliest a chapter’s ever been posted before deadline. Also possibly the shortest chapter in the whole story thus far, but it was appropriate for the content.
So, changes of plans!
First of all, my vacation is canceled. Don’t worry, I would definitely still be taking time off if I felt it was necessary; I sure felt that way a week ago, but as I’ve continued to recover from the episode, I don’t think the time off is needful now. It’s a question of learning to manage my creative energies and the demands upon them; apart from being okay to keep on truckin’, there’s a question of inertia. The longer I’m stopped, the harder it would be to get started again.
With regard to that, I’m contemplating the necessary changes to the donation incentive system and come up with a couple of possibilities. At issue, I think, is that I have discovered the upper limit of what I can produce while remaining emotionally stable and not causing the quality of the writing to suffer, and quite by coincidence it’s what I’ve been doing this whole time. I can handle three chapters a week. More starts to wear on me, and it completely shut me down after just a few weeks last time. There is also the matter that I want to start working on some more creative projects. Projects related to TGAB, don’t worry; among other things, this site is crying out for some art, and I have some shiny new hardware I was given that’ll help me create it.
So I’ve come up with two possibilities.
One is to double the donation goals and move it to a two-week schedule. I think I can maybe do an extra chapter every two weeks. This is still adding more work, though, and does nothing to alleviate the current burden to let me do other things.
The other is simply (and this is usually a good practice) to copy what Wildbow does. He apparently started out with a thrice-weekly schedule, just as I did, then went to his current program, where there are two regular free updates, and a third one if the donation goal is met.
On the one hand, the more I think about it, the more I believe this would suit my needs ideally. On the other, a large part of me rebels at the thought. I started this serial with a thrice weekly update schedule, and irrationally or not, that feels like a tacit promise to me. There’s part of me that regards this whole thing as holding something for ransom that I was offering free. I don’t know how reasonable that idea is, but it has emotional weight to me, and it’s sitting there in the front of my mind.
I would love to hear people’s opinions on this. In any case, we’ll be heading into a week of bonus chapters next, which I think you’ll enjoy–it offers glimpses of someone whose background has mostly only been hinted at thus far. The new donation system–whatever that ends up being–won’t go into effect until the week after.
See you Monday!
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You could still take the vacation, write the chapters and post them the week after. That way you’d be able to build up a buffer.
This could also help you with the donation updates.
I agree with you, changing the current third weekly chapter to a donation update feels wrong somehow. But that shouldn’t matter. Pick the option you are most comfortable with, that allows you the most creative freedom and has the lowest chance of burning yourself out. We’ll get used to eventually.
The question is, what makes you more money? Because I think you could use some more. Have a look at the donations and the Patreon funding and try to figure out when people donated the most and what for.
I would prefer to have at least three updates week or if that wasn’t possible, then two longer ones. 😉
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Maybe make the decision on how you decide to post chapter something exclusive to patreon donaters. Just set a bare minimum requirement of ten cents a month, then provide anyone who meets that requirement with a link to a google survey asking them their preferred voting system. Assuming that’s possible and there isn’t some reason to prefer paypal over patreon, I don’t know much about the donation system, it just doesn’t seem very fair to donaters to let non-donaters in on the decision.
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I’ve mentioned my opinion: you aren’t obliged in any way, moral or otherwise, to produce 3 chapters a week unpaid. Not in the slightest. Work out what works for you and then people can choose whether or not to read and/or donate.
On another subject, what would a dwarf druid biologist look like, I wonder?
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Seconded!
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Hear, hear! 😀
A change of schedule, if it goes ahead, is par for the course. After all, if a writer can’t experiment with how they do things to find what Turkey works for them while using us, the internet and themselves as guinea pigs, then why is this whole tool in place, anyway?
Change happens. That’s life. 🙂
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AVR is exactly right. Your effort has value, and you should feel no shame in monetizing it – however that ends up structured. If your self-reflection shows that this is amount you can produce, you don’t owe us an apology for not producing more.
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A couple of general notes:
Any plan that doesn’t allow for some sort of minor problem in the plan is going to fail sooner or later. So if you crank things up to maximum output and then it somehow goes over that, well, problem. So, while I personally really like the M-W-F schedule, but if you have to go to M-F with possible donation fillers, it is a better plan for you.
Also, you seem set on extra chapters as a donation bonus. There are other options that were discussed previously – if they are not what you want or can reasonably allow, then extra chapters it is, but other things are possible. As one example, I personally would not want an in-world cameo, but that’s me, others might be thrilled.
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As a Patreon funder, I would like you to keep three updates a week, but post the. One day later for people who don’t donate. Alternately have it as a group thing. If you get 25 dollars outside of Patreon you release all the chapters that week as soon as you finish instead of one day later.
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I think it sounds like a great idea. You don’t owe us the story–if what you need, to balance your own responsibilities with your energies, is a 2 and 1 scheme, by all means, go for it.
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BTW, I find Juniper’s continuing assumption that Morality and Natural are pretty much synonymous just adorable. They aren’t, of course–nearly opposites. In Nature, the strong do as they will and the weak suffer as the must. Which is pretty much how the dryads live. Very Natural, not at all Moral.
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If you were comfortable with it, you could, instead of doing anything with the chapters, let people influence the story. Set a certain donation goal which allows your patreon perples, or just all your readers, to vote on a couple of things that you’re fine with independent of the outcome. I’m sure people would love to influence the story in small ways.
You could also say that for every 50 dollars donated you get, you search for a broken mirror and fix it.
And finally my worst idea:
Instead of offering an extra chapter, write a character reading an earlier chapter, should be less work and could be quite humorous.
What I’m basically saying is, people will still donate even if it’s not for a chapter and you should fix mirrors and gather four-leaf clovers.
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I love this serial- it’s my favorite after worm, narrowly edging out Twig (I admit to a strong personal preference for high fantasy over biopunk). Only two chapters in a week would make me very sad D: That said, a Wildbow-esque update schedule is a pretty good idea. I don’t want to see this serial go the way of Rasa, or hpmor (yes, it finished eventually, but it took FOREVER) and Wilbow has managed to finish multiple works at a good pace by doing it his way.
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Really enjoyed this chapter. And Juniper trying to learn Morality when she notices she is lacking is admirable.
On the update schedule I say you should do the 2 regular updates and one from donation if you think that is what works best for you. Saying that though I am not able to donate at the moment so I feel the people who do donate should comment on their preceded method.
Thanks for the chapter.
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do whatever you feel is best for you, i think a 2 chapter + donation chapter is alright too.. just take care of yourself first and foremost.
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Truthfully given the quality of the writing and the enjoyment I gain from reading it, I’d say 3 chapters DAILY but I am also a very patient person (one web serial I read has recently had an update after about 12 months and I didn’t mind too much) so a schedule that works for you and does not court burnout is very much what I would support (purely self serving I love this story and the characters being developed, I want to continue to read about this world and them). If a 2 with a donation bonus per week is what you feel would be sustainable I’ll be checking for a new chapter a couple times a week and be very happy when I get a third. For myself the update schedule of a web serial is whatever the author decides I mean they are already being nice enough to allow us to share their world in a small way.
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Typos:
A circle off to one side were
A circle off to one side was
(this is actually clearer as a plural but more grammatically correct as a singular, so perhaps…)
A circle of elves off to one side was
Reactions:
Juniper’s learning plan seems odd – learning druidism/biology to learn interactions with sapient beings is sort of going the long way around. And her viewpoint will be skewed towards elven thinking by her choice of teachers. From a practical standpoint, they are by far the best to learn from, i.e. free.
The mention of drow and how Shiraki is deliberately keeping Juniper from noticing his interest seems to be a hint as to further developments. I wonder if Scyllene drow are somehow allying with (or tricking) the elves. Neither makes a huge amount of sense. There were a couple of pockets of Themynra drow who haven’t allied with the empire, so that might be them.
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Crazy idea – Maybe the doom that is coming is a war between the Pantheon deities and non-Pantheon Deities? If Scyllyth and Naiya were to join forces with Themynra, Ellilial, and whoever else they’d have available, maybe even some defected Pantheon deities, that’d be a pretty serious issue. Especially if the Pantheon forces the Empire into the mix on top of whatever forces the various gods could bring to the table.
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My default asumption was that they were emissaries/diplomats of Shaeine’s House, or at least country. They would be the “cousins” Anishai was tasked to guide, early in the chapter.
This clicks well with how the grove is trying to reconnect and extend its network with other tribes.
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I came down to the comments section for the first time so I could tell you how much I love TGAB 😀
I’ve been reading since pretty much the beginning but since I Add to Pocket (which only saves the bulk text of the story) & read offline I’ve never thought to post a comment til now.
TGAB is honestly one of the best things I’ve ever read, and I read a lot! I try to encourage my friends & family but find it an uphill struggle, despite my enthusiasm 😦 I think the whole ‘Web serial’ thing is something that many people can’t get their heads around – anyone else find that? But a couple have tried it, and really enjoyed it 🙂 I continue on my quest to lure people here so they can understand my joy when new chapters come out and some of my references 🙂
Anyway I think your output is a very personal thing and you should only do that which you know will keep you going in the long term. I too am a creative type, like my mother before me, and I have known the hell that is ‘burnout’, and now suffering from several energy sapping illnesses I have a Masters degree in Pacing. I think pacing is the key here. Of course we would all love to read new chapters every day but we know that isn’t reality. At the end of the day we all want, nay need, you to take care of yourself, and if that means only one or two chapters a week, then so be it 🙂 Anything else is just a bonus.
You don’t have to write for our pleasure, but you do and for that I am eternally grateful 😆 So thanks for being awesome and giving me many hours of entertainment and happiness – here’s to many more in the future 😆
xoxo
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My thanks to everyone for their observations; I’ve had some great food for thought, here.
A quick update: Chapter is half-written and I’m at work right now, so it’s likely to be up an hour or so late. My apologies. It’s turning out longer than anticipated, so hopefully it’ll all be worth the wait. Once posted I will also have a much more detailed author comment concerning the donation incentives under consideration, as well as other stuff.
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Amazing how.simple yet complicated juniper makes learning morals and real nature lore look :p
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