Embedded Files
Mooncalf
About Me
Hello! My name is Cassandra, (She/Her) I'm a queer writer who loves, cows, fantasy, history, reading, and my cat Rosemary.
Summary
I wrote the introductory chapters to a book I've had in my head for my years, with a set of characters I've used in art for even longer. (Note: none of the art used here is my own work though!).
Selene was born into a world where all magic is born of death, and sacrifice. She is of a race of anthropomorphic cows who hail from Illuma, a kingdom which worships the moon Goddess. She is technically next in line to rule, though her zealot father has other plans for her. He instead wishes for her to be sacrificed to the moon, and for her body to be used as a vessel for the Goddess to exist amongst mortals.
Though Selene has been raised with this purpose in mind, she changes her mind last minute and accidentally ends up stealing the Goddess's power accidentally during the sacrificial ritual.
She escapes Illuma and ends up at the borders of Solena, the sun-kingdom, whom her kind have been at war with for centuries. The dragons who live there are anything but kind, and Selene will be forced to navigate their world in order to discover the truth behind the origins of the war that's raged between Solena and Illuma for longer than any mortal can remember.
Reflection
Before this class, I had written up only a few scenes for Mooncalf. However I was never very good at ever writing in order, and I'd re-written the intro alone almost a dozen times. So for this project I wanted to actually get past the introduction, and write properly in order.
This was much more difficult than I'd initially anticipated, There were several scenes I didn't want to write, but knew would be beneficial for the narrative. Just getting them down on paper, in whatever form I could manage was something I struggled with. Everything I write typically comes from a place of passion. Writing while I am unmotivated is very difficult, and I feel as though when I write while unmotivated the result is terrible. Pushing past this was hard, but necessary. Just getting the bones of these troublesome scenes down helped me a lot when I went back and edited them to be more to my liking.
A Short Excerpt from the Introduction
"The beast’s chest is spread open towards the sky, its ribs have flipped from the impact of the heavy ax upon its sternum. Somehow, the first image in my mind is the partially outstretched wings of a butterfly. In some sense, the gory scene of displaced, flesh-laden ribs before me does resemble the insect. I was just distracting myself though.
“A death too noble for a creature so violent and primitive. Hopefully Selene will find some use for his soul within her grand cosmic plan.”
My father’s words lull demurely in my mind, all except that name. Selene, the Goddess whose namesake- and visage I share. Whose essence my body is destined to house. I look to the stained glass dome circling the moonlit skylight, her image is seen several times. A white cow, with striking red eyes and flowing ivory waves spattering stardust in her wake. Will she be kind to the centaur’s soul? I look at his figure, splayed lifelessly upon the white marble altar, its pristineness now darkened with blood. He’s some kind of feline, with thick brown fur, and six now limp, pawed limbs. His face is still twisted into a scream. Though his eyes hold no life now, I remember the look he gave before the ax struck. And the bellow that followed it, cut short.
I wonder if anyone else bothered to notice, or cared how much his eyes changed after death."
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