Camp Nanowrimo Day 15

FINISHED!!

I know that I’ve probably got a lot of rewriting left to do, but for once, I actually feel very good about things the way that they are.

I wrote a tiny little epilogue at the end to leave things open for a potential spin-off book… but Caruwen’s story is finished.

Daily word count: 4,798

Total Camp word count: 49,995

Words total: 119,101

Read below for a sample of today’s chapter:

“A lot of you probably didn’t know Claden. Especially not in the way that I knew him. To you, he was probably little more than a son, the victim of unfortunate cir***stance. He was just like you. But to me, he was so much more. He was my savior, my teacher, and yes, for a brief moment, my lover. He gave his life protecting me. But before that, he was the first person who opened my eyes— and I mean truly opened my eyes— to the horrors that exist outside of my safe, little bubble of Aecre royalty.
“Under his careful guidance, I learned about planets like this one, where people die hourly. All so that the Aecre royals can have diamonds and sapphires and rubies. The Aecre royals don’t care about you. And you know all of this. And yet, you continue on in the mines, generation after generation. You’ve got to eat, you tell yourself. Your family would die if something would happen to you. And yet, you die of miner lung, of collapsed caves… and probably a lot of other, horrible things. Sometimes things that make you wish that you were dead. And you leave behind widows and children, who are so desolate that they all work themselves into early graves because there’s little else for them to do outside of stepping into the mines themselves.
“Claden told me about all of this. He said that his only escape was the military, which was only just another kind of death. And still, he would die a slave to the same people. ***ed if you do, ***ed if you don’t.”
Caruwen paused and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Claden was a good man. He had seen so much death in such a short amount of time, but he still cared enough about people to help them. Even a princess that represented the very thing that he was bitter about. When we first met, he said that he couldn’t blame me simply because I was a child. It was under his instruction that I learned so much, and I stopped being that child. I saw the world for what it truly was.
“I don’t know many of the people here on Swucanus. But I think that people are inherently good at heart. And what I do know is that nobody deserves to die of miner lung, to have their widows literally work themselves to death, and have their children meet that exact same fate. For generation after generation. This isn’t humane. When the Aecre tells you to go down into the mines or starve, and you tell them that people are dying by the dozen every single day… And when the Aecre don’t listen… They’re telling you that their comfort, their wealth, is somehow more important than the lives of hundreds of people.”
Caruwen paused again and looked out over the sea of people. Every single person’s attention was turned to her, or to the m***ive holoscreen behind her, that projected her image up for those in the back to see. Nobody spoke, and only a few shifted from foot to foot.
“After my wedding, I have only worn a few jewels. All mined from humane mines in the Blevi system. I visited them with Griren after our honeymoon, to ensure that conditions were acceptable for the miners, that if there were any workplace deaths, that they were all tragic accidents that nobody could have predicted, and that any widows and family left behind because of those unfortunate deaths were well compensated so that the widows wouldn’t work themselves into an early grave. The people that we spoke with there were happy with their work. They do it because they enjoyed the work… not because they were forced into the business, simply because it’s where their ancestor lived when the planet was suddenly occupied by a much larger government than their current one.
“And I know that I’m no longer an Aecre princess, but I strive to be the voice for the common people. The people that my own family shut out and refused to listen to generations ago. I know that I am just one person, but one person can make such a huge impact in the lives of many. Especially a person who has the power and wealth to do so.
“I’m not going to sit here and list off promises. Because I can’t tell you that things are going to get better for you in a year, five years, ten years. Because I don’t know what’s going to happen. I set off a domino effect with my story the day of my wedding. As I stand here, there are riots going on in the place that I once called home. The palace where I spent so many happy years has been burnt to the ground.”
Caruwen shook her head. “I’m not telling you that you need to storm to the capital and burn everything to the ground. Because such violence will only be met with even more violence. The Aecre might be losing their grip on everything that they once held so dear, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t still powerful.
“No. I was able to ignite riots on Eploigawa simply by stating uncomfortable truths. And if just my story can do such damage, can you imagine how the universe would react if you were to tell your stories? Just the few people that I’ve spoken with here have such sorrows. I saw that look in Claden’s eyes when he spoke about his dead family, about how he felt like his only option was to die in the mines or to die in battle, all for the Aecre. They wouldn’t remember his name. It would never be on a memorial. It would never appear in a history textbook. To the Aecre, Claden would have been nothing more than a warm body. If he died in the mines, then that meant just one more ruby for some king. If he died on the battle field, then that meant just one less Blevi soldier out in the world.”
Caruwen broke off, completely unable to speak for several minutes. Alfryn ran over to her and handed her a handkerchief. She wiped at her eyes and blew her nose. “The universe will remember Claden’s name forever, thanks to me. But I want for the universe to speak the names of those who were lost. Of your fathers, brothers, uncles, lovers, husbands, who were all lost to the mines on Swucanus. Of your mothers, sisters, aunts, lovers, wives who died struggling to support her children following the deaths of their husbands. Of the orphans, who struggled to grow up. Of the orphans who dreamed big and died isolated and exactly the same as those before them. I want you to tell their stories. Because the world deserves to know what happened to them just as much as the story of Claden.”
Caruwen then bowed her head and wept. And the people of Swucanus cried with her.

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I have six characters that belong to each of my accounts, and they are as follows:

sweettears90/sweettears17: Artemis "AJ" Joyce. A World Walker. Older sister to Amy and first cousin to Nit. Lives in New York with her sister, where they own a restaurant together.

littlepeach90/littlepeach17: Momo "Mo" Morigawa. A retired Japanese Magic Girl. She opened up her own PI business in Japan.

flautistgirl42/flautistgirl08: Molly von Strangle (nee Quinn). A human who married a fairy, named George von Strangle. They have a daughter together, Saoirse. They live part time in Northern California, part time in Fairy World. She works as a fashion journalist.

comealongpond/apollosgirl: Amelia "Amy" Joyce. A World Walker. Younger sister to AJ and first cousin to Nit. Lives in New York with her sister, where they own a restaurant together.

bowiesjulie/tinmachine90: Julie Jones. A time traveler and a famous pop-rock star-slash-fashion model. She lives in New York with her lover, David Jones, their daughter, Sarah, David's wife, Janan, and David's older daughter, Alex.

worldcreator90/shyginger4: Blathnat "Nit" Joyce. Half World Walker, half Fae. Lives part time in the Troll Kingdom, and part time in Arizona with her mom's family. First cousin to AJ and Amy. Married to Valko Illev. The oldest of the Troll Princesses, with four younger siblings. Her father is the Troll King, her mother is the Consort Queen. Her paternal grandfather is the High King. Her maternal great-grandfather is the North American leader of World Walkers.

Thanks to 30stmxfan for the Halloween pumpkin.


Thanks to abishag53 for the Christmas cake, the flowers, and the Christmas cake!

Thanks to Adrlynne for the Thanks to Adrlynne for the Aries painting, the puppy, the Christmas Penguin, the flying Piglet-thing, the Christmas snowman, the flowers, the other flowers, the doll, the fuzzy hat, the balloons, and the cake!

Thanks to a-frenchie for the flowers.

Thanks to aluralegend for the flowers, the St. Patrick's day hat-thing, the pile of presents, the puppy in the box, the plant, the other plant, the chocolates, the puppy in the box, the lamp, the diploma, the pink can, and the diploma!

Thanks to andybel for the pile of presents, the Russian nesting dolls, the bunny, and the jack in the box!

Thanks to animegirl654 for the balloons,the pile of presents, and the sun!

Thanks to angelJones for the birthday cake,the sign, the heart teddy bear, and the Easter bunny!

Thanks to anyamalfoy for the candles.

Thanks to arlekinlain for the Halloween skirt, the Christmas bear, the Medusa wig, the candles, the teddy bear, the candle, the reindeer plushie, kitty slippers!

Thanks to athena2 for the Christmas skirt and the potted plants!

Thanks to awesomeness9 for the sunflowers.

Thanks to aylet for the doll and the candy apples!

Thanks to babybanni for the flowers, the wig, the koala baby and mother, the balloons, the skirt, the Halloween cat, the Christmas decorations, , the wig, the flowers, the stack of books, the swan, the chocolates, the Christmas candle, the jewellery tree, the candy apples, and the Christmas tree!

Thanks to batsap for the mini Christmas tree, the fuzzy hat, the leprechaun doll, the puppy in the box, the pile of books, the clock, and the Christmas bell!

Thanks to bethyrpo for the potted plant.

Thanks to bianca96 for the pot of gold, the lucky horseshoe, the pile of presents, and the bunny plush!

Thanks to birdlyre for the Christmas sweater, the antler headband, the Christmas skirt, the Medusa wig, and the pillow!

Thanks to cocoberry for the confetti, bunny, birthday cake, and pile of presents!

Thanks to cornflower for the swan figurine, the fish bowl, the hanging plant, the pumpkin, the pillow, and the potted plant!

Thanks to cutegirl28 for the flowers.

Thanks to danutzik65 for the Christmas bell and the puppy in the box!

Thanks to darkgirrrl for the Christmas sweater and the cake!

Thanks to desertglace for the Celtic harp.

Thanks to dowii for the Christmas bear and the candle!

Thanks to duplica16 for the puppy, the sunflowers, the plant, the doll, the Christmas cake, the flowers, the pile of presents, the flowers, the reindeer plushie, the Christmas cake, the Valentine's day chocolates, the St. Patrick's Day snow globe, and the birthday cake!

Thanks to eliisa for the flowers, the doll, the Christmas bell, the Christmas candle, and the Christmas pillow!

Thanks to elonnany for the Christmas doll the mirror, the pillow, and the sign!

Thanks to emoxboi for the wig.

Thanks to euphraxia for the wig.

Thanks to faechild86 for the plant, the pencil bag, the Halloween skirt, the candy apples (sent to littlepeach90), the clock (sent to worldcreator90), the jack-in-the-box, the Christmas bear, the harp, the plant, the pile of presents, the bunny, the lamp, the flowers, the other flowers, the cactus, the Halloween candles, the other Halloween candles, the elf doll, the lamp (sent to bowiesjulie), the plant (sent to bowiesjulie), the Makona (sent to Bowiesjulie), the flowers, the other flowers, the hanging plant, the plants, the flowers, the bag, the Christmas elf, the flowers, the fish, the plant, the Easter egg, the fish, the painting, the earrings, the flowers, and the pig!!

Thanks to fairykisses for the wig, the flowers, the plant (sent to flautistgirl08), the flowers, the candle, kitty slippers, the Christmas elf, the Valentine's day chocolates, and the potted plant!

Thanks to goldenlight for the ladybug.

Thanks to hope4ever2 for the Christmas sweater and the Christmas kitty!

Thanks to iloveangel for the jack in the box and the potted plants!

Thanks to jazz333 for the fuzzy hat.

Thanks to joyceeileen for the flowers, the bunny, the teddy bear, the plant, the jack-o-lantern bag, the reindeer plushie, and the doll!

Thanks to julieanne1976 for the balloons.

Thanks to kikizmaj for the plants, the St. Patrick's Day scarf, headband, the koala baby and mother, and Easter egg!

Thanks to kiya1990 for the snowman plushie and the doll!

Thanks to kruna for the reindeer plushie.

Thanks to ladykikyo for the Christmas bear.

Thanks to lady0filia for the star.

Thanks to lavender248 for the ladybug.

Thanks to liloludiva for the pile of presents.

Thanks to madara for the plant and the pillow!

Thanks to maytiling for the flowers.

Thanks to Melody1231 for the gift box and the bust!

Thanks to mineyeung for the flowers, the wig, the bunny, the pile of presents, and the hanging plant!

Thanks to minty42 for the puppy in the box.

Thanks to mllemeg for the backpack, the lamp, and the pillow!

Thanks to monkey-may for the Halloween skirt and the Christmas bear!

Thanks to naturewitch for the wig.

Thanks to nicole194 for the Christmas bear, the balloons, the Christmas bell, the Christmas cake, the Halloween tag, the Halloween clock, the kitty slippers, the Christmas cake, the snowglobe, the earings, the wig, and the flowers!!

Thanks to n0regrets for the pillow.

Thanks to plasmablast for the gift bag.

Thanks to purpleiris for the flowers.

Thanks to ramonna for the plant and the teddy bear!

Thanks to rebeccajosefina for the cake.

Thanks to rheasilvia for the pot of clovers, the cake, the messenger bag, the balloons, the wig, the bunny plush, the flowers, birthday cake, Easter egg, the hanging plant, the Easter egg, the butterflies, and the flowers!!

Thanks to romi2000 for the St. Patrick's day headband, the other St. Patty's day headband, the gift box, the balloons, the pile of presents, and the spooky piglet thing!

Thanks to rosered86 for the doll.

Thanks to rubyheart08 for the flowers, the diploma, the pile of presents, and the doll!

Thanks to ryllme for the balloons.

Thanks to rubis for the doll.

Thanks to sanals08 for the teddy bear.

Thanks to saphie1 for the wig.

Thanks to shadow-dancer for the Easter egg.

Thanks to Sierradane for the Christmas moose, the gift box, the leprechaun doll, the candy apples, the skeleton, the two jack-in-the-boxes, the balloons, the other balloons, the pile of presents, the gift box, the plant, the jack-o-lantern bag, the reindeer plushie, the lamp, the two anime plush things, the hanging flowers, the skeleton, the flowers, the bunny, the jack in the box, the Christmas tree, the skirt, the elf, the moose pillow, the kitten in the stocking, the heart teddy bear, the ladybird, the wig, the pig, and the pile of presents!!

Thanks to seleby to the puppy in the box, the Christmas Penguin, the Halloween kitty, and the teddy bear!

Thanks to taemint for the plant.

Thanks to tahlenwing for the fuzzy hat, the balloons, the Halloween skirt, the St. Patrick's day hat-thing, the pile of presents, the jack-o-lantern bag, the reindeer plushie, the wig, the flowers, the tag, the zombie mask, the Christmas cake, the butterflies, the harp, the fish bowl, Easter egg, bunny,  innertube, Edward Scissorhands arm, the candy cane, the reindeer toy, the heart bear, the Easter bunny, and the flowers!

Thanks to tuvab for the plant, the bust, the stack of books, the St. Patrick's Day flower arrangement, the chocolates, the Christmas elf, the pig, Easter egg, the seashell, the bee doll, and the flowers!

Thanks to valdarella for the Christmas elf.

Thanks to veratte for the diploma and the box of chocolates!

Thanks to victoria8000 for the balloons.

Thanks to Vinya for the flowers, the stack of books, the teddy bear, the gift box, and the fish bowl!

Thanks to yoana for the bunny.

Thanks to Yuuki07 for the Christmas doll, the pot of gold, the pencil bag, the Halloween skirt, the Christmas bear,  the Medusa wig, the reindeer plushie, and the flowers!

Thanks to wagaza for the doll (sent to sweettears17).

Thanks to whisperingwitch/witch2004 for the pastry display, the flowers, the plant, the 3 Christmas bears, the balloons, the pile of presents, the jack-o-lantern bag, the Halloween bag, the reindeer plushie, the hanging plant, the tag, the Christmas box, the potted plants, and the necklace!

Thanks to xlollipopbunnyx for the swan, the pile of presents, the bell, and the bunny!

Thanks to Zarinen for the zombie doll, the Christmas kitty, the puppy in the hat, the giant pencil, the puppy in the box, the jack-o-lantern bag, the pillow, the wig, the flowers, the Edward Scissorhand's arm, the Christmas elf, the flowers, Easter egg, Easter basket, the bunny, the doll, the jack-o-lantern bag, the cacti planter, the plant, the Easter basket, the fish skeleton, the pig, and the flowers!!
Thanks to angeljones for this:

Thanks to bianca96 for this:



Thanks to darkelfqueen for the holiday greetings:



Thanks to joyceeileen for this:

Thanks to joynob18 for the birthday greetings:



Thanks to mineyeung for this:



Thanks to sierradane for the birthday greetings:



Thanks to zarinen for this birthday fanart: