This is an excerpt from The Jade Star of Athering, a sequel to Dead Transgressions set 10,000 years later and right after the events in Bellica.
Bellica Agate has been ordered to travel to Southland to negotiate with the army of Gypsies and their Queen that have laid siege to the province. She decides to pray at the temple before leaving.
Ixchel had no temples, no buildings of stone or wood; She did not even have a place in the services offered at the Temple. Agate doubted any of the priestesses even knew of Her.
In fact, no one in Athering knew of the Rainbow-Moon Goddess. Agate had learned that well as a child. So she’d kept her worship hidden, a secret – even let her wedding ceremony be a Paixemortienne one, as Damien had wished. It was best no one thought her crazy, or worse – a traitor.
At the end of her prayer she felt the faint flutter of butterfly wings against her forehead, and she looked up to see the insect that had greeted her. There was nothing but empty air. She smiled, knowing her Goddess spoke to her once again after many years of silence, and felt her spirits lifted slightly at the thought of going home.
Home, after all, was closer to Ixchel than Atherton or Harbourtown had ever been.
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Amoeba Kat Musings 
Lovely snippet. 🙂
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Smiled at the butterfly…it's nice when the Goddess sends one of beautiful creatures to say hello.
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Fun little snippet…definitely gives a sense of the character.
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Cool touch with the butterfly. Looking forward to seeing more from this work 🙂
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Neat snippet. You get a feel for the character and her world. Like the butterfly touch.
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Interesting snippet, you've made me want to read more. It's good when Goddesses send messages… 🙂
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I like the subtle touch with the butterfly. But now I'm wondering what happened to cause Ixchel's worship to be kept a secret in the first place. Intriguing!
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Beautiful way to evoke a mood in this piece, moving us through the character's eyes from loneliness to hope. Loved the symbolism of the butterfly–very appropriate for Ixchel.
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Yes, I see foreshadowing here. Contacted by the Goddess once again, her purpose for being will be realized. (Can’t hide that light forever, girl.)
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Ooh! Very nice. I concur – love the touch with the butterfly..
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Thank you. 🙂
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Thanks. I like the idea of animals as divine messengers, too. 🙂
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Oh, good. 🙂 I'm finding Agate is very tightly woven, and the farther I get in her story, the more she comes unraveled and the more I learn about her.
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Ooooh, right on! 🙂
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Thank you. 🙂
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Thank you! And I'm hoping to get Jade Star published this year, so more should be seen in the coming months. 🙂
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Thank you. I try to keep true to the spirit of the Goddesses I write about, even if I do take liberties with Their myths and characters. I feel I have to — a new world may have the deities of Old Earth, but They will change necessarily from the move, and new beings will come to be worshiped as well. It's a delicate balance to walk.
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I'm glad! Thank you.
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Ah, well, Ixchel is not an Atherian Goddess, and while Agate has lived most of her life within Athering's borders, she's not fully Atherian either…and Athering is not entirely up to speed with neighboring nations' religious practices. 😉
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Yay! This is what I love to hear. 🙂
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To everyone: thank you! Your comments have been so lovely that they've galvanized me to start work on this WIP again and hopefully get it done and published this year.
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