Raiyne sprinted through the city. Whitewasher towers and high rises loomed over them, blocking the sky. The city had always frightened her with its sameness. Her child clung to her side for dear life. Blaring sirens grew steadily closer and she ran faster. On the horizon she could see the forest. That fact gave her strength and she ran harder.
The voice in her head spoke frantically, "Hurry put her in the forest, they will hurt her if they catch her. Liana will sit in a room and be observed by every scientist and doctor to figure what she is. She is only a child yet." Sobs erupted and Raiyne covered her ears.
Her footsteps pounded on the path now. Dust and dirt flew behind her. The green forest came closer. Hearing the wind sighing through the tree filled her with hope. She was out of the city and the forest was within reach. She whispered soft and reassuring words to Liana, the child on her hip.
"You'll be fine. Just follow your instincts. Your mother will be there to greet you. Promise, promise, you'll stay in the forest. Damasti is full of raving lunatics; they will do anything to get the data on an Elve. Even if it means the murder of a child. I will be there always, in your memories.”
The small toddler looked at her, fully aware of what was going on. She was older than her years, her mind was anyways. Liana's eyes brimmed with tears. They were at the edge of the forest; Raiyne could go no further, not without leaving the life she had never known.
She bounced up and down with the girl on her hip. Liana and Raiyne turned to face the forest together. Her black dress fluttered in the wind. Only the leaves broke the barrier of the two different worlds. Liana was still dressed in her pajamas, in the rush she had forgotten to pack anything for her.
Taking the child off her hip, she set her gently on the ground. Liana stooped over and picked up a leaf and handed it to Raiyne.
“When you see this, think of me. I certainly will never forget you. That leaf will give you luck and hope when there is none close. I love you Raiyne,” said Liana.
Raiyne turned her head and observed everything. She had to occupy her mind before the unshed tears of departure overflowed. This would upset the child even more, maybe to the point she wouldn’t leave. Hopefully the people she was about to meet would understand her like the ones here didn’t.
Raiyne turned the leaf over in her hand. The gold veins stood out from the bright green. Raiyne filed it in her memory. The forest truly was magical. It was the last time Liana would ever see Raiyne, the woman that had been her caretaker since she was born. Her silent guardian and protector.
“Goodbye,” whispered Raiyne softly.
Liana ran into the forest, and Raiyne faced the city, sirens growing ever closer to find someone that no longer existed in the Realm. Raiyne would take the punishment, no matter how dire.
Points:
Time spent:
Canary word: Present
Possible AI signals:
Original Text:
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Thank you all for taking your time to post these awesome reviews. They will really help my story out. I'll get to editing it soon. To tired and my mind can't grasp it tonight. But again, thanks. Its nice to see what everyone thinks needs to be improved upon, and I agree.
On the whole, it holds potential. It was semi-difficult to read this with the sentences being so difficult. It's great to vary the lengths so that your point is not ended by a period and prepares the readers mind for something completely fresh... if that makes any sense?
Anyway! It was good! I normally don't read fantasy fiction and whatnot, but this was good. Keep writing!
Remember to pay attention to:
Sentence Length: Vary the length of your sentences; compound sentences would be useful here. The point of them is so that the reader doesn't cut off the thought train from the previous sentence and prepare their mind for an entirely new idea.
Clarity: It was hard to tell whose actions were whose. I was confused with the scenario at first, so in the future, remember to pay attention to the points of clarity
Keep it up. Good job Kay!
xxJune
oklay, i'm going to do my nit picky copy editor act (sorry bout it)
first off don't use sameness. it just sounds wrong. use something like uniformity. second what about that uniformity is frightening. expand.
okay don't say fact. we got that it the forest is a fact when you told us it was there.
don't use frantically. try not to use adverbs in general, please
besides if you say hurry after that it simply becomes redundant. it is also redundant when we find out she is running from sirens. running and sirens implies a frantic convict tone upon it.
figure out first off. secondly remove the yet. it makes no sense.
sobs erupted from who?
eliminate fully. it is irrelevant. if you just say aware the reader will assume that she knows exactly what is happening. you create a different scenario with different words for when she isn't
how can you leave a life you've never known. and if you do, since you don't know it, what is the emotional attachment?
okay tht was actually pretty good. i usually have a lot more problems with pieces. i like the suspense you leave us in by not telling us what exactly Liana is. but the whole child talking eloquently seemed a little weird. and the long parting being followed by the police (or whatever was blaring those sirens) didn't seem to fit the rushed mood of the piece. 8/10 in my book.
Hey Kaylyn! Let's see what you've got!
Wow! Very interesting piece! And very promising!
Overall:
The Good: As usual, when you do describe things, your prose is beautiful, however, I think you didn't describe as much as you should have!
Stuff You Should Work on:
This Story is about...?: Okay, so when writing you should always ask yourself "What is this story about?" What is the internal conflict, external conflict, is there a conflict at all? When I was reading the story, I realized I really couldn't pinpoint what the conflict is. All the readers see is that a woman is taking a child to the woods to protect her from people that will do bad things to her. Show us more of a conflict in Raiyne. Show us more of how much she is attached to this child. Does she hesitate before letting her go? I also think this is a problem because of the length. You need to add more context for us because I got a little lost. Suspense is good, but I'd rather be shown exactly why Raiyne has to flee with this child on this specific night. Is she threaten? Is she forced to make a choice? Answering these questions will make the piece much more nuanced and interesting.
Sir, Can I Have Some More?: Like I say in the paragraph above, we need more of exposition, context, more of the beginning. Give us more of a reason to care, because right now, I don't feel the attachment between the two characters. I also am having trouble really getting my head around the amount of danger they are in. Give us more to go off of so I can truly understand why you are telling us this story, why we should hear about this heartwrenching separation.
The Three Ds: Description, Dialogue, and Detail. I think I might have mentioned this in your other piece I critiqued. I want more of each. You just didn't have enough in the piece to give me a good picture of your world and everything in it. I also want to know more about your main characaters. Right now, they feel a bit flat. Make them 3D, make them interest, make them stand out. It again begs the questions, "Why should we care?" Make us care by creating awesome characters.
Great job! PM me if you have any questions!
Salve, Kaylyn! Long time no see, ay? Your review coming up! *You see a man dragging a body through the an open door behind me. I smile and close the door*.
1.
A lot of information for a child, even though you say that she understands. plus I didn't get this sentence : o.O
2.
Strong words. Almost made me cry (seriously).
Well this chapter is small and stuffed with descriptions which are amazingly done. That`s all that I can say. Hope it helps. Luck!
-Akayl