Thorks! Is there any man, woman, child, or beast who would not be horrified by the hideousness of the thork’s slinking composition and needle-sharp teeth? The very sight of them is enough to drive the stoutest heart to quivering and madness! And yet, this paragraph’s vastness and beauty laugh at the horror of thorks and their squirming.
After a few minutes of hard running, Janner and Baxter burst from the line of the forest and tumbled into the snow.
When he had caught his breath, Janner stood and brushed himself off, making sure they had left the thorks behind. The sun had crested the horizon and it gilded the wintry hilltops stretching away for miles. It was beautiful country, and the vastness reminded Janner not only that he was far from home—but that he was lost. Whichever way Baxter had come into the woods to find him, it wasn’t here. And there was no way Janner was going back into those woods to find the trail. Part of him was glad, because it meant the test was fair again, and with a prayer of thanksgiving for Leeli he sat next to Baxter, relishing the sun’s warmth as he finished the breakfast the thorks had interrupted. He was surprised to realize that, alone in the bright snowy morning, he was happy.
—From chapter 5, “Thork Whacking”
Pick a favorite excerpt from your reading this week (from chapters 1-6 or anywhere else), and post it below! Then, come hang out with us in the forum. I’d love to hear some stories about blindplopping! 🙂
p.s. Have you preordered Andrew’s new album yet? 😉
I know this is later in the book, but I love the chapter “Maraly’s Name.” It is a very powerful, meaningful passage.
Today I feel the need of something to laugh at, so I chose this passage. I love how Kal is still himself, and still a kid, no matter whether he is a king or not.
“Here,” Nia said as she draped a black cloak over Janner’s shoulders. He noticed when she drew near to fasten his brooch- which was in the shape of a crescent moon- that instead of looking up at her, they were eye to eye. “When did you get so tall?” Nia asked quietly. She adjusted his cloak and her hands lingered on his shoulders. “You look like a Throne Warden. Tall and handsome and humble. Keep an eye on Kalmar today. This ceremony is exactly the kind of thing he loathes.”
Janner glanced at Kal, who was hunched over the table, brushing crumbs from breakfast into a little pile, then licking them up.
“Kalmar!” Nia snapped, and he jerked upright and wiped his hands on his cloak.
“Kalmar!” Nia said again, and he grabbed a napkin from the table and cleaned his hands and cloak with a nervous laugh.
“Kalmar!” Nia said, snatching the napkin from him. He hadn’t noticed that it was soiled with sweet berry jam- jam that was now smeared all over his new cloak and his hands, which he absentmindedly wiped on his vest.
“Out!” Nia ordered.