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fredag den 25. marts 2022

Words for Wednesday -- Á Íslandi 36 once again!

Oops. I have made numerous mistakes in part 36 of Á Íslandi.
I have mis-named, and re-introduced Eyvind, Hilde's non-magical husband, who first appeared in part 34.
I have forgotten one wandsinger, Anna, who was supposed to have already arrived.
And last, but not least, I have forgotten that Susan was supposed to be in Shiltach at ten to pick up Aamu and her son and maybe husband.

Over again -
Mechanical made it into the text - here we go:

Susan stretched and sat up. "Oh, man," she said, "I have slept so well. That Sleeping Water performed as promised."
"Enticing," Knud responded, "But I still prefer natural sleep."
"You're full of bad excuses, I know you do not like taking draughts or potions. I won't do so often, but four hours of unbroken sleep is a gift!"
A blackbird started singing, the sweet, clear notes underlined by sunrays and the gentle breeze made Susan's mood raise a couple of notches more. And she laughed: "See! It agrees with me!"
Susan undressed from her pyjama and threw the doona over a chair back for airing. She opened the windows up wide to let the clean morning air in. Outside the gentle swaying of the trees were all that was left from the nights strong winds. "Better weather today," she said, "how wonderful. I was not looking forward to do my wandsinging in rain and wind."
Hand in hand they walked to the Hall, where they gave a hand laying the tables and brewing tea.
Hilde came toward them, closely followed by Eyvind, This morning he looked like the archetypical Norwegian outdoorsman, bearded, ruddy and lined, yet friendly and well muscled. They sat sown and Eyvind said: "When is it that Aamu and her nice husband arrives?"
Knud came over carrying a steaming teapot, and Eyvind repeated his question.
"I'm supposed to be in Schiltach at ten to get her here, but I'm also supposed to be here, doing my share of wandsinging. This needs some co-ordination." She rose and returned a bit later with Rósa and My.
"Sit down here," she said. "This is Eyvind Haugen, Hilde's non-magical husband. And the lady here," She indicated tall, red-haired My, who gently inclined her head, "is My Birkeland form Oslo. The other lady," Rósa bowed her blonde head and smiled, "is Rósa Sigurdsdottir from Iceland."
"We've heard much of you," Rósa said. "It's a pleasure finally to meet you in person."
 "The pleasure is mine," Eyvind said.

Rasmus came over to the table, "I'm sorry to intrude, but I'm afraid we have to go to Tromsø right away, Mum, the hospital just called, Liisa is worse."
Hilde rose and gave Eyvind an awkward embrace. "You stay here and learn, Susan and Knud are good magicians."
"So you keep on saying my dear." Eyvind said. "I'll stay close to them, and I'll handle Aamu's nice husband when he arrives. You take care, both of you."
"We will," They assured him, and Rasmus patted his fathers back. "We're taking Finnbogi and Fiona with us," he said. "You won't need them for the wandsinging, and Fiona's children and grandchildren all have had their wands, she won't miss out on the excitement."
"True that," Knud said. "You do not need to return together all four of you. In other words, I'm worried. Please send word back with one of those two if something happens."
We will," Hilde repeated. "See you later, take care of Eyvind, will you?"
"Of course we will,"Susan said. "Off you go!"

"Now," Susan said, "as Eyvind hinted, Aamu and one of her sons and maybe her nice husband are supposed to arrive later today. The problem is. I promised to go get them, but I also promised to be here and do my share of the wandsinging. And no matter how good a witch I am, bilocation is not among my skills."
"Nobody can be in two places at once," My said, her red hair dancing as she shook her head.
"We'll just have to make do with us two, until you are free to join us again," Rósa agreed.
"Have any of you heard from Anna?" Knud asked, "wasn't she supposed to come down from her Swedish domicile and help out?"
"Anna!" Rósa exclaimed, "Just a sec!" She left the table and hurried out of the hall.

While Rósa was away the Hall filled and voices rose and fell. The last stragglers heaped plates and filled mugs and found somewhere to sit. Babies were comforted and fed, and older toddlers were bribed whit bits of delicious food. It looked like nothing but a big, boisterous family outing.

The bell in the  nearby village could be heard over the talking, and after the ninth stroke Knud rose. He swished his wand: "Mál sameinast! Dear friends," he continued. "Today  will be a busy day at Birch Manor. Today we're finally going to be real witches and wizards. Today you'll have your wands. At least those of you who are big enough. And I warn you. It's not only a question of age. Magic is not a mechanical thing. Magic has its own ways. I'll now give the word over to My, who'll be organizing today's wandsinging and wand-swishing sessions."
   ... to be continued



8 kommentarer:

  1. I am glad that you fixed your errors. Editing is a wonderful thing - and ashamed that I missed them. Some day I will have to settle down and read the entire story again. Some day soon.

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    1. Dear EC, If you really want to read the whole story - what a flattering thought, thank you - the easy way would be to go to my dedicated Blog Unicorn Farm where I collect all the chapters - and a bit of extras.

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    2. ... only one problem, first chapter of Birch Manor is put up in Danish. I'll have to fix this.

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    3. Now it is fixed -all in English:)

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  2. This is why a good editor is worth her/his pay.

    Even if you overlook things sometimes, you still spin a good story and i'm still worried Liisa is trying to trick them into coming to be with her for nefarious purposes.

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    1. I have to be my own editor until I get to the serious stage, and I'm used to edtitorial work - even if it's way harder with your own work (You know what you meant, writing that obcsure paragraph ;) )
      Thank you for the kind words.

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  3. It is better now, with a little more detail so we know who is who.

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    1. Thank you for this feed-back. It was exactly what I tried to obtain!

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I am grateful for all comments, and try to reply meaningfully to all of them.