Forthcoming…of sorts?​
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Of all the main characters I’ve developed, Horizon was definitely a trick. She was hard in the sense that usually there was an idea of what should be the outcome, or the end result. All I had for this girl was her setting, a single scene idea, and how she would NOT have black hair, blue eyes and Porcelain skin.

SO….after a lot of thinking, a bunch of movie watching, tons of life living and even more winces I came to the conclusion that she would have warm ivory skin, brown eyes and chocolate colored hair due to an emotional Hershey's bar(which tasted very delicious I might add). But looks aren’t nearly as important as personality… Horizon was under no circumstances allowed to be too cold and tough or too sweet and level headed. But then you can’t do the whole one eighty and make her stupid either leading me…..

….to another predicament.

What finally fixed her up, a little, was when I was either baking or wishing I could be baking and that’s when I realized…(angel’s chorus) she had to embody a cake.

Allow me to explain… Horizon needed to have all the ingredients: sugar, flour, salt, egg, milk, cocoa and so on, combined to create what could only be deliciousness. Sweet, salty, slimy all mixed to make something enjoyable.

Most would probably think ‘duh’ but to me this was the world’s sweetish revelation in a time of pure confusion. And unfortunately I was still stuck. By now all you readers have probably picked up the fact that I seem to keep Horizon in my most disliked thoughts. You’re not wrong; back then I definitely did. What changed that was when I finally stopped looking at her like a project, and turned her into a friend.

Instead of trying to figure out how her formula mixed with x and equaled: finished book, she became the person who cried when I cried, laughed when I told a joke, or slept when I was exhausted. I’d tell her exactly how I felt through scenes and circumstances and from it came many a deleted scene and double the kept scene. From it resulted in lots of sweet characters that I love and want to write back stories to. From it came Echoes After Death, typo filled and raw as ever. But even more so, came an MC that is very precious and even more so a dear friend…

Amazing right?

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Interview with Horizon Nyx Williams

Interviewer: Hello Horizon, thank you for joining us.

Horizon: Thank you for having me.

I: Shall we get started?

H: I don’t see why not.

I: Alright, let’s start with a little background; where were you from before the Skruit’s conquest?

H: I lived in a higher district, a little outside a town called Mountain Step. It was like a…source point for trade coming from Cavrin and other cities.

I: Like the supply town?

H: yeah

I: Tell us, was it an annoyingly busy town due to that, or would you say it was rather mundane?

H: Oh I wouldn't say either of those. Its business made it one of the best things in the world. People would come from all around and we’d get to share news from all over the country, and we’d find some products that were very well known, or we’d get to see things that were brand new and oftentimes we’d have a community banquet. It was lots of fun.

I: So what you loved the most was the community?

H: Definitely.

I: What two things do you and your best friend have in common?

H: Well, with Holly we had interests, like books, clothing and animals. But with Jack it’s experience, pain and faith story.

I: Would you say you’re closer to Jack than you were to Holly then?

H:...I wouldn’t go so far as to say that…

I: No? Then what would you say?

H: I’d say that Holly was the perfect friend during that time, and Jack’s the perfect friend for right now.

I: Interesting... Now let’s go forward a bit to the war. What thing, not person, did you miss most when in battle?

H: Oooh. probably a comfortable bed and…mama’s kitchen.

I: What was the hardest thing for you to learn in battle?

H:....that trust is the most important thing. You have to trust your companions, your plan and most importantly God. So…really i guess you have to have faith through it all(sigh).

I: Does your life seem dull now?

H: Most certainly not. It’s really nice to be able to come home and settle down for the night instead of wondering if I'll kill everyone the next day because I don't feel like I know what I’m doing…I don’t have faith.

I: Do you miss anything about the war?

H: Not at all. I’m very blessed to be done.
​I: What are some of your daily routines now that the war is over? Are they anything like life before you lived in Glory?

H: Um…well, now I have a family of my own to run, and a husband to take care of when he comes home…I also have events to plan, visitors to welcome to the settlement and I still have to watch after Yuraii. The biggest thing that’s still the same in that routine, compared to my life before the war, is that I live on a farm where I get to take care of animals with people I love and I'm still welcoming people into the community.

I: How is life in Glory?

H: It’s good. Very peaceful and…united. It feels like we’re one giant family and we can depend on each other.

I: Alright, now to close the interview with one last question, it’s kind of random, but what would you say is something that’s too serious to joke about?

H: Death. It’s not far away, and it’s not something to play with. It’s very real and could be closer than you think. Don’t ever take it for granted.

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​Tree Exercise: Emotion in Observation

The willow swayed softly in the wind, its branches reaching after the wind as if wanting to fly off with it or grasp it in its delicate bows, but couldn’t.

Horizon reached out, brushing her finger tips against the bark, its coarse skin, rough suggesting this delicate tree was a lot stronger than it looked. She smiled softly, stepping around the tree, hand remaining on the trunk as she thought of the grit this tree could symbolize, of the contrast between her first thought. It remained gentle and lovely, but went through all the days of the year, snow, hail, wind and rain…and kept its image of beauty with a strength no human could understand. Defiance even in light of this world, she thought, coming to a stop as she leaned against it.

Gentle whistles pulled her attention up to a nest, cozily set at the base of a branch. Her smile grew at the bird who skipped around the rim of its little home, safely nestled above. Its figure is carefree even in its slight haven. After another round about its home, it darted off to join the wind in an adventure. Horizon watched after it, her thoughts swirling gently with the breeze. Maybe the tree wasn’t a muscular warrior, but it wasn’t a weakling either.

“Just strong it its own way,” she whispered, her arm circling the tree’s sturdy trunk.