This is one of my favorite chapters, mainly because I got to dole out a little wisdom from Rutejìmo's point of view. Every time this happens, I'm surprised. I still see him as both the teenager in Sand and Blood as well as the man in Sand and Bone. This is one part that I wasn't expecting when writing a trilogy but I'm strangely proud of how Rutejìmo has grown up in these last few books.

In many ways, I get more into Sand and Bone than the other novels. I think it is because I'm not fond of the “power discovery” phase in fantasy. Yeah, it's great seeing how they get magic but I want to know what they do with it. I want to know what happens when the characters had time to explore their limits and know what they can or can't do.

Of course, that doesn't mean that Rutejìmo isn't discovering new powers, I just focus less about that in the story and more about how he (and the others) use their powers to their fullest.

Empowered

The image for this post is from one of my favorite comics, Empowered. I love it for a lot of reasons, remarkably starting with the body issues that Emp has with her suit and being a superhero. She also kicks ass, which is awesome.

One of the more enjoyable parts of the Caged Demon Wolf, a supernatural creature that is bound into a bondage belt from a cosmic harem. There is one scene when he is talking to Ninjette speaking about how he sees her when she is young, how she dies, and long after human live at the same time.

In some ways, I feel the same for Rutejìmo. When I write, I see him on the day he dies and the day he was born, I was there when his brother almost threw him off the cliff and the day he was married. I see stories of when he is just a memory in the minds of the clan. Many of these are scenes I've written or planned.

Sand and Bone 20: An Unexpected Companion

Following the route that his brother mapped out, Rutejìmo is forced to run alone with the sorrow of Desòchu's death chasing after him. His brother, however, had planned ahead and Rutejìmo finds him with the most unexpected of traveling companions.

Read the chapter at https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-20/. I decided to make all of my books free downloads at https://fedran.com/. Please read and enjoy them, maybe talk about them or throw a review my direction. If you want to read more, consider becoming a patron on my site or at Patreon.