Fledglings

Gentle Readers, two weeks back I found myself in something of quandary.  You may recall that a few months ago I made the announcement that my nephew SeaMonkey was on his way.  There's just one problem with that- he was a whopping 10lbs, 2oz when he was born, and did not resemble a sea monkey in the slightest.  I got to spend an entire week breathing in his perfection, and I'm telling you- the boy is just too awesomely chubby to be a "SeaMonkey".  So I needed to come up with a new name for him... and I chose Eaglet.

"But Jenny O," you may protest, "Eaglets are not exactly known for their chubbiness, either."  Perhaps not.  But trust me, this boy is more Eaglet than SeaMonkey.  It may be that, going forward, I use the SeaMonkey moniker for those kiddos still in utero, until I get to know them a little more on the Other Side.  Hear that, various siblings?  Get to crankin' out the SeaMonkeys!

Speaking of new things being born (and named), a conversation with one of the Climbing Bros planted a new Story Seed for something that I am currently calling "The Phoenix of Winterhaven" (with the intention of it becoming an intermediate reader book).  Have a synopsis!

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Avalyn is a Phoenix: a reincarnation of one of five spiritual leaders of her people.  A thousand years ago, a deadly ice age sank its claws into the world, and has never let go.  The most powerful wizards of that age, led by the original Phoenixes, banded together to form the safehold of Winterhaven, a magical keep in which the seasons still turn, so that mankind might survive until the thaw- a thaw which seems less and less likely to come.

Avalyn is the latest incarnation of Laxda, least among the Phoenixes, but still heir to formidable power.  She is young yet, far from taking up the mantle of leadership both in years and experience- but after tragedy strikes she is thrust into that role long before her training is complete.  To make matters worse, signs indicate that the greatest Phoenix of all, Faravid the Wanderer, Herald of the Sun, has at last been reborn- but he is not to be found within the confines of Winterhaven.

The people have long believed themselves to be the only surviving colony of mankind, but the signs cannot be ignored: somewhere in the frozen Outside, a young Phoenix waits.  Avalyn, the only one who might recognize a fellow Phoenix, must brave the merciless weather and enchanted beasts of the Outside and bring the lost one home- for prophecy says only an incarnation of Faravid can release the world from winter.

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One thought- I am toying with changing the spelling of "phoenix" to the Old English "fenix".  The motivation for such a change is that "phoenix" is a distinctly Grecian word and concept, whereas the majority of the story is taking its cultural inspiration from Nordic cultures.  What do you think?  Good or dumb?

Sami-inspired outfit.