Heather's birthday was Saturday the 21st. I made her breakfast in bed, and she had a party that night where I cooked hamburgers on the outside BBQs. It started to rain, though, so we relocated inside. We had cake and ice-cream and chocolate-chip cookies and hamburgers. The girls painted their nails. I catered and took care of the children.
After weeks and weeks of apartment shopping, our searching is over! On Friday we were approved to move into the Meadows apartments in Mesa Arizona! Although is was pretty fun to apartment shop, it was also stressful, so I'm glad that that's over.
On Thursday I left work at noon so that I could go take a test: the "Assessment of Professional Knowledge: Secondary" test. I need to take it to get my teaching license. I don't have to have it taken by any particular day, but with August going to be crazy, as well as living in Mesa, I decided to just take it now. So I did. Did I pass? I don't know. There were two essay portions, so they don't give you your score yet, but there were also 100 multiple choice questions, so you think they could have at least given me a "this is your score without the essays" score. Anyway, I think I did pretty well on it. I think I passed.
Who is this handsome young man? Street View on Google Maps It's me, guys. (In the green shirt and blue gloves crouching down.) This was taken a year ago this month when I was working for Provo Parks and Rec.
Here's a cool video I found:
Here are the last chapters in Part There of Dragonsteel:
Chapter 47
During Topaz’s nine months in the Ekrobila, he’s quickly advanced through the ranks. Because of his photographic memory and ability to use microkinesis, he can do seemingly impossible tasks with ease, such as memorizing entire books of chants and emptying out fireplaces in less than a half-hour. The day finally arrives where the Drath will make him a Drath, and Topaz will be able to ask three questions to the goddess he briefly saw earlier.
Topaz enters the chamber but is horrified to learn how the goddess is summoned, as a bound and gagged 14-year old girl wearing nothing but a shift is brought in. As they begin to tie her to the altar, Topaz tries to think of a way out of the predicament, but finally admits that he’s wasted the last nine months. He then uses his microkinesis to rescue the girl and they begin their escape. As they’re escaping, an army of Sho Del attack the Ekrobila. Topaz and the girl use secret passages to escape from the Sho Del and make it out of the fortress.
Later, Topaz surveys the wreckage of the burnt down fortress, and uses microkinesis to locate a piece of Dragonsteel. It spells the name of one of the gods Frost already gave them. Topaz finds a Drath survivor who says the Sho Del attacked because they had been holding Yoharn, but he’s back in Lakdon now. Topaz notices a Sho Del corpse and realizes that its bones don’t pulse in microkinetic vision: there’s no Dragonsteel in the bones. Thus they aren’t Sho Del, nor human, and Topaz has no idea what they could be.
Chapter 48
Jerick is now third in command, under Tzern and Sharn. Through practice he can sense Dragonsteel from far away, and marks a map of where Dragonsteel will soon appear. In the two months since the discovery of the Sho Del illusion tactics, Tzern has become leader of all the troops of the Shattered Plains, and many permanent bridges have been set up. Tzern calls Jerick in and says Emperor Aronack will soon call him to a new position now that the Sho Del have essentially been completely defeated, and with Sharn getting married, Jerick will be in charge in four months’ time.
On a run, Jerick watches as the Sho Del army approaches. He and the other Tzai have trained themselves to sense the Sho Del magicians, which Frost calls the Kame Ken Den Tu. Jerick slays the Kame Ken Den Tu and half the Sho Del army disappears, casuing them to retreat.
Tzern gets a letter that the Horwatcher’s Ekrobila has been attacked and completely destroyed by Sho Del. Frost exclaims that this is impossible. Tzern says that their entire army is being called away by Emperor Aronack to join the army he’s been gathering, which they assume is to attack U Poni Sho Del. Jerick requests that he first make a detour to stop the Sho Del that attacked the Ekrobila. Tzern agrees, and gives him a horse and some of his own armor.
Chapter 49
Ryalla learns verb conjugation forms in the Trexandian language from Torell, but her mind keeps drifting to think about the Horwatchers. She now knows that their “magic” comes from using Tamu Kek bones, such as communicating from mind to mind, and believes Scathe was talking about moving Prince Yoharn back to the city. She realizes that the Horwatchers try to fit the part of mystics from the old ballads, and that they claim the goddess Slonis as patron.
Ryalla visists the Temple dedicated to Slonis and finds Yoharn in a hidden room. The guards have Tamu Keks and sense her even while invisible, so she goes to Hsor for help. Hsor immediately believes her when she says the Horwatchers have the prince, and they go to the hidden room. Hsor then tells the Horwatchers that they have betrayed their agreement with him, and kills one with a sword, and the other two using magic to separate their hearts from their surrounding veins. Ryalla, horrified, tries to escape, but Hsor catches her and orders from the Temple priests a second room to lock Ryalla away in.
Interlude Three
In the Sho Del council chambers, a Kame Ken Den Tu named Du Len storms in. She demands from the thirteen Sho Del council members why she was called back from the Shattered Plains. They inform her that the war is lost now that the humans have discovered their illusion tactics. Then Du Len’s father, Fa Len, tells Du Len that it isn’t too late for her to become an adult, as there is still some Ana Ku Mae (Dragonsteel, presumably) to be found. Du Len rejects this offer, even though it means remaining as a child forever, an undesirable fate that more and more Sho Del are forced to accept. Du Len storms out of the room, vowing to never stop fighting, even if it requires killing every last human.
End of Part Three
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