The Feet of Sidaiva

On FanFiction.net, I felt like I owed "The Cult of the Singing Flame"'s readers and fans a new story, since "Cult" has got edited and published in a higher state.

"The Feet of Sidaiva". Here is a Cinderella story as they tell it in The Last Continent.

This is a Posthumous Collaboration with Clark Ashton Smith. It fleshes out his own synopsis, bringing in how he was developing its protagonists and settings over 1933. I lifted descriptions of Ummaos' palace from "The Dark Eidolon"; and for Miraab's palace, from "The Death of Ilalotha" mainly. Lunalia's shoes are onyx to match the flagstones which, later, Namirrha will use for his anti-palace. Colour is as important to "Sidaiva" as it was to "Cult" but here I drew upon a larger palate.

I watched some Uyghur dance to describe the music to which Sidaiva would dance.

This is Lunalia's story. Still: I kept narrative-distance from the black mass (seen from the rampart), and from the wedding night (related second-hand). The story is about the Envy Of Lunalia (with a subtext of Famorgh's folly). I didn't care about her character-arc as such an arc existed for Namirrha - or for Onfrei, in mine own "Cult". So I related "Sidaiva" from the third person, affecting the tone of a bazaar rumour-monger. This at least kept the story to 3200ish words.

For dramatic effect, I wanted Thasaidonism not to be followed even in Tasuun. I had written a paragraph about this archdevil's eidolon, buried and found and buried again; but I decided to drop it as unnecessary. Instead I presented an emissary from Maat as Eve's tempter, if you will. Given her presence - which I do explain! - I decided to dismiss Uccastrog by name from the premises. Sotar and Yoros are here but very much extras.