Each Sunday, Weekend Writing Warriors offers a selection of eight-sentence excerpts from writers in multiple genres and forms. Check out the full roster here.
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“My head’s going to explode,” Ferenc said.
“Oh no it’s not,” Genubi said, “so, Ferenc the Gossip, let’s look at the old Captain’s name-bearer here, and I’ll explain it.”
Shamali reached over and cabled Yasmin’s tablet to a socket in the table; the opposite wall lit up with the ranks of flat images of the cadets in their year. The cadet-portrait filled the frame, with the name beneath: Martisset Zubenelgenubi Zubeneshamali Tethys Saiph yr Astok. They had pale hair cropped to the skull on one side, long and floppy on the other, all but obscuring the eye. In the portrait, they stood very straight, with one long-fingered pale hand resting on sword-knot, dressed in tunic and surcoat like the festival costumes they’d just seen at the Midsummer parade and the officiators at the Shipwrights’ Chapel: grey stitched in silver and blue.
“Martisset is their name-line,” Genubi said, “that’s your given name, and you’re expected to do something similar to your namesake. And that’s a weird name, by the way: child of the god of war.”
E. P. Beaumont 
Fantastic descriptions as always. Great work!
Not a comfortable heritage to bear!
Always interesting to have glimpses of your well-realized world. And intriguing! Enjoyed the snippet 🙂
Every time I read one of your excerpts I’m reminded of your remarkable talents of descriptive prose and ability to imagine new worlds. Marvelous!
That’s quite a list of cadet names. For a moment there I thought it was one person’s name, and I felt pity.
Actually, that is one name. The people in the conversation are using “they” as indeterminate-gender third person, since neither costume nor coiffure in this world are specifically gendered. So, she (Martisset) has quite a lot of expectation on her. 🙂
I thought that might have been the case! Glad to hear it confirmed, particularly since I like it. It makes me expect that gender is NOT one of the expectations put on her (or her line), and it makes me happy. 🙂
Great prose! Love it!
I love the struggle this name implies. Nicely done.