And the Answer is...

Unless a drastic and cataclysmic event that is currently totally unforeseen occurs...

I shall edit Freeborn and Freegiven.

It will require a good bit of work, and some deep digging in some places, but I think it is possible. As I've analyzed it over the past couple of days hours, I've realized what it really needs it a good haircut. There is a shaggy layer of unnecessary descriptions and explanations (at least in the beginning) that need to be peeled back. It's basically the traces of me wanting to tell the reader exactly what I see in my imagination. And while that is good, it often becomes overbearing. In Freeborn, it was all too easy to get bogged down in describing every little detail, because it was a fantasy; I was taking the reader somewhere they had never been before, and wanted to make sure they saw it exactly like I did. 

In Trust Hole, I got away from that (I think :P), mostly because describing every little detail didn't fit with the minimalist, dystopian world I had created. I described the key points of each location, and left the reader to fill in the gaps with their imaginations. 

So that's what needs doing on Freeborn. Consider:

Old-

Farjag picked the cooling hilt up with a pair of steel-forged tongs and swiftly placed them back in the glowing coals. The flickering flames lit up his distinctive features: dark brown eyes, short orange-brown hair, a determined look permanently chiseled into his face, and two thick angled black lines like tattoos under his cheekbones. He wore a leather apron over a loose white shirt and a tan muslin tunic, as well as dark brown breeches and knee-high boots. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, leaving his arms bare except for his hands, which were gloved in black leather. He was tall and rather lanky, but his bare arms showed an uncommon strength.

New-

Farjag picked the cooling hilt up with a pair of tongs and swiftly placed them back in the glowing coals. The flickering flames lit up his distinctive features: dark brown eyes, short orange-brown hair, a determined look permanently chiseled into his face, and two thick angled black lines like tattoos under his cheekbones. He wore a leather apron over his loose shirt and tunic, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His hands were gloved in thick leather to protect them from the hot metal he was working with. As a whole he was short but rather lanky, and his bare arms showed an uncommon strength.

Not much of a difference, but enough to make it count. So that's what I'm going to be spending my late night hours doing for the next couple weeks/months. Wish me luck!

Farjag