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Zef kneeled down next to me. "That was a good idea, but it couldn't have waited until you were able to at least walk again? You need to rest." "I don't know," I said, my voice soft. "She could be trying to poison us," yelled a Dwarf with a rough v... Read More

A coughing fit brought me back to consciousness. My throat was hoarse. And even though, I was aware of my breathing and coughing again, the light that I had seen was gone. I was surrounded by darkness. Maybe I am dead, I thought. I blinked my eyes... Read More

"She's perfect, Fenna," Zef said, staring at the sleeping baby in his arms. "She'll never do anything wrong." "Hah, I think you're in for a surprise then," said Fenna, laying in bed. She was probably tired, but Zef couldn't tell. She looked more b... Read More

"The cavern's coming down!" Someone shouted behind me as a wagon-sized rock fell from the central column and crashed into the floor. The vine wrapped around it had pulled a section of the column out of line from the rest and the column was proving... Read More

"They'd kill us too if given the chance," said the Treek, snaking his vine around the central column of the cavern. He wasn't wrong. They would try to kill us if the tables were turned. The looks on their faces when they saw me said it all. Treeks... Read More

We watched from our perch above the Dwarven workers waiting impatiently for Abigail to make a few footholds into the stone. She was almost finished making a path to another opening below us where the worm's tunnel must have continued before they d... Read More

"Run," said Zef in a quiet voice. I looked over at him and found him looking back with wide eyes. Was he scared? That was a first. Usually, he'd be joking in a situation like this. Him being scared was more terrifying than the fact that a group of... Read More

I pushed Tigala back into the crevice as soon as the Gnome stepped out of the portal, hoping he hadn't seen us. We peaked our heads over a rock and watched as he looked around. Whoever he was, he seemed wealthy. He wore bright clothes fashioned ... Read More

"There's a Treek down there," I whispered to Lolan who was laying on his stomach next to me, peeking over the edge. Lolan followed my eyes to the Treek wielding vine-like roots. The Treek commanded the plants to burrow into cracks in the stone and... Read More

"You just did fire magic?" Tigala said, staring me down. I looked at Lolan out of the corner of my eye. "Uh, yeah. Yeah. It was just a little though." "Why on earth are you trying fire magic? You already blew up an entire forest. And then you try ... Read More

"So, what changed your mind, Marv? I thought you were going to hang back and keep Abigail safe," I said. He looked back at me with no sign of amusement. "Something was coming after us in the tower." "What was it? Something big enough to get in?" ... Read More

The sun beamed through the web of vines, rising just high enough in the sky to land one of its rays directly across my eyes. I groaned and rolled over. I heard wings flap and then felt Chipry land in my hair. It was loose from sleeping and covered... Read More

"My name is Kaia. I'm here with your father, Marv. I'm going to come get you," I said. I began climbing the tree, using my magic to bend branches to me and make easy foot and handholds. At the very top of the tree, I found a very small Dwarven gir... Read More

Leaves slapped against my face as I ran through the forest. The only light that guided me was the reflection of the moon off of the deep green leaves. The flashes in the distance grew louder—closer. Something about running through the fores... Read More

"Great. So now you've made another creature out of magic you don't understand," said Tigala. I didn't respond. The rock creature just stared at us and we stared back. After a few moments of silence, it seemed to look around. It saw some other pebb... Read More

From the stalk of neck where the Saurian representative had just chopped, were now two more necks and heads. The creature didn't slow down at all. In fact, it seemed to fight with more tenacity. "I'm going to help," said Zef. "Really?" I said. "T... Read More

The giant bipedal tree strode through the forest, each footfall a miniature earthquake. Is that really something I created? Could I do it again without the remnants of some old magical explosion? I was amazed and had so many questions. I didn’t kn... Read More

I woke up to my body being jostled around. It all hurt. Every muscle felt overworked. Each movement flared the pain radiating through my body. I groaned as I opened my heavy eyelids. “Oh, good. You’re awake.” I opened my eyes to see Zef running ne... Read More

In tiger form, Tigala dove into the room, aiming more to disarm Lobo than attack him outright. She crashed into him, forcing his shapeshifted sword out of his hand. The blade glided on the floor as Tigala turned back to Lobo, growling at him all t... Read More

I rushed toward the center of the room and kneeled next to the body. It definitely wasn’t a Treek. The patchy skin was cold and lifeless, and its limbs were limp, giving me no help in moving it. I rolled it over and settled the body on its back. T... Read More

That was dumb. Why did I say that? Now she’s going to know we’re free, I thought, mad at myself for warning Tigala. The creature lurking in the branches looked at us. It bared its crooked teeth before turning its attention back to the tree-dwellin... Read More

I heard the crunch of leaves behind me as we searched around the base of the tree. I turned to look, but no one was there. That Beastfolk search party was supposed to be around here somewhere. Had they caught up? I studied the forest and looked fo... Read More

Do you remember before all of the fighting started, Zef?” asked Lolan. We walked in a line through the woods, with Zef in the middle and Lolan to his side, opposite of me. Despite the topic, it was a nice day to be in the forest, even if we might ... Read More

I woke up as a crack of thunder ripped through the sky and the rain came down in sheets. I had a small canopy of branches and broad leaves forming an umbrella over me. I kind of remembered doing it, half asleep, earlier that morning. I looked down... Read More

I watched Lolan sneak through the tents. He was creeping toward another camp that was dark. I put on my Human jacket and pants from my bag, hopped down from my hammock, and whistled. Chipry startled and then floated down to my shoulder as I walked... Read More

I felt Lolan start to breathe heavy and was reminded of his strange racial predicament. The person in yellow was using storm magic, which is only known by the Elves. And they were good at it. I was terrified, and I had no issues with the Elves in ... Read More

The four of us walked through the forest as an awkward sight: a Treek, a Gnome, a half-breed, and a Beastfolk disguised as a Saurian. Once we got far enough out of sight from the colony the Beastfolk dropped her Saurian disguise, transforming back... Read More

The bobcat Beastfolk stomped out from under the canvas, like a lion defending its kill. A fresh bandage was wrapped around her left arm, and fresh ointment covered a wound across her face. She stared at Lolan and me—her chest rising and fall... Read More

I stared hard, studying his face, to determine if I was crazy or not. Here he was, a half-Human half-Elf hybrid living among the Elves all this time. No wonder he wore the hood. The Elves would exile him if they found out. If I knew anything about... Read More

My eyes opened to a bright light piercing through various shades of green. The leaves all around me filtered the light and created dancing shadows across my face. Chipry tweeted incessantly in my ear, the way he tended to do in the morning. I groa... Read More

Rodrigo finished his speech by explaining a large communal map in the tavern behind him. "Please mark the location you'll be searching each day to avoid overlap, and report any findings you may have. You'll be rewarded for any information you prov... Read More

The tiger dove toward me as groups of other races watched. Not one stepped in to protect me, an unarmed teen, from the Beastfolk warrior. I took cover on the far side of the well, trying to keep the small structure between me and the tiger. As I d... Read More

7 years later... "Welcome to the new land of Daegal!" The captain's voice was barely audible over all the chatter. He let out a hearty chuckle. "Now get off my boat, ya filthy lot." At his command, Humans began shuffling down the gangplank and ont... Read More