dialogue

The final preparations for the Festival of Fiery Skies, which would commence this coming night, had the city of Elbion busy and bustling. People from all over, near and far, occasioned the city for it. With the noontime sun high in the clear sky, the Festival was but a matter of hours away, yet...

One fixture above all, primeval in its origin, had the enduring power to bond people together, and this fixture was a campfire on a cold night. Yes, it is true. Not all strangers who entered the orange glow of a campfire were of the friendly sort. Such were the perennial imperfections of the...

“S’mores,” the woman corrected Leander, raising a eyebrow at him continually saying “some mores.” The smile on her dry lips told him that she didn’t find it obnoxious as much as she probably found it endearing. She gestured to the chocolate on display, jerking her head to motion the two...

The days in the Academy infirmary went on. Most of it involved cycles of intense magical purging and rest, sessions of the former awful but blessedly much shorter than the latter. Kimble's cold magic wasn't just elemental ice. It could be deeply infectious like a disease, constantly inflicting...

Cool, winter evenings, strong winds, and a bit of late night free time were exactly the right elements to produce one of Zinnia's favorite kind of nights. Missions were where some of the initiates always wanted to be, he that for adventure or excitement or experience. Others liked to spend their...

Despite wanting to disregard Marianne’s suggestion, Everleigh did stop by the kitchens to snag a green apple. Somehow, taking one of the red apples seemed inconsiderate. She passed other initiates, not saying anything to them, but overhearing something about Ingrid and a bloody nose. Zael’s name...

THE ACADEMY TRAINING GROUNDS "I'm not too worried about it," Zael said, spinning his sword around in his hand. It was the last day before graduation for the senior class of the Academy. The dying light of the sun was in the west. Surprisingly, it had been a day devoid of much for them to do...

"We are not. Doin this." Zael glared at his fellow Initiates. Three of them, at least. There had been just the faintest noise coming from the foliage and Zael had surreptitiously gone there, thrust his hand into the bush, and tossed out the culprit who now lay on the forest floor among the...