Grandfather’s Story

“Hivara is beautiful,” Grandfather said. I rolled my eyes, because I knew, from that single phrase, where this would lead. I’ve heard Grandfather tell this story many times before, but my cousins, it seems, have not. “No she’s not!” said Ruon, the youngest of them. His face scrunched up with a level of offense reserved … Continue reading Grandfather’s Story →

Forgotten

Nobody remembers me. I don’t mean that people who once knew me have forgotten me. It’s worse than that. I mean that people can’t form memories of me. I just exist at the edge of everyone’s attention, never noticed or remembered or thought about beyond a fleeting glimpse of awareness. My mother probably doesn’t even … Continue reading Forgotten →

Teacher, Teacher, Teacher, Pt. 3

Teacher, Teacher, Teacher Pt. 1 Teacher, Teacher, Teacher, Pt. 2 Gleam pushed a table in front of Colomb’s unmoving body, then placed Listener upon it. At Evran’s request, Gleam had carried the new golem. Listener was ambulatory, but with its small size and short legs, it moved quite a bit slower than the rest of … Continue reading Teacher, Teacher, Teacher, Pt. 3 →

Teacher, Teacher, Teacher, Pt. 2

I suppose this will be more than two parts after all. Teacher, Teacher, Teacher Pt. 1 Evran requested Nyle’s aid not because he needed the help — Gleam and Spider could have accomplished everything Evran might have needed from another human — nor because he wished to do the boy any sort of real favor. … Continue reading Teacher, Teacher, Teacher, Pt. 2 →

Teacher, Teacher, Teacher Pt. 1

Everything Has a Cost, To Bring Silence, and Philosophical Metrics, Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 all feature Evran and Gleam. This story follows events seen in Abandon. "Teacher, Teacher, Teacher," Evran said, his foot bouncing jovially. He steepled his fingers, tapping their tips together as he had seen villains do in stage plays. "What a profound mess you've made of … Continue reading Teacher, Teacher, Teacher Pt. 1 →

In the Aerie

I have spent my whole life in the company of my mother’s kindred. Of all the life in the aerie, only the plants do not share her lineage. They are, instead, kindred of her brother Krrgotst, for base plants would not survive up here, pressed against the ceiling and eternally tousled by the winds that … Continue reading In the Aerie →

The Hands

The hands are asleep. I pray silently to myself that they will remain that way, but I try to stifle my worry that they will not. If they sense it, they will awaken. I breath in through my nose and out through my mouth, schooling my mind to calmness. I have taken a risk, coming … Continue reading The Hands →

Queen Euphonia

The story goes that Queen Euphonia, the ninth queen was so beautiful and so wise that each of Vanaprimax’s children attempted to seduce her. They did so not because of their father’s directive, but because of her incredible allure, which transcended that of any human they had witnessed before. Onosang, who watched her, at first, … Continue reading Queen Euphonia →

Chimes, Pt. 2

Chimes, Pt.1 I am not a very good smith. This is the sort of thing I think about in the dark of night, alone on watch with only a sleeping Tesehr and a quiet Cobalt for company. I’m not actually very skilled at smithing, despite all the practice and effort I put into it. I … Continue reading Chimes, Pt. 2 →

Chimes, Pt.1

People are strong. That’s something I’ve come to realize, over the years. I used to believe the opposite. I thought that, compared to the Wizard and his monsters, that we were all pathetic and worthless. Weak. I thought that we — that my people, that people in general — cowered in fear of the Wizard … Continue reading Chimes, Pt.1 →