Author Archives: zreshicaia

An August Confession

In August, the clouds disappeared from the cerulean sky. The vibrant sun scorched the grass, which grew atop the cliffs that lined the riverbank. The sun’s reach dipped to the river below, evaporated the upper half of the river’s winter-accumulated depth. Tips of formerly invisible boulders peaked out from the surface of the water…

Tale of a Sputtering Spark

A deceitful act encapsulates, / Taints, represses, and destroys / Innocent eyes and trusting souls / Color drains and greyscale paints / Across the once blissful dreamscape / That encouraged joyous naïveté…

Erring Near the Elder Tree

When a young he-elf leapt from the branch of a tree, Fayren ducked beneath his peer’s descending feet and somersaulted over the roots of the tree. The other, a Relaunkatheer (Wood elf), landed and laughed. Fayren stood and inspected his scraped limbs…

Katheermor: The E.E.B.

Are you curious about the Katheermor (elves)? Are you unsure what the prefixes to their names mean? The answers can be found within this illustrated encyclopedia of the Elvish Elemental Bonds.

Ember the Feral

Ember was a flame-tipped, white-coated Turkish Angora. Her fierce, green eyes stalked a brown rat. The rat slid out from the drainpipe of one of the oldest houses in the city. Ember watched as the rat shook itself, and as it scurried up the side of a metal wastebin, which the residents of the house left one drawstring bag too full. The lid of the wastebin sat atop the extra bag. The residents of the house hoped the presence of the lid would appease the sanitation services provider and prevent an additional bag fee from appearing on their monthly bill. Regardless, the loose lid failed to dissuade pests from raiding the wastebin. Ember eyed the brown rat hungrily, as she watched it settle its nerves, and chew a thimble-sized hole in the extra bag. Once the rat settled on a prize, it no longer twitched its head from one interrupting sound to the next. Ember curled her lips and narrowed her eyes…

The Twin Terror Realms

The deepest dread / Hides among the dead / Clawed fingers, gnarled hands / Scrape the mists of the Shadowlands / Grasp adventurers’ ankles / Trap them either above or below / Until the darkest door devours / Or the raunchiest ranch ravishes / Their valorous souls…

Caged in Eclipse

The dragons of Vesperus concealed their might. Too often thrill seekers, glory hounds, and treasure hunters paraded into their lairs, wielding steel and stealth. They raided nests, slew brood mothers in their sleep, and emptied hard-earned hoards of all that glittered and shined. They stole away the scales, claws, and teeth of beloved mates, of brood mothers and their protectors, but left the disgraced corpses behind. They speared hatchlings through their shells. They drained yolk from dragon eggs and starved the survivors of their assaults. They pocketed countless vials of yolk for sale, sustenance, and alchemical craft…

Corban’s Life was a Series of Sorrows

Corban’s father walked out of his life before he was born. He was the type who wanted all the fun of courting with none of the responsibility. The news that Corban’s mother was pregnant was more than he bargained for. He swiped a framed photo of himself and his girlfriend from its place on the windowsill and threw it against the wall. The frame shattered. Corban’s father retrieved the photo, snipped the photo in half, and cut himself out of his girlfriend’s life…

Wylock and the Spinal Strand

Wylock awoke with a thought. He shot up from his bedroll and settled on his knees. His eyes darted about the chamber after his misplaced satchel. His jaw and shoulders drooped when he found the satchel at the head of his bedroll. He swiped the satchel from its place and clamped his jaw shut. How could he have forgotten the satchel acted as his pillow the night before?

The dreams distract, Wylock rationalized…