In a mesh between sci-fi and high fantasy, a world exists where magic is dying. One scientist sets out to fix this problem by creating a machine that will genetically engineer wizards and creatures of magic, depending on what three magic “items” you place in it. Different combos yield different results. (I’m just imagining an interesting mesh of wizards and cyborgs?)
Category: Creative Writing
The Ugly Princess
Once upon a time, there was an ugly princess.
At least, by noble standards. In fact, not a moment after she was born, the midwife cried out, “Oh! I think a curse has befallen this child!”
The Queen, at the time, did not believe this. But upon casting her eyes upon the child, her face fell into a deep and tired frown. The Queen, who was so very beautiful but so very vein, could barely bring herself to look upon the child.
As the Princess grew older, she endured much mockery due to her appearance, even if most of it wasn’t said to her directly. She could still hear the whispers of the other noble children behind her back. But the poor princess did manage to find solace in a few. She made friends with the servant’s children instead, playing in the halls and the castle’s kitchens.
This did not do very much for the child’s reputation among the nobles which was already somewhat in shambles simply due to the child’s appearance. But it did not matter to her. Regardless of how she was perceived by the upper class, the servant’s children would actually play with and their mothers would dote over her, regardless. She often heard them speak scornfully of the noble class’s vapidity. They assured her it wasn’t her fault.
But despite this assurance, it was no surprise that the princess still hated any talk of her appearance. At age eleven, she ordered her vanity mirror removed entirely.
Her father, despite his wife’s disdain for the child, loved her greatly and was saddened by this, though he never brought it up to the young girl, wishing to not make her insecurity worse. Part of him still hoped her mother and the other nobles would grow used to her and accept her.
But, when she reached the age of 13, it had grown clear to the king that she would never be accepted fully by her mother or any of the upper-class nobles. Realizing this, the King took it upon himself to train his daughter in the ways of being royalty, his wife refusing to do this much. Though the king was not versed in the ways of being a “lady of the court”, the king knew a lot about diplomacy and what it meant to love his people and to be well versed. But he did not stop there- the King taught her of the stars as well and how one could use them to read a map and navigate as well as the best one could defend themselves in various situations. It was these traits that he taught and passed on to his daughter, and even though she was not accepted among the nobles, among the people the Princess was known to be smart and tactful.
One day, when the Princess was at the age of 16, the King threw her a birthday party. The Queen hated this, trying to insist that the affair be private, not wishing to draw any more attention to her daughter than needed.
The King asked the Princess what she wished for and she said, “I wish for anyone in the Kingdom to be able to attend so they might be able to see their future Queen and know I will do a good job leading them. I want it to be a public affair for their sake.”
And that was enough for the King.
The Party was to be held outside, and everyone, common or noble, was allowed to attend and speak with the Princess who would be seated upon a raised platform with the King and Queen.
This all felt too much for the vein Queen, to be seated beside her daughter and in public too, but the King commanded it of her and so she sat, frowning deeply.
This event was one to behold, with people of all kinds coming to see the Princess they loved so dearly. Some turned away upon seeing her face but most looked upon her with a smile of admiration. They knew she would make a fit Queen.
The Princess spent her time speaking to many of the common folk as they approached the platform to wish her a Happy Birthday. It was all going very well till a cloaked woman found herself before the Royal Family.
“I hope you have such a wonderful birthday,” the cloaked woman said. She spoke with a rasp and seemed very old despite her face being concealed with a hood. Then she turned to the Queen, “You must be proud to have such a fine daughter as this,” she said, cocking her head slightly.
The Queen, who had been seething this entire ceremony, was enraged.
“Such strong words from a hag such as yourself,” she spat. “You may be able to address the Princess with your face covered so but you shall not do so to me. I demand to look upon the face of who dares insult me.”
The woman threw back her hood, and to the Queen’s surprise, the woman looked very familiar. The Queen recognized the cruel but beautiful curve of her lips and her picture-perfect skin. The face was that of her own.
“What sorcery is this,” she gasped, hands clutching her own face. Then she realized as her fingers felt her flesh, that they did not meet her usual perfect smooth skin. She felt wrinkles. “Oh! What have you done to me!” she cried.
“It would seem your Queen would do well to learn some manners,” The cloaked woman chuckled and shook her head at the King who sat there in shock, mouth agape at what he had seen.
“You’re a magic worker,” the Princess observed tactfully though her brow was furrowed in worry. It was unnerving to talk to a stranger who had just stolen your mother’s face, no matter how you felt about the woman.
“Astute observation, my dear,” The Sorceress replied. Then she turned back to the king. “I have been greatly insulted here today. For that, you and your people must pay. I will be at the foot of that mountain if you wish to come and apologize.”
The woman jabbed a finger, indicating the outline of a peak in the distance. Then, with that, The Sorceress snapped her fingers and disappeared in a puff of purple smoke, leaving the royals in shock and disbelief. They could hardly believe what had just happened.
Not more than 24 hours later, the Sorceress‘s curse began to come true. All across the kingdom, people began to fall ill with seemingly no cause. The sickness came as no surprise to The King so he was able to track the disease fairly quickly to the water supply. But among all his medical experts, they could not figure out a way to purify it.
“The people will die soon if we do not act quickly,” The King told his daughter. “But I don’t know what to do.”
“Do as The Sorceress instructed,” The Princess replied. “Go to the base of the mountain and apologize. Maybe she will have mercy upon us all.”
“No, no,” the King said with a shake of his head. “A Magic-worker cannot be reasoned with. I am afraid that is out of the question.”
The Princess resigned herself to silence though the gears in her head were beginning to turn. She made a plan, right then and there, to travel to the mountain and meet the sorceress and plead on the behalf of her people.
That night, The Princess snuck out of bed and dressed. She grabbed a knapsack she had already packed that day that she had carefully hidden under her bed. She slung this over her shoulder but not before grabbing a handful of jewelry from her dresser and placing them in the bag.
Perhaps if she can’t be reasoned with, The Socereress can be bargained with, She thought to herself, though part of her doubted the Magic-Worker would be very interested in such jewels. But she thought it was at least worth a try.
The Princess then made her way to the stables where one of the stable hands whom she had befriended over the years, awaited her with a steed. She thanked her friend before mounting and riding off into the night.
Her journey to the foot of the mountain was short and uneventful, much to The Princesse’s relief, taking only about a day’s ride. Though when she arrived, uncertainty began to plague her. The Sorceress had never exactly indicated where at the foot of the mountain she would be.
The Princess surveyed her surroundings. She saw before her a room of stone. It was more of an ornately decorated cavern really. With rune writing etched into the cave walls every which way one looked. But these writings aren’t what drew The Princess’s attention. Before her, just off the platform, she noticed nine rings had been carved into the cave floor and painted gold with a giant gold orb decoration at the center. As she neared the orb to touch it, she found herself stumbling to the ground, having tripped over something.
Pay closer attention, she scolded herself as she rose to see what had caused her to fall. It was yet another stone orb, this one painted a tan color and much smaller in comparison to the giant gold one at the center of the room.
“Odd,” she mumbled to herself, dusting herself off. Then, on a hunch, began walking a circle around the giant gold orb. Sure enough, there were more orbs much like the one she had tripped over, much smaller ones, all coloring different.
Seven, eight, nine, she mentally counted the smaller colored orbs around her. They seemed to be scattered around the cavern haphazardly with no pattern or thought to placement. But every single one rested upon a specific golden ring. It didn’t take long for The Princess to put the pieces together.
They’re not just rings, she thought to herself. They’re orbits.
She realized that she wasn’t just standing in some oddly decorated cavern, but rather a room-sized model of the solar system. She recalled the astronomy lessons that she had with her father. There were nine planets in total.
Each of the smaller orbs must represent a planet, with the giant golden one being the sun, she said to herself. But upon further inspection, she realized that they must be completely out of order. The smallest orb, which she took to be Pluto, was proof of that, resting much closer than it should to the sun and on the second orbital ring.
The Princess picked up the pluto orb and made her way to the very edge of the room and the last ring. As she paced its edge, she found a small groove in the stone floor that rested on the path of the orbital ring. The Princess couldn’t help but smile to herself as she knew she had figured out the puzzle. She placed the orb into the groove, pressing it ever so gently into place. It fit perfectly.
The Princess then set about arranging all the other orbs in the room, rolling the heavier ones to their rings and lodging them firmly in place. She worked at this for about ten minutes, until every single planet was in its place as well as in order.
Once she rolled the final orb into place (a green one representative of the earth), a loud click sounded, reverberating off the walls of the cave. She stepped back in awe as she watched the floor begin to roll back at the center, revealing a spiraling staircase the descended into a dark void.
Now, this is where The Princess couldn’t help but hesitate. The Stairs mostly obscured by shadow circling down in the bowels of a dark hole looked anything but welcoming. But she thought of her people she had left behind that morning and all that was at stake here. And that was enough to send her forward, taking her first step down the staircase. Then another. Then another.
It wasn’t long before she had reached the bottom, finding herself in yet another cave-like room except this one was less empty. In fact, she would go as far as to say that this room looked lived in.
Pushed against the walls were a great number of shelves, containing a wide array of objects from books, to glass bottles, to odd-looking, gilded knick-knacks. The smell of cinnamon filled her nose as she moved about the room. She also noted in the corner was a small fire pit that contained a few small embers, burning low.
“Looks like I have a visitor,” a voice came from behind her. The Princess turned, not at all surprised to see The Socereress standing before her, though this time she stood up tall and straight and wore her mother’s cold, beautiful face. It of course startled The Princess, causing her to take an involuntary step back.
“Did I frighten you?” The Sorceress’s tone held amusement. “Oh, how rude of me to wear such a wicked woman’s face before you. My deepest apologies.”
She waved a hand across her face, her features morphing into yet another face, this one just as beautiful, but a little less harsh looking and with rounder features and smaller eyes.
Did she steal that face too? The Princess couldn’t help but wonder.
“I have but two tests for you. Three technically though you already completed the first in the room above as you wouldn’t be here otherwise.”
“Well, what are they? I’ll complete any task you set before me.”
“Ah, not so fast! You don’t think I’m so kind as to just give you the opportunity to reverse my curse upon your little kingdom? No, where’s the fun in that! Where’s the risk? The Adventure? We need stakes. So how about this; If you complete the remaining two trials, I will lift the curse off your Kingdom and your mother right then and there. But! If you lose, you must give up your birthright to rule to me.”
If she did not accept, there would be no kingdom left to rule. The Princess had no choice but to agree.
“Oh, Splendid!” The Sorceress clapped with delight. “You seem very smart so I’m sure you have nothing to worry about. Let’s start with riddles! Is that alright with you? I’m quite fond of them.”
The Sorceress paced enthusiastically around the edge of the room, The Princess eyeing her suspiciously all the wall.
“But this dull space ought never to do! After all, trials should be exciting!”
The Sorceress grabbed a handful of blue powder from a sack leaning up against one of the many bookshelves and blew the dust from her palm. The Princess wiped her eyes and sneezed, trying not to breathe in the powder.
“What in the-” She coughed. The dust began to settle around her once she opened her eyes again. The sight that greeted her was unfortunately a grim one.
She was in a deep pit, and The Sorceress stood above her along the pit’s edge. Across from her was a stone plate with spikes, moving gradually towards her. This was, of course, a timed trap.
“Now!” The Sorceress called with glee. “Time for your first riddle!”
“First?!” The Princess exclaimed.
“Yes, first,” The Socereress acted as if she had something irritating. “This trial is comprised of three riddles. Answer them correctly or you die. Simple. Alright! First riddle!”
The Princess backed up against the opposite wall and listened closely, trying to not let her fear get the best of her.
“My tongue is long, my breath is strong, and yet I breed no strife; my voice you hear both far and near, and yet I have no life. What am I?”
The Princess breathed a sigh of relief. This was an easy one that all children knew.
“A Bell,” she responded. “Now, onto the next one, quickly.”
The Sorceress gave the Princess another annoyed look but went on.
“I am something people love or hate. I change people’s appearances and thoughts. If a person takes care of themself I will go up even higher. To some people, I will fool them. To others, I am a mystery. Some people might want to try and hide me but I will show. No matter how hard people try I will never go down. What am I?”
The Princess’s eyes darted around the room as she thought. A mirror? No, that can’t be it…
“Age!”
The Sorceress crossed her arms poutily. “Not fair.”
The Princess flicked another glance at the metal spikes crawling towards her, ever closer.
“No, it’s quite fair. Final riddle please.”
“I’m not making these hard enough,” The Sorceress grumped, but, to The Princess’s relief, she continued. “Only one color, but not one size, stuck at the bottom, yet easily flies. Present in sun, but not in rain, doing no harm, and feeling no pain.”
The Princess shrunk against the wall. She didn’t know this one either. Her mind raced as she evaluated the possibilities. But everything she thought of was ruled out due to that last line.
“Present in sun, but not in rain, doing no harm, and feeling no pain,” she whispered these words to herself in a rush. The spikes were only a couple of yards away. The shadow of The Socereress danced along the bottom of the pit as she shifted from foot to foot, growing ever impatient.
“I’m waaaaaiting.”
The spikes were only about two yards away now. That’s when it struck The Princess like a bolt of lighting. “A Shadow!”
“Darn.”
The setting around The Princess shifted again, all while the complaints and grumbles of The Sorceress could be heard.
“Drat, darn, crow’s feet, and maggots.”
A new room took shape around The Princess once more. The Final trial. And it must be an odd one for she found herself in a plain, high ceilinged room with no furniture. No furniture, that is, besides rows and rows of mirrors.
“Which one is real,” The Sorceress whispered to The Princess, suddenly appearing by the royal’s side. “You have one chance to tell me which.”
The Princess sighed inwardly. Another riddle.
Still, without complaint, The Princess surveyed the mirrors, not flinching from her reflection for the first time. She considered The Sorceress’s words, trying to decrypt the magic worker’s words. Her eyes searched her reflection in the glass to her left, repeating the words under her breath, “which is real?”
She then noticed that a reflection was slightly off- the woman in the glass did not have the right shade of eyes, being brown instead of green.
Ah-ha! She thought to herself. So I am to find which reflection is real.
The Princess turned to the mirror directly to her right. Here she noticed that the Princess looking back at her lacked a mole on her forehead.
That mustn’t be right either.
The Princess turned to the many other reflections, the words playing in her head on repeat.
Which one is real?
Finally, she came to the last mirror, looking carefully at the image of a girl before her. Then she paused, a thought suddenly striking her.
“Well?” The Sorceress taunted from behind her. “I don’t have all day!”
“You asked which one is real,” the Princess said, slowly turning to look at the magic-worker. “Not which reflection or image was real.”
She turned back to cast another glance at the mirror, a small smile playing on her lips.
“But none of these are me. So none of these,” she gestured to the looking-glasses the surrounded them. “None of these are real, are they?”
The Sorceress remained strangely silent, careful not to give anything away, her face remaining emotionless and hard to read. But the Princess knew she was right before she had even said the words out loud.
“Except for this one,” she laid her hands on her own chest. “This one. This one is real.”
Behind her, the Princess could hear the Sorceress let out a sigh.
“Right you are,” she said. Much to the Princess’s surprise, the Socererss’s voice wasn’t angry or mocking. It wasn’t resigned either. Perhaps she was wrong, but she almost thought it was relief she heard in the magician’s tone.
“And that means I win, don’t I?”
The ring of mirrors around them dissolved with a wave of the Socereress’s hand.
“Looks like it,” The Sorceress said, with a cock of her head. “Looks like I won’t be gaining a kingdom today. Though I am not quite as sad as I thought I’d be,” Then the Woman straightened, resuming her sly and intimidating demeanor. “Looks like your birthright to rule is safe for now, Princess.”
“And the River?”
“Already purified,” the Sorceress said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “You shall return to your kingdom to find everyone in good health and healed of the water’s plague as well.”
“Thank you,” the Princess said with a curt bow. “It would seem my business if finished here.”
“But aren’t you forgetting something?”
The Princess wavered a moment. “Am I?”
“I stole something from your mother,” The Sorceress gestured to her face, smirking. “Do you not wish for me to return her beauty?”
“Oh! I had all but forgotten about that,” The Princess said honestly.
“I do not have to,” The Sorceress told the Princess, her mischievous smile growing wider by the moment. “It is not a secret that she has scorned you. I can bestow her beauty upon you if you wish it,” The Sorceress offered with an aloof shrug. “After all, revenge is a dish best served cold. She’d be green with envy I’d venture.”
The Princess couldn’t help but laugh. “I would ask you to return it to her if only for the fact that it belongs to her in the first place.”
“How good-natured of you.”
“Not really,” The Princess couldn’t help but offer the Sorceress a knowing grin. “It is not as big of a gift as some might make it out to be.”
“Spoken as a Queen.”
The next day, the Princess returned home to find all that the Sorceress had said had come true. All were healed of their afflictions and the water was purified. And, as promised, the Queen’s beauty had been restored, though one could hardly tell with how forlorn and dejected she looked. Never again did the Princess hear an unkind remark from her concerning her appearance. Though it hardly would have mattered to the girl whether she loved or hated her. Her people loved her and she had brought peace upon her land. That was enough.
The Lantern Princess
Once upon a time, there lived a princess named Nilsa. Her mother was a just and fair queen who was known for her charm and grace throughout all the land.
Her father, on the other hand, was a noble knight who fought with the ferocity of a dragon. He was both feared and loved among the people. It was he who named Nilsa, the word meaning “champion” as she would be a champion for her people.
As fate would have it, There came a time when Nilsa’s parents died she inherit the throne with reluctance.
However, word got out of her parents’ death and her father’s enemies began to make plans to attack the kingdom.
But the princess was no fool when it came to battle strategy as her father had taught her of things such as war. The enemies of the kingdom soon Found this out the hard way, returning home with few men, many of which were injured.
The rival Kings held a meeting among themselves and discussed as to how they could take the kingdom as they could not by force.
Then one proposed an idea. They would release locusts on their fields to destroy their farms.
The there agreed to this and they did as they discussed. They collected a hundred locusts and then released then on the Kingdoms fields. After a month’s time, there was no food left in the kingdom.
Nilsa’s people were hungry so she arranged and organized hunting groups to hunt down any available food. She herself was in one and so she rode out into the forest to look for game.
She came across a lady sitting in a stump. She looked haggard and was all bent over and she was very thin. A ragged cloak was thrown across her shoulders.
“Can I help you, Milady?” She asked the stranger.
“I am so hungry!” The other woman said, her voice hoarse. “I have not eaten in ten days. Please, can you prepare me a meal? If it is my last, so shall it be.”
“It shall be done,” said Nilsa. She hunted down a rabbit and killed it and returned to the woman. She then hastily made a fire and prepared it, cooking it brown. She then offered it to the lady along with some water from her own canteen.
“You are so very kind. But You are royalty? Why should you trouble with the likes of me?” The old woman said.
“A queen can eat when her subject’s stomachs are first full,” replied she.
Then the woman transformed into a beautiful shining woman in glimmering robes.
“Blessings upon you, Nilsa!” She said. “For you have proven yourself worthy. Your kingdom is ravaged with hunger but no longer this shall be.”
She then disappeared leaving Nilsa to wonder what has happened.
When Nilsa returned home, she came to find that the crops had regrown, twice as healthy and ready to harvest. Her people celebrated as they had an abundance of food.
The rival Kings marveled at this but resolved to bring Nilsa and her kingdom Down. The Kings held a meeting once more. This time they proposed they poison the kingdom’s water supply.
And so when Nilsa’s kingdom had nothing to drink, she journeyed into the forest once more in search of a new water supply. Upon searching, she came across a rabbit trapped in a trap.
“We are not hungry anymore,” she thought to herself. “So there is no need to kill it.”
And she released it but it did not run away. Instead, the creature panted mournfully and remained to lie on the ground.
“It must be thirsty as well,” she considered. And then she spotted a small well of crystal clear water. Without hesitation, she began to draw the water from out of its dark mouth. She then picked up the small creature and wasted no time in allowing it to receive the drink it had so craved. The rabbit lapped the water up greedily and then, strength regained, began to squirm. Nilsa loosened her grip, allowing the rabbit to escape.
Then suddenly, there was a bright light, and the lady in shimmering robes was present once more.
“Because you have proven yourself once again, I will aid you in your hour of need and quench the thirst of your land.”
And she disappeared once more and, like before, Nilsa returned to her kingdom to find their problem solved and the water not only purified but even clearer than before.
The Rival Kings were at their wit’s end.
“We need drastic measures!” Said one.
The others nodded in agreement and discussed what should be done. They finally agreed on a fire. They would allow the fields to catch fire from the north side of the kingdom and from the south side. The blazes then would eventually make their way to the castle and the village itself, leaving nothing but ash in its wake.
The night of the fire many lives were lost. But more than that, the village and the castle were reduced to nothing more than a few remnants of stone and charred wood.
Nilsa was badly burned but did not give up. That morning, she rose early and made her way into the forest. There, beneath a tree, sat the lady who had helped her before.
“I see that nothing will satisfy those villains but the downfall of your kingdom. But fear not as it will not come to pass for I have prepared a kingdom for you across the great divide. And there you and your people can live peaceably.”
“But the great divide is an uncrossable canyon of darkness where creatures of shadows roam,” said Nilsa. “How shall we cross safely.”
“The creatures are fearful of nothing but the light of fairies,” said she. “This I can give you so you might pass through safely.”
She stretched her hand out and in her grip was a lantern. “Light all the other lanterns with the light from this fire within the lantern and you will live to see brighter days.”
And with that, she was gone.
Nilsa wasted no time in returning to her fire scourged kingdom and telling her people of the fairy’s words. She then instructed her people to pack what material objects they had left and to arrange themselves in a line. Those who stood at the line’s edges and ends were armed with a sword and a lantern so to keep the darkness away.
And so Nilsa led her people into the dark divide. They encountered nothing though dark shapes in the distance could be seen, but they were long gone by the time they were nearing them.
Upon making it to the other side, the people were greeted with the sight of a beautiful, luscious, green valley with a castle at its center. Rivers of crystal clear water flowed throughout the rich farmland that lay in the outskirts of the kingdom and flowers of beautiful color lined the pathway that led to their new home. And there, Nilsa and her people built a new kingdom that became their paradise and they lived there happily for the rest of their days.
The ending for the evil kings, however, was not so happy. Strangely enough, one King’s water supply was contaminated. Another’s crops mysteriously withered away leaving him and his subjects with a food shortage. And yet another’s kingdom had a fire that swept across half of its entirety.
And while these Kings could not tell exactly why, but they somehow felt that it was the work of some form of strange magic. But the answer was far simpler; they were simply reaping that which they sowed.
The End
The Reaper’s Run
Momma drew the coat collar close around my neck and buttoned the last button. She then smoothed the edges of the sleeves before giving me one last quick squeeze around the waist.
“Remember,” she said somberly. “The crows are your friend.”
I nodded, throat tight and unable to speak. It was time to go. And we both knew it. The town was waiting for us.
~*~
It was a cloudy day outside, ominous grey clouds hanging low over the village. It often was on Harvest Day. The town was nearly empty, most of them opting to gather at the cornfields that lay west of the main clump of houses. I could see a few parents, like mine, ushering their children through the streets, heading in the direction of the fields. Most of the children plodded slowly while their parents tugged at them to go faster. They knew we were running late. And they couldn’t start without us all.
Sure enough, by the time we reached the edge of the cornfield, most of the town was waiting, and a row of children was already forming. They stood shoulder to shoulder, facing the field. Most looked grey in the face and nervous, as I imagine I was. No one was ever happy on harvest day.
My mother gave me a quick peck before giving me a gentle push to line up with the other kids. I chose a spot beside my friend, Maisie, who was the same age as I was. She was dressed in a dark green tunic dress and wore brown boots. A brown jacket that was slightly too big for her, hung upon her skinny shoulders. My mother had dressed me similarly, except I wore a green jacket and a brown shirt and breeches. Better for running, she said.
Maisie looked at me but said nothing. Regardless, the fear was apparent in her big blue eyes. I grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze to comfort her. Ever since we turned nine, we knew this day was coming. We had both counted down the days till our tenth birthdays arrived, knowing full well this day marked the beginning of the possible end.
We did not talk about it to our parents. We were never allowed to. Harvest Day must never be spoken of until the day of. It was bad luck. But, even though we would never admit it to our parents, Maisie and I stayed up late during our sleepovers and would sometimes whisper about this day, wondering out loud what it would be like. What we would wear. And if we’d run fast enough.
The loud clang of a handbell broke the air as the Town leader, a petite and elderly man, signaled for the whispering crowd to fall silent. The sun was setting. It was time.
“Look at the light, Maisie,” I whispered, low enough that none of the grown-ups could hear. We both looked up towards the sky, as did the other kids in the line, as we watched the last golden ray disappear against the grey sky, coating us and the fields in darkness.
Another clang of a bell. Time to get into position.
I let go of Maisie’s hand and crouched on the ground, feeling the cold earth against my bare fingers. The other kids followed suit, taking their runner positions.
The crows are our friends, I thought to myself.
And then the third ring of the bell.
The row of children took off into the cornfield, as did I, my surroundings becoming a blur of green and yellow. That last ring was a signal. It was loose now, running with us. We just needed to be able to outrun it for the length of the field.
My mother’s words of advice came to mind once again.
This is a sprint. Not a Marathon. Run now and you can run tomorrow.
My feet pounded against the earth, eyes trained on the path ahead. Corn stalks whipped against my face, cutting shallow cuts into my cheeks. I couldn’t help but wondering where Maisie was. She had been right behind.
I snuck a glance backward. No one was there. But in the distance, I could hear the labored breathe of the other kids. Momma had told me not to think about them.
There is no going back, darling. No turning back for any reason.
Not even for Maisie? I had asked.
My mother somberly shook her head. Not even for Maisie.
Then there came a scream far to my left. I didn’t recognize it, but it chilled me to the bone all the same. Now it wasn’t just running. It was hunting.
This was where the second part of the strategy of this run kicked in. You didn’t just have to be fast, you had to change directions. Very few kids could outrun it. But if you confused it as to your location, you did have a chance. The tricky part wasn’t getting disoriented as to which way was out. And with no reference besides the endless rows of corn, it was very easy to get lost.
I bolted to my right before making a big loop, trying to be mentally aware of which way was out. More and more noises could be heard. The shuffling of corn stalks became more and more frantic as children began to panic. The sharp screams and squeals of children either cracking beneath the pressure or being found amidst the corn.
But none of these screams were Maisie’s. So I kept on. I finished making my wide loop. I had to be getting close.
But then I smelled it. A sickly metallic scent. It was close. Despite all my running and changing directions, it was close.
I stopped, flattening myself against the ground and listening closely for any sound or sign at all.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. You could run from The Reaper. But you rarely succeeded in hiding from him.
The shuffling of corn stalks began to grow more and more scattered and quiet. This is when I realized that either I was in this field alone, or the other children were trying to hide like me, giving up on the whole running and changing directions strategy.
A long, long painful silence fell upon the field. All I could hear was the wind blowing a path through the corn, stalks shuffling against each other. This silence was broken by the caw of a murder of crows as they flew up from a patch of corn in front of me. My stomach dropped.
The crows are your friends.
It was here. And right in front of me. Moving slowly in my direction.
I slowly surveyed my surroundings in an attempt to formulate a plan of escape. As soon as I started running, it would know exactly where I was. Then I saw her.
Maisie.
She was crouching against the ground, like me but now she was slowly rising. I wanted to yell and scream at her to get back down. It would know where she was if she made any movement.
Dear God, please don’t let her run. Please.
She was standing all the way now. I knew then, that she was going to run. And I had to think fast. I grabbed a corn husk from around my feet that I had spotted when I was close to the ground. And then I threw it as far as I could in the opposite direction.
As soon as the stalks rustling against the husk could be heard, a force tore through the corn in that direction. I had to act fast.
I bolted forward and grabbed Maisie’s hand, no longer caring about being quiet. This was our chance and we had to take it.
“Come on!” I hissed to her. She needed no urging because she was already running with me.
I was faster than Maisie but that rule of leaving others behind was already broken. Now I was just focused on getting us both out and alive.
To my surprise, we were only running for only a few seconds when we broke out on the other side of the cornfield. We both fell flat out on the grass, greeted by the sight of the town on the other side, its inhabitants holding lanterns and torches close to their faces. Turns out we had stopped and hidden mere yards away from the finish line.
My mother rushed to us both, hugging me and crying into my hair.
Maisie’s parents did much of the same.
When they had finally gathered themselves, we stood, facing the field and the darkness it held within.
Maisie looked to her father. “Who else made it?”
He only shook his head. Another group of crows flew up from the center of the field and one last scream could be heard. We all knew what it meant. We were the last ones and Harvest Day was over for the rest of the year.
Tips on Creating ARMOR for your character
Its no secret that armor in the fictional world has often been butchered for the sake of sex-appeal or just general “coolness” or “aesthetic”. But what can you do to avoid this trope in your armor design? Well, here are a few things to consider to avoid such pitfalls.
★What time period is this? What time period did your character come from?
★What state should this armor be in? (Has been taken care of? Will it need repairing? You can’t just grab armor off of an age old skeleton and expect it to be in prime condition).
★Consider the coloring of your armor that would make sense for the culture that it is from.
★Overall, just do you research.
★ When making modifications or your own armor, do such changes make sense? What are the reasons for these changes? Do they serve as advantages?
★Does the society or culture that the armor is from have male and female versions of their armor? (Most of this time, the answer is a “no” as not dying is gender neutral. If your character is female, she may have to make certain modifications if she gets her hands on predominately male armor by making it lighter, fitting it better to her body, etc.)
★Consider mobility of said armor.
★Consider the level of defense this armor will serve and whether or not this makes sense for the type of weaponry the wearer’s are supposed to be up against.
★For real, this could all be summarized as do your research. So please, if it important to you to have accurate and sensible armor, do your research.
Halloween Writing Prompts
A little late for Halloween but still close enough that I can justify sharing these. 🙂
★ Sugar Coated
A group of kids participate in trick-or-treating around their block. They stop off at an odd house of an elderly woman who just moved in recently (I think you know where this is going…). She gives them each a different candy bar. After Halloween, the candies mix with the kid’s other candy. They didn’t know something was off about them until a member of their group ate one, and woke up breathing fire and with scaly wings the next day. Shortly thereafter, another kid contacted the others to report a weird golden aura surrounding them and that they think they were growing… feathered wings? What on earth was going on?
★ Grandpa’s Crypt
A group of teens on Halloween visit on of the kid’s grandpa’s crypt, hoping to scare each other silly with ghost stories and made-up noises. But the night takes a dark turn when the door of the crypt swings shut. And their adventure begins. You see, the grandfather, unbeknownst to teens, was a little eccentric, but rich. He desired to be buried with his riches, much like the Egyptians, but, unlike the Egyptians, he also wanted to be buried in an underground maze rigged with a network of traps.
★ The Magic Mask Shop
A new mask shop comes to town every Halloween. It suddenly shows up and then goes away. But this year, they are selling some very special masks. They appear to be masquerade masks but, they not only hide the wearer’s face but transform them entirely.
★ Rest in Reese’s Pieces
A kid, on the night of Halloween, hears the doorbell ring. He opens to find a tall man standing at the door with a black cloak, skull face, and a large scythe. The child, assuming him to be a trick-or-treater, is impressed with the costume and says as such, before giving the reaper a big handful of Reese’s Cups. Luckily, the Reaper was a sucker for chocolate, and disappeared. The next morning, the child wakes with a gift from the reaper at the foot of his bed….
★ Spell Bound
The night of Halloween, you run into a woman on the street. She looks very sad, and her costume intricate, with burn marks along her skirt. You kindly ask her if she was alright and if she’d like a lift or anything. She replies she doesn’t want much; just a single licorice. You kindly oblige, giving her every licorice you can find in your trick-or-treat stash. She seems to brighten up at this, and disappears. Unbeknownst to you, there was a witch burning in that part of town, and you had just met the witch who was victim of this. But she seemed to like you well enough and appreciate the candy, so it should be no surprise to you when you find a giant, leather book in your trick-or treat sack labeled “Spells”.
Questions to Ask about your Magic System
Just a questionnaire that can help guide you when you’re building your magic system for your story or roleplaying world.
★ What can your magic do?
★ What can’t it do?
★ What is a price for overusing it?
★ Is there an “incorrect” way to wield the magic?
★ Does it require training?
★ Who possesses it?
★ Do you have to be born with it or obtain it?
★ Can animals have magic/how does it effect the animals of your world?
★ How does magic change your world’s caste system/economy/society?
★ What laws are in place concerning your magic? (is it legal, illegal, must be used in certain ways, etc.)
★ Does the magic require anything to wield? (ingredients, staff, wand, etc.)
★ Are there any indicators of a magic wielder?
★ Are there different types of magic?
★ If so, how do they differ?
November Writing Prompts
★ Communion by Fire
Fires are very special things. For centuries, people have been gathering around them, exchanging stories and making conversation around them as people feel the warm flames. Tell me about a special fire that someone finds. This fire is ever burning and the walls between alternate realities and timelines are particularly thin here, making it so souls from all sorts of worlds and eras can gather and make conversation here by the fire.
★ Tales from a Tree
A girl finds a very special tree in her woods that likes to make polite conversation and talk about all sorts of things. Being alive for so long, you’re bound to see something interesting.
★ Fall Queen
Every year, the armies of the Fall Queen and Winter Queen are at war. And, every year, Winter wins, only the be dethroned by spring in the later months. But she will enjoy her few months of victory and ice and The Fall Queen retreats and waits for her next moment to strike. But something odd happened this year. This balance was threatened as the Fall Queen, after dethroning summer, maintains her Queenship. The Winter Queen lost this year.
★ Time Travel and Campsites
A group of teens go camping only to wake up and find they have traveled back in time to the medieval England.
★ The Cornmaze Reaper
Every year, per tradition, the children of a village are let loose in the corn, to prove themselves worthy. They must elude the Reaper and make it to the other side, before succumbing to the clutches of the cornmaze.
★ The Lady who runs the Apple Stand
I bought apples from someone today on the way home from work. She was very kind, don’t get me wrong. And she sells the best apples. But today she offered me a special one. One half was green and the other was red. For some reason, it reminded me of something. Then I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed it before; her skin was white as snow, her lips were red as blood, and her hair was black as coal.
★ Pumpkin Girl
A girl finds she has one small magical gift: every pumpkin she carves, comes to life.
Writing Prompt: Sleeping Beast
A Prince hears rumors that a damsel is in distress in her kingdom. She has been cursed to sleep, and, as you may have guessed, can only be awakened by “true love’s kiss”. At least that’s what the fairies told him. Valiant as ever, he rides off to save the princess. But when he arrives, he finds a flourishing kingdom. The fairies tell him it is a rouse prepared by the evil witch Maleficent. They urged him forward, leading him to a dungeon beneath the city. There, he sees a beautiful Princess, asleep. But something is not right. Green luminescent chains wrap round her body, pinning her to where she rests. A evil presence can be felt. The Prince slowly begins to realize why this “Princess” was forced into a slumber…
Writing Prompt: Fairytale Apocalypse
We all know about the fairytale world of Grimm, where the princesses were saved and everyone lived happily ever after. But, let’s say, there is an alternate timeline that run parallel to this utopian one. One where the Princesses were not rescued. One where the castles crumbled and the world is ripping itself apart at the seams. One where wolves roam in the woods (careful not to wear red), sea witches and pirates rule the ocean, witches curses and magic go unchecked, and dragons circle the sky. A fairytale world living in an apocalypse.
By the Brooke 