The rain hammered against the corrugated iron roof of O’Malley’s Bait & Tackle, a relentless percussion that mirrored the anxiety thrumming beneath Silas’ skin. He wiped condensation from his worn baseball cap, letting it fall back into place with a…
The rain smelled of salt and something else—rotting kelp, maybe, clinging to the stone walls. Twilight bled across Haven’s harbor, a bruised purple and grey where the jagged cliffs met the restless sea. It wasn’t a pretty harbor, not anymore.…
The chipped ceramic of the teacup warmed Lyric’s palms, but did little for the chill burrowing into her bones. Dust motes danced in the single shaft of light slicing through the shuttered window. Valor hadn’t walked in months. Not since…
Lysanthemum’s fingers, stained lavender from the emotion threads, trembled. Each strand pulsed with a memory, a longing, a joy—the echoes of lives connected. She’d spent decades harvesting these luminous filaments, weaving them into the grand tapestry of the city of…
The grit tasted of regret. Ada spat, the fine red dust coating her tongue like a second skin. Eldan hadn’t just *fallen* to the storms; it had been *eaten*. One moment, carved sandstone buildings gleamed, the next, swallowed whole by…
The grit of the Dustlands tasted like regret. Elara spat, the particles clinging to her tongue. Thirteen summers she’d spent inhaling it, watching the sun bleach the color from everything. Even hope felt faded. She traced the chipped ceramic of…
Rain lashed the ferroconcrete, slicking the corridors of the Exchange to a sheen. The air tasted of ozone and desperation. Jax traced a finger across the chipped Formica of the broker’s desk, ignoring the static cling. The man, Krell, didn’t…
The chipped gargoyle warmed beneath Zeush’s feet, the stone radiating the day’s faint heat. Below, the city of Veridium pulsed—a network of shadowed alleys and glittering towers, all choking on ambition. He adjusted his grip, talons scoring the weathered stone.…
In the verdant hollows of Elderglow Forest, where mushrooms tower like ancient monoliths and dewdrops glisten like enchanted orbs, the tiny gnomes of Glimmerwick led lives of quiet industry. These pint-sized folk, no taller than a squirrel’s whisker, were renowned…
The harbor buzzed with activity under a dusky sky as lanterns flickered in rhythm like restless fireflies. In the distance, tall ships stood majestically against darkening hues while bustling townsfolk moved below their shadows. Samuel Hawkins peered from behind crates…
The Arrival Captain James Whitmore stood at the helm of The Seraphim, her sails taut against the wind as she cut through the Atlantic. His eyes scanned the horizon—starry night reflected in deep blue waves—as if he could divine his…