The Weight of Ashes
The air reeked of iron and burnt hair, a stench that clung to the skin like a second layer. Clara knelt beside the cot, her fingers tracing the outline of the boy’s hollow cheek. His breaths came in shallow rasps,…
Survival
Read MoreThe Weight of Ashes
The Last Broadcast
The *Aurora’s Wake* hummed like a wounded insect as Captain Mira Voss adjusted the comms array, her gloved fingers brushing the cracked screen. Static hissed from the speakers, a low, persistent whine that made her teeth ache. She’d heard the…
The Hollow Veil
The wind howled through the skeletal trees as Lira pressed her palm against the moss-covered stone, feeling the faint hum of something ancient beneath her fingers. The air reeked of damp earth and decay, a scent that clung to her…
The Veil of Luma
The air aboard the *Odyssey* tasted metallic, a constant reminder of the ship’s failing life-support systems. Captain Renn Kael adjusted his gloves, the synthetic fibers stiff under his fingers, and stared at the data stream flickering across the holo-screen. The…
The Ember Trail
The air reeked of salt and coal smoke as Clara stepped off the ferry, her boots crunching over broken oyster shells. The San Francisco docks in 1849 were a symphony of chaos—shouts of merchants hawking gold dust, the creak of…
The Veil of Kaelos
The sky above Kaelos burned with hues no human had ever seen—deep violets and shifting greens that pulsed like a living thing. Captain Elara Voss stood at the edge of the research outpost, her boots crunching on the crystalline dust…
The Cartographer’s Shadow
The dust clung to Elara Thorne’s boots as she stepped off the wagon, her fingers curling around the leather-bound journal tucked beneath her coat. The air reeked of pine resin and sweat, a thick haze that made the sun feel…
Veil of Virelia
The ship ruptured at 30,000 meters, its hull screaming like a blade through flesh. Captain Mara Voss gripped the controls, her knuckles white as the altimeter spun. Below, Virelia’s surface loomed—a sapphire expanse flecked with obsidian scars. The mist clung…
The Shattered Veil
The air in Lysara reeked of iron and ash, a stale reminder of the war that had scorched the land a century past. Kael’s boots crunched over broken stone as he traced the edge of the ruins, his fingers brushing…
Dustspire’s Shadow
The air in Dustspire stank of pine resin and sweat, a thick miasma that clung to Elara’s throat as she stepped off the wagon. Her boots crunched over gravel, each step echoing against the skeletal remains of tents and wagons,…
The Silent Vessel
The *Odyssey* drifted through the void, its hull scarred by decades of interstellar travel. Captain Mara Voss stood at the observation deck, her gloved hand pressing against the cold glass as she stared at the derelict ship ahead. It hung…
The Hollowing
The first time Jessa found the key, it was buried in the dirt behind the old mill, rusted and cold to the touch. She dug it out with her fingers, nails breaking under the weight of the soil, and held…
The Veil of Thalassa
The air reeked of ozone and rust, a metallic tang that clung to the back of Dr. Elara Voss’s throat as she adjusted the visor on her helmet. Outside the colony’s domed perimeter, the twin suns of Thalassa hung low…
The Iron Veil
The air reeked of salt and smoke as Elara Whitcombe crouched behind a stack of empty wine barrels, her fingers trembling around the cold iron handle of a bayonet. The British soldiers’ boots thudded against the cobblestones, their voices a…
The Hollow Veil
The *Odyssey* hung in the void like a rusted nail, its hull scarred by decades of interstellar travel. Captain Mara Voss stood at the observation deck, her breath fogging the glass as she watched the dying star pulse above them.…