Find The Word Tag

Find The Word Tag

Thanks @owlsandwich for tagging me! Turns out that I have never written the word freeze, so I had to take some liberties.

My words are: wisdom, freeze, and expect

The new words are: red, sun, and calm

Wisdom

Her equally dark eyes held a type of wisdom that I knew then that would never be able to fathom.

Freeze

All of the lounge chairs were lined up to the millimeter and the water was so clear and still it appeared frozen.

Expect

"That’s the problem with you Spiritwalkers–-you set all these dumb rules and expect the whole world to go by them."

I'm tagging @missionsparrow @marz-writes-shit @sophielovesbooks as always, no pressure

Omg I love this! Moons, magic, queens. Yes!! Could you add me to the taglist?

Blue Moon

For this week's @flashfictionfridayofficial prompt

This is the end result of me playing around with Callabiem's ability to see the future. Sometimes it works well for her, other times it does not. Below is an abridged version, where I've cut the piece in two because I couldn't get it to stay below the word count 😅.

Part Two (where the title gets its name) will be posted (and linked here) in due course. Until then, enjoy part one :D

Word count: 943 words

—

Callabiem found a crack in the moon. A hairline splinter, stemming from the bottom such that someone would mistake it for one of its usual imperfections. Imperfections do not fall from the sky, however. The Queen took a second glance at the moon, various letters still in hand.

Its bottom edge resembled a chipped tooth. She grabbed a dark blue, silken cloak and dashed down to the shore. A few people lounged and walked about, with mermaids and aquatic fae swimming through the moonlit seas. The waves lapped almost to her slippers, leaving the occasional clam or shell in their wake.

In the depths of the sand, she found nothing. No moon shard, no strange footsteps, nothing. She looked again. The moon was full and respondent, shining clear light upon the entirety of Therae and the sea beyond.

Flashes of the shard plagued her mind. Cracks travelled up the moon’s surface, splintering its light. She searched the images for the perpetrator, yet could conjure nothing. Her mind grew heavy and weighted. Dead crabs plagued the shoreline, clams and mollusks too.

A set of hands jolted her from her visions, gently grasping her shoulders. Callabiem leaned into his touch, embracing his soft whispers in her ears and his tender kisses along her neck. She let him bring her to bed and melted into his arms.

When he asked what she witnessed in the vaguest terms, she told him everything, except her walk to the beach. “Don’t worry about a future that has not happened yet.” He threaded his fingers through her loosely coiled hair, planting another kiss on her forehead. “Focus on the now, you’ll be fine, I promise.” Once her dear husband fell asleep, she slipped out of his gentle embrace and out into the hallways.

Callabiem’s footsteps clattered on the cold stone, venturing to the ornate double doors engraved with the scenes of Kerrasildain folklore. Beyond it stood the sacred mirror, its glass swirling with shadows. Every entry risked never emerging from it, yet Callabiem found it cleared her head. She needed to know who will crack the moon. She had to. One step forward and the shadows embraced her whole.

— Callabiem found a crack in the moon. A hairline splinter, so fine going on unnoticeable. It didn’t take long for it to split, falling straight towards the ground. A pale white figure on a pale white winged horse swooped down onto the sand, armed with an harpoon on their back. The figure swung the shard into their bag and rode north.

She followed suit, running from rock to rock in the hopes of not being spotted. The figure went into a cave, leaving the horse at the entrance. She waited with bated breath as the rider re-emerged, hopping on the horse and flying back to the sky. She took the opportunity to head into the cave, where the one shard was placed in a nook of the rock. Her heart palpitated. This seemed too obvious. Before the thief returned, she slipped the shard into the inside of her cloak and ran away, making herself seem innocuous. The sand held no footprints bar her own and the horse’s. The air had a stillness to it, neither hot nor cold, it just was. She couldn’t see nor hear a soul, neither on land nor in the sea. Beside her, the waters receded. Seaweed appeared in its wake, with clams entangled throughout.

She looked up. More cracks appeared, more defined this time. The pieces crumbled and fell, the thief flying around collecting them like fruit. Her gaze transfixed on the figure in horror, watching the moonlight fade from the sky. She could hear the rush of the retreating waters, with a latent smell of salt present. Nocturnal birds flew in circles, then landed, and flew again. Their sibilant caws marred the night’s ambience, perhaps a welcome reprieve from the silence of the moon’s downfall.

A hand slapped the wet sand next to her. Callabiem jumped away from it, vomit rising in her oesophagus. Its skin was a pallor shade of yellow, its hands and feet webbed, but hallow. This creature had nearly every bone sticking out, with not an ounce of flesh to spare. It had dried seaweed for hair, and a dark pair of eyes that pleaded for reprieve, whether in vivo or in death.

She swallowed, her throat burning for a moment. “Who are you?” When the creature couldn’t muster an answer, she summoned water from the tides and splashed it all over its skin. Within seconds, she may as well have not done anything.

“No amount of water can sustain me.” It rasped. “I need a shard.” She pulled the piece from her pocket, and looked to the creature again. “What is your offer in exchange?”

“My assistance.” It reached a claw-tipped hand to her. “Please, I will falter without it. The animals of this plain will suffer and perish, the mermaids too. Stagnation of our seas does no favours. As I understand it, your people need it too. Their magic will be weaker without it.”

She considered it for not a moment more. The creature took the shard from her hand, its skin seeming less dry. “Follow me.” It went on its hands and knees, scuttling to an exposed hole in the ground. Callabiem jumped straight in, watching as the creature placed the shard into the round hole on the floor. “If I was to get all the shards, would it repair the moon?” “Yes, most definitely.” The creature took a sip from the remaining bit of water in the shallow pool. “We need only wait for the right time.”

—

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unfinished short story set in the same world as project.e.

I knelt before my king, dimly aware of the soldier reading aloud my charges. 

My face hurts.

Hunching further into myself, I shut out the stares. The whispers. The empty pity. 

“…and killing a city guard,” the droning voice came to a halt. I held my breath, my heart pounding in my ears, far too loud in the silent hall. 

“What have you done to his face?” Calm, level-headed, with just a hint of a sword edge, the king spoke.

“Y-your majesty?” The soldier faltered, “I …believe it was self-defense. You see, when he bit the guard, they may have struck out.” 

“Self-defense?” The sword edge in his voice pressed, almost cutting, “Against a child?” 

“Not a child, I mean, not really. He’s dangerous, he —”

The king raised a silencing hand and stood. Accepting the ornate wooden staff his queen offered, he walked slowly down the steps—masking the limp quite well. 

But we all know. 

We’ve all heard the stories …the price to save his queen. 

His boots came to a halt a mere foot from me. I stared at the embroidery on the carpet. At last, I raised my head, for a moment locking eyes with the king, then dropping my gaze again. 

“Why did you kill him?” 

Swallowing, I mumbled out, “He hit me,” The king shifted and I flinched back, anticipating. 

“I won’t kick you, child,” speaking this, the king turned away from me, “I turn this matter over to His Highness Rurik.” 

He doesn’t know. 

Wide eyed at the realization, I sat back on my heels. 

I might live.

writeblr!! tell us, what keeps you from giving up on your work?

working on my wip for the first time in 2 weeks. screw homework this is more important right now

Happy Black History Month!! To celebrate, I made this list to share some of my favorite books written by Black authors and have Black main characters

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury

This is one of my absolute favorite books. It’s about a Black girl who was born into a witch family, and in order to get powers, she has to pass a task given to her by one of her ancestors. Her task happens to be to find her first love and destroy them. This book has elements of fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, and romance and the sequel is just as good. I will never stop recommending it.

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

Although the main character of this book is in middle school, I think it’s a good read for people of all ages. The story follows Sunny, a Nigerian girl with albinism. After learning she is a witch, she begins to live a double life. One where she pretends to be her same non-magical self to her family, and one where she learns about magic and herself with Orlu, her friend from school; Chichi, Orlu’s mysterious friend; and Sasha, an American boy who moved to Nigeria.

Caucasia by Danzy Senna

Caucasia is the coming of age story of a girl born to a White mother and Black father in the 1970s. As someone who passes for White, she struggles to find where she belongs. She experiences being both Black and White, changing her race as easily as changing clothes, depending on who she needs to be at the time. She also has to deal with her family splitting up and her parents’ activism that might get them into serious trouble.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

I’m sure everyone’s heard of this one, but in case you haven’t: Starr was in her friend’s car the night he was killed by a police officer. She struggles afterwards to cope with his violent death and to speak up while remaining anonymous. This book is so so important. Police brutality never seems to stop, even in my own neighborhood. Everyone will benefit by learning more and speaking out against it.

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

Black Cake is about siblings Byron and Benny who are left with only a black cake and a tape recording when their mother dies. In the recording, their mother tells the story of someone they don’t even know, and the two have to learn to be a family again after a falling out they had years ago.

Here are some more that aren’t my favorites but I think others might love

Rust in the Root by Justina Ireland

This one is about a Black, queer mage in 1930s America trying to get a license to practice magic. Her new government job sends her on a journey to fix a blight that is more deadly than anyone expected.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Set in a land similar to Africa, the magi, people who have magic, have all been killed by the monarchy. One day magic returns and one of the last remaining magi teams up with the princess to protect magic and prepare the magi to fight for their lives.

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

200 years of Cinderella dies, the land is ruled by Prince Charming, who forces all young women to attend a ball to find a suitor. Sophia, who is queer, opposes this lifestyle and runs away. Once she’s away from the prince’s influence, she discovers the true story of Cinderella and what she can do to stop the balls.