Yumi | Chapter One The star was particularly bright when the nightmare painter started his rounds. The star. Singular. No, not a sun. Just one star. A bullet hole in the midnight sky, bleeding pale light. The nightmare painter lingered outside his apartment building, locking his eyes on the star. He’d always found it strange, that…
Tress | Chapter One In the middle of the ocean, there was a girl who lived upon a rock. This was not an ocean like the one you have imagined. Nor was the rock like the one you have imagined. The girl, however, might be as you imagined–assuming you imagined her as thoughtful, soft-spoken, and overly fond…
Frugal Wizard | Chapter One I came alert, fists raised, an electric jolt of adrenaline surging through me. I spun, light on my feet, looking for someone to punch, sweat streaming down the sides of my face. I was in a field. A sunny field, with a forest nearby. What the hell? What the ever-loving hell? Heart…
The Sunlit Man | Chapter One Nomad woke up among the condemned. He blinked, his right cheek in the dirt. Then he focused on the incongruous sight of a plant growing in fast-motion before his eyes. Was he dreaming? The fragile sprout quivered and twisted, heaving up from the earth. It seemed to stretch with…
Yumi | Chapter Two Yumi had always considered the appearance of the daystar to be encouraging. An omen of fortune. A sign that the primal hijo would be open and welcoming to her. The daystar seemed extra bright today—glowing a soft blue on the western horizon as the sun rose in the east. A powerful…
Tress | Chapter Two Perhaps you were surprised to hear those last words. Tress wanted to stay on the Rock? She liked it there? Where was her sense of adventure? Her yearning for new lands? Her wanderlust? Well, this isn’t the part of the story where you ask questions. So kindly keep them to yourself. That said, you must…
Frugal Wizard | Chapter Two Part of me wanted to stalk out and demand answers. Play the role of irate customer, make them break character. Yet . . . Something about all this . . . A part of me was convinced that they weren’t actors. That—insanely—this was all authentic, and I should stay hidden. Damn. That sounded ridiculous, didn’t it? Nevertheless, my…
The Sunlit Man | Chapter Two Nomad slammed to the ground side-first, dragged with frightening speed after the hovercycle. Your healing is engaged, Aux said. And your body has adjusted to the local environment’s lower air pressure. But, Nomad, you’ve got so little Investiture left. Try not to get too beat up by this next part, all…
Yumi | Chapter Three It’s terrifying how nightmares transform. I’m talking about ordinary nightmares now, not the kind that get painted. Terror dreams—they change. They evolve. It’s bad enough to encounter something frightening in the waking world, but at least those mortal horrors have shape, substance. That which has shape can be understood. That which…
Tress | Chapter Three Tress had noticed that a nice pair of gloves made her daily work go so much better. Now, she meant the good kind of gloves, made of a soft leather that molds to your hands as you use them. The kind that–if you oil them well and don’t leave them out in the…
