[A small little writing piece I did for fun after a D&D session! Helps me continue to get more into my character’s head. Enjoy!]

    The world stood upon mirrors, reflecting back on itself in the trees, in the buildings, repeated over and over in pathways and arches and the gradual rolling and sloping of perfectly duplicated topography. Fog wrapped around her ankles, slid over her frostbitten fur, highlighted the breath as it left her clenched teeth. Bursting from the ground, the creature of rock and dirt emerged, lifted his fists, and smashed the stone around them, turning it into mush, into nothing more than a sinking pit. 

    Massani was not fast enough. A curse that haunted her steps with each stride, a failure that cost her family. That cost her people their pride. The ground swallowed up her ankles, locking them with a grip like the hands of her dead, pulling her deeper, pulling her closer. She lashed out, her claws scraping against rock but offering no purchase. She snarled, wishing she could shout, roar, growl–anything to keep its attention. A glance at those she traveled with brought with it blood-soaked clothes, bleeding gashes, black eyes and blooming bruises. By the time her eyes moved back to her opponent, he once more smashed the ground. 

    Decimating pain smashed into her bones, crushed her calves, stabbed into the soles of her feet as it shunted her upwards and into the air. She landed hard, her legs throbbing, rocks embedded into the skin and blood trickling down in long, thick rivers from each impact. She pushed herself to her feet, chest heaving, sweat collecting around her collar. She gritted her teeth and rushed the creature as an explosion rang out. The face of the beast cracked, a new hole splintering through the rock. Massani paused, gasping, as it swayed and collapsed before her. The dwarf’s magic. She looked to see the large rod sticking from a window in a mirrored building, smoke trickling from its mouth. The young bhastan placed a hand on the down monster’s shoulder, catching her breath, before movement caught her eye.

    More creatures approached. She dragged herself from the carcass and shambled outside, where one of her new comrades lay, picking himself off the ground. Massani took up position next to him, protectively. Instinct took over, her mind too exhausted from this place of magic to keep up further. Too many of these people could create something from nothing, could utter words and send out ice, break their skin and send needles of blood towards enemies. Moonlight never told her this world would be like this. Moonlight never warned her of wizard towers or magic users with sticks that exploded. 

    He never warned her of people who could catch fire, or turn to ice. Massani glanced towards the entrance of the building where others were taking shelter. A scream rose out. She turned, and raising up, with blood needles in its side, was a beast as large as the one they just felled. A monster with a face of a bird and a body of a beast. Skin sloughed off its bones, muscle and fat clinging to bone and splattering to the ground in a heap as it moved. Its face turned to Massani and Zashoth, the blood wizard who now found his feet. Who now bled from his arm. Who drew the attention of this creature. And, as eyes blinked into life within the trees, a dozen more. 

    Massani shot a look at Zashoth, cursing the horned man’s foolishness, cursing the desire to save him at all. The weak should be left behind, those that endanger the tribe should be left behind. 

    Is that why I was left behind? Is that why my family left me, into the afterlife? Was I truly stronger, or was I the weakest to be abandoned? 

    Zashoth ran past, into the building for shelter. Massani stood. She swallowed thickly. And she braced herself for the next fight.

We’re gearing up for the release of my next book, Caerule! Caerule is the sequel to my first book, Viridis. Check it out here!