CatLeo9894

    Calling a flame was one of the simplest bits of magic that anybody knew. It took me six months to figure out.    See, most spells need an emotion behind them, and I couldn’t figure out flame’s. It wasn’t anger. It wasn’t frustration. It wasn’t passion.    Imagine my surprise when I found out it was hope.

   “This is absurd,” I muttered.  “You give each other gibberish ‘names’, you’re classified by color, and now you say there’s another component?  What could possibly be the point of so much complication?”   “It’s a way to show identity.   People want to matter in the world, to be unique from everyone else.”  Lyanna raised an eyebrow.  “Haven’t you ever felt that way?”   I scoffed.  “A demon is a demon, and that’s all there is to it.  Distinction is unnecessary; we all share a common purpose.”   “Murdering people.”   “

1 You knock on the door. There is no answer. Knock again: 2   Shout: 3 2 You knock again. "Who's there?" calls a voice from inside. Shout: 3   Kick down the door: 4 3 "This is Inquisitor Kostov of the Empress' Hand!" you bellow through the wood. "Open the door immediately!" "A moment, please!" calls the voice from inside. Senator Vye is a prominent figure in the City, and a crowd is beginning to form. Grant him this mercy: 5   Kick down the door: 4 4 With practiced ease, you drive the heel of your boot into the wood just beside the handle. The jamb splinters. The door crashes open. Step inside: 6 5 A moment - no more - and t

I never realized how much I had left to say until I gave up the ability to speak. Now my words are reduced to barren seeds. They shrivel and die on my useless tongue. I regret my sacrifice. I did this only to keep him alive, and he showed his gratitude by forgetting me completely.

The twins wander from village to village. Only ten years old, they guard themselves and each other. They need no adult caretakers, and no adult will have them. They set up in village squares each day, performing tricks in exchange for gold or meals. She carries her props in the pockets of her skirts and in pouches at her waist: cards with meaningless pictures on them, a handful of stones, some carved bones. She chooses from these toys and casts them for the villagers her brother rounds up, closing her eyes, humming, putting on a show. When her spectators are fit to burst with curiosity, she finally reveals their fortune. The props are just

    1    There’s a knocking at the door as soon as you come in through the window. You still have your costume on.    To answer the door as ParaMan, go to part 3.    To change, go to part 4.    2    “I lost my last roommate a few months ago, and I found out that I don’t really like living alone.” You shrug.    Karen looks at you for a long moment. “Okay. I wait tables at Il Duce’s over by the mall; my last roommate kicked me out because my hours are weird. Is that going to be a problem?”    “Nope; I’m in the master suite on the other side of the apartment, and I volunteer aro

    They spent years preparing for this. It was a gamble at best but they could see no other options. One evil or the other. The strange pale people who had come looking for rocks with dead creatures inside didn’t understand. They did not know what the village was doing. They didn't understand the flowers dropped in the volcano or the pig the roasted and offered to her scalding depths.    She had slept for so long. Waking her was dangerous. She was never peaceful. All of their lives would be at risk, but what other choice did they have. He was waking. He left his dreams and was coming. Times was short. It had to work.    Everyone in

    Each one was little more than the size of his hand. All glowed a faint yellow color as it wafted through the air like it was dancing, luring in travelers. Dancing between the trees, they looked like they were blinking like the light from a candle. This close, though, he could see what was really happening.    Someone once told Tony about this, but who? He couldn’t remember, so he wasn’t sure if they were warning or bragging about it. Was it a man or a woman that told him? That would help.    A breeze sauntered through the forest, making the lights swirl like dandelion seeds in the air.    Dangerous or friendly? Good or b