Fantasy

The Cave of Unspeakable Wisdom
Kui-Dzim was a learner before anything else. Orphaned at a young age, he learned to care for his own needs. Too clumsy to steal what he needed, he learned to beg and to scavenge and ultimately that both were easier prospects in a place of high international traffic. And so, only a child, Kui-Dzim learned the way to the nearest harbor. In time, the orphan would learn to find his own way through the world, and when that way looked foggy he would squint his eyes and prick up his ears and he would learn a great many more things. He grew up on the grey-green cliffed coasts of Kalasik Island and kept himself busy collecting scraps and doing odd jobs for the local harbormasters.
By The Zovanist5 years ago in Fiction
A Banshee's Scream
They thought magic was dead, and it led to the death of millions. Humans got used to the idea that they were the only beings in this reality. Anything else was subject to skepticism and categorized as superstition.
By Stranna Pearsa5 years ago in Fiction
So, This is Fate?
The year, 1221. My name is Ahab, I live in Telethia, the heart of Mesia. The nation which sought to unite heaven and hell. Quell the rebellious evil’s actions against the Auralians’, and reach an agreement to meet at a compromise for peace. Only a year ago, we were on our way to peace. World peace. The Auralians and Shoten negotiations treaty was nearly in effect, the world was healing from the 100-year war that just ended. Dammit. Now… we are back into chaos. Back into this dystopian reality of destruction and malice, perpetuated by titanic beings our people consider Gods and Demons. Way I see it, is they are nothing more than just war-mongering politicians, no different than the men who began the 100-year war. Quarrelling old men, thrusting this world into agony over petty lack of understanding. Obsessing over their ways, and only their ways. Never considering how humanity would respond. We are only an income source, a way to build infrastructure, transportation, “humble” servants, hell, and now only casualties in their ruthless rage.
By Seth Thompson5 years ago in Fiction
Tales of Lezara
There was terror in the beginning. Chaos and lawlessness were just as much a part of mankind's existence as eating and sleeping. The nations of man had nothing except what they took from their neighbors and as such war plagued mankind with death’s stench being a pervasive, enshrouding aura. One could not afford to be kind to strangers for that stranger might return said kindness with a knife to the back so that they could take everything one possessed, even the shirt from one’s back. And so life was in the beginning: killing to rob to eat only to be killed themselves in a cycle that reduced existing to a gray tinged monotony of hunger, pain and death. At least, that’s how it was until the Sun King Rotael Exce Ixander del Sol came to power. Winning battle after battle he conquered first the Easternmost regions of the man’s territories then continued ever westward, uniting all under the banner of Solaria and bringing law and order to places where it had been absent from for many generations. The people readily welcomed his reign, for with it he gave them education, jobs, food, and security. “Join Sol’s temple,” they regularly touted to nonbelievers, “and all your prayers will be answered tenfold!” And soon the Sun King stood at the pinnacle of all mankind, bridging them to the heavens so that Sol might hear their prayers and answer them in kind. He ended the seemingly endless wars and brought law through the gift of Sol’s glorious word. No more would mankind be plagued by death’s constant shadow for the Sun King’s light had banished all shadows and allowed mankind to foster in his warmth and love…
By Marcus Helaire5 years ago in Fiction
ALONE
The last time I thought about the date, it was May 8 or 10, 2023. Close enough, I guess. I’m finally getting used to the situation. It still seems like a bad dream: sitting here on this concrete slab surrounded by endless piles of rubble for as far as I can see. Maybe I should record all that’s happened. I have to believe that someone, somewhere on this planet, is still alive and will find me… hopefully, before I die!
By Aliya Saige5 years ago in Fiction
Always in My Heart
Pale morning light filtered through the boarded windows, as the young girl watched her father slip through the door out of their small apartment. Her mother quickly pushed the dresser before the door again. Keeping out anything that would harm them.
By Ashley Whitehead5 years ago in Fiction
Bound
This land has always been Mariqua. None of the history, that has survived, reveals anything that may have come before. All that is known from before is that Witches and humans were here before vampires. Vampires came to be because of a mistake. Whose mistake depends on who you are asking. The Witches, male and female, had always gone unchallenged. Anyone from any family can be a Witch. The very first sign that someone was (or is) a Witch is the zircon eye color that is there from birth. The first Witches' names that anyone and everyone can remember are Silas and Belladora.
By Cody Kennedy5 years ago in Fiction
Dear Diary: If Everyone is Dead, Who do I Pray to?
January 16, 2022 It happened three days ago. I couldn’t bear to write then but now I have such an urge. It’s almost rage yet I am numb. I’m on the yacht’s highest deck and feel alone in the world. The sun is setting, although I can’t actually see it in the dense grey smog, but a few rays have made it through, turning the horizon a glowing pink. It's a radioactive and trembling pink, heavy, like the sky might fall down on me.
By Boo5 years ago in Fiction
The Green Lady
The Green Lady She morphed from the branches of the tree into her human form, as she watched the Great City in the distance evaporate. The wind commanded the movement of her green hair, made from the leaves and moss that were -- only moments before -- part of the trees in the forest. The trees rustled uncomfortably, warning her to step back inside of them.
By K.B. Hill 5 years ago in Fiction
After the End
We first knew that things were going wrong when the planes started falling out of the sky. Then – last to arrive, first to leave – the internet went down. Trains ground to a halt, cars wouldn’t start, batteries stopped charging.
By Art A5 years ago in Fiction
Abatement of Kings
For a lifetime I’ve been waiting: being an environmentalist takes time and patience. Research after research, I’ve become one with the sea. After graduating from Duke, I found myself traveling everywhere except land itself. From the Caledonian Barrier Reef all the way to the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef.
By Audrey Hancock5 years ago in Fiction
The Cycle
“And the world became a better place.” This was the last entry in the librarian Seshat’s audio archive. It was recorded just before she died. Well, I am using the familiar vernacular. No one has died in over 1,000 years here. Seshat transformed into a serpent.
By Asiya5 years ago in Fiction