Arc 10: Empty Your Mind

My boots crunched through the upper crust of icy snow, sinking me deep into heavy powder. Every step I took through the treeline was draining, as I had to lift my boot and the snow that clung to it with every step. The snow was strange. More prone to rising on the wind, often completely […]

– Two months before the formation of Nell’s Lacuna – I stepped out of the car and the smell of burgers and fries immediately hit my nose. In other circumstances my stomach would be rumbling, but I wasn’t here for food. “Nervous?” Bo, with his sandy hair and relaxed smile, leaned against his freshly washed

I was face to face with the spawn of Nell’s Lacuna. The colours of the flower-headed creature settled into a pure white as it stood eerily still. The edges of the petals were softly round and the center became a bright yellow. “You’re a dandelion,” I said meekly. “I’m a mistake,” the Dandelion said.  Its

AJ stayed with me as I recovered from my momentary connection to the Goddess. We took some semblance of shelter from the snow under the statue of a bear with a fish in its mouth. The lights that illuminated the statue at night caught each snowflake as it drifted down. It almost felt like ashes.

Hour 1 I pressed my cheek against the window of the car partially because it was crowded in the back seat and partially because it was the only way I could see just how many meteors were tearing through the sky, headed for the city skyline in the distance. Everyone had fallen silent, unable to

“You two were everything I’d hoped you would be.” The Herald spoke through our minds, like he himself was a Beacon, pulsating with spiteful thoughts. Chase shook his head, unbothered by the sudden arrival of this monstrous man. “Here I was hoping you would speak all old-timey. Anyway I have so many questions I want

The car came to a rest on its roof, black streaks painted across its path to the shoulder of the road. The broken glass on the road reflected something green and I looked up to see the newly formed imperfect sphere, like a piece of deep, earthy green seaglass growing distant in the sky. She

The world swam back into focus.  There was a creature in front of me. It stood unsteadily, limbs made of entwined fibers. When it moved, it jerked, like time-lapse footage of a plant growing. Various fibers grew and retracted, pulling the “muscles”. It wasn’t pretty and it needed a lot of help, pushes and shoves

Water lapped around my ankles. In the distance, I could hear the soft sound of waves, yet the room I stood in was a black box: four walls and a ceiling with no apparent light source. Shadows moved around the edges of the room. They whispered to each other, but I couldn’t make out what

“Chiara.” I opened my eyes. The sky was painted in watercolour blues and grays like an artist’s rendition of a sky within a dream. Or maybe it was a dream’s rendition of art. Kellen walked past and gave me a languid smile. “Come on. It’s nearly ready.” My heart sank. “Do we have to do