Arc 8: Break Gently

The soft strands of Daria’s hair were easy to wind together. Any knots or physical remnants of combat caught within the braid were removed with a simple thought. My head bobbed with the hypnotic motions as I gazed down on Daria’s perfect face. She rested, eyes closed but not asleep.  I tied off the end […]

Nell and Wire clung tightly to me as I gave them the most extreme version of a piggyback ride anyone could ever ask for, leaping great distances from branch to branch while keeping an eye on the lowering of the maze-prison to ground level. “I need to confirm it will work with my own eyes,”

I hauled myself onto the next branch after a missed jump, fingernails chipping on the rough wood. My head felt heavy, like I was in a dream on the verge of waking where every action was a laborious effort. Nell was leaning against the trunk at the origin point of this branch. The Wire Witch

I was roughly shaken awake with a dull ache in my chest. My fingers dragged through soft dirt as I listened to the deep rumbling that resounded through the darkness. Brief glimpses of light gave definition to the shifting mass above my head. They were giant roots, shifting constantly to accommodate the changes Nell had

The scream didn’t stop. The Crawling Skin kept finding more air to push out of Seth’s mouth, squeezing it from his lungs like it was wringing water from a rag. My instincts screamed at me to grab Nell and run. I reached out to her and then froze as I saw Kay’s legs give out

Chase crossed in front of me, giving a languid smile as he touched the red flower dotted in violent black splotches that sat in his eye cavity. Behind him, a plume of inky smoke fell from the storm clouds above and hit the ground with a heavy thud, the smoke spreading through the room. White

“Please don’t hurt her.” The only words Damascus had ever spoken to me, pleaded as I walked away. “Why not?” I asked, fire seething beneath my skin. “A measure of pain for every one she’s doled out to others seems fair, doesn’t it?” Damascus didn’t have a rebuttal. “Please,” he repeated while hanging his head,

The branch shuddered as we landed on it and Nell yelped as her grip around my shoulders slipped. I caught her arm and steadied her enough that she could stand while I scanned the darkness for Damascus.  The ever-moving branches around us made it easy to jump at shadows. “Nick, we need to talk.” “Is

The sealed metal slab of a door was gone, ripped upwards and away by an ever moving rush of a massive tree trunk. To call this ‘growing’ would be insincere. The massive plant erupted upwards like a river made of creaking, groaning wood. The stress the Shaping had on the wood made it fracture and

The winds howled over the tents, shaking the fabric like the souls of the damned were on Organ’s side. Glowing screens stacked along one wall showed a plethora of satellite imagery, drone footage, and telemetry data from the battle. Staff members of all different organizations moved about, giving orders and rushing to deliver fresh intel.