Snow, Gingerbread and Fate Part XII “Thank you both,” Simahaa said as she walked up to the strangers to take a closer look. The woman looked younger than the man, in her mid-twenties, Simahaa guessed. She had a warm and friendly face and long raven hair that looked out from under a green wool hat. […]

Snow, Gingerbread and Fate Part XI “Hey, you two!” a voice suddenly rang out behind the two wannabe thieves. They whirled around startlingly. Simahaa took a step to the side to peer past them. A young man and woman were standing there at the entrance of the alley. The man had a short bow at […]

Snow, Gingerbread and Fate Part X The two looked at each other in confusion. “What’s s-so funny, old hag?” said the right one. He tried to sound intimidating but failed miserably. “Well first, I am no hag, thank you very much,” Simahaa said and waved around with her dagger which made the two flinch. “Old […]

Snow, Gingerbread and Fate Part IX The market stalls and people became less and less, the closer she got to the outskirts of Wirough. Not long and she would reach the stables where she had left her horse. And then she could finally leave this bloody town. Instinctively she turned left on the next crossing, […]

Snow, Gingerbread and Fate Part VIII Thank the Gods her journey on the strands of fate were over before her dead body hit the cold and dirty cobblestone. In the last few images before she returned to the here and now, she could see the three men from earlier at the pub, standing over her […]

Snow, Gingerbread and Fate Part VII A lot of money was on the table and Simahaa had a good hand. A few more rounds and she would win, she thought. Suddenly the surroundings changed. This was not uncommon in her visions but was as unpleasant as the rest of it. She felt as if she […]

Snow, Gingerbread and Fate Part VI Smell was always the first sensation she perceived. It was strange as it was also the sense which was most tightly bound to her memories. She smelled beer and tobacco smoke. Unwashed bodies and hearty dishes. Before the other senses hit her, she knew that she had to be […]

Snow, Gingerbread and Fate Part V Two big hands appeared. One held a small black pouch with herbs in it and the other was empty and open. Simahaa rummaged around in a hidden pocket inside her coat, took out three coins and dropped them in the open hand. The hand vanished and she heard a […]

Snow, Gingerbread and Fate Part IV She passed a few more stands, dodged more people and finally came to a dirty and smelly alley with a dead end. Dirtier and smellier than the rest of Wirough, though. She entered it, wrinkling her nose. At the very end of the alley, there was a heavy wooden […]

Snow, Gingerbread and Fate Part III She forced herself to go on. Mentally, she stopped her thoughts from going. She didn’t have the time nor the desire to walk down that path in her memories. She had more urgent matters to attend to like buying very important spices and special herbs for her… medicine. Wirough […]

Snow, Gingerbread and Fate Part II The refreshing wind carried many different scents to her nose, some better than the others. She took a deep breath and smelled horse shit mixed with mulled wine and mead which made an interesting combination. Fried apples mixed with the filth of a town as big as Wirough. And […]

Snow, Gingerbread and Fate Part I Simahaa strolled across the market in Wirough, trying not to bump into anyone. Which turned out to be extremely difficult since it seemed that almost all people from the northern part of Ren (and their animals) had decided to come to the Boestos market today. She didn’t like wide […]

A Missing Sheep Part XXII Fin was about to draw his dagger as Papa appeared in the door frame. “They’re coming,” he said. Arthema groaned. “How long?” Mama asked. “They are already up the hill. A quarter of an hour, not more.” “Then we have to run,” Mama said. “There is no more time to […]

A Missing Sheep Part XXI “Good,” said Papa. He ruffled Fin’s hair again and stood up. “Now hurry and pack some stuff!” Fin looked up to his father with big open eyes, the dagger still in his hand. “Where are you going?” “I’ll ready the horses and the cart. Go on, Fin, we must hurry!” […]

A Missing Sheep Part XX Fear gripped Fin as the words of his father sunk in. His stomach tightened. “No!” he shouted, shaking his head. “They can’t! I won’t let them!” They cannot take Arthema away, not after finding her again. Papa smiled sadly and ruffled Fin’s hair. “I know you won’t,” he said. Then […]

A Missing Sheep Part XIX Suddenly, his family started packing and hurrying around. His mother helped Arthema out of bed and over to her wardrobe, where they packed clothes in a small brown backpack. His father turned around and was about to leave the room. Everybody seemed to know what to do or why they […]

A Missing Sheep Part XVIII “Who?” asked Fin. He looked at his father. They? Did he mean the old town healer? But Mama had already taken care of most of his sister’s wounds. Well, maybe he just wanted to check if Mama had done everything right. After Papa’s words, his mother’s expression changed. She looked […]

A Missing Sheep Part XVII “Arthema, listen,” his mother said. Her expression returned to the calm and soft one she had before. She gently pushed Arthema back. His sister wiped away tears. “Everything will be fine. You hear me?” Mama continued. Arthema sniveled and nodded. Mama pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her. […]

A Missing Sheep Part XVI Arthema opened her eyes. “Feeling better?” Mama asked with a smile. Arthema nodded. Fin let out all his strain in one big sigh. He could hear his father behind him doing the same. But then Arthema’s calm face crumbled as she threw herself crying into Mama’s arms. “I’m sorry!” she […]

A Missing Sheep Part XV “Now close your eyes and focus”, his mama said. She moved her hand slowly away from Arthema’s pumping chest. His sister tried to follow the hand but the effort made her face look all distorted. “I– can’t–” she gasped. “Don’t speak!” Mama said sternly. “Just focus, listen to my voice […]

A Missing Sheep Part XIV Ira’s barking made Fin turn his head to the door. The sheepdog rushed in, wagging his tail. Fin’s parents stood outside on the hallway and they both looked as if they hadn’t slept well. His father’s gaze switched between him and his sister. Brennard was still wearing the same clothes […]

A Missing Sheep Part XIII Fin was confused, scared and did not know what to do because he hadn’t seen his sister cry before. She had always been the strong one and had protected him again and again. But she did it in such a subtle way that it did not look like he was […]

A Missing Sheep Part XII “And then?” Arthema asked. Images of something chasing her drifted to the surface, like dead fish in a pond. Fin hesitated and looked away. “Then we found you lying against a tree on the clearing,” he said, way too fast. The clearing. Another memory came back to her. She was […]

A Missing Sheep Part XI “I was so worried,” he said, his voice trembled. She closed her eyes, smiled and hugged him tighter. “It’s fine now. I’m home.” After a while they let go of each other. Fin coughed and hurriedly wiped away some tears. She herself had to swallow a lump in her throat. […]

Oh Vayléhn, oh Vayléhnwhat happened to youdestroyed by a mad manextinguished what grew Oh Vayléhn, oh Vayléhngot burned all to deathvanished by one manand nothing got left So burn, burn, burn it downlet the flames go aroundburn, burn, burn it downlet it burn to the ground Oh Vayléhn, oh Vayléhn,a nice town you werea sad […]

A Missing Sheep Part X Arthema slowly opened her eyes as consciousness returned to her and with it the pain of over a dozen bruises, cuts and a splitting headache. As she tried to sit up, another source of pain – this time from her left shoulder – added itself to her agony and her […]

An Idea Part II As he woke up the next morning, his room was icy and cold. Boestos had held a comeback overnight and the snow lay thick on the ground, even though Eltos had already shown its face. Azadus’ nose was cold and it was hard to fully wake up, like rising from sticky, […]

An Idea Azadus couldn’t stop grinning on the way to his cell. Pinching small portions of food always made him feel like a master thief. Sneaking in and sneaking out, like a shadow and no one would ever find out. Except Pienna. And the Prior.Maybe stealing wasn’t his forte. However, the short distraction didn’t last […]

A late snack “However it must be stated that the usage of the seven sigil transformation in combination with the principles of Kordur does not grant confluence to the Baghya Strand as was described in the previous chapters. As to why the aforementioned theories did not work, no final conclusion could be made”, Azadus sighed. […]

A Missing Sheep Part IX Then suddenly everything froze and all sound stopped. At least that’s how it felt for Arthema. The imitac in front of her floated in midair and her stone had not even left her hand. Rain drops hung all around her like tiny insects made out of marbles. She stood completely […]

A Missing Sheep Part VIII But where would she go? The clearing was too wide and open to hide somewhere, even in the darkness. And if she went back into the forest, the imitacs would take advantage and surely hunt her down. She cursed and threw another stone. It knocked out another one of these […]

A Missing Sheep Part VII She cursed and stood up, leaning on the stone with her unharmed arm. Arthema knew she should run but this thought alone let all of her muscles cramp. She looked around in search of something that she could use as a weapon but only mud and grass were around her. […]

A Missing Sheep – Part VI Arthema burst out of the forest and into the clearing. What she had not known before was that the terrain in front of her suddenly dropped steeply. The girl wanted to stop but she was too fast and it was too late. She stumbled and crashed to the muddy […]

A Missing Sheep – Part V Very slowly she took a step backward as a sheep suddenly bleated from a tree above her. A young one. She looked up and regretted it immediately. Half a dozen imitacs were hanging in the tree above her, starring at her with their tiny eyes. “No…,” she whispered, her […]

A Missing Sheep – Part IV The first few raindrops drummed on the canopy as she reached what was left of the sheep. Now she was glad that the sun had almost set so that she could only see vague outlines of what had once been the sheep’s head. The lower jaw was missing. Where […]

A Missing Sheep – Part III Either the sheep was dead or her curse was suddenly gone but she couldn’t hope for the latter so the sheep had to be dead. After Arthema had been wandering about an hour in the forest, the light of the sheep suddenly started spinning around like a firefly. And […]

A Missing Sheep – Part II “Fin, how many times have I predicted the weather?” Arthema asked. “Too many times, if you ask mother.” Arthema snorted. “You know how dangerous magic is! Mother always says— “ “It’s no magic!” Arthema cut him off. “It’s just… I don’t know. It’s like…” She pushed her lower lip […]

A Missing Sheep – Part I Arthema could feel that a very big storm was coming long before the first dark clouds appeared over the tall mountains in the north and the wind brought them cool salty air from the ocean beyond. She often had heard people say that they could smell it when rain […]