CrimsonWolf1

          Realization broke upon me seconds later. “Good gods! They’re Meadow Lemmings!” I cried in shock.          Ganem released a slash that sent several of them caroming wildly into the air. “I told you!”           “But, but-“ I was flabbergasted. “There’s hundreds of them!”          “They’re going to overrun us!” Teerl screamed. He aimed an arrow high and let it sing far over the seething mass of animals that still advanced across the glen. They forded the rivers in part by climbing over one another and ripped up wildflowers in their wake. The arrowhead b

          I soon noticed that the land was already beginning to rise, the fog diminishing visibly, and on the horizon the dark roots of the mountain chain could be seen, half covered in clouds. I tilted my head up and stared into the murky smears of gray plastered against the sky. The sun was barely able to shine through the cover, and as I contemplated if we could make it before the storm broke a raindrop hit my nose. My brain did not register a large sensation, but the familiarity of the substance caused me to flinch nonetheless. Behind me Ganem cursed.          “This will slow me down if there is an attack.”          “

                                        Message from Ana          Hey, how’ve you been? Haven’t seen you in Valerina for a while, and was wondering when you’ll be back online?                                                                 Yeah, life’s been rather hectic lately, but I’m planning on being on tonight.          Aww, yis! Questing-time! See ya there. I’ll make sure everyone’s assembled.          “Jeez, Ana, you never change,” I sighed to myself, closing my cellphone and stuffing it back into my jeans pocket. I had received the text on-route home from my afternoon class

          The crunch of crisp russet leaves. The tangy scent of long-dormant underbrush. A shiver of excitement ran up my spine as my boots sank into the wet mud that led me in a meandering line down the mountainside. I took a deep breath of the fragrant evergreens scenting the pleasant breeze. I adjusted the rifle I kept slung over one shoulder and consulted my compass with the other.          “Should be around here somewhere,” I muttered to myself after I had taken my bearings. I stood on an outcropping of rock some eight hundred meters above the mountain floor. All around me wooded ridges folded into the distance, hazy with ea

        Sand; the slippery fabric of time, drifting away and choking existence in its merciless grip. I have always loved it.        The endless planes of dry grains stretched before me like a lazy cat’s back, rippling in uneven waves towards the watery horizon. The sun’s heat beat upon my back as I made my way across, panting from exertion although I had only traveled for half an hour. I was sent from my outpost after the urgent message a courier brought into the compound, nearly sweating blood, and was now four days on the nonexistent road, heading generally northeast towards the next city, which could be anywhere between three