ㄊ ᗽ Շ ᐈ ꗨ ᒯ 𝔖 Ⴌ ⸷ Ն ꀘ ﾚ ₼ ᖽ ⎐ ꚰ ꀖ ᚱ ⍕ ʉ ᚱ 𝝇 𐐜 ⸷ Ʉ 𐐜 𒉼 ⪤ ｿ ⋝    

ꑍ 𐃸 ᧆ 닉

By Oliver Rose

ㄊ ᗽ Շ ᐈ ꗨ ᒯ 𝔖 Ⴌ ⸷ Ն ꀘ ﾚ ₼ ᖽ ⎐ ꚰ ꀖ ᚱ ⍕ ʉ ᚱ 𝝇 𐐜 ⸷ Ʉ 𐐜 𒉼 ⪤ ｿ ⋝    

ꑍ 𐃸 ᧆ 닉           

Նʉ⎐ᚱᖽㄊﾚ 

ᗽ⎐⎐ꀘ ꑍ 𝝇ʉᚱ𐐜⸷𐐜⎐ᚱ𝝇  ꗨᖽᐈ

ՇႬㄊꚰ⍕ꗨᚱ ꑍ  ᗽﾚ⎐⎐ᐈ ㄊᖽᐈ 𝝇₼⎐ꀘꗨ

I'm writing this because I lost my first journal in the fire, so I'm making another one because I like jotting my life down on a piece of paper, like a diary sorta. I'm writing about the day of smoke and blood.(2 nights ago) that day I lost something, something detrimental, so detrimental that it felt like a piece of my world ended. It was a cold winter day, the grass was still frosty and my fingers were numb from time spent slowly freezing in the early morning darkness. The sky was cloudy and the frozen air burned in my lungs. me and my sister Biana were playing Sevnier(if you’re from the West you should already know how this works, so you can skip the explanation). Sevneir means closing gate in the old tongue, while playing the opponents will take turns finding rocks, the other player makes a goal with their legs, and the person with the rock tries to throw the rock between the other's legs while they try to block the incoming rock by moving or closing their legs but they have to keep their feet on the ground and they can't move until the thrower moves, each time a player scores they get a point first to 13 wins. (I beat Biana by one). We got up earlier than we were supposed to, though I could see the sun creeping up into the sky, spreading its bright rays of golden light through the ends of the darkened night bringing forth a new day. I  was aiming for my next rock when I heard a long, lifeless groan that sent a sharp jolt of fear through me creeping up my spine like a spider stalking a captured fly, filling me with a cold dead feeling. Before I could grab my sister and run, a large metal pinwheel zoomed by me like an arrow. My neck snapped around my heart pounding, lying on the ground was a zombie, its lifeless head rolling away, blood pouring out of its neck. I looked up at my savior, the ageis, who was staring at me like: why the hell are you up this early!? You should be in bed! I quickly averted my gaze, while shame poured down my throat like molasses. turning my attention to my sister dancing happily on the zombie, like the whole experience was a nice surprise saying: You dead! You dead! You dead! You dead! In a cheery tone as if Xio just gave her a slice of pumpkin pie( her favorite dessert). her ashen hair bouncing around like shards of shadowy obsidian, over her skin a light amber brown like the flank of a wild horse free to run from one corner of the world, to another. Her dark crimson eyes shine like dark rubies in the walls of a cave. Th-thanks I say forcing the words from my throat. He just nods and floats away continuing his duties looking for any more threats. my heart still pounding, trying to take back my wits from the icy grip of fear, but it feels like I'm trying to sew my wits back together with a bent needle and numb fingers. wait here while I go look for Xio, to do my chores I tell my sister, while trying to stop my voice from breaking. ¨Also, don't go into the woods or the jungle,  the undead like the shade in there¨, I yell after her as she runs to feed the chickens. Xio was the farmer, I hope he's still alive I haven't seen him since the fire, not Xio too… anyway he had chicken and sheep farms, my sister used to just hop in the pens feed them, and pet them all day. I would help out harvesting and planting the crops and feeding the animals. In return, he would give us food, and a lot of it, bread, pumpkin pie, beetroot stew, fried eggs, and carrots, oh, and silex his silex is delicious, cooked just right, a kind of crispy, chewy, roasted delight. Xio was kind of a local hero because he was one of the only beast tamers we knew of. He was also the one in our village. The others we knew were Sofeni and Lavan, Sofeni had two dogs, Lavni also had a horse, but Xio, Xio had a chupacabra, you know the demon Ratdog things? He tamed one, but not just any chupacabra this one was bigger and had this strange green tint to it. He named her Jinva, meaning guardian in the old tongue, she has green iridescent fur that glows slightly, and much larger than a normal chupacabra, large marble; she does everything with him. She eats with him, plays with him, and sleeps with him; they're inseparable. 

And There's Zaphno He rides a warg named Kavzal. Zaphno travels around trading goods like myrmeke chitin bobeko and krake meat, iron, steel, umbrium, diamonds, scarlet, and much more to whoever was willing. Anyways, I went to Xio´s farm to do my chores. I was picking grapes, and thinking about the dinner today of fish and chips, when I heard Biana scream a loud shrill scream that pierced my ears like a needle through cloth. I jumped up and turned toward the sound. what I saw made my heart go up into my throat. Biana was lying on the ground snarling at the zombie that was looming over her in the woods about 30 feet away. I started running as fast as I could. I was praying for my sister's life. The zombie held up its fists for the finishing blow. Before I could reach them, Biana smiled and spun around kicking its legs out from under it, falling with a thud, she started stomping its ribs inward until she crushes its cold lifeless heart, still smiling with a vicious gleam in her beautiful scarlet eyes. I gaped at her, she looked fine, just a couple of scratches, then I noticed, her wrist was bent in a weird direction.`That was fun!!´ she said with an enthusiasm that confused me. I imagine she was probably feeling like someone was stabbing her wrist with a hot knife over and over, instead, she was acting like someone just gave her krake ramen.(her favorite food)¨Are you okay?¨ I asked a little frantically. ¨Let me see your wrist. I added while trying to calm my frayed nerves. ¨My wrist hurts a bit now can we find another Zombie, because I want to break another ones ribs. while jumping up and down enthusiastically, a glint caught my eye. I turned to look back at the dead zombie as it was wearing this pair of silver boots with a faint purplish glow to them, like they were reflecting a rosy sunset after a nice dinner of fish and chips. Before I could get a better look at them, my sister started to put them on. wait!! I yelped, they might be- they made a light clanking sound as she put her feet in the boots.-cursed. We walked back to the village in silence, well I walked in silence, while my sister just kept saying stuff like, I got new boots, shiny, shiny, shiny, shiny boots, over and over again. (I really hope those boots aren't cursed) Surprisingly nothing interesting happened the rest of the day which was somewhat weird considering we normally have some kind of interruption from the surrounding wildlife, it was as if they had gone into hiding. Biana and I had fish and chips for dinner(my favorite). The mouthwatering taste of Silex and potatoes fills my mouth, saturating my tongue like water filling a sponge. I looked around the living room. I had lived here since I was 7 years old (Biana was 3). Xio took us in and gave us this house, since then I have accumulated so many good memories. I had eaten many dinners right here at this oak dining table on these clay plates in these birchwood chairs. I had opened my first gift, a slingshot On the mint green sofa with fluffy little pillows in the corner. Xio first regaled me with stories of grand dragons who served great queens and kings or plundered their kingdoms instead, on my nice yellow woolen bed, with quilted patterns of cockatrice fighting knights or zombies. My spruce wood desk in the left corner, where I wrote my first journal and drew all  of the mythic creatures that tantalized and amazed me. That day I snuggled into my bed and pulled up my quilt thinking about how great tomorrow would be, sadly “tomorrow” didn't live up to my expectations. I awoke to the smell of smoke and a sound like a volcano erupting, a snake hissing and a lion roaring all squeezed together. I jumped out of bed grabbing my backpack and absentmindedly shoving my blanket in. I opened the door,  to see something that made my heart stop and the icy cold grip of fear slowly take hold of my spine, staring into those eyes my feet froze. I wanted to run but I couldn't fright and dread gluing my feet to the ground like a captured fly in a web. That was the first time I saw a dragon.

ꗨᖽᐈ ՇႬㄊꚰ⍕ꗨᚱ ꑍ

ՇႬㄊꚰ⍕ꗨᚱ 𐃸 ⍕Ⴌꗨ 𝝇Ⴌㄊᐈ⎐𒉼𝝇 Նㄊ𒉼𝝇

The dragon was the size of the shed its sitting on. its eyes the size of small dinner plates glowing yellow and orangey red like a wildfire spreading filled with a hunger to devour everything in its path, its pupils the color of the ashes left in its wake. scales the deep ruby color of fresh blood gushing from the body’s lying around it, mixed with a darker crimson, like roses, majestic and beautiful but covered in dangerous thorns. Its claws, sharp as an assassin's blade, and just as deadly. gigantic wings expanded on either side of it, with the majesty of a graceful eagle and the strength of a bloodthirsty demon. Frozen in fear and shock, I just stand and watch this horrendous scene unfold before me, filling me with terror and awe. Houses burning people screaming as their loved ones are devoured by the dragon and its fire, alike. animals running for safety, leaving their burning pens behind in the smoke. Someone grabs my hand, snapping me out of my trance. I turn to see the face of my friend, Cole, his short dark hair thick with ash, brown eyes frantic, blood flows out his nose and down his face. We need to go now!!! He yells over the screams and roaring flames encircling me like a python, strangling its prey. Where's your sister?! He asks I-I don't know I stammer barely able to speak, fear slithering like a frozen worm up my spine, creeping into my skull, she always went to feed the chickens in the morning. The chickens! I yelled at Cole. What?! He responds shouting over the roaring of the dragon. I rush to the chicken pen, Barely able to breathe through the smoke, my lungs burning horrible, while thoughts shoot through my head, what if it ate her? What if she was burned alive?  

I reach the pen to find it ablaze, the chickens running loose clucking in alarm. She’s dead, dead I whimper tears streaming down my sweary face as the realization sinks into my heart like a broken ship disappearing beneath the waves of a raging sea. Who's dead what are talking about? pulled back into reality by the voice, I turn to see my sister standing above me, looking slightly confused and frightened. I jump up and hug her so tight I thought her ribs would break, relief filling my body from head to toe like a mug of warm cider on a freezing night. Then Cole ran over screaming go go go!! to us, the side of his shirt was burnt off, a roar of pain shatters my ears as if they were made of glass. huge wingbeats reverberate off of the valley walls. The Aegis’s are fighting the dragon. Spinning shields ramming into the dragon, while it uses its jaws to crush them one by one, it shoots a stream of fire killing an aegis instantly. I run towards the mountains following Cole, anguish welling inside me like a Reservoir about to burst. my home burning away behind me, my whole life crumbling away into nothing but a smoking pile of ash, the dragon will make sure of that.Tears welled up in my eyes dripping down my burning cheeks, is anyone still alive? Xio, Jinva, Altay, Moro, Koko, Sili, Manana, the names keep coming speeding through my head like a raging river. Tears flowed down my face hitting the floor, splattering on the dead grass, the frost having been incinerated from the heat of the fire. Concentrating all my strength not to break down completely. Is anyone left? I ask Cole, tears welling up in his eyes as well, the village was our home and we would never see it again, and if we did it would only be a pile of ashes. I don't know, he answers choking on his words, sorrow enveloping his words. He points to a little cave in the side of the mountain, its crooked entrance looks like the dragon's maw shadows abound within. We can hide in there until the dragon calms down, then we can find a new home and look for other survivors. The cave is dark and smelly, everything is uncomfortable and strange whispering noises echo throughout the cave. Are the animals ok? Asks Biana. I look at her wondering how to break the news. N-no they're all gone, all gone along with everyone else… the realization starts to descend upon my mind my home like a hawk on mouse, the realization that my home is now nothing but a pile of ash sitting in a field. All my friends all dead, all my- stupid dragon!!!! Biana screams startling the thought process out of me. I am going to flay that god’s damn lizard alive!!! pull out its scales one by one until it's begging to die!!! Her rage radiated off of her like waves of heat from an angry fire. (In summary she wanted it to die a slow, painful, agonizing death.) her rant continued for about an hour using curses I didn't know she knew, ( and probably shouldn't know). When she finally finished her eyes were filled with tears and I had this horrible feeling in my gut like someone stuffed ice down my throat.

Inspired by RLcraft.