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A new home
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:date: 2016-05-09T15:19Z
:status: published
This is an excerpt from a novel of mine. The tree is the prophet of the highest god in that
universe and thus can see everything that was or will ever be. It is said that whoever sleeps
among its roots or branches will see colourful dreams about these stories, so it is often visited
by bards.
Zuuron and Niminer couldn’t go any farther. It looked like there is no way out of this grove, as
the way they came in was blocked by the angry mass who wanted to catch them. A breeze came
suddenly, and it sounded as the leaves were talking. “Come, rest between my roots. I’ll hide you
until they get away.”
Having no other choice, the couple hid among the roots and waited. The tree kept its promise and
hid them well, and when the mob left the grove they came out. While they were fleeing, they
didn’t recognize how beautiful this place was: green grass was everywhere, and colorful fruits
were hanging from the nearby trees like little lanterns. They fought themselves, as they didn’t
want to leave.
“You don’t have to” the tree whispered, as if it can read their minds. ”They won’t find their way
back here, not until I let them. You can live here in peace.”
In the following years they have built a home around the tree while listening the stories it told
about times even their grandparents could not remember. And as the tree went on with these
stories even after they finished building, they started painting and writing them down, and they
hung their creations on the tree’s branches so others who may come after them can remember, too.

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Animal spirit
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:date: 2012-09-18T16:20Z
:status: published
They surprised her; four men, overpowering her for sure. It rarely happened to her, but she was
prepared. The men were smiling in lusciousness; they were circling around her for a while, but
this was enough for her to ask help from the Spirit world. She closed her eyes, humming. They
didn’t even hear it, just saw that she’s tapping with her feet. A scratch in the air; a scar
appears on the face of the man just in front of her. It wasn’t deep, but it was obvious it
couldn’t be done by the girl, standing about five feet from them. They looked at each other and
sprang at the girl as one, but she evaded them with a cat’s dexterity. She got behind them
easily. Her humming could be heard well now, although they couldn’t understand her words. Her
feet were still doing the rhythmic tapping.
The attackers got nervous and furious, and this was even strengthened by the scratches they got
seemingly from nothing. They got tired and pain took over their minds. They attacked with anger
and they mostly followed the girl’s voice. Through the mist of anger and pain, in the corner of
their eyes they saw what is happening, but it was too late. The black panther followed the moves
of her protégé, disarming all four men.

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Coincidents
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:date: 2015-08-04T17:21Z
:status: published
They were both without someone for a while now without any intention, spoken or not, to find a new
one. They sat next to each other on the train and listened to music. They both peeked to each
other’s screen to check what the other one is listening to and it turned out to be the same album
of the same artist. “Strange coincident” they both thought and looked away. The same thing
happening three times on consecutive days, though, couldn’t have been a coincident.
On the fifth day one of them left the earphones at home; it was malfunctioning thus useless. They
sat next to each other again, more of chance than by will. The other one saw the lack of
earphones and offered half of theirs without words. They listened to the same music again. The
next day this other one brought a splitter and a second pair of earphones to make things better.
The other day, one of them brought an e-book reader and started reading a book just when the other
sat down. Just out of curiousity the other peeked into the book, started reading just to find out
if they have the common grounds in books, too. They waited for each other at the end of each page
without signals. This continued until they reached the end of the book; by then, they almost
cuddled each day.
Finally, one of them decided to speak. “We totally forgot to introduce ourselves, my name is…”
the sentence started, but couldn’t be finished; it was interrupted by a passionate kiss.

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Destructive Creation
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:date: 2011-12-30T18:22Z
:status: published
They stood on the top of a hill, looking sadly at the town and the forest slowly devoured by it.
They really tried everything. They asked the workers, even the higher management to stop this, or
it won’t end well. They told that the forest will get fed up with this and will do whatever it
must to protect itself. No one listened. No one ever listened to what they said, but still, they
were always right.
Today’s try was the last one to stop the logging. Naturally, they laughed in their faces and
shooed them away. They always got away with that much, no one ever hunted them as they were only
two “green guys” who only have big mouths. But the spirit of the forest didn’t think that. It
saw the potency and power in them to make their prophecies happen. But somehow it wasn’t enough
to teach the lesson to a whole city, as the forest spirit was weak, too. It was weakened by the
death of its children, so as the two youngster left the town, they made an alliance without words.
Everything looked small and insignificant from the top of the hill, but still, they felt it
actually isn’t. If they do it here and now, thousands, maybe tens of thousands will die. Once.
The others may be saved, if they want to be saved. Or they will be marked as murderers and will
be chased forever. But they will figure that out; this is much more important now.
They sighed together. “Please, stop it. It’s still not too late.” It just got through their
mind, and in the very same moment a cold chill ran down from the hill, through the town. But the
machines went on, only a few workers noticed the strange wind. They may have understood, some of
them even went off for a short rest. They may survive, if the forest wants that.
The boy raised his right arm, his palms towards the sky as if he’s asking for aid. The girl took
his other hand, then offered her body to the spirit of the forest. A tear drop ran down on their
faces, accompanied by a smile. They felt calm, as if they knew only better may come after this.
But they still waited, maybe they understand everything down there. But finally, that hand in the
air dropped, as if life escaped from it suddenly. Quiet rumble crawled up the hill: the spirit of
the forest started off with all the powers of them for its destructive journey. They turned
around, satisfied, and left for somewhere, hopefully for home.
They still heard the noise from down there, but they didn’t have to look to know what is
happening. The forest got fed up and stroke back. Huge roots pulled the machines under the
ground and smashed houses to dust. They destroyed, devoured everything, not sparing anyone living
there. Just like they did with its children. The once peaceful forest was raging, engulfing
everything within reach.
The murmuring slowly faded away, and at the place of the town there was only a cloud of dust at
the foot of the hill. And all of a sudden, with the promise of new life, it started raining.

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Dreamers
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:date: 2011-02-11T11:23Z
:status: published
We are the Dreamers. Others hardly believe that anyone could do it, although practically it's
possible. You just have to believe, but most people miss this ability.
We are all different, and it’s just right this way. Should we be similar, the world would turn
completely grey. Of course, some think it already did; they are the ones who can’t look behind
things. They only see monotonity because they can’t change their own, monotonous life. But it
takes only one step to become a Dreamer, they just think they would step in a chasm.
We, Dreamers are all different, either. Some of us just see, forward or backward in time. Even
this is a great experience, to see what is missing from history books, or what is going to get to
them later. But most of us can do much more. With our will and dreams we slowly transform the
world around us to make our life more beautiful and colourful. We can see all shades of grey, but
what is more important: we can see the colours. We make our life beautiful with them, and the
life of people around us, too. Because that’s our job. Some think this is selfish because if we
can do such a thing, we must make all the bad things disappear from this world. They are just
jealous. They want to become Dreamers, but their lust for power makes them unable to. They
really would be selfish. Maybe they will learn that sadness and bad things are one of all the
colours, and besides laughing they will learn to cry a bit, too. Because you must know that, too.
But they all teach their kids whoever cries is sad. They just tend to forget mentioning that if
everyone would be happy, the world wouldn’t be such a funny place. It would even become boring.
Dreamers… As i said, we are many. It’s easy to find us because even we find each other easily
through our dreams and intuitions. And where we gather, huge colourful spots are created that are
visible to even the average people. At first they will find us weird, light-headed, or ever sick.
Then they realise that the colourful world is actually a good thing and soon, one step at a time,
they become Dreamers, too. The colourful spots become bigger and bigger this way, and who knows?
We may colour everyone a bit sooner or later. But we are here even until then. Us, Dreamers.

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First travel together
#####################
:date: 2012-01-03T19:23Z
:status: published
In the middle of the panel jungle, on the rooftop of a house a man who called himself Megron was
talking to his apprentices when the wind began to blow. Everyone looked him up in awe that when
he was talking about the spiritual power of the air, the wind was blowing stronger and stronger.
The man stopped. He didn’t channel energies during his speech, he didn’t even think it would be
impressive or even funny if he would. He looked around suspiciously, but as he didn’t sense
anything out of the ordinary, he stood up, walked to the edge of the roof and looked down to the
city. It didn’t take much time for his sharp eyes, not even from this far to see the encounter of
those two creatures.
“Get away from the roof!” he said. “We continue later. Molden, help them get to a secure place.”
They understood each other without words after so much time together, so Molden just nodded and
leaped towards the narrow hole they used to get to the roof. He knew that if Megron is this
excited there must be something big happening. That many years of training, and he can finally
use his powers today.
All of the apprentices got through the hole slowly and got to the corridor on the tenth floor,
then took the stairs to Megron’s flat on the first. Molden has just closed the door when the
first quakes began. The others got excited. They used to hear about Megron’s theories about the
end of the known world is nigh, and there will be significant events until then, but none of them
thought it may turn out true.
Molden tried to calm them, told them it will be over soon but the quakes didn’t seem to stop.
They even grew stronger. The pictures and shelves dropped from the walls and the whole house was
shaking. The face of one of the girls was slowly taken over by worry.
“Gardan? Is everything all right?” Molden asked putting his hand on the girl’s shoulder. The
girl tried to hide her feelings and just nodded.
“You are worried of your parents, aren’t you?” continued Molden.
A huge tear drop rolled down on Gardan’s face. She was fighting her emotions so she could only
nod again.
“I know you want to go but in the current situation it is a very bad idea. Don’t worry, we take
care of them.”
Gardan could not hold it in any more and yelled everything at Molden that she never dared to tell
before.
“How could you know? You haven’t seen your mother for years and don’t even know your father! You
try to look like a grand master telling that you protect us, even them at the other end of the
city, but how? You never did such a thing, just sat in the shadow of Megron and drank his words
as if you could become someone this way. Well, you did not, and you are not even my father to
tell me what to do or what not!”
Molden got angry for a brief moment. He was about to yell back, to show this little girl who he
actually is. But instead he reached for Gardan’s coat.
“Close all the windows. If they can’t stand the earthquakes, get to the inner room, as far from
any kind of glass as possible. Megron will be here soon and help you. Gardan, you take your coat
and we go.”
The girl, just like the others were so surprised they couldn’t say a word. Most of them shared
Gardan’s opinion, they thought Molden is just a weak shadow of Megron who can’t do anything
without his master. Finally, Gardan took her coat and got through the door.
They walked fast from street to street but were soon blocked by the panicked masses. The girl
didn’t dare to say anything just followed Molden silently who was darting forward, passing by and
through the masses, choosing the least crowded streets by instinct.
It was about fifteen minutes since they left Megron’s flat of safety, but only now had Gardan
thought she should take the lead. “He doesn’t even know where I live” she thought and she reached
out for Molden’s shoulder when the other thought came. “…yet he goes in just the right direction.
Maybe Megron told him where is each of us from.” “No, I just see where your heart takes you” said
the man as if he was replying to her thoughts. “Or, if you like, I read your mind.”
A light chill ran down Gardan’s spine. She felt the weight of Molden’s words and began to feel
guilty about what she said minutes before at Megron’s flat.
They may have been half way there when the earthquakes stopped and the man came to a halt. “Can
you see that red mist?” he asked.

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Little Emma
###########
:date: 2012-08-07T14:18Z
:status: published
As of date, little Emma hasn’t eaten for weeks. The whole family feared for her as only those
tubes entangling her body kept her alive. Still, her eyes seemed happy, though she was dizzy and
sometimes saw little globes of light. She was awake for hours, much longer than she used to be in
the last few weeks. Her parents sat next to her for minutes, caressing her, just to leave the
room moments later to burst in tears. They all knew what was yet to come. She closed her eyes in
her mother’s caring arms while her dad hugged both of them tight.
Even from behind the tears they saw when that *something* appeared in the middle of the room. A
thin but beautiful woman; her clothes, as if they were made of millions of ribbons, waved in the
air at each of her steps. She was beautiful and scary as she approached the bed, covering the
vibrating light of the ceiling neon lamps.
The little girl looked up and smiled. Then, as if she knew this tall woman long ago, she got up
from the bed and hugged her. The woman took her hand, but before they left she said “thank you
for taking care of her. You were very good parents, showing everyone you can raise a child even
if she’s this fragile. You loved her and raised her as a bonding family even if you knew I will
come for her soon. It couldn’t happen any other way. Please, never forget this little Soul as
you gave so much to her. Still, know that where we are headed now, she won’t have any similar
problems. She will return anew when the time comes. You succeeded on the first trial, but what
comes next will be much harder. Let her go so she can take this journey.”
Then she turned away. Spreading her huge, purple, angel-wings they left through a gate, to the
place from where there is no return.
*Based on a true story.*
Little Emma was family to me and died at the age of six, with chronic eating disorder the doctors
barely understand. She had six heart attacks before she turned two. Her parents were with her
until the last moment. Unfortunately, they failed their second trial and ended up divorcing. I
wrote this back in 2012, after her burial, knowing the purple winged Angel of Death took her to
that place she promised. Blessed be, tiny Soul.

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Protecting light
################
:date: 2011-12-29T13:17Z
:status: published
“Can you see that red mist?”
“Yes I can. It looks like it’s closing in.” Gardan answered.
“It does. When it gets here, close your eyes and seal yourself.”
The mist slowly engulfed them. The girl closed her eyes and channeled all her energies to seal
herself from the outer world.
“Stronger!” Molden shouted.
“But it hurts!” she replied, almost crying.
No, it’s the mist that burns you. Seal! Stronger!”
She focused, but the mist was biting her everywhere as if a desert storm was blowing tiny grains
of sand through her body. It felt like it was eating up things from her mind that was kind or
important for her.
“This thing… it takes away my memories!”
“SEAL!” Molden shouted once more. “Totally! And don’t even leave until the storm goes away.”
“I can’t!” the girl shouted, crying.
At this very moment all the memories she feared for this mist burst up from her. Her mother’s
embrace, her old and new friends who she could always counted on whether she was happy or sad.
They will protect her. Molden would, too, if he could, but he had to care about his own survival.
She looked at the man; he was standing still, staring at the mist. As if he didn’t feel it, as if
the millions of shards wouldn’t bite him, wouldn’t cut him from the inside. Even his hair was
motionless, despite the strong gale around them. How did he do it? Nothing could be seen on his
face. He was just standing there like a statue. His eyes… those green eyes full of life are now
staring at the mist callously. Then she sensed those small dots of light. They were swirling
around Molden and was catching and diverting the red shards of the mist. Were they emotions,
contraptions of a weird new technology, or even magic, she couldn’t decide yet. But she realised
it is Molden who controls them. That’s why he didn’t heed her. He sealed himself, totally. He’s
watching the mist to know when he can open again.
That was when she caught a glimpse of those small spheres around herself. They were hovering next
to her, glowing white in the mist that cut to the bones. The storm tried to sweep them away, but
the didn’t allow it. They were the feelings that burst out of her a moment ago. The memories she
loved so much she didn’t want to ever loose them. Tears were bursting in her eyes while she
whispered “Help me, please!”
The globes started moving. Though feebly, but they started to pursue the red shards. As Gardan
felt the cuts getting weaker, she tried to strengthen those spheres, and they became lightning
fast catching and diverting the red shards of the mist. Gardan stood still, her eyes staring at
the mist callously.

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Resurrection
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:date: 2009-10-31T12:16Z
:status: published
“Good morning, inspector.”
“Good morning. What happened?”
“We don’t know yet. A jogger found this young man about half an hour ago. No sign of violence,
no injuries, no nothing. He has no ID, no driver’s license, no passport nor anything that could
give us a hint on who he might be.”
“Doctor?”
“Just as he says. I can tell you more in the morgue. The only thing I’m sure about is he’s dead
for about two or three hours.”
“Thank you. Please check the surroundings, maybe we get to know something about him or his
death.”
Two strong men put the body in the van and transported it to the morgue. They put it in the
“waiting room” until the pathologist arrives.
John woke up.
“It’s so cold here… wait a minute, where am I?” he thought and looked around. Beds everywhere,
like the ones in a hospital, but all of them are empty. Dim, blue light, misty, cold air. He
tried to remember what happened to him. His last memory was that he’s drinking wine with his
friends. Not much, at least not that much it could hit him this hard. He realized where he is.
“My goodness, it’s a morgue! How the heck did I get here?”
He heard the lock clicking, and a doctor-like figure entered. “Finally someone!” he shouted.
“Why am I in a morgue? Is this a joke? Because if so, it’s not funny…” he said. The doctor, as
if he hadn’t heard John’s words, stepped next to John’s bed and lifted the plastic sheet. His
face turned sad as he saw how young the boy was who lied in front of him. John looked down and
was shocked. He saw himself lying there.
“He can’t hear you.” a voice said, but John didn’t look at the source.
“Is that… me? Am I dead?” he finally asked, still staring at his own corpse.
“Not yet, no. But you have only a few minutes before your body gives up.”
“How did I die?” he asked, finally looking up at the man speaking. “I can’t remember a thing.”
“Well, technically… you can say I killed you.”
John’s face changed from shocked to angry. “What did you do?”
“Yes, you heard it right. It was me, although it is not actually a murder. I just asked you to
leave your body for a few minutes. Looks like this state takes a little longer, I’m terribly
sorry about that.” the man said. John was still shaken from the scene so it took time to
understand what he said.
“What do you mean I have only a few minutes left?” he finally asked as he calmed down.
“I trusted you, John. I thought you are a Witch as you always said you are. Now it seems you
don’t even know the basics.” The man was angry, John clearly felt that. “You didn’t notice me
talking to you through dreams, and also don’t remember my command for your bodies to split. And
last, but not least, you don’t even have an idea on how to glue them together so your life won’t
end.”
“But… this can’t happen! This is impossible! If anyone would have such power in their hands they
would already rule the whole universe by now!” came the reply from John, who seemed to ignore the
fact that he’s dying in front of his own eyes.
“That, my friend, is the biggest mistake of your life. And, seeing your body here, it looks like
it is the last one. We will meet in your next life. It was a pleasure knowing you.”
At this very moment the doctor made the first dissection on John’s body; fresh, red blood oozed
from the wound. John woke up instantly with a loud scream.

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Samillinor’s Pride
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:date: 2012-08-10T11:15Z
:status: published
It was time again. Day after day it was the same, and Samillinor was more and more upset about
it. Since the temple was built her daily routine was the same: wake up with the Light, prepare
the ritual, make the ritual, fail the ritual, eat something which she felt like it had no taste at
all, prepare, make and fail another ritual, then go to sleep with the Light. Today must be
different or she will go mad for sure.
She entered the temple and headed towards the altar. She grabbed the clothing of a random
apprentice or hers just to get some attention and took him to the fire while ordering the others
to follow them. She then tossed the apprentice back into the crowd and began speaking.
“As you all know, we are trying to get our beloved Lady Mirinar back to Erodar. It’s a holy
mission, much bigger than survival itself. But we continuously fail. You, and I mean all of you,
will never see the Lady of Fire in this life. Even I fear of this sometimes, and my lifespan is
going to be much longer than yours. But I tell you this: if you try hard, we may at least summon
the powers of the Lady back to our hands. I’ve met the Prophets of other Gods. Some of them are
trying to achieve the same thing. They fail miserably, just like us. We have failed many times,
and many of you… *left* in the process. I know you are all fed up with this, so I don’t blame you
if you leave now.”
She paused for a brief moment to see the outcome of this not-so-good speech. Murmuring started in
the crowd, and soon a few Souls left the hall. After a short while, Samillinor continued. But
unlike the theatrical voice she used just a moment ago, she sounded more serious.
“The lava beasts will take care of those traitors. Now listen to me. I did not sleep last night.
Although that is not rare, its cause was something different. I have seen something like the
Gods’ visions. It wasn’t exactly the same, but it was strong, and it felt true. And if it is
indeed true, we will succeed today.”
The apprentices were all prepared to hear the same speech as almost every day. Most of them were
surprised that she allowed some of them to leave, even if that was only part of the act, but only
now they looked up to their leader. She looked exhausted, but unlike her usual tone, this time
her voice was really cheering. They started murmuring again, that maybe she’s right this time,
while others were afraid of some accident.
Apprentices of lesser ranks started to prepare today’s ritual. Some others left for the personal
quarters, hardly believing Samillinor’s words. Geoth, one of Samillinor’s oldest abbots, stepped
next to the High Priestess.
“Lady Samillinor, you look exhausted. Are you sure you don’t want to postpone today’s ritual?”
“You know very well that simply because I’m tired, I won’t die. I can’t die at all, actually.
Why would I postpone it?”
“Yes, I know, I know. I’m just… you look troubled, High Priestess. Many left for their private
quarters because they fear of a big accident today.”
“Whoever fears the powers of Lady Mirinar I will personally feed to the lava beasts. Now leave
and make the preparations!”
“Yes, your Highness!”
Mentioned preparations were fast, as always. Apprentices of lowest ranks swept the floor, others
changed the pelmets. A tamed lava beast brought in a stone cauldron filled with hot lava, so the
maids could refresh the lights. Meanwhile the fire-starters prepared the bonfires. Finally, as
the last step, Geoth brought the ritual bowl and put it on the altar.
The timing was perfect, the ritual began with Liran on the top of the sky. Samillinor stood
behind the altar in her ritual robe embroidered with flame patterns. Her red hair also looked
like flames.
“Fellow apprentices of Mirinar!” Samillinor began, with the usual theatrical moves. “We are here
once again to summon the powers of our beloved Lady back to Erodar. So let the ritual begin!
Fire-starters, light the bonfires!”
The accosted grabbed their torches immediately, dipped them into the lava and lit the bonfires.
While they caught flame, all the apprentices started to pray. They asked their Lady to send a
sign, and to allow them to once again use her powers on Erodar.
The bonfires lit quickly; the fire-starters were proud that they collected dry enough wood for
them. The hot air started circulating in the well constructed building. It blew Samillinor’s
hair so it much more resembled flames. She dipped the bowl into the lava cauldron, and held it
high. Then she cited the old words; her apprentices thought these are summoning words, but in
fact, they weren’t. They were used to transform the hot lava into water; although she could have
swallowed lava without being harmed if she wanted, it gave her hard times for a few days.
The next moment it turned out that Samillinor was right: something was very different this time.
As soon as she raised her bowl, the bonfires started to burn with huge flames. The apprentices
were surprised, but didn’t stop praying. Samillinor closed her eyes, held the bowl at her mouth
and drank its contents. The first swallow of lava surprised her so much that she dropped the
bowl. The burning material inside spouted and her robe caught fire. Her senses blurred as she
felt a strong presence. There was no doubt, it was Mirinar, her beloved Lady. She used her body
to materialize on Erodar once again.
Mirinar stretched and looked around. She was standing in a small circle of ash, the remains of
Samillinor’s robe. The altar survived. Nice stone contraption, made of Roban-stone that endures
the hottest lava. Between them lied a small bowl made of the same material, with cooling lava all
around. She looked up. Her body was still Samillinor’s, but her eyes were made of actual flames,
and so was her hair. She looked at the apprentices around who stood shocked and in awe.
“Finally” she said, taking a step next to one of the bonfires and looked in the eye of the
fire-starter in front of her. There stood a short lava Duaron, his skin black and eyes red like
lava. She grabbed his wrist so strong that the Duaron dropped her torch.
“What is your name?” she asked with fury in her voice. She knew the answer just well, she just
enjoyed speaking again.
“Harash, my Lady” said the fire-starter while he couldn’t look away from Mirinar’s eyes.
“How long do you serve the Fire?”
“Several years, my Lady. I don’t keep track, shame on me.”
“It has been twenty-seven years and nine days, Harash. You seem to serve me well. So tell me… do
you want to become my first Priest?”
Harash could not speak. That was what he wanted since he first saw the temple as a child.
“Yes, that was my only wish since I entered this temple for the first time. But I’m still a long
way from there.”
“Indeed, Harash, you are a long way. I don’t need a Priest who is not as committed as he can be.”
Mirinar, while still holding the wrists of Harash, looked at the other apprentices. Harash
started feeling the anger boiling inside him. He served Mirinar for almost three decades, and she
says he’s not worthy enough. He couldn’t see Mirinar’s face, but she was smiling. And soon,
Harash burst out, forgetting the fact that a God was holding his wrist”
“How dare you say that? I am serving your purpose for decades. I fed your beloved lava beasts, I
swept these floors for years, I can make the biggest bonfires of all the apprentices. If I was
given a chance, I could serve you much better than anyone else in this room, and you still think
I’m not worthy enough?”
Mirinar turned back, still smiling. Harash was confused, but was still filled with anger. Soon,
Mirinar made a sign for Harash with her other hand to turn around. So he did: the bonfire behind
him became so huge its flames reached the ceiling. Until now he didn’t even feel that the air
circulating in the room became so hot that some thin textiles caught fire. “There it is, your
real power” she whispered without anyone else than Harash hearing it. Harash stood in awe.
“That’s the Priest I need” said Mirinar to the others, and released Harash’s wrist, and forced him
to turn back at her. “Now look into my eyes, Harash, and tell me once again: do you want to
become my first Priest?”
The Duaron, still filled with fiery rage, stood her stare for a minute. “Yes, I do!” he finally
answered with confidence in his voice.
The bonfire collapsed under its own weight, but as it was not controlled, it collapsed right on
Harash. He was used to even lava, but this time the heat was unbearable. He screamed as he felt
all his bodies burning, although he was sure he’s not dying. It felt like forever before he could
dig himself out of the embers. He stood proud before Mirinar, who was pointing at his bare chest.
Harash looked down. A large symbol, Mirinar’s holy sign was flaming on his skin. Despite the
looks, it felt confortably warm. Harash felt pride; his childhood dreams came true. Not just he
met with his beloved Lady, but was initiated by her personally.
Mirinar turned around. With Harash on her side she looked at the crowd. Most of them were still
shocked by the almighty presence and what they just witnessed. Some, especially Samillinor’s
abbots were filled with rage that a lowly fire-starter got initiated by the Lady instead of them.
Mirinar just stared at them, still smiling.
“The Parents, thank to your constant prayers, allowed us back to Erodar once again” she said and
then paused. The apprentices started to regain their consciousness. Finally they realised that
after all these years, all the failed rituals, today they reached their goal, and summoned their
Lady on Erodar.
“That’s the good news” Mirinar continued, before anyone could start to applaud. “The bad news is,
you are the first and last to see me in person. The new rules are strict. We are able to
materialise once in front of, or through our Prophet. After that, we can only communicate with
them through visions. Them, and our new Priests. Priests get all our power for their loyalty.”
The crowd became confused. They were happy about Mirinar’s presence, but they couldn’t yet
understand these new rules she was talking about.
“Now, what should I do with you…? Is there anyone who prayed to any of my brothers or sisters?”
Everyone stood in silence.
“Come on, don’t be shy! In fact, if you did, you won’t survive the next few minutes. Or if you
will, you will be sorry to do so. So once again. If there is anyone among you who have prayed to
any other Gods, leave now, and I mean immediately! Also leave if you think you couldn’t bear the
godly powers and don’t want to become my Priest.”
No one moved. They were all ready, or at least thought to be ready for the task.
“Good. See you in the Passage soon!”
Samillinor passed out. When she woke up, her temple was gone. All she could see was cooled lava
and ashes. Amongst them stood her apprentices, or at least most of them. They were talking in
excitement, in small groups among the ruins. Goeth sat next to her on a stone, guarding her body.
“I guess that means everyone was right about this ritual” he said, while helping Samillinor to
stand up.
“So I guess it wasn’t just a vision” she replied.
“No, it was very real” said Goeth, gesturing at his chest. He had Mirinar’s burning symbol, just
like everyone else around.
“I still don’t know if I should be proud or sad. I was waiting to see my Lady for an Age, and
when she comes I cannot see her. Yet, she was using my very body to materialise. That’s not
something you feel every day.”
She stood up and looked at her body thoroughly. Now that all her clothes were burned to ashes,
she could see that she was in a much better shape than she remembered. Her skin looked younger
and she felt the energy burning inside.
“Whatever happened, we won. Mirinar is back, and I have a feeling we have made it first. Send
word to the harbour to prepare my ship. I need to get to Turamo’r as soon as possible.” She
paused for a moment to look around before she continued. “Oh, and arrange the making of a huge
amount of robes. Members of the Order of Fire cannot walk Erodar naked.”

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Shadow of the Sun Twins
#######################
:date: 2018-07-29T14:54Z
:category: stories
:tags: scifi
:url: stories/shadow-of-the-sun-twins
:save_as: stories/shadow-of-the-sun-twins/index.html
:status: published
:author: Gergely Polonkai
The below sci-fi short is a reply for `this writing prompt
<https://mastodon.social/@WritingPrompts/100457172434884207>`_:
Life is hard for a dirty salvager on this junk planet. If the heat of the desert's twin suns
don't kill you, the molten rain coming down from the ship graveyard orbiting the planet
might. But today is a good day. Today you found what looks to be a fully operational
spacecraft.
The desert was calm. Hot as ever, but at least the acidic molten rain stopped almost a week ago
now. The couple darted from wreck to wreck, just like every day since they crashed on this living
hell almost two decades ago. Salvagers. Thatʼs what they were for their whole lives, which was
almost forty years now. Everyone despised their kind yet, a lot of of megacorps were relying on
them. They could easily identify parts their commissioners wanted, sometimes hundreds of feet
away. They werenʼt the best of the best, but they were good.
Their clothes are mostly rags, but they didnʼt stand out during the rare occasions when they
visited one of the local colonies. Everyone and everything was dirty and wrecked here. It was a
home for outcasts and criminals.
Shiny ships landed about once a month to pick up things they ordered, and trade it for food and
water. They had some old tools to sell, but you had to be either wealthy or revered to buy them.
Thatʼs how Raleh and Gerth got their only wealth, the binoculars. The image they provided was
crystal clear, and the software running on it could easily identify any types of spacecraft they
were specialised in. It costed them a small fortune, in both sense of the word. They still made
jokes occasionally about that day when they planned their uncertain future years after getting
them.
“Enter” a machine voice said, after the door on the spacecraft, that seemed to be a wreck, opened.
They hesitated. Neither of them saw a ship on this planet before that was capable of
communication not counting the crafts of their employers. The ship was small, more like a
personal carrier than a battle cruiser. It didnʼt have any sign of authority or ownership except
the confederation flag painted on both sides.
“Enter” the voice repeated.
Raleh was always more brave, recklessly so. After stepping inside, she waved for Gerth.
“Come inside! We could use this to make ourself a future.” she said, but Gerth was still
shuffling outside.
“What, you think anyone would buy a ship that allows anyone on board?” Gerth replied. And indeed,
federal law stated anyone approaching a spacecraft without proper authorisation would be zapped to
death by the shipʼs defense system. They saw it countless times. They even buried a friend who
tried it.
“Who cares? If nothing else, we can rip it to pieces and sell all the parts.” Raleh insisted,
then disappeared inside the craft.
Inside it was dark, or at least it seemed so after getting out of the scorching light of the sun
twins. Her eye got used to it eventually. The ship seemed completely intact. No burning, no
sign of crashing in the inside.
“Hon!” It was Gerth, and sounded really excited. “Honey, come out, I have to show you
something!”
Raleh left through the small door to find her partner squatting next to the ship. She was
touching the shield, examining it closely.
“This ship didnʼt crash land here.” she announced. “It was shot several times, and one of the
engines were hit, but it simply landed.”
“Go figure,” Raleh replied, “the inside is good as new.”
The two entered the ship again and looked around.
“Computer!” Gerth said in loud and firm tone. “Self diagnosis.” She knew well from the times
they were salvaging in space that a confederation ship will identify itself as part of the
response.
“Cruiser type PC-79-1, registration code MID-683, owned by the Intelligence Department of the
Confederate Military.” the machine told, and continued. “Shield operational and lowered down.
Hull 97% intact. Solar panels providing 230% of required energy. All reserve batteries at 100%.
Engine one operational. Engine two operational. Engine three damaged, manual intervention
needed. Ship is capable of lift off and flight. Software level diagnosis must be requested
explicitly.”
“Thatʼs nice” Gerth summed. “But why would the Intelligence department leave a functioning ship
in the middle of hell?”
“Beats me. But we should decide what to do with it before someone else finds it” Raleh said, and
now it was her time to get nervous.
“Computer, close doors” Gerth commanded and waited until the ship carries out her order. “Just so
no one sees us from the distance. Computer! Identify your captain!”
On the screen, a picture of a woman appeared. She was probably around her forties with short
blonde hair and deep green eyes, and a fierce, but happy look on her face. Her uniform showed the
rank of a confederate colonel. If it werenʼt for the rags and the messy hair, it could have
easily been Gerth.
“Colonel Gerthrud Miartan” the ship announced. “Welcome back on board.”

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The Encounter
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:date: 2012-01-02T10:15Z
:status: published
Mendari stood on the top of a worn-out, old panel house. He looked down on the masses on the
street. “Your life depends on the fact that I have not chosen to end it yet. As soon as my
brother is gone, no one will be left to save you” he thought, then looked to the farther parts of
the city. In a less crowded district, he’s waiting for him in a park. “Where else? The concrete
jungle is not his world. He’s weak. He was always too weak to change. The city grew around him
and he left in his weary park where nothing changes.” He turned his head towards the park. He
always sits there, and Mendari was sure it’s the same even now. He took two quick steps and took
off from the edge of the roof; spreading his red, bat-like wings he was nose-diving towards the
ground.
Eldreth was sitting in his well known park on the most hidden bench. No one went that way, not
even the homeless. No one ever encountered him but still, everyone recognised this as his own
place. But everything will change soon. Mendari will come here and will try to destruct
everything he still got since the city was built. He will leave soon. Humans destroy all the
forests on this planet, and he will have less and less place to live. Whatever is left is not
suitable for him. He tried to move into some densely populated districts, but his head went
buzzing. And the downtown parts are even unbearable.
He looked up for a brief moment, but even this was enough for him to see his brother, nose-diving
from the roof. He had plenty of time. Slowly, but with with nobility he stood up and waited
until his brother arrives. As soon as he was close by he spread his white wings to blind his
future opponent.
Mendari came to a halt seeing those wings. He knew exactly Eldreths powers, but he hoped he got
lazy and cannot use them.
“It seems I have underestimated you, brother” he said with irony in his voice. “You seem to use
your powers well, especially knowing that the mayors have taken almost everything from you.”
“Fortunately, I have my reserves” Eldreth said, smiling.
They stood there for minutes, probably for hours, in front of each other. Who passed by may have
only seen two men there. They have dissambled their wings in this world as they knew if anyone
would have seen them they would have gotten huge attention in the noisy media of the world. But
what they were planning right now cannot go unnoticed. They were sure it will cause a huge media
storm at the price of their own demise. But it doesn’t matter now. The time has come, it must
happen here and now.
The encounter was unbearable for everyone around them. Nothing could be seen, they just
experienced the hurricane like wind. When they grabbed each other even the earth began to shake.
At first only around them, but they slowly spreaded to the whole city. The walls of the panel
houses, which were not built to stand a bigger earthquake, began to crack. The pictures on the
walls, the flowers celebrating the new mayor, and even the lamp posts dropped to the ground one by
one. Even this was enough for the locals to panic. They flocked to the streets and it didn’t
take much time before a group or two got to the park. Whoever came this far could see the two
brothers in the epicentre of the quakes, with their huge wings spread, holding each other without
moving. The trees in the park fell, and the small pond in the middle of the park, with all the
boats and the people in them quickly leaked into a newly opened gap. Soon, some of the refugees
recognised the potential in the events and started to take pictures.
“See?” thundered Mendari. “Nothing is enough for them! Only success and money moves them. Look!
LOOK! They have surrendered their homes that were crumbled to dust but they don’t lament anything
just take pictures. Here are all the fallen trees, some of them has people under them and what
they do? Are they mourning? NO! They take pictures hoping a magazine will pay loads of money
for this trash!”
Eldreth was used to such scenes, and although his brother was trying to plant disdain and anger in
his heart, he could not pull Light to the Darkness’ side. So Mendari, seeing his brother’s
persistence, continued.
“Do you really want to save these? Why? They have no use on this planet. They never had!”
“I think you misunderstood something. I never wanted to save *them*. Just life. That’s what you
cannot take from them without punishment. For that both me and all Spirits of life will turn
against you.”
Mendari didn’t say a word, just pushed two photographers to the chasm with his wing. They tried
to grab anything, screaming, but without success. The ground swallowed them with a quiet rumble.
“So where are these spirits now? Nowhere. Why haven’t they saved this two sacred lives? Where
are they that they couldn’t catch any of them?” Mendari tried to give emphasis to his words by
shaking his brothers shoulders while he was taking care not to let him go.
“No one has to catch them on the way down to save them. At the bottom there is the Spirit of the
lake. He will catch them, and although it will hurt much, they will survive.
The demon got furious. “How can you remain this calm? Your life, the humans’ life is in my hands
and you still don’t fight me!”
“I’m not calm. I know what will happen and I know it must happen this way.”
The earthquake got stronger and finally, the ground started to open below them. At first only a
small crack flashed between them, but it became wider with time until the brothers had to release
each other. They jumped to the air. The people around them stopped, forgetting about the panic,
staring at them in awe.
Up until now only their minds were fighting, but now even their bodies clashed. It was true
wrestling in the air, with the aim of bringing the other to the ground. But Eldreth only parried,
never attacking back. He easily evaded his brother’s moves so Mendari was trying more furiously.
They got higher in the air, but it was the angel who wanted this. His brother followed in
delirium just to finish him already.
He doesn’t have to wait for too long. Eldreth had to miss only a tiny move. Mendari took
advantage and held down all of his brothers limbs. They were plummeting towards the ground, the
demon controlling it so he would have been on top when they reach the ground. There was
maleficence and satisfaction in his eyes looking at Eldreth pinned down body.
The angel looked up and smiled. Endless gratitude whirled from him, even towards Mendari.
“I always loved you, my dear brother” he whispered. “Maybe once, much later, we will see each
other again.”
They slammed to the ground with a deafening crash, almost at the middle of the place where once
the park was. The huge dust cloud caused by the earthquakes, hid their bodies. The noise
stopped, so as the quakes. It was over. They fell so hard it was fatal for both of them.
Mendari’s body exploded to millions of red shards that slowly spread in the park. They flooded
the region as a dreadful dollop, biting the flesh from everyone’s bones.
Eldreth turned into small, fog-like drops of water. These blended together with the red mass,
diluting it. He was trying to protect life even in his death.
The red fog slowly covered the city. Weakened by Eldreth’s powers it couldn’t physically harm
people, but it turned to be more dangerous this way. It burned people’s feelings and emotions.
With the earthquake stopping the wind began to blow again. A desert-like storm approached the
city, which was direful together with shards of the red fog. It engulfed everyone and everything.
Mendari wanted to spare no one.

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Trust
#####
:date: 2015-02-13T08:10Z
The girl was small both in height and stature. Her blonde hair was mostly covered by a cute hat.
She stared outside the bus window with dreamy blue-grey eyes.
The guy, also thin, was so tall that he hit his head in the holding bars, usually out of reach for
anyone else, almost every time he got on the bus. His long brown hair was stuffed under his thick
black jacket. His ears were plugged with a pair of earphones as almost every day; he barely heard
anything, but his perception wasn’t blocked at all. He was reading a book, but the story wasn’t
fascinating enough. He instead used to look up at the mirror image of the girl in the window.
Sometimes they exchanged a look, but it was as short as if it was just by accident.
This continued for many days and weeks before the man gathered all his bravery and greeted her one
morning. He didn’t insist on starting a conversation, which was obvious from his face. It was
like a greeting of a hardly known neighbour except for the wide smile. The girl wasn’t surprised
at all, she even returned both the smile and the greeting. It was a big step forward for both of
them, even if they somewhat stopped at this point.
Not less than a month later came a day full of coincidences. The man changed to a lighter coat
and left his earphones in the pockets of the old one. He held a new book in his hand, looking for
a seat, and the only free one was next to the girl. She looked sad, almost crying. He greeted
her with the usual smile, which she forcefully returned. The guy was wondering what the problem
might have been, but didn’t intend to break their unspoken customs.
“May I snuggle to you?” she asked, mostly from herself. She spoke very low, almost whispering.
But despite the book, the man was totally aware of her and all of her actions. Honestly, he was
preparing to ask what the matter was.
“Sure”, the reply came and he lifted his arm to hug her. She was surprised, not because he
accepted, but that in an instant the hesitating man became so confident. She buried her face in
the thin black coat, shivering for a moment of the cold surface. She wasn’t really crying just
sobbing every now and then. The man didn’t say anything, only gently slicked her hair.
They left the bus at the terminal speechless and, as usual, they went in two different ways.
Weeks passed without them meeting again.
One day the girl stood at the terminal when the man took off. He greeted her smiling, and darted
off towards the little bakery where he bought his breakfast every day. The girl followed him,
asking “Do you mind if I accompany you for a short while?”
“Certainly not,” he said, “I’m just buying some breakfast before taking the underground. You want
something?”
The girl wondered. She usually didn’t eat anything until noon, except a small bowl of cereals
every other day which she omitted today, but the offer made her hungry. “Surprise me! I like
sweeter things,” she finally replied as they entered the shop. The guy bought two pieces of the
same croissant, filled with chocolate, and handed one of them over. “I hope you will like it,
these are my favourite.”
They headed to the underground station, gnawing on the croissants silently.
“Why did you do it last time? The cuddling, I mean” she started after finishing her part. “We do
not know each other, I don’t even know why do we greet each other in the mornings. Hell, I don’t
even know why I dared to ask you.” The man smiled politely without a word so the girl continued.
“I don’t even know why I am doing this conversation with a man who can say nothing, not even a
reply!”
She was becoming grumpy, and the man felt it just too well.
“Come on, you are not mute, I heard your voice several times already, and we speak the same
language!” she said with growing anger in her voice.
They just arrived to the bottom of the stairs. In a blink of an eye, the man jumped in front of
her and hugged her.
“What do you feel?” he asked. The girl was surprised and hesitating. She didn’t really want to
free herself, but she was embarassed because of the last few moments. Finally, she hugged back
and buried her face in his chest. The coat was open, so this time she didn’t shiver, touching the
warm sweater. She felt all too comfortable and safe, as if there were no crowd around them. She
turned her head, sticking her ear where her face was just a moment ago. The beating of his heart
was slow and comforting that she didn’t even want to leave that warmth. “What do you feel?” he
asked again after a few seconds, with patience and calmness in his voice.
“Safety, I guess.” she replied, but didn’t loosen her grip. “I feel safe besides you, even though
I do not know you or if you can be trusted. Maybe you will drag me in a dark alley to rape and
kill me, but while I’m here close to you, I just don’t care.”
“Don’t give me ideas.“ the man grinned, though the girl couldn’t see it. “It takes time to
achieve this deep trust. It’s very hard to get, very easy to lose, and even harder to get back if
you do. I’m glad I earned yours.”

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White cell
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:date: 2009-07-28T20:29Z
:status: published
Thomas stepped in his room. He felt strange but he couldn’t explain it until he closed the door
behind him. The furniture, all his personal stuff, even the window and the door has disappeared,
and the walls were glowing bright white. For a brief moment he thought he got blind, but then
realised he could see his own body just fine. He tried to open the door where it used to be, but
he grabbed wall instead of the knob. Suddenly he heard a calm voice from his back.
“Hello, Thomas. I was waiting for you.”
“Who are you? And what happened to my room? Or my senses?”
“Nothing. Both you and your room are the same as you left about two hours ago.”
The man was tall and thin, his long white hair reached the middle of his back. He looked young,
but his deep green eyes radiated a long life and wisdom.
“I am a magician. Just like how you like to call yourself” he added.
“Because I am! Now let me out of here!”
“Please, sit down” the man asked, but Thomas refused.
“Why would I?”
“Because I asked you nicely.”
“But I don’t want to sit down. I want to get back to my room and to my life! My disciples are
waiting for me!”
“You can leave freely, whenever you please.”
“How could I? Even the door has disappeared.”
The white haired man disappeared without an answer. Thomas became more furious every minute,
which transitioned to despair. He hit the wall until his fist was bleeding, although the
bloodstains couldn’t be seen on the glowing surface.
“Where are you, *magician*?” he asked. “You locked me up here but you fear to face me? Come back
so I can beat you up until you release me!”
“I was always here, Thomas.” The magician stood exactly whence he disappeared. “Why are you so
upset? You are safe and sound in your room. The bed, your wardrobe, the door and window are all
at their usual places. You simply have to step to the door and leave.”
“What are you talking about? You locked me up in this white cell, which has no windows, no door,
just the glowing white walls. There’s nothing here, especially no exit. Now bring me back to my
room!”
Thomas tried to hit the magician, but he was too slow for his supernatural senses and dexterity.
“I don’t want to fight you” the sorcerer said. “I just want you to understand the world around
you so you don’t have to lie to your disciples any more.”
Thomas tried even more, but he was no real opponent for the sorcerer.
“Would you feel better if you could hit me?”
“I would feel better if you would finally release me!”
“Come on, Thomas, you would better…” the man began, but Thomas interrupted.
“Don’t call me Thomas! I hate that name. I don’t use it for years.”
“Your parents gave you that name. You shouldn’t make you sad with dropping the name they gave
you. Yes, it is common and simple. But it’s not the name that will make you different from
others.”
“What do you know about names? You didn’t even tell me yours”
“Because I don’t have one. My parents didn’t want me, so they didn’t give me a name.” the man
replied, with a still calm voice. “Call me Anonymus, or whatever you like.”
While he was talking, Thomas continued the attacks, but without success.
“Your hand is bleeding. It should be treated.”
“I would, if you would let me back to my room!”
“You still don’t understand. You are worse than I hoped. Now please, sit down so I can show you
the way back to your beloved room.”
Thomas attacked again with a loud battle cry. The wizard stepped to the left with ease, grabbed
Thomas’ arm and forced him to a sitting position with a quick move.
“I asked you twice to calm down and sit. If you wouldn’t be such an arrogant fool, you would sit
in your room by now.” His voice was thundering and shocking which scared Thomas, so he remained
sitting.
“Thank you” the wizard continued. “Only one thing remains. You must believe that I’m not lying
when I say you are in your room.”
Thomas didn’t say a word. He thought this guy is insane, or even a pervert that he keeps him
here.
“Okay, so you don’t believe me. In this case let’s just assume you are in your room. Your window
used to be here, right behind me. You keep telling your disciples that visualisation is so
important. Now do it!”
Thomas tried. He believed that this stranger will keep him here forever, so he had nothing to
loose. Then, when he was focusing for ten minutes, the silhouettes of the window appeared on the
wall, right behind the sorcerer. He was surprised as although he really did say to his disciples,
he never really succeeded in visualisation. After the surprise caused by the window, Thomas
looked around and could see everything crystal clear in his room.
“Just as I said” said the wizard. “You could have left whenever you wanted.”
“What kind of bad joke is this?” Thomas asked, still shocked.
“It wasn’t a joke. It was your imagination. Or… was it mine?”