OVERALL WINNER of the WattALegend: Quorin Saga collaboration contest hosted by the Fantasy family of Ambassador profiles (2021)
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There is a strange restlessness in the magical land of Quorin.
A teenage girl sneaking home one night finds herself...
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Kingdom of @WattpadDarkFantasy
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Magnus's growl rumbles through him. "I don't like this, Hesper."
The sun flashes between the leaves and into my eyes as he carries me down the winding forest path. We race past some apple trees. I pluck a gleaming fruit.
"What's there not to like?" I ask, biting into the apple.
Its sweet crispness dances over my tongue.
"A monster in these woods murders travellers. We live for killing such beasts. This is a perfect quest."
"I don't like that it's near Ashelum," Magnus says.
The mere mention of the name raises goosebumps along my arms.
People say Ashelum lies on the border between the Land of the Living and the Dead. Some believe that the Land of the Dead claimed it, that if Ashelum existed once, it no longer does.
I know better. Behind its fantastical embellishing, every legend in Quorin has truth to it. Ashelum is just a silent kingdom, having a voice only in folktales. There's nothing to fear.
"How many beasts have we killed?" I ask.
"Many," says Magnus.
"Didn't we vow to purge Quorin of its murderous monsters?"
"Yes."
"Then letting the slaughter continue is abandoning our cause," I say. "Too many have fallen prey to this beast. We must stop the monster from making more orphans."
Another growl shudders through Magnus's body.
A monster tore our families to pieces when we were children. We were alone until we found each other. We didn't resign ourselves to hopeless lives as orphans. We took action that day and ever since.
"Don't you want to know what this monster is keeping inside the kingdom and why?"
"No," Magnus says.
"Come on, it's going to be an adventure!"
"You're brave, Hesper, and you've got a golden heart, but one day I fear we shall meet an unbeatable monster."
I don't fear any of Quorin's monsters. Every beast has a weakness. All I must do is find it.
I bury my hand in Magnus's fur, giving his shoulder a comforting pat. "We can do anything together, right?"
"Right," he says, as obedient as the pup I first met, although his voice is gruffer and he's forty times bigger.
I cradled him when he howled for his parents. Now, he sprints, carrying me on his back as if I am no heavier than a baby.
