A (mostly) cozy fantasy in which the rule of three is misused, the slow burn is glacial, and the cast of characters is twice as large as it needs to be. Also, there are monsters now.
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In a city unknowingly on the edge of chaos...
The chimera is a monster no one has ever seen, leaving gifts impossible to look away from. The chimera is (probably, but who can confirm?) an amalgamation of lion, dragon, goat, and snake appendages. Nowhere, however, in this collection of animals is there a suggestion of delicacy.
Yet when it left six gifts scattered among the homes of the youth of Beledon (and one gift delivered Elsewhere), it also left a note for each recipient, tied with a bow. Though neither lions, dragons, goats, nor snakes are noted for their ribbon-tying capabilities, it is what it is. It's not the strangest thing the chimera has managed.
Seven gifts delivered, upon which the following notes were attached:
On a brass hand bell ~For Jasper, before he forgets~
A glass vial of silver sand ~For Taihei, while he waits~
A golden amulet ~For Zahara, as the world turns~
A dragon's talon knife ~For Giada, diving in~
A leather-bound tome ~For Fallon, after the war~
An iron skeleton key ~For Kalila, in a quiet life~
A silver feather brooch ~For Lionel, who chases flight~
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