THE FALL OF AN EMPIRE BOOK THREE --- What a wonderful little secret this was though. If you hadn't been able to follow the signs you would have never found it - a real travesty. Everything you could possibly need resided here in some form or another - feverfew sprang up in little bunches from the ground, accompanied by echinacea. Gingko trees around the place offered their leaves down to you in little bundles. If you hadn't known better, you would have thought someone had planted it all here... A rustle from the bushes behind you stopped your train of thought in its track, sending a shiver of panic down your spine. Your hand withdrawing from the bundle of milk thistle it had been about to grab, you slowly turned, mind filling with all a matter of wild animals that could be lurking in this wood. A pair of soft brown eyes peered out from one of the clumps of brush, staring directly at you.

THE FALL OF AN EMPIRE BOOK TWO -- Approaching Anoitos' temple again, you opened the door, turning as you stepped inside to close it again. The door closing with a satisfying clunk, you spun back around, intending to just quickly bow your head and grab your beads without much circumstance. You were not expecting to see a man, mid-way through stuffing his face with the plate of offerings you had brought, at the altar, his eyes blown wide with panic and focused on you. You stared back at him. "I- you- what are you doing? Who are you? How-?" You turned halfway back to the door, intending to run for one of the guards. "Wait!" The man's voice drew your attention back to him, just in time to see his appearance shift slightly - like there was something behind the mirage of his skin. For a moment - the man was gone, and in his place, a living replica of the hulking gold warrior depicted in the statue took his place. Your hand dropped from the handle of the door, staring up at the god before you. Out of all the times for your prayers to be answered... and of all ways, like this... "See?" He said, shrinking back to the man you had seen before, the boyish smile you knew so well still on his face. "It's just me!" Standing before you, with crumbs of bread on his face, was Anoitos, somehow - impossibly - in the flesh.

THE FALL OF AN EMPIRE BOOK ONE --- Your eyes trailed up to the balcony, taking stock of the man who was perched there, hands resting on the railing as he peered down at the crowd that had just entered the room. Broad shoulders were only accentuated by plated armor, polished to a bronze sheen. You had seen this man before, during military processions and that sort of thing. The prison warden, and one of the caesar's previous champions. Samuel. The warden of the prison underneath the colosseum.

Hello Y/N, My name is Jack Manifold and I'm a twitch streamer/youtuber (you can find me @ jackmanifoldtv). Recently I've been working on designing and getting merch for my subscribers, and I've been looking for a photographer to possibly help with a merch photoshoot so I'll have some pictures for the website. I found your page through Instagram and so far you look like you know what you're doing. I just was wondering about your price range for that sort of thing and when you would be available for a shoot? Jack Manifold (not sus) ---- Hello Jack, Thank you for the request. I took a look at your page, and I would be happy to set up a time for a shoot. The price would depend on how many hours the shoot would be, and my rate is about £100 an hour. As for availability, I am still in school, so it would have to be either in the afternoon or on the weekend if you wanted it earlier in the day. Hopefully that's not an inconvenience! Y/N (also not sus, just in case you were wondering)

"I'll read it out for you." Anne said, handing the cigarette back to you. "Wanted; for breaking and entering and robbery. Unknown bandit seen leaping from a window of a bank in Kempton, may be walking with a limp from the fall. Suspected to be about 5'8" and stocky build. Should any leads arise please contact local authorities." --- You hadn't even seen him there, obscured in the darkness of night - and it was obvious that he hadn't been expecting anyone to come out back. He startled, stumbling away from where he had been leaning, and your heart leapt into your throat, surprised in the worst way possible. So surprised, that you threw the bag of vegetable scraps at him as a form of self defense. The bag bounced harmlessly against the man's chest and landed on the ground. Your eyes darted to it first, but then up to the man you had thrown it at - taking in his features from the light streaming out of the still-open door. He wasn't too tall, but he had the build of someone who had known a farm life before - broad shoulders and muscle made for work, not show. His clothes were practical, and he carried a pack strapped to his back. It was his face that was the most interesting though - he couldn't have been much older than you, and he looked kind, for lack of a better word. Open, almost.

The door opened, and you were faced with a young man about your age. He filled the whole doorframe with his height, though he was kind of lanky looking. A few brown fluffy curls stuck out from underneath his beanie, and he wore glasses, looking down at you. "Oh, you are rather tall." You said, the words slipping out of you before you could stop yourself. You clamped your mouth shut before the rest of the thought could slip out as well - he was rather fit, too. He blinked quizzically. "Um, sorry?"

You set your phone down when a customer walked in - a boy with fluffy brown hair and an oversized jumper. You watched him wander between the shelves for a few moments, looking sort of lost, as most boyfriends and/or husbands did when they came looking for gifts. Shame too - he was cute. Still, you walked around the counter and over to him to offer your help. You stepped up beside him next to the candles. "Hi, are you finding everything okay?" You asked. "Oh, uh." The boy jumped a little. "I'm just looking for some candles." He said. "Gonna be honest... I'm kind of lost, yeah." You laughed a little. "Would you like some help?" "Yes, thank you." He sounded relieved. You grabbed one of the shopping bags from the nearby rack and handed it to him with a smile. "So are we looking for something for the girlfriend, or mom, maybe?" "Oh, um no." He said, flushing slightly. "I just needed some candles for me, actually." Your smile widened. So no girlfriend... a interesting development.

24 new emails looked back at you from the screen. You could feel the headache setting in, but you opened your email anyway, looking through the new messages. Two from your statistics professor, about a new assignment, another one from the RA in the dorm building, one from the admissions office, about your application to the study abroad program, one from your American history professor- Hold the phone. You rapidly clicked on the email from the admissions office, scanning through the paragraphs. Reviewing your application to the program... taking into account your grades and your major... looking at schools in the area... pleased to say we can accept you into the program. Accepted. Part of you had forgotten that you had applied in the first place; it had been months ago back at the end of last semester, and then you had gone home for the summer and put it behind you. But being back at school had brought it to the forefront of your mind again. This was great. You had needed some good news today. Turning up the music, you danced out of your desk chair and jumped around the room a little, excited. You were going to Mexico for a semester. You could already picture it now - warm weather, good food, and firsthand experience speaking Spanish for at least six months, maybe more. Not to mention all the adventures you could have in a foreign country. This would be something you would remember for years, and just thinking about it made your day better.

You were one of the first people to arrive in the piano room - probably because your form room had been so close by. The room was empty when you walked in, so you just made your way to the back of the room, sitting down at one of the pianos near the window. There were no desks in the room besides for the teacher, only keyboards lined up in rows facing the front of the room. You set your books down under the piano, not knowing where else to put them, and sat down, fiddling with the hem of your shirt in your hands as you waited. You would have much preferred for at least the teacher to be in the room - sitting by yourself was not really what you wanted to be doing. You turned your attention to the window in the room, absently watching a couple of songbirds dart in an out of a small shrub while you waited. Hopefully someone else would get here soon and it wouldn't be so stiflingly silent- "Oh. Hello." Your head snapped back to the front of the room to see a boy standing there, hovering awkwardly just inside the door. He was rather short, and his arms wrapped around his books in a hug. You wouldn't have noticed him in the hallway if you had passed him - his height combined with brown hair and brown eyes made him the sort of person that would just blend in to a crowd. He didn't look particularly mean though, so you just tried for a smile. "That's my seat." He said, still hovering by the door.

PHANTASM SERIES BOOK 3 --- Hiraeth (Welsh pronunciation: [hɪraɨ̯θ, hiːrai̯θ]) is a Welsh word for longing or nostalgia, an earnest longing or desire, or a sense of regret. The feeling of longing for a home that no longer exists or never was. A deep and irrational bond felt with a time, era, place or person. --- You were close enough that you could see the crew scurrying about on deck now. They looked as ragged as the ship - no sense of unity about them other than that they were all standing on deck together, swords brandished as you approached. You scanned over them and felt suddenly grateful for your sailing uniform - some of those pirates didn't even have shoes. Simon strode the deck, scanning through the ranks for the captain of the Ghost. You had been given some indication as to what she looked like, but when she parted herself from the ranks of her crew, you weren't quite ready for what she actually looked like. They didn't do her justice on the wanted posters back home. She was short, but powerfully built. You could see ram horns sticking out from underneath her extravagant hat, and her coat was a bright blood red - the gold trim faded somewhat. You were most focused on her hair though - pure white and absolutely massive, it looked like a cloud around her head. Stern eyes finished the look, and you couldn't help but be a little bit entranced - this was the kind of person that people were scared to make eye contact with. Simon didn't seem all that frightened when he came to stand on the edge of your own deck, facing her over the narrow strip of sea that separated you - and you were grateful. If you were captain, you didn't know if you would be able to look her in the eye.