An unruly princess. A reluctant soldier. And a dragon that crashes the Autumn Feast. Chaos ensues in the icy land of Falkrynne, where the biting cold meets scorching dragonfire. With the tension amid the lords of the Five Realms taut as a bowstring, a dragon swooping in is the last thing King Talarion wants. When the shadows of the great wings unfurled fall over Silverstone Keep, people are reminded of dark times; a time long gone, when fire and smoke ruled the land and dragons ruled the sky. While the Five Realms gather forces to eliminate the threat, Princess Kassandra and her friend, Brenn of Dragonhold finds out the true identity of the creature; a discovery which leads them down a perilous road to save the dragon from its inevitable fate. A centuries-old rivalry is unearthed. As it turns out, Falkrynne must come to terms with the ghosts of its war-ravaged past. [Prompt #4 "You discover that the dragon everyone fears is in danger, and you are the only one who can save it from the knight sworn to slay it."]

A world at war. Spies fighting in the shadows. Niko Sapphire, a dedicated young agent of the Quorum, must unravel the sinister plots of a notorious alchemist and his alliance with the Siren kingdom of Lokesha before his homeland is ravaged by a new breed of creature, born of chaos and hellbent on tainting the ocean tides with blood for eternity. *** Doctor Kief Thondial is the deadliest man in the world, or so Niko Sapphire has been told. After surviving a mission that brought him into the heart of the demented alchemists' twisted laboratory of twisted experimentations - a mission that left his best friend dead - Thondial is the last man Niko wants to see. However, fate brings them back together on the tropical island kingdom of Lokesha, ruled by a power-hungry Siren Queen who wishes to use Thondial's expertise to extend her rule for eternity, even at the expense of her own people. Forced to ally himself with the opposition, the enigmatic and beautiful mermaid spy, Skilla Striker of the Tidewielders, Niko must thwart Thondial's plan before the war for dominion over their world shifts in evil's favour. Hunted by the sadistic assassin known as The Unhappy Man and pitted against nature on an island desperate to drown him, Niko will need the full alliance of his wit, charm, and rogueish instincts to defeat Thondial once and for all, but will his lust for revenge risk everything? *** Entered into the 2026 Open Novella Contest Prompt #32 - Two assassins from rival organizations are sent on the same secret mission, only to realize the assignment hides a much bigger truth.

When the Grim Reaper arrives at Sunnyvale Retirement Home to collect the soul of one particularly stubborn 112-year-old, he expects a routine day on the job. What he doesn't expect is to be waylaid by a tiny, scrappy puppy in mortal danger. Now, instead of reaping souls, he's chasing a runaway pup through the halls of bingo night, dodging walkers, and arguing with his very exasperated assistant about the rules of death. But as he follows the little dog, the Reaper begins to wonder: can even a being of the afterlife have a soft spot? A tale of stubborn souls, unexpected friendships, and the life lessons we learn from the smallest of creatures, Death Takes a Detour is a whimsical adventure that proves sometimes even Death needs a little distraction.

MxM Sci-fi After answering a few harmless emails, Dr Cassius Taylor finds himself joining an expedition into unknown space in search of ancient technology. The journey was supposed to be a short one, to merely dip their toes into the dark and then hop back out again- but as Cass soon realises, all things in space tend not to go as planned. With the way back home destroyed, the unlikely team must find safety in a galaxy under the constant threat of annihilation by a species named The Revenant. Meanwhile, Cecil, a pirate looking for a new ship to join, offers his help to the outsiders. All he has to do is pretend to be everything he is not and try not to get caught eating human flesh. Between space-travelling cannibals, soul-sucking aliens and being stranded in the most hostile galaxy in the universe, Cass and Cecil must work together to defeat the Revenant threat and find some way to get back home. + ONC Prompt: 93. Buried beneath ancient ruins lies an artefact that whispers memories of an ancient being. The first memory it reveals is a warning, and it's meant for you.

Noah Reyes wrote a book that never went anywhere. Every weekday morning, he rides the same train for five stops, carrying the quiet disappointment of a story that slipped through the cracks of the algorithm. His attempts to promote it on TikTok feel more like confessions than marketing. Until one morning, Noah notices a stranger across the aisle. Leather jacket. Work boots. A biker. And in his hands, Noah's book, worn and dog-eared, being read with the biggest smile Noah has ever seen. Julian Cross did not pick up the book by accident. He found it online, recognized the author from the train, and started reading it not just to understand the story, but to understand himself. Five stops is not much time. But sometimes, it is enough to change everything. - Entry for the Open Novella Contest 2026 Main Prompt: 22. Your book never found much success, but on a train ride you spot a stranger reading it with the biggest smile you've ever seen. © 2026 ↦ onechapteraway

This novel is metaphysical. Read and comment. I used the main prompt: 7.One morning, the ocean washes up a message. One you've been waiting your entire life to hear. 94. At the seashore, you discover a message in a bottle foretelling a catastrophe that will strike in one week. The note gives you specific instructions to prevent it and warns that you must tell no one. Twist is : 115. A prophecy claims you will love two people. One destined to save your life and the other destined to destroy it. The trouble is, you have no idea which is which.

"Vespera has a legacy name she needs to live up to, but when the Nymph from the forest demands to be freed, Vespera proves she is not the witch her mother had tried to mould her into." Vespera is the daughter of the Great Witch who locked the Nymph away in the forest. For most of her life, she's been unable to live up to her mother's legacy. When the dark creatures burst into the Warden's Castle, she's forced to step it up and fulfil her duties. At the same time the voice of the trapped wood nymph lures Vespera into the forest, demanding to be freed. With each secret uncovered, Vespera keeps asking herself who the real monsters are in this story. Getting closer to the nymph, in more ways than one, she's faced with choices she never thought she'd have to make. Vespera is determined to find out the truth, even if it will cost her the love of her family and friends. ONC 2026 | Written in third-person POV

A forgotten amulet. A whisper of fate. A princess it commands, but at what cost? Maela, princess of the Seelie Court, can't sit through court affairs to save her life. To avoid another royal meeting, she takes a new path through the forest, stumbling upon ancient ruins. The secret within their shattered walls sets her on a path she must find the answer to--before it's too late. Main prompt: ~ 93. Buried beneath the ruins lies an artifact that whispers memories of an ancient being. The first memory it reveals is a warning and it's meant for you. Sub prompts: ~ 16. =And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul= Quote by John Muir ~ 11. The daughter of the most powerful witch(changed to Fae) is nothing like her mother. ~ 104. While wandering in the woods, you dismiss the rustling behind you as nothing more that wind through the trees until you turn around and realize it isn't the wind at all.

A dragon. A chase. A war. Upon finding an injured baby dragon in her garden, Madeline commits treason by sheltering it. It is later revealed that the dragon is the source of the impending war and possesses a prophecy of chaos. She believes returning it to its kind would end the war. She must journey throughout the land with a dragon that radiates death while evading a knight who is tasked with its demise. - An ONC 2026 story. Prompts 3, 4, 10, and 11.

One year ago, Elliot disappeared. When a strange flower spirited her to the Fae filled d'Oré Isles, Serena is dedicated to finding her twin and uncovering answers. But will the price be higher than she can pay? Will she be able to convince the King to help her in her quest? Welcome to my Open Novella Contest 2026 entry! Over the next 12 weeks, I'll be participating in the Open Novella Contest and writing novella of no more than 40,000 words. From this year's prompts, I've chosen Prompt 2 as my main: The first flower to bloom in spring isn't just a sign of the seasons changing. It's a portal. When you touch it, you're transported into a magical world you never knew existed. I look forward to creating a story for you. I'd love if you would support me and my novella by sharing, commenting, voting, adding it to your lists, and, of course, reading along! Ongoing Word Count: 18,200(ish) Last edit for typos and comments: 11 March. Cover art created by myself on Canvas with Wattpad provided banners. Chapter art created on Pinterest - I own no part of that art. No part of this novella was created with AI. No part of this novella existed before 1 February 2026.