🏆 LONGLIST - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2022 🏆 Mersem Wess, a town boy in the wintery kingdom of Solon, is content with his life collecting timber and admiring Leara Madris, the darling Lady Knight, from afar. His sister, Silke, a girl with a short fuse and way too much time on her hands, thinks otherwise. When a plan to raid the palace's armory goes awry, Silke may just get the adventure of a lifetime...with Mersem in tow. Now that all the Palace Knights, the lone mercenaries, and even the bounty hunter guilds are out for Silke's head, Mersem must ditch his rural lifestyle in favor of adventuring in the harsh lands to get to his sister before everyone else does. He must survive the great unknown, get Leara Madris to fall for him, and bring his sister back home before fate, duty, and truth catch up to him. From Exequinne, the author of the high fantasy series, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢, comes a story of adventure, buried secrets, and a bond flowing thicker than blood yet as fragile as frozen thorns. ˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°•˜"°•.˜"°• © 2022 (First Edition) [25,000 - 35,000 words] [All graphics are made by @Exequinne] 🏆 ROUND 2 QUALIFIER - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2022 🏆 ROUND 1 QUALIFIER - OPEN NOVELLA CONTEST 2022

"A serpent exacts vengeance on those who harm them. And they give it back a thousand times over." Over the years, an academy was built as a safe haven for the children of gods and other legends. The academy is there to help them control their powers and learn how to live normally among regular humans. When Axel, the son of Apolaki, the sun god, gave the order to kill everyone in the Sawa dorm, one of the kids, Sigren, was able to escape. Years later, Sigren returns to the academy to take revenge on those who have killed his brethren. But his revenge does not stop there. He plans to steal the seventh and final moon in order to summon Bakuna, the serpent who ingested the previous six moons and ensured that night would never end. Maya, as the daughter of the moon goddess Mayari, seems to be the only one who has the capability to stop Sigren, as the serpents don't seem to have any intention of hurting her. But what can she do against a madman who sees nothing but red and black? Furthermore, what does Maya have that makes her special to the serpents?

The Avratish Empire has fallen. The Valencrest family is disgraced and scattered. The new King has ordered every member of that family to be hunted down and killed. Hesperia has spent her whole life hiding. She's tired of being something she's not and sets out to assemble the last members of her family. As her journey progresses, she meets Ciro and things take a turn. Her decisions affect the result and she gambles with lives in each hand as she tries to save those who matter most to her.

After a devastating accident claims the lives of her parents, Xara is left alone in the wreckage of a life she no longer recognizes. Grief hollowed her world, and she is certain nothing could ever fill the silence they left behind. She is wrong. A voice begins to call to her from the depths of her dreams-ancient, urgent, and hauntingly familiar. As the visions intensify, reality itself begins to fracture. Shadows stir with purpose. Time falters. And Xara discovers that her sorrow is tied to a truth far more dangerous than she could have imagined. The boundary between worlds is weakening. Drawn into a hidden legacy she never asked for, Xara must confront the mystery of her own existence and the power awakening within her. But destiny is a cruel inheritance, and accepting it means facing the darkness threatening to consume everything she has left-including the fragile connections, unexpected allies, and first stirrings of love that are teaching her how to live again. As night closes in and the fate of the world hangs in the balance, Xara must choose: remain a girl defined by loss... or rise as something far greater. Because if she fails, the light will fall-and the world will be swallowed by eternal night.

Nobody has been chosen for over a hundred years, but the Guardian of the cursed forest picks Runa in the ceremony, forcing her to face untamed magic, forgotten legends, and choices she never thought she had to make. Legends and Myths Magic Guardians and Villains Where do tales end and history begin? ☾ ↟↟♖⛰︎↟↟ The Guardians of the Forest is a fantasy novella for the Open Novella Contest. 129) The ink of our souls bind us beyond the pages of time © Copyright All Rights Reserved

Even when growing up, Elia didn't fit in with the other girls. They would dress up in dresses. She wore cloaks. They would cook and sew. She would throw knives. They liked boys. She liked bows. Elia was a bit of an outcast to her village, with her striking dark brown hair that was always kept back in a fishtail plait, and her light blue/green eyes that seemed to change colour in the light. She had no parents, and at 16 lives alone, and breathlessly waits each year to watch the dragons during the Week of Xanithar, admiring the way they fly, wild and free. This year is her year of testing, at 16. The first of the four dragon riders to get to the village can claim it. The moment that dragon rider sets foot on the ground of your village, the emblem of that academy is hung from the flag and any new dragon riders in their village are the new students for the academy. Each village has 4 new dragon riders, this is the way it has been for years. Male or female they are claimed and tested to find the four riders a week after. The challenge for the dragon riders in the Week of Xanithar is to claim as many strong blooded villages as possible. And now it's her turn.

Born an elf into a world where elves are hunted and killed, twenty-two year old Faeda fears she may be the last of her kind. Hiding amongst those who would sooner see her demise than help her, Faeda is forced to live a life of secrecy. When she hears whispers of a place filled with those of her kind, Faeda goes out on a desperate journey to find them. However, as she meets and discovers new friends and companions, Faeda has a gruesome realization: there are beings out there killing people like Faeda-and they're working for more powerful beings. Now, Faeda must protect her new friends and keep herself safe...before she and those she loves are killed. Will she survive the madness? Or will she lose herself and all those she holds dear? *** **mature for violence *** (Highest Rankings) #6 blackwriter (06.16.2022) #7 bwwm (07.19. 2022) #2 realm (07.24.2022) #4 blackgirl (03.24.2023)

#1 in elements | #1 in fantasyfiction | #1 in magicalcreatures | #1 in fantasyadventure | #1 in hiddensecrets 💨 "Not all magic is born-some must be awakened, trained and wielded like a sword." 💨 Mira Chen never believed in magic-coming from a family full of scientific geniuses, everything had an explanation - until the day a mysterious invitation to Eldryn Academy snatched her from her ordinary life and tilted the axis of the very reality she knew. Eldryn Academy of Elementals, a hidden school where the most powerful wielders of fire, water, earth, and air are trained. But Mira isn't like the others. While her classmates summon storms and shape mountains with ease, her powers remain locked, Labeled an outsider, Mira must prove herself before core forces of the universe and earn her own place. Mira discovers she possesses dormant elemental powers unlike anything the academy has seen before. Under the watchful eyes of enigmatic professors and surrounded by gifted classmates who've trained their whole lives for this, Mira struggles to unlock abilities that refuse to listen to her. But, Elemental world harbors ancient secrets. As Mira forms unexpected friendships and navigates complex rivalries, she uncovers disturbing truths about the connection between the human and elemental worlds-and her unique role in the middle of all the chaos. If you dare, now it's your chance to follow along with Mira into the world of Elementals.

{𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝟭} Lexi Hooper has been a Harry Potter fan since the very start. One day, Lexi and her friend decide to go to King's Cross station for a memorable cosplay. But what started as a joke, turns out to be both Lexi's dream and her nightmare. Just for a laugh, Lexi starts to run towards the wall between platform 9 and 10, careful not to hit it too hard. But the shocking part is that the wall disappears and she passes the barrier, suddenly finding herself in platform 9 3/4. At first she thinks that she's just dreaming and goes with the flow. But when she figures out that everything is as real as it can get, Lexi realizes that she has the power to change everything and save everyone; because she knows exactly what is going to happen next and how to stop it, even though she is just a Muggle.

Aerith always believed she was an ordinary mortal-clumsy, geeky, and completely out of place in the world. But on the eve of her 18th birthday, she discovers a shocking truth: she's no ordinary girl, but the long-lost daughter of the Fates, destined to rule the Underworld as Hades' queen. Thrown into the realm of gods and monsters, Aerith must learn to navigate her new life among immortal beings, where loyalty and power shift like the winds. Tutored by gods, pursued by ancient rivalries, and bound to Hades-a brooding, powerful god who's been waiting for her for centuries-Aerith faces the daunting challenge of learning how to rule an entire realm while still figuring out how to be herself. Can she rise to the challenge of ruling alongside the enigmatic Hades, or will the forces that oppose her destiny tear their fated union apart? With humor, heart, and a touch of magic, Aerith must learn the ropes of royalty and love in a world where even the gods themselves play by their own rules. How to be a Queen is a fun and fresh take on Greek mythology, blending romance, adventure, and self-discovery into an unforgettable journey through the immortal world.