Open-novella-contest Stories

* ONC 2023 Shortlister * "She caught the eye of one of the horsemen, and something in his face caused her to pause mid-step. The man he was standing with, realising he was being ignored, turned to see what he was staring at, and his mouth fell open. 'Arner! The prophecy!' he hissed. That seemed to attract the attention of the whole party, and before Aleyna knew what had occurred, they had all stopped what they were doing, and stared openly at her, before tilting their head in her direction, bowing. The last of the men to lower his head, the one who had first spotted her, was now biting his lip, something like worry creasing his brow, before he too bowed." * * * Aleyna, a professor at Lyknisia's Academika, is from a world of science and reason. To her, magic is something found in children's stories. It's not real, has never been real, and never will be real, and nothing anyone can say will change her mind. Arnerstrom, known as Arner, is King of Mynythia. He is from a world of magic and spirits. A world where the unseen is just as powerful as the known, and where prophecy dictates almost everything. But when a prophecy appears to be fulfilled by chance, Aleyna is whisked away from her books at the behest of Arnerstrom, and taken to a land of mystery and secrets. A land where magic is very real and spirits govern all. Set in the same world as The Winter Ghost, but located many kingdoms apart, The Convert Queen is a fantasy romance novella where what you see isn't always what you need to know.

Samay Jaiswal's life runs on routine, where every day is same as yesterday; same routes, same hours, same silences. When strange notes begin appearing, written in an eerily familiar handwriting, offering advice that feels strangely personal, he dismisses them. There is nothing he wants to do differently anymore. He just wants to be left as he is. Then, time stops. Alone in a frozen world, Samay wanders through stalled streets and unfinished moments, confronting a past he has been carefully preserving, a present he refuses to acknowledge, and a future he never allowed himself to imagine. "Same Time Tomorrow" is a story about grief, choice and the quiet courage it takes to move on, even when time doesn't.