After the rough landing on Soloran, Isaac forced the triumvirs to redesign the colonization ships. Irate of the potential delay, Olyver pushed for the Triumvirate to ignore the complaints of a single pilot. Unfortunately for him, Quinn and Caitlin take the pilot’s concern seriously and force Olyver to reluctantly agree to the patient path. But despite the setback, Olyver seeks to honor his promises...

Sometimes when I’m browsing Audible, I’ll glance at their suggestions, and sometimes I’ll even latch onto one. So when The Girl Who Sees: Sasha Urban Series, Book 1, popped up on that list, the cover caught my attention. The vortex of playing cards pulled at my attention, and I possessed an extra credit to use, so I traded the credit for the book. Despite getting the book, it lingered in my library for a while, until I finished some other stories.

When I pick up an Urban Fantasy, I’m expecting a certain format, especially with the protagonist. Typically, they are well versed with their magic and the world of the supernatural. But this time, we get a protagonist that is blissfully unaware about the darker world around her, which allows for a unique tale...

Every so often when I’m thumbing through my Facebook feed, I come across pictures that spark a story in my mind. When they come to the surface I’ll give a brief overview of the tale. It’s never anything extensive, but it’s enough for me to keep the crux of the tale fresh in my mind. So when I came across a picture of a woman with purple hair using magic to extract a stone from a glass case, I couldn’t resist crafting a narrative...

With the completion of Bounding Ramps and Dangerous Cuts, I buckled down and started thinking about the last story of March, a Political Satire. Once more, I focused my attention on the headlines, but this time instead of finding an abundance of articles to pluck a central idea from, all I could find were articles about COVID-19. I didn’t want to write a story about the reaction to the outbreak. But after searching for another option, I couldn’t find something that seemed any better, so I tackled the topic...

As Rylan’s plans continue to be implemented, the half of the crew that disagree with the Captain begin to wonder if Rylan will be able to help him. While Darvan continues to prepare their escape, Annabelle convinces Rylan that he has to give the crew answers. He agrees to a meeting and arranges for it to take place on the shuttle he piloted to the dead worlds...

As I finished Bounding Ramps, my attention turned to the next story in the pipeline for March. And this month, the second genre is one of my absolute favorites, a fantasy. This is a wonderfully rich genre with many sub-genres to explore. With a gleam in my eye, I navigated to NYC Midnight’s competition page for 2019 and searched for a fantasy prompt. My random search fell on the line telling me to write this tale in a barbershop with a bongo drum making an appearance...

With March’s poll complete, I turned my focus to the first story for the month, another Drama. Though it competed with the draft of a different project. But when that future draft stopped spinning around in my mind, I ventured back to NYC Midnight’s collection of prompts for 2019 and pulled a random Drama prompt. And I grumbled about the location once my mind processed it. I needed to put a dramatic story into a parking garage...

Darren rubs his splinted arm as he pulls his assignment from his bag. He remembers the duel that caused the injury, and he groans at the sudden pain that lances up his forearm. When the stack of papers appear on the right side of his head, Darren collects them and adds his sheet to the pile. He hands them to the student in front of him and wonders if Imryll could assist him in improving his defenses...

Facing a new threat, Tarian dispatches teams to scour the wilderness for the recent peril. Keldon, Engrim, and Caleb are tapped as leaders and they spend every available moment searching for the evasive threat. After weeks of fruitless searching, they believe the initial creature was unique...

While Marcus waits for the completion of the tracks to the Western Region, he assists Talia in teaching the other farmers of the Eastern Region how to breed their animals. Over the course of a year, most of their neighbors have embraced the challenge and are delivering animals to the Northern, Southern, and Central Regions. One day while Talia is working with their animals, she doubles over and Marcus rushes her to the Central Region’s hospital via train...

With all the information about their system gathered and the first colonization ship created, the Aurorans take their first step towards forming their new federation. The triumvirs select Isaac and his crew to pilot the new world ship. The ship is populated promptly and their departure and flight is without issue. Jump into the story as the ship enters the atmosphere of their new colony...

With the completion of Inquiries and Encroaching Shadows, I tackled the final story for February my Historical Fiction. But I needed a seed to plant so a story could grow. So once more I ran towards the trusty source of writing prompts, NYC Midnight. As I searched the document, I ended up on a Historical fiction that takes place in a tenement building with a grater making an appearance along the way...

While a gnarled man with wild white hair walked in front of his bookshelf, his finger traced the spine of each book on the fifth shelf from the floor. When he felt the one constructed with dragon scales, he stopped and grinned. He pulled the volume from its fellows and clutched it to his chest, marching for the table in the middle of the room. “Semil, where are you?”

“I’m doing what you instructed me to do,” the young man said, rushing into the library. He peered over an eclectic collection in his arms. “Should I discard these ingredients?”

The elderly man thumped the book down and pulled his robes tightly against his chest. He waved his hand across his throat, screaming, “Silence!”

Semil frowned and tried to speak, but nothing escaped his lips. With his eyes narrowing to slits, he dropped his load. He tapped his neck and shoved his fingers towards the old man.

With a sigh, the older man opened his tome and began flipping through sheets until his mouth curled into a smile. He jabbed his finger down and dragged it across the lines. When he finished absorbing the information, he pulled the ribbon out and laid it between the pages. The gnarled man circled the table, rummaging through the components scattered across the floor.

The silenced Semil stepped on a groping finger and tapped his throat.

With a wave of his free hand, the wizard brushed the boy off and rose, rubbing his extremities. “That was unwise, Semil.”

The boy’s finger dug into his neck as his eyes bulged and his lips curled into a scowl.

“Fine,” the mage said with another complex motion of his fingers. “But remember, your place.”

Semil rubbed his jaw as he pulled the open book towards him. “I am sorry for my tone, Milos.”

The wizard shook his head as he continued examining the trinkets. “I need you to fetch me the dragon’s tooth and the diamond dust.”

“Why are we summoning a dragon?” Semil backed up as his eyes widened. “Calling upon dragons is never wise. You told me that!”

“I’m aware of your lessons. And for you, attempting this would be beyond foolish.” Milos thumped his chest and continued. “While there is a slight risk for me, the potential gains outweigh it.”

“The initial page of this book is a warning not to summon them!”

The wizard rose and pulled the tome out of his apprentice’s hands. “Events that don’t concern you are coming to a bursting point. Suffice to say, defending my lands will require a dragon’s unrelenting strength.”

“Do you believe that diamond dust alone will placate something as proud and as temperamental as a dragon?”

Milos slammed an iron bar down. “Do as you’ve been instructed! I need those ingredients sooner rather than later.”

“As you wish,” Semil said, offering a stilted bow before hustling into the depths of the fortress.

Milos confirmed the list in the book and gathered the components strewn across the floor. He returned to the table and arranged each around his tome. He retrieved a mortar and pestle from a small cabinet and began chanting as he crushed the ingredients into a paste.

“Your claw and diamond dust,” Semil said, dropping them onto the opened pages.

The wizard scooped the tacky mass out and smeared it across the talon. Milos wiped the excess off the table and cleared his throat, resuming his chant. When Milos’s words repeated, the book’s text swirled, forming a vortex.

“Milos, you’re making a grave mistake,” Semil said as the funnel’s spin accelerated as it receded into the pages.

As if on cue, a white dragon launched out of the maelstrom and grew. Smoke billowed from the flying creature as it swelled, while the wizard continued to chant. By the time it finished growing, Milos backed into the far wall. Its wings brushed the ceiling as the clawed feet made furrows in the stone floor. Its head reared up and unleashed a roar, silencing Milos. “Why did you summon me?”

Milos bowed his head and proffered the bag of diamond dust. “I have need of your strength.”

The dragon slipped a talon through the throng of the pouch and lifted it. The beast waved the gift as its head swayed like a scale, judging the pouch’s worth. “What do you want from me?”

Milos’s hand pointed to the west. “There is an army marching towards my home.”

“And that means what to me?”

“I desire that you destroy it.” Milos pointed at the bag hanging on the claw.

“And this is all you offer?”

Milos stood straighter and asked, “What else would you require to honor this request?”

The dragon’s neck swiveled about the room, studying its contents. Eventually, the white dragon closed its eyes and took several deep breaths. The thin lips curled up, revealing its wickedly sharp teeth. The serpentine neck dropped, placing an opening eye next to Milos’s. “You’ve embedded great power into this place.”

“It’s not enough to deflect the approaching menace.”

The dragon’s eyes narrowed. “But it would make a wonderful home.”

“You want my land?”

“I’d be willing to share it.”

Semil edged around the dragon, clutching Milos’s arm. “You shouldn’t agree with this.”

“How would that arrangement work?” Milos asked, backing away from the dragon.

“You will create a place for me under your keep, and we’ll ignore each other. And when invaders come for you, I’ll defend my home.”

“Done,” Milos said.

“Excellent,” the dragon said as it shrunk. The diminutive form flew out a window and once freed from the confines, it grew to its full size and raced off towards the approaching army.

“Deals with dragons are never simple,” Semil said.

“True,” Milos said, “but without its help, I would lose my home.”

“I fear while you’ve defended your fortress, you have traded one danger for something worse.”

“You worry too much, Semil. Now leave me. I must hold up my end of the bargain.”

With the Captain curtailing the rights of his crew, Rylan searches for a way to keep his team safe. He reaches back to his roots as a technician, and attempts to retrieve the information from the salvaged data assembly. And because he refuses to diminish their ultimate survival, he keeps most of his decisions from his lieutenants...

As I finished Inquiries, my attention turned to the next genre for the month of February. I’ve written a few Fairy Tales, and each one was fun, though I believe my first, The Noodle Trap to be the best of the bunch. But with that said, I started digging into the potential story. While I used a different source of prompts for the first story, I returned to NYC Midnight and picked the prompt placing my story at a family reunion and featuring a fireplace...