2026 U: undercover

 

In the world of the dragshi, girls were not as a rule admitted as apprentices to the Ceoltier Hall. Females were educated there on special admissions based on their talents or expected place in life, primarily female dragon lords or the daughters of the leaders of a major village. However Anastasia was none of those. She was the granddaughter of the leader of a trading caravan. Not important enough to justify the formal training, but she possessed a rare skill…She could use mental speech to communicate with the dragon lord and his dragon soul twin. Her tue to the dragon lords made her vulnerable to their enemies so the decision was made for her to go undercover at the hall as a boy. Her hair was cut short, she wore trousers instead of a trader’s skirt. Her name became Stosh. Close enough to her real name to make it easy for her to respond yet different enough for others not to make the connection.

~till next time Helen 

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2026 T : Treasure

 

The search for treasure is not an uncommon theme in fiction, especially fantasy. The short story, "Withym: Treasure Beneath the Sands," tells the tale of a search for a lost archive buried beneath the sands of the planet Withym's immense desert. Adding suspense is the eruption of a volcano, dormant for many years. 

Desperate to save what she can, an archaeologist not only enlists the aid of a member of the planetary survey team, but breaks rules and regulations to save the remnants of an ancient civilization.

An adventure in the world of tomorrow, "Treasure Beneath the Sands" blends technology and human spirit to save an alien treasure.

~till next time Helen 

If "Withym: Treasure Beneath the Sands" intrigues you, click here for a free download.

If you want to see my previous postings for the challenge, go here. If you're following other blogs in the challenge, here's the master list of the participants.

2026 S : Stellae

 

Stelae (plural of stele or stela) are upright, vertical stone slabs or pillars, often carved with inscriptions or reliefs. Primarily used in the ancient world, these monuments served as tomb markers, boundary markers, or to commemorate rulers and historical events.

The excerpt from Hatchlings Curse captures the finding of stelae in a lost valley.

Three wingstrokes took Anastasia through the concealing mist, revealing a verdant valley. A wide lake glittered at the far end of the expanse. Her gaze rose from the row of stone buildings filling the ridgeline to stop at a distant peak. There, towering over the valley and the other buildings, stood a massive structure built of stepped levels of black rock. A sense of violating sacred ground warred with the siren call.

The flat top provided a perfect site to land. Yet Anastasia refused the temptation and glided down to just beyond a ring of panels made of the same material as what she could only call a temple. She hastened the shift to her own form. Her unearthly beacon vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

Two quick steps took her to the closest stone. Symbols in an ancient language covered the slab as tall as five men. Using her studies under the ceoltiers and in the archives at Cloud Eyrie, she translated the meanings. Her understanding grew the longer she studied the glyphs. One showed a female dragon swallowing a large fish.

Anastasia followed the chiseled marks to the back side of the panel. The entire surface was taken up with the aerial acrobatics of a mating flight. Her pulse raced. Maybe she was right that something was missing in the dragon’s life in the mountains. Nowhere in any of the archives of the dragshi or the stories of the true dragons was there a single reference to what she saw. And, instead of a single pair of dragons, five males pursued one. Unbidden, she reached out and touched the black rock. A sensation of agelessness rocked her—the feeling of the ancient ones—the true dragons. She stood transfixed until she could no longer ignore the increasing calls in her head. Several minds pushed at hers. Unconsciously, she reached out for the most familiar one.

~till next time Helen 

If you want to see my previous postings for the challenge, go here. If you're following other blogs in the challenge, here's the master list of the participants.

Buy Hatchlings Curse at Amazon and these sites.