Gallery

By late afternoon, the wind had gathered everything it could steal. It swept across the floating islands in restless streams, combing through purple grasses, tugging petals from tiny flowers, and sending loose feathers spinning through the air. The islands drifted over open water, some close enough to leap between, others separated by broad gaps where the sea shimmered far below. Amethyst crystals grew along their edg...

Nox slid forward, small and careful. The stone beneath the lift was cracked, and the floor around it sloped toward a broken gap in the stage. His teal eyes narrowed with focus. The amethyst-veined rock below the wreck shifted gently, not lifting the whole thing, just bracing it. A few rough stone ridges rose around the lift’s base so it could not slide while they searched. “Thank you, Nox,” Levi said....

The wind had been dragging things across the plains all morning. It came in long, mournful ribbons, combing through the violet grass until every blade leaned the same way. Torn leaves, feathers, paper scraps, and glittering purple dust blew low over the ground, tumbling toward the edge of the chasm where the land simply ended. Beyond that edge, chunks of earth floated in th...

Snow had a funny way of making everything seem quieter than it really was. The forest was full of sounds, of course. Tucker’s great feet crunching through the drifts, Cyborg’s metal joints creaking behind him, Dingo’s paws thumping and scattering powder as she bounded back and forth like the snow had personally invited her to play. Even Speedy was making noise, though hers came in short growls and sharp little huffs as she sniffed every trail she could fin...

Ometeotl found Anomaly at the edge of the black meadow, where the grass thinned into pale stone and the sky opened wide enough to swallow every thought. He was already looking upward. The red dragon lay in a loose coil, his long body folded around itself like a ribbon of night and blood. His bone beaks were tilted toward the stars. Now and then they clicked together,slow, hollow, patient sounds, like stones tapping on each other. ...

The river moved quietly, not silently, just quietly, peacefully one might say. It dragged itself over smooth stones with soft, almost hypnotic motions. The night above it was wide and black and full of stars, bright pinpricks scattered like holes poked through a great dark hide. Bhramari sat at the edge of the water with her long insect legs folded beneath her. She was small, especially beside the thing coiled next to her, but she did not seem bothered by that. ...

Freya liked the pond best after midnight. By day, it was only water, wide, blue, and ringed with reeds that whispered whenever the wind came down from the hills. By night, it became a second sky. Every star above appeared again below, shimmering between lily pads and the insects that stayed were like shooting stars. The moon hid behind a veil of clouds, leaving the stars to rule the dark sky. Freya crouched at the pond’s edge, folding her black wings close aga...

Gabriel’s hidden Spring had never felt so full before. The Spring was tucked deep within the forest, hidden behind curtains of hanging vines and heavy green leaves. Water spilled gently over smooth dark stones, feeding wide blue pools that shimmered beneath the shade. A small wooden house sat near the water’s edge, half-swallowed by ivy and moss, with its little porch facing the falls. It was quiet, secret, and safe. ...

Muriel had been warned that hatchlings were difficult. He had been warned they were needy, sensitive, loud, messy, picky, stubborn, and somehow both fragile and determined to injure themselves in ways no sensible creature would ever attempt. He had listened. He had prepared. He had cleaned the nesting room three times before the eggs ever cracked. He had lined the floor with layered hides, checked every corner for spl...

Strength Trial Mist rolled low across the water, silvered by moonlight and stirred by the slow, steady current. Beneath the surface, something vast shifted, then the lake opened its eyes. Rows of them blinked along the length of Suijin’s neck, fourteen on one side, fourteen on the other light brown and unhurried as they watched the stranger pacing the shoreline. Fi...

Phantom first saw Freya through a curtain of rain. The storm had rolled over the cliffs only an hour or perhaps two before sunset, drenching the black stone shoreline and turning the tide pools into mirrors of silver. Phantom drifted silently beneath the water’s surface, his long body gliding through the currents with practiced grace. Tiny glowing fish scattered around his fins like stars fleeing a dark sky. He had come ashore to gather shells, for what we may...

He was an old dragon, ancient and wise in his many years, a reminder of days gone by. Days never to return but still to reminisce or perhaps they were days to never be brought up again. Dark days that seemed as if they would never end. Horrid days that would give the toughest dragons nightmares for the rest of their long agonizing lives. He found himself alone on this bright night, staring deeply at his reflection in the lake lit beautifully by the moon above. H...

Mother rested beside the frozen river while morning light spread across the winter forest. Snow covered her enormous wings in soft white powder, though she barely noticed. Cold never bothered her much. She preferred winter over every other season. The air shimmered strangely that morning. Tiny crystals drifted through the sky, sparkling so brightly they almost looked alive. The wind carried them gently between the pale trees until they settled across Mother’s ...

Rivia wouldn’t say she hated snow but this experience might change her mind. The purple dragon trudged across the frozen tundra with her head lowered against the wind, claws crunching through layers of old snow. Ice clung to the spikes along her tail, making every movement heavier. Above her, the gray sky darkened until it swallowed the last traces of daylight. Then the blizzard had come. Snow exploded across the pl...

The forest canopy swayed beneath a cold evening wind while Spice crouched on a thick pine branch, her striped tail dangling lazily below her. Tiny wings folded against her back shimmered dark purple beneath the fading light. Pine sap clung to her claws as she gathered ammunition beside her, a heap of rather heavy pinecones. Far below, Abaddon moved through the trees. The massive black creature glided silently between ...

He hated this. The smell was unbearable.The giant dragon crouched atop a canyon ridge, nostrils flaring as the evening wind carried the spicy sweetness through the desert. Below him stretched a forest of wild-grown cinnamon trees, twisted and red-barked, their branches swaying peacefully in the heat. His black scales rattled as he growled...

The little blue dragon dug her claws into the snow and leaned forward with all the strength she could gather. The leather harness creaked against her narrow chest as the sleigh behind her shifted barely an inch before settling stubbornly back into the drift. Her breath came out in shaky clouds. She tried again anyway. The bird-like dragon’s feathers bristled against the winter wind, dark blue plumage dusted white wi...

Boney Jones walked quietly through the forest, her floating lantern bobbing beside her like a patient firefly. The woods were dark enough to swallow the path whole, but the lantern’s warm gold light spilled across the ground in soft circles, revealing roots, stones, and patches of damp moss before her hooves reached them. The young dragon moved with an odd but graceful rhythm. Her four hooved legs carried her steadily through the undergrowth while the extr...

The winter morning was cold enough to turn every breath into pale clouds drifting through the air. Snow covered the fields in thick uneven layers, stretching across the farmland like a white blanket beneath the gray sky. Fence posts barely poked through the drifts, and the narrow roads between the fields had almost disappeared entirely overnight. Honeycomb snorted softly as she stamped one heavy foot into the snow. The bulky female dragoness stood harnessed to a...

Rain hammered steadily against the tall cabin windows while cold wind rattled the roof overhead. Outside, the world had dissolved into gray fog and whipping branches, the storm swallowing the distant cliffs entirely. Every so often thunder rolled across the canyon hard enough to make the wooden walls creak. Inside, however, the cabin was warm, comfortable, filled with such calmness that it could perhaps lull anyone inside into sleep. A kettle hissed softly above...