The Word Worker

Tag: Fantasy

  • Mirror, Mirror

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    Good morning, my queen. Your wish is my command. You wish to know the fairest in the land? Of course you! Who else possess this marble perfection? (The aroma of your conceit sends delicious shivers through my bones. I drink it like wine, intoxicating ether.) What thwarts your smile of ice, Majesty? Does trust in…

  • Not a Fairy Tale

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    Once upon a time… Oh please, not that trite old beginning again! Well it did happen once upon a time. How else would you like me to begin? As I struggled for breath, I reflected on the events that led to my current situation. O-kay…  Anyway, in an ancient oak in the center of an…

  • The Watch

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    The sound of the sailors’ feet shifting against the boards grated on the silence. A whispered prayer floated unintelligibly over the water, blending with the fog like something unearthly and dreadful. There should have been waves noisily licking below, the creak of rigging in the shift of the wind. Edwin closed his eyes, his hands…

  • Gods of Pompeii

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    “Tilda, I think we found another set!” Mario fiddled with a button on his shirt, waiting for his partner to dig herself out of her usual mound of paperwork. “I can’t imagine what they were doing way up here.” “What strange poses!” Tilda observed, leaning over his shoulder to view the monitor. “I can barely…

  • Desire

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    Marble is dark, silent, and cold. My roots tenuous anchor hold. Sing the song of the stars with me. Can you not hear our harmony? Come with me, in the shadows dance. Stardust and bud, a sweet romance. How shall I venture there alone? I fear the lure of earth and stone. I cannot fly…

  • FWG Blog Thursday: Famous First Lines

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    wordworkerrussell
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    This week’s response is provided by my kids. Following are two different stories using the prompt. Aside from a small amount of editing, these stories come straight from them and are written in their own voices. I hope you enjoy them. Thor’s Hammer, by Isaiah All this happened, more or less. I’ll fill you in…

  • Book Sale

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    wordworkerrussell
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    The month of March is all about books! This week in particular, at least for Smashwords readers, is super special. Books of all shapes and sizes are discounted all week, just begging to be downloaded and devoured by eager imaginations! _Chosen_, a story of magic, dragons, and prophecy, is one of those. Seline finds herself…

  • Moon

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    She sniffed the night air, savoring the smells of grass and dead leaves surrounding her den. A screech overhead drew her gaze, but the owl’s presence woke no concern in her yet. A musky scent set her body trembling, and her mate trotted out of the underbrush. He sat just out of reach, tongue lolling…

  • Impossible

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. That’s how she knew she had stepped through. Thirteen hours on the clock. The impossible hour. Her breath froze and shattered as another puff left her nostrils. Humans weren’t meant to be here. Well, here wasn’t exactly the right word. Weren’t…

  • Cursed City

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    by

    wordworkerrussell
    in ,

    Fifteen years since she had fled the city, a child in a handful of refugees with nothing to feel but pain. Child or not, that last view of the city had been burned into her memory as surely as the real fires had marked her face. She frowned, old scars pulling tight; surely it should…