Twas it not for the spider the egg twould surely shatter. But twas not for the egg the spider twere to vanish entirely.

Twere it not for the egg would the spider twould live or rot?

The soft melody as the wood stumps disappear.

The spiderfolkwomen which surly twere not the most excitable of creatures. The young maiden rested wistfully beneath the palm tree as she twas not one who twould offend the forest fae like the monsters which gulped down the very life they were designed to protect. The bug queen loathed the bugfolkmen for their deconstructionist manor which decayed the world. Thought they twere truly both friend and foe they twere not allies in the slightest.

If it twere the spiders’ silk trap which ensnared the forest fauna in her grasp. It twas the deer pristine white as snow which gobbled up the spiders the young maiden bounced betwixt the flowers for if it twere her joy it twas not her sorrow which drained the fae of their life. Such as that was the fate of the forest spider folkmen.

That which twould defeat the wicked larke which ravished that which twere they truly not of this world the bug men could not be surpassed by the last waterlarke. Though they may be vicious and vicious they be the waterlarkes were as feared as they twere awed by the people. Tis true and yet false at the same time. The madness ascended with the waterlarke’s descent crescendoed into a bellow as the green algae lapped the monster up.

Kareen The Vampire Queen

Chapter 1

Dimly, sunlight trickled into my coffin as I awoke from a 100 year slumber. Through my dreams I regulated, monitored, and kept control over the human world. The vampire tribe defeated and enslaved the humans 500 years ago. An elderly man with gray hair tied in a ponytail dressed in purple garb walked into the room as my coffin opened.

“I take it you already know why we have awakened you,” Charles spoke.

“So it’s finally time?” 

Charles smirked, resting the tea on the glass table next to my coffin. The scent of blood wafted from the teacup. I took a sip and regained my senses fully. The dream duels. The human population had dwindled over the past century. A farm was created to create human-plant genetic mutations which would live forever as feed for the vampires. The farm was referred to among the vampire aristocracy as The Academy. Charles stood there in silence as my physical body processed all the events of the previous century.

“I see,” I began, “The Academy’s student body has achieved enough sentience to demand independence in a mere ten years?”

“They wish to partake in a process previously exclusive to only vampires,” Charles sighed.

Vampire genetic makeup was also blended into the new humans who fed through photosynthesis. The new race of humans were literally created from plants through eighty years of genetic experimentation. A select group of elderly vampires referred to as “staff” oversaw the experiments and the academy’s development. 

Deeply, I sighed. The room’s light was dim. It was a brownish orange and filled the empty, pale white apartment room. Vampires needed very little sunlight to survive. Dream duels.They were hardly duels, psychological battles through dreams which vampires sipped tea, negotiated, and clashed with magic to move higher up in the rigid hierarchy society. It was a silly seldomly used process  anymore. The chain of dream duels were about to go underway.

Chapter 2

The first challenger’s name was Kim. He was an impossibly bright specimen. I slipped on my glass red heels and entered the tube. The apartment was an elaborate, towering structure which loomed over the academy. My coffin had been moved to the empty top floor in the apartment. An emerald, electric light surged around the tube.

I clicked my red heels together. Bright red sparks flew. Calmly, I closed my eyes and gean my dive into the dream, when they opened again I was sitting atop a mountain. Kim stood before me, calmly sipping the red tea. 

“Kareen, I presume?” 

I sighed. This one was going to be a headache. I sat in the chair across from Kim and began to sip “tea” with him. For a time, we sat across each other in silence.

“Form ‘rain’,” Kim chuckled.

The landscape changed to raindrops set against. Infinitely, we descended. I sat in silence and continued to sip my tea. Kim had formed his own undoing. Hours, weeks, months, years, centuries we sat in complete silence in the dream descending further and further towards an earth we never reached. Slowly, Kim decayed into madness.

Kim panted and wheezed on the ground, “alright, I admit defeat.” 

He awakened from his “daydream” in his classroom desk or so Charles reported to me. I returned to my coffin for a pleasant day’s slumber.  

Chapter 3  

Her name was Sarah, a specimen plucked from the earth. Spliced from onion, human, and vampire DNA. Again, I dived into another dream. 

When I awoke we were on a farm. Carefully imagined, etched out crops littered the fields. A girl in a bright blue skirt and dark blue vest and shirt stood before me sitting in a rocking chair. She must be Sarah.

I smiled. Sarah’s smile was bright and warm. Dream duels were not strictly always psychological battles. Casual conversations could be held through them. A wooden stool sat next to Sarah which was where I sat. There was a calm breeze in this dreamscape. It was not fully formed. The space into the distance was completely blank. We simply sipped our tea and enjoyed the sounds of nature together.

Chapter 1

The knight slayed the dragon. It was over in a moment’s time. She could hardly believe how quick the process was. Marcil had been training for years. When she had completed her quest it was both a sigh of relief and a curse. She new her thrilling life would quickly turn to one of boredom as a housewife to some noble. Even the king would not do. 

No, Marcil needed adventure. She craved it. It flowed through her veins. Her fathers had raised her on fairy tales of queens and kings. Of adventurers who slayed mummies. Questing was all Marcil knew and desired to know. Marcil pulled a scroll from her pocket a monk had tossed it to her in a tavern a few cities ago over drinks. She had gambled with him for many hours to win that scroll. 

On the scroll was written not a spell, but a prophecy. A demon had laid waste to a village some ways off. So, Marcil set off on her next adventure just what waited in store for her? Conquerer 

Chapter 2

Marcil knew something tragic would be waiting for her when she arrived in the village from the scroll. Prophecies were never positive, at best they were perhaps a stubbed toe but generally calamity awaits for those who open a prophecy scroll. What stood before Marcil was a village washed away in a flood. The towns people were scattered atop hills as they watched their homes be decimated by a thick black goo. 

The goo was none other than lava. After speaking with the man who gazed in horror at the decimated village with her atop the mountain, Marcil learned the villagers had been watching their homes be destroyed for some time now. They were trapped, unable to escape their destruction of their heritage and culture. Three days had elapsed since the volcano had erupted. A prophet  foretold the event months in advance. It was hardly a surprise to any among the villagers when it occurred. 

The event still struck them just the same. Marcil was devastated, although she had not known a single person among them the devastation in their eyes as they watched their hard work wash away in the liquid flames was more than enough to drive her to help. The volcano god must have been angered  to have committed such awful atrocities but by what exactly?  

“Young man,” Marcil began, “have any children felt the need to play a trick of late?”

“‘Trick’?” the boy puzzledly asked. 

“Volcano gods are extremely short tempered so–.”

“Ah, speak to Jim, his father had an affair with the volcano gods’ wife.”

That would certainly be the cause, Marcil whispered perhaps a little too loudly yet none among her paid this any mind. Their gazes were deeply transfixed to the flames. Thusly, before the nights’ end a god would topple.

Chapter 3 

 The battle between Marcil and the volcano god had drawn to a close by the next morning.Marcil begun the battle with a large swing of an axe to the god’s ankle. Her hopes were to catch them off guard and it succeeded. The volcano god had not noticed her advances towards him. They managed to evade her first offense yet the tumbled all the same. The god towered over Marcil like a giant to a fly and yet, Marcil’s relentless gouges made quick work of them. Both the volcano god and the village had vanished. 

“Citizenry, what happens here fourth rests on your shoulders. I will make my leave now, I have been told outsiders are not considered neither friend or foe.”

The people of the village stood there, lifeless like dolls. Their entire culture had been destroyed. A child, inspired by Marcil’s heroics, walked towards her yet was pulled back by her mother. The girl would one day go on to become the next village elder. Marcil made her exit, there was no reward nor had she expected one. The adventure itself, the thrill and adrenaline that filled her was more than compensation. Marcil pulled out the scroll written on it were new words. The previous sentences had all but vanished. 

Chapter 4 

A town full of orcs running rampant was a simpler problem to solve than some might think. With quick sword work, Marcil slayed the meter tall monsters and managed a tidy profit collecting their bounties. The scroll’s next instructions had been simple: “start amassing gold coins defeat the orcs in the southern wind village.”

Marcil went to sleep comfortably for the first time in months in an inn. As she layed in bed, Marcil could not help but wonder. What intent could the scroll possibly have unveiling prophecy after prophecy? Moreover what could she possibly have to gain from following the scroll’s words. 

Then Marcil had a thought, a most uncommon thought. What if she continued collecting gold coins with the scroll but continued to do so. Then Marcil had a far more frightening thought: she would do it. One country by one, with visions of mania and world domination flooding her mind, Marcil would do it. She would amass enough gold coins to purchase the entire mega-continent of Freil and rule over all. 

Chapter 5 

The guild was a lively place with a life of its own. People teeming in each and every corner moving about their everyday tasks. Marcil made a beeline for the weaponsmith shop. A shady new employee with greasy, shoulder length hair finished crafting the blade. Marcil had requested a dragonslayer blade for a very particular purpose. The scroll’s next instructions came with directions and a map for a very specific location.

Marcil had next tasked herself with defeating an elemental dragon. When elemental dragons materialized in a particular location they would begin absorbing massive amounts of a whichever element they were. In this case, a water dragon  had been causing droughts as it concealed itself in a cave. Farmers had begun to resent the water dragon for causing droughts so bad no crops would grow. 

“Your blade, madam?” the shady man asked.

“Excellent, it’s finished.” 

“Here are the blue gems you also requested,” the creepy man spoke, opening up the tip of the hilt of the dragon blade.

Three blue gems were inserted into the hilt of the dragon blade. A faint white glow began to emanate from it. Marcil thanked the man and left without another word. Marcil’s next adventure would be no easy task.  

Chapter 6

The water dragon god would prove to be a deeply menacing adversary. The greatest issue would be reaching the cavern. The water dragon god drained moisture from the fields and rivers. He hid deep in an underwater cave deep in the lake.

Marcil dropped the blue pearls into the hilt of her dragonslayer blade. The descent to the cavern was simple enough from there. Marcil did a backflip into the lake she descended deeper and deeper as the water parted ways because of the blue pearls. The water dragon god was made quick work of. 

That said, it was a menacing adversary, dragon gods were not described as gods for no reason. Dragon gods were menacing creatures capable of massive destruction.Thankfully a meager water dragon god deep beneath the waves could not cause any human casualties. With deep concentration the menacing adversary was split in two.    

Chapter 7

The pale brown brick speckled road satisfyingly clacked against my armour. The faded red houses blurred together as I made my way towards the bank of Spire. The straw roofs were tattered, the streets were barren, there were no souls in site. The bank of Spire towered in the distance however I closed the distance with little issue. My ginger red curly hair and freckles stuck out in the desolate streets. 

I reached the Bank of Spire several elaborately placed sets of pristine cement stairs spiralled upward into the sky. The Bank of Spire itself rested amongst the clouds. Once I reached the top. I dropped the brown stitched bag of gold coins onto the counter. The bank teller had a noticeable twitch and thick, round glasses. He wore a brown vest and tattered pants. The quivering man swiped bag of gold coins with ease. No words were exchanged. The Bank of Spire watched over all residence of the mega continent. They knew all.

Chapter 8

I stood at the lake’s edge once again, rumours had spread throughout the area of a blue pearl in a cave located nearby. The water dragon god had wreaked havoc on the local population’s water supply. Needless to say they were more than grateful. The issue had continued for decades and few families remained in the once robust farming town. A guide helped me locate the direction of the cave on a map I had memorized from the Library of Trime on my return journey to the lake. 

There as a well worm path around the lake. The forest was teeming with plant life. Leaves rustled in the breeze on my journey to the cave. I had begun to panic once I reached the cave’s entrance the cave had hallucinatory gases in it. They were harmless to the system but many had been driven to their deaths with madness once entering the cave. Deeply I breathed in and out I entered the cave. Bizarre visions swirled through my mind. Hours passed. 

The images were near maddening. Athin trail of light reflected off the blue pearl The light poured in through a crack in the ceiling. With a simple tap of the blue pearl the madness subsided. I returned to normal. I clutched the blue pearl in my hand. The cave of madness which none had ever escaped had finally been conquered.  

Chapter 9

I sat among the cat tails as my line was cast. I had received a rare fishing rod from a family of immortals who had lived in the village for a thousand years. The fishing rod was thanks, the family’s fortune was in tatters from the drought so they were grateful to say the least. The fishing rod was designed to lure mermaids from the sea to the area. Mermaid blood added centuries to a person’s life. 

The fishing rod was made from a rare bamboo that excreted a sap which lured mermaids from seas to nearby lakes. The breeze whistled in my ears. The wind was strong that day. The fishing lure bobbed up and down. Hours passed. At last, a mermaid had sunk its teeth into the fishing rod. With all my strength, I pulled and pulled. I fell on my back as the mermaid was swung through the air. I drank the mermaid blood. Two centuries were added to my lifespan. 

Chapter 10

I finally reached the canyon of the dead, the cyclops had formed formed from a seed of destruction a wizard had planted centuries ago . An earthquake was caused by seismic waves from the seed of destruction a huge canyon formed as a result. The cyclops purportedly was a thick grey cloud of smoke with peach limbs similar in shape to a human only three times the size. A single eye levitated near the body with bulging red veins red to burst. 

The canyon, similar to the cave of the water dragon god, was a place that drove people mad. The red dust from the canyon coated the air which made breathing a slight challenge. The descent to the canyon’s bottom proved difficult with the red dust in my lungs. Thankfully I had trained in ancient techniques which prevented me from any harm. I finally reached the canyon’s lowest point cherry blossoms flurried about and a small savannah had formed where the cyclops had rested. The fight was ever so brief, the cyclops eye was an easy weak spot.

Chapter 11

Marcil’s next adventure would be her biggest challenge yet.The village of orcs had slowly claimed human territory. The orcs had used fairies as invisible cloaks. Humans could not see the fairies so battles were rather one sided. I spent days meditating surrounded by nature in order to become more attuned with the supernatural. 

Days passed and the sun rose and fell in the sky. The goddess of light which protected the forest folk from being seen appeared before me. It was a bright autumn afternoon when it happened. Red, yellow, and green leaves swirled about in the wind. The goddess of light emanated a faint glow fairy dust fell to the earth. The goddess of light bles my forehead with a kiss.

A white light blinded my vision and finally, I could see them the fairies and supernatural creatures of the forest. The orcs were defeated in a single afternoon my. My bronze dagger was all that was needed. The entire orc tribe was slaughtered. I claimed my reward at the bank of Spire the following day.  

Chapter 12 

It was my first foray into the icy tundras to the north, an ice type elemental dragon god was rumoured to be based in the region. Wind and snow whistled as they blurred together. Frost coated my armor. Thankfully the armor kept me warm against the elements. It was given to me on my many travels as a gift from a wizard rumoured to have had true immortality. The wizard had created a spell which used dark magic.

The spell was said to have shattered the entire thick, sturdy stone castle when it was cast. The dark electric energy had surged through the wizards veins which had granted him eternal youth. As I thought back on this tale he told all those years ago while wandering the frosted landscape I could not help but wonder if the dark specks of dust which had trickled from his cloak had not been a trick of the eye as he had assured me.  

Chapter 13

I fiddled with the glistening pure white pearl before inserting it into the snow axe’s single slot. I had only one chance. White pearls were expensive and difficult to come across but the shady guild worker assured me that he would be more than willing to provide the experimental ice based magic technology for free so long as I reported the results back to him. Finally, I had reached the ice dragon god’s domain.

 Ice dragon gods were tricky foes to topple. Deeply, I concentrated my breathing. In and out, in and out. Inhale exhale, inhale exhale. I leapt through the air and swung my axe into the snow coated earth. The pearl shattered. A light flooded as thin cracks filled the earth. The ice dragon god turned to stone as it became white specks of smoke and dust which flew away in the wind. Where the ice dragon god once stood a pristine white pearl glistened in the snow. The ice dragon god had fallen. 

Chapter 14

Deep into the tropical forests to the east there were rumours of a plant elf. The creature’s long pointed ears and body formed from leaves was said to commonly cause bizarre phenomena to occur. Birds whistled more and more the deeper I went into the forests. Tiny easily leapable rivers descended the vine covered ground. 

The plant elf materialized from leaves and the issue with elemental based monsters was the need for pearls. Green pearls were cheap, easy to come by products in the jungle. Plant elves were not uncommon and travelers always believed the green pearls warded the plant based monsters away. Plant elves used star magic to form themselves before travelers as they guided them to their graves in delirium. I slipped a green pearl I bought at the local market into my claymore. With a quick thrust the plant elf was in tatters. 

 Chapter 15

Phoenixes were terrifying monsters which demented the skies. The variety of blues nourished the mind and body. The clouds swirled about as the winds carried them along  The bird’s flame released embers in all directions. It was a dazzling spectacle. The reds and oranges flooded the evening sky. 

The fire phoenix was made from actual embers, the tips of its feathers emanated with warmth. The phoenix soared through the clouds and in a flash it vanished,bursting into a spectacle of reds, greens, and yellows. Fire phoenixes were common in the old days but dwindled over the years. Their flames burn and fill people’s hearts with joy and wonder. They fuel themselves with their own immortality.

Sadly, this fire phoenix cursed volcanoes to the south. The phoenix ate away at the lives of the populous, shortening them by decades.  A small series of island volcanoes where the phoenixes were formed from, brought to life, and cease to exist. Their beings come from and return to the universe itself. Marcil pierced the phoenix’s heart. The flames plummeted downward, the ashes eventually wandered back to the volcanoes themselves. 

Chapter 16

I was on a cement narrow path. The city of Cattun was filled with sleek grey cement narrow pathways. Endless cemented stairways, precisely placed rectangular black tinted glass windows, and etched out structures with elaborate crevices. The winding pathways stretched out endlessly merging and parting ways. 

I finally reached it the statues of the twin goddesses of water and ice. With the ability to see the supernatural I harnessed in the forests in my battle against the orcs, I summoned the goddesses as I knelt down in payer. Both of them gave me a peck on the forehead. Finally, with blessings from the water and ice goddesses, the pieces were all in place. Now, the kingdom of Shazar would be mine for the taking.  

Chapter 17

The city of Verace floated on the waves. The water bobbed up and down guiding along the floating city in the waves. The waves washed against the bottom of the rough wooden structures. The water’s flow washed away my stress and fears. Mirages of the city’s populous reflected in the sun’s light in the waves. The reflections moved opposite of the citizens. 

All kinds of sea creatures rose and fell above and below the water, both in the sky and deep into the sea. Softly, I hummed to myself. Sounds echoed all around me. The clacking of shoes against the wooden pathways as they floated on the waves. I visited the city from time to time in my travels. Quietly, I watched the hours dwindle away. 

Chapter 18  

Millions of years ago, the earth ended. Humans were cryogenically frozen and put into an endless sleep. The dream plane was formed, a realm between reality and dreams where humanity could continue beyond the Earth’s destruction. A technology called codenamed “poison magic” created a mass hypnosis. 100 humans were selected. Humanity destroyed itself but the dream plane created a boundless world of fantasies with infinite possibilities.

One of the people selected for this project was a woman named Marcil.

Marcil wandered through a bamboo forest. Forward and backward she went. And yet, there was no beginning and no end. Softly, the bamboo swayed in the gentle breeze. Marcil soaked in the sound of the wind and animals which wandered through the bamboo forest. Pandas vanished and re-emerged in different areas. Marcil summoned the power of the nature goddess. The bamboo grove formed as a single bamboo tree against a white, foggy plain. The sounds of nature overwhelmed Marcil’s mind in her slumber. 

Chapter 19

I wandered a wheat field, when one mirage ended another began. It was an endless cycle, from one wheat field to another I traveled. Each one mirrored the others. It was a cubed wheat field world. The further back I wandered, the further away I was in the frame. The golden prairies spiraled around me. 

Stars descended through the sky to the field. The wheat rustled ever so gently. Madness filled my mind as I wandered in an endless loop. Faster and faster, I traveled between the fields. Both pristine calm and complete insanity flooded my senses. In order to re-stabilize the dream plane, I prayed to the goddess of nature. The loop ended and I wandered on to the capital. 

Chapter 20

I now stood in thunderous clouds, the sky beneath me was pitch black The lightning surged around me the thunder dragon god rose through a hole where the clouds parted. They stood there menacingly, black and yellow thunderbolts formed the thunder dragon god’s body. 

A bow and arrow materialized in my hands, alongside it, a yellow pearl formed in the air.The yellow pearl clicked into the slot. I pulled back the string an electric arrow struck the thunder dragon god. Electricity blinded my eyes. The thunder dragon god evaporated and in the throne room I stood before the king. The palace was bright gold and reds The king sat atop his throne. 

The capital of Shazar, I finally reached it. The smoke cleared as I stood in the throne room. Slung over my shoulder was a brown sack of gold coins. The sack itself was tightly stitched together. Gold coins flew through the air as I swung the sack of gold coins before the king.

“Shazar, I hereby demand the country of Shazar!”

“Surely, you’re kidding– oh my rare artifacts too,” the king excitedly spoke, “precious gems– even! Ahem, I will think the matter over. my royal advisor will show you to your chambers for the night.”

The bedchambers were sparsely furnished apart from a bed and a desk. A statue of the twin water and ice goddesses rested on the desk. I set myself on the bed and began to nod off to sleep. When I awoke, a yellow pearl appeared in the water goddess’ open palm the next morning.

Chapter 21 

The asteroid orbited through space deeper and deeper into the darkness of the pitch black void.  Endlessly, the giant stone wandered. The asteroid orbited course past all kinds of bizarre planets where bizarre phenomena occurred. And yet, the strangest events occurred on the asteroid itself. 

In my sleeping chambers I awoke the next morning. Standing next to the bed was the king’s advisor. The man wore a pale blue shirt and a red sash. His mutton chops defined his chiseled facial features. Carlyle was his name, or so he introduced himself to me as. In his hands was the deed to the kingdom. 

“Marcil, the king has sold out he kingdom. You now rule the land,” Carlyle explained, “frankly, I do not approve of those outside the royal lineage ruling reigning. Yet, the king himself decreed it so.” 

I visualized a black feather dripping ink and signed the deed to formalize the contract. The paper burst into colourful lights before vanishing altogether. With a snap of his fingers, Carlyle created a lengthy dining room table. Gently I dropped into my chair. A feast was set out before me. Salads made from difficult to find vegetables, scalloped potatoes, dewy golden turkey. Candles rested on the white lace table. On the table a fork spoon and plate rested. I had finally achieved the first step in my journey, the kingdom of Shazar was now under my reign as I feasted at night. A candlelit dinner for one.  

Chapter 22

In my bed quarters, I used my poison magic on a needle. 

I pricked myself and spoke the forbidden words, “project poison.”

I woke from my slumber, yet still, my eyes could not open. I was cryogenically frozen. With my left hand, I pressed the button to connect on the dream plane with another cryogenic chamber in a distant corner of the asteroid. The signal dialled as I drifted off into my slumber once again.

When I reawoke I was in the dream plane again. An orange sky, a setting sun, it was simultaneously beneath me and all around me. The heat enveloped me, a freezing chill surged through my spine I had merged with the king to the south we had connected within the dream plane.

The king of Kudai had a potbelly, a scraggly beard, and wore a blue robe. The man went by the name Ben, he scratched beneath his beard and stared off into space.

“To what do I owe the honour. Marcil?”

“You’ve heard of me?” I replied.

“What is it you wish?” 

“Your entire kingdom.” I responded

“Surely, you jest.”

“I’m not. I wish to bring peace to the mega-continent.”

Ben snorted, “very well, but on one condition and an impossible one at that. You must summon and defeat the twelve moon goddesses and receive their blessings.” 

I nodded, “very well.”

The next day, I awoke and charted my course out of the kingdom of Kudai. 

Chapter 23

The brilliant hues as the sun set flooded my vision, I had reached the temple of Rasetsu. The kingdom of Kudai was nearby but first I needed to receive the blessing of the earth goddess. The brilliantly green moss coated the landscape. The dream plane was a mesmerizing place, a mega-continent of infinite possibilities. The entire world was a network of people’s dreams across millions of years. A fantasy world fashioned from one hundred minds after the end of the world. 

The project’s codename was Project Poison, humanity had harnessed mastery over the elements in the last years of its existence. A dream plane where this could be fully actualized upon the destruction of the world was created. I took a deep breath in and soaked in my surrounding hogs and deer chased each other. Patches of clovers were strewn about. I stood at the foot of the temple’s winding staircase as I prepared for my ascent into the heavens.

Chapter 24

Tightly, I shut my eyes, the heat blurs my vision. The white sand beneath my feet chills my spine with delight. The waves rush over me as I sink deeper and deeper. I began my descent into the ocean, the bubbles around me rose upward. For a moment I dreaded I would lose my breath. It dawned on me, I could breath underwater. Light bounced off the water as I sunk deeper and deeper. A mirage in the distance sat in the back of my mind, they were memories of another time and place. I push them to the back of my mind. Tropical fish with vibrant colors swim around me .Pinks, bright blues and orange of the sea life, mostly coral, are all around me as I swim about. Pale green seaweed dark green tips passes by as I descend deeper and deeper. 

I can feel the cold sea against my skin. It refreshes me the deeper I swim, the stranger the fish become. A translucent jellyfish with clear tentacles, red stripes on the body, a nose like tip to its form. Pink seahorses extend their bodies outward. The extended form is shaped like a spine their bodies  retract just ask quickly. Small bumps outline their bodies.. A black pufferfish with blue tipped points swims by. A light glow emits from the tips. They have yellow fins colored like peacock feathers. The bended colors range from greens to  purples  to yellows then whites. The bubbles, large and small,  float as they grow in size. I can see my reflection in them. I fade away back to the bank canvas.

Chapter 25

Tightly, I shut my eyes, the wind whirred loudly. A strong wind was blowing through the sparse forest. My armor clacked in the breeze, it had seen better days, the creaking noise agitated me. The trees dissolved into paper cranes of all colors. Pinks, blue yelows, red, greens and so on. The paper cranes were neatly formed, professionally made.  

One of the paper cranes scratched my armor, the damage faded instantaneously. The paper cranes came together and in the shape of a clay vase. The wind goddess giggled as she appeared before me. The wind goddess was ever the trickster. Her puffy white hair and purple lipstick stuck out against her pale white skin. I fade away back to the blank canvas.  

Chapter 26

Tightly, I shut my eyes I sit in a field of flowers. The flowers beneath me have been crushed, they will be reborn upon my departure. The flowers are ranbow colored, the sky mesmerizes me. There’s no breeze, it’s a still calmness. The silence warms my cold heart.From nature I was born and to it I will once again return. Deeply, I breathe in and out as I let the peacefulness overcome me and wash away my worries like waves.

I have seen both nature’s horror and beauty since birth. I think of the 

monsters formed the elements I have battled. The death and destruction they caused ran my veins cold. I re-focused my attention on the flowers and stillness of the moment. I fade away back to the blank canvas.   

Chapter 27

Tightly, I shut my eyes short plastic grass rested beneath me. The marching wooden soldiers had no faces. They whirred and clicked as they marched back and fourth I finally stood athe the border to Kudai. In order to enter the kingdom you needed mastery over earth magic. The large, pointed wooden walls blocked my path. I snapped my fingers as, green sparks flew. I visualized the earth goddess in my mind. My hands moved like a conductors.

The sounds flooded through me, classical music begun to play in my head. The wooden soldiers formed into two lines on either side. A red carpet with folden trimming rolled out as the gate opened. Tick tocks the sounds of clocks filled the air. The music roared in my head. Louder and louder it swelled. At last I had made my entered the elusive kingdom of Kudai. I fade away back to the blank canvas.

Chapter 28

       Tightly, I shut my eyes I was deep amongst the stars a pale orb with a gooey gel encasing it hovered in the distance. Deeper and deeper, I dived through the emptiness. Tiny lights bobbed up and down, rippled in the black pools. I heard a trickling noise, a waterfall formed from dark matter descended downwards.

I reached the orb. I focused on the space around it, the orb began to faintly grow many different colors. The colors played out like an old TV with no connection.Up and down, up and down I rolled through the blackness concentrating between my hands. I fade away back to the blank canvas.   

Chapter 29

Tightly, I shut my eyes. I stand in a field of eye flowers. The eyelashes sway like petals in the breeze. The eyes quickly direct their gazes towards me and soak in my image. They absorb each detail. I shudder. 

These creatures are not like the ones I have faced before they are not harmful in and of themselves yet it terrifies me still. They feel more like voyeurs than plants soaking in images for thought. The air becomes completely still. I pant heavily, the emptiness terrifies Me. I fade away back to the blank canvas. 

Chapter 30

Tightly, I shut my eyes. I am in cyberspace a digital expanse the black lines overlaid on white across the ground and sky. A canoe sits nearby in the specks of the void. I push off from shore and paddle through the digital stream. Electricity surges through me the thunder goddess whispers into my ear. Deeply, I concentrate a tiny bird formed from thunder perches itself atop my head. The waves of energy flow through me. I prick the baby eagle with my finger. It fades into the expanse. I fade away back to the blank canvas.

Chapter 31

Tightly, I shut my eyes. I stand at the brink of cavernous void, as I leap in the black pools swallow me up with intense concentration I hear the whispers of the goddess of darkness. Deeply, I concentrate negative electricity flows through my veins. The goddess of darkness pecks my forehead. Another elemental goddesses’ blessing. I ascend upward toward the light. I dart aside as the light laps up the darkness.

The creature was born from the nightmares of others within the poison project. Unaware of the monster’s true nature, a soft clack resonated as the dust beneath me rose and scattered. The large entrenched cracks in the earth beneath and above me healed. The light and the darkness cancelled each other out. The ripples flowed upward and outward as the room regained its original shape. The residual light and dark energy faded away. I fade away back to the blank canvas. 

Chapter 32

Tightly, I shut my eyes. The nightmare flowed forth into the void. A virus referred to as rainbow magic had infected the poison project system. Rainbow butterflies fluttered about swirling, overwhelming Marcil’s vision. Heavily, Marcil inhaled the warm sweet air. She stood in a field in which the grass whistled and rustled. The seeds were scattered unevenly. Soft clicks as the seeds brushed into the earth. 

The low pop and fizzle as the seeds emerged into their new pearl forms. The clams rattled about beneath the earth. Farmers were using basic earth magic to form animals, in this case clams, from organic plant matter. In unison the farmers shuffled their entire bodies, back and forth, left and right, their hips swayed as they scattered the seeds amidst the tropical breeze. I fade away back to the blank canvas.

Chapter 1

 I rummaged through the basement junk. I would one day be queen of the entire kingdom or so my mother, the present ruling monarch’s advisor told me. As the only daughter, I was the only heir apparent for the throne. Yet at 12 I still had no idea which path I should follow. What would make me a successful royal?

The kingdom had seen better days, under my grandmother’s reign the kingdom had prospered. Yet under my mother’s reign, the royal funds had quickly been chewed away. The kingdom was deeply in debt. Through the piles of grime and sludge in the leaky dreary basement I found it. A… chess set? Odd, my grandmother had said what I found would help me become a real monarch. My physical form dematerialized as I became a star amongst the pieces. 

Chapter 2

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. I was miniature now, about the size of a small painted wooden doll. Glass chess pieces towered over me in all directions. The board beneath me was hard sturdy wood that echoed loudly when I bumped against it with my fist. The queen on the opposite side came to life and walked towards me. 

The ultimate ruler or at least how I envisioned one would look. Her white cape with a golden trim lightly dragged against the ground as she walked towards me. Her shining white boots that had been freshly waxed by a servant clacked against the wood. The woman was twice my size, comically large by human standards. 

“My has it been years,” the wooden queen smiled.

“Wh-who are you?!” I screamed. 

“I am whatever you envision me to be,” she explained in a way which cleared up nothing “if you’ve found this chess board it means you have a dream.”

“‘Dream’?” I quizzically asked.

“In your case, it’s to rule over the people.” 

I sighed, “you’re correct.”

“Are you ready,” she asked, “your dimensional chess is about to be underway!”

“”Chess’,” I repeated back desperate for details to get out of my current predicament, “‘dimensional’?”

“Your many selves,” she responded, “your other selves. In time it shall all become clear.” 

With the snap of her white gloved hand, I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place.

Chapter 3

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. Opposite me sat another me, cross legged, on the wooden board. She mirrored me in every way. My reflection? Curious. 

The chess pieces began to move on their own. The pawn moved forward with a loud resonating clack. The heavy wooden knight gracefully moved right and up, soaring over the pawns. It flew over my head as I stared in disbelief. I stared at my other self. Her pupils were wide; it terrified me. She would not respond to any words I spoke. Out of terror, I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place. 

Chapter

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. Blue bubbles as hard as marbles sat beneath the board. Translucent film ascended outward in all directions like flower petals. Images played out scenes from lives I had no recognition of. The board itself was glass this time, the clack of the marble like bubbles as they collided beneath me resonated deep within. A firefly emerged from one of the bubbles. I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place. 

Chapter

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. I sat afloat on the ocean waves. The translucent board bobbed up and down gently with the whistling breeze. The salty air tickled my throat and stung my nostrils. I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place. 

Chapter 4

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. A woman with puffed out green hair, purple, creased, wrinkly fingernails, and puffy blue lips and a wisp for instead of legs sat opposite me. The chess board was made of glass. it pinged. As we sat, the wind whistled in my ears. The wind goddess. I recognized her from my grandmother’s fairy tales which now collected fine, gray and white dust on the basement shelf.

The wind goddess assisted my ancestors in cooling the emerging continent. The chess pieces clicked. My rook had taken out her pawn. I heard a crackling fizzle as the once massive liquid shape took solid form. The clouds beneath me were steam of a forming mega-continent. I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place.

Chapter 5

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. The wheat field beneath me was flattened by the chessboard. The breeze rustled the wheat as it collided like dominoes and bounced back. The ebb and flow back and fourth. The person this time was another me. She told me tales of a world similar to my own where my grandmother never ceded the throne to my mother. Her green veins bulged as she yelled in her fury. So this was the one of many mes I would come across. I see, so that horrified other self was also….   I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place. 

Chapter

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. A candle wax horse finely carved rested next on the ebony desk next to the board. An elaborately painted wooden doll swallowed the pawns one by one and became one with them. A wildly mismatched king piece was swiftly put into checkmate. I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place.

Chapter

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. The quiet rain pounced upon the wooden pieces. Crystalized, the pieces began to take new shape and life. The entire scene formed a sequence from an old black and white film. I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place.

Chapter

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. A deceased oak tree branch was where I spent my afternoon. The board swayed back and fourth on the branch in the gentle, warm breeze as the sun rested in the sky. Honeybees gathered dripping golden dew all around me to return to their nest with. I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked into place.

Chapter

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. The flaming phoenix ascended and melted the board only for the board itself to be reborn anew. In the process, I surged with hope. At last a momentary escape from my bird cage before being swept back in. I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked into place.

Chapter 6

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. I was in an abandoned village. The empty worn down brown rotting houses sat there in decay. Their windows cracked. Vacant buildings. Not a soul around. This time no person sat opposite me on the chess board I was alone with the giant wooden pieces towering over me. 

The chess pieces clicked and bounced off each other and the ground beneath as they moved about. A pristine, bright white soul flooded my vision. Was it my past? My future? Who was communicating with me? Voices filled my mind, pulsing louder and louder in my head. The pitch black sky overwhelmed me, even the crescent moon itself had clouded over.  The trickster she was from the folk tales, I sensed the presence of the light goddess. I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place. 

Chapter 7

A deep breath in and I returned to the board.  The earth was in plain view high above me in the moon’s night sky. I sat at the bottom of a deep crater, the blackness stretched out all around me. The board was coated in a thin layer of fine, gray dust. The pawns moved forward of their own will. This was one match I had no control over in my mind.  The person sitting opposite me was yet another me. 

She smiled warmly. I shuddered, she was unnaturally gleeful given the circumstances. I realized I could breathe. It struck me as odd, I was in space after all. In reality, I should not even be alive on the moon, so this thought should have crossed my mind sooner. As the other me begins to silently form words with her mouth, I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place.

Chapter 8

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. The chess board was clear this time, it sat above a pond. In the pond’s reflection was a sea of stars. Tiny mountains specked the deep space. The endless pool of blackness rippled in the water. There was no opponent for this duel I was on my own. The mountains rotated clockwise and counter clockwise, even and odd. The Stoney mountains were neatly organized in rows. It terrified me how immaculately placed they were in the pond’s reflection.  I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place.

Chapter 9

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. I began to sink beneath the waves, deeper and deeper I rose into the water, a trail of bubbles descended downward to the surface. In front of me sat yet another me, this time she was elegantly dressed. She had no face it sent a chill down my spine. 

I sensed it, this was one of my inner selves. My queen took out pawn after pawn, the other me wouldn’t make a single move. My mother had tried to raise me to be an obedient queen who would follow her own whims like the wooden doll in front of me. With a rook and my queen, I put her into check. I had found and defeated one of my true selves in dimensional chess at last. I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place.

Chapter 10

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. The white lilies sat serenely between the benches. The scent of nectar filled the air as honeybees collected for their. A statue sat opposite me on the chess board. It was an elaborately chiseled construct. Birds chirped their serene songs. Content, I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place.

Chapter 11

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. I sat on my cathedra with a glass night stand with a black frame in front of me. The snowy slope, the rocky pathways, the wrinkles in the rock it was all etched into my mind. Today’s food was tea and ham and cheese sandwiches. 

A mountain sat behind me, it’s reflection was a mirage distorted in the water. Another me sat opposite. She wore an evil grin, her teeth were jagged, her eyes were a brownish red. Cherry blossoms descended from the trees onto the lilly pads in the lake. The lillypad’s vines descended deep into the reflection. The other me regaled me with tales of an ancient species that once destroyed destroyed the world of old. This one was definitely not a potential self I desired to mimic. I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place.

Chapter 12

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. Today’s meal was cookies and, again, tea. The bittersweet aroma filled my nostrils and calmed me. No cathedra sat opposite me this time. The wooden pieces clicked as they reset to their places on the board. The alternate me from the demon race was still sending shivers down my spine. 

The glass chess set was absolutely still in the clouds. The sky was a brilliant blue. The noises and dread from the tales terrified me. I was only eleven; even an adult could not have processed the ancient tongue and still remained sane. The sky rippled outward as a sense of tranquil peace filled me. The light goddess had, at last, given me her blessing. I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place.

Chapter 13

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. Today’s treat was chocolate chip cookies and, yes, again tea. The landscape the chess board rested on this time was hell. My grandmother once confessed to me a secret passed down through the royal family, we had descended from a powerful demon clan in hell. The flames around me felt all too real. The heat in my chest grew heavier and heavier. The pillars of fire spiralled upwards like staircases. I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place.

Chapter 14

 A deep breath in and I returned to the board.Today’s snack was white chocolate cookies and, yes, as per usual, tea. The landscape this time was a circus in the clouds. A lion formed from clouds gobbled up the pawns with a swift snap. The cloud elephant crushed chess piece after chess piece. 

The dew from the clouds made the air stuffy and dry. Circus animals made bizarre mismatched sounds. The realism of this vision, the thin air had begun to choke me. Was it the demon blood awakening from the last dimensional chess match or another cause entirely? I fell to the board, the demon me stared down at me with her entrancing blood red eyes. I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place.

Chapter 15

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. The setting this time was a foggy brick bridge. It had decayed and begun to rot from lack of maintenance. I put one foot up and then the other as the demon alternate self gazed back at me, her eyes darker and darker reds. Slowly, I wheezed and panted as I walked towards her and gave her a hug. 

“I’m sorry I neglected to acknowledge you,” tears flowed from my eye, “you’re still a part of me, that’s fine, but I do not want to hurt those I cherish. The other me vanished into specks of dust on the board. The match had continued to play out as I had come to make peace with this part of me. The dark goddess appeared, her curls of hair rose upward. Her torn dress flowed elegantly. 

“You must cherish and love all parts of yourself, never forget this lesson, child,” the goddess of darkness let out a single tear as she spoke.

The goddess of darkness returned the hug back. I now had the blessings of the light and dark.

Chapter 16

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. A brilliant gold pyramid set firmly in the distance. The chess board was quickly covered by the grains of sand. The other parts of me, I needed to accept them all if I had any hope of one day becoming a monarch worthy of the throne. The heat bended the glittering sands. I sipped my tea to ease my nerves. Could I really come to terms with myself?  I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place.     

Chapter 17

A deep breath and I returned to the board. Those with demon blood were the only people who could harness the elements. Even so, as I sat above a dormant volcano on a chess board, I wondered and mused as I sipped my tea. The trail of steam blended with the volcano smoke. The warm heat soothes my stressed mind Between illusion and reality I slipped. A small pink being with sock like ears and beads for eyes appeared before me, they were no opponent. I shut my eyes as the pieces fell into place.

Chapter 18

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. I sat atop a cliff. The waves beneath washed against the tides. Back and forth, back and forth. It calmed my startled spirits as I sipped my tea and scarfed down a chocolate chip cookie.

“I sense you aren’t here for a duel,” I asked.

“Correct, coo,” Coo replied.

Dead silence filled the air after that,.I sighed, this one I sensed was going to be an even bigger pain. A sweatdrop fell from my forehead. This was uncomfortable to say the least. What even was this thing? The salty sea air filled my nostrils and renewed my spirits. 

“Alright, let’s try this again,” I began, “WHO are you?” 

“I am your demon coo,” Coo explained, “I awakened in you once you accepted your inner self.” 

I twitched. I sensed this was all the explanation I was going to get. I guzzled back the tea hoping it would calm my rising anger. Was I stuck with this thing or…? A large wave washed over me and cleansed my spirits as I shut my eyes and the pieces fell into place.

Chapter 19

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. The me who sat in the cathedra opposite this time was the me with the eerie warm smile once again. I shuddered. Coo hovered next to me as I stress ate cookies.

“You can’t escape yourself, huh?” she chuckled.

“Deep breaths, coo!” 

A dead oak tree reflected in the cubed mirror in each direction. The hollowed out black pool interior was filled with bugs of all types which crawled about. Cicadas dryly chirped. The heat pulsed and reflected off each of the mirrors. Heavily, I wheezed. I shut my eyes as the pieces fell into place.   

Chapter 20

A deep breath and I returned to the board. The numbers and letters poured over me and around me. They collided off each other, bounced, faded and reermerged. The data was like liquid pools. It whirled about like the wind. A computer. What an odd concept the book itself I was trapped in contained infinite ideas and creativity.

I had made my decision when I went down to that basement searching for that book I was going to become a queen worthy of the throne. The cold calculated smile of the other me gazed back at me. Heat and a chilling cool flared through me. What exactly were her motives as the wooden pieces collided off each other and vanished altogether. I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place.

Chapter 21

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. The wooden statues stretched off into the distance. It reminded me of the old fairy tale of the people inside the wooden horse. The chess pieces clicked and clacked as they vanished one by one. The smile from the other me became more and more menacing. What exactly did she have in mind? 

I shuddered at the thoughts as they pulsed through my mind. Then she spoke. 

“… let go.”
“Huh?” 

“You need to let go of the mistrust in your heart.”

“You trust people don’t you coo?” Coo asked.

“I– alright. I’ll give it a try.” 

A humming came from the wooden statues as they emanated a faint glow.  A song in an ancient tongue came from within me. The voices of the earth itself and nature filled me. My breathing became heavy as I soaked in my surroundings. Trust.Trust myself and everything else that it will work out. 

Wait. It was true a monarch needed to trust her subjects, yet she also needed to prepare for– My other self’s queen toppled my king. Her grin became more evil as this other me erupted into laughter. 

“Checkmate,” she cackled.

I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place. 

Chapter 22

The dual nature of being a royal. You never knew who to trust and not to trust. The back stabbings and betrayals had seen the deaths of many of my ancestors. This was the lesson I learned from the lost fight with the other me. The chess board had no pieces on it this time. It glowed like fireflies. The other me with the faint smile appeared before me in the pitch blackness. She walked up to me and gave me a warm hug. Joy and relief filled my heart.

“Congratulations, you passed the lesson,” she spoke much more warmly now.

Her smile was much more natural as she embraced me. The board vanished as fireflies flew away into the blackness in order to be reborn. Time lost all meaning in the blackness, my only companions were the floating lights. The only solution to that duel had been defeat. It was a necessary, required part of my healing yet still the loss devastated me. All around me was darkness. I felt warmness and comfort in it. I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place.

Chapter 23

Deeper and deeper I sunk beneath the sea. Little volcanoes emitted lava which melted and cooled as it reached the water itself. The faint glow was all that illuminated my path. The fireflies hummed enchantingly before they became stick people made from fire paper. One would be the same direction as me the one next to it was opposite as they danced and danced. A trail of bubbles went upwards while another descended into the sea depths. A bright light shone, overwhelming my vision as I shut my eyes. My rebirth onto the playing field, at last.

Chapter 24

The fireflies collided off one another and swirled about. The chess board stood on a shadow lake. The fireflies rippled off the liquid darkness. I gazed at its beauty. A firefly landed on the palm of my hand. The heat its light emitted warmed my cold heart and renewed my spirits for the day. The warmth was gentle, almost welcoming. Inviting. I hummed a tune. It was the song my grandma sung to me as a child. Wooden chess pieces collided and just as quickly vanished. The board was welcoming my return.

Chapter 25

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. The trickling rain spattered across the board as a heavy storm tossed me back and fourth, back and forth. Blues and blacks whirled around me. The storm’s burden grew heavier and heavier on my chest. As the wooden pieces clicked and clacked, I began to recognize who or what was causing this torrent to overwhelm me.

The water goddess was as beautiful as she was a nasty foe to face against. The smell of  the chess pieces decayed and I aged more and more. One day I would need to bear the responsibilities which came with being a monarch. I would likely have to carry the burden of deaths looming over my head as my mother and grandmother had to bear as queens before me. Deeply I breathed in and out, in and out. I accept I whispered under my breath. 

The rain took physical form. The water goddess emerged from the droplets of rain. Gently, ever so gently, she passed onto me her blessing in the form of a kiss on the forehead. My anxieties washed away. I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked into place. 

Chapter 26

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. I sat inside the base of a giant oak tree. Pollen rose the chess board upward in a waft of heated air. Fuzzy dandelion puffs ascended upward as the sweet pollen filled my nostrils. I felt the fuzzy dandelion puff between my fingers, the sensation was warm and inviting. Beady eyes stared at me, I smiled back at them in return. 

The wooden pieces whirred and clacked against each other as they vanished as particles, merging with the rising sap. The bubbles rose higher and higher as the golden honey ascended upward within the tree. The chess pieces pierced the top of the tree. Adrenaline filled me. I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked into place.

Chapter 27

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. The warm sand soothed me as I felt it between my toes. The sandy beach was a pure pristine white the shade of salt. Across from me stood a wooden soldier entirely unpainted in a salute position. The chess board was completely coated in the shimmering salts. 

The pawns marched forward of their own volition. The ocean breeze washed over me. The pawns vanished into thin air as they defeated each other with ease. The board began to spin as sand scattered in all directions, the wooden soldiers began to march forward bringing their spears forward. With only a handful of pieces left, I toppled the last soldier with my queen. I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked into place.

Chapter 28

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. The first winter snow had fallen, the snowflakes fluttered downward as tiny insignificant specks across a vast landscape. The snow fettered the grassy plains in larger and larger numbers. The heat from the board washed away my stress and fears along with the snow which vanished in the blink of an eye. The contrast between the crushed green grass beneath me and the large mounting piles of snow imprinted itself in my mind. I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place.

Chapter 29

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. I stood beneath a cherry blossom tree, the beautiful sakura petals fluttered as they descended to the earth. The sweet aroma which wafted downward from the trees overjoyed me. The bees absorbed the pollen and released a light golden glow into the air. The chess pieces began to grow lilies which, kinetically, the bees lapped up and as a surge of electricity flowed through and between them. I hummed a soft tune, shut my eyes, and the pieces clicked back into place.

Chapter 30

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. Fireflies hovered around me in a warm swamp. Lilypads descended deep into the rippling waters. Pale pink flowers blossomed from them. The water was muddy, the deeper into it you peered the more difficult you would struggle to see.

A toad in a kimono methodically hopped from one foot to another opposite me on the board. He hummed a simple tune children sang where I grew up. It sounded nostalgic somehow. Heat filled my body, I drifted off too sleep. I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place.

Chapter

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. Demons were a byproduct of the white queen’s whims. They were tiny creatures not too indistinct from plush toys. I was one such creature. 

Hardly more than fifteen centimeters tall with black buttons for eyes. My body was formed from cobbled together pink cloth. Red stitches etched into me. I sat motionless in a bright colorful room with other demons piled up into the multicolor expanse. I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place.

Chapter 31

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. The young lady was of the nobility, she loved to topple the pawns like peasants. Her neat checkered red and black dress with white lace stuck out to the aristocrats. I watched her play chess with an elderly gentleman, top-hat and all, from the translucent, glass chessboard. 

The elderly man seemed perplexed by the odd way she moved the pieces. The girl calculated each move yet she moved the pieces so clumsily.and into odd positions. I doubted I could defeat her in a match. The stone pathway they were rested on lead to a disheveled garden of purple daisies and weeds. I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place.

Chapter 32

A deep breath in and I returned to the board. Before me stood the queen, the towering menacing figure dressed in glimmering white clothes which merged and parted with the blank white slate backdrop. The queen’s shoes clacked against the white floor as she marched without hesitation towards me.

“Fooling around with dimensions I see,” the queen menacingly smirked.

I gulped, “why did you bring me to this place?” 

The queen materialized a golden harp in front of her, she began to play.

“Have you learned anything?”

“‘Anything’,” I began, “this world is magnificent.” 

“This is many worlds.”
A sky materialized as she played her harp the sounds vibrated, it filled me with strange feelings. The harp felt nostalgic somehow, grandmother used to play one to lull me to sleep when I was young. The sun sunk from the sky as the moon emerged between the clouds. Hours, days, weeks, a vast endless canyon of time elapsed in a moment.

I sat atop my golden throne and stared into the sunset. A vast domain which I towered over laid out before me. I shut my eyes as the pieces clicked back into place. When my eyes reopened I was eleven again. The book sat beside me on the basement floor. 

I stared at my hands. That dream like world had been a magnificent place, yet, I cast it and my childhood aside. I made my decision when that other me, the white queen, stood before me. I shut the book which had fallen open when I returned. The memories of my time in that surreal place vanished like particles into the air in minutes as I carried the book upstairs with me up the stairs. 

Chapter 1

The faintest glow began to spark anew. Five crows observed Trish from her cold, stone castle bedroom. Their beady, black eyes calculated her every motion as they observed her from their tree perch. The smallest of the five crows outstretched its wings and flapped towards Trish, a knowing grin on its face, as human words parted its beak. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end.

Chapter 2

The faintest glow began to spark anew.  The crow rested on Trish’s desk as it waved its wing a quill, ink, and a contract materialized. Without any words spoken, Trish hurriedly signed the pact with the crow.  Flames wrapped around Trish as the flame became a wisp before vanishing with her entirely. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end.

Chapter 3

The faintest glow began to spark anew. I emerged in the underworld in a petit fiery hurricane. My new companion Kaw introduced himself as a creation of a nameless prolific puppetmaster although he would not elaborate on himself beyond that. It was unclear to me how I would return from the underworld but I needed the break to clear my head if I had any hope of plotting my revenge as a monarch on those who had murdered my now late husband. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end.

Chapter 4

The faintest glow began to spark anew. As I descended the rocks cliff, souls descended to the earth. Further downward, smooth stone sheep grazed upon the souls of the departed for nourishment. The stone sheep ignored the more healthy souls which Kaw explained would sink into the soft mountain soil and become other sheep formed from rock themselves over time. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end.

Chapter 5

The faintest glow began to spark anew. The grass goats were carefully trimmed, meticulously so. They grazed on each other as they rhythmically moved in a circle, their bodies reforming back as they trotted with their soft hooves clacking against the loose mountain dirt. Immersed in the surrealist spectacle,  I could not help but gawk in disbelief at the bizarre journey I had only just begun to undertake. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end.

Chapter 6

The faintest glow began to spark anew. The pitch black oil skunk leaked a trail of murky ink down to the bottom of the mountain. Caw whispered in my ear comments of no importance as the robust gravel speckled the path. The oil skunk’s black beady eyes observed me with cold calculations as I descended the slopes past him. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end.

Chapter 7 

The faintest glow began to spark anew. The bright yellow banana lizards hung from the tropical trees as they swayed in the gentle afternoon tropical breeze. The banana lizards would open their peels to peer out at me with passive curiosity as I quietly passed the thatched, lazily constructed village huts. The stone shoreline contrasted the dewy blue ocean waters as the cliff had given way to a bright, lush ocean. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end.

Chapter 8

The faintest glow began to spark anew. The warm, green, plump grape mice trickled juice from their soft shells. They scurried around me as they sniffed me with their ticklish whiskers which brushed against my ankle docily. The village had begun to give way to a sprawling metropolis teeming with demons of all assortments. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end.

Chapter 9 

The faintest glow began to spark anew. The charcoal caterpillars crackled as sparks rose from them underfoot. The demons avoided the sluggish critters as they moved around them which caw explained to me warded off tragedies which could befall them. The bright red buildings formed from carefully sculpted bone and stone towered deep into the sky. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end.

Chapter 10

The faintest glow began to spark anew. The pear pandas maneuvered their grotesque green and red bodies which bulged with blue vessels as they dispensed food to eager customers at their stalls. They twisted and swerved their soft peel hands about as the other demons gawked in disbelief at their incredible handiwork. It was as impressive as it was baffling to view in person while I hungrily gnawed on one of their finest creations for free out of their pity. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end. 

Chapter 11

The faintest glow began to spark anew. The lime green giraffe businessmen with pale brown spots twisted their towered thin bodies around me as I briefly passed through the demon city’s red light district. The giraffe businessmen’s spider-like legs measured  twice that of my own body. A chill surged down my spine when a malformed giraffe with black ink coated limbs, possibly from a questionable encounter with a nearby oil skunk maid with  body long eye-lashes my site wandered for the briefest moment, brushed against me. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end.

Chapter 12

The faintest glow began to spark anew. The potato penguin unravelled away in a lily petal shape as small dandelion puffs which rose into the intense blue sky. The contrast between the small fragments dancing in the breeze contrasted with the brilliant blue of the starless day time sky stuck in my mind. I had finally reached the other edge of the sprawling metropolis as I carried onwards in the forbidden desert sands. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end.

Chapter 13

The faintest glow began to spark anew again. The tulip turtles hobbled across the desert’s edge the flowers which blossomed from their well worn, emerald green shells. The sweet, nostalgic scents flooded over my senses and filled me with glee. The turtles marched deeper and deeper into the desert sands. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end. 

Chapter 14

The faintest glow began to spark anew. The souls of those who had sinned began to faintly glow beneath the evening desert skies. Their crimes had been immeasurable and caused significant losses of life. The furry miniature bus hogs swallowed the humans for fuel as soon as their souls took shape. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end. 

Chapter 15

The faintest glow began to spark anew. The dazzlingly white desert sands spread like salt in the earth beneath me. Tiny sugar salamanders returned to their nests as they meshed together with the landscape. The sugar salamander  orange and yellow eggs sizzled before erupting into new life before their parents eyes. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end. 

Chapter 16

The faintest glow began to spark anew. The yolk bears gobbled berries with hearty smiles plastered upon their faces. I had reached the forest’s edge, elaborately decorated pine trees with finely tuned musical ornaments which bounced light across their finely crafted outer layer. The yolk bears would gobble up the ornaments near the bottom of the tree impartial to what they consumed. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end.

Chapter 17

The faintest glow began to spark anew. Neon light swallowtails cheerfully fluttered their tiny wings from one tree to the next as they charted course for the farthest reaches of hell. Their bodies formed from pure light illuminated, with a faint glow, the starless night time sky. Deeper and deeper into the woods the dazzling specks stretched out. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end. 

Chapter 18

The faintest glow began to spark anew. The brilliant green vine cows firmly attached to the earth littered the wheat fields. Without need for mobility, they produced sour milk for the farmers to dispense to the other demons while feeding off of sunlight and rain. Gradually as the months and years would elapse the cows’ vines would stretch outward into the fields which they bloomed. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end.

Chapter 19

The faintest glow began to spark anew. The plump, round,  shiny, red apple cats trotted their tiny feet through the empty, cobblestone city streets.The vacant buildings occupied only by spirits of the departed welcomed the newcomer that was Caw and I into its thick, foggy paths. Tiny blue feet skittered beneath me as bright eyes stared up at me. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end. 

Chapter 20

The faintest glow began to spark anew. I fed Kaw one-eyed candy pigeon eyeballs as we ascended the slope towards the mountain top. The clay colored pigeon demons formed from sugar fluttered in the warm afternoon breeze, eyes would grow from in their head before falling to the earth it was Kaw’s favorite texture. At the mountain top the view as the sun had begun to fall in the sky was truly magnificent as it warmed my heart. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end.

Chapter 21

The faintest glow began to spark anew. Lava flowed forth from cracks in the earth. It sizzled and became pitch black as it hardened like a cocoon. Rain fell causing steam to rise around the fire rabbits with bright red eyes. 

The fire rabbits with their orange fur coats and yellow tipped ears would tower a meter above an adult human. Their snouts would sniff out any souls fallen as fresh snow near the volcano as flecks of dust. Their bright pink tongues would lap up the souls like salt. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end.

Chapter 22

The faintest glow began to spark anew. The rain descended with smiles upon its droplets . The dew glistened on the plump meadow grasses. The sun rose cascading a rainbow into the morning sky. 

The brilliant colors dazzled and sparkled as smiling faces began to form in the puddles. The curious creatures’ bright beady eyes observed me from below as I wandered down the mountain path. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end. 

Chapter 23

The faintest glow began to spark anew. The blue, fluffy yeti whose long fur coat stretched outwards warmed me with his cold, icy claws that freezing winter night. His fur heated me up at the sturdy, rocky cave entrance to, I had wandered the frozen wastelands for many days with Kaw before settling in. The freezing winds howled outside and echoed through the deep, pitch black caves. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end.    

Chapter 24

The faintest glow began to spark anew. The elephant made from flames lived in the mirages of the desert. It’s fiery body swallowed up the heat and swelled in size over time. The heard of fiery elephants would travel in the tricks of the human eyes. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end. 

Chapter 25

The faintest glow began to spark anew. The elves, dissuaded by the demon’s trickery, set out for the capital of the underworld. The spirits of the departed hovered around the elves who trembled their pointed ears downward in fear. Trish vacantly stared at the elves while she sat at the side of the trail as she recalled her departed husband. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end. 

Chapter 26

The dragon descended upon Trish with a heated blaze. She transformed her talking feathery companion into a parasol that doubled as a sword. It required some tweaking but with nimble footwork, Trish managed to dodge the fireballs the green, scaly monster belched in her direction. The heat illuminated the dragon’s chest before it bellowed it out.

Dragons were fearsome servants who devoured the souls of those who sinned. The dragon’s bloodshot eyes and snake like tongue glowered at Trish as she kicked off the earth and dust scattered in every direction. The monster’s claws took a swipe at the toppled queen as she swiveled around mid-air to avoid them. With some tricky maneuvering with the help of the parasol, Trish hovered into position and slit the dragon’s throat. Blood splattered the earth as Trish descended to the ground again and continued on her aimless journey. 

Chapter 27

The moon ascended deep into the night sky the stars towered over the moon. The night sky’s immenseness truly dazzled me in it brilliant hues. The moon held low in the skies of hell. The starlight dazzled my feather companion. The mountains emanated brilliant deep red glows as the flames spread outwards into the sifting sands. 

The flames sparked and stretched outward swallowing themselves. As the flames lapped themselves up they grew in brilliant oranges and reds the heat filled me with warmth so deep and intense it filled through my heart. The sea of flames ascended towards the moon rising and rising higher and higher. The flames shone as they swallowed the false moon itself  to a crisp summoning day for hell. The heat shone through the skies of the afterlife and blinded my vision the spires towered higher until sparks shot outwards deeper and deeper through the skies. 

The starlit night quickly sent cinders downward to the earth as the black flecks rained down on the demon village. The wooden huts on stilts with spiral staircases appeared flimsy but remained firm as the soot washed away in a river beneath them. As I stood and watched from atop a hill, the moon floated elegantly in-between the pristine white fluffy cotton clouds.

The clouds cushioned the moon. The stars were stitched together with a thin silk thread spun from silk worms. The thread was specked with dew which descended downward, washing away the soot from the sands. I marvelled at the moon’s beauty as it glowed its eminence and I recalled my home  on earth. The kingdom which had become forgotten by all but its own people.    

Chapter 28

His pale skin glistened in the sun with sweat. His flowing blond hair with curly locks wafted in the evening breeze. Hid rippling biceps with bulgy veins caught the attention of the many demons from beneath his shirt. His thin blue eyes gazed at the demons with fear as I trembled. These creatures had somehow manifested around me. A petit eyeball with a fur coat wrapped around it sat in front of me. 

The creature had manifested me in the underworld. There was a queen he had need of locating here. Deep down, he yearned for her. The woman was rumored to be with a black feathered crow. His chest rose and fell as his thick muscles layered upon each other. His pale white porcelain skin reflected light off of it. The demons wandered the city streets in hordes. A red ogre approached him its  bright red large build towered over him. It’s yellow eye with bright red veins glowered at him with anger. Steam rose from the vendor’s stalls in the city streets as they dispensed souls of the departed. The woman I yearned for was elsewhere to be seen. 

She had aged likefine wine and was a beauty in her younger years. He recalls the friendship they shared the days they chatted when he was a lad. She had blessed me with knighthood as a princess. He abandoned the kingdom and wandered for a time until the king of a neighboring kingdom took him in as an adopted son. He felt a deep yearning for her well into my adult years even middle age. He chatted those warm summer afternoons beneath the apple tree as a warm breeze had washed over them. He still remembers that gentle breeze from that afternoon as she smiled fondly at him. His mind returned to the present moment of the bustling underworld streets as he wandered onward with his eyeball companion.

Chapter 29

The faintest glow began to spark anew. The sun cascaded off his pale smooth skin the starlit sky dazzled his eyeball companion and him. The moon rose and fell with most bitter pain in its heart which filled his chest. The man’s pale androgynous looks could not be compared to the dazzling red desert sands.  A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end.

Chapter 30 

The faintest glow began to spark anew. The heavy rains pelted over me against the blank black canvas landscape. Blue chalk dust washed over me while Kaw and I bickered as we always did indifferent. In my heart I sensed it, my journey along this path was close to its end. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end.

Chapter 31

The faintest glow began to spark anew. The ogre’s piercing gaze haunted the pale beauty as he twitched in madness. Veins like worms crawled beneath his skin. His body had begun to move like a puppet as his love had been twisted by the landscape of hell as he caught sight of his old flame in the distance. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end. 

Chapter 32

The faintest glow began to spark anew. A glowing red orb pierced the pathway, at last I had reached the sun of hell. 

“From here you may resurrect yourself, kaw.” 

I sensed him from behind when now I finally had use for this flaming club. My old flame warped by the afterlife stood before me. A pathway of smoke lead to the nightmare’s end.

Chapter 33

From memories of my travels I concentrated as sparks flew when I drew my club against my foe. He towered over me as we struggled for power. I finally managed to slip from his grasp. The brilliant pink and orange flames glowed against the setting sun. Time was running thin. 

I closed my eyes and struck him with my club we both sobbed in sorrow as our brief memory together faded. His soul became a grain of sand. 

Kaw hollered, “The final sun of your hell will set soon. It is time, Trish!” 

I sighed through the tears when next I awoke I stood in my chambers. The dazzling lace felt fresh somehow although I had no memory of what had happened. I let out a gasp of relief, now in my home once again. It was my first day as leader of the country now as I straightened my crown on my head and left the room. Outside my window a crow caught my eye for a brief moment in time. We stared both knowingly and unknowingly. The crow flew ascended into the daytime star as my red heels clacked against the cobblestone floor while I shut the door behind me.