Havok Publishing

Tag - magic

Weather Wielders

Esteemed Master Librarian,
In case you are unaware, I have retired from my scholarly pursuits. However, something unexpected has occurred. Please accept this first-hand account as proof that Weather Wielders exist, and I have the key to unlocking their potential.
It began last summer, when an elf knocked on my door, disturbing my mid-day tea.

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Fast Times and Other Small Crimes

“Haddie Underwood, I always knew someday I’d have to post your bond.” My elder sister Zelda peered at me from the other side of the bars before her gaze slithered over to the man beside me. “But you. I can honestly say I never expected to bail my own father out of jail. What in all of Kingland happened?”

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The Beheading Game

Every year, King Hearthsward hosted a grand Midsummer Feast at our royal court. There were games and challenges, boasts and feats of strength, and people traveled from many lands to partake in the celebrations. Even our enemies visited our table, emboldened by the oath of peace during festival-time. If you brought no trouble, none would find you.

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The Final Test

Sketchbook in hand, I leaned over the watchtower’s edge. Dark shadows crept across the hills toward us.
Below me, a dozen farmers added sweeping strokes to the canvas in the center square. Hard to believe these men’s artistic experiences once extended only as far as the furrows their plows carved into the earth.

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The Ring of Solomon

Andy slumped in his chair. He rubbed tired eyes and focused on the calendar hanging beside his desk. A bright red circle highlighted June 15, his looming deadline. Nine days left to either finish his thirty-page thesis or flunk the post-graduate program. No paper, no grade. No grade, no graduation. No graduation, no degree.

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The Story Shop

Somewhere on the edge of town, just where civilization meets wilderness, an unassuming building stands off the side of the road surrounded by the smallest of gardens. It seems to be in its own world, apart from everything and everyone else, so most people leave it alone, driving by without a second glance.

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The Price of Eternal Youth

I was only seven when Aunt Toni tried to find her own fountain of youth, so some of the technical details are a little fuzzy. For instance, I can’t remember the name of the anti-aging cream Helena Rubenstein made, but I know that this once-great cosmetics company sold it for big bucks since it was reputed to restore your skin to that of a newborn babe.

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Cold Blood

I’ve always hated rain.
As a dragon, it quenched my fire and made flight more difficult. Now as a human, it seeps through the hair and clothes, bringing with it a damp, miserable chill. To the reptilian part of me, the disappearance of the sun marks something even darker in my soul, a secret fear that my cold-blooded nature will betray me…

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Pig Problems

Let’s get one thing straight: I hate Pinocchio. It’s because of that dumb puppet we celebrate Pinocchio Day on April 1st, where everyone tries to see how many lies and pranks they can get away with. That’s fun—but then comes Honesty Day.
See, the Blue Fairy who brought Pinocchio to life felt slighted that he—and others—reveled in lying on April 1st.

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Mud Season

In Vermont, we call the spring thaw Mud Season, a time of year that gives new meaning to the word battleground, for it’s necessary to battle the ground simply to walk. Either you struggle while the muck sucks at your shoes and even skirts if they aren’t hitched up a bit, or you tumble when it’s too slick, which causes the unwary much irritation.

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Spring Snow

Let me tell you the story of a dragon who wanted to be a man.
My name is Eleanor Thornhail, and I’m a worldhopper—long story—and I’d gotten myself stranded on a strange world of magic and dragons.
One dragon in particular was my ticket out. I’d found him hiding among the humans, working as a librarian for the Infinite Library.

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The Book of Madness

When I opened the Book of Madness, lightning streaked outside the mansion’s window.
Thunder bellowed.
My flashlight illuminated scribblings on the faded pages as I traced my finger along a paragraph, skimming with eyes squinted, mumbling the Latin translation of ancient text. I flipped a page, propping myself against the reading table.

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