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Synopsis:

Five common Elements bind all of creation together; Fire, Earth, Water, Air and Life. But the Aesir Element, wielded by the Creator’s messengers, is the most beautiful and by far the deadliest.

When the human crown-princess, Lrill Kettenring, suddenly manifests the Aesir Element it slowly corrupts her. Her eyes change color, limbs elongate, ears grow pointed and the power arcs out in crushing waves of blue flame to demolish everything around her.

Feared, resented and mistaken for a hated Changeling, she flees to the Mage’s Keep. There, with the help of a Telchine Scholar Mage, reluctant Changeling prince, kind-hearted Gnome, and a seductive Water Elf, she works to control her powers and find a way to reclaim her throne… but the very nature of her power makes her a ticking time bomb… and the only one who could cure her has been ordained her enemy by an ancient foe Lrill doesn’t even know she has.

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Excerpt:

Intro:

In this scene Tyren, a Changeling with the ability to morph his physical shape, is exploring the dungeons beneath the Mage’s Keep, searching for proof of a conspiracy. He discovers the mangled corpses of maintenance workers, the handiwork of a crocodile-panther crossover called a Dardrix.

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Without warning, sound, or scent the monster smashed through the crumbling stone floor and latched onto his leg.  Out-weighing, and out-muscling him, it dragged him down into the aqueduct.

The saw-backed teeth ground into his calf, serrated edges latching into muscle.  He would have howled but air was in short supply.  Gills were the first order of business.  He could live without the leg.  On the bright side, as long as it had clamped onto his leg it couldn’t gut him.  Its legs weren’t long enough to claw at him and the mouth was otherwise occupied.

If he could behead it he’d be home free.

He focused through the pain and morphed his lungs and throat to accommodate gills.  The aqueduct was narrow and the monster filled it.  He kicked at its head, but it clamped down and its teeth ground into bone.  Fury, fear, and determination pumped through his system.

It went into a barrel roll, which might have killed him if he hadn’t had gills.  It did shred his calf even further.  If this kept up he’d have ground beef for a leg.  Not to mention he’d be dead.

The monster’s teeth curved backward; there was no way to break the hold by pulling out.  He didn’t dare use earth element to skewer the beast.  Corrupt elements were entirely unpredictable; he might end up skewering himself instead.  Water was useless.  It lived in water.  He wasn’t good enough with Life element to try reversing it to kill the Dardrix.  He could try fire.  Nothing short of cataclysmic would work underwater but he didn’t have anything else.  He couldn’t twist close enough to hack at the creature.

He built up a concentration of fire element in his free hand and sent it crashing into the monster’s face.  Startled, it let go, then surged forward to recapture his leg.  When it opened its mouth he shoved his fist down the throat, slicing his biceps on its upper teeth, and poured fire down its gullet.  He held his breath so he wouldn’t breathe superheated steam and charred it from the inside out.

The water tasted coppery.  He was losing blood.  If there were more here the scent would draw them in.  There was no fast way back through the dungeon and cellars.  But the aqueducts were a clear shot to the lake, if he could just move fast enough.

A faint current pushed at him.  The aqueducts circled under the Keep.  One set of tunnels led to the lake, the others to populated areas where the Mers lived.  He didn’t care where he ended up, as long it didn’t involve a monster’s belly.  He reached out with water element and collected the pressure of the current behind him.  He built it up until the walls trembled and threatened to shatter around him, then he released it and let it blast him through the tunnels.  He kept a magelight ahead of him so he could twist the appropriate direction whenever the tunnel changed its course.

With many more bumps and bruises to add to his boiled skin and mangled leg he finally tumbled out into cold open water.  The faint light of moon and stars shimmered above him, and he used his last dregs of power to propel him to the surface and back to shore.

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About the Author:L. A. Catron

An avid reader and writer since high school, Lauren Catron tried to nail down a traditional job by obtaining a bachelor’s degree in animal science, but upon the discovery that the sight of blood greatly disturbed her, she switched gears and earned a master’s degree in creative writing… no blood so far.  She writes fantasy, breeds dragons, and lives in Hale, Michigan with her family and neurotic ten pound poodle.

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