Tethered by the Storm
By @john1208
The story opens in a storm of blood and rain. Sova Jindel, a survivor of the Chymic Bastion's cruel mutations, is fighting for her life on a jagged cliff against the hounds who bred her. Just as her ruthless strikes falter, a hulking shadow intervenes. Halldor Fenast, a massive, scarred hermit, slaughters her pursuers and drags her to safety inside the Brinespire - an abandoned lighthouse perched on the stormy coast. Halldor suffers from a cursed brand that burns his flesh constantly, while Sova is plagued by crippling panic attacks from her years as a lab experiment. But when they are near, a strange telepathic bond activates, cooling his agonizing brand and silencing her nightmarish memories. As this quiet, slow-burn romance blossoms within their isolated sanctuary, they vow to protect each other at all costs. Yet, Halldor has spent years hunting the unknown witch who branded him, while Sova is hunted by the alchemists who made her a monster. What will happen when they realize the source of Halldor's burning curse and the origin of Sova's traumatic mutations are the exact same forgotten event?
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The Blind Giant's Smiling Vengeance
By @john1208
Xaida always smiles. Even when her sadistic father, Margrave Vexil, hunted her down and exiled her to the monstrous atmospheric tides. Even when she wakes up inexplicably suspended inside the glass lantern of the Vestergrip Lighthouse, surrounded by a churning, levitating ocean that defies gravity. She maintains her bubbly, airheaded facade to keep her little brother, Toben, from succumbing to terror. But beneath her dimpled grin lies a mind meticulously calculating a cold, bloody revenge. Her only obstacle - and unexpected savior - is Ghaldir, the towering, monstrous keeper of the lighthouse. He is completely blind, his eyes heavily scarred, but he reads auras with terrifying accuracy. He easily sees past her cheerful lies to the raging trauma within. When an accidental telepathic bond forms between them, they discover a profound ability to project calming sensations into each other's minds, soothing their crippling panic attacks. As their fated romance blooms in the stormy sanctuary, Xaida uncovers a chilling truth: her beloved childhood mentor didn't orchestrate her escape, but delivered her as bait. With her father's hounds closing in, can the smiling exile and her gentle giant turn their warded sanctuary into a deadly trap, or will the traitor tear their bond apart?
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