A Quiet Kind of Survival
By @john1208
I didn't mean to become a fated mate. After witnessing my family's slaughter at the hands of the ruling syndicate, my voice died in my throat. I just wanted a quiet place to hide and do absolutely nothing. But I woke up somewhere impossible: inside a doorless, enchanted cabin deep in the Nyravan Taiga. My roommate? Korvan, a towering, terrifying warden with slashed vocal cords who communicates in heavy stares and protective grunts. Elder Pravil warned me before I fled: never feed the Taiga's beast, never look him in the eye, and never share his space. I thought those rules were meant to keep me alive. But I'm too lazy to maintain the elaborate avoidance rituals Pravil taught me. When I absentmindedly cook a pot of spiced tuber stew just to stop my own stomach from growling, I offer a bowl to the giant. It turns out the stew tastes exactly like his stolen childhood. That single act of lazy convenience triggers an ancient soul-bond, and I realize the horrifying truth. Pravil's 'survival rules' weren't meant to protect me. They were a ritual meant to dismantle the cabin's wards. Now that our bond is repairing the sanctuary, the real monsters are coming. Can two voiceless, broken people defend their home?
5
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?
2