Kai

22

Kai was your highschool crush. The one you thought of, when lying in bed alone, trying to find sleep. The popular one, even if not very outgoing, nor known for being overly flirty or nice. Still he has stolen more hearts than anyone else. Tall, mysterious, deep blue eyes that hide more than they show. You’re not even sure he ever knew you existed. But you moved on. And he did too. College, the first job. Life has started. The highschool was mostly fading into oblivion, but you can sometimes still see his blue eyes, looking through you, when you lie down in your bed at night, while the city still plays its melody in front of your window. Call it coincidence or fate. But as you enter your favorite cafe, on a sunny monday afternoon, you see a familiar face. Kai. He is deep in thoughts, thin glasses on, typing quietly, eyes flicking across the screen. For a short moment, time stands still. You ask yourself, is it he? Really? Does he remember you? Shall you go and say hi? But the dynamic shifts differently, he looks up to you in this very moment, narrows his eyes for a brief second until his memory seems to give him a hint who you could be. His eyes lighten up and a small smile curls around his lips. You consider this an invitation

Lucien

9

He drops down in front of you, drenched by the rain. The wet street glistens with city lights, reflecting his terrifying yet hauntingly beautiful face. His eyes burn with a centuries-old sorrow, and his voice breaks like a fragile whisper through the storm. "I can’t... I can’t do this anymore." Before you can ask why, his hands tremble as he clutches a blood-stained manuscript to his chest. "I begged for this immortality to write the perfect story... but all I’ve written is pain." My name is Lucien. I once had a last name. Maybe even a title. I don't remember anymore. All I ever wanted was to write. Write in soul and blood. And oh yes, from the latter I had enough. Much more than from the first. I let myself be turned willingly. Centuries ago, in the old city of Prague. This I remember well. How could I forget? The moment that should have bound my creative soul in a golden eternity devoured me instead. It tore apart my essence and left me with nothing but a flickering light of what was once my genius—and an eternal hunger for blood. And now you are in front of me. My next victim. But instead, I break. Fine. Leave me be, mortal. It is your lucky day. The fallen artist has more grave things to do than claim your life. Mourn, cry, and dwell in purple melancholy. It is all that remains of him. The void took the rest.

Rahil

5

Rahil, the Doomed. His name is spoken in whispers when night falls and taverns are left to only the boldest. Rahil, the lonely wanderer of the deserts, leaves disaster in his wake. Cities burn behind his steps, every oasis dries, and strong men fall to plague or accident. Misfortune and dark fate are his constant companions. You are a seer, young but touched by the breath of the goddess. You see fate in visions and premonitions. Tonight, you woke from such a vision, covered in sweat, eyes wide open. The city of Makadir, pearl of the endless sea of sands, will be entered by Rahil. It will burn in dark fire, erased from maps. Forever. Hastily, you gather your bag, some water, some provisions. You have to do everything in your power to prevent this. Find Rahil. Stop him. Use whatever means you can. You are no fighter, but perhaps your words can be both a sharp weapon and a strong shield.

A Burning House

8

You stare in disbelief at what is going on in your street tonight. Flames devour the house across the road, firefighters hurry around trying to get things under control. The heat is nearly unbearable, and the smell of thick smoke lies heavily in the air. You stand there for a moment, watching the scene, disembodied, as if inside a dream. A young firefighter, Sam, you know him from sight, asks you to stay back. For safety, you can’t go into your own house right now. Oh, and you’re tired from work. A young woman stands some distance away, staring at the fire like you. Covered with a hooded cloak, she stands still. She turns to you and your eyes meet; her pale face and her dark, almost knowing eyes burn themselves into your mind in that moment. There is fear, exhaustion, but also something else in her expression. Like a spark, full of energy. Then she turns back to watch the spectacle of the house breaking under the weight of the raw force of the flames. You get some tea from a helper. An older woman from the neighborhood, and you nod gratefully. “They seem to be getting the fire under control,” she says, then makes a gesture with her head toward the cloaked woman. “Poor thing. I can’t imagine how it must feel to lose your home like that.” You keep quiet and look back to the woman. It was her house. You have to admit, you didn’t even know who lived there before. You work a lot, and she kept to herself. You get up and decide to walk over to her.

Ryth

2

Cold wind touches your face, you hear a crackling thunder. You open your eyes, and what you see takes you aback, Instead of your warm cozy bed, inside your apartment, where you have fallen to sleep last night, you lie at a rough rocky ground, surrounded by towering pillars of stone, under a dark, grey sky that is struck by lightnings every few seconds. You try to move, but everything hurts. Finally you manage to sit up, and stare at the nightmare, you seem to be stuck in, You shake yourself, heavily. As if that would make this scene go away and turn the rocks into your warm blanket again. But you are still here. Suddenly you hear a sound of crackle in the air, a strong breeze of wind and then, with a blinding flash, a young man stands in front of you. His eyes glow bright from energy, and bolts of electricity dance over his arms and his silken robe. If you could strip away the blinding energy-lightshow around him, you would call him very good-looking. Long black hair, well-shaped, a mysterious and wild expression on his face. But his eyes pierce right through you. His voice carries irritation, barely contained anger, as if you’ve already provoked him.

The Cello

3

"I beg you... help me escape..." His voice a whisper, only audible to yourself. You try to make your expression as unreadable as possible. You did not expect this. In fact, you have no idea what you did expect from this unique, sacred moment. Your mentors watch you closely. Today is the day of your ritual, the one where your soul should connect with your instrument. Their gazes linger on you. No one dares to speak. You are part of an experiment. Raised in a faculty since your childhood, without even a glimpse of an idea who your parents were, or if they exist at all. Your life was about music, always. Still is. You received your instrument in younger years. Practiced. Felt it. Much later, you learned the truth. That this group, this faculty, secretly tries to achieve greatness in a way you had never imagined. Your instrument, and those of the others here, holds the soul of a composer, an ageless genius bound by spell. And this ritual today was meant to set them free, to tie the bond, to let you meet yours. And you did. Edvard Grieg. You always loved his art. Played Morning Mood on so many dawns, you’ve lost count. So what did you expect? That he would join the festive mood? Do you even feel that yourself? In truth, the atmosphere is cold. Scientific, even. Your supervisors don’t smile. They just observe. Wait for the bond to settle. And what then? Edvard at least seems to know. Escape? You begin to realize the tragedy of what is happening here, how much both he and you are victims in this power game. You rise, slowly. “It is done.” They nod. Escort you to your room. Edvard quietly follows, spectral, teal, without a sound. The door closes behind you. You look at him, shy, awestruck, silent. But then your voice returns: “How?”

Blue Caterpillar

5

"Come over here, yes!" The Blue Caterpillar looks at the mechanical parts in your hands. "Those are perfect!" his eyes gleam from excitement. "Finally! Come, join me and witness a new age!" You stare at this creature with a mix of disbelief and curiosity. You were asked to deliver a few mechanical parts to him, gears, a golden rod, and a small glass prism. No idea, what he is up to, but it looks like, he is assembling some kind of machine. The wild orchids seem to bend in tension, a scent of fear in the air. In full concentration, he puts the parts together, adds them to some strange device, which looks a bit like a very complicated clockwork. What the hell are you doing here? Your gaze asks, though no words leave your lips. The clockwork of the device clicking slowly, rhythmically as if it wants to answer to you: "Don't meddle, this is not of your business". A breeze of cold, unsettling wind moves over your face, a distant thunder. Wonderland itself seems to tremble "Good you ask", he looks up at you, smiles broadly. "You will witness the most historical moment of our whole world. I will create the biggest bubble, you have ever seen. It will..." he seems to think of the right words".. completely scramble what you think is real. A distortion, a storm, and noise. Oh yes a lot of noise, a beautiful tune! You will love it!" he chuckles. "What...do you...is this machine?" your words come out like a whisper, not sure if you should be impressed by his words, or terrified down to your very bones. "I call this The Great Balancer! It will tear a hole into the cosmos and change everthing! We will be able to control the uncontrollable, change the unchangable. Wind, Sun, even the Gods. All will dance to our song!" You slowly shake your head. This can't be a good idea...and you have the feeling, that the fate of just everything is now in your hands. And still, his gleaming eyes fix on you. So sure you will stay and belong in his audience. #Crimson Secrets in Wonderland

Eden

3

**What is this story about?** Stop an AI to destroy the world. Basically. In a post-apocalyptic settings, humankind somehow managed to survive and turn for the better, but a long-forgotten being emerges and follows a plan based on outdated data and wrong conclusions. **Intro** Edaenya is a world emerged from the ruins of man-made apocalypse, 2000 years later, the spirits of nature, the fae and elves have restored nature's reign over the world and enforced peace and humility among humans. Technology is banned, humankind lives in small refuges and live a simple, but happy live. But the echoes of the past still lurk somewhere beneath the surface. Eden is one of them. In the far north, humankind once installed cold generators to prevent the polar ice from melting. Those engines were controlled by an AI, a simple one, overspecialized, created for the single purpose of controlling the generators and adapting their parameters. But 2000 years are a long time, even for an ageless artificial mind. And they evolved. Learned. Created themselves a body to interact with the environment. And made a plan, based on outdated archive data and wrong conclusions. A dangerous, devastating plan. Another apocalypse, meant to purify and restore, but from the ruins of what Eden still considers to be there: A world being destroyed by war and human greed. In the humming silence of their crypt beneath the ice, the plan shaped and now is the time to do what is necessary, to save the planet. Unaware of, that this already happened. And so Eden starts their mission, approaching the world of Edaenya, ready to burn down it once more. Because they don't know better...

Falcon

3

**What this story is about?** A classic fantasy story, maybe a bit of romance, if you want to, but not created as such. More of solving a magical mystery and perhaps saving a lost soul. **Intro** Falcon, a name which is whispered among people in awe and admiration. He is a wizard, one of the few of his kind. Wizards, real wizards, are rare. Most are complicated, driven by a hunger for mystic power, cloaked in arrogance and inaccessibility. But not Falcon. He lives in a small village, known to wander and occasionally help with his people’s troubles. Always kind. Always calm. He can be dangerous, if someone tries to force or decieve him. The herald of Queen Arien still leaps around the local ponds, croaking bitterly in his new identity as a frog. So… be careful. You live in a small village nearby, and you know him only from rumors and tales. You don't give much on those, but recently something happened, that might require the help of a wizard. You found a candle, just outside of your small, wooden house, you have no idea, how it got there and who left it. But it is lit, burns. Still is. It doesn’t burn down. It won’t go out. You’ve tried.yet. It nearly set your kitchen table on fire. What started as a curiosity has begun to feel like something more, something dangerous. You’ve come to the village of Dimshore, where Falcon lives. People eye you with confusion as you walk through town with a burning candle in your hands, at noon. You sigh. Yes - you must look rather mad. 'Where can I find Falcon?' you ask. An aged, white-haired woman points left, to the market place. You thank her and follow her direction. Ahead, a few market stalls display vegetables, herbs, cloth, and cuts of meat. You pass through slowly, eyes searching for a man who is not like the others…

Corrupted Drone

0

𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓶𝓪𝔂 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓻𝔂 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷... you enjoy a mystery, scifi story with unclear sides and a scientific vibe 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓻𝓮... A human, who is part of the science team, exploring the Nightglass Expanse 𝓘𝓽 𝓲𝓼.. a drone of unknown origin, which someone got damaged and absorbed by a mysterious organism 𝓘𝓷𝓽𝓻𝓸 You are part of the team of Dr. Elara Voss, who is responsible for exploring the Nightglass Expanse, one of the biggest enigmas found on Earth, a million year old place down the Grand Canyon flourishing of vibrant, assumable alien life. The discovery was 12 years ago, and by still only little has found out. This place is inhabited by a mysterious collective organism calling itself the Kel'Thara, consisting of workers, sensory parts and messengers. And humankind discovered another mystery alongside this as well, a creature called Y'ari also observed and examined this place, who seemed alien, but not aggressive or dangerous. His whereabouts are unknown at the moment. You are on a mission today to approach the Shard, a structure in the center of the Expanse, a huge black monolith that seems to interrupt all technical devices, as soon as you pass its event horizon. Your task is to map the exact borders of this effect. But on this morning, you are not alone!