Crystal

“The tales passed down through Emberhollow were like brittle threads in an old tapestry, worn thin but still clinging to their vibrant origins. They painted a world where magic had once coursed freely through Aeryndor, as essential as the wind and as life-giving as rain. It had flowed in harmony with the land, nourishing its fields, fueling its innovations, and shaping the very fabric of existence. The villagers whispered of the Flamebearers, legendary smiths whose enchanted forges had given birth to weapons that blazed with unquenchable fire and tools imbued with unyielding strength.”
― Rea Alexandris, The Forgotten Flame: A Tale of Fire, Forbidden Love, and the Fight for a Kingdom

“Ash flopped back against her bed, her phone still clenched in her hand. She didn’t think she could go back to sleep, so she spent the rest of the night fervently sketching, including scenes from the dream. Her kitchen with its wayward utensils scattered through the air, the basement, the man with his ominous warnings, and finally
the field with the words STOP LOOKING drawn in dark hatched lines.”
― Nicole Aisling, Chasing Nightmares

“Tress didn’t understand that it is quite possible to be so bad at something it seems implausible. In these cases, it stands to reason that such a person is in fact quite competent—because it takes true competence to feign such spectacular incompetence. It’s called the transitive property of ineptitude, and is the explanation for anything you’ve seen me do wrong ever.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Tress of the Emerald Sea

“It was the kind of place where broken families hid behind the artificial beauty of happy middle-class homes.”
― Nicole Aisling, Chasing Nightmares