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Forged by Flame, Bound by Stone

WisdomOfSnakes
What is this? This pressure I’m feeling. It’s a two-minute walk—two minutes! Yet the entire kingdom watches as I take it. I never wanted to be here. I never wanted to walk this path and come face to face with the colossal forge that shapes nations. Kingsmen and nobles eye me from above like hawks, as I avert my gaze and press a hand to my chest to calm my heart. Here I am. My entire future rests on the breath of a moment. My palms are numb. Paralyzed. All I have to do is make contact with the Crucible. If that forge flares up in purple flame, my entire world changes. If it doesn’t burn for me, I return to my old life— But at what cost? For in doing so, I would trample on my family’s tombstone… And bury secrets that have long awaited the light. Tell me, great forge that answers only to one’s will— Am I worthy enough to wield Elementum? Will the element that shapes creation itself bow to me, Become an extension of my will?
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Crown of Thorns and Roses.

Those who fail him, they claim, are consumed by his gardens. They are unaware, though, that I have been talking to plants my whole life—and now the fate of the kingdom hinges on their response. I wanted no attention at all. Enough risk is involved growing illegal miraculous blossoms in my small rural garden. However, I find the reason the king's gardens are withering and why all five gardeners before me have vanished when royal guards transport me to the palace. The gardens provide more than only aesthetic purposes. They're the kingdom's last defense. Constant observation by Crown Prince Thorne, his silver eyes frigid as the winter gradually kills his territory. The court mumbles he killed the past gardeners for failing, but I detect despair in his eyes. Each day I coax life from the wilting magical plants, I feel the protective wards strengthening. Each night, I sense the shadowy creatures straining our bounds, getting stronger, hungrier. Should I fail, I should detest the haughty prince threatening punishment. Instead, I find myself pulled to the man beneath the thorny crown—a monarch willing to become the villain in whispered legends if it means saving his people. As my power develops with odd new blossoms no one has seen before, so does the threat. The prince's foes conspire within the royal walls, the magical barriers decrease with each passing day, and my heart treacherously softens toward the man who cannot afford to love me back. They believe his gardens eat those who disappoint him. What they don't know is what happens when a wild magic like mine begins to overwhelm me.
AmakaChim · 5.4k Views