There are five people in the bar, including the bartender, which makes it about half full. I am sat furthest from the door, the back wall against my right shoulder, and a double of Nikka on the bar before me. The woman a few seats down has a beer in front of her, and has […]

For the first two days afterwards the smoke was thick, drifting between buildings and obscuring much of anything from view. The power was out, of course. Properly out, so no cell phone towers to relay signals. A few people probably had access to battery-operated televisions or radio and could pick up signals from farther out, […]

Dusk falls, and as the fireflies begin to blink and dance the stone lanterns lining the path are lit, one by one. The gravel has been swept clean, but the pools of light along the trail also illuminate the verge of the deep forest beyond – pine needles, leaf litter, and mushrooms clumped at the […]

The city of Aloré was built on the valley slope overlooking the shores of Lake Mehon. Its wide streets swept in gentle curves between tall delicate buildings and lush green spaces from the upper gate straddling the mountain pass all the way down to the low wall and gently lapping waves at the water’s edge. […]