In WriteNOW Workshop, one way we prepare to write during webinars is by generating ideas together. In a first class session, students created titles and then began writing stories to fit the ones that caught their interest. This led in fun and surprising directions! Maybe some of these will appear as full chapters in future issues of Athena’s Quill?
The Lantern of Crystals was, or is, to some souls, an ancient dragon artifact. The Lantern could be used to cast the world into night and capture the power of the sun in its inside, or capture the moon and send the world into eternal light. The Lantern was made by an ancient, revered Draconian sculptor, using the magical wood of Moon and Sunhenge combined for the frame and sand from a faraway beach. He had made the Lantern as a frivolous project to set in the woods for moth dragons, or to sell for a profit. But when he mistakenly found the last of a meteoroid, abandoned by any life, he soon uncovered a cache of star crystals. They possessed great power and were the last of their kind, a series of elemental crystals made by the ancient lost art of Draconian magic. He forged the crystals for eight nights and days, and by the end he had the Lantern of Crystals, and created the royal bloodline using the power to seat himself as King of the Dragons.
-Julia
Today is the usual for me, Henry the dog. Except for the fact that my good friend Sherman the terrier is not waiting for me at the fence this morning, which is very strange.
-Julien
Hey. I’m Alex and I’m an Electric Dragon. I live on a planet called Starling! It’s the most amazing planet in the world and it has crystal clear water, bright gold sandy deserts, sunny forests, and grassy fields. Starling got its name from the twinkling little stars that are so bright at night and the “ling” part of Starling we just added on to the star part. Speaking of, “We” there are lots of kinds of dragons on Starling! There are Electric Dragons, Star Dragons, Sunbeam Dragons, Aurora Dragons, and Forest Dragons. My best friend is a Sunbeam Dragon and her name is Lila; I’ve been best friends with her since we were 3 years old!
-Livia
I gazed at the smudgy, glossy photo at the person within it with surprise. She was a girl, maybe thirteen years old, with rich cinnamon skin and braided hair a shade darker. She was smiling, her two-tone eyes crinkling with happiness. The girl next to her was significantly younger, with light skin and dark brown hair. Her hair was braided in the same style as the older girl, but more messily, as if she’d braided it with her eyes closed. There were red stains on both girls’ mouths from the watermelon they were sharing. The picture was blurry like it had been taken spontaneously. It had. I knew because I was one of the girls in the picture. The taller girl, with the warm smile and cinnamon skin, was my sister.
She looked so different now, I thought, gazing at the other photo in her file. Her smile had lost its warmth. She had replaced her signature braids with two ponytails wrapped in long holders. She was older, too. Her face was the same, though… even if it was colder and more sly. I had to find her. I had to find my sister.
Tucking the photo into my pocket and slamming shut the file cabinet, I ran out of the room in search of something I had lost a long time ago.
-Zoe
The Mystical Moonlight
“Why do you have to go?” asked the girl. She had beautiful black eyes that twinkled like the stars. Her thick black hair glowed in the moonlight. “WHY DO YOU HAVE TO GO?” The girl yelled. “Moonlight, you know why. Don’t argue with me,” the tall muscular man said. He was at least 7 foot tall. “Darkness is awaiting. I don’t have much longer,” cried the man. “Stay safe Moonlight,” he said. He reached into his odd backpack and pulled out a peculiar, silver, and black necklace with a moon in the middle. He placed the necklace carefully around her neck and looked into her eyes for a long time. With the light of the moon the strange man disappeared. “Dad? Dad?” she yelled. The girl cried and cried until she had no more energy left. She touched her necklace, the last thing given to her before her dad disappeared. Suddenly, a bright flash of moonlight came from her eyes. Lightning and fire came from her hands and neck. She was in shock! “How in the world? What just happened?” Moonlight said in shock. She touched her necklace again which was vibrating intensely and the mysterious girl disappeared into the moonlight as well.
-Kimiya
Silence. It’s strange how everyone mentions the silence of night in poems and whatnot. The night was not silent. The night was very noisy. Cars went by in waves of three or four, making streets almost impossible to cross. It was like fatal Crossy Road. This side goes by, that side goes by. Five second break to sprint across the street. It’s a very useful talent to have in the city. I take the five second opportunity and run. On the other side of the street is a sidewalk in front of apartments. I walk forward, hands in the pockets of my overly puffy jacket that I wear everywhere, even when it’s 90 degrees out like it is now.
-Calypso
The Herpetelians were one of these cultures, a nomadic group of solitary individuals whose limited interactions with one another led to a very basic, separated society. The only story that they ever exchanged with one another was known as “The Tale of the Electrifying Cavern”, the accuracy of which was still an active debate.
It lay in the deepest crevice of the mountain, the remotest trench of its subterranean lake. The Electrifying Cavern was fizzing with the most bizarre fish, erupting with the most shocking eels, and swarming with strangest, most exotic shrimp. None of the Herpetelians had dared to seek it for over a century, as it was now so full of fluorescent algae that it was impossible to navigate through without special equipment, and besides, its precise coordinates had been long since forgotten by the native tribes.
-Nathan
It was currently the midnight of the second Sunday of the month. It was dark as a black looming shadow, and everyone was in their beds, sleeping soundly. On the outskirts of the town, was one mad scientist, awake and doing many experiments on her new creation. Suddenly, a burst of lightning struck the scientist’s house. The scientist’s house burned, however, the scientist was intent on her experiment, and did not budge. The neighbors were woken up by the crackling fire burning down the scientist’s house. Still, the scientist would not budge. At last, after the fire had burned pretty much most of her house, the mad scientist looked up with a cackle. “At last I have finished my new creation.”….
-Haruki