I like that name. Cool meaning... yeah, google translate is my savior for fantasy names. I don't especially like horses, sorry! I don't dislike them either, it's more that I know absolutely nothing about them so I can't like them one way or another. My favorite animal is an owl.

~Story Time!~ I love the setting + your descriptions! And I'm sorry if this looks weird, I copy-pasted it. Also you get to decide the magic words, the quote's left open intentionally.

You get another glimpse of glowing yellow eyes as you barrel down the trail—if you can even call it a trail. The weeds are getting worse, growing up from cracks in the hard sandy ground. Trees leer over the trail at you, and it almost seems as if they grasp at you, long branches dangling. You bat the branches out of your face as you try to run faster and faster, but end up slowing, panting breaths in time to each footfall.

Suddenly you trip over a root you could have sworn was not there a few seconds ago. You wrench your ankle but get back up, limping. You can’t afford to slow down. The root vanishes once more as you start again, wincing at the stabbing pain that shoots through you with every step.

You can almost hear panting getting closer and closer behind you—is it the thing chasing you? Or is it just your own breathing, magnified through the forest? Either way, you wish it would stop. You’re getting slower and slower, and just one mistake now could cost you your life.

As the howls rise in pitch, you scream out with them. It’s a shout born of rage, of desperation, of fear. Of the ache in your chest and the pain in your ankle, of the tears screaming down your cheeks and rawness of your throat. But it vanishes as soon as you let it go, and the forest becomes ominously quiet. Your own ragged breathing—at least, you hope it’s your own—is the only sound your straining ears can make out.

You pause with your hands on your knees, trying to catch your breath. Looking up, you see pairs of eyes around you, closer, closer, closer. You scramble back, falling over and putting your hands up in a feeble protection. As the creatures start to step out of the shadows around you, you gasp the only words that come to your mind, words that aren’t swallowed up into this silent forest but that hover in front of your mouth, pulsing with light and power—

“

I... kinda... wanted to kill them off... You can revive them if you want... Anyway! ~Story Time!~

You’re so tired. You spent hours exploring the abandoned gardens and crumbling towers, letting the wind ruffle your hair and kiss your skin. But now—all you want to do is to be back in your comfy bed, asleep. The adventure was good while it lasted—but all it’s resulted in is sore feet and an empty stomach. You quickly find a shadowy corner and curl up, quickly drifting off to sleep.

Your sweat sticks to your dream-body as you toss and turn, feeling the humidity in the air. No. Not this—

It can’t be.

But it is—it’s the storm you remember, the storm you’ve tried so hard to forget.

There—that flicker of lightning. You remember that lightning. Seven seconds till the thunder.

Ten seconds until she’s gone.

You squeeze your dream-self’s eyes shut. You can’t watch—not again. Not this nightmare you’ve had every night since the incident. But it’s imprinted on the inside of your eyes, that moment she fell, her perfect arms outstretched in a V like she’s soaring over the clouds. Her shimmering black hair hangs limp and weightless for just one moment, her brilliant blue eyes staring into yours, her mouth a perfect O of shock. She looks so peaceful. And then—

Every time, you can only watch—watch as she falls. Watch as she disappears over the edge. Watch as the storm rolls in, rain pounding harder and harder on the muddy ground where she used to stand.

No more.

Gasping, you wake up. You’re balanced on the edge of the highest turret’s only window. A storm rages outside, thick gray clouds obscuring the moon. You must have sleepwalked, for you have no memory of how you got here.

Shaking, you make to climb down, but your balance is off, and you teeter slightly.

It’s enough. You’re suddenly tipping—falling—down, down, down. You spread your arms, and for one delicious moment it’s like flying. You’re invincible. Powerful. Then the black rushes in faster than the storm.

No one sees you fall.

~STORYYYYY~

“Dragonrider.”

The name, once curling off my tongue like little wisps of wishes flying free now sits curdled and heavy, stained by fear.

I thought it was my destiny. I thought I was ready.

I was wrong.

Dragons are dark.

They don’t writhe playfully in the air. They don’t soar freely over mountains and streams and valleys. They don’t breathe beautiful blasts of fire that momentarily, magically, scorch the air as the whole world holds its breath.

They hide in caves, peering out with their fire-orange eyes and slitted black nostrils. They scavenge prey from the forest around. They kill their kin in petty fights, then devour the fallen, so nothing remains. They’d devour me, too, if they could.

They’re little but scavengers of the dark, ebony-midnight scaled monsters. And I ride them.

Well, I used to. Until I ran away.

So now I’m huddled in a ball in a deserted rocky cave in the middle of the forest. I’m exhausted.

I have nowhere to go. Nothing to go back to. I’m alone, forgotten, scared.

Maybe this is my destiny.

~STORY TIME~

The tunnel is dark, and I trail my hand along the side. Ewww! I snatch my hand away, shuddering at the damp mossy reside lingering on the stone. Hesitatingly, I put my hand back, desperate for some acknowledgement I’m going straight.

The tunnel branches, and I choose the left side, keeping my hand firmly anchored on the wall, lingering in the safety that I can’t lose my way.

Or can I? It’s hard to tell in this pitch black. Maybe I’m walking in circles. Maybe I’m sealed in here, entombed, a death trap of my own making. Maybe I’m going to die here.

It’s no use being positive—my imagination is bent on convincing me of the horrors that may or may not lurk in these depths. The horrors that are currently manifesting as little shivers on my spine… I take my hand off the wall to smack my shoulder, horrified when my hand comes away smeared in what feel like bug guts. Then I freeze, even more horrified as a grating noise comes from the wall next to me. My stomach has a soaring sensation of moving really fast, and I know: I’ve moved my only anchor, my hand, from the wall. My tomb has moved, a labyrinth of stone and mildew. I’m lost.

~NOT STORY TIME?~

Ugh formatting. Anyway. School is school *gasp, I know, really, whaaaaaatttt no wayyyyy* some classes are bad and some are good. My favorite right now is humanities. We're learning about the Silk Road, and it's actually really interesting. Also languages is cool—I'm taking Japanese and it's so hard but also satisfying. Science is awesome too, our teacher does science rap outside of school (it's really impressive) and he's just generally enthusiastic. I don't like math, we're learning statistics which I really hate. Writing is okay, as the classes are good but I don't like most of my writing (it's memoirs and analytical essays and things which I'm bad at) so... not fun.

What about you? What are you learning right now? Do you learn some of everything each day, or is it more like what you feel like, spending days on different topics? Do you also learn useful stuff that school doesn't teach, like how to cook and pay taxes?