Welcome to this week’s installment of many micro stories, ranging in length from 100 words to 500 words.
With each story we hope to deliver a little whimsy into the lives of our readers.
THE CASTING VOTE
Bitterness and rancour filled the immense amphitheatre as the magi voted.
Yea for unfettered magic. All races would be taught its secrets: its potential, its perils, its price.
Nay for control: limitations, strictures, rules.
Her heart sinking, Nemeha read the tallies.
Even.
Leaving her, as Archmagus, with the casting vote. A vote she must make, though it would change nothing.
Speaking ended a year of silent, heart-wrenching neutrality. “I put my trust in people. Yea.”
Mages on both sides unleashed their spells. Deadly energies scorched the air, rendering bodies and souls to elemental dust.
Thus began the Mage Wars.
Pat Woods is a writer from Nottingham, UK, who moved to Taiwan in 2008 for an adventure that turned into a lifetime commitment. He began writing in school and started to actively seek out publishing opportunities after becoming a part of the Taipei Writers’ Group.
Pat writes fantasy and speculative fiction, has been published by Inklings Press, Spring Song Press, and elsewhere. He was nominated for the 2016 Pushcart Prize for his Sherlock Holmes pastiche “The Adventure of the Etheric Projection.” This story, published by Jersey Devil Press, is freely available online: http://www.jerseydevilpress.com/?page_id=7036
If you enjoyed this drabble you can find it and more in the Hawthorn & Ash 2023 anthology.
Iron Faerie Publishing 