This is the cover for the short story that I'm currently writing — I'm about done with 3/4 of it. It's got magic and dragons and like my recent PWA entries, dance is important to the main characters. Talking about dragons, wonder if anyone can guess which Pokémon I'll pairing her up with?

There are three languages in the story: English, Chinese (no, not the characters, just the phonetics) and Icelandic. Of course, English is the dominant one. Our protagonist here is a Dragon Dancer and Chinese is her mother tongue and the language used to communicate with dragons.

Here's an excerpt from 2 | Of Dragons and Rampancy:

It is a while till Tor catches up, a bone in hand. "Take this."

"I don't do cannibalism," Yuxia grunts as she lets Skala communicate with the dragons.

"I'll do it." The Lithomancer twitches his lips and aims the bone at the remaining pride of Tyrantrum. "This ploy is more fracking than frank!"

Yuxia and Skala glances at him as his digits glow a dark brown, the dim energy engulfing the bone. Neither blinks as a sand twister manifests around him and the bone flattens and sharpens into a shiny diamond blade. Ill energy wraps the weapon and Tor flings it into the air. It strikes and swerves and swoops and slices before skewing back into his grip. In the next moment, pandemonium draws its breath as silence, a shaky ruler, ascends the steps, not before ash and dust fall to the earth. Even so, the quietness shatters in the face of Tor's trap.

"I was hoping to hear groans like 'Oh, I am slain.'" He crosses his arms and pouts. "How prideful dragons are to not make a sound even when a slayer sweeps!"

"Rock-wrecker, how are you going to deal with them?" Yuxia points at a troop of men in mahogany hoods, shuffling orderly into the ruins.

"By and by, Rock Tomb!" Tor puffs his chest and lifts his head. Seeing that Yuxia is unamused, he feels the fossilised strands atop his head tremble. "Wait, who dares escape my... my Sword of Diamocles?"

"It is I, Ber—" The new voice comes with a stocky male in a similar hood who Yuxia guesses has broken away from the line.

"Beriberi?" Tor interjects, glistening eyes meeting a pair of oceanic ones.

The stranger shifts forward and yanks a hand at the mage, creating a reddened handprint on his cheek. "It's Bernardo, the one and only barbar—"

"Barbara!" Tor claps and pulls Yuxia and Skala toward the ruins, backtracking twice the pace of a Dunsparce.

"Barbarian! The only one ever that's gonna crush your ass like an Ursaring slapping crowns off trees!" Bernardo charges toward them and extends his arms, forming spherical, palm-sized rocks. "You old traitor! Suffer!"

"Too bad I exist as traitor and victor." The Ancient Savage mage blocks the projectiles with a stone wall before shoving it with meagre strength toward the man. Turning to Yuxia, he motions to the crumbling museum. Seeing as she returns a nod, he moves on to unleash his trademark move.

Few steps in their path, both dancer and dragon hear a ear-splitting thud. They dodge raining pea-sized meteors while picking up pace, forcing themselves into a relic gallery. She'd wish she could marvel at how sturdy the museum is, but now isn't the time. For all she knows, that old man could already have lost.

But the sight of a line of Lithomancers and Geomancers bugs her more. If the Tyrantrum were troublesome, dealing with rampant magic would prove to be way worse. With a twitch of her brows, she hardens her gaze, smiths her heart and propels forward with striking grace.

Note | Lithomancers — Rock Mages
Geomancers — Earth/Ground Mages