Tasty Tales of Transformation

  Sagiri stared at a line of burning men before her, used to the sight of a particular prisoner set for execution outlasting the executioner as he stood atop a puddle of flaming oil, yawning. "Y'know, you probably shouldn't get this close. I'm not trying to add you guys to my kill-" "SHUT UP!" The local magistrate stamped out the burning flames near him, panicking over the otherwordly sight of Gabimaru the hollow’s apathy towards the hellish torture that was supposed to kill him. He glanced towards Sagiri, hoping she could finally kill him, his existence mocking all common sense. For a second, it almost looked like she was smiling with the nervous expectation of a virgin on her wedding night, but the look must have been a trick of the flame. Her stoic appearance returned as she finished scrawling notes in the tiny journal she kept hidden in the pocket of her robes. She quickly shut it and it vanished within her sleeves as she turned to the desperate magi

  Artwork -  Dudeunderscore Ellie adjusted her black, rectangular glasses as her amber eyes continued to be transfixed by a painting of a grand mage hung upon the wall of the large library within the Knights of Favonius headquarters. The small woman seemed lost in thought, her nerves written across her slim face. She couldn’t help but compare herself to the woman in the painting, Lisa, who seemed to tower over her as much as the tall, hard-wood bookshelves lining the walls. The morning sunlight shining through the tall, steel-framed windows accented the particles of dust floating about the library, many of the books ancient and extensive in their cataloging of history and fables of old. It all felt far bigger and more important than her, a task ill-fit for a nerdy, bookworm commoner. Clutching a few books close to her chest, Ellie continued to gaze into the eyes of the painting. Lisa’s image bore confidence within a calm, composed demeanor—something Ellie could only dream of having. A