Nova Smith

“Ouroboros Part Four - The Escalation” by Nova Smith

Submitted to Contest #167

Ophi felt a root-like thing shove at his side. “Wakey, wakey, Ophi. I got another place to show you.” Ophi’s eyes cracked open. “Uh?” Semar beamed the biggest smile Ophi had seen on his face… which wasn’t very big. “Yeah, we’ve been in this creepy scrubland long enough to know the ins and outs.” “Oh,” Ophi pulled his mucus-glued lips apart just to say one word. Semar stretched toward Ophi’s face. “Yeah! Come on! Aquila’s waiting outside.” The moment Semar said that, a quiet wave of cold washed over Ophi. That prompted Ophi to lift his h...

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“Ouroboros Part Five - The Dragon” by Nova Smith

Submitted to Contest #140

The blog woods had never looked so beautiful. With the dove gray sand cushioning Ophi’s feet and the dark connectrees shielding the clearing from the sky, Ophi stood in awe as though he had never been there before. Could it be? The Internet user cocked his head to whistling coming from a gray bush, and saw a bright pink ad-bird wading out of the bush. Ophi recognized the bird and something lit up inside him. He turned back and saw a clear path leading to a leafier area. Thick, dark green wood greeted Ophi with a list of the users that lived...

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“A Little Blog In The Middle of Nowhere” by Nova Smith

Content warnings: Break in, assault, gruesome murder. The artist stepped outside into his garden. Well, more like his plot of the connectree woods, but to him, it was a garden. The radio sitting on the rail of his wooden porch crackled away with the usual warnings about perverted netizens, shouting the rumors like this was the first time any of these stories were heard of. The artist wasn’t fazed by these reports, but he still fumbled with the leather handle of his mace. That only lasted for a split second, as the sweet happiness upon see...

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“Ouroboros Part Three - The Kindling” by Nova Smith

Submitted to Contest #126

Author's Note: There's more certainty with this one, but I still have some pretty big doubts here, like whether or not should I now provide a better description of our main character. Advice or criticism or the like will very much be appreciated. In the numbness of sleep, Ophi could see a blur of a familiar red standing before him. It was a callback, an icon for the much more innocent past, something sturdy that perhaps bulky Ophi could still hold onto. He turned to the thing and tried to get closer. Branches tugged at Ophi’s mane. That ...

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“OuroBoros Part Two - The Initiation” by Nova Smith

Author's Note: The creative process for this one was very messy. First, I came up with the idea for a later segment, but then had to think of something to link the first story and that one together, but then that bridge got split in two. I didn't think it was going to take such a long time to conceive and then write out. The rain left Ophi feeling sopping wet. With the constant fire crackling inside Ophi’s bulk, he felt like a lava cake covered in ice cream, but much less sweet. It didn’t help that Ophi’s energy had started to drop. He w...

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“Ouroboros Part One - The Molting” by Nova Smith

Submitted to Contest #112

Ophi wasn’t sure what to do with this new information. It had certainly changed his view on things. Some of the things. It gnawed on the back of Ophi’s head just enough to irritate him. Once again, he felt the pressure to warn everyone. Ophi limped out of his den. The spines sheathed under his skin still felt awkward. Ophi scanned the bushes. As much as the bushes made a tight circle around his den, their branches did a poor job filling themselves in, and the gray sand so visible beyond them made everything look ghostly, and to top it all of...

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“The Messengers' Rags” by Nova Smith

Submitted to Contest #93

Author's note: This story is inspired by the fascinating folklore from the more obscure parts of South America, with the "llamas" being jarjachas from Peru, the very obscure "Ajchum" being from the Southern Cone and the messengers being from Tierra del Fuego. It felt so odd to see the North Queen’s moat frozen solid. The envoys’ heavy coats hardly moved because of the icicles. The leader, Tanu, tensed at the thought they were frozen to the backs of their steeds. The drawbridge was already down, complete with bull-horned guards.  Both ...

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