The rider came swiftly towards Avenigar. Keeping his horse at a fast trot, he reached the cluster of buildings that stood beyond the town’s West gate. Those buildings stood mostly empty and boarded up now that winter had arrived. During the summer, though, they were home to hundreds when trade caravans passed through en route to the mountain passes. Dev Jackelbury, Warden of Avenigar, stood in the watchtower over the gate...

I saw the light born and reborn this morning. From dark sea and dim horizon came a holy glow,A signal that night's rule was ending;A first, tentative announcement that light and life would indeed return from the underworld. That first dim glow grew brighter, and my heart quickened,Delighting in the light, celebrating the warmth and brightness that soon would be. Then it happened.In an instant, the edge of the Sun,The tip...

The wind gave a piercing howl, rattling the windows of Professor Jack Lange’s apartment. Jack lowered his book at the sound and stared out at the blowing snow."Wow, what a storm!" announced the disc jockey on the radio as if he, too, had heard it, "If you don't gotta go out, don't go."Jack turned off the radio. The storm had given him a rare day to himself, so he wasn’t especially unhappy about the weather. The campus was...