Stone and String: Volume 1

In the world of "The Wishing Blade," everyone is born with two strings of magic. One strand is life, and the other is death. Very few can manipulate them.

Among the Cantingen Islanders, children are tested for this ability during their first rites of magic, a ceremony which determines what magic they have and their future as a mage. But when Edyli's little sister, Akymi, dies in an accident before those rites can occur, Edyli does the unthinkable. She uses magic to return Akymi to the living. As a result, she finds herself in a land of weblike strings… the afterlife.

Edyli refuses to give up seeing her sister's first rites. With the help of a mysterious immortal and sheer determination, she has every intention of seeing her sister once more, even if it means incurring the wrath of Madia, the goddess of the dead.

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Author's Note: This is an 8,000-word short story based in the universe of "The Wishing Blade" series. Though the stories are related ("Stone and String" takes place at the same time as the events of "Magic's Stealing"), "Stone and String" stands alone.

KEYWORDS: fantasy quest, strong female protagonist, magic, sorcery, word magic, spells, mage born, mage, adventure, dark magic, girl sorcerer, sister, sisterhood, friendship, young adult fantasy, fantasy, epic fantasy, secondary world fantasy, YA fantasy, gods and goddesses, goddess, immortal magic, stolen magic, afterlife, magical realm, mystical realm, quick read, fantasy short story,