Mistica Chronicles


Welcome to Issue 47

Red Winning Entry

The food fight came as somewhat of a shock to the denizens of Darkwood Hollow. None had expected, after the spirited events of the summer prior, to hear again of the factions. They had seen the rivalry burn, and flare, and smolder into ash; they had seen the catapults retracted, the captains returned to normal living; and they had, for the most part, assumed the matter settled, something to mark fondly in the annals and then forget.


But Aster, unlike her neighbors, was not one to so easily forget. If she knew anything about Mistica’s factions, it was that they were stubborn, ambitious, and hard to exhaust. There remained a score yet to settle, and though the last truce had been announced enthusiastically, it could be nothing more than a respite, a breath of peace between battles. And when it inevitably came to an end, Aster would be ready.


She was of course a proponent of the Swumpies. Not to say she approved of the Swamp itself -- she'd made an effort to settle as far from the place as she could -- but she could not deny a certain admiration for the Haruba Clayton. She had seen him but once, a year before, when he appeared in the Hollow to rally citizens to the cause of his faction. At the time she had not taken up arms; matters of business had prevented her from leaving home; but now her apothecary was up on two sturdy feet, with an able staff to keep it running should she leave for the battleground.


With this in mind, Aster waited for the announcement of war with bated breath. And when it came, she rushed to join the Swumpies. The war was indeed a surprise to most. But for Aster, it was an opportunity, an exhilaration, and she would do everything in her power to make the most of it.