Tag Archives: flash fiction

Third Entry: The Yuki-onna

 

the yuki onna, bestiary 3

We came upon her in the snow, crouched in a field empty of all things but the white glare of the moon on the ice. Her hair was darkness cut out of the night, darkness out of the heart of a cave, and her skin and her robe were as white as the reflected night.

She called to us, but we did not dare go closer. In the frigid air her words showed no breath, and her red lips were the color of spilled blood, not paint. When the sun came up, she became like icy mist, turned to smoke and faded from our sight.

We left her behind, and turned our faces to the southern wind.

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Yuki Onna References

Yuki Onna Wiki
A Story of Yuki Onna from Musashi Province
General Information

Image Credit: rennerei

Have a suggestion for a creature that belongs in the Bestiary? Leave it in the comments!

Second Entry: The Fenghuang

 

fenghuang, bestiary 2

The Fenghuang flies the night like a falling star. Her cry is not more than the wind, but it is not less. It sings to those who hear it, those who are awake, those who are waiting for anything. It is the cry of the firefly, the cry of all bliss, the melody of the Queen of Birds. 

What sight is more beautiful than she? Knowing this, the eyes sting with tears. We see her once but not again – perhaps some other sky a hundred years from now will know her. When the omens are ripe. When the future gleams afresh with golden promise.

All grace, all fire, the breath of life in its most primal shape, she is still singing as she crosses the horizon, seeking the sun. 

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Fenghuang References

Fenghuang Wiki
Fenghuang at the Encyclopedia Britannica

Image Credit: suwoh5

Have a suggestion for a creature that belongs in the Bestiary? Leave it in the comments!

First Entry: The Unicorn

the unicorn, bestiary 1

 

The unicorn is the stallion, the glade dark with greens, the glowing velvet of lush growth at its peak. The unicorn is fruit ripening on the bough and the scent of the wood, the musk of power.

He is alone, diamond chips his glinting eyes and his horn polished bone, the first spiral – nothing like any mortal material, nothing like the bone of any other life. Magic and dust, ash and fire twisted into breathing shape, he is the powers of the world given form

Then, a  stamping hoof. A flash of gold and the spark among the green, beautiful and deadly as the wildfire. He vanishes.

We’ll not see him again.

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Unicorn References
Unicorn Wiki
General Information

Image Credit: Rubis Firenos

Have a suggestion for a creature that belongs in the Bestiary? Leave it in the comments!