The first crackling was heard eight hours ago, faint like wood splitting in a fire. Hunters had reported it to the arrival halls, so the three men were sent to the slopes of Grey Peak. Now, in the crisp morning air, the sound sharpened with each step they took through the sparse, tall trees. 

Another hundred meters and they saw the faint glow of a new arrival, forming layer by layer in the knee-high pink grass. It was a girl. Lines of white light traced across her body, flared into muscle then vanished just as new lines appeared elsewhere. She would be clothed by the time creation stopped, dressed in her Earthly garb, but that was still hours away. This was good. It was always easier when they woke up in the arrival halls.

One of the men draped a sheet over her; the other two pulled water flasks from their robes and sat down. He alone could’ve carried her—she was only five and a half feet with creation still half-way—but there was no way of knowing it beforehand. He knotted the sheet and paused. The wind off the cliffs made it hard to tell where the sound carried from—they’d argued over it for most of the way. He tilted his head and traced a glow in the girl’s empty eye socket, a muscle replaced it with a loud crack, and then—snap! His head shot to his left. 

She’s not alone. 

He ran toward the sound. The girl’s crackling softened, and another grew louder until blue light filtered through the trees, tinting the grass violet. His steps slowed as he approached the unfinished figure of a man, over six feet tall, the empty frames of four large dragonfly wings stretched behind him. The two other men reached moments later, eyes wide with disbelief. 

“It’s a joint arrival,” one murmured.  

© 2021–2026 Sabri Jadugar. All Rights Reserved.

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Message from the Author

Hope you enjoy reading it half as much as I enjoyed writing it. Scroll to the end and subscribe if you’d like to receive new chapter alerts straight to your inbox.

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