Maggie looked up and away so she could see me clearly in her peripheral vision. She tapped her lips with a short, thin finger. “When I grow up, I’m going to have 4 kids… ” She added decidedly “two girls and two boys”.Used to her level of planning, I inquired with raised brow “and their names?”

“Rosalina and Assabella… the boys Zach and Josh. “

“Assabella… hmm… those are good names.” Curving the corners of my mouth down as I slowly nodded my head, hiding my smile.

“And their friends will be the children of my friends.”

“And their cousins will be the children of your brothers and sister… ” I added.

“Oh, Thomas isn’t going to have children. He says he will never get married and I believe him.”

She’s so confident and I hope she’s wrong. I want all my children to grow up looking back fondly at their childhood, wanting to be parents…  making me a grandfather.

Kremhok Drel was born the only child of only children of only children dating back seven generations. His great, great, great, great grandfather was the seventh son of a seventh son and his great, great, great, great grandmother the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter. His parents, Rinbrahl Drel and Trinly Frinh, taught history and mathematics, respectively, at the Mrwist University. Mrwist was the capital seat of the Kingdom of Prilliad, made up of 14 island protectorates and crossing 8 continents.

1. Krem
2. father
3. grandfather
4. greatgrandfather
5. greatgreatgrandfather
6. greatgreatgreatgrandfather
7. greatgreatgreatgreatgrandfather

At the age of 5, Krem’s abilities manifested.
The last wizard to join the council of seven during the Glorious Age of Anarix.

In the beginning, it was the end of all we knew. The plague came out of the East spreading from rodent to rodent. Scientists spent two years finding a cure only to have the plague jump to another species. This cycle continued for

broken, bent, aged, worn… a wanderer hobbled into the village more dragging a heavy, gnarled walking staff than leaning on it. Gray streams of matted hair pressed his gnobby skull as dust rose from the unkempt robes with each wearied step.