He’d fallen from a magical flying city as a child. But he never truly belonged there. Only his sister had loved him, and she was lost in the same accident.
He lived a hard life in the wilderness. His talents were exploited by ‘his rescuers’ who used him for power. But he learned to manipulate them in turn, and was eventually he returned home.
He’d hoped for a grand homecoming. But when he saw the vapid pursuits of the people, the way they gorged themselves on magic with no thought for the consequences, he knew the kingdom had to fall.

“Basilica Saint-Sernin – Simon Magus (cropped)” by PierreSelim is marked with CC0 1.0.

My very short story collection, The Mountain’s Shadow is available now from Amazon and Smashwords!

Everyday Drabbles © 2025 by Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0