Viridescent Crown Novels & Stories

"Yeah yeah. Give me the flowers now, I have a plate of food waiting for me." Cornelius arranged five bouquets of various flowers in the flower basket. Anna bid him farewell and entered the castle halls. Cleaning the floors, she met other maids. She found her bucket and mop, as she had expected, waiting for her. She let out a sigh and began replacing the flowers. She emptied the vases and replaced the old flowers with new ones. She returned the basket and returned to the hall to clean the floors with the other maids. The hall is a massive structure. Cleaning it takes such a long time.

The guard bowed their heads in his direction. “Welcome to the Varmore Empire, Prince Helios!” He simply acknowledged them with a simple nod before hitting his horse to enter the palace gates. Lila, who had been taking care of him, followed him from behind alongside the assassins assigned to assure the safety and security of their prince. As they made their way to the Euthoria Mansion, the first thing that Helios noticed were the blooming blue gentians littering the sides of the pavement. As far as he remembered, these were the flowers that used to trigger the emperor’s so-called dark side, but seeing that the flowers were not being taken out meant that it no longer had that kind of effect.

LUCIEN'S POV One of the ancient ones approached the altar and knelt before Daisy. In its hands was a crown made of black metal and red jewels. The Crown of Dominion. But like the staff, it had been transformed by dark magic. Instead of silver light, it radiated shadows. "Your crown, my lady," the ancient one said. Daisy took the crown and placed it on her head. The moment it touched her skin, the entire world seemed to shift. The air became thick and hard to breathe. The temperature dropped so fast that frost began forming on the castle windows.

That is why Seraphine’s smile works and why I now judge my life in barrels and bandanas. Rye. That’s what I told myself to answer to. Rye, as in bread, as in whiskey, as in the colour of the fields that hold the wind. Rye, as in something simple and hearty and not worth noticing twice. There is a ship sailors spit before they name. They call her the Gilded Wraith, though her hull is the colour of stormwood, and her figurehead is carved into a woman who does not have a face so much as a suggestion of one. Rumour says she is captained by Kade Thorne, the Wolf of the Azure, whose bounty posters Fletchers’ Square displays more lovingly than saints. Rumour also says he is a gentleman to his crew

he whispered. Azriel nodded. “I didn’t just live it,” he said, voice soft. “I listened. And I chose.” Velan didn’t smile. Not fully. But he breathed easier. Like something that had been tight in his chest had finally let go. “Then the crown is yours.” Azriel blinked. “A… crown?” Velan turned toward the northeast—beyond the Archive’s ruins, past the edges of Fold-scarred land. “Not of gold. Not of metal. Not something worn,” he said. “The Echo Crown isn’t made. It’s heard.”

This was a new feeling and she wasn't ready for this right now. Mira saw the crowns coming her way. She had never seen anything like this before, but this crown was so grand, a large black diamond crown it was, and right in the middle was an emerald, some even in each corner. Only one very large emerald stone in the middle. It was the most beautiful things she had set eyes on. Sirie walked up to Mira, the crown in her hand. Mira immediately bent down. This time her hand fisted into a ball. This was it, Mira thought to herself, as she stared at the ground. Mira’s breath heavy on her chest.

I’m about to stand up and protest when Eisa walks over carrying a purple velvet pillow with a crown resting on top that I’ve never seen before. Eisa steps up to my mother and slowly kneels down, raising the pillow to my mother. The crown she’s presenting is stunning, but definitely not one that’s been sitting in the family undersea vault. Large seashells point to the sky surrounded by smaller shells, all with a duo chrome shift that makes them shift from blue to purple to green in the light. The crown is decorated with blue, pink and purple sapphires, diamonds and opals creating a gorgeous prism effect when it catches the light.

Unlike Chaos, he wasted no motion. He stood before Sol and placed the crown upon his head. The reaction was immediate. Golden light erupted from the crown in branching streams that twisted through the air before coiling back over the metal. They did not remain light for long. They thickened, shaped themselves, and became living vines woven from gold. The room erupted in astonishment. The vines wrapped around the crown in elegant spirals, anchoring themselves along its edges. Tiny gemstones bloomed from them like leaves made of crystal—emerald, amber, sapphire, ruby, diamond-bright fragments catching every light in the chamber.

The man scrambled to open the box, placing it on the table. In it was a crown. The crown was made entirely of gold and encrusted with various gems. One of the gems was a fiery red color, emitting an exquisite scarlet glow. Wilbur scanned the crown with his spirit energy, and it lit up at once. He picked the crown up, taking a closer look at it. The man blinked nervously, clearly caught off guard by how carelessly Wilbur was handling the crown. A while later, Wilbur looked up. "I'll take it. I'll help you with whatever you want after I'm done."

Wouldn’t we have figured that out sooner if it were true? Gently, the drakaina places her tapered fingertips at very precise points on her crown, each one glowing to life as her flesh connects with the smooth, iridescent markings. As she does, her humming increases in frequency and volume, the tone turning lavender, the crown responding along with the markings on her arms, until both are glowing a faint purple in response. Her tongue moves, her mouth shape changes, and the note glows indigo, then violet, and red. One by one, she shifts her voice through the tones of the rainbow, right before all the colors coalesce, becoming all of them combined, a bright white so blinding that all I can see