ORIEL MERCURY
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Written by Priscilla Wong
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The fire burned in Oriel's breath, raw and untamed as the land itself. Curio stood before her, gun steady in his calloused hands, a man hardened by the cruel whims of fate. They left the Boy Khan behind, like drifters abandoning a dust choked town, not knowing the reverence that would follow.
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They traveled fast as light itself, the heat of their journey scouring Oriel's hair to silver, Curio's to coal. The universe had marked them anew, as it often does to those who dare to flee.
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The Boy's army gave chase, a motley crew of the desperate and the damned. There was the Duchess Manatee, large and lumbering, the Toad Knights with their poisoned whispers, and the small folk, fierce in their loyalty. For six long years, Curio led them a weary dance across the Mercurial plains, keeping Oriel hidden like a precious seed in fallow ground.
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In the Gemini Mind Palace, Oriel waited, ugly as sin but with a beauty waiting to bloom. Curio battered by life's storms, found himself cast adrift on Mercury's unforgiving shores. He labored to rebuild, hope and fear warring in his chest like two hungry dogs.
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The Boy Khan's army fell easily enough, but the real battle lay with the Persian Beauty. She was everything that Curio was not - curves where he was angles, darkness where he was light. He knew he must face her, must overcome, if he was to return to Oriel's side.
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In the end, Curio planted destruction like a farmer sowing his last seeds. He watched the Boy's face melt, the army crumble, the Duchess dissipate like morning mist. Then, with cautious steps, he entered the Gemini Mind Palace, searching for Oriel, hoping against hope that she remained his in this land of decay and broken promises.
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The Mercurial sun beat down, indifferent to the struggles of these small, fierce creatures. In its harsh light, love and betrayal, hope and despair, all looked the same - just on the wind of a planet that cared for them none.
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