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Semblance

Creature creation from the blood up

Eleanor Konik
Mar 23, 2022
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Photo by Magda Ehlers from Pexels

📗 The following story stands alone and can be read without any knowledge of my prior works, but does take place after the events of Egg. It also involves themes similar to Wither. 

The priestess flared her wings in a shaky semblance of a threat display. “My body is not for sale.”

Her father's copper-bladed knife sliced her skin as easily as the thin mountain air.  “That isn’t your decision to make.”

Blue blood welled and dripped into the cauldron. It burbled — & soon, he was rich.


AFTERWORD

There's an old saying — truth is stranger than fiction. I like to think that when I take inspiration from the world around us, I add creative depth to the fantasy universes I create, because reality lets me be braver and gives me a place to start.

For this edition of the newsletter, I wanted to take a look at how I do creature creation for my stories. It's important to me to riff off little-known and unique animals, because it's a great way to help people learn more about the remarkable world we live in.

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© 2025 Eleanor Konik
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