Silver Key in the 2023 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
Sample (Full Piece Upon Request):
The fire went up with a crackle and the cheering began. The elf-swain tied to the pyre writhed as orange fingers crept towards its legs. Sreyan watched intently, feeling the pleasant warmth against her face. But as flames met flesh, the figure let out a gut-wrenching scream causing a wave of nausea to wash over her. Looking around at the engrossed crowd, she veiled sudden disgust behind a stern expression.
Sreyan had waited her whole life to be old enough to watch a sacrifice and what better one to attend than this; nigh the whole town had shown this eve, for these days it was rare to sacrifice a true elven supporter. More oft than not, a prisoner of the town’s jail wearing pointy ears fashioned of lambskin would be offered. Yet the sharp, wax ears of this elf-loving human were more realistic than anything one of the hunters could have fashioned. They were the craftsmanship of a true heretic.
[…]
As the last embers on the carcass lost their glow, Chief Hunter Leof stood atop the platform before the crowd. “As you all know, the Midsummer Festival is tomorrow night. We shall celebrate the end of the immortals by keeping this world clean of such a plague. I call to every child of fourteen years to step forward and take their place in the Grand Hunt. You shall prove your station in our town and perchance catch a true elf.” He stepped down, murmurs rippling through the crowd.
Thirteen years Sreyan had trained for this moment. To catch a true elf was a life sentence to glory and reverence. If she caught one, her mother wouldn’t work another day in her life and would move with Sreyan to Edenrow, the westernmost portion of town where the nobles and their families lived.
[…]
