Ignis Hirundus, more commonly known as the “Fire Swallower”, is a type of flower found on the island of Kebakaran. As its name suggests, this unique plant absorbs fire and lava to grow. First starting out as a large pod, it needs copious amounts of fire and lava to emerge from its shell. Once it does, it blooms into a flower with white petals that have red flame-like edgings. It is quite common for dwellers of Kebakaran to place these unique flora on the outside of their fields; protecting their crops and homes from a potential disaster. The long stigmas that stick out glow brightly in the night; giving the onlooker a sight to behold. This plant can grow as large as a house and has a unique defense mechanism. Merely touching this plant will burn the individual. Pursuing further will cause the flower to spit up fire or, in extreme cases, lava. If you see this flower out in the wild, it is best not to touch.
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A Closer Look: Mens Moderatoris Fungus
More commonly known as the Mind Controller mushroom, this bright blue glowing fungus grows naturally in the land of Floresta in the region known as Bosque. Creatures foolish enough to try and harm this fungus will find their minds going hazy. By approaching the mushroom with any kind of intent to harm it, the blue fungus will release a cloud of spores. When inhaled, it is able to control the minds of its victims. Usually, the attacker is ordered to march blindly in one direction until the effects wear off. On occasion, the mushroom will cause the subject to attack itself or even in extreme cases, kill itself. It is interesting to note that if given the right nutrients and environment, this unique fungus will form an attachment with another creature.
About the Author: Purpose
The other day I stopped for a moment and thought about why I am pursuing this path. Why go for a dream where the odds are against me? Shouldn’t I choose the safer and more assured course? The answer is… it has always been a part of me. For a while, I had pursued to become a teacher. As I went through this process, I ended up taking a course called something like Mythical Interpretation. At the time, I was taking six different classes and working. Some point among my busy schedule, I had forgotten to do an assignment. It was to make our own myths based off of classic fairy tales such as Sleeping Beauty. In a rush, a slung together a story and turned in the project. Two days later she kept me after class. Straight out, she said that this was not my best work and that I could do better. Giving me an extra week, I spent it in a creative fever; connecting to a part of me I thought I had thrown away. The time came as I presented my much better work to her. A smile fell on her face as she asked if she could keep it to show to her future classes and asked if I ever thought of becoming a writer. At the time, I kind of laughed it off; my anxiety over taking my desire. Years later I found myself back into creative fevers as I found myself again.
The main reason why I write is to feel like myself; every fiber of my being feels electrified as words form stories. This sentiment I have never quite felt before and it calls me to follow the path less taken. I want to hear people enjoy my stories and share with the friends in the adventure; to hear them say who their favorite character is or what kind of creature they would want to be in the world of Magitotum. Get stopped by someone who has read it and asked questions about how the story was formed and why I chose to write it in that way. Free up my schedule to write for the rest of my days while traveling on book tours to new place I though I would never see. That is the life for me. All the while sharing it with my beloved and my family. Have them enjoy being a part of that life with me. Honestly, part of what ever money I would happen to earn would be going towards my wedding, making me even more motivated to find that right agent and then publisher. So, my purpose? To be a great story teller, a fantastic husband, a dependable friend, a strong son, a bodacious brother, a helpful grandson, and to be the greatest version of myself for not only myself, but for those around me.
Hitting A Wall
Man does it hurt when one hits the wall. At first, confusion is what hits the brain. Slowly, it begins to realize that your path has been blocked. What do you do? Plan a whole new direction? A sensible choice by all means, but that would take longer and change the path you already carved. Turn around and give up? Never. It means one did not have any convictions to stand on in the first place. My answer will always be to break through it. Barriers are put in place to make us stronger; to really commit to our dreams.
Recently, I have had several family members be in and out of the hospital. My thoughts became absorbed on these factors; understandable on all accounts and is something all of you have faced in your own lives. However, I still apologize for neglecting to post the last couple of weeks. There is some good news from my absence. I have found an new drive to write queries letters like no tomorrow along with some ideas of increasing my chances. Hopefully this will yield the results I have been yearning for and an agent will come my way. I will be reporting in soon with another story or some news; which ever comes first.
An Unexpected NYC Journey
In truth, I was not expecting to be taking another trip to New York City so soon, but I was given tickets to see Lion King on Broadway by my father which I could not pass up. Along with some other expenses being paid for such as some spending money and gas; the latter which my brother paid for, the trip was relatively inexpensive. The first day heading down we survived the traffic and craziness of getting into New York City. This time around we stayed on the Upper West Side near Harlem. Different from Midtown in two very distinct ways. One, traffic was not bad in the least. Honestly, it was much like Manchester in New Hampshire; still city traffic but without the intensity of a river full of rushing salmon. Another difference was this time around I heard a lot of English instead of a mix of foreign languages. I must say it was very interesting to see that different parts of New York City have different traits and characteristics. Any who, back to the journey as we found ourselves at the hotel, the Marrakech. A nice and cozy hotel with interior inspired by North African designs, it offers a fair prices for a room to stay for the oncoming nights. We did not have much time to explore for we had an escape room to rush to. With minutes to spare, we arrived at Hoodwinked and found that we would be the only two doing the room. Perfect considering how well my fiancee and I work together. The name of the room was called the Spirit of Harlem where our late uncle had left us a fortune to find. So many puzzles of varying cleverness left us with laughs, face palms, and admiration while we cleared the room with ten minutes to spare. It wish not to reveal any of said clever puzzles, but I will say that I had seen some riddles there that I had not seen elsewhere. After our narrow escape, we headed to something I was looking forward to, a jazz club. Now you must understand that I do not know New York very well and at first I did not realize where this club was establish. It was not until we had gone inside of Minton’s Playhouse that it hit me that we were going to listen to jazz in Harlem. For those of you unfamiliar with the significance, jazz was born in this region. Mark that off my bucket list as we enjoyed the band playing and the fine food in front of us. I enjoyed a New York Steak with garlic mashed that was absolutely delicious. French fries were ordered to partake in as the band played and I spoiled myself by getting a brownie ala mode. At one point in the evening, I looked over to my fiancee who, like myself, was asked by the club to wear something nice for the evening. I do not think I could accurately describe how beautiful she looked to me that night with the candle light flickering next to us. After enjoying the creative, bouncy, and smooth sounds of the bands last set, we headed back to our hotel for a nice long rest.
A quick nights sleep led to the next day as our stomachs rumbled. Guess we knew what we were doing first that morning. The previous night, my fiancee had seen a bagel place called Broadway Bagel that she wanted to try. What a great choice. A little crunchy on the outside while fluffy on the inside, so divine. With our stomachs satisfied, we began our journey to the American Museum of Natural History. So many floors of knowledge that we barely were able to complete. I found it quite interesting to learn of other people’s cultures from around the world. Of course the dinosaurs on the top floor were really cool as well. Once we were done taking our mini trip around history, we decided to head to the highlight of our trip. But before getting to that, our stomachs once again needed our attention. We took a quick stop at a place called Angelo’s pizza, not really knowing what the place. Oh my were we surprised. It just so happened they did brick oven pizza that is so well done we mowed through a whole pizza in five minutes. It was absolutely delightful with a sweet marina made in house and stringy mozzarella cheese. The crust was perfectly crisped that complimented the rest of the ingredients. It was soon time for the show as we took our seats in the theater. Without spoiling anything I will simply say it was amazing. From blending classic African music styles to pop culture jokes and references, it was truly a most enjoyable show. My favorite part by far was when Rafiki sings “He Lives in You”. Such a mystical and touching moment as the theater is filled with lights, voices, and feeling as every word is song with such purpose. Truly, it was one of those moments I shall never forget. After the wonderful performance, we headed back to the hotel on the subway. I commend New York on having one of the smoothest subway systems I have ever traveled. It was easy to pay, hop on, hop off, and come out right next to our hotel.
Alas, the last day came and we had only time to grab food before leaving this land of NYC. Pretty good diner food at a place called Broadway Diner that was a pleasant start to our day. The ride home was smooth, until we hit Connecticut where two lanes tried to merge to one. Narrowly avoided a multi-car accident as two lanes turned to one. After that we arrived home just fine with our memories firmly set in our minds. Trips to see the Big Apple again are already in motion. We want to explore multiple parts of the city, but every time seeing a show on Broadway. For now, I hope you enjoyed my telling of my adventure and the rest of what you might find on my site.
KC J. Hutchins' Blog- A Journal of a Creative Creature 