Maidens of the Fall, Arc 5, Parasomnia, Chapter 1

Chapter glides from grey-green waves, to hop and slither along the rotten waterfront, wandering further from briny shores, lost among salt-streaked ruins.

https://hungryshedgerow.net/maidens-of-the-fall-parasomnia-5-1/

Password is: nemesis

Epub version of the chapter is also attached!

Arc 5, Arc 5! Here we are at last, dear readers, far past the wall of sleep, tossing and turning in the grip of a nightmare. Several candidates presented themselves as contenders for the title of this arc, and the competition was close, but I'm quite pleased with the result. Octavia may be markedly less pleased, but then again, this was never going to be a good time for her, was it? She enjoyed herself much more in the previous chapter; now it's time for ... well, something different.

As for length, as usual, this arc is already proving unruly. I have 6 chapters planned (and I'm already elbow-deep into the second), but we'll see if that holds. Things might get expansive. As dreams so often tend to do.

In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy the chapter, and the opening of arc 5! It feels great to be getting even deeper into the real meat of the story at last, though we've still barely scratched the surface. Without further ado, back to magical girls on the moon (and elsewhere)!