stories about magic
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Spooky Season Shenanigans (Ines’ Adventures in Paganism #2) by Francesca Astraea

You can find previous Ines’ Adventures instalments here. They can be read in any order, although might be most fun to read chronologically as I build the world. As autumn fell over the Ines’ town, so did an enchantment. Ines didn’t notice at first, because she was rather busy with magic of her own.… Continue reading
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A Measure of Time | A Bezzina’s Emporium of Magical Artefacts and Antiquities Short Story by Francesca Astraea

You absolutely do not need to have started reading or have read Rotting Trees to enjoy this. You don’t have to have read any Bezzina’s stories at all. It is quite short, because I wrote it for a zine submission but decided not to edit it after the zine said no. Enjoy! You can find… Continue reading
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‘Growing Pains,’ a Bezzina’s Emporium Short Story by Francesca Astraea

Ernest Bezzina really just wants a cup of tea. Other Bezzina’s Emporium stories can be found here. Two short stories in one quarter? It is indeed. There’s invented Latin. Well, the Latin is real, I just smushed two words together. That’s how language works, right. I’m not saying that if you enjoy this, you should… Continue reading
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‘A Devil of a Time’ by Francesca Astraea, Illustrated by Tatchiana Michaela

A new story? In this year of our lord 2023? Well, I actually wrote this last summer to pitch to magazines. BUT STILL. Here you go. No blurb because you have this wonderful illustration by my friend Tatchiana Michaela, a Bristol-based illustrator (who is open for commissions if you’re interested!). As per, it was available… Continue reading
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Quiet Night Out, a Bezzina’s Story by Francesca Astraea

Welcome to the latest Bezzina’s story! It is a standalone; you don’t have to read them in order of publication, but you can find them all here. Sophey and Ariel have an idea to boost the fortunes of Bezzina’s Emporium of Magical Artefacts and Antiquities, but they’re going to have their work cut out… Ernest… Continue reading
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Connection Error by Francesca Astraea (Ines’ Adventures in Paganism #1)
Ines’ magic specialises in helping people communicate. Getting them to listen, on the other hand… A few of weeks ago you guys voted for ‘poison’ to be my next topic, so here it is! (An aside which none of you give a shit about: I nicked [character spoiler] from the Philosophy Tube YouTube channel, and… Continue reading
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Life is But a Dream for the Dead (The Lovers, the Major Arcana Series) by Francesca Astraea
Once upon a time there was a girl who haunted dreams. Well. They were usually nightmares by the time she was done with them. She was dead, but when you’re dealing with the subconscious that is neither here nor there. Around the same time, there was a boy who haunted daydreams. Unlike the… Continue reading
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Healing Tea (The Tower, Major Arcana Series) by Francesca Astraea
‘You want… What?’ Rilla hadn’t expected to need to repeat herself. ‘A voodoo doll, several pins, something to stop nightmares in children, something to get rid of insomnia in adults and something that allows you to put curses on other people. Oh, and maybe some sort of spell to cause someone to come… Continue reading
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Dredged (The Fool, Major Arcana Series) by Francesca Astraea
Please note this story contains themes of depression and suicide; please consume responsibly. Peridot was not expecting to pull a mermaid from the water. For starters, the water itself was a muddy estuary, a busy shipping lane filled with cargo boats and windsurfers and unexploded World War II detritus. Although there was plenty of… Continue reading
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Decisions, Decisions (The Chariot, Major Arcana Series) by Francesca Astraea
In January, Marnie Doyle emerged from New Year celebrations with a headache and a bad mood. Her girlfriend had gone off with a past boyfriend, at Marnie’s New Year party. You still have a key to her flat, a voice whispered in Marnie’s head. Throw out all her stuff. Nick the change she keeps… Continue reading
