Katherine Traverse<p>The sage dreamed of disaster, and prayed for a solution. The gods sent a qilin, pronking along, most undignified. It led the sage to a child, abandoned but amused by the sacred beast’s antics.<br>"So you are our hero," the sage said, holding his hand out to their only hope.<br>The child laughed, and the winter-barren clearing around them bloomed.</p><p><a href="https://mas.to/tags/vss365" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>vss365</span></a> <a href="https://mas.to/tags/qilin" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>qilin</span></a> <a href="https://mas.to/tags/pronking" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>pronking</span></a> <a href="https://mas.to/tags/vss" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>vss</span></a> <a href="https://mas.to/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writing</span></a> <a href="https://mas.to/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MicroFiction</span></a></p>