THE MERIDIAN SHIFT

Adventurous Story

PROLOGUE: THE GRINDING OF THE WORLD The sky did not fall when the world broke; it shattered like stained glass. High above the jagged peaks of the Spine Mountains, the auroras bled from emerald green to a violent, bruised purple. The air tasted of ozone and crushed limestone. It was the eve of the Solstice Tide. Down in the valley, the villagers of Oakhaven didn't run. There was nowhere to run. They simply tied themselves to the heavy iron roots of the ancient ironwood trees and prayed. Then, the earth groaned. It was a sound felt in the marrow of the bone, a deep, tectonic bass that vibrated through the soles of their boots. The horizon literally tilted. To the east, a massive glacier slid sideways with the screech of a million grinding teeth, carving a new valley in seconds. To the west, the ocean bulged upward, defying gravity for one breathless moment before crashing down to fill a newly opened abyss. When the dust settled and the purple faded from the sky, Oakhaven was gone. In its place was a sprawling desert of white sand, and the ironwood trees were now growing upside down, their roots clutching at the sky. The map had changed. Again.