Caelestis is a short fantasy story I originally wrote for a friend. The inspiration arrived serendipitously as I chatted with her online. My friend said, “I’m like a dragon with my art. I hoard it and unleash it slowly.”
Immediately, I could see the dragon sitting on her mound of treasures, crystallising her dreams and guarding them with her talons until she had polished them enough to share; Caelestis, soaring through the heavens, inspired by all she sees below. I asked my friend’s permission to write her as the dragon, and when she said she would love that, I did so. The rest—the main character Galant and her inability to dream, her addiction to Caelestis’ creations, and her quest to find Caelestis and plead for more—are all drawn purely from my imagination. If you’d like to read this and a bunch of other fun fantasy and science fiction from Aussie authors, you can buy the electronic Issue #81 of Andromeda Spaceways Magazine here.
Finley Harper 