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Cassian-13: Prologue
Cassian-13: Chapter Links (Follow the story easily here) Prologue “Why do I sense your hesitation?” Dr. Phillip Tenzen dabbed the sweat off his brow with the back of his right hand as he held the clipboard in his left. “Well, it’s just that he, uh, doesn’t fit the psychological profile of, uh…”
By Jean-François Lamothe24 days ago in Chapters
Cassian-13: Chapter Links
Author's note: The world was built, but I wasn't exactly sure what story to tell. Then, I wrote Cassian-13: The Turn which opened up many questions. I thought it might be fun to write a longer story one segment at a time and post them in Chapters. And now that I have a vague outline, it's something that might be doable. As I've seen many other creators on here do to keep things organized, this will be where I keep the story together.
By Jean-François Lamothe24 days ago in Chapters
The Future of Work: How Gen Z is Rebuilding Career Culture from The Ground Up. AI-Generated.
She is twenty-four years old, running a client meeting from a sunlit flat in Lisbon while her colleague dials in from a co-working space in Seoul. The project is due by Thursday. Nobody is watching the clock. The work is getting done beautifully, and everyone involved chose to be here.
By CurlsAndCommas24 days ago in Futurism
True Love Guide
We've all been sold the same lie. You know the one. It's the montage in the romantic comedy where the music swells, the protagonist runs through the airport, and suddenly, everything is perfect forever. We are taught that true love is something that happens to us. Like lightning. Like a lottery win.
By Edward Smith24 days ago in Marriage
The Frozen Pass Mystery: The Night Nine Hikers Ran Into the Darkness. AI-Generated.
In the winter of 1959, a group of nine university students decided to attempt a difficult expedition through a remote mountain range deep in northern Russia. The leader of the group was Arman Karev, a calm and experienced hiker known among his friends for planning tough but exciting adventures. Joining him were his close friends: Leonid Petrov, Sasha Morov, Nikolai Varenko, Yuri Sokol, Viktor Belin, Irina Volkova, Tania Orlov, and Mira Petrenko. All of them were skilled hikers. Some had already completed several winter expeditions before. None of them were beginners, and they knew exactly how dangerous the mountains could be in February. Still, adventure called them. They began their journey at the end of January, carrying heavy backpacks, cameras, journals, and enough supplies to survive the brutal cold. Their goal was to cross the frozen mountain pass and return home with stories of challenge and victory. During the first days of the expedition, everything seemed normal. Photos later recovered from their cameras showed the group laughing, walking through deep snow, and setting up camp under the pale winter sky. They looked happy, confident, and completely unaware of the mystery their journey would become. But after they failed to return on the scheduled date, worry began to spread. Days turned into weeks. Finally, search teams were organized to look for the missing hikers. When rescuers reached the area where the group was believed to have camped, they quickly found something strange. The tent was still there. But something about it felt wrong. The fabric of the tent had been cut open from the inside. Experienced hikers would never destroy their own shelter in the middle of a snowstorm unless something forced them to escape immediately. Outside the tent, the snow told a silent story. Footprints led away from the campsite. But the rescuers noticed something terrifying. Some footprints appeared to belong to people who were barefoot or wearing only socks. In temperatures far below freezing, leaving shelter without boots or coats would be almost certain death. The tracks continued down the slope toward a dark forest about a kilometer away. When searchers followed the trail, they discovered the first two bodies beneath a tall cedar tree. It was Yuri Sokol and Leonid Petrov. Near them were the remains of a small fire, as if they had desperately tried to warm themselves before the cold became too much. Between the tree and the abandoned campsite, three more bodies were found: Arman Karev, Sasha Morov, and Nikolai Varenko. Their positions suggested something heartbreaking. It looked as if they had been trying to crawl back to the tent before collapsing in the snow. Weeks later, after heavy snow began to melt, the remaining four hikers were discovered inside a nearby ravine. What investigators saw next made the mystery even darker. Irina Volkova had a fractured skull. Viktor Belin had several broken ribs. Mira Petrenko was missing her tongue. And Tania Orlov had severe internal injuries that looked similar to those caused by a powerful collision. Yet strangely, there were almost no external wounds. Even more confusing, there were no signs that anyone else had been present. No other footprints. No evidence of an attack. Some of the hikers’ clothing was later reported to have unusual radiation traces, adding another layer of mystery to the case. Over time, theories began to appear everywhere. Some believed a sudden avalanche might have terrified the group. Others suggested secret military tests happening in the mountains that night. A few locals even claimed they had seen strange glowing lights in the sky during the same period. But none of the explanations fully answered the biggest question. Why would nine trained hikers suddenly panic so badly that they cut open their tent and run into the freezing darkness? Years later, the case file was quietly closed with a strange explanation. Officials simply stated that the hikers died due to “an unknown and overwhelming force.” The mountain pass where the tragedy happened was later renamed Frozen Pass in memory of the lost hikers. Even today, hikers who visit the area say the place feels unusually quiet. The wind moves slowly through the snow-covered slopes, and the forest stands dark and still beneath the mountains. Some visitors say that standing there at night feels unsettling—almost as if the mountain is hiding something. Something that happened long ago. Something no one has ever fully understood. And perhaps never will.
By Baseer Shaheen 24 days ago in Fiction
RenWeb Login – FACTS Family Portal Guide 2026
Parents, students, and teachers often struggle to access grades, attendance records, assignments, and school announcements in one centralized place. Forgotten passwords, confusion about the district code, and uncertainty about platform updates create frustration. The solution lies in understanding how RenWeb works—now integrated into the FACTS system—and learning the correct RenWeb login process through the FACTS Family Portal. This complete 2026 guide explains everything clearly, including RenWeb SIS access, district code usage, teacher and student login steps, and troubleshooting tips.
By Zain Prince24 days ago in Education
Sparrow on a Plank Chapter 19: Of Sparrows, Pirates, and...Vikings?
Back on Cyrill, Prince Ta was smiling to himself. He had long ago realized that Lord Ashigaru would be his opponent on this, and so had started a dossier on him. It was easy for him to keep a step ahead of the reptilian lord; Prince Ta didn't limit his thinking to what he thought his role was, and therefore was open to ideas that he would otherwise reject. He also treated his operatives with respect, and allowed that failure was an option. After all, if you send someone on a difficult assignment then it was likely that at sometime that someone would need to fail; it was just a matter of odds, and the odds didn't play favorites. He smiled, just a little thing on his lips, as he wondered how Lord Ashigaru would feel if Bubastos' high lord ever realized that his waffles were his weakness; without his daily waffles, his entire day was shot. They were part of his daily ritual, and something that needed to be changed.
By Jamais Jochim24 days ago in Chapters
The Last Lightkeeper of Lake Kivu. AI-Generated.
On the northern edge of , where the water turns molten gold at sunset and the fishing boats drift like shadows across the horizon, stands a lighthouse that most maps have forgotten. It is small, built of aging stone, and leans ever so slightly toward the wind. And inside it lives Emmanuel Nkuranga, the last lightkeeper.
By Nsengiyumva Benit Ricardo24 days ago in Fiction
The next generation of dairy-free cheese may be made from rice.
Cheese is often the final "hard thing" to give up. Both vegans and others who wish to stay away from dairy because it bothers them miss it. The issue of allergies comes next. A lot of non-dairy cheeses contain gluten-based ingredients, and many rely on nuts. The "safe" options might quickly disappear if you have a gluten, dairy, or nut allergy.
By Francis Dami24 days ago in The Swamp
