(((I'm doing a small break in the book to write in Shev's backstory. This is something I've been planning for a while, and have wanted to show you all. Hope you enjoy!)))

Flourlake city sat cozily between the three Sugar Lakes, which were fed by Neif river. The city was particularly famous for producing food, the most popular being wheat-based products. Fields of the tall yellow grain flanked the Sugar Lakes for miles on end, mixing with the bright blues of the sky and water to create a stunning scene. Often, one could see dots of orange here and there, which were the citizens of Flourlake dutifully harvesting and planting their precious crop. It was their city, after all, that provided various breads, cakes, and other baked goods to the rest of Eveanor, and, more importantly, the Capital.

Rural farming towns normally didn't have a presiding Great Witch. However, Flourlake was so important to the well-being of Eveanor's people that Queen Liriel sent one there. Her name was Great Witch Neravi. She was originally from across the Mesos channel, her hometown being in the continent just south of Eveanor, Quenazes.

When she first arrived to Flourlake she was treated with utmost respect. She was provided with a guest house next to the mayor's mansion (which she promptly had upgraded to be just as fancy as the mayor's residence), and given several of the most notorious criminals from Flourlake prisons (most of which has simply stolen wheat, which was considered an unspeakable crime in Flourlake) to use as her werewolves.

The Minor Witches of the town were flabbergasted at such news. Perhaps, they wondered, they could finally have a proper, incredibly experienced instructor in the ways of magic. They clamoured at the Great Witch's doorstep, begging to be her apprentice in the ways of witchcraft. Then they could finally rise in the ranks of wizardry and become Great Witches themselves.

But Great Witch Neravi simply lifted her nose in disdain at these pitiful lower witches. Twirling her parasol over her head, she waved them all away.

"I've already picked an appropriate apprentice," she said with a haughty sniff. "Now begone!"

"But who? Who could be a greater student than any of us?" the witches cried.

Neravi looked down at the groveling simpletons. "Evaira Moreno, sister of Shev Moreno."

....

Shev sat tiredly at the table, slumping over as he folded lumps of batter into their properly pretzel-looking shapes. His fingers were wet and clammy from the work, his joints sore and overworked. He wiped his flour-covered face on a sleeve, coughing out even more of the white powder.

The sun dipped low outside of the Moreno Family Bakery. The deep yellows and oranges of sunset matching the colors of the city and its crop.

Shev blinked at the street beyond the window, wishing on the Golden Stars that the people outside would come into his shop and at least look around. Business had been awful for months. Shev feared he and his sister would go under, and have to live on the streets.

A familiar figure caught his eye. Evaira was running as best as she could towards the shop, her face beaming like the sunset light framing her body. She carried a walking cane in one hand and a stack of papers in the other. The limping gait she bore was the direct result of the Grain-Snatcher attack that had taken the lives of their parents only less than two years prior. It was the main reason she could no longer work in the fields, that, and she simply could not mentally handle being among the long grains again, as it brought back the helplessness she had felt when the Grain-Snatchers prowled through the tall stalks.

With a creak and a slam of the door, she entered the bakery. "Shev!" she cried, out of breath. "You won't believe this!" She waved the stack of papers in front of her as if it were a flirtatious ball-attendee's fan.

"I can't start doing any believing until I know what it is I need to believe." Shev donned a small, tired smile.

Evaira brushed away some flour off of the table before setting the papers on it. "Take a look, I submitted a request to become the apprentice of our new Great Witch a few days ago, right?"

Shev nodded. "Yes?"

"... and I was accepted! A Great Witch is going to be teaching me magic! I'm not even a Trainee Witch let alone a Minor Witch. Yet, she chose me!"

Shev's brows rose. "Evaira, that's incredible! She must have used her crystals to see the potential in you!" He joyfully hugged his sister close. "I'm just-- this is perfect for you! I'm sure you're going to love it."

"Oh, and I'll be able to live with her in that nice house! You won't even have to worry about taking care of me anymore-- I'm my own woman now. I have my whole career in front of me!" Evaira shuffled a few papers until she came to one marked with several numbers. "Plus, I get an allowance every week. It's supposed to be for, you know, magical supplies and things, but the thing is, it's such a big sum! If you need me to, I could help you out! We won't have to sell the shop or--"

Shev set a hand on the paper, his fingers curling into a fist. "No. It's fine. I can make it on my own." He put the papers back into her hand, gazing into her eyes. "Listen. I want you to go live your life. Don't worry about me. I want you to succeed. Put everything you've got into this, alright?"

Evaira frowned. "Shev... are you sure? I don't want to just leave you all alone here. I want to help, it's the least I can do."

Her brother shook his head. "Then visit me often. Seeing you always cheers me up, but seeing you make a life for yourself makes me even more happy."

Evaira nodded. "Alright. I will. But hey, this isn't just your shop. It was mom's and dad's. It's mine too. If you're ever in serious need I'm helping whether you like it or not."

Shev chuckled. "I'm not going to let it get that bad. We may have a lot of competition, but Moreno baked goods have the most top notch taste in town. I'll make sure everyone knows that."

Evaira gave her brother a last pat on the back before heading upstairs to her room and packing her bags. As soon as she was out of sight, Shev slumped down even more into his seat. His fingers nervously fidgeted with one another, sweat beading his brow.

He suddenly got up, his chair tipping over and hitting the ground behind him. His heart pounded within his chest. The sounds from outside the room dimmed, the light outside fading as the sun was replaced with the eerie darkness of twilight.

Shev hesitantly glanced behind him. He thought he could hear Her. The Woman. She called to him from the loose tile in the kitchen floor. Her voice was sensual. Desireable.

"You are feeling lonely again, Shev? Is yet another one leaving this house?" She asked. "Let me out, my dear." Her voice was naught but a whisper. She was weak. It had been a long time since he'd seen Her last.

Sweat slickened Shev's face. His fingers dug into the table's soft wood. "N-no," he said. "Not now. I told you I didn't want to see you again."

"She's leaving. She's leaving. She's leaving. You'll only have me, my dear. You need me." Her words cut deep, their claws digging into Shev's ankles and beckoning him to walk to the loose tile.

"I s-said, not now!" Shev turned, stomping his foot against the tile and baring his teeth. He stood like that for a minute before lowering his head, a part of him breaking and his anger subsiding. "J-just a bit. Wait a bit. Wait till' she leaves. Then I'll see you." The last words broke in his throat. "I-I mean, it has been a while, hasn't it? I told myself I would take a break, and I did. There isn't any harm in one more, is there?" He wiped his sweat and flour covered face on his apron. "No harm..."

....

As soon as Evaira gave her cheerful goodbyes and went out the door, Shev rushed to the kitchen and ripped the tile from the floor. Underneath lay several long, rippled red leaves, each with several pods hanging off of them. The pods contained a semi-transparent red-brown liquid. Flecks of gold dust floated within it.

Hands shaking, Shev plucked a pod from one of the leaves. He unceremoniously put it to his nose before squeezing tightly and popping the pod. As soon as the liquid touched the air it turned gaseous. Shev hungrily breathed in the reddish-brown mist flaked with gold, his eyes rolling into the back of his head before reappearing glowing red.

A sense of stillness blanketed Shev. His body no longer shook. Sweat no longer spilled from his pores. A uneven, drunken smile appeared on his lips. There She was. The Woman.

She floated before him, Her brown eyes gleaming with love and kindness. Her long red locks spilled like waterfalls of blood to Her feet, Her angular face the most beautiful thing Shev had ever laid eyes upon. He got to his feet and pressed his lips against Her soft, bright red ones. She stroked his hair before Her hand came to a rest on his jaw. She pulled herself away from him, looking deep into his eyes.

"I've missed you," She said sadly, "My dear, I missed you so much! You are so lonely, and yet you do not call for me? You need me, dear one."

Shev didn't want to tell her she wasn't real. He knew She was only a hallucination. Yet, he could never verbally say so. Somewhere in his heart he thought that if he ever did, She would be gone forever-- that She'd never be real.

They embraced once again. She certainly felt real. The perfect Woman. His one true dream.

They talked for a while under the light of the moon. He tried to make Her laugh as much as possible. Her laughter was so beautiful, like the sound of a phoenix's song. He wanted to hear it all the time. He held her hand and told her of his day, of his sister's new job and of the lack of business at the bakery. She nodded and listened intently, always knowing the right thing to say to sooth him or make him smile.

Eventually, she faded away into mist, the magic wearing off. Shev stifled a sigh as the encroaching threat of loneliness overcame him. He once again rushed to the loose tile, lifted it up, plucked off a pod, and breathed in the mist.

He caught his breath when he saw Her there again. Just as beautiful, perhaps even more beautiful than before.

If magical plants that showed him his truest desire were the only things that could give him fleeting happiness in such hard times, then he would damn well use them.