​Wyvern
1:  a winged two-legged dragon with a barbed tail
 
The sun was rising as I trudged outside to the chicken coop. I isolated the rooster so he wouldn’t chase me. The hens never gave me an issue.
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I plucked eggs from the nests, putting them in my basket. In the far corner, I froze. Nestled among the hay was an egg. It was the size of my head, warm and heavy when I picked it up. A crack appeared and I almost dropped it. I watched in awe as a wyvern hatched. It flapped its wings and yawned, curling up on my palm as if it belonged to me.

​Vatic
1:  predicting what will happen in the future
 
The walls were covered in crystal balls, shelf upon shelf of them that reached to the ceiling. More were piled in baskets around the room. When the curtains were pulled, they created dancing prisms. The rainbow of color was beautiful.
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But useless.

Claire grunted with disgust at the one she held. She had been certain it would work and unlock her vatic skills. Alas, another dud. She tossed it with the others. It cracked loudly. Sparks flew into the air and an image appeared on the ceiling. But Claire was looking at her phone, ordering another from Amazon.

​Ustad
1:  an expert or highly skilled person, especially a musician
 
The alarm blared and jolted Katya awake. She groaned, wanting to burrow under the blankets and sleep more. But she turned the alarm off, got out of bed, and brewed coffee and made waffles.
 
Booting up her computer, Katya opened her email. Dozens of new messages clamoring to hire her filled her inbox. She sorted through them, deleting the low paying offers. A few people only offered exposure. She snorted. It had taken her years to hone her skills and was considered an ustad in computer software designing by her peers. She didn’t need exposure. If anything, they needed hers.

​Tenebrous
1:  dark, murky, or obscure
 
It scared me how my mind was a tenebrous place. My thoughts were of murder and destruction. I didn’t know why I felt this way. Only that I did.
 
For a while, it was enough, but slowly an urge rose. I didn’t want to just think. I wanted to do. It terrified me and I tried to ignore it. But it grew from a whisper to a shout that drove me out into the world. When the moment came, my pulse rushing as fast of the blood pouring from the wound, I finally understood what it meant to be alive.