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Elara and the Starlit Stag
by My Book Hub Team
An illustrated fantasy book for ages 9-12. Read the first pages free, then join to read it all.
Genre: fantasy
For ages 9-12
A peek inside
Elara sat on the smooth ledge outside her family’s stone cottage, sorting pale crystal chips into neat piles by color. Her silver-threaded braids swung as she leaned closer, and her star-flecked eyes brightened at every soft ping the stones made. She loved the quiet mornings in the upper valleys of Eldrath, when the air still held the cool breath of the caverns below. Birds hopped along the ridge, and her little brother called from the garden path. “Save the blue ones for me!” he shouted. Elara laughed and slipped two chips into her pocket for later. She hummed an old tune her grandmother had taught her, matching the faint echoes that drifted up from the deep tunnels. Today felt ordinary and bright. Yet the light on the distant peaks seemed a little thinner than usual, as if the sky itself had grown tired.
By afternoon the valley bells rang three hard notes. Elara hurried down the path with her brother and found the elders gathered near the well. Old Maren held up a darkened crystal that no longer glowed. “The world-tree sleeps deeper each night,” Maren said. “If it does not wake, the moon will fade and eternal night will settle over every cavern and hill.” Whispers rose among the listeners. Someone mentioned the forbidden craft called echo-weaving, a way to braid sound into living light. Most shook their heads. Elara felt her stomach tighten. She had only ever played with small echoes for fun. That evening she slipped away toward the cavern mouth, crystal chips still in her pocket. The air inside already felt cooler. She told herself she would only look, nothing more. A soft silver glow flickered farther down the tunnel.
More books for ages 9-12
- Lyra and the Starlight Garden
- The Mirror Oath
- Aetheria's Riddle Crossing
- Kofi's Shimmering Spinosaurus
- Shadows in Grandmother's Memory
- Oak Shadow Quest
