Somerhill Review 2023/24

THE SOMERHILL REVIEW 2023/24

Year 6

An extract from The Hippocamp

by Alannah de Silva Wijeyeratne I rarely tell people my story. I shall tell you, but you should not spread my story to anyone else. It is an unbelievable story, not many people would be able to bear it. Far to the east of the country, beyond the chaotic roads, there is a beach. It is as quiet as memories, as remote as time and as peaceful as the morning breeze, but no one dares go there. A beach overflowed with secrets as dusk falls. Every morning, the scuba divers drag the equipment to the far coves, travelling miles more than needed, occasionally glancing at the beach. No- one even looked at the beach for too long until the teenage boy. “Is the water too dangerous to scuba dive in?” questioned the teenage boy. “No, it’s as calm as ever, perfect, in fact, to scuba dive,” answered the local scuba diver expert. “Then why travel to the far coves when there is a perfectly good scuba diving area so close.” Nobody could drag their eyes away from the teenage boy. Awkwardly, they began to shuffle to their own table. Eventually, an ancient lady grabbed his arm, whispering under her breath in secretive tones. “The waters you shout about are incredibly calm. But it has long since been haunted by another. A beast of ultimate strength.There are legends that suggest it’s deadly, fierce and can cause immense devastation.” “What is this creature you speak of?” asked the teenage boy.”Why do you listen to these feeble attempts at a story.”

Centaur by Martin de Castro

A Fantasy Opening by Seren Spender Zoro would never forget the night when she was forced to leave her home, her family and all that she ever knew. Bonsinover, a magical village in the land of Svent, once was a place of wonder: a city of pure gold; streets lined with rubies; and crystal buildings towered high over the dusty deserted desert. She didn’t want to leave her home, but she had to, all because of a horrifying iron-grey and blood-splattered dragon. By night, it circled incessantly over hundreds of petrified people; by day, it retreated to its bone-scattered death-trap lair, slaughtering many innocent citizens, old and young, including her parents. After two years of running, Zoro was ready to avenge their deaths - with a little help from her new best friend: an energetic and overprotective corn snake named Cornell. In the south-east of Asia, guarded by a mass of green land, lies a large forest. It stretches as far as the ocean and is as dense as mountains of rock.Yet no human has gone anywhere near that forest. Somewhere like that, hazards will lie. So, early every morning, rising with the sun, the villagers carry their axes and start their walk, round the darkest yet largest of the forests to other forests.The tradition was never changed until the young woman arrived. Setting description from The Leshy by Marcus Lane

His wonderful luck continued for almost all his vacation until the last trip. He ventured beyond the village and towards the cave, but this time, the atmosphere felt different, weeds ripped off the ground, hurtling mud and grass into the boy’s face; the wind lifted the rain, carrying it back and forth into the boy like a whip striking: lightning crackled above, lighting the sky for seconds as if the heavens were showing then, concealing itself with the clouds; the clouds, seeming of smoke, dampening the sky so no visible sunlight was showing. It was as if the dark days had started.This, to the young boy, was simply a small setback, not a signal for retreat. All through the night, the boy ventured to the cave, and as it seemed as if the lightning was stopping, he started collecting the gems. He stopped; a noise had disturbed him.When he walked to the source of the sound, he understood. It was not a rock falling from the ceiling but a Centaur’s arrows flying against the wall, killing whatever prey had stumbled in. He had seen a Centaur. Standing in the darkness, the Centaur’s bow and arrow quiver shone out the most.The arrows crafted of spruce wood carved perfectly by hand. But the legs! Brown tanned as the sun, and its fur allowing it to camouflage into the cave. At that moment, he could not comprehend if it was the understanding of the beast being real or just the mesmerising reality of what had happened. A voice appeared in his mind. “Thou has trespassed into the depths where one shall not go. Never return...”

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