Everna Saga: North and South: Everna Saga: Anthologies, #3

By Andry Chang, Sufiatur, Rickman Roedavan and 5 more

A short story anthology by Andry Chang, Rickman Roedavan, Alexia Chen,
Sufiatur, Ambu Dian, Dya Ragil, Shin Elqi and Anggi MS

From the north to the south of Everna
countless tales and legends become history

In the north, a little girl struggles
against the freezing night for dear life
In the south, a rich man rebuilds
his country with his extraordinary treasure

From the north, a pilgrim comes to the south
to guide the four siblings towards enlightenment
From the south, a young man comes to the north
to bring joy and meaning to the game and sport

Along with others, they form a cluster of wonders
from the world parallel to Earth, Terra Everna

"Consistently promoting the local culture in a new way, this work deserves support and thumbs-up."
Truly Rudiono, Blogger Buku Indonesia

Everna Saga: North and South is a fantasy anthology set in the detailed parallel world of Terra Everna, part of the Everna Saga brand by Andry Chang. It's perfect for young adults and adults who love:
- Novels written in a cinematic style.
- Lively, likable characters and strong protagonists.
- A parallel world setting akin to Earth.
- Detailed, immersive world-building and history.
- Earth-based religion blended with fantasy philosophy.
- A touch of mild romance.
- Inspirational moral values and heartwarming moments.
- Fictional cultures and geography paralleling Earth.
- Recognizable, easy-to-imagine Earth-like details.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vadis
• Release date: Aug 29, 2025
• ISBN: 9798231258192

Andry Chang

Andry Chang is a pilgrim in authorship since 2005. Aside from his everyday life as an entrepreneur, a husband and a father of one, he always makes time to write, draw or developing games. He continues to hone his skills and never gives up, resulting in his published multimedia works. Some of his commercially published writings, either singulars or collaborations are: FireHeart – Legend of the Paladins (2008), Vandaria Saga – Kristalisasi (2012), Qi Xi – Bunga Rampai Asmara (2012), Love Around You (2013), Magical Stories (2013), LEINA – Legenda Imaji Nusantara (2015), Everna Saga – Hikayat Tiga Zaman (2015), Everna Saga – Utara dan Selatan (2015), Everna Saga – Barat dan Timur (2016) (Indonesian Language Works) and Everna Saga - Morf and the Pirates of Flamenca (2016) (English Language Works)

Book preview

Andry Chang

Everna Saga: North and South

A Fantasy and Sci-Fi Anthology

Copyright © 2025 by Andry Chang

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

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Contents

Welcome to Terra Everna!

The Little Match Girl - Anggi Mardina Suwindar

Kiky and the Gorgon’s Curse - Rickman Roedavan

The Substitute - Alexia Chen

The World Mount Guardian - Ambu Dian

The Queen’s New Dish - Andry Chang

Tajiri’s Treasure Trove - Andry Chang

Baihu’s Daily Troubles - Dya Ragil

The King’s Hide-and-Seek - Sufiatur

The Four Siblings - Andry Chang

Quarta - Shin Elqi

The Creator’s Profile

Welcome to Terra Everna!

When you see the names of the continents, the people, even part of the language and culture in the stories set in the World of Everna, a thought might just pop up within you, Is this Earth?

Terra Everna is based on Earth yet exists in a different dimension, universe, and space-time, nowhere reachable by even the most advanced possible spacecraft. The universe is called Omnia.

What sets Everna apart from Earth is that many phenomena and creatures, which on Earth are considered mythological or fabrications of fantasy, are either historical or factual in Everna. The geographical locations and topography between Earth and Everna are somewhat similar. The location and cultural distributions of most nations and continents in Everna somewhat resemble those of our Earth.

However, the names are certainly different. For example, the Continents of Aurelia, Myriath, and Orien are similar to Europe, America, and Asia on Earth. Lore, Arcadia, and Borgia countries are comparable to England, France, and Germany on Earth. The historical timeline between Everna and Earth is very different. The events in the mythology we know said to have happened on Earth occurred first in Everna. For instance, the Ragnarok or doomsday in Norse Mythology happened in Terra Everna as the First Apocalypse long before the mythological Ragnarok was said to take place on Earth.

You can explore Terra Everna, the Omnia Universe, and Everna Saga more comprehensively in the official Everna Encyclopedia, Codex Evernium.

Have an exciting journey, o’ traveler! Come forth and fulfill your destiny!

Andry Chang, Creator

The Little Match Girl - Anggi Mardina Suwindar

Mirelle, the ship sailing from Myriath with your father and mother on board was wrecked by the storm and sank into the Petravia Ocean. Only one survivor returned to tell the tale.

Mirelle Bingham was thunderstruck. She just found out that her loved ones were lost for good. Tears dropped from her blue eyes, rolling down her rosy cheeks.

Yet, the man in his forties with a thick black goatee, Theodore Perigold, only shook his head. It’s already in the newspaper. Here, take a look. He showed that article to her.

The eight-year-old girl struggled to read as many words as she could find printed there. Then she fell on her knees and cried.

Theodore then followed suit and caressed the poor girl’s blond hair. Be strong, Mirelle, he said. James and Beatrice are now with Vadis in heaven. By the way, I have one more thing to tell you.

Mirelle looked up. What is it, Uncle?

The Bingham and Perigold Company has a huge debt to the bank. Since your father’s demise, the bank has decided to seize your mansion along with its furniture. The rest of your family’s assets will be managed by your paternal uncle, Clarence Bingham.

H-how about me?

Since Clarence has yet to marry, he is not yet qualified to be your guardian. For the time being, you will have to live in the orphanage…

No… No! Mirelle became hysterical. I don’t want to live in the orphanage! This is my home! I still want my room, my bed, and my Letty!

Letty? What’s that?

My favourite cat plushie!

Ach, whatever. By the way, don’t worry, Mirelle. You’ll have lots of friends there.

Mirelle shook her head. I heard the orphanage is a bad place, where orphans are tortured and treated worse than beggars, she rebuked.

Where did you hear that nonsense from?! Theo grew impatient. Hear me, Mirelle. Mrs. McPhearson, the owner of the orphanage, is well known as a nice and generous fellow. I’m sure you will…

… suffer like other orphans! I’ll never go to the orphanage! Never!

Theodore Perigold rested his chin on his knuckle, as if already familiar with the little girl’s spoiled ways. And he already knew what to do.

* * *

What power could a little girl possibly have to resist her fate?

The grief had eroded Mirelle’s appetite, making her pass out until dusk and sleepless until dawn. She cried all night, hugging her dolls and plushies.

She also murmured from time to time, Daddy… mommy!

When morning came, Mirelle was already sitting inside a speeding carriage, transporting her and her belongings to the orphanage. She could only bring with her a box of matches, which was her father’s, and now she grasped that sole memento of her parents like dear life. There was no one to talk to, nobody accompanied her except the coachman, whose mind was concentrated on the horse and the road only.

Mirelle’s mind wandered, trying to figure out what her orphanage would look like. Her eyes widened in terror, as if witnessing firsthand the orphans’ suffering there.

They were tortured every day, forced to work like slaves, and barely lived in a miserable and dirty place. Many of them were plagued with diseases, their skins were flayed and peeled due to the pain they bore. Their only release was if they lost their minds or even their own lives.

Mirelle’s childish mind flared. I’d rather die than go to that hellhole they called an orphanage! I must get out of this carriage. But how?

Jumping out of a speeding carriage would most likely prove fatal for a little girl, and Mirelle knew that.

Suddenly, the carriage made an abrupt halt. It appeared that a cart had capsized in the middle of the street and had broken a wheel. The haystacks on that cart were spilled on the street.

To make things worse, the scattered haystacks not only blocked the street, but also tempted the horses pulling carts and carriages to feed on them.

The coaches began to argue with each other instead of clearing the rick from the road. Since he could not turn around, the coachman of Mirelle’s carriage got off the road to move the rick aside.

For the passenger, it was a chance.

Without a second thought, Mirelle opened the door, got out of the carriage, and escaped. She only took with her the dress and the scarf she was wearing, and also the box of matches at hand.

Mirelle kept on running, hoping that the coachman wouldn’t chase her. Quickly, she snuck through the alleys, paying no attention to the route she chose, let alone looking back and around. She didn’t even care who or whatever she ran into.

She just had to keep running.

Finally, the little girl stopped to rest in an alley. Sweat ran down like a waterfall from her forehead, and she breathed heavily. She was too tired to keep running. If anyone were chasing her at that moment, she would be caught for sure.

So, Mirelle looked back and around, then sighed in relief. No sight of the coachman or anyone looking for her, anywhere. Yet, she heard a grumbling sound just minutes before she rested by the alley. It was her stomach. Alas! She forgot to bring food, as well as other things, when she decided to get off the carriage and run away.

Since she was born, Mirelle had never found herself wanting. Clothes, food, and certainly love were all served up to her on a silver platter. Now, as she no longer had someone to love her, at least she could get basic needs in the orphanage, and her life wouldn’t be so hard and forlorn.

Now, as her stomach was aching, Mirelle wished to simply return home. But how? Alceste, the capital of the Lore Kingdom, was big and intricate. She didn’t know where she was, let alone how to find her way home. Not even where that McPhearson Orphanage was.

Thus, the girl was forced to visit house after house and beg people. But everyone was minding their businesses. Let alone guiding her, they neither know nor care to tell Mirelle the address of the nearest orphanage.

Mirelle then thought of something. She smeared her face and expensive dress with mud and ripped her clothes so she looked like a pauper.

Even then, everyone hardly cared, let alone giving her a hand. Only a humble woman gave her a piece of bread. That was all Mirelle got after begging all day. Would that be enough for her to go through the freezing first night of winter tonight?

Mirelle could only carry on begging and keep moving. Who knows, perhaps at one point she would be lucky enough to find her way home or whatever orphanage here in Alceste.

As night came, the freezing breeze crept abruptly on her body. In her shivering, she recalled one thing tha she had been carrying with her since morning, that was her father’s box of matches.

As she walked, Mirelle gathered garbage and dry leaves left scattered since autumn. Then she piled them all in front of a building.

The little girl then scraped the match on the black side of the matchbox, as her father usually did. She failed again and again, but she kept on trying. Eventually, she got the right timing to light the fire on the match. Yet, some of the leaves she had piled up were being blown away by the wind.

Without further ado, Mirelle lit what’s left of the pile and created a bonfire. Now it was time to act.

Matches! Who wants to buy a match? Mirelle shouted. Look, one of these matches alone can make a big fire! They’ll warm you in this cold night!

She then realized that, on the first day of winter, people tend not to be outside after sunset. The ones who happened to pass by were practically running towards the warmth of their own homes.

Only two people came to Mirelle to warm themselves and gave her a few farthings. It was enough to buy a loaf of bread for tomorrow, as bakeries were already closed for the night.

Eventually, Mirelle stood alone on that street. The fire she had lit shrunk as the pile was burned out. As there was hardly any garbage around to add to the fire, the girl simply sat and stared at the fire as it was withering away.

And then Mirelle was aghast. Within the fire appeared a very vivid image. It was an image of a man and a woman. They were well-dressed, chatting cheerfully with a girl who looked like Mirelle in the living room. There was a burning fireplace near the wall, and Mirelle was as though looking at them through that fire. They played and laughed cheerfully.

Yes, Mirelle would never forget that memory. It was she and her own family, a few days before her parents departed for Myriath…

… Never to return home.

There would be no more happy family time for her.

The warm, loving feeling that once filled her heart had gone, replaced by coldness and estrangement.

Her mother’s pretty smile.

Her father’s playful jest.

They were now simply apparitions in the fire.

The fire, which was abruptly dispersed before her.

It was replaced by a pair of feet kicking dirt to extinguish the bonfire, along with a coarse yell. What the ‘ell are you doin’? Lightin’ fire ‘ere? You want to burn me ‘ouse, girl?

A fat, balding man came closer and stared at the girl.

Mirelle pleaded, N-no, sir! I didn’t mean to…!

You idiot! Look, the wind is blowin’ your trash and leaves away! It’ll spread the fire, not extinguishin’ it! See that wooden house next to that building? That’s me ‘ouse! You will make me ‘ouse a’ burnin’!

S-sorry, sir, I don’t know…!

You know nuthin’! Get the ‘ell away from ‘ere, now! The fat man dragged Mirelle away, then threw her across the street. She was almost hit by a passing carriage.

The little match girl groaned in pain, then quickly ran away from the cruel man. Yet, hunger