Orixa

Author's name: Maha Al Shaer

Oryxa, Princess of the Stars, tells the story of a young princess forced to flee the stars when a massive steam storm caused by the Wascenes occurs. Wascenes are tiny winged creatures that remain as they are unless looked at, but as soon as one pays attention, they grow into hairy, stubby-legged bodies that attach to one's shoulders and feed on them, as if they were the surfaces of asteroids. So Oryxa finds herself clutching her magic mirror on the remote island of Cheval on Earth, accompanied by her best friend, Princess Prisca, where they are welcomed by Darkjin, the oldest witch on the island.

The Darkjinn wears a necklace of eyes around her head with which she can see everything and everyone from everywhere. She has only one hand, which holds a staff. Orixa travels across five other islands in her quest to build a ship and return to the stars. However, on each island, she encounters either the Darkjinn or the Wassines, and sometimes both, and is subjected to many hardships.

But despite all of this, Orixa achieves higher levels of consciousness on every island she travels to, and this is reflected through the prose poems woven throughout the pages of the story.

Will Orixa reach her destination? Or will she remain on the run from the Darkjinn sorceress?