Bard, Lyryk heard the word in her head. We are watched. We? The last Lyryk knew, she’d been traveling alone. Relieved to have Biscuit back, she kept packing up her camp with only a slight hesitation. She hadn’t seen the hound, though she felt his presence. Where? Lyryk directed the thought at Biscuit. Bushes, sunward. … Continue reading Lyryk: Watched
(C) 2020, JJ Shaun “I’ll go,” says Mac. “I’ve been giving my main man, Roland, some thought. Like many adventurers, he has a tragic background.” He throws his hand dramatically to his forehead as he says this. “Do tell.” “Well, he started life looking for gems. He searched for gemstones for his family deep in … Continue reading Roland Firestone: The Last of His Clan
Some time back, I posted a story about a fantasy role-playing character I had been working on. I dropped that story because of the brouhaha surrounding the parent company of the Dungeons & Dragons®. If you’re interested in what’s going on with the hobby, I’ll leave it to you to investigate. The main characters and … Continue reading Katra Alterian
“Heyla, Bert,” says Stevie as Bert the coffee shop. “Hey, Stevie.” “Okay,” begins Bert when everyone arrives and drinks are served, “last week, I said I wanted backstories. Let me hear what you got.” “I’ll start,” says Yvonne. “I created a war priest named Aeryn Qillian. I toyed with the idea of making a fighter, … Continue reading Aeryn Qillian: Training Day
A few weeks ago, my go-to writing site presented a challenging contest: Write a story of 1,000 words or less, using a list of words, and translate those words into a foreign language. I took the dog for a walk and imagined a fictional conversation with my mother, who grew up in Europe. This was … Continue reading Stubborn German
“Heyla, Stevie,” says Bert as he enters The Jaunty Mug. “Hello, Bert.” says my avatar, Stevie, as he brews Bert’s double macchiato. Julie arrives next, followed by Sandra. “I couldn’t help myself,” says Julie, half apologetically. “My character won’t leave me alone, so I had to write another story about her past.” “You’re making me … Continue reading Skrie: Get Out
(C) 2020, JJ Shaun “Heyla, Stevie,” says Bert as he enters The Jaunty Mug. “Hello, Bert.” Stevie brews Bert’s double macchiato. The group trickles in. “Did Dave forget?” asks Mac when everyone else has arrived. “Or is he going to bail on us?” “Again?” asks Sandra. “We should have expected it.” “I’ll play his character. … Continue reading The Legend of Ashta’Qi
I wrote this story in response to a writing prompt on a site I frequent. The goal is to write an original story in 24 hours. The prompt was to write a 1000 word story using five words (blue, green, noise, quiet, peace) and 'Nature' as the genre. I came up with this. The noise … Continue reading Escape
(C) 2020, JJ Shaun “Here’s the scene,” says Bert. “Your characters,” he points to Mac, Chuck, and Yvonne, “are tracking a band of slavers. You follow a poorly covered path to a clearing …” The coffee shop fades away, replaced by a forest populated by oak, maple, and ash trees. “Quiet.” Naathyn halted the party. … Continue reading The First Meeting
It had been a year since her mom passed. Geri finally had the courage to face the stack of letters her mother had kept hidden in a shoebox in her closet. She’d found the box when the family moved her mother from her home of forty years into a nursing facility. Her mother had written … Continue reading Love Letter
Tavern Tales
Poetry BLOG By Edge of Humanity Magazine
New Writing Engaging with the Sacred
J.J. Shaun 