Once more, I've delved into my Story Engine cards for a prompt. An impulsive wizard wants to create a portal, but must leave the familiar behind and face the unknown. Ashten had always trusted motion more than thought. When doubt gathered like fog in his skull, he moved—hands busy, feet restless, magic already flaring before … Continue reading Into the Unknown
This week, I jumped into the way-back machine and found a prompt from 2015 to write a story using the following words: pattering, melody, crack, and bear. Lyryk walked the paths, learning forest moods the way other bards learned ballads: listening until the silence leaned into meaning. Rain fell in a pattering whisper through the … Continue reading Rain and Rest
This is the latest story in the series about my continent of Adaran. These stories focus on events that happen around the characters in the novel I just sent off to my editor. Noxport is a sprawling port city perched on the edge of the Southern Sea. It thrives amid the tumult of merchants, pirates, … Continue reading Hidden Passages
The sun dawned over the elven city of Rithraunen, creating streaks of light across the ivy-covered spires pointing towards the sky. A pleasant breeze stirred the trees lining the edge of the city’s central square, where a group of elves had gathered in anticipation. This day began the project to build a revolutionary device to … Continue reading Gears of Time
Ashren Entarri trekked through the Sylvan Wood for hours, her worn boots tramping over the damp earth, her cloak a ragged scrap of mossy green wool. The sun had long since slipped over the horizon, leaving the twilight to stretch like a shadow across the forest floor. She didn’t mind the darkness; it had always … Continue reading Forgotten Echoes
Jenn’s fingers trembled as she wrung the cloth between her hands. The water’s chill seeped into her bones, but it wasn’t the cold that made her shiver. It was the silence, a quiet that stretched across this corner of Reevendale like a spider’s web, every thread laced with tension. The Gilded Chain hall was just … Continue reading Silent Waters
Once more, my prompt came from writing.com. Write a story or poem in which a mountain village wakes up to find that overnight, the season's first snow has fallen in strange, perfect shapes — spirals, symbols, and patterns no one can explain. A child claims the snow is trying to tell them something. What happens? … Continue reading First Snow
Once more, I delved into my Story Engine cards. This time, I drew cards that led to a scoundrel who wants to get revenge using a complex forgery, but he’ll have to keep a promise he’s been avoiding. Gavyn Voss never ignored a grudge, especially one as personal as the one between himself and Lord … Continue reading Ink of Vengeance
Being a substitute contest judge on writing.com, this year, I had the privilege of picking a story for Halloween. This is the prompt I chose:Write a supernatural short story centered on the blurring of worlds during Samhain (All Hallows’ Eve)Since I’m not allowed to write a story for my prompt, I wanted to write one … Continue reading The Hallow Between
I write a lot of character sketches trying to find the characters that intrigue me the most. Here's one I wrote a few years ago about an unlikely adventurer. I hope you like it. Sister Lorielei Alterian stalked the hallways of the dormitory, fuming after the meeting with the Patriarch. She’d been expecting a meeting … Continue reading Lorielei: Ready or Not
A piece of my scattered mind.
Tavern Tales
Poetry BLOG By Edge of Humanity Magazine
New Writing Engaging with the Sacred
J.J. Shaun 