After reaching the temple, Sister Egathra left the party with a cheery “g’day.” “Now what?” Ashja asked her companions. “I didn’t want to alarm Sister Egathra,” said Rayus, “but I’ve heard rumors of Captain Gutmark.” Ivy perked up. “He’s an orc pirate,” the cleric continued. “His crew is rumored to be one of the most … Continue reading The Scarlet Revenge
The group gathered in the common room to break their fast just as the fourth bell resounded throughout the city. It was simple fare—fried eggs, potato, and meat, wrapped in a grilled flatbread that Ashja had wolfed down in many port towns—but it stuck with her until the midday meal. As she drank down the … Continue reading The Disappearing Acolyte
Once more, I've looked into my archive for today’s story. This offering is based on a Dungeons & Dragons campaign I ran many years ago. The setting is the Dragon's Snout Islands, off the northeast coast of the continent. Enjoy. Ashja walked down the gangplank of the small merchant ship onto which she’d hired as … Continue reading Welcome to Port Freehaven
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
Dream ✨Imagine ✨ Believe
Books, games, music, and life — filtered through the mind of a writer, drummer, and philosopher who thinks too deeply about all of it. If it moves something in your chest, I'm interested.
Tavern Tales
Poetry BLOG By Edge of Humanity Magazine
J.J. Shaun 