Stormriders

The old soldier by the fire rarely spoke, but when he did, they all listened. For his stories of the old wars and the great betrayal, the innkeeper silenced the patrons at the bar. He even slid some cloths under nearby mugs to stop their clinks from making listeners miss a word. The old soldier […]

Picts III

Brude watched the woman in the moonlight. Her eyes darted about, never still, even as the light itself moved, leaves and branches overhead swaying in the wind and rain. She was like a creature of the land itself, he thought distractedly, moving the same way the moonlight moves in the storm. She turned back to […]

Picts II

After the ceremony of tattoos, images, and discussion with the tribe had ended, when the Picts, Goblins, and other friends beneath the hill had filed out of the meeting place, Brude remained behind in the stone circle. As the glow of the shapes on the stones slowly faded, he sat for a long time in […]

Picts I

Gathered in a hollow below a hill, deep in the forests of a land known by many names, a group of Pictish men and women were practicing the various arts that their people were known for throughout the Realms. These men and women, human by all outward appearances, were much more than that now, as […]

Golems III

When the meal was over, Yosef waved his massive hand at the little Golems that ran about his adobe house, shooing them outside. They laughed at him in a shower of sparks, while the smallest twined herself into her mother’s clothing, staring shyly at the human guest, although she was nearly his height and twice […]

Golems II

The nights passed in toil and heat. Every now and then, architects came by and berated the overseer of the Kiln for the missing tablets. They never suspected the Golem in the room; for without a name, and death on her forehead, she was nothing. However, one night the overseer of the kiln came down […]

Golems I

The wind whispered through the silent village, echoing in the streets and corners. The buildings were clay and stone, brown and sun-baked. Here and there among the smooth cobblestones, dandelions poked their yellow faces up at the blue sky. There was a fragrant scent of smoke in the air, which smelled like the remnants of […]

Gargoyles II

It was a long time before the villagers felt that pressure in the air again, the weight of deadly magic pressing them down. The second Malevolence ripped the air apart with its fury, shrieking through the sky. When it hit the village, the force of its thunder burst houses apart, and the stones of the […]

Gargoyles I

The old stones of the ruin seemed to crack and change shape in the shifting, orange light of sunset, as if crumbling in the wind. Angry clouds, bent on destruction, gathered above the tumbled walls and hanging archways. However, they had stood this way for many years. If the ruin survived the storm, it would […]

Cait Sith

“Younglings, gather round, for I shall relate another tale of our people and of clan Kellas.” The grey-furred Cait Sith stretched and shook her tail, then settled back into her comfortable armchair. The fuzzy youngsters paid little attention, more interested in their games. The grey one looked annoyed. “There will be plenty of time to […]