Arix and the tomh of Mul'din

 

There once was an ancient tomb, a tomb darker than night and so abandoned that no human eye has seen it centuries. Arix the young adventurer pushed over a stone slab from outside the tomb. The slab fell inward creating a booming noise that echoed through the ancient tomb. Tomb had not been disturbed, felt sound or sunlight in centuries and Arix the adventuring youth introduced light and sound to the tomb in one motion. Light beamed in from the bright midday sun, banishing the darkness and causing small, nocturnal creatures to scurry away in fright.

 

            This was the lost tomb of Mul’din, a great and fierce king of old. Mul’din was kind to his people and brutal to the rest of the world. His armies were vast and he would dominate and destroy all who did not join his Kingdom. The Kingdom of Mul’din stretched over a quarter of the world and his riches stretched on as far as the eye could see. Mul’din didn’t just acquire treasure from conquering, he also sent out bands of pirates and raiders to loot and pillage in his name. Mul’din’s raiders would regularly harass and land that couldn’t be conquered and through his looting and conquering he had a treasury stuffed with rare items from around the world and more gold than anyone could count.

 

            Arix had spent years trying to find this lost tomb. While he explored other ruins and new lands he always kept an ear open for anything that related to Mul’din. Arix even spent a fair amount of the treasure he found in other tombs just for info about Mul’din’s tomb. Finding this tomb would give Arix recognition, opportunity to join the explorer’s guild and befriend famous adventurers and Arix also had the possibility of finding Mul’din’s treasure and being incredibly wealthy.

 

            Arix crept carefully through the tomb holding a blue gem that let out a soft light. The light was faint enough so that Arix wouldn’t be immediately spotted by predators but bright enough to see inside the pitch black tomb, the gem also sent light out further than a torch would. The gem was the size of a small apple and glowed through Arix’s hand. The sunlight from outside illuminated the first room, but the darkness won out as Arix walked deeper inside.

 

            The tomb was silent and every light step that Arix took sounded like heavy boots stomping on the stone. As Arix walked he heard a faint voice calling from deep within the tomb, the voice was followed by a purple fog that reflected the light of the blue gem. The fog floated through the tomb, in and out of only certain rooms. The fog started looking like a trail and Arix wanted to find its source. Arix’ curiosity got him into trouble more times than he could count and he knew that the strange voice and purple fog could be luring him into a trap. It was possible that Mul’din’s ghost was trying to tempt a greedy treasure hunter and lure him into an ambush. Arix had experience with the undead and was overly confident with his ability to get out of bad situations.

 

            The fog led Arix to a large room that was full of bottles, tables and small trinkets. As Arix entered the room torches lit themselves and the voice calling out grew louder. “Help please!” cried the voice. “Where are you?” asked Arix “I am trapped in this bottle, please open it!” The voice called out. Arix now knew the voice belonged to a mystical creature, as a mortal could not survive being trapped in a bottle and sealed in a tomb for centuries and would have to be shrunken down to even fit in a bottle in the first place.

 

            Arix followed the voice and looked through a table full of dusty bottle of different sizes. Finally Arix touched the right bottle and the small glass bottle glowed with purple light. “Please release me!” Cried the voice. “I want to know where Mul’din’s treasure is first, then I promise to release you” Arix said. The voice was silent for a few seconds then finally spoke. “Mul’din acquired mountains of gold but when he died he did not keep any of it. He loved his subjects so much that he told his royal advisor to give everything to the people of his kingdom. He did not see the point of storing it or burying it. He gave the largest portion to his sons but he told them to use his riches to make their own riches. He was a wise man. This tomb was built in his honor and while many of his prized possessions were buried with him, none of those possessions were gold or jewels” Explained the voice.

 

            Arix was disappointed but didn’t completely believe the voice. “How did you end up here? And how do I know you aren’t lying to me?” Asked Arix. “I wouldn’t lie and risk my first chance to be free in centuries. I am a djinn, a wish granting spirit who has been trapped in this bottle by the king. I do not care about the king and if he had gold I’d help you find it. This is my punishment for not being able to bring back his dead wife” Explained the Djinn.

 

            Arix figured that gaining the favor of a wish granting spirit might be even better than gold and so he opened the bottle. The bottle had a cork, which was covered in a cloth, and the cloth had ancient writing all over it. Arix twisted the cork and pulled open the bottle.

 

            Purple fog sprang forth from the bottle. It flooded out and filled the large room, then in a second it all was pulled toward a single point in front of Arix. The fog swirled around and the Djinn appeared before Arix. “Thank you so much, kind master” Said the Djinn. The Djinn was dark purple, had yellow eyes with no pupils, had a torso and head but his arms were partly transparent and his legs were missing, he was completely made up of purple fog from the waist down.

 

            “So I am your master now?”  Asked Arix. “Yes, you are. But before you start trying to make wishes, let me make a deal with you. If you do not like my deal, you can wish for any one thing” Said the Djinn. Arix was intrigued and figured it wouldn’t hurt to listen to the spirit. “What is your deal? I was hoping for a mountain of gold in this tomb, so your deal better be worth the time and money it took to find this place” Arix explained.

 

            “The deal is, you bring the bottle outside of this tomb and use your one wish to free me. Once I am free I will be able to join the wind and cloud spirits in the sky. I will never bother a single mortal and after being stuck under ground for so long I will probably never even want to leave the clouds again. In exchange for my freedom, I will leave all of my magic in the bottle in the form of a potion. This magic potion will cure any disease, ease all pain, emotional and physical and it will give you energy like a night of restful sleep” The Djinn explained.

 

            Arix liked the sound of this magic potion but was still cautious. “What is the downside, there is always a downside” Said Arix. The Djinn grinned “Well of course. I see you are no fool. All magic comes with a price. Even those who wield magic must suffer a burden of it. The potion will do just as I say it will but if you use it too much or become too reliant on the magic, then you will suffer from it. Mortals cannot handle magic in large amounts or consumed too frequently” Explained the Djinn.

 

            Arix figured that he was as careful as anyone and would only use the potion in dire situations. So Arix agreed and the Djinn led Arix out of the tomb. They talked as they walked through the dusty ruins and Arix felt more confident that the Djinn was telling the truth about all he said.

 

            Once they reached the exit, Arix took a step out into the fresh air and held the bottle open as he said “I wish you were free from this bottle and live peacefully in the clouds away from mortals” Arix wished for a very specific thing just in case the Djinn wasn’t as friendly as he seemed. Arix hoped that the phrasing would bind the Djinn to his word and force him to be peaceful. Arix didn’t want to be responsible for unleashing a terror on all humanity.

 

            “Thank you human!” Said the Djinn as he started to turn into purple fog. A thin blue chain appeared. The chain led from inside the bottle and was wrapped around the purple fog that struggled to break free. Finally the blue chain shattered into a thousand pieces and each piece puffed up into the air in a ball of smoke. The Djinn was finally free and shot up into the air as fast as he could “Remember my warning human!” called the voice of the Djinn as he disappeared from sight.

 

            Arix knew he would heed the Djinn’s warning and put the purple glass bottle into his adventuring bag. Arix might not have been rich and famous from the trip into Mul’din’s tomb, but he did gain a magic healing potion, which in his line of work was priceless.

 

            Arix also decided to not tell anyone that he found the tomb, not only was there no gold to share but owing a magical cure all potion and telling people about it would drastically decrease his life span.

 

            Arix began the long trek home, his head swimming with tales of ancient kings and a long lost time. Arix put the potion out of his thoughts and did not think about it again until the day he desperately needed it. But that is another story for another day.

Law'Runce Rock Eater

I wanted to get a present for my father for father’s day, but I couldn’t think of anything to buy. My dad is one of the rare people that don’t value things as much as he values gestures and quiet time. So I asked myself, what do you get someone who doesn’t want anything? The answer is, a gesture.

            In the ancient times, back before the invention of the cell phone, or even before cars, there lived a tribe of nomadic orcs who traveled across the land looking for fertile soil, peace and quiet. Orcs were a race of humanoid creatures, usually large with small tusks or large teeth. Orcs have skin of various shades of green, yellow and brown. Some orcs even had black skin and red eyes, these were the shadow orcs, who did not live in peace at all. Shadow orcs lived in the volcanic lands of Ash lands, where ash and soot from molten rocks covered the land and the inhabitants below.

            The nomad orcs were peaceful and were primary warriors and shamans who practiced magic and communed with nature. The leader of the nomad orcs was a large dark green orc named Law’Runce The Rock Eater. This Orc was the tallest orc in the tribe and though he was thinner than most orcs, he could wield an axe just as well as anyone.

            Law’Runce grew up with the name Runce, which meant quiet one. When he became an adult the Law was added to his name because of his belief in upholding the rules and laws of the land. Adding Law to ones name usually meant the adult orc would go on to be a leader or enforcer of laws.

            When Law’Runce became an adult and after he was given his ‘complete’ name, he set off into the world to learn of nature and other races. Law’Runce was more of a thinker than the other orcs of his village. He grew up in a settlement of forest orcs, who were all dark and light green. These orcs never wondered about the outside world, they kept to themselves and hunted for food in the deepest parts of the forest. Law’Runce wanted to know about the world so he left the orc forest village.

            Law traveled through the forestlands, over the dumpy hills, and completely avoided the Ash lands. Law’Runce arrived in a mountainous region covered in pine trees and green grass, further up the mountain was rocky terrain, pine trees and snow. This land was the Pine Valley. Lower Pine valley was the greener lower altitude part of the mountains and upper Pine Valley was all rocks and snowy forests.

            In the Pine Valley Law found quiet but he had not found answers. He saw many types of land and different animals but he had not seen a single orc or any other race of creature. Law’Runce began to build a shelter in the lower Pine Valley so that he could stay warm when night swept over the land. Law was chopping a tree with his axe when he heard a noise. He chopped his axe into the tree which made a sound, but then a few seconds later another chopping sound was heard, it was either a delayed echo or someone else was cutting down a tree. Law’s curiosity got the better of him and he raced toward the sound. He spied a dark yellow orc chopping down a tree. He was so happy to find another orc but he didn’t want to startle an orc armed with an axe. Law’runce grunted and the yellow orc stopped chopping, he saw Law and grunted back. “Who are you? I am Thok” Said the dark yellow orc. “I am Law’Runce” Said Law. The yellow orc seemed happy to hear Law’s name. A large toothy grin spread across Thok’s face. “Were you named correctly? Do you bring law?” Asked Thok. “I try” Said Law, not sure why Thok was asking.

            Thok ran over to Law’runce looking as excited as an orc could. “Law bringer, quiet one. These are things that our tribe could use. We are a tribe of Nomad orcs that travel all over the Pine Valley. We are at unrest. We need orc who can help us set rules. I and others don’t want unrest. Travel does not mean no rules.” Thok explained, as he held out his hands in a pleading gesture.

            Law didn’t want to get involved with a group of new orcs he had never met, but he did want to learn new cultures and his conscience told him that helping would be the right thing to do.

            Thok took Law’Runce to the Nomad settlement, as they approached Law could already hear arguing. Law walked into the settlement and no one noticed him because everyone was at the center of town bickering about what to do next and where to go next.

            A light green skinned female orc with purple hair threw an axe at a dark brown skin male orc who was shouting. The axe cut off the tip of his black Mohawk and stuck into the tree behind him. The shouting orc sat down, knowing that the female orc missed on purpose. Another orc started to shout “Axes should be reserved for enemies not used for talks” Said another light green orc, his hair was black and grew down to the middle of his back. “I reserve this axe for you!” Shouted the purple hair female orc as she lifted another axe above her head. Thok ran into the middle of the group and shouted, “Stop! I brought help! Law’Runce, he is here to help with laws” Thok pleaded with the group. A light yellow skinned female orc grabbed a rock and threw it at Thok’s head “We don’t need outsiders giving orders!” Said the light yellow orc. Thok looked discouraged by this.

            As the group of Orcs bickered Law looked around and saw huts in disrepair, children looking hungry and sitting by their parents as the parents did nothing more than yelling and throwing stones. Law’Runce was never the most outspoken orc but he could not stand to see children mistreated and entire villages of adults who can’t take care of their own homes. The forest orcs were peaceful and they might have been ignorant of the outside world but they knew how to maintain a village and live well.

            Law charged into the middle of the group, the injustice of neglectful orcs and the anger of foolish adults welled up in him from the core of his being. “HEY!!!” He shouted. His shout was so loud that it echoed through the entire Pine Valley. This was the lost shout of Mul’vani, who was the oldest and strongest orc in the forest tribe. He was a great shaman and when he died he called to the earth and shouted one last time. His shout shook every tree in the Great Forest and the land itself absorbed the power of the shout. Mul’vani communed with the spirits of the forest and he gave his powers to the forest itself. In exchange, the forest would channel the magic of the shout into all the Orcs who lived in the Great Forest.  The forest tribe of orcs were never taught how to use this shout but were only told that it would be released during important times. It was a shout so powerful that it could capture the hearts and minds of any who hear it.

            Law’Runce had never heard the Mul’vani shout in person until it burst out from his jaws.  The orcs of the Pine Valley didn’t know what the Mul’vani shout was and had no idea that a shout could ever be so loud or commanding. Law’runce had everyone’s full attention.  “I am new to this tribe but I already see problems. While you argue over where to travel next the place you live now rots. Your children go hungry because no one hunts, they learn only to fight each other and not to fight enemies. I have traveled a little but I have seen many lands and was raised in a great forest where everyone cared for each other. I have heard stories of Ashland Orcs, the shadow orcs from the volcano lands. They do nothing but fight, they don’t hunt they eat other orcs. Do you want to be like them? Do you want children to be like shadow orcs?! Or do you want them to learn hunting, kindness and shaman wisdom?” Law shouted to the group of wide eyed orcs.

            “He has point! And his tribe named him Law. Which mean he help with rules and order” Thok said, regaining his confidence. Most of the tribe began to think about the words of Law’Runce but a small percent of them were still bitter and angry from a day of fighting. “You promise big things but you from forest, you don’t know Pine Valley like we do!” Shouted a pale yellow male orc. The orc picked up a large rock and threw it at Law’Runce’s head. Law gritted his teeth in anger at the protest. Law didn’t want to rule the tribe he just wanted them to realize the harm they were doing to themselves and their children. The anger came back and Law lunged forward and caught the rock in his mouth. Law let out a might growl and chomped down on the stone shattering it into a thousand pieces. “Fools!” She shouted as rock fragments flew from his jaws. The crowd fell silent again.

            “Rock Eater! Rock Eater! Rock Eater!” Shouted the crowd. The Orc who threw the rock was pummeled into submission and no one else had a counter argument. Law’Runce was now known as Law’Runce the rock eater. His name was the quiet law bringer but his nickname Rock Eater was the show of force, strength and determination that orcs admired.

            After that point Law’Runce began helping the tribe of nomads set up rules that would be followed exactly. They assigned jobs for people to hunt for food, care for children, repair tents, guard the settlement, train others in combat, scout the land and even assigned jobs for when they had to uproot the settlement and travel. After a year of Law’runce being the rule making and the guiding force for the tribe, the Nomad orcs decided to make Law’Runce their War Chief. War Chief Law’Runce Rock Eater ruled the nomads for many years and helped them through difficult times. They relied on him and looked to him for aid. He was the strategist for battles and the peacemaker for disputes. He was always there to help others and helped so frequently that asking for help felt natural. No matter how hard the life in the Pine Valley was, Law’Runce was always there for his people and for his children.

Happy Fathers Day.

Fighting demons

 Jon thrash around on the floor, the shadows in his head scratched at his mind causing his body to writhe in torment. Everyone has demons, some are bigger and meaner than others and when your demons are the toughest demons around, then you have two choices die or become the new toughest thing around.

            Jon has had doubt since he was a small child, his personal demons were small but fierce. As Jon grew older he also grew stronger. The smaller demons that caused little things like doubt and anxiety were no match for his renewed strength and resolve. What Jon didn’t count on was that the shadows in his mind and his internal demons grew along with him. They had new sources of food and new ways to hurt him. They fed on his poor finances, loneliness and growing responsibilities. Every time Jon felt strong enough to get through the challenge in front of him there was always a second challenge waiting. Jon had been fighting his entire life, fighting challenges, inner demons and fighting to just stay alive. He was not above taking challenges head on, but a rest from fighting would be nice.

            On the outside Jon looked like a regular adult, handling his job and responsibilities but on the inside he was a savage warrior, struggling every day against larger and larger demons. He wished he could go back to the days when his demons only teased him about coming up with rent money. They seemed so daunting at the time, but now it seems like child’s play. Jon drew his spiritual sword and his shield of experience and would chop the heads off of dragons, demons and monsters as big as houses. The dragon’s head would always grow back, the demons would reappear from the shadows and the monsters would split into multiples. Every day he would fight against his doubt and fears, unrelenting, unwavering.

            Not every day was a victory, some days he would trample the opposition but most days he would not. He would fall and limp home bloodied and broken. He would have to rest quickly because the next day he would have to be stronger than before. The world insisted that when he fell broken to the ground, he needed to not just rest up to full strength, he needs to be double strength. Jon was used to fighting demons every day and as he grew stronger he also became better at hiding the fact that he was struggling at all. Anyone that knew Jon would be shocked if Jon told them of the war that raged on inside his head.

            To make matters worse, shadows of doubt would follow Jon to his sleep. Small imps that would normally be dispatched in seconds while he was awake, would follow him to his bed and taunt him as he tried to sleep. The imps knew they were no match for an adult Jon who had been fighting dragons all day, but if they disturbed his rest and tortured his dreams then he would be softened up for the fight against the dragons.

            When friends and co-workers saw his inner strength, when he showed them the steel in his soul and the determination in his eyes, they would be inspired and amazed. Jon had been complimented on occasion because of how strong he was. He didn’t see the strength because he was so tired from fighting all day. Jon did have that strength though, a strength he didn’t know he had. When times were their toughest, Jon would pull out that fighting spirit, the spirit of Jon that had been fighting dragons all day long, and he would pull the spirit into the real world. He wouldn’t be able to maintain the warriors spirit for long, but when it was unleashed all would take notice. If this fighting spirit was enough to fight demons all day, what chance did mere humans have?

Specter of the Forest

The forest was dark and thick with pine trees, each tree heavy with branches and pine needles. The blackness of night and the branches of the trees kept any light from entering the deep forest. Any creature that didn’t posses significant night vision would be left uselessly stumbling around in pitch black darkness of the inner forest. The moon was full and glowing brightly but only the birds that lived in the forest canopy could witness its beauty.

 

Something stirred deep in the forest, forest creatures scattered as it quickly moved through the dense woods. Despite the speed of the movement, the creature was making very little noise. The creature moved like a specter, as it would have to float and pass through solid trees to move so quickly and silently. The movement had direction and purpose. The creature was rushing to meet intruders who carelessly entered the forest uninvited. 

 

Loud stomping boots marched through the outer edge of the forest, moonbeams could still be seen through the trees and the woods were not so dense that a group of men could not march. These men were soldiers sent to find the specter of the woods, who they believed was a fugitive of the kingdom and not a ghost or spirit of any kind. The men marched deeper into the forest with their swords and armor. The soldiers carried attack dogs and metal spheres packed with gunpowder. These bombs would put the odds in their favor as many people and even kingdoms did not have access to gunpowder.

 

The forest grew darker as the soldiers traveled deeper into the woods. Since the soldiers didn’t have night vision they lit torches to light their way, this let them navigate the forest but it also made them stand out. Even one torch would be a great glowing beacon in such a dark forest, but ten men all carried torches and their presence was known to every living creature for miles.

 

            The captain of the soldiers stopped abruptly jolting all the men as they were also forced to stop. The captain, named Charles Godwyn, swung his torch around as he scanned the darkness for movement. A noise caught his attention but had escaped the notice of the other nine members of the group. The other soldiers looked in every direction to help the captain locate the noise. “It was probably a small animal or a bird” Said one of the soldiers. “It sounded like something took off from the ground, jumped or flew with such force that it disturbed the ground below it. So unless it was a giant owl or a jumping bear, then I think we are close to our fugitive” Explained the captain in a calm and quiet voice. “Are jumping bears real?” Asked one of the soldiers, sounding nervous. Charles smacked the soldier in the head and sighed “No, jumping bears aren’t real. Now focus. The fugitive must have a light source in order to travel at night” replied Charles the captain.

 

            Something rustled in the branches above the soldiers. Two of the soldiers in the back of the group fired an arrow up into the trees. The arrows both shot straight but only hit trees. The distinct noise of an arrow plunging into a tree made the captain sigh. The branches shook again but this time a small sack of powder was thrown to the ground from the tree tops.

 

The sack broke open on the floor and the powder turned to dust. The dust floated into the air and was pushed up higher and spread around as the soldiers tried to move away from it as quickly as they could. The movement and scuffling of feet from ten men forced the dust into the air and caused them to inhale some of it. The soldiers all stood and looked around. The powder didn’t explode or ignite, it appeared to be nothing more than a bag of dirt or sand. “Ten soldiers all distracted and surprised by a bag of sand” Charles said with another heavy sigh. He included himself in the number of men that were distracted, he was equally disappointed in himself. The soldiers had been carrying gunpowder bombs all day and were all aware of how dangerous the bombs could be, so when a porch of powder landed at their feet they reacted as if trying to escape a blast.

 

 

Glowing yellow eyes appeared from the darkness. The eyes looked down at the soldiers from above. Some kind of creature was staring at them while perched ten feet in the air on a tree branch. The forest canopy went up twenty feet or more, which left plenty of places to hide for anything that knew how to climb trees and leap across branches.

 

The captain gave a signal to the archers in the back and they each fired an arrow. Both arrows headed straight at the eyes but instead of hitting anything, the arrows passed through the glowing eyes and struck a tree with a loud thud. The eyes faded away as laughter began to echo through the forest. The laughter was maniacal and disturbing, the soldiers couldn’t tell if it was the laugh of a human or a hyena. Yellow eyes slowly faded into view on another tree branch but this time the eyes moved and appeared as though there were a creature walking along the branch. The eyes were higher up as well. The first set of eyes were low like a hunching human or an animal, the second pair of eyes would belong to someone standing between five and six feet tall. As the creature moved the glowing eyes left a trail of yellow light.

 

The men began to panic and one of them lit a bomb and threw it. Charles saw this and shouted “NO!” but it was too late, the bomb was air born. The bomb struck the tree and exploded. The sound of the explosion echoed through the otherwise silent forest for miles. The shockwave knocked the soldiers back and the blast destroyed several branches and ripped a chunk out of three surrounding trees. The soldiers were so close to the blast that chunks of wood pelted their armor and the light from the explosion temporarily blinded them.

 

When Charles came to his senses he noticed blood on his face and a dent in the side of his helmet caused by a flying high velocity chunk of wood. His men were slowly recovering and some were barely getting back on their feet. Charles walked over to check on his soldiers and saw one of them was dead. While all of the soldiers had been knocked back by the explosion or by chunks of wood one of the soldiers had been noticeably stabbed in the neck multiple times. The assailant would have had to strike precisely into the small gab between the helmet and the chest armor, which meant that if the creature or person they were tracking had killed a soldier they would have had to jump from the tree branches, escape the explosion, get next to a soldier, stab him on a very precise spot several times and leave before anyone noticed.

 

The soldiers grew more nervous at the skill of the criminal they were tracking. Then they heard its voice. “You were fools to come after me and bigger fools to track me at night!” the voice echoed through forest. “You are a wanted fugitive! You killed the prince of Gahlor and fled from justice. You have been credited to be agile and quick but no human could navigate through the dark forest as you have done this night. So if you are indeed Katharine Dohl then you need to come with us for the murder of the prince and now an imperial soldier!” Captain Charles called back. The voice laughed again, the laugh chilled their bones but the soldiers stood firm. “I was Katharine until I was driven from the land. I believe you and I remember things differently. I am now a ghost, a specter of the woods. I am a queen spider and you are all in my web. Now flee before you are consumed by my hatred!” Yelled the voice of Katharine. Her voice was only vaguely female, Her voice sounded otherworldly and threatening. “We can’t leave, I don’t care if we have to blow up the whole forest! The Prince must be avenged!” yelled the Captain.

 

Suddenly bright yellow eyes appeared in front of Captain Charles. It was a females face, she looked sad but her glowing yellow eyes and pale face still made him nervous. She looked undead with her paper white skin and scars across her face. “I avenged the victims of the Prince. The Prince was a monster and does not deserve to be avenged” Said the haunting face of Katharine. “Katharine? What happened to you?” Asked Captain Charles as the ghostly face of someone he used to know shook him to the core.   “I am not Katharine anymore, I am Delirium Doll, the stitched together girl, the undead witch of Gahlor, the specter of the woods and I am your death” Delirium snarled then vanished into the darkness. Before Charles could react another soldier screamed and blood splashed across the captain’s armor. A second soldier had been killed, this time stabbed through the throat. 

 

Charles was horrified by how bloodthirsty Katharine had become, she used to be a sweet girl who lived in the town just outside the castle. She studied medicine and plants with her father and wanted to help people, not hurt them. Charles thought about what she had said, about the Prince having victims and about that strange name, Delirium Doll. She said she was like a doll stitched together also her last name sounded like Doll.

“But why delirium?” Charles muttered, then he realized, the powder was a poison, altering the perception of the soldiers. They were delirious and seeing ghostly faces and glowing eyes. Katharine was killing them off slowly while they threw bombs at illusions. She could have killed everyone by now if she wanted to.

 

            “Men, retreat! We’ve been poisoned, your sight has been altered!” Charles shouted. The men all turned  and began to quickly march back the way they came, holding their shields up while they went. The situation was more complex than Charles first thought and even if Captain Charles Godwyn wanted to capture Katharine, he wouldn’t be able to while being poisoned in a dark unfamiliar forest.

 

            Katharine watched the soldiers retreat from the safety of the tree branches. She decided to spare the soldiers, men who were just doing their jobs. She had proven her might and coated the soldiers with so much toxic dust that anyone who goes near them will see ghosts for days. That was enough revenge for one day.

 

            The night slowly faded to morning as the soldiers marched back to the castle. Katharine Dohl, the Delirium Doll retreated to her forest hide out and Captain Charles headed home with a heavy heart and a head full of Delirium dust.

Joseph Stephens and the Deep Narration

“The world is cold and today, gray skies and cold wind blew through me and chilled my bones. Winter is always a difficult time for me and this year is no exception. Being cold all the time and the lack of sunlight make the normal problems of each day feel worse. I sit and clutch my drink and warm myself by the fire. I sit and I try to forget. I take a sip of my drink and slowly sink into my chair, my muscles relax a little with each sip. Soft music is playing in the background, it always helps me think when wordless music gently hums in the distance.”

 

            “Are you narrating in there?” Asked a voice from another room. Jaye Williams walked into the living room where Joseph Stephens was sitting in an old fashioned green chair, holding a drink, cuddled with a blanket and sitting in front of a space heater. “I’ve had a hard day, ok?” Replied Joseph Stephens who was in fact narrating. Jaye walked over to him and looked at his drink, he had something that looked like a gin and tonic in a highball glass. “Are you drinking? Its only three in the afternoon” asked a concerned Jaye. “No, its only seltzer water, I wanted to drink but alcohol upsets my tummy” replied Joseph.

 

            “Do you want to talk about it?” Jaye asked. Joseph looked really sad for a second. “No, thank you though. It really was a tough day though.” Joseph said with a sad sigh. Jaye Williams smiled “Do you  want to narrating it with me?” Asked Jaye. Joseph’s face slowly crept into a smile. “Yes, yes I would” Joseph said.

 

            “Some days are hard and some nights are worse, but if you look for the little things in life, it might be enough to get you through the strife. I leaned back in my chair and turned the space heater/roaring fireplace up to ten and sipped on my drink, it might have been cranberry seltzer but it could also have been a gin and tonic” Joseph said aloud in his best soothing narrator voice.

 

“The two friends sat back and enjoyed the fire, knowing that whatever happened, they would get through it and no matter how cold it got, spring would always come again” Jaye said in a slightly less impressive narrator voice.

 

            “thanks pal” Joseph said. “No problem” Replied Jaye in a slightly better narrator voice.

The Window Tree

A gentle breeze blows in through the open window. The old-fashioned windowpane opened inward, it opened like a small door and the wind was causing the windowpane to tap gently against a kitchen chair. Small gusts of wind rustled the sheer silk curtain and caused the wooden windowpane to sway. The windowpane and the lining was painted white and the wall color resembled a cup of coffee with only a dab of cream in it.

 

            The window was part of an old, country house, it was well maintained but had been built over a hundred years ago. The land was peaceful and folks never locked their doors and on a nice night, would leave their windows open, windows free to sway in the breeze. The breeze rustled the curtains like leaves on a tree, the window pain swayed like branches and the cool spring air could be felt inside the house just as easily as it could outside. The wood that built the house and the wood from the window used to be a tree, multiple trees made up the house. Trees that all had a history of their own before being cut down and since the day that the trees were used to build a house, the wood of these trees gathered even more history. Time leaves its mark on everything in this world, alive or not. When the window was still a tree, it had one of its branches fall off in a storm. The Window tree was the home for a family of birds, a group of squirrels and more bugs than any human would care to think about. The tree had life of its own, but was also apart of the great web of life, woven together with all things.

 

            Now the tree is a window, this is not good or bad, it just is. The wood is not considered alive anymore but it still served a purpose within the woven web of life. The window had been built, painted, fixed, repainted, slammed shut and left open to blow in the wind. The window had a notch on the bottom corner where a young boy was testing how sharp his knife was. It was a little knife meant for whittling and cutting tangled fishing line and apparently also used for cutting a little slice into the wood of a window when no one was looking.

 

            A window doesn’t have memories and wood isn’t alive but the history of the house and the trees that came before it should give you pause. It is important to stop, even for just a moment, and think about where things came from and ponder the stories that a window or house might have ‘seen’.

 

            When going to an old house many people might think, “I wonder if anyone died here”. Instead it is important to ask yourself “Who lived here?”.

Absent Fantasy

Words fill my head like a stream, a river of consciousness, the thoughts flow. My waterfall of thought crashes against the rocks of depression only to end there. The thoughts are destroyed and motivation banished. Words mean so little to me these days. I say them and feel nothing. No rainbows and giant trees, orcs and trolls are absent from the strange lands that my mind used to inhabit. The world of fantasy is empty and I am left alone in an empty field with gray skies. When the world of fantasy starts to look bleak then I begin to live more in the real world. My mind and my time are spent longer and longer in the real world. Bills, responsibilities, pain, depression attack from all sides, but the real world has beauty in it too, love, friendship, excitement and deeper sights and smells than my fantasy world ever had. I the rich smell of wood smoke and the feel of an autumn breeze exist in the real world but they are passing experiences. So I hold them tight and steal them away in through the door of fantasy. I grab as much of these experiences as I can but when they get into my world of fantasy they don’t have the same splendor. The imagined autumn tree has become flat and the rich fragrance of wood smoke is nothing but a wisp of a memory.

            My fantasy world used to take a tree and create a forest. One unique tree could even inspire an entire story. The tree could be ugly, strange or beautiful, it didn’t matter. Whenever I saw something so unique that I felt it didn’t belong in the real world I would steal it, I would take it to join the fantasy in my mind. In my fantasy world trees could talk if they were ancient enough, regular people could be heroes or villains, cats were magical, well more magical than in real life, and I could be free.

            I feel like my world has started to mirror the never-ending story. The nothing consumed the Never Ending storybook and destroyed the wondrous creatures that lived there. I feel that the Nothing has come for my fantasy world and it makes me nervous. Though I hope that this absence of fantasy is temporary. Maybe the Nothing didn’t consume my fantasy world, but instead I have become too tainted by stress and the real world to see the fantasy before my eyes. The fantasy creatures that once lived in my world still exist, but I just cannot see them. I miss them. I write about characters like Pumpkin Jack, the Gravedigger, Hobbs, the Vanguard, those hundreds of characters named Joseph and Jack, the lands like Hallows end, Bokro, Dark town and autumn carnival, I write about these people and places but I can’t see them as much anymore. I used to be able to picture them so clearly as if they stood in front of me but now I write about them from memory of what I think they would do and say. I miss them and I don’t know how to return to the worlds I once created. This is not the first time I have felt distant from my stories, but it might be one of the longest times I have gone without writing, or without visiting the fantasyland in my imagination.

            I am sure there are plenty of people who would be confused or not understand the severity of what I am talking about, some might think I am insane and lost my grip with reality, sadly I have not, I know all too well what reality is. To dream makes us human and the capacity for fantasy is one of greatest gift you could have. Children have the capacity for fantasy and the live half in fantasy and half in reality, but parents either choose not to nurture this gift or they straight out destroy it. Some people die but continue to walk through life thinking they are alive. This society is not made for dreamers and artists, this world is cold and hard and you have to look for the good and the warm. Every human has to search for the good in life and some never find it.

            In my opinion, the nicest thing you could do for someone is make them a meal and tell them a story. 

So Sick

I’m so sick of hearing the same songs on the radio, repetitive thoughts. They are just repetitive words and tunes that play over and over on an endless loop. I wish I could just turn off the radio. The radio keeps playing, without an off button, without end. I sit and clutch my head. I sit and clutch my radio as it spews out thoughts. As it spews out music into the air constantly. Thoughts. Songs I don’t want to hear echo out of the radio constantly. Some make me remember things I’d be better off forgetting, some torment me with things I already know. Songs. Thoughts. Radio always playing. Why can’t I shut off my radio? One time I threw a bottle at it and the radio stopped for a minute, but just when I thought it was off, the radio came back on.

 

            My voice echoes out of my radio, taunting me as I go through life. For every helpful suggestion there are equal parts pain and annoyance. Sometimes the radio is a dull hum and I can barely hear it, sometimes its blaring so loud that I can’t hear the voices of my friends or family.

 

            I’m so sick of the radio, why can’t I turn off the radio?

The World of Eroza - Part 1 The Beginning

            When the world was born life flourished across every landscape, weather was more extreme and beautiful at that time, than it ever would be again. The lush green of life, bright reds of the setting sun and the crisp blue of the sky were a sight to behold. The world was in its purest form. The Creator walked the land and felt proud of its creation, but the world felt empty. The Creator sculpted animals and insects from clay and stone. Just as the creatures were made they sprang to life of flesh, feathers and scales. The world spun in the great void for many years, never changing, always beautiful, always the same.

 

            The Creator had made trees, birds, beasts, insects, reptiles, fish and amphibians. Every day the Creator would make something new, and every day the new invention would please It. The beasts and bugs lived in the world but did not have an understanding of it. A rabbit would enjoy eating the Creator’s grass and plant life, but the rabbit didn’t stare at the sky in wonderment, the rabbit wouldn’t be awed by the power of a thunderstorm.

 

The Creator loved the world It created but It wanted more, It wanted something that would enjoy and appreciate the world just as the Creator did. So the Creator decided to make new races of creature. First were the stout folk, who were brought into the world out of the stone and given life by the flames from the center of the world. The stout folk came to life and were flesh and bone, but they never lost their strength of stone or the fury and passions of fire.

 

          The stout folk lived on the land, but being made from the stone and flames they yearned to return to the rock. The stout folk began digging tunnels and living underground. They journeyed on the surface of the world but lived under it.

 

The Creator was pleased with his creations, but still wanted more. The Creator made new beings out of wood and breathed wind into the creations, giving them life and making them flesh, blood and bone. The new creatures were the fair folk, they roamed the land at first but were called away to the forests. They hid away in the trees as the wood and wind of their birth called them to the treetops.

The Creator was also pleased with the second of the complex creations, but wished that there would be a creature that would live on the land and in the fields instead of hiding away in the tunnels and forests of the world. So the Creator molded the land dwellers, creatures destined to dwell on the land and all across it. The land Dwellers or just Dwellers, were made from clay from the land, sand from the shore and rock from the hills, they had wind, water and fire infused into their bodies and were soon brought to life. The new creatures were the most complex things in the world and as the first of the dwellers came alive, something strange happened.

 

The Dwellers were brought to life and now made of flesh, blood and bone like the first two creations, but the first dwellers were made of so much that every dweller began to vomit forth a type of waste. Black, purple and brown slime was expelled from each of the first dwellers. The slime seemed like it was trying to escape of its own will and even started to move.

The Creator was repelled by the slime and struck it into the deepest corners of the oceans, into the land and the sky. The Creator stashed away the repulsive slime so deeply that it would never be able to harm the creatures of the world.  

The dwellers were indeed complex and aside from the setback of being so stuffed full that they expelled slime, the Creator was still pleased. The dwellers lived on the land, they explored the forests and caves, they swam in the oceans of the world and appreciated the world just as the Creator did. The dwellers lived in the open fields and were friendly with the Stout folk and Fair folk. All was well with the world. 

The Creator watched the dwellers for many years to be sure that they wouldn’t expel any more slime. The Creator made a mental note to not pack so much into one being, next time a creature was made.  

 

The world spun in the great void, the Dwellers and the folk of Tunnels and Forests all got along. While the Creator and It’s creatures were living and prospering, something stirred in the sky. 

 

 

            The Dwellers changed to more suit the land, the Fair folk broke off into tribes and the Stout folk started clans. This change was not good or bad, it just was a natural part of the world and it fascinated the Creator. While the Creators favorite pets changed, so did the slime. The Slime buried deep in every corner of the world began to change to suit its environment. The world would not be the same when the sins of the Creator finally broke free into the world of the dwellers.

Beware the Great Pumpkin

 

 

    Beware beware the great pumpkin, the great pumpkin is he, on a cold Autumn night he will drop by for a bite, and take a child, or two or three. When the wind howls and the cat meowles and the owls hoot in fear, you know that the great pumpkin is coming to town this year.

 

 

 

Happy Halloween

 

 

 

Halloween Carnival part 2

  The day of the Halloween Carnival had arrived, it was a cold autumn night, the invisible face of the moon stared down at the earth below. On the border of the Autumn Forest and the Haunted Forest was a clearing, on the clearing was the site for the exciting and new Halloween Carnival.

 

            Lights beamed into the air signaling all to come and join the fun, giant black metal gates surrounded the carnival and only had one entrance through the front. People slowly and cautiously approached the new carnival. Music played, ticket sellers waited in their booth by the front gate and Charles Orchard was in his human form yelling into a cone that amplified his voice. “Welcome, ladies and Gentlemen! Children and pets! This is the first annual Halloween Carnival, where scares and fun wait around every corner. The Carnival may seem spooky but this is a safe, family friendly adventure. If you loved the joys of my Autumn Carnival, try the scares of my Halloween Carnival” Charles shouted, his voice echoed through the clearing. The carnival was new and strange but seeing Charles Orchard there made the people feel more at ease. His Autumn Carnival was a yearly tradition and many residence of the Autumn Forest knew him personally.

 

            The large gates opened with an eerie creek that echoed through the clearing. No one said a word and the whole clearing was dead silent, then suddenly a marching band came pouring out of the carnival to greet the guests. The loud band music broke the silence with a sledgehammer as the band danced, marched and shot confetti out of their instruments. Most of the band members appeared human, but some were a little strange looking, so strange that the locals just assumed and hoped they were wearing costumes. Most notable band members were a goblin hopping along cheerfully with a baton, a horse headed man in a tuxedo playing a trombone, and ghost of a woman who wore old style clothing, had a knife sticking out of his back and played the trumpet.

 

            The crowded seemed to warm up to the strange marching band and some were even dancing along with the spooky scary skeletons that danced along behind the band. Charles beamed with pride as it seemed his plan was working.

 

            The inside of the carnival was filled with creepy rides and fun Halloween themed treats. Snack stands were placed at the entrance to entice people to part with their money in exchange for purple slime apples, which were just caramel apples with food coloring, or Devil sandwiches, which were spicy meat sandwiches with a tangy-sweet sauce on a red tomato bun and little toothpicks sticking out to look like horns.  The stands also had various kinds of candy, apple cider, and fruit punch with fake eyeballs floating around in each glass.

 

            At the center of the Carnival was the Pumpkin Tree. Charles Orchard took a seed from the magical Autumn Carnival tree and planted it in soil from the Haunted Forest, the result was an autumn tree that grew pumpkins from the branches, like an apple tree, but instead of apples this tree was filled with small pumpkins with glowing Jack-o-lantern faces. The pumpkin’s faces glowed with green, purple, blue and red light and were most certainly not edible.

 

            If you traveled further into the carnival you wound find rides of all sizes. There was the dead drop ride where people are lifted into the air slowly, then suddenly dropped causing fear and shrieking from the terrified patrons inside the box. There was also a towering set of metal beams with a Jack-o-Lantern at the top. Guests would get into a little lift at the bottom and then brought up into the pumpkin, then the pumpkin head would spin around super fast, insane laughter would echo out of the Jack-o-Lanterns mouth as the people inside the pumpkin screamed. Lastly an actual haunted mansion was at the Carnival, it was a huge house filled with things that would scare even the bravest of souls. Charles found lesser creatures from the Haunted Forest and trapped them in the mansion, but put up a spell to protect the customers.

 

            The carnival also had rides for kids and the faint of heart. The Bat flight ride would let people soar over the carnival while riding on a giant mechanical bat. The Bat even had a cartoon-ish vampire voice that recommended food and rides to people new to the park. The Kids of the Autumn forest enjoyed the bouncy pumpkin, which was a giant inflated pumpkin that had bouncy floors and a ball pit to mimic pumpkin guts and seeds.

 

            Games dotted the carnival, such as Halloween hunt, where you shoot a pellet gun at incoming Halloween themed monsters. The carnival also had a game called Cat claw machine, where you control a claw that looks like a black cat, with each claw hook being a cat let. Kids would hover the cat over spooky treats and small stuffed animals like plague rats, skeleton mice and poisonous frogs.

 

            Charles wished there were more rides and attractions but he was on a deadline. He hoped this Halloween his carnival would be a huge success so he could keep adding things and make a new one every year.

 

            While the crowds of people laughed, ate and screamed in terror a familiar face was walking among the humans. Pumpkin Jack, the man with the carved face walked through the Halloween Carnival and smiled at all the good cheer toward Halloween. He spotted Charles and patted him on the back “Good work Chuck, you did good” Said Pumpkin Jack, who was dressed in all orange and black as usual. His jagged pumpkin-carving sword was strapped to his belt, but everyone assumed it was fake or didn’t seem to notice.

 

            Charles could feel the joy and entertainment that the park was bringing everyone and it brought a warm smile to his face. Then a sense of dread over took him, he looked toward the Haunted Forest and saw an uprising of shadow fiends, ghosts and spirits gathering behind the Carnival. Charles looked at Pumpkin Jack, who also saw it. The two ran along the outer gate of the carnival, they ran as fast as they could in hopes that they would be able to intercept the shadow fiends before they reached the carnival.

 

            When Charles finally reached the group of spirits and fiends he noticed the Czars already standing between the fiends and the carnival. Pumpkin Jack and Charles quickly went to join their friends. “You won’t stop us human!” shouted a towering shadow creature carrying a black hammer. The shadow hammer had runes written into the side and Charles knew right away what they were. The shadow hammer was forged with shadow magic and physical magic, letting the wielder attack any ghost, spirit, shadow or human with crushing force. “Whats going on? We had a deal! Don’t you already feel the fear from the scary rides in my carnival?” Asked Charles. The leader of the small army laughed. “You promised a feast of fear and so far we’ve only had a snack. There isn’t enough fear to satisfy all of us. We all helped build your human entertainment and now we want the feast we were promised” said the shadow fiend leader. “Gentlemen, it doesn’t matter the size of your meal, this is a guaranteed yearly meal that you wouldn’t normally have. This is one meal you don’t have to hunt for, one meal that is delivered right to you. You all did a wonderful job helping build the rides, but now you have infinite years ahead of you of annual free meals. A month of work and now you have guaranteed fear to eat every Halloween. This carnival will go on for as long as I live and I plan to live a very long time” Explained Charles calmly. Some of the angry spirits and shadow fiends seemed satisfied with that for an answer. “ALSO if you go any further I will put every one of you whimpering spirits so far in the ground you won’t ever see the moon again!” Shouted pumpkin Jack who was holding his jagged pumpkin sword. Jack’s blade was also able to cut and destroy any ghost, shadow fiend, monster or human. Pumpkin Jack was older than most of the creatures in the haunted forest and the power of his sword was a product of absorbing years of dark energy from Hallows end and the Haunted forest.

 

            Between the rational explanation given by Charles and the convincing threat from Pumpkin Jack, the majority of the shadow fiends and ghosts decided to slink back into the Haunted forest and enjoy their free meal. The shadow leader and his closest followers decided to press the issue. “You don’t scare me, Pumpkin boy. My hammer can kill anything, no matter how old you claim to be. So I think its time to feast on those humans. Their pure fear will taste even better than this manufactured fear you are feeding us” Said the Shadow Leader as he began to march forward.

 

            Nyx and Poe, the Czars of Halloween, pulled their weapons out from the straps on their back. “I was hoping not to mess up my suit” Said Poe as he brushed his black and white suit with the back of his hand. “I was hoping to mess up someone’s face, so this works out” Said Nyx with a creepy smile. The Czars of Halloween, and Pumpkin Jack all charged forward with their weapons ready to strike. Charles stayed back and began to chant. After a few seconds Charles was able to create a barrier around the Halloween Carnival. The barrier let humans come and go, but anything supernatural couldn’t pass through into the carnival, the barrier also hid the fighting that was about to ensue outside.

 

            Pumpkin Jack charged forward and slashed like a maniac at the Shadow leader, Pumpkin Jack used to be a human sailor at one point in his life, he had sword skills, grace and a peaceful mind, now he had the mind of an animal and went berserk whenever he was in a fight. The shadow leader was able to block each sword strike with his shadow hammer but he was having a difficult time keeping up. The giant shadow monster swatted his large hand at pumpkin Jack then used both hands to slam his hammer into the ground. The ground shook and spirits rose up from the ground and began to latch onto Jack, sapping his strength with their supernatural powers.

 

            Poe ran toward Jack and swung his Axe scythe. The great blade sliced through the air, sending a spirit blade forward at Jack. The spirit blade went through Jack but only made contact with the summoned spirits. The Spirits all cried out as Poe’s special ability forced them back into the earth from where they came. The shadow leader melted into the ground and reappeared behind Poe, striking him in the head with a quick but deadly punch. The force of the punch sent Poe stumbling sideways before he crumpled to the ground. Nyx shouted in anger and alarm and rushed toward Poe. Nyx and Jack pulled their swords out and attacked the shadow leader at the same time. The force of two pumpkin swordsmen attacking at once was too much for the leader. Each strike of either sword left a trail of fire and burning wounds. The shadow leader tried to block with his hammer but the force of the sword strikes were too much and ever time a sword struck his hammer, the shadow hammer would shake and start to crack.

 

            The two swordsmen attacked with the force of an army of wild animals. The shadow hammer began to glow orange-red as it heated up. Poe finally stood up with a determined and deadly look in his eyes. He charged forward and swung his axe with all of his might, straight down at the shadow leader. The leader blocked and the force of Poe’s strike broke the already weakened hammer. The shadow leader flew backward as his hammer exploded.

 

            “uh…huh, fine. You win. But you can’t kill me. No matter how much I am sliced. Only a shadow fiend can kill another shadow fiend” Said the Shadow leader. Just then Pumpkin Jack realized he hadn’t seen Charles. The group of friends looked around only to see Charles in his true Shadow fiend form. A hulking shadow monster was ripping ghosts and spirits apart with his bare hands, then eating the ones who weren’t completely destroyed.

           

            Charles had been fed so well over the years from the Autumn Carnival that his true for was as big if not bigger than the shadow leader, who was an older shadow fiend than Charles. “You dare attack my carnival? You attack MY PAYING CUSTOMERS?!” Charles shouted, his voice shook the ground. Charles jumped in the air and landed next to the shadow leader. Charles had horns, glowing yellow eyes and jagged teeth inside his giant mouth. Purple and black swirls moved through his whole body as if he was a liquid, a smoke and a solid all at once. The shadow leader melted into the ground to escape but Charles reached into the ground after him and pulled the leader out, lifting him up in the air.

 

            Before the Shadow leader could beg for mercy Charles took a big bite out of the leader, crunching off his head with little effort. He dropped the leaders body in a slump, which quickly melted away. Charles opened his mouth, pulled the leaders head out of his mouth and held it up in the air. The leader’s head was still alive, losing his body didn’t seem to slow him down. Charles summoned a pumpkin out of this air and smashed the leaders head into a pumpkin. A face appeared on the pumpkin, it wasn’t carved but instead it looked as if it was painted on by glowing purple paint. The spirit paint appeared in the grim visage of the Shadow fiend leader. The spirit of the Leader was now trapped in this special pumpkin for all eternity, as long as no one smashed it open. Charles stashed the pumpkin away in a pocket that he seemed to open up out of the air.

 

            The Czars of Halloween seemed shocked and surprised, Pumpkin Jack looked like he had seen this kind of thing before and was unimpressed. “Well I am glad that is over” Said Pumpkin Jack. “Yes, me too! Thank you so much for your help. It may have seemed like I had everything under control but I certainly couldn’t have done it without you. The shadow leaders hammer alone would have put me down for the count” Said Charles as he slowly morphed into his human form.

 

            The customers of the Halloween Carnival had no idea that their lives were in danger and if asked they would say that they had a great time and looked forward to going again next year.