The Beauty in Autumn

The sun shone brightly over the clear autumn day and the air had a crisp, chilly feel. I walked across the paved parking lot of a small church when I saw a woman backdropped by brightly colored fall leaves.

Trees surrounded the church and dotted the neighborhood, the colors were reminiscent of golden honey and pumpkin pie. The smell of woodsmoke floated on the cool Autumn breeze. The woman had raven black hair, skin pale as the moon and bright blue eyes. She turned to me and for a moment I swear she conjured up a gust of wind to blow her hair to the side. 

“Oh there you are” She said to me. She was not a stranger but this was the first time I had seen her in this light. She was both familiar and different. She walked up to me with an awkward and cute stride. Her walk reflected her personality; awkward and cute. 

We talked for a few minutes, our conversations were the same but something was different. We stood closer together than we used to and during the conversation she leaned against me several times. I felt a little crazy as I pondered the smallest of details. I wondered if I was being very observant of our changing relationship or if I was making it all up in my head.

I cast my gaze on the clear blue sky as I attempted calm. The two of us stood quietly in peaceful silence until she said “I should go”. I looked back down and saw her staring at me with her big blue eyes. She seemed like she was anticipating something. I grew increasingly nervous as I fumbled for words to say.

My old instincts decided my action for me as I moved forward to give her a goodbye hug. Normally this hug would be casual and friendly but that day I held her close for an extra second, let out a relaxed sigh and noticed she was hugging me just as tightly. She rested her head on my chest as both of her arms wrapped around my torso. 

 I let go and took a step back, we both said our awkward goodbye, then I turned and quickly walked to my car. On the way back to my car I realized how chilly it had gotten. I had lost track of time and temperature just by standing near her. I finally climbed into my car and sat slumped over as my mind raced and attempted to make sense of the events that just transpired.
When I was mentally ready I started my car and drove off down the road. The air was crisp and the trees swayed happily in the autumn breeze. I admired the natural beauty of Autumn as I drove and I felt relaxed.

Like the changing of the season I felt a change in my relationship with her. I could not say what caused the change, I can only say that there is no going back. 

Cabin in the Mist

Mist drifted down along the rolling hills. Among the hills was a cluster of forest and in that forest was a cabin. The cabin was rustic but comfortable with a wildwood as the backyard. Owls hooted in the night, light rain fell on lush green trees. Two small lantern lights were placed outside the door of the cabin, an inviting sight that promised warmth on a rainy night. Inside the cabin was a crackling fire in the hearth. Wooden chairs with cushioning, a small kitchen that had the aroma of baked goods and coffee. The scent of wood smoke and fresh cut wood lingered through the whole cabin. A small black cat was resting by the fire, warming itself against the damp air. It purred softly as it drifted off to sleep. The atmosphere was so calming that the air itself would calm the most anxious person with each breath they took. The calm drifted over the woods, relaxation was easily achieved here.

The outside world had storms and fires to put out but the small cabin had only gentle rain and the sound of gentle crackling flames.

Joseph walked through the forest path, he had been lost for countless days, months and even years. He traveled tirelessly, looking for answers but only finding troubles. The scent of wood smoke caught his attention first then the faint glow of the lanterns could be seen. Joseph continued to approach the cabin. Rain gently tapped against his heavy coat, hair and skin. Joseph didn’t mind the rain or the night but was thrilled to see a warm cabin appear from the forest.

Joseph opened the wooden door and saw the relaxing cabin before him. He sighed, releasing troubles from his shoulders and worries from his mind. The sins of the past dripped off of him like rain from his coat. He took a deep breath as he walked further into the cabin. His troubles and worries began to fly from him like ash in the wind.



            Joseph sat down out of reflex, like this was the most familiar thing in the world. As he sat on the wooden chair by the fire he felt the warm crackling flames and he smiled. Soft music began to play as he enjoyed the warmth and rest. Joseph looked over at the empty wooden chairs next to him. He sighed again then looked down. He appreciated the rest but was tired of traveling alone.



            “Don’t look so down in the dumps” Said a voice. Joseph looked up and saw his friends were all now there, filling the empty seats next to him.

The rain fell outside and Joseph began to cry, it was a cry of relief. “This is all I wanted” Joseph said.


            Joseph traveled, looked for answers everywhere he went but all he needed was a warm place to sit with friends.

Battle focus

I was sitting under a tree watching the rain. Gentle water drops fell from the sky, pattering against the land, the thin, green leaves danced and shook from the wind and rain.

            I stayed in a meditative state for several hours as I focused on sight of the lush field, the trees that dotted the land and the rain that fell upon it all. I listened to the raindrops, the wind and the shaking of branches. I felt my breath, I felt my hands grip my sword and I chose not to feel the wound in my abdomen.

            The blood was staunched, the wound was dressed and I continued to draw breath. The pain would have been unbearable if I was not meditating.

This was not the meditation of a monk or holy man lost in prayer, this was a kind of meditation that I taught myself after years on the battlefield. Years of pain and self discipline showed me the way to focus on every little detail of life, take it all in and feel everything except the pain. During this focus, I could not move, I wouldn’t feel hunger or thirst and if I broke my focus, the pain would rush back like a tidal wave.

            I observed the sun rise and set, I watched the moon and felt the insects of the field land on my skin and clothes, then fly off, completely unaware of my existence. When someone chooses to ignore their own suffering, others will often ignore it as well. One does not ask a tree about the day, or consult a sleeping man on the weather.

            Time was lost, it fell away with the rest of life. I awoke in the dead of night, confused, and in pain. I had stayed meditating for so long that I had collapsed from exhaustion. I have no way of knowing how long I slept or how much time had passed since I had been stabbed.

            My wound was dried and scabbed, my sword was still stuck in the ground but it was leaning in a pile of uneven dirt. I was hungrier than I had been in a very long time and my throat was dry as sand.

            I pulled on a thin chain, one end was connected to the bracer on my arm and the other was connected to my traveling bag. I dragged my travelers bag to my hunched form as I lay on the ground. The bag was easy to open but hard to steal. Nothing had been stolen from my bag but there had been times when I would awaken to find my sword stolen along with contents of the bag. Knowing I couldn’t protect my bag at all times, I chained it to my arm and built a secret compartment on the bottom of it. Anyone who stole from travelers would do so quickly and take the path of least resistance. They stole trinkets and extra clothes and blankets but never looked hard enough to find my secret compartment.

            The compartment held emergency food and water and all of my most valuable and sentimental possessions. I always needed food and water as soon as my meditation would end and I could not risk awakening to find I was weak, in the wilderness and without food or water.

My energy improved as I ate and drank. My wound was a dull ache and I had the energy to walk again. I continued my journey forward. I had survived another war, another dance with death and those who left me for dead will see me walk back into town with two working legs and the strength of a healthy soldier.

I am a mercenary, the indomitable swordsman and the survivor of over a hundred battle wounds. I am Virtus.

Crimson Hand Origin

Rain fell from the sky, beating the ground like fingers tapping on a drum. Samantha and Rumford Gould had left Mist Harbor but the rain followed them. “No one enjoys our company as much as the rain” Rumford joked.

A chilled breeze blew through and rustled their cloaks. Samantha wore her cloak with her hood up and her black leather gloves. She wore a sleeveless tunic and black pants. She wasn’t bothered by the chill in the air but had to keep her appearance and her hand covered at all times. Rumford looked like he was preparing for a blizzard with all of his layers of clothes. He wore enough clothes to cover any trace of bone or hint of green glow from the flame in his chest. The only spots visible were his eyes and the skin around the eyes. Rumford didn’t feel hot or cold, he didn’t get tired or need to eat or drink, so he carried all the extra clothes, watched over Samantha when she slept and remained covered as often as possible.

The two approached the Autumn Forest, the forest of autumn colors, honey, apples and maple. The air was always cooler there but it never snowed. Leaves fell from the trees and blew in the breeze but the trees were never bare. The Autumn Forest was a beautiful sight for most but not for Samantha.

Samantha was born in the small village of Honeydew, her life was quiet, peaceful and boring. Every day was greeted with beautiful fall colors and a cool breeze to temper the midday sun.

            When Samantha turned nineteen, she decided to leave her village in search of adventure. Her journey started on a clear and sunny day when the sky was a bright blue and the air was crisp. She was a spunky youth with a sharp tongue, a warming smile and plans for adventure. She knew how to plant and harvest crops and orchards, she could chop wood, hunt and ride horses. Samantha was prepared for the long road ahead and understood that life wouldn’t always be fair or kind outside of her village.

            The sunlight danced through the swaying leave of the forest and speckled the ground in golden rays. Samantha’s horse trotted along the well-treaded path from the Autumn Forest to Bright Harbor. Samantha spotted a dark haired traveler on the path. He had olive skin, black hair, brown eyes and wore layers of robes. Samantha rode up next to the man as he walked along the dirt road, his robes kicking up dust as he went. “I rarely see travelers on these roads” Samantha called to the man. The robed man flinched in surprise as he turned quickly. “H-hello. Yes, I’m traveling” The man said nervously. Samantha gave a suspicious look at the nervous man. “Is everything alright?” Samantha asked as she slowed down. The man’s face started to relax “Yes, thank you. I just need to get to Hallows End before the Halloween festival is over.

            “You are going the wrong way for that. If you want, I can take you” Samantha said. She planned on going to Bright Harbor but a spooky town of monsters all celebrating at once could be fun as well. “My name is Samantha, whats your name?” Samantha asked as she helped the man onto the horse. “Rumford” Replied the man with a big smile.

            Hallows End was a town deep in the Haunted Forest, a forest so dangerous that no one had ever returned from the forest once they entered it. Once a year the forest would magically open into a straight path leading to Hallows End. The bravest residence of the Autumn Forest and some tourists would go to Hallows End every year to celebrate Halloween. While the Haunted Forest was extremely dangerous, the town of Hallows End was one of the safest places in the world. Large monsters kept the peace and the town was founded on peace with all who enter as friends.

            Samantha knew where the path would open and knew when it would open. She road her horse to the entrance of the Haunted forest on the night before Halloween. The two arrived at the edge of the forest and set up a small camp. There was a visible line where the curse of the Haunted forest ended and the start of the healthy Autumn Forest began. there was no noticeable entrance of any kind but Rumford was an outsider and had to trust Samantha knew what she was doing.

            Rumford was slow to open up, he huddled into his robes like a turtle in his shell but as the night went on he loosened up. Samantha turned on her charms, she was witty and sarcastic and this connected with Rumford’s dry sense of humor and love of sarcasm. The difference was Samantha seemed fearless and Rumford was more timid.

            The cool night air blew through the Autumn Forest and swept over Samantha’s camp. The wind made the flames dance. The fire danced to the song of the wind, spreading light and heat out into the cold dark night, the flames spat little embers up into the air like a dancer throwing confetti. The embers popped and sizzled before burning out and drifting down to the earth as harmless ash. Rumford shyly laughed and smiled as Samantha told stories about the Autumn Forest and her small adventures she had so far. Rumford couldn’t take his eyes off the red haired woman from the Autumn forest. He stared at her pale face through the crackling flames, her green eyes were fierce and pushed back the darkness of night just as much as the roaring flames did. He saw a heroic woman who just started her journey, a conqueror of lands and a force to be reckoned with.

            Samantha tried her best to tell her boring stories to pass the time, she looked at her new traveling companion and realized that there was a cute and funny guy hidden in that pile of hair and robes. Samantha didn’t think her stories were very interesting but Rumford hung on her every word. Stories of scaring bears away from the fish she just caught, or shooting an arrow at a bandit who tried to run off with and old ladies money. These weren’t big battles between wizards and demons but a shut in like Rumford was enthralled.

            “So enough about my stories, what about you?” Samantha asked, as the light from the campfire glinted in her eyes.  “I study monsters, supernatural events and magic. I wanted to study Hallows end for the longest time but had to wait till the right time when the path opened. I also had to wait till the head scholar approved of my journey” Rumford explained. “So…” Samantha muttered but trailed off as she chose her next words. “what you are saying is, while everyone is partying on Halloween you are using it as a chance to study?” Samantha asked with a sly smile. “Yes” Rumford replied innocently. “NERD!” Samantha shouted then burst into laughter. She playfully threw her pillow at him and continued to laugh. This kind of remark would usually annoy Rumford but somehow when the words came from Samantha he didn’t mind at all. He smiled and felt embarrassed but also happy that something he did made her laugh.

            The two met on that day, the night before Halloween, one hundred years ago. Present day, Samantha and Rumford Gould, husband and wife, Crimson hand and Ghoulish bodyguard, road to the entrance of the Haunted forest. Rumford turned to his wife as the approached “Remember when we first met? All I wanted to do was study monsters” Rumford joked. “NERD!” Samantha shouted with a big smile then punched Rumford’s arm. She heard the sound of his shoulder bone crack as the joint popped out of place. The air went dead and the two were silent. “Its fine, I’ll fix it later. Ya know, I used to love monsters and now I AM one” Rumford tried to joke. Samantha winced and looked like she was going to cry. “You will never be a monster to me” Samantha said, looking Rumford in the eyes. Rumford had a flash back to that first night they met. The dark of night, the cold wind, Samantha’s pale beautiful face and her tender look, it was all just like that night, so much so that he could imagine the flames crackling and he could see the flaming glint in her eyes.

            “We will get revenge” Samantha said. Her whispered voice floated away like a hushed wind.

Halloween Comes for Ignitous

In the spirit world there were four major lands, each based on a season experienced on earth. Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall all had lands with their own climate, forests and other terrain. In the land of summer on the eastern edge of the searing desert was the summer forest. The summer forest was a brisk ninety to a hundred degrees, then going outward toward the desert the temperature went up until finally reaching the volcano lands, where the air was hot enough to burn human hair.

            The spirits and warm weather animals played and enjoyed their warm days while Autumn arrived for the people on Earth. The warm weather was slowly cooling in the summer forest, causing the inhabitants to panic. A dark shadow swooped over the land like a hawk looking for prey. These disturbances alerted the attention of July, the ruler of Summer land. She was a large woman who loved parties, attention and summer heat. She was popular among her own people but had a tendency for sticking around on earth longer than many humans would like. Her overstaying her welcome would cut into the Fall season. This year she behaved herself and was in the summer lands with her people.

            The large shadow was joined by smaller shadows and the cold air began to pour in from above. The sky darkened as glowing white ghosts and wisps descended into the forest. Maniacal laughter echoed through the trees and pumpkin headed plant creatures sprang up from the ground. Spirits of Halloween had arrived in the summer lands and were searching for someone. Floating Jack-o-lanterns with glowing eyes scanned through the now darkened forest as bats and hawks flew above the treetops. The summer forest was in a panic.

            The spirits of Autumn and Halloween had come for Ignitious the flame spirit, who, with his brother Glacious, attacked the Autumn Forest and severely injured the leader Patches. Joseph Stephens and Jaye Williams chased to two brothers out of the Autumn forest but the spirits of Halloween wanted revenge on the brothers for their disrespect for the natural order of the seasons.

            Ignitious was mostly recovered from his injuries thanks to the heat of the Summer Lands. The Halloween spirits had already spotted before he figured out that he was the target of this attack. The bright flames that made up Ignitious’ body was easy to spot in the now darkened sky and before he could escape he was set upon by bats and pumpkin monsters. The flame spirit sent out a wave of flames, sweeping up the bats in the flames and making the monsters run for cover. The trees of the Summer Forest were heat and flame proof, so any fire that hit the green leafy trees quickly went out. Ignitious wasn’t a spirit of the summer lands and didn’t really care about the forest, so even if the trees weren’t fire proof he still would have used his fire powers without restraint.

            Ignitious took off flying like a fireball, he was headed for the volcano where his powers would be strongest. He shot through the forest with ease and entered the searing desert. The large shadow from the sky descended down and landed in front of Ignitious before the spirit could go any further. Ignitious collided with the shadow causing a fiery explosion. When the flames died down the shadow still stood. Bats fluttered away and shadow creatures melted off the figure and escaped into the ground, revealing Patches, the spirit of Autumn and the leader of the Autumn Lands. “Did you really think you could surprise attack me like a coward, attack my lands, claim my forest for yourself and I wouldn’t do anything about it? Just because Joseph and Jaye kicked you out of my forest doesn’t mean there wont be consequences!” Patches’ voice boomed as flames erupted out of his pumpkin head and dark magic jumped from his body like electrical sparks from a power line.

            “I beat you once before, do you really think you can take me this time?” Ignitious said with a fiery smile. “You had your brother to help you and you attacked me when my back was turned. In a fair fight you wouldn’t last a minute. I am the king of Autumn and Halloween, you are rogue elemental spirit” Patches shouted as he walked towards Ignitious. Patches was tall and thin with a body made of hay, roots and flames with a large pumpkin head on his shoulders and a carved face that moved like a human face. While the two spirits prepared to fight the invading spirits of Halloween and Autumn made a circle around the two, so that Ignitious couldn’t run away from this. Cold air blew through the desert as the night sky and full moon loomed over head for the first time ever in this land.

            Ignitious spun around bringing flames up from the ground and carrying them with him as he charged towards Patches. The King of Fall didn’t flinch at the flames and easily side stepped the attack. Patches was quicker than he looked and was determined to show this menace why he shouldn’t mess with the Autumn Lands. Patches melted into the ground like a shadow and shot forward with lighting speed, then before Ignitious could realize that Patches was gone, the shadow of Patches sprang up from the ground in the form of a giant shadowy wolf head with blazing red eyes. The shadow wolf head chomped down on Ignitious and shook the spirit like a dog shaking a piece of meat. Ignitious sent flame bursts out from his body in an attempt to break the shadow wolf’s grip but the flames had no effect. When Patches decided he was done he slammed Ignitious into the ground, then the shadow wolf head formed back into the pumpkin headed spirit.

            Ignitious charged condensed flames into his hand, making a fireball hotter and stronger than his normal steel melting flames. The flame spirit launched his powerful ball of flames. Patches, who didn’t have bones or a spine, bent himself in half to avoid the fireball. Flames shot across his back as he narrowly dodged the attack. While Patches was still bent in half he charged forward, his pumpkin head growing larger and his mouth growing wider the closer he got to Ignitious. Shadows rose up from the ground and whooshed forward like wind, wrapping around Ignitious. Patches came within inches of the flame spirit then contracted his pumpkin head and ‘breathed’ out dark magic flames from his mouth. Dark flames engulfed the flame spirit, damaging the fire elemental while remaining harmless to any of the Halloween spirits caught in the blast.

            Ignitious dropped to the ground as purple mist streamed from his head like steam. The group of Halloween spirits parted on two sides, on the right side a group of Autumn spirits dragged a large wooden crate into the fighting circle and on the left the ruler of the Summer Lands, July emerged onto the scene.

            “What is going on here?!” July shouted. “Ignitious and his brother attacked me, beat me almost to death and tried to claim my forest as their own. This is my payback” Patches explained. The Halloween spirits all called out and shouted in agreement. July stared at Patched with a furious look but switched her heated gaze down to Ignitious. “You said you needed to rest in my lands because you were injured from a fight, you never told me you tried to upset the balance of the seasons and attacked a king! What happens when you recover? Were you going to attack him again? What about attack me and claim my Summer Forest? Or were you going to go pick on the Spring bunny?” July shouted in outrage.

            “I’m not your subject you old crone! I don’t owe any of you anything! When I recover I am going to gather my gang of flame spirits, some dragons and anyone else who will follow me and make you all pay!” Ignitious spat. “OH no you wont!” July shouted grabbing Ignitious by the neck with a powerful grip and slamming him to the ground. She then threw all her weight down onto the flame elemental, sitting on him so he couldn’t escape. The Halloween spirits sniggered at the sight of the feared flame elemental being sat on by the mighty Summer Spirit.

            “I figured the brothers would try to attack again, so I made these crates to transport the two of them. I will keep them somewhere safe until they agree to not attack anyone. Ignitious will be riding in a crate made of summer wood and Glacious…” Patches trailed off as he gestured to a second box being dragged up. The second crate was made of a pale wood and was covered in frost. The autumn spirit dragging the crate opened it revealing Glacious trapped inside. “I found him in the Winter forest and figured the trees of Winter could hold him as well as anything” Patches added.

            July used her firm grip to pull Ignitious out from under her and threw him into the large box made of summer wood. “I am glad to see you taking care of things, but next time you should tell me ahead of time before you invade my forest” July said sternly.

            Patches apologized to July and explained that he didn’t know ahead of time if she was in on the attack or not. The two crates were then hauled off by Halloween creatures, Patches apologized again, bowed like a gentleman then opened a portal made of autumn leaves and swirling wind. The group of autumn spirits, Halloween spirits and Patches all left the Summer lands. Then the moment the portal closed the night sky turned to a bright summer day, the air warmed up and environment quickly returned to normal.

            Ignitious and Glacious learned a lesson that most spirits already knew, don’t disrupt the natural balance of weather and seasons and sure as hell don’t mess with the King of Halloween.

Joseph and Jaye save Autumn part 2 of 4

Joseph and Jaye stepped through the spirit gate that was placed before them. Both friends pushed open the little gate door and walked through only to find that they hadn’t been transported anywhere, they were still in the field. The spirit giggled in a squeaky voice. “Just a joke guys, ok ok. Here you go” said the spirit who then snapped its fingers and the two friends were whisked away to the spirit world. Joseph felt like he was riding a roller coaster through an endless number of loops. Joseph then felt like he was free falling at one point, gaining speed as he hurtled toward the ground like an meteor.

Two green streaks of light flashed across the sky over the autumn land deep in the spirit world.  The two green meteors crashed hard into the ground below, shaking the surrounding area. Joseph and Jaye shakily climbed out of the crater they created. Joseph didn’t know how he survived the fall but was glad the ride was over.

The autumn land was beautiful. Golden sunlight lit up the forest, each tree had various colors of autumn. Different shades of orange, red, and yellow, every shade from bight shining color all the way to the deep rust color the trees get at the end of Fall.

The grass that spread over the land was different shades as well, deep green, pale green and yellowish. In front of the friends was a stream that sparkled with reflective sunlight, the water looked cool and fresh. The air was chilly but not overly cold. The smell of wood smoke lingered in the air and a cute little cabin sat in the distance. 

“I thought this place was under attack?” Joseph said. “Maybe they took a break from destruction to get a coffee” Jaye suggested. “Or the spirit sent us to one of the few remaining locations in the autumn land that haven’t been destroyed yet” Joseph said. “OR! The spirit was lying about destruction and the special relics he gave us are just junk he found” Jaye said with a sly grin.

Joseph held his staff out in front of him, pointed it at the water and focused on trying to use it. A burst of wind shot from the top of the wooden staff shaking the little autumn leaves that grew from the top of it. The wind rushed forward several feet and stirred up the water before disappearing into the air. Then the staff let out a little burst of flame, small and mostly harmless. “Ok, so I have to work on this. At least we know the staff is real” Joseph said proudly.

The two friends began to talk through the autumn forest, listening and watching for any signs of fighting or destruction. Clouds began to form, blocking out the sunlight. Rain started to fall on the land transforming the bright and colorful forest into a sleepy rainy forest. The friends could hear the sound of rain hitting the trees and splashing into the river. Their hair and coats were damp from the rain. The air felt a bit chillier and Joseph wished he had brought a heavier coat.

The rain continued and the friends were getting cold. “Hey how about a swig of that flask we got?” Asked Jaye Williams. “You are always looking to eat or drink something! But yeah, it might warm us up” said Joseph. Joseph opened the leather water skin and took a small sip then handed it to Jaye who took a sip and gave it back. The liquid tasted like hot chocolate or coffee, or a mix of the two with some kind of Fall spice in it. Whatever it was, it tasted good and the two immediately felt warmer.

The air continued getting colder as the friends pressed on and soon each breath was visible. Joseph spotted frost on the tops of the trees and some of the Fall trees even looked like they were dying from sudden frost shock. “Get ready, this can’t be natural to this area” Joseph said. Jaye nodded and pulled out the pumpkin and concentrated. The hand sized pumpkin transformed into a large one-handed sword. The blade was jagged and curved like a cutlass, the handle was black with a leather grip and the hilt was made of an orange metal and had little pumpkin shapes at each end of it. The pommel of the sword was also a pumpkin shape. “Whoa! I wonder if I would offend anyone if I carved a pumpkin with a pumpkin sword” Jaye said with a quizzical look. “Focus” Joseph replied.

The air was icy cold and each breath in felt like tiny daggers in their lungs. Two trees collapsed on each other, then an icy figure approached from behind the trees. “If the Patches just came out to settle his debt, we wouldn’t have a problem!”  Yelled Glacious the ice spirit. “Hey! Stop destroying the forest! Some of us love autumn. Take your grudge somewhere else!” shouted Joseph as he aimed his staff. The rain continued but all of the rain falling in the radius around Glacious was turned to snow. Snow and rain littered the soon to be battlefield as the two friends held their weapons out, ready to fight. 

“The coward sent fighters in his place?” Glacious howled, his voice was loud and furious like a blowing winter wind that shakes the house and slams the shutters. Before another word could be exchanged Glacious put out both of his hands and launched a beam of frozen energy.

Jaye held out the golden maple leaf, which conjured a shield around the two friends. The shield was translucent and made of rushing wind. The winter blast hit the shield. Part of the blast was absorbed into the shield but the rest of it went right through and hit the two friends. “You cannot stop the fury of winter with wind. Whoever sent you, has sent you to your death” Bellowed Glacious as he marched closer to the friends.

Joseph and Jaye crumpled to the ground from the shock of the ice blast. Their skin felt like it was burning and their hearts raced. “I’m glad we took a sip of that flask before. Otherwise this might feel worse” Jaye said as he struggled to stand. “Maybe a little more will help!” Joseph added as he tried to regain his balance. Joseph pulled the flask from his bag and took a big gulp, then handed it to Jaye who also took a large gulp. 

The feeling of cold and the threat of frost melted away. The air felt like a pleasant Fall day and the snow falling around them felt no colder than tap water. “alright, now that we are warmed up, lets give Glacious a little warmth” Said Joseph as he pointed his staff at Glacious and let loose a flame blast with all of his might. A flamethrower like flame erupted from the staff scorching everything in its path and engulfing Glacious.

The flames died down and Glacious was still standing. He had an icy wind shield flowing around him but he looked injured from the fire. The ground was scorched in the wake of the flame attack.

“My turn” Jaye said as he charged forward. Glacious let loose another arctic blast. The freezing air did nothing more than make Jaye feel a little cold and the wind wasn’t enough to do anything but slow him down. Glacious gave a smug grin assuming Jaye had died in the usually fatal arctic blast. When the wind and ice died down, Glacious saw Jaye charging forward unhindered. Jaye slashed with his sword like a maniac. Each cut from the sword left these glowing blue wounds on Glacious. Since the sword was enchanted and not a physical weapon it could harm spirits. Jaye didn’t know any of this, he just wanted to slash someone with his new sword.

Glacious realized his cold powers wouldn’t be enough this time, so he formed sharp icicles all along his arms and shoulders then swung his icicle covered arm at Jaye. Jaye Williams jumped back, his sword disappeared from his hand and transformed into armor. The enchanted pumpkin could sense its owners intentions and could transform back and forth in a moments notice. Jaye was hit full force by the strength of Glacious and his dagger like icicles. The attack sent Jaye flying but the armor protected him from being impaled. The armor was orange and black with a little smiling pumpkin face on the belt buckle.

Jaye slowly got back to his feet. As Joseph charged forward with his staff he launched earth tremors under Glacious’ feet causing the spirit to stumble. Then while he was off balance Joseph launched a whirlwind from his staff then followed it up with a flame burst. The flames engulfed the whirlwind and flew straight at Glacious. The icy spirit didn’t have time to react, once the tremors died down he looked up to see a flaming whirlwind come straight at him. The wind hit Glacious and whirled around him for several seconds inflicting massive fire damage against him.

Joseph Stephens collapsed from exhaustion. The staff had drained his energy and he was out of the fight. Jaye stood between Joseph and Glacious. The ice spirit was severely injured and looked like a human ice sculpture. He was more solid than before and lost his appearance of being a being of floating ice and snow. 

“Give up! You can’t attack me without being impaled on my spikes and your friend is down” Glacious yelled, his voice strained light a dying wind. “I brought something with me. Something I keep around for when I need to wreck fools. It’s the weapon that hurt the spirit of winter itself, the kingslayer, the one and only, CLAW HAMMAH!” Jaye yelled. He pulled an ordinary looking claw hammer from the inside pocket of his jacket and lunged at Glacious. 

Glacious turned both arms into spikes and stabbed them out at Jaye. Jaye swung down at the ice spikes and shattered them with his majestic hammer that he bought on sale at Tuscany Sam’s hardware depot. The hammer shattered the spikes. Then Jaye swung again, this time the hammer striking Glacious on the head. The attack sent cracks through Glacious and caused him to fall backward. The spirit hit the ground, his blue aura began to fade and his brittle icy body looked like it was one strike away from shattering completely. “I give! I will never bother you or Patches ever again” Glacious pleaded.

Jaye’s eyes went dark as he stood ominously over the fallen ice spirit. Jaye’s shadow was cast over Glacious as Jaye spoke with a deep grumbling voice “There will be no mercy for those who oppose Autumn” Jaye said as he lifted the claw hammer above his head. Glacious prepared for oblivion but then nothing happened. “Juuuust kidding, Boyo!” Jaye said with a goofy grin. “HA! I took a picture of your stupid face with my phone. Now get outta here or I’ll show everyone how much of a big cry baby you are!” Jaye said then walked off to check on Joseph. Glacious was stunned by the turn of events. He had never met anyone like Jaye Williams before nor anyone as strong and dedicated as Joseph Stephens. Then a single frozen tear slid down Glacious’ face. “I’m not a cry baby” he said in a pouting voice.

The day one won and Glacious was defeated. As the ice spirit disappeared, escaping back to the winter lands, Joseph was slowly waking up. “I have to be more careful with this staff, it knocked me out” Joseph said. “Thaaaats what she said” Said Jaye. Joseph grimaced at Jaye before letting out a small smile. 

The air grew warmer and went from winter winds back to a pleasant Fall day. The two friends knew they had to fight Ignitious next but decided they should rest first. They set up a small camp where they could regain their strength, eat and prepare for the next fight. The day had turned to night, the rain had stopped and a cool breeze lingered in the air. The autumn trees swayed in the breeze and the falling leaves danced in the air as they drifted slowly to the ground.

Forest island the nights reveal

It was the third day in Cliffpeak Village. The bear lord and his men fought the invading shadowmen forces every night and every night the number of shadows grew. On the last night Nathaniel saw a slightly larger shadowman wielding a shovel. This worried The Bear lord because he feared that these shadow creatures might be learning how to use the weapons and armor they had been stealing after every raid. The trouble was that for every dozen shadowmen that the warriors killed, it only took one shadowman to steal a helmet or sword while during the fight. Having their equipment stolen every night meant they were slowly becoming less prepared for each night.

 Nathaniel knew that it would have only been a matter of time before he and his men were too ill-equipped for fighting hordes of shadows. On the second day Nathaniel had sent his fastest scout to leave for the castle and alert the other Forest Kings to the shadow portal that had opened in their realm. Since it would be a two day ride to the castle and at least two days for reinforcements to arrive, Nathaniel knew he only had to hold back the growing horde of shadows for another four nights.

            Nathaniel and his men slept during the day while the villagers kept watch and tried to continue their daily work, then each night the villagers would try and sleep while the bear lord’s forces fought the enemy. No one slept well.

            Sir Richard the Bear lords knight sat up in bed with his hands covering his face. “What is the trouble Richard?” asked the bear lord. “We won’t last like this, we have no idea what is on the other side of that portal. We don’t have magic to close portals and none of us have ever seen a real portal to another world before” Richard whispered, clearly demoralized. “If the situation grows so dire then I will travel through the portal myself and close it by force” Nathaniel said with a determined tone. Richard nodded “I would join you through that portal, Sire. Your men would never let you go alone” Richard said. He laid back down and tried to sleep before the night came.

            Night crept over the town, cool air and light rain joined the darkness setting up a night that would usually be considered a sleepy lazy night, but considering the constant threat of shadowmen, the rain and darkness made everyone more uneasy.

            Nathaniel drew his bow and rode toward the area outside of town where the portal had opened for the last three nights. The bear lord stood with his bear and nineteen men, all ready to battle the shadows. Dark clouds parted in the sky and the bright moon added some light to the soon to be battlefield. Sparks and flickers of purple light started to appear from the air, then the portal opened in front of the group of soldiers. “Steady men” said Nathaniel as he readied his bow. The tension was thick in the air and the light rain come down like a mist, dampening skin and fabric. The first shadowman came from the portal, small and useless like the others, but this one was alone and charged forward without an hesitation or regard for the armed soldiers. The shadow was hit with an arrow from Nathaniel’s bow and the shadowman vanished. A small laugh was heard down the ranks of soldiers. It was a small release of tension but the soldiers knew they couldn’t be overconfident.

            Then a large head appeared from the portal, followed by small hunched shoulders, long arms, a torso and long legs. This was a twelve-foot tall shadowman emerging from a nine-foot tall portal. The large shadow creature had hands like dinner plates and long spindly fingers that twitched and moved in unnatural directions. This creature stood for a second then charged at the group just the same way the smaller shadowman did. This action was followed by dozens of regular sized three foot tall shadow creatures to pour from the portal.

            The extra time it took for the large shadowman to emerge from the portal gave Nathaniel and his other archers enough time to target the beast. When the tall shadow sprinted forward a volley of arrows were already on their way to meet him head on.

            The large shadow creature reached out its large hands and grabbed several arrows out of the air. Two arrows struck the creature in the chest and one arrow struck the head. The giant shadow fell forward on the arrows and melted in the ground, but the arrows remained. The dozen arrows that had been fired were now black and covered in ooze.

            The knights charged forward with their swords and shields to meet the smaller horde of enemies while the archers took aim and reloaded arrows in their bows. Each slash with a sword or strike with an arrow killed the small shadowmen. The fight continued on like it did the night before, with large number swarming the area and the Bear lord’s forces holding them back.

            Then during the fight the black ooze arrows sprung up from the ground and each arrow transformed into a normal sized shadowman. Nathaniel wondered if everything the shadow creatures stole was just used as food to make more shadows. The extra shadowmen caused the tide of the battle to shift and the Bear lord forces had to fall back several feet so as to not be swarmed on every side. Doing their best to keep the enemy in front of them, the soldiers of the forest fought with all of their might. Nathaniel was unleashing arrows, which would destroy a shadow in one hit, but worried that each arrow he fired could be used later to make another shadow creature. Then a shout was heard. Nathaniel and his knights ran toward the soldier crying out and found it was one of the archers was being overwhelmed by shadows. He was knocked to the ground and his entire bundle of arrows was stolen. The thief responsible was already halfway to the portal and surrounded by other shadows so Nathaniel couldn’t get a clear hit. The downed archer was dragged to safety and soon after the shadowmen began to withdraw.

            The third night had passed and everyone was uninjured but worried by what they saw during the battle. Nathaniel surely wasn’t the only one thinking what an entire quiver of arrows could do for these shadow creatures. If a dozen arrows spawned enough shadows to push back the Bear lord’s forces then a quiver of arrows could make the fourth night an even more difficult fight.

 Nathaniel knew he had to last till the sixth night alone before reinforcements arrived , but worried if he and his soldiers would last that long.

Forest Island first night

In the Boundless ocean, among the inlands that are connected by the Pentacle Sea, rests the forest Island. The Forest Island is ruled by the three Forest Kings, the Bear lord, Nathaniel, The Dog Lord Stefan and the Elk Lord Gregory. The three kings worked together in harmony to ensure the peace and prosperity of every humanoid citizen and animal on the island. As the name implies the Forest Island is an island almost completely covered in dense forest. Living on an island covered in dense forest ensures a high level of safety from other possible invading forces. Unfortunately it also means that everyone on the island is forced to rely on each other for survival and would not be able to count on outside help if danger arose.

            Nathaniel the Bear lord was traveling the eastern side of the island on his trusty bear Pubbles when a villager wearing a faded maroon tunic ran up to Nathaniel. “Ma’lord! Thank heavens you are here! I was gonna hafta run all the way to the castle otherwise” Said the peasant sounding out of breath. The Bear lord wore a fancy pointed brown leather hat, with a green feather in it, a brown leather armored tunic and a bright yellow undershirt. His pants were black and his boots were brown. Pubbles the bear had a matching hat to Nathaniel but it was smaller. Pubbles had brown fur and emerald green eyes.

            “What is the trouble kindly sir?” asked Nathaniel as he pet Pubbles on the head. “Trolls, Sir! Small shadowy trolls have been attacking the eastern most villages” said the villager. “Small and shadowy? That doesn’t sound like trolls. I will investigate anyway. Please continue down this trail to my camp and inform my men that I am heading to Cliff Peak village to investigate and they should meet me there” Nathaniel instructed, then made his way up the trail, riding on the back of his bear friend.

            The eastern most village was known as Cliff Peak village because it was positioned a half mile from the peak of a cliff that lead to a sharp drop. The peak of the cliff was also the highest point on the island and the sharp drop would send you out of the forest and plummeting to the beach shore below. Cliff Peak village was one of the safest villages on the island because there was only one path to the village on one side and an unscaleable cliff wall on the other side. Nathaniel was concerned because anyone attacking Cliff Peak village would have to pass through the lower altitude hamlets on their way and those locations had not been attacked.

            Nathaniel traveled through two small hamlets on his way to Cliff Peak, along the way he asked if anyone had seen small shadowy trolls or any unusual sightings. No one had seen shadowy creatures or been attacked, which was good news but even more confusing to Nathaniel.

            The trail to Cliff Peak continued up higher and higher up the large hill. Nathaniel’s guards from the Bear Lords camp had caught up to Nathaniel on their way to meet him at Cliff Peak. While the Bear Lord rode a fierce bear who could help in a fight, the guards all rode horses and could travel faster across the island than Nathaniel could.

            The Bear Lord and his men finally reached the village of Cliff Peak and were shocked to see that it had been ransacked. The huts, houses and storage buildings were empty with broken doors, windows and locks spread across the ground. A woman with a blue dress and bonnet came out of her empty house and ran toward the Bear lord and his men.

            “Sire! It was awful! Please help!” She shouted frantically. “Calm down” what happened?” asked Nathaniel. “Shadowy imps keep attacking the village. At first the men repelled them, but every night they came back in larger numbers. We attacked with swords and axes but any creatures we didn’t kill would steal the weapons right from our hands!” She exclaimed.

            “First I hear they are trolls, now they are imps. I will investigate this, do not worry” Said Nathaniel. “Bless you sire!” Said the woman in blue.

            The bear lord decided that the best way to stop the shadowy threat was to learn as much as he could about them. He and his twenty men guarded the town that night while the villagers slept. Nathaniel let Pubbles roam the village to search for any threats as the bear lord himself walked through the village on foot carrying a well crafted bow and arrows. The soldiers in town had swords and bows, some stayed on their horses and others wanted to search on foot. The Bear lord’s group was on high alert.

            The night was cool and breezy, it had been a warm couple of days and this break on heat was a nice change. Some crickets could be heard chirping in outside of the village but otherwise it was quiet. A loud roar from Pubbles the bear broke the silence. Nathaniel went running toward his friends cries. He stopped in his tracks in shock when he saw it. Pubbles stood nervously in front a six foot tall oval shaped glowing portal. The portal was made of swirling purple energy and from the portal emerged three foot tall jet black monsters. They looked like small humans made of shadow itself. The first little shadow monster ran at Pubbles but was instantly destroyed by the bear’s mighty claws.

            These creatures weren’t invincible or even that strong but their numbers were incalculable and they continued to spawn from this mysterious portal. The portal appeared from the thin air outside of town and Nathaniel had no idea how to deal with it.

            “Men! We are under attack!” Nathaniel shouted as he took aim and shot the closest shadowman in the head with an arrow. The creature vanished taking the arrow with it. Nathaniel stepped backward as he shot at the creatures emerging from the portal.

            Swordsmen charged forward and sliced through the shadows, each slice destroyed them instantly. “Sire, these buggers are no threat to us!” Cheered Richard the swordsman. “Do not be over confident, we do not know if this is the extent of their strength” Nathaniel called back

            The shadowmen continued to flood out from the portal. Soon fifty shadows had emerged and were making their way into town. Richard slashed with skill and precision, each strike vanquished a shadowman. Then Richard was struck hard in the back, the blunt force of a charging shadowman made Richard stumble forward and drop his sword. The second his sword hit the ground a greedy little shadowman scooped it up and ran off with it. Richard yelled in anger and chased the little imp until he reached the portal. The sword thief escaped through the portal, a place Richard didn’t dare to follow.

            Nathaniel was the best archer on the island and his skills were put to the test while fighting such large numbers of creatures. Pubbles stuck close and clawed any creatures who came into melee range of Nathaniel.

            Villagers awoke to the sound of fighting. They saw their king fighting to protect them and this inspired some of the men and women to charge into battle, using rocks, shovels and anything the shadowmen hadn’t already looted from the town.

            The shadowmen continued to pour from the portal endlessly but the combined might of the villagers and Nathaniel’s group was able to fight them back. After an hour of fighting the shadowmen retreated back into the portal, having killed no one, injured just a few and stolen a keg of beer, two shovels, Sir Richard’s sword and Bob the archer’s bow.

            This was just the first night and Nathaniel knew that this would continue until he put an end to the portal.

Auburn Hills (Grave Wagon)

Note: Sorry for taking so long coming out with another story. I have Arix and the Magic bottle half written. Today I was struck with a twinge of Halloween spirit and decided to write this Autumn story and post it early for those who cannot wait for the Fall season. This is also going to be a look into this years stories in October.

The cold gentle wind blew through the town of Auburn Hill. Tree branches swayed in the breeze as if the trees were coming to life. Each branch held only the slightest amount of leaves as most of them had already fallen or blown away. The soft sound of a squeaky wheel echoed through the neighborhood. The sound came from the small wheel of a child’s wooden wagon being pulled down the sidewalk. A small child wearing a red coat and blue jeans walked quickly and happily down the dark street pulling his favorite wagon. Night was well underway and the streets were empty, save for this child.

 

            The low rumbling in the distance joined the echo of the child’s wooded red wagon wheel. A giant shadowy mass approach the town, the mass let out sounds like high pitched squeaking wheels in need of oil, rumbling of a heavy weight being dragged across the land and the low roar of a beast waking from slumber. The giant shadow grew closer and closer to the town and as it did the townspeople woke from their beds and turned on their lights. Men and women left their house in their pajamas and night gowns, all standing on their front lawns as they peered out into the night. The mass grew closer and the first thing that could be seen was a giant skull mounted onto the front of some kind of machine. The machine had wheels, was made of wood and metal and was adorned with skulls and bones. It was easily fifty feet tall and must have weighed over a ton. Panic struck through people of Auburn Hill, causing them to retreat back into their houses or take to their cars and drive off into the night. Some used their house phones to call the police, some drove to the police station but many retreated to their basements or left town entirely.

 

            The skull-adorned machine didn’t fit in the normally peaceful and quiet town of Auburn Hill but the towns folk were not surprised by its appearance. The world knew of the Grave Wagon, a ghastly machine that appeared in random towns across the world and would harvest an entire town down to its last and then disappear into the night. The Grave wagon’s squeaking gears and perpetual “chunk-a-chunk-a-chunk” noise was distinct and could be heard across the whole town. This was a sound that would be familiar to anyone who watched the news the day after Halloween. The Grave wagon only harvested towns in October and there was usually one video of the attack every year. Only video could be found the next day, never survivors. No one knew what was inside the machine, where it came from or who drove it. The only thing known about the Grave Wagon was the appearance, the sound and the fact that it wiped entire towns off of the map.

 

            Adults ran for their lives, drove away or loaded guns and hid in the basements of their house. The child with the little red wooden wagon was scooped up by his parents and put in a car. He looked out the back window of his parent’s car as he saw the Grave wagon roll into his neighborhood and as the parent’s car turned down the next street the large tank tread like wheels hit the first house on the block, knocking it over and crushing the wood and glass as if it were made of paper. Light from lit torches danced out from the eye sockets of the enormous skull on the front of the wagon. The child never got to see who or what carried the torches or what happened to his house and red wagon.

 

            As the boy and his parents fled from town in their sedan green glowing mist began to rise up from the ground all around them. Pavement split and noxious fumes boiled up from the cracks in the earth. The ground beneath the car began to shake apart so the father stepped on the gas. Shrieking and howling could be heard in the distance. It could have been the victims of the wagon or the demons that must have been harbored inside of the awful machine. The family sedan rocketed down the crumbling street as fear gripped the family. The houses of Auburn Hil began to shake and sway until they toppled over, debris flew into the road causing the father to jerk the steering wheel hard to avoid the glass, wood and metal. The family car spun put of control and crashed into a tree.

 

            The child awoke to his mothers voice calling to him. As he opened his eyes he saw his frantic mother pull him out of the back seat and lift the small boy over her shoulder. She ran for the woods as thick fog and screaming filled the air. The trees swayed in the wind as it blew harder and harder but it wasn’t just the wind that made the trees seem alive, some of the trees actually started to move and come alive. The trees grew awful faces that dripped glowing green ooze as their branch arms swiped at the mother. The little boy could hear his mother scream as she ran but couldn’t do anything to help.

 

            The Mother ran through the forest and slid down a hill covered in dead grass and dried crunchy leaves. As she slid the sound of the Grave Wagon grew louder and louder until finally it stopped. The screaming and howling stopped as did any sounds associated with the Wagon’s movements. The danger sounded like it was over but the mother was too stricken with fear to move.

 

            For the rest of the night the mother and son huddled together, jumping at every rustling and noise in the forest. The sun slowly rose up over the Auburn Hill and the mother knew the danger was over. She and her son were the first two people to survive the Grave Wagon’s attack.

 

            When the military arrived they found the mother and son and rushed them to the nearest hospital, all reports, and photos showed that no sign of Auburn Hills was left. The town of Auburn Hills was now a giant empty field of black ash. No trace of the town remained.

 

            That day burned itself into the boys mind and as he grew he always thought about the Grave Wagon, where did it come from? Who made it? Why was it wiping out towns? John Pharris was the boy who escaped Auburn Hill and then became the Man who would stop the Grave Wagon once and for all. But that is a different story for a different day.

Auburn Hills (Grave Wagon)

Note: Sorry for taking so long coming out with another story. I have Arix and the Magic bottle half written. Today I was struck with a twinge of Halloween spirit and decided to write this Autumn story and post it early for those who cannot wait for the Fall season. This is also going to be a look into this years stories in October.

The cold gentle wind blew through the town of Auburn Hill. Tree branches swayed in the breeze as if the trees were coming to life. Each branch held only the slightest amount of leaves as most of them had already fallen or blown away. The soft sound of a squeaky wheel echoed through the neighborhood. The sound came from the small wheel of a child’s wooden wagon being pulled down the sidewalk. A small child wearing a red coat and blue jeans walked quickly and happily down the dark street pulling his favorite wagon. Night was well underway and the streets were empty, save for this child.

 

            The low rumbling in the distance joined the echo of the child’s wooded red wagon wheel. A giant shadowy mass approach the town, the mass let out sounds like high pitched squeaking wheels in need of oil, rumbling of a heavy weight being dragged across the land and the low roar of a beast waking from slumber. The giant shadow grew closer and closer to the town and as it did the townspeople woke from their beds and turned on their lights. Men and women left their house in their pajamas and night gowns, all standing on their front lawns as they peered out into the night. The mass grew closer and the first thing that could be seen was a giant skull mounted onto the front of some kind of machine. The machine had wheels, was made of wood and metal and was adorned with skulls and bones. It was easily fifty feet tall and must have weighed over a ton. Panic struck through people of Auburn Hill, causing them to retreat back into their houses or take to their cars and drive off into the night. Some used their house phones to call the police, some drove to the police station but many retreated to their basements or left town entirely.

 

            The skull-adorned machine didn’t fit in the normally peaceful and quiet town of Auburn Hill but the towns folk were not surprised by its appearance. The world knew of the Grave Wagon, a ghastly machine that appeared in random towns across the world and would harvest an entire town down to its last and then disappear into the night. The Grave wagon’s squeaking gears and perpetual “chunk-a-chunk-a-chunk” noise was distinct and could be heard across the whole town. This was a sound that would be familiar to anyone who watched the news the day after Halloween. The Grave wagon only harvested towns in October and there was usually one video of the attack every year. Only video could be found the next day, never survivors. No one knew what was inside the machine, where it came from or who drove it. The only thing known about the Grave Wagon was the appearance, the sound and the fact that it wiped entire towns off of the map.

 

            Adults ran for their lives, drove away or loaded guns and hid in the basements of their house. The child with the little red wooden wagon was scooped up by his parents and put in a car. He looked out the back window of his parent’s car as he saw the Grave wagon roll into his neighborhood and as the parent’s car turned down the next street the large tank tread like wheels hit the first house on the block, knocking it over and crushing the wood and glass as if it were made of paper. Light from lit torches danced out from the eye sockets of the enormous skull on the front of the wagon. The child never got to see who or what carried the torches or what happened to his house and red wagon.

 

            As the boy and his parents fled from town in their sedan green glowing mist began to rise up from the ground all around them. Pavement split and noxious fumes boiled up from the cracks in the earth. The ground beneath the car began to shake apart so the father stepped on the gas. Shrieking and howling could be heard in the distance. It could have been the victims of the wagon or the demons that must have been harbored inside of the awful machine. The family sedan rocketed down the crumbling street as fear gripped the family. The houses of Auburn Hil began to shake and sway until they toppled over, debris flew into the road causing the father to jerk the steering wheel hard to avoid the glass, wood and metal. The family car spun put of control and crashed into a tree.

 

            The child awoke to his mothers voice calling to him. As he opened his eyes he saw his frantic mother pull him out of the back seat and lift the small boy over her shoulder. She ran for the woods as thick fog and screaming filled the air. The trees swayed in the wind as it blew harder and harder but it wasn’t just the wind that made the trees seem alive, some of the trees actually started to move and come alive. The trees grew awful faces that dripped glowing green ooze as their branch arms swiped at the mother. The little boy could hear his mother scream as she ran but couldn’t do anything to help.

 

            The Mother ran through the forest and slid down a hill covered in dead grass and dried crunchy leaves. As she slid the sound of the Grave Wagon grew louder and louder until finally it stopped. The screaming and howling stopped as did any sounds associated with the Wagon’s movements. The danger sounded like it was over but the mother was too stricken with fear to move.

 

            For the rest of the night the mother and son huddled together, jumping at every rustling and noise in the forest. The sun slowly rose up over the Auburn Hill and the mother knew the danger was over. She and her son were the first two people to survive the Grave Wagon’s attack.

 

            When the military arrived they found the mother and son and rushed them to the nearest hospital, all reports, and photos showed that no sign of Auburn Hills was left. The town of Auburn Hills was now a giant empty field of black ash. No trace of the town remained.

 

            That day burned itself into the boys mind and as he grew he always thought about the Grave Wagon, where did it come from? Who made it? Why was it wiping out towns? John Pharris was the boy who escaped Auburn Hill and then became the Man who would stop the Grave Wagon once and for all. But that is a different story for a different 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.

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.