Jillian's Letter

Her hands quivered as she wrote. It was a stormy day, rain pattered against the window shutters as the trees shook and danced to the tune of the wind howling.

            She traveled the land, she saw amazing sights and killed scores of man, women and beast. She once stabbed a spear made of crystal into a demon lord erupting from an ancient stone. These were easy jobs by comparison to her task ahead. Jillian Cole had the chance to write a letter to the love of her life and could guarantee she would get the letter. The hardest decision was what to write.

            Jillian had lost her love once and worried so intensely that he second chance would slip through her fingers. “Hello, how are you? I’ve stopped killing. As much” Jillian scribbled the words down, scrunched her face at how awful it sounded, crumbled the paper and threw it out. She grabbed a new piece of paper, set it down and stared at it. The intimidation grew from this fresh piece of blank paper. This could be the final letter that gets sent or it could be a load of garbage that ends up in the ever-growing pile of reject ideas. Jillian really wished she could just prove herself by killing something.

            Day turned to evening, then evening dragged on into night. Jillian’s reject pile had grown and her sword arm was growing restless. “Maybe I could kill just one bandit, then right back to work on this letter. Killing DOES help people. If I save someone then its fine right?” Jillian said out loud to herself. Fighting gave her a sense of purpose and killing was a rush that she grew fond of. Jillian’s love left because she worried that Jillian killed too much and too frequently.

            “It’s either Me or the Vanguard” Jillian’s love said before she walked off. Jillian Cole WAS the Vanguard and found it impossible to choose, so the choice was made for her. Jillian could abandon the armor, take up another line of work and stop killing bad guys and monsters, but wondered if she would be the same person after that, would she still be herself?

            After hours of anguishing over each word, Jillian finally scrapped her current work, a full paper of apologies and excuses, fond wishes and lovely words. Jillian grabbed a new piece of paper and wrote her true feelings.

            “Hello my love. There’s not a day that goes by that I do not miss you. I miss the scent of your hair. The way you comforted me after battle and told me I would be amazing no matter if I had the armor or not.

 I understand why you left and I know now why I couldn’t make that decision myself.

I needed to tell you that even if you have moved on, that I still love you. I do not expect this letter to change your mind however. I am still the Vanguard. I cannot be anyone else. We cannot take a piece of a person and wish it to be the whole of them. I am the woman outside of the armor who smiles and jokes with you, but I am also the one inside the armor who fights endless battles. I hope that you are well. If you ever need me, please reach out. Goodbye for now. I hope to see you again soon”

Jillian finished writing the letter and put her pen down. She had written her honest feelings and that is all she could have done. She began to re-read the letter and a twinge of disapproval entered her mind. She wanted to change words and maybe even start over. Jillian slammed her fist down and declared “NO, It is finished” And the broke her pen in half and threw it on the pile of reject papers.

            The now finished letter was carefully folded with love, put into an envelope and sealed with wax. Jillian smiled to herself as walked over to a very frightened delivery man who was tied to a post in the cabin where she had been writing.

“So you know the woman I speak of, correct?” Jillian said in a tone that could sheer flesh. “Y-yes, of course, I’ve seen her many times while delivering l-lett…” The delivery man was cut short as Jillian nodded and shushed him. His whimpering upset her stomach and she needed him to do a job not tell his life story. “Alright. I will release you. Take this letter and make sure she gets it. Do NOT tell her that you were tied to a post. If you do tell her OR if you fail to deliver the letter all, you will see me again.” Jillian explained calmly. Then she gestured to her black Vanguard armor. “IF you do see me again I will be wearing that. And that armor will be the last thing you see" She hissed. "Now go!” She shouted.

            The delivery man took the letter, nodded several times and started to leave. “WAIT!" Jillian shouted. The poor delivery man froze and trembled. “Here is your pay. I am not an unfair woman” Jillian said softly as she poured a pile of gold coins into his trembling hands. It was enough gold for a weeks worth of deliveries. Which worked for him because he was only tied up for a day and a half.

            The storm had calmed and the deliveryman ran off into the night. Jillian felt giddy and nervous like a schoolgirl waiting to hear from her crush. It was a night of emotional growth for Jillian. “Now that the letter is sent, time to go back to work” Jillian said with a sly grin then began to adorn her black Vanguard armor. Out into the world there were monsters and bandits who were dead and didn’t even know it yet. Jillian needed to work off the stress from writing that letter and the outside world would feel it.

Lie to Me

Lie to Me.

            When there is no good more good news, when my heart hurts and the sky is gray, lie to me. Tell me there are blue skies above, if I could just see it. Tell me how the clouds look so peaceful and the birds sing so sweetly. Tell me when it rains that it’s not the lonely kind of downpour that reminds me of being alone. Tell me the rain makes it a good day to cuddle, that the rain brings sleepy days and cozy nights.

Lie to when I wish I had someone in my life. Even if I had to pay you, tell me you actually wanted to stay. Tell me all the sweet things that a lover says, the things that warms the heart and makes life worth living.

            Lie to me about the state of the world, tell me its all going to be ok.

Tell me it will all be ok.

When I am sick, lie to me and tell me I will recover. Tell me that I will get better if I have the strength. Lie and tell me it’s all worth it in the end.

I hate liars, I always want the truth, but the night is long and my soul is tired. Please lie to me.

“Don’t worry. It will all be ok"

Blue haired Maiden

The Hero sat on a log. Lonely where the days and harsh were the night. Then one day he was beholden to a maiden with hair as blue as the ocean and eyes green like the sea.

The Hero traveled to meet this maiden but she was always just out of reach. Forty days the hero traveled. He fought monsters and braved perils of Mother Nature. Storms passed, hot scorching days went on until finally the hero reached the cabin of the maiden with the blue hair.

 The hero was so entranced by the maiden’s beauty and braved so many dangers just to gaze upon her and ask her name.
           
           The hero stumbled to her with his mouth ready to speak. Before he could ask her name, the Maiden opened her mouth and she spoke with the purist voice. Her words were carried by the wind to the ears of the hero. The hero heard the maidens voice for the first time and what she said to him was. “Sorry, I have a boyfriend"

The long day passes

The long day passes, the sun beats down unrelenting. My energy is sapped from my body from the constant heat and hard days. The only relief to be found is at night when the air turns from roasting hot to barely tolerable. I climbed my stairs with all of the strength a starving man on his last leg. I pushed the door open and collapsed to the floor. My cats race to my side, purring as they rub their fluffy bodies against my unmoving head and shoulders. They lick my arms frantically; their motivation is of love but also of food.

            I drag my corpse of a body across the floor as the cats joyfully skip and frolic around me. They play and wash eachother, they climb on my body and they race down the stairs into the hallway. The mischief beasts return to my apart when they hear the rustling of the cat food bag. I pour dry kibble into their dishes and they eat as if they had never eaten before. They had not eaten since breakfast and their partially empty food dish was a grave concern to them.

            As my lazy roommates eat their kibble, I continue to drag my lifeless body across the floor. As I dragged my body across the floor, the friction from the dragging separated my leg from my pelvis. I left my leg behind as I continued towards my bed. My cats played with my severed leg and nibbled on the toes.

            I crawled into bed, turned on soft music, covered myself in blankets and pillows, then drifted off to the sweet oblivion of death. I died in bed, months passed, my body decomposed into the earth. Grass and plant life sprung forth from the site of my death. My apartment crumbled, vines overtook humanity, my cats played in the rubble of human civilization.

            Then a sharp noise sounded, it was the alarm on my phone. The sound continued, it was piercing and unpleasant. One of my cats tried to drown out the sound by covering it with their soft fluffy body. The muffled alarm continued to sound. I rose from the dead, fully formed, alive and with all of my limbs. I coughed up dirt, spiders and worms. I moved my arms, the motion felt like a rusty machine moving for the first time in years. I twisted my pelvis and pointed my legs toward the edge of the bed, popping sounds erupted from my spine and lower back. The cracking of my back felt good and I continued to move. I moved like an ox over burdened with weight, I lumbered to my computer desk and drank down a gallon of pills. The pills restored the remaining bits of humanity that I had lost on the previous day. My cats danced and chirped as they noticed I was awake. I pet the small goblins as they frolicked through the apartment. Breakfast was served for them as I drank coffee.

            I looked at my phone and saw the weather report, "Surface of the sun” was written as the temperature of the day. I sighed and prayed for death.

I sat hunched over my keyboard as I checked my emails and my pointless social media. One of my cats climbed across my shoulders and back. I sat unmoving, this was normal for me. I then stood up, shook the cats off my body and began to get dressed. The cats gracefully floated toward the ground and scampered off. I smiled. I want only happiness for them.

            I headed for the door and dragged my armor from the closet. This armor would protect me from the day, from the heat and from the opinions of others. I knew at the end of the day my armor would be broken and falling off but I put it on anyway. I needed it just as everyone does. I went out to face another harsh day. My cats slept like potatos.

Steel Haven part 4 - Battle for the mine

The Kingdom of Chalybs was a large land with a formidable military. If the kingdom’s army marched on the Tirk plagued iron mine, the mine would be cleared and reclaimed in no time at all. The problem was that it would be impossible to mobilize the entire army in a short time and even getting a small number of reinforcements would take days. Steel Haven and the other cities of Chalybs had to put construction on hold for every day that the iron mine was closed. The tirks could not attack Steel Haven itself but their presence at the mine was damaging to the city. The trouble with the mine was either a very strange turn of luck or someone planned it in attempt to hobble the great steel city.

            Captain Brussles and Joseph decided that they were the best hope for removing the tirks before the iron mine situation dragged on any longer. The group was made up of mostly knights and soldiers and while the group was sent specifically sent to clear the tirks from the mine, no one counted on such a large colony of creatures living on top of the mine itself.

            Joseph decided that their best bet would be to attack the tirks with the soldiers while he and Brussles used the fire crystals to blast groups of the creatures. 

            Joseph knew almost nothing about the fire crystals except that they would glow brighter before they burst into flames. Dull red crystals meant they were safe to handle. Joseph assumed that the tirks didn’t know much more about the crystals than he did and they most likely stumbled upon them in the same was as Captain Brussles.

            A small task force was sent back into the mine but this time it was Joseph who led the way. He and a few brave volunteers traveled deep into the mine and slowly gathered the flame crystals from the large room. Each crystal had to be broken off of the wall like corn being torn from its stalk. Every small impact made the fire minerals glow slightly but would darken when left alone. Each crystal had a visual cue before they exploded and had to be watched carefully as they were transported so the soldiers couldn’t risk throwing them all in a big sack and hauling them off.

            Night had fallen over the land, soldiers carrying dull, glowing, red stones emerged from the mine. Now the task was to safely carrying the flame stones up the hill to the Tirk encampment. The sound of scuttling feet and small rocks falling from the cliff side could be heard. Tirks appeared out of the darkness and were now surrounding the group of soldiers.

            Soldiers readied their weapons but Hurly just walked toward the group of Tirks without his weapon drawn. “We don’t wish to fight, but this is our mine. We are only defending our land” Brussles shouted so everyone could hear.

            “This not your land, no homes here, only our homes, Ural homes. Not your land. Shadow man gave us this land when humans rumble forest” One of the lead Tirks shouted back. Ural was what they called themselves but to the human soldiers these creatures were Tirks.

            “Who is the shadow man? Maybe we can help you get a new home. Away from these dangerous fire crystals” Hurly replied.

            The lead Tirk stepped away from his group. “Fire crystals make us strong. Shadow man grows them here. For us!” Said the Ural. The other creatures in the group began to chant “For us. For us”. The leader pulled out a dagger with a jagged edge and a red crystal built into the handle. “we no weak. You leave or you die” Said the lead Tirk.

            Hurly sighed, he had hoped that they could avoid a large battle. While Captain Brussles was talking, Joseph had been striking one of the fire gems with a small rock. The fire crystal was glowing bright red at that point and seconds away from bursting. Joseph lobbed the crystal at the head Tirk. Joseph figured out that hitting the crystals once every few seconds would keep it on the verge of denotation but the glowing would quickly die down. Since the leader decided to not end this peacefully, Joseph had struck the crystal several times rapidly.

            The fire crystal landed behind the leader of the Tirks and exploded in flaming sphere. The flame engulfed several Tirks turning them to ash. The leader managed to escape the blast but was now burned on the right side of his body. Ural the leader charged at Captain Brussles and tried to stab him with his dagger. Brussles dodged the attack but then a small burst of flame erupted out of the dagger. The flame singed Hurly’s right side but he was undamaged. Captain Brussles brought his arm back and slashed using the hooked blades on his gauntlets. The gauntlet blades slashed Ural across the top of the head. The Tirk leader jumped backward, fury in his eyes and blood trickling from his forehead.

            The Tirks all charged towards the group of soldiers. A flame crystal soared through the air and exploded mid-air directly above the charging Tirks. The group scrambled away from the flames and the human soldiers charged in while the Tirks were distracted.

            The Tirks had a larger group and were agile. The stabbed out with their small blades and hit with clubs but the soldiers of Chalybs were armored, bigger and took advantage of chaos caused by exploding fire gems.

            From up on the ledge of the cliff side a lone Tirk spun a wooden staff, the small creature kept tapping the staff against the rocks and spun the stick. A gem began to glow on the head of the staff. The Tirk shook the staff and struck forward with it releasing a fireball from the gem. This tirk was no mage but it learned how to shoot fire out of the crystal instead of just making it explode.

            The fireball flew at the humans. A soldier with a shield jumped in front of the group, she lifted her shield high just as the fireball struck. The large fireball hit the shield, knocking the shield wielder backward. The flame burst into smaller less harmful flames. This caused a distraction, giving the Tirks a moment of advantage as more Tirks descended from the cliffs.

            Joseph knew he had to get rid of the staff carrying Tirk or the next fireball might seriously hurt someone. Joseph ran toward the cliff with his short sword drawn. The staff wielder started to shake the staff and then pointed it at Joseph. The young engineer jumped out of the way as a large fireball hit the ground and then burst into smaller flames. Joseph began to strike a small fire crystal with his sword, then threw it. The crystal burst into flames just before it reached the Tirk on the cliff side. The tirk was so startled from the blast that it dropped its staff and stumbled off the cliff side. Now on the ground the Tirk tried to reclaim its staff but Joseph ran up and stabbed the small monster.

            Now armed with a fire staff Joseph began to spun the small stick around in hopes of summoning a fireball. With luck the staff spat out a ball of fire but did so mid spin and so the fireball was sent sideways and exploded against the cliff.

            The battle continued and the humans were slowly beating back the Tirk invaders. The small monsters used the cover of darkness to attack and while the occasional fireball did light the battlefield it was actually more of a hindrance. The soldier’s eyes would adjust to the dark then a fireball would cause a flash of light, temporarily blinding the soldiers.

            Ural the leader of the Tirks was joined by other tirks as he fought Captain Brussles. The experienced captain would have already won the battle if there was daylight but the night was giving him trouble. Brussles swing his two short handled axes with precision strikes, killing or wounding a tirk with almost every swing. Ural the leader stabbed Hurly was his attention was on another tirk. The Ural blade stabbed into Hurly’s leg, then the fire gem in the dagger erupted small flames into the wound. Hurly fell to the ground as she yelled in pain. Another tirk stabbed Hurly in the arm with a regular knife as the captain fell.

            Hurly swing both of his arms to either side. The axes swung and killed two Tirks. He then spun around while he put his weight on his knee. Hurly slashed with his gauntlet blades, slicing the hand of Ural, causing the leader to drop his prized dagger. Hurl lunged forward and brought both axes down onto Ural.

            The leader of the Tirks was saved as one of Ural’s companions jumped into the way and was split into three pieces. Ural was horrified and demoralized with the loss of his dagger. The leader took off running and began to howl as he did. The other tirks all turned and began to run off into the night.

            The battlefield was cleared of living tirks and only the dead remained. Several human soldiers died fighting the tirks, while dozens of dead tirks littered the ground. The fight was won but the champions of Chalybs were tired and wounded. Joseph found a soldier who was not wounded and sent him off on a horse to alert the King of what happened. It would be a long night of recovering but hope would be renewed with the rise of the new day sun.

Steel Haven part 3 - Alarming Discovery

King Alexander stood stone faced as he listened to the report regarding the mine. The mine would be unusable until an attacking force could be sent to clear the mine out of any creatures, then the mine would have to reinforced under the protection of soldiers and then the mining could only resume under the watchful guards. All of the miners survived because they stopped work and went home for the recent religious holiday. The one guard recovered and only two guards were missing. The only silver lining in the dark storm cloud of a situation is that almost no one died.

                        The King sent a group of soldiers, Joseph the engineer and Captain Brussles, to take back Steel Haven’s the iron mine. Captain Hurly Brussles was a decorated soldier who specialized in fighting in confined spaces, like a bustling city or a mine. Captain Brussles had black hair, olive skin, a short groomed beard and a long mustache that reached the edges of his face. Brussles carried a sturdy spear when he was on the battlefield and when in close quarters he carried two, single edged axes with him, with shortened handles. His body was mostly armored and had sharp hooked blades attached to the armor covering his forearms. These hooked blades could defend a sword strike, then hook around the blade and when pulled would disarm the opponent and break weaker swords. The hooked blades could also slash and cut anyone who tried to get the drop on Hurly.

            The group rode towards the mine, everyone stayed on high alert as Joseph watched for any signs of the Tirk creatures. The soldiers were all told of how the creatures fought and the magical gem that one of them had. Joseph had secured the fire gem from the previous battle and it was being stored somewhere safe within Steel Haven. It was Joseph’s job to look for more gems, advise the Captain on the Tirks and plan defenses once the mine was cleared.

            Captain Brussles dismounted at the mouth of the cave. He went in first and was followed by a group of his men. A second group was positioned outside the mine to guard the entrance. Joseph waited outside with the second group.

            Joseph was free to plan the defensive measures for the mine while his group of soldiers guarded the area. Joseph had to update his original plans for defense to guard against monkey goblins. The original defenses were planned with humans and humans on horseback in mind but Joseph was altering the plans to even include flying creatures just in case the world was even more dangerous than he originally thought.

            Captain Brussles moved swiftly through the mine with little trouble. As his group traveled deeper they were surprised by how empty the mine was. No trace of the missing guards, discarded weapons, signs of fighting or even Tirks alive or dead could be found.

            Time passed over the land and Joseph was making serious progress unhindered by attacks and Captain Brussles had been exploring the mine. A single man on horseback rode across the open field toward the iron mine. Joseph’s group all sprung into high alert but relaxed when they saw the Chalybs banner above his head. Some of the soldiers kept their weapons ready just in case it was a trick.

The rider and the horse looked exhausted. The rider wore light armor and the Kingdom’s colors. He carried a rolled up parchment in his hand and immediately handed the letter to Joseph. The message read, “Scouts from the Royal forest found small, shallow burrows dug in the forest. While the numbers of primitive dwellings were numerous the original inhabitants were not found. A scout found a lone Tirk creature living in a burrow and shouted ‘you wont take home’ before charging the scout and then was slain. After searching further we concluded that the Tirks used to live in the forest when it was still a Wildwood and before it was used for lumber. If the Tirks live in dark secluded areas then it is possible they moved to the area in or around the mine which is the closest location that is both secluded and dark”

            Joseph was startled at what he read. First that the creatures could talk and second that they weren’t invading the mine, they made it their home. Which meant there was a colony of Tirks somewhere very close.

            Meanwhile underground, Hurly Brussles and his soldiers found two large metal doors blocking their progress. The doors weren’t locked or sealed but Brussles hesitated to open them, as he knew that his kingdom didn’t build them. He slowly pushed open one of the large heavy doors. The mine rumbled as the door opened revealing a large room full of red fire crystals. Captain Brussles froze, he had been told what one crystal could do and was now standing in a stockpile of crystals. The crystals were growing from the walls, floor and ceiling, it wasn’t that the crystals were placed or stored here but that this was the source of the flame crystals. Anyone with knowledge on how to safely use these crystals would find such stockpile extremely helpful; the trick was to not die in a fiery explosion.

            Back on the surface, Joseph and his group began climbing the rocks leading to the top of the mine. The mine was in an open field but the mine entrance was a cave mouth and the cave was part of a rocky hillside that went across the grassy field for almost a mile and rose twenty feet above the ground. The rocky hills were like a sturdy island in a flat grassy sea. Anyone on the top of the hill could see around for miles and would be well protected by the difficult climb to the top.

            Joseph and his group reached the top, out of breath and still clinging to the edges of the cliff. Joseph’s head was barely visible as he peered over the hill’s peek. He could see mounds like the scout described in the forest and saw some movement. The Tirks became more active as the night approached.

            Joseph scrambled down the cliffs with his soldiers in quick pursuit. Captain Brussles was emerging from the cave just as Joseph was climbing down the rocky hill. The two leaders told the stories of what they had seen, they grew more alarmed with each breath. With the top of the mine covered in Tirks and the underground filled with explosive crystals the two men would have to make a plan, fast.

Steel Haven part 2 - Engineer Council

Steel Haven was a seat of power for King Alexander, and while the Chalybs Kingdom didn’t have military superiority it did have engineering superiority. King Alexander was a smart man who surrounded himself with the smartest men and women he could find. He had generals and war councils like other kings but he was one of the only kings in the land that had an engineering council. These medieval engineers were the humans that made Steel Haven possible. The engineers worked tirelessly on new projects every night to make sure their King had the strongest seat of power in the world. King Alexander didn’t ask to be the most powerful king in the world, he wanted to be the best protector in the world and in exchange his people saw this and did everything they could to make sure their noble protector had any advantage he could.

Joseph Hawk was the head of the Engineer Council, he had thick brown hair, hazel eyes and wore rough workers clothes. When he was outside the city walls he wore light armor made for him by command of the King. This armor was made so it wouldn’t restrict his movements but it would protect his chest, stomach, head and parts of his arms and legs. On the chest piece was the symbol of the Kingdom, which was a C and crossing it was a blacksmith hammer and a pickaxe. Joseph carried a short sword with him, which was so short it was almost a long dagger. He was so dedicated to his job that he personally requested a small sword so that he could carry more tools with him.

On a sunny afternoon Joseph was tasked to reinforce the defenses of the local iron mine. He traveled with a group of workers who would help construct barriers and gates for the mine. They rode their horses south and talked about the upcoming project during the whole trip. The cheerful mood turned sour when the group finally reached the mine. Normally a guard would greet any visitors who arrived but when Joseph and his group approached the mine they noticed it was completely unguarded.

The group was on high alert and worried something happened at the mine. Joseph drew his sword, which signaled everyone in the group to draw their weapons as well. The group of ten people dismounted and slowly approached the mine. Joseph’s mind raced with possibilities. If the guards were killed, there would have been bodies left. If a neighboring kingdom attacked there would have been horse tracks or foot prints leading up to the mine entrance.

Joseph and the group entered the large mouth of the iron mine. As they shuffled in the tunnels grew smaller and narrower. Joseph lit a torch and held it with one hand while holding his sword out with his other hand. As they went deeper into the tunnel they saw an armored body face down on the ground. Joseph handed off his torch and ran over to the fallen guard. Joseph shook the man and a the guard moved slightly in response.

The guard seemed barely alive but was still breathing. “We have to get him out of here” Joseph said. Everyone agreed. Four people grabbed hold of the guard and began to carry the injured man out of the narrow tunnel. Half of the group left for the exit while Joseph and the other half stayed behind to search for the other two guards.

The iron mine didn’t need many guards due to the peaceful state of the land, the openness of the field that surrounded the mine and the stable relationship King Alexander had with the neighboring kingdoms. Something had changed and someone attacked these guards.

Joseph and his group didn’t find any more guards and decided to turn back. Joseph worried that whatever attacked the guards might still be around to attack the now split group of workers. Joseph and his group made their way to the mine’s exit. While they walked Joseph’s mind kept bouncing between two thoughts “The guards escaped and are heading back the Steel Haven to report what they saw” and “The last two guards are alive deeper in the mine and giving up on them will cause their death”. Joseph knew he had to protect the men under his command but these two thoughts kept him distracted.

            The engineer group reached the light of day and they all sighed a breath of relief. Then one of the workers spotted the rest of the group up ahead fighting for their lives. Joseph and his men rushed to their aid.

            The one injured guard from the mine was placed on the grass as the five workers fought with axes and daggers to fend off strange monsters. The monsters were small and impish with wicked grins and beady black eyes. They had fur on their lower halves and tan leathery skin on their top halves. They wielded small spears and used daggers like swords. The creatures were the size of monkeys and looked like a cross between a money and a goblin. The creatures chattered and grunted out a strange battle cry “Trk trk trk” They grunted. These Tirks were slashing wildly and grabbing at any exposed skin they could find, they would stab their daggers into the unprotected spot.

            Joseph rushed headlong into battle and began hacking with his sword in one hand and used the torch in his other hand to burn the creatures. An axe flew passed Joseph and plunged into a Tirk’s torso, instantly killing the creature. A female worker with blonde hair tied into a ponytail had a deadly aim and a bag full of tools. She had thrown her only weapon but she had several hammers and chisels, which she used to throw and attack with. Many of the workers used their tools along side their basic weapons to fight the overwhelming group of imps.

            Among the chaos Joseph spotted a Tirk with an orange and gold colored gem tied to its back. The Tirk was more frantic than the others and its movements were like that of someone being burned or stabbed with needles. It jerked left and right as it made its way through the group. The gem began to glow and the other Tirks in the battle would abandon their fights to form a wide radius around this gem.

            Joseph saw this and assumed it was some magical gem that the creatures barely understood but knew enough to realize it was dangerous. Fearing that it would harm his workers he charged, dropped his torch and pulled a hammer from his backpack. When Joseph was close enough he struck the Tirk with the gem as hard as he could. The small Imp went flying several feet and was expelled from the clustered battle of workers and imps. One second later the gem unleashed a burst of flames in a two-foot radius. The Tirk carrying the gem was turned to ash from the powerful blast of fire. This explosive release of energy scared the remaining Tirks causing them to flee the fight.

            The battle had been won but Joseph had the unpleasant job of telling the King about these new creatures and about the mine now being unguarded.

Steel Haven part 1 - Origin of a Great City

The walls of Steel Haven rose high above the land. The humans had achieved great feats with their discovery of steel. The stone castles of kings and lords were impressive but most people could only rely on the protection of wooden homes. The lower class needed to be protected from the harsh world of deadly animals and roaming bandits, and so King Alexander Chalybs decided it was his burden to protect as many people as he could.

King Alexander had a grand vision for a new city surrounded by steel walls as tall as any castle and thicker than a stonewall. The city would be a welcoming place to those friendly to the King and his people but would be a threatening fortress to those who sought to do harm.

The city fortress of Steel Haven did not spring up overnight, it took years of dedication and vision. King Chalybs, who became known as the King of Steel, led his own Kingdom to this goal. Many villagers and lower class left their own kingdoms and traveled for months just for the chance to be allowed access into the city. People were arriving to Steel Haven even before the city was complete.

King Chalybs was inspired by the work and the devotion of the people. He saw the new arrivals as a testament that his vision was pure and good. Any family that wished to live in the city had to contribute in some way. Men and women could choose which profession was best suited for their talents and so, Steel Haven had an enormous labor force of workers, builders, black smiths, metal workers, cooks, hunters, cleaners and any other job that needed to be done.

A giant forge was built first before anything else. The forge was a large source of heat surrounded by every kind of metal working tool available in those times. Everything was housed in an open-air structure and the best metal workers worked tirelessly around this scorching hot forge. The great forge was put to use just as it was finished and from that moment it was considered the heart of Steel Haven. 

Not everything in Steel Haven was made of steel or metal, most of the homes and buildings were built with stone and wood with steel used to reinforce the structures. The great walls of Steel haven were made from steel, as was most of the Steel Haven Keep that the king lived in. The Great forge was almost completely sheltered in steel. 

As time passed and the city grew, the citizens were restricted from going to the forge unless authorized to do so. Six foot high walls were build around the forge and guards were placed at the small gate door in the front. This didn’t seem unreasonable to the citizens of Steel Haven, as they all knew how important the Forge was.

After only a year the city was completed. The wall had not been finished yet but every important building was built as was enough homes for every family who helped in some way. The King left his own castle and moved into Steel Haven Keep. The Kings old castle was converted into a military structure, which housed his best and most loyal soldiers and his top general.

Steel Haven finally had fully built walls by the second year, completely made from steel with battlements atop the walls, walkways, guard towers and every other security measure a castle wall could have. The large gates were well protected by a draw bridge that went over a deep moat, a solid steel gate and a second gate used to trap intruders. Steel forge keep also had a smaller but still formidable wall that separated it from the rest of the city.

This newly finished city of Steel Haven would force to reckon with and the news of its creation spread throughout the land. The more the news spread, the more people wanted to move there. The more people that moved into the city the larger the city grew. After several years the city was twice the size of the original Steel Haven with Steel Haven Keep and the first part of the city known as the “Steel Core” and every new structure and home was built outside of the Core’s walls. Only the citizens and their families that helped with the original construction were allowed to live in the Core of the city behind its sturdy walls. 

Eventually the outer city grew so much that new walls were made to protect that section as well. Any attacker who wished to assault the Steel Keep would have to make their way through the Steel Haven outer wall, through New Steel city, then passed the Core’s giant walls, through Steel Core city, then breach the Steel Keep’s walls and then breach the keep itself. No one ever invaded Steel Haven.

The forested area around Steel Haven was maintained by the city but was greatly thinned. The forest was once dense and filled with wild animals. Wood was needed for the city and much of the woods were clear cut, when the King saw his people clearing the local forest his ordered them to only thin it out but to leave the forest standing as a whole. 

Twenty miles north of Steel haven was the coast, where the King’s men would barter with sea fairing merchants for goods. To the south of Steel Haven was an enormous iron mine, this mine was one of many sources of steel for the Kingdom and each mine was well guarded.

The Kingdom of Chalybs and the fortress city of Steel Haven were the envy of the surrounding Kingdoms and while many of the neighboring lands wanted peace and friendship with King Chalybs, there were those who only wanted Steel Haven for themselves.

Coffee and Pizza rolls

            The room sings as music and bright animation flashes from the computer screen. A steaming cup of coffee sits next to the keyboard. The taste of caramel swirls inside the hot brew. Sugar is a fine flavor by itself but the flavor of caramel means something different than the taste of sugar. We live in an age were any flavor can be turned into a compound and turned into a coffee creamer. The rich flavor of caramel is not only desirable but brings forth memories of candy shops, Autumn, Carmel apples and that one time I filled a grocery bag full of caramel cubes and spent months eating them steadily.

            The grocery bag of caramels was a special memory, the discounted price of caramel cubes felt like a victory. There was a large orange cat in my house who used to steal my caramels, neatly unwrap them and eat them. I could bribe the cat to do tricks if I only offered a half of the sweetly flavored cube.

            The outer world affects my mind in this way, as a cup of coffee can bring me back to my teenage years. I am amused by my own mind as I find that the deepest and purest memories are of nature and outdoors. When you travel to the deepest part of yourself, where the words fall away and there is only feeling and image, these parts of me are that of rainstorms with no lighting, sunny forest walks with my dad and numerous cats all trying to cuddle me at once. 

            There are equally dark parts that hold only negative emotions and terrifying images, awful things that your mind makes you forget so that you can continue living life unhindered by dread. These are images best left for another day.

            The world is inversed inside my mind as the nature of the outside is the deepest in me but the inside world of computers and shelter are more on my surface. I love video games and my internet connection, I like the aesthetic of big cities and would be stranded without my car but these are not the things that speak to my deepest self. I do have a cityscape in my deepest self but it is not the beauty of a bustling metropolis, it is the grime of a ghetto street that no one ever leaves and this is no somewhere I wish to visit.

            I muse on coffee and caramel, inner and outer self when I hear my toaster over ding. My pizza rolls have finished cooking. Some company took the idea of pizza, made these tiny pockets and put pizza flavored ingredients in them, froze them and shipped them to markets across the country. I bought a bag of these frozen pizza inventions and put them in my toaster oven. Now I have food ready to eat and it took little to no work. This is a sign of the times and often amazes. Besides getting food from a “drive thru” window, heating up frozen food is one of the quickest and easiest ways to eat. This is the era where we sacrifice health for time saving and it is amazing the things we humans come up with.

            While I could go on about my own introspection until next age of progress, I am going to leave with a thought and a question. “What does the inner part of your self look like?”

This isn’t a quiz question to be answered and turned in but something to ponder on.

Watching the rain

The rain trickled down like steady beats on a drum. Joe stared out through the window, sipping a cup of coffee. The coffee mug was old, blue and had the words “Bee Gr8 today” on it with a cartoon bee flying by. The tan walls of his apartment were mostly bare save a decorative wall tapestry that he bought from china town last time he was in the city.

            Joe grimaced as he struggled through with a headache, he hoped watching the rain would help him relax. Next to the window was Joe’s work desk, a simple wooden desk with a laptop, a mess of papers and several empty cans of soda and beer. Next to the laptop was a picture of Joe’s girlfriend, Mercy, she had raven black hair, and dark eyes. She was the light of his life but on that day, it was raining.

            Joe hadn’t heard from Mercy in weeks, the anxiety and stress of life was rolled all up into a bundle with the worry he had for Mercy and that bundle nestled itself in the base of his skull in the form of a headache. After all the phone calls were made, email checked and alcohol consumed, the only thing left to do was to watch the rain and hope for the best.

            There weren’t any books with instructions on how to deal with worry and potential loss, Joe never learned anything about his situation from school, his parents never told him how to behave in times of crisis and stress. Joe had to improvise and travel unprepared at the trouble ahead. Like a traveler with no shoes, Joe was exposed and unprepared for a loved one to go missing. The possible outcome and scenarios would play over and over in his head. What if she was dead, lost, kidnapped or what if she just left him for another man and moved to a different city without telling anyone?

            To hear her voice again would be a mercy, a reprieve from the psychological torture that Joe put himself through. Joe would jump when he heard his phone ring and at every noise that sounded like the doorbell. He would see Mercy’s face in the faces of strangers as he walked through town and every time he smelled her perfume he felt a sting in his heart.

            The rain slowed to a stop the sun wasn’t out but the rain had stopped. Joe set his coffee cup down and let out an exhausted sigh. The doorbell rang and Joe’s heart skipped a beat. He looked up to at the door and waited. He had been tricked by the sound of the doorbell before and didn’t want to get his hopes up. The doorbell rang again. Joe wasn’t expecting anyone and while he felt silly for holding out hope, he hoped the person at the door was Mercy returning to him.

            Joe walked quickly to the door, his heart racing. He was so excited to answer the door and see Mercy standing there waiting for him. Then he remembered all the times he answered the door and it wasn’t her and so he tried to temper his excitement.

            Joe gripped the doorknob and turned it. He opened the door. “Mercy!”

March to October

The room is cold with only a small wood furnace to warm the house. Snow drifts down from the sky and collects in white piles on the hard, frozen ground. I sit hunched in my chair, the aches of the day settle over my body and the worries of life settle in my mind. To me, the cold of winter is not enjoyable, yet I love and cherish the chill of Fall and early Spring. Winter is cold air and people huddled around fire, Fall is warm houses and a refreshing breeze.

I stare outside at a tree, bare and snow spattered. The sun shines down on the snow, but the frozen water refuses to melt. The persistence of Winter is equal to an old man refusing to get out of your chair. Old man winter has settled into your seat and no matter how many times you prod him, he wont budge. I do not make a habit of prodding old men in chairs, but if there was only one chair in the world and an old sleeping man was in it, I might prod him.

As I let my eyes stare unfocused at the scenery outside, the world through my window flickered. It was the quickest kind of flicker that I would have missed if I had blinked. Then the world in front of my eyes flickered again, but this time the alternate image stayed. The space outside my window was no longer winter but late Autumn.

The sky was a dusky orange as if time was stuck in permanent twilight, the trees stayed bare but the bark of the tree was darker and the bare branches curved down like grasping hands with long slender fingers. I felt excitement and confusion, I couldn’t tell if my vision or my brain malfunctioned or if the world really had changed from Winter to an eerie version of an October landscape.

I leapt from my seat and ran down the wooden stairs. I threw open my door and stood to behold the world in full October glory. This wasn’t the Autumn landscape printed on travel magazines that some writers write about ad nauseam, this was October and the spooky thrill of Halloween.

I began to walk around the backyard, the stubborn snow was removed, old man winter evicted from his chair and the chill of fall replaced the bitter cold of winter. A local stray cat strutted through my yard as if it were the dominant species. It was a dirty orange tabby with a smug expression, short legs and a small chubby frame. This small potato walked with the confidence of a lion. I called the beast, it looked at me and opened its mouth but instead of a meow, it let out an echoing wolf howl. The cat looked very pleased with itself and then walked away.

I smiled at the strange creature, my expression was that of amusement and bewilderment. I gazed at the land before me and spotted the largest full moon I had ever seen. It was bright and seemed to glow. The yellowed white color of the moon added to the warm colors of the dark orange sky.

I walked out to the road and saw the small houses of my neighbors all brightly lit and decorated for the Fall festivals. The people inside were acting normally and if they saw me might think I was the one who was strange. At this moment I realized I was barefoot and still wearing my indoor clothes. I was so used to the winter cold that being outside on a fall day without a coat didn’t bother me and my excitement kept me from going back inside for shoes.

I walked down the street toward the center of town and as I walked I marveled at the fall decorations, the Jack-o-lanterns and the candles put in almost every windows. The I gazed up at the moon again and for a minute it had a face. The moon had a large grinning mouth with rows of teeth, wide eyes and no nose. I was so startled that I gasped and in response to my gasp the moon winked. A moment later the face vanished and I continued walking, my mind trying to work out how to deal with what I just saw.

Once I arrived at the center of town I spotted a black cat, who wore a witches hat  and stood on two legs, conversing with a skeleton, who didn’t wear clothes but had an elegant mustache. I decided not to interrupt the conversation, as it seemed important from the tone and the way the skeleton kept repeating “No! It’s real! Ok!”.

I was enjoying the sights and sounds of this alternate reality so much that I didn’t much care if I ever returned to my wintery, snow blasted reality. I didn’t know how to return even if I wanted to.

The fun ended when two men wearing black robes approached me. “how did you get here? You don’t belong here” The man on the right said. “He must have slipped in somehow” said the man on the left.

I explained what had happened and how I had no idea how I ended up in this world. If I was indeed in another world, I didn’t so much slip in as I fell in. I didn’t choose to come to this place even if I was enjoying. 

The two robed men thought on this and then moved towards me “We don’t know how to send you back, so we need to take you with us until we can figure something out” said the first man. As much as I would have liked to see a Halloween prison, I didn’t want to be trapped in one, so I turned around and took off running back to my house. The men in robes took off after me, their feet disappeared under their cloaks as they levitated off the ground and flew as they gave chase.

I couldn’t out run flying creatures and I didn’t want to be imprisoned for an indefinite amount of time. My mind raced as fast as my feet as both faculties tried to help me escape. Just as the men wear gaining on me, I heard a wolf howl. I turned to look as a road orange cat flew from the darkness and struck the first man. The potato cat struck the floating man with such force that he careened into the man next to him. The two men tumbled to the ground as they fought with a surprisingly fierce runt of a cat.

I eventually reached my home, I was tired, sweating, out of breath and had dirty aching feet. I ran up my stairs, went into my room and sat down. I looked out the window and saw only a Halloween landscape. I stared as hard as I could hoping for another flicker. The door downstairs began to thud and break as intruders came in after me. I stared at the window and continued hoping to return to my old reality. The intruders came up the stairs and barged into my bedroom. I kept staring at the October landscape, hoping, for the first time in my life, that it would turn into a winter landscape. I felt large arms grab me around my torso and pull me back. I struggled as I stared in desperation at the old window. I was slowly dragged from my bedroom and as I was pulled out I saw a flicker outside. I fought even harder to escape and get to my window.

I was hauled downstairs and outside, I was dragged across the yellowish dried grass of late Fall as my hopes of escape began to dwindle. Then in a flash I was outside in the snow.

I had returned to my own reality. The freezing cold was too much and I was under dressed. I stood up and ran back inside. There I saw a black cat and an orange runt of a cat sleeping peacefully on my bed. The orange cat didn’t howl and the black cat didn’t stand on two legs or wear a witch’s hat, but they did expect me to feed them.

I felt a sudden sting on my arm so I rolled up my sleeve and saw a Jack-o-lantern mark with a face and large grinning mouth like the moon had. The mark stung and looked like it had been burned into my skin.

I was safe and in my old reality and even though I wasn’t able to stay in the Halloween land as long as I would have liked, I did get a few souvenirs to remember my time there.