Skyforge

I have been absent for several weeks but return to you with the force of a locomotive....(?)

"Skyforge" is the story of the Mor'Gant family of Tegen Cove, the creation of a powerful sword forged from a falling star, and how it destroyed them all...

Another tale from the Perilous Woods.

Download Link:  Skyforge

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Skyforge

In a remote corner of the vast Perilous Woods lived a blacksmith of noble birth.  Fin Mor’Gant was from one of the most renowned families in all the Kingdom.  Unfortunately, the Mor’Gants of Tegen Cove had long ago lost their wealth, their land, and their people.  Now all that remained was a broken, sordid castle threatening to destroy itself at the slightest breeze, and of course, a famous name. 

            As the years piled themselves on top of one another and ages came and went, the Perilous Woods slowly, but with monumental force, reclaimed its lost land.  By the time Fin was born in a crumbling tower on the highest level of the Mor’Gant keep, it was the only part of his home not yet taken by the forest.  In fact, you could no longer see were the woods began and ended.  It was an unending sea of green leaves and black branches broken up by the chimney smoke of small villages that dotted across the horizon.

Wolfstone

The story of how the Dire Wolf became the Grey Wolf.

Download link: Wolfstone
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Wolfstone

The rain was falling heavily in the bleak night of the new season.  Lightening struck and thunder boomed as a pack of grey wolves took shelter in their den, high up on a cliff side, overlooking the vast and a perilous woods below. 

“Gather round younglings, for it is time to tell you of our heritage.”  The Den Mother with eyes piercing blue, gemstones that caught even the slightest light, nudged the young cubs into a circle around her.  “Do any of you know the tale of Wolfstone?”

“No, Mother,” came a cub, white as snow, eyes as her mother’s.

The Den Mother smiled, it was fate, she thought, that this pup would be the one to answer.  “Then listen close, little one, for you have been marked and will one day have the honor of telling the story I am about to tell you.”  And so she began…

The Elfin Knight

Here's another fairy tale.  This one involves the Great Stag of the Perilous Woods.

Download Link:  http://www.scribd.com/doc/52104100/The-Elfin-Knight
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The Elfin Knight

            There once was a Knight who could not remember his name.  It was not because he was forgetful or that he had received a severe blow to the head.  No, he could not remember his name because he could not die.  Or more rightly, he had lived for so long that such a thing at one point became a memory and then faded into nothingness.

            When did he forget his name? He could not tell you for it were an age ago or more.  In time he was merely known as the Elfin Knight.  Like the mythical creature of his namesake, it was said that he would live forever, and this made him very sad.

            His story begins like many have, as a knight of the realm in the nameless Kingdom.  He fought in many battles and killed many men all in the name of King, selflessly serving his land.  He married a beautiful lady, had a lovely daughter, and a strong son.  He was a pillar of his community and rose through the ranks until the King named him Captain of the Guard.  All who knew him vouched for his generosity, his kindness, and his passion, but he had one great fault, his love of battle.

Whistle Bones

UPDATE:  Here's a link where you can download the story if you so wish.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/51680927/Whistle-Bones
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Let me provide context for this next story.

Rattling around in my brain is a long fairy tale called "The King's Captain" set in a Kingdom surrounded by an endless forest.  Most of it takes place in the forest which I dubbed The Perilous Woods.

I'll back up a bit.  It has always been my desire to create a set of fairy tales with their own unique pantheonic hierarchy, set in a fantastical universe of my own making, but still grounded in the age old morality (and more interestingly, immorality) that you would find in the traditional fairy tale (therefore making it digestible and meaningful to a modern person). So, I thought The Perilous Woods and the Hermit Kingdom would be a fantastic place to create such tales.  At the top of this hierarchy stands the Lady of the Woods and the Great Stag.

"The King's Captain" deals heavily with the downfall of these two powerful beings. I've written several of these fairy tales so far and most of them involve either the Lady or the Stag.  It's a nice way to provide a depth and history to "The King's Captain" that might not otherwise be there (that is, if I ever do write the thing).

Anyway, here it is, the first of many (hopefully)...WHISTLE BONES...let me know what you think.
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There once was a Piper of ill repute who plied his trade in every backhouse and alley from here to there.  One thing that everyone could agree upon, when hearing his music, was that he had a distinct talent for making the most disgusting noises issue from his ragged oak flute.  For years he wandered from district to district, thieving, mugging, and scraping by on the refuse left for him by his fellow man.  And so it was finally that a mob of angry citizens drove him from the city and into the perilous woods beyond.

            Angry and spiteful he went, lamenting aloud to the birds and the beast at the wrongs bestowed upon him by the people, cursing their names and vowing revenge every step of the way.  He wandered so long and took such a winding course that the Piper found himself lost in the darkening forest.