Musings from a slightly sagacious sideline bloomer with a love of words and whimsy…
Norgrund held his breath as he hid behind the hillrigde that looked down into the swooping valley. The sky was a dimming blue as the sun was being drawn to west, ready to offer its final sigh. Though, he wondered if the day was holding its breath, for fear of dappling the land in darkness … Continue reading Sling
The ring of fire crackled with ferocious intensity as the flames reached ever higher to lick the night sky. Lit from below, the charge of dark faces looked even more maniacal as they hungrily surged through the raging magical inferno that had claimed many of their endless numbers. But not nearly enough... They advanced in … Continue reading Misfit
The light flickered... ...and his eyes opened... ...to the green-yellowish glow of the lantern burning from above. The small flame held nothing of the comforting warmth of the soft suffused light one would expect. Instead, its sickly hue only made the dark room more unsettling. With only the single lantern to cast shadows upon the … Continue reading Ornament
The horde of marauders pummeled their way through the conifers, knocking down clumps of snow from the shivering crowns. The spruces shuddered with their passing, there where the forest stood witness to a growing army that seemed unwavering and determined in their ascent up the mountain. It was not hard for the great owl to … Continue reading Wild
There was little for a girl to do on the winding road to the Capital, even if she was in the company of a band of travelling gypsies. Musicians, performers, artists and soothsayers - wandering free folk that went were the magic drew them. Surely someone could dazzle the imaginative young mind of a merchant's … Continue reading Legend
For anyone who ventured close to the murky edges of the Dreadwood, a deadening feeling often presaged their passage into its dusk-shrouded treeline. Despite its torpefying effects, it beckoned unwitting travellers forward, inward, and then devoured them, never to be seen again. As more souls were lost to its insatiable hunger, the trade routes that … Continue reading Overgrown
Smoke… and silence. The knight was not exactly sure what he noticed first as his eyes cracked open through the layer of grime, but the world was an ethereal grey of smoke and silence. The type of silence, that felt thick and suffocating amid that dense veil that clung to the air. He was beginning … Continue reading Ash
The capital was a sprawling metropolis of rising spires that pierced the sky, and ornate domes carved in the depictions of a thriving nation. The city was not only a cultural epicentre, but a bastion of power, with nearly as many watchtowers, garrisons, and barracks spread over its rises as the halls, the temples and … Continue reading Dragon
The feathery flakes hung suspended in the air; the sixfold symmetry of the tiny crystals flawlessly intact, despite the raging blizzard that eternally ravaged the mountainside. But even eternity could be frozen, it seemed. Eternity could be trapped in time as a disquieting scene of cold and unfathomable terror - a terror preserved on the … Continue reading Snow
She hissed under her breath as she lifted the dry leaves with the edge of her blade. In pursuit, even a noise as faint as this would have compromised her position. But no soul ever ventured this close to the edge of the woods. Or so she had believed... But as the faded ring lay … Continue reading Pattern
The sun beamed down lazily to straddle her outstretched figure; its rays warm and seductive as it made her sigh in soft ecstasy, dappling her skin with its incandescent glow. The touch of broken light felt almost teasing as it shone through the orange blossoms, whose fragrance lured her to savour the sweet taste of Spring. She lay there … Continue reading Swing
Blackblade stumbled out of the tavern into the cool night air. The mercenary's mind was hazy with the heady brews that the barkeep had been serving, and as he sagged against the doorpost, he knew he had too much to drink. Supporting himself, he shoved his broad frame upright and looked around; vision blurred by … Continue reading Frail
" ...the properties of the stone. Have you tested it before?" asked the mage, as he carefully turned the precious mineral in his hand. "Oh no, no. Certainly not. That would besmirch the quality and consequently affect its value..." Answered like a true swindler. Did the man really believe the scripts he was selling to … Continue reading Enchanted
A balmy heat clung to the air as the blazing sun beat down mercilessly. The treetops swam in hazy vibrations against the clear sky as they silently listened to the cicadas that assembled their choir. She stepped out of the hut, adjusting the weathered straw hat on her wild head, and fell onto the nearby … Continue reading Husky
The whip cracked against the large back of the gladiator, nearly causing him to drop the heavy wooden beam he was shouldering to the excavation site. "Faster!" The overseer was spitting his commands in ruthless succession... His hand must have ached with the lashes he dealt to the throng of exhausted labourers. That frail little … Continue reading Build
They were hunched over the fire: cutthroats, thieves, rapists... all indulging in the heady brew of strong ale and their winter plunder. The thrall set his eyes on one of them, a hulking brute that tore into the juicy rump of its kill. The warrior's tusks was glistening from the fat that dripped from the … Continue reading Freeze
She stared at the wreckage of the once proud ship, now impaled by the protuding rocks of the sheer cliffside. It rose like a wall of pikes, awaiting the unfortunate charge of tidal destriers that triumphed over these waters. And here, one of them had made its grave; its life snuffed out in one tragic … Continue reading Bait
Pain. Agony. His torment was sealed in the torn musculature pulled by the cement-like mud through which he waded. The rains had been plentiful. The wetland was a merciless force of torture... dragging his dreary movements two steps back for every one he planted forward. He was swallowed again and again by the sloshy footholds … Continue reading Mindless
He stumbled amid the shifting obscurity of twisted shadowy boles. His breath was ragged with exhuastion; deep, violent intakes of air bathed his lungs in the suffocating fear of the feverish night. He felt his heart clawing to be released; the rising palpitations unleashing a pounding beast that could no longer be confined by the … Continue reading Ring
