Queer Fantasy and Weird Tales for the People
Do you think you’re blameless? That it was only your research partner who was at fault? I should fetch the city watch to chain you to this bed.
The Book of the New Moon Door
Berend and Isabel confront the inventor Lucian Warder in the latest chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door, now available on Patreon.
Janelle Monáe, “Oh, Maker”
Happy Monday and MLK Day. I hope you have rest from your struggles today.
Not much to report this week: I’ll have a new chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door on Patreon tomorrow, and the latest chapter of Journey to the Water will be here on Wednesday.
Have an excellent week!
“Have you been sent to me by the goddess of the deep, who keeps the gate of bone?”
Chapter XXVII: Nagara in Sunlight
Sorry for the delay! The latest chapter of Journey to the Water is now available on Patreon. We’ll be back to our normal Tuesday/Wednesday schedule next week.
Departure
It’s nothing, Isabel tells herself. It’s a traveler’s tale, embellished with every telling until it’s unrecognizable as the original story. An entire village did not turn to metal overnight.
She’ll believe that anyone who chanced to be awake last night saw the red star fall. It had been bright as a jewel, burning like a distant bonfire through the sky of this world and of the next. But the rest? It would require a ritual from the old legends, a coven of mages made immortal by their own power, the sacrifice of dozens of innocents. The next part of the story would involve a holy warrior of the church of Alcos, in enchanted armor that shone like the sun and a sword that could cut through both flesh and lies, riding a winged steed into the place of their power.
Emryn Marner himself doesn’t seem to believe it. He eats his pie like a starving man—all men his age are starving—and doesn’t bring it up again. He and Berend take the tub down to the gutter and dump out the dirty water, and then he retreats to his room with his books. “There’s an exam next week,” he explains. “Though if the world’s ending, maybe I’ll get to miss it.”
“When I was a boy, my teacher said that one of the hells was just endless written exams, over and over, for all eternity,” says Berend.
Continue reading “The Book of the New Moon Door: Part Two, Chapter Twenty”Dirtwire, “The Well” (featuring Rising Appalachia)
Good morning!
I was sick all last week (picked up a virus from my baby niece, who is the most adorable and needed extra cuddles. I washed my hands so much, but I still caught it). I think I’m reaching the end of it, so my plan is to post the Patreon chapter of Journey to the Water later this week (instead of the customary Tuesday). The most recent chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door will be up here on Wednesday.
As I get back to the minor blog redecorating that I was intending to do last week, please let me know if there’s anything I can do to make my website more accessible! I’ve chosen the font and color combination to be easy on the eyes, and all images should have alt text. Please feel free to leave me a comment if I can make reading a better experience for you.
Have an excellent week, and be sure to stop by again soon.
The rest of the tale of the falling star I knew already. It had landed near Phyreios, in the form of a lump of enchanted iron, and the Ascended had forged it into the Sword of Heaven, the tool of their own destruction. They could no more resist the will of Khalim’s god than he could, as much as they tried. It was only by Torr’s volition that the sword now lay safely among the other treasures beneath the mountain where the dragon made its home.
What could I do in the face of a destiny already preordained? Seven gods had failed even to prevent the creation of the Sword of Heaven and the arrival of their former master to the city they ruled, even carried as he was by one man crossing the wastes on foot. A sandstorm, a single arrow, a knife in the dark, or some slight injury to their forge could have sent Torr back to the nether world for another thousand years. Instead, he walked the new streets of Phyreios with an iron crown on his head, and Khalim was gone.
Taherah stared into the fire, and two burning points reflected in her eyes, but she saw nothing. It was as though she gone far away, and left her body behind to stir her copper pot and keep my sad company.
Continue reading “Journey to the Water Chapter XXVI: The House of the Weaver-Woman, Part Two”“You’re a necromancer. I’m a Sentinel. I’m sure you’ve read enough history to know what was going to happen.”
“You were a Sentinel,” Geray snarls.
The Book of the New Moon Door
Berend and Isabel’s brief respite is plagued by the still-present ghost of a murderer in the latest chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door. You can read it now on Patreon.
Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sounds of Silence”
Happy New Year!
I’ll be doing some new year’s cleaning and maintenance on the blog and social media over the next several days, so don’t be alarmed if things move around. In the meantime, I’ll be posting a new chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door on Patreon tomorrow, and the latest chapter of Journey to the Water will be up here on Wednesday.
I hope the first week of 2023 treats you well. Thanks for being here.
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Isolation
Berend takes the desk chair from Emryn’s bedroom and places it against the wall between the sitting room and the kitchen, facing away from the kitchen door. Its slats dig into his back. He’s reasonably sure he won’t fall asleep in it, but he wouldn’t be willing to wager any actual coin.
Water splashes as Isabel wedges the huge kettle sideways into the first bucket and takes it back to the stove. The hiss of steam follows.
When she asked him to stay by the door, Berend had assumed there would be some sort of conversation. He’s starting to doubt that the uncomfortable chair will be enough to keep him awake.
“I wasn’t ever going to take you to the temple of Isra,” he says. “You know that, right?”
Continue reading “The Book of the New Moon Door: Part Two, Chapter Nineteen”
