Author: Madeline Crane

Fantasy writer, tabletop gamer, wearer of hats.

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter XI

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea cover image: a wide, still river with forested mountain peaks rising on either side, underneath a clouded sky.
In which the situation takes a decided turn for the worse.

Table of Contents

As we left the ceremony, Aysulu caught sight of Jin and his companions, and congratulated them on being named champions. I had purchased some of the Cerean spirits the night before, hoping to celebrate, but my plans had been thwarted by Reva calling the meeting. It was of no matter: we had much more to celebrate now, as both our teams would have a chance at the Sword of Heaven over the next two days. We extended an invitation to meet us at our safe house for drinks, and the disciples of the Dragon Temple gladly accepted. 

Alas, it was not to be. 

Continue reading “Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter XI” →

Year in Review, part the second

2019 is finally over. It felt like February for about three months back there, and then it was August for a while, I guess, but time marches on regardless of whether I’m ready for it or even paying attention.

I did actually manage to accomplish a few things this year:

  • I started this blog, for one.
  • I’ve published 11 chapters of Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea here, as well as all the introductory material and two full chapters of The Well Below the Valley.
  • The latter is now hidden, because I did a scary thing and applied to host games at Midwinter Gaming Convention, and I was accepted! So I’ll be game-mastering Call of Cthulhu at the con in…two and a half weeks.
  • I am 170 pages into the second draft of my first book
  • I streamed many hours of Enderal: Forgotten Stories on Twitch, before being forced to stop by poor internet speeds.
  • I attempted NaNoWriMo for the first time and won!
  • I moved across town with my family.
  • I finally found a combination of medications that allows me to both get things done and sleep soundly, with side effects I can live with.

So, next year I’m going to try to keep this going. To that end, I hope to:

  • Finish this draft of my book, send it along to my beta readers, and get it ready for publication.
  • Do an awesome job at Call of Cthulhu at Midwinter.
  • Sing more, because it makes me happy and while I’m not good, I’m not so bad that it’s actively harmful to listen to.
  • Get back into playing the piano.
  • Finish Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea and get all the chapters of both that and The Well Below the Valley up here for your reading pleasure.
  • Maybe start a new free story?

Happy New Year! I hope 2020 brings everyone all the blessings they could want.

Year in review, part the first

Happy Monday for the last time in 2019! Instead of a new Song of the Week for you, I’ve made a playlist on YouTube of all the songs I used this year:

Tomorrow, I’ll have some sort of yearly recap; I’m not sure if I will continue doing this every year (I may forget by the time 2021 rolls around), but I’m trying it out. I’ll also be starting the new year with the next chapter of Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea on Wednesday.

See you soon!

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter X

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea cover image: a wide, still river with forested mountain peaks rising on either side, underneath a clouded sky.
In which plans are made, and Eske catches feelings.

Table of Contents

“You all know why we are here,” Reva proclaimed, and the empty walls of the warehouse echoed her words back to her. “We are here to free Phyreios from the tyranny of the Seven Ascended. The festival has given us a chance to act. I need to know that all of you are with me.”

Continue reading “Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter X” →

Song of the Week

Joni Mitchell, “River”

Good morning and happy holidays to all!

My schedule is a little off this week. I’ll have the next chapter of Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea up Thursday instead of Wednesday, so I’ll see you then!

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter IX

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea cover image: a wide, still river with forested mountain peaks rising on either side, underneath a clouded sky.
In which the tournament continues, but the machinations of the Ascended turn unseen.

Table of Contents

I awoke just before sunrise, and after only a short while I abandoned my futile attempts to sleep again. It was for the best that I would not compete this day, as I had not rested well. My thoughts were churning like the icy mountain streams in the land of my birth, fed by snow-melt in the spring. I feared that the banks of my mind would be flooded if I remained by myself in the quiet. I rose and left my room to light the fire. In these dry climes, the early mornings were cold, even in the summer. 

A fellow competitor, Rhea of the Golden Road team, had been attacked and nearly killed by a man in a mask. Reva had assured us that we would be safe during the Cerean Tournament; that it was forbidden to attack any of the contestants and that fairness in the games was sacred. She had been counting on that principle to keep Khalim safe, so that he and his god would not be at risk from the Ascended even after he made his presence known in the contest of magic. Now all the people of Phyreios knew his face and his name and what he could do. 

Could I keep him safe? I was unable to protect Fearghus, all those months ago. 

Continue reading “Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter IX” →

Song of the Week

Heather Dale, “Joan”

Happy Monday!

It is less than a month until Midwinter Gaming Con, and I am busy preparing to GM Call of Cthulhu! If you’re interested in playing with me, there’s more information here.

There will be another chapter of Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea up here on Wednesday, so I’ll see you then. Have a good week!

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Interlude One

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea cover image: a wide, still river with forested mountain peaks rising on either side, underneath a clouded sky.
In which we turn to others in order to truly see Phyreios as it was.

Table of Contents

It had been a fine day, despite its inelegant start. Garvesh and Khalim had performed admirably, and the Iron Mountain team had maintained its lead. Aysulu would compete the next day, in the contests of skill, and she was confident that she would carry the day. Among the warriors assembled here, only the Tribe of the Lion and the Wolf had any reputation for horse archery. It would be a good test of her abilities before the time when she would face them on a real battlefield.

She found Jin facing a stand weighed down with dumplings, each filled with meat and spices. He pored over them, brows furrowed, as though they held some great mystery that he was required to puzzle out.

Continue reading “Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Interlude One” →

Song of the Week

Hozier, “Movement”

Happy Monday!

I’ll be busy this week preparing for Midwinter Gaming Convention and getting some more chapters of Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea ready for you. The next chapter will be up Wednesday. The Well Below the Valley is on hold until after the convention. If you’re interested in playing Call of Cthulhu with me, there’s more information and links here. I’m so excited and nervous to run this module again!

Have an excellent week!

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter VIII

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea cover image: a wide, still river with forested mountain peaks rising on either side, underneath a clouded sky.
In which Khalim makes himself known to the city, and a threat also reveals itself.

Table of Contents

I parted from my companions for the afternoon and met Heishiro at the Flower of the Mountain to share a drink in the hours between the contest of poetry and that of magecraft, and passed the time there, trying to learn of the secrets of the eastern smiths. Heishiro was no craftsman himself, though he was an accomplished wielder of the weapons they made, and he could only give me a broad description of how steel was made. The tall stalks of grass that grew in his homeland and reached many times the height of a man were burned, and the charcoal left behind forged with iron to make a metal that was stronger and harder than any of the weapons and tools of my people. I asked him if I could replicate this process using what hardy plants and evergreen trees grew in the lands of my birth, and he told me he did not know.

I returned at sunset to find Khalim praying again, his bare feet slowly digging furrows into the sand under the first row of the stands as he paced. Darkness fell, and torches went up around the arena.

Continue reading “Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: Chapter VIII” →