No Regrets

No Regrets is the seventh installment for the series of works inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, taking place some time after the events of Among The Living. Focused on the talented, traveling musician Gilbey Jenevere, No Regrets follows Gilbey's dispiriting return to his dreary residence, the vivid memories of one of his biggest and greatest performances playing in his mind as he tries to keep pressing on with his otherwise dreary life. En route to his flat, however, he comes across another traveler who has taken an interest not in his latest performance, but instead, how they can use his knowledge for their own ulterior motives.

No Regrets can be read here. 

The above image was drawn by Kakihito, whose online portfolio can be found here. 

Among The Living

Among The Living is the sixth short story in the series of works inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, this time taking place some time before the events of Here's To Life. The focus of the story is on the well-traveled and well-educated Ravana, a half-orc who has devoted his life to studying any forms of magic that he can, searching a small, out-of-the-way city in the sprawling nation-state of Occiden Empire for a specific tome that will further boost his knowledge. While studying its contents, however, he comes across a familiar presence, one that he hasn't seen in many years; any goodwill from before, however, quickly turns to animosity as the two realise how different their lives have become since their last ill-fated meeting.

Among The Living can be read right here.

The above image is an image that has remained in my wallpapers folder for many years now; unfortunately, I have been unable to locate its original artist or their portfolio, but I certainly hope that I can find that information one day. I remember wanting to use it as a basis for a character in a tabletop RPG for many years, so it's interesting to finally make it happen.

Here's To Life

Here's To Life is the fifth short story in the series of works inspired by Dungeons & Dragons. Taking place weeks to months before Falling For You, the affable warlock Soryn Cyanos continues his quest to find his childhood friend, Katalia Rhoeas, through the land of Talamh Dieu, finding himself in the expansive woodlands of Ealdland. In the midst of his travels, however, his cursed blood begins to beckon for an offering, and while searching for such, he comes across a mysterious clearing in the woods. After a tangle with an otherworldly foe, Soryn becomes acquainted with an enigmatic woman only named Korari, and as they recover after the end of the skirmish, Soryn attempts to learn more about the hermit in front of him, and as he discovers, try to help her find out more about herself.

Here's To Life can be read right here.

The above image is a painting entitled The Magic Circle, an 1886 oil painting created by English artist John William Waterhouse.

Some author's notes can be found after the jump.

Falling For You

 

Falling For You is a short story that acts as the fourth installment for the series of works inspired by Dungeons & Dragons. Continuing the trend started in the previous two works, Falling For You again stars the elven fighter Saeros Elendil, this time finding himself in the carved halls of Stonehaven, a part of the Dwarven Empire, many years since the events of Holidays In The Sun, but still before the events of Bring The Night On or Late Night People. Only able to pass the time by traveling the land and playing cards, he comes across a chance encounter with a youth named Soryn Cyanos, a far traveler like himself who also appears surprisingly knowledgeable about Saeros and his past. Following an encounter with a local gang, Saeros himself discovers more about Soryn's own chequered past than he expects, as well as a common link between the two from many years ago.

Falling For You can be read right here. It's about 7000 words long.

The above image was drawn by Lin+, whose art can be found here. Like before, while the figure above lacks some elvish features, I liked the design enough to want to use it to represent Soryn the half-elf.

Some author's notes can be found after the jump.

Holidays In The Sun

Holidays In The Sun is a short story that I wrote over the course of July to September of 2021. Effectively the third installment in a series of works inspired by Dungeons & Dragons (which should get a proper name at some point...), Holidays In The Sun takes place many years before the previous two works in the series, centering on the travails of Saeros Elendil, mercenary-for-hire sent on a mission to capture and interrogate a merchant after the sudden disappearance of an elven banker. When he finally gets to a small hut far from the edges of town, however, he not only learns more about the mysterious disappearance, but he also learns far more about the merchant's miserable life and her ailing daughter, and also ends up having to fight for them in the end.

Holidays In The Sun can be read right here. It's about 7500 words long.

The above image was drawn by Jun, whose art can be found here. While the figure above doesn't appear to have the pointed ears associated with elves, I liked the design enough to want to use it as a token for Roll20.

Some author's notes can be found after the jump, but keep in mind that they contain spoilers for this work.

Dark Valentine

Dark Valentine was a quarterly e-zine that published five issues from Summer 2010 to Summer 2011. Its name is a bit of a misnomer; the e-zine did not focus on romance stories, and instead focused on stories with "dark" tones, generally featuring macabre themes, twisted plots, otherworldly creatures, and tragic endings. While a majority of the stories were high fantasy or horror, as suggested by the various cover arts and title, a surprisingly large variety of genres were present in Dark Valentine's pages, including urban fantasy, science fiction, and even one Western (Edward A. Grainger's Justice Served in Issue 3). The illustrations found for each story also featured a number of different styles from numerous artists, each helping to tell the respective tale. I read all five issues of Dark Valentine as they released while I was in high school, and I hoped that one day I'd find my own name on its pages, especially after the shuttering of the similarly-themed Talebones in 2009.

Dark Valentine's website has unfortunately been defunct for over a decade now (an archived mirror can be found here, circa 2011), and while the magazine's publishing house, Dark Valentine Press, still has a website, it has disappointingly little information about the magazine itself. While its final issue made promise of keeping archives of all five issues up and accessible, no mirrors of Dark Valentine exist anywhere on the Internet right now, and plans to produce a print compendium for its stories also apparently fell through, so I've decided to give this old e-zine a home of its own. Dark Valentine was published with the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 license, so uploading it online for a new audience doesn't fall foul of any copyright laws.

I elected to pack all five issues of Dark Valentine into one compressed folder, alongside download links for the individual issues if so desired. 

Complete

    Issue 1
    Issue 2
    Issue 3
    Issue 4
    Issue 5

The above image was taken directly from Dark Valentine's first issue, and was drawn by Joanne Renaud, whose online portfolio can be found here and personal blog can be found here. Renaud also drew the cover art for Dark Valentine's fourth issue, and she also acted as its art director throughout its existence.

Late Night People

Late Night People is a short story that I wrote over the course of April to July of 2021. Somewhat related in scope to the previous Bring the Night On, this story is again inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, this time featuring a half-elf sorcerer named Katalia Rhoeas, with Elsie making a return appearance. Late Night People focuses on the interactions of two orphans, Ilya and Elsie, and Katalia after a day of work, where they not only learn more about one another, but also end up in a scuffle stemming from a long-simmering feud between nations.

Late Night People can be read right here. It's about 7500 words long.

The above image was drawn by WANKE, whose art can be found here.