Series
Winter Series 2025 - Snow Does Not Fall the Same Way Twice (Part III)
Snow looks identical until you stay long enough to watch it fall. From a distance, winter appears repetitive - the same cold, the same gray skies, the same quiet streets. But snow, like memory, reveals its truth only to those willing to slow down. Each flake carries a distinct geometry. Each winter arrives believing it is both the first and the last of its kind.
By José Juan Gutierrez about a month ago in Fiction
Winter Series 2025 - The Longest Night We Shared (Part I)
Winter does not arrive loudly. It enters quietly, slipping between conversations, dimming the edges of the world, asking us to slow down even when we resist. The longest night of the year - Solstice - is not only an astronomical event - it is an emotional threshold. A moment when darkness lingers long enough to make us listen.
By José Juan Gutierrez about a month ago in Fiction
Interlude: Lions, Lifewheat, & Crafters... Oh My! (Chapter 57.5?)
Interlude: Lions, Lifewheat, & Crafters... Oh My! Called to Haven Valley by the System Recruitment Notice, the Crafter families moved slowly, wagons and packs creaking under the weight of tools and supplies, children perched on carts or walking alongside, their eyes wide with wonder. The Lifewheat Fields stretched endlessly, golden stalks swaying like a sea around them. The air was warm, heavy with the scent of grain, and every step carried them deeper into the Valley’s heart.
By Canyon Cappola (TheNomad)about a month ago in Fiction
Interlude: The Lions in the Depths (Chapter 53.5?)
Chapter 54: Interlude: The Lions in the Depths The Crystal Dungeon mine shaft stretched before them like the throat of some vast beast, its walls jagged with veins of crystal that pulsed faintly in the gloom. The air was damp, heavy with the scent of stone and dust, and every sound echoed across the dimly lit space. The drip of water, the scrape of claws, the thunder of golden paws striking earth. Shadows clung to the corners, and the deeper they pressed, the more the dungeon seemed to breathe around them.
By Canyon Cappola (TheNomad)about a month ago in Fiction
Interlude: The Foreshadows face the Shadows (Chapter 35.5?)
Interlude: The Foreshadows face the Shadows The Crystal Dungeon mine shaft yawned before them, its walls glittering faintly with veins of crystal. The air was damp and heavy, carrying the scent of stone and something older, something waiting. Braska, the Bearfolk Barbarian, adjusted her grip on the Fungal Greatsword, its living edge pulsing faintly with spores. Beside her, Sylvi the Ferretfolk Ranger strung her Fungal Bow, whispering a quick prayer to the roots and vines that answered her call, as she set arrow to the string and scouted ahead. Dalen, the human healer, walked with quiet patience, his staff glowing faintly with necessary light in this dark place. Kaelith, the Runemage, traced wards in the air, runes shimmering around the party like a protective veil.
By Canyon Cappola (TheNomad)about a month ago in Fiction
Riptide; Chapter 4
Raven stops beside me on the deck. "Cannons at the ready, Captain." I nod, watching the ensign as they finish reknotting the remaining rigging of the mainmast. If this idea worked, we just might be able to get the fixed sail up. "Are they loaded?"
By Katarzyna Crevanabout a month ago in Fiction
Final Character Sheet: Sara Bloom: Book 1 "Rejoice!"
Final Character Sheet: Sara Bloom (End of Book 1: "Rejoice!") Name: Sara Bloom Race: Mycorrhizal Rank: Viscount Territories: 3. Haven Valley (Primary), Crystal Cavern Mines (Linked), & Haven Volcano (Linked)
By Canyon Cappola (TheNomad)about a month ago in Fiction
Symbiotic: Chapter 62
Chapter 62 Sara spent the day with her hands busy, weaving spores into repairs, shaping tools, and crafting small reinforcements for the Valley’s defenses. She stayed close, knowing Cadri and Brogan were still watching the marked spies, her presence a quiet reassurance should things turn suddenly dangerous.
By Canyon Cappola (TheNomad)about a month ago in Fiction
Symbiotic: Chapter 61
Chapter 61 The cavern stretched vast and glittering, jagged walls alive with crystalline growths that pulsed faintly in the dark. At its center loomed the massive silhouette of the Crystal Devourer, its body like a mountain of jagged prisms, each movement grinding stone against stone.
By Canyon Cappola (TheNomad)about a month ago in Fiction
Symbiotic: Chapter 60
Chapter 60 Sara’s excitement warred with her nerves as she coaxed Fluffy to lay flat across the cavern floor. Even prone, their adolescent bulk rose nearly ten feet high, a mountain of stone and magma that radiated heat like a living forge.
By Canyon Cappola (TheNomad)about a month ago in Fiction
