"I do not pay you to dance with a strumpet from the kitchens!" Malaegar thrashed his hand across Faolan’s sallow face, ironically leaving it with some colour of life. Faolan did not feel a thing, he was drunk with wine and what he might have called love. "You asked me...  ordered me to keep a... Continue Reading →

With a long, low creak, the doors to the Great Hall of Raven’s Rock were opened and the procession began to enter with hushed excitement. As Raghnall entered the room, people had begun to congregate. For a moment Raghnall felt he was in unnervingly familiar societal territory. The room slowly filled and an unspoken social... Continue Reading →

From the twelfth strike of midday, the bells of the great clock tower tolled continuously for an hour. Guests retreated to their rooms to prepare for the ceremony that evening. Raghnall paced in his chamber contemplating the ignorance of, or perhaps the indifference to, the villagers’ squalor which played out in hundreds of luncheons served... Continue Reading →

For days Raghnall witnessed multitudes arriving at Ravensholme. The castle, no-longer quiet, hummed with life. No matter where he was, talking and movement could be heard behind doors and through walls. The intensity of activity was such that he could wander about the castle un-noticed by staff and guests alike.  The arrivals paraded through the... Continue Reading →

Sometime later, Aaralyn and Raghnall re-emerged from the thorny mass of brambles. They walked arm in arm, with exaggerated swagger, as if her mother's formal garden were restored about them. They laughed at a joke Eldridge once told Aaralyn about three ravens and a cockerel, and leisurely made their way back to the glass house... Continue Reading →

Malaegar paced around his bed chamber, oblivious to the wild curtains, thrashing in the wind. The storm still raged, though it was not that which kept him from sleeping. Rather his head was awash with drunken thoughts. He muttered to himself, with only the stone grotesques which supported the black ceiling on their hunched backs... Continue Reading →

Eldridge guided Raghnall, this time at a leisurely pace through the steadily darkening corridors until they emerged into a long, thin, passageway. “Here, Sir. This passage leads directly to the great hall.” He pointed “It is a short walk to Raven’s Rock; however, I am certain you will appreciate the view. I bid you a... Continue Reading →

For what felt like the longest of times, Raghnall dared not move. He carefully ate the herring on his plate and gently placed the cutlery down. He sipped lightly at his tea and gingerly nibbled his toast. He had not realized Malaegar had been paying such close attention to his words, Raghnall reflected as he... Continue Reading →

Raghnall stirred as something cool stroked his cheek. Groaning, he turned away, patted his pillow and buried his face, determined to sleep some more. However he had scarcely settled when a gust of cold air rudely tumbled down the back of his neck, rippling the bed sheets. Sitting upright with a start, he saw that... Continue Reading →

Expecting to see a person in the portal, the stranger looked back to the door but there was no one immediately apparent. What could be seen was the hallway beyond. The floor stretched out like a game board as he entered, diamonds of black and white stone, leading to a black staircase furnished in a... Continue Reading →