Thorn of the Rose

“O Scourge of the Sea! Though long you have stalked me, no more shall you withhold your truth from me…

“…O Scourge of the Sea! I see the curtain has parted, your true form at last revealed to me.”

Thorn of the Rose

By A. Broadhead


Act One

The moonlight lit the paths leading away from the village square, silvering the hair and hoods of the wuyon’mari streaming into it. Its light was overpowered by the lanterns in the square itself however, shining blue and violet, green and gold, from the branches of the white-barked trees. Keelath took a sniff of the air, scented with herbs and exotic perfumes and all kinds of food.

The Long Dark holiday was in full swing. Continue reading “Thorn of the Rose”

The Nameless Accounts, Book One

The Kingslayer War.

The First Shadow Rising.

The akor’mari.

These words once struck fear across the continent of Talmenor. For the first time, the Nameless breaks his silence: how one akor’mar broke from the cruelty of his kind and came to govern the fates of many…

By A. Broadhead


the Nameless Accounts, scrolls 1 through 30

Originally scribed by Deft, rukh-bound to Magister Kali Hornsmith
Edited by Ezran Baenarn
Library of Castellea in Castellea, Tarith

Here follows the accounts of his memories, from earliest recalling to Cha'chk'rand'dala'he i.e. Swallowing-of-the-Dark in Sailor's Speech.

These scrolls are maintained by the Holy Order of Shen-Bahan, for the purposes of better understanding our enemies.


I was born many, many years ago, in the city of Vuzsdin.

My name is not important. I am not a hero, though some have called me that. I am not a villain, though many have given me that name as well.

I am an akor’mar.

The Surfacers would like to believe my home city, and my race, are no more. Vuzsdin was assaulted ages ago, broken, buried. The akor’mari were hunted, like we had so often hunted others. Broken, buried. The Surfacers believe they have ushered in a new era of peace now that we are no more.

But I know better. We are akor’mari. We always survive.

Perhaps my story will show that, that the old blood has not died out, that the akor’mar race still lives on. Maybe. Maybe not. It does not matter. This is my story.

I was born many, many years ago, in the city of Vuzsdin...

 


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The Will of the Whip

Then there was a soft spitting noise, like a match flaring to light. Evelos glanced between his fingers, and there was Keelath, the wuyon’mar’s angular face twisted in rage, holding his sword in one hand and a ball of furious Light magic in the other.

“Take your claws off my son,” his father growled.

The Will of the Whip

By A. Broadhead


“…this life, witho-o-out you.”

Mirium drew the final note to a careful quaver, then bowed as her small audience erupted into clapping. Face glowing, the wuyon’mar stepped down from the Halfmoon Tavern’s stage and sat down between her two adult children, Medi and Evelos.

“What did you think?” she whispered.

“It was beautiful,” said Evelos. “I think you’re getting your talent back.”

“Oh, you think you could do better?” Medi quipped, nudging Evelos in the ribs.

“Well, I do have a story I could tell,” said Evelos thoughtfully, as the crowd settled again and Lana took to stage to call out for the next participant. “It’s from when I was a child.”

“You were a child once??” Medi goggled.

“Erm, yes,” said Evelos. “It’s about when we first moved to Thalas’talah, away from the Dawnmist manor. It was years before you were born, though.”

Medi leaned back in disappointment. “Really? That sounds bore-ring!”

“I think you’ll find it’s not.” Continue reading “The Will of the Whip”

All They Had

He looked at her. He saw her careworn face, her red hair bound up and starting to lose its shine with the onset of her age… He imagined what life could’ve been like, if it was her hand he had held at the summer gala…

All They Had

By A. Broadhead

This piece was a response to a short writing prompt: write a dialogue in which the two characters are almost having a big fight, but not quite. I chose Tyrric and Mirium for this scene as that’s something they often do! What came out of it isn’t quite a dialogue, but I’m happy with how it illustrates the ongoing tension between them.

As far as canon goes, this scene would’ve been set roughly before Keelath returned from the dead but while Tyrric was still dating Alelsa. It’s not entirely accurate to that timeline though, mostly because I wanted to write a scene that was self-contained –one you could pick up and read without knowing anything about the rest of Sunwalker lore. So, enjoy it as a illustrative piece if not a completely factual one!

Author’s Note

“Lord Tyrric, we really need to talk about your taste in horses.”

Tyrric looked up from the handwritten ledgers spread across his desk. Mirium was standing across from him, hands on her hips, in that “I’m about to make some trouble” kind of way that always set his heart racing.

“Yes. Ah. What about?” he answered, calmly enough despite his distraction. Continue reading “All They Had”