Tag: fantasy violence

Original Fiction, The Tiered Tower

The Man in the Runic Kerchief

Mertiya (AdmirableMonster)

Rating: Teen

Warnings: Moderate Violence

Summary: A deal goes wrong on the yellow tier. We are introduced to a kitsune prince and his terrifying lover.

Short Tail tried to stand a little straighter as she entered the conference room at the end of the line. She did not want to make any mistakes on her first day of duty, particularly not as a guard of the illustrious Leopard family. She was still unsure as to how she, Short Tail, the runt of the parade, had made it this far, and she damn well didn’t want to disappoint, even if she was only serving as the guard for the youngest son, Leopard Paw, and according to all her squad mates, today’s meeting barely counted as guard work at all.

“Final meeting with the kitsune prince?” Sharp Fangs had smirked. “I think you’ll be fine.”

All the same, Short Tail was curious. There weren’t many kitsune on the yellow tier, and Bee of the Wolf family was one of the only ones coming from princely blood.

When they entered, he didn’t look like anything special. Seated at the head of the table and sprawling a little, feet up, he looked like any other troll prince, his dark hair gathered in small, beaded braids close to his head. There was something strange about the wide set of his eyes and the glitter of yellow in the depths of his irises, but Short Tail would never have noticed if she hadn’t already known. Far more striking—and simultaneously surprising—was his companion.

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City of Storms, Original Fiction

The Ghost-Queller

Mertiya (AdmirableMonster)

Rating: Teen

Warnings: Blood and violence, dark themes, mild internalized homophobia

Summary: When Feithlyn moves from her tiny village to the big city to study veterinary medicine, she’s expecting some things to change. She is not expecting to become embroiled in a ghostly murder mystery, at the center of which stands an enigmatic figure known only as the ghost-queller. As Feithlyn’s world expands, she fights to keep her footing–and her life.

The bird cocked its head and tapped on the glass.

“Stop that! Shoo!” It wasn’t that Feithlyn didn’t like crows, it was just that the last few times she had turned her back, this one had managed to open the window and sneak inside, dropping feathers everywhere for her to clean up. Crows did not belong in a café, and if the owner found out, Feithlyn feared for her employment, which meant fearing for her tiny one-room apartment, which meant fearing she would have to complete her veterinary degree while homeless. Which sounded difficult.

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Augury Series, Original Fiction

Augury of Water

Mertiya (AdmirableMonster)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Vicious fantasy violence, disease, drowning

Summary:  While Énna prepares to negotiate a treaty with the Aerie, Ryder tries to solve a set of mysterious drownings in the southern part of Bridehive.

A/N: Art by Zomburai.

Auguries Series

          I blinked my eyes open into watery sunlight, yawning and stretching, and reaching out blindly for Énna. My questing hand found a warm place between otherwise empty sheets, and I grumbled sadly beneath my breath. Gone again, and the sun was barely over the windowsill. He’d been working too hard, but then it wasn’t so surprising. In just a few weeks, the Monarch of the Aerie would be traveling to Bridehive to sign our treaty, and in the meantime, we were all trying to rebuild our hometown from the mess the Khar had made of it.

I was at loose ends. I’d been ordered to rest in the aftermath of my head injury, and it turned out I was not very good at it. I kept trying to sneak out and go to the library, at least, but the teachers were very serious that they meant mental rest, as well as physical. The headaches had faded almost five days ago, and at this point I was ready to stab something, just so that I could have a reason to do the purification rite. It would be better than lying in bed and staring at the ceiling.

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Augury Series, Original Fiction

Augury of Birds

Mertiya (AdmirableMonster)

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Explicit sexual content, explicit sexual images, suicide

Summary: Ryder, a soldier/scholar who left their hometown of Bridehive a decade ago, returns and reunites with a childhood friend, only to discover that the war they have been fighting has followed them.  

Writing by me, art by Zomburai.

Glossary of Important Terms:

Werman:  a person who went through testosterone puberty.

Woman: a person who went through estrogen puberty.

Noman: a person who went through combined testosterone/estrogen puberty.

Man: a person.

            The road to Bridehive was long, grey, and winding, and it hurt my feet. I didn’t remember the stones being so uneven when I was leaving, but it had, admittedly, been a long time. I was wearing armor when I left, a bright mail shirt beneath a lamellar tunic, but I’d abandoned the shirt somewhere along the way, and now the tunic was tucked under my arm instead, along with a rolled-up tent and some cooking equipment. Over my shoulder was a bundle containing the rest of my worldly goods, consisting of a half-melted tallow candle, a flint to light it, a talisman of Gauselen, and a very thick notebook that was getting worryingly close to being filled with my small, spiky writing. Someone once told me I wrote as if I were fighting a war: even the look of my letters was sharp. Continue reading “Augury of Birds” →