Stygian Sagas: Recent Episodes
Kryder Van Buskirk
A rural Central Kentucky community on the outskirts of Mercer County is destabilized in strange ways by the establishment of a data center not far off Perryville Road.
Music by CO.AG Music
This is one of the oldest stories I ever thought up, younger only than Lawton. But the first draft from the early 2010s was always far too rough to release, and had been outgrown by the time I began recording and releasing stories here. This month, I wiped the slate and rewrote it from the ground up, and hopefully breathed new life into it. It's a Delve story, simple and providing only a glimpse of the things from below ground, as with a lot of early Delve stories. This was mostly an exercise in trying to write a truly short (less than forty minutes or an hour) horror story again, but this version still ended up nearly twice as long as that original rough draft from over a decade ago would have been.
It was hard finding a place to record this, as I've had a lot of unexpected travel come up this month, but I think I did well enough. Due to those difficulties, there's a place near the middle where the audio goes toaster mic mode for a minute or two due to some noise removal I had to do for background sound. While regrettable, it's short and will, as ever, serve to weed out the sort of pedantic people I don't want consuming the work anyhow, so I've left it in. The first draft of the South Sea Cycle horror novel is completely finished, and while it'll likely still be a month or two tinkering on it before I'm ready to record and release it, you might want to revisit those stories in the South Sea playlist if it's been a while. You certainly won't have to have read/listened to any of those older stories to understand and enjoy it, though.
I'm repulsed by the 'essayification' and 'wikification' of fiction in general, and this is not something I'd normally consider releasing. However, after a long talk with a person whose judgement I trust, given the nature of this ongoing project, I've decided a good compromise for people who actually enjoy this sort of presentation is, like the history series, to present it in-universe as a document, and therefore lend it a tiny bit of the literary worth it would otherwise lack. That being said, this is not the way this civilization should be encountered for the first time- this should be seen as a supplemental presentation.
If you have yet to listen to He Who Thunders, a novel entirely set among and about Xoloxaitians, it is available for free, like all my work, as an audiobook here: https://youtu.be/yRDaiblgHDg
This work was pieced together from my own personal notes, and I've been careful to remove details I think would get a deep treatment in future novels or short stories. You can see a small example of these in the Robert E Howard Stygian Sidetracks I put out a while back reading about Khandar from one of these journals. I already have these notebooks filled for all twelve of the kindreds, so the next countries on the list will be the Duumvirate of Lautan, then Gunug, as featured in Solar Tide. As my plans stand, I will only release these anthropological, in-universe presentations after a given civilization has been featured in its own novel. I am not a visual artist. All images were either (very poorly) smudge painted by me after Frankenstein-ing them together in GIMP, were made in Wonderdraft as maps, or are pictures taken of landscapes/items I think fit the settings being described well. The images should not be taken as gospel- the focus of the writing is the writing, as that's my pursuit, not visual art. I only toss these things together to give visual people something to look at. Always take something I've described much more seriously than something I've shoddily illustrated. Moreover, this is a living setting in the sense I'm still working on and in it, and will continue to do so as long as I live. I'm constantly tweaking and shifting things to be better in line with the in-universe cultures as they develop, doing everything I can to make them feel alien to a modern audience, and yet relatable enough to serves as good windows on the world. I'm aware there are very small inconsistencies in the setting over the years, but these are choices of alteration I have made, and things won't be standardized and finalized until, in all likelihood, I'm dead and can't workshop them anymore.
Installments of the history/mythology series (to be continued this year) can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLurTA68FnURj0HcRzXHA9w8UPZYoilmCq
Better-quality maps, as well as rough mockups of a lot of the kindreds, etc, can be found in the discord.
For my own sanity, I do not read comments anymore save for Stygian Sidetracks member's early releases, just to show appreciation to them. That said, anyone can always contact me by Email, Discord, or Patreon (as a free follower) should you want to get back in touch with me, I check them a couple times a week generally. Thank all of you for listening, if you did- it's always heartening there are still some people out there who enjoy stuff like this.
A witch with strange servants is at work above the streets of Century City.
Music by CO.AG Music
A bit of folklore from the Philippines made flesh in the bowels of a half-empty apartment complex. Working to get Libsyn to fix the podcast feeds and get old episodes back up, be patient and find them on other platforms if you need them for now. Music by CO.AG Music
Apologies for the delay in this podcast feed release. I couldn't upload it in November due to my data caps through Libsyn for the podcast feed. I was traveling in early December and got sick during the trip, so I lost track of the fact I hadn't put it up.
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Meant to release this yesterday here on the podcast feeds, but the system's inability to schedule releases by uploading beforehand meant it slipped by last night when I got busy. Still, this is the Halloween river thing yarn- a day later here than on YT. Back to Solar Tide on Monday.
Music by CO.AG Music
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
The names of all Patreon and Channel members are listed in this book on a page of thanks. Thank you again for all of your encouragement over the years.
Delve: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FRZ86W2M?ref_=pe_93986420_774957520
Awakening: https://www.amazon.com/Awakening-Other-Tales-Mountain-Dreamer/dp/B0BS8VK6P6/ref=sr_1_3?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.I4jPo60IZDK20qJVh8fHXthCRUzhInYAv6FXOv7Wd2I.v85wBcVxdiLKoeqcvhWy2IeACR5e8_0p4Bd4vN3n4ek&dib_tag=se&qid=1758483385&refinements=p_27%3AKryder+E.+Van+Buskirk+IV&s=books&sr=1-3&text=Kryder+E.+Van+Buskirk+IV
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/StygianSagas
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Durank, an officer in the armies of the Kingdom of Gunug, grapples with the shame and dishonor dealt by his first defeat. Berani Suburan, a minor nobleman of the remote Lautani province of Tujuhdanau, has his world turned upside down by the beginning of a global war which will take him far from home. Like their two nations, so long bound by treaty as well as by faith, the two men of different lands will find fate has destined them for the same field of battle.
Music by Musicformed (Formerly Ares)
Patreon
Sias Kruger, ill-fated treasure hunter, is back with a story about a village's dark fate, and the inexplicable entity which brought it about.
The second fantasy novel, Solar Tide, will begin release later this month. A hardcopy release of Delve and its anthology of related short stories will follow in September. The next horror story here won't be out until Halloween.
If you enjoy these stories, consider supporting them on Patreon
Music by CO.AG Music
This was originally an early-release members/Patreon upload.
A bit of reflection on Robert E Howard Days, and then a short reading from a notebook I keep on my fantasy setting. If you'd like a narrative exposure to Kalkweum and the Khandari, then listen to Star-Litten Steel, which is available in this feed.
If you'd like to see maps and images, then check out the upload on YouTube.
Thanks for listening!
Strange happenings unfold around Lexington as a darkness falls on an unfortunate shop in the city's Fayette Mall.
Music by CO.AG Music
A tale of a sightseeing trip in Laguna introduces the narrator to a man living in the remnants of a supposedly abandoned town- and the dark forces he traffics with.
Music by CO.AG Music
Patreon
A move to a new house and a new job in east Lexington prove to be a disappointment. Far more troubling, however, are the nightly visits of something which watches from beyond the window.
Music by CO.AG Music
Patreon
Tyler Hollen's vanishing beneath the Lion Apparel plant, and all the strange events which followed, were just the most recent in a long line of inexplicable happenings which have long haunted Fairgrounds Ridge.
An in-universe, Xoloxaitian-penned account of creation and the rise of the Xoloxaitian Empire, intended as a primer for the nobility of Xoloxaiti's ruling houses.
This series will likely be quite long, but will only sporadically see updates after the first three installments as I find time to adapt future periods from my many notes into prose.
An in-universe, Xoloxaitian-penned account of creation and the rise of the Xoloxaitian Empire, intended as a primer for the nobility of Xoloxaiti's ruling houses.
This series will likely be quite long, but will only sporadically see updates after the first three installments as I find time to adapt future periods from my many notes into prose.
An in-universe, Xoloxaitian-penned account of creation and the rise of the Xoloxaitian Empire, intended as a primer for the nobility of Xoloxaiti's ruling houses.
This series will likely be quite long, but will only sporadically see updates after the first three installments as I find time to adapt future periods from my many notes into prose.
An interview conducted years after the reappearance of a local cryptid and folk legend describes a being that should not exist, but whose impacts on the world around it are all too real.
Music by White Bat Audio and Co.ag music
A man struggles to determine how much of what he experiences is real when ominous and impossible things begin to unfold during a yearly Halloween visit to his hometown.
Music by CO.AG Music and White Bat Audio
An investigation into a strange disappearance leads to the unveiling of far stranger things lurking in the woods of Boyle County.
This is the most recent story in the Contagion Cycle, which began with A Scratching at the Door and included Intruder and Scrubgrass. While listening to these isn't necessary to follow the plot of Spider's Phage, they give a lot of context and extra detail about the events leading to this tale.
Music by CO.AG Music
A beached ship near Makassar harbors more than just fables.
Music by CO.AG Music and White Bat Audio
Final installment of Delve. Hit me with emails if you have questions about the story or upcoming projects, I'll be doing an upload next weekend where I try to address a rough schedule for 2024 and I'll answer anything I get there.
Music by CO.AG Music
Ervin Costigan, snatched and spirited away to the cave systems beneath Western Kentucky, struggles to survive in a hostile underworld.
Music by CO.AG Music
A night walk to visit a friend becomes something else entirely.
Music by White Bat Audio and CO.AG Music
A man out for a clandestine delivery comes upon something near Forkland which ought not to be trifled with.
Music by CO.AG Music and White Bat Audio
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
He Who Thunders is an original fantasy novel- the first in the setting. It will release segment by segment following a Monday - Wednesday - Friday release schedule until all chapters have been released.
All writing and narration on this feed is done by me.
All music and ambience in this segment was done by Musicformed, who can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicformed/...
You can purchase their work here: https://iamares.bandcamp.com/
A brief, folkloric tale for August. Should begin uploading the He Who Thunders chapters for the podcast audience tonight.
A temporary night watchman has a rough first (and only) night on the job.
A brief story which will serve as a jumping off point for more down the line, similar to what Quirk Road did for Horror of the Quirk Wood and Forest Through the Trees.
Music by CO.AG Music and White Bat Audio
A traveler awakens to find himself stranded in an airport far different than the one he remembers from waking life.
Music by CO.AG Audio and White Bat Audio
A strange corpse found during historic Kentucky floods stirs recollections of old legends and older creatures.
Last Delve Cycle short story until I get to work on the Delve novel later in the year. Expect another horror short story in June and the beginning of the fantasy novel release either late in the month or early in July.
Sias Kruger, a relic hunter in the Andean highlands for museums in Europe, encounters a legend which douses even his thirst for treasure.
This story is written from the perspective of the same treasure hunter featured in 'Maw of the Earth,' though the two stories can be read in any order.
Music by CO.AG Music and White Bat Audio
See the YouTube upload of this story for a roadmap of what's planned for 2023-24.
A hermit with a dark and sorcerous reputation is stricken dead after centuries haunting a remote corner of Kentucky, leaving the locals to ponder what his sacrifice meant- and what it was made to prevent.
Music by CO.AG Music and White Bat Audio
A team of foreign fighters countering rebels in Indonesian Papua are called to clear a supposedly occupied oil rig off the north coast.
Music by CO.AG Music and White Bat Audio
The proud Lautani dreadnought Dendam has a brush with fate just days after the beginning of a world war.
Music by Ares
My Awakening anthology is now available in eBook, paperback, and Hardcover:
Amazon listing
A short tale about a strange encounter during a night walk.
I'm struggling to keep the fantasy story I've been working on at a certain length, but it should be done by January. I'll release a couple short readings on Christmas as well!
Music by CO.AG Music and White Bat Audio
An aging man attempts to convince his eager grandson not to develop a long-forgotten mine in the hills of Lee County Kentucky. The things buried there ought to remain buried.
Music by CO.AG Music and White Bat Audio
An aging man attempts to convince his eager grandson not to develop a long-forgotten mine in the hills of Lee County Kentucky. The things buried there ought to remain buried.
Music by CO.AG Music and White Bat Audio
A quick run down of some questions I've received and what I'll be working on moving forward.
The remainders of the group seek to administer the final sleep.
I'll be releasing a talk discussing future plans in a week or so. Thanks for listening thus far! Expect me back for a story around Halloween.
Music by CO.AG Music
A mortally wounded Oarem leads the first steps into a stirring god.
I was nervous about capping my podcast upload limit this month with all the releases, but it should be just barely under the line Chapter nine later tonight, hopefully, with the tenth and final coming at the beginning of next week.
Music by CO.AG Music
In order to approach one of the Dreamer's mouths unseen, the world beyond the veil must be traversed.
Music by White Bat Audio & CO.AG Music
As an altered Appalachia looms overhead, sacrifices must be made to ensure success.
Music by CO.AG Music
The journey eastward begins in earnest.
Music by CO.AG Music
Apologies to the podcast feed crowd for my sluggish release of these episodes by comparison to the releases on the YT channel. The uploads take longer there, and thus I always worry over them more actively. I'll try and match the M-W-F schedule I've set for the releases over there from here on out until the novel is fully released.
Luther arrives seeking the only company he thinks will have him in the face of the end, and finds himself dragged into something unbelievable.
Music by CO.AG Music
A man recounts his unnerving night amidst a ruined hamlet in an upland valley.
The first installment of a novel- the first of eleven parts.
Chapters will be uploaded on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday until the parts are spent- unless, like tonight, my connection fails me and I fall a bit behind.
Hope you enjoy!
Music by CO.AG Music
NOTE: This is a sequel to Come the Dawn. You'll wanna listen to that one before you listen to this one, if you haven't already.
The narrator of Come the Dawn, still haunted by his night in the silo, learns more about the source of his visions and nightmares.
This, along with Come the Dawn and the Quirk Road trilogy of stories, serve as precursors to my upcoming novel, which'll be released here and on YouTube near the summer's end.
Music by CO.AG Music and White Bat Audio
An expat in search of cheaper living encounters a strange thing roaming the filthy alleys and gutters of Phnom Penh.
Another re-recording of an older tale. A Scratching at the Door will be the next and likely the last older story to get a re-recording in the near future. The next new one, a follow up to Come the Dawn, should be out within the month.
After that, it'll be a while- my work on the novel is ramping up, and I expect to complete and begin recording it near the end of this summer.
Music by CO.AG Music and White Bat Audio
A pair of friends stranded on an abandoned seabound village encounter a creature which should not exist.
Music by White Bat Audio and CO.AG Music
Yaotl, auxiliary to the Ektal, tasked with calling the brutal Khandari Clan Tallata to war, is dragged into a quest for vengeance by the clan's unpredictable chieftain.
Music by:
Ares
Slavic Affairs
CO.AG Music
A man dwells on experiences connected to his distant hometown, and the troubling implications they carry with them.
Music by CO.AG Music and White Bat Audio
An updated rendition of Lawton, one of my oldest tales. Should be of better quality, hopefully bringing it up to line with the more recent story readings.
A bit of regional history which I've been looking over for future writings. In the late nineteenth century, a feud between the Howard and Turner families rocked Harlan County. Despite its brutality, the struggle has been largely forgotten in the region over whose hills and hollers the battle was waged.
I'll be back to more run-of-the-mill fiction in the next few days with a re-recording of Lawton, one of my oldest stories. Within a week, I'll be back again with Lynch, a new tale, as soon as I get the opportunity to record it between bouts with the oncoming allergy season.
A thief finds more than he bargained for within an upper class house along Limestone Way.
Music by:
-CO.AG Music
-White Bat Audio
A young man struggling to find a path through the earliest part of adulthood stumbles into a strange and empty experience on his way home from a soul-searching roadtrip.
Music By:
CO.AG Music
White Bat Audio
The final installment of It Came Down from the Hills.
Hopefully you enjoyed the serial release of the story. I wanted to mimic old weird tales-style sequential releases of longer short stories, and the daily releases felt like a good way to capture that mood without spreading it out over weeks or months.
Music by White Bat Audio and CO.AG Music
After the failed hunt for the thing in the hills, Walker suggests seeking the aid of the 'Witch of the Western Weald.'
Fourth of five parts.
Music by CO.AG Music and White Bat Audio
Following up on a report of eerie dreams, the hunters head for Sawyer's Holler.
Third of five parts.
Music by CO.AG Music and White Bat Audio
Having arrived in Irvine, the details of the strangeness which has taken hold of the town are recounted.
Music by White Bat Audio and CO.AG Music
Second of Five parts.
A renowned tracker and Indian fighter is called to the small Kentucky town of Irvine to deal with what many in the town believe to be a wild man or native outcast haunting the wilderness of Estill County.
The first of five parts, to be released daily.
Music by White Bate Audio and CO.AG Music
Returning to a long-abandoned beachfront home to dispel irrational childhood fears reveals those fears might not have been so irrational after all.
I've got a long one coming up for Halloween, so this is only the beginning for October.
A man moves from a tiny West Virginia town to Charleston for work. He finds the city less than welcoming.
Music By:
White Bat Audio
CO.AG Music
Seeking to gain greater influence within an underground occult organization, a man agrees to undergo a rite of passage which tests his sanity.
Music:
CO.AG Music
White Bat Audio
Sias Kruger recounts his visit to a mysterious holy site known as the Maw of the Earth to his employer, wishing to dissuade further probing into the region.
This is a simple story, very Weird Tales. A good change of pace after working on the last one for so long. Sias Kruger may be used again as a character- I enjoy the idea of a sort of underhanded nineteenth century relic hunter as a window to tell strange stories.
Music by:
CO.AG Music
White Bat Audio
A man moves onto a remote Eastern Kentucky plot and fast finds himself faced with a series of happenings he can't explain.
This is the final in a trio of tales, with The Quirk Road being the first and The Horror of the Quirk Wood being the second, so you might want to give those a listen beforehand if you haven't heard them yet. Several of my other stories, including The Dreamer in the Gorge, are also tied to this, though their plots are not intertwined. It's my longest story to date, so hopefully it manages to hold your attention.
There will likely be another story in the future tied to the entity described in these stories and the apocalyptic events it means to enact, but it will come down the road. It'll be even longer than this- maybe novel-length, though I won't know until I actually sit down to work it out.
For now, I'll be moving back into my regular pace of Horror and Dark Fantasy stories.
Music By CO.AG Music and White Bat Audio
An outdoorsman hired to protect a group of prospective American silver miners during their journey into inland Borneo finds something stranger than tigers amidst the trees.
Music by White Bat Audio and CO.AG Music
A group of prior Orphan Brigade servicemen, attempting to return home unseen in the wake of the American Civil War, walk into a lowland pass through the mountains of eastern Kentucky- and encounter the thing which sleeps beneath them.
A further exploration of the same force described in "The Dreamer in the Gorge."
Music:
CO.AG Music:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcavSftXHgxLBWwLDm_bNvA/videos
White Bat Audio:
https://www.youtube.com/c/WhiteBatAudio/videos
A series of strangely consistent lucid dreams drives a student to record his explorations of the twisted dreamscape.
Music:
CO.AG Music:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcavSftXHgxLBWwLDm_bNvA/videos
White Bat Audio:
https://www.youtube.com/c/WhiteBatAudio/videos
An exploration of the tragic, twisted events surrounding the storied Quirk Wood. A soft sequel to 'The Quirk Road,' though it's a standalone story. I hope to wrap this thread of narrative up with a longer story in the future.
Music by-
Co.Ag Music:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcavSftXHgxLBWwLDm_bNvA/videos
White Bat Audio:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_6hQy4elsyHhCOskZo0U5g
K'hangha, bound to the fulfilment of his father's horizon song, is brought face to face with the crushing past of his stalwart people.
This is the second fantasy story I've done for the podcast, in the same setting. This takes place roughly a month before the events of First Hunt, though the stories are not directly related.
All of the phenomenal music and a good chunk of the ambience was done by Ares:
https://iamares.bandcamp.com
https://iamares.bandcamp.com/album/tribal-hunt-tribal-battle-music-album
https://iamares.bandcamp.com/album/full-nord-battle-music-album-5-songs
https://iamares.bandcamp.com/album/nord-battle-music-vol-2-elder-scrolls-inspired-war-music
A tale with some Fortean overtones about a young man tasked with patrolling the shady family pasturage.
Music by CO.AG Music:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcavSftXHgxLBWwLDm_bNvA/featured
and White Bat Audio:
https://www.youtube.com/c/WhiteBatAudio/featured
A strange little outpost of life called Quirk falls silent, prompting a lone visitor to uncover the culmination of its sordid past.
Music by:
-White Bat Audio:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_6hQy4elsyHhCOskZo0U5g
-CO.AG Music:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcavSftXHgxLBWwLDm_bNvA/videos
A linguist, invited along on an expedition spurred on by a puzzling obelisk, stumbles upon a mythic city which proves to be anything but mythical- Xolotlan.
This is the final story in the delve cycle- at least for now. I'll likely expand it down the line with a novel, though I'm anxious to explore other themes for the time being. I hope they've been enjoyable.
Hopefully, I'll have another story up by Halloween!
Music by White Bat Audio:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_6hQy4elsyHhCOskZo0U5g
and CO.AG Music:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcavSftXHgxLBWwLDm_bNvA/featured
A civil inspector, following up on the worries of several city officials, encounters something strange in Cincinnati's abandoned subway system.
This is yet another 'Delve' story, loosely interconnected with Lawton, Dog Sitting, Many-Legged God, and Pine Hill Cave. This is likely the penultimate one. Sometime later this year, expect a long, At the Mountains of Madness-esque novella/story series capping off this cycle of stories.
Music by White Bat Audio:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_6hQy4elsyHhCOskZo0U5g
and CO.AG Music:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcavSftXHgxLBWwLDm_bNvA/videos
A one-time resident of Morehead returns to help a friend, only to find that his hometown is not as he remembers it.
Fairly congested due to seasonal allergies, hopefully the reading will be more consistent in recordings as the autumn rolls in.
Music by White Bat Audio:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_6hQy4elsyHhCOskZo0U5g
and CO.AG Music:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcavSftXHgxLBWwLDm_bNvA/featured
A rumor-haunted ruin in Chattanooga menaces a community of homeless squatters in a long-forgotten industrial park.
Music by White Bat Audio
A travel writer and photographer, arriving in Kamchatka for an off-the-beaten-path experience, finds more than beautiful landscapes lying in wait for him.
Music by White Bat Audio and CO.AG Music.
An anthropologist, having stumbled across a reference to a myth he'd abandoned, goes looking for an uncontacted people who prove to be unlike anything he's ever encountered.
Music in this episode is from the excellent White Bat Audio, whose music can be found here:
https://whitebataudio.com/
Two friends taking a short cut find their hike has become something entirely unexpected.
This is the first story I've attempted that could be tentatively placed within the Cthulhu Mythos. Hopefully it isn't a total disappointment.
End music is 'Unknown Planet' by dl-sounds.com
A student returned home from college for the summer experiences a long-forgotten nightmare.
An old logbook found in a small, benign cave system raises doubts about whether the cave is actually small... or benign.
Though this story is linked with 'Dog Sitting' and 'Lawton,' it isn't necessary to have read them to draw the full effect out of it.
A deathbed retelling of a small Appalachian hamlet's harrowing final days is recorded for posterity via a library-moldering manuscript. Disregarded as dementia-addled fabrication or imaginative mythology by most historians and folklorists who stumble across it, the account of the dying days of Cold Hollow is presented here in full.
A friend's cabin provides more challenges than expected to a dog sitter from the remote town of Olive Hill.
Brothers Tekolotl and Azotl, in search of a trophy fit for a warrior, stumble across a threat which proves far more deadly than the prey they came so far to stalk.
First Fantasy story to be released here, in a setting of my own devising.
End Music:
"Ancient Winds" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
A note left behind by a potentially unstable relic hunter relates his haunting story in the aftermath of a haunting night spent camped in a long-forgotten Myanmar ruin.
A tale about an isolated copywriter living on a tight budget in Cambodia's Phnom Penh.
The image, writing, and narration were all done by me.