The Fronds in Tond (and other stories)

As we continue the "Tond" story, the nature of the "curse" on Rolan is revealed, leading to the inevitable cliffhanger. Tond, Book One: The Sons of Tlaen Ras-Erkéltis Chapter 7 The Poison Spreads “In the weeks before the Devastation, mordhs appeared in Tond but they were hidden. They whispered in the ears of the Fyorians at night, “The Karjans are plotting to kill you. You must kill them first.” They whispered in the ears of the Karjans at night, “The Fyorians are plotting to kill you. You must kill them first.” In this the seeds of war were sown. The wrath of Kullandu was unleashed, and the mordhs laughed as Tond burned, for they are the bringers of destruction.” From the Annals of the Ahíinor (Fyorian). Dzokra-Krtsng, The Karjan Imperium, fifth month, Fyorian year 614   Humid midnight in Dzokra-Krtsng. The mist settled on the thatched roofs of the Karjan houses, and moved on. From the distant tree-tops came the hooting of nocturnal birds. A night watchman pass...

  Flash Fiction II Ultra-short stories from my book, "Reflections". Each story is accompanied (in the book) by an abstract picture which relates to the story aesthetically but does not illustrate it.   Microcosmos in Wood Steve filled in colors on the woodgrain to make an abstract painting, and then saw it could represent a tiny world. It’s there, suggested by the patterns in the wood: an algae world, a tiny jungle of hundreds of thousands of tiny animals and algae particles. A whole microcosmos. There are blobs and spheres of algae, small spheres inside bigger spheres, volvox spheres of tessellated triangles. There is a water flea, a daphnia; a transparent creature. Steve calls her Daphne because she is a daphnia. She has leg appendages retracted under a shell carapace; she has branched, segmented antennae and a two-pronged sort-of tail. As she moves, she agitates the water by flailing her antennae around. As Steve contemplates the painting, a microbiology professor bu...

 As we continue the "Tond" story, Rolan and his new friends are in the mountains bordering the south of the Fyorians' lands. They are about to enter the Karjan Imperium, which has always been slightly menacing -- but not as much as what else is out there. Tond, Book One: The Sons of Tlaen Ras-Erkéltis Chapter 6 Into the Imperium   Tayas dzepalbts Bohrazhulg Hragezhnok ash Vyorannok, tk tayas rek tsakyats bizhulg rak dzn’raenksh maktsrenk. Al pyacham, tk ta’ach fot tsopfraghtl tremachkrtsng chigtl maha, kyeth ta’ach kotlanwawits Kiwarjannok. “The South Barrier Mountains separate the Imperium from the Fyorian Lands, though these mountains are much less formidable than their counterparts in the north. However, the foreign traveler, crossing them, is still often surprised by the change in the air as he descends into the Karjans’ world.” From a Karjannic Guide for the Traveler     Mountains between Rohandal and the Imperium, Fifth Month, Fyorian year 614   “So you’ve...