Brendan Long

Dec 4, 2024 | brendanlongvt.medium.com | Brendan Long

Brendan Long·Follow16 min read·--The first rays of dawn kissed the river’s surface, scattering soft golden light over the temple grounds. Kaida knelt at the riverbank, her knees pressing into the damp earth. In her hands, she held a shallow wooden bowl filled with clear water. The current murmured softly against the rocks, carrying whispers of Velanir’s presence, or so Osric had taught her. Kaida dipped her fingers into the bowl, her movements slow and deliberate.

Nov 30, 2024 | brendanlongvt.medium.com | Brendan Long

Brendan Long·Follow12 min read·--The wagon groaned as it trundled along the uneven road, the wheels threatening to snap with each jarring jolt. Mara pressed her hand against the edge of the cart, her grip tightening every time the vehicle rocked. Around her, the other conscripts clung to the sides or braced their legs against the floorboards, their curses blending with the rhythmic creak of the wagon’s joints.

Nov 26, 2024 | brendanlongvt.medium.com | Brendan Long

Brendan Long·Follow5 min read·--The path to the village was short but steep, twisting up the rocky slope that separated the docks from Greystone cluster of homes and businesses. Mara’s boots struck the uneven ground with a force that betrayed her anger, each step scattering loose stones into the scrubby grass. The sea wind howled at her back, tugging at her braid as if it, too, wanted to pull her away from what lay ahead. Her father’s words still rang in her ears.

Nov 26, 2024 | brendanlongvt.medium.com | Brendan Long

Brendan Long·Follow4 min read·--Humans may have mapped the land, but the gods molded itThe war between Eldarwyn and Tarnavel wasn’t the grand, sweeping clash of kingdoms that poets might one day try to paint it as. It wasn’t a righteous struggle against tyranny or a desperate fight for survival. It was smaller, pettier — a grinding war of attrition fought over rocky fields, shallow rivers, and borderlands that neither kingdom truly needed but both refused to give up.

Nov 26, 2024 | brendanlongvt.medium.com | Brendan Long

Brendan Long·Follow6 min read·--A Glade by any other name is an opening for hopeThe morning after the battle came cold and gray, the sky smeared with clouds that stretched thin and colorless over the horizon. The field was quiet now, save for the cawing of crows and the low murmur of the surviving soldiers gathering what little they could from the bodies. A grim reaping. Elan sat on a boulder near the edge of what had once been a shallow irrigation ditch.