Archive for "Archive"
DargonZine 33-2 Editorial
As consumers of media in the twenty-first century, we often view a topic as an arc. We see a beginning, a middle, and an end. Often there is a theme to all the narrative, a concept or meaning in the story. We read or listen or watch as locations are explored, characters developed, issues discovered and overcome, and we get a feeling of satisfaction as resolution is achieved. We live vicariously, taking meaning and purpose from the stories we consume. ...
A View From Above: The Underground
Simon awoke at first light to the sound of someone moving through the brush not far away. Instinctively he lay still as the person first came closer, then moved off. As Simon lay there his memories reassembled themselves; memories of his sennights marooned on this forsaken island populated with incomprehensible naked natives; memories of his flight from the village, driven away by accusations of adultery and by terrifying apparitions of sea-spirits; memories of his work building a strange, airborne ...
A View From Above: The Sky Above
Simon's feet slapped on the sand in a rough multiple of the waves that washed the beach. The thin bundle on his bare shoulder bounced in time, and the water that erased his footprints splashed over his equally bare loins. He thought he could hear the sounds of the village behind him still, but he did not look back. There was no reason for anyone to be following him as he had not told anyone that after living ...
DargonZine 33-1 Editorial
This is the first "issue" of Dargonzine in a while that will contain just one story. In fact, it does not even contain one story; it actually contains just one chapter of a story. This is an effort to streamline and simplify the publishing process for Dargonzine and move to follow the trends in the publishing world towards simplification and ease of access for authors, readers, and publishers. Dargon has always had an editor, someone who curated and created the publication. ...
DargonZine 32-1 Editorial
Dargon is Doooooooooomed!! Sorry, I just had to get that out. We only published two issues last year. That's pretty bad. But things aren't as dark as they seem. It happens, every once in a while, that someone comes along and says “We’re doomed.” We’re doomed if we don’t start making games. We’re doomed if we don’t add cartoons. We’re doomed if we don’t create videos. Well, maybe someday we will be, but we’re not doomed yet. This year, we are celebrating the ...
King’s Key Part 1
As Ashe Leavenfell eased his aching body from the saddle, he wondered that a dead man could make him travel so far. His life was rarely what he expected. He'd grown up thinking he was to be the next baron of Leavenfell, only to learn that his brother Roderick was actually the heir. He was really happier not being baron, though it was his ass, and not Roderick's, that had been in the saddle and headed for Dargon for the last five days. It was ...
A View From Above: The Ocean
Simon awoke with a shock, then lay in his hammock for a long moment wondering what had awakened him. The warm island air smelled like smoke, sweat, and sea. Then it struck him ... he was alone. Ever since he had been marooned on the island days and days ago, there had always been at least one of the village children hanging about, day and night. Now he was alone in his hammock in the poor section of the great ...
Dargonzine 31-1 Editorial
One of the advantages of writing fiction in a medieval setting is the ability to know and understand all the technology in as much detail as you need. A quick Google search can reveal the secrets of making daub and wattle, or how to shoot a heading with an astrolab, or how to rig a sail, allowing the writer to use as much, or as little, technological detail in their writing as they desire. After all, the so-called "Dark Ages" ...
A View From Above: The Natives
Simon had been a simple deckhand when he first set sail from home. That ship, the Lilith, never sailed far out of sight of land, plying the local trade routes. After a while, Simon moved to a larger ship that sailed far out to sea, navigating by the stars. That ship had been chartered for a trading run to the tropics. The voyage took months and ended badly with the ship foundering and the crew in small boats. The ...
Port of Call – Dargon
On New Year's Eve, my ship named the Breath of Cirrangill sailed into Dargon harbor with the early morning tide. That's right, my ship. Me, Percy Talador. I am the captain of my own ship. I wanted to name her the Curse of Cirrangill, but the priests wouldn't let me. The bounty I got from a recent salvage mission was enough for me to buy a small ship. She isn't much, just ...