YEAR FOUR

Page

THE YEAR OF CREATURES

Year 4 spanned from November 2016 to October 2017.
Every year’s short stories (mostly) follow a theme.
Each Year 4 story features a creature. Creatures imaginary and creatures real (?!). Mythical, mechanical, ghostly, amusing, terrifying, mesmerizing….creatures.

Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Centered in shape, the words "Enter a Portal." Softened hazy border.

…to watch a trailer, listen to the podcast episode, and find a link to the short story post.
To go directly to the story post and start reading, click on the tag labeled “STORY” under the main button.
Each tag or button will open in a new tab.

Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Seeds of Many Worlds." Below the title, the tagline. "The precious stone a captain is tasked with retrieving may be just a jewel, or may be the seed of a new world." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Unstable Stones." Below the title, the tagline. "A photographer of the unusual is shaken by something in his latest photos that he has never seen before." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Fall of the Mirror-God." Below the title, the tagline. "A lost legend is found, and with it, wonders and powers that lie between our imaginings." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Breninglas." Below the title, the tagline. "A brown mouse and an apprentice spell-caster brave the den of the red dragon to see what she guards." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Fanfaronnade." Below the title, the tagline. "Gathered around a fire on a cold winter’s eve, three friends tell tales of the final fate of the greatest sword in the realm." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Age Upon Age of Frozen Sleep." Below the title, the tagline. "On an uninhabited Arctic island, something is stirring beneath the permafrost…" Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Watchers of the Western Observatory." Below the title, the tagline. "A professor and his apprentice direct their telescope to the one place they are forbidden to watch…the skies." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Gliese on Earth." Below the title, the tagline. "Before an astronaut sets out on his first mission to explore space, space comes down to greet him." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Prisoners of Spiral." Below the title, the tagline. "A human boy and an erpon soldier are imprisoned by a wizard and made to play a game to win their freedom." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Amphora Incarnate." Below the title, the tagline. "Zoe is a living amphora, a human vessel for knowledge or power that should be unknowable to her…" Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Giant's Overlook." Below the title, the tagline. "Maya’s boyfriend shares the origin of the mysterious monument that sits upon his secret spot." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Mirror of Displacement." Below the title, the tagline. "With arcane knowledge, a woman builds and tests a device that she hopes will heal her husband’s maimed legs." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Stromascope." Below the title, the tagline. "They meant to 'build a better x-ray machine,' but their stromascope can see beyond flesh and bone." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Riddle of Hyperion." Below the title, the tagline. "The path is here. The walker is not." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Fortunate Little Leaf." Below the title, the tagline. "The umbra hold back winter and famine from the town, but they did so at the cost of the town’s soul." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Summoner of Clowns." Below the title, the tagline. "Growing up, Joanie learns a lot from her grandfather, about their family’s eerie history with sadness, laughter…and clowns." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Purple Dust Mine." Below the title, the tagline. "A small mining crew is tasked with finding something atypical in the abandoned gold mine, but something atypical finds them instead." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Professor Gadston." Below the title, the tagline. "Professor Gadston embarks on one last expedition before he retires, an expedition from which he does not expect to return." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Forsaken Deep." Below the title, the tagline. "Humanity has conquered the stars but has yet to solve the mysteries of the sea." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Feast of Paravirneo." Below the title, the tagline. "It's a feast like none they've seen, a spectacular repast. They never e'er suspect, that the meal will be their last." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "My Homunculus Is Malfunctioning." Below the title, the tagline. "The complex implant that tempers one man’s pathological emotions is exhibiting signs of 'adverse reactions.'" Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Quest of Nine Days." Below the title, the tagline. "Three children embark on a desperate quest to win a wish, but there is a terrible price for making that wish come true." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "How the Troubadours Came to Be." Below the title, the tagline. "Troubadours come by their sweet voices and their enchanting storytelling from a surprising ancestor." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Terrible Mallard." Below the title, the tagline. "An explorer vessel searches for a lost continent whose fiercely guarded shores may hide a horrific weapon or a terrific power." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Dragons of Verandering." Below the title, the tagline. "A traveler is given a blessing and a curse, and both give rise to a most fearsome and extraordinary new creature." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Makriazaton Mechanism." Below the title, the tagline. "After a volunteer for research study discovers that he is able to operate an ancient device, both he and the device are hunted by the powerful." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Tranenbloud Island." Below the title, the tagline. "Captain Rosemere and his strike team are up against an enemy to which both science and legend ascribe unsettling powers." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Midvale Experiment." Below the title, the tagline. "Residents of the quiet town of Midvale are vanishing, and one reporter uncovers a cause even more astounding than alien abductions." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Ximrahet." Below the title, the tagline. "Nothing could harm the indestructible Ximrahet, until the day an enemy discovered his greatest weakness." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Captain's Creature." Below the title, the tagline. "The captain has departed, a strange passenger has boarded, and a mysterious sea creature is following a cargo ship headed to the farthest of all known ports." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Six Fools and the Dragon." Below the title, the tagline. "A scoundrel gathers allies to face the impossible task of undoing the enchantment that has befallen his wife, because she sought to pay his debts." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Fairy Between Light and Dark." Below the title, the tagline. "Endora must prove worthy of marrying a fairy lord by completing a daunting quest." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Sword of the Giant Wizard." Below the title, the tagline. "A baker, a warrior, a merchant, and a mage all set out to find a legendary sword that may lead to a cure for the terrifying bleeding fever." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Stratus Class Dirigibles." Below the title, the tagline. "Only one class of airship in the desert city can take its passengers to the city’s most treasured locale." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Nerochroma." Below the title, the tagline. "In the heart of our galaxy, there are mysteries no human has ever encountered before." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Marv and the Ghost Shark." Below the title, the tagline. "Humanity at last discovers an inhabited exoplanet and learns its first lesson about first contact." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Fly Upon My Mantel." Below the title, the tagline. "It is no ordinary fly that has landed upon one unsuspecting person’s mantel." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Daring MacAllisters." Below the title, the tagline. "The MacAllister brothers fly a classified mission to recover an object that might end up being a thorn in their sides." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Mynotragon." Below the title, the tagline. "The figurehead of a naval ship that has served its empire for five generations of rulers hides a dishonorable secret." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Door Beneath the Desert." Below the title, the tagline. "The door beneath the desert may lead to the salvation of one, or the destruction of many." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Great Persidain." Below the title, the tagline. "Great-horn has risked his life and freedom to avoid killing in the Arena; now he must face a greater terror than death." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Meek Mountain Peak." Below the title, the tagline. "They were an odd company. An enchanted company. And they had lived through many adventures together." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Goodhorse Manor." Below the title, the tagline. "There is danger in the garden house; danger disguised as delight." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "Chemoimagination." Below the title, the tagline. "Something dark and dangerous is growing inside the wall next to Rigo’s bed." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
MILESTONE EPISODE#200
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Hunter and the Crypt." Below the title, the tagline. "A hunter of the foul and the unnatural believes he has found his—and humankind’s—greatest enemy." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
Portal Button. Elongated rectangle. Rings of colored light emanate from the center. Inset on the left, a square with the digital drawing from the story and episode post. To the right of the image, the story and episode title, "The Incident of the Imp." Below the title, the tagline. "A homeowner is haunted and harassed by sightings of a demonic little creature." Bottom right corner bears a stylized microphone on a stand emitting soundwaves enclosed by a circle. All polygonal shapes have curved corners.
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