NOVEMBER 2014 TO NOVEMBER 2015
Every year’s short stories (mostly) follow a theme. That started in Year Two. A few stories into the year, I realized that they had something in common. And I realized that having a common theme to focus on helped me decide what to write, gave me an additional challenge, and made the brainstorming more fun. A lock of hair, a chair, a raincloud, a spoon. Anything could be an Object of Power.
Welcome to the second year of Storyfeather.
Below are the titles, primary genres, and taglines for each story in the order it was originally posted.
- READ button opens story post where you can read the story.
- LISTEN button opens podcast episode page where you can hear the story, narrated by Nila over music (and the occasional sound effect).
- GO TO THE END button jumps you to the bottom of the page. It’s a long way down, and depending on your device, important navigational links may be below the page or in the sidebar.
When a young woman sells her soul to the Devil to gain extraordinary musical talent, her best friend tries to save her by finding a rare instrument that was made in heaven.
A grieving man seeks vengeance on the gods and forges a weapon that they cannot withstand.
It is a time of feast and a time of famine. What happens when the Cornucopia finds its way to earth?
A young man picks up a penny one day and his luck begins to change…and change, and change.
Two royal brothers are linked by enchantment in a way that no other twins are.
Dreams are not precise or discrete. They cannot be measured or calculated…can they?
If time is eternal, then only those who are eternal can govern time.
A magician once discovered a spell to capture a raincloud, and he became the salvation of his land…and its doom.
A submariner gets lost during a scouting mission and ends up making a discovery that could change, or destroy, the world.
A little girl is the namesake of a storytelling knight whose only weapon is a set of magic spoons.
A small town awakens to a big problem: they’ve all been exposed to a rare and exotic form of radiation.
A medical examiner is in the midst of investigating an inexplicable mass murder when her favorite detective disappears.
On a remote island, a researcher finds a strange link between two animals and an even stranger link between myth and reality.
A well-to-do adventurer sets out with his friends to find and acquire an ancient and mythical treasure.
Cob never liked being a giant. What if his wish to grow smaller was granted…and twisted?
A plague of demonic creatures descends upon an isolated town, forcing the townsfolk to protect themselves by unleashing an ancient power.
A privileged girl locks herself away in a tower to escape the expectations of others and discovers her true power.
Is the doctor with an uncanny healing ability a suspect, witness, or patsy in a crime against her husband?
Five mages from the House of Frogs and their unlikely ally battle an ancient evil.
A young woman who was raised in isolation learns a terrible secret about her identity and her purpose.
A group of materials science technicians stumble upon a new substance with impressive and bizarre properties.
A people who once had and lost the mightiest teeth in the world make oaths and bargains to restore their former might.
A novice museum employee, assigned to catalogue a room full of documents, finds an intriguing book of spells and stories.
While his brothers inherit their father’s wealth, Mesos inherits a belt buckle and a challenge.
Humanity relies on the gods to heal disease, but the gods are stretched thin.
What does one man do to help his people when the gods cannot answer every prayer?
Felicia, named for her mother’s favorite flower, learns there is more to every flower than its pretty petals.
A major accident at a premier research institute causes a junior archivist, who loves her job, to question her role as the gatekeeper to knowledge.
Agent Mars Dietrich has been asked to find proof in myth and legend of a real and inescapable threat to the planet…with help from an atypical partner.
A sailor, tossed overboard during a storm and fated to drown, is rescued by a people who live on the seafloor and make grand plans for him.
A recipient of a remarkable new blood substitute benefits and suffers from the wonders and horrors of the revolutionary treatment.
High Princess Leonora is certain of her path until her fairy godmother casts a spell on her that changes the course of her destiny.
The youngest and only living heir to the northern kingdom is invincible, but only to physical harm.
When three children are captured by a pack of greedy goblins, they decide to summon a rescuer who may be even more dangerous than their captors.
A wolf-like creature is savaging the residents of a quiet township, and no one knows how to catch or kill it.
An acquirer of valuable goods, young Azzam has just acquired something powerful and dangerous.
Before leaving home to explore the world, Finden receives an odd inheritance, a pocket that produces fresh eggs.
Professor Taryn Langley studies myths and legends about the magic that can restore one’s youth. What does she discover?
What happens when someone rediscovers a seemingly ordinary childhood souvenir?
The necklace at the center of Agent Mars Dietrich’s newest case carries an ancient curse.
A dreamer and adventurer, born in the midst of war and change, finds her greatest treasure.
The crew of the Harbinger travel through a possibly artificial anomaly at the edge of the Helios solar system.
A red-hooded alchemist and a king among wolves sit by a winter fire after one of their many adventures and speak of the curse, the death, and the enemy that brought them together.
A young woman eats some shallots she cooked in a witch’s pot that she got at a garage sale, and she starts feeling the effects.
To attain a prestigious new rank, a worker in the great Company must pass a seemingly simple—one might say elemental—challenge.
A group of explorers search for the Pied Piper of Hamelin’s pipe, for it may contain the secret to defeating a monstrous enemy.
What happens when Charlie Sodona finds and climbs an invisible free-standing ladder that reaches up into the clouds?
If a fairy with magical powers asked you what service he could render you, what would you ask for?
Lost at sea, starving, and thirsty, the Midnight’s crew comes upon a derelict ship and the opportunity to scavenge.
So long as the enchanted candle burned, Vesta’s husband was still alive. But the flame died and she mourned.
Then one day, the flame reignited.
A little girl is terrorized by the monster in her closet, until she makes a special friend.
The gods are fallen, and without their influence, the mortal world is in chaos, until a hero fulfills a prophecy…
Quarantined after a government agency detects something strange in her backyard, a young woman soon finds herself in the middle of a most extraordinary case.
Another year of stories done! I drafted another “thank you” post.