Storyfeather

The little blue bird named Turtle flew over the same valley she had searched dozens of times over the past few moons.  Something caught her eye and she alighted on a low branch of a beech.  She had seen red.  It was curious.  She cocked her head to the left and the right.  There was red dripping from the bushes below, smeared into the dirt.  She might have thought it was blood if there hadn't been...

She wanted to be a warrior someday.  But this day, she was just a little girl… When a little girl is captured by a greedy warlock, who hopes she will lead him to a secret treasure and who hides away from her loved ones, will she be able to protect the treasure...and to rescue herself? Find out in this episode of the Storyfeather podcast. Genre: Fairy Tale, Fantasy   CREDITS Story : " The Blue Magi...

He never made it to market.  For on the road, he was waylaid by a stranger who offered him a better price for his wares than he thought he could ever get at market.  The boy accepted the offer.  He thought himself clever, and he dreamed of how delighted his mother would be when he returned home with five magic beans.   What happens when a poor young farm boy trades the vegetables he was supposed t...

For the second time, she held the still-warm hand in her own hands.  And it felt wrong.  She slipped to her knees beside the bed.  She felt tears spill from her eyes and as they tracked down her face and dripped from her chin to the ground, she saw that the liquid was a watery red.  Her tears had mingled with blood. How did blood get on my face? She turned her head and looked at what remained of t...

If only things had gone as he had envisioned in his visualization exercise.  He sighed.  Not an exercise, his visualization had gone out of hand and become a full-blow daydream.  He had marched into that room, the meeting room, no, the throne room.  He had marched into the throne room an embattled king, weary but tested and confident, followed by a dozen loyal knights, courteous in his challenge t...

Hello, Citizens of Earth.  This is just a brief message to say there will be no episode of the Storyfeather podcast this week.  This is a good thing, because what I did instead this week is attend a conference called Podcast Movement where I learned how to improve my podcasting skills—at least I hope so.  (I'm pre-recording this, but I've been to this conference before and it is excellent.  So my...

That day, I was outside with my mom admiring the flowers in her garden when I spotted it, or them actually.  Two ships in the sky just under the cottony clouds.   Unidentified ships have been appearing in the sky.  What do they want?  You may find out in this episode of the Storyfeather podcast.   Genre: Science Fiction   CREDITS Story : " Star Cloud Descendant " Copyright © 2014 by Nila L. Patel...

"It's everywhere," the grizzled old cat said.  "It surrounds us."  And he heard the expected fear-filled gasps and murmuring among his audience. "This everywhere demon, what is it called grandsire?" one gray-striped kitten asked, his eyes round as saucers, his expression bold and bright as the moonlight above. "We don't have a name for it, kit," the old cat replied, "but the Hind-leggers call it T...

Her memory of the past was not yet restored.  Remembering took effort and concentration.  And it would take time. A queen meets a mysterious little boy who tells her a fantastic tale, one that seems vividly familiar, almost as if she's lived it.  But why then can't she remember?   Find out in this episode of the Storyfeather podcast. Genre: Fantasy   CREDITS Story : " The Queen Remembered " Copyri...

The large man was lying on his stomach with his face turned to the side.  The left side of his face was visible.  That's why I knew who it was.  Aside from his distinctive sharp features, Sylvio Milan was known to have a scar on his left cheek, from his ear to the corner of his lip.  Supposedly, someone had tried to cut his throat and missed. Femme fatale…damsel in distress...crime boss?  Who…is S...

…when the doctor placed her swaddled son in her arms, she looked down at his brilliant blue eyes and she grinned. You and me, kid, she thought. "Welcome to the world, Roland," she said.  "I'm your mom.  And you're my son."   A happy new mother thinks her son is extraordinary.  Is she just being a typical proud mom, or is her son truly beyond the ordinary? Find out in this episode of the Storyfeath...

I can hear it moving, I think.  It's hard to tell with the other noises.  A car whooshing by sometimes.  Some cat moving through the bushes outside.  A neighbor went to the bathroom a few minutes ago.  I jerked when I heard the sound of the water moving through the pipes.  If I squeeze my eyes shut and focus, I think I can hear it breathing. Is something supernatural haunting a young man at night...

"...So at about one-thirty we got a call from the local PD.  They themselves responded to an emergency call from the residence.  We have a recording, but I just got here about ten minutes ago myself.  It was Shelly who called.  She was sleeping.  Heard some scary noises.  She called for her parents.  When they didn't come, she stepped out of her room.  She said an explosion happened in the attic t...

The procedure was not something that scared him. It should have. He understood enough to know what delicate and tricky work it would be for the surgeons, scientists, nurses, technicians, and whoever else was involved. If it worked, he would see light, and form, and color. If it worked, he would see his mom, his sister, his friends. And if it worked, he would see Cari.   After an experimental surge...

"I'm going to bring her back." "It is folly to defy death," his father said. "It is folly to accept death, when it comes for the wrong person."   A young man travels to the afterworld to bring his mother back from an untimely death.  Will he succeed?  Or will he become stuck in the place that bridges the worlds of the living and the dead? Find out in this episode of the Storyfeather podcast. Genre...

The gate swung open with a high wail.  Razim swapped curious looks with Sidregar.  They paced into the city, scanning the streets for an open inn.  The streets were empty.  The city seemed abandoned, like much of the country surrounding it, yet they had heard no news of any trouble as they approached this kingdom.   What surprises await two newly arrived travelers to a royal capital that seems to...

Mirrors are not to be trifled with.   What dangers could there possibly be from gazing into a mirror? Find out in this episode of the Storyfeather podcast. Genre: Mythology, Fantasy    CREDITS Story : " The Mirror of Liriope " Copyright © 2014 by Nila L. Patel Music : " Mysterious Trip-hop Lounge Beat " by Digital_Emotions    Music by Lee Rosevere " Night Caves " " What's Behind the Door " " Refle...

The mages could not have been foolish enough to leave their greatest treasure unguarded.   What does a mage, a thief, and a destroyer have in common? Find out in this episode of the Storyfeather podcast. Genre: Fantasy    CREDITS Story : " Mages, Thieves, and Destroyers " Copyright © 2014 by Nila L. Patel Music : " Mysterious Trip-hop Lounge Beat " by Digital_Emotions   Music by Lee Rosevere " Sna...

For the past fortnight, we two had been tracking the whereabouts of the mysterious rider who was said to guard the roads in and out of Thessa, a major town in the southern region.      Who—or what—is the mysterious black-armored knight who roams the roads around the southern town of Thessa? Find out in this episode of the Storyfeather podcast. Genre: Fantasy    CREDITS Story : " The Ghostly Knight...

He glanced at the organ behind layers of glass and smiled even wider.  A beating heart.  An artificial heart.  And he had helped to create it, design it, mold it, and nurture it.    Why is the first artificial heart ever created suddenly behaving as if, well, as if it has a mind of its own? Find out in this episode of the Storyfeather podcast. Genre: Science Fiction   CREDITS Story : " Phantom Hea...

In the land of his own making, the one that abided in his heart and his head, he was a bard.  In truth, he was a rice man, one of the best in Trilenkary, the kingdom of his birth.  A rice merchant who dreams of being a bard is given a whimsical gift as payment for a recent discovery.  What does he discover about his gift?   Find out in this episode of the Storyfeather podcast. Genre: Fable, Fairy...

I am the last.  The only one left. We are defeated. If I can't do what I need to do now, what they need me to do now, we are defeated.   The pressure is on and it lies on the shoulders of one man.  Will he lead his team to certain victory, or to utter defeat?   Find out in this episode of the Storyfeather podcast. Genre: Mystery   CREDITS Story : " Thirteen " Copyright © 2014 by Nila L. Patel Musi...

They're a lot like us.  The Promethians.  That's not what they call themselves, but I could never really pronounce (or spell) the proper word, so I call them the Promethians.  And others started calling them that too.  Because after all, they gave us fire. They woke us up.   When members of an alien race defy their own people to help humans advance, and are then punished for their defiance, how wi...

Jane knew about the salamander.  The salamander was capable of regenerating its limbs, to a certain degree.  As such, it had been studied by scientists who sought to unlock the secrets of tissue regeneration. Jane knew about the salamander.  The animal's mythical association with the element of fire.  Fire cleansed and fire sealed.   What does one scientist do when the subject of her research begi...

Perrimin and his closest friend Kicker, whose given name was Siminor, were both behind the rock that was too small to hide either of them, both watching the scorpion. An ambitious young mouse discovers a shortcut to the glory he has sought all his life,  but has he considered all the costs to himself and to his people?   Find out in this episode of the Storyfeather podcast. Genre: Fable, Fantasy  ...