Cole Matthews

Johnathan, Sounds good. Get me a quick bio and i'll include him in my story.

Here is a description of Gaia-Town for reference. Let me know if you'd like to be part of this anthology, what role you'd like to write about, and if there is an artist who would make a map, that would be awesome. Description of Gaia-Town Gaia-Town is a small city located in the southern central part of the large islan/subcontinent of Baurithish. It is a semi-autonomous county that owes suzertainty nominally to the Kingdom of Surando which is situated like a horseshoe around the eastern, northern, and western parts, of the island. It’s relatively isolated from the kingdom due to geological formations and a wide, arid desert. To the north of Gaia-Town are craggy mountains, The Ziriths, and closely forested hills, the Duranic Mountains. These areas are populated with various non-human societies including elves, dwarves, trolls, and even gnomes. To the south of the city is a string of high, difficult to navigate cliffs which lead to the Nomifidamian Sea. Gaia-Town itself is nestled in a small arable valley and was at times an important trade route. History The oral tradition of Gaia-Town suggests the valley was settled by eastern Suri slaves who escaped and traversed the Great Sayron Desert to find solace in the lush valley. They lived a simple agrarian existence with little to no outside contact until the mages of the western part of Bauithish, the Ando, discovered them living in the Gaian Valley. The mages invaded and took the valley for a short time introducing magic and livestock to the area. After the death of the Archmage Filloman IV, the western mages abandoned the valley for several centuries. With the rise of King Quorish in the eastern realm of Sur, the Gaian Valley was overrun and made a county of that kingdom. Quorish was able to thus defeat the western mages of Ando and claim the entire island for his own. The Kingdom of Sur never completely pacified the mountains or the non-human societies in the wild center of the island, though they did pay Quorish and his heirs tribute. As a result, Gaia-Town became a trade center for the King of Sur to collect the tributes of ore, gems, and rare woodland products. It was from the Suri the town was introduced to metalcraft and additional farming techniques. The valley grew more prosperous under Quorish. Gradually Gaia-Town became a magnet for errant non-humans as well. After the death of Quorish XII, the Kingdom of Sur underwent a dissolution leaving the Gaian Valley to live without much royal involvement. During the long Regency in Sur, the western mages took control of their own provinces and the non-human inhabitants in the center of Bauithish began to self-rule. Gaia-Town was the center of elven, dwarfen, and occasional even gnomic commerce with both the Andos and the Suris. It was a golden time for the city during the Regency. Then, King Damosh came to the throne of Sur. The Andos and Suris fought pitched battles until finally the Archmage Tellon offered his daughter’s hand in marriage and the Kingdom of Surando was born. For the most part, the new combined kingdom was no threat to the Gaian Valley or the non-human inhabitants of The Ziriths or the Duranic Mountains. However, after King Damosh died, his son, the new King Damosh II decided the Gaian Valley and the center of the island should submit to his authority as the descendant of the Quorish dynasty. The Gaian Valley paid tribute but the other inhabitants refused. Then, there came the discovery of Luxilium, a very powerful metal that was found to have interesting qualities. It could be used to create incredibly hard and sharp weapons. Luxilium also had magical qualities which were craved by the western mages. The Andos and Suris almost erupted into a civil war until the Gaian Valley count agreed to pay equal parts tribute to both sides. However, that truce seems to have only heightened the greed by both sides for more of the mineral which lies beneath the ground in the higher reaches of the valley on the southern side. Now, with the death of the count leaving no apparent heir, the citizens of Gaia-Town are worried either the King or the Archmage could attempt an occupation of their valley. Culture Gaia-Town has a very heterogeneous population with “natives,” Suris, Andos, and various non-human inhabitants. There are a few Guihanla, the desert nomads, who also live in the city. Several religions are practiced among these populations though the state religion is officially the worship of Qe, pronounced, Kay, a father-like deity, and his wife the goddess Fedis. Qe is a warrior god while Fedis is the goddess of the harvest. Their feast days are October 9th, Fedis-fete and May 21st, Qe-fete. While the Gaians celebrate March 1st as New Years, the official new year begin on July 23rd. The coin of the realm is the Quor, which is equal to about a Maker’s day salary. Several other monetary systems are also evident in this trading town as well as bartering of goods and services. While slavery is considered illegal, there are “servants” who are bond to their masters and mistresses for life. Neighborhoods Gaia-Town has several quite distinct living areas. Holy Alley is where the temples are located and quite posh on the east end of town. The Market is in the center of town; open air with stalls and shops set up along twisting gravel paths. Old Quarter is in between Holy Alley and the Market and that’s where the richest merchants and guildhalls are situated. New Quarter is on the west end of town and most industry and tradespeople live there. The south part of the city is around the Guardhall and the College and a younger, more impoverished population lives in that area. To the north are the slums, the eastern one is called Cutpurse Corner and only the bravest and most adventurous travel there. On the northwest side, the brothels, gambling joints, and roadhouses are evident and the people living in the area are very poor. Like the poor everywhere, the north side of Gaia-Town is very suspicious of strangers, though many come to sample the offerings there.

I think my next step is to write a proposed history of Gaia-Town and from there lets see who would like to be part of this. It doesn't hurt to try now does it! Thanks Cassie and Johnathan. You have given me the confidence to continue this. Yeah!

Cool. So, my idea is we write our own stories to this anthology using the common setting of Gaia-Town, a fantasy fictional place. We'd each have a main character to develop that the other writers could include in their stories. For example, I started writing about Waldron, a blacksmith who can forge magical weapons. We could each pick a role and write within the setting whatever story we'd like. Here are some roles we could include: 1. wizard 2. paladin or ranger 3. thief 4. prince or count or some regional authority 5. witch 6. healer 7. merchant 8. priestess or priest 9. blacksmith This isn't a final list. It could include other roles as well in this town. Each of us would write up a bio for our character and share with the other writers. If we could get someone to create a map of the town with different neighborhoods, we could then establish some locales for interactions. I thought Gaia-Town could be a market town so different cultures and kinds of people and creatures would be acceptable, not to mention money, religion, etc. The characters could be any kind of race including shapeshifters, elves, dwarves, humans, whatever you want your character to be. Within the setting, we'd be free to write whatever kind of story we'd like. The backdrop would be that some kind of war is coming. We could all interpret that as we wish. Let me know what you think. Cole

This is just a little feeler to see if anyone is interested in doing a shared project. "Thieves' World" was a collaborative project with several established, and not yet established, fantasy fiction writers creating characters to live and interact with each other in a town called Sanctuary. These writers could create stories and they would use other writers' characters within those stories. They had a few rules about how to treat others main characters. They couldn't kill them off or substantially change them but other than that it was a free for all. Here were the Thieves' World criteria I would start with: 1. Each writer would share a bio of their main character 2. Writers could include other writers characters within their stories 3. Use of the character must be fair, don't kill off or substantially change them, though different viewpoints are not only acceptable but encouraged. We would also need help with artwork. We'd need a map of "Gaia-Town" along with some basic language and cultural agreements. I'm just putting this out there. Let me know what you think. This is a non-GA approved project. I look forward to hearing what you think. So much great talent here. This could be great fun!!! Cole

Thank you so much Kitt. It makes me feel good I moved you. That is the highest praise to any artist, I think.

Thanks Lisa. I guess I owe you a box of tissues. I'm glad I moved you. And, I'm glad it came across as hopeful and positive. The shutting down scene was hard to write. I really liked these guys. Anyway, thx!

Thanks Ron. I did try to stay true to the story while bringing some lightness. Some things work, others don't. I appreciate your review. I really do.

Thanks Mike. I'm glad you enjoyed it and found it hopeful. That was my goal.

Thank you so much. I'm glad you liked it.

December 26th – St. Stephen From Catholic Online: “His hearers plugged their ears and refused to listen to another word. They dragged St. Stephen outside the city of Jerusalem and stoned him to death. The saint prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" Then he fell to his knees and begged God not to punish his enemies for killing him.” ************************* ‘This was a huge mistake,’ Danny thought to himself. ‘I can’t believe I let them talk me into this.’ Danny was sitting in a pew in

Thank you so much! I really enjoyed writing it.

Thanks Dolores. I loved writing it. So much fun. *hug*

Thanks Jo Ann. I had great fun with this. I'll post the link. Good idea.

Thanks Aditus. I wanted to put in a little something to lighten the scene.

As someone whose great grandparents came from Trondheim, the mention was especially endearing. I loved the Aurora as the "light in the darkness" piece. Very touching and such beautiful prose. Thank you!

Awesome! A holiday vampire story. It was so charming and with a lovely ending. Especially all the details about becoming one. Darkly, and richly, beautiful. Thanks!

What a great way of illustrating this theme. I could hear it being told and could see the shining wizard. Thanks so much!

Great surprise! I love Kason and Declan especially. But the take charge attitude of Bella was pretty good too. Thanks so much!

Such a heart warming story. I love the characters straight off and can't wait to get know them better. Thanks!

What time are the stories going live tomorrow?

Thanks Lisa. Cayden is really skinny. I guess that's why I say that. I'm glad you liked the snow fight. It was added due to a suggestion by Jo Ann. It really helps to have some assistance. I'm glad you like them. Yeah!

December 22nd – St. Chaeromon From Catholic Online: “When the persecution was instituted by Emperor Trajanus Decius, Chaeromon was quite elderly. He and several companions fled into the Arabian Desert and were never seen again.” ************************* Danny fretted as he finished wrapping the last gift. It had been a week since his and Cayden’s second date. Tonight was their third date. It was nerve wracking because third date meant sex. Danny was frightened about what that could mean

Lisa, sorry about that? The next chapter is tomorrow morning and then the final chapter the 26th. I'm glad you're looking forward to it!

Here's an excerpt for Chapter Seven of Advent: "Danny couldn’t say no about anything to Cayden either. All it took was a few words in that rumbly deep voice and Danny melted like a chocolate bar on a hot summer’s day. His spine would tingle and tickle. It was magic and Danny didn’t want it to stop."