Cynus

Thank you!

Thank you! I didn't know that about Tarot, but it certainly fits and I'm grateful for the new information. I've been thinking of how this story might lead to a sequel to "Rivers of the Dead" because of what you said about older cultures having texts on the Art of Dying.

It's doing even more than that. I've never felt so alive! It's like a gigantic piece of the puzzle has finally slid into place and I know how to move forward. I've felt stagnant for so long... I realize this probably doesn't make any sense, but... this is probably the most cathartic thing I've ever written. I just feel... unburdened.

Tonight was a spiritual experience with something... I don't know what it was. The universe itself? All the ghosts of my past coming together at once? Whatever it was, it compelled me to write this as soon as I got home... I'm grateful you appreciate it. Thank you.

There should be poetry in death. Beauty, in the inevitable, the destruction of all that we know. For all fires fade, and even embers die. Yet we fear it, adding as much fuel to the fire as we can. To slow the chill, that we might live through the night! For oh, to see the day again! Another sunrise, another bright splash of color, never seen before by our eyes! Each sunrise dies the moment it arrives. Fading before our eyes like the cascading wate

This is great! I've used my two decades of playing D&D in my writing time and time again, though I've always wondered how noticeable it is. I firmly believe it's at the core of my ability to tell stories and create characters to the extent that I do, and certainly taught me how to problem-solve any issues I come across. A specific video game also impacted my ability to do those things, and it's also an RPG. This article sparked an interesting idea for me of creating random characters (rolling statistics straight down from Strength to Charisma) and just creating a story from what they do. I think it would be a fun exercise to test my ability to react to randomness. Thanks for writing this!

Thank you! I appreciate this.

Precisely.

I've been conflicted for a long time. This was one of many attempts to get that down on paper, and I think I know precisely what it's telling me. It's time I stopped pursuing relationships, because I simply don't find them fulfilling, and it's not fair to those I enter them with because I can never commit myself fully to them. As much as I have the occasional desire to share my life with someone, I notice these moments are becoming increasingly more fleeting, and I desire the freedom from relationships even more.

Love. I've come to understand that, no matter what, it will never be the same as it was. It cannot possibly be. So, I either have to accept that and embrace the newness, knowing it will never be as great as it once was, that I will never feel so profoundly again. Or, I can move forward, the comfort of my memories wrapped around me like a cloak, and realize that no new exploration is required for my happines

It came from a strange place. I was thinking specifically about letting go of my past self, and how I lived in the nostalgic beauty of the past. At the same time, I watched a very short film about a Dragonslayer, and thus the metaphor was born.

I have a magnificent problem. It soars like a dragon above me, majestic and great, powerful and nearly omnipotent to my frail, human perspective. As deadly and ferocious as it may be, it is a stunning work of art, glorious and mighty, reigning supreme over all other beasts I have tamed before. Yet, I am the Dragonslayer, and I have but one task. The beast consumes our flocks and herds as its fires consume our homes. I must, through the strength of divinity or by some yet unk

I have elected to make this a group reply, rather than responding to each point individually, as i figure I can clear up a bit more that way, heh. By the way, none of this I'm about to say is meant to in any way attack anyone's position on the matter. I'm actually loving the discussion, and i'm grateful for the participation. I take it as a compliment that you are all dissecting the story like this, and I hope I can generate this much of a buzz in the future. Okay, so, first things first . . . I see it in a number of different ways, and there are a lot of factors to consider here. 1) Caleb and Ethan are now operating on a separate set of rules than Liz and Jake are. Even though Orpheus touched the realm of the living several times through the story, there were rules for his appearance as well. He had to be called, for one. The first two times he shows up are both in the cave, and one is a direct inquiry by Liz and the other is a direct challenge by Ethan. The third time is during the seance, through which they open a channel to the realm of the dead seeking a lost soul there, and happen to contact someone Orpheus is monitoring closely, so when his name is invoked during the seance, he's able to slip into it and gain control. In writing this, I took that as a rule for myself. Without invocation, the Officers of the Dead cannot stray into the realm of the living (without grave consequences, anyway). Ethan and Caleb, both being officers of the dead, have no means of reaching out on their own to contact Liz and Jake provided this rules is in effect and they wish to abide by it. So that would lead us to the second issue here. 2) Why didn't Liz and Jake contact Ethan/Caleb? Well, I admit I didn't fully consider this one, though I did consider some angles of it, and those I'll address first. a ) They had no means of knowing what became of Caleb, or that Orpheus had been removed as Ruler, meaning they wouldn't know that Caleb had become Ruler. For all they knew, Orpheus had won the day, and their friends were lost forever. Risking another seance would've meant putting themselves and their baby in potential danger, since the last time they'd attempted it, they only managed to beat Orpheus with Ethan's help. b ) They had no means of knowing what occurred to Ethan (outside of him finding a means of contacting them). Going to the cave would've resulted in them finding no trace of him. Contacting him on the mortal plane would've yielded no results, and there's no way of knowing that they didn't try. The seance would've put them in the same predicament as above. c) Both Liz and Jake let things go much easier than their friends did. Liz tried to move on from Caleb in a matter of months, and both knew the pains of obsession all too well. After all, to the best of their knowledge it had claimed two of their friends. They had a new baby, and were starting a new life, and even if they looked for awhile, they would've turned into a lot of dead ends first. Life would've called on them to move on, and they would've listened. Now, I think I probably could've done a better job in spelling all of that out in the narrative, but this is mostly in hindsight. I didn't think of it at the time. I wanted it to be nice, fable-ish sort of ending, like the closing of an old fairy-tale. I can see ways in which I could've handled it better, and there were a couple of things I didn't consider at all. Despite mentioning it several times above, I honestly hadn't considered what would happen if Liz and Jake attempted a seance, or if they'd ever feel comfortable doing so. I also know both of them can be very resourceful, and I may have had them let go a touch too easily. But at the same time, I think I felt I was being consistent to their characters at the time of writing the story, and I don't regret ending it the way I did. I'm glad the story was enjoyable over all, and I truly thank you for reading it and giving me your feedback. All of it will be put to use on future projects, and help me create even better stories in the future. Though I do have one question though... Did no one speculate on the identity of the baby? I know I was subtle, but . . . *sigh*

If you have the time, please consider writing a story review. If you're really feeling generous, please consider using the same story review both here and at Amazon. The better the reviews are over there, the more likely I am for someone new to pick up the work! Thank you for coming with me on this journey, and I look forward to seeing you on my next project!

The whole Underworld bore witness to the union of Death and his psychopomp, together at last beneath the world of the living. A human warlock, dead, then alive, then dead again, entered The Underworld to become a guide to lost souls, a fate he understood better than most. A martyr, sacrificing himself for the cause of love, sat atop the seat of Hate, and ruled with a fair and just hand, knowing that should his heart ever begin to give in to the energies of hate, love was just a ferryman awa

Stay tuned for the epilogue. Hell is where the heart is . . . wait, did I get that wrong? The Underworld bends to the will of its masters. I think it'll do fine with Caleb and Ethan at the helm.

“No one knows, do they?” Caleb asked, stepping off the throne to stand before Orpheus. Orpheus' head tilted to the side. “No one knows what?” “That you’re The Ruler,” Caleb said. "The One Who Rules Beneath." Orpheus' crooked grin would've made glass break if it reflected the image. “You figured that out, did you?” “Yes," Caleb said. "It doesn’t make a lot of sense, what you told me earlier.” “Which part?” Orpheus asked. “That what I saw here would be a m

Perhaps this isn't the proper place for me to say such things, but I generally operate on the default assumption that I am disliked. Whenever i do something which could be seen as unfavorable (such as posting a chapter in a serial which is only 200 words long) in the eyes of the audience (whomever it happens to be), I just brace myself for the anger. Lately I've had a lot of experiences where I can't seem to win, every action I take is offensive to someone. I can only hope to please more than I offend, since I can't seem to get to the point where I don't care at all (not for lack of trying, mind you).

Thank you. Ooh... I see a challenge in there somewhere. Thank you for the compliment! I'm glad it worked. It'll be done by tomorrow! I may even post another chapter tonight. It depends on how other things play out, but right now it's probably 50/50. Isn't it interesting how many stories could unravel that way? 'If only' seems to power an awful lot of stories, many of mine included, if not all of them. Of course, all our personal stories are filled with plenty of 'if only's, so maybe it's just a fact of life, eh? Thank you, to everyone, for coming along on the ride. It's been wonderful, and I look forward to your comments on the last two chapters.

Art is all about breaking conventions (in my opinion), so I ignored standard chapter length in writing this story. Instead I just wrote what needed to be said in the given moment. This is actually one of my favorite chapters as a result, though I can't say most people would feel the same way, heh. Ethan throws the weight of his soul onto the scales of luck on Caleb's behalf and hopes for the best.

It might happen late tonight, and it might happen tomorrow. Either way, I plan to have the story finished within 24 hours. Thank you for coming on the journey. I think Ethan is pretty awesome, too.

This is easily one of my favorite moments in the entire story. I had this scene in mind way back at the crossing of the Cocytus, and I couldn't wait to get here to write it. This is the culmination of the mythology, really. All of those details may still come into play. We've still got the conversation between Orpheus and Caleb to get through, after all. I'm glad to see people putting all these different pieces together and looking for matches! Hopefully you'll like the final image of the puzzle. The purest of emotions, one might say. Certainly an awesome magic source by that same logic, right? Orpheus is an extremely complicated person still, and his motives remain somewhat in question. Does it gall him to think Caleb might be stronger? Perhaps. Or perhaps he's glad Caleb is proving so resourceful. He IS after all, attempting to recruit him. The more Caleb understands, the better. To a point, hah! I find I slide into Orpheus' shoes far too easily. Thank you to everyone for commenting! We're on the home stretch now!

Because this chapter is so short, I'll be posting another one tonight or early tomorrow morning. Either way, I plan to post the remaining two chapters by the end of tomorrow. Don't hate me. Please?

Ethan felt a tremor through the link, and then it was severed. He had felt everything Caleb had felt, had almost been able to see it and hear it. Caleb felt more alive than Ethan had thought possible. But now Caleb was on his own, and Ethan had to hope he would be all right. No. He knew. He had faith. For the first time in his life, Ethan felt like praying. With all the love he still had, he bowed his head, and committed his soul to the universe, giving everything he had lef

Who needs sleeves when you have a trusty backpack? I'm hoping the emotional punch of this chapter, as small as it is, will make it more forgivable that I've posted such a short piece. I appreciate your comments.