Jack Poignet

Not much to say about this story, really. Last weekend (8.Dec.2024) I heard on the radio that they held the "Perchtenlauf" in the pedestrian zone (in Munich) again. They expected 50.000 spectators. It's quite popular, but definitely a very confusing "Christmas" tradition for non-locals (demons, devils, pure terror at Christmas?). So I looked up its origins on good old Wikipedia and... diving down the rabbit hole... soon came across "the wild hunt" and it's various local forms. And whack, this story just hit me. I'm currently writing another story, but this one just didn't stop bothering me until I started writing it. Hope you'll like it. Obviously, it's about "The Wild Hunt" and a few bits of the local alpine variant, but also about loss and grief and in the end it goes off on a religious tangent. I know, that's a bit much, but hey, that's what the story wanted to be. Who am I to argue with a story? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Elias sat hunched in his chair, eyes fixed on the mantelpiece where the wolf figurine stood like a sentinel, its carved body faintly luminous in the firelight. Cold sweat on his forehead reflected the stunted flames that crackled half-heartedly in the hearth, as though the cold were too vast, too consuming to fight. The chill crept into every crevice of the cabin, slithering under the door, seeping through the windows—not merely the winter’s frost, but the oppressive presence of something far ol

Morning crept into the cabin like thin mist, gray light spilling across frost-rimed windowpanes. Elias sat hunched on the edge of his bed, his hands clenched between his knees. The cold pressed against his skin, sharp and unyielding, and his breath formed faint clouds in the icy stillness, each exhale dissipating into the silence like words he no longer had the strength to speak. The night before lingered vividly—the horn’s mournful wail, thundering hooves, and the storm that split the sky

@Danners There‘ll be a scene with Alex and Jacques in front of a mirror that you‘ll probably like … it was actually part of the short story, but so far I had no place to fit it in. It might come up in the next chapter.

Time for a little recap. The timelines are more or less aligned again, Alex hangs around and Jacques has decided to stay. Time to get the story going. What do you want next? Meeting the other factions? Another info dump on Lucien? A little insight into Solomon? Find out what the boys actually can do?… Please leave a comment with your preferences or ideas. While the main story points exist *(and are unfortunately abundantly clear), everything up to here was just foreplay.Come on, spice it up a bit … *This does not imply that you already know most of the story

Alex woke to the warmth of the sun. It gently caressed his skin as he lay on the lounge chair by the pool. The air was more liberating here than in the house—perfumed with traces of earth and water. He could hear faint, ghost-like sounds from beyond the high brick walls, a cheerful song piped out from something like a carnival organ. Obviously, it was played live, judging from the occasional stray notes. What could play so loudly? Those sounds felt far away, like they belonged to another world.

Thanks, I hope that compliment is still valid by the conclusion of the story … I know how I want it to end, I‘m just struggling a bit with getting there (Guess I really should keep it short to retain the atmosphere)

It's Christmas. Elias mourns his lover, but in these darkest of days, strange things ride on the wind and the old tales come alive.

The mountains loomed over the valley, their jagged peaks slicing into the slate-gray sky. Snow had fallen steadily for days, burying the forests and paths beneath thick drifts. Even at midday, the sun struggled to rise above the jagged peak and the dim light barely reached the valley floor before vanishing into the long, bitter night. The few houses nestling in the shadow of the mountains were quiet, smoke curling from chimneys as people huddled indoors against the cold. Farther up the slop

As a new writer, I find it quite bizarre to stumble across my own name right next to some of my favourite stories on here … Anyway, there‘s definitely some stories that are new to me, looks like a plan for the Christmas vacation

How embarrassing. Today, I compiled the story so far into an ebook, put it on my kindle and reread it. (Just to remember who knows what at the moment) How did I not spot all my mistakes despite using a paid-for grammar checker? And in the last few paragraphs Jacques even had "his hands loose now in his lap". Hands, plural 🤦‍♂️ Oh well, just another 10 points or so of "reputation" and I can go in and fix this mess without sending a chapter back into the moderation queue ... Sorry 🤷‍♂️

Why go full vampire story? Why don’t you just put „the elite“ on a path to vampirism by harvesting the blood of young people (for the public good of course)? And everyone on the (harvest) program gets free tuition and health care. Of course, without proper tuition you wouldn’t be able to get a proper job … You don‘t need to stray very far from today’s possibilities to make the story hit hard. I have to admit, I wouldn‘t read a story about such a young guy, especially if I‘m expected to believe that he has the capacity to grasp and possibly resolve the whole situation.

Your continued silence implies that you did it and your guy is still at it …. Of course, I mean asking and explaining about Linux. That was a really backhanded, nasty, sneaky proposal, @lawfulneutralmage 😱

Thanks, @Danners. Basically I just took some of my own experiences and observations from my recent visit there and mashed them up with the story. I guess there won‘t be many other chapters to just stroll around doing touristy stuff. And now I can send the other guys home without feeling too bad about it… if that is what will happen 🤔 This is the point where I really want to go into plot details but have to refrain from it 🤷‍♂️ CU around 🤗

It never actually crossed my mind that Marcus' family could be related to Jacques'... but I'm certainly willing to discover this possible aspect of the story as I write it down. However, other options immediately come to mind that might be a better fit... Keep guessing, I'll just pretend I had planned it all along the way it turns out in the end 😜