Jack Poignet

“Woden” is actually a compromise, I should have used “Wotan” to be more in line with local traditions, but then again I neither explicitely named a place nor a time. If you look through the images before Woden manifested, you might be able to identify Herne (at least my image of him)

The next morning dawned softly, the sky behind the jagged peaks painted in pale ribbons of cool light. The forest’s frenetic howls quieted long ago, leaving behind a world that seemed emptied and wiped clean. Fresh snow glistened, untouched except by Elias’s single set of tracks leading down toward the village. He still felt the weight of what had passed in the clearing, what he had seen and been forced to let go of, but it was not the crushing weight it had been before. No, this weight was diff

Elias’s outstretched hand trembled, hanging in the empty space between him and Adrien. His lover, his Adrien, stood before him, so close and yet so impossibly far, and now Elias was paralyzed by a command that left the night impossibly still. The voice lingered in his mind, its ancient authority pressing down heavy and immutable. He faltered, his hand withdrawing inch by inch. His lips parted, a question forming, but the voice spoke again before any sound escaped him. “Do not touch him.”

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)

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

It's cold up here in the mountains. Elias mourns his lover, but in these darkest of days between the years, strange things ride on the wind and the old tales come alive.

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.

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 😜

The atmosphere was lively at Café du Monde, but Jacques picked quietly at his beignets. Marcus, ever watchful, leaned slightly across the table. “Hey. You good?” His voice was quiet enough to escape the rest of the table’s notice, but Marcus held Jacques’ gaze pointedly. Jacques tried to shake the feeling off. “I’m fine,” he lied, his voice low and brittle, “powdered sugar crash.” Marcus didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t press further. Jacques appreciated that—he didn’t have th

This is an outrage! It‘s been over seven years since this story concluded and there is still no part two! When there are so many possibilities to continue… There‘s also lots of other potential endings that could have been great, lots of story lines that deserved more attention… but then again, I guess that‘s just what makes a story great and stand out from the rest. I love shifter stories, even in their well trodden paths, but always hope to find new twists and perspectives. I found plenty of that here, reread the story a few times and several parts in it even more often. It’s easily one of my favourite shifter stories. I‘d offer my help in finding ideas for a plot for part two, but obviously that‘s not a problem the author suffers from. Thanks for the great read!

The glowing thing will hopefully become clearer with the next chapter … Jacques is just as confused about it as us.

Alex? Who is Alex again? ... oh yeah, him, right. Maybe I should give him a mention in the next chapter

Catching up with Devon and Marcus at the entrance to the large hotel lobby, they went looking for the rest of their group. No surprise, Jacques spotted them lounging near the bar, drinking. “There they are,” Marcus said, tilting his head toward them. “Tweedle Dumb, Tweedle Duller, and King Knowledge are back from their plantation postcard tour.” Devon snorted, his playful energy still running high after their earlier excursion. “Man, we’ve been waiting forever to reunite with the ‘cult

The limousine crept along the streets of the French Quarter, careful to avoid tourists. Inside, Jacques slumped in the backseat between his friends. His tense shoulders showed he was not in the mood to joke as the city slid by. Devon, though, was in high spirits, his voice already cutting through the awkward silence. He leaned forward, practically spilling into the front seat, pointing an accusing finger at Solomon. “Alright, Mr. Fancy Chauffeur Dude, you gotta tell us what the hell just ha

Thanks for reading and commenting. I‘m well aware that people can‘t really connect with the story because there‘s no likeable character in there they could root for, but I wrote it for the interesting/different aspects. Of course, there‘s a lot of story line that could be extended about addiction and, because Ethan is not a typical vampire, I‘d have a whole blank canvas to paint on… But who would be the likeable hero? Lucas? Maybe Jake? It actually could be Ethan… ! Oh well, I‘m glad I finished this one for now and can return to my other story. Maybe I‘ll come back to this one later…

While this is a vampire-ish story, I’d like to think that there‘s a meta layer. Have you considered that Ethan and his actions could represent addiction in general? …but that would be a much longer story 🤔