A short story set in the Dimidium Fantasy Universe - In which Ambrose realizes that a life of small children, big dragons, uncontrollable magic and piracy might just be a tad too much for him. But what's a young father supposed to do?
I didn't plan on reading this today, but when a friend says it's good, you trust them. I unequivocally agree.
There was just enough of your prose visible that I could appreciate your brushstrokes. Metaphors used sparingly; you trusted readers to fill in the gaps. The story telling is stellar. Little things like Aria's bone comb in her hair, her reaching for her wooden bird...
Then the dialogue itself was excellent. Used sparingly, enough to layer on tension and build character scaffolding, again, to let readers fill in the gaps.
I have no qualms with this story qualifying for this prompt contest, not that it's my call or anything. But it's a damn good story in its own right.
I know we all want to write all the things and also read all the things, and also fit sleeping and eating (and life, of course, -and death, wink wink-) in it. So thanks.
I am absolutely restacking and screenshotting this comment for the dark days. 🪼💙
About your last comment, I have to say that this Universe (and these character specifically) are really known to me. 🏴☠️🌎
Aria is the MFC in my first trilogy, Ambrose has his own adventures, and I am planning to give this ancient dragon a nice story as well, so maybe I had an advantage there.
As for the cosiness, I am used to put up warnings at the beginning of my stuff as it usually runs a bit more dark and twisted than the general vibe for HF out theree.
After submitting this I glimpsed a couple of the first entries, and they were really cosy, so I edited the warning in. Just in case.
I knew it would probably land in the adventure ballpark anyway, but I believe in warning the readers, and A Circus Dragon did say that we'd get demerits for hurting the dragon, so...
(by the way, totally unrelated, I started writing a short serial for my rebel speculative publication, it's called 'Green Reaper'. it's nothing as big as your thing, maybe not even a novella length piece, but if you have the time one of these days I'd love to compare notes on reaping.) 💀
You are so welcome! I know exactly what you mean, some comments really can be uplifting. I’ve had thoughts to start something similar for the days that I doubt.
Wow.. I love the way you ended this exciting tale. I do agree with Ed that even though it was initially pretty intense, the cosiness is definitely there.
Thanks for reading this, I am happy you enjoyed the overall direction.
I promise in the future I'll point you towards my less traumatizing stuff. And by the way, I don't know if you remember, but I also created a 'caffeine-like' bean for you in my serial, and I used it in an absolutely adorable scene.
Pinky promise.
I will be in Sunday's episode, so I'll tag you in it.
Thanks for stopping by, and yes, absolutely, you can never have enough dragons in your life.💙 Do you have a serial or short stories? What would you suggest for me to read of yours?
My sea dragons tend to be mostly human (they shift between forms) but head to the section “The Red Book of Rhiannon” and find “The Battle for Mother’s Sea-Rice Cakes”
That truly warms my heart! And don't worry, I have an open tab with Mountain Bond open. I didn't have time last night but I knew I was going to read more over the weekend :)
This had me on the edge of my seat and then gave me the most magical outcome I could have ever imagined. I want to follow Ambrose and Aria on their adventures! Super well done!
I would love to read that!!!! But I also completely understand the curse of the to do list lol. So even if it came out after November, it just gives us all something to be excited about after Halloween!
True, spooky season is always full of amazing stuff to read anyway.😏💀When it comes it will be posted here, and announced on my monthly overall newsletter, the Captain’s Log, so even if you are not into following Dimidium Tales there’s a way to keep up with all the stuff.
I cross-linked the sh*t out of my publications (of which I have 3+1), so that people could pick and choose, but I always offer the Log as an option because I know how it is to want to read/keep up with everything, and at the same time dread facing the 200 inbox notifications from your closest friends.
Yes! Sometimes the emails get lost in the shuffle, and I have to dig through Substack to ensure I'm not missing anything. That's a genius idea, and an excellent way to combat the inbox surplus!!
This is stunning. It moves from desperation and salt-soaked survival into something vast and mythic. The dragon reveal felt earned, and Aria’s innocence gave it so much weight. Beautifully done.
Thank you so much for reading, I'm happy you enjoyed it.
I tinkered with the reveal a whole day, and I cut at least 500 words from the first draft, between foreshadowing and reveal, so I'm glad it landed well.
Thank you so much for reading this! I have to confess that these characters are old friends (Aria is my MFC as an adult), so I'm happy to have done right by them.
And you might meet the dragon again... who knows. They live lifetimes after all. ;D
What fool throws a spear at a giant dragon 😂.
I think it’s cozy. A brush with danger, a little sad. But the dragon and the child are heartwarming and make up for it.
He’s a fool right!? Thanks for noticing.
Every editing pass I chuckled at the : ‘Havers screamed’ line.
I kept imagining that scene from Mulan, “I do not scream like a woman!”
You know the one.
😂
I’ll have to learn more about the characters of Dimidium. I found the “start here” page.
Which reminds me, I HAVE to do character sheets... another one for the loooong list of 'to dos'.
I post fiction on here, lore and worldbuilding on my website, mostly for my newsletter subscribers
(you can find it under the 'Captain's Log' thing, on the main menu if you are into lore).
This month - by request- I'll apparently be writing about the Lost Library of Dimidium, and if I have time maybe about something else as well,
I didn't plan on reading this today, but when a friend says it's good, you trust them. I unequivocally agree.
There was just enough of your prose visible that I could appreciate your brushstrokes. Metaphors used sparingly; you trusted readers to fill in the gaps. The story telling is stellar. Little things like Aria's bone comb in her hair, her reaching for her wooden bird...
Then the dialogue itself was excellent. Used sparingly, enough to layer on tension and build character scaffolding, again, to let readers fill in the gaps.
I have no qualms with this story qualifying for this prompt contest, not that it's my call or anything. But it's a damn good story in its own right.
Wow, thank you for taking the time.
I know we all want to write all the things and also read all the things, and also fit sleeping and eating (and life, of course, -and death, wink wink-) in it. So thanks.
I am absolutely restacking and screenshotting this comment for the dark days. 🪼💙
About your last comment, I have to say that this Universe (and these character specifically) are really known to me. 🏴☠️🌎
Aria is the MFC in my first trilogy, Ambrose has his own adventures, and I am planning to give this ancient dragon a nice story as well, so maybe I had an advantage there.
As for the cosiness, I am used to put up warnings at the beginning of my stuff as it usually runs a bit more dark and twisted than the general vibe for HF out theree.
After submitting this I glimpsed a couple of the first entries, and they were really cosy, so I edited the warning in. Just in case.
I knew it would probably land in the adventure ballpark anyway, but I believe in warning the readers, and A Circus Dragon did say that we'd get demerits for hurting the dragon, so...
(by the way, totally unrelated, I started writing a short serial for my rebel speculative publication, it's called 'Green Reaper'. it's nothing as big as your thing, maybe not even a novella length piece, but if you have the time one of these days I'd love to compare notes on reaping.) 💀
You are so welcome! I know exactly what you mean, some comments really can be uplifting. I’ve had thoughts to start something similar for the days that I doubt.
I think it’s something we all go through in one way or another.
Nobody really knows I’m doing this for real for real, so I’m trying to be creative (hah) with it.
Wow.. I love the way you ended this exciting tale. I do agree with Ed that even though it was initially pretty intense, the cosiness is definitely there.
Thanks for reading this, I am happy you enjoyed the overall direction.
I promise in the future I'll point you towards my less traumatizing stuff. And by the way, I don't know if you remember, but I also created a 'caffeine-like' bean for you in my serial, and I used it in an absolutely adorable scene.
Pinky promise.
I will be in Sunday's episode, so I'll tag you in it.
Yes I do remember you saying that xD Sunday? :D Please tag meeeee!!
As a fellow writer who also has dragons in her fantasy universe, I had to come take a read. Loved this story! Off to find more!
Thanks for stopping by, and yes, absolutely, you can never have enough dragons in your life.💙 Do you have a serial or short stories? What would you suggest for me to read of yours?
My sea dragons tend to be mostly human (they shift between forms) but head to the section “The Red Book of Rhiannon” and find “The Battle for Mother’s Sea-Rice Cakes”
This gripped me and didn't let me go until the very last sentence-- incredible!
Thank you so much for giving this piece a chance.
If you liked the Universe and want more, all shorts and serials on this Publication are fragments of this world.
Also, I will be saving your comment in my ‘to revisit when doubting’ collection. So thanks for taking the time to write it.
That truly warms my heart! And don't worry, I have an open tab with Mountain Bond open. I didn't have time last night but I knew I was going to read more over the weekend :)
Then you are in luck, the next chapter is coming out tomorrow (and it is LONG) 😂
Daaaaamn. So very good. I hope there is more to this part of the greater story! Well done!
There is–and tons of it, but the question is... who would you like to follow first?🏴☠️😏
This had me on the edge of my seat and then gave me the most magical outcome I could have ever imagined. I want to follow Ambrose and Aria on their adventures! Super well done!
Thank you so much for giving this a chance!
I agree Aria and Ambrose are amazing, and they absolutely do all the heavy lifting in my stories. I am just there for the ride.😏🏴☠️
There will be more about them soon in Dimidium Tales, for sure.
A collection of short stories on all my MCC pasts is in the works, and ideally coming out before November... at least in part.
(The curse of the infinite to do list)
I would love to read that!!!! But I also completely understand the curse of the to do list lol. So even if it came out after November, it just gives us all something to be excited about after Halloween!
True, spooky season is always full of amazing stuff to read anyway.😏💀When it comes it will be posted here, and announced on my monthly overall newsletter, the Captain’s Log, so even if you are not into following Dimidium Tales there’s a way to keep up with all the stuff.
Oh, awesome! I just subscribed to Dimidium Tales anyway, so I'll have two ways to keep up lol
I cross-linked the sh*t out of my publications (of which I have 3+1), so that people could pick and choose, but I always offer the Log as an option because I know how it is to want to read/keep up with everything, and at the same time dread facing the 200 inbox notifications from your closest friends.
Yes! Sometimes the emails get lost in the shuffle, and I have to dig through Substack to ensure I'm not missing anything. That's a genius idea, and an excellent way to combat the inbox surplus!!
This is stunning. It moves from desperation and salt-soaked survival into something vast and mythic. The dragon reveal felt earned, and Aria’s innocence gave it so much weight. Beautifully done.
Thank you so much for reading, I'm happy you enjoyed it.
I tinkered with the reveal a whole day, and I cut at least 500 words from the first draft, between foreshadowing and reveal, so I'm glad it landed well.
Omg omg I'm so sorry I missed this 😭 I have it saved and will add it to the list by the end of 16 sept!
This is a truly beautiful story, Morgan. I loved the relationship between Aria and her father, as well as what happens with the dragon.
Well done.
Thank you so much for reading this! I have to confess that these characters are old friends (Aria is my MFC as an adult), so I'm happy to have done right by them.
And you might meet the dragon again... who knows. They live lifetimes after all. ;D
Ah! I see, well yes, you definitely did do right by them.
I'm not surprised about the dragon. The way this story ends leaves it open for him to come again. :)