Crastor's Fifth
We all know the troubles, the tyrants, and the tragedies that come of looking away and trusting others to take the reins, but do we really know what happens when we equal share the burden?Crastor's Fifth is a world not unlike our own, but filled with magic, menace and mystery. Few know and far less care, but every last soul is yoked and whipped to a frenzy by the Lord of Corruption as he drives the world ever toward the fall. The stories are not without heroes, but who among them can fight or even raise a reproachful eye to the Enemy that thrives upon every broken covenant, each foot upon another's face, and all the evils done in the name of just a little more?The world-building in Crastor's Fifth is broad and often strays into minutia because, of course, the devil is in the details. There are tales to tell which will hardly confront the great foe of the world, and tales to tell which might delight, but for those who have the hero's heart and yearn to see the villains cast down, the sculpting of Rook & Tower is under way.Rook & Tower is a series of novels set in Crastor's Fifth and will follow the movements, great and small, of the war with the Erl-King and his minions. There is darkness and failure in store. There will be loose ends and dead friends before ever the war might close. The rooks will watch as we all march upon the road. high or low, to where our tower waits.
Stories From Crastor's Fifth
The Warlords
Waning is the Fifth Child of Crastor the Creator; all that stands between the Enemy and home. No heroes hold. No powers sway. The world is open as the first page turns. It whispers within.The ancient kingdoms fell one after another, to magic, to treachery, to plague, to hatred. The foe came with uncanny mastery over every aspect of us. After, as we wandered in the ashes of the old world, we wondered how the Enemy could have taken so much? Never but that we gave it to Him.This series of seven works of short fantasy fiction is the beginning of the Crastor's Fifth collections of stories and lore. Come and live in another world disfigured by the choices of its own people. Struggle with them, and finally rise with the heroes to come!
Stories From Crastor's Fifth
Under Loch & Queen
One by one the ancient kingdoms had fallen, torn down from within and given to rot, while the people far away in Layne slept easy. Then the whispers and wails stole from the south, a cacophony of threat and defeat borderland bound. In Layne stirred the breath of a loveless doom, a vicious mockery assaying: for fear of worse, what would you not do? Thus was the legacy writ, one more stain upon the Erl-King's banner.With all love's folly and favor wilting by the morning, Tana woke with a merciless truth upon her lips, and the courage to vex the Enemy in the beat of her heart.This series of seven works of short fantasy fiction is the second of the Crastor's Fifth collections of stories and lore following The Warords. Come and live in another world disfigured by the choices of its own people. Struggle with them, and finally rise with the heroes to come!
A Story from Crastor's Fifth
Tis the Sad Wind
A glance, a hope, a nightmare hour. Reach with the child that will not cower. Stalk with the woodsmen and suffer no foe. Fight by the man who will not let go. Seethe with the warlords in the Erl-King's fetid hall. Feast with the Lord of Corruption and fall and fall and fall...This is a short story from the world of Crastor's Fifth, wherein mere mortals set themselves to war with the gods that fester and scheme in the ruins of the ancient world. It is but a glimpse of the Cycle of Rook & Tower.
A Story from Crastor's Fifth
Rory & the River
This is a whisper of war fought not over soil or souls.
This is a tale of corruption blooming in what passes for kindred.
This is the tragedy of us when the Enemy has won.
This is the epitaph of innocence in the arms of what passes for mother.This is a short story from the world of Crastor's Fifth, wherein mere mortals set themselves to war with the gods that fester and scheme in the ruins of the ancient world. It is but a glimpse of the Cycle of Rook & Tower.*Note - The content of this story describes some adult behavior and some violent behaviors between characters. This writing is not indulgence or glorification, but rather indictment of the characters herein. However, because of this it is not offered for free on Patreon.
What is
979 Worlds
Like people, the worlds of 979 are all part of a whole, touching each other through time, theme and turmoil. While there is no map to chart this cosmos, the aims of the different pursuits may help to guide.Crastor's Fifth is the oldest, the largest and the most literary, full of short stories and working toward novels. It is mature, adult content but not spicy for the sake of spicy.Tower of the West is a young, flashy and sometimes spicy/explicit series of character adventures and art.Other worlds rise and fall, always changing what they touch.
About the Author
Shawn grew up in New England region of the U.S., inspired by such masters as J.R.R Tolkien, Stephen King, and Tad Williams, but always steeped himself in interactive fantasies found in computer, table-top and even live action role-play gaming, the latter of which is where Crastor's Fifth was conceived and first developed, not to mention where he met his patient, lovely wife. After spending most of his life working in regular jobs from warehouses and registers, to grills and call-queues he chose to break his own heart chipping away at a saga entirely too big for him, let alone anyone else. As he has navigated toward the heights of Rook & Tower, like Odysseus or perhaps Orpheus, he has paused to witness and to leave his mark in other creative ventures, from drawing and community-based games to a children's book about a beloved dog and living for something other than escaping fear.