King Midian and His Glove of Gold
Storyfeather
An elven traveler grants a king a priceless power in return for an equally priceless treasure. Genre: Fairy Tale Excerpt:The elven traveler leaned closer and whispered to the girl. “What kind of life can he give you? Closed off and cloistered? Stuffed into corsets? I can give you a life of mischief and adventure.” The Wheel of Fiction Turns. What did it land on this time?Each Season 9 story follows a theme chosen by the Wheel of Fiction. Thirteen spokes. Eight are the themes from previous seasons. One is “Turn Again.” One is a wild card. And three are covered in question...
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Diamond Dreamt of Rose
Storyfeather
A cursed young woman seeks the aid of a queen who walks through dreams to reach a sister trapped in eternal sleep. Genre: Fairy Tale Excerpt:“Turn back,” the queen said. “I want no curses in my kingdom.” Clara explained as quickly as she could. “I am not the only one who is cursed. My sister. My husband…” “And it was one who cursed you all?” “He taunted me. He told me that what I love would be come what he loves. And what he loves best is treasure.” The Wheel of Fiction Turns. What did it land on this time?Each Season 9 story follows a theme chosen by the...
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Only Fools Prevail
Storyfeather
In a realm where the learned are held at the highest esteem, a fool is called upon to challenge a trickster. Genre: Fairy Tale Excerpt:“I visit you because I am curious.” “I think it’s because you want to be the first trickster who understands a fool.” The trickster laughed. “My dear Sovereign, no one amuses me as you do. But I must tell you. To a trickster, everyone is a fool.” The Wheel of Fiction Turns. What did it land on this time?Each Season 9 story follows a theme chosen by the Wheel of Fiction. Thirteen spokes. Eight are the themes from previous...
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A Realm Without Rain
Storyfeather
A visitor from another realm encounters an overwhelming and mysterious phenomenon that bears further investigation, rain. Genre: Fairy Tale Excerpt:“When I was young, my mother told me a story about the rain. I was afraid of it, you see. And what she told me didn’t help much with that.” He winked an eye at me. “My mother was quick to embrace and kiss her children, but she wasn’t one to coddle or lie to us.” I found myself leaning forward. “What did she say?” “There are great beings who live in the sky. When enough of these beings weep, their tears fall to the earth as...
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Forge of the Forsaker
Storyfeather
Even before the mountain began to rumble, one mortal had begun to doubt his decadent gods. Genre: Mythology Excerpt:We are descended from a powerful people. So it is said. The most powerful our world has ever known. Their might unmatched. Their domain unending. Their eyes all-seeing. I am nothing next to them. I am a blade of grass underfoot. A mayfly blinking in and out of existence. A mortal. But today I will discover if there are forces in the world mightier than the gods. For today is the day I bring them down. The Wheel of Fiction Turns. What did it land on this time?Each...
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Queen Niyami
Storyfeather
Troubled by the tragic tale of a queen, who suffered because of a quarrel between two gods, three children question and alter the story. Genre: Mythology Excerpt:For the thing that lurched from shadow to shadow had been summoned by godly powers and imbued with godly powers. As it passed, it left behind a trail of slime that smelled of sulfur and rot. So the guards had no trouble in finding it. What they could not do was stop it. The Wheel of Fiction Turns. What did it land on this time?Each Season 9 story follows a theme chosen by the Wheel of Fiction. Thirteen spokes. Eight are...
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The Last Night of Grief
Storyfeather
A philosopher, a mage, and a swordsman are sent on an impossible quest from which they know they will not return alive. Genre: Mythology Excerpt:The philosopher felt her heart go still. She felt the cold steel of the swordsman’s sword quivering by her right side. She felt the warm spark of the mage’s magic prickling by her left side. In that moment, and none other since, she had wished her friends would unleash their might and fury… The Wheel of Fiction Turns. What did it land on this time?Each Season 9 story follows a theme chosen by the Wheel of Fiction. Thirteen...
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Nine Gods in Masquerade
Storyfeather
The story is told of how nine little gods came to be honored at a feast where they dared not show their faces. Genre: Mythology Excerpt:The new mortal-made masks were so fantastical and magical that they could not easily be distinguished from the masks of the gods. A few called it blasphemy. (For we humans can be fools this way, don’t you agree? Seeking and seeking for wonder, and fearing it when we find it.) The Wheel of Fiction Turns. What did it land on this time?Each Season 9 story follows a theme chosen by the Wheel of Fiction. Thirteen spokes. Eight are the themes from...
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Through a Sky Gray
Storyfeather
In a realm cursed to lie under a gray veil, one man accepts a job patrolling a neighborhood to watch for unauthorized breaches. Genre: Fantasy Excerpt:He had given up on his childhood fantasy when he realized that people had already found ways to break the curse, and had tried those ways and failed. He had given up when he learned that some of the ways had never been tried and never would be, because the cost was too high. And over the generations, more and more people believed that the gray veil was a blessing, not a curse. A protection, not an oppression. The Wheel of Fiction...
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Kairos and the Phantom
Storyfeather
The terrifying night phantoms that haunt a once-forbidden wood are never seen by day, until one morning when an ordinary man encounters a phantom trapped in the sunlight. Genre: Fantasy, Mythology Excerpt:Something terrible had come into the world. Something evil. Invisible, intangible. Some corruption that could not be perceived. And therefore could not be fought. By the time it had a grip on someone, it was too late. The corruption seeped into every part of that person, defiling their heart, twisting their thoughts, draining the very life out of their body. No land was spared....
info_outlineA hunter dedicated to keeping the world safe from monsters has one final monster to fight.
Genre: Horror
Excerpt:
Curses and cures. Curses and cures. I’ve tried everything.
…flecks of blood in my eye.
My joints have started to ache...
My vision has started to flicker.
And…now I’m finally afraid.
What story or stories am I revisiting in this episode?
Each Season 8 episode is a standalone story, but it’s connected to or inspired by a previous story through a character, a place, an object, a concept, a continuation of events (ahem, sequel), and so on.
This story isn’t inspired by a particular tale. I’ve just written a lot of stories about creatures and monsters. Here are a couple, if you’re in the mood for a particular monster.
“Chainmaker” (werewolf)
“The Hunter and the Crypt” (vampire)
MY FIRST BOOK (yay)
Ever wonder how I’ve gotten all these hundreds of stories written? I have a method. And I talk all about it in my book called Fictioneer’s Field Guide: A Game Plan for Writing Short Stories.
It’s now available from Amazon as an eBook, paperback, and hardcover.
You can also get there from my Store page: STORYFEATHER STORE
The Store page also has sign-up forms for my two email newsletters:
Storyfeather Gazette (if you’d like to keep up with the fiction I create)
Fictioneer’s Field Guide (if you’d like writing tips and guidance from me)
Choose what you want. (Either way, you're choosing high jinks.)
MERCH!
Interested in merch, like mugs and notebooks, featuring my artwork?
Please visit my Store page for info on where you can buy: STORYFEATHER STORE
CREDITS
Story: “The Final Monster I Fight” Copyright © 2021 by Nila L. Patel
Narration, Episode Art, Editing, and Production: Nila L. Patel
Music:
“Sins and sinners” by NICHOLAS JEUDY (Intro)
“Blood and bones” by NICHOLAS JEUDY (Outro)
“Abstract Vision #5” by ANDREW SITKOV (Outro)
Music by NICHOLAS JEUDY (Dark Fantasy Studio)
“Omen”
“Blood and bones”
“Fright night”
“Eternal life”
“Hunter’s moon”
“The death of love”
“Cemetery”
“Sins and sinners”
“Creatures of the night”
All these tracks are part of a music and sound effects bundles I purchased from Humble Bundle and sourced from GameDev Market.
Music by Nicholas Jeudy and Andrew Sitkov is licensed from GameDev Market
Changes made to the musical tracks? Just cropping of some to align with my narration.
Find more music by Nicholas Jeudy and Andrew Sitkov at gamedevmarket.net
Find more stories by Nila at storyfeather.com
Episode Art Description:
Digital drawing. Composite of several figures in silhouette. Bottom foreground left and center, two figures from chest up with various missing limbs and digits reach to the right. They are zombies. Bottom foreground right, a figure from chest up, holding both hands against their head. Shadows representing gravestones lie at angles behind the figure. Left moving into frame is a ghostly cloud in which the outline of a face and a hand are visible. Right of frame, sitting on an outcropping, a werewolf howls against a glowing moon. Top center floating in the sky, a vampire wearing a cloak and reaching out. At center from back, a hooded figure from torso up, holding a long stake propped over the right shoulder. Upper left corner, a patch of stalactites. Watermark of “Storyfeather” along forearm of figure at bottom right.