All the stories, poems, and character sketches that are posted here are drawn from the fantasy world of Erde that I created. Someday I plan to have them all published in an anthology, just as they appear here. Although I still have more stories in the works, you should be able to follow Ahllie in her travels from her birth through her time in America. I've posted the stories here in the chronological order they appear in the anthology. You'll find long and short stories, songs, and poems.

Most of the stories are password protected to protect their publication rights. I've left a few unprotected so you can read some samples of what the anthology will look like. If you have a reason to view the rest of this material, email me and we'll go from there. The open stories are marked (**).

I've put a lot of work into the background for these stories. I spent years crafting characters, places, languages, and a completely different native culture - The Vigroth. The work I put into Erde makes telling stories from there an easy venture, no matter where or when the stories take place within that world. Read the WorldBuilding section for facts about how the land of Erde came into being. You'll find maps there along with a glossary and reactions to these stories by people who've written me concerning them.

Some of this material has been published, most has not. I've mentioned publication credits in the introduction to individual stories.

I hope you enjoy my work. Thank you.

 

Erde -
The Story of Ahllie

© Erick Emert 2001

 

Creation:  Cords - The FireTale
An epic creation poem on how the Vigroth Cords came to be is tucked within a slice-of-life scene.

Creation:  Juist Creates the Great Teacher
The Vigroth Making Song, their full creation account is presented here as a second epic creation poem.

Creation:   Gifts For a People
Changing from a Spiritual life form to a physical form is the topic of this last epic creation poem.

The Coming of Briggs
The captain of one of the Bermuda Triangle's most famous ships, the Mary Celeste, becomes an OutSider.

The Birth of Ahllie
A short story in prose and poem recounting the birthing of the Vigroth girl, Ahllie.

Training:   Rock
The young Vigroth children of the Lobot Cord learn the survival skill of focus through a game called Rock.

Training:   Mirror
The children now experience the reasons why the DeepChat is so importent to the Vigroth Cords.

A Name for Ahllie
A short story describing the circumstances under which Ahllie received her name. A mixture of story and poetry.

Parrsie's Wyndlyn
In this short story, Parrsie travels with her father and his friend to Hummel, a free trading port where she hopes to locate a new musical instrument.

A Morning in Thelra
More poem than story, this is a depiction the wonder of life in the Vigroth community of Thelra.

Cord Life
Ahllie describes life within the Vigroth family structure of the Cord.

Stay Alive - A Father's FireSong
A FireSong sung by fathers of Cord children beginning their survival training.

**Coming of Age
Ahllie sings the FireSong of her rite of passing from girl child to adult woman.

The Decision
Captain Briggs is chosen to head up a special forces unit by Marshall Jobe.

Be With
Also called the DeepChat Song, this FireSong speaks to the special relationships between Cord Mirrors.

Cordmates
The strong feelings between Cordmates are expressed in this FireSong.

Practice
A short character sketch shows Ahllie and Trillip practicing archery at night.

Dance of the Dicticia
A look at the Vigroth peoples through the eyes of their arch-enemies, the Riggrathi.

**Fargthh's Curse
A traditional Vigroth FireTale tells how the warrior, Ullumbrech takes on the Lord of the Swamp Snakes.

Chant:  A FireTale
A skit produced by the Lobot Cord children for entertainment at community fires.

Villainy
One of the travelling pedagogues who teach the natives of the Weald commits an act of treachery.

The Destruction of Thelra
A swift night attack brings victory for Briggs and his troops as Thelra falls to the OutSiders.

Uppsala:  An Anthem
The national anthem of Uppsala is the most sung song in the Empire. All three verses appear here.

Uppsala's Play Pretties
A peg poem about the differences between the talented lap dolls and the mainstays of the inns, the bunk girls.

Shower Incident
One of Uppsala's finest brings home a newly purchased lap doll.

Entertainment
Parrsie and her new friends entertain for Taylor at his mansion.

Tarrilip in Jail
Tarrilip finds himself thrown in jail for committing an offense against the nobility.

For the Defense
A poetic summation from the trail of Tarrilip in Uppsala's High Court.

The Death of Tarrilip
Ahllie struggles to find her brother while coping with the physical pain of his death.

Prophecy In Selga
The Myth of Kyrrell Swamp heads toward her destiny in fulfillment of a strange prophecy given in Selga.

Ahllie's Arrival in England
An unusual girl is found floating off the shore near Brighton, England.

Havilah and the Pison & Gihon Rivers
Ahllie and her adopted Father speak of lands and places found both in Erde and the Bible.

The 'Porter
A nosey reporter seeks information about the strange girl, Ally Smith.

A Conversation Between Friends
Ahllie and an American friend take a nicroot enabled journey to the Weald for a lake-side chat.

Goin' Home
After spending five years in America, Ahllie has mixed feelings about returning to her homeland.

**Make 'Em Gone
Ahllie writes a poem about the torments that fill her mind on her return to Thelra.

**Empress Barb Visits the Weald
The story of a young writer who, aided by nicroot, visits the Weald to seek out Ahllie's advice.

Love - A Sonetto
Ahllie writes a sonnet about the confusion she's found concerning the meaning of the word love in America.

All In a Name
Ahllie's Cordmates express their concern about her frequent visits to America in this short poem.

Lammas In Uppsala
Parrsie confides to Ahllie that she would like to return to Taylor's mansion in Uppsala for a visit.

 

Illustration used with permission.

[ WorldBuilding | Ardeon | Bio | Writing | Baseball | Opinions | Kryterion | Links | Stories ]

All content and material copyright Erick Emert © 2001.