Ian Read

Joined June 2021

0 stories

Bio

I am an archaeologist and amateur story-teller. I publish a variety of content, but usually I write short and serial fantasy and sci-fi.

Find me on:

||Discord||Twitch||

From New Hampshire

Achievements (2)

Stories (41/0)

Dawn
Everything fades, one way or another, Culminating in a grand finale, a final smothering dark. Light, love, laughter, all drown in its embrace,
By Ian Read20 days ago in Poets
Top Story - April 2024
Blackrot: a Twisted FairytaleTop Story - April 2024
As the young man warmed his bones by the cottage’s stove, the elderly woodsman ladled two bowlfuls of porridge for them. Both their stomachs groaned in eager protest, but this unusually lean winter demanded that they ration what little they had.
By Ian Read24 days ago in Fiction
Precipice Chapter II: A Casual Stroll
For chapter one, follow this link. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It had been Nikolai Garcia’s weekly custom since his new position to take a stroll around the quasi-abandoned harbor district of TRUEcit. Not much came from outside anymore. He remembered in his childhood when junk tankers came in from the badlands to sell metal and plastic scrap and scavenged biomass. Now everything was produced in the city’s recyclers and bio-towers by the corporation, so the harbor district slowly starved and decayed to its present run-down and melancholic state.
By Ian Read4 months ago in Chapters
The Manick Witches: A Tale of an Extraordinarily Average Coven
“Simmer, cauldron, effervesce! Help our magic manifest! Weave our workings something savage…” “…In the pot goes heart of cabbage!”
By Ian Read6 months ago in Fiction
Oh, Thief of Sleep!
Why are you here, oh Thief of Sleep, whispering in my ear? What idle theme of night’s domain enticed you to come near? Heedless of my protest, I know you will not leave.
By Ian Read6 months ago in Poets
Top Story - October 2023
Salt and OzoneTop Story - October 2023
Waves crash against the rocky shore and the sky darkens. I stand on the edge of the pier -a safe distance above the roiling surf. The riotous wind pulls back the hood of my raincoat, but I do not care. A sea mist dampens my brow as I look to the gray horizon. The crash of thunder is muffled by the howling wind.
By Ian Read6 months ago in Fiction
Fantasy Shorts: The Man of Glass
The void felt like ink, dancing and swirling into black nothingness. Henri was like the pen, thrust into the inkwell with no sense of direction, but every sense of purpose.
By Ian Read7 months ago in Fiction
Fantasy Shorts: The Mage and the Yeoman
“My vision blurred and my ears rang. When I came to, all that remained of my compatriots was a circle of ashen earth. Our two armies had chosen the field of battle; a rugged pasture along the Kingsroad where we could easily conceal our presence. Our leaders chose the location well, and we were certain we would win the day. Our scouts had reported the enemy was exhausted from the last engagement and not ready to fight.
By Ian Read7 months ago in Fiction
Top Story - September 2023
A White Mountains Mystery: The Cabin - Chapter 1Top Story - September 2023
The van’s radio sputtered in and out of static, “And this… Boston Class… Rock Station… with the greatest hits…” “Damn it,” said Danny, adjusting the tuning dial while keeping one hand on the wheel.
By Ian Read7 months ago in Fiction
Fantasy Shorts: The Tale of Ser Roger and the Bridge of Woe
“Whoa,” shouted Ser Roger to his horse. The horse whinnied to a halt, stamping the earth nervously. Before Roger laid an unassuming stone bridge stretched over a steep gully. By Roger’s recall, this was the place of his quarry. Indeed, Baron Mendacent had seemed most terrified when he beseeched King Faulgrist to send his finest knight here to rid his demesne of some unknown horror that had taken residence.
By Ian Read7 months ago in Fiction
10 Random Things About Me
Kayleigh Fraser has asked me to participate in her September Get to Know Me Challenge. I think it is a brilliant dare as it allows you to get to know me, the man behind the profile. So, without further ado, here are 10 random things about me:
By Ian Read8 months ago in Confessions
The Mortal Masquerade: A Microfiction
Opulence, by its very definition, is cruel. I have watched for hours and hours while these aristocrats have reveled in their frivolous masquerade. All in this place was gathered for them at enormous expense, a novel concept by their reckoning. The orchestra was airy, the dances were joyous, and hundreds of goblets passed many hands, the wine the color of blood. Here in their den of iniquity, they drowned themselves in riches and dulled their senses with pride and arrogance. They have all but forgotten the terrors they abandoned to the world outside their sealed fortress walls. This is why they could never divine my purpose.
By Ian Read8 months ago in Fiction

Ian Read

Bio

Achievements .css-19zxm0z-Text{display:inline-block;color:var(--text-default-mute);}(2)

Stories (41/0)

Dawn

Blackrot: a Twisted FairytaleTop Story - April 2024

Precipice Chapter II: A Casual Stroll

The Manick Witches: A Tale of an Extraordinarily Average Coven

Oh, Thief of Sleep!

Salt and OzoneTop Story - October 2023

Fantasy Shorts: The Man of Glass

Fantasy Shorts: The Mage and the Yeoman

A White Mountains Mystery: The Cabin - Chapter 1Top Story - September 2023

Fantasy Shorts: The Tale of Ser Roger and the Bridge of Woe

10 Random Things About Me

The Mortal Masquerade: A Microfiction

Achievements (2)