Tales of Erana: Myths and Legends

By A L Butcher

Five short tales of fantasy and fantasy romance set in the dark world of Erana; the world of the Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles. Some are new and the others have been expanded and revised from the original versions.

The Moon on the Water: The tale of the love between a goddess and a warrior and the terrible curse it brought.

The Tale of Treyna the Beloved: When a mortal woman is pursued by two rival gods even the heavens are wrought by magic.

Storm-Born: A lonely magician finds companionship with a creature of the storm but magic demands a price, what price will it be?

The Blue Phial: A lesson in listening to instruction carefully, lest one makes an embarrassing mistake.

The Legend of Oeliana: A story of a nymph and a toad, jealous magic and debts repaid.

12717 words.

• Language: English
• Publisher: A L Butcher
• Release date: Apr 21, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311402691

A L Butcher

British-born Alexandra Butcher (a/k/a  A. L. Butcher) is an avid reader and creator of worlds, a poet, and a dreamer, a lover of science, natural history, history, and monkeys. Her prose has been described as ‘dark and gritty’ and her poetry as evocative.  She writes with a sure and sometimes erotic sensibility of things that might have been, never were, but could be.

Book preview

Tales of Erana

Myths and Legends

First Edition Published 2014. This Edition 2017

V4

All rights reserved.

© A. L. Butcher 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

The right of A. L. Butcher to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

The world of Erana and the characters herein are the property of the author. Any similarity to actual persons is purely coincidental.

Cover art © Atelier Sommerland - Fotolia.com

The Blue Phial by A.L Butcher – first published in Wyrd Worlds © 2013 – now revised and expanded. All rights retained by author.

The Tale of Treyna the Beloved by A.L Butcher – first published in No Sleeves and Short Dresses © 2013 – now revised and expanded. All rights retained by author.

The Legend of Oeliana – first published in Kiss and Tales: A Romantic Collection © 2014. All rights retained by author.

Storm Born – first published in A Splendid Salmagundi as Bethkail © 2012 – now revised and expanded. All rights retained by author.

Contents

Introduction

Tales of the Trollkind

The Moon on the Water

The Tale of Treyna the Beloved

Mage Tales

Storm-Born

The Blue Phial

Tales of the Elfkind

The Legend of Oeliana

Other books by this author:

Introduction

Erana is a world of magic, and although forbidden the magic persists for magic is wild and will not yield to law.  It is a world ruled by oppression but hope walks in shadow, ever watching for a chance to flourish. It is a world where there is love and despair in equal measure.  These are the tales and myths from such a world.  

The mortal races of Erana are the elves, the trolls and the humans and each has their history, their lore, and of course their heroes. There are also other creatures, those of magic and myth, those of the old times and the secret places. These are the gods and demigods and the creatures born of magic. When such creatures walk among those whose lives are fleeting love and war, hope and despair, and magic and mayhem abound.

Plague and war are familiar to the denizens of Erana. With strife comes disease but the Plague was much more than mere sickness. It brought the elves of Erana to the brink of destruction and it touched each and every race to some degree. It fed on magic and on ignorance and fear, and it shaped a world. The Plague brought the Order of Witch-Hunters to the fore and a martial law which became tyranny.  Some of these stories are from a time before the Plague was seen, in the times when Erana was a young world, and a world filled with light. Some are not.

Tales of the Trollkind

The Trollkind are the mountain dwellers of Erana, inhabiting places none other can. They worship the sky, the rock and the never ending water which runs through their land. Generally they are a faithful folk, for many have seen the Goddess of the Sky and her aspects. They know the gods are real, for on occasion the gods walk among them. The trolls are the shape changers, the seers and oracles but what they see may be a future marked with blood. War is in their heritage, alliances are as valued as the gold running through the seams in the mines. A people of magic they are not untouched by the Plague, and not unnoticed by the Order of Witch-Hunters. So it is they remain in their mountains watching and waiting for their time to come.

The Moon on the Water

Flowing down the looming edifices of the Jagged Peak Mountains, which cross the land of Erana, are many waterfalls. The snows last long and the springtime comes late but when it does the waters run fast and clear, roaring