The Smith and the Hermit

By J.M. Ney-Grimm

With the hot breath and snapping jaws of the hounds too close behind, he runs . . .

 

Beran creates magical marvels at his forge. Obsessed with his art, he ignores the people of his household and town. When a corrupt and jealous rival falsely accuses the smith of a dangerous crime—and makes it stick—Beran lacks allies.

 

Turned over to a violent religious sect for execution, Beran refuses to go tamely, but the manhunt on his heels makes escape unlikely.

 

Unless Beran learns to value human connection—to choose it—the hounds will tear him down in his tracks.

 

The Smith and the Hermit is a fairytale of J.M. Ney-Grimm's fantastical North-lands. If you enjoy the urgency of the hunt, the once-upon-a-time style of Andrew Lang's Red Fairy Book, and that magical moment when a character embraces change, you'll love this story of invention and resource.

 

Buy The Smith and the Hermit to confront isolation's snares today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.M. Ney-Grimm
• Release date: Nov 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215772294

J.M. Ney-Grimm

J.M. Ney-Grimm lives with her husband and children in Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She's learning about permaculture gardening and debunking popular myths about food. The rest of the time she reads Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones, and Lois McMaster Bujold, plays boardgames like Settlers of Catan, rears her twins, and writes stories set in her troll-infested North-lands. Look for her novels and novellas at your favorite bookstore—online or on Main Street.

Book preview

The Smith and the Hermit

or How the Hamish Lands Gained a Magical Ward

~ A TALE OF OLD GIRALLIYA~

by J.M. Ney-Grimm

THE SMITH AND THE HERMIT. Copyright © 2019 J.M. Ney-Grimm.

The Smith and the Hermit

was first published

as The Hermit and the Smith

in the collection

Tales of Old Giralliya

Cover design:

James at GoOnWrite.com

Table of Contents

Tales of Old

The Smith and the Hermit

or How the Hamish Lands Gained a Magical Ward

Bonus Tidbits

Timeline of the North-lands

Excerpt from To Haunt the Daring Place

Author Bio

More Titles by J.M. Ney-Grimm

In tribute to

Andrew Lang

and the Brothers Grimm

Tales of Old

Stories from the dawn of time often combine history with wisdom traditions, entertaining the listener while memorializing past events and opening the heart.

So it is with the fairy tales of Old Giralliya. In this one, The Smith and the Hermit, we learn how the craftsman who forged a wondrous artifact came to do so in the Hamish lands. But his mighty deed at the anvil remains a mere footnote to the adventure that precedes it and his consequent discovery that life must be larger than his smithy.

Hear now the ancient story as the wisewomen of the distant past would have told it.

The Smith and the Hermit

or How the Hamish Lands Gained a Magical Ward

In the days of the false prophet Bellam and the true prophet Cathal, there lived a smith who created works that were at once so beautiful and useful that folk said they were magical.

And, in fact, the rumors were right. The smith was a mage, and he put his magery into his smithcraft. His music boxes played on command, with no one turning the crank. His locks opened only for the one designated. And his decanters for chilled wine stayed cool so long as they were full.

Beran was the smith’s name, and he