Medb hErenn Series

When Medb hErenn was exiled from Ireland by the invading Gaels, she wandered the globe, eventually finding her way into North America. Along the Pacific Northwest she found temporary refuge with a coastal tribe. She helped them in numerous way, and they eventually adopted her as one of their own as a way to show her honor. But she made enemies as well, and one has sent against the tribe an ancient supernatural monster more powerful even than her. To protect them she agrees to meet it on a ground of its own choosing, and battle with it until one of them is destroyed. She must find a way to defeat it, because it is not just her own life that is threatened, but that of every member of her adopted tribe, should she fail. And everything hinges on the courage of the young warrior who followed her. If he falters, they are all as good as dead.

Medb hErenn has witnessed many bizarre incidents in her life, but the sight of a wedding with no groom, and the villagers weeping and wailing like it was a funeral, was definitely a unique experience. Then she learned that the village was cursed, and the girl was intended for the Black Ram, the male counterpart of Shub-Niggurath. Without thinking, she volunteered to take her place, both to save her and to free her people. And so she started down the path through the forest, heading for an unknown destination and an unknowable fate. But she will soon learn that she cannot prevail by force of arms alone, and that the situation is not as it appears. This story contains blood, sex, and tentacles. Reader discretion is advised.

In the Dreamlands, the Cats are probably the most powerful political, military, and social force extant. Even mighty rulers, such as King Kuranes of Celephais and Queen Elishat of Karchedon, bow to their will. They go where they want, do as they please, and answer to no one, except their Queen and her Council of Elders. They are quick to punish any wrong done to them, and their retribution is as brutal as it is swift and final. They fear little, and run from only the gravest of danger. So, when they summoned Medb hErenn to their council in the town of Ulthar, asking for her help, she understood that only sheer desperation would force them to call on outside aid, especially her own unique abilities, and that it likely involved great danger. The only thing she couldn't know was that it could destroy them all.

Medb hErenn serves Seidhloch the Moneylender of Ulthar as the steward of his business interests in the Dreamlands, because she owes him a debt. Though she serves him faithfully and honestly, she does not like being beholden to him, so when the Cats of Ulthar offer her a large reward to retrieve their most sacred artifact, stolen from the Temple of the Great Ones, she accepts without hesitation. It seems a simple enough task, but it has been taken to the onyx city of Inganok in the far north, where cats are forbidden to go. On top of that, who or whatever took the artifact seems to be after more than financial gain, despite its priceless value, because upon reaching the city it has vanished without a trace. Then Leng Men appear, old enemies from previous adventures. Are they somehow involved, or will they prove to be a red herring? Medb and her companions must find the artifact, not just for the reward, but also before it can be used to release an evil that could threaten the whole of the Dreamlands. But how can one find a needle in a haystack?

Medb hErenn's confidence exceeds arrogance to border on hubris. Subconsciously, she truly believes she is invulnerable, due to her prodigious strength and endurance, and her profound magical abilities, and while far from foolhardy, she often leaps into dangerous situations without thinking. Worse still, her enemies can use this weakness against her, by luring her into traps through appeals to her curiosity or pride. Once she realizes she is in over her head, she may curse her short-sightedness, but when she extricates herself, her subconscious conceit reinforces itself and she learns little from her experience. So when she heard of the deadly Upas Tree, which could kill anything that simply laid eyes on it, she had to see if it lived up to its reputation. She did not believe it would, but she also doubted it could harm her in any event. Her companions often warn her that one day her overconfidence will be her undoing. Perhaps this is finally that day.

The Plateau of Leng in the Northern Lands of the Dreamworld is a most dangerous place. Few people dare to travel its interior except as part of large, well-armed caravans, but one exception is Medb hErenn. As such, people will hire her to escort them across the Plateau, or to act in their stead on some mission of personal importance. Mephitis the Apothecary of Ulthar needs ingredients for her concoctions that can only be obtained from the Plateau and the surrounding mountains. She hired Medb to act as bodyguard and guide, and their mutual friend, Morgiana the Master Thief, to help her gather what she needs. In return, she will pay them a large remuneration, and they can raid the abandoned tombs and forgotten ruins to their hearts' content. Their expedition has been successful, but a migration of the gargantuan Leng Spiders has cut off the usual routes out of the Plateau. In desperation, they make for a rumored pass bisected by a deep chasm, over which a Spider has spun a bridge. Supposedly, it allows travelers to use it, but they must pay a toll, and the gossip claims that it will eat whoever cannot. They have no other choice, but the question is, can they pay its price? And if not, can they avoid the rumored fate?

Three hundred years into the future, Mankind has moved out into space, but no one has found any evidence that other alien technological civilizations actually exist. Such constitutes the Holy Grail of space exploration, and both the central federal government and the megacorporations have offered vast rewards for even a shred of evidence. Then an artifact is found on the colony world of Avernus at Barnard's Star, and the colonists realize that it may be the proof everyone is looking for. They contact both the government and their parent corporation, and in response they send an investigator to verify its authenticity: Medb hErenn. However, she has an ulterior motive for making the long trip. Based on the colony's description, she believes she knows what kind of artifact it is, and what it can do, and if she's right, she knows she must destroy it before the colonists can activate it.