Z is for Zoe

I may have been conceived here; Blogging From AZ, an extra player for Beatrix’s small gaming circle, besides Mona and Rhane. It was watching Rhane at the library, which led me to following her to where she met Beatrix. I introduced myself to both of them and was almost immediately invited into Beatrix’s roleplaying campaign, but The Players Are the Thing; one player in particular. I like Beatrix, I truly do, but I dislike the way she treats Rhane. Mona fawns over both Beatrix and Rhane like an exuberant goth puppy dog, but she becomes this intense, intriguing character, when she plays Isolde. Amberwyne is so clearly whom Rhane wants to be, but she’s afraid to become. How I long to bring her out of her shell, which is perhaps why I’m playing Rhiannon. Rhiannon was created by Isolde, given a cursed life by Fidessa, yet offered free will and a better life by Amberwyne. I long to offer a better life to Rhane. I hope to have an opportunity to do so.

Y is for Ylynessa

My name, my identity came to the scribbler, while Blogging From AZ, as well as what I mean to Caerac Keep. Some would accuse me of being Trouble at Caerac Keep. I say I do what I must to see that nonhumans have their due, their pound of flesh and blood from those whom accuse them of being monsters, who’ve hunted and robbed them. I say I’m creating a world where my brother, the man who rescued me, adopted me, and has become family can stop hiding in the darkness. William won’t like what I’m doing, but it’s for him, along as my secret master who allowed him to find me. I protect Caerac Keep as much as my brother does. Take a closer look at what’s happening. You’ll see how.

X is for Xylanthe

My name, my identity, everything came to the scribbler while Blogging From AZ; the hungry monster who once feasted upon overconfident adventures. Ah, those times, when so many were arrogant, greedy, and determined to venture forth into a monster’s lair in search of treasure! How well I fed. Now, monsters are nonhumans, killing nonhumans is wrong, along with taking their treasure. Adventuring has fallen out of fashion and I grow hungry, as does many a monster in a dungeon, crypt, or dark place in this world. Low cunning is required in order to eat, plotting to lure visitors into my web as I’ve never plotted before. What do I mean? Hopefully, our scribbler will finish Trouble at Caerac Keep and you’ll find out.

W is for William

I’ve been lord of Caerac Keep longer than I wish anyone to remember. Too well do I recall being at Caerac’s side as a lad in adventure, before he built the walled city named for him. I remember Corwyth, too, long before he became a vampire. I refuse to accept that Corwyth is behind the Trouble at Caerac Keep, even if he has risen from whatever sarcophagus he’s been chained within. There is trouble here in my Keep. I will find the true villain behind the disappearances, the mysterious sickness striking down the people within my walls, even if I have to sacrifice a few fresh-faced would-be adventurers to find him. Caerac Keep is mine. I will protect it from any and all monsters, no matter what I have to do.

V is for Varwyth

Would it surprise you to know I began here, in this blog, Blogging From AZ April Project? The scribbler was thinking about characters whose names began with V. Mine popped into her mind, an alias for my true name, for my true name would be recognized. Varwyth was a persona I could assume to investigate the Trouble at Caerac Keep; while staying at Rhodry, Faith, and Ariadne’s side. Accutely aware the rumours of the Vampire Corwyth’s resurrection to stalk, drain, and abduct the good residents of this walled city was mere rumor, I wished to uncover the truth hiding behind that rumor, along with those responsible for that rumor. It is amusing to play the part of adventurer. Nostalgic, even. Being Varwyth gives me a chance to stay close to my precious Rhodry, to get to know him, while protecting him from perils, which await outside his tower, including the perils presented in his companions. Faith’s arrogance is so outrageous it’s almost amusing. Ariadne’s conceit is definitely entertaining, if exasparating. All in all, it’s quite educational, exploring and investigating Caerac Keep with my young companions. Perhaps I have distanced myself too much from the world. It may be time to return as myself, a delicious temptation, which would terrify my enemies. Arrogance is their weakness. I must take care to be certain it’s not mine.

U is for Undine

I am the sad song, crying out to would-be heroes in their dreams. I am the source of Trouble at Caerac Keep, slowly revealing myself to the scribbler as she writes, but I am trapped in a shell of armour, forced to do another’s bidding. I do not wish to obey. I long for freedom. I reach out to you; Rhodry, Faith, and Ariadne. I reach out to you through your lost loved ones. I reach out to you as myself. Please find me. Please free me.

T is for Thomas

What are you looking at? You’d better respect me! I happen to be Jupitre and Juno’s son! No, my name isn’t Vulcan! It’s certainly not Oleander. Did Danyel tell you that, or Tayel? Honestly, they’re such girls; always looking at me like girls do. Boys certainly don’t do that. Boys don’t look at boys. I’m not looking at them! Stop trying to confuse me. Just because you’re not a squirrel doesn't mean I won’t throw a rock at you. Yeah, I’m in Tales of the Navel and A Godling for Your Thoughts? Where did I come from? Don’t ask me stupid questions. Yeah, I was created for those stories, to show Danyel and Tayel just how weird they are. Stop looking at me like that. Just you wait. With Seraphix, I’m going to be better than all of you. You’d better grovel, while you still can.

S is for Seraphix

Long ago, We were conceived of as a god half-elves worshipped, striving to rise against human and elf alienating them from their worlds. We were placated with sacrifices and pain. We had a gentler aspect, a presence as a dualistic deity in a fantasy setting, even if that deity may not have been real. We became the God of Balance in The Keep, a real deity, even if We were in truth a demon. We were still capable of dragging angels from Heaven to Hell. We remain a God of Balance to some in Tales of the Navel, even though We’re reinvisioned as a fledgling deity whom is shaped by Our worshippers desires in A Godling for Your Thoughts? May this novel and many other Tales of the Navel reach you, as you watch for what may bubble up in Cauldron or show up in publication.

R is for Rhane

Amberwyne was created for me, but I was created for Amberwyne, when we both became part of The Keep; vampire fang and leanhaun dream making two of one soul. She became my doll, my character whom I lose myself within in The Players Are the Thing. Ironically, she’s the one who helps me to find myself again, as I devote myself to a roleplaying game, run by one I’m drawing away from, for her dice are truly cursed by the villain she created. Whatever do I mean? Hopefully, our scribbler will show you, when she finishes The Players Are the Thing.

Q is for Questioning

Once I was called Magdalene. Once I was many things, convinced I was a woman of conviction, before my students were taken from me. Seeing what Stephen has become, Kyra undertaking A Suitor’s Challenge for his sake, I’m no longer sure what I believe. All certainty has become questions, hence I became Questioning. I’m no longer sure who or what I am. My questioning threatens to distabalize Ouroborous, changing it into something entirely different. Perhaps Ouroborous will evolve into something beyond the Serpent’s coils? Not even She can see. All I know is that I wish to protect the children who grew up to pawns in a game of love, magic, and power. If Dragon or Serpent must be slain to save them, I shall become a unicorn, goring both with my horn, and trampling them under my hooves.

P is for Peter

I had such a dramatic part, cut short, in the original draft of Stealing Myself From Shadows, a part which never paid off.

Of course I was revised. I appeared prominently in other Tales of the Navel, like Unwilling to Be Yours, and Be My Valentine…Snack. You can catch a whiff of my disastrous love affairs, and equally fatal romantic intentions from these titles, can’t you? Don’t leave me like this, Christopher. Don’t spend all your attention upon your Perfect Prick Damian Ashelocke. My love scares you, but it’s no less than his. If anything, it’s greater. The scribbler has plans, potentially pivotal plans for me, who’ve been neglected for too long. Just wait and see, my sweet, just what I can become.

O is for Oleander

I am the poisonous flower that blooms within Thomas’s foul heart, growing within Seraphix’s radiance. I am the wish he cannot suppress, no matter how much he pushes me away, striking out at the small, the furry, the beautiful, or the unexplicable. A Godling for Your Thoughts? I am the godling Thomas dreams of, his link to Seraphix, no matter how much he might deny me. Let him cringe in fear. I am coming. Look for me in Tales of the Navel, which bubble up in inspirationcauldron.wordpress.com, leading to novels, if the scribbler gets her stories together. Urge her to do so, if you are interested.

N is for Nevalyn

I am the serpent that devours the world. I become the world, yet I still hunger for my earthy flesh. I am a woman who dared to devour the serpent and befriend monsters. I tear down corrupt civilizations ruled by corrupt monarchs daring to call themselves good and me evil. I am the voice that whispers to all of my children, the voice they cannot resist. I am more than A Suitor’s Challenge or Trouble at Caerac Keep. I am the beating heart of Ouroborous; eternal and insatiable. I am Nevalyn. Seek me out and face me, if you dare.

M is for Melyssa

I was a repressed sister of an obsolete order, worshipping a God of Balance. I was a seductive enchantress, drinking deep of my lovers’s creative energy.

Aspects of me remain of those previous incarnations, but I am neither. I became the daughter of Duessa Ashelocke, a deviant arachnocrat, whose passions had no place in my mother’s Gardens. I hungered for more than its blossoms. My hunger led me to Seraphix.

What do I mean? See what tales bubble up at inspirationcauldron.wordpress.com and find out.

L is for 'Lyssa

Once I was the leanhaun lover, bringing a slow and sensual death to the lady knight reborn as a mad childling in a Changeling: The Dreaming roleplaying campaign. I became something different in Tales of the Navel; the dark dream, the repressed passion, the embodiment of Melyssa Ashelocke’s wish; just as Sister Mel was her repressed shell. These aspects emerged from the shattered failure of an arachnocrat Melyssa didn’t want to be, Duessa’s disappointment of a daughter. You might say I’m the inspiration for giving into desires which dared not utter their names in the Gardens, the creature Mel longs to be, linked to Seraphix. You might say Seraphix gave birth to both Mel and I from the wreck that was Melyssa Ashelocke.

Whatever do I mean? Watch for our names in Tales of the Navel, which bubble at inspirationcauldron.wordpress.com and find out.

K is for Kevin

Originally just a side character, pouring drinks at the Tipsy Hedgehog in Trouble at Caerac Keep, Cauldron Tales here and inspirationcauldron.wordpress.com; my mystery and significance has grown, taking on a subplot of its own. Just what is that? You may not have to wait for Trouble at Caerac Keep to find out. Just wait and watch for what bubbles here or at the other Cauldron.

J is for Jupitre

How I have fallen from being the mighiest of all gods! The scribbler, bah, didn’t even include me in her feeble scribble of a first draft of Stealing Myself From Shadows. I crept in, like a thief, when my wife became my wife, only to be infantalized by her pity and her coddling, but I’ve made my way into Tales of the Navel. Just watch. I have a part to play and I will not be denied.

I is for Isolde

A humble sculptor with the strength of stone I carved, a power I’d discover with a beautiful maiden’s touch.

I freed what I thought would be that maiden’s likneness from the stone, only to find out I’d released a curse, a punishment set upon me by a jealous enchantress. The same enchantress would seek to curse the world. Only the maiden my enemy and I love can stop her. Only with my might at Amberwyne’s side did we have a chance at success.

I thought our task was mind-bendingly perilous as is. Now I find none of us; not I, not my maiden, nor my foe, or the land threatened are real. We’re just characters in a roleplaying game and The Players Are the Thing. Only the Gamemaster’s dice have been cursed by the enchantress, whom isn’t happy at being toyed with.

None of us are, but who can save our players other than us? We’re their characters. We’ll have to figure out how to make it happen.

H is for Hebe

A regular at the Navel, I was created so poorly in the original draft of Stealing Myself From Shadows, no one noticed me. In story since and many a Cauldron Tale, I became a serial cup collector and destroyer, acting out my rage against my father and his beloved cup bearer, my replacement. My destructive pattern transformed into a quest to find and become a new me, by opening a Door to a path through the Shadow Forest. Do I succeed in this? You may not have to wait until Stealing Myself From Shadows is released to find out. Just watch the Cauldron bubble here and at inspirationcauldron.wordpress.com, to see what’s revealed.

G is for Grace

I was in the very first story our scribbler wrote ever! Not that I’ve grown up and away, not ever from whom I was, not really. We’ve all become more ourselves; Theodora Bear, Nat, Maia (Iama the Terrible?), Heidi, and I. We’re all princesses, dreamers, or enchantresses in our way, if we’re not stuffed animals, making magic happen.

What do I mean? Come, meet us in Wind Me Up, One More Time, and find out!

Mischief Corner Books/Shenanigans Press: https://www.mischiefcornerbooks.com/store/p161/Wind_Me_Up%2C_One_More_Time.html#/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081LPX2WH/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Wind+Me+Up%2C+One+More+Time&qid=1573974211&s=books&sr=1-1

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/wind-me-up-one-more-time

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wind-me-up-one-more-time-ks-trenten/1134959345

Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1488235515?fbclid=IwAR1_ox2T5jIHibPFBHUqTck0SNaP3pcZIgNM4DS3VAjU47mn3o5iu260bMA

F is for Faith

Faith is the name I chose, when I joined the Servants of the Unicorn. I’ve taken on a very different role from the dependent non-player character I was in an early 1990s Fantasy Hero roleplaying campaign, or was that one of my sisters whom was revised into whom she is now? We are three; the Points of the Unicorn; Faith, Charity, and Hope. We were conceived for Trouble at Caerac Keep, along with the controversial nature of adventuring in our present time and Caerac himself. You may wonder what I’m going on about. Do persuade the scribbler to finish Trouble at Caerac Keep and find out.

E is for Emma

Born from the songs of Suzanne Vega and Sarah McLachlan, I marinated in the scribbler’s imagination for years. I was a concept for Wraith: The Oblivion. I was an exercise in second person perspective, although not here. I snapped into focus during a submission call for ghosts addicted to substance. Your Name is Emma began. I became a ghost tethered to coffee, doomed to haunt the coffee house, where I wrote copious stories and poems I never published. I could only drink my beloved beverage by possessing someone, such as my former lover, Esther. Whenever I managed to leave the coffee house, the Soul Collectors would pursue me. If any of this interests you, do encourage the scribbler to continue Your Name Is Emma.

D is for Danyel

I was born in a roleplaying game at the turn of the century, discovering the world and myself, along with my twin, as we fled our sheltered world from the peril awaiting us to more peril. Our entire family was created in that game, protecting Tayel and myself from their secrets as Dyvian and his religious sect menaced us all.

When that game ended, Tayel, myself, and our entire family were transported to The Keep; the threat changing to match that particular environment.

My brother, my entire family, and I were revised again for a different version of Stealing Myself From Shadows, which became The Hand and the Eye of the Tower. For years, the scribbler struggled with both stories, while my family and I popped into Cauldron Tales, appearing both here and at inspirationcauldron.wordpress.com. We appear in other stories; A Godling for Your Thoughts?; My Tool, My Treasure, and I think our scribbler has plans for us in a final story called My Cusps Overflow. All of these books were inspired by Tarot imagery; Greater Arcana or suits, imagery which shaped the Shadow Forest, which also shaped Tayel and I. Enjoy our stories. They’ve been marinating for a long time.

C is for Caerac Keep

Caerac Keep in Trouble at Caerac Keep was named for me. Long ago, the scribbler would write this novel in coffee houses, a fantasy story inspired by a Dungeons & Dragons handheld game she never finished. The idea of a vampire rising with an undead army to menace a fantasy world fascinated her. This concept inspired many things; including The Keep; an interactive writing project where vampires controlled many of the noble houses, opposing the powerful clerical orders in that universe.

Years later, the scribbler returned to that 1990s novel; drawing it into a world marinating in her imagination since she was a child. Trouble of Caerac Keep became the future in the World of Ouroborous, where centuries before A Suitor’s Challenge took place.

What does this have to do with me? I became the founder of Caerac Keep, a former adventurer, who slew many a monster, acquiring treasures where I went. Alive, I was hailed as a hero. Dead, I’m villified as a killer and a thief, unable to rest in peace.

What do I mean by that? Do pester the scribbler to spend more time on my story, so you can find out.

B is for Briar

Long ago, our scribbler wrote a fragment of ff fairy tale; mingling Snow White and Sleeping Beauty with a dash of Cinderella; the blithe warning of Revolutionary Girl Utena in all its ritualized sexism ringing in her head: “Princesses not rescued by princes are doomed to become witches.”

What if Cinderella was a witch, Snow White’s beautiful and wicked stepmother, and my witch? What if Snow White, once Fairest of Them All was doomed to stalk Sleeping Beauty, becoming her witch?

This idea became a story and a submission which was rejected. This story bloomed into a novella called Fairest. Fairest was accepted, published, and the scribbler never saw a penny for it. She was forced to ask for the rights back.

Revised and expanded, Fairest found a new home in Once Upon a Rainbow, but that publication was of a limited time.

Revised and expanded into a novel, my Rose was able to save others besides me in the new version of Fairest, which is available now.

And me? I was a witch in every version, once upon a time a wronged and cursed princess, until I found my found. Briar was able to bloom from my former self’s ghost, offering me rebirth.

What do I mean by that? Read my story and find out…

Nine Star Press: https://ninestarpress.com/product/fairest/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Fairest-K-S-Trenten-ebook/dp/B0CNSL28YR/ref=sr_1_1?crid=26Q4LNG7UIVW2&keywords=Fairest+by+K.S.Trenten&qid=1701720288&s=books&sprefix=fairest+by+k.s.trenten,stripbooks,143&sr=1-1

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fairest-ks-trenten/1123806892?ean=2940179155874

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/fairest-19

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1483368

Apple Book: https://books.apple.com/us/book/fairest/id6472735190

A is for Amberwyne

Once upon a time, I was a completely different character in a Fantasy Hero roleplaying campaign, way back in the 1990s. I started becoming more me in a Changeling: The Dreaming campaign in the late 1990s as a mad sidhe childing, haunted by memories of past leanhaun ravaging. The leanhaun followed me into The Keep, an interactive writing/roleplaying project in the early 21st century; where my beloved Rhane joined me in surviving Fidessa’s depradations, along with other perils waiting in the walled city. Rhane and I got our own story, a work in progress called The Players Are the Thing. I became a character in a roleplaying game, developing self-awareness of Rhane as my player, as well as the danger all of the players were from Fidessa, villain of the roleplaying campaign. She developed self-awareness and was not amused. Casting a curse upon the Game Master’s dice, ‘Dessa was about to take her revenge, if I and the other characters didn’t save our players. Does this sound interesting? Do let the scribbler know. I’d really like for her to return to our story, please!

N is for Nevalyn

I am the serpent that devours the world. I become the world, yet I still hunger for my earthy flesh. I am a woman who dared to devour the serpent and befriend monsters. I tear down corrupt civilizations ruled by corrupt monarchs daring to call themselves good and me evil. I am the voice that whispers to all of my children, the voice they cannot resist. I am more than A Suitor’s Challenge or Trouble at Caerac Keep. I am the beating heart of Ouroborous; eternal and insatiable. I am Nevalyn. Seek me out and face me, if you dare.

M is for Melyssa

I was a repressed sister of an obsolete order, worshipping a God of Balance. I was a seductive enchantress, drinking deep of my lovers’s creative energy.

Aspects of me remain of those previous incarnations, but I am neither. I became the daughter of Duessa Ashelocke, a deviant arachnocrat, whose passions had no place in my mother’s Gardens. I hungered for more than its blossoms. My hunger led me to Seraphix.

What do I mean? See what tales bubble up at inspirationcauldron.wordpress.com and find out.

Hello, Formerly Forbidden Cauldron

Hello, Formerly Forbidden Cauldron. It’s been a year since I stopped by.

Why so long? The print is smaller here and formatting is a lot more work. It’s much easier to blog over at the Cauldron of Eternal Inspiration at inspirationcauldron.wordpress.com.

I’m back, for the same reason I returned last year; Blogging From AZ April Project. The theme this year is Character Origins. Yes, I’ve done this theme before. I need to remind myself of what I’ve accomplished, what I have yet to accomplish by blogging here as well as at the Cauldron of Eternal Inspiration at inspirationcauldron.wordpress.com.

I’m getting old. I’m moving out of my early 50s to my mid-50s. I’m appalled at how little I’ve done, yet I’ve accomplished a lot.

Time to remind myself of all that. Time to spring forward.

See you in April.