Stories from the Little Ocean

A collection of stories set in a warmer, post-apocalyptic Arctic fringe. Europe, Russia, China and Japan had long fallen, and have joined the Sumerians and Romans in the list of ancient and legendary kingdoms. Their descendants live on and now populate the coast of the Little Ocean, from Lapland to Dudinka, from the Westfjords to the Diomedan Isles; and from Nanortalik to Inuvik, all through the Canadian Archipelago. Here are some stories (sketches, really) that I have spun out from their very varied situations.

2009, Oct 29: The Skeptic King - Aigin is accidentally proclaimed King by superstitious folk
2009, Dec 26: Hanilnaro - Hanilnaro becomes a free man and a swashbuckling villain
2012, Dec 16: The Light-Wand - the dangers of technology in the hands of the ignorant
2014, Feb 1: Wisdom of the Ancients - where the fate of the ancient world is discussed
2015, Dec 26: A Folktale told in the Winter Solstice - religion in the Palearctic nations
2016, Sep 11: Amatodate - a community of warrior monks in the Putorana Plateau
2017, Jul 13: The Demon of Krasnoyarsk - a great capital city is destroyed in a flood
2017, Jul 14: Idiot Son - a mentally-challenged man saves his neighbours from slaughter
2017, Aug 11: Parmiakert - Elena escapes a massacre by a miraculous intervention
2017, Aug 13: Haji Thexeira - The Lady appears in the bard's dreams near Miriamyurt
2017, Aug 28: Lisbeta Griadina - Lady Ershebet makes the most out of a short life
2019, Feb 21: Miracle Child - A mysterious child confounds the enemies of the abbey
2019, Apr 19: Arkadius - The Haji ponders being a survivor of the tragedies of war
2019, Aug 25: Abbé Musa - Sister Irannika Yasin recounts a nightmare, and is consoled
2019, Sep 7: Irannika Yasin - Sister Irannika Yasin goes the way of the Prophet Elijah
2019, Oct 27: Nyland och Österbotten - The abbey's theology is put against the pagans'
2019, Nov 16: Halep and Niwa - Two men of faith forge a friendship with debate
2019, Dec 1: Galimjan - Galimjan remembers the raid, and how his brother had died
2019, Dec 9: The Aspag - A failed seminarian makes his way home with extreme difficulty
2019, Dec 17: Olivia Hutanonoyong - The feisty Olivia is adored by fawning princes
2020, Feb 2: Notes on Amatodate - [letter] A big picture is emerging
2020, Feb 13: A comment on Musa Abisheganaden, Abbot - [letter] The Abbot's story
2020, Apr 11: Batukhan - Batukhan meets his old adversary, and flaunts his victory

2020, May 17: The Flight of the Palace Women - Irannika revels in the thingness of things
2020, Jun 7: The Haji's Tall Tales - The Haji teaches science and history with wild stories
2020, Jun 19: Saimonhyo - Musa rescues an agrarian village from a death cult
2020, Jul 1: Romance of the Three Oblasts - Overview of the plot line, again.

2020, Aug 19: The Day's Battles - Some things people go through every day at the Abbey

2020, Sep 24: The Kidnapper - The Abbot meets his old friend, now an infernal demon.

2020, Nov 28: The Stone-Father - Chrysanthi remembers her father with an unusual tool