ravensweald

Ep. 0: Epigraph
29Mar26 | 12.00 CDT
© 2026
michael raven
c: 260329.1200
Vengeance is in my heart, death in my hand,
Blood and revenge are hammering in my head.
— William Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus
Drifter coming in
Never touching down, never leaving ground
A twilight world in which we roam
Still we don’t belong — Drift on.
— Siouxsie and the Banshees, Drifter
The first episode of new serialized gothic western by Michael Raven, Vengeance, My Heart, begins tomorrow.
Full episodes will typically span three to four posts. New story posts will drop approximately three times a week at 18:00 GMT (Noon CST/11:00 CDT); drop days may vary initially until an achievable rhythm can be established.
tagged:
episodic fiction, gothic western, ash & thorn, vengeance my heart, serialized fiction, epigram
filed under:
serial fiction, Ash & Thorn — Vengeance, My Heart
1 comment on Ep. 0: Epigraph
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Ep. 0: Epigraph

c: 260328.1826

we wore masks
walking file down
through forests still
& over speckled sills
carrying heart in
hands felted red

of wine cut knife
we joined wood
to limb and limb
our whispers their
own kind of din
to call our speckled kin

tagged:

betwixt and between, poetry

filed under:

poetry

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ritual slight

liminal spaces
27Mar26 | 17.51 CDT
© 2026
michael raven
c: 260327.1751
Photo by Wes Hicks on Unsplash
```
under lintel and menhir
to cross on the over
through grey dolmen to sea

i flint crimson to mantic
i print finger to snow
i stone with bare forehead
i press to the bone

sent to drift in the twixt
times veil rivers to blind
```
tagged:
betwixt and between, old ways, poetry
filed under:
poetry
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liminal spaces
casting runes — 27mar26
27Mar26 | 13.11 CDT
© 2026
michael raven
c: 260327.1311
laguz
```
is she she or is she crow?
her stillwaters gliding over
there is little enough divide
maybe a razor cutting shore
```
A poem prompted by a randomly selected Elder Futhark rune.
Today’s rune is laguz, which has a core meaning of “lake” and, by extension, may be interpreted as “river”, “ocean”, “sea”, “waterfall” or a general body of water. Some alternative interpretations define as “leek”. Following the more commonly accepted meaning, bodies of water were considered liminal spaces, a place between life and death or the threshold space between which spirit and substance resides. Laguz is often associated with feminine energies and journeys via water.
Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.
tagged:
rewilding, poetry, rune, laguz
filed under:
poetry
1 comment on casting runes — 27mar26
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casting runes — 27mar26

what else?

26Mar26 | 21.30 CDT

michael raven

c: 260326.2130

just leave me pinions pierced
leave me nailed to oak
leave ink welling up of soul --
what else am i here for?

shrieking mandrake dreams
barbed wire 'round my neck
leave me bound and sold --
what else am i here for?

tagged:

poetry, betwixt and between

filed under:

poetry

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what else?

SDPC Post-Mortem and Aftermath
26Mar26 | 13.57 CDT
© 2026
michael raven
c: 260326.1357
Image generated by Gemini, with direction by Michael Raven
Well, Miss Vivian Locke had gone back to her life of not dealing with exorcisms, divorces cases and whatnot. Back down into The Gills with it’s static rain and Cookie’s coffee. Mr. Cross is not what he might seem on the outside, but isn’t that always how it is?
I had fun writing Sunny Day Parasol Co., but I will readily admit that it went off in a direction I hadn’t anticipated when I started writing the story. In fact, I thought it had maybe 10,000 words and was solidly in the short story realm when I started. Turns out I was wrong at more than double that amount (~ 21,500 words, roughly 65 printed pages on A4 — for those who care about such things).
(more…)
tagged:
writing about writing, serial fiction, noir, vivian locke, occult noir, episodic fiction, sunny day parasol co., ash & thorn, vengeance my heart, post-mortem
filed under:
Vivian Locke Occult Noirs, serial fiction
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SDPC Post-Mortem and Aftermath
casting runes — 26mar26
26Mar26 | 10.48 CDT
© 2026
michael raven
c: 260326.1048
wunjo
```
all at face to her light
rising on the eastern reach
to feel her warmth
against my cheek
to turn to her return
```
A rune poem, based on an Elder Futhark rune selected at random.
Today’s rune is wunjo, which is translated as “joy” and has been interpreted in both the earthly sense as well as in spiritual ecstasy. It has been associated with healing (emotional, mental and interpersonal) and some sources connect the rune to luck, the act of making a wish, or applied will. Wunjo can also be the inspiration for creativity.
Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.
tagged:
rewilding, poetry, rune, wunjo
filed under:
poetry
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casting runes — 26mar26
Other Writers — A Writer’s Shindig
25Mar26 | 18.50 CDT
© 2026
michael raven
c: 260325.1850
Photo by Peter Herrmann on Unsplash
I should have been more on top of this, but recently my fellow writer Ted Wallenius (aka shredbobted) pulled together about a dozen writers to do some short story workshopping and cross-promotion. Six of them made it through the gauntlet (the other six, including myself, started but then a little then a little thing called “Life” got in the way for us). Those brave and creative souls were:
- Emily Amsel — Loss Part I, Part II & Part III
- Stephen Bent — Trees Grow Around Wire Part I, Part II & Part III
- Jeremy Miller — Corrections Part I, Part II & Part III
- Sarah Orr Aten — Smoke on the Water Part I & Part II
- Jolene Rice — An Oily Mess Part I, Part II & Part III
- Ted Wallenius — Strapped for Love Part I, Part II & Part III
If you are ever on the lookout for some talented writers and don’t have two pennies to rub together, you can probably find something worth reading from at least one of these six talented individuals. There’s a little romantic fantasy, a little body horror, a bit of absurdity crossed with action flick, several literature played straight pieces, and something I would call speculative fiction.
It’ll keep you busy for an afternoon, for sure.
(more…)
tagged:
writers supporting writers, other writers, short fiction
filed under:
reading
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Other Writers — A Writer’s Shindig
casting runes — 25mar26
25Mar26 | 12.59 CDT
© 2026
michael raven
c: 260325.1259
ingwaz
```
i draw on bonefires
burning shadow
from the long night
the dance mantic
against tall oaks
& selling dream
```
A rune poem, based on an Elder Futhark rune selected at random.
Today’s rune is ingwaz, a rune named after the god Ing or Freyr. It is representative of a channeled energy or transformational process. It is also be seen as the male component of life, and therefore a symbol of sexual passions and the contributed “seed” of life (and, therefore, an aspect of one’s ancestral ørlǫg, or fate/destiny). Some interpretations conceive the rune as a symbol of darkness, solitude or dreaming.
Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.
tagged:
rewilding, poetry, rune, ingwaz
filed under:
poetry
9 comments on casting runes — 25mar26
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casting runes — 25mar26
Epilogue
25Mar26 | 07.00 CDT
© 2026
michael raven
c: 260325.0700
an episodic Vivian Locke occult noir
Image generated by Gemini, with direction by Michael Raven
Sunny Day Parasol Co.
Epilogue
This is a serialized story. Start with Case File #1 here.
The Meridian Club had been a monument to high-stakes vice; now, it was just an open wound catching the city’s freezing rain. Red and blue police lights pulsed through the ruptured doorway, casting long, fractured shadows across the pulverized baccarat tables and the sea of abandoned chips.
In the dead center of the devastation, Cross stood up from the gray ash and dusted off his suit.
(more…)
tagged:
noir, prompted fiction, writing challenge, vivian locke, occult noir, hardboiled, episodic fiction, sunny day parasol co.
filed under:
Vivian Locke Occult Noirs, serial fiction
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Epilogue

Sunny Day Parasol Co.

Epilogue