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  • casting runes — 04may26

    04May26 | 14.22 CDT
    © 2026

    michael raven

    c: 260504.1422
    eihwaz
    head to mud
    feet to sky
    hanging for hanging
    save for the pierce
    and an eye

    A rune poem, based on an Elder Futhark rune selected at random.

    Today’s rune is eihwaz, it’s name meaning “yew”, is a rune of change and transformation. It represents the cycle of life/death/rebirth and is symbolic of the axis mundi (the world tree). The yew is envisioned as a path towards both the underworld and the heavenly realms. Eihwaz is frequently associated both with poison and protection as part of its perceived dual nature.

    Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.

    tagged:

    eihwaz, poetry, rewilding, rune

    filed under:

    poetry
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    casting runes — 04may26

  • Ep 5.3 of VMH has gone live

    04May26 | 12.01 CDT
    © 2026

    michael raven

    c: 260504.1201
    start readingVengeance, My Heart

    The Argument:
    Pointed questions asked.
    Answers delivered in lead.
    Another spent returned to the deck.


    Episode 5.3 of Vengeance, My Heart (episode link), my serialized Sepulchral-Gothic Western novel, has now gone live at ravensweald.art.

    ❧

    The site is designed with reader-modifiable typographic elements so that you can adjust the experience to suit your needs. Click the sliders to the right of the content to adjust.

    If the sliders do not appear, be sure to “share” with a native browser or click the compass icon in WordPress Reader’s browser (which does not support the required JavaScript).

    tagged:

    ash & thorn, episodic fiction, gothic western, ravensweald.art, sepulchral western, serialized fiction, vengeance my heart, web novel, weird west

    filed under:

    Ash & Thorn — Vengeance, My Heart
    No comments on Ep 5.3 of VMH has gone live

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    Ep 5.3 of VMH has gone live

  • One of those writing about writing posts

    03May26 | 15.16 CDT
    © 2026

    michael raven

    c: 260503.1516

    As the story in Vengeance, My Heart shifts from setting tone and atmosphere to character evolution and development — and quite possibly as a result of changing focus from short, snappy bite sized pieces of the story and shifting over to giving the story more room to breathe — I’ve discovered more tolerance as the writer for longer episode fragments.

    My goal up through the end of Episode 5, was to make sure there was a targeted max word count for each fragment/part/sub-episode to finding in Episode 6 that character development doesn’t work so well with those kinds of metrics. I don’t think it is a significant spoiler to say it is about time to move to that tone/color-setting of the early episodes to dig down into the motivations and explain, in drip-feed fashion, the previously unexplained.

    (more…)

    tagged:

    designing for long-form reading, episodic fiction, forked site, ravensweald.art, site design, writing about writing

    filed under:

    Ash & Thorn — Vengeance, My Heart, writing
    4 comments on One of those writing about writing posts

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    One of those writing about writing posts

  • casting runes — 02may26

    02May26 | 18.36 CDT
    © 2026

    michael raven

    c: 260502.1836
    tiwaz
    it is for
    the lost & the freaks
    the crippled & the weak
    we stand stone strong
    sending flames to the sky
    we, too, rise tall and true

    A poem prompted by a randomly selected Elder Futhark rune.

    Today’s rune is tiwaz, which is named after the Norse god Týr, and the second weekday (Tuesday) is named for the god. According to Norse myth, Týr offers his right hand to the wolf Fenrir, who bites it off when he realizes the gods have used the offering to distract the wolf while they bind him. The rune is typically considered symbolic of honor, loyalty and justice, as well as of sacrifice. It may be representative of discipline and faith. Some interpretations have associated the rune with the North Star.

    Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.

    tagged:

    poetry, rewilding, rune, tiwaz

    filed under:

    poetry
    7 comments on casting runes — 02may26

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    casting runes — 02may26

  • gaol

    01May26 | 20.28 CDT
    © 2026

    michael raven

    c: 260501.2028
    performing empty theatre
    with my ghost mask on
    waiting for the cruelty
    to settle in, absurdity
    to set electric every fibre
    to awake every vibration
    shudder, we shake & fall
    curtain call to rise revenant
    again

    an ice to psyche &
    given to axe
    given to steel
    rising from stone to
    gaol the without, shadows
    playing in the dank
    while linger languishes
    absorbed & unknown

    tagged:

    poetry

    filed under:

    poetry
    2 comments on gaol

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    gaol

  • casting runes — 01may26

    01May26 | 13.55 CDT
    © 2026

    michael raven

    c: 260501.1355
    uruz
    stubborn enough to
    school the stones
    standing still
    on a drizzled morn
    shaggy & alone
    waiting waiting

    A rune poem, based on an Elder Futhark rune selected at random.

    Today’s rune is uruz. The rune is named after the now-extinct aurochs, a wild ox and has become associated with standing up to challenges, having both confidence and courage, stubborn tenacity, and boundless strength and health. Uruz is alternately associated with the more raw elements which include rain, primordial potential, and the slag/dross cast away during the making of iron.

    Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.

    tagged:

    poetry, rewilding, rune, uruz

    filed under:

    poetry
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    casting runes — 01may26

  • Episode 5.2 of VMH is live

    01May26 | 12.01 CDT
    © 2026

    michael raven

    c: 260501.1201

    In case you missed the fanfare, I have created a heavily modified installation of WordPress to host my longer, serialized fiction instead of posting it here.

    Vengeance, My Heart Episode 5.2 is now live at ravensweald.art — Please check it out over there if you were following my foray into Gothic-Sepulchral Western.

    The site is part proof of concept, part hypothesis test, and mostly designed around giving the reader a better experience than normally available via standard themes and via community plug-ins.

    I really encourage you to give it a spin, even if you don’t care for my brand of fiction. It is designed to give the reader some element of control over the reading experience itself (typography, paragraph spacing and layout, font size, line width, night/day appearances), and to test just how important it is (for me, at least) to receive immediate, conversational feedback via “likes” and interactive comments — or are those things a distraction from the reading/writing experience. On the backend, I have also focused on privacy-forward elements: removing stats and tracking cookies (that I can control), not maintaining a database of email addresses and comments (the guestbook should be one-and-done, no database entries other than, maybe, an IP address to put a cooldown on guestbook spam attacks; Cloudflare is part of the security and content delivery, but should not pose too many privacy issues). And it is zippy (rating >90 for mobile on speed tests, ~100 for desktop).

    Anyway, I’ve done rambled enough. Come on by and let me know how it went for you.

    tagged:

    ash & thorn, episodic fiction, gothic western, serialized fiction, vengeance my heart, web novel, weird west

    filed under:

    Ash & Thorn — Vengeance, My Heart, serial fiction
    17 comments on Episode 5.2 of VMH is live

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    Episode 5.2 of VMH is live

  • Ice cream man

    01May26 | 08.55 CDT
    © 2026

    michael raven

    c: 260501.0855
    It’s story time!

    Here’s another quick little bit of flash fiction in support of my friend, Jolene’s writing prompts. This one has the following four elements that should be included:

    1. driver of an ice cream truck
    2. competitive eater
    3. wrong side of the tracks
    4. stairs

    Enjoy.


    Dennis Marley sat on the stairs with their steep climb to the top of the hill, his destination within sight up where that hill crested. It was only a little more than a city’s block worth of climbing and he would finally arrive.

    There was only one problem. The truck.

    The damned truck.

    (more…)

    tagged:

    flash fiction, jolene rice prompt

    filed under:

    fiction
    13 comments on Ice cream man

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    Ice cream man

  • casting runes — 30apr26

    30Apr26 | 14.25 CDT
    © 2026

    michael raven

    c: 260430.1425
    eihwaz
    a turn around maypole
    rainbows tied of ribbon
    every pass a trade of smiles
    imagining their taste

    A rune poem, based on an Elder Futhark rune selected at random.

    Today’s rune is eihwaz, it’s name meaning “yew”, is a rune of change and transformation. It represents the cycle of life/death/rebirth and is symbolic of the axis mundi (the world tree). The yew is envisioned as a path towards both the underworld and the heavenly realms. Eihwaz is frequently associated both with poison and protection as part of its perceived dual nature.

    Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.

    tagged:

    eihwaz, poetry, rewilding, rune

    filed under:

    poetry
    3 comments on casting runes — 30apr26

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    casting runes — 30apr26

  • casting runes — 29apr26

    29Apr26 | 14.26 CDT
    © 2026

    michael raven

    c: 260429.1426
    algiz
    i point tine north
    i point tine cairn
    my banhus windshorn
    amble i, wander i
    chalked moors alone

    A rune poem, based on an Elder Futhark rune selected at random.

    Today’s rune is algiz, which may mean either “elk” (there is some uncertainty if this is the case) or yew (Old Norse). It is associated with the Otherworld, protection/sanctuary, and with guardian spirits/fylgja. The unconscious mind is also sometimes associated with algiz.

    Please visit my Elder Futhark pages at sceadugenga.com for additional interpretations of the runes based on multiple references and personal reflection.

    tagged:

    algiz, poetry, rewilding, rune

    filed under:

    poetry
    No comments on casting runes — 29apr26

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    casting runes — 29apr26

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