Here is the full version of Marked By The Dragon. I’m sick, so I’m going to keep this one pretty short. See previous posts for more information about what this story was about. And join us in 2 weeks for the start of a brand new story! Next week I’ll talk about what the story is going to be. Check here to read on the site, or here to read on Goodreads.

As always, I hope you enjoy the story.

The Lands of Draknor is something that has been rolling around in my head for a very long time. I still remember the very first short story I wrote in that world. Ashthranh, mercenary for the Gods, and a murderous task. It was a very simplistic tale back then, written by a 16-year-old Sophomore in high school, but it started something much bigger. Over time that simple plot changed a great deal, but the main protagonist, Ashthran the Dryth, never did. Working on these podcasts, many of them being set at various periods in time in the world of Draknor, has really made me want to get back into the creation of this world. And so I think I will. I am getting close to finishing the final draft of The Forest Awakens, so I believe my assassin novel will have to be put off yet again to make way for something much more significant to me.

Check back next Tuesday for the full audio of Marked By The Dragon!

Here is the second and last half of Marked By The Dragon. Renier has begun his initiation ritual, but hasn’t yet realized what a struggle it will be. Will he have the strength to stand up to Nyxor? Or will the dragon find him unworthy? This is the conclusion of story #8. I’ve enjoyed dabbling in the world of Draknor more lately. Many of these tales take place in the world itself, but this is the first that is aligned to the time line of the actual series.

It looks we’ll be starting a new episode at the start of the New Year! That’s always fun. As always, I hope you enjoy the story. If you’d rather read the story, read it here on the site, or on Goodreads.

So, this is another attempt at publishing a new podcast! Tuesday had…some technical issues. Which, in other words, means I couldn’t even get on my own website. Tsk tsk. But the hosting company got it working late Tuesday night they said. I just had too much to do to get on yesterday. So it’s Thursday Night Stories this week! Yay!

Story 8 is actually a 1st draft of one chapter in my adult fantasy work in progress, The Lands of Draknor, and one of my favorite pieces. I’m calling this story Marked By The Dragon. This story tells of young Renier Matrala, Prince of Palsarrien. He has come to the Draknor kingdom to train and become a member of the Draknor Society. This is about his initiation ritual.

As always, thanks for joining us tonight. Sorry again about the delays. If you’d rather read it, it’ll be up on the podcast page and Goodreads soon.

Today is a very blah day in the Leonard household. I thought a little blog post about accomplishing the first of my 2010 goals would make me feel a little bit better. My super-nerd obsession with MUDs is the focus of today’s post.

I’ve told you guys about the little text-based online RPG I run, called Lands of Draknor. Well for the new year David (who is also the narrator for our podcast) and I decided on 3 big changes we wanted to add. The first, which we finished up this week, was a brand new creation system for characters. It’s very cool! I’ll post a screenshot soon and talk more about it!

Hopefully today ends up better than it has started. If anyone wants to try the game, we have a free client to play from!

I’m a big ‘ol dork if you guys haven’t noticed. But my nerdness is stretched to the extremes with the text-based RPG I run. Oh yes, I don’t just play it, I run it. The programming, the building, etc. It’s great fun, much more depth the a lot of other games even without graphics.

I’m definitely not the only dork in the barrel though. I have a few people that work with me on it. I’ve even corrupted Samantha to it. *gives an evil little laugh*

Well today we released David’s (who narrates my podcast stories) new MUD client that he wrote entirely in JAVA. It’s so incredibly cool! I had to brag it up, he’s gotta be the best programmer I know. He taught himself JAVA so he could make this thing. A very talented guy.