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DELYRIUM BEING THE FIRST OF THREE VOLUMES ANTHONY A. ANDERSON _______________________________________________________________________   Across the outer realms our shadows dance, Unfettered by those grim bonds of here and now, To that ephemeral place where souls...

Ӂ I came to this place, But I know not how. What is this edge of the world and whither does it lie?  Edge? I think not. Are we carried over its rigid limit into the firmament beyond? No! Instead it clutches at our very bowels and would drag us down, Constrained by an...

The ornate craft approached even as they descended the winding stairway. Its color was difficult to discern in the flickering light, its tiny form less so. A high sinuous prow scythed through the placid waters of the lake before coming to an abrupt halt, allowing the...

Frithya’s pale eyes were moist as she stood at the tip of the long wooden jetty that snaked out into the estuary. Earlier in the day the sky had been a vivid blue but now the Wetlands were shrouded in their habitual drizzle and with it a numbing melancholia had settled upon her. She rarely questioned such debilitating bouts any more, preferring just to let them run their course, but her companions had long since abandoned her there, knowing better than to intrude upon her musings at such times.

Already fine red particles were beginning to drift down through the upper atmosphere. Down they fell, with ever increasing intensity, until even the ubiquitous ocean strained to mask their insidious presence. The multitude of small islands scattered haphazardly...

It was dawn and a spectacular one at that. Just off the Snake’s Mouth where the mighty Osira relieved itself into the Outer Seas, a Skalian war galley was coasting back and forth, in and out. Out, but rarely further than the protective shroud of the Stone. Beyond that...

Upon passing through the main gates of the citadel a sprawling courtyard was encountered, flanked on either side by the uppermost levels of the palace. An inquisitive eye though would be transported directly across the courtyard, transfixed by the angular grimness of...

Outside the realm of the Stone, all was chaos. A constant rain of gravel now tore at the surface of the sea, while patches of fiery naphtha scorched it and burned upon it. In response, the sea boiled and raged and great bodies of water began to build. Far, far...

Men in shining armor looked down derisively from the battlements of Haan’s Wall. Every now and again an archer would loose a nonchalant arrow at the packed body of galleys below, never bothering to follow the flight and see where it might strike. Time and again,...

At the head of the track and the foot of the rock face stood a giant pine. It marked the top of the tree line. As the gentle music of the wind whistled through the ravines and gullies far above, its branches swayed in harmony. Krul noticed none of this as snow and...

A shudder ran the length of the Kraken as she docked, portside on against the quay. The helmsman hiccupped and nervously felt at the near-empty bottle of raquirri concealed within his jerkin. Shamul sighed resignedly and watched as the ropes were made secure, fore and...

What then were these shapes that lay out in the bay leaching power from the ponderous waves as they thundered in to journey’s end upon this septic stretch of Khanju’s western shores? Nature would surely have balked at the creation of so many identical forms in such a...

They emerged under an oppressive late evening sky and rain was already starting to fall heavily. Anyone other than Ravenkar would have been alarmed by yet another impromptu gathering of storm clouds above the Ultima’s head, but the old Khir shaman had witnessed much...

Krul’s eyes took in the sparse tree line immediately below and swept slowly down over the rubble-strewn valley sides before coming to rest on a small pool basking on the scree-covered floor. From the enemy’s perspective, passage to either side of the pool and up the...

The scent of burning wood was now apparent to Chemalak as he worked his way stealthily down the valley slope, keeping the swollen stream between himself and the Khâlian encampment. He had elected to make this foray alone, suspecting that even his supreme talents in...

The verse was no more. Only the “K” remained, imprisoned by blackness and the halo of a viridian sun. And even that image was not constant. Ravenkar reflected on this as he delicately traced his fingertips across the cover. Was this metal beneath his tentative touch?...

Azrahôtep grabbed at Hûn as he blundered past towards the mouth of the tunnel and the bridge beyond. ‘Have a care, son of my emperor! I would advise you to tread carefully. I fear these simmering green pools are not without menace.’ The demon of the Gangja had been...

Fueled by a relentless engine and plowing an immutable furrow through the cold reaches of space, the Hellion flew on. Its preordained path had brought it once again within the cloying grip of the shimmering orb. Vague recollections stirred within its roiling gaseous...

Age had almost ceased to be a concept to them. The distillation of that which they had once been skulked beneath malleable force fields and sinuous synthetic epidermises. Virtually liberated from the task of survival and the burden of self aggrandizement, they had...

Silence. And darkness. But such a darkness! Not the darkness that scurries under a moonless sky nor even that which resides at the torn edges of the universe. This darkness was tangible. It flooded into every nook, into every cavity and scoured every crevice. It...

Dusk, but no stars were visible. Two figures traversed the palace courtyard leaving deep footprints in their wake. Their cloaks were drawn tightly about them and their identities impossible to ascertain for their features were completely enclosed within ample hoods. ...

Rain slanted down across the dark timbers of the deck but the exhausted crew scarcely noticed. It had been just past noon when they cleared the harbor walls of Djebal Doron and they had been rowing ever since, finding it increasingly difficult to make headway against...

They had sought refuge in Gagammudrak during the tumult, far beneath the raging surface, joined as one, plotting their return. As storms waned they had risen with evil intent through her spiraling splendors and then turned toward Isladoron like a malevolent tide.The...