Cajek Veilwinter

“Dark and Shifting Mists” by Cajek Veilwinter

The golden fields of Hearthmere stretched endlessly under the summer sun, a gentle breeze making the stalks of wheat ripple like an ocean of gold. In the heart of the village - among cottages with thatched roofs and bustling burrows - a small hare dashed between the wooden fences, a grin spread across his young face. “Callithin, slow down!” an older hare called, balancing a sack of flour over his shoulder. “If you knock over the baker’s wife again, she’ll have you peeling turnips for a week!” Callithin only laughed, skidding to a stop just b...

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“The Rain in Vulane” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #288

The rain in Vulane never stops,Dripping down in silver drops.It hums on rooftops, taps on glass,And whispers lore as it falls past. Even in the ancient days, the place that was now known as Vulane had been cursed - or enchanted - with continual rainfall. In the deepest, subterranean parts of the aqueduct there were cave scrawlings of creatures in the rain, scurrying for shelter or hunting large game. The environment made it perfect for stone fruits, grapes, large produce, and rice. Grain was a little harder to come by, but Vulane - in i...

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“Shadow and Mist” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #286

Writing the letters to his parents and his sister - the one that would understand - was difficult enough. Packing his backpack with his favorite books and laptop - ready to be destroyed - made the fur under his college uniform prickle and sprout like a horrified feline’s. Szal Veilwinter, though, was a fox... and he had to make the scene look perfect: Like he expected to return to his dorm room and his college life. Like he was merely going home for the weekend. Like there was nothing wrong. He had to let go, he told himself. It shall be all...

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“Blood on Golden Wings” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #284

The Silent Harp was a remarkably well-built inn and tavern for such an out of the way location. Settled at the edge of the Altarhome Forest - enchanted with holy magicks - the two-story wood-and-brick structure was seemingly out of place in the wilderness. Aside from the trickle of pilgrims making their way to Altarhome Temple, very few travelers actually made it to the Harp’s sturdy hearth and spacious living quarters.  ...Except for the coming holy days of Tyr, the God of Justice - who called Altarhome his central shrine and holy site...

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“Fog-Drenched and Nameless” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #282

The hare stood at the edge of the Fogs District, gripping his holy staff with a trembling paw. Brother Callithin was fresh from the ivory spires of the Tyrian Church and had just gotten off the slowboat to Vulane that morning... or was it night?The staff in his paw glowed with a comforting golden light, casting the narrow street ahead in pale, flickering light. “Tyr’s holy blessing,” they had called it at the Temple, where priests assured him the Light of Justice would guide and protect him. But here in Vulane, the light seemed faint, swallo...

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“An Overcoat, a Flask, and a Crossbow” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #281

The sidestreets of Vulane were a tangled web of alleys and forgotten passages, a perfect maze for those who thrived in the shadows. Here, amidst the flickering glow of lanterns and the distant hum of the city’s opulent districts, sat a modest office between a baker and below an apothecary. The worn wooden slab above the door simply read:  “Uresh Greystone: Investigator.” Being an investigator in the City of Lies was like being a captain on a ship that had already sunk three times. Uresh was busy relighting candles in his shop when he st...

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“The Library of Profanity and the Palace of Shadows” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #280

“...To have acquired this place you must be both cunning and rich. A rare combination, though not an impossible one.”“I appreciate the flattery. What is your name, sir?”“Mortimer, my lord.”“I see that this place is windowless. You have been here for... how many decades?”“Four I believe, my lord: ever since I was a teenager. And are you here alone?”“My sister and my wife live with me in the floor above. I appreciate that you did not ask my name. Your last name must be ‘Discretion.’”“I generally do not ask the name of the persons who step out ...

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“Letters from Nowhere” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #279

The huge, palace-like Interpol office in Lyon was well lit. On the outside, the stark columns and shadows made it appear well ordered, but that night there was disorder within. Director Ranjit was spending another night in his usually austere office, trying to string together the breadcrumbs that his crafty opponent had left for him. The hulking tiger’s office was cluttered with maps, dossiers, coffee cups, cyphers - both broken and unbroken - and dominated by a picture of the fox he was hunting, tacked to a billboard and looking on the scen...

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“Old Friends Under Shrouds” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #274

The night fell like a heavy curtain over the Coins district in New Nottingham. The Coins - once the wealthiest place in the world - had fallen into disrepair as the war with Veilwinter had entered its tenth year. The statues of legendary badger kings and rabbit deities who were supposedly the protectors of New Nottingham were now falling into disrepair: their copper fading and chipped in a mockery of what was happening outside.  Farah the renowned ferret thief flitted among the betting tables of The Last Drop, The Coin’s finest speakeas...

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“Only Visible in Moonlight” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #271

Detective Skreet Snickertooth picked up the bottle of new whiskey that he was currently indulging in and examined the label against the night sky. His long rattail flicked as he rested his furry brown head on his knuckles as a mysterious new record turned in the dark corner of his private eye office. It was dark and rainy outside, making the air fresh as it danced into his forgotten room. “Sade Mountain Whiskey,” he slurred, leaning in his leather chair. “Barrel aged. And look at that...” he said, turning the nearly empty bottle towards the ...

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“A Little Soup and Sorrow” by Cajek Veilwinter

Selthia and her companion sat in the corner of the dimly lit inn, her dark fur and long brush streaked with mud from weeks of travel. The fire in the hearth crackled softly, casting long shadows on the rustic wooden walls of the remote village tavern. Her once-ornate cloak - embroidered with the fine silver thread of her lineage - was now threadbare, its brilliance dulled by the harsh wilderness and the weight of the past. The jackal sitting across from Selthia was a few years older than her, and was well armed with a magical staff lean...

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“The Owl's Nest” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #268

Doctor Antigone ‘Alti’ Foxglove had left the last package delivered to her small but well-appointed manor for last. On the walls hung long-lost antiquities and pieces of puzzles and long-lost languages that she was currently deciphering. She had received several relics from her last trip to Iran wrapped specially for her but the last box was from an address she didn’t recognize.The Dean of Varunkirk University’s Archeology and Antiquities department had set the ancient tablets on one of her many desks next to a few of her reference books on ...

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“Hope in the Abyss” by Cajek Veilwinter

The young creature sought shelter against a huge rocky outcrop against the starless sky as the wind - strong enough to rip the fur off a less clever creature - ravaged the endless wastes. Lightning once more erupted across the starless sky in an unnatural red, forking aberration as thunder ripped in a wave to her long, sensitive ears. She knew she had found the desolate place beyond the end of her short journey before, and now... how long would this new journey last? Around her were the ruins of unknown beings - the shattered remains of some...

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“Curse of the Six-Fingered Hand” by Cajek Veilwinter

For part 1, read https://veilwinter.com/f/shadows-in-the-darkroom  After seeing the mysterious six-fingered hand in the bus station depot locker, Amber disappeared for a few days. To get his mind off of things, Danny had been turning in photo after photo of various suspects in the huge cheating ring that Amber - and the administration - had been looking for for two years. Catching the cheating ring had been something of a mission for them ever since their first year in Varunkirk University. Like all investigations it took time: time the...

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“The Wolf-Stag” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #255

The wolf skull in the abandoned mine was sitting atop a rock. The skull itself was covered in spiderwebs and lit by the blue, bioluminescent bacteria that was hanging down in thin strands from the ceiling a few meters above it. Strangely, the wolf skull had very large antlers as well which were also dripping in cobwebs and bioluminescent bacteria. The walls of the cave were a deep, inky black: so black and smooth that it reflected the lights of the bacteria back and gave the place a neon-blue hue that permeated everything in it - including t...

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