Cajek Veilwinter

“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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“Debauched and Delirious” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #254

One was only invited to the Obsidian Masquerade once in their life. The Masquerade itself was an endless affair, with several attendees spending portions of their interminable afterlives in attendance. Even in the city of Vulane, it was considered... less than appropriate... to attend.For the occasion, the young vixen Malina chose to embody the essence of the night sky, reflecting the eternal dance of stars and shadows that played out above Vulane on the streets above. Her dress was a flowing cascade of midnight blue silk, shimmering wi...

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“Sir Sinkrattle’s Reliquary and Verboratorium” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #251

Sylvia was on the fifth floor of “Sir Sinkrattle’s Reliquary and Verboratorium,” a bookstore in the Fog District. The building itself was very old, and the windows looked out onto the wet, cold, misty streets of Vulane below, where creatures with clandestine missions stepped gingerly on the cobblestones. Usually the store was empty, but she noticed a few female rats reading from the popular section, where the new batch of the Shadowclaw Chronicles - a series of mystery novels - had been deposited. From time to time, they surreptitiously...

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“Wall of Darkness” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #250

Cherryrose had tracked the lynx deep into the undercity, her heart racing with fear, excitement, and determination. It was a difficult chase. Vulane - the 'City of Secrets' - was a permanently damp city-state due to the enchanted skies. Each step Cherryrose took on the cobblestones was awkward and forced. The lynx would often check behind herself and take side streets randomly, a tactic common in ambush predators. Cherryrose - a new Tyrian cleric - used her long ears to follow the trail. She had noticed the lynx skittering past the temple on...

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“Shadows in the Darkroom” by Cajek Veilwinter

As Danny stared at the photo that was developing, a look of fear and confusion spread across his face. His hand shook as he touched the edges of the picture as it became clearer and clearer.Luckily, Danny’s darkroom was in a secluded part of Varunkirk university, behind the costume department’s closet, because when he sprinted out of it no one saw from whence he came... he thought.I’d better rethink where I keep my equipment, he thought to himself as he ran to the college newspaper office. It was after hours, but chief editor Amber was alway...

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“The Greatsword of Azura” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #242

Farah templed her fingers as she watched the two young creatures sitting across from each other at the little wooden table discuss their plan. The storm that usually dripped over the town of Vulane was raging that night, and thus the tavern was nearly vacant except for Farah, her two ‘protoges’ and the barkeep at the other end of the establishment - too busy cleaning glasses and getting drunk on his own supply to bother them. Farah - the renowned ferret thief - had only had one ale and she could barely follow what the other two were talking ...

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“Flickering Candles” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #238

Sneaking into the forbidden section of the library was a coming-of-age ritual for the dark art - and a few curious light art - students at the College of Elements. Very few - perhaps one student a year - could pass through the enchantments that had begun to grow over that part of the library as the centuries passed. Sniptide - a skilled stoat thief - motioned to her vulpine companion to follow through the hidden bookcase opening after she had checked it for traps.  Her vulpine companion had a reticent personality and jet black fur a...

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“A Small Abandoned Reality” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #236

Samantha had been at the same corner table of the greasy spoon since six in the morning. It was eleven twenty-three, post meridian, Pacific Time Zone. On the big, boxy television on the other side of the room was what Sam understood to be an “advertisement” for something. A lone figure with red, electric eyes and clad in leather emerges from the darkness as a deep-voiced narrator says, “In the twenty-first century, a weapon will be invented... like no other...” Suddenly, Sam was stirred from her reverie.  “Can I get you some mor...

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“Reedrascal's Astrolabe” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #232

The court astronomer of Vulane - Reedrascal the Calculating - was a distracted old ferret with a long white beard and goggles that his young student thought made his eyes look ridiculous.  Vulane itself was not ideal for an astronomer, as the ever-present, rain-filled clouds that filled the sky had themselves been... altered somehow. Reedrascal was going to get to the bottom of that: perhaps with tonight’s astronomical event. “I-I do not precisely understand, Professor,” a little voice said behind the ferret as he went from one huge...

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