John Werner

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2021

Stories (21)

21 Stories

507 karma pts

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“Spiritsong: A Legacy of Chaos Story” by John Werner

Submitted to Contest #199

Spiritsong “Do you have the coin?” The question hung in the air, sweetly asked but cruelly intended. “I have it,” Tomi replied. This was the game. The Black Tigers had not risen to the height of the Laertian underworld by allowing even the littlest fish to escape the net. Tomi was under no illusions, he was indeed the littlest fish and to survive he must feed this larger one. “I need to keep five copper.” He said plaintively. “You understand?” The black-clad ruffian held out his gloved hand, curling his fingers in unison towards hi...

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“Something New” by John Werner

Submitted to Contest #198

Something NewI was not enthusiastic about the day I had ahead of me. It had been six months since I had officially retired from teaching and in that time I had grown accustomed to not doing very much of anything. I was retired, after all. And, retirement was a time when all you had was time and no pressing matters to occupy it. At least not pressing work matters, and I had always found that other concerns were not really all that concerning.Near the end, I had found the whole ordeal exhausting. It was impossible to attend to my daily du...

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“Scars: A Legacy of Chaos Story” by John Werner

Submitted to Contest #197

Scars Axus Stormbringer, Prince of Illionian Merkander, Champion of the Arenas on the Coast of Jormungand, Royal Bard of the Kingdom of Cthohr, Defender of the Tower of the Continuum, and Champion of Necra sat flexing the scarred ruins of his sword hand. It had been nearly a season since the Battle of Everfrost but he was still nursing the injury. His forefinger traced the angry red scars along the dark skin on the back of his hand. He winced remembering the searing pain as the blade of his sword was liquified in his grip. He had been so...

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“Little Choices” by John Werner

Submitted to Contest #196

Little Choices The alarm. The groan of the day's first effort. The shuffling scrape of bare feet against the hardwood floor. The flush of the toilet. The washing of hands. The brushing of teeth. This was the easy part. The routine. These small comforting steps I take towards motivation. When I say motivation, I mean coffee. But there is a lot to do between this and coffee. The squeal of the sliding closet door upon its old and dry paint clogged tracks comes to the predictable thumping halt as I push it har...

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“One Unread Message” by John Werner

Submitted to Contest #195

"Why did you bring him here? Why did you bring him to me?" He said, dropping the phone upon the desk.Valid questions. I have to admit that there is never a good time to show up with a body close to death and a hope that it be ushered back to life."Who is this? Why didn't you let the professionals handle it?"More valid questions."I need you to restore this boy.""He obviously needs help. But, there are people who do this. I am not one of them. This is not what I do.""Yet.""What?""This is not what you do yet.""What the hell am I supposed to do?...

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“The Prince of Spades” by John Werner

Submitted to Contest #130

The Prince of Spades The quiet tap of the cards stirred me from my own mind and memories. The shuffle-tap, shuffle-tap I had heard so many times before had become so commonplace that it was soothing. It evoked the same feelings as a warm blanket smelling of home or of the warmth of a hand entwined with mine. I looked up and smiled. The Prince of Spades had played me many times. Sometimes I won. Sometimes he won. But there was always a prize to be won and always a price to be paid. His thin smile stretched the saggy skin of his jowls so t...

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Author bio

Writing since forever. Improving day by day. I have never had a group of critical friends with which to share, so thank you fellow Reedsyans! I look forward to reading your work, receiving your feedback, and growing through our shared journey! Email: wernerjohn73@gmail.com If you've read my work and would care to see more, please follow the link below. https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Chaos-Everfrost-John-Werner/dp/1505263980 Happy writing and good reading to you all!