Noah Aylward

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jan, 2023

Stories (8)

8 Stories

163 karma pts

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“The Fen Beast” by Noah Aylward

Submitted to Contest #221

The frigid night sky was alight with a living sheen of deep blues, sanguine crimsons, and greens as deep as the densest jungles of Lon Dar. In the silver moonlight, the snow pouring down in great torrents seemed to be of the finest powder, but not a speck of it fell upon the cowl of the sorcerer Yonar Helthris. In better days, Yonar Helthris had been a court magician to the emperor of Herud Hiti, but the coming of Mal Char-Nal had wrought an evil doom for the wizards of that city. Not with all their strength combined could they have put up e...

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“The Grave of Valerie Kovsky” by Noah Aylward

Submitted to Contest #216

I stepped out of my car and slammed the door behind me. The sky was a deep, bright blue with a few wisps of white cloud scattered throughout. The grass was full, thick, the same shade of green you see in fertilizer commercials, and probably due to be mowed soon. The air was silent, and I could feel the sun caressing my left cheek. I scanned the yard and picked out the tall oak tree, the same one my daughter was buried next to. I crossed the gate into the cemetery, stopped, thought I left the flowers in the car, and then realized I was holdin...

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“It Came From the Living Room” by Noah Aylward

Submitted to Contest #192

The day it happened, I'd slept in and gotten to work late. I'd been yelled at by the manager, yelled at by customers, and I'd forgotten to pack my lunch. On my way home, I'd been so tired I'd almost gotten into an accident. It would have been my fault, but the other guy had swerved out of my way, flipped me the bird, and sped away. By the time I got home, I was dead on arrival. Just done with the day, ready to pop a few too many melatonins and check out for the evening. Naturally, I wouldn't be able to do that. When I stepped into my living ...

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“The House that Wasn't Haunted” by Noah Aylward

Submitted to Contest #188

I got my first house for more than $10K under market value. The low asking price made my mother nag at me to get every inspection I could pay for, but after the home inspector, the termite inspector, the radon inspector, and the structural engineer all came back with clean bills of health on the property, even she had to admit I'd found a good deal. The seller, an older fellow named George, took my first offer without any haggling. He said he didn't have the energy to take care of the place anymore and just wanted it off his hands. We closed...

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“Speedwalk” by Noah Aylward

Submitted to Contest #186

I step out of my apartment, moving at a speedwalk. I try to hurry while locking the door behind me and in doing so fumble with the keys, costing me more time than I'd like. I know my commute like the back of my hand. I know at the rate I'm going, I'll be about one minute late to work. I also know if I drive like a crazy person, I can shorten my commute by about three minutes. I've got to try. It's not that I think anything bad will happen if I walk in a minute late, but I've already been late once this week and I know if it happens again eve...

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“The End of the War” by Noah Aylward

Submitted to Contest #184

The war was over. The struggle between the two great super-states of Arktis and Nirix had left the whole world scarred, diseased, and irradiated, but the war was over. Nirix was no more, and Arktis was now the United Earth. At long last, the whole human species was united under a single banner. Never again would a son be set against his father, nor a daughter against her mother. War would never again mar the planet Earth, except perhaps in small rebellions which the United Earth would easily crush. Peace with no end in sight had finally brok...

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“When the Hay'tisan Came” by Noah Aylward

Submitted to Contest #183

The hay'tisan were grey. Their skin was grey. Their hair was grey. Their eyes were grey. The fires they seemed to weave from thin air were not grey. The blazing destruction they scattered about the city with waves of their hands came in more colors than a hundred of the finest rugs Elsbet had ever sold. Elsbet would never sell a rug in Marsett again. A great ship with sails like crimson bat wings had made anchor in the harbor. Just one ship. The hay'tisan had thrown down their gangplank and come sprinting to the docks in eerie silence. Then,...

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“Ersksts'thulan” by Noah Aylward

Submitted to Contest #182

I am old, oh my master. Older than perhaps even you would believe. Of the lost continent on which I was born, or of the life I lived there, I can remember nothing. But I can remember when I remembered, and I know I was a mighty necromancer in my day. For seventy-five thousand years I lay dormant in the buried ruins of Herud Hiti, master-less and motionless until you found me. But it was two hundred thousand years ago when I perished in some nameless land which time has obscured from all memory, even my own. I have passed through many masters...

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Author bio

Just someone who writes things sometimes.