THE PENTARCA
SIXTY-FIVE FOLKTALES OF COURT INTRIGUE, CONFLICT AND TRICKERY, THE RECOVERY OF A STOLEN MANUSCRIPT AND A SECRET THAT HAS EXISTED FOR CENTURIES.
In our own world, knowledge of the five realms has taken the form of heavens and hells, thousands of years of paradise and underworlds occupied by gods, demons and the souls of the dead. Religious belief, myths and legends, all of them claiming to be the truth, none of them quite accurate. . .
Until a secret manuscript is stolen from a monastery in England, the Pentarca, a book describing the true nature of this other world.
The theft of the manuscript is told to us by the Narrator. Short stories that introduce each realm.
In each realm our guide is Sizma, a young satyr, ambitious, clever and more than capable of dealing with the whims and demands of the demigods she comes to serve.
LET THE SAGA BEGIN
THE NARRATOR 1
PART 1 - ATYMOS
Sizma is the Royal Chamberlain in the court of Atymos, a vain and impetuous satyr demigod ruling over a land filled with monuments and shrines to himself, constant construction and never-ending (imaginary) threat.
When the Wind Blows
Where the Fruit Comes From
Nail the Coffin Lid
Two Swindlers and a Horse
The Clown and the Fiddle Player
Fryn
soon
THE NARRATOR 2
PART 2 - DOLOMETIS
In the sweltering heat of Dolometis’s furnaces and infernos Sizma joins the demigod’s intelligence service and learns how to deal with his realm’s sadistic sense of humour.
(New stories will appear here around September – October.)
THE NARRATOR 3
PART 3 - HELKYRIOS
A vast wasteland of sea and islands, ruled by a lazy and lethargic demigod. Helkyrios leaves his problems with Sizma to solve at the same time as avoiding a population of desperate narcissists and attention seekers.
(New stories will appear here around February – March 2026.)
THE NARRATOR 4
PART 4 - KALLITHREIA
A sophisticated ruler with a volcanic temper, Kallithreia watches over his paradise realm with a veneer of calm. He doesn’t trust Sizma, but still has plans to make use of her intellect.
(New stories will appear here around July-August 2026.)
THE NARRATOR 5
PART 5 - ENELEZIEL
In the harsh mountain terrain of Eneleziel’s realm Sizma finds a demigod with a similar sense of mischief and love of storytelling. But the similarities go further than their mutual interests.
(New stories will appear here around December – January 26/27.)