Welcome!

Here's what you need to know. The Tainic are a fictional people, whose holy book is the Book of Years. The Book contains both their mythology and their history. The stories on this site are written as extracts from the Book, with all the biases and omissions that implies. Although the stories can be read on their own, taken together, over time they'll give a glimpse into a larger mythos.

A Beginning

So much for prophecy. The new story for members is In the Beginning, the Book's creation myth.

Posted by graham on 11 March 2005

First Six

The Book of Years launches today, with six initial stories available. On the public site you'll find :

Vil and the Birth of Tane An origin myth explaining how man was created in a tale of obsession, sex, death, and magic.

The End of the Demon Wars An injured hero risks the world in order to save it.

Tain and the Defeat of the Chekor Tain is the confusingly named central figure of the Book of Years. "Defeat of the Chekor" is a tale of revenge and destruction as Tain undertakes a desperate plan to save his people from the ravages of a murderous foe.

Those who take the plunge and become members will also find :

The Golden Tower How far will a young man go in his search for knowledge, and at what price?

The Dikalt Vicious, inhuman monsters murder at will. How can they be stopped?

The Exodus and the Coronation of Tain A story that follows on directly after "Defeat of the Chekor".

In addition, members can read the glossary, which is my main reference to the Book of Years.

Two further stories - "The First Siege of Vianth" and "Orthel and the Dikalt" - exist in draft form, and will appear here soon, probably in that order. After that, I'm unsure of the order in which the tales will be finished.

Posted by graham on 21 January 2005

Membership Drive

As well as the six stories up on the site, I have another eight in various stages of development. Over the coming weeks these will all join their fellows in the members area. After that, I really need to be able to justify spending the time needed to develop more stories. There are a number of other stories I'd like to tell, and will write at some point, but finding the time may be difficult. Obviously, the number of members the site has is the best justification I can have. So, here's the deal. For every ten members (or part thereof) I will commit to writing one additional story, beyond the fourteen that will appear anyway. If you ask me to, I'll also publicly acknowledge your contribution to the story you're sponsoring.

Of course, if membership climbs into the hundreds, I reserve the right to just say that I'll keep writing indefinitely.

Posted by graham on 21 January 2005