Yoretide // by Joseph Gibson
A sci/fantasy writing project set in a vast, mythical universe, explored through short stories, full-length novels, and everything in between.
Everything here can be read as standalone works, each one completely different from the others. Nevertheless, a good starting path for newcomers is from the top down.
Yoretide // Glamora
Above the vast cosmos lies a realm unrestricted by space or time, a mythical landscape long since left alone to prosper for all eternity while the universe ages into oblivion. The lonesome spirit who dwells there seeks a life beyond the rote mantra of tending the realm’s nature, weary of sowing its gardens and cutting down its weeds, wanting more out of her ageless existence. But when her wish comes true, when the chance arrives to go beyond her intended purpose, the unexpected changes throw her into a conflict spanning across the stars. To find one’s potential can be hard in an unforgiving universe. In the void of space, anything goes.[ Short Story \ Complete ]
Yoretide // The Gambler's Eye
Eliot and his motley crew of pirates embark on the greatest quest of their lives. After surviving an encounter with a mountain-sized leviathan, a once hidden treasure guides them across the ocean as they search for lands previously unheard of, places where myths and legends thrive upon the islands of Strevenfall and its vast coastal vistas of islands and haunted shipwrecks. Danger looms past the skyline, however, and the crew knows how treacherous such paths can be when magic is involved, powers beyond their control.The journey across Strevenfall will test the pirates' trust in each other while unraveling the secrets Eliot has tried so desperately to keep away from everyone but himself. Secrets cannot be hidden forever. There's always a secondary motive to a captain's plan.[ Novella \ Complete ]
Yoretide // Sempiternal Solo
Perfectionism had been drilled into Lola Pern years before she left home, trained in the art of music by those who wanted nothing more than perfection itself, scolded brutally, punished constantly. The wounds sustained from her past have given her an obscure view of the world that most find peculiar to the point of absurdity, but she nevertheless goes through life in mental isolation despite the efforts by others to reach out to her. Her forced-upon talent for music has gifted her a place in one of the most prestigious universities around, a talent she doesn’t want to give up no matter the circumstances that bestowed it onto her in the first place.Now, with the past seemingly behind her and the future looking bright for the violinist’s career, a song from her childhood has come to shroud the corners of her mind, the likes of which delve into whimsical nightmares and impossible visions. This magical song holds the power to send her back through the worst parts of her life, a metaphysical curse that resurfaces the trauma she had thought to be buried with time. With only one way out, Lola will face her past in hopes of bringing closure. Altering such forces is a breeding ground for danger, though, and with a mind as mistreated as hers, the risks may cost dearly.How can one move on from the past when it’s constantly being shoved to the forefront? Lola will need to answer this question if she is to break this musical curse and reforge the ties once made with her friends and loved ones. The forces of time and magic may be out of her control, but that doesn’t mean she has to be a marionette to the madness, lest she herself fall into that same, twisted madness.Sempiternal Solo is a literary novel set upon a majestic fantasy background, with themes of acceptance, time, and accepting the past. It will be released by Liminal Books in late 2024.[ Novel \ Complete ]
Yoretide // The Eldritch Oath
The macabre world of Droodpike is the home of everyone’s nightmares and the place where violence is celebrated. Bloodshed is art. Death is just the beginning. Jard’s occupation is just an extension of the chaos that’s so renowned throughout the land, himself an apathetic machine manifested by the whims of his haunted world.Jard is a scarecrow, a name given to those who take the dead bodies of criminals and reassemble them into grotesque monsters, and many scarecrows like him will do anything to gain the recognition of those who can make their zeal for creation respected by anyone worth their salt. So, when a mysterious soldier approaches Jard with the promise of making his art famous to the world, the scarecrow is more than willing to travel throughout the cold and desolate world of Droodpike to make that dream happen, no matter the cost. But scarecrows who have been made apathetic by the world’s chaos are also vulnerable to those who would use them for deeds far beyond just simple devotees. Recognition can come at a price. Backstabbers are not hard to find, and for Jard, separating the kind from the treasonous is a game where people cheat, a battlefield only the strong can navigate.What becomes of hope and change in a world so desensitized to violence? Glimpse the lives of the needy and powerless as Jard ushers on to fulfill the scarecrow’s dream of remembrance. Just because the world is a meat grinder doesn’t mean you have to be a marionette to the chaos.The Eldritch Oath is a horror fantasy novel with themes of death, survival, and the supernatural.[ Novel \ Complete ]
Yoretide // Heart of Spoils
Five exiles live in a lonely castle on the abandoned world of Clodwoo. With nothing but time on their hands, this small band of misfits have long since forgotten the sane attributes of normal society and have endeavored to make all of life a game where nothing is forbidden and fun reigns as top priority. The castle is a playground for their endless creative rabbit holes no matter how cruel or devious. Of the five, Zafer likes playing with fire, Creen enjoys the comfort of ghosts, Sigit makes brass from body parts, Vixie collects bones, and Barben sculpts living gargoyles. Their different talents and devotees have made them an odd yet semi-functional family driven together for the sake of wild ingenuity.But when the ghostly entity threatens the solace of their castle, the band of exiles slowly discover that what they thought was their home is actually a breeding ground for chaos and forbidden history. Their once hidden secrets slowly filter out in a sequence of events told in twisted narratives and haunted revelations. Zafer in particular has many secrets to hide, and the consequences of his actions could have devastating effects on the ones he cherishes the most. His own past, his own creative pursuits, are the result so such much death and destruction.How does a band of completely different people find balance in their lives if one of them has committed an unforgivable crime? Zafer, Creen, Sigit, Vixie, and Barben will all need to find the answer to that question lest their home burn down in ruins, lest the ghosts from their pasts take over. In Clodwoo, in the abandoned castle they call home, there’s no such thing as a typical outcome. One needs to open their mind to quell this sort of chaos.Heart of Spoils is a speculative novel set upon a fantasy background, with themes of chaos, relationships, and the impact of change.[ Novel \ Complete ]
Yoretide // Runic Overture
An odyssey of two paths, two narratives on a collision course to war...Glave's bloodline has vanished while his future grows all the more uncertain. He searches the metropolis of Hobe for the truth about his family, orphaned early on in life following the death of his sister and the disappearance of his mother, his found father giving him solace in the great mystical city where industry thrives. The previous war had spanned across the cosmos with Hobe caught in the middle, leaving many to fend for themselves in a world where the law is seldom generous to those on the wrong side of it. Glave has grown skilled at skirting authority, however. He knows that city well. He knows how to navigate its countless networks and secret passageways.This knack for adventuring is what draws him to one of Hobe's greatest mysteries. The city's dungeon, a seemingly bottomless subterranean world that Glave has set his sights on as the key to unlocking his past. It is there wherein he shall not only find unlikely companionship, but learn that his quest will require him to face the most bloodthirsty and ruthless bounty hunters known throughout the realm. The forces against him will test both his own magic prowess and his willingness to sacrifice all that is necessary.Uriel strives to be the perfect warrior in a world of hidden fates. She spends her time on a remote island honing her magecraft and fighting prowess, pushing her limits while under the watchful mentorship of Hobe's forgotten overlord. As her knowledge grows, so does she continue to gain respect from lord Heron and his infamous company of bounty hunters. She knows her uncanny origins well, and knows that the future laid before her will someday change the fabric of reality itself. Her perception of the world beyond the coast is limited, however. The palace where she lives may be fit for demigods, but she wants more, and she is beginning to feel the limits of her boundaries.There are plenty of secrets to uncover within the palace walls, meanwhile, because she is coming to realize that Heron's plans for her are not entirely benevolent. The quest to obtain forbidden power can make anyone an object for another's success. Uriel may be loyal, but she has no intentions of playing games designed to make her the pawn.While seemingly separate, Glave and Uriel’s paths in life shall converge in a way that will change everything they thought was true.[ Novel \ Complete ]
Yoretide // A Deity's Dream
The cosmos have faded and the universe is soon to expire. Nev is the soul remaining life form in existence, an android deity with the power to manipulate the cosmos and shape the very fabric of reality, having lived all throughout time since the beginning of time itself, born alongside the very first stars and planets. As the pontifex, the most powerful being in creation's history, it is her responsibility to retire what is left of the old universe so that a new one can take its place, a sacred task passed down to those of her kind. It is the pontifex's only true purpose. Failure is not an option lest reality end with her.Nev lives on a world called Jiken, a self-sustaining body of nanites that take the form of a vast desert landscape, a barren vista littered with relics and memories of the past. It is here where Nev undergoes preparations to fulfill her all-important task. The universe has aged just shy of death. The time has arrived.Reality isn't always as it seems, however. Nev is aware of her own hidden fate, aware of the reader's presence as well as the author who wrote her into being. With that kind of knowledge comes secrecy. With that kind of power comes mischief, and she knows very well that altering her own destiny is bound to cause unexpected change in the largest ways possible. She will need to change the metatextual nature of her existence in order to escape the purpose given to her at birth, change the author's plan while carving a new path for her own narrative on the page.A Deity's Dream is a literary sci-fi novel that crosses genres and takes a long look at itself in the mirror, bridging the gap between the characters and their creator by exploring what it means to create something when no one is around to see it, peering into the past, embracing the present, then gazing into the uncertain future. It is fiction on a grand scale, while at the same time deeply personal. It explores the fictional world of Jiken as well as the real implications of lonesome art, artificial intelligence, meaning, love, and freedom. At the eve of creation, everything is a true story.[ Novel \ drafting ]
If the links for individual writings are offline, use these folder links instead. The folders also have additional content for those who've read everything else.
This website serves as the front-end to a collection of writings called Yoretide, a sci/fantasy series wherein each story is self-contained, yet has an overarching narrative if read together. The project launched in late 2015 when the first part of 'Runic Overture' was released to the public. The online editions of Yoretide are presented free of charge, and are published under a special copyright license (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) so that the writings can be retrieved and shared without fear of legal repercussions.Stories written by Joseph Gibson // With editing help from Troy FinkelYoretide cover art by Joseph Gibson and Chrissy SkyWebsite art by Cody Greene
Last Updated: 4/19/24
Minor corrections might be applied to completed works up until the project is finished, but they are only to ammend technical mistakes, and will not effect the likes of plot, style, characters, ect, ect.
Runic Overture:
Complete // 282,190 Words
Runic Overture - Part 1
1 - Providence
2 - The Daystar
3 - Cross Through The Curtain
4 - Break Your Hand
5 - Here Birdy Here
6 - Firefly Tooth
7 - Strawberry Twins
8 - The Drop
9 - The Green Gallicide
10 - The Blue Bambosh
11 - The Red Recluse
12 - First Wake
13 - Mothman
14 - Mothman 2
15 - Mothman 3
16 - Holds No Water
17 - Liminal Hours
18 - An Eye For Color
19 - Caterpillar Spots
20 - Drugged Delight
21 - The Fake Testament
22 - The Fake Testament 2
23 - The Fake Testament 3
24 - The Fake Testament 4
25 - The Classic Symptoms of a Path Less Traveled On
26 - The Old And New Trust
27 - Prepare For My Pageant
28 - Forbidden Orchard
29 - Greenfall
30 - Become Immense
31 - A Lifeless Newborn Rages
32 - The Daystar 2
33 - Serenity
34 - Living With Us
35 - Living With Us 2
36 - Love Is A Polaroid
Runic Overture - Part 2
37 - Hood Of Lightning
38 - Featherbed
39 - A Red Velvet Enigma
40 - Second Shelter
41 - Sour Meadow
42 - Flowers Burn To Water
43 - Cleft
44 - Preparing The Sacred Lamb
45 - An Eye For Color 2
46 - Morningtide
47 - Eventide
48 - Let Me Hear
49 - Let Me Hear 2
50 - Let Me Hear 3
51 - Rain; A Strident World
52 - I Think We’re Doomed
53 - Bedheads Together
54 - Rain; A Stainless World
55 - A Second Less
56 - Apotheosis
57 - Apotheosis 2
58 - Deadman Standing
59 - A Dawn Cherub's New Life
60 - The Daystar 3
61 - A Second More
62 - Back We Go
Runic Overture - Part 3
63 - Symbiosis
64 - Like A Chariot Red
65 - Unburdened Dissonance
66 - A Fabled Place In Mind
67 - Undermined Emotions
68 - Everything For No One
69 - Everything For No One 2
70 - Unpromised Parables
71 - Ironsides
72 - The Quelling Brace
73 - Undignified Doubt
74 - Third Conflux
75 - A Waking Moment Dies
76 - Ancestor
77 - Untarnished Time
78 - Everything In The Clouds
79 - Everything In The Clouds 2
80 - Everything In The Clouds 3
81 - Everything In The Clouds 4
82 - Unexplained Epithets
83 - The Voice Laid Between
84 - The Sight Laid Beyond
85 - Unfinished Order
86 - Parting Words
87 - None The Wiser
88 - An Eye For Color 3
89 - Unheld Horizons
90 - A Normal Day’s Requiem
91 - A Sharpened Night's Tension
92 - Cherub's Dominion
93 - Cherub's Dominion 2
94 - The Daystar Finale
Glamora
Complete // 5,476 Words
1 - Glamora
A Deity's Dream
Drafting // 53,186 Words
0 - Glamora (prelude)
1 - Before Me
2 - Elysium
3 - Cry Omega
4 - Breathe Holy Fire
5 - Momento Mori
6 - Definitive Matter
7 - The Vespertine Solstice
8 - Bird Behavior
9 - Iusaaset Ascended
10 - The Abstract of a Mirage Now Forgotten
11 - Worlds Within Us
12 - Oblivion Beloved
13 - A Somber Price For Blind Faith
14 - Mesmer
15 - A Tale of Old Suburbia
Sempiternal Solo
Complete // 60,234 Words
1 - Lunar Dance
2 - House Of The Arctic Circle
3 - Bring Me Hoarfrost
4 - Hibernal Sleepwalk
5 - The Great Inner Snowglobe
6 - Faerie
7 - Hourglass Empress
8 - Dream Machines
9 - Gearbot
10 - A Wishing Well In A Land Of Disbelief
11 - Drawn With Coastlines
12 - Sandcastle Kingdom
13 - Act Restless, Be Careful, Think Softly
14 - Synthesize
15 - Underground Orchard
16 - Windswept Sanity
17 - Dear Lady Cosmos
18 - A Nebula's Way Out
19 - Oneironaut
20 - Solar Dance
The Eldritch Oath
Complete // 62,949 Words
1 - Rejection Letter
2- Atavism
3 - Broken Windows Thesis
4 - Act Ruthless, Be Angry, Think Fast
5 - Half Breeds
6 - Dress Without A Smile
7 - The Goat's Banquet
8 - Swallow
9 - Joneses' Yard
10 - Golden Goose
11 - Apostates
12 - A Mouthful Of Spades
13 - What The Edge of Your Seat Was Made For
14 - Valentine's Day
15 - Homeland
16 - Unworldliness
17 - We The Fallen Children
18 - New Autumn's Hellfire
19 - Leviticus
20 - Goetia
Heart of Spoils
Complete // 60,436 Words
1 - Apocryphal Bliss
2 - Heavy Roses, Flying Silver
3 - Pull Your Nails Up
4 - Joywave
5 - A Flock Of Jokers
6 - The Promised Vale
7 - Bottom Lathe
8 - A Place For Happy Dwellers
9 - You Mustn't Believe
10 - The Abolitionists
11 - Headspace
12 - White Rabbits With Silent Steps
13 - Vanta Black
14 - Hoodwinked Moons
15 - Phantom's Supper
16 - Sweet As Can Be
17 - Laserhead
18 - Wicked Witch Of The North
19 - Act Crazy, Be Dangerous, Think Twice
20 - Spoiled
The Gambler's Eye
Complete // 26,111 Words
1 - Henceforth
2- Treasure's Maw
3 - The Tropics
4 - A Brightwood Land
5 - Underwater Dreamhouse
6 - Having Visitors Doesn't Change The Game
7 - Creature Comfort
The Eldritch Oath: Bloodsport
Complete // 24,479 Words
1 - Visage
2 - Vigor
3 - Vibrant
4 - Vital
5 - Vices
6 - Virtue
7 - Vixen
Realmwake
Complete // 28,960 Words
1 - Synaesthesia
2 - Hood of Lighting
3 - Vixie's Fun Run
4 - Mythic Twins
5 - Forest Field
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With the adoption of A.I-generated content across the digital space, it is important to assert that this project does not in any way use A.I language models to create, edit, or aid in the presentation of Yoretide, rather it be the writing itself, covers, or auxiliary media. As a push for transparency, the drafts folder is publicly available to view.