Flames Rising is happy to host a collection of Horror & Dark Fantasy fiction from large publishers and small press, new authors and experienced freelancers and everything in between. We have agreements with a handful of publishers to host fiction based on the worlds they have created ranging from Contested Ground Studios‘ a|state to Apophis Consortium‘s Obsidian: the Age of Judgement and a host of other settings. We also have sneak previews and excerpts of upcoming Horror & Dark Fantasy novels from time to time.
The fiction collection on Flames Rising will be listed by setting or series. Just click the “Read more…” link below for a complete list of the good reads we have to offer…
Freelance writer John D. Kennedy (Shadow Nations) and artist Jeff Preston have a new monster for the Halloween Horror series today.
When fighting the undead, be extra careful around the zombies making buzzing noises…
Corpse Bug
Created by John D. Kennedy
With art by Jeff Preston
“I seen a bug that’ll sting a man. Seen plenty that’ll eat one…first time I ever seen one live in a man though.” – Jerry Bowell, exterminator.
Resembling a cross between a centipede and a beetle, the Corpse Bug is a creature often found living at the edge of towns and cities. A dark brown color, the bug is between two to three inches in length and possesses two pincers on it’s body, one at the mouth with the other at the end of the thorax. These pincers aid in chewing through muscles and skin, while it’s eight legs end in small hooks to aid in climbing and gathering materials.
Freelance author, reviewer and game designer, Monica Valentinelli, has launched a new website called Words on the Water. Monica’s published work includes Aletheia from Abstract Nova, Worlds of the Dead from Eden Studios, Colonial Gothic from Rogue Games, Prey at Pseudopod.org and more. She also has Obsidian: the Age of Judgement and Conspiracy of Shadows […]
Well, if you’ve been following the recent Flash Fire Mini-Reviews, you’ve just seen a small glimpse of what we have to give away. So far, in Contest Edition and Contest Edition 2 we’ve highlighted new games, like Thousand Suns and supplements like All Tomorrow’s Zombies. With over 12 publishers sponsoring our contest, our prize pool is getting so huge we just had to blog about more of the great prizes that are perfect for any horror fan.
Welcome to another collection of Mini-Reviews here on Flames Rising!
This week we are going to focus on some of the cool products published by some of the sponsors of the “Favorite Horror Game Contest” and the creative games they have released. Next week will be a few more of sponsors’ products. Including amazing art and funny cards.
So sit back and enjoy this collection of zombies, cannibals, strange creatures and nightmare cities…
Kitty Norville didn’t mean to become a popular radio personality. In fact, she could remember when she didn’t even enjoy having the night shift. But as a werewolf, her habits have gotten more and more nocturnal, and one bored night at the microphone discussing the paranormal becomes a talk-show phenomenon. Suddenly syndicated at two hundred stations, Kitty is the center of attention, and not all good. From a professional werewolf hunter named Cormac, to Arturo, head of the local vampire Family, to her own Pack, Kitty’s meeting opposition on all sides.
Alright, let’s try this again. Much more slowly than the first time, I attempt to open my eyes. Everything is blurred for a moment, and my stomach heaves, but I swallow hard and blink a few times. The room obligingly comes into focus. First my gaze flickers down and to my left. All I can see is a delicate, bare shoulder under a fine curtain of hair, the strangest silvery-brown color. Squinting painfully against the dim lighting, I notice a small braid, tied with dark blue thread. I smile slightly, though I couldn’t say why. There is something sweet and innocent about that little braid.
An Obsidian: the Age of Judgement story written by Elizabeth Petersen
Silas no longer cared if his carefully-sown client was going to do something stupid; his kits were far too valuable and far too difficult to come by to replace. He’d find somebody else, some other paying client to work on. Walking over to the wall, he ripped his sawed-off Nineteen from the wall, and flushed his Boosters. He swore under his breath that he didn’t put on any armor before this appointment. At least he put his shoulder strap on. That strap was like his credbase. He never left home without it.
Daniel spat carefully. Damn the Law. Sure, the crisp uniforms were a necessary evil—they needed him just as much as he needed them. The Law’d get into a nasty situation that involved daemons or some other supernatural creature (even though “officially” there’s no such thing as monsters), and then they’d hire him, Daniel Wayward, to clean it up. Sometimes things were good, real good. One time he managed to keep the acrid blood spatter to a minimum and kill the thing with no casualties. In his line of work, that was a miracle. Being a beastkeeper had its ups and downs. Most times he was lucky to have a day that was in between.
“Are you still insisting on hunting him down? This isn’t what your father would have wanted. He would have wanted you to continue helping humanity defend itself against hell.” Hal knew Ayden wanted her fighting with them. After all, they grew up together, even was in schooling together. When Ayden went off with the Spiritual Essence trainers, she was scared, and sad. That’s when Hal’s father started training her as a Mystic. He was very talented, and she was to carry on his knowledge.
Tara sat at the edge of the abyss. She glanced briefly around her, wondering if something more menacing than the Law guards were lurking in the earthy shadows. Hours earlier, her team breathed a sigh of relief when the Law’s automated attack vehicles returned from the depths of Zone subsector three without a scratch. The Law then pushed her team forward, forcing them to tread where only machines should have gone.
It couldn’t remember how it was borne. Was it male? Was it female? It had given itself a name, one that only it knew. Pool.
Pieces of memory gnawed at Pool’s mind. What was home? What did it used to be? Now it was nothing more than a land of yellowing bone and black rock. Fires burned throughout the landscape. It couldn’t have been that way always. Before Pool left its Circle with the others, they poured over books documenting the stories of how things came to be. Shapes of letters appeared before him, describing the velvety touch of a thing called a “flower.” There were no flowers in its Circle. Pool closed its eyes, remembering the smell of sulfur and the feel of spikes crushing beneath its razor-skinned feet.
src=”http://www.nobleknight.com/imagecode/resize.asp?filename=APO0102.jpg&width=157&height=203″ />
Available at Noble Knight Games
The Orion Corporation had only good intentions. However, when it sent the relays into the wastelands to explore and record the hostile territories, unspeakable horrors were uncovered and legendary secrets revealed…
Legends: the Orion Project is a supplement fiction to Obsidian: Age of Judgment. It introduces several new characters, as well as showing ways to have characters be multiple Ethos. Further then character information, they also have several new Daemon types, abilities, and convocations, new Mystic Rituals, and Kultist Convokations and weapons. The story itself is the first of a promised series of supplements about the Orion Corporation and of Callarius Montague, a Spiritual Essence Kultist.
To play within the Zone, players must first understand the design of the setting. Inside the Zone does a great job of describing its highly efficient structure. But the book does more than describe its physical setting. Layers of religions, Kults and politics intertwine with one another throughout the book. It is almost as if you are a god watching the inner workings of Zone society. The book is a must-read for anyone who wishes to play in the Zone.
So Obsidian begins its underlying premise, written as if it were a great, literary work. The philosophy is blunt and unrepentant. Humans are born as parasites in the universe of “The Sheol.” Daemons, pre-humanity, originate as harmless creatures. Greed, perversion, hate and corruption, all byproducts of human evolution, warp a delicate balance of co-existence within the “The Sheol.” These negative energies turn the daemons into the archetypes we think of today. God, or “The Divinity” in Obsidian’s universe, then separates the warped plane from Earth into nine Circles in an attempt to prevent the darkness from spreading.
Micah tells us the origins of the Obsidian: the Age of Judgement RPG and what some of his future plans are with the game. He also lets us know just what he is up to with the band Cruciform Injection.
In this interview we talk to the artist about his work on Obsidian: the Age of Judgement and other RPGs. Mr. Post also gives a little break-down of the art development process that goes into books he has worked on.
