They Will Rise Again From the Tundra

Hey, folks.  Just a brief message here announcing the grand opening of the Book of Mammoth.  You should see a tab linking to it at the top left of your screen.

This is a series of stories I began a couple of years ago, and to date, I’ve only written five of them.  These five are posted with the hopes it’ll kick start some production on my part.

The second order of business tonight is to belatedly respond to Shelly Bryant’s nomination for the Honest Scrap Award in which the recipient is supposed to outline ten facts regarding his/her character that are unknown to most people.  Now, I have a strident dislike for chain blogothons like these, but I’ve bitten a few hooks in my day.  In fact, Shelly might even recall my runaround of the “Fours Challenge” back during our WritingUp days entitled “The Sign of Four” in which … Read more

Excerpts:  Part Five of the Ongoing Saga

It had become apparent to Mammoths everywhere that the Great One had not kept his promise, for since Spidra and her children rose to the surface and brought death unto the Mammothian population, other creatures began to appear and claim for themselves land that had once known only the paws of the Pleistocene Epoch giants.

Mammoth populations began to dwindle and disperse, and while they maintained their dominance for many ages, it was clear that such things would not last forever.  And so, it came.

During Uglarth II’s reign, the Mammoths were laid seige upon by a Slothen horde from the East.  Uglarth’s scouts had long known of the presence of giant three-toed sloths in what was then called the Eyorn Region – the area of the world we know as southern Asia – but had failed to recognize the vast numbers Sloths … Read more

Excerpts:  Part Four of the Ongoing Saga

Love is a heart that beats still, though it has been lanced upon a tusk.  Mammothian Proverb

Shrew, you shrew, once conniving, shall be torn in twain and made to serve an evil master, acid-woolled and hard of reign.  Mammothian Prophecy

The first great Mammoth lovers were famed among their sizable kin for unwilting devotion and their contributions to Mammothian Theatre as a roving duo of unmatched talent, cherished as gems among the community.  These were Magra the Harlequin Queen and Kulgath Muil the Orator.  Together, they traveled from the outskirts of the Kajik Mountains and the border towns along the River Braor (modern-day Turkey) to the metropolis of Kinski (our Alaska) located at the far end of the Ice Crossing.  One hundred years after what came to be known as Glorm’s Folly, they roamed unmolested through the snows putting on carnival shows.… Read more

Excerpts:  Part Three of the Ongoing Saga

Woe unto the fallen
Who in the tundra freezes
Woe unto the Mammoth
Who marches where he pleases
Woe unto the Westerly
Warm winds like Demon’s Breath
Woe unto the Mammoth
Who marries himself with Death
Mammoth Traditional

DURING THE THIRD AGE OF SKOPJA’S REIGN, THE FIRST MAMMOTH DIES UNDER THE TUNDRA IN A LAND KNOWN AS ENDRÖGEN FLATS.

The salt flats had been famed by all as a place of great mysticism, and some even suggested that buried beneath the permafrost lay the Heart of Igrak himself.  At night, Mammoths gathered to witness the strange, red glow that emanated from the flats as it spiraled upward into the heavens.  By morning, the light would fade, and the crowd would disperse, mumbling prayers of thanks and praise to Igrak and the Great One alike.

For many years, Mammoths made such pilgrimages to Endrögen.  They … Read more

Excerpts:  Part Two of the Ongoing Saga

In the beginning, there were mammoths, and there lived no other creatures upon this earth. Nay. Sloths had not yet brought lethargy into the world. No fish did swim in primordial oceans nor did any bird dot any sky, and in the vast, empty wastes of the planet did the Mammoths roam without restriction or fear.

It was then, when the Sun set for the first time, that King Eldrid Mammoth spake unto his subjects and recited to them the passages given him by the Supreme Being. “This planet was given to us by the Great One…” he said as an excited murmur rippled through the gathering crowd of woolly beasts, “…so that we might rule it justly in isolation and live in harmony as Mammoths and never fear invasion by those that are Other than us. We shall never be forced to … Read more