Niklaus: Part One – An Invitation

Happy Friday, everyone! Today marks the final day in our Festive Fantasy Week celebrations for 2013. I want to share with you now a short story that I’ve been working on in the build-up to Christmas. Now, I’d hoped to have it wrapped up by now, but it’s not quite there yet. However, that might not end up being such a bad thing. I’m going to release it in three parts here on the blog, hopefully having the whole thing on here by Christmas Day.

I really hope you enjoy the story and make sure to stay tuned for Part Two, which should be posted over the weekend.

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Niklaus: Part One – An Invitation

Tobacco smoke snaked up from the pipe and obscured the old man’s face like a veil of fog. Impossibly blue eyes danced from behind the smoke, framed by a briar patch criss-cross of wrinkles and scars. The man’s weathered face—so dark, so lined and like old boot-leather—was encircled by brilliant white hair, so overgrown now that the man’s mane and beard were indistinguishable from one another. His thick, pale lips formed a perfect circle as he took another drag from the pipe and let out the smoke in a series of silent whispers.

‘Tell me that last part again,’ he purred. ‘About the deer.’

The Christmas Dinner Invasion: A Not-So-True Story

It’s Thursday and the fourth day in our week-long festive celebrations! Today, I have a story to tell you all. A story which I have to stress is 100% totally true. It’s about the time I was sat down to Christmas Dinner on my own (solely for the purpose of giving me less characters to juggle). The turkey was bronze, the carrots were orange and the stuffing was… well, that mouldy-brown colour. Everything was great. Then a rift in space and time opened up before my disbelieving eyes (stay with me here). What follows is my account of that evening, retold in the (sort of) form of a play. And remember, this absolutely, positively DIDnotHAPPEN.

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FADE IN

JAMES is sitting down to Christmas Dinner on his own (boy, what a loser!) It is dark. The scene is illuminated only by candlelight.

JAMES: Wow, I sure do love the peace and quiet of a Christmas Day spent alone.

A stifled sob is heard. Suddenly, an inter-dimensional rift appears and fills the room with a thick fog.

JAMES: Egad!

The Ultimate Fantasy Christmas Wishlist

Well, it’s Tuesday and that means it’s time for our round-up of the ten coolest fantasy-themed gifts for your wish lists this Christmas! Yes, I know it’s probably too late to order any of these in time for Christmas. No, I don’t feel bad for that. Yes, you may buy all of these gifts for me as a way of showing that you forgive me.

#1 – Game of Thrones Dragon Eggs Collectible Set

Perhaps one of the most awesome things I’ve seen this year. You can now actually own Daenerys Targaryen’s dragon eggs and mooch around your living room naked, pretending you’re the goddamn Mother of Dragons or something!

Alternatively, you could pretend you’re Eragon. Yeah, not as exciting is it?

Go check it out at the official HBO store.

The Festive Fantasy Quiz 2013

Ladies and gents, goblins and trolls, quills at the ready. It’s time to kick off Festive Fantasy Week in style with the Festive Fantasy Quiz 2013!

Before we start, I have one message: “Cheat and you only cheat yourself. No Google, all you sneaky sneak-thieves out there!”

Right, let’s get started. And no, it’s not multiple-choice! Mwahaha…

Festive Fantasy Week 2013

Christmas is almost upon us and with only one full week left to go, I thought it would be fitting to ring the festivities in with a bang here at Fantasy In Motion! So with that said, I’m pleased to announce Festive Fantasy Week 2013, a week-long extravaganza of fantasy goodies for all you fans out there, right here on the blog, on our Facebook page and on Twitter. Here’s the official Timetable of Fun™ for next week:

Festive Fantasy Week 2013: Timetable of Fun™

16th – 20th December 2013

Monday 16th – We’re going to kick off the week with the Festive Fantasy Quiz, an epic test of your fantasy knowledge! Start swatting up on everything from books to movies to gaming. Post your answers here or on our Facebook wall before Friday – the highest-scoring entry wins a very special ‘Festive Fantasy Champion’ certificate and gets a mention on the blog!

Tuesday 17th – What’s the best thing about Christmas? That’s right, getting loads of awesome presents! We get in the true spirit of Christmas and round up ten of the coolest fantasy-themed gifts for your wish-lists this festive season.

Wednesday 18th – A very special one-off revival of ‘Fantasy In Motion Interviews…‘ in which we interview one of fantasy’s unsung heroes. Last time we interviewed Bill the Pony, the real saviour of Middle-earth. Who will it be this time? Stay tuned – there will be clues posted to our Facebook wall throughout the week!

Thursday 19th – The turkey is roasted, the potatoes are crispy and the Brussels sprouts have been burned in a sacrificial ritual to the Dark Gods. But what’s this? Five of fantasy’s best-known characters muscling in on your Christmas Dinner? Tune in to see what kinds of shenanigans unfold!

Friday 20th – To close out the fantasy festivities, I’ll be releasing a brand new Christmas-themed short story for your pleasure! I’ll be posting the official blurb and a little teaser on our Facebook page very soon!

What are you looking forward to this Christmas? Let us know below!