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March 18, 2025 15 mins

Panthairous: The Lands of Crow - Chapter One

(sample  will expand if interest is shown)

Story unfolds during The Age of Bronze and Blood 

 Panthairous  (Pan-Th-air-us) This is an original world setting created by (me) Jack "JT" Norton. Spawned from my years of playing role playing games when I was younger. 

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AudioBook Notes:

One: every story is connected to another story in some way shape or form, but it may take you a couple of them to find the "thing" that ties them together.

Two: There are Six ages for my world each story appears in one of them.

  • 1.The Age of Ember
  • 2.The Age of Iron and Blood
  • 3.The Age of Verdant Sovereignty
  • 4.The Age of Shattered Crowns
  • 5.The Age of Celestial Concord
  • 6.The Age of the Obsidian Veil

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Three: Some of the character in the book are actual characters created by my players. All the adventures these players had in my world become permanent part of this world. I  have had players new characters run into old ones later on. 

* There will be another edit of this one fairly soon. Text to speech program is a bit off at times. 

Contact JT what ya'll think?

Support the show

JT Norton.com / Diskgolfn.com / WhatAGraphic - Media Creative Support and Disc Golfing Adventures: 1994 - 2026

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
A Dark Crow Flies Lands of Crow Chapter one Once

(00:05):
in a vast realm ruled bynobility, there was a loyal
knight named Sir Calvin.
He was renowned for his courage,valor, and unwavering loyalty to
his king, Cartiscus of Eldoria.
One fateful day King Cartiscussummoned Calvin to the throne
room.
I have tasked you with a missionof utmost importance, the king

(00:28):
declared, his face grave.
You must journey to the distantkingdom of Menoth, a realm we
have yet to make contact with.
Their power is a mystery, and wemust ascertain their intentions.
With all due respect, my king,how could such a kingdom have
existed without our knowledgefor so long?

(00:50):
Calvin has read more scrollsthan most of their sages, and
was surprised not to know ofthis kingdom.
The world is much bigger thanyou believe, Sir Calvin.
This journey will show you howbig the world can indeed be.
The king grinned, not taking hiseyes off his most loyal knight.

(01:12):
Yes, my king, I'm honored toserve you.
Sir Calvin bowed deeply, readyto embark on his mission.
With trusted men by his side,Calvin set forth, traversing
treacherous forests, toweringmountains, and desolate plains,
until they finally, afterseveral months, reached the

(01:34):
ominous borders of Menoth.
They would enter these landsuncontested and travel several
days before passing the firsttown.
The townspeople watched them asthey passed through each
settlement with a curioussilence.
The inhabitants did not speakeven when spoken to a few times,
when they needed to replenishwith water or other supplies.

(01:57):
These townspeople also werenever in a rush or hurried, and
did not stand around engaging inidle conversation.
In one town, Calvin requestedwater from a stablewoman for
their horses.
She silently pointed to thewater taught near the stable
fences.
Calvin noticed a tattoo on herwrist, a black bird with three

(02:19):
lines underneath it.
He offered to pay with gold, butshe silently waved it away.
She turned and calmly went backinto the stables.
Calvin began to notice they allpossessed this mark.
It was always a blackbird.
But the number of linesdiffered.
It was not age or status,because the marks varied from

(02:42):
person to person, sometimesthree marks, sometimes a half
dozen.
The only pattern he did noticewas that there were always at
least three lines.
After leaving another town,Calvin's right hand, Sir Haymor,
began riding closer to him.
Once they were clear of anothersettlement, they passed an old

(03:04):
man who pulled off to one sideto let them pass.
My lord, my gut is telling methat we may not be riding into
the best of situations.
The two men watched this olderman stare them down as they rode
past him and his worn cart ofgoods.
Sir Hemer, your gut and mine arehaving the same conversation,

(03:27):
but we have our orders, whetherour guts like it or not.
Calvin looked to his lifelongfriend with a smile.
Hemor smiled back, but itquickly went away as he pointed
ahead of them.
The morning fog was lifting, andin the distance a city was
beginning to emerge on thehorizon.

(03:48):
They continued toward it, and itgot much more prominent as the
sun moved through the day.
The air grew tense and heavy asthey approached the towering
black gates of the city.
Soldiers could be seen movingback and forth on the walls high
above, but did not seem alarmedby their visitors.

(04:08):
Calvin and his group paused, andwithout any interaction, the
gates began opening to them.
Upon entering the city, Calvinis taken aback by the ominous
atmosphere of this bland, dullplace.
Shadows flickered unnaturallyacross the walls, and laughter
echoed eerily through thestreets, which was unsettling.

(04:31):
A lone armored soldier onhorseback rode up to them from a
dark street that appeared tolead up to the main fortress.
The horse was sleek and trim,but incredibly muscled.
Sir Hemer glances back to SirKemus, who knows more about
horses than anyone in theirkingdom.
Sirkemus shrugged, just aspuzzled as the rest of them

(04:54):
about what breed horse it couldbe.
The armor worn by this man andbeast is polished black and
trimmed in silver, and this wasthe first thing they'd seen that
showed any decor orornamentation.
The regal rider motioned forthem to follow, and turned to go
back the way he came.

(05:14):
They followed.
As they moved deeper into thecity's heart, Calvin knew they
would never see home again.
It was becoming clear that heand his men were riding into a
trap.
Calvin places his right hand onhis thigh with his fingers open,
slowly closing his hand to forma fist.

(05:35):
His men saw this and preparedfor what was about to come, and
it came fast and violently.
Soldiers poured out from everyopening around them, and they
fought valiantly.
But it was not enough.
Over half of Calvin's men diedon those streets, but Calvin and
the few men were kept alive byMinoth attackers.

(05:59):
Calvin looked back one finaltime as they dragged them away
to see their loyal horses alsobeing slaughtered.
His horse, Cain, was the last togo down and would kill four more
soldiers trying to reach him.
Calvin's heart shattered whenCain fell to the overwhelming
blades unleashed against them.

(06:19):
As the Menoth soldiers drug themaway, he notices the blackbird
tattoo on the soldier's wristwith only two lines.
Bound and tortured in a cold,damp dungeon, Calvin endured the
horrors of his captors' games,witnessing the execution of his
brave men before his very eyes.

(06:40):
It was clear he would be thelast to die, and the last of his
men to die before him was SirHammer.
Calvin knew his life was nowclose to an end.
He has seen his share of horrorsin battle, but this was cruelty
he could not understand.
Their captors never asked themwho they were or where they were

(07:02):
from.
When they came into their cells,it was either pain or death that
followed.
Nothing more.
Days turned into weeks, weeks tomonths, and despair began to
fill his heart.
Calvin would notice the prisonguards had the blackbird, but
with one line he saw it oftenwhen they came to make sure pain

(07:25):
was a constant memory for him.
The only other people who camein were young men giving the
prisoners their meals and watertwice daily.
Calvin was now the only one leftof his people, but there were
people in other cells.
They appeared to be ordinary.
If they were anything beyondthat, it was taken from them by

(07:47):
the horrors inflicted on them bytheir captors.
Calvin woke up once again, inhis urine and feces, to see
robed women standing over him.
She was unlike any Menoth Calvinhad seen.
Two guards stood beside her.
She was beautiful, but alsoexuded an aura of strength that

(08:08):
he found hard to compare toanyone else.
They stared at one another,holding each other's gaze.
Calvin determined not to be thefirst to look away.
It was all the strength he hadleft.
The physical strength he oncehad to get up and kill her was
now a distant memory.
You are indeed a strong one,knight.

(08:31):
Her haunting speech was smooth,clear, and soft, almost like
music.
Your pain and suffering do havea purpose, mighty knight from
the lands of Eldoria.
She kneels, holding his gaze.
The strength and suffering youand your brave men have endured
has served us well.

(08:51):
But it's time for you to jointhem now, in whatever afterlife
your kind believes in.
She touches his forehead with along painted black fingernail.
She looks away from him to oneof her guards.
Prepare.
Her voice soft but commanding.
Yes, my queen.

(09:12):
The guard exits the cellinstantly.
She gracefully stands up slowly,looking down at him.
As she stood up, Cal saw theblackbird on her wrist, but no
lines were beneath it.
She watches him for a momentlonger, and then leaves with her
remaining guardsmen.
Calvin falls back to sleep, andis relieved that this will end

(09:36):
soon, and that he can rejoin hisbrothers in arms.
A dream somehow finds its wayback into his battered and
broken mind as he sleeps.
Calvin walks into his father'sstudy, where he sits, reading
one of the many books his fatheralways proudly surrounds himself
with.
There is an open door behind hisfather's desk, and he can see

(10:00):
his murdered brothers in armsstanding proudly, waiting for
Calvin to join them on the otherside.
Father?
Calvin's voice cracked becauseit no longer possessed the
strength it once did.
His father did not respond, buthe read a bit longer before
closing the book and putting iton the desk before him.

(10:21):
Then he looked up to the frailson standing before him.
You can't be real.
So am I dead?
Calvin takes several stepsforward, but his father puts his
hand up to stop him.
You are not dead yet, my son.
Your purpose is incomplete, soyou must return.

(10:42):
He leaned forward, putting bothhands on his desk and stared
intently at his son.
I don't want to wake up again,father.
He tries hard not to break infront of the strongest man he
has ever known.
Calvin is terrified, his fatherdisapproves of the broken man
before him.
You will wake up and survive,because you are Calvin Sardikar,

(11:06):
the son of John Calvin Saridkar.
He does not look away fromCavin, who has failed to stop
the tears he was not permittedto show as a child.
My son, you will die one day,but only when the world has no
more use for you.
Your purpose is not yetfulfilled.

(11:27):
So you must return.
His father motions to the lightintensifying from behind him.
Calvin refuses to look back atit.
He misses his father and wantsto cling to this time with him,
even if it is not real.
Father, before I return, I haveasked myself many times if you

(11:49):
would be proud of the man I havebecome.
Calvin desperately wants to runto his father and embrace him
again.
My son, there has never been atime when I was not proud of
you.
I want nothing more than for youto stay here with me, but our
world needs you.
He never looked away fromCalvin.

(12:11):
I love you, Dad.
He feels himself being pulledaway, but here's something he
has always wanted.
I love you too, son.
For a moment, he feels hisfather's hand on his shoulder
again.
Sir Knight, sir knight, wake up.
The voice is soft, whispering,and cautious.
Calvin opens his eyes and turnsslowly to see one of the young

(12:35):
men who comes in to feedprisoners knelt next to him.
He has a plate of food, which isa bit more than they usually
receive.
I'm Alaric, sir.
These were the first empathiceyes Calvin had seen in a long
time.
They will not come for you againfor four nights.
If I can get you some sustenancefor strength, do you think you

(12:58):
could escape if I show you theway?
Alaric looked over his shoulderto make sure other prisoners
were not listening.
Yes.
Calvin sat up with the youngman's help.
Each day, Alaric returns withmore food, and he motions for
silence when Calvin tries to askquestions.
On the fourth night, he returns,but the young man's face shows

(13:22):
worry.
It is time because they arecoming for you tomorrow.
Alaric gives him a crude knife.
It's all I could get down here.
Are you ready?
Yes.
But why are you doing this?
Cal kept his voice low.
Once I get you out, promise toreturn and avenge my family.

(13:45):
The boy holds up his wrist,showing Calvin a single black
bird with no lines on his wrist.
Time to go, Alaric did not letCalvin respond.
Together with the boy'scleverness, they managed to
evade the guards and navigatethrough the castle's
labyrinthine corridors.
As they neared freedom, Calvinfelt the burning desire to save

(14:06):
himself and Alaric.
They reached the final tunnel,and freedom was near, but Alaric
stopped and handed him a smallfood pack.
Come with me, Calvin urged,gratitude lacing his voice.
But Alaric shook his head, tearsglistening in his eyes.
I cannot leave.
When the Queen finds out Ihelped you, my sister will be

(14:30):
tortured, abused, and butchered.
But if I stay, only I will die.
You must go but promise toreturn with a vengeance.
My sister is our mother's grace,and my father's power that once
ruled without the seductions ofdarkness.
She can bring our people backfrom hell, but we need you to

(14:52):
survive and help us.
He points to Calvin to go asthey can now hear the guards
closing in.
Heart heavy and spirit torn,Calvin accepted the young man's
brave choice and ran as fast aspossible.
Calvin stumbled towards freedombecause he could hear the
guards' haunting laughterresounding behind him.

(15:13):
Alaric had been caught, andCalvin could do nothing for the
boy being dragged away.
The last he heard was a child'stormented scream, a chilling
echo that would haunt himforever.
Story by J.
T.
Norton, 2025
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