Welcome to Apologue Isle

Location: the fold where the horizon meets. ***** Note from the Author: Hello and welcome to Apologue Isle! First of all, I would like to say that I know next to nothing about mythology of any sort so I will not intentionally be following any traditional mythology. I do not claim to be an expert on any of the subject matter at hand, this is strictly just for fun. Second, as of right now there is no plot set in stone. This story will consist more of one shot type chapters that bounce from character to character. Thank you for checking out my account and I hope that you enjoy!

[calamitys-child]

I know I posted a draft of this yesterday but this is better actually

[ID: a 5x5 grid with the caption "sea shanty generator". The top X axis is captioned "I am" with the options "horny" "mean" "sad" "drunk" "gay. The Y axis is captioned "about" with the options "boats" "my friends" "the captain" "the fair bonny shores of home" "treasure". End ID]

[calamitys-child]

Some preliminary entries just from my most listened. Yes my favourite sea shanties are all mean and gay because I have taste

[alonewildbird]

[ID: the grid has been partially filled in with shanty titles. Barett's privateers is in I am mean about boats, drunken sailor is in mean about my friends, leaver her, johnny is in gay about boats, don't forget your old ship mate is in gay about my friends, and handsome cabin boy is in gay about the captain]

[riseupriseupandcomealong]

OP this is wonderful and i added some

[ihaveatromboner]

Fucking awesome, might it add

[actually-2000-mice]

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2O5FgT0rKoblzDoTRtpfOr?si=b_BSMo1cS4Gxkx5MtLFY3A

I made it into a playlist cause I love this

[tilldeathdousart]

[absinthundblut]

[the-bookshop]

[talesfromapologueisle]

Dinner With Pirates

      The clothes Sora had loaned Evangella were loose to say the least, but they were more comfortable than her wedding dress. She was more than happy to be in a pair of pants whether they fit or not.         When she found her way up to the deck, she wasn't quite sure what she was expecting but this wasn't it. The ship was alive with music and dancing as people drank and ate. It wasn't at all like the dinner parties she had been raised on. There were people everywhere having the time of their lives and celebrating as though it were their last night on Earth. Evangella looked around and found Sora in the middle of a crowd arm wrestling with one of the crew members. She had cleaned up from the raid they'd done earlier. As she got the upper hand and slammed her opponent's hand into the table, she stood up and threw her arms over her head, whooping in victory. Looking over, she made eye contact with Evangella, smiled and waved her over.        "Have you had anything to eat yet?" She asked. Evangella shook her head and Sora took her by the wrist, leading her to where the food was. Considering they had only left a few days ago, everything that they had brought with them was still fresh. Along the side of the ship, they had a table set up with meats, fruits, vegetables, breads, cheeses, and several other foods that she hadn't expected. "Eat what you can now. In a couple of weeks, we're going to have to switch over to our dried supplies. Also, have fun. The crew won't hurt you."     *************      It took a bit of work for Evangella to loosen up enough to join the crew in their antics. The rum helped, it was stronger than any of the stuff she had been given in Astra.     After a few drinks, she had started to enjoy being on board. She had joined the circle of dancing pirates, picking up on their movements with ease, the heel of her borrowed boots hitting the deck with each beat as she held tight to a bottle of rum, getting a little drunker with each sip. When her bottle ran dry, she moved to the outside edge of the ship to take a breath.      In Astra, she had never had this much fun. As a princess, she was supposed to be the regal image of the crown. Dance tedious dances to classical music in stiff dresses, only drink the finest wine or champagne and spend each day preparing to rule. Never would she have been allowed to even think of wearing pants and partying with pirates. She would never admit it out loud, but she didn't necessarily miss Astra. She hadn't let go of her teachings and morals entirely, but she drank and danced as if she were one of the crew.     "Evening, Princess," Sora came up behind her and leaned on the rail next to her. "Enjoying yourself?"     "This is more fun than I've had in a long time."     "Well, I'm glad. It seems some of the sailors are just waiting for the chance to ask for a dance."     "Maybe in a bit."     "Take your time." A comfortable silence fell over the two as Evangella watched the dark waves in the moonlight and Sora cradled her bottle. The crew behind them sang some out of tune shanty about drunken sailors, though it was more drunken slurring than singing.     "Can I ask you something?" Evangella spoke.      "Sure."      "Are you being nice to me because I'm a princess?" This made Sora laugh loud and long.      "We're pirates, not barbarians. Not to be rude, but my crew and I couldn't care less that you're a princess."       "Then why am I here? Why did you show me mercy?" Sora took a long swig from her bottle before deciding to answer.       "You, my dear, are stolen goods. Stolen from your home and now stolen from the people that stole you. Pirates steal things of value. The men in the cells beside you? Monsters. Worthless. You, however, radiate innocence which is rather rare these days. And that makes you valuable to me." Evangella didn't quite understand, but whatever Sora was trying to say frustrated her.       "I don't need your pity if that's what you're saying."       "I don't pity anyone. I assume everyone is planning to betray me, kill me, or both. Even you. But I try not to be a monster unless I need to."       "And what is your definition of a monster?"       "It's more of a loose term really."       "How so?"       "Well, there are a number of things that make someone a monster. It's easier to use one general word than a list of specifics."       "And what makes you a monster?"       "A number of things."       "Is that supposed to be reassuring?"       "No."       "Oh, well that's good to know. I trust you entirely now." Sora chuckled at Evangella's sarcasm and raised her bottle to her lips.       "If you plan on getting any sleep I'd do it soon. We start work at dawn and you are going to learn how to use a sword. I'm assuming they didn't teach you such things at princess school." Evangella shook her head and moved away from the rail.      "I suppose you're right. Goodnight, Captain." She touched two fingers to her brow and flicked her wrist.       "Night. Oh, and Princess? A word of advice, lock your door and sleep with one eye open. My crew consists of good men and I'd lay my life down for any one of them, but that doesn't mean they'd do the same for you." Evangella nodded and headed below deck, leaving Sora and the crew to wind down for the night.

[talesfromapologueisle]

Aboard the Horizon Storm

"Let me show you to your room." Sora lead Evangella below deck and down a private hallway. "I'm assuming you're used to the luxury of a bed so I won't make you sleep in a hammock like the rest of the crew. You can bunk in the room across from mine. Just let me get you a change of clothes." Sora disappeared behind a door for a second and reappeared holding a bundle of clothing. "That dress can't be too comfortable." She slipped past Evangella and opened up another door behind her. Inside was an actual room with furniture and a closet. Completely different from the hammock room they had passed earlier.     "Thank you."     "Not a problem Miss. Also, usually the crew and I have dinner together up on deck if you'd like to join us."     "That sounds lovely."     "Great. See you then." Sora began to walk away so that Evangella could get settled in.     "Hey, Captain?"     "You can call me Sora if you'd like."     "Right. Sora. I was wondering how long it'll be until we're back in Astra."     "Honestly? Probably a month or two. We set sail from Astra about two days ago and we still have a couple of stops to make. After we drop off some cargo in Apologue, we're headed back to Astra."     "Apologue?"     "Apologue Isle. You've never heard of it?" Evangella shakes her head.     "Apologue Isle is a place filled with people like me. I don't know if you noticed but the light blue skin and fangs don't exactly scream human." She had noticed and she had never seen anything like the woman sitting in front of her. "Anyway, it's a safe place for people like me to exist. I'm just one of the few brave ones who dare to travel outside. I bring back food, treasure and a bunch of other stuff and then turn right back around and set sail."     "I don't think I've heard of Apologue Isle before. I don't remember it on any of the maps."     "It's not on any of the maps. It's hidden which is why it's safe. But sometimes people who decide to leave Apologue pass on stories about the place."    "Decide to leave?"    "Most people who go to Apologue end up staying in Apologue for one reason or another. Every now and then some make the decision to leave, but it's not very often."       "And you're one of the few who decided to leave?"      "I'm more of a traveler, to be honest. This ship is my home. Always has been, always will be, but I also have friends and family back there so I come and go when I can."        "Oh. I don't think I could stay. I have a kingdom to get back to." A loud crash sounded somewhere in the ship and both women looked toward the noise.      "Creators help us," Sora muttered under her breath. "Look, the decision is up to you. I should get back on deck though. Dinner is at 2000 hours. I hope you decide to join us." With that, Sora left to investigate what chaos was ensuing on her ship and Evangella was left to explore the room she'd been given.

[talesfromapologueisle]

The Witching Hour in Apologue

      Elliot stepped left her house at an hour to midnight. Dressed in the witches traditional all black, no one noticed as she slipped out into the streets. She decided that tonight, she would walk into the woods rather than ride her broomstick. Her familiar, Amos, flew overhead to watch her back. She didn't have much to do tonight. She just wanted to recharge some crystals in the moonlight and collect some herbs. Maybe she should cast a few more protection spells over some of the townspeople. Just to be safe.  As she neared the edge of the woods, she could feel the energy of the witching hour drawing nearer and it was exhilarating. 

     Unlike her very bubbly appearance in the coffee shop, the witching hour filled her with a different attitude. Elliot was more confident and sure of herself. The town didn't realize it, but everyone depended on her for a good night's sleep and she's also single-handedly responsible for the remarkable amount of harmony in this little town. 

     As she sauntered into the woods, the energy washing over her as she got nearer to the clearing where she often performed her rituals. Elliot began to set up the altar, lighting the candles and making her offering. The witching hour had only just begun. The wind whistles through the trees and she set to work. She began to lay out the crystals to charge in the moonlight and called out to her gods to protect those she held dearest. She also called upon the spiders of the woods to weave her a dream catcher large enough to catch all of the nightmares of the townspeople. Nasty things Nightmares are. All it takes is one Nightmare to open a whole can of disastrous dreams throughout the entire town, they spread like the plague and they're a pain to clean up.       As if on cue, the night sky lit up with a myriad of brilliant colors. Apologue Isle's famous Aurora Borealis. The lights could be seen for miles and were said to bring peaceful dreams. Having taken her moment to enjoy the lights, Elliot got back to work. The candles create shadows that dance and flicker on the trees while she works her magic. She talks with them for a while and catches up with them before she sends them off one by one to watch over the sleeping town. Elliot can feel as the witching hour draws to a close and she spends the last moments gathering herbs before collecting her things and leaving a token of gratitude for both her gods and her shadow friends. She slowly makes her way out of the woods, humming a sleeping enchantment to put the creatures of the forest to rest for the night.

[talesfromapologueisle]

The Captain and the Princess

      When she woke up, she was locked in a cell. She could hear the moaning and groaning from the other people locked in cells. The smell of salt was in the air and trying to stand was pointless. She must be on a ship. A large man with a ring full of keys came wandering through the corridor, looking from cell to cell. He beats a large stick against his hand, looking for a reason to use it. The cries of the other prisoners grow tenfold as he passes by.      "Sir! Sir! Where am I?" Evangella cries out to the man as he passes by her cell. He slams the stick against the door to her cell, sending her reeling backward.      "OUIET!" He hollers at the top of his lungs. The cries began to hush.  The man opened his mouth to speak but was met with more yelling, this time from up on deck. "Oh what the hell is happening now?" He drew his sword and marched back through the corridor, disappearing up a ladder. Seconds later, the same man was fell back down the hole in the floor, this time missing his head.    "Pirates!" One of the inmates yelled sending the prisoners into hysteria. Evangella cowered in the back of her cell, curling into a ball and hoping that if anyone came down they wouldn't notice she was there. She could hear the screams of dying men and the sound of steel on steel. Outside the wall that separated her from the saltwater, she could hear bodies being thrown overboard, hitting the water with a spine-cracking sound. As she looked up, another body descended from the hole in the ceiling. This time landing with grace, their sword still grasped firmly in their hand.     "Which of you is the Princess?" The voice asked. A woman. Various male voices spoke out trying and failing at hiding their masculinity. All of them claiming to be royalty. "No. No. No. YOU are not the princess and you most certainly are not. Listen up. Okay, here's how this is going to work. As of right now, the lot of you are free. Use it wisely." With that, the pirate went around to each cell breaking the locks and setting the prisoners loose. "If you get in my way, I will kill you," she said to the hoard as they filed out of their cells and out to the deck. As she got to the last couple of cells, she saw a girl in a tattered white dress cowering in the corner. She decided to save that cell for last. Judging by her clothes alone, she must be the princess she was after. After the last prisoner had been released, the pirate crouched down in front of the cell door, steadying herself with her sword.     "You know that I can still see you, right?" Evangella only curled into a tighter ball. "You must be the princess. My name is Sora. I'm Captain of the Horizon Storm and I'm not going to hurt you." Evangella started to unfurl and look at the Pirate who was speaking to her. She couldn't quite make out any facial features though. Sora moved to open the cell door and leaned in, offering a hand to Evangella.      "If you follow me I can get you safely to my ship." The princess looks up at the pirate but doesn't take her hand. She was a mountain in the dim room, taller than most of the surrounding men."We don't have much time."      "Are you here to rescue me?"      "Yes."      "Who sent you?"      "No one. We were going to loot this ship anyway. They capture and harm loads of innocent people so we decided to pay them a visit, and give them a scare. However, I overheard some of them discussing you. We can return you home."      "How do I know that I can trust you?"      "You don't. But I can tell you what can happen if you stay. I heard what they were saying before I slit their throats. They spoke of truly horrid things that a lady like yourself should never have to go through. Miss, we really have to go now." Evangella took her savior's hand and Sora leads her up the ladder and on to the deck where chaos ensued. Sora joined the fight almost immediately, ordering the Princess to stay out of the way and to not get hurt.     In the light, Evangella could truly get a good look at the person who had come to rescue her. She was the most beautiful and terrifying person that the princess had ever seen. Sora was adorned head to toe in captains gear. A Captain's hat and a long coat that when pulled back revealed an assortment of knives and two pistols. She was absolutely magnificent with a blade, moving more graceful than the most skilled ballerina and making it look like a work of art. Sora was unlike all of the other humans on that Evangella had ever seen. The moon highlighted the scars on her face and her skin glowed pale blue. Never before had Evangella been this entranced or frightened.       When the fight was over, Sora returned to Evangella's side soaked in blood and wearing a gigantic smile on her face. Her breath was ragged and the adrenaline rush made her jittery.        "Ready to go?" She said, extending her hand to the princess. Evangella nodded, unable to properly formulate a sentence, and took her hand. "Okay, you're going to have to trust me again. Climb up on the rail and grab ahold of that rope." Evangella did as she was told and Sora climbed up beside her. "Are you ready?" Sora asked. Evangella nodded and Sora looped her arm around her and pulled her close. She let out a loud whistle and a rope swung over from the neighboring ship. "Hold on," she warned, wrapping the rope around her ar and stepping off the side of the ship. Evangella let out a shriek as they soared through the air before landing on the deck of the other ship. "Princess, welcome aboard the Horizon Storm."

[talesfromapologueisle]

The Adventures of Ace

     The heels of her shoes clack and echo against the stone floor of the long-abandoned castle. Ace made her way through the castle, wandering in and out of rooms to take everything in. The building was crumbling down and it was Ace's job to erase any trace of dragon history from the building before the humans of the normal world could get in and find their history. It was a shame really. Dragons had gone almost extinct because of humans and now they don't even know that dragons really do exist. In one room, she finds a sword, forged from dragon fire and chainmail made of dragon scales that she picks up and puts in her bag to take to the counsel of dragons later. It was obviously the room of a prized knight.     In another room, she finds piles of drawings and paintings. Ace riffles through and pulls out the ones that have dragons in them and then pulls out a few more to give to Elliot for her coffee shop walls, certain that they won't be missed.  She goes into another room and starts to dig into a chest at the foot of the bed. 

    At the bottom of the crate, there is a pair of purple and white dragon scale bracers, similar in color to the scales of her mother. Those, she decides, she will keep. She slips them on and walks over to the mirror by the fireplace. They add an extra touch of power to her high priestess apparel. With them on, she feels as if the flames of her ancestors are licking at her skin and begging her to burn down this godforsaken castle that belongs to the people that betrayed them. She snaps her fingers and a violet flame appears in her palm, glowing brighter than ever before with the power of the ancestor. 

    Before she can decide to burn the place to ash, she flicks her hand and the flame disappears. The bracers definitely came from her family. A wave of homesickness washes over her and brings her back to reality. With that, she goes back to searching the castle. This time, a little quicker than before so that she can get back home to the people that matter to her now.

[talesfromapologueisle]

Evangella, Princess of Astra

     "You look beautiful, Your Majesty," the handmaiden complimented as she placed the veiled tiara on the Princess's head. Evangella looked at herself in the mirror. She should be excited, happy, thrilled. It was her wedding day after all. Her entire life as the Princess of Astra had lead to this moment. She was taking the throne as queen and forming an alliance with Hewswith. She wasn't happy though. The corset in her dress was too tight, her heels hurt like hell and the handmaidens had done her hair so that it pulled her face. This, however, had become her life. The real problem was that she didn't love the man she was supposed to marry. Sure, he was nice and did all of the right things, but he didn't make her heart do the fluttery thing or her mind run wild with dreams of their future together.

     In her lifetime Evangella had learned perfect manners and posture, mastered five languages, attended more dinner parties and balls than she could even begin to count and learned how to do it all with a smile. Never had she learned how to pretend to love a man she was supposed to marry.      "Ladies, you've done more than enough. Thank you. May I have a few moments to myself?" With that, the handmaidens picked up their things and exited the room. the second they were gone, Evangella threw open the nearest window and leaned out to get a breath of fresh air. She looked at the ground, trying to decide if she could land it but decided she couldn't and backed away. This was quite the mess.      A knock came from the door and her father entered the room, ready to escort her down to the courtyard to seal her fate. She took his arm and he leads her through the halls of their castle, trying to offer words of wisdom and congratulations but all she could hear was static. Before she knew it, she was standing at the alter less than two feet away from her husband to be. Looking out over the crowd, she saw that both kingdoms had gathered in that very room to see this. They all expected her to marry him.      She ran. She ditched her heels and she ran into the garden. From the hall, she could hear the shock and awe of her stunt but she didn't stop running until she reached the farthest corner of the garden. She lost her stomach one of the bushes and felt a bit better, but not by much. Evangella waited a few minutes for her mind to calm before deciding to walk back. It was just the nerves, she was ready now. She heard a twig snap and her heart jumped for a second.      "I'm terribly sorry. I was just a tad bit nervous and I shouldn't have run. I'm ready now," She called out. No one answered. She looked around and felt her stomach turn yet again and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. "Hello?" she called. Something hit the back of her head and the world went black.

[absinthundblut]

[witchywinters]

Rachel Gillig  ✨ Instagram

[talesfromapologueisle]

Twisted Tea Leaves Radio

[talesfromapologueisle]

Twisted Tea Leaves Radio

[talesfromapologueisle]

Elliot’s Dilemma

Elliot had spent hours looking for one specific spellbook in her entire library of spellbooks. It was the one that she kept all of her potion recipes for the cafe in and she needed it to finish making a new potion she had been experimenting with. She could even vividly picture the beautifully designed cover of a witch perched in a tree, looking at the moon while her long red hair flowed behind her. Of course, she had made the mistake of putting it on her notebook shelf which had been stuffed full of a myriad of vibrantly illustrates notebooks and binders. Or at least that’s what she had thought she had done. She sighed as she pulled the last notebook from the shelf that wasn’t the one she had been looking for. Climbing back down the ladder, she went back behind the counter to rummage through the shelves again. Mentally chewing herself out for not putting it back where she kept the normal cookbooks and potions guides. The bell chimes and someone walks in the front door. Elliot pops her head up from the counter. “Welcome to The Twisted Tea Leaves, I’ll be with you in just a moment,” she chirped before ducking back under the counter to reach for her order pad and whatever pen she could grab first. “Terribly sorry about that, what will it be for you?” She smoothed out her apron and quickly jotted down the person’s order. “Could I have a peppermint hot chocolate with a dash of patience and a charisma and sour cherry scone?” “Sure thing, is that all?” “Yes please.” “That’ll be right out in a minute or two.” Elliot snapped her fingers and the kitchen got to work while she climbed a step ladder to grab the patience potion off of the shelf. “How much patience do you need?” The customer took a moment to think about it and for a second looked as if she was having a war flashback. “Maybe a little extra.” “No problem.” She measured out about half of a tablespoon and stirred it in for good measure before adding the topping and handing it back to the customer. On cue, the scone appeared in the window behind her. “Here you are, Have a nice day!” “Thanks!” Elliot waved as the customer left and then immediately ducked back under the counter to scour the shelves. There were lots of mugs, mostly the ones she had gotten specifically for her friends, and then there were a couple of spellbooks and grimoires that she didn’t want in her library because then they could fall into public hands and so on and so on until someone uses the spell book for the wrong thing and causes chaos in the town which Elliot would certainly not allow. She found several old filled notepads and nearly dead pens, but now pretty potion book. Well, in her opinion they were all pretty but they weren’t the one that she was looking for. Emerging from under the counter, she realized that she had left the bottle of patience out. She picked it up and climbed back up the step ladder to place it on the shelf. Standing on her tiptoes and causing her hat to fall off of the back of her head, she peered into the very back of the shelf just to check but didn’t find it. For a second, she contemplated giving the summoning spell another whirl, but last time she did that it sent everything flying off of the shelves and she really didn’t have time to clean that type of mess up with it being business hours and all. Admitting defeat, for now, she wrote a post-it note to look for it later and stuck it on the backboard of the counter where it got lost in the sea of other post-it notes. Elliot went back and put away the notebooks that she had pulled out earlier and decided to put away a bunch of other books she had laid out as well. Auras: a Guide to Identifying the Astral Spectrum went back to it’s own shelf of the subject. Classifying Crystals went back to it’s home and finally, the Witches Guide to Cooking with Potions was up on a completely different shelf. As she went to fit the book back into it’s little nook, there was a small stack of papers and notebooks that she had apparently left laying there when she got the book out. So she picked them up and took them back behind the counter to sort through. And of course in the last place that she would have looked and the last place she did look. There was the notebook she had torn apart her library looking for and all of the notes that she had had for the potion she had been creating. She opened up the book to the marked page so that she could get to work on making the potion. However, life being as it was. There was an itsy bitsy problem. Elliot realized that she hadn’t quite finished it yet. She had all of the notes gathered, but she hadn’t actually written down any sort of recipe or even ingredients yet. Quickly, she skimmed through the pages and thumbed through the book only to find nothing even resembling the potion she had wanted to make. Surely this was the right book. She glanced around, looking for a note to self or some sort of recipe card she had left laying out, but nothing was to be found in the mess of sticky notes or scattered cards. Then, she realized, it was all in her head. Author's Note: This was actually something I wrote for a timed write. I had 40 minutes and the prompt was to end the story with "Then, she realized, it was all in her head." I've gone back and tried to fix some of the spelling or some of the grammar mistakes since then.

[rosy-dreams]

Post Halloween feels

[talesfromapologueisle]

Awake Before the Sun

Elliot snapped her fingers and the entire coffee shop awoke. The books straightened themselves on their shelves, the phonograph creaked to life with her morning playlist despite being an antique, the dishes washed up and made their way to the cupboards, the kitchen started preparing the day's treats and the broom started dusting the shop. Even the blackboard got a move on and adjusted the menu for the day. Everything worked in harmony to get the store ready for the customers that would soon arrive. Elliot went to work, refilling the potions and charms behind the counter for the people who would need an extra shot of energy that morning. Then she moved on to lighting the candles she keeps around the store, humming to her self as she went. She had her schedule down to a science. Everything was prepped, ready and he was back behind the counter, checking things off of her planner by the time the first customer walked in for their calming herbal tea and charisma cherry scone.

Author’s note: Hello All! Meet Elliot, the first official character in our series. If you hadn’t already guessed, Elliot is a witch who runs the town cafe, The Twisted Tea Leaves. This is just a little snap shot into the everyday life of Elliot and I can't wait to develop her even further.