Arthurian Legend

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The Motley Crew (The Thousand Nations). When a young man named Dolan flees from the north, he faces danger on all sides. The Northern Army wants him back. The Empire of Emor wants him dead. His native homeland of Koretia may not want him at all. And his only protection is a man with motives that are mysterious and possibly deadly.

New installment:

• Side story | Twisted. No matter how you twist away, you cannot escape fate. But you can determine how you meet it.

BLOG FICTION

Anahita Most Strong (holiday gift story). "Anahita leapt from a hundred times the height of a man and ran powerfully. Strong and bright, tall and beautiful of form, she sent down by day and by night a flow of motherly waters." An ancient Persian tale retold by me from a translation of the Avesta by James Darmesteter.

Tempestuous Tours (Crossing Worlds: A Visitor's Guide to the Three Lands #2). A whirlwind tour of the sites in the Three Lands that are most steeped in history, culture, and the occasional pickpocket.

New installments:

• From Daxis to Emor.
• Emorian borderland.
• Southern Emor's countryside.

( Round-up of fiction released in 2025 )

NEWS & UPCOMING FICTION

In reference to my concussion in early November: My head is close to normal again, so I'm able to do late-stage editing once more.

As I already explained to my subscribers, I've decided to drop early access fiction in favor of releasing my stories to all my readers at the same time. Next up on my release schedule is Suspicion of the Guards (The Thousand Nations: The Motley Crew #3).

I've put together my release schedule for 2026, though these days I often have to be nimble on my feet and juggle my schedule to fit what's happening in my life. I can summarize my 2026 schedule by saying that this year I plan to release fiction from Chronicles of the Great Peninsula and Turn-of-the-Century Toughs. Those of you who are readers of the Toughs cycle have been extremely patient with my delay in posting more fic; I appreciate it. I hope to reward your patience.

[Dusk's note: I would have liked to have posted this on Yalda Night, but I was away from my laptop last weekend. This is a retelling I created in 2003 (complete with the notes that follow it; the story was intended as a picture book text). I hope all of you are having a wonderful holiday season.]

ANAHITA MOST STRONG
An Ancient Persian Tale

Retold by Dusk Peterson from a translation of the Avesta by James Darmesteter

Anahita leapt from a hundred times the height of a man and ran powerfully. Strong and bright, tall and beautiful of form, she sent down by day and by night a flow of motherly waters.

God had given her four white horses: the wind, the rain, the cloud, and the sleet. One day she drove down from her starry home in her chariot, holding the reins. As she went, she longed for humans and thought in her heart:

"Who will praise me? To whom shall I hold fast? Who holds fast to me, and thinks of me, and is of good will toward me?"

To Anahita did Azi Dahaka, the three-mouthed, offer up a sacrifice in the land of Bawri, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, and ten thousand lambs.

He begged of her a favor, saying: "Grant me this favor, most generous Anahita! Grant that I may destroy all the people in the lands around me."

Anahita did not grant him that favor, although he had given gifts, sacrificing his beasts and begging that she would grant him that favor.

To Anahita did the sons of Vaesaka offer up a sacrifice in their castle that stood high on a mountain, with a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, and ten thousand lambs.

They begged of her a favor, saying: "Grant us this, most generous Anahita! Grant that we may strike down the people we hate: hundreds of people and thousands of people and tens of thousands of people."

Anahita did not grant them that favor.

An old man, Vafra Navaza, loved Anahita. As Anahita watched, the old man's enemy flung him up in the air in the shape of a vulture.

He went on flying for three days and three nights, towards his own house, but he could not come down. At the end of the third night, when the dawn came dawning up, he prayed to Anahita, saying: "Anahita! Hasten to help me, for I have loved you."

The old man had not given her a sacrifice. He had not given a hundred male horses, a thousand oxen, or ten thousand lambs.

Anahita hastened to him in the shape of a young woman, fair of body, most strong, tall-formed, with a golden cloak and a golden crown made of a hundred stars.

She seized Vafra Navaza by the arm. It was quickly done, nor was it long till, speeding, he arrived at the earth made by God and at his own house, safe, unhurt, unwounded, just as he was before.

Then Vafra Navaza offered up wine and meat in her honor. And Anahita returned to her palace in the stars, which had a hundred windows and a thousand columns and ten thousand balconies and a bed where she could sleep.

( Notes )