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The Ballad of Iron Percy by Edward Clark
Fantasy
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It has been twenty years since the island nation of Great Hale conquered the New World and became an empire. Lord Percival Wilmore, the Hero of Naruna Isle, has been the governor of the New Jucata since the war’s end, and it has been his life’s work to make the colony a peaceful and prosperous part of the Halan Empire. By all accounts, he has succeeded. The city-states of Old Jucata have been dominated utterly, the old religion has been completely supplanted by the Halan faith of the White Veil, and Jucatan goods have made Great Hale the envy of the world. He is beloved by the people, and he has ensured that this Halan colony is built to last.
But New Jucata’s future is not as secure as it seems. As the head of state for the colony, Lord Wilmore is the highest legal authority in the land, and he is called upon to try a most curious prisoner. The events and outcome of this interrogation threaten to tear Halan Rule of Law apart and bring anarchy to the region.
Pandemona stands accused of being a Pak Shar - a dangerous and seductive demon previously seen only in Veil mythology. With her scarlet skin, lithe tail, and dainty set of horns, she certainly looks the part. Her way with words and alluring demeanor only serve to underscore this perception. Under Halan law, the punishment for being a demon is death by fire at the stake, but Pandemona is entitled to a fair trial by Lord Wilmore and the colony’s Curate before she can be convicted and executed. This interrogation is her only chance to escape. She must use all of her wit and guile to survive.
Is Pandemona really what she appears to be? What is she here to accomplish? Is she an evil and subversive creature, sent from the Abyss to torment mankind? Or is she simply disfigured and misunderstood? Whatever the truth may be, her presence is not a good omen.
The Ballad of Iron Percy is a song of glorious triumph, written to honor Lord Wilmore’s victory against overwhelming odds in the Conquest War. It is an iconic tune in New Jucata. The specifics of the verses vary in each separate rendition, but the overall tone is one of bravery, achievement, and joy.
Unfortunately for Iron Percy, his Ballad is not yet over…
Produced and narrated by Veronica Giguere
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives 3.0 United States License.
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Chapters
| Title | Description | Date Created |
| 01: The Ballad of Iron Percy (21.57 MB) | Prologue: In which battles are fought, friends are lost, and heroes are made. The first verses of Iron Percy’s Ballad are written. Chapter 1: In which the stage is set for an extraordinary trial. Three men – Lord Wilmore, Curate Halberg, and their scribe - climb to the highest cell in the tallest tower to confront a most vexatious prisoner. Pandemona stands accused of being a Pak Shar, a dangerous demon from the lowest reaches of Hell. The three of them will hear her tale and decide her fate. | Apr 30, 2010 |
| 02: The Ballad of Iron Percy (28.89 MB) | Chapter 2: In which Pandemona’s story begins. She tells of her arrival and her first steps on this world and her first glimpse of the endless blue nothing we call the Sky. She meets her first companion, the mad mage Osmun, and has understanding forced upon her. | Apr 30, 2010 |
| 03: The Ballad of Iron Percy (26.34 MB) | Chapter 3: In which the veracity of events is questioned already. As Pandemona continues, she tells of Magic and Osmun’s Great Work – the reason for her arrival on the world of Indolu. Osmun explains his intentions and gives her time to think on them. | Apr 30, 2010 |
| 04: The Ballad of Iron Percy (27.92 MB) | Chapter 4: In which Pandemona tests her Masters’ patience, in her narrative and out of it. When she returns to her tale, she explains that she agreed to help Osmun. She is tempted, then tricked. Learning comes with great pain as she learns the rules of Magic. | Apr 30, 2010 |
| 05: The Ballad of Iron Percy (21.8 MB) | Chapter 5: In which Pandemona recovers and takes her vengeance, striking out at Osmun. His reaction is not as she expects. She learns the most important rule of Magic and pauses her story here. | Apr 30, 2010 |
| 06:The Ballad of Iron Percy (18.1 MB) | Chapter 6: In which the three men make a toast to clarity in Lord Wilmore’s study. They speak of their duty and their strategy for the next session. The Scribe’s relationship to Lord Wilmore is revealed. | May 4, 2010 |
| 07: The Ballad of Iron Percy (15.91 MB) | Chapter 7: In which return to the tower is delayed by a fortunate find by the Veil’s inquisitors. When they finally return to continue their interrogation, Pandemona resumes from her last stopping point, telling of her reluctance to use Magic and pay its costs. | May 4, 2010 |
| 08: The Ballad of Iron Percy (16.99 MB) | Chapter 8: In which Pandemona wakes alone to find Osmun subdued. Training and instruction are protracted as his worst fears come true, and he is forced to send his agent into the world without a full understanding of her new abilities. | May 16, 2010 |
| 09: The Ballad of Iron Percy (21.38 MB) | Chapter 9: In which Pandemona tells of her trip to the mainland and arrival in New Jucata. Lord Wilmore becomes uncomfortably aware of her influence in the room. She tells of her naive first steps, before she had ever heard the words ‘Pak Shar.’ | May 16, 2010 |
| 10: The Ballad of Iron Percy (30.18 MB) | Chapter 10: In which Pandemona’s strange appearance and sudden arrival in the northern town of Whitewall causes her to be greeted with a very strange brand of Halan hospitality. She tells of her temporary escape from these problems with a retreat into a pleasant dream. When her keepers become unpleasant, she is forced to rely on her new talents to regain freedom and make her escape. | May 25, 2010 |
| 11: The Ballad of Iron Percy (32.48 MB) | Chapter 11: In which the Scribe speaks out of turn at the session’s end. When the three men retire, Graham learns about Lord Wilmore’s time in the army from his fencing instructor. | Jun 2, 2010 |
| 12: The Ballad of Iron Percy (20.25 MB) | Chapter 12: In which Lord Wilmore discusses marriage plans for his son and takes steps to verify Pandemona’s story. | Jun 2, 2010 |
| 13: The Ballad of Iron Percy (29.22 MB) | Chapter 13: In which Pandemona returns to her tale and realizes that successfully navigating a boat in the ocean is a great deal harder than it seems. At sea, she confronts dangerous enemies – starvation, exposure, and, worst of all, boredom. | Jun 9, 2010 |
| 14: The Ballad of Iron Percy (39.59 MB) | Chapter 14: In which Pandemona enjoys Halan hospitality from her saviors. Here, in this unlikely place, she makes her first friend. By asking questions in this blind conversation, she is able to learn more about the world she now exists in. At last, she learns the meaning of the words ‘Pak Shar.’ From him, she gets her first taste of human compassion. | Jun 9, 2010 |
| 15: The Ballad of Iron Percy (35 MB) | Chapter 15: In which Pandemona discusses the nature of kindness and the law. When she returns to her tale, she tells of her good fortune. She and Jared meet face to face for the first time as they are freed. | Jun 14, 2010 |
| 16: The Ballad of Iron Percy (28.43 MB) | Chapter 16: In which Pandemona greets her savior and boards the Scar of Agaraset. She is pleased to meet another set of humans, ones with an entirely different definition of ‘hospitality.’ | Jun 14, 2010 |
| 17: The Ballad of Iron Percy (35.52 MB) | Chapter 17: In which the case and its subtleties are discussed. When Pandemona finishes her tale, they speak of her on the stairs. Graham learns a lesson from the captive – some pleasures are worth the pain of pursuit. | Jun 20, 2010 |
| 18: The Ballad of Iron Percy (21.19 MB) | Chapter 18: In which Graham finds a fight and meets his courage. He learns how quickly things can turn from desperate to casual and back again. | Jun 20, 2010 |
| 19: The Ballad of Iron Percy (19.52 MB) | Chapter 19: In which the Governor and the Curate give voice to their hidden conflict and attempt to resolve it. But their disunity is just one of their enemies – as they speak, Agamu’s disciples move in Port Gareth’s midst. | Jun 29, 2010 |
| 20: The Ballad of Iron Percy (39.97 MB) | Chapter 20: In which Pandemona resumes the telling and recalls her early service to Captain Aranoun. She describes the Captain’s skill with swords and the remarkable differences between Elise and her brother. | Jun 29, 2010 |
| 21: The Ballad of Iron Percy (39.84 MB) | Chapter 21: In which Pandemona fails to resist temptation and is forced to confront the consequences of her lapse. | Jul 8, 2010 |
| 22: The Ballad of Iron Percy (45.03 MB) | Chapter 22: In which a trap is sprung while Pandemona tempts retribution once more. She proves her worth and wins the Captain’s approval with her bravery. | Jul 11, 2010 |
| 23: The Ballad of Iron Percy (49.72 MB) | Chapter 23: In which Pandemona ceases her tale, raising new questions about the Azcati insurgency. Tensions flare between the Curate and the Scribe and Lord Wilmore is forced to side against his son. | Jul 18, 2010 |
| 24: The Ballad of Iron Percy (28.29 MB) | Chapter 24: In which Graham makes a discovery that sends the whole of Castle Gareth into a panic. The Halans are forced to confront the true nature of their enemies as they guard against disaster. | Jul 18, 2010 |
| 25: The Ballad of Iron Percy (23.26 MB) | Chapter 25: In which Lord Wilmore takes steps to hide recent events from the Curate. When they return to the tower at last, they question Pandemona about their Azcati enemies. She visits them and their brutal faith in her tale. | Jul 25, 2010 |
| 26: The Ballad of Iron Percy (33.06 MB) | Chapter 26: In which Pandemona explains the nature of her gifts to the Aranouns. She enjoys the privileges of her new status as the Captain grants her request to pursue a node of Magic on Takatch. | Jul 27, 2010 |
| 27: The Ballad of Iron Percy (22.87 MB) | Chapter 27: In which Pandemona makes landfall on Takatch Island. There, she witnesses the natural beauty of Magic and sees to the Great Work once more. | Aug 2, 2010 |
| 28: The Ballad of Iron Percy (33.45 MB) | Chapter 28: In which Pandemona ends her tale for the day. Lord Wilmore sends a scout to Takatch Island to search for evidence of the battle there. Afterwards, he has a strange and scandalous encounter with an agent of King Gareth outside his office. | Aug 2, 2010 |
| 29: The Ballad of Iron Percy (19.16 MB) | Chapter 29: In which the Governor, the Curate, and the Scribe are beleaguered by problems. When they find the time to escape from them and return to the tower, they confront a surprising scene. | Aug 8, 2010 |
| 30: The Ballad of Iron Percy (24.87 MB) | Chapter 30: In which Lord Wilmore and Curate Halberg hear the guard’s tale and decide his fate. | Aug 8, 2010 |
| 31: The Ballad of Iron Percy (27.95 MB) | Chapter 31: In which the three men visit Pandemona and demand that she press on with her story. She relents, but only after learning of Anton Albrecht’s fate. She tells of her experiences after Takatch Island, as they travel to Port Agad. | Aug 26, 2010 |
| 32: The Ballad of Iron Percy (28.24 MB) | Chapter 32: In which Pandemona tells of her arrival in Port Agad, the home city of the Free Trade Guild. As before, she cannot make landfall with the rest of the crew. The Captain lends her a telescope to help mitigate the boredom. Through it, she witnesses something suspicious. | Aug 26, 2010 |
| 33: The Ballad of Iron Percy (40.77 MB) | Chapter 33: In which Pandemona discovers that she has witnessed a murder. When Captain Hugo arrives to confront the Captain of the Scar of Agaraset, she is forced to hide. She learns about the elaborate pretense that allows the Aranouns to keep mastery of the ship. | Aug 30, 2010 |
| 34: The Ballad of Iron Percy (17.14 MB) | Chapter 34: In which Pandemona returns to the crow’s nest to avoid the Aranouns. Through the telescope, she observes another woman on the docks, one that she is sure will be the Mangler’s next victim. She causes a stir when she leaves the ship in a panicked attempt to stop her. | Aug 30, 2010 |
| 35: The Ballad of Iron Percy (22.38 MB) | Chapter 35: In which Pandemona gives the three men a description of the killer. They end the tale before she is prepared to stop the telling, and the Wilmores spend the rest of the evening together. | Aug 30, 2010 |
| 36: The Ballad of Iron Percy (13.63 MB) | Chapter 36: In which Captain Ferdinand confronts Lord Wilmore about rumors of a captive Pak Shar in the tower. The governor realizes that their grip upon this secret is beginning to slip, and he resolves to finish the trial as quickly as possible. | Sep 9, 2010 |
| 37: The Ballad of Iron Percy (32.19 MB) | Chapter 37: In which Pandemona describes her decision to leave the Scar of Agaraset and return to Osmun’s Great Work. Captain Aranoun tells her a story in an attempt to talk her out of the plan. | Sep 9, 2010 |
| 38: The Ballad of Iron Percy (41.53 MB) | Chapter 38: In which Pandemona leaves the Aranouns and resumes the Great Work on her own. She travels south by foot, until she reaches a third Node of Magic. | Sep 16, 2010 |
| 39: The Ballad of Iron Percy (26.22 MB) | Chapter 39: In which Pandemona is punished by Osmun for her failure. She travels to Port Cordelia and tries to lose herself in the city until she stumbles onto the right path once more | Sep 16, 2010 |
| 40: The Ballad of Iron Percy (49.6 MB) | Chapter 40: In which Pandemona finds the main font of Magic and is forced to make a decision. Here, her tale ends, and the three men leave her to make their judgement and decide her fate. | Sep 25, 2010 |
| 41: The Ballad of Iron Percy (10.2 MB) | Chapter 41: In which Lord Wilmore's scout returns from Whitewall. | Sep 25, 2010 |
| 42: The Ballad of Iron Percy (21.43 MB) | Chapter 42: In which Lord Wilmore gives his son a birthday gift before the boy's coming of age ball. | Sep 27, 2010 |
| 43: The Ballad of Iron Percy (45.21 MB) | Chapter 43: In which Graham Wilmore makes his first enemy, summons his courage, and discovers what it means to be a man in Halan society. | Oct 5, 2010 |
| 44: The Ballad of Iron Percy (35.1 MB) | Chapter 44: In which a decision is reached, a verdict is passed, and justice is done. All parties must face the consequences. | Oct 15, 2010 |
| 45: The Ballad of Iron Percy (49.55 MB) | Chapter 45: In which Lord Wilmore faces the consequence of his stand and reflects on the path of his life. The Church's dangerous backlash threatens to throw the city into chaos. The Wilmore heir sees the truth of what it means for a man to stand for his beliefs. | Oct 15, 2010 |
| 46: The Ballad of Iron Percy (38.59 MB) | Chapter 46: In which the final verses of the Ballad of Iron Percy are sung. | Oct 15, 2010 |