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Elena is a renowned mystery and thriller writer, known for portraying cruelty and danger as something that can come from anyone, anywhere. Each spring, she releases a new novel praised for its tension and unpredictability. A month later, she hosts an exclusive week-long gathering in a new location, inviting aspiring artists alongside a select group of powerful guests who can change their lives. This year, the tradition moves to sea. When the crew vanishes overnight, the passengers awake to find three questions scrawled on a blackboard in the lobby, the gathering turns into something far more dangerous. As fear spreads and secrets surface, the line between guest and threat begins to blur. It soon becomes clear that Elena’s stories may not be fiction after all. Are they all just unfortunate guests… or are some of them exactly where they were meant to be?

It is the year 770 (Post Union), nearly eight hundred years after humanity's first FTL capable ship made first contact with another sapient race. An age of expansion and technological advancement amongst humanities fledgling star empire, but not everything is as grand as one may hope. The Sapient Congressional Union consists of many different member species spread across more than four and a half thousand light years of space, a mere blip in the face of the immensity of the universe. Amongst these myriads of worlds exist the inhabitants of the Union, many of them just doing their best to live comfortable lives amidst the chaos and turmoil of a hostile universe. Pirates, brigands, and marauders are rampant and a constant scourge to the far-flung outer frontier worlds of the Union, only the bloated core systems having any real Federal presence to protect the innocent. It is a hard existence that breeds even harder individuals, individuals willing to do anything to seek out their own fortunes amongst the stars. We follow the destiny of several such citizens of this so-called Union as they try to carve a place for themselves from the criminals and other deplorables of the galaxy. Will they succeed, or will they perish in a blaze of glory as so many who have come before. Only their tenacity and trust in each other will truly see them through the gauntlet that lies ahead.

A collection of short stories set in The Oblivion Cycle setting. What is The Oblivion Cycle Setting? The Oblivion Cycle setting is a vast creative project of near infinite scope that spans across all of what is known and much of what isn’t. If one were to have to describe the genre in simple terms, the TOC setting as a whole is mostly cosmic horror, though it does incorporate elements of classic science fiction. The setting is divided into distinct universes, each with its own set of rules, narratives and history. These may be more or less like our own reality, or deviate from what is considered normal entirely. The entire point of this is to create as diverse and mouldable a base as possible for stories to be told in these different worlds. There is a main universe, called Universe 441 in the lore and is based on the current real-life timeline(with some creative embellishment of course). It is in this in-setting universe that most of the current stories are set. The stories set in the TOC setting are just as varied as the setting itself. Approaching a million written words in stories, there is everything from horror and romance to military actions and mysteries, grimdark, cyber-noir and more. The setting is varied and lends itself easily to many creative exploits beyond simply writing. The environments and planets are well thought out and made for storytelling, the themes can be twisted and melded together in infinite ways to create ever more fantastic scenes and scenarios. So far what has been written all takes place in this single universe amongst an infinite sea of others, while many of them take place in the same place they are not really written in any sort of chronological order nor is there any main overarching story for the setting itself. It is much more fluid than that, the stories that are written can intersect or they can stand alone as they see fit. Everything starts with and ends eventually, all hailing to the endless cycles of creation and destruction that make the setting work. If you are new then I can recommend starting off with some of the short stories to try and get a feel for what kinds of things this great world has to offer, thanks for reading.

In the towering strato-city of Shikago on the world of Kondirak life is hard and the forces of the militarised police are in constant struggle with the heavily armed forces of the many gangs that run the underground. Amongst these powerful forces are the Tunnel Trawlers. Equipped in powerful HAVOC armour they represent the most potent force the Shikago police departments can bring to bear. The most potent force, until now. With a combination of unethical biomechanical experimentation and the most advanced cybernetics so far used to date, the local defense of the city is about to get a monstrous upgrade. A true departure from what may otherwise seem normal or even sane, an aberration as others might say. And this new technology is fully in the control of the Shikago city government. Or so they think.

On the empty street, a lone figure walked. A black coat draped over a white shirt, stained in dark, uneven patches that had yet to dry. Black trousers followed the same muted tone, blending him into the night as though he belonged to it more than the world around him. His hair was black, unremarkable at a glance, yet his eyes—sharp, brown, and unwavering—carried a quiet weight. Not exhaustion of the body, but something deeper, something that had settled within him long before this moment. Blood marked his clothes. Fresh enough to glisten faintly beneath the dim light, yet old enough to cling stubbornly, refusing to fade. The road remained silent. No footsteps but his own disturbed the stillness. No distant engines, no whisper of wind—nothing. Only a single street lamp stood above, casting a weak, yellow glow that felt… insufficient, as though it illuminated less than it should, leaving parts of the world just slightly beyond reach. And in that dim light— Something about the scene felt incomplete. Then, without warning, the streetlight flickered. Once. Then twice. Then irregularly, as though something unseen had begun interfering with its rhythm. The shadows shifted with it—but not entirely in sync. A fraction too slow. A fraction too late. As if they were no longer bound perfectly to the objects that cast them.

It is the far future and humanity has finally reached the stars and found that we are not alone in the universe. A grand Union of sapient species was formed and expanded over thousands of light years. But the universe is dark and full of horrors, some of this darkness seeps into anything that dares to travel through this dark realm of chaos and danger. Amongst these travelers are poor souls, castaways, pirates and prospectors. All of them simply looking through this miasma for a better life, but sometimes that darkness reaches out and takes hold on the minds of those that wander too far from the protected shipping lanes and colonised systems. The only bulwark against the darkness that resides within is the Union’s great military machine. Members of the Trade Escort Convoy and the Congressional Navy are constantly on patrol, alert for the tiniest hint of this chaos. Their mission is to protect the citizens of the Union, but in the vast darkness of space these terrors still lurk, hungry and violent.