Future Ruins: Stories

Abstract

Future Ruins is a collection of linked stories that explores the history of human colonization on the planet Ilova. The first story, “The Firemade,” takes place in one of the earliest human settlements on the planet. It follows the journey of Taen as he confronts the dangerous fires unleashed by the planet’s main inhabitants, the Noorois, while trying to prove himself to the colony and understand the desire he feels for a fellow soldier. “Rusted Purple” occurs several centuries later and focuses on Aodyn, a runner who illegally transports Blocks, statuesque magical beings that activate their powers with a kiss-like transference of breath. The threat of the imminent return of the Noorois to reclaim the planet underscores the choices that Aodyn must make. Finally, in “Swallow,” Myd, a scavenger, has made an impossible deal to protect her partner in the dangerous wreckage of the world following the pyrrhic aftermath of the great war. As she hunts for resources, she uncovers secrets of Ilova, the Blocks, and the origins of how humans came to conquer a planet that was never theirs.