Anthracyda
Book of Anthracyda
This is cozy fantasy at its barest - no action, barely any romance.
On the cusp of the English civil war, amid a climate of witch hunts, a remote village struggles to define it's relationship with a hillside spirit deep in the neighboring hills that it finally has to admit exists.
The Book of Anthracyda is a sequential collection of episodes, told by one or more of the characters in the episode. The oldest known story is the ballad Song of Anthracyda, reproduced here in modern english with chords. The ballad recounts the story of a shepherd meeting the small god (or hillside spirit if you choose) Anthracyda in a blizzard on Winter Solstice, December 21, 1641. It is told again from the shepherd's point of view in the Shepherd's Tale.
The stories continue as the villagers try to understand the benefits and dangers of having a supernatural neighbor and how that impacts their own relationships within the village.
Most of the stories are from 1641-1643, but there are two stories much later in time.
For those who want to complain that this set of stories is not consistent with the English game laws or the actual geography of northwest Cumbria - get a grip. This is a fantasy. If you can accept the existence of a hillside spirit, you can accept a Northwest Cumbria with minor hills that have crests and a history without the game laws.
The entire set of stories can be also found as a pdf here and as an epub here.
Prologue
Song of Anthracyda
The original ballad
Shepherd's Tale (Duncane Lyfelde) (December 1641)
The shepherd's version of the story told in the Song of Anthracyda.
Hannah Malison (December 1641 - Spring 1642)
Duncane talks to his girlfriend, Hannah Malison, a fisherman's daughter, about Anthracyda.
Elspet Malison (Spring 1642)
A short note by Hannah's mother Elspet.
Main
Broken Blessings (Fiona Rede and Alastair Cullane) (May 1642)
Sometimes couples are a bad pairing.
The Vicar's Tale (June 1642)
The vicar attempts to exorcise Anthracyda.
The Vicar Returns (July 10-27, 1643)
The Vicar returns to Andras Hill with a secret weapon
The Publican's Tale (Gilbert Blexham) (July 10-11, 1643)
The Publican's version of the story told in The Vicar Returns.
Marion Blexham (July 12-25, 1643)
The Innkeeper's wife, Marion Blexham, and some others go to meet the 'neighbor'.
Andrew Dericote (July 25, 1643)
Yeoman at the Inn when Marion et all return from meeting the 'neighbor'.
Women's Meeting (July 25, 1643)
Report out to the rest of the village women.
Mathilda Potter (July 23-28, 1643)
Mathilda Potter's version of meeting the 'neighbor' and subsequent solo meeting.
Rachel Dericote (July 27-28, 1643)
Lucy Valcar takes Rachel Dericote and Sarah Gaynesford to meet Anthracyda. Marion and Rachel answer questions and convince the village women to meet Anthracyda.
Village Lunch at the Stones (August 1, 1643)
Most of the village meets Anthracyda.
Marion, Cait and Sarah Talk About Courtship Advice (August 3, 1643)
Marion, Cait and Sarah talk about ideas to reduce the number of bad marriages and how Anthracyda could play a role.
The Wise Woman (September 1-3, 1643)
Sussana Beckworth steps up.
Sussana Argues with Mathilda (September 7, 1643)
Mathilda asks Sussana the "What is a human" question and unexpectedly starts an argument.
Sussana Goes Back to the Stones (September 7-10, 1643)
Anthracyda tries to explain hygiene to Sussana in 17th century terms.
Mathilda, Elspet and Clarice (September 8, 1643)
Mathilda talks to Espet about the "What is a human" question. She ends up arguing with Elspet's daughter Clarice.
Fiona and Mathilda (September 11-12, 1643)
Fiona and Mathilda talk and decide to visit Anthracyda.
Hannah's Baby (September 14, 1643)
Sussana assists the midwife at Hannah Malison Lyfelde's birthing. (Yes, Hannah married Duncane Lyfelde off-page.)
Mathilda Writes a Letter (September 15, 1643)
Mathilda writes a letter to her father
Fiona, Clarice and Sussana (September 16, 1643)
Fiona, Clarice and Sussana start a conspiracy
Epilogue
Philip Rede Returns (August 12-18, 1960)
Time shift to 1960. A villager returns after being gone for 43 years.
Diary of Rev. Jonathan Cary (April - June, 1996)
A visiting vicar meets Anthracyda in 1996