Jani Ojala : Broken Shadows

The 2030s are here. A new decade commences for the casts of The Coleman Stories, Overbite and Oulunsalo Fiction. Old world's magics, that allowed life's delicate balance to exist for a moonage, revolt against mankind's excess. Sammy Sieppi's boss, Sandking has a recluse younger brother Maskmaker, whom has stolen the answer to one of life's quintessential questions: "what happens after we die?". The Absolution-Spear's foul abuse in the hands of the Marston dynasty, gets Shotimamimu the dream-owl talking, only unto the chosen few who can see him upon appearance. While this is going on, an experimental life-force declares hunting-season in the Siberian region of Yakutia, Russia. A force so grand-standingly unstoppabe, people have no choice but to try to understand and work around Nair, lest they become prey to him.
Nothing will stop the six-meter wolf.

Markus Leinonen goes for his first overseas trip with a friend, leaving Tiia alone with an owl in her dreams. Viktor has bought back Ouluinsalo, and is set in his ways running the town... until Ivan calls him about a beast in the East. The final Colemans are still looking for a place in the world that'll have them. Sammy SIeppi comes back from prison and his boss is now an old, legacy-obsessed man ruling New York's post-apocalyptic world of organized crime from a lonely castle. The Soisalo-family are set in their ways and best-selling author Petri wants to discover new horizon in the West. Eemeli Kangas' owl-dreams get merged with those of a woman living in the same town and the two discover a life-changing truth about a clan of astral seers that operate from a place man cannot tread.

As life goes on and a new era commences, awareness of Maskmaker forces folk to ask some difficult questions about their lives. His demeaning life-story about a perpetual second place to a brother that has claimed his place as King... has driven the 66-year-old Marston-brother into a life of monstrous abuse. Of existential proportions. As long as the blade in his necklace has a pulse, the ink will never dry from his curated stories.

I'm a 25-year-old writer and 26 soon.

I collected 12 surviving characters from old stories and added a fantasy-element. This is my first time ever writing magic! Hopefully you'll feel as fulfilled reading it as I did writing it!

--Jani Ojala, 18.12.2022.