May 29, 2026
A man opens his new briefcase
and discovers that something else lies beside his files,
something…vast.
Genre: Mystery,
Mythology
Excerpt:
“Once,” she started, “the
world was filled with different beings than the ones that now fill
the world.”
They were just as wondrous.
And just as terrible. But in different ways. For ways changed with
time.
As it would come be, it was
so in those days as well, that some of these beings were
short-lived but numerous, and some were long-lived but few.
The longest lived of all
were the firstborn.
They were born when the
world was born. And they would end when the world would
end.
The Wheel of Fiction
Turns. What did it land on this
time?
Each Season 9 story
follows a theme chosen by the Wheel of Fiction. Thirteen spokes.
Eight are the themes from previous seasons. One is “Turn Again.”
One is a wild card. And three are covered in question marks and
will be revealed when the wheel lands on them.
See a story trailer and a
(satisfying) video of the wheel turning here: A Brief Case of Dread
This episode landed on DEFINITIONS. The story was
inspired by the definition of the word “anthropopathy.” It’s when
human emotion is ascribed to an inanimate object.
Find more stories and episodes about
powerful objects here: Year of
Definitions.
MERCH!
Interested in
merch, like mugs and notebooks, featuring my
artwork?
Please visit my Store page for
info on where you can buy: STORYFEATHER
STORE
NEWSLETTERS
The
Store page also has sign-up forms for my two email
newsletters:
Storyfeather Gazette (if you’d like to keep up with the
fiction I create)
Fictioneer’s Field Guide (if you’d like writing tips and guidance from me)
Choose what you want. (Either way,
you're choosing high jinks.)
MY FIRST BOOK
(yay)
Ever wonder how I’ve
gotten all these hundreds of stories written? I have a method. You
can learn it in my book called Fictioneer’s Field Guide: A Game Plan for Writing Short
Stories.
It’s now available from Amazon as an
eBook, paperback, and hardcover.
You can also get there from my Store
page: STORYFEATHER
STORE
CREDITS
Story: “A
Brief Case of Dread” Copyright © 2022
by Nila L. Patel
Narration,
Episode Art, Editing, and Production: Nila L. Patel
Music:
“Negociation” by
NICHOLAS JEUDY (Intro)
“Infinite Land”
by NICHOLAS JEUDY (Outro)
“Abstract
Vision #5” by ANDREW SITKOV (Outro)
Music by NICHOLAS JEUDY (Dark
Fantasy Studio)
“The
deal”
“Trojan
horse”
“Men in
black”
“Under the
mask”
“In the
shadows”
“Call of the
wild”
“Seasons”
“Ancien stones (seamless)”
“Winter guild”
“Runes”
“On the
way”
“The last
stand”
“Infinite
land”
“Negociation”
All tracks are part of a music and sound effects bundles I
purchased from Humble Bundle and sourced from GameDev Market.
Music by Nicholas Jeudy and Andrew
Sitkov is licensed from GameDev Market
Sound effects from AudioJungle, GameDevMarket, and
Soundly (through Hindenburg)
Vocal effects created
with Audacity
Changes made to the musical tracks? Just cropping
of some to align with my narration.
Find more music by Nicholas Jeudy and Andrew Sitkov
at gamedevmarket.net
Find more stories by Nila at storyfeather.com
Episode Art
Description:
Digital drawing.
A briefcase opening to the left, seen from an angle and tilted up.
A tiny toy shaped like a green alien lies inside. The pocket on the
inside of the top is decorated with symbols of a sun at center, and
at top left and bottom corners, a five-pointed star within the
curve of a crescent moon. The case floats in outer space. Nebulous
clouds are visible at the corners, and distant clusters of stars. A
hazy glowing light emanates from the briefcase and shifts color as
it extends out of frame. Watermark of “Storyfeather” along bottom
side of briefcase.