This is a story about everyday people in an alternative world. What we see is not always what we get. A different kind of fantasy.
This is an alternative world:not fantasy . This is a world of the commonplace. Ordinary people living out ordinary lives in the setting in which they have been placed. Things happen, sometimes planned and sometimes not so. The influence of random chance on the characters is not to be understated: sometimes events will add to the plot, sometimes they will not.
In this world, a man is walking with difficulty over frozen ground. Ahead of him the path splits and, against his better judgment he chooses the way that takes him towards habitation and towards the company of men that he believes he does not need. He is searching for a story to add to his collection. He is a Collector of Tales and he earns his living in this world by the telling of those tales. This is a world in which the spoken word is still a powerful means of gaining knowledge. Writing and literature are here but in the main are the province of the learned and the wealthy.
What seems obvious, is not so.
I have now posted the complete work .