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A library of fiction podcasts, including audio dramas, books and RPG actual plays.

Palace of Mirrors


17 episodes


Solo Fantasy Serial Audio Book


Synopsis:

A narrative podcast about a mysterious talking sword that leads a boy on adventure across a dying moon. About a woman seeking her revenge at any cost. About a scarred pirate, broken and twisted, who can see the future and will stop at nothing to meet it.


Language: English

Format: Audio Book

Continuity: Serial

Writing: Scripted

Voices: Solo

Genres: Fantasy

Soundscape: Voices only

Not tagged: [Maturity] [Creator demographics] [Character demographics] [Country of origin] [Transcript] [Completion status] [Content warnings]

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Episodes:

Written in Ink

Tue, 06 May 2025 22:00:00 -0400

Episode Description

Captain Bluebeard informs Darien that he must face consequences for killing Trollbreath. Gent and Darien talk about the coming trial without much hope that Darien can emerge alive, but Bluebeard believes that Darien has a chance and sends him to Deathmask for further training.

Dramatis Personae

Darien - A farm boy who grew up with big dreams fed by his aunt who raised him on a mixture of history and fairy tale. He’s currently on a quest to rescue Marialla, a woman he met earlier in the story, who has been kidnapped by the moon’s government for unknown reasons.

Captain Bluebeard - The leader of the band of pirates that serves aboard the starship Kraken. He’s an enigmatic figure who keeps to traditions that have long fallen out of favor. For unknown reasons, he has taken a liking to Darien and is personally training the boy in the art of sword fighting.

Gent - The Kraken’s engineer. At first glance a vain figure only concerned with appearances, he’s known to wear fine capes and flashy clothing. He’s young, just a few years older than Darien, but basically grew up on the Kraken. Although he suggests Darien be hanged in their first meeting, he has since befriended the boy and is currently training him on the engineering of the Kraken.

Deathmask - Signified by a distinctive tattoo of swirling black lines that cover his face, he serves as a member of Bluebeard’s crew. He follows an ancient religion that predates the Empire and the Palace of Mirrors.

Direct MP3 link


Bluebeard

Tue, 15 Apr 2025 22:00:00 -0400

Following Darien’s killing of Trollbreath, Bluebeard opens up and tells a part of his own story. From his summers on an ancient sailing ship, to the love of his life, and finally to betrayal that breaks him from the inside out.

Previously on Palace of Mirrors: The kidnapping of Marialla from her farm set off a chain of events that led to Darien being taken prisoner on board the Kraken, a space pirate vessel. Instead of throwing him in the brig, Captain Bluebeard has begun to train Darien to join the crew of the ship. Along the way he has found a friend in Gent, the ship’s engineer, but has also gained enemies–most prominently a sadistic pirate who goes by the name Fantasia.

In the last episode Darien killed one of the pirates on the ship, a man named Trollbreath.

Dramatis Personae:

Darien - A farm boy who grew up with big dreams fed by his aunt who raised him on a mixture of history and fairy tale. He’s currently on a quest to rescue Marialla, a woman he met earlier in the story, who has been kidnapped by the moon’s government for unknown reasons.

Captain Bluebeard - The leader of the band of pirates that serves aboard the starship Kraken. He’s an enigmatic figure who keeps to traditions that have long fallen out of favor. For unknown reasons, he has taken a liking to Darien and is personally training the boy in the art of sword fighting.

Calithorn - The young man at the heart of Captain Bluebeard’s past. The son of one of the major families that rules their planet. He loves the stars, history, and the sea.

Arlinda - A woman from a planet near Calithorn’s world. Her government sent her as a visiting ambassador, but she and Calithorn soon fell in love and married.


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A Different Name and a Different Face

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 20:00:00 -0400

Darien finally confronts the horrors of the pirate ship and the ways that it has changed him. Will he let Captain Bluebeard turn him into a pirate or will he take a stand and make a fateful choice?

Previously on Palace of Mirrors

The kidnapping of Marialla from her farm set off a chain of events that led to Darien being taken prisoner on board the Kraken, a space pirate vessel. Instead of throwing him in the brig, Captain Bluebeard has begun to train Darien to join the crew of the ship. Along the way he has found a friend in Gent, the ship’s engineer, but has also gained enemies–most prominently a sadistic pirate who goes by the name Fantasia.

Dramatis Personae:

Darien - The main character, a farm boy who grew up with big dreams fed by his aunt who raised him on a mixture of history and fairy tale. He’s currently on a quest to rescue Marialla, a woman he met earlier in the story, who has been kidnapped by the moon’s government for unknown reasons.

Captain Bluebeard - The leader of the band of pirates that serves aboard the starship Kraken. He’s an enigmatic figure who keeps to traditions that have long fallen out of favor. For unknown reasons, he has taken a liking to Darien and is personally training the boy in the art of sword fighting.

Gent - The Kraken’s engineer. At first glance a vain figure only concerned with appearances, he’s known to wear fine capes and flashy clothing. He’s young, just a few years older than Darien, but basically grew up on the Kraken. Although he suggests Darien be hanged in their first meeting, he has since befriended the boy and is currently training him on the engineering of the Kraken.

Fantasia - Beautiful and deadly, a proper femme fatale on the Kraken. She has no patience for anyone who gets in her way and has taken a particular dislike to Darien, who embarrassed her. She’s known for her exceptional skill as a wielder of dual blades.

Trollbreath - A pirate low on the pecking order. Squat, brutish, and ugly. He would almost be pathetic if it weren’t for the fact that he’s as cruel as any other member of Bluebeard’s crew.

Twilight - Bluebeard’s second officer and chief enforcer. He’s a massive man who stands a head taller than any other member of the pirate crew.

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The Wind in the Trees

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Captain Bluebeard begins to train Darien in earnest, but sword fighting is more difficult than the stories ever made it seem. Just as Darien is becoming more comfortable in his role on the ship, he is forced to face a stark reminder of the cruelty of the people who surround him on every side.

This episode gives the audience their first real look into Bluebeard. Just what kind of a man captains this ship of killers?

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The Shooting Star

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Darien overhears a tense conversation between Dragon-Eye and Bluebeard. In the second half of the episode Gent takes him to the engine room, but things don't exactly go as planned.

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Welcome to the Kraken

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 22:00:00 -0500

Darien is taken aboard Bluebeard's ship, the Kraken, but finds something very different from the childhood stories about starships his Aunt Kathy used to tell him. On the ship, he finds an unexpected ally in a pirate going by the name Gent. The man once suggested hanging him, but now he offers Darien some much needed advice.

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Interlude: The Buried Library

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 22:00:00 -0500

Marialla meets a man who calls himself a king and discovers a mysterious secret within the room where she is imprisoned.

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The Smile in the Sword

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 20:00:00 -0500

Darien spins a story that he hopes will earn his freedom, but Bluebeard responds in an unexpected way and Darien finds himself slipping further from his quest than ever before. Confronted by a member of Bluebeard's crew, Darien will need to marshal all the strength he possesses just to survive the night.

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Captain Bluebeard and his Crew

Tue, 03 Dec 2024 17:00:00 -0500

Night's plan to capture a pirate ship takes an unexpected turn and leaves Darien in a precarious situation.

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The Derelict Ship

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 20:00:00 -0500

Darien follows the instructions of the talking sword through the ruined city and beyond. The sword has a plan, but it promises to be dangerous beyond anything Darien had imagined. On the road they find a crashed ship, derelict and striped down to bones. Though wrecked, the ship still has a glimmer of something like life.

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The Sword in the Stone

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Wounded, Darien finds himself lost in the warrens beneath the ruins. A mysterious figure guides him to help, but it turns out to be something out of one of his aunt's stories. From this moment, everything will change, and the only thing Darien can be sure of is that nothing will be the same again.

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Marialla

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 16:00:00 -0400

This week, on a special double-length episode, Darien gets to know the Reynolds and finds himself drawn to their daughter, Marialla. An ancient book hidden in the basement of a ruined house holds secrets of the past. Darien begins to think that maybe with Marialla, he can finally see the appeal of the quiet life his father wants for him. But on the world of Six, a storm always lies on the horizon...

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The Bridge of Giants

Tue, 10 Sep 2024 17:00:00 -0400

In this week's episode of my science-fiction audiobook drama, Darien and Tom travel to an ancient bridge that rekindles Darien's wonder. He travels to a crossroads and must choose between his father's dreams and his own.

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A Wound in the World

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 17:00:00 -0400

In this week's episode of my science-fiction audio drama, Darien and Tom set off on a journey. The road is quiet, but that only leaves more room for memories that they would both rather forget. Together they will pass through forests of ancient trees and brave the cold darkness of a chasm that seems to stretch all the way down to the heart of the world.

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A Prayer to the Palace

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 01:00:00 -0400

Spring arrives and with it the work of keeping the farm running, but Darien struggles to keep his heart in the work with the ache of Kathy's passing fresh in his mind. A visitor arrives, unexpectedly, and with him a prelude of things to come.

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The Story of the End

Tue, 13 Aug 2024 01:00:00 -0400

On a barren moon, beneath a sky where the stars are always shrouded, a young man named Darien comforts his dying aunt with a final story. He doesn't know it now, but his own story has just begun.

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Preview

Sun, 11 Aug 2024 16:00:00 -0400

An overview and preview for the first arc of the podcast.

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