FELLWATER
The Hidden Houses
A modern fantasy drama series that follows the descendants of ancient Celtic gods and heroes, living in the modern world.
It’s the story of the secret societies who struggle for control of the last corners of the Earth where the Mythic Age survives. It’s a world of alliances and betrayals, cults and politics, friendship and power. It’s the thrill of making a wish, and the horror of it coming true.
It’s where flawed, wounded, and lonely people can be heroes.
“…a place you could go wandering in, and never care at all if you became lost.”
Book 1: Fellwater
On the night Katie tried to tell Eric her true feelings, all they did was argue, and she left with a broken heart. But then she met Carlo, a charming, cosmopolitan, and mysterious man from an Italian noble house. In his presence a mystical vision overtook her, and she remembered meeting him before, thousands of years ago, in the ancient Celtic iron age. But she awoke the following morning in a hospital, without knowing how she got there, and she learned that Eric spent the night in jail after being chased by gunmen. All was not as it seemed, and they were both in terrible danger.
Book 2: Hallowstone
The death of Eric’s lover left him grief-stricken for months. So when the smooth-talking Heathcliff claimed to have spoken with Katie’s ghost, Eric wanted to hear more. He followed Heathcliff to Hallowstone Castle, where a seer told him that Katie had been murdered. Meanwhile, a magical well in Fellwater Grove comes under attack. Eric volunteers to help investigate the attackers, but the more he learns about the true nature of the well, the more his loyalties are put to the test, and the deeper he falls into danger. Without knowing who to trust, and without time to heal his grief, Eric must find Katie’s killer, and face a momentous choice.
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Book 3: Clan Fianna
Eric is the first ‘outsider’ in 300 years to be made an honorary member of Clan Brigantia. But when an ambassador from a rival house accuses Eric of poisoning his wife, Eric is banished from the clan. Meanwhile, packs of monsters are escaping from their prisons in the underworld, and threatening the village of Fellwater. And a powerful but mysterious social movement called the Guardians claims that they have been secretly protecting the world from such creatures for centuries. Eric discovers a dangerous truth about the monsters: but his former friends, convinced of his guilt, don’t believe him. Burdened by loneliness, and the false charges on his head, Eric struggles to clear his name and warn his friends of the threat to their home.
Book 4: Elderdown
A bounty goes out for Eric Laflamme, who hides in a safe house in a faraway city. The Fianna, led once again by Miranda Brigand, are on the run, and divided among themselves. Some want to drive House DiAngelo out of Fellwater, and so reclaim their home. Others want to start afresh in the abandoned Voyageur freehold of Elderdown, hundreds of leagues away. Attacking the DiAngelo will require weapons and allies they don’t yet possess. Settling Elderdown may be easier, but the only one who knows its location is Ildicoe Brigand, a pariah whom no one but Eric will trust. The time for deliberation ends, and the time for action arrives, when the head of House DiAngelo murders one of his own men, and declares the final phase of the Magnum Opus begun.
Spinoff Titles
Eleven-year-old troublemaker Jillian Brighton receives an unexpected gift: a magical telescope that can see into alternate realities. As she learns to use it, she discovers a civilization on the moon. But her best friend doesn’t believe her, and her suspicious parents want the telescope sent back where it came from. Then the shady private detective Nicholas Brogger tells her the telescope was stolen, and that he is coming to take it away. Determined to keep it, Jillian must outwit him at his own game.
The three Nefzawi brothers, Ibrahim and Ghazwan and Fred, are on a mission to the far reaches of northern Canada in the winter. They seek the hidden monastery of “The Old Man”, a sage who they believe has the answers to all the big questions in life. On the way they meet Eden Thornhill, a scout from the previous expedition fifty years earlier, but who claims to have been stranded only a few days. With supplies running low, and the shadows of Wendigo stalking them, the brothers doubt their mission, and then they doubt each other.
On a cold night in the year 1514, Urania, the Greek goddess of astronomy, inspires Nicolaus Copernicus to re-imagine the cosmos with the sun at the centre: a crime for which Zeus banishes her from Olympus. Then Julian Augustus, a former emperor of Rome and an agent of Zeus, offers her a bargain: find one mortal who can grasp the immensity of the universe without going mad, or else live in exile forever.
The Hidden:
A Storytelling Game of Modern Fantasy
Based on the Fellwater Series
It’s a struggle between ancient secret societies for control of the last corners of the world where the true nature of reality still reveals itself. As more of the ancient havens vanish under the march of modern times, others fall to the Ur-gods: titans and giants and divine monsters who were defeated in the wars among the gods, but have now returned, as their prisons weaken with age. Between these two fronts, many Hiddenfolk see no choice but to join with their former enemies, while others lose hope and succumb to despair. It’s a battle the Hiddenfolk know they will lose— but a battle they must fight nonetheless.
A Tabletop RPG. Coming in 2022!
This is a Kickstarter-funded project. I wish to thank all of the people who gave their generosity and support during the crowd-funding campaign on Kickstarter.com which paid for professional design and editing services. I offer special thanks to these outstanding benefactors and world-builders: Carole Martin, Ben Rossi, David LeBer, Gary Gibson, Laurent Castellucci, David LeClerc, and Ezekiel Zong-Han Azib.