Welcome To The Forge

If you’ve found your way here, you probably know me, or enjoy stories. Either are good places to start.

That said, this site exists because I’m working on a project called The Song of the Realms—a long-form story that explores a world layered beneath our own. A world where light and darkness are more than metaphors, where myth might be memory, and where what we see isn’t always the full picture. At its core, it’s an attempt to explore elements of the spiritual realm—through story. 

The Song of the Realms started with a single character and a love of the idea of magic living alongside our world as we know it. Then I asked myself a question: what would creation have been like from an observer’s perspective? 

Everything expanded from there. At this point, I’m 421 pages of notes, 10 internal guidebooks (written for and to be referenced within the world), and 8 completed poetic chronicles deep into the project—and only now beginning the prose writing itself. That’s what this blog is for.

Here, you’ll find pieces of the story as they’re being written—rarely complete, mostly rough, and almost always in the process of change. 

You’ll also find reflections on the ideas behind the story:

• why the world works the way it does
• what certain themes mean
• and the questions I’m still trying to answer as I go

There are multiple sections on this website where I will be posting.  The Forging Table (for chapters of my work itself), The Chronicler's Desk (where all the other random thoughts, documents, deep dives, and all else writing related will be located), and The Sound of the Realms (where I am uploading audio versions of what different poems could sound like within the world as if performed by Wren the bard).  You can also find me on YouTube @penofthewordsmith under the name Kai Pen.  More is likely to come, but this is where we are at the moment.

One more thing. This isn’t meant to be one-sided. If something stands out to you—something you like, something that doesn’t quite work, or even just a question you have—I’d genuinely like to hear it. You don’t have to write a full critique. Even a sentence is enough.

At the end of the day, this is where I’m shaping the story of the Realms. And if you’re here, you’re welcome to be part of that process. 

Last piece of housekeeping, I plan to publish at least one new “Chapter” around the first of every month.

Let’s see where it goes.