Palace of Mirrors

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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?