The Quill

the quill podcast logo red.jpg

No, this isn’t a new short story for the Pilot Program, this is a weekly podcast surrounding the life story of my grandfather, Jon. Born before the start of World War 2, having to have his childhood traumatized by it and the horrors of war, trying to survive through the toughest of conditions. This, is the beginning of the story for The Quill Podcast. This first season takes a first good look at a war torn Transylvania that was given to the Hungarians by Nazi Germany and Italy, which meant carnage and tragedy for the Romanians in the Region. But, that doesn’t mean that Romanians weren’t persecuting Hungarians in their territories. It was war, nonetheless.

Jon is trying to figure out who is on his side and who is trying to harm him and his family. As a child he has to adapt, to fend for himself, whether it was food, clean water, fruits, vegetables or bread. He had to learn to tend to a whole household, animals and fields, and find a way to survive his childhood on the fields near one of the biggest cities in Transylvania. Six sisters and brother, one mother alone on her own, living the best life in the nightmare of the war in a territory filled with tragedy and tensions between the nationalities living there. Trying to survive, trying to live another die, with the hope that they just might hold out and see the end of the war.

The podcast takes place over six precise seasons. Everything is based on the stories I have heard over the years from my grandfather when he lived and facts found through history books and through research online. Each season is going to be 12 episodes, with a break for a few weeks between each episode. The Quill podcast is LIVE every Thursday on https://www.twitch.tv/authorraulfo if you want to witness the story live. Even though the podcast is based in real stories and facts, most of it is improvised on the spot, so the narrative story might take sudden unexpected turns. The podcast is both in audio and video format, there are actual historical videos attached to this podcast that showcases the events of the years portrayed, something extra after you’ve listened to it.

You can find The Quill Podcast in video form archived on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RaulFO

If you want to listen to it, you can find it here: The Quill Podcast on Raul F. O. or anywhere else you can listen to podcasts to. Including: Spotify, Google podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Himalaya, Radio Public, Breaker and many more to come.

Hope you enjoy the story, because I certainly do love exploring history and finding interesting stuff out together with you all.

Consider donating: https://www.paypal.me/RaulFO

Pilot Program - Falling Tower

fallingtower.jpg

T’s a Wednesday morning ‘ere, after the Lady Day, and I’m here to do justice. ‘Cause I ‘member it clearly the previous Sunday, ‘cause I, Walter of Ardene, an ma wife carried him to the St. Michael’s lane, ‘here we sat him down, stood all night with ‘im. These here folk need to know what Walter of Benington and his posse did. Y’all didn’t come ‘ere from three neighboring wards just for a walk. T’was them there at the alehouse of Gilbert of Morden where they’d come to drink four gallons of beer. They’d come with stones, knives, swords and other weapons, wanting to kidnap poor Emma. That girl already lost ‘er father Robert Pourte and Gilbert took her under his protection. But now these folk wanted to kidnap and rape ‘er? From what my wife Christina told me after, Mabel, his wife and Geoffrey, his brewer had asked them to leave. And they told ‘em that’d remain to spend they money however they like, welcome or unwelcome, t’s a public space.

Now, this is where the trouble started, from what I understand. Mabel then Emma upstairs, then Walter of Benington and his friends started getting frustrated and angry. They started creating commotion, assaulted people living in that there house and Robert and Geoffrey too. T’as a mess, you can only imagine what eighteen of them armed people can do to a place like that on a Sunday, where everyone just sitting in piece drinking after church. I mean on the Lord’s day to do that there? Shame. Shame, I tell you. Somehow they struck Robert on the head with stones in all that commotion. ‘ere’s where we came in, ‘cause Robert fled into High Streen raisin’ the hue, crying, screaming with Walter racing after ‘im with a knife and a stiletto in his hands, tryin’ to kill the poor bastard. Benedict de Warde and some other neighbors got ‘here first, tryin’ to calm ‘em down, but you already know that this ain’t the end. Cause Walter chased after Benedict tryin’ to kill ‘im too, the mad lad lost it at that point. So you know, Benedict was bare handed, he had to find something to defend himself with, so he took some ballstave thing from a stranger and he laid one onto Walter so hard that the bastard fell down to the ground at the entrance of the lane. Once Walter was down, it was quite easy to get the rest of them to calm down. So me and my wife carried Walter the next day after he laid by St. Michael’s lane to the house of Geoffrey’s house, where the died instantly. Now, here’s the thing, I don’t know how he died there, ‘cause I went out to wash my hands of blood. But, at least I can say that at least no one was raped, abducted or killed, I mean, besides Walter here. But the again he started it.

Benedict de Warde was later found guilty and to be arrested, yet he had fled, nowhere to be found.

Falling Tower is a short story series based on real life events that have been document and verified. So if you want to, you can verify the events that happened here. Falling Tower is the last short story for 2019 part of the Pilot Program. But, since this is part of the Pilot Program that means, that if you want more… Read it, re-read it, share it, like it, comment and print it and send me pictures with people reading it, then burn that piece of paper so you don’t commit copyright theft.

Consider donating: https://www.paypal.me/RaulFO