Aethelgard
- Linnae Klutchko
- 8 hours ago
- 6 min read
July Character Interview
Patricia Parrington ~ July 22, 2026
Hello my lovely readers and fellow book-lovers! For those of you new here, I, your word-loving host Patricia Parrington, have the pleasure of interviewing characters from books all over the world.
Today, Aethelgard is here with us from the adult science fiction short story collection Artifacts and Enigmas: Mysteries from Redemption by Darran M Handshaw. Darran is an author, engineer, and firefighter from Long Island, New York. He loves coming up with sci-fi and fantasy story ideas and settings that give readers a sense of wonder and curiosity and make them consider questions about human nature, technology, and the world.
Meet Aethelgard
[Patricia and her guest enter the studio and settle onto a matching pair of orange suede couches. Patricia places two coffee cups on the oval coffee table.]
Welcome to Fable Features! Please, help yourself.
So where are you from?
Why, the Pyramid of course. It is the home of my order: the Arbiters. It is the political center of Redemption and my job is to catch the criminals who threaten order there.
What an exciting job! And dangerous, sounds like. What made you decide to pursue a job that requires catching criminals?
The Order of Arbiters was created to defend the political neutrality of the Pyramid, that it might be a place in which the varied Dominions, with their different cultures and values, might meet peaceably to discuss relations and trade agreements without fear of war or retaliation. It is critical to maintain the peace in Redemption.
As a new Arbiter Initiate on patrol with my mentor, I came across a murder. It wasn't in our purview to conduct a deep investigation into it, but I did anyway, and we caught the killer. In the end it averted a political disaster which could've led to the breaking of an important alliance. After that, my work as a Knight Investigator was officially sanctioned.
Wow, it sounds like you do very important work I can see how that can be rewarding. And that’s amazing you caught a killer while still new in the organization.
Let’s rewind a bit to your past: When you were a child, what was your favorite game to play?
Hide and seek. I was always able to follow the clues to figure out where the other children were hidden. A disturbance of dust, a partial footprint, or something out of place would always give them away.
[Patricia’s brows raise and she nods, impressed.]
No wonder you’re good at tracking down criminals. You’ve been practicing for it since childhood!
Indeed, I have!
I’d love to hear more about the things you like to do. What are you passionate about? What fires you up?
Catching criminals is what I do. It is what drives me. There are almost none who can evade me with the information my senses provide me. I enjoy the logical deduction of events leading up to the crime that allows me to conclude without a doubt what happened and who is responsible.
I noticed you said, “almost none.”
[Patricia cocks her head, curious.]
Was there a time when a criminal did manage to escape you?
I had you pegged as a keen observer yourself, so I'm not surprised you caught that.
[Aethelgard looks over his shoulder as though to make sure nobody is listening.]
There is one who has managed to evade capture again and again. A criminal mastermind who you can read about in the annals of cases that Actaeon and I have worked on together. He is the only person who not only has kept one step ahead of us but has also managed to outthink us as well and has trapped us in dangerous situations involving artifacts which we only just barely survived.
Having heard about your skills, this criminal sounds highly skilled to be able to evade you. I hope you’re able to finally stop him!
[Patricia leans back against the couch and taps her chin.]
Changing topics slightly to a different type of battle, what’s a lie you’ve had to combat?
All criminals lie, but the thing about truth is that the truth always comes into the light. All it takes is someone with a keen eye and an objective mind to discover the underlying evidence that discredits the lie and reveals the truth. The most difficult lies I have had to combat are those of my nemesis, of whom the name I even loathe to speak aloud.
Well said. And we will refrain from saying your nemesis’s name if you loathe them that much!
[Aethelgard seems about to look over his shoulder again, but then he shakes his head and offers Patricia a thin smile.]
It is not a loathing so much as, I must admit, a fear that stays my voice from uttering so foul a name. For even the mere utterance has brought his wrath down upon innocents of Redemption and left death and suffering in its wake. But I'll not catch the great deceptor if I let fear stop me, for it is that fear which can cloud our judgement and lay waste to our objectivity. And so, I'll say it: Ruinlock is real, not just a bogeyman from children's nightmares. Ruinlock is real and is destroying lives with every breath. I will bring him to justice, even if it's the last thing I do.
[Patricia’s eyes widen.]
How awful! I don’t blame you for being scared. I think that’s very admirable that you are willing to face those fears and forge ahead. And I fully believe you will bring this evil Ruinlock to justice some day!
Changing topics, what’s the nicest gift you’ve ever received?
During the cases we solved together which you may read about in Artifacts and Enigmas, Actaeon bestowed upon me an illuminated magnifier that uses inset luminaries. This has come in handy on innumerable occasions where I have gleaned even better information from even the most obscure clues and I am ever grateful to him for it.
That does sound incredibly helpful. I’d love to hear more about Actaeon. How did you two first meet? Are you close?
I first sought out the Engineer when I had quite the unusual case where a killer escaped the scene of the crime near the top of the Pyramid using some sort of flying machine. One of my colleagues in the Order of Arbiters recommended I seek him out. Actaeon proved quickly to be a master of invention and artifact technology.
In fact, he invented a new sort of flying machine to help solve the case—despite nearly getting us killed in the process. But what case doesn't come with some level of excitement?
Now we've become close—I consider him to be a partner in sleuthing at this point. I'll gladly seek him out whenever an artifact or mechanism beyond my knowledge is involved in a crime and I also find that he's improved quite a bit in the disciplines of forensics, observation, and inference since he began working with me. There's none who I'd rather work with when solving crimes. You can see how drastically he improves when you read about our cases in Artifacts and Enigmas.
He sounds like an amazing ally and friend. Better keep him around!
[Patricia adjusts a pillow then returns her attention to Aethelgard.]
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would that be?
Age and my bad knee. Both of these things slow me down in my pursuit of justice. I know you must be able to sympathize, for I noticed you favoring your own knee when you first arrived.
Ahh, yeah that’s not fun.
[Patricia touches her own knee with a sympathetic wince.]
Past soccer injury that never fully healed.
[Her green eyes light up as she looks at the next question.]
If you had to throw a non-lethal object at someone, what would you throw?
I would—and many times have done so—throw an observation out to unravel every aspect of my criminal quarry's lies. Most criminals will simply surrender in the face of insurmountable truth.
Well that certainly helps in capturing the criminals.
[Patricia glances at an old clock on the wall and sighs.]
Time flies fast! Before we wrap up today, I do have one last question for you:
What’s something you would have a super hard time turning down if it were offered to you?
A means to bring my nemesis to justice. Even if it meant my own demise, I would take such a risk, for the betterment of Redemption.
That is very noble of you! Well thank you for coming out today and chatting with me. I hope your knee doesn’t give you too many troubles and that you’re able to bring your nemesis to justice soon.
All good things will come with time and effort. We must only have the courage to battle the most difficult problems.
Thank you for speaking with me today. I do hope that future investigators might glean some wisdom from reading about our cases in Artifacts and Enigmas.
End of interview.
Want to Read More?
Aethelgard’s author, Darran M Handshaw, can be found on Amazon and Twitter/X. Artifacts and Enigmas can be purchased here.
Cover image by Joe Requeza
See Ya Next Time
Aaand that's all the time we have today. Thank you, readers, for coming. And thank you, Aethelgard, for letting us get to know you! See y'all next time.
If you would like to submit a character to be interviewed for a future issue of Fable Features, please send an email to linnae.writer@gmail.com with the subject line: Fable Features.
Please note that erotica and content with excessive vulgar language will not be accepted.
If you have questions you'd like Patricia Parrington to ask in a future interview, please submit them to linnae.writer@gmail.com with the subject line: Interview Questions.