Lantern Log #2 — Into the BADLVCK-Verse
In the first Lantern Log we introduced BADLVCK Press—the small independent studio where these strange worlds are being built.
Today we step a little further into the light.
Welcome to the BADLVCK-Verse.
The BADLVCK-Verse isn’t a single story. It’s a growing collection of worlds connected by deeper forces that shape reality itself. Some stories take place in fractured realms of fantasy. Others unfold in distant cities, strange dimensions, or entirely different universes. The settings change, the characters change, but beneath everything the same unseen structure quietly holds it all together.
At the heart of that structure are what we call the Laws.
The Laws are ancient forces that shape possibility, balance, chance, symmetry, silence, decay, and many other aspects of existence. They are not gods in the traditional sense, but something stranger… Principles of reality that influence worlds, people, and events in subtle and sometimes catastrophic ways.
Different stories explore different pieces of this structure.
The fantasy series Shadows and Strangers, beginning with The Fractured Path, explores fractured realms, mysterious crystals, ancient systems, and a sleeping force known only as the Sleeper.
Other stories move through very different landscapes, neon cities, hidden orders, strange technologies, or realities where the Laws appear in unfamiliar forms. Some of these stories are already taking shape, while others remain quiet sparks waiting for their moment.
One thing that makes BADLVCK Press unusual is that these worlds aren’t limited to books alone.
Some pieces of the universe appear through music, where themes and emotions from the stories are explored in sound. Others emerge through artwork, short stories, or experimental projects that reveal fragments of the wider mythology.
Each project is a different lantern lighting a different corner of the same universe.
You don’t need to understand everything at once. In fact, much of the BADLVCK-Verse is meant to be discovered slowly. Small details in one story may echo somewhere else years later. A symbol might appear again in a different form. A piece of music might carry the same atmosphere as a scene in a novel.
Over time, the lantern light spreads.
These Lantern Logs will occasionally explore different parts of the BADLVCK-Verse. The stories, the ideas behind them, and the creative process that brings them into the world.
For now, consider this your first step into the wider map.
The lantern is still burning.
— BADLVCK Press
