Saturday Mar 29, 2025

AHF 2024 – Brave Spalpen by Nate Smith

Episode Credits

Season 2 | Episode 17: AHF 2024 – FitchWaerie by R.F. Greer

Release Date: March 29, 2025

Website: Ravens Vail Podcast Network

Description:

In this episode of the Ravens Vail Coven, Master Storyteller Nate Smith performs his story “Brave Spalpen.” The story follows Daniel McAllister, a young man from the islands of Northern Ireland, who was called to serve in the war. Like many soldiers, he returned with physical scars, but it was the emotional wounds—referred to as "heart-scalded" at the time—that cut deepest. This term, evoking a sense of profound emotional pain and soul-rending grief, would later be recognized as PTSD. Daniel witnessed unspeakable horrors during the war: dying men crying for their mothers, soldiers losing limbs and lives in brutal ways. Despite the trauma, he survived and returned home, while many others did not. The story highlights the enduring impact of war on those who live through its harrowing realities.

Written and performed by Nate Smith

Audio Engineering & Sound Design by Nick DeVan at Nicky D Sound

Produced by Ed Bolden-Greer

Podcast theme music: “Echoes of the Raven,” written by Jeryd Bolden-Greer and performed by The Coven Squared.

Ravens Vail is a production of Small Raven Media.