The Xeniad

Zine
Title:	The Xeniad
Publisher:	Nut Hatch
Editor(s):
Date(s):	1999-?
Series?:
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Xena: Warrior Princess
Language:	English
External Links:	website
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The Xeniad is a gen (femslash?) print anthology published in Australia. It also had an accompanying webpage.

From Nut Hatch

Then there's The Xeniad, and this is something of a departure. The adventures of Xena: Warrior Princess, styled on the early seasons, from the pen of Whitesword (yep, the same Whitesword who runs our sister site, Whitesword's On-Line Xena'Zine). These adventures are the short story versions of a series of TV scripts which actually reached Renaissance Pictures during 1998 via a US literary agent, so this is as close to professional publishing as Entropy has ever come — or is ever liable to! The stories are first-rate, and absolutely redolent of everything that made X:WP the great show it is, or was, depending on which camp you belong to. There are plenty more where these came from, and a second volume of The Xeniad will be on its way as soon as pressures permit.

The Xeniad is an independent site that showcases Whitesword's fabulous collection of Xena: Warrior Princess adventures, brand new from Entropy Express, and one of very, very few print media Xena zines. This is a subtext-friendly, early-season orientation, Joxer-free, no-Gab-abuse romp through what this show used to be, based on agented scripts that actually crossed Renaissance's desk early in '99. A full-length TV script is included to cap off six great stories. With art by Mike Adamson and a thoroughly professional typeset, this is a unique and remarkable offering.

NOTE: THIS SITE IS DOWN BETWEEN APRIL 2003 AND JUNE 2003, PENDING A MAJOR FACELIFT, AND WHEN IT RE-UPLOADS IT WILL BE LIVING ON THE DREAM-CRAFT SERVER. THE XENIAD is both a fiction zine (gen, and paper), and a webzine loaded with images, reviews and fiction. The zine is still available, and the webzine is due for a massive overhaul and re-design. There are plans also for a CD-Rom issue, celebrating Xena with images, music, videoclips and animations ... plus a CD-Rom 'Tribiute to Kevin Smith.' Websites for these issues will be uploaded in due course.

Issue 1

The Xeniad 1 contains 154 pages.

• Fatal Ambition (The tale of a blind storyteller sets the warlord Kragor on a path of conquest, pitting the undead aginst Xena in a cunning trap amidst the decaying bastions of an ancient fortress.)
• Thanatos (The demigod of death itself comes to Xena in her dreams and enlists her barely-willing aid in bringing a cunning immortal to a judgement he has cheated for thousands of years. Thanatos requires Xena to be both judge and executioner, but by this also grants her the option of setting the immortal free. Where lies ultimate duty?)
• Our Lady of the Sword (Xena and Gabrielle return to the village from the Season One episodeThe Reckoning and discover that Xena's miracle, returning three men from the dead, has spawned a quasi-religious cult known as The Xenite Sisterhood. They have adopted the way of the warrior to protect their village. But the three who saw The Other Side have become the unwilling permanent guests of the High Priest of a nearby Temple of Athena, and the Xenites are drawn steadily closer to all-out conflict with the Temple Guards merely to recover their loved ones. Xena gave birth to a community, now she must mediate at its coming of age...)
• The Amazon Creed (At the palace of Prince Glaucus of Pagasae, Xena and Gabrielle deliver a treaty on behalf of General Marmax. They are received cordially, but discover that Glaucus keeps as a slave a young female centaur. This is abnormal to begin with, but when the centaurette begs Xena and Gabrielle for help, they are propelled into a desperate adventure to reunite a lost child with her people, a unique, mixed community who have embraced the ways of those who used to be the deadliest enemies.)
• Only Courage Left (Ares is out of patience with Xena. If demonic possession is the only way he can have her, then she will be his unwilling puppet, his killing machine, and her first target will be Gabrielle. But Gabrielle is smarter than to get caught, and Xena's soul is in her hands. It's wits against fury, and courage against evil, as the Bard must retrace Xena's own desperate journey to raise one god against another.)
• Darkheart (Xena leaves Gabrielle at a safe village to undertake a mission for Queen Naiobe, but when she returns the village is in ashes. A burned body lies in a tavern, and Xena finds Gabrielle's staff in the street... What conclusion can she reach but the one that sends her on the trail of the warlord who destroyed the village, and took from her the other half of her life? Is this what it takes to set loose the darkness that dwells deep in Xena's soul? And, once set free, how will she ever cage it again?)
• Special Bonus: Includes the original TV script of Darkheart Full-length script, plus set-up notes, prop, set and costume direction, guest-cast and location guides.

Issue 2

Xeniad 2

• The Swords of Navarone (Sequel to The Xena Scrolls in Season 2. It is 1942 - Jan Covington and Mel Pappas have infiltrated Nazi-occupied Greece to seek a missing Xena Scroll in the library of an abandoned monastery on Mt. Athos. There they discover the key to locating the Tomb of Xena and embark on a break-neck chase to reach Amphipolis and locate the final resting place of the Warrior Princess, never more than one step ahead of the fanatical SS Major Schnauserhoff, the descendant of none other than - Callisto!)
• For Hate's Sake (This highly experimental story and episode proposal, stepping temporarily outside Whitesword's usual pre-Rift series environment, offers a partial rationalization for the Rift, and an attempt to set right the damage to the X/G relationship, falling post-Bitter Suite but prior to the reincarnation of Hope. Xena and Gabrielle are privileged - cursed - to witness the effects on the world, should their rift never be healed, fully, properly, and forever.)
• The Edge (Even the Warrior Princess grows older, slows down, and when the unthinkable happens, when Xena almost loses a fight, she resolves to regain her skill with the help of an old, old friend. An ancient, exiled Amazon, who taught Xena and her brothers to fight fifteen years ago, and who still lives high in the Pangaion Mountains above Amphipolis. Ares approves wholeheartedly, and is willing to wager Gabrielle's life that it will give his Queen of Chaos back her edge.)
• The Many Faces Of Fury (When Xena and Gabrielle save a city from attack, the Warrior Princess is feted by its ruler, but finds herself stalked by a strange assailant. A face from her distant, dark past, he is warped by the need for payback, and has stolen the shape-shifting powers of Proteus to effect his revenge.)
• Special Bonus: Includes the original TV script of The Swords of Navarone! Full-length script, plus set-up notes, prop, set and costume direction, guest-cast and location guides.