Dark Fantasy · DevSecOps
Black Forest Shadow
A Dark Fantasy Guide to Docker and Kubernetes Security
by Mohammad-Ali A'râbi (Docker Captain)
Published: March 13, 2026 — the 13th birthday of Docker
ISBN: 978-3-9828298-5-2
The Black Forest, 1865. Shadow creatures called CVEs are spreading through the villages and no one knows how to stop them. A band of unlikely warriors — Gord, Rothütle, and Evie — must hunt the CVEs down, trace their origins, and harden the forest against future attacks. Each chapter maps to a real Docker or Kubernetes security technique.
About the Book
Black Forest Shadow grew out of a 24-day advent series on container security published on DEV.to and Medium in December 2025. The series followed Gord and Rothütle through a folklore-infused Black Forest, where each day's challenge mirrored a real-world container security problem — CVE hunting, supply chain attacks, lateral movement, and runtime threats.
After the series ended, seven additional chapters completed the story and the full narrative was compiled into this book, published on Friday the 13th of March 2026 — the 13th birthday of Docker.
The book is also the origin story of the Docker Commandos — the characters who appear in the workshop series. Gord and Rothütle from the Black Forest are the same commandos who later travel to Asgard.
Each chapter weaves technical DevSecOps concepts — SBOM generation, OCI attestations, vulnerability scanning, container hardening, and runtime security — into the narrative, making the material memorable through story.
Topics Covered
The Characters
Each character represents a facet of container security work.
Hover a portrait to see their Asgard commando form.
These characters later appear in the Docker Commandos workshop series, including the Asgard Mission at Rabobank.
Where to Get It
Also available on Amazon — select your region above.
Security doesn't have to be dry.
Learn Docker and Kubernetes security through a story you won't forget.