Truth was wearing what he thought of as his Desrin disguise, unwilling to acknowledge that he had gotten alarmingly comfortable wearing it over the last few weeks. The white Zeph (no tassel, keep it low key) was comfortably snug on his head, his sensible trousers and shirt clean...
2023-07-05 16:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostTruth allowed his inner vision to float up into his soul. Everyone knew that the body and soul were connected and that mind and apertures touched both. Being able to see your soul was just one of those side effects of cultivation. Do it enough, and it happens. Even old-timers at Level One could d...
2023-07-04 16:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostEtenesh offered her slender hand, ripping talons now long gone, leaving neatly trimmed nails in their place. Truth gently took it and pulled her into the room. He looked deep into her burning eyes and deliberately closed the door. Her ocher eyes widened, breathing faster. Truth lightly pressed hi...
2023-07-03 16:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostIt's the 4th of July next week, and I just wanted to let you know that there is no schedule change- chapters will go out at the same days and times as usual. The joy of writing far in advance, I suppose. Thank you for being a patron!
Warby
2023-06-30 19:56:50 +0000 UTC View PostThe stands were quiet. A young man, a flower of faded nobility, had been hacked into five parts, his heart eaten, and his soul condemned to Hell. Even then, those who supported Etenesh might have cheered.
The religious minorities, the civic unity set, the conservatives who wished to preserv...
2023-06-30 16:00:16 +0000 UTC View PostEtenesh launched herself at Alemu as the Seraphim’s chiming cry echoed off the stands. The crowds roared and cheered as the long feathers on her belt and crown flew with the speed of her attack.
Alemu froze for a half second in shock- he had drawn himself up like he wanted to say somethin...
2023-06-29 16:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post“No. You must hold Mrs. Proudwhiskers in an arm cradle. You must support the whole body, or it is painful for her, as well as an offense to her dignity. Observe how I do it with Crabknuckle.” Truth was strict, but Merkovah had to learn. This was a special place, and things were to be done pro...
2023-06-28 16:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostThey were sparring back and forth across the basement floor. Etenesh wouldn’t be able to use her spirit in the duel, so she was making heavy use of talismans.
Her weapon of choice was a long flail of copper reeds that she could flick through the air in astonishingly precise arcs and lines...
2023-06-27 16:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post“Necromancy? I don’t really know much about it. Combat-capable necromancers are a pain in the ass, I can tell you that. And I know that they run most funeral parlors.”
“Short version… very, possibly too short version… is that necromancy is one of the foundational areas of magica...
2023-06-26 16:00:59 +0000 UTC View PostTeasing the girl you like is fun. Truth was feeling giddy as he quickly walked away from the little chapel. Teasing the girl you like is fun, watching her wriggle and not move as you whisper secrets and affection in her ear. It was scary too. Opening up. Speaking a name he had left unspoken since...
2023-06-23 16:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostTruth pulled into the garage under Temple Nag-Hamadi in a thoughtful mood. This was one of those “No taking it back” decisions. He hadn’t read many spy novels. They just didn’t take him away from himself the way the romance or thriller novels did. But this seemed like volunteering to be a...
2023-06-22 16:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostTruth slipped out of Temple Nag Hamadi that night. He kept the sword and wore his new scarf but ditched the Zeph. Old Mek’elle’s gift just looked like a fashionable variation of a Brickies’ scarf. He blended. Nobody looked at him more than one and a half times. Without the zeph...
2023-06-21 16:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostTruth stood guard outside the conference room at Temple Nag Hamadi. His thoughts bounced around, as they tend to do when you are on staring-at-the-wall duty.
Kissing Etenesh was pretty great. Not… one hundred percent comfortable with what he seemed to need to get comfortable. Simultaneous...
2023-06-20 16:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post[AUTHOR NOTE: I am on the road for a few days, and updating from my iPad. This shouldn’t have any impact on chapter releases, but it will mean that I am not as communicative or responsive as I might normally be. I will be checking Patreon at least a couple times a day, and I will try to make th...
2023-06-19 16:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostThe cousins were too mad to even swear. Their faces were rigid masks, hands clenched, taking deep, snorting breaths through their nose.
“In case you haven’t figured it out, panoufe is a kind of traditional alcoholic drink. Pretty much only drunk on formal social occasions in th...
2023-06-16 16:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostThe opening prayer and invocation continued for thirty minutes. Spirits were invoked, beseeched, reprimanded, and employed. A censer was paraded around the room, the swinging basket pouring out white smoke that smelled like church pews and charcoal and the faint thrum of cedar. A fish was condemn...
2023-06-15 16:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post“A few quick points before we go. Jember, Etenesh, this Congress has been convened, as I said, to investigate a particular talisman, or really a cartouche, found by Tommy when we investigated that possed building a few days ago. What you don’t know is that it is connected to some extremely cl...
2023-06-14 16:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post“I can feel you trying, you know? You sort of shiver. One part of you overruling another part.” Etenesh smiled up at Truth. “It's kind of sweet. And kind of sad. But mostly sweet.”
“It’s not rational. I know that. I’m not even sure where the people allergy is coming from. For ...
2023-06-13 16:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostThe ducks eventually decided they had had enough seeds and paddled off. The elegant wake behind them was as fine as ever a duck did make. The sunlight reflecting off the tiny ripples seemed to contain some blessed harmonies, silver flashes dancing in time with the world.
The little group ju...
2023-06-12 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostTruth discovered a new sort of agony that morning. It turns out that being stuck in a five-seater carriage with an old monster you don’t trust and two people you blew up at is excruciating. And they were stuck in traffic. If he was riding his trusty iron horse, he could split the lanes and be t...
2023-06-09 16:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostFor a few hours on June 8, there was a typo where Awakened was listed as receiving twenty advanced chapters instead of ten. (Which is actually 15 at the moment, but the tier only guarantees 10.) This was an error on my part, as I tried to correct something in another tier. I apologize for the con...
2023-06-09 02:45:55 +0000 UTC View PostYou are me? My soul? Part of my soul? What the hell are you talking about?!
“Tommy, what the Hell?” Jember yelled.
“Hero, hero, hero, hero!” Truth giggled, his eyes wide and unblinking. “Such a goddamn hero. A hero of the North, which I guess is true as I was born well north of here. Or south, depending on what you call “born.” His fingers shattered t...
2023-06-07 16:00:15 +0000 UTC View PostThe projection opened with exterior shots of Old Mek’elle. People gathered to leave flowers and signs, hugging fiercely and sobbing freely, watched over by a heavy police presence. The enormous triskelion of Old Mek’elle itself hovered over the stadium and was soundly ignored.
“Shocki...
2023-06-06 16:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostThe feathered serpent slithered through the air toward Truth, leading the dozens of demons that came through the portal with it. Truth really, really wanted to run. But they were moving faster than he could, so there really was only one choice- fight. He raised the angelic blade and braced himsel...
2023-06-05 16:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostThe stadium echoed back and forth, the roaring sea of a song washing away the rage. It would come back. It always came back. But for now, the sea of grief brought everyone together. For now, in the brilliant afternoon light, they were all fans of a beautiful game. For now, they came together to m...
2023-06-02 16:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostDue to my error, the chapter for the Awakened Tier was unlocked yesterday, in addition to the usual correct chapter. I am not unlocking any additional chapters today, to get things back on the right track. Thank you for your understanding and support-
Warby
2023-06-01 16:30:35 +0000 UTC View Post“So this is a little different than what you have seen before. That was lower-league stuff- basically zone invasion where players try to move the ball through the other team’s zone to reach a scoring location. This is a little different- still zone invasion, but you see how there are sloped w...
2023-06-01 16:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post[CONTENT WARNING: If you are reading Slumrat, you probably have a high tolerance for bleak things. This is going back to the Old Testament here, where nothing is nice, and no choice is good. If the theme of women being forced into having children by uncaring men/corporations/inst...
2023-05-31 16:15:01 +0000 UTC View PostNow that you are all here and looking at the site...
2023-05-31 16:02:39 +0000 UTC View Post