Bourick’s shop was proof the old smith was doing great business. Not a line out the door—a smithy was hardly the type of place for crowds like that. Rather, the inside of his shop that I’d previously thought so large was a lot smaller with half a dozen people crowded inside.
...
2023-10-16 04:17:50 +0000 UTC View PostI was too tired to appreciate the opulence of Sire’s wing of the Emerald Palace. I was too exhausted to pay attention to the conversation humming around me; too out-of-sorts to do anything other than mumble.
The first room I was shown with a bed—a massive pile of fluffy pillows and blan...
2023-10-14 05:52:50 +0000 UTC View Post“Not at all!” Countess Elstein replied.
I bit my lip. Some part of me was really hoping she’d say “no.” It wasn’t going to happen; she was going to be interested in my symbol—had already shown interest.
And so, I needed to think on my feet. Well, actually I’d had...
2023-10-11 04:06:16 +0000 UTC View PostLike the last time, King Carvalon and I were alone in his throne room. And also like last time, he wore neat, elegant clothing that very nearly understated his title with a lack of pomp.
Cold blue eyes met mine, and he smiled. Or, he made a smile—the look had a carefully practiced ambigui...
2023-10-08 03:54:47 +0000 UTC View PostJii’Hssen Ssyii watched her nieces and sister leave her terrace; the moment they left, she heaved a sigh. The day had gone very nearly as wrong as was possible, and it was Issa’s fault for losing control.
But… she couldn’t blame the girl—wouldn’t blame her. Ssyii bounced between...
2023-10-06 06:06:22 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: PDFs for the chapters that are missing them are attached to this post!
The next day and a half were different. Warmth had returned to Kartania in a way I couldn’t really describe. My sister talked more, and we reminisced about old adventures.
And ab...
2023-10-04 04:35:09 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: PDFs for the last few chapters are coming this weekend hopefully. I'm still swamped and frazzled, but getting things under control. I'm also intending to make up the missed SoW chapter when I can.
The next morning, Seyari and Joisse left early. I watched the pair fly ...
2023-09-30 02:13:12 +0000 UTC View PostSonia stepped around another puddle as she followed quietly behind Inva. The paladin in full armor wasn’t exactly quiet herself, but the dark pressure of Lockmoth’s sewers seemed to force the demon-blooded priestess into quietude.
Behind her, the last two members of their group trodded ...
2023-09-23 20:53:43 +0000 UTC View PostHssen Zaiia’s entrance was… bombastic. Pompous. And a bunch of other words that Phaeliisthia had taught me. But more importantly than that, it was awkward. Almost as one, and not entirely from a lack of surprise, my sisters and our aunt looked up from the tome at the array of armed t...
2023-09-22 03:40:59 +0000 UTC View PostWe didn’t get back to camp until evening–later than intended. Returning through the snow-laden trees to sit by a crackling fire and talk about our days felt… right. I’d been on the road for so long some of it had probably gotten in my veins.
I’d heard plenty about how the sea coul...
2023-09-21 02:04:21 +0000 UTC View PostHi folks! For those of you not on the discord, turns out the sick my friends gave me was COVID. Glad for vaccines, but it still KO'd me for a couple days. As a result, while I wrote a little yesterday, and will be writing more today, I've missed posts. Teeechnically I only promised 1 pos... 2023-09-20 14:21:56 +0000 UTC View Post
A/N: Hi all! Hiatus is (probably) over! I did manage to get sick, so we'll see if the weekend clears that up. Anywho, no PDF for this post as I don't have access to Word for an easy conversion. Expect it next week sometime.
Sey gave me no warning. The moment we...
2023-09-16 03:00:55 +0000 UTC View PostJust in case folks here haven't seen on the discord, I'm going to be visiting family and friends from today until the 23rd. There'll still be at least a post for each story during this time, as I plan to be writing especially after the 13th. I was hoping to have today and tomorrow's posts finishe...
2023-09-07 12:56:55 +0000 UTC View PostThe trip to the bar that night warmed my sister up a little, especially once Taava had embarrassed me enough that the anxiety of the room had morphed into curious camaraderie. Who wouldn’t take a chance to drink with the marchioness?
Unfortunately, Tania’s staunch defense of inhibitions...
2023-09-06 03:19:12 +0000 UTC View PostUp close, Aunt Ssyii was more… mortal. More of a person, even than when she’d coiled at the table with us. I still stiffened when she pulled me closer with one of her lower arms, the other two holding the book. Ssiina jumped a little as well, clearly not used to familial contact from...
2023-09-05 03:02:42 +0000 UTC View PostWe didn’t leave the castle until the day after the next. All the while, I pored over ledgers and skimmed old books. Seyari “advised” as she put it, which mostly meant sitting around and complaining that she couldn’t go out flying. I asked her why she didn’t just go, and she glared at me...
2023-09-02 03:40:38 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: This is just another note that I'm going to be away on vacation visiting family and friends for a lot of the middle of September. I will be writing some, and posting when I can, but I can't guarantee anything consistent after the end of next week. Most likely, I'll be out the week o... 2023-08-30 03:03:21 +0000 UTC View Post
“Coil, and sit. Make yourselves comfortable,” the Jii’Hssen said with a faint hint of a smile. “Whatever we say here will not leave this room.”
Room? The place was half-outside. More than, in fact.
The errant thought caught me off guard, and I was the last to coil u...
2023-08-29 04:28:15 +0000 UTC View Post“And you think a demon’s behind this?”
Sonia nodded. “Perhaps not directly, sir, but it would explain the nature of the killings—”
“Could explain the nature of the killings.” Captain Lorton leaned back in his chair and sighed. “But I’m going to need someth...
2023-08-26 02:02:52 +0000 UTC View PostKyen and Lissti were surprisingly polite as they herded us each onto massage platforms and onto our stomachs. Below, warmed grooves in the stone floor seemed to guide my lower body into a comfortably loose coil. I looked forward, at the serpent heads spewing water into the main bath, and only now...
2023-08-25 02:23:09 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: There's an author note here just because the first line of this chapter contains significant spoilers, and it might show when I post the release on discord. Other than that, the chaos that has been the past... August actually... for me is dying down. I'll be on break for a good chun... 2023-08-23 01:25:40 +0000 UTC View Post
Phaeliisthia’s descent into Ess’Sylantziis was met with a whirlwind of activity from those on the ground. Out from the Emerald Palace, taaniir in shining armor slithered in an orderly fashion, led by multiple taanzh. At the front, and whose green-plumed helmet glittered with more than just me...
2023-08-22 02:52:27 +0000 UTC View PostHiya folks!
A little late, but here's the promised poll. I wanted to ask you, my patrons, how you'd feel about releases moving to 1 post per story per week, but with a focus on longer posts. Not necessarily double-sized, but 4k-5k words as average. Posts would be on Thursday/Friday.
O...
2023-08-19 17:09:19 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: I've had a hectic week to put it mildly. I posted on discord that Scales & Shadows would be skipping this week, but I hadn't posted here. I also missed putting up the poll yesterday. I'll try to get that up this weekend. At least SoW is on time!
...
2023-08-19 02:06:10 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: I'm really happy with this chapter! And following it, I'll be posting a poll tomorrow, asking about moving both S&S and SoW to 1/week, allowing for longer chapters (and a longer soft min length) and also allowing for some amount of side content and Patron interactivity in said s... 2023-08-16 02:13:27 +0000 UTC View Post
I didn’t look down, but I heard High Priest Grants land. There was no scream. No fanfare.
And when I dared to look, I saw his broken body lying motionless in the mud and snow, neck bent at an impossible angle.
He’d fallen between Kartania, Seyari, and the church forces, and for th...
2023-08-12 02:07:17 +0000 UTC View Post“Finality is boring. Leave every door open.”
—Uru Farlight
“I guess this really is goodbye,” Ssiina said sadly, tracing her hand along one of the roots outside our old hollow.
Kyrae giggled, but there was a melancho...
2023-08-11 01:57:24 +0000 UTC View PostDyni relaxed her lower body a little, feeling her scales slide against familiar, plush fabric. The half of the lavish room she coiled in was dark, save for moonlight that filtered in through the slats of one closed shutter. The other shutter was open, and moonlight poured in, bathing the room in ...
2023-08-09 04:28:15 +0000 UTC View PostKartania, Seyari, and I hurried out of Castle Astrye. Truthfully, for the situation, we didn’t look terribly unofficial. Kartania certainly had the most imperious air about her, wearing full plate armor and a red and white tabard. That she had donned it made me nervous, but at the same time the...
2023-08-09 04:15:01 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: I apologize for missing the last chapter, but the week got hectic. Anyway here's this bang on time and there's another shorter (but very cool) interlude tomorrow. Next main chapter forecast for Thursday with a slight change of Friday evening.
Phaeliisthia f...
2023-08-08 03:24:08 +0000 UTC View Post