Corentin sat in a group of near eight others, in the same house that he had just had his discussion with Argrave. The other southron elves were grizzled, scarred warriors just as he was—obvious war veterans. They were in a loose circle, some standing, some sitting.
“So, just as Durran d...
2022-05-28 07:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post“Wanted to say…” Galamon looked at Argrave as they watched the oasis town, far out of sight. “You’ve gotten tougher.”
“The hell does that mean?” Argrave asked, worried at Galamon’s praise.
Galamon shook his head as though telling Argrave to calm down. “You used to ...
2022-05-27 07:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostCome morning, Argrave had fully repaid the small debt he’d accrued to Erlebnis, enabling his use of the Blessing of Supersession once again. Their route to navigating the obstacles ahead was much clearer after a lengthy discussion. And, lastly, the Brumesingers spent the night gorging, turning ...
2022-05-26 07:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe Vessel, Yarra, placed her bare hand in the spring inside the cave. Argrave stood just behind her, watching this act with some degree of curiosity. They had retrieved their backpacks from outside. His Brumesingers were off in the cave, eating some of the still-lingering souls in this place. Th...
2022-05-25 07:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave was the farthest thing from a hunter.
The people with him, though, both hailed from a northern island where hunts made up a large portion of the food produced. Galamon had been a part of many hunts, and Anneliese knew much of the process by virtue of her sheer curiosity. As such, Ar...
2022-05-24 07:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostBackpacking was a laborious thing. Argrave was coming to terms with its necessity, but he could not say that he was fond of carrying a pack on his back with the bare essentials and the heavy non-essentials while travelling across landscapes of varying types. Without healing magic to ease him of b...
2022-05-23 07:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave returned with Brium to Cyprus alongside his escort of Vessels. Once they were inside the first room, with its decrepit tapestry winding about the walls, the Lord of Copper spoke with a natural authority.
“The hunt is on. All know what to do,” he said, and these words alone were ...
2022-05-22 07:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostWith Garm’s existence made known, the Lord of Copper had gained leverage over Argrave. That was an incontrovertible fact. With a word or two, Argrave could become an outlaw in most of the lands in the Burnt Desert. Fortunately, the significant delays in their travels had enabled Argrave to reco...
2022-05-21 07:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave found the town of Sethia to be a mix between Delphasium and Malgeridum. While lacking the despotism of the latter, and not exactly possessing the abundance of the former, it met in the middle. Evidently the Vessels were somewhat cautious of their treatment of their people with a threat—...
2022-05-20 07:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave had been pondering morality the whole time during his journey to Sethia. He supposed it was normal to examine oneself when confronted with the uncaring power dynamics within this southern region of Berendar. Argrave had his own moral code, naturally, and though he might be a bit more flex...
2022-05-19 07:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave had a question: how does one gain the good graces of a faction in a xenophobic cult with enough power to rule over a city?
As much as he wished to, he certainly couldn’t walk up to any of the three towers, declare his intention to go inside, and be welcomed. The circumstance in De...
2022-05-18 07:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave’s legs gave out as his feet sunk into the top of a sand dune, and he collapsed ungracefully onto the ground. As he lifted his face up and shook his head to dislodge sand, a lizard blending in with the surroundings scurried away, heading for the distance. Argrave followed it with his gaz...
2022-05-17 07:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostI appreciate everyone's support. All of you have given me the ability to work towards a long held dream of mine. I've been very fortunate to be connected to all of you, and even more fortunate that enough people are generous enough to sustain my writing endeavors.
I could thank all of you ...
The Dragon Palace, seat of House Vasquer, moved as though it were a beehive with an invader on the outside. Officials, guards, and royal knights flowed quickly, each with their own purpose and with a sense of urgency. Diplomats met couriers, frantically reading and writing letters to send off to ...
2022-05-15 07:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostOnce the revolt was suppressed, the people went back to their usual routine with an odd sense of normalcy, returning to the forges and the mines that they had been operating with an almost routine disappointment. The disappointment didn’t seem to stem from the Vessels’ victory—rather, it wa...
2022-05-14 07:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostThe ‘Hidden Tryst’ room was, as it turned out, a place with only one massive bed. It was large enough to accommodate ten people easily. The three of them had travelled together long enough that such a thing didn’t really cause a problem—the Low Way had dissolved all boundaries. Argrave se...
2022-05-12 07:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostDelphasium, Mistress Tatia’s town, could not be called grand in scale, though the shining marble streets inside made it seem like a pearl amidst the desert. That place was far behind them, and Argrave felt it had been a suitable welcome to the Burnt Desert.
The mining city, Malgeridum, wa...
2022-05-10 07:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostA fire crackled, sending smoke up into the darkness. For the first time in a long while, Argrave sat before a man-made campfire and not one born of magic. The flame was contained in a bowl of some sort that seemed to be well resistant to heat and kept aflame by chopped logs. Above it, goat meat s...
2022-05-08 07:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave blinked open his eyes, staring up at the white ceiling above. He took a deep breath. His lungs felt back to working order, finally. He started to move and found his body happy to obey. He sat up, his head clear and everything in working order. He touched his chest, putting on a pondering ...
2022-05-07 07:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe first thing that Argrave noticed when entering the palatial estate of Mistress Tatia was neither a sound, nor a sight, nor a smell. Instead, it was a sensation.
The air around them felt incredibly dry.
It was strange, then, that the second thing he processed was the presence of ru...
2022-05-05 07:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave shut the door to their room, taking a breath before turning around. The rolled-up piece of paper that had been delivered to them sat in the center of a table, each hovering about it as though it was something dangerous that needed to be watched.
After glancing between his two compan...
2022-05-03 07:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostHey. I'll keep this brief.
I decided to take the summer semester of college off to save money for tuition/focus on writing. To that end, I've overhauled Patreon goals. Since those reading this are patrons already this won't mean much, but in time you'll get some more chapters. Read them if...
Elias opened a set of thick stone doors, stepping into a cold hall. His father sat there at his desk. At Elias’ entry, he set down a dagger.
“Father,” Elias greeted a bit stiffly.
Margrave Reinhardt stared at his son. He said nothing for an uncomfortably long period, and Elias f...
2022-05-01 07:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave boots met something other than sand for the first time in a long while. The ground beneath his feet was still black, though it resembled baked clay more than sand, and some sparse few plants sprouted from cracks in the soil. They were yellow or gray, though, all dead and decaying. The air...
2022-04-30 07:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post“What do you think?”
Anneliese stared at Galamon, her arms crossed expectantly. Galamon turned around, looking to where Argrave had gone briefly to take care of nature’s call.
“Doesn’t matter. I didn’t need answers. I had already resolved to follow him,” Galamon shook hi...
2022-04-28 07:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave, Anneliese, and Galamon sat around a faintly flickering spell. Garm was there, too, though considering he was stabbed into the sand upright, he wasn’t exactly sitting. Despite being the middle of the night at the end of fall, the temperature was quite pleasant. In the Burnt Desert, the ...
2022-04-26 07:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostOssian leaned over a railing, staring down at the drained bottom of one of the the canals. Despite having traversed the Low Way since he was but twelve in secret expeditions away from the senior Sentinels’ eyes, Ossian had not known the canals had a portion that could be dried entirely with the...
2022-04-24 07:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave steadily stepped up the jagged red crystals that bit at his boots. If there was one thing he had not expected to appreciate, it would be the enchanted boots. There was a limit to the level of comfort one could offer for footwear on Earth, even with advanced technology. Here, though, despi...
2022-04-23 07:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave stared into the rushing red water, watching it rise and writhe against the red-stained stone. He leaned against a railing just before the canal. Anneliese stood just beside him, looking around Nodremaid with Garm in her hand. Evidently she had grown to tolerate the place much better, for ...
2022-04-21 07:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostAlasdair ducked beneath the iron gate of the Menagerie where a few of the Stonepetal Sentinels awaited him.
“Nothing, sir,” the closest to Alasdair said immediately.
“Nothing?” Alasdair repeated. He raised up both hands, kneading his gauntlets together anxiously. “Gods be da...
2022-04-19 07:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post