Even though Emperor Ji Meng and his honor guard were beaten, a task of similar difficulty awaited in the next step. Though the head had been cut, the great beast that was the Imperial Navy still writhed in force. Argrave would need to ensure their surrender—or more likely, a simple truce. But A...
2023-11-17 06:57:24 +0000 UTC View PostThe front deck of the Sea Dragon was shrouded in fog, and as Argrave walked at the head of his people, he reviewed this battleground he’d long ago surveyed. The front deck, unlike the back, was triangular. The emperor and his guards stood in the center of this triangle, and their formation was ...
2023-11-16 06:56:26 +0000 UTC View PostThough Galamon was acutely aware of the massive storm brewing far behind the battlefield, his years of experience in command made him keep focused on the task that had been assigned to him—total subjugation of the invading force. To that end, he enacted an efficient tactic to subdue these turtl...
2023-11-15 06:57:59 +0000 UTC View PostEmperor Ji Meng waved away the servant that was attempting to help him with his armor, and pulled the strap tight on his own. He walked to the decadent mannequin holding up his armor and pulled the last piece of equipment free—the helmet with its great crescent moon perched atop and his demon-l...
2023-11-14 06:55:22 +0000 UTC View PostShortly before the battle between the Imperial Navy of the Great Chu and Argrave’s own forces began, Argrave had word sent off to the delegates of the Blackgard Union—more specifically, to the newly established Merovin. Once word reached the deities, they would be heading to this location. Ar...
2023-11-13 06:57:22 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave, Anneliese, and Elenore sat in a private room within Blackgard. On his way in, Argrave had seen the first arrival of dwarven craftsmen. As Elenore said, they seemed to be taking stock of everything around them. Mostly they were surprised by the sheer space of everything—they stared into...
2023-11-10 06:53:17 +0000 UTC View PostAfter cementing some details with Sataistador, Argrave walked away from the conversation with the feeling of a pyrrhic victory. The brighter side of things was that Sataistador was not intending to rampage wantonly to distract and attrit the armies of the Great Chu. That would limit the damage do...
2023-11-09 06:50:30 +0000 UTC View PostAnneliese sat in Rowe the Righteous’ tent. In classical Veidimen style, they were surrounded by woolen walls, and a small fire burned in the center that piped through the small hole in the top that functioned as a chimney. A kettle boiled slowly atop this flame. Indeed—this mighty man was bre...
2023-11-08 06:41:03 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave had prepared many contingencies for engaging with the tribes of Vysenn. He’d been spending time in the dwarven nation, where the threat of force was about as substantial as cotton candy. But he seemed to have forgotten the fact that on the surface in Berendar, he held many big sticks, a...
2023-11-07 06:56:25 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave looked out across the verdant hills just beyond the hills of the Vysenn. It had been some time since he’d seen this place. He had passed through this area after returning from his ‘diplomatic mission’ to the northern part of Vasquer. Back then, he’d been forced to do battle with t...
2023-11-06 06:53:35 +0000 UTC View PostWhen Dario dreamed, he could see anything that had come to pass.
Dreams were fleeting things, but many months ago, his gained true meaning. He had a dream of shifting rock and collapsing supports when he still lived in the commune, and when he brought a crew to inspect the area, all that he...
2023-11-03 06:50:16 +0000 UTC View Post“To begin, we would obviously make whatever concessions necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of your artificers,” Argrave assured Therapont. “If they want no one on the site, they’ll get no one on the site. If they want to keep the land after the pump station is built, they can k...
2023-11-02 06:50:53 +0000 UTC View PostTitle says all. I'm taking a break just when the first eBook launches-- you can preorder it here. Will post a chapter on 22nd, then the next chapter will be posted on the 30th. I realize only now I notified Royal Road of...
2023-11-02 02:53:41 +0000 UTC View PostWhen Durran returned on wyvernback, bearing seven papers that he gave to Elenore with a casual gesture, she was beset by so many emotions they were uncountable. She wanted to hit something very hard, preferably Dario, and perhaps cry a little while doing so. She didn't do that, but it took so muc...
2023-11-01 06:52:19 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave, Anneliese, and Melanie spent some time lingering exactly near where Therapont had suggested they avoid. The place was as the senator had described—namely, an abandoned construction site. It was something of the darker side of this society that seemed so idyllic. Where once before their...
2023-10-31 06:57:03 +0000 UTC View Post“More fool me…” muttered Durran as he followed in pursuit of a pale-skinned man in a spacious cavern.
“Did you say something?” asked his escort, looking back curiously. He had red eyes and dark hair, marking him as one of the humans in the caverns below the mountains between the B...
2023-10-30 06:55:35 +0000 UTC View Post“Here’s my plan, Anneliese.” He sat on their bed, while she laid down with her head atop his legs, watching the ceiling. They were growing numb, but the moment was too serene for him to mind. “I think the youth are the future.”
“That tends to be the way of things,” she answere...
2023-10-27 06:57:06 +0000 UTC View PostFirst audiobook is out! Link below to buy it from their site. Half off as direct sale, 15% more with code 15%offJackal at checkout.
https://www.mountaindalepress.store/products/jackal-a...
After Dario seemed to vanish, Argrave looked to the Alchemist, hoping the man might have some insight on what had just happened. It seemed that Dario had overpowered the terrifying being, but Argrave needed explanation.
“He used something warped to disrupt my magic. Not just my m...
2023-10-25 06:55:48 +0000 UTC View PostThough Argrave had worked out a relatively solid course of action with the aid of Therapont, much of that was tossed to the wind the moment that they arrived to the senate hall about an hour early. The reason? A dwarven messenger, sent to speak to Argrave.
The message was exceedingly simple...
2023-10-24 06:55:13 +0000 UTC View Post“What does it actually mean, for Sandelabara—or whatever the hell this energy is—to be below Vysenn?” Argrave asked the Alchemist. They had once again returned to Therapont’s residence, but rather than remain within the cramped room that they had slept, they instead occupied one of the ...
2023-10-23 06:54:22 +0000 UTC View Post“If the guy who helped us with the Iron Giants and Dario are one in the same… well, I don’t feel as embarrassed as I was for looking for traps in the senate.” Melanie shook her head. “He was a master trapper.”
“That embarrassed you? I thought it was admirable. Sorry if I sugge...
2023-10-20 06:55:03 +0000 UTC View Post“The final tally for the votes is eight thousand seventy-four in favor of the proposal, and five thousand and twenty-three against the proposal.” Alexius set down a piece of thick paper that did not look to be made of any plant he’d ever seen. Argrave was confused by the huge tally before h...
2023-10-19 06:48:50 +0000 UTC View PostIf Argrave were to return Therapont’s slander with insults of his own, he expected a singular outcome. The dwarves present would view his words not just as an attack against his opponent, but all dwarves. Even if their offense was subconscious rather than conscious, that route was doomed from t...
2023-10-18 06:54:27 +0000 UTC View Post
When Argrave touched the Ravenstone where the Alchemist was held, he received no response. That was even more terrifying than barbed words of hatred, and he vaguely feared the next time he would let the raven out of the stone, so to speak. He felt there might be a reckoning in store for...
I’m extremely excited to announce that Jackal Among Snakes audiobooks are finally here. The first trilogy is for sale at an extremely heavy discount on Mountaindale Press as a preorder! The narrator for the whole series will be Luke Daniels, and on October 25, the first of the revised books wil...
2023-10-17 06:59:27 +0000 UTC View PostUpon the reveal of the dreadful Alchemist, Alexius, the Head of Senate, leaned in and placed his hands on his knees. “Argrave. Were my envoys unclear that only two people would be allowed into our nation? By bringing another, you’ve demonstrated that you’ve acted in bad faith from the begin...
2023-10-16 06:56:53 +0000 UTC View Post“This is His Majesty Argrave.” The dwarf Trifon bowed toward him while introducing him. The dwarf at the head of the crowd wore a gold wreath just the same as Trifon did. Trifon and Kostis were envoys, diplomats of the senate. The man that they introduced him to was not—he was a senator by ...
2023-10-13 06:56:12 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave stared at two gargantuan metal slabs, craning his neck to see the totality of them. Something that was made to contain magma certainly couldn’t be humble. Cold air emanated from the two of them, and despite the general heat of their surroundings, these metal parts created a neat atmosph...
2023-10-12 06:53:30 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave departed from Veiden, leaving Galamon behind to serve as intermediary when Dras and his council came to a decision about their request for naval support. Anneliese was still uneased, convinced she'd missed something about the scenario. Argrave didn't doubt her, but he also felt that the V...
2023-10-11 06:55:01 +0000 UTC View Post