There is nothing more contemptible and pitiful than the bravery of the weak and powerless.
- The Human Question by Gideon de Salavia 378 AC.
A night filled with dreams of familiar horrors that by now felt almost cartoonish in their extravagance. I awoke, s...
2024-04-06 23:41:10 +0000 UTC View PostHope you guys are all putting up well with the allergy season! Finally worked out the ending of the series a few days ago, now it is just a matter of getting there!
2024-04-04 03:25:38 +0000 UTC View PostFearing the things that are alien to us is a sign of our insignificance.
- The Human Question by Gideon de Salavia 378 AC.
Thankfully, extricating ourselves out of the dump was relatively simple and uneventful. According to Elenora and Theo their fo...
2024-03-31 04:09:39 +0000 UTC View PostLike that of a withering flower, are closing pages of the life of a courtesan of the floating court. Beautiful color and fragrance are forever soon lost, with nobody caring to spare the once subtle bloom a second glance. For youth flies as fast as the fleeting clouds, and fortune passes witho...
2024-03-31 03:45:15 +0000 UTC View Post
Changed Kidu's size to reflect his large proportions. Ran through an oil painting filter and messed around with the vegetation. Still not very good with backgrounds.
2024-03-24 01:26:41 +0000 UTC View PostThe thorn in one’s foot is of greater import than the blade twisted in a stranger’s side.
- A Quassian Aphorism
You have gained 1 Luck.
Such simple words were bound with so much meaning. It was a hint, as strong as any that I was on the right pat...
2024-03-24 01:22:54 +0000 UTC View PostAlchemy revolves around extracting and enhancing the natural properties of materials to achieve a specific outcome. This process is fundamentally powered by the alchemist's own Mana, which dictates the final characteristics of the concoction. Materials with a stronger innate magic are more ma...
2024-03-16 22:40:16 +0000 UTC View PostPuissant indeed are the priests of the River. When touched by their God they are given the power to pierce the veil of what is yet to come and to peer into the mists of the forgotten past. Unlike their God, they are mortal, and thus flawed. Their vision imperfect, their memories stained by im...
2024-03-10 02:41:49 +0000 UTC View PostFor the average man, the concept of free will is the grandest illusion. Yet, this misconception is dwarfed by the more profound and enveloping deception experienced by those touched by Mana. Forces whose natural state is one of indefinite paradox.
Those blessed, or perhaps curs...
2024-03-10 02:39:58 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 32 - Ups & Downs
‘There are things that not even coin can buy’ is the mantra of the destitute.
- Unknown.
With renewed enthusiasm and a new skip to my step, I wandered through the Grand Bazaar, Zariyah at my side. As we meandere...
2024-03-03 00:31:04 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 26 - No harm, no foul
2024-03-03 00:26:25 +0000 UTC View PostThe flowers of war are at their most beautiful when they blossom in spectacular disarray.
- Unknown.
I stood tall, drawing myself up to my full height and straightening my shoulders. As I did so, I couldn't help but remember, ‘He who shouts first, shouts loudest’...
2024-02-25 02:51:43 +0000 UTC View PostTo the simple and common man, it must seem that the most puissant and powerful all wear the most monstrous of masks.
- Attributed to the playwright Vlan di Panoli.
“Your daughter is free. I do not keep chattel. I find it unseemly and unworthy,” I stated again wit...
2024-02-18 07:37:58 +0000 UTC View PostLike the regular armies of the land, there are ranks within the Mercenary’s Guild. Unlike the Adventurer’s Guild which bases its ranks on metals, the Mercenary’s Guild adopts a more novel approach.
The guild is organized into so-called great companies, each a formidable f...
2024-02-11 06:34:21 +0000 UTC View PostOne can not engage in debate without first understanding your opponent's exact position.
- A Quassian Aphorism.
The woman who looked back at her through the glass was not the same girl who had left for the Grieving Lands months ago. It felt like centuries to her. They said th...
2024-02-04 07:16:38 +0000 UTC View PostBe as water in nature, benefiting all things without taking or competing with them.
- A Quassian aphorism.
At times, people can be sources of immense annoyance. I was relishing my drink, almost as much as the delicious moment of spite, when Sevas burst bac...
2024-01-28 02:32:32 +0000 UTC View PostThe greatest of rivers is formed from the smallest of streams.
- A Quassian aphorism.
After washing what felt like months of dirt and grime I was finally able to enjoy simply soaking in the cool water of the bath. The water enveloped me, a balm for my wear...
2024-01-21 04:57:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe air was tumultuous, yearning for freedom from the domain of her parents, eager to explore beyond the reach of the expansive primordial oceans and the tranquil, silent night. Distressed by this, Water and Darkness endeavored to craft both a haven and guardian for their wayward daughter, ai...
2024-01-14 12:02:46 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 16 - Al-Lazar
Why do we regain our essence, our well of energy, our inner Mana, more rapidly when we rest? The time when consciousness fades and we walk upon the land of the dream.
And why is it that the most intellectually capable of us are able ...
2024-01-07 05:09:32 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 11 - Finish Line
Just as water holds greater value than gold for a thirsty man, so too does silence in a world filled with incessant noise. Cultivate your silence, contemplate deep thoughts, and you will be able to hear more. To observe without distraction....
2024-01-07 05:05:46 +0000 UTC View PostArbitration, a weighty term for a seemingly quaint custom, both barbaric and enlightened in equal measure. In the days of yore, shortly after the inception of Al-Lazar and the discovery of the properties of the Dust, a river of gold flowed into the city.
The Sharehol...
2024-01-07 05:00:17 +0000 UTC View PostWith just a small touch of inspiration, the wings of the imagination unfold. Each thought, a feather on these wings, carries the mind higher, soaring over landscapes of wonder and possibility.
- Attributed to the playwright Vlan di Panoli.
The guards at the gate were...
2023-12-31 03:37:40 +0000 UTC View PostThe highest good is water, it nourishes all things and competes with none.
- Unknown.
The desert sun had sunk a little lower in the sky but still beat, fierce and strong. The glare from the refracted light, rather than the heat itself, was more of a problem. I was fo...
2023-12-27 09:04:19 +0000 UTC View PostIn the hearts of men, there exists a profound emptiness, a hole that yearns to be filled. If not filled with faith in something transcendent, becomes fertile ground for something dark. In the absence of true belief, the allure of false deities and the seductive promises of Dust take root, off...
2023-12-20 14:05:55 +0000 UTC View PostHey guys, been busy with a lot of work (my real job) and this time of the year is usually crazy. However, with the holidays coming up I should have some to build up a backlog and get back to releasing two chapters a week, which would in theory mean a book every 8 months or so.
Submission re...
2023-12-16 12:48:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe greatest of rivers is formed from the smallest of streams.
- A Quassian Aphorism.
Gelgor's eyes narrowed briefly, losing their cordiality before he skillfully masked it again. He likely mistook my response for hesitation, assuming I was a charlatan trying to salv...
2023-12-16 12:44:55 +0000 UTC View PostThe workers of the Dust fields are, for the most part, wretched addicts hooked on the pleasure that only the Dust Dreams can give. Lost in fantasies of their making, they slowly come to detest the waking world and all of its imperfections.
Famously, there are no slaves in the ...
2023-12-11 14:11:19 +0000 UTC View Post
