"Let! Me! Out!" Kasper pounded on the walls around him. He couldn't see them – he couldn't see anything at all – but he could feel the surface in front of him to hit and claw at it.
"I want out! I want out!" he screamed, but no one could hear. He kn...
2025-12-15 20:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post
It's been a while since our last sourcebook update. Here is a map of Estfold province, with a good chunk of Dimmik showing in the south. It will be included in Legate of Mourne.
2025-12-14 21:30:17 +0000 UTC View PostTaylor arrived in his slime form, ready for assassins, armed insurrections, enemy wizards, or popular uprisings. Instead, he landed in the middle of the princess's study.
What's wrong? Their bond twisted with worry.
"Rebecca is making a play against the Divine Envoy."
<...
2025-12-12 20:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe day had been long, and the carriage ride was rough. Mariella somehow got stuck in a Priory carriage with bad suspension, and she could feel every stray rock and crease in the road through the bench seat. The lower city clinic had been ful...
2025-12-10 20:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post
Sprits come in all shapes and sizes, some of them quite small. Here's one from volume 2, running off with some delicious Wokehaad Farms preserves.
One should be careful while tromping around Twilight. Spirits can discern the difference between an insect and an insect-type spirit, but the r...
2025-12-09 20:40:29 +0000 UTC View PostI miss the noise of common folk,
their joys, their toils, their simple cares.
In fall, I don my deepest cloak
To stalk unknown the season's fairs.
— Erkenbrog the Decimator
Taylor sat on his hilltop and w...
2025-12-08 20:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post
If you ever get tired of mostly lighthearted fantasy, you can try my zombie book, Hungry New World. There are no superpowers, and the closest thing to magic is the zombies. (As one reader pointed out, zombies defy the laws of thermodynamics and therefore qualify as magical beings.)
"You aren't yourself today," said Strife. "It's been a while since we've seen you."
Taylor was taking a lot of pieces off their chessboard, throwing pawns at the god's lines to watch his defenses react, then prying open the gaps. He was playing more to hurt Strif...
2025-12-05 20:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostThat evening, Taylor went fishing in the river branch running through Avimore. The waterway was as desultory as the rest of the lower city, bricked in on both sides, forming a deep channel twenty-five feet wide. The water had a slight stink and loitered on its way through the capital. He didn't h...
2025-12-03 20:00:30 +0000 UTC View PostThe morning post brought a card from Rasmusen, with a priory header and the embossed profile of their famous building. Ras had made contact with the palace clinic and delivered the circle into "competent hands." Even knowing how averse Taylor was to the palace, the priest invited him to tea with ...
2025-12-01 20:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostYour weekly eBook update, with a new cover.
2025-11-30 22:31:30 +0000 UTC View Post
I finally have Legate of Mourne back on track for publication. Multiple illustrations are in the works right now, so apprentices can look forward to high-resolution versions of the illustrations and maps. When Legate is released, all current apprentices will get a copy.
No...
2025-11-29 22:28:23 +0000 UTC View PostGetting into Avimore was inconvenient compared to every other major city in the empire. Taylor didn't have any travel points into Dorian at all, not from Twilight or the Other Place. Partly, that was because the emperor kept his front yard clean of rifts, so he'd never had a reason to lead an exp...
2025-11-28 20:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostHe wanted to send a purification circle to the clinic, but getting materials into the palace wasn't so easy. They only trusted certain people to transport goods, and there were procedures to follow. Taylor had no way in other than as Miss Wibbles, and a summoned spirit couldn't leave permanent it...
2025-11-26 20:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostWhat, then, is the difference between a dark lord and any other person of great power? There is a strangeness that obscures their purpose from other men. We understand the conqueror, even as we hate him. But a Dark Lord is unknowable, even among those who follow him.
— Typ...
2025-11-24 20:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post
Here is this week's epub export. No format changes.
2025-11-23 01:12:05 +0000 UTC View Post
In keeping with the recent tradition of showing off my lack of artistic ability, here's the sketch for The Alchemist cover. (That's supposed to be a volcano in the background.) I was due multiple pieces of art this week, but wouldn't you know it, production gets less reliable in the run-up to Tha...
2025-11-22 05:07:38 +0000 UTC View PostThe Smiling Man was in a rented house in Midway, where a second-story window gave his team a good view of their target's backyard. Some of his partners had struck up passing relationships in the neighborhood and the nearby markets to col...
2025-11-21 20:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostCecilia did not happen to cross his path on Academy grounds, which was disappointing, but Rahel gave him a lot to think about. Spirits talked to each other, and Rahel had learned about the purification of Mount Uroda and its great spirit through them. Even if she hadn't, Taylor's title of Dux Twi...
2025-11-19 20:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostTaylor popped into Twilight while still a slime, perched on Saria's counter, with a pyramid of indigo marbles piled next to him. He had only been gone for an hour, but the Army of Lightness was gathered there to cheer his return. When Taylor found the class skill for turning back into a human, he...
2025-11-17 20:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostFor those of you who prefer eBooks, here is your weekly update. Hopefully, I'll have a real cover to put on this soon.
2025-11-16 15:00:55 +0000 UTC View PostThey say he walks the land in strange forms, the better to spy on his domain. If they see a beggar in the street with sharp eyes, or a cat that sits too long in one place, they point and say to each other, "Mind yourself. He is watching."
— "Dark Lord Dalvoorde." in Ancien...
2025-11-14 20:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post
Remember when I left my backpack in Ottawa? I had the hotel FedEx it to the US, where it promptly got stuck in Customs. Even in the best of times, my [Red Tape] skill is pitiful, and Customs has a high challenge rating. Five rounds of paperwork and three weeks later, I finally recovered my backpa...
2025-11-14 01:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Her dear sister was at it again. Rebecca had commandeered their Maestra, three additional mages, and the main summoning circle, the one court magicians used to summon flying mounts to carry messages or imperial officials at g...
2025-11-12 20:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
Taylor — Sunglaze Basin, Twilight Realm
When Taylor and Saria first met, they made each other some promises. She promised to be his guide in the Twilight Realm, help him map gateways between there and Aarden, and source rare materials. Among other things, he promised her ...
2025-11-10 20:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostI've worked in Scrivener for a couple of years, but I've never tapped its full potential. I always use other programs for layout and eBook formatting. But, like most powerful software, it isn't simple. It will take some time to refine the format enough to be worth using.
I've had requests f...
2025-11-09 16:49:41 +0000 UTC View Post
Summary:
Subject "Drill Edge" exhibits sustained mass summoning, a fair grasp of battlefield command, and tier-4 magic.
Great Spirit Uroda was observed leaving the mountain.
Ob...
2025-11-07 20:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post
The Dark Lord called down to Mabundala from his tower, loud enough for the armed host to hear. "You say I deserve death for the change I wrought in the world. But I have only danced at the end of Fate's string."
— Elven Histories
For the first time ...
2025-11-05 20:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
Arc-Silvain climbed the stairs until she was a few steps below Taylor, who bent his knees slightly and prepared to counter her first move. His enhancements were all in place and tuned for combat.
The arc woman offered a small bow. "May I join you, if first I apologize? I brought snacks." Sh...
2025-11-03 20:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
In the past, Taylor had always planted a runner from his portal trees on a newly-closed rift. He didn't close them completely, but left an underground chamber where the mana could accumulate. The tree fed from the mana pool and reached out its roots for home, in the Other Place. All the portal tr...
2025-10-31 19:00:19 +0000 UTC View Post