Bongosian Press

§088 The Cleansing

With the crab gone, they could enter the lava tubes again without worrying so much about them collapsing. They didn't have to travel far to find the corruption; it was only a few minutes' journey into the mountain before the walls grew warm and sweated an ashy, greasy substance. The dense magic w...

§087 The Praxium Brigade

SCENE: Night, on a muddy battlefield. The sounds of fighting are heard in the distance. Vergner pulls his sword from the body of a beast. A group of soldiers runs past him in fear, but one of them stops.

SOLDIER: Didn't you hear the horn of retreat? Take your life and flee!

<...

2025-10-27 19:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post

§086 Monthy Brief

Princess Mariella — Imperial Palace

The imperial children were briefed once a month, in a stuffy room without windows. This wasn’t where the decisions were made, but where they were explained as part of the imperial brood’s training. Not all of them were present – t...

§085 Payouts

"Sweetie, your new man lives in a ruined castle in a dangerous forest, and nobody will go there because of all the strange magic. He is totally a Dark Lord."

"Your boyfriend lives with his mother."

"Touché, sweetie. Touché."

— Dating on the Dark Side, A Ca...

2025-10-22 19:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post

§084 Chess

Chess

“You’re usually more entertaining than this.” Strife, the god of conflict and protection, was bored and grumbling. Instead of trying to win, his opponent had bottled up the battle in layers of defense that made assault impossible. Strife hated deadlocks.

Definitely Not Canon

It seems like ages ago now, but I published the first chapters of ISINADL in April. True to my usual form, I began in March by writing a bunch of random scenes based on familiar light novel tropes, twisting them to my liking. Some of it went into notebooks, and some was typed into Scrivener. Abou...

Curator Jane Enjoys Her Books

Sometimes, you need to take a break and hang out with your best friends.

Volume 4 Update & Process

Rest assured, I have not been idle for the last few weeks. I have devised an outline for the next book, laid down the first few installments, and written first drafts of key chapters here and there. I should have over thirty thousand words by October 22nd, which is enough to start publishing. 2025-10-15 02:55:12 +0000 UTC View Post

Travel Mishaps

Things seemed to go very smoothly this morning. 3am wake-up, hotel check-out, and ride acquisition all went without a hitch. I got through the first security checkpoint and dropped off my checked bag before I realized why I felt so light and free this morning.

I left my backpack in the Uber...

The Magic of Aarden

Ultimately, magic always comes down to power (how much mana can a user bring to bear) and will (how badly does a user want to change reality). With enough of the two, a magician can do nearly anything. Any problem can be solved if you throw enough magic and desire at it.

Magic becomes far e...

Kasper, Meet Bees

He looks like a little rascal, doesn't he? But soon, he will learn his lesson: "Bees are strong."

Kasper will appear in black & white in the published novel. Only the fortunate few get to see him in color.

Imperial Coinage

Coins are round, solid, and have milled edges. Their precious metal content has been stable for several generations. However, the base metals have changed over the years, reflecting their relative cost and availability. Collectors are especially interested in high-quality coins of "cusp years" wh...

Billing paused; Curator Jane and her books

I have paused billing for one month, as of today. Existing members will not be billed again until October 22nd. By then, I'll have chapters of Book 4 ready for you to enjoy. New members will be billed normally and gain access to all paid content.

Here are early concept sketches of Jane, enj...

§083 Tanglewood II

Taylor

The clubhouse was located in the center of the course, surrounded by the "front nine" that everyone could see. Players who finished the first nine baskets received a clue, and, if they solved a puzzle, the secret "back nine" was revealed to them. The safet...

§082 Tanglewood I

Otis

Otis's party of eight rented rooms at a Wokehaad hotel. This town had a train stop, so it was used to travelers passing through to other places, or even stopping for a few days to fish or do business with the locals. Nobody pried too hard into their affairs. 

He managed to...

Something to tide you over

Today's chapter will be late. So here's something to look at while you wait … Kasper discovering that "bees are strong."

I hope my artist is up to the task, because I'm not ;-)

§081 Montage

Hannah — Bostkirk

"It's done, Lady Augburg. Blodwin d'Mourne is at home, nursing her bruises. Otis is in Midway. He's visiting his old crew."

"Do you think he knows?"

"That he's being pushed? I don't see how. I barely touched him, and his whole body of restraint toppled over...

The end is nigh — Can you feel it?

It should be obvious at this point that we're near the end of book 3, Twilight Hunters.

So, what happens next?

I have this awesome button on Patreon that lets me pause subscriptions for a month. My plan is to punch it on the 22nd, before anyone gets charged for a second month...

§080 Wokehaad

Originally, the idea was to spend a month at Wokehaad Farms training Alexis and Willemien to handle mana. Alexis was Taylor's sometime-apprentice. She had the Orchardist class, but he had failed to find a suitable class teacher for her. So Alexis was apprenticed to Nelis, the ancient arc who owne...

Ophelia

This is one of the illustrations for book 2, The Legate of Mourne. Ophelia only has a couple of scenes, but Taylor's crush on her continues.

I tapped local Sonoma County artist Ruby Castillo @roobie_kah...

§079 Otis & Blodwin

Col. Otis d'Mourne (ret)

The harvest was good that year. For a rural township with little in the way of industry, that was everything. The granaries were full. Carts piled high with the last fruit of the season had trundled off toward the provincial capital of Bostkirk. For...

Appease Him With Treats

TheNeverBored on RoyalRoad posted this, and I had to share. It's inspired by the scene in Vacation I where Jalil makes up a song called, Anger Not Our Lord, But Appease Him With Treats.

Words ...

§078 Classes

There were fewer people inside the Temple of Origins than Taylor expected. The priestess from earlier was there, as was another priest he hadn't seen before, sitting in pews at the front of the room. Knexenk loomed above them, bathed in hazy winter light. Instead of spreading wide to embrace her ...

Lunchtime Sketches

I'm thinking of commissioning a drawing of Curator Jane, and I would love to see her in her nest of books.

So I ended up doodling for lunch. Moments like this make me want to spend time learning how to draw. But then I remember I could spend that time writing.

§077 Moyalwande

"What's so important that you can't stay?" Cecilia was in his suite, the self-appointed captain of searching rooms for anything left behind.

"I have to sort out the church situation. Then I have to go to Wokehaad to keep a contract. I can't be late." He needed to be at the Farm in less than...

§076 Vacation VI

Theudebald declared he was conducting an impromptu assessment and brought along a senior appraiser. The two extra people barely put a dent in the carriage's expansive interior. Their next stop was a workshop, where they picked up a dwarven woman with a bag full of gliders and a few tools.<...

§058 The Other Place

Matthijs was a cleverly moustached arc, a handsbreadth taller than three feet, and greeted the two boys with open arms. He was even more enthusiastic about the supplies they brought. The group's captain had died in the surprise assault, along with their baggage horses, and the group's tablet had ...

§075 Vacation V

Taylor rented a large carriage for the day, nearly as long as a fast coach. It wasn't as ornate as the princess's transportation, but it seated more people and came with a uniformed catkin driver and a large stock of non-alcoholic drinks in a cooling box. His time in Celosia had been very product...

On The Nature Of Spirits

From Collected Treatises, Vol 3 (Second Arcaic Edition, out of print) 

My master was the renowned Hazel Mage. Though famous for his spellwork, he had a large number of summons available to him. One stood above the others, a blue-skinned siren who was h...

§059 Otis & Blodwin

Colonel Otis d'Mourne (Ret.), Legate of Mourne

That monster ruined everything. If Otis had known he was bringing ruin to his house by allowing it to live, he would have killed it long before it was born. It wouldn't matter if Sybil hated him for it; at least she'd be alive. Their two ol...