Torsten Hewson

v3 c16: Growing Up

“Well… that was kind of easy, wasn’t it?” Yun Ren asked his brother as they stared at the corpse of the deer.

Normally a hunt could take days of stalking a particularly prime buck, or traversing along game trails checking traps for rabbits and other small game.The ease of it disheartened him a bit. The thrill and dare he say it, the challenge, was gone. The duo had set out early in the morning in the still in the pre-dawn light. Mist still shrouded the ground in the area of the ...

Thank you, + notice of chapter delay.

Thank you, everybody, for the support on release. I'm humbled and stunned by the reaction still. Its a dream come true to be able to do this. Hopefully people are enjoying the book and the art, as well as the audio book. I worked hard on editing.. even if its come to my attention that there are still mistakes, and still things to improve.

Well, you don't get things right first try, and thats okay. I just caught most of the mistakes. No more It's Or Its mixups :P.

Unfortunately, al...

The Beasts of BOC

First, we have a Wreckerball, A monster that has been referenced a few times. Xiulan brought a shell of one of these for Jin's wedding, and the Rumbling Earth Sect live inside the ancient shell of a truly massive specimen.

We've never actually seen one alive, however, just heard stories. These creatures resemble massive, spiked armadillos, and have a habit of Sonic Spin-Dashing at people. The most norotious one in recent times is "The Road Warrior" so named for his habit of rolling near...

The Thistles: 1

BEACH EPISODE? Brought to you by The Thistles pro beach volleyball team.

Art by TSUU

BEWARE OF CHICKEN VOL 1 IS OUT

BEWARE OF CHICKEN IS OUT

We have both an Ebook and an Audiobook, with a physical copy in the pipes. I don't have an exact date on that quite yet, but know that it is coming.

The Ebook has 7 wonderful coloured images in it by Tsuu in kind of the light novel style

The Ebook

2022-05-24 05:49:10 +0000 UTC View Post

Interlude: The Senior Disciple

Several months ago….

Right beside Crimson Crucible City, in the Raging Waterfall Gorge province, there was a mountain. The lonely Cloudy Mountain, the tallest in its range, stood dominant and taller than all its brothers, its peak perpetually shielded from view by a ring of clouds.

Behind that ring of clouds, shrouded from view, sat the Cloudy Sword Sect; one of the greatest sects in the Empire, by reputation and the might of its disciples. The Indomitable Cloudy Sword ...

V3c15: The Story of the Captain

The world slowed to a crawl. The look of mounting horror on her brother’s face filled her eyes.

It was like when, during a party at the provincial capital, a man had addressed the head clerk’s mistress as his wife. This was that movement all over again. The stunned silence. The dawning realization… then the explosion that was sure to come. The woman’s strident voice… as well as the husband of the mistress’s howl of outrage.

Later, what Grandm...

v3c14: The Haunting Forest

Two figures on horseback trotted down a wide road. They wore the rich traveling clothes often associated with merchant folks. Bright silks with symbols emblazoned on them marked the duo as part of the Azure Jade Trading Company. The pair rode down the path without haste, one keeping a sharp eye on the road ahead while the other looked over the grand vista before them.

Guan Chyou’s eyes roved over the hills around them, a smile on her face. The crisp autumn air felt invigorating. Her h...

V3C13: The Witching Hour

Xiulan moved through the first form of the Verdant Blade Sword Arts in the light of the setting sun. Her eyes were closed as she felt the flow of the movements. Her form was impeccable, over a decade of practice honing her movements until they were as natural as breathing. Each step was precise. She wove a pattern of steel in the air, a blooming flower, until she came to the end, her sword held to the side and two fingers pointing up in front of her face.

With her breathing calm and ste...

AMA on the 24th

Hey everybody, Podium has arranged an AMA with myself and Travis on the 24th. I hop[e you can swing by, if you're availible, and I'll do my best to answer questions!

v3c12: A Father's Pride

A little girl pounded away at some reeds, on a field of steadily drying grass. The sky was full of golden stars, interlaced with bands of light.

The little girl looked exhausted. She paused in her work, yawning and stretching. She had cracks of gold running through her body, as if she had been shattered, and somehow glued back together.

The little girl returned to the reeds, checking them over, and nodded, satisfied at the slightly coarse fibers.

Her task complete, she turne...

v3c11: The Healing Sage

Meiling sat in a cleared room with her eyes closed. Cloth had been placed on the floors and on the walls, cordoning off the room from the rest of the building. Her Qi swirled gently around her body, the odd tingling feeling of it sterilizing the room an ever-present sensation.

It was time. Time for a surgery. It was a week after their autumn colours viewing and the last test performed. Her father had ventured from his home to assist her. Every tool was prepared, every eventuality planne...

Tsuu art

Additionally, we do have some more art by Tsuu, this time its fan art... and a little something to offset the Bunnies picture.

v3c8(new): Intent

Okay. I had a bit of a screw up. Basically, after rereading c7, trading pointers, the sudden jump into C8 from Big D's POV seemed a bit off to me, when I didn't go into the way Jin felt.

I think glossing over what he was thinking in that moment ended up being the wrong descision, and drastically alters the way I was planning on doing things. I was going to try and bring the way Jin felt u

I felt like just glossing over Jin, and what was going on with him was the wrong decision, an...

Art Post

Chunky and Washy washing the dishes.

https://twitter.com/StevenEckelkamp

v3c10: Payback

“The Lord Magistrate will receive you now.” The guard said, clicking the butt of his sheathed spear against the ground. Guan Chyou glanced at the guard from where she had been considering the colourful curtains. The guard’s bearing was immaculate. His march was quick and precise, and the man’s diction only barely marred by his northern accent.

He was a far cry from the other guards they had met on the journey to Verdant Hills. Hells, they hadn’t even needed to bribe the men in...

v3c9: The Fall Colours

Breathe in, breathe out.

Reach deep into the earth, like the roots of a plant, mingling with the golden energy there.

Feel the energy cycle.

Cai Xiulan felt peace.

A contentment borne of success, and repayment.

The sun’s rays felt warm on her face while a cool breeze flowed over her. For the moment, she simply… existed. Luxuriating in a feeling that had been only fleeting once.The energy filled her body. Washing through her meridians and her...

v3c7: Trading Pointers

A blade whistled through the air in a quiet section of the forest. It cut the air, descending towards the earth almost gracefully, before curving back up. A slight bit of sweat followed it from my fist.

I was in a quiet section of the forest near Hong Yaowu, practicing with my sword. Everybody else was asleep for the night.

My muscles strained. The sword felt wrong in my hands. The grip was nothing like a shovel, or even an axe. I glanced again at the scroll, wondering what I was ...

v3c6.2: Misunderstandings END

It was quite rare that the Lord Magistrate really had to entertain people. They had entertained in the style of the capital a few times, when he and his wife had first arrived in Verdant Hill. The awed and cowed looks of the people he had invited had been interesting… but the extravagance was simply unfeasible up here. Those of Verdant Hill were rustic in their style and manners. The Lord Magistrate was to the people an approachable man who listened. They enjoyed the more intimate ...

Art Post

Its been a while! So, here is some more art to hopefully tide you over while I work on today's chapter.

We have Tigu, Xianghua, and Biyu, as well as two emotes all done By Tsuu, with more to come later.

v3c6.1: Misunderstandings

It was still strange to be able to move this fast, Meiling thought as her feet pounded along the road in the pre-dawn light.

Meiling could never help marveling at her body when she really let loose. The speed at which she could move, the way her body rarely got sore anymore, and the lack of any kind of shakes. It was the precision. It was the way her body moved exactly the way she wanted it to that she couldn’t help but marvel at.

She was pregnant, yet she was running f...

Drive link to Volume 1

For those that asked to be able to see Vol 1, the unedited version.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ptWYBHgWUlJvkF0w6qNoorm4asgCPpA2?usp=sharing

BOC Volume 1 and Audiobook available for Preorder

I am proud to announce that the Book one is available for order on kindle, and the audiobook, Narrated by Travis Baldree, is now available for preorder on audible. Volume 1 contains about 20K extra of fleshed out words, 7 illustrations, and editing. I'm pretty sure I've got all the Its and It's right now.

The release date is May 24th for both. We are also getting a physical copy in the future. that has been guaranteed to me, but the date for that is still a bit in the f...

Interlude: The Maiden of the Mist

When outsiders thought of the Misty Lake, they often imagined something much different than Xianghua’s home. They imagined a mirror shrouded by mists, something deep and clear. A haunting, ethereal place.

In truth, the Misty Lake was a swamp. In fact, the only reason why anybody really called it a lake at all was history. It was the oldest name for the place.

Perhaps, at one point far in the past, the name had been accurate. Now, the Misty Lake, covered by its perpetual fog, was...

v3c5: Part of the Family

Drums thundered. Instruments clanged; Firecrackers popped and banged. The scent of food filled the air.

In the middle of a village, two dragons hopped and skipped, moving in time to the beat. The children shrieked and gleefully chased after their tails as they moved through the streets, performing acrobatic stunts. One was a puppet, clad in red as the Elders displayed their skill; the other was bright blue and alive, with beady, fishy eyes and a lovely tailfin.

A Mid-Autumn Festiv...

v3c4: The Story and the Heron

Gou Ren rubbed at his arm, as he squinted at his brother. Waking up tied to the ceiling was a bit disorienting, but they hadn't left him up there for long. When he found out who it was his vengeance would be swift. He took a bite of his lunch, tuning out everybody else around him. The table was packed with people, more hungry now than they had been at breakfast.

He thought that it had been his brother’s prank, when he had come back, looking so amused. But it was lunch now, ...

Live event starting in 10 min

As the title says, live event for patreons on the discord.

v3c3: The Drifting Mist

Funnily enough, it all started on a whim, not that long ago. Or perhaps it was fate? A strange man, who looked a bit like a swindler, with his sharp, fox-like eyes, and a rather bruitish, monkey-looking fellow, holding up a sign. Normally Liu Bowu would have walked passed, but what he saw had intrigued him. The large portraits, so lifelike. The extra background options.

Bowu smiled.

His sister already had a portrait of Bowu in her personal quarters, visible r...