Back at it today, folks! Hope everyone had a wonderful break over the holidays, caught up with family and other generally good and pleasant things.
I have returned to my assigned place at the desk and writing has recommenced. Chapters for Chrysalis are locked and loaded for next week, with BoD restarting the week after.
If you are interested in RinoZ's break, it was lots of board games, hanging out with the kids and WAAAAAY too much factorio. Only the best things.
2026-01-09 05:10:14 +0000 UTC
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I'm now officially on break!
Yeah boiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!
I hope everyone out there has a great break, hangs out with family and does many cool things. Find comfort, peace and enjoyment to renew your spirit and gird your loins for the next year ahead!
Chrysalis will be back on the 9th of Jan!
BoD will be back a week later on the 16th! (You got your two extra chapters, don't at me bro)
Lots of fun stuff to look forward to next year.
I'm going to spend some ...
2025-12-19 07:17:26 +0000 UTC
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High above the capital, the Palace of Ascension floated. An impossible structure, kept aloft by the largest array in the history of the realm, and home to the highest of the Blood.
At the tallest point of this structure, within the most sanctified of its towers and surrounded by platinum ranked Imperial Knights lay the Emperor Elios al Selene, the forty-seventh of that name.
Named for the Goddess to whom his lineage belonged, he slept restlessly, his dreams invaded by thrashing co...
2025-12-19 07:09:46 +0000 UTC
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Author note:
I knew people would crash out after the last chapter, so I figured I would give you the next week of BoD in advance. This means BoD will be on break for an extra week in January though. So there.
This is the finale of Book five people! Only the Epilogue to go, which will release today or tomorrow, depending on when I finish writing it.
Swords were sticking out of him.
So shocked was Merigold, ...
2025-12-19 01:39:39 +0000 UTC
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Crinis was unhappy. To tell the truth, that was a vast understatement. She boiled with rage. Frothed with it. Every drop of her inky immaterial flesh yearned to take hold of the disgusting… unspeakable creatures and rend them.
Then rend them again.
Perhaps a third time could be managed, if time allowed. It probably couldn’t, considering how many of these rend-able creatures there were, which only added to her anger.
They would dare to attack her master....
2025-12-19 01:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Mage Captain Elinon stumbled through what was left of the battlefield in a fugue state. Having the curse removed from his body was like having the flesh stripped from his bones. The process had been agonising, and lengthy. The curse had spread far and wide throughout his flesh, and so far the only way the Healers had found to remove it was to burn it out.
When the process was finished, he had been left a gasping, sweat-drenched mess, but duty demanded that he rise and continue to...
2025-12-18 01:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Curse Magic holds an… interesting place as a magical discipline. Not a common form of mana by any means, nevertheless there have been specialists who have chosen to devote their time and energy to the research and development of it as a branch of study.
Although it is often… unpleasant… both to witness and to experience firsthand, with the focus of the specialised Curse Magic spells largely being on weakening the targets physically, or draining them mentally, it isn...
2025-12-18 01:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Fatigue was beginning to seep into the War Bishop’s bones as his mace seemed to gain weight by the second, adding to the throbbing pain in his wrist. Under normal circumstances, he could fight for a day without rest, but sticking close to the monster had necessitated that he be within its cursed Domain spell. Resisting its effect had taxed him considerably, and his ability to continue holding it off was declining at a rapid pace.
Sweat dripped down his face as he continued to fight, u...
2025-12-17 01:00:04 +0000 UTC
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I had made a simple plan, because, in my opinion, complex plans are about as useful as no plan at all. Solant would disagree, I get that, and maybe for her, it would be fine. For me? I know my limits. More importantly, I’m working with Tiny, and that idiot priest, and other people of questionable intelligence.
What would be the point in overcomplicating things?
Maybe I was a fool to think ‘wait until I tire them out, then join the fight on my signal’ would be easy enou...
2025-12-16 01:00:06 +0000 UTC
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He was drawing ever closer, Tyron could feel him. In the back of his mind, he had hoped it wouldn’t come to this, that the other man would stay out of the battle, and, for some time it had appeared as though that might be the case.
An unmistakable presence, like a drawn blade held against his neck, inching its way closer with each passing moment, there could be no doubt that the platinum ranked Soldier was going to fight. Gritting his teeth, Tyron continued to burn the flood of...
2025-12-16 01:00:05 +0000 UTC
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It has always been a challenge to stand between the Colony and the outside world in matters of business and finance. In my heart of hearts, I am an ant, and I agree wholeheartedly with the way my siblings view money. Largely unnecessary, a sign of a lack of cooperation, or perhaps of an inherent selfishness, it’s perfectly possible for a society to function without it.
A society of ants, at least.
This was the reason why the Colony would habitually seize ri...
2025-12-15 01:00:13 +0000 UTC
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It was difficult for Beyn to see what was happening in the battle due to the flood of tears that obscured his vision. Choked with emotion, he even found it difficult to perform the one function in which he excelled: speaking.
Watching the Great One fling themself into danger, to be attacked and suffer the indignity of battling with those far beneath them, moved him beyond words. So noble the sacrifice! So benevolent the heart of wisdom! Truly the Great One had achieved such a sta...
2025-12-11 23:33:37 +0000 UTC
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There were several requests for a visual of the mastermind behind the release schedule chaos this week.
Here 'tis.
2025-12-11 23:30:58 +0000 UTC
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Author note: Sorry about the disastrous schedule this week folks. We're getting carpet replaced in a few rooms and it has consumed my every waking moment.
If you must vent your anger, aim it at my cat, who's a territorial little stress-head and feels the need to spray everywhere if he even sniffs a neighborhood feline. Yes, George, I'm talking about YOU! Damned adorable cat.
Graham had to admit, being up close to the monster was an intimi...
2025-12-11 01:31:54 +0000 UTC
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After displaying the superiority of my produce, I’m sure I’ve dragged a fair few resources out of my opponents. Dealing with that sort of acid apocalypse must have drained them of mana and mental energy, I’ve no doubt about it.
They’ve also been forced out of their position. Had they decided to stay in place, they risked having to sit and wait while I fired further barrages of acid at them. Clearly they were unwilling to tolerate such a thing and have chosen to attack with...
2025-12-11 01:28:33 +0000 UTC
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“That son of a bitch,” Mage Captain Elinon spat, almost unable to believe what he was seeing.
Anger, outrage and grief rippled through the Golden Legion as if they were physical things. Men and women cried out, unable to contain their emotions, even through their ingrained discipline. The pain was raw, overwhelming, but the rage and disgust was even stronger. If the Necromancer had thought that what he had done would weaken the resolve of the Soldiers he faced, he had been so...
2025-12-11 01:25:13 +0000 UTC
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Power was a storm and Tyron lived at the centre of it. Arcane energy ran through him at a ferocious pace. Like water being forced through a narrow opening, he could feel the pressure of it, so intense that, were he unawakened, it may well have shattered his bones.
Without a pause or momentary beat of rest, Words of Power rolled from his tongue and gave shape to his magick while his hands flickered out multiple sigils every second. As relentless, and as fast as he was, th...
2025-12-09 01:25:04 +0000 UTC
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As impressed as I am with Merchant, she has nothing on the industrial, financial and commercial capacity I am now packing in the rear-zone. It’s aggressive, stream-lined, with an incredible price-to-earnings ratio and exceptionally creative accounting. My market share is out of control, so close to a monopoly that the only reason I allow competitors to exist is for plausible deniability.
It’s not junk occupying my trunk, but a weapons-grade product the military-industrial c...
2025-12-09 01:21:28 +0000 UTC
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The War Bishop stood with his troops, shoulder to shoulder with the men and women he slept, ate, trained and fought beside. Not all of them would survive the day, but that was the price that needed to be paid, and all were willing to pay it.
Sacrifice was the brick and mortar that lay the foundation for the Path. Such had it been since the time of Ascension, so it would be until that time came again.
Divided on the left and right flank were the soldiers provided by Green Mountain,...
2025-12-09 01:20:36 +0000 UTC
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Normally, the hardest part about hunting for a powerful monster was trying to pin it in place and bring your force to bear. In the worst case, this could involve a month’s long campaign of carefully manoeuvring, slowly cutting off tunnels, taking control of sections of the Dungeon and gradually herding the creature where you needed it to go.
Graham had played this game of cat and mouse dozens of times in his career and was more than proficient in the methods used to put a monster exac...
2025-12-05 01:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Merigold bit her lip and tried to stop her hands from shaking, gripping the pommel of her saddle so tight her knuckles turned white. In the distance, obscured by swirling miasma and golden light, the two forces clashed over and over again, yet even mounted she couldn’t see well enough to tell how the battle was progressing.
I brought them here. They are dying because of me.
Moisture welled in her eyes and she shook her head, trying to dismiss the thought. No. She...
2025-12-04 01:00:03 +0000 UTC
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There was something sacred to standing in the Dungeon. It was a place of infinite possibility, of rich mana and unending gifts. What purpose did it serve, for what reason did it put forward such bounty, if it wasn’t for the benefit of the Old Races who had lived upon Pangera before the Dungeon had made itself known to them?
War Bishop Graham Pearson rose to his feet, having completed his hour of prayer, feelings of praise and gratitude still resounding in his heart. After a lifetime a...
2025-12-04 01:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Summoning an army to try and defeat a monster isn’t as simple as it seems. Powerful monsters may be large, but they are also, most of the time, quite cunning as well. Trying to engage one with a force of tens of thousands within the unpredictable terrain of the Dungeon is far from a simple matter.
If the beast senses you coming, it may well just leave the area, moving somewhere else for a time before returning to its previous den. If the monster is particularly attached t...
2025-12-03 01:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Luckily, I didn’t encounter anything fishy as I made my way through the tunnels with the forces of the Colony filing along behind me. It looks as though the delvers of Green Mountain have given up the game, at least for the time being, worried that I would still be lurking in the shadows and looking to capture them once more.
Which I am.
Yet, as we get closer to Green Mountain itself, I start to notice more and more activity. Sweeping along as the vanguard, I’m no longer...
2025-12-02 01:00:05 +0000 UTC
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General Crow watched as the battle continued to play out before him.
“Our Mages have been unable to bring down the orb,” one of his officers reported.
I can see that, he thought to himself.
Hanging over the battlefield and raining down what he was told was concentrated Death Magickdeath magick, the spell was definitely a threat, but not an imminent one. All along the front line, skeletons continued to engage with the soldiers of the Golden Legion, and in ...
2025-12-02 01:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Once again, I’m back out into the tunnels. For the fun of it, I’m deploying my submarine technique, even though it’s not particularly necessary. There’s just something satisfying about floating along, my legs tucked up under my carapace. I can almost imagine the sonar pinging sound ringing out from my antennae and bouncing off the tunnel walls.
Am I also satisfied at the way most monsters don’t realise I’m coming, then turn and flee when they catch sight of me?
2025-12-01 01:28:39 +0000 UTC
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I’m not overly eager to become further acquainted with these pests trying to capture my siblings, but an emphatic message needs to be sent, and I am just the ant to send it.
Besides, I can’t go down to the fifth and deliver sweet, sweet vengeance to the Krath until I’ve finished matters up here. As much fun as I’ve had squashing delvers into the ground and laughing at them, they aren’t exactly the biggest fish my family is dealing with right now. That title is reserved ...
2025-11-28 01:00:05 +0000 UTC
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The Grave Moon bore down from above, unleashing an unceasing pressure that felt vaguely familiar to Tyron. From within the sphere, perhaps the size of a barn, thick drops of concentrated death magick began to fall. Many dissolved into arcane energy before they reached the ground, but others didn’t, falling onto the undead or clashing with the defensive light the opposing mages had cast.
It had taken days for the full Grave Moon spell to be decoded, and even longer for the prepa...
2025-11-27 01:00:06 +0000 UTC
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I address a few other minor details with my mutations. The triad has given me an organ that effectively acts as a mind mana construct, taking energy from my core and converting it so it can feed straight into my mind constructs. It’s an overall efficiency boost compared to having to do the conversion myself or using a whole mana gland on it.
A gain in efficiency that can be further improved via mutation, naturally. I take the organ to +15, essentially having it produce mi...
2025-11-27 01:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Naturally, there’s a catch. Of course. Unlimited mana? It goes against the very nature of the entire world! If I could provide unlimited mana to myself, then I could wander freely around the Dungeon, even going all the way to the surface, as a tier eight monster! I could cast literally endless spells. Gravity well after gravity well, never run out of juice, and that’s just the basic stuff.
I could create a pocket of hyper-ultra dense mana just by spitting it out of m...
2025-11-26 01:00:06 +0000 UTC
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