Perseus XXVII.

Hohenfels – Chapter 44

The garden pavilion next to Schwarzwald Hall was a surprisingly cozy and secluded place, though perhaps Arne should have expected as much. If there was one thing House Tannburg was known for, it was hosting high profile meetings and negotiations that required a veneer of neutrality and a delicate touch.

Wooden lattice walls adorned with ornate carvings and blooming vines granted a sound-absorbing barrier for sensitive conversations, while still allowing bodyguards to keep watch from out...

Hohenfels – Chapter 43

…third generation of students, ten years… communing with spirits of the land, Gods of Eld… Mandrake shavings and thornapple leaves… Lord of Storm and Thunder…

Arne compared the notes he wrote down from memory with the contents of his diary, growing increasingly concerned. The contents of the lesson remained clear in his mind, and so did the memory of calling upon the name of a Forgotten One.

However, when it came to remembering details about Professor Nowak pers...

Hohenfels – Chapter 42

Heinrich von Eisenberg-Launow, Housemaster of Eisengrund Hall, sat in his office, face buried in his hands. After a few moments of silent despair, he asked the obstinate Princess across the desk a singular question. “Why?”

Klara stared at the desk, her expression fluctuating between shame and rage.

“She insulted me,” she finally grumbled, not meeting his eyes.

“You knocked her out cold with a punch to her face. Should I count myself lucky that you did not stab her ...

Hohenfels – Chapter 41

Jerzy Nowak was beyond elated. Not only was his favorite student much more receptive than he had dared hope for – no, said student had also inadvertently proven a theory Jerzy had developed over the course of two long decades.

The old ways were still alive among the Eastern nobility.

It was supremely rare for the words of a baptized and confirmed Christian to reach the ears of the Old Gods. It was impossible for one to succeed on the first attempt. Prince Arnold von Hohenfels, h...

Hohenfels – Chapter 40

The distant bells of Halden’s cathedral rang through the air as Arne made his way to Professor Nowak’s office. Sunday mornings were the optimal time for heathen lessons, as the entirety of the catholic student body left for the city, and a good chunk of the protestants was sequestered away in the dorms’ chapels.

Thankfully, he would not be missed at Hohenfels Hall’s service. It was severely under-attended anyway, and the few pious nobles who visited it regularly would know bette...

Hohenfels – Chapter 39

Katharina fought down the growing urge to flop into her bed and nurse her wounds as she made her way through the library. She had agreed to meet Prince Arnold, after all – and she had a lot to report.

When she finally reached the niche, she found the Prince staring at the wall with a dark expression. ‘What happened to him…?’

“Good evening, Arnold,” she greeted with a polite curtsy. 

He snapped out of his thoughts and forced a smile. “Good evening,...

Hohenfels – Chapter 38

‘What have I done to deserve this?’

Katharina felt like the world was conspiring against her. First, the opportunistic Tannburg princess toppled one of her most promising plans with an offhand comment, and now this.

One does not simply ‘refuse to play’. That was just not how it worked for aristocrats, and even less so for the daughter of a duke. Princess Klara was being unreasonable, but it didn’t matter. There was nothing Katharina could say or do righ...

I'm back online once more!

Finally. My idea of using the neighbors' WiFi did not work out thanks to the layout of the building, but today, my ISP finally sent a technician.

My internet is still... not good, but at least it works. Mostly.

I'll upload the Monday and Wednesday chapters in the next few minutes. Unfortunately, I might have to delay the Friday chapter to tomorrow morning, since the technician appointment took up a lot more time than I would have liked.

If nothing unforesee...

Internet is dead

As the title says – My internet has been gone since Sunday morning (thank you, Telekom). Mobile coverage is atrocious if you venture even slightly into the rural areas of Germany, so that is not much of an alternative either. Currently writing this on fucking GPRS... Welcome back to 2005.

I hope the post goes through at all. The Patreon interface is barely loading, to say nothing of Discord.

I'll ask my neighbors for WiFi access tomorrow afternoon, but until then, I can...

Hohenfels – Chapter 37

Friedrich stared into his cousin’s eyes, unable to smother the defiance bubbling in his chest.

“You know she started it, damn it! You were there!” he grumbled.

But Arnold remained unreasonable despite the spark of sympathy Friedrich saw in his eyes, which only served to infuriate the younger man further. “Come on, Arne! It’s her damned fault!”

“It doesn’t matter,” Arnold sighed. “From today on, you will avoid her as well as...

I'm back online!

Hey everyone!

I finally have internet at my new place. Still very exhausted from hauling all my stuff up to the fourth floor, so I won't get anything done tonight. There will be a chapter tomorrow, though.

And now I'll hit the hay. See you tomorrow! o7

– Perseus

Hohenfels – Chapter 36

“I see you have taken steps to… consolidate your reputation, ‘dearest cousin’,” Matthias said with no small amount of venom. Annoyance. Exasperation.

“I found myself in a rather unfortunate position thanks to an unexpected duel, ‘dearest cousin’,” Arne replied in the same manner. “I had no choice but to… clarify boundaries.”

The two young men fixed each other with unamused stares for half a minute, until Matthias broke eye contact and slumped into ...

Delay and unfortunate announcement

Hey everyone!

As you probably noticed, I haven't been able to complete the Friday chapter yet. I'm moving to another city next week, and I just didn't have enough time to concentrate on writing, thanks to all the annoying stuff I need to take care of.

Since I doubt I'll get much done today, the chapter will probably come out tomorrow afternoon (European time). I'm really sorry for the delay.

On top of that, I suspect I won't manage to write a whole lot over the course...

Hohenfels – Chapter 35

Jerzy Nowak paced around his office excitedly, mentally planning out lessons for the young Prince who might very well become his much-needed benefactor in the future.

Teaching heresy to young nobles was neither particularly safe nor enjoyable, but it was necessary. Taking apprentices from among the village folk had not been feasible for centuries, no matter how much his… colleagues clung to tradition. It was much wiser to pass on the knowledge to those who weren’t at r...

Hohenfels – Chapter 34

Arne felt Katharina’s irritation slowly morph into apprehension and distress. Even their two fellow students were nervously shifting in their seats.

“...You’re a sorcerer,” she finally said. It was not a question, but a statement.

Professor Nowak smirked. “Not wrong, but not entirely correct either.”

“A shaman, then,” Arne mused, eliciting a raised eyebrow from the teacher.

“Oh? Have you met a shaman before?” His aura gave off a strangely distorted ...

Hohenfels – Chapter 33

“He did what…?”

Matthias had just arrived at his private dining table to have a peaceful breakfast after a very hectic week. Instead, his friend and aide Clemens von Rabenberg crushed what little relaxation Matthias had allowed himself before the impending turmoil.

“...He and a group of armed men marched into Sonnenfeld Hall in full dress uniform, planted the Hohenfels banner in the foyer, ignored Prince Ludwig, and insulted the Housemaster.”

“Why in Christ’s n...

Hohenfels – Chapter 32

If he had to describe the lounge in a single word, Arne would call it ‘fluffy’. 

‘What is it with Westerners and their faible for unreasonably soft armchairs?’ he thought idly while settling into the embrace of a particularly impressive specimen. On the opposite end of the low lounge table, Leonhardt shifted uncomfortably in his own chair, presumably a side effect of having one’s chest cut open.

“Why did you do this?” the heir of Westmark asked hes...

Hohenfels – Chapter 31

Katharina stood atop the gallery encompassing the entrance hall, looking out of the huge windows and feeling rather concerned.

What was Prince Arnold planning? It was worrying that he had not deigned to inform her of any details, for a multitude of reasons. It meant that she could not help prepare the setting, that she could not help iron out potential flaws in the plan, that everything hinged solely on what she surmised to be an insufficient understanding of Western politics. But most ...

Hohenfels – Chapter 30

Arne studied Katharina from the corner of his eye. Her aura radiated smug satisfaction after doing God-knows-what to the poor girls who had been clumsily tailing them ever since they left Hohenfels Hall. A display of immense skill that made him both happy to have allied with her and worried about what else she might have up her sleeve.

A spike of aura from a neighboring table reminded him that the mess hall was, while less visited than usual, still full of people who were paying very cl...

Hohenfels – Chapter 29

Arne repressed the urge to frown for the hundredth time today.

Recently, he found himself hurrying from crisis to crisis. Be it fictitious engagements, silkling soirées, or Friedrich being Friedrich, it was the exact opposite of what he wanted from his stay at the academy.

“Say, what can I do to make them leave me alone?” he sighed dejectedly.

Katharina’s expression morphed from a performative pout to incomprehension. “What do you mean?”

“Matthias caused t...

Hohenfels – Chapter 28

“You said the duel would be interrupted,” Leonhardt growled from his bed, where a gaggle of Sonnenfeld physicians and alchemists were tending to his gruesome injuries.

Maximilian was getting really tired of incompetent allies. “The Principal was already en route! If you had just held out a few minutes longer–”

“If you had told me what kind of monster I’d be up against, I would have never agreed to this!” the Wessen heir shouted, prompting the physicia...

Hohenfels – Chapter 27

The banesilver blade felt comfortably cold underneath Arne’s fingers. The spectators’ auras were muted and dull now, a far cry from the chaotic onslaught he was subjected to moments before.

It made everything so much easier.

The damnable silklings wanted a fight? They would get a fight. Arne was beyond done with this foolishness. Stupid schemes were expected. Even forcing him into a meaningless duel was… perhaps not acceptable, but tolerable.

Questioning House Hohenfel...

Hohenfels – Chapter 26

Arne sat in the Castellan’s office, nervously rubbing his temples.

“Why do you think Maximilian insisted on a public match, Uncle?”

“That is an excellent question, but not one we will be able to answer until after the fact,” Lord Hartmut replied sagely.

“I realize that, but knowing that they’re planning something is… disconcerting.”

“They are always planning something, Arnold. It is their nature.”

‘Well, if that isn’t G...