The twins were waiting at the bridge by the time Slade brought Holan down to Shella's Island. Both of them had their blades planted in the ground. The chains with the spike and ball lay at their feet. Vincent looked away from the brothers, but he wasn't sure why.
“You are going to tell me what you are doing here, Reashos,” Akhil rasped, “you were not assigned to this mission.”
“No, I was not,” Slade admitted, “but The La'ark knows of my reputation, as do you. So when...
2024-08-16 21:04:26 +0000 UTC
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Vincent, disoriented from drifting off, was about to ask what Menik was talking about when he heard it for himself. The cavern reverberated with the sound of shuffling flesh, accompanied by rapid clicking. He flinched at the cracking of stalagmites below, which snapped like bones.
“You have a channeler's eyes, Vincent,” Menik whispered, “keep them toward the ground or else they may be spotted.”
“What is it?” Vincent whispered. But before Menik could answer, a voice cam...
2024-08-09 22:23:26 +0000 UTC
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Plummet to his death? Vincent had already fallen into the storm, away from whatever the hell that thing was. He had landed in the maw of one of those terrors, ensnaring himself in a coffin of flesh. Menik had to repeat himself several times before he got the message and snapped back to the moment. He immediately recognized the shryken's claustrophobic method of imprisonment. The metallic carapace that had frozen him in place resonated with his hyperventilation. He couldn’t see anything exce...
2024-08-02 22:29:33 +0000 UTC
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“Yo...Miss Turner is a bitch...”
“Yo...Miss Turner is a bitch...”
Vincent found himself stumbling down a drab hallway, tripping foot over foot until he caught himself on a door. Overhead, florescent lights hummed as they illuminated walls of concrete brick, which were painted a pale green. Lockers flanked both sides of the hallway, their doors all dented and vandalized by years of abuse. Tiling was missing from several places along the floor and old pipes snaked a...
2024-07-26 21:50:02 +0000 UTC
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They pounded across soft hills and leapt over small gullies. Akhil and Oris rode ahead of the group side by side, chasing after Madeen's shadow. Trailing behind them were Jeris, Madrian, Sperloc, Mkari, and Menik, whom Vincent was riding with, and about fifty more soldiers. Since Tuls didn’t have any combat experience, he had been left behind with the rest of the expedition. Vincent wasn’t sure why the relos had been sent on this quest in the first place when there were clearly plenty of ...
2024-07-19 23:43:35 +0000 UTC
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Though the expedition appeared to travel at a leisurely pace, their speed was deceptive. They covered a lot of ground in a matter of days. The La'ark wanted to waste no time getting to Crefield. The plan was to travel Admoran's North across the Sulan Hills, then cut West and cross the interstices to the Marow Plateaus. The plateaus were geological formations that reminded Vincent of the Badlands, only their rocks were shades of blue and green. The place left dizzying after-images of orange an...
2024-07-19 00:05:18 +0000 UTC
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Akhil shook him awake far too early the next morning. “We have allowed you enough time to wake up,” he said in response to Vincent's groaning, “your cot is needed.”
Indeed, his was the only cot left. Everybody else was already up and breaking down the shelter around him. The canvas was coming off, allowing wisps of morning fog to pour through. Swearing under his breath, Vincent dragged himself from his bed, his limbs weighed down by exhaustion, and began to pack his things.
<...
2024-07-12 21:18:33 +0000 UTC
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A Chronicle of Lies book 1 only has 57 chapters. We are well past the half way point, and I'm thinking about the future of this patreon.
I have started on book 2, but progress is slow. I'm not a quick writer and this isn't my day job. In the past, I talked about pausing/stopping donations once I release the final chapter, both on here and on Royal Road.
But what would you guys think about me posting drafts of book 2's chapters on here? They would be in a very rough state and I...
2024-07-10 19:04:12 +0000 UTC
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The expedition made a show of galloping until the traffic thinned and they lost sight of the storm ward. After that, they slowed to a steady canter and followed a road along the cliffs. Vincent watched as the waves from The Great Divide crashed into the shoreline. He thought he saw large kites in the distance. But he quickly realized the shapes belonged to Falians who were diving off the cliffs and plunging toward the rocks before pulling out in the last moment. A dangerous game perhaps, mean...
2024-07-05 12:30:07 +0000 UTC
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(Hey everybody, I'll be posting two chapters this weekend. The RR chapter, 35, is boring as hell. I didn't want to make people wait a week for the next chapter.)
---
Vincent stood at the edge of the staging grounds, seeing for the first time the expedition he would be accompanying. The grounds themselves were housed in a dinner plate-shaped arena whose rim was filled with bleachers. Its walls were carved with busts of winged warriors; zerok and groundwalker alike. ...
2024-07-05 12:24:18 +0000 UTC
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Are you certain?” Thal'rin asked, resting his snout atop his folded palms.
I am. Kirlon projected, the two storms we have been observing changed direction. They head toward Meldohv, though they are slow of speed. Fourteen days.”
“Fourteen days?” Saleed repeated.
“That is how long it will take for them to reach Meldohv if their speed remains the same. However, three new clouds have been spotted, one following another in quick succession. These ...
2024-06-28 20:41:17 +0000 UTC
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(Releasing this early because I think it will have a bigger impact when the previous chapter is fresh in your head.)
---
Disoriented, Vincent sat up, feeling a wetness on his cheeks. Of course, he would be crying. He had been given a glimpse into a past when he was still innocent of all bullshit. He had seen his dead mother. But did he have an audience this time as he had the last time this had happened? He looked around and saw that he was tucked under the wing of a monstrous crea...
2024-06-22 19:39:55 +0000 UTC
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W-what?
“Vinny, here it comes!” Karun Cordell said. She stood at the edge of the beach with her son. “Get ready!”
They both yelled as the wave crashed into their knees and knocked the boy onto his back. Saltwater splashed his face and left grit in his hair. He got up and ran screaming toward the ocean, jumping up and down as he chased the receding water. Then he threw himself into another wave and went under. The water tumbled him several times before it released ...
2024-06-21 22:44:22 +0000 UTC
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I just regret we were of little use to you,” Salish said while Vincent tackled the shell in front of him, the smell was making him ravenous. “The masters and I, I mean. We were desperately trying to find out what Ayrlon’s light meant. The High Channeler took most of us by surprise by announcing your presence. When I proposed your...the uh...Saedharu's arrival, I never expected anybody to take it seriously. The Lore of Contradictions, by its very nature, makes firm postulations a nebulou...
2024-06-14 22:28:20 +0000 UTC
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I finally got Slade's finished ref sheet. There is a typo on her name, but the artist was kind enough to send me the PSD file, so I'll fix it when I have time. Artist is CircadianCrunch.
2024-06-12 10:45:12 +0000 UTC
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“Words cannot express how grateful I am to have the three of you here,” Thal'rin said as he looked to his counterparts from Rydic Syredel, Sinyu Syredel, and Gullreach. Since Kirlon, who was representing Nextriix, the Mother of Gullreach, was a zerok, he could not take a place at the table. However, the Meldohn Hall of Diacs, shaped like an enormous bell, was built with the aid of his people to accommodate their kind. He was perched on one of the wooden beams above, which he accessed via ...
2024-06-08 00:17:08 +0000 UTC
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I can't imagine what kind of water bill this thing runs up, Vincent thought as he splashed his hand through the water column in the washroom.
He smacked droplets into the air and watched as they were whisked away by the lore within. Then he plunged his snout into the surface and blew a bunch of bubbles that danced their way up the column and disappeared into the ceiling. His ears twitched when he heard somebody knock at the door to his room. He toweled off his snout and we...
2024-06-01 12:19:45 +0000 UTC
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Meant to include this at the climax of the latest chapter. (Chapter 33). Don't spoil anything, shandan. :)
Art by Intricatevision/circadiancrunch.
2024-05-30 19:58:43 +0000 UTC
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I am addicted to breaking my own schedule.
---
“I am busy now, Kyrotin,” Thal'rin said to the air as they rode, “eh...yes, but my plans may have changed, but they still keep me busy. And what did I tell you about listening in on our conversations?”
At first Vincent was baffled at Thal’rin’s disconnected conversation. But then he remembered Kyrotin. Thal'rin was speaking to one of those things, the zerok.
“No, I seem to remember you were t...
2024-05-29 20:01:46 +0000 UTC
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Patreon is a confusing mess. Chapter 32 has been released, and I think I edited all the proper permissions, but if anybody is locked out, let me know. F me...who designed this garbage?
2024-05-24 20:56:40 +0000 UTC
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I got tired of waiting for Saturday. Enjoy the spontaneity.
--
As they stepped into the lift, Vincent had to suppress a grin as he remembered the ridiculous ride from earlier. He still didn’t know why he found that situation so damn funny. Floor after floor slowly passed by the carriage as the wheels bounced along the vertical tracks. Then walls rose abruptly on all sides and the elevator began to slow. It came to a stop even though there were no gates to be seen, just ...
2024-05-24 20:44:07 +0000 UTC
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(Early release. Stomach flu has been going around and I'm feeling weird. If I have it, then I might be too incapacitated tomorrow to post or do anything.)
---
"Well?" Vincent said.
"Uh...yes…” Arlock quickly recovered himself. “We should perhaps have this discussion in the auditorium we have prepared for this purpose.”
Vincent nodded and handed the listener back to Arlock.
Salish was so dumbstruck that his feet seemed to be stuck to the grou...
2024-05-17 20:37:52 +0000 UTC
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2024-05-14 03:35:45 +0000 UTC
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Vincent grabbed the torn-up boot left over from his arrival and removed its lace. He attempted to use it to tie his hair into a ponytail, a feat he found rather tricky since his claws were less capable of fine handling than fingernails, and because the hair not only grew from the top of his head, but the back of his neck and between his wings as well. So, he gave up and tossed the shoelace aside. He stared at the goofy creature in the mirror, watching it reflect his own worries.
Thal'ri...
2024-05-14 00:49:45 +0000 UTC
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Both Thal’rin and Bayont tested Vincent’s apparent mastery of their language a few more times. They couldn’t resist. Vincent had no idea he could do such a thing. To him, the entire world was speaking English. When their mouths moved, he could see their lips forming familiar words. He wasn’t sure what to think. It was convenient not having to learn another language, but it made him a little uneasy. He wasn’t sure why.
“We should stop,” Bayont said. She seemed to sense tha...
2024-05-14 00:48:05 +0000 UTC
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I added a new tier: Shandan. It gives you access to 5 chapters ahead of Royal Road. And you get a purple name on discord. (Yay!!!!!!) Now I'm going to post the extra chapters right after this.
2024-05-14 00:46:42 +0000 UTC
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For the first few days, Vincent stayed in the guest room. Though Thal’rin made it clear he was more than welcome to join him during the Falian equivalent of “dinner”, he preferred to stay in isolation away from the creatures. It was a request he was surprised Thal’rin was willing to respect, even though Vincent was sure he and his peers had many questions. In the meantime, he couldn’t do much of anything except pace the room, sleep, and explore all the exotic objects that decorated ...
2024-05-11 10:52:44 +0000 UTC
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A scene to accompany the latest chapter. Forgot to post it.
2024-05-10 22:27:35 +0000 UTC
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Found innocent? Staying at the High Channeler’s home? What? Vincent's response was to simply gawk at them. What in the hell was happening?!
“Do you hear Thal'rin's words?” Orth demanded.
“Uh...yeah?”
“That will be all,” Thal'rin said. No closing statement, no ritual, nothing spectacular. One by one The Thirteen exited the auditorium, each taking a moment to stare at him.
Thal’rin picked up the bracers and put them in the box, then handed th...
2024-05-09 22:54:45 +0000 UTC
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What are your thoughts? When I reach the final chapter, it's going to be a while before I start posting book 2. ( I've only got a single chapter in book 2 done and I'm not sure I like it enough to keep it. There's a lot of work to be done.)
It's nice to have some extra income, but I don't feel right taking money when I have nothing more to offer in return. It feels like stealing. So I just want to hear your blunt, honest thoughts. Should I pause donations?
2024-05-09 22:07:10 +0000 UTC
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