“Report! The Undead have renewed their assault!”
“Show us.”
The Gao runner stepped forward at Rana Kizurra’s command, looking down at the map on the table. After a moment, he pointed a claw.
“Here,” he said. “They’re pouncing straight in. The Ranas on the front can’t make any sense out of it.”
“How have they responded?” Rana Kizurra asked.
“They’re using the spells that they were instructed to with great effect,” the runner answere...
2023-02-28 20:09:58 +0000 UTC
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“Squads Four and Five, push to meet with Raul’s advance. Squad Six, advance one kilometre straight ahead.”
Ludmila observed silently as Olga directed her forces to isolate the salient forming from Raul’s river assault. The clamour of battle below rolled forward as the two spearheads cut deep into Beastman-controlled territory, obliterating the warbands that thought to stand in their path. Most prudently did not, but that prudence served the Royal Army’s purposes just as well. ...
2023-02-26 22:10:55 +0000 UTC
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In the darkness before dawn, Saraca opened his eyes. A knock at his door came a moment later. He sat up from his litter, untangling himself from the mess of limbs that had developed overnight.
“What is it?” He said.
“A runner from Rana Kizurra,” Girika’s voice came through the door. “The Undead conducted some attacks overnight.”
“Of course they attacked overnight,” Saraca yawned as he reached for his garb. “It’s not as if they sleep.”
There was ...
2023-02-25 00:08:00 +0000 UTC
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29th Day, Middle Wind Month, 1 CE
“Khorstaq? Hey! How big of a shit are you taking?”
Ludmila wasn’t sure how badly Khorstaq had to go, but he certainly wasn’t concerned about that sort of thing anymore.
The Nar shouting for his comrade approached the riverbank, following a foot trail leading down from the Draconic Kingdom’s central highway. He stopped at a stand of reeds, where he rose to his full height to look around. A D...
2023-02-23 02:08:01 +0000 UTC
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“Just run away please…”
The Beastmen couldn’t hear her, nor would they probably oblige her even if they could. High above the Royal Army’s front north of Eastwatch, Olga scowled down at her increasingly numerous opponents as they continued their stubborn resistance against the advance of the Undead. Twenty kilometres to the south, the fortress city loomed over its surroundings, a dark silhouette behind sheets of endless rain.
It wasn’t very far, even for a Zombie, but,...
2023-02-21 04:06:58 +0000 UTC
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『Stop doing that.』
『Doing what?』
『Looking worried. If you look worried, how do you think that makes us feel?』
Ludmila frowned across the corner of the war room table at Liane. Liane frowned back. Was she not allowed to worry?
As she had feared, the Beastmen were sending reinforcements down the Oriculon. There were so many that reconnaissance simply lost count. Based on the number of vessels, four hundred thousand were already assembled and...
2023-02-19 06:10:39 +0000 UTC
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“So tired…carry me…”
“I swear, if Rana Renatha hadn’t asked me to accompany you, I would have left you for the Undead.”
“You…you wouldn’t have done that, would you?”
“Is that a trick question?”
The barge sent from Eastwatch to Rol’en’gorek’s southern shore bumped into the pier. It was the first of many, as continued scrying discovered tens of thousands of Beastmen fleeing in their direction. The passengers disembarked, and the warrior ca...
2023-02-17 08:16:35 +0000 UTC
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28th Day, Middle Wind Month, 1 CE
“I had really hoped to return here under better circumstances.”
“Y’know, every other time you say something like that, unbelievably stupid shit happens to the place in question.”
“…no it doesn’t.”
“Yes, it does,” Girika picked his teeth with a fishbone. “Remember that one Avariel palace in the Heavenly Dragon Lord’s southwestern valleys? A few weeks after we left, it got crushed ...
2023-02-15 10:16:16 +0000 UTC
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“Mhh…so young. Hopefully, they do not spoil themselves.”
“Spoil themselves, Your Majesty?”
“Umu,” Queen Oriculus nodded. “The way they run off on their own like that is indicative of their upbringing. From the day they are born, Nobles are cared for by their mother or at least a wet nurse. As soon as they can walk, they are surrounded by a battery of tutors, attendants, security personnel and so on. Some are not even allowed to sleep alone until they find employ in...
2023-02-13 12:08:01 +0000 UTC
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『Do you smell anything?』
『No.』
『I think I smell something.』
『Do you want to smell something?』
Liane was pretty sure it smelled like something. After reading the reports, she figured it had to.
A mere day had passed since Clara had received word of Corrin-on-the-Lake’s liberation. Now, their barge was sidling up to one of the city’s piers.
Queen Oriculus’ court immediately made preparations to transfer the government and start ...
2023-02-11 14:08:00 +0000 UTC
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“Captain, data collected by our high-altitude observers report a potential lull in the current weather conditions.”
“It’s not going to stop raining,” Ludmila replied absently as she examined the scenery below. “It won’t even lessen in intensity until after midnight.”
“Is that so?”
She glanced at the Elder Lich out of the corner of her eye.
“We need to add a weather forecasting office to the logistics department,” Ludmila muttered.
To an ou...
2023-02-09 16:08:00 +0000 UTC
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24th Day, Middle Wind Month, 1 CE
“Thirty more warbands just arrived from the south,” a runner said from the stairwell, “where should we send them?”
“Il-Enoweli’s people?” Il-Enrenatha asked.
“No, il-Enghkor’s clan from the southwest.”
“Use some of the space set aside for il-Enoweli. What else?”
“More clans are coming in from all over the south. I...
2023-02-07 18:58:24 +0000 UTC
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Through the rains of the deluge, a swarm of dots slowly made over the highway east along the Oriculon. They were quarry of a different sort, and Ludmila idly mused over how things had turned out.
The Humans below were one of the many groups that had been encouraged to flee their homes by the Beastmen, yet no Beastmen travelled with them. Due to how the Beastmen ‘managed’ their livestock, very few adults lived past their mid-twenties and anyone deemed unhealthy and unfit were culled ...
2023-02-05 20:12:45 +0000 UTC
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“This is all steel, ain’t it? Won’t it rust up?”
“We have models that won’t rust, but the suite of enchantments that they come with increase the price of the frame and whatever attachments it comes with twenty-fold.”
Liane’s legs dangled over the edge of the crate she was seated on, her heels thumping lightly in a disjointed rhythm. Nearby, one of the representatives she brought in to showcase and promote her new vehicles was speaking to a small group of Merchants....
2023-02-03 22:33:22 +0000 UTC
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23rd Day, Middle Wind Month, 1 CE
Il-Enoweli con He’leyia made his way through the mist along the broad stone road that followed the river to the sea. The river’s rushing waters offered the only sounds in the stillness of the morning as he walked past the countless Human farms that straddled its course. At his shoulder, Eneleli – the leader of one of the tribes under his clan and a longtime friend – eyed the surroundings warily.
“What is th...
2023-02-02 00:04:44 +0000 UTC
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22nd Day, Middle Wind Month, 1 CE
“Captain, squads nine through twenty-one have finished reporting in.”
“What did they discover?”
“The major points are effectively identical,” Saiko said. “They await your orders.”
Ludmila sighed. The four temple staff members lined up in front of her echoed her sigh. The Beastmen leavin...
2023-01-31 02:06:48 +0000 UTC
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“Hey, Kskel.”
Kskel’s eyes opened. He sucked in a deep breath.
“I’m up. What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Fensis said. “They’re getting ready to move.”
Kskel sat up from the floor, wiping the crust out of his eyes. Light leaked through the slits of the nearby shutters.
“What time is it?” He asked.
“Midmorning,” Fensis replied. “Il-Enkraagh wants to move while we have daylight.”
It wasn’t much, but some sleep was better...
2023-01-29 04:07:24 +0000 UTC
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Rivulets of rain ran off of Ludmila’s cowl and mantle as she silently watched the assault on Rivergarden unfold from high above. Saiko floated beside her, uncaring of the water seeping through its black robes and over the bones beneath. The Elder Lich maintained Invisibility on itself in addition to its Fly spell, while Ludmila remained concealed through her own means.
“Captain, sixty-five per cent of our available Wights have been eliminated,” Saiko announced.
2023-01-27 06:08:01 +0000 UTC
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20th Day, Middle Wind Month, 1 CE
Kskel lup Inui squinted as a gust of wind drove the rain under the roof of the hoarding straight into his face. After the wind settled down, he shook the water from his coat, wiped his face with the back of his right paw, and renewed his vigilance. His ears swivelled toward a whining noise next to him.
“Ah, quit your bitching.”
“This isn’t fair,” a young Lup hunter by the name of Fensis replied. “We...
2023-01-25 08:08:00 +0000 UTC
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19th Day, Middle Wind Month, 1 CE
“Squads one through ten have assumed the positions defined in the updated schedule.”
“How much time do we have left?”
“One hour.”
Olga looked down past the neck of her Skeletal Dragon. It was rainy and pitch black and, as it always was at the beginning of any night shift, they were flying too high so her goggles did nothing. Both she and Raul agreed that improving the range of their Darkvi...
2023-01-23 10:08:01 +0000 UTC
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Haaah…it’s finally over.
A grouchy feeling settled over Clara as she departed Phelegia’s central keep. It wasn’t over the fact that she had been forced to sit outside the great hall for eight hours just in case Queen Oriculus’ court required her, nor was it because Liane and Florine got to roam around the city doing all sorts of interesting things while she did so. No, it was because Ludmila had appeared for all of thirty-eight minutes and twenty-two seconds to see th...
2023-01-21 12:08:01 +0000 UTC
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“Can the corruption be fixed, papapapa?”
The Brightness Dragon Lord’s movements paused for a moment before he continued his work.
“I don’t know, Draudillon. None of the hardest questions in life have easy answers. I can only continue to try.”
Deep under Oriculon Palace, Draudillon watched as her great-grandfather paced slowly around the secluded chamber. She had sensed that it was there since she was young, but she could never figure out how to reach the place. T...
2023-01-19 14:09:00 +0000 UTC
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17th Day, Middle Wind Month, 1 CE
“What’s a ‘breeder’?”
Tira nearly spat out the straw in her mouth.
She’s opening with that?
From the shadows of a nearby alley, Tira monitored Liam and Saye’s progress as they investigated the situation of the town and the disposition of its people, which included hundreds of displaced rural folk from the west.
To her annoyance, the town an...
2023-01-17 16:08:59 +0000 UTC
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16th Day, Middle Wind Month, 1 CE
This is impossible. Just how do we…
With an exasperated sigh, Emmad Zorlu tossed his quill on the desk. He leaned back in his chair, combing the fingers of his unstained hand through his hair as he stared at the ceiling.
Does Her Majesty have the answer? No, this is my job. The Queen has so little time as it is.
He straightened and looked back down at the documents scattered in front o...
2023-01-15 18:08:01 +0000 UTC
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Two more Lianes, this time in a different art style. Since the AI emulates anime/ln/manga-style characters, creating images in a workshop setting seems to result in Atelier-series looking stuff.
2023-01-15 03:55:54 +0000 UTC
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Have you seen the man from Eastwatch; the man so tall and brave?
Defender e’er defiant, ‘fore hell’s own steaming gate!
Cloaked in his rugged mantle, so boldly does he stand,
Ten thousand shining lances, arrayed at his command.
Liam adjusted his felt cap as the lilting strains of a Bard followed them through Phelegia’s streets. The city’s cobblestone lanes were swept clean, which only served to emphasise how empt...
2023-01-13 20:08:01 +0000 UTC
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15th Day, Middle Wind Month, 1 CE
“I must say these past few days have been remarkably fruitful.”
A wisp of breath rose from behind the Goblin Strategist’s white feather fan. Two Elder Liches came up to the war room’s central table. One rolled up the map spread out upon it – which was of the Forst River’s upper reaches – while the other unfurled a map centred on its confluence with the Oriculon.
“I agree,” one of Cocytus’ insectoid lie...
2023-01-11 22:08:00 +0000 UTC
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Two Lianes with two expressions. The second one feels more upper-class merchant-y, but the first I think has the personality that most attribute to her.
2023-01-11 07:16:07 +0000 UTC
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15th Day, Middle Wind Month, 1 CE
“…you broke your promise.”
“I’m sooooo sorry!”
Mitra ran up to Winter Moon and rubbed her cheek against her arm. Winter Moon turned her head away.
“Something came up that we had to attend to,” Mitra said. “We can make up for it today, right? Right?”
The Chaaran continued rubbing herself against Winter Moon, chuffing and making other cute noises. Suddenly, Mitra peered at...
2023-01-10 00:10:43 +0000 UTC
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“They’re back.”
Saraca looked up from where several Humans were installing a simple crane. The parts to the device were recently manufactured by the artisans working for Xoc, and the first would be used to lift stone blocks out of their slowly-expanding quarry. Nearby, a few Ocelo were being instructed on its operation by one of the Human Masons.
So far, things were going well between Xoc’s new slaves and the clanhold’s residents. A part of it was probably because the Hu...
2023-01-08 01:54:51 +0000 UTC
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