Brandon Varnell

Severing Time: Chapter 55

Mercenaries. The word came to Wu Jian’s mind in a flash. These were obviously the mercenaries who had been hired by Tian Hao, the lady alchemist who wanted him to become her plaything. What were they doing here, though? Had they followed them into this forest, or was this just a case of bad luck?

“You have business with us, do you?” Wu Taohua said in a voice so cold it could have frozen lava. “What kind of business? Speak now.”

“Ooooh, yer a feisty one, eh? I like that...

Severing Time: Chapter 54

Wu Jian began doing laps around the spring. It wasn’t very big, maybe about twenty zhang from one side to the other, but that was big enough for him to get some exercise in. Yet as he was swimming near the side furthest from the girls, something powerful like a strong current pulled him down. Curious, he took a deep breath, ducked under the water, and swam down.

The water wasn’t exactly clear, and the further down he went, the darker his surroundings became. He realized this spring ...

Severing Time & Space Light Novel Art

I'm having Michiroon make me some light novel art, and this is one of the color illustrations she came up with.

I really like it. My hope is I'll be able to put this in the LN whenever I publish it.

Severing Time: Chapter 53

There was a lot that went into preparing for a birthday party—not the least of which was buying a suitable gift. And since a person’s sixteenth birthday was the only one anyone ever celebrated, it was especially important that the gift be as extravagant as possible.

Sixteen was the most important birthday in a person’s life. Not only would someone at this age be officially considered an adult, but this was when a cultivator’s meridians and dantian activated. If a person didn’t...

Severing Time: Chapter 52

Night. An encompassing darkness barely illuminated by the moon helped to hide Tian Lin’s passage as he made his way toward the Wu Clan compound. Despite the darkness, he could see perfectly fine. He had a skill called Luminate that allowed him to see in the dark by channeling chi into his eyes. It was a unique technique he had discovered at an auction one day that helped him with his assassinations.

It also helped him when he was tasked with kidnapping young boys for his sister.

Severing Time: Chapter 51

Wu Jian had not been allowed to leave the compound ever since the day that alchemist asked him to become her plaything. He felt trapped. Was this what a caged bird felt like? He’d once heard that some nobles liked to keep rare birds trapped in cages so they wouldn’t fly away. That’s what he felt like right now.

While he did understand that this was being done to protect him, he also thought it was excessive. Wouldn’t it have made more sense if he was simply given an escort? But ...

Arcadia's Ignoble Knight Vol. 9 - WIP

Volume 8 isn't out yet, but I've already got Claparo started on volume 9. My plan is to have the art for every volume ready or almost ready before I publish volume 8.

This is the first cover to feature Silvia de Floresca. Probably the only cover that will feature her too.

I'm a bit iffy on my credit placement. I might change it to the other side to see how it looks, but this is what I have for now.

Severing Time: Chapter 50

Wu Jian froze. He was almost certain he had heard this woman wrong. Tempted to ask her what she meant, he opened his mouth, but then he snapped it shut just as quickly. He was unable to think up a proper response.

Who the heck is this woman?

“Oi! Did you not hear me? Are you deaf? I told you to come with me,” the woman snapped. As if she was fed up with his inability to reply, she reached out as though to grab him, but two people intercepted her before she could so mu...

Severing Time: Chapter 49

While training was important, it was equally important to rest when one’s muscles so they could recover and rebuild.

It was their day off from training; Wu Jian, Wu Meiying, and Hou Jingshu had decided to visit the market that day, to see if there was anything interesting for sale. While it didn’t happen often, sometimes one of the merchants or shop owners would get an unusual trinket or an item that could be used to increase a person’s training.

Wu Jian had once discovered ...

American Kitsune Vol. 1 Audiobook

So, gotta a bit of news.

American Kitsune Vol. 1 is now available on audiobook. And I made a silly video to celebrate. This features an all-star cast of anime voice actors, including Amber Lee Connors, Josh Grelle (better known as Issei Hyoudo), and Grace Plumber. You can buy it from the following:

Buy Directly from me: 2022-05-06 19:49:13 +0000 UTC View Post

Severing Time: Chapter 48

Wu Meiying found herself thinking about cultivation methods several days later. She sat on the porch and stared at the garden spread out before her, its plethora of colors set in a vibrant array designed to be aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, though her eyes were unfocused and dull. It only looked like she was admiring the garden to others.

Her mind was far away.

Unlike Wu Jian and Hou Jingshu, who would have to eventually find a cultivation method that suited, Wu Meiying alrea...

Arcadia's Ignoble Knight, Vol. 8 paperback mockup

I still don't have the appropriate dimensions so I can't create a finalized cover, but yeah, this is about what it will look like when it's done.

Note, the Canadian price is subject to change. I'm using 16.99 as a placeholder.

Severing Time: Chapter 47

Almost a month had passed since Wu Jian had dinner with the Zhou Clan at their compound.

He had not seen nor spoken to Zhou Lihua since then, so he did not know how she was doing. But the Zhou Clan and Wu Clan had become closer since then. Wu Jian had gone to the Auction House several times with his father and they were given VIP treatment. Not only were they allowed to sit in a booth that overlooked the entire auction hall, the Zhou Clan allowed them to buy cultivation pills at a disco...

This Month's Art - Lilith!

This month's preview is a bit late because Liremi was attending a convention, but here it is. Artwork will be delivered between 5-7 days to the appropriate patrons.

Severing Time: Chapter 46

The Zhou Clan had a compound located outside of Zahn City. It was five hours away on carriage, which meant Wu Jian spent most of his time watching the passing scenery while his father meditated.

He glanced at Father out of his peripheral; the man sat with his eyes closed, head down, and arms crossed. He didn’t seem to be paying attention to anything.

Wu Jian looked back out the window. He wanted to say something to his father, but he couldn’t think of anything to say. It had a...

American Kitsune Manga: Pages 17-22 (censored)

2022-04-30 14:13:10 +0000 UTC View Post

WIEDERGEBURT: Legend of the Reincarnated Warrior: Volume 12

Mykel sent me the finished version of the next cover. As you can see, the two people featured on here this time are Eryk and Siv.

I've been wanting to add my dragon cinnamon roll to a cover ever since I introduced her, but I never could because she hasn't been in the light novels until now.

Is she not the cutest? Don't you just want to protect her? Give her headpats?

Severing Time: Chapter 45

Several days passed after Wu Fei attempted to murder Wu Jian. He had recovered from his injuries nicely and was back to training like normal, though Hou Jingshu had been hovering around him a lot more than usual. She never outright expressed her worry like Wu Meiying did. However, he had noticed that she was looking at him a lot more.

On the other hand, Wu Meiying had constantly asked him how he was feeling and loved getting into his personal space. If he didn’t know any better, he wo...

American Kitsune Manga - Pages 145-152 Sketches

2022-04-28 20:22:07 +0000 UTC View Post

Severing Time: Chapter 44

“Jian!! I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“Hsss! Mei, that kinda hurts…”

“Oh! You’re injured! I’m so sorry!”

It was a rare sight to see Wu Meiying so frazzled like this. Not only was she still wearing the black nightgown she had gone to bed in, but her hair stuck up in all directions, her eyes had bags under them, and her lips were a little bruised. She must have been biting them.

“It’s okay. Just… be a bit more gentle, yeah?” Wu Jian said with a ...

Severing Time: Chapter 43

“Do you really think you can run from me?!”

Wu Jian felt iron fill his mouth as he gnashed his teeth together. His breathing had grown heavy as he raced through the trees, leaping over roots, ducking under branches. His hanfu kept getting snagged while he ran, so he had long since ditched it and was now wearing nothing more than his undergarments.

He barely felt the cold night air.

The blood pumping through his vains was like fire.

His chest and legs burned as he r...

Arcadia's Ignoble Knight, Vol. 8 - Lineart

Claparo just sent me the lineart for volume 8, and I think they're looking great so far.

You can follow Claparo on Twitter and Instagram.

Severing Time: Chapter 42

“I think he likes our outfits,” Wu Meiying said with a giggle.

“D-do you think so?” Hou Jingshu blushed pink and looked down at her clothes. “It’s not… too gaudy, is it?”

“Aren’t you the princess of the Shang Kingdom? You should be used to wearing gaudy clothes.”

“… I prefer plainer clothes, honestly.”

“You two look amazing,” Wu Jian said after somehow managing to find his tongue again.

“Thank you.” Wu Meiying eyed him up and d...

Severing Time: Chapter 41 (Volume 2)

Wu Jian was still on cloud nine as he left the arena alongside the other Wu Clansmen. He remembered having people slap him on the back, congratulat him on his victory in the tournament, and tell him how amazing he was all the way back home. Part of him was annoyed. He didn’t get to speak with Wu Meiying or Hou Jingshu because everyone was crowding around him. Another part of him was exalted.

Was this not the recognition he had longed for?

Was this not what he had been striving f...

WIEDERGEBURT 12 - WIP

Mykel is working on the WIEDERGEBURT: Legend of the Reincarnated Warrior: Volume 12 cover.

Here's what we got so far.

I asked her to change Eryk's expression since he looks pretty arrogant and smug right now, but I otherwise like the art a lot. We're going for a more traditional light novel look this time.

Severing Time: Chapter 40 (End of Volume 1)

They were soon led up the stairs and toward a private booth, where Wu Jian found several Zhou clansmen standing around, including the branch clan head, Zhou Zu. There was also another person present who Wu Jian, Wu Meiying, and Hou Jingshu were surprised to see. Wu Taohua was speaking with Zhou Zu in a hushed tone.

“Father, is something wrong?” asked Zhou Lihua as she walked over to the pair.

Wu Taohua looked at Wu Jian but didn’t say anything as Zhou Zu gave his daughter a ...

Bit of Good News

Patrons,

Most of my backlog work is finally finished, which means that starting next week, I'll be implimenting a new posting schedule for my Patreon stories.

Here it is:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday: Severing Time & Space

Tuesday, Thursday: Secondary story (currently Man Made God 005)

I'll adjust the patreon rewards accordingly to hold myself accountable. Anyway, that was all I wanted to say. Hope you are having a great Sunday. Happy East...

Arcadia's Ignoble Knight: Volume 8: Art Sketches

Claparo just sent me the sketches for the scenes he is illustrating in Arcadia's Ignoble Knight. I think they look amazing! My personal favorites are 01 and 03, but I also think Elincia looks badass in 05.

Severing Time: Chapter 39

Because he had already analysed Zhou Lihua’s fighting style, Wu Jian did not allow the girl to hold the initiative. He raced forward the moment the battle began. The distance between him and Zhou Lihua closed within seconds.

A normal person would have probably attacked the moment they were within range. Wu Jian did not. Leaping high into the air, he jumped clear over Zhou Lihua’s head, allowing him to avoid the powerful kick she delivered, which would have crushed his ribcage if he ...

Severing Time: Chapter 38

Hou Jingshu could not help but watch the battle taking place in shock. This was beyond anything she had seen from Wu Meiying before. It made her realize something important and disheartening.

“She’s been going easy on me this whole time, hasn’t she?” Hou Jingshu said. Her voice was a soft murmur.

I can’t believe how much stronger she is than me. Am I really so weak that she felt the need to go easy on me?

“It’s not that she’s been going easy on you, ...