philtucker

Demon Prince Vorakhar

Portrait generated in MidJourney.

Throne Hunters Book 4, Chapter 15

There was an unintended consequence to equipping Nessa with both the Twilight Crown and the Aureate Master.

The intention had been to boost her critically low Ego score. At a mere 8, reflective, no doubt, of her cracked confidence and inability to wrest herself away from her angel dust habit, she was so painfully susceptible to the scarecrow mental blasts that just one attack might have killed her.

The Crown and Master would boost her confidence and will to a redoubtable 18, givin...

Harald's Companions

Portraits generated in MidJourney.

Throne Hunters Book 4, Chapter 14

Eclavistra was gone, her fragrance fading, the warmth on her side of the bed turned cool. Vic stared sightlessly at the subtly glowing azure pool that filled the center of her cavern, its waters gently eddying and casting rippling reflections endlessly across the rough ceiling. His hands hung between his knees, his body ached from too much pleasure, but Eclavistra had taught him the cruelest of lessons, how pleasure could, when prolonged for too long, flip over and become torment.

Torme...

Silenthros, Demon Lord of the Dungeon

Portrait created in Midjourney.

Throne Hunters Book 4, Chapter 13

The figure that stepped through was clearly kin to Eclavistra and Vorakhar, but substantively different. He towered at almost seven feet, his gleaming ebon horns adding another foot beyond even that impressive stature, and his raiment spoke of inexpressible refinement.

Despite his fear, despite his urge to either flee or launch an attack, Harald couldn’t help but stare in wonder at the impossibly refined and handsome man. He was a study in monochromatic contrasts, his skin and artfull...

Eclavistra, Demon Queen of the Dungeon

Portrait generated by MidJourney.

Throne Hunters Book 4, Chapter 12

The moment Harald sat down a wave of exhaustion washed over him. The scales had healed the damage, expunged the infections with the Fallen Angel’s might, and even now Sam’s Guardian’s Mantle was enhancing his resilience and gently mending what damage remained in his soul and body.

But he’d been through so much.

For a moment it was all he could do to simply stare blearily ahead.

When was the last time he’d slept?

Last night had been the raid on Gorkin...

Throne Hunters Book 4, Chapter 11

Harald ran for his life.

His lungs stewed with infection, and his every breath was a gurgle. His throat was closing up and his body was drenched in a fever-driven sweat, while his vision blurred so that the hallway slipped and swayed before him.

Shock. He felt numb, overwhelmed, and for the first time some part of him wished he’d held onto the Helm of Wrath.

Perhaps it might have given him an edge, but most likely it would have just guaranteed a quicker death.

What h...

Throne Hunters Book 4, Chapter 10

Thracos surveyed the dungeon chamber, his heart beating steadily, powerfully, vitally.

Here it was, at long last.

And Harald hadn’t disappointed.

The young man stood over a dead Thought Reaver, killed it seemed with one blow by the glorious Artifact he held lightly in one fist. The blade was mesmerizing, its splash of obsidian shaped into a scimitar-like crescent, its depths lit by enticing green lights. The damage it had dealt to the Reaver was impressive; the monster app...

Throne Hunters Book 4, Chapter 9

Lord Rowan Thorn peeled off his gloves and held them out so that some servant or other could take them, then raised his chin so a second could unclasp his cloak. The Council Meeting had been interminable, with every fool and their inbred cousin needing to bleat their opinion to the heavens, even if they were only repeating what the last idiot had shouted.

He’d sat through it all, chin on his fist, listening, morose, alert, dissatisfied.

Accepting a cut crystal flute of everwine ...

Throne Hunters Book 4, Chapter 8

A great weariness befell Harald as he walked away from his friends. The austere and bleak chamber reminded him of the terror and fatigue he’d felt the first time he’d explored this level, and the endless flight through darkened corridors and into life and death battles with the scarecrows. He turned to glance back just before entering a side tunnel, and saw Sam laying out her bedroll as she spoke quietly with Kársek, who continued smoking his pipe, rune hammer laid across his knees.

Throne Hunters Book 4, Chapter 7

Kársek had set out the artifacts in neat rows when Harald and Sam returned to the group. Anna had drifted off despite the discomfort of her ornate plate armor, head simply tilted back against the wall, while Nessa remained curled up on her side, though whether she slept was impossible to tell.

“So what do we have?” asked Harald, lowering into an easy crouch as he gazed at Gorkin’s most prized treasures.

Eleven artifacts.

Most were weapons, or parts of them:

An o...

Throne Hunters Book 4, Chapter 6

“Vic, no!” Harald stepped before his friend, cutting off his line of sight to the demon. “You can’t mean that. You don’t—this isn’t—”

“Darling.” Vic was amused, exasperated, and wry all at once. “Come now. You’ve seen her hips. Those thighs? How is a poor boy to refuse? You should know me better.”

“Vic.” Nessa’s voice was urgent, her expression raw as she seized his elbow. “Stop joking. For once in your damned life, please, just stop.”

V...

Throne Hunters Book 4, Chapter 5

“It’s an absolute debacle,” murmured Snarri Blind-Eyes as he strode into the Council Basilica alongside Lady Melisende Celestis. “I haven’t seen the like since the Extraction League provoked the first Shuddering.”

Lady Melisende kept her features schooled to noncommittal calm as she led her entourage through the grand hall. The air was alive with murmuration, and everywhere counselors, advisors, grandees, diplomats, couriers, and servants stood whispering in knots or rushing...

Pricing Update + iOS Apple shenanigans

Happy Sunday morning, everyone, if it's Sunday morning where you're at.

I put up a poll a couple of days ago and the results are in: 85% of voters are fine with a price increase from $8 to $10.

The tier was originally created at $10, but I dropped it to $8 as an apology when I reduced chapter posting to 1/week. Now that we're ramping up to 3/week minimum, with most weeks probably hitting 5/week, I think it's fair to return to the original pricing.

The way this works is that ...

Huge Patreon Update

Real quick: I finally updated all the Throne Hunters chapters from Books 1 to the present. This meant creating new Collections, pasting the edited final copies over the old inaccurate ones, and ensuring that everything now is in order, up to date, and finalized.

Apologies for any confusion. If you're in the middle of reading, my apologies for the interruption. But many of my posted chapters from last year were no longer relevant/accurate, and this house cleaning had to happen.<...

Throne Hunters Book 4, Chapter 4

Harald inhaled sharply, felt himself tense, felt all his many Abilities and Artifacts and Servitors right there for the summoning. If House Silvershield with its demon-bound Lady Argent thought he’d come quietly, that he’d be intimidated by a score of City Watch and their best raiders, well -

“Run!” Nessa’s bark was all business, low and forceful and leaving no room for argument. She broke into a sprint, heading up the line toward the Copper Gate.

Harald blinked, glanced...

Throne Hunters Book 4, Chapter 3

(Please note, I'll be going back today to update all the old chapters to their edited and revised form.)

Harald jogged up to his quarters and pulled his raiding backpack from out under the bed. At first he simply stuffed items into bag with mechanical efficiency: his scale lantern, his remaining supply of dried rations, all four water skins, his flint and steel, his bedroll, extra clothing.

But slowly he lost momentum until he finally came to a stop, one hand holding the ...

Throne Hunters Book 4, Chapter 2

Vic moved to the sideboard where he poured himself a glass of brandy. “Now, far be it from me to not adopt a cavalier approach to assaulting the combined military might of Flutic’s noble Houses, but honestly, even I need more than just ‘make them swear to the Crown’.”

“I can secure us an audience with Lord Draken,” said Anna, a single vertical line appearing between her brows. “If he has not yet been appraised of my role in last night’s massacre, I can request...

Throne Hunters Book 4, Chapter 1

(Hello everyone! Surprise chapter drop, as even I didn't know when I'd be returning to Throne Hunters and the consequences of Harald's raid on Count Gorkin's estate. Well, turns out I'm returning today, and here's the first chapter in what will become Book 4 of this series. I'm not 100% sure what the posting rate will be, but it'll be ongoing and constant from hereon out. Thanks for sticking around, and if you're new to the Patreon following the launch of Book 1 on Amazon, welcome!)<...

Throne Hunters live on Ebook and Audio!

Hey folks, I'm thrilled to announce that Thrones of the Fallen has just launched in ebook and audiobook format.

If you've a hankering to reread the first third of the tale, complete with all the edits, n...

Throne Hunters #1 audiobook available now for pre-order

If you enjoyed this tale and would like to hear it brought to glorious life by a top-notch narrator, Throne Hunters #1 is up for audiobook pre-order. It’s pretty killer, and the John Pirhalla knocks it out of the park. Cheers!

Throne Hunters Book 3, Chapter 39

The party paused in the entrance hall to take in the carnage and structural damage, as Harald had known they would. As one they slowed, footsteps suddenly ginger, and took in the destruction and slaughter with wide eyes.

Harald stood back, trying not to feel resentful, not wanting to meet anyone’s eyes. Instead, he stared at where the Helm of Wrath lay against the wall, its front enameled with crimson. The portrait through which he’d slammed Jacek lay broke just behind it, the frame...

Throne Hunters Book 3, Chapter 38

Fosso.

Harald realized dimly that the name should mean something, but the thought was torn away by his need to destroy. With a cry of rage that was more a rasp from his ruined throat, he hurled himself through the front door and unleashed a Demonic Edge as he went.

Fosso, unhurried, opened his mouth wide and inhaled. The glittering arc of abyssal energy veered upward from its trajectory, diminishing rapidly and then disappeared altogether into the large’ man’...

Throne Hunters Book 3, Chapter 37

Harald came to a stop behind an ancient oak that grew in a small park located across the main avenue from Count Gorkin’s manor house. The thick clouds of sunset had begun to shred and tear, revealing expanses of deep night, but the moon was yet hidden, and the world consequently cast in gloom.

Lamp lighters had been diligent in this part of town, and the length of Gustav Avenue was lit by steady flames encased in glass, so that islands of yellowed warmth bathed the broad sidewalks, th...

Throne Hunters Book 3, Chapter 36

Harald cupped his hands over his mouth and nose and backed away from the desk to sink into a crouch, his back to the wall.

Shadowpaw sniffed around the parlor, stepping gingerly, then looked to Harald and whuffed with concern.

“It seems all is not well in your pretty little home,” sneered Wirmas from the doorway.

With a flexion of his will, Harald banished the hobgoblin to his Cosmos. The Servitor dematerialized, his laughter fading as his words had their desire...

Throne Hunters Book 3, Chapter 35

The next few days passed uneventfully.

Harald and his companions stayed away from Marheim Gate, and only returned to Sonora Manor on the third day after the strike. They were careful of being followed, and Harald used Shadowpaw liberally to ensure that they weren’t overlooking tails.

All were relieved to finally be quit of their safe house. Conversation had endlessly encircled the possibilities for why that Red Fist guard had been hidden in the office compartment. Vic was adaman...

The end is nigh! Of this arc, at any rate

Hey everyone. I've only got about 5 chapters left before the end of this arc. I'd originally planned to have finished Immortal Great Souls #4 by now, and be able to seamless resume writing/posting Harald's adventures, but life kicked me between the legs and laughed at all my plans. It started with Hurricane Helene last year, rolled into some family health issues, and along with some other unforeseen eventualities I've now found myself behind schedule.

The good news is that Immortal Grea...

Throne Hunters Book 3, Chapter 34

Lord Gorkin eyed Lady Sabatina and grinned. She was sitting very straight, almost cruelly so - surely it was unnatural to be so stiff? But her attention was fixed with obsessive focus on the stage below, on the operatic performance, the yelling that the lead star was insisting on calling singing.

Almost as if she didn’t want to risk meeting his gaze.

To acknowledge his leer.

But the intermezzo was coming up. Even someone as fanatically devoted to the opera as Lady Sabatina...