Argrave expected to speak to the Patriarch of the Veidimen at their capital, Veiden. They teleported there using [Worldstrider]. Argrave hoped to give Galamon some time to visit with his family. Instead, he was informed that the leader of the snow elves waited at Katla, the portside city that Argrave had first made it to when negotiating with the Veidimen.
Though Argrave was disappointed he could not give one of his close friends the long family visit he deserved, he expected a trip dow...
2023-10-10 06:53:24 +0000 UTC
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Argrave found himself gaining a difficult to shake habit. Whenever he was thinking, his right hand would wander to the black imprisoning gemstone hanging around his neck—the Ravenstone, as the Alchemist had dubbed it, perhaps in genuine jest. And these weeks upon learning of the coalition allied against them made him reach for the necklace nervously many, many times.
They tried to position themselves to handle the worst of the Chu, alerting the Archduchess of the North and the Bloodwo...
2023-10-09 06:50:56 +0000 UTC
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Reality was far too complicated to have everything go perfect one hundred percent of the time. Sataistador stood before them now like a reminder of that fact.
He had just spoken about his method of war—brutal, senseless massacres that served no purpose beyond victory. As befit the god of war, he wanted war for nothing more than the sake of itself. He didn’t want land, nor personal wealth—he just wanted to triumph over a foe. That sort of mentality could put even Genghis Khan to sh...
2023-10-06 06:59:14 +0000 UTC
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“Your gift?” Argrave repeated, staring at the towering god of war. “I think it must’ve been lost. Maybe the ship crashed, or the caravan was robbed by bandits. I’ve been in a place where it’s been rather difficult to deliver gifts.”
Sataistador shook his head. “You couldn’t have missed it. You’re wearing it right now.” He raised a hand and pointed. “Your head. Your skin. Your heartbeat. I gave you life, Argrave.”
Argrave bit his lips, but couldn’t restr...
2023-10-05 06:55:03 +0000 UTC
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“The Blackgard Union is largely a defensive pact,” Anneliese explained to Hause, sitting on a chair before the goddess. “And it has little to do with our pre-existing relationship. Argrave and I have already committed to helping you, and you have agreed to offer some of your services. Should you join, your protection is further guaranteed by the gods that some of us champion.”
This stone chamber had been hollowed out of the mountains surrounding Blackgard, but in the month since...
2023-10-04 06:54:54 +0000 UTC
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One afternoon—or whenever, given the lack of insight that Argrave truly had on the flow of time—the Alchemist simply declared, “It’s done.”
“What’s done?” Argrave asked absently, absorbed in a book.
“The Blessing of Supersession is nullified.” The Alchemist rose up to his great height, and the stagnant abode shifted around him. It coalesced back into a staff, leaving Argrave and all his things scattered on grass. The Alchemist gripped a rod of obsidian, standin...
2023-10-03 06:50:07 +0000 UTC
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Anneliese looked upon the group that was to meet the dwarven envoy. All here were the mortal champions of gods belonging to the Blackgard Union. They were all dressed finely in the black and gold colors of House Vasquer. They looked good, Anneliese thought, but Galamon pulled at his cuffs as though they were uncomfortable just the same as Stain did. Only Artur seemed to revel in the clothes—indeed, he’d donned a cloak bearing Argrave’s personal sunburst sigil repeated time and time agai...
2023-10-02 06:56:49 +0000 UTC
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“Why am I being held?” a man wearing a heavy cloak protested, forced to kneel by those nearby.
Two weapons of gleaming white bone pointed at his neck, wielded by towering pale-skinned elves. They bore a black sash on their shoulder displaying a sunburst, with the rays of its sun replaced by the golden snake of House Vasquer. They did not answer him, and the people passing through the gate to Blackgard were held up by several soldiers as the conflict was dealt with. The refugees watc...
2023-09-29 06:54:18 +0000 UTC
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We've reached the end of volume 8, and time is moving ever forward. Everyone supporting me here has enabled me to do something that I thought was largely impossible-- namely, work full time on creating a microcosm called Jackal Among Snakes. Whether you've been on this train from the beginning, got on midway, or jump on and off at certain stops, I appreciate all that you here on Patreon have allowed me to do.
A question I've got over this time is: when will it all end?
2023-09-28 21:00:07 +0000 UTC
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Argrave stood in Elenore’s office, deep inside the parliamentary hall. Orion stood at the doorway, while Anneliese attended to another matter regarding Mial and the other prisoners.
“First among our tasks… distribution of what we’ve stolen from Erlebnis,” Argrave said, reading a paper that Elenore had handed him.
“Yes. I wanted to hear your thoughts on that,” Elenore said.
“…there’s a lot of stuff,” Argrave confessed. “I was going to ask Hause for hel...
2023-09-28 06:54:46 +0000 UTC
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Elenore walked in a room in the parliamentary hall, Orion, Galamon, Melanie, and Durran walking along with her. She saw Hause, sitting on a couch cordially alongside Anneliese. After taking a moment to gather herself, she walked to sit across from the woman.
“Hello,” Elenore greeted. “My brother’s taken me to be his personal messenger. And he tells me you might have very important information.”
“Certainly,” Hause greeted. “I have been taking the time to acquaint my...
2023-09-27 06:54:06 +0000 UTC
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Argrave’s feet felt light, but his steps were still a little heavy, metaphorically speaking. Looking down at himself, he could tell his body and armor still bore the remnants of battle. Still, it felt a little wrong returning to people who’d been fighting for him while he was away in some mystical god’s realm. The cramped areas of the underground felt a little less confining than Erlebnis’ vault, but the walls might as well have been bearing down on him.
Argrave passed out from ...
2023-09-26 06:53:22 +0000 UTC
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Argrave and all of his companions returned to the mortal realm, Hause’s court in tow. Their point of arrival was the place they had first entered from—namely, in the heart of the Ebon Cult’s territory. That was quickly remedied, as the Alchemist cast [Worldstrider] once more, taking them back to Blackgard. Argrave felt as though he was doing something wrong whenever he saw or heard something, and so he quickly disclosed what he’d seen to the Alchemist—namely, Erlebnis’ curse.
<...
2023-09-25 06:54:01 +0000 UTC
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The moment that they exited Erlebnis’ vault, the Alchemist seized all of them with his many arms, and used [Worldstrider] to take them elsewhere. Though wounded, battered, and mentally scarred, the fact remained that they had escaped the clutches of Erlebnis and Mozzahr both. It almost felt wrong to win in this manner… but win they did. They stood once again in a section of Erlebnis’ near-endless Annals of the Universe, about to fulfill their last task.
“You’re back,...
2023-09-22 06:54:41 +0000 UTC
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Argrave stared at the torrents of sludgy liquid metal pour down, illuminating their surroundings with some emitted light. He looked up at the Alchemist.
“Looks like… you did it,” he said, breathing heavily. “Just in time for the second phase.”
“I should be surprised that you did it. Your role was always my concern,” the Alchemist said cooly. Hands emerged from his body, running over each of them and casting healing magic. Orion was so badly injured that healing magic...
2023-09-21 06:52:45 +0000 UTC
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The Alchemist ran his hand along a wall of the black metal comprising most of this vault. Even with his advanced perception, he could sense nothing out of the ordinary about it. But he connection to Hause pricked at him, drew at him, and he knew what he sought was beyond there.
His mind shifted, twisted, until it settled upon what he needed to be. He would need thirty arms to brandish the weapons to cut down this wall. And as he thought it, so it became. They burst free from his being, ...
2023-09-20 06:54:06 +0000 UTC
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“Where have I experienced a method of persuasion like this before?” Argrave said, rolling his shoulders. “Playing nice, with the pretext of total destruction? It’s a familiar street we’re walking. And you probably should have record in those Annals telling you that it didn’t work on me last time.”
“So, shall I tell Mozzahr all you’ve taken and what it does?” the Keeper pushed. “Conspire against you more actively?”
“Do it,” Argrave nodded. “You already...
2023-09-19 06:54:11 +0000 UTC
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Mozzahr walked through one of the portals at the end of the gateway. The king had used this vault like he knew it well, leading him about by the nose with dragons and titans acting as his obstacles. It led him to doubt if the king was truly an intruder in this place. On the other hand, the lives of the animals lost in that bizarre compound were no mere trivialities. They’d likely been collected over millennia, as the last time Mozzahr had seen record of many was in the times before the dwar...
2023-09-18 06:54:02 +0000 UTC
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On the other side of the portal, Argrave’s ears flooded with the sound of flowing water. An endless ocean of beautifully translucent water spread out before them, and they stood above it all. A geyser of water jetted upward beneath them, buoying the purple carpet beneath their feet and suspending them far above the endless clear ocean. As Argrave’s feet met the fabric, it felt as though he was standing atop a waterbed. Ahead, above, and around, several other geysers of water branched from...
2023-09-15 06:56:01 +0000 UTC
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Mozzahr gazed upon a sleek black structure, still on the shoulders of the Lodestar that he had commandeered. This building that he saw was far removed from any others in these endless cities that Erlebnis named his Annals of the Universe. And that was because it was infinitely more important. It was the vault of the god of knowledge. The bronze golem stepped closer, and he brushed his hand against its surface. He felt nothing moving within, and yet he could sense an ancient and arcane seal al...
2023-09-14 06:55:26 +0000 UTC
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“What would you do if Anneliese had been collaborating with Erlebnis the whole time, to entrap you?”
Argrave recognized the Keeper’s voice, but he saw nothing of the man himself. Still, left alone with his thoughts, that proposal stirred an unimaginable burden within. It was so utterly wounding that he could barely conceive of it. Of everyone, Anneliese was the sole person he would trust in any circumstance.
“Look at you… so permeable,” the Keeper mused. He heard the s...
2023-09-13 06:52:24 +0000 UTC
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When Argrave gained awareness of his surroundings once more, he stared at an old man behind a desk. The man wore a jet-black suit, and had one leg crossed over the other. His eyes gleamed gold, and he had a sharp beard and slicked back gray hair that accentuated his sharp and almost devilish features.
“I always knew we’d be speaking someday,” said the Keeper of the Annals. “The day that you were recorded within the Annals, I knew we’d speak. I thought it would be in a more ser...
2023-09-12 06:55:35 +0000 UTC
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Argrave crossed his arms. Frankly, he was leaning toward accepting this offer. But he wasn’t ignorant of the leverage and the opportunity he had, in more ways than material alone.
“If we do this… I need to know exactly what your relationship with Erlebnis is.” He shook his head. “Not just that—all of who you are. I don’t even know your name. I need to know I can trust you absolutely, beyond the dictates of deals of convenience. I need to know you.”
<...
2023-09-11 06:53:09 +0000 UTC
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Even though the bronze golem serving Erlebnis called upon the Blessing of Supersession and alerted all emissaries in the area, Argrave did not feel worried about this battle. He was more worried that someone—namely, Mozzahr, or even Erlebnis himself—would come across them than anything else. That hung above like the blade of a guillotine.
Their assault of the Lodestar was an efficient and well-planned process. The Alchemist, armed with the spell [Requite], countered the bronze golem...
2023-09-08 06:52:50 +0000 UTC
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Argrave stepped through the streets of this Annal of the Universe, isolated from all his companions. The words of the Alchemist ran in his head, making his directive clear.
“We will separate,” the Alchemist had said. “Each of you will follow a predetermined route I’ve calculated to be most efficient. I will bestow upon each of you with a power Almazora gave this spear,” he said, hefting it into the air. “It will allow you to detect the fluctuations of magic in the air. The L...
2023-09-07 06:52:15 +0000 UTC
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In planning for this heist, they’d long ago discussed in detail how, precisely, things would play out.
“There are a few pivotal things we need to keep in mind about Erlebnis’ realm,” Argrave explained. “The most important responsibility of all—we cannot allow ourselves to confront Erlebnis directly. Going to the White Planes has protected us from the pressure exerted by divinity, but that doesn’t change the fact he can squash us with a wave of a hand. If we do succeed in b...
2023-09-06 06:53:35 +0000 UTC
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Galamon looked back at the soldiers arranged before him. The tactics and the discipline of the Veidimen were instilled into this human army so perfectly he nearly felt he was leading troops from his homeland. In them was the burning fire of responsibility and duty that made Galamon certain they would all be ready to march down through the tunnels and meet the blades of the Ebon Cult head on.
“Argrave sent word. They’re in Erlebnis’ realm,” Elenore’s voice entered his head.
...
2023-09-05 06:57:05 +0000 UTC
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Mial, High Priestess of the Ebon Cult, stepped away from her position beside the other four top people at the Ebon Cult and went to kneel beside her father’s palanquin. She pulled back the curtain on the side, out of view from their front-facing position, and then listened to orders relayed—orders that reached no one’s ears beside Mial, not even Orion’s or the Alchemist’s.
As they talked, Argrave looked around at the horde of purple-masked people around them. He spotted elven ...
2023-09-04 06:52:12 +0000 UTC
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“The sum total of my work,” said Durran, gesturing toward giant golden contraptions. “Barring what I absorbed with my shamanic magic, and what Elenore took, this is left. Thanks, by the by, for teaching me that. Or giving me those books, I suppose would be the better way to put it.”
Argrave looked upon the dwarven spirit collectors, marveling at the intricacy of them. They were half-spheres, almost like large buttons, yet their surface held innumerable grooves that hid countless...
2023-09-01 06:54:15 +0000 UTC
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Elenore sat in her study, working hard in silence… or near silence, as she discovered. Her eyes slowly raised up and her gaze fixed on a clock on the wall. Its pendulum waved back and forth, ticking as it reached certain points. It seemed the only active thing in this room frozen in time. As it waved, the second hand moved ever onward—tick, tock, she listened to the clock.
Yet in her study, alone, the connections that she’d formed made the world around her move right along with th...
2023-08-31 06:54:41 +0000 UTC
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