Bruce_Sentar

AO 7 Ch 29

I shook my head, rousing myself from inspecting the recently dead princess's soul.

The other people in the room looked up at me expectantly, but I was here to compare two things, I couldn’t do that without taking a look at the second.

I immediately shifted over to the other bed, which must have been the Queen. She still looked to be middle-aged, perhaps an indeterminate forties, though as a three-sphere mage she would be far older than her appearance.

Rather than discuss m...

AO 7 Ch 28

Aphrodite watched as Ard broke the tension with ease, nearly at awe with how comfortably he navigated the current situation. 

People were glaring at him, stifling chuckles, or even drawing weapons, yet there was no tension in any of the gestures. Ard had completely disarmed the situation in his own brand of controlled chaos. What should have been an incredibly tense situation was now calm. 

He had to know that they were trapped in the palace until the current matter was ...

AO 7 Ch 27

Emlyn drummed her fingers on the bench as we sat in the central garden of the palace. "Let me get this straight. No one gets to leave the palace?" Emlyn asked again, already knowing the answer. 

"That about sums it up," I said with a smile, glancing out over the garden.

It was beautiful, rich velvety roses sat nearby while artfully overgrown and blooming bushes made neat, semi-private alcoves all over the garden. Groups of royals were clustered all around talking after we’d...

AO 7 Ch 26

Emlyn giggled as she looked at me.

"Really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. My anchors were their usual selves, donned in their kingdom blues, which stood out like a sore thumb in Zenovia even a touch beyond normal. Though, more than a few eyes were focused on other things about them rather than their blue monster leather attire. Maribelle was getting a little more attention than I’d prefer, but they were all gorgeous.

However, my outfit apparently had to be changed now that Lord ...

AO 7 Ch 25

The capital of Zenovia came into sight a day and a half later. A rich splotch of colors amid a bustling city. All wrapped in a hard grey wall.

I had been asked by the captain of the knights to stop along the way so that she could give her men respite and water. Which was, I supposed, reasonable.

The knights were all doing far better on the second round of travel, especially given that they were able to prepare themselves before they were picked up and launched through the sky.&nbs...

AO 7 Ch 24

Chapter 24

I ate the food provided, a giant smile plastered on my face, not uttering a word as I resisted saying anything bad about what I was eating. But inside, I was cringing.

Bitter was an understatement. Lord Valken said they raised rats entirely on this plant. That was sadistic torture. Still, I pushed down my tears and ate through the meal provided. 

But every time I was nearing the end, a villager came over to give me a bigger portion of their �...

AO 7 Ch 23

Chapter 23

"I still don't know what you're complaining about, Emlyn," I said four days later as we got to the other side of the bog. I rode calmly on Cyam's back. For the last several days, he had simply insisted that I don't get myself too messy. 

"Why are you on Cyam, yet we couldn't fly over or anything?" Emlyn grumbled. 

"You know the answer to that just as well as I do," I wagged a finger at her. "We've had two assassination attempts on Eva, a...

AO 7 Ch 22

"I swear to God, Ard, even though you healed me, my hips are still killing me." Emlyn grumbled and rubbed her hips.

I groaned in agreement as we walked out of the village. Our carriage would have to stay behind for the moment. My hips still ached from the night on the rock.

The horses were sold to Beth, and I was certain she would find a way to make a nice profit trading them out before we got back. It wasn't that big of a deal. I suspected I would be in a rush to get to Sienna on...

Q&A Session 2 - Ask your questions here!

Session 2 of the video Q&A series is being filmed early next week! Get your questions in as comments on this post! If you're question wasn't picked last time, try again and it may show up this round!

The questions can be about anything you want - My own work, the genre as a whole, the process or nature of writing, my story in entering the space, or even a question for Chris.

To reiterate, our plan for gathering Patreon questions, in particular, will be to look at which comme...

AO 7 Ch 21

Uncle Valken sat beside me as I hacked away at the logs of wood, enjoying myself far more than I had expected. 

"Arden," Uncle Valken's voice was oddly serious. 

"Yes, Uncle?" I paused mid-swing. 

"Defend yourself." He stated.

I blinked at those words, but I trusted him enough that walls of earth exploded all around me with a flick of my magic, just as several thrown weapons pounded against the walls. 

Lord Valken's eyes went wide, and he shou...

AO 7 Ch 20

I got through the first round of orders in time for Beth to come stomping down the stairs, baby in each arm. They were old enough to have heads of wispy hair, but both completely filled Beth’s arms.

"Holy shit, they're big," I said, "Beth, you didn't tell me the father was a Northman." 

"He wasn't," Beth said defensively. "I just gave birth to two strong little boys, and I hope they turn out nothing like you." She stuck out her tongue at me. She moved to put them both in a ...

AO 7 Ch 19

Ditzy began talking, telling about her life when she was younger, a small goddess of the budding pantheon known as Olympus.

Ditzy had taken the guise of a simple mortal to experience the world. In her folly, she had failed to temper her budding aspect of beauty.

A mortal king had caught just a glimpse of her, and even in her passing, she had caused ripples through the kingdom. The king demanded that the most beautiful woman in the world be found.

Soldiers swarmed the capital...

AO 7 Ch 18

The journey went smoothly, with Viviana unexpectedly becoming a delightful social lubricant among the ladies. She effortlessly wove in and out of conversations, a skill I could only dream of.

However, I often needed to take breaks from her. She had a way of sweeping through the carriage and taking over everything.

The best hide-away was Maribelle’s bedroom, it was spotless like she wasn’t even sleeping in it. Inside the carriage was basically a mansion. In fact, it might struc...

AO 7 Ch 17

I let out a sigh of relief and laid back in the carriage, folding my hands behind my head. Of course, this carriage had been modified by Missy to be plenty spacious for us. It even had a kitchen.

"Why aren't we taking Cyam again?" 

"Because, if we travel too fast, we'll—" I hesitated, searching for an excuse. "Fine, I want to relax and travel slowly. There is something fantastic about traveling," I admitted and closed my eyes again, feeling the bump of the carriage beneath ...

AO 7 Ch 16

Hours later, we came to our senses. Or at least I did. Maribelle had satisfied me enough that my curiosity returned.

My maid was nearly unconscious, lying on the bed with a glazed look of utter satisfaction. For now, she wasn’t going to demand any more.

I moved into the new room to see exactly what we had discovered.

To my surprise, it was a small library. It wasn’t so old that it was musty and I assumed it was Carmilla’s. Several pieces that Carmilla had hung were cle...

AO 7 Ch 15

"Are you sure that I couldn't convince you to come back with me?" Ditzy twirled a finger against my chest as the final dance came to an end. 

"I am so terribly sorry," I shook my head, "but it is simply not in the cards for the two of us." As sad as I was to turn her down, it felt entirely right for the moment. After all, my ladies came first and it was clear that Maribelle had been patient enough.

“So be it." Ditzy pouted.

"But I will at least give us a fantastic sen...

AO 7 Ch 14

"You took the first dance," I said, grabbing Ditzy's hand as the band began to prepare themselves.

"I took the first and the last," Ditzy corrected, batting her lashes at me. "By the way, you haven't complimented me yet." She stepped back far enough that I could get a good look at her ensemble.

Her blonde hair cascaded down around her face and off her shoulders in loose golden ringlets. She blinked, her sapphire blue eyes sparkling with a dusting of light pink eyeshadow. The color...

AO 7 Ch 13

"Come on, let's mingle." I grabbed the ladies and pulled them through the crowd before I spotted shocks of bright red Virel hair. "Ooh, Aurelia, it's your family!" I said hurriedly, freeing up my arms and switching to grab Aurelia more firmly. I pulled her forward and rushed towards the Virels, hoping they would be enough to buffer me from whatever interest the second prince had just shown in me. 

"While you're doing that, I'm going to get your dance card," Emlyn patted me on the s...

AO 7 Ch 12

Two guards stood in front of the royal palace. Magic was in the air, literally, with floating orbs of light illuminating the path up to the palace and glittering balls of ice reflected the light into a myriad of angles, showering the ground with golden circles of light like spilled coins all over the ground and walls. This only added to the constant opulence of the palace itself, with marble pillars inlaid with gold dominating the structure.

This was going to be the event of the year, a...

AO 7 Ch 11

Bianca sat down across from me as Ditzy set down the saucers, followed by the cups and, of course, the tea itself. It was all very ritualistic and how nobles had their meetings.

This one was in a House Aldis parlor and I had only agreed so that I could control the flow of the conversation than letting this go through anyone else.

"Thank you," Bianca said, her eyes tracking Ditzy as she moved about the room. "I don't recall this one from before." If I didn’t miss my mark, she w...

AO 7 Ch 10

"P-p-princess," the guard stuttered, interrupting the veiled woman who was kneeling before a statue in the depths of the Zenovian palace. He could barely find his way through the pillars with how dimly lit it had been, nevermind how the princess had managed with a dark veil over her face.

The entire palace was in mourning from the Queen’s sudden death.

"Yes?" she spoke softly, lifting her head.

Yet the guard couldn't help but shudder under the weight of her gaze, even thou...

AO 7 Ch 9

Somehow, my mother had convinced me of this, and I still wasn't entirely sure how that had happened. Perhaps some of my anchors’ fear of my mother was justified.

The carriage bumped along the cobblestone road. I had my cheek leaning on my fist as I gazed out the window at everyone living their own lives, unshackled by a noble house.

"Are you pouting?" my mother asked from the other side of the carriage, which was specialized to fit her wheelchair.

I glanced over at her. "Y...

AO 7 Ch 8

"To think he had the gall to do something like that and invite Bianca to the family dinner," I grumbled into my cup, happy that my ladies were sticking with me even if I was in a poor mood.

"Well, I doubt he'll do that again," Emlyn offered, reaching out and sliding my ale a little bit further away from me. 

"Hey, I'm not that bad," I said defensively, subtly assessing my own level of drunkness. 

"Not yet," Emlyn smirked. "And I prefer we don't get there."  2025-07-29 06:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post

AO 7 Ch 7

"You know, you didn't have to go to all this effort just for me," Sienna said after our long walk.

"Of course I didn't have to do anything. I am pretty incredible all on my own." My words earned me a well-deserved eye roll. I added it to my collection, always enjoying the nuance in every one. "What, did you expect me to take that and not give you a response like that?" I snorted. "Do you even know me, Sienna?" 

She chuckled. "I suppose not as well as I thought I did. You have...

AO 7 Ch 6

“Sir” One of the house's oldest guards, stepped into Anadonis's study and he looked up from his work. "Sorry, sir, we would normally go looking for the matriarch. However, no one's been able to track her down," he reported. 

Anadonis frowned at that. "Is there any word from her?" 

"They said about an hour ago, she went sprinting out of the estate, saying something about an urgent arrival. Well, Arden is here, she didn't find him first." 

"Well now," Anadon...

AO 7 Ch 5

People in the Capital often rose early to accomplish the basic necessities. They set up their market stalls, making their way early to work like the blacksmiths to heat up the forges, or heading to the inns where they'd warm the hearth and begin baking bread. However, this morning was a little different as people perked up looking towards the eastern gate.

Trumpets blared in the distance, fireworks began showering overhead. Everyone looked up from their daily monotony, confused about wh...

AO 7 Ch 4

Chapter 4

"Thank you for the time," Bad Kitty said, batting her eyelashes at me as the two of us walked alone outside of town. 

"Of course. Anything for my Bad Kitty," I smirked, watching as she rolled her eyes playfully. 

"You truly get a great deal of enjoyment from taunting goddesses, don't you? The name Bastet has been worshipped and honored for thousands of years, and here you are, butchering it into 'Bad Kitty'."

I shrugged with a smile...

Ask Me Anything! July '25 Edition

I think we did a decent job, but please feel free to let me know if I could do anything better.

Thank you for your questions! Be sure to ask more questions for the next session by either becoming a member of the Patreon or by joining the Discord! Thank you to all of our community members for your continued support!

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Bruce_Sentar

Discord: 2025-07-24 14:22:03 +0000 UTC View Post

AO 7 Ch 3

"Come on, let's stop here for the night," I said to the group as we rolled up on a small town just as the sun was beginning to dip below the treeline, painting the sky a beautiful orange.

"Well, I guess that's it for us," Ditzy said, starting to get up. 

"Hey now," I stopped her. "You guys don't have to disappear, you know that, right? Don't you want to live maybe like us mortals, and stay in an inn?" 

Ditzy looked at me as if I'd hit my head before turning to Miss...

AO 7 Ch 2

I hadn't even left the sightline of the guards on the wall before the three goddesses descended into my carriage.

Missy was looking fine with a purple silk dress cascading off of her while her dark hair fell in ringlets around her beautiful face. She smiled and her beauty mark and dimples were on full display.

"Here I was worried you were going to end up staying for a couple of nights and leave us cooped up in there," Ditzy was pretending to be in pain as she fluffed her blonde ha...