"Yesterday is but a dream, fleeting as the morning mist; tomorrow, a vision, as distant as the stars. Yet today is the ground where both take root—the moment where dreams are woven into deeds, and visions shaped by the strength of your hand and the clarity of your heart. To neglect the present is to leave the past untended and the future unfulfilled."
- The Book of Wise Tellings from the Land of Streams.
Spears of bone shot forth, jagged white shards str...
2024-12-05 02:27:10 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 33 - The Dowry
“As long as she is wise and good, a girl has sufficient dowry.”
- Plautus.
The warm, rose-scented water swirled around Seraphina as she sank deeper into the marble bath. Soft late afternoon light trickled down from the high window above across the ornate tiles depicting ancient legends, casting a golden glow that danced with the steam rising in delicate tendrils. The air was filled with the gentle aroma of ...
2024-12-04 07:02:43 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 32 - The Engagement
“Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act upon... must inevitably come to pass!”
- Paul J. Meyer.
The Crown Prince's face was etched with worry as he gazed back at his Royal Guard, the shattered remains of his once-grand carriage, and the grim statement of lifeless bodies strewn across the field. Above them, a murder of crows gathered on the branc...
2024-12-04 06:59:36 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 31 - The Prince
“Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception.”
- The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli.
What followed was less a battle and more a grim chore of mopping up. The bandits' backbone had been shattered, their will to fight crumbling into pockets of feeble resistance. Yet, it could not be denied—the...
2024-12-04 06:57:48 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 30 - The Man in Black
“Timing and arrogance are decisive factors in the successful use of talent.”
- Marya Mannes.
More experience for her then, Seraphina thought ruefully, closing the carriage door behind her. The chaos outside had escalated, the melee now a whirling storm of steel, blood, and shouts. This was the sort of encounter that, in the game, would herald the appearance of a boss character or some other signi...
2024-12-04 06:55:31 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 29 - The Rescue
The age of chivalry is not yet dead, merely forgotten.
- by Unknown.
Riding her father's warhorse, one gloved hand gripping a halberd resting in a lance cup, was an entirely different experience. Unlike the smooth gait of her own palfrey, every powerful stride of the massive steed surged beneath Seraphina like a tempest. The raw strength between her legs stirred something within her—a thrill she had not felt...
2024-12-04 06:53:28 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 28 - The Ill-made Knight
Don't bend; don't water it down; don't try to make it logical; don't edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.
- Franz Kafka.
He was in the throes of joy and despair. How could such a simple thing bring about these emotions? His employer, Myeong Mirae, the de facto president of the most powerful conglomerate in the country, had remembered his...
2024-12-04 06:50:08 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 27 - Plotting, Cookies, & Banditry
"Diversity has never been the strength of the Empire; it is tolerance. For how else could we govern a realm, nay realms, of disparate peoples? In the Empire, all are citizens, all are equal and bound by the same laws that govern all."
- Emperor Thaddian IV.
One of the wonders of holding such a privileged position was watching people practically hop to do your bidding in hopes of currying...
2024-12-04 06:49:01 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 26 - Paintings & Cookies
To be a good man is to live with virtue and integrity on the hardest of roads.
- A Quassian aphorism.
A few more days swiftly passed. Now that Kellan's lessons were not quite as draining as before, Seraphina and Eloise found themselves with ample time in the afternoons to pursue their own interests. For Seraphina, this meant indulging in some light reading followed by putting Eloise’s face on...
2024-12-04 06:45:14 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 25 - Correction
A good education can change anyone. A good teacher can change everything.
- Unknown.
The evening meal was a veritable feast as the castle prepared for some impromptu celebrations. Local craftsmen had been invited to process the animals, rendering meat from bones and preparing hides. A few townspeople had volunteered to help in exchange for a good meal of fresh forest meat. Indeed, the castle had taken on a mos...
2024-12-04 06:44:00 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 24 - The Fighting Duke
A man who exhibits unkindness toward the creatures beneath his care will inevitably cultivate a hardened spirit toward his fellow humans. Thus, by observing a person's treatment of animals, we can discern the true nature and virtue of his heart.
- The Human Question by Gideon de Salavia 378 AC.
Seraphina leaned forward, panting and drawing deep breaths, her hands resting on her knees as she allowed her ...
2024-12-04 06:43:00 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 23 - The Hunt
The berry of the Galebush is sweet and nutritious, attracting fauna and adventurers alike. However, unless thoroughly cooked, the seed will sprout within a few hours spontaneously, causing an almost certain and gruesome death. This is likely a mechanism to provide the new seedling with fertilizer for the next part of its life cycle.
If the being somehow survives the ‘sprouting,’ they will slowly turn into a v...
2024-12-04 06:41:04 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 22 - Matters of the Heart
Nothing makes a woman more spiteful than unrequited love.
- Miranda Devine.
Seraphina finally had a moment to herself—a rare luxury these days. Seated by a grand window overlooking the sprawling gardens and swaying wisterias, she delicately nibbled on a waffle drenched in syrup. So lost in thought was she that the sweetness barely registered as her thoughts drifted. Her eyes took on a distant gaze as she reviewed her Stat...
2024-12-04 06:39:44 +0000 UTC
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The Once and Future Queen by Tobascoasa
2024-12-04 05:45:43 +0000 UTC
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Sorry guys for the delay! I am a bit busy with my Rising Stars run on Royal Road. I need to milk that as much as possible. The ironic thing is, is the fact that I made the story to get more eyes on Gilgamesh! Sorry about that but bear with me!
Still, I have been told that offering an entire book ahead at $3.50 by other authors is still a steal. I might need to think about my pricing structure a bit. I sort of chose $3.50 as a bit of a meme price anyway!
Chapter 10 -...
2024-11-30 23:35:06 +0000 UTC
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The Goddess wielding the blades of Judgment and Mercy.
2024-11-21 03:22:53 +0000 UTC
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There are balances in this world that must never be disturbed. Sins that must never be committed. The greatest sin birthed by Al-Lazar is the Abomination—a Sleeper, cursed against all odds, tainted by the forbidden Song of Mana.
- The Warnings of Al’Jabbadi the Duwat of Ardent Sands.
You have slain a human 30 experience gained.
The cleric fell with a guttural choke, his lifeblood pooling at my feet like fresh spilled i...
2024-11-14 15:01:20 +0000 UTC
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“Those who walk the path of the warrior must make a friend of death the unwanted companion.”
- Unknown.
With Canis leading, we strode into empty streets of the city and storm. The Adventurer’s Guild’s two Anemancers, identical twins with dull brown hair and wild, dead eyes as turbulent and mad, danced around us as we marched toward our designated mission ground. Canis planned to summon the Djinn from the heavens and have the Geomancers t...
2024-11-11 15:25:51 +0000 UTC
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The weak must pretend to be strong, and the strong must pretend to be weak.
- The Book of Wise Tellings from the Land of Streams.
The doors opened with a low satisfying creak as Farzan’s men, clad in armor that glinted like polished silver under their proud purple sashes, allowed me through without question. They knew me, knew well enough where my loyalties lay.
"You wished to see me?" I muttered, my voice gruff as I stepped into Lady Ae...
2024-11-06 13:55:44 +0000 UTC
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Wow, many things are happening! Now that book 4 is finished I am spending a lot of time going over the chapters and working with my editor to get them up to quality. Unfortunately, this will mean that chapter output might suffer from a bit of a delay.
At this point in Book 5 I need to go over a few plot points with the editor as I am planning to make a lot of sweeping plot points in Book 5... e.g the death of several characters etc. to make sure they resonate properly and are satisfyi...
2024-11-05 11:16:45 +0000 UTC
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In the name of the Goddess, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
They seized Her Herald and Prophet, peace be upon him, and bound him in chains of iron, condemning him to harvest the fruits of stone in the depths of the earth. Humbly he toiled in darkness and solitude, until the revelation was bestowed upon him by the grace of the Goddess. With this divine guidance, he broke his chains, and by the miracle of the Goddess, he was set free.
- The New Sur...
2024-11-02 06:21:52 +0000 UTC
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In the name of the Goddess, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
And the heavens wept, and in their sorrow was found the means to sweep away the den of perfidy that was Ansan. So the rains of the holy deluge descended without cease, washing away the sinners, cleansing them of their rejection of Avaria's Herald and Prophet, peace be upon him.
- The New Surahs by Cordelia de Aserac.
Finally giving up, I drew my friend's blood mysel...
2024-10-30 14:19:55 +0000 UTC
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A bard’s true calling lies not in truth, but in weaving beauty from threads of imagination. Even if that means to twist truth to create beauty. The world’s ugliness, its harsh realities, are weights enough without adding more to a man’s heart. Let your tales and songs be a respite from life’s dreariness, a gleam of light in the weary darkness we all must face. While your stories may stray from fact, there lies a deeper truth in the joy they bring. For in lifting spirits, in...
2024-10-27 02:04:42 +0000 UTC
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In the name of the Goddess, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Blessed be upon Her Heraldn and Prophet, who journeyed to the lands of the people of the Tides. They heard his words, yet they did not believe. They witnessed his divinity, but their eyes deceived them. They scourged him and bound him in chains, but by a miracle was he set free. For who can bind the judgment of the Goddess?
- The New Surahs by Cordelia de Aserac.
Mu...
2024-10-25 01:50:57 +0000 UTC
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The Giants, or Gnomes outside the city of Al-Lazar, are renowned for two things: their pervasive insularity and their unparalleled artisanry. They craft objects of arcane potency, ingenious devices, and armor so exquisite it can withstand a dragon's flame. To those not of their kind, whom they consider inferior, they offer only the silent discourse of flowing hands, a language of intricate gestures reserved for outsiders.
Among themselves, the giants recount legends ...
2024-10-21 09:59:15 +0000 UTC
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tidied it up. still need to work on the hands someday
2024-10-21 00:56:51 +0000 UTC
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Larynda before book 4.
2024-10-18 11:59:46 +0000 UTC
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To behold the towering mountains is to know one's own smallness. To level them is to believe is proof of one’ own might.
- Unknown.
The heat clung to Al-Lazar like a second skin, oppressive and unyielding, even though the sun had drowned stained in red beneath the horizon an hour past. The night offered no relief; the air was thick, heavy with the stench of sweat, dust, and the faint coppery tang of blood. I felt little of it—hardship had lo...
2024-10-18 01:14:57 +0000 UTC
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Suffering, her oldest of companions, was as constant as the wheeze of her breath when the Dust was thick in the air. The girl who had once been Melis knew it intimately. Born frail and sickly, pain had shadowed her every step, a relentless reminder of her own fragility. Yet, it was not the physical torment that cut the deepest. No, it was the weight of being a burden, the silent looks, the pity in their eyes. Even her brother, now laid to rest beneath barren earth, had given more than ...
2024-10-15 06:12:55 +0000 UTC
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The advice of the ancestor spirits is like the wind. Abstract, yet they shape the mountains. Their wisdom may seem to be clouded, but their purpose is always clear.
- The Book of Wise Tellings from the Land of Streams.
As always with the rich and powerful, simple matters were seldom simple at all. The Hall of Repose, or so this room was called, greeted me with the gentle murmur of water cascading down the walls of blue-veined marble. Upon the ci...
2024-10-14 06:55:58 +0000 UTC
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