Join up as the Duke of Tiranat to read more than 450 pages ahead!
***
A/N: Hey everyone. Here's an early chapter, since the last one ended with a lot of questions. The next one will be on Tuesday at the regular time.
Also, I do not recall exactly which chapter it was, but during the winter months, Duvas had indeed tried to tell Kivamus about this topic in the past. Once, Duvas stopped just before telling him, while another time when they were discussing some pr...
2025-10-18 11:58:18 +0000 UTC
View Post
Join up as the Duke of Tiranat to read more than 450 pages ahead!
***
“The ruling council of the Girnalican Oligarchy,” Duvas began, “sits in their capital, Rutodan, down by the southern coast of Cilaria. All they care about is trade and profit. Their fertile lands produce far more than they need, so they sell the surplus to the merchant fleets in their ports, mainly in Rutodan itself. Apart from grain, they also sell a lot of timber, glass, wine, salt, cloth, ...
2025-10-17 14:30:04 +0000 UTC
View Post
Join up as the Duke of Tiranat to read more than 450 pages ahead!
***
Kivamus’s thoughts drifted as he walked. Every craftsman in the village was busy with something—Darora on the scorpion, Cedoron on the iron parts, Taniok on the sawmill. It gave him time to focus on building something for the future: designing machines for making cloth, starting right from the cotton bolls. That was how the first industrial revolution had started on earth, and he knew it was th...
2025-10-16 14:30:02 +0000 UTC
View Post
Join up as the Duke of Tiranat to read more than 450 pages ahead!
***
“How’s the work going?” Kivamus asked.
“Busy,” Cedoron grunted, his voice rough but good-humored. “Busier than ever. I’ve taken on another two apprentices to keep up, but it’s getting crowded. Even after expanding into the empty house next door, there’s hardly room to move. I might have to expand again in the future. I'll probably have to start thinking about building anothe...
2025-10-15 14:30:03 +0000 UTC
View Post
Joining up as a patron to read more than 450 pages ahead!
***
Darora brushed his palms against his leather apron and turned to glance at the others. “Pretty well, actually. By now they all know how to make their assigned crossbow parts.” He pointed first to an older man flatten a thick length of wood with a plane. “That one trims the fedarus branches into the rough pieces we need. The younger fellow next to him handles the prod and the stock of the crossbow. An...
2025-10-14 14:30:05 +0000 UTC
View Post
Join up as the Duke of Tiranat to read more than 450 pages ahead!
***
“We started sowing again this morning,” Pinoto said as they reached him. “We just can't afford to wait too long with the weather already getting warmer. Anyway, if you provide us enough seeds, we’ll still be able to finish sowing this whole stretch within a week. The weather should hold until then, I think." The foreman pointed into the distance, where a small group of people were hard at w...
2025-10-13 14:30:05 +0000 UTC
View Post
Join up as the Duke of Tiranat to read more than 450 pages ahead!
***
The evening was grey and cool when Kivamus was bent over the long dining table which doubled as his drafting board, marking the next curve on the blueprint. The burning brazier was the only source of light in the manor hall as his quill made a steady, practiced sound. He had just reached for the straightedge when the outer door opened and a servant came running in, grinning so wide his cheeks were flu...
2025-10-10 14:30:02 +0000 UTC
View Post
Join up as the Duke of Tiranat to read more than 450 pages ahead!
***
The drizzle which had started sometime in the night had turned steadier by the time morning settled in, with a thin grey mist hanging over the hills east of the village. Kivamus stood under his cloak near the freshly dug mound of earth, the smell of wet soil heavy in the air. The guards were finishing the shoveling of dirt over the new grave which had been dug on a small hill, their boots si...
2025-10-09 14:30:02 +0000 UTC
View Post
Join up as the Duke of Tiranat to read 450 pages ahead!
***
Syryne came running from somewhere at that moment, her hands red-stained from mixing the medicine. “The losuvil paste is ready,” she said, breath short. “It’s thinner now, but it should still help until we can get more.”
Hudan looked toward Tesyb, who was standing near the injured men. “Go with her. See to the wounded.”
Tesyb nodded and followed Syryne toward where the injured guard...
2025-10-08 14:30:23 +0000 UTC
View Post
Join up as a new Duke of Tiranat to read more than 450 pages ahead!
***
Kivamus was pacing near the gates of the manor, his steps echoing in the dim quiet, while his mind was caught between hope and dread. Every few moments, he would glance toward the closed gates as if expecting them to swing open, but so far there had been no news of the battle. Still, looking around the nearly empty manor felt weird. There wasn’t a single male guard left inside. Every man who could fig...
2025-10-07 14:30:26 +0000 UTC
View Post
Become the Duke of Tiranat to read 450 pages ahead.
***
The shapes were rushing in fast now, spreading across the dark ground like a tide of shadows. Tesyb’s heart sank. There were more of them than he’d expected—far more.
“Ready!” Hudan barked, his voice cutting through the noise. The few crossbowmen who had managed to load their weapons raised them, squinting into the darkness ahead.
“Now!” Hudan shouted.
Their few bolts hissed throu...
2025-10-06 14:30:21 +0000 UTC
View Post
Join up as the Duke of Tiranat to read 450 pages ahead!
***
As soon as the guards had finished reloading, Hudan took the lead again and started moving east along the wall. Tesyb waited for the crossbowmen to pass before he and the other swordsmen followed, Feroy once again bringing up the rear.
Tesyb took this chance to pray to the goddess, wishing that the coming fight would go just as well for them as this one had, but he knew that there were no guarant...
2025-10-03 14:30:02 +0000 UTC
View Post
Join up as the Duke of Tiranat to read 450 pages ahead!
***
Hyola's hand fell uselessly to her belt, fingers brushing against the leather, instead of the familiar wood of her crossbow. Why couldn’t she be part of that counter raid too? She had begged to join, knowing that that bastard Nokozal must be amongst them, but the captain had still refused. He had explained that after the first volley of bolts, there’d be no time to reload the crossbows before they were u...
2025-10-02 14:30:02 +0000 UTC
View Post
Become the Duke of Tiranat to read 450 pages ahead.
***
A/N: You can refer to the map of Tiranat here for the location of village gates.
***
Feroy nodded. “This trick will probably only work once, but it should still let us take out one bandit group with almost no losses. The cover of night will also help - tonight is nearly a moonless night.”
H...
2025-10-01 14:32:45 +0000 UTC
View Post
Join up as the Duke of Tiranat to read 450 pages ahead!
***
Soon, the outer door opened and Duvas and Hudan walked in together. Feroy woke up from his sleep, and rubbed his eyes tiredly.
"Report," Kivamus ordered immediately.
Hudan set both of his swords down and began, “Now that it’s daytime, and there is no risk of them giving out their positions easily like during the night, all three groups have lit fires. They seem to be cooking something...
2025-09-30 14:30:05 +0000 UTC
View Post
Become the Duke of Tiranat to read 450 pages ahead.
***
Morning came gray and plain. Kivamus was sitting at the head of the manor table with Duvas, Hudan, Feroy and Gorsazo gathered around. The sunrise was only a short while ago, but everyone's faces already showed the strain of not getting a good sleep, or even any sleep in case of the guard leaders, but everyone's eyes were still alert.
“Any changes in the bandits' actions?” Kivamus asked. “What were th...
2025-09-29 14:30:03 +0000 UTC
View Post
Join up as the Duke of Tiranat to read 450 pages ahead!
***
Kivamus had been tossing and turning all night, but sleep just wasn’t coming. He had told the guards to wake him immediately if there was an attack, but the horn had never sounded.
All night he had kept thinking about what he could have done differently. If only they had more grain stored in the barns to withstand a siege or longer... But as it stood, they only had a few days’ worth of food left, a...
2025-09-26 14:30:03 +0000 UTC
View Post
Become the Duke of Tiranat to read 450 pages ahead!
***
A/N: Note for barons. I'm unlocking Thursday's and Monday's chapters together since I might not have free time to do it on Monday for some personal reasons.
***
"Not yet," Duvas said, "but it shouldn't be long now."
Kivamus nodded. "Then send a servant to fetch a few village elders and send them to all three gates so they can recognize and confirm each person before they enter inside. It's not very l...
2025-09-25 14:30:04 +0000 UTC
View Post
Join up as the Duke of Tiranat to read 450 pages ahead!
***
Hudan looked at Kivamus. "I think it might be a good idea to go out and kill the bandits before they attack us. They only seem to be scouting us for now, so maybe we can finish them off before the rest of them arrive."
Feroy shook his head. "No, it's too risky this time. For all we know, they are already here. You remember that when we'd attacked Nokozal's bandits in the northern forests, we had inside...
2025-09-24 14:30:02 +0000 UTC
View Post
Become the Duke of Tiranat to read 450 pages ahead!
***
"Don't worry, everyone," he began, "Tiranat is not the same village as it was when that bastard attacked us before the winter. We had less than a dozen guards at that time, but right now we have more than 40!"
The other guards nodded at his words, so he continued loudly, "We also have six watchtowers ready to spot them, and a dozen crossbows to slaughter any approaching bandits! You all have trained ver...
2025-09-23 14:30:03 +0000 UTC
View Post
Join up as the Duke of Tiranat to read 450 pages ahead!
***
A/N: Welcome back everyone, and enjoy!
***
Could it be someone from Torhan's group of bandits? Kivamus wondered with a shiver as Duvas glanced at the sky, seemingly praying to the Goddess.
He looked at the others. "What do you think?"
Feroy scratched his short beard. "Can't say anything from this... He could have easily seen me or the other guard coming back. No way to know for su...
2025-09-22 14:30:02 +0000 UTC
View Post
Become the Duke of Tiranat to read 450 pages ahead!
***
A/N: Thank you so much for the wishes, everyone! Thankfully, I'm over my cold now and have gotten back to writing.
Enjoy!
***
Kivamus glanced around at the daily happenings of the manor as he thought about Duvas' question.
Down below, he could see a maid drawing water from the well near the gates, while a servant was pushing a wheelbarrow carrying a sack of grain from the sto...
2025-09-19 14:30:03 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hey guys, sorry to disappoint but I'm taking a sick day today. It's nothing serious, but I don't want to write a chapter while I am sick which could lower the quality.
The next chapter will be tomorrow at the usual time. Thank you so much for being understanding and for your regular support!
See ya tomorrow!
2025-09-18 14:30:02 +0000 UTC
View Post
Become a patron to read 450 pages ahead!
***
It had been two days since they had found that mixing the root of that weed into the paper pulp improved the quality of the paper, so since yesterday, all the new batches of paper sheets being produced here were of the improved quality. Yesterday morning, Kivamus had also given the baron's medal of science to the worker who had thought of the idea, and the young man couldn't seem prouder of his achievement. The other paper...
2025-09-17 14:30:02 +0000 UTC
View Post
Become a patron to read 450 pages ahead!
***
A/N: I had added the below note in the previous chapter for the Barons on 10 Nov 2025, but I had done it after changing the access for you all, so it's possible that some of you missed it if you read the chapter before I updated it. So I'm copying that note again here.
> There is a minor change in the schedule for Barons. As you all may have read in the post about the new story, the schedule for the Dukes and Kings will be cha...
2025-09-16 14:30:02 +0000 UTC
View Post
Join up as the Duke of Tiranat to read 450 pages ahead!
***
A/N: Welcome back! Enjoy a super long chapter today!
***
Ustaimo squinted at the baron as he took a seat. What was he talking about? Why would there be any major news at all from such a small village?
Sir Tuilas sprawled in his chair, looking at the Count and Zoricus in turn. "There was! And you won't believe it till you hear it! Dosol, one of the guards I had taken with me, turned out to b...
2025-09-15 14:30:02 +0000 UTC
View Post
Become a patron to read 450 pages ahead!
***
Once the guard captain had exited the hall, Duvas looked at Kivamus with tiredness evident in his eyes. "I know you are doing your best to feed everyone, but I hate us being so low on food. It reminds me of the time just before you arrived, when the villagers were so close to starvation. We could barely feed a single meal to those living in the manor, so all I could do was watch when the remaining villagers just wasted awa...
2025-09-12 14:30:03 +0000 UTC
View Post
Join up as the Duke of Tiranat to read 400 pages ahead!
***
"The merchant said that he got the iron ingots for cheap since hardly anybody is buying them in Cinran these days," Duvas explained. "He said that he had heard rumors that there was a good demand for iron in Tiranat so he wanted to make some profit on it. As for the wheat, its prices are so high that he wasn't sure if we would want to buy much of it."
"Damn it!" Kivamus cursed. "Did he bring any ...
2025-09-11 14:30:00 +0000 UTC
View Post
Become a patron to read 400 pages ahead!
***
It had been four days since the tax collector had returned, and there was still no sign of Torhan or his bandits. It was difficult to say at this point if it was for better or worse. On one hand, it might mean that the western bandit chief had decided not to attack them at all, which could only be good for the village. On the other hand, it might mean Torhan was still gathering more bandits and weapons to attack Tiranat wi...
2025-09-10 14:30:04 +0000 UTC
View Post
Become the Duke of Tiranat to read 400 pages ahead!
***
Kivamus gave a nod to Duvas. "It will postpone making the scorpion, but I think it's a good idea. Darora needs some time to study it more, while I also need to modify the design a little so it can be fixed on a pivot ahead of the parapets of the watchtower. Right now, it's not like we are expecting attacks from knights wearing plate armor, so we can postpone the scorpion a couple of weeks to arm our guards with more cr...
2025-09-09 14:30:03 +0000 UTC
View Post
