“Sentinel Dawn. Do you require any special equipment or a team member to perform a small demonstration?” Katerina asked.
I shook my head.
“No. Batteries are ideal for large-scale extended engagements, but I can let you know when I’m running low on mana.” I said. “In a twist, I’m suboptimal under ashes and related cloud cover. I perform better when under sunlight or moonlight. Has to be moonlight, I can’t do anything under a clear night with no moons.”
2023-06-19 00:33:56 +0000 UTC
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I double checked the address and my location.
Yup. This looked like it was the right spot. A typical home in an average neighborhood. Nothing ornate, nothing special, but far from a slum or apartment.
The two [Legionnaires] standing guard outside the door helped reassure me that I was at the right place. Full armor and spears, the weather getting cooler probably helped.
“Hi! I’m looking for Legata Katerina, of the Sixth?” I asked them.
One of the...
2023-06-16 04:14:12 +0000 UTC
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I figured I’d establish my credentials first, and then show the gaping holes in my skills second.
“War. I’m used to a slightly different type of total war than all of you probably are. There was this race called Formorians back in Remus. Imagine an ant the size of a man. Vicious, coordinated, but not terribly intelligent. They came at us in endless waves, and we got very, very good at killing them. Literally had to kill them in shifts. All day, all night, then all of the ...
2023-06-14 04:09:04 +0000 UTC
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Nina coming into our lives was interesting, and promised to keep us all busy for the foreseeable future. However, I still had a job to do, and the meeting with the rest of the War Sentinels was just around the corner.
Literally.
“Auri, can I get a dozen cookies, a loaf of your tastiest bread, and a stick of butter?” I think I was Auri’s first customer in her new bakery.
Rows upon rows of fairly basic goods lined her shelves, but to be fair, she’d just opened...
2023-06-12 03:49:10 +0000 UTC
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I looked over the poor shivering waif in front of me once again.
Poor girl. I was no genius at people, but even I could see how she was flinching. I was frankly impressed at how she’d kept going, even with all the issues I spotted. Malnourished, underweight, broken fingers that hadn’t healed right, parasites all over, it was a testament to elvenoid tenacity that she’d been up and moving.
Iona had clearly fed her a large meal before coming back, and I eyed the clearing we wer...
2023-06-09 12:14:37 +0000 UTC
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Alright, alright, message received.
There's also a normal art contest!
Given how much longer normal art takes to make than AI art, and given the long break upcoming for July, I'll be ending submissions for this contest July 31st, which should also be when I return to regularly posting.
The rules are very similar to the AI art contest.
Prizes: $1000 of prizes for the winners. $400 to 1st, $200 to second, and $50 to 3rd-10th.
Submission: There is a ne...
2023-06-08 20:42:27 +0000 UTC
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Hey all!
My birthday's coming up next week, and I finally got a moment of fresh air to think "Wait! I should run an art contest!"
Now, there's lots to be said about art contests. The biggest controversy around them is 'only the winners get paid'. Which is a fair complaint. So I'm trying to mitigate this by encouraging people to use AI art for the contest. Not only does it allow everyone and anyone to participate, it means that nobody is really out a huge amount of time and effor...
2023-06-07 17:11:45 +0000 UTC
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Nina clutched Iona’s waist, utterly terrified.
Valkyries were supposed to ride, like, horses and shit, or maybe even a triceratops.
Nobody had said anything about fuck-off huge wyverns!
Sure, she was strapped in, but the inches-thick leather looked practically flimsy next to the wyvern’s sheer size.
Her belly, full for the first time in years, completely overrode any thoughts of this possibly being a bad idea. No idea that resulted in Nin...
2023-06-07 05:02:01 +0000 UTC
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While I was going through all my skills, reading what I’d gotten and testing them out, I was also reading War Sentinel Tyrannus’s letter.
Dawn,
Entirely up to you, but the rest of the War Sentinels regularly meet and discuss. Every third day for lunch at the Celestial Supper.
See you!
War Sentinel Tyrannus.
I needed Iona to decode if the letter was a polite order, a request I couldn’t refuse, or actually entirely...
2023-06-05 00:43:45 +0000 UTC
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I didn’t have a lot on my plate.
I had a full buffet of things that I needed to do.
Check my new class. Check my level. Grab my new skills. Figure out the small hill’s worth of iron Night had sent me as backpay. Read the letter Tyrannus sent. Figure out what I was doing next, and a thousand other tasks.
Iona just slowly shook her head as she looked at the pile of iron.
“Do you need my help picking skills, or can I head into town?” She asked.
“I...
2023-06-01 20:06:58 +0000 UTC
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Hi all!
I've gotten a number of confused questions on discord, so I'm going to say it again.
The next post is June 2nd.
Last week had two posts to keep my commitment to have patrons get the book at the same time as Amazon, thanks to Amazon shenanigans. They 'robbed' this week's Monday and Wednesday chapter, so the next post is Friday.
It's the same number of posts as usual, they're just appearing slightly off schedule. They were posted early.
<...
2023-05-29 13:06:01 +0000 UTC
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Hey all!
Yesterday ended up completely hectic because Amazon was like "Yeah okay your book launches TODAY!" and I ended up needing to scramble.
This is one part 'here are the chapters', three parts communication recap to make sure I am being crystal clear.
Quite a few people have reported that they never got the new chapter release notifications, so here are the links to the chapters:
444: ht...
2023-05-25 13:24:31 +0000 UTC
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Book 10 is officially up on Amazon!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C678L63K
Book 9 is now on Kindle Unlimited!
Even if you don't read BTDEM on Amazon, I'd like to politely ask if you'd be willing to leave a rating or review on Amazon. It lets Amazon know "oh hey this book is popular/well liked", and THE ALGORITHM then pushes it, throwing me into a virtuous upward cycle.
Thank yo...
2023-05-24 21:57:14 +0000 UTC
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Amber was irritated. Irritated by the slightly itchy mask. Irritated by the omnipresent sand that was impossible to get rid of. Irritated by the obnoxious snobbery of the elves.
Amber wasn’t sure what was worse. The elves that sneered slightly and looked down on her for ‘only’ being mortal, or the ones who felt bad that she’d been unfortunate enough in life to be born a human, and took it upon themselves to ‘help’ her as much as possible.
What was extra-gratin...
2023-05-24 21:54:48 +0000 UTC
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Amazon strikes again!
They went "you know what we like Selkie INSTANT RELEASE!" so now Book 10 is up.
Keeping to my commitments, you're getting the next two chapters early. Then chapters will resume at the normal pace.
Tl;dr: You're getting next Monday and Wednesday's chapters NOW, to keep with my promise of Patrons getting stuff at the same time or before Amazon.
https://www.amazon....
2023-05-24 21:53:35 +0000 UTC
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Book 10 epub.
Two extra chapters ;)
Let me know if there's anything wrong - going to upload to Amazon soon!
2023-05-24 03:07:34 +0000 UTC
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Hey all!
It's that time of month again!
Announcements!
1) Admin week is the week of June 26th. I'm aware this is a minor departure from my normal schedule, it's because of a business trip my wife's taking. This is slightly awkward, because right after June's admin week is...
2) I am moving in July. Billing will be paused for the month. Three chapters will be released that month. The idea is to keep all of you around and waiting for...
2023-05-23 17:15:37 +0000 UTC
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AN: Admin week next week.
There's a good chance that one of my administrative tasks will be posting book 10 on Patreon, AKA the next two chapters.
Don't hold your breath. It might be *next* Friday.
Enjoy!
===============================
The days passed in a blur. Between jumping back and forth from the site of our new mountain home, Devour’s rambling lessons, Arachne’s terrifying reveal of all the barely-contained horrors that might kill us a...
2023-05-19 04:12:32 +0000 UTC
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Use discretion at work.
https://imgur.com/pLtwsVv
2023-05-18 04:30:31 +0000 UTC
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“Excellent! The first matter is that of your personal symbol. Each Sentinel has their own distinct mark, as well as the unified symbol of the Sentinels. It helps us know who’s helping which Sentinel, a personalized banner if you will. Now, it’s almost entirely up to you. The rules are fairly basic. Don’t copy someone else’s sigil. That would entirely defeat the point! Don’t have a symbol that’s too large or complicated, that would make it impossible to quickly duplicate...
2023-05-17 02:12:52 +0000 UTC
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I woke up cold.
Damn natural laws. No matter how much biomancy I had, no matter what my stats were, my surface area to volume ratio dictated that, at night, with minimal shelter, I got cold.
Also, wait, cold?
I looked with [The World Around Me], and spotted Iona on a stump outside, looking into the lean-to with her sketchbook and a quill.
I banished the thoughts of cold from my mind. I’d powered through worse, and I wasn’t in a critical li...
2023-05-15 03:48:25 +0000 UTC
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Sorry for the delayed post! Have two chapters instead! I'm taking a last-minute trip tomorrow, so I won't be around to post on Friday. So I'm posting Friday's chapter now instead. Two chapters today, no chapter Friday, chapters again Monday. Enjoy!
=========================
A rock tumbled, and we immediately snapped back into fighting mode, looking all around. We were tense for a long moment, just waiting for th...
2023-05-10 09:43:29 +0000 UTC
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Sorry for the delayed post!
Have two chapters instead!
I'm taking a last-minute trip tomorrow, so I won't be around to post on Friday. So I'm posting Friday's chapter now instead. Two chapters today, no chapter Friday, chapters again Monday.
Enjoy!
=========================
We all boarded Fenrir and took off towards where the wyrm had made its lair.
Hakram, Baelin, and Alan were clutched in Fenrir’s claws, bleating with terror...
2023-05-10 09:42:13 +0000 UTC
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Fenrir classed up, and a week quickly passed. I was focusing most of my time and efforts on the upcoming battle we were planning, entirely skipping my work in the slums. I’d handle the Triad at a later date. I had a brief moment wondering if they thought I’d run away or not, but eh. End of the day, I didn’t care what they believed.
Arrows were prepared, strategies were discussed, and a few literal sacrificial goats were acquired. They were tied up in the stables, munching on hay a...
2023-05-08 03:33:58 +0000 UTC
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“Hey, instead of the inn, why don’t we do this in a bath?” I suggested.
“BRRRRRPT!” Auri loudly protested at all this ‘water’ stuff being proposed.
“I’m sure they’ll let you burn things as much as you’d like.” I reassured her. “Why don’t you try to see how much water you can turn into steam?”
“Brrrpt…” Auri knew exactly what I was doing, and was less than amused… but she also kinda wanted to see if she could drain the baths.
...
2023-05-05 04:37:53 +0000 UTC
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Sorry I didn't get this up last night - Flora's sleep has been so-so the past couple of days and I was a complete zombie that passed out as soon as she fell asleep.
Enjoy!
One of my good friends Traumamoo - errr - Thundamoo has recently released her newest book, Bioshifter! She's fairly anti-KU, so needs all the help she can get.
RR: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/59450/bioshifter
A...
2023-05-03 12:13:33 +0000 UTC
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Sentinel Arachne, AKA Susan.
Chibi art!
2023-05-01 04:58:54 +0000 UTC
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“Questions.” Arachne declared, and the floor was open. Black Sentinel badges had the bat’s eyes burning red, and Arachne’s threads twitched.
“Sentinel Invincible.” The troll stood up and rumbled. With a name like that, he was just asking for it. Then again… troll, famously difficult to kill without direct sunlight, and Exterreri had a grudge against the daystar.
It was a great title until it wasn’t.
“The timeline of events suggest that you predate ...
2023-05-01 04:56:26 +0000 UTC
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How time flies!
Discretion at work!
People get up to mischief at college... https://imgur.com/a/HHlNyBh
2023-04-30 04:06:52 +0000 UTC
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Hey all!
It's that sad time of month again - Admin week.
I will say, it's an absolute LIFESAVER once again. I'm just wrapping up book 10 *sweats in two more chapters I need to finish this week*, and hopefully I'll be able to finish editing it, and getting it all wrapped and prepped during admin week. Book should be coming out in May.
I'm unlikely to do a preorder for it, given what happened last time and rumblings in the Indie community that Amazon has changed t...
2023-04-21 13:16:55 +0000 UTC
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