Foxmoor Fiction

SSD 4.67 - A Time to Remember

I still need to write an interlude / epilogue, or two, but this brings us to the end of book one. Holy Shit. I mean, it's only what... a thousand pages or so?

Going to be writing the rest over this week, and also getting started on the editing. Also, I wonder if anyone but me remembers what happened all the way back in Arc I and II.

Hope you are all excited for seeing all his abilities get used, and for the dungeon to continue.

“Yamash is the most mysterious of all ...

SSD 4.66 - My Weary Soul

I think we will get through the last of the notifications next chapter, but I'm not completely sure. Still have the largest and most significant remaining. That will be posted on Monday or Tuesday.

Would love ideas for different soul skills. I know some that I want to use already, but it would be great to have different ideas.

“You want to know how I got so proficient at death magic? I tried to save people, and they took it wrong. Some were actually grateful, but most peo...

SSD 4.65 - Pacts, Languages, and Books

This chapter took a bit longer, as I had to go back an do a bunch of research. I had already made a list of the things that needed notifications, but I needed to make sure I caught everything.

Next chapter will be tomorrow or Monday. Writing notifications is difficult, AKA time consuming, not so much because of tone though that adds a tiny bit, but because I have to make sure my bonuses are all recorded and are also consistent. Plus, I need to make sure that I moderate the power gained ...

SSD 4.64 - A More Perfect Trap

I have been very happy with the characterization of Exsan over the course of the novel. He was a unique challenge to write for much of the book, and we only really saw him a few times. Partially due to the challenge, but also because his perspective was so limited, and I felt that over doing it would have actually diminished what he offered.

Hope you like him now as a full fleshed out character.

“Mercy has no place in the halls of power. Let them fear me, and they shall n...

SSD 4.63 - Changing My Mind

Well into writing the next chapter, and it will come out tomorrow. It is from Exsan's perspective.

Honestly, I am very happy with how all the writing is coming. It has been a relief.

Now, we get a full chapter of Caden, as he reflects and sets up for all next few things he will need to handle.

All rulers inevitably deal with a core issue, whether they are cognizant of it or not. Ultimately, power is only as useful as the ability to apply it. Recognizing your borders, ...

Community Space

Chapter posting immediately after this.

So, it looks like I can make some kind of community space, potentially open up areas for discussion, etc...

Would you actually use it and talk to others if I set it up?

SSD 4.62 - Perspective

Yep, things are continuing right along. We hit the climax for book one and are in the descent now, but hopefully everything was built up enough that these interactions are satisfying.

“All the power in the world means nothing to your mother.”

-Emperor Yaidfe

==Tarrae==

Caden and Exsan had just finished announcing Exsan’s own area of the dungeon. Though each area would offer tokens that could only be used in the other one.

“Changes will need to be m...

SSD 4.61 - Exsan's Return

Still coming along. Next chapter is about a quarter done, so it might come out tomorrow or Friday.

Hope you are enjoying the push toward the end of book one.

A good family makes your life; a bad one can ruin it. If you are making one for yourself, choose wisely. When dealing with the one that fate gave you, be kind, be helpful, and stand your ground. Above all, seek harmony, whenever possible.

-Priestess Aldskia Madiesh

==Caden==

Stopping Tarrae’s execut...

SSD 4.60 - Judgment From On High

Once more into the breach. Smaller cliff at the end. About halfway through the next chapter. Assuming it is written by tomorrow, I will post it here then.

Things left untended have a tendency to go wrong. Whether that is a problem growing, a solution dying, or simply a huge mess of mundane things that need to be dealt with.

A ruler cannot afford to neglect his kingdom for long. Not if he expects it to survive intact.

Dealing with a problem in a timely manner means tha...

SSD 4.59 - The Lai of Tarrae

I'm sorry, did I say Friday? Yeah, Patreon is getting this one today. I'm halfway through the next chapter as well. If I get it done in time you will get it tomorrow. Mind the cliff.

Also, for anyone interested, a lai (lay) is an octadic couplet form of poetry. I think I did a reasonably good imitation in the quote.

Tried to hang him, it didn’t take,

Next came the oven, but he wouldn’t bake.

“Surely he’ll drown,” came the reply,

One hour or twent...

SSD 4.58 - Heritage + Announcement

ANNOUNCEMENT:

Okay, so I'm not always functioning the best, but I have been able to get some limited access to my medication. So, I am going to supplement that with a bit of social pressure from all of you. I'm getting really close to the end of book one, and I am going to be putting out a chapter a week from now on. It will be up by each Friday, including another one this week by then.

Once book one is finished, I am going to be editing all of it, but I am committing to get thro...

OtH 1.10 - Words

Here is a chapter for Outside the Heavens, enjoy.

Whatever Aarick might have wanted, he still needed to finish out his etiquette lesson. That dragged on less than he would have normally expected, but having the lesson accompanied by magical holograms would do that.

He would probably get used to them, eventually, but he was happy enough to relish the wonder while he had it.

There was a slightly distracting chorus in his head that repeated “Magic, Fuck Yeah!” or...

SSD 4.57 - Rage and Sorrow

Been struggling to get a chapter out this entire month (and a bit), and it is finally fucking done. Same issues with medication, etc..., plus I finally had to put my cat Loki down last week, and everything leading up to that was hard. 

I think this chapter was also hard because I am reaching the climax of this novel. I don't think I have ever written this level of emotion and it was necessarily written from outside.

I think it well very well, I hope you all agree. Sorry for t...

SSD 4.56 - Costs of Living

Taken a while to get this chapter up, but I hope you all enjoy it.

“Life isn’t worth shit. A flick of a blade and its over. Still, its worth more than anything else.”

-Iotopa, Head Assassin of Piataba

==Zidaun==

“We… know how we got into this situation,” Fjorre said.

Currently, we were sitting in a meeting room inside the Adar embassy. Quite fortunate since my office would have held us all, but only barely. Someone had foreseen the potentia...

OtH 1.09 - Etiquette

Sorry this has been delayed. Still dealing with the medication shortage. Apparently it is a continuing issue.

Interestingly, it has its roots in the Covid Pandemic. With many more people at home, many more people did remote visits with doctors and the home conditions were conducive to many more people learning that they suffered from ADHD.

So, the current supply of medication is still dealing with an increase in demand that they were not anticipating.

Less than ideal for tho...

SSD 4.55 - Seeing Behind the Veil

This chapter was difficult to write, but it is finally done.

Patreon doesn't show the formatting of my tables properly, which contains a lot of speech, so things may be hard to read and parse.

“The world is full of once in a lifetime opportunities. Most of them lead to your death. Don’t focus on the rarity of an opportunity. Instead, focus on getting what you actually want.”

-Iatian of Pertansa

==Caden==

For a moment I stared blankly at the messa...

OtH 1.08 - Gaining Perspective

This chapter is mostly the same as before, though various edits have been added for flow, and mentions of Aarick's future tutors has been added as well.

Reodan opened the door and Aarick entered.

The room was wide, but not particularly deep, and it was filled with a collection of comfortable furniture interspersed with plants. Flowers perfumed the air with delicate fragrances, and their blossoms were a profusion of bright colors and patterns.

All this, however, wa...

SSD 4.54 - Managing Patience

Really sorry this took so long. The medication issue took forever, but their was other stuff as well. Not going to go into it in any great detail, but suffice it to say that I had my first kidney stone (1/10, do not recommend), was incredibly ill with a cold, and had another health complication that was apparently exacerbating everything else. 

Fortunately that has now been deal with.

If anyone wants a refund for last month, you can message me. I completely understand and I a...

Possible Delays

Hey all. Been unable to refill my primary medication for ADHD. It is a controlled substance and there are shortages. Honestly, the way the government regulates it seems weird and counterproductive, but there is nothing I can do about that.

Been off my meds for a little bit now. Hoping I can actually get it filled some time this week.

SSD 4.53 - A Surprisingly Pleasant Meeting

Back to the Soul Dungeon.

"Eccentrics are the brushstrokes of originality on the canvas of conformity."

— Professor Archibald Peculiaris, Curator of Oddities at the Museum of Quirk and Whimsy

==Zidaun==

I really wasn’t meant to be an administrator.

It was fortunate that Izradi was handling most of it, because even what little remained was more than I wanted to deal with.

Fortunately, much of it could still be pushed off until Caden became ava...

OtH 1.07 - Breakfast and a Tour

Decent mix of old and new content in this chapter, but hopefully presented into a more compact format that manages to avoid any issues with too much exposition.

Please feel free to let me know how I did.

Dreams came intermittently but rhythmically, following the ancient pattern of sleep. They rose up through Aarick’s mind like boiling water, brought up to the surface from the depths and then lost once more as they drifted back beneath.

It was a peaceful sleep, w...

OtH 1.06 - Off To Sleep

Changes made for clarity and then a proper plot divergence at the end, which will cascade into everything else.

Aarick still had far too many questions. However, he was also falling asleep.

Shoving a whole new language in my head makes me tired. Who knew?

Following after Lurona, he focused on his situation to stay awake.

He wasn’t stuck in the middle of the wilderness, dealing with insane cultists (other than for the briefest moment). The language...

OtH 1.05 - Questions - Part 2 V2

Obviously, there are the usual edits for clarity, etc...

Some notable changes here as well:

• how and why telling the truth is part of noble culture, as well as why it persists
• changed details on enlightenments
• Lurona tells Aarick to come see her if he fully attunes to qi, and to leave a socket open and come see her before her forms his dantian

Aarick grinned and shook his head.

“This is what comes of relying on others for information all ...

OtH 1.04 - Questions - Part 1 V2

Mostly the same with some changes for clarity. Added in a mention of how tired everything has made Aarick at the beginning.

Also, please ignore and conjoined words you see here on Patreon. For some reason Patreon conjoins something like 20 random words whenever I copy and paste something into it. I go through and manually fix them, but sometimes I miss one.

Aarick was starting to get tired.

No, that was inaccurate.

He had been tired, even after waking up; th...

OtH 1.03 - Lurona Talks V2

Mostly the same, but there are edits and clarifications.

Plus, a few plot relevant changes:

Spoiler

Lurona now says that enlightenments are common, instead of rare, because how they fit into the cultivation system has been changed.

She originally also said that Aarick's soul is nothing special. Now it is noted that the doctor doesn't have the expertise to examine his soul in any depth, other than to note that it is currently malnourished.

2023-10-11 17:03:09 +0000 UTC View Post

OtH 1.02 - Rosetta Stone is for Wimps V2

Apparently, more changes are creeping in earlier. This chapter was originally slightly less than 2000 words and has grown to more than 3300.

Most of those changes are describing sections of the building he now went through, though others are more detailed thoughts and reactions now that his character is more firmly established in my head.

Enjoy!

Aarick turned to left and followed the man in yellow through the hallway then turned right into another at a small circu...

Imperial Seat - 2nd Level

Been working on this for the last three hours. Started to edit chapter two and then decided I wanted to flush out and have a more concrete layout so I could accurately describe the path Aarick takes to get around.

OtH 1.01 - Painful Revelations V2

Now edited for both clarity and to switch to 3rd limited omniscient. Very little changed from a story point of view.

For those wondering where to expect major divergence, that will happen after he talks with Lurona. There are going to be some changes while he talks with her, as well, but those should be lesser.

Like Lurona, Aarick was also not having a good day, though that was likely because their bad days were related.

Admittedly, for Aarick, it hadn�...

SSD 4.52 - Breakfast is Civilization

Sorry this took a little longer to come out than I had planned.

I recently suffered a groin injury and the pain has been very distracting. Medical advice said it would take about a week to start healing, but I think I have been healing slightly faster than that. (I hope.)

Regardless of all that... here is the next chapter:

"In the realm of everyday enchantments, breakfast is the silent spell that awakens our spirits, turning simple sustenance into a magical journe...

SSD 4.51 - Unwise Meddling

I have not forgotten Saga of the Soul Dungeon, even if I needed to make a brief diversion to satisfy the insanity that lies at my heart.

In fact, I have been working on this chapter for that last week or so, and it has been fighting me. Writing about the soul realm is hard because it is conceptual, rather than concrete. Still, managed to get this chapter finally finished. At it is a longer chapter than usual, as well at a little more than 2700 words.

"In the labyrinthin...