Foxmoor Fiction

OtH 1.00 - Prologue - The Empty Stranger V2

I really didn't want to end up rewriting this story, but I am not that far into it yet, and I need to make a change fairly close to the beginning. Plus, I wanted to try out writing in third person limited omniscient. This should let me focus on the perspective of a single character at a time, but still provide relevant details from other perspectives, or as a narrator.

So here is the prologue, substantially changed by allowing the reader to see more of what is going on in the background...

Outside the Heavens - Needed Changes

When writing a new novel, I, as a discovery writer, am taking the time to feel out the characters, world, etc... I already had plenty of lore, history, and general background for the world, but assembling that into a cohesive framework requires actually writing.

I quite like the world, and I think it will make a fantastic novel, but I am definitely going to need to make some changes. So, before I get too far in, I decided to stop and consult with all of you about what I ought to do.

OtH 1.23 - Testing the Waters

This chapter fought me a bit, but hopefully it came out okay.

Attuning to sound had proven relatively simple. Knowledge of both its physical nature, combined with his personal experiences, had been more than sufficient. He could now feel how sound qi now rippled out from practically everything. Really, it looked like sound qi simply flashed into existence, then dissipated out rapidly, but he knew the truth. Sound propagated out in waves, and apparently influenced qi in the sa...

SSD 4.50 - Art

A very small collection of the art I had available for the Wandering Woods. (I had about 200 images available as possibilities.)

2023-09-08 06:47:23 +0000 UTC View Post

SSD 4.50 - Through the Fire

This chapter took a lot of work, but I am also very happy with it. It is also a very long chapter for me at ~3700 words.

And you all wanted me to skip through the Wandering Woods, so here we go:

“It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.”

-Frederick Douglass

==Zidaun==

Breath surged in my lungs, the air hot. My eyes stung from the hazy smoke, but I just blinked and k...

OtH 1.22 - Sky and Stars

A little bit longer chapter at ~2700 words.

Lurona’s eyes were only unfocused for a moment, the faint pattern of qi lasting for only a moment.

Aarick doubted he would have noticed at all, if he hadn’t been looking for it.

She blinked, and she smiled.

“Well! I can honestly say I wasn’t expecting such a fundamental node to branch that way.”

No idea what that means.

She turned to look at him for a moment, her smile radiant, and it hit him wi...

SSD 4.49 - Restless Repetition

Getting a bit better look at Tarrae, including his status.

“Such fire was not by water to be drowned,
Nor he his nature changed by changing ground.”

-Ludovico Ariosto, from Canto XXVIII, stanza 89 (tr. W. S. Rose)

==Tarrae==

After being let back into the dungeon, my team had slogged through the Meadow. The power of the illusion covering both it, and the Grotto, was impressive. A combination of extreme subtly mixed with overwhelming power.

Walkin...

OtH 1.21 - Dealing With It

Was sick at the start of this week, so things were a bit delayed. Sorry about that.

Apparently, Aarick would need to apologize to his previous English teachers. While he had understood the importance of good grammar before, if only to not embarrass himself, he could now tell them that grammar had changed his life. Since he hadn’t chosen to pursue a career in law, teaching, or programming, he had considered the odds of that to be fairly low.

His conversation with Lurona continued...

SSD 4.48 - Mechanics of the Soul

And we get back to Caden as he waits to reemerge.

“Dr. Turing of Cambridge says that the soul is an illusion and that all that defines us as human beings can be reduced to a series of mechanical operations.”

—Neal Stephenson

==Caden==

Delving into my soul had always had a timeless quality, but before I had always felt a faint need to rush. After all, being here meant I wasn’t able to watch over the rest of the dungeon.

Now, that feeling was gon...

OtH 1.20 - The Man Who Knew Too Much

Enjoy!

There were no signs that Lurona had moved, no sound or breezes of displaced air. No sign other than the sudden lack of her presence.

Reodan doesn’t show signs when he moves at super-speed, other than the barely visible blur... This is probably more of the same.

Wish she had bothered to tell me what she was doing.

One of the reasons they were talking in this room was now obvious, at least. Even with her absence, the energy ...

Focus for the Wandering Woods - Poll

So, the wandering woods are a large area, and I have two options I can choose to do with it. Either I can go as I have been for them, and provide plenty of detail to flesh them out, or I can do my best to brush over most of the content and get them over with quickly.

I figured I should ask you all what you would prefer.

SSD 4.47 - All That Glitters

Went back an was looking at some of my old chapters for this. Looking back at 2.3 when I first introduced Zidaun. Now I really feel like I need to go back and edit everything, cause I feel like their viewpoint was so clunky.

However, for now, here is the chapter:

“It was both fascinating and appalling to learn that chimpanzees were capable of hostile and territorial behavior that was not unlike certain forms of primitive human warfare.”

-Jane Goodall

==Zidaun==

OtH 1.19 - Speaking of Earth

Now getting to our 6th chapter ahead for Outside the Heavens, yay!

Lurona sat in front of him, silently thinking, and he dared not interrupt.

Okay… feeling a little nervous now.

Aarick wanted to shout at her that she couldn’t just drop a line like that and then stop talking, but his sense of self preservation was strong enough to strangle the impulse. Not annoying the person who had his entire fate in their hand, and who could wipe him out wi...

OtH 1.18 - The Lotus Blossom

I really like the design of the tower, so I hope you all enjoy it. 

Lurona’s personal tower was, as Aarick had expected, beautiful.

The stairs emerged into an entry room, and the density of the qi and ziu was so heavy that, even with his newfound capacity, he found it difficult to do much except concentrate and hold it at bay.

Lurona either noticed, or had expected it, because the energies withdrew from her in a wide sphere, soon passing outside his width o...

SSD 4.46 - The Portal Puzzle

Please enjoy.

“A good puzzle, it's a fair thing. Nobody is lying. It's very clear, and the problem depends just on you.”

-Erno Rubik

==Zidaun==

This entire area had been strange.

Sure, the vast gathering of skyrays had been terrifying, but overall there had been no need to deal with anything more than a few simple traps.

In a normal dungeon, if they were inclined to vast acts of creation like this, I might assume that their instincts had tried something...

OtH 1.17 - Making Connections

You guys are all awesome, and I love you all. Also, I had a few people join my patreon right before the end of the month. You guys would have been charged again when the new month started. If you knew that and wanted to contribute, great. However, if you want a refund for last month, just let me know.

Lurona was sitting behind her desk when he arrived with Reodan. The white stone of the wall behind her framing her against the brown and green streaked stone of the rest of the ...

OtH 1.16 - Burning Knowledge

I wanted to express my gratitude for all the support I have received. It matters a great deal to me. Thank you so much.

Aarick hadn’t really understood what Lurona meant, calling his previous enlightenments partial.

He did now.

He had absently noted being set on his feet, now well outside the garden, but even so… The world was made of fire.

He could feel the universe in his head, the connection to fire. He could feel memories emerging:

The heat of ...

SSD 4.45 - Swarms and Symbols

Thank you all for being amazing. I know I haven't gotten as much done as I wanted to this month so far, but I still had more people signing up and so many patrons sticking with me. It has meant a lot.

I am far more functional now, since my ADHD is now being medicated, but I do still deal with bouts of depression. This one has been especially bad, no doubt aggravated because one of my cats, Loki, is quite sick.

We took him to the vet and euthanasia was considered as an option. He h...

OtH 1.15 - The Burning Garden

Sorry for a bit of delay. Lots of family stuff was happening with the 4th of July. Lit off some fireworks and had barbeque, it was all very nice.

Emerging from the stairway, Aarick found himself on a wide pathway of the same snowy stone.

Does Lurona really like white? I didn’t see too much of that in the interior. Something symbolic about having a building made of pure white stone then?

He sighed. Not like he had enough information to make anything but ...

SSD 4.44 - Into the Woods

Here we go, enjoy!:

“The strongest oak of the forest is not the one that is protected from the storm and hidden from the sun. It's the one that stands in the open where it is compelled to struggle for its existence against the winds and rains and the scorching sun.”

-Napoleon Hill

==Zidaun==

An archway passed behind me as I entered a circular room. The building was larger inside than should have been possible, though I felt no trace of mana or disorientation. We de...

OtH 1.14 - Invisible Geometries

And another chapter today, hooray!

It turned out that there was a door in the outer wall Aarick had failed to notice.

Normally he would have considered this a failure of perception, but he would have given himself a break for two reasons. The first was simply due to the sheer amount of other things he had been focused on. When someone’s entire worldview was busily upending itself, that tended to happen. The second reason, which would have been enough to obviate any se...

OtH 1.13 - A Little History

Blah blah blah, writing. Blah blah blah, story. Blah blah blah appeal to pathos... etc...  :P

Having a good day, and hope you are too. And, to make our rhyme, the chapter without further ado:

Regardless of what the experience was, Reodan didn’t seem to notice anything.

It probably looked like I just zoned out again. God, he probably thinks I’m such a ditz. I’ve been blowing my mind over and over again. Likely over things that seem completel...