Foxmoor Fiction

SSD 2.14 - Man to Man-Eater Talk

I suppose it doesn't surprise me too much that I write best in the middle of the night when no one is around to distract me.

“I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee or a ragout.”
― Jonathan Swift – “A Modest Proposal�...

SSD 2.13 - Environment Testing

Writing late at night again. Guess we will see if I write a ton again.

The more I have delved into dungeons, the more amazed I am at the power and majesty found in the deep ones. And the more I wish I had time enough to see the small and simple ones grow.

- Heastjack, the Researcher

My mind had undergone a shift over the last hour. I could feel an influence dropping away from my mind. I knew what it was from, too. Apparently touching and experiencing someone else�...

SSD 2.12 - A Leap Into Magic

Pretty sure I have been writing at least eight hours at this point.

Anyway, for anyone that read through things the first time you will notice some substantial divergences happening in this chapter. This chapter is about ~3000 words long. About 2000 of that is new.

I think I might need to collapse into bed soon.

“If you choose magic you will never be able to return to the life you once lived. Your world may be more... exciting... but it will also be more dangero...

SSD 2.11 - The Trappings of Power

Sometimes writing is all the energy I need. This chapter is ~3500 words. I took about 900 words from this chapter to put into the next one, and it is still more than 1000 words longer than the original. Hope you love it.

“I have never seen a greater monster or miracle in the world than myself.”

• Michel de Montaigne

“Every act of creation begins with an act of destruction”

Pablo Picasso

I had been forced to be patient due to circumstances, but ...

SSD 2.10 - Baring My Soul

And then suddenly writing is... I hesitate to call it simple, it is never simple. However it gets easier, and then it flows out of me naturally. It is the feeling I wish I could always keep.

This chapter is ~ 3200 words, about 700 words longer than my last iteration.

I am in the unique category of writers who has to avoid being too brief. Most people tend to go the opposite way.

"The gods are masters of souls. Your actions in life are a mirror of your soul which a...

SSD 2.9 - Caverns, Crystals, and Cloth

Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Editing and rewriting this one took me something like 3 or 4 days. Just had a hard time feeling it. Thank you guys for being awesome patrons. You guys help me to get it done.

Anyway, this chapter is 3800 words. About 1000 more than it used to be.

“Because philosophy arises from awe, a philosopher is bound in his way to be a lover of myths and poetic fables. Poets and philosophers are alike in being big with wonder.”

- Thomas Aq...

SSD 2.8 - When My Partner Says We Are Having Company

“Rule # 1 - The dungeon is trying to kill you, don't die. Dead adventurers don't spend gold.”

• 50 Rules For Dungeon Divers

For a moment I was struck dumb with surprise and too shocked to even begin to think of a proper reply. After a moment I pulled myself out of it.

Exsan?

No. I Exsan. Who you?

No, I meant… never-mind. I am Caden.

Caden. Core Exsan Caden. Core mine. Caden mine.

I t...

SSD 2.7 - The Magic Words

Hope you all had a lovely Easter!

I took a brief break for a few days, but obviously I am back to give you more.

This chapter has some substantial differences from the original and is 700 words longer. Enjoy!

“To touch the soul is to touch divinity.”

Habert of Marte

“The limits of my language means the limits of my world.”

Ludwig Wittgenstein

Of all the many things that had already happened to me this might be the most important. I ...

SSD 2.6 - Exploring Your Inner Self

This one will be more familiar to people who read everything before. A couple hundred extra words, but mostly the same with some significant rewording that hopefully helps make things more clear.

"If He exists the creator has an inordinate fondness for beetles."

-J.B.S. Haldane, distinguished British biologist (possibly apocryphal)

For all that I had intended to start with all the life around me, I got distracted gathering samples of everything new that I could fi...

SSD 2.5 - Taking Stock

This chapter is pretty much entirely new content. I know that later I deal with some of the issues that I placed in this chapter, which means other things will get cut down. Hopefully this helps condense his motivations in a good way. Any of my patrons who read my previous novel I would appreciate comments about how this helps or hurts with understanding his motivations. And new people I would love to hear a fresh reaction too.

"The fires of creation were loosed from the heav...

SSD 2.4 - Second Thoughts

I think this turned out pretty well. We are currently 4 chapters ahead here on patreon. And this chapter has more than 500 words more than its previous iteration.

Love you all, and on to the main event:

“If you talk to God, you are praying; if God talks to you, you have schizophrenia.”

• Thomas Szasz

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Dunge*($()*# Foru(#($*)

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Warni($))7%#7%()*@#&%&a...

SSD 2.3 - A Tale of Two Cities

I think this turned out really well. As has been common lately, it has been fleshed out. Another 500 words of content has been added.

“The nine seasons are: Thaw, Calm, Rain, Grow, Harvest, Burn, Storm, Recede, and Freeze.”

-Children's Primer

===POV: Zidaun===

I felt the unmistakable sprouting of a new dungeon just a few hours before. Now we were all caught in the preparations for the inevitable trek to the location. It was almost due south, with just a ...

SSD 2.2 - When You Really Need to Go

Due to changes I made before in 1.7, some of this chapter plays out differently. It also ended up at more than 4000 words, which is quite a hefty chapter for me.

“If danger arises in the present moment, there may be an emotion. There may even be pain. But that's a challenge, not a problem. For a problem to exist you need time and repetitive mind activity."

    • Eckhart Tolle

“Rule # 23 - Be wary of working with amateurs. They will, with ...

SSD 2.1 - Up Shit Creek

Didn't want to just publish those Arc Lore sections. So here is a proper chapter.

"Life is like a sewer: what you get out of it depends on what you put into it.

• Tom Lehrer

“Skills make all the difference. Prospectors will find gold in the same stream where all others find only mud."

• An Adventurer's Guide to Prosperity

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Quest Complete

Route: Freedom

Method: Deception

Initial Difficulty Assessment: Seve...

SSD 2.0 - Arc 2 - Shifting Currents

"And Otga, jealous of her brother's light, stole a piece unto herself. Jealously she held it close to her body and treasured it, but the chaos of her grasp infected the light and it began to consume all, and thus fire entered the world.”

• Myths of Creation: Folktales and Folklore

“All things are artificial, for nature is the art of God.”

• Thomas Brown

Arc 2 – Shifting Currents

It is commonly acknowledged by the major religions that ...

SSD 1.0 - Arc 1 - (Re)born into Captivity

“So many worlds, so much to do, so little done, such things to be.”

-Alfred Lord Tennyson

“As the gods cast us from paradise, more still remains.

And when, with balanced hearts, men come forth again,

Then shall they return, eternity to claim.”

-From The Mourner's Lament - Anonymous

Arc 1 – (Re)born In Captivity

“The exact nature of dungeons is still unknown, though they can be defined by common shared characteristics. Various lege...

SSD 1.9 - Interlude - Mourning Prayers

I feel like putting Tam in first person really helped me get more across in his perspective. I also detailed more of the calamity that he is trying to prevent. About 600 words more content in this chapter. Hope you love it.

“Between two worlds life hovers like a star, twixt night and morn, upon the horizon's verge.”

-Lord Byron

“The vales were mankind's first homes. Protected from the elements and capable of growing crops, each vale, with the exception of th...

SSD 1.8 -The Great Escape

Hey all. Last Caden chapter of the first arc. This one grew by almost a thousand words. Hope you all enjoy it. Really glad I have been able to write quite a bit lately.

“And would you trust a dungeon?”

-Common saying meaning “Are you a fool?”

When Tam came back he was no longer bearing his staff or rings, though the new spells were still swirling around him. I tried to copy them into the stone, but they were very intricate and I doubted that I w...

SSD 1.7 - Night School

Felt pretty awesome tonight, so I managed to get through rewriting two chapters.

“If you want total security, go to prison. There you're fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking... is freedom.”

-Dwight D. Eisenhower

I learned quite a bit about myself very quickly. I could actually focus my attention to focus on multiple things. I didn’t have functionally unlimited attention like I had hoped, however. I could only focus on a few thin...

SSD 1.6 - Tangled Web

“Rule #50 - Though you have entered the same dungeon a thousand times, never assume that you are safe. Dungeons are terrible and treacherous.

- From 50 Rules for Dungeon Divers

Tam did his usual song and dance on noticing I had a new skill. However I payed him little attention. I was far more concerned with all the things I could suddenly see.

For the first time I could see what my aura actually was. It looked like a spider’s wet dream. A vast intricate web with...

SSD 1.5 - Prison Food

“He that is taken and put into prison or chains is not conquered, though overcome; for he is still an enemy.”

-Thomas Hobbes

Tam appeared the next morning to do his usual cursory inspection. I had expected some reaction since my skill level had increased, but he showed no particular reaction. Not entirely sure if he was not interested in the skill leveling up, or he didn’t get that level of detail from the spells spying on me. Given how effusive Tam usually was about everyth...

SSD 1.4 - School of Hard Rocks

“From the lips of Yamash, The Word was spoken unto the world. For behold, The Word governs and defines all things. And in balance was it given, for even as The Word grants order and makes manifest the system of the world, so to in chaos shall all things be permitted to grow. For few things are holier than that a man shall progress in the levels of the world, and bring a greater piece of it under their dominion.”

-From the Holy Text of Higrath

I was quite excited at the thought...

SSD 1.3 - Of Mice-Bugs and Men

“Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.”

-George Washington Carver

With most of the night still ahead of me I focused on controlling the mana. So far I had no luck, but since I now had the improved Directed Mana Absorption I was hoping for a better result. I had previously improved my skill in a somewhat backwards manner. Now I was hoping to take advantage of the ability to improve in new directions and see if my control could be used in a different way. At...

SSD 1.2 - Minor Evolutions

“If a man cannot buy his freedom, then all the world's wealth shall be as a grain of sand by the sea.”

-Istan Triant, after the great slave revolt of 1540 AC

I assessed my options. Admittedly, without any mana to work with they were more limited than I liked, except for the option to spend AP. There were a couple skills that I had seen in my research that I thought worth buying. There was a problem, however. I was fairly certain that my captor had some idea of my s...

SSD 1.1 - An Unexpected Death

“I love the manwho can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but hewhose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves hisconduct, will pursue hisprinciples unto death.”

-Thomas Paine

“Death is not the end. Though the Gods are sparse on the details, even we mortals can perceive the soul. That mortal uncertainty adds poignancy and joy to the life we do live.”

-Funeral speech a...

Announcement

I have been taking the time to review and read my original and figure some things out. My story needs to be in first person. I tried an awkward meeting in the middle with my revisions and it was better at bringing out characterization, but it sacrificed flow. 

So I reworked the first chapter into first person and made a few tweaks. It added about 1000 words to my draft and I liked the changes a lot. Then I reworked the second chapter. Again, I really liked how it flowed, and again ...

Alternate Chapter 1

I just created an alternate chapter one on Royal Road. Comments and participating in the poll there is more than welcome.

This is very important as it represents a significant potential change to the way I write the novel.

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/18389/saga-of-the-soul-dungeon/chapter/623394/chapter-1-alternate

Edits - Can of Worms

Saga of the Soul Dungeon 3.13 - First Contact

Not sure why I decided the holidays were the time to try to post on a regular schedule. Not my brightest idea. I will grant you that. Nonetheless, here is a chapter. If a little delayed from when I would have liked to deliver it.

If, for example, tomorrow an expedition of Martians came to us here and one said ‘I want to be baptised!’, what would happen? Martians, right? Green, with long noses and big ears, like in children’s drawings? When the Lord shows us the way, who...

Soul Dungeon 3.12 - Naked Soul

I am going to try to make sure I write at least one chapter a week. I have been feeling good and I really, really hope it continues. I am sure all of you hope that too. We are currently three chapters ahead here on Patreon, and if I write more than one chapter a week we will be getting further ahead still. Enjoy! And I love your comments.

We had seen God in His splendors, heard the text that Nature renders. We had reached the naked soul of man.

-Ernest Shackleton

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