Thaddeus
Month 3, Day 17, Wednesday 8:00 pm
It was quite simple for Thaddeus to find a Verdant Stag enforcer and free-cast a compulsion spell on the woman to get information about Lord Stag’s whereabouts. It was somewhat of an anticlimax to find that, with the right timing, he could simply walk into the Verdant Stag’s inn-cum-entertainment hall and request a meeting with the man.
He flagged down a carriage to take him there. Discarded within lay a recent issue of The...
2022-12-23 02:07:04 +0000 UTC
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Siobhan
Month 3, Day 17, Wednesday 6:00pm
Somehow, Siobhan was able to hold her tongue.
In a way, it was one of the hardest things she had ever done. She wanted to ask Oliver what he had that the University hadn’t found. She wanted to confirm her suspicions. She also wanted to flip over his desk, pin him to the wall with her forearm, and scream for him to tell her the truth.
In another way, however, the enormity of this suspicion, this revelation, went beyond any pai...
2022-12-16 01:12:15 +0000 UTC
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Sebastien
Month 3, Day 16, Tuesday 7:00pm
After receiving some more cutting commentary about her involvement with Ana’s dangerous scheme, Sebastien left Professor Lacer’s house, trying to offer as little indication as possible about just how shaken she was. She moved mindlessly, and found her feet had taken her back to the dorms without her conscious input.
In the cubicle across from her, Ana threw open the curtain and gave Sebastien a bright smile, holding up an extra-l...
2022-12-09 00:50:01 +0000 UTC
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Sebastien
Month 3, Day 16, Tuesday 5:00am
Sebastien hobbled out of the safe house, carefully locking the door behind herself and re-hiding the key. She walked slowly, allowing her stiff joints to ease as they warmed up. Despite her fatigue, she felt more comfortable out in the open than she had the night before. Most of those she passed now were laborers just starting their day, with the disquieting midnight crowd having slinked away at the earliest perceptible lightening of the s...
2022-12-07 01:12:56 +0000 UTC
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Sebastien
Month 3, Day 15, Monday 6:00pm
After spending a few hours catching up on schoolwork, Sebastien retrieved her borrowed books about Myrddin, settling in for some light reading to pass the evening hours. She was both antsy and tired, and had been having trouble concentrating. Though it almost physically pained her to admit, she knew it was because she was craving the beamshell tincture.
She ground her teeth together with futile anger. ‘I can’t believe it’s s...
2022-12-06 01:24:21 +0000 UTC
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Sebastien
Month 3, Day 13, Saturday 11:30pm
As Lord Gervin saw the three young people who had caused him so much trouble that night into Ana’s carriage, which would take them back to the University, he extended his hand for Sebastien to shake.
She did her best to stifle the lingering tremors in her hands. The terror of fighting Malcolm Gervin had been almost as bad, if in a different way, as surviving the attack on Knave Knoll. Her face still felt stiff and bloodless, but ...
2022-12-05 00:15:34 +0000 UTC
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Damien
Month 3, Day 13, Saturday 7:10pm
Ana screamed as the spell approached, jerking the decanter of water up in front of her face as if that would save her, but instead just splashing herself in the face.
Damien whipped his wand forward, but Sebastien was in front of him, between Damien and Malcolm. The stunning spell he almost released would have hit Sebastien in the back.
Sebastien stepped forward into the foggy spell, his own wand producing a shimmering s...
2022-12-04 00:57:56 +0000 UTC
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Damien
Month 3, Day 13, Saturday 7:00pm
Damien fidgeted impatiently, checking his pocket watch and then looking out of Ana’s carriage window for the dozenth time in the last fifteen minutes, searching for signs of Sebastien. He was worried, both because Sebastien was late for the final phase of Operation Defenestration, and because there had been more fighting in the city below the night before, and Damien suspected that Sebastien had never returned to the dorm after leaving ear...
2022-12-03 00:51:24 +0000 UTC
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Siobhan
Month 3, Day 13, Saturday 2:10 a.m.
The enforcers who had come back for her looked from the lingering effects of the magical explosion, to her, and back again silently. There was a long pause.
Then one of them cleared his throat and stepped forward. “Excuse me, my lady. It seems you have no need of our help, but we would be pleased to escort you to a calmer location.”
Siobhan nodded wordlessly, but as they moved to walk away, she remembered Tanya’s strang...
2022-12-02 00:29:04 +0000 UTC
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We have 10 story prompts here. Please read through them all before choosing which of the options to vote for. Patreon polls don’t allow over a certain number of characters, so they’re only represented by their titles.
You guys have come up with a lot of really spectacular ideas, and I’d love to write more than one. However, I am a slow writer, and with so many other obligations on my time (including writing the main story) realistically I can only promise one. If I end up having e...
2022-12-02 00:16:00 +0000 UTC
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Siobhan
Month 3, Day 13, Saturday 1:55 a.m.
“We need to find the most wide-open area, farthest from the ceiling or any walls,” Siobhan called out, pitching her voice to be heard over the increasingly loud panicking crowd. “If you have any of black dots, use the edge of a knife to pry them out before they poison you.”
Oliver and some of the others who hadn’t lost their senses to panic or the effects of the parasites moved to guide the group toward the center of the ...
2022-11-30 23:14:28 +0000 UTC
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Hey guys!
It looks like we have reached the 250-patron goal, which means various rewards are in order. I know many of you have been looking forward to this, so I hope you’re excited!
To start with, I’ll be posting 6 bonus chapters for patrons, enough for 7 days of daily posts. You can expect the first bonus chapter tomorrow evening (11/30), around 5:30pm MT. All non-patrons will get 5 bonus chapters, ending the week with the Patreon 5 chapters ahead instead of 4, which will be...
2022-11-29 16:36:39 +0000 UTC
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Sweet cookie Brinn. I wasn't going to post this until the weekend, but I figured, have a Thanksgiving bonus and get it a little early.
Coming next: Professor Burberry (I made a lot of these little portraits, guys. A ton of the side characters get some "face" time, hehe.) And after that, someone you probably care about a lot more: Damien Westbay.
As always, no set schedule for posting these, as my main focus is on writing the actual story.
2022-11-25 05:33:21 +0000 UTC
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Siobhan
Month 3, Day 13, Saturday 1:50 a.m.
Siobhan’s warding medallion had activated several times, helping to protect her against a couple of attack spells and even some shrapnel pieces, and its unpleasant cold against the skin of her chest was a constant reminder of the danger she had stepped into. After believing that they’d killed Oliver, she’d been vengeful, and recklessly joined in attacking the enemy along with the guards on the roof around her.
But somehow, Ol...
2022-11-25 05:22:44 +0000 UTC
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Back again with another side of Ana. This is my preferred image of her, as the other seems a little too innocent.
Coming next, we have Ambrose (Brinn) Setterlund.
2022-11-22 17:40:30 +0000 UTC
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Oliver
Month 3, Day 13, Saturday 1:45 a.m.
Huntley crawled off of Oliver, of the bigger man’s knees digging painfully into his thigh as he dragged himself to the side. The single-use emergency ward Huntley had activated flickered against the dust and debris, then died.
Huntley coughed, rising to his hands and knees to turn a baleful scowl onto Oliver’s prone form. “What were you thinking, you imbecile!? You were standing there in clear view of the enemy! Did you think ...
2022-11-17 23:53:13 +0000 UTC
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Siobhan
Month 3, Day 13, Saturday 1:40 a.m.
Under the ominous flashing of lights and the low moan of the alarm, Knave Knoll’s guards rushed into action, ensuring all the prisoners were locked away and then jogging to defensive positions.
Enforcer Gerard grabbed a young guard as she passed. “Take over here,” he ordered. “When they’re finished, escort the prisoner back to their cell.”
He moved to leave, but the cursemaster called out, spittle flying off his s...
2022-11-12 18:10:54 +0000 UTC
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This is the second of many tarot-sized character cards I created while working on audiobook review.
Here, Anastasia is in a good mood. Coming next, Anastasia in a "revengeful" mood. As before, no promises with the exact schedule, cause I'm very busy with other things at the moment.
I've got one of these of Nat, too, and man is she a little cutey-pie.
You may notice that both Ana and Alec have slightly lopsided noses, which they inherited from the paternal s...
2022-11-04 23:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Oliver
Month 3, Day 13, Saturday 1:30 a.m.
Oliver had been apprehensive about this final step of the Verdant Stags’ takeover for a while. He still hoped that the rumors of clandestine preparation for violence had nothing to do with him, or at least that it had nothing to do with the Architects of Khronos. It could be that a Morrow member or affiliate they had failed to capture or kill in the beginning had hired mercenaries. Or, perhaps one of the other gangs from the more afflue...
2022-11-03 22:50:48 +0000 UTC
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Sebastien
Month 3, Day 9, Tuesday 6:00 a.m.
Sharon had to pull Sebastien out of bed in the morning, chattering to herself as she cleaned up the papers scattered everywhere, daintily avoiding the writing Siobhan had done directly on the floor. The saintly woman didn’t so much as give Sebastien a dirty look for the extra work.
Fifteen minutes later, Sebastien entered Oliver’s office, carrying an overfilled breakfast tray. “You have a job for me?” she asked without prea...
2022-10-27 23:38:43 +0000 UTC
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Hey guys, remember that poll I ran a few months back about what I should be working on while doing BOB's audio review?
Well, this is what I was working on. I've got over a dozen portraits, and with some tweaking and a little bit of thought to come up with bio, we've got tarot-sized character cards. I'll try to post one a week until we run out. No promises on the exact schedule, since this is a side project and I may get busy.
The plan is to go alphabetically, mostly because the ma...
2022-10-22 01:18:33 +0000 UTC
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Siobhan
Month 3, Day 8, Monday 10:15 p.m.
Grumbling mentally about the inconvenient meeting times and locations, Siobhan walked out of the secret meeting of underground thaumaturges. Tanya had not been at the new, appropriately underground venue this time, and Siobhan suspected that she, along with some of the other missing members, were no longer welcome after the security crackdown.
It hadn’t subdued the trading, and Siobhan found herself leaving with more than ...
2022-10-21 01:06:07 +0000 UTC
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Thaddeus
Month 3, Day 7, Sunday 10:00 a.m.
Thaddeus set down his book and stared at his apprentice, who had just managed to detach the output of his spell from the central Circle after only an hour of focused effort. He had estimated that the boy, due to a combination of talent, work ethic, and sheer stubbornness, would succeed in two to six months, practicing for a few hours every weekend, wearing down those mental ruts as Thaddeus slowly helped him grasp the necessary concepts.<...
2022-10-14 00:26:37 +0000 UTC
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Sebastien
Month 3, Day 7, Sunday 9:00 a.m.
Sebastien arrived at Professor Lacer’s office Sunday morning right at nine, with no need for the beamshell tincture to boost her energy levels, such was her excitement for the chance to take another step toward learning to free-cast.
He waved her in, closing and locking the door behind her. “I do not want you distracted at a critical moment if some buffoon decides to burst in without knocking,” he explained. He turned to his d...
2022-10-07 00:16:07 +0000 UTC
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Damien
Month 3, Day 6, Saturday 5:30 a.m.
A week after exposing Professor Lacer’s favoritism and, despite Damien’s best arguments to the contrary, being forbidden from attending Sebastien’s private tutoring session, Damien was still fuming. According to Professor Lacer, he “had neither the requisite experience nor control.” Apparently, whatever lesson he was going to teach would normally be restricted to students in their third term or higher. Damien had redoubled his ef...
2022-09-30 00:09:43 +0000 UTC
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Oliver
Month 3, Day 3, Wednesday 9:10 p.m.
Oliver sat in a dim, smoky bar that was becoming too familiar, drinking an amber-colored fruit juice that was almost as expensive as the liquor they sold while he waited for his meeting with Gilbratha’s premier information broker. The last few days had been less than pleasant, as he pried around the edges of the truth about Siobhan’s meeting with Grandmaster Kiernan’s people, and their perhaps not-so-sudden attack.
Kiernan’s...
2022-09-22 23:51:03 +0000 UTC
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Sebastien
Month 3, Day 2, Tuesday 6:45 a.m.
Sebastien woke groggily early on Tuesday morning, the lingering acid of anxiety making it impossible to sleep more than fitfully. She sat up in her bed for a few moments, staring out the window. The shards of the Conduit she’d broken the night before sat in a small pouch in her bedside drawer. She took it out, shaking them into her palm. They glittered with a kind of inner luminescences, light scattering off the sharp edges and new fac...
2022-09-20 00:25:26 +0000 UTC
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Sebastien
Month 3, Day 1, Monday 2:15 p.m.
Professor Lacer glared out over his classroom. “While you may feel compelled to distraction, you all would do well to give me, and this class, your full attention. Anyone who fails to do so will face…consequences.” Some of the students had failed to immediately quiet when he entered the room, drawing his ire, but none were foolish enough to question what exactly he meant by “consequences.”
Sebastien was grateful for the te...
2022-09-15 23:32:04 +0000 UTC
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Sebastien
Month 3, Day 1, Monday 7:25 a.m.
Sebastien arrived to breakfast a few minutes late, joining her friend group—because they were her friends, and if she was being honest and less of an asshole, she should admit that—at the table. She took out a pouch of mixed nuts and dried fruit from her pocket, sprinkling it atop the steaming slop, then looked up to see Ana watching her over the morning newspaper with an expression of concern, her mouth tight as if holding back words...
2022-09-08 23:16:23 +0000 UTC
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Sebastien
Month 2, Day 26, Friday 10:00 p.m.
After the disastrous meeting, she changed back into Sebastien’s body at the safe house, but Oliver insisted on her coming back with him to Dryden Manor, just in case. She hadn’t applied for nor been permitted to make a home visit from the University this weekend, but she doubted there would be any serious repercussions or suspicion for a student being gone from the dorms on a weekend night.
“Don’t worry about doing any mor...
2022-09-05 23:00:33 +0000 UTC
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