a_man_in_black

Skyclad - Interlude: The Harlot

Sara Davis shimmied back into her flimsy silk dress and slipped her feet into her silken shoes with a cat-like grace and in near-perfect silence, tying her bright red hair back with a ribbon of scarlet lace. The Eastharbor councilman on the bed next to her snored softly, deep in a sleep wrought from exhausted satisfaction. Looking back, Sara allowed herself a moment of reflection. When she arrived -- was dropped -- in Anfealt, she had quite literally hit the ground running, fleei...

updates, and some questions for yall:)

So, my grandma is home. It's a lot of work, with her being in a wheelchair and all, but i'm managing with the help of my mother. Her going to a permanent nursing home still isn't out of the question due to her health, especially if we can't get some more assistance with lifting and transfers between wheelchair and bed and bathroom, etc. But thankfully, if the situation comes to that, i no longer have to worry about suddenly being homeless. The vast majority of credit for that goes to you guys...

Skyclad - Chapter 22: Incineratus

Morgan Mackenzie was very angry. And frustrated. And fatigued, to the point of exhaustion. Her [Flame Affinity] and [Heat Affinity] were getting a serious workout -- which was good -- but the effort of continuously flash-frying the sinister pollen out of the air was a pain in her bare backside. It used up her Mana when she knew she was heading for a fight against a foe of unknown power, which was bad. Keeping the flames going wasn’t that intensive on its own, but her initial ou...

Weekly updoots

Workin on today's chapter right now guys, aiming for getting it out tonight or in the wee morning hours. Coordinating with the Duck and the Skeleton across different time zones can be a difficult challenge, but we're makin it work. The home situation remains chaotic, but I'm managing.

Also trying to get the introductory interlude for The Harlot done as an extra Patron's only chapter within the next couple of days:P

Skyclad - Chapter 21: Glimmers and Glimpses

Rella, former orphaned streetrat, later temple-girl and currently the [Oracle], huddled under the blankets in a farmer's cart as it wound its way through the hills approaching the small town of Brackholt. She had carefully avoided any temples or larger settlements as she travelled. Some stops in small villages to send messages had been necessary, but for the most powerful precognitive on the continent, it was a trivial matter to avoid Deskren patrols and slip in and out of such p...

updates and info

I'm furiously working on today's chapter. I've not had as much time as i would have liked to write this week, between doctor's appointments for my grandma and continuing work on the house. i contemplated cutting the chapter short today and posting it anyway to make it in time for the regular friday update, but after talking it over with a couple of you guys in private, i realized i can't short you guys on my standard quality. if i can finish the chapter tonight it will go up right then, but i...

Skyclad - Chapter 20: Eye of Madness

Morgan Mackenzie was hearing voices. Or, at least, she thought she was; faint whispers seeming to echo down the twisting corridors as if people were dancing and laughing just out of sight. The area she found herself in was maddening, with passages changing before her eyes as vines and plants drew back and regrew around her, almost as if shepherding her. No pathway stayed as it was for more than a few minutes, and within the first half an hour, she knew she was well and truly lost...

Skyclad - Interlude: The General

Jacob Ward sat his horse with greater ease than he would have ever thought possible in his previous life. [Horsemanship] was one of his passive skills, and allowed him much increased ability to understand his mount. He now handled the creature with smooth assurance.

One of the local youths who had not yet unlocked a class came riding towards Jacob’s position. The boy had already had some basic riding skills, and had volunteered to ride with the scouts patrolling ahead of ...

Skyclad - Chapter 19: Experimentation

Morgan Mackenzie sat upon a magically raised earthen seat, happily chewing perfectly parboiled [Shardback Shellipede] and wishing she had some cocktail sauce from Earth.

“This tastes better than lobster, Lulu,” she said as she licked her fingers. “If I had hot butter we’d really be on a roll. Oh! Dinner rolls… Really miss those now.”

The previous evening’s rains had continued into night, and after cooking her previous assailant in a giant makeshift crab ...

Home Update and Chapter Schedule

Just wanna check in with everyone with some updates on what's goin on at home. Things are lookin good for the future, but in the short term stuff is chaotic in the extreme.

my mother has moved in to help take care of my grandmother, but said grandmother is not improving as much as we had hoped. she's still coming home, but i'm basically living through a home renovation right now, and it's a constant battle with the family to let me get a second to myself to try to write. i gu...

Skyclad - Chapter 18: Terrakinesis

Morgan was having a rather dreary day, all things considered. She had indulged in a much-needed breakdown and a good cry as she finally processed everything that had occurred to her since arriving in this new world, culminating in the rainfall carrying her to sleep in an unplanned nap. She felt much better upon waking, but the rains had not abated by the time she awoke.

“Looks like two nights in the same spot this time, Lulu,” she said as the ever-curious scrubby wurble...

Skyclad - Chapter 17: Living Runes

Morgan Mackenzie was having a very frustrating morning. Nearly an entire week had passed since parting ways with her distant ancestor, and every day had managed to be more irritating than the last. The [Skyclad Sorceress] currently sat upon a low stone stool raised from the earth with her magic, bent forward in a grouchy slouch with her elbows on her knees while she looked upon yet another failed enchantment attempt. 

The object of her frustrations floated between her ...

General Update

Just wanted to let everyone know that the interlude earlier this week was a bonus chapter and not just this week's only chapter. Today's regularly scheduled chapter is only slightly delayed by the extra writing, the chapter is done and merely waiting on final proofreading/editing pass.

Things are lookin up with regards to my home situation and my grandmother. The doctors and physical therapists are pleased with her progress and hope to clear her to come home in the next couple of weeks....

Skyclad - Interlude: The Broken

Dana Pierce dropped the overheated welding rod with a hiss and shook her singed fingers. She had developed many resistances along with other useful skills since her arrival in the Dwarven city of Thun’Kadrass, but pain was still a thing she avoided, and without a high [Pain Resistance] burns still hurt. With a frustrated grunt, she backed her chair away from the worktable and wheeled her way through her workshop to make her way to her rather small but comfortable living quarter...

Skyclad - Chapter 16: [Mage-Eater]

On any other day, in any other circumstance, Zizzy would have been overjoyed to be flying across the entirety of Stormbreak Isle. Chances for her to stretch her wings were few and far between, usually limited to training exercises with other teams of Wardens and her coveted free days that were, by the terms of the accord she struck with the city, afforded to her merely twice a year.

This was not one of those enjoyable days. Training exercises were varied in their purpose, b...

Skyclad - Chapter 15: First Raven's Roost

Morgan Mackenzie was having a pretty embarrassing day. The old witch, Moghren, had proven to be extremely curious about the conditions and limitations of her Skyclad class effects. The nude spellcaster was currently trying and failing horribly at eating soup with a spoon, while the old woman cackled with vicious amusement. Oddly enough, Morgan’s state of undress seemed to interest Moghren the least of all her class quirks.

In between dry chuckles Moghren managed to make v...

Which Worldwalker do you want to see next?

Morgan has another chapter coming down the pipe, revelations and teachings about the System and Magic will finally be explained to her so she's not just doing things so randomly!

After that we go back to Zizzy for an update on her investigation and her hunting of The Defiler.

As a holiday bonus, and because my grandmother got a very good report from the doctors and managed to walk almost sixty feet unassisted this Sunday morning, I would like to offer you guys the choice of which ...

Tiers Update and Incentives added.

The tiers have been updated with rewards. If i can help it, I want to avoid staggering early chapters out further and further ahead by tier. For one, I don't have a buffer, and second, that just makes me feel scummy and icky to think about, even though i could seriously use the funding. The early chapters and side character short stories will come to all of you guys first, and then trickle out to Royal Road or any other free sites I post the story on.

For Name Drops I can eit...

Skyclad - Chapter 14: Blood Burns True

Morgan Mackenzie was climbing a sheer rock wall, and having a far easier time of it than any self-proclaimed mountaineer or free-hand rock climber had ever been able to boast. Her magic made it as simple as climbing a ladder, and it was only getting easier the farther she ascended. Magic helped form the perfect hand and foot-holds sculpted directly into the rock as she went. Barely a third of the way up the cliffside, and notifications for levels in [Earth Sculpt] and [Earth Affi...

I have no words...

I was intending to send each and every one of you guys a personalized message of thanks, but it seems y'all are comin by faster than i could type them up. I hope all of you understand just how much it means to me that people actually like the story i am creating.

Skyclad is just the start, as well. i have at least three major arcs planned for it that will span several books worth of material before what i hope you guys all find to be a worthy finale. At some point i'll also be launc...

Skyclad - Chapter 13: Sympathetic Reflex

Morgan Mackenzie was fighting for her life, and enjoying every glorious moment of it. The magic she wielded was vibrant in a way she didn't - or couldn't - notice before. In her blood, in her bones and in her mind, it hummed. It was utterly intoxicating, a feeling of near invincibility. Her magic seemed to plead to be used, the Mana that sang in her blood responding to her will like a custom-built sports car designed for her and her alone.

Now that the hydra was closer, s...

Skyclad - Chapter 12: [Skyclad Sorceress]

Morgan Mackenzie was suddenly back in her own physical body, and thoughts of wings and tattoos were whisked away by this new state of affairs. She found herself unable to move, and she quickly realized that the class selection experience was only the beginning of her newest ordeal. In the span of two heartbeats, the notifications began as she lay helpless on the sand.

Self-Unity achieved. Class compatibility approaching 100%. Class selection confirmed. Consent acknowle...