Neither Seyari nor I were in a mood to talk about our wedding the next morning. I’d given serious thought to her points during the night: I did want guests, and some kind of ceremony. And I’d need a new dress.
And we’d need to decide i...
2023-08-05 02:12:58 +0000 UTC View PostSomewhere south of Astrye
The demon that was once Lorelei felt the collar around her neck, running a talon over its rune-etched surface. Even when she came back to them, told them everything, told them that Zarenna ...
2023-08-02 03:06:47 +0000 UTC View Post“Issa, I can’t believe I have to tell you to hold still!” Ssiina groused.
“I am!” I protested. Nice as the clothes and makeup were, I really wanted to go jump into a pond or wrap myself in blankets. I was focusing really hard on ho...
2023-08-02 02:56:42 +0000 UTC View PostHere's that rewrite I promised, and despite the title, it only changes a single plot-significant event. Affected chapters (and chapter 124 even though I think there's only typo fixes) are attached. The major focus is on 119-120 and 125-126, though...
2023-07-30 21:13:46 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: If you've missed it on my discord, there's a revision incoming, primarily targeted at Chapters 119-120 and 125-126. Expect it by the end of the weekend, in the form of a post here with PDFs of the most-impacted secti... 2023-07-29 02:15:33 +0000 UTC View Post
I woke up in my bed in Phaeliisthia’s estate, feeling like I’d just missed whatever my dream was about. I was certain I’d had one, but I just… couldn’t think of it.
For a deliciously long moment, I basked in the sunlight coming thr...
2023-07-28 01:00:56 +0000 UTC View PostWalking through the castle, Nelys leading, I realized just how labyrinthine the place was. The stone walls seemed to be in good shape, but most of the rest of the place was empty. The little that remained seemed either recent or decayed, ...
2023-07-26 01:39:18 +0000 UTC View PostSsiina saw a familiar golden flash from down below, and she rushed to the edge of the damaged viewing box where Kyrae was standing. In the background, a chorus of shouts approached as the aftermath of their fight for survival was noticed over the ...
2023-07-25 02:25:22 +0000 UTC View PostI looked at the two lupaels in the doorway a little closer. The woman resembled Brynna strongly enough that she had to be family, and I wondered if they were here because I punched the castle’s wall down or because they’d met up with ...
2023-07-22 02:04:44 +0000 UTC View PostAs the play continued on, I found myself drawn to the spectacle below out of boredom. The stone amphitheater was packed, from the stage up to the level of the garden, and into the stands. Are Ussen Ysta’s guards really just somewhere else? <...
2023-07-21 01:16:30 +0000 UTC View PostSeyari and the others reached the farms on the outskirts of Astrye just in time to see Zarenna flying toward the castle. A blazing dot of crimson against a pale gray sky, she engaged whatever forces were holed up and magic lit the daytime sky.
... 2023-07-19 01:50:27 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: I am moving the Sunday chapter to Mondays. To be fair, a lot of that is having to get up and drive for 3 hours at 4AM every Sunday for the past two months, but even if that's mostly over, I want a clearer weekend and a more solid blo... 2023-07-18 02:43:42 +0000 UTC View Post
Stumbling through the main hall, I realized quickly that I had no idea where to go. Aside from the demon I’d just killed who’d been waiting inside, the castle’s entry hall was empty.
Unfortunately, it was also designed like an old fort...
2023-07-15 03:34:00 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: A part 3? Yeah, this one was going to be veeery long if I didn't break it like this.
Unlike the main market, the side market had a busy, hurried air of impermanence about it. Goods cluttered rugs, and rarely tables, as...
2023-07-14 01:00:27 +0000 UTC View PostMy flight was interrupted moments after I approached the wall. In the snowy, barren courtyard, arrayed to defend the main gate, was a motley group of demon cult forces, fronted by lesser demons. I saw all types of lesser demons—at least in varie...
2023-07-12 00:55:16 +0000 UTC View Post“Humans have a saying in their language that likens a treacherous political forum to a ‘pit of snakes.’ Often, I wonder if the origin of that phrase lies within our Empire.”
—Jii’Hssen Ssyii Ssyri’Jii... 2023-07-11 01:19:33 +0000 UTC View Post
I expected to see auras through the powder kicked up by my landing: demons or corrupt inquisition here to harry me. Instead, I saw an empty field lying fallow under snow. Dismissing my wings, I checked my surroundings nervously.
Nothing but ...
2023-07-08 01:21:55 +0000 UTC View PostOnce I finished dressing myself, I looked down and checked that my sleeves were even and everything was in place. I paused. For a moment, what I was seeing seemed unreal.
Just as I was no longer a skinny orphan, I was also no longer a child....
2023-07-07 01:49:11 +0000 UTC View PostAfter an all-too-short morning with my friends and family, we continued on the road south.
This path took us past where my friends had battled. The road and hillside were scorched and torn, and the demons’ bodies lay strewn about as they h...
2023-07-05 01:55:19 +0000 UTC View Post“Danger is better at seeking us out than we are at seeking it.”
—Uru Farlight, Archaeologist, Anthropologist, and Delver of Lost Histories
From the moment we retur...
2023-07-04 02:22:26 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: Do I owe you all a pdf for V2? I do! Have also been secretly formatting for an epub for you fine folks? I have. Did me getting sick make me miss my semi-secret posting day for it? Yes. Soon (TM). That's all I've got. Oh, exc... 2023-07-01 02:00:17 +0000 UTC View Post
The night was calm, but it wasn’t still. A gentle breeze blew in from across the surface of the estate’s glass-like tarn, lending a slight chill to the summer night. Hinssa’s family estate was dark, and the stars overhead shone bright and la...
2023-06-30 00:51:49 +0000 UTC View PostOur meeting with Aunt Ssyii lasted long enough that the shafts of light from up high near the dome angled up the sides of the room, painting the columns with faintly orange light.
We talked more about the future, and I had a monsoon of infor...
2023-06-23 00:56:51 +0000 UTC View PostSeyari’s voice broke the long silence. “We should leave—take Zarenna elsewhere to recover.”
“They would track us,” Kartania said, a hard edge to her voice. “We will camp here—it’s open enough that nothing will sneak up on u...
2023-06-21 02:39:30 +0000 UTC View Post“…and after the garden, I’ll show you our wing of the Palace, Sister! Maybe not today, but soon! You and Kyrae can pick between a few rooms, but I think I know the one you’ll want. Mom would want you to have it anyway,” Ssiina f...
2023-06-20 01:03:21 +0000 UTC View PostWhen I came to, the world was silent and dark. I felt exhausted; mana exhausted as well. Trying to break Lorelei’s binding was the last thing I could remember, but I struggled to put together why I felt like I needed to move. My whole b...
2023-06-17 00:54:55 +0000 UTC View PostPhaeliisthia tipped under us, and Sire Tyaniis slid out of the saddle first, leading Ssiina by the hand out into the plaza in front of the Emerald Palace. Chin and posture high, pointedly ignoring the crowd and rapidly approaching taaniir, she bec...
2023-06-16 00:41:39 +0000 UTC View PostSeyari spotted the demon first. We were near the top of the pass, the trees around us short and the snow deep. They’d seen us before we saw them. Up on a ridge ahead of us, a blur of motion was the only sign we got before they dipped out of view...
2023-06-14 03:14:33 +0000 UTC View PostCold. Absolute, bone-chilling, no-fun cold.
“H-how are we colder when w-we’re closer to the s-sun?!” I shouted over the wind.
“The air is thinner here. Less to heat.” Phaeliisthia responded with a terse rumble from u...
2023-06-12 03:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post“Behind us,” Taava hissed, her ears twitching. “Someone’s runnin’ our way.”
“Human?” Seyari asked immediately.
“They’ve got two legs. S’all I know.”
“We—” Kartania started.
“We’ll stop and ...
2023-06-10 01:56:50 +0000 UTC View Post