hazelyoung

Maidens of the Fall, Arc 2, Lunacy, Chapter 5

Added 2025-12-19 21:36:22 +0000 UTC

Chapter burrows through the fluffy loam, sniffing out earthworms and snuggling with moles, building a nest deep in the oaken forest roots.

https://hungryshedgerow.net/maidens-of-the-fall-lunacy-2-5/

Password is: eikon

An epub version of the chapter is also attached!

Magical sparkle time moe moe adventure continues, despite not being any of those things (except maybe the magic). Poor Octavia!

In the meantime, behind the scenes, the arc has once again e x p a n d e d. Last week I said arc 2 was going to 6 chapters, but now it's going to 7. Seven chapters will be the absolute limit, though! I've already written the next chapter and a half, so the end of the arc is within touching distance. On one hand I'm trying to keep this kind of narrative sprawl under control; on the other hand, I am committed to giving each Maidens chapter exactly as much narrative space as it needs, however long or short. Now that I'm introducing some of the core cast and putting Octavia's entire motivation and purpose and selfhood through the wringer, well, perhaps this kind of thing will happen more than I expect!

Also! More art, from over on the Discord server! This week we have something that made me giggle: Grimgrave as a marketable plushie, (by chimera-like creature!) Very amused by this! Perhaps I should try to get one made. I've also updated the memes page with an absolute bucketload of new stuff made by readers, if you feel like a giggle yourself.

And I hope you enjoy the chapter, dear readers! I'm having so much fun with Maidens, I cannot express how great it is to be writing this story. I hope you have just as much reading as I am writing!