I cast a last glance at the army arrayed before us and return my attention to Melusine. I note in passing that she feels like a Master now, though weakened as she is, it is hard to tell for sure.
“They trapped you too?”
“Hard to believe, is it not? I think they went after the Cabal and found us instead. They managed to kill Harold. I heard his screams before part of the house decided to fall on me.”
“I just… how? How did i...
2020-04-08 02:17:03 +0000 UTC View Post183? undisclosed location.
I stroll leisurely alongside the river, enjoying the silence and the feeling of a job well done. Light from gas lampposts illuminates the doric columns of the massive building by my side.
My guard is down, and this mistake costs me dearly.
One moment, the world is as normal as it can get these days, the other, a sphere of void opens in front of me and tendrils of power snatch me like a child takes a doll. I barely have time to take out my dagger an...
2020-04-01 17:01:06 +0000 UTC View Post
In case you haven't seen it on RR or Discord yet, here is fledgling Ari not letting despair get to her. This was paid by your donations! Thanks so much.
2020-03-29 17:30:40 +0000 UTC View Post
The Sweet Sunrise docked without issue. Nobody challenges us as we walk down the gangway, which should not be happening. I was joking earlier, but perhaps it is true. They may all be dead. Without a word, the Knights and their staff form a small convoy and as we walk directly to the residence of the Lancaster clan, I do my best to hide my reaction.
I do not recognize the city.
The mix of blacks and whites is the same, and French is still prevalent, yet now Ge...
2020-03-29 15:56:15 +0000 UTC View Post
The veil of thorns parts. I move past the fog with all the speed I can muster, not believing my own instincts. For a moment, I see nothing, hear nothing, yet I do not slow. Eventually, the mist fades and I find myself in a clearing. Wheat and wildflowers cover it in a vivid cushion upon which a gigantic tortoise is resting. She is taller than I am, even with her legs splayed on the side. A figure leans against the marked shell with a relaxed posture and an easy smile. He is young...
2020-03-26 02:49:37 +0000 UTC View Post
The Sweet Sunrise paddles lazily forward across murky water as I make my way to her deck. She is rather small as steamboats go, though no less majestic for it. The novelty of this experience has not worn off yet, and I enjoy it while it lasts.
Long as a barn, she has white flanks painted recently, and railings and a chimney that were cleaned to shimmering perfection. The flat bottom and broad hull make her look like a corpulent lady trudging peacefully downst...
2020-03-21 16:11:41 +0000 UTC View Post
The dining room. Achilles is trying to look serious with his freshly grown adolescent beard. Papa’s eyes are full of mirth and my aunt Catherine’s are full of pride. Her husband Roger smiles peacefully as he eyes the cake with a hint of gluttony. It is so big and white and red! Covered in strawberries!
“Go on mon ange, blow the candles.”
I take a deep breath in and blow. So many little lights I need to extinguish. It takes a ...
2020-03-16 16:37:25 +0000 UTC View Post
Lambert’s blue eyes are the cold of the deepest ice as he steps towards me with barely contained fury. I take my spear out and twirl it casually. We will come to blows but I wouldn’t mind talking a bit before that. Time is on my side in this case. Without his leadership, his rabble will collapse while my side has every advantage including number now.
As he stops at a respectable distance, I consider that I have not interacted that much with Lambert. I know why now. He w...
2020-03-11 05:34:34 +0000 UTC View Post
September 22nd, 1833, Marquette.
The council room is stunned into silence after hearing my revelations. Ten years ago, I would have been ridiculed for stating those facts in public, in front of a ruling assembly. Now, my reputation lends credence to my words, and the resources at my disposal are second to none within the town. Even the mine consortium cannot match me in terms of military strength and influence. They know I speak the truth.
The ma...
2020-03-09 05:47:13 +0000 UTC View Post
September 4th 1833, Marquette.
I awake in the darkness. As usual.
I slide the sarcophagus’ lid open and make a note to oil the hinges. The blasted thing already looks too much like a coffin, no need to have it creak ominously.
The secured room I am in is bare, except for a survival bag, a dagger, and a single lantern. I light it and let its yellow glare shed light on the bricks around me. This is my haven. It only has two exits. One of them leads outside and c...
2020-03-05 01:59:40 +0000 UTC View Post
All the remaining mortals, a dozen people including Meritt, gather around us to witness our untimely argument. I frown at Nami’s display. Our arrangement is clear, she may be my elder and a Master but as long as the year of service is not ended, I remain in charge. This has worked so far in part due to my lax approach to ‘service’ and our friendly relationship. That is why I did not expect insubordination from her, not at this time. I hiss softly, baring my fan...
2020-02-29 11:27:24 +0000 UTC View Post
This night, I wake up to a strange ceiling. Vampire minds are instantly clear and I am spared the instinctive panic of one who comes to, in an unexpected place. Instead, I decide to take stock.
The guest quarters are a set of two rooms and a bath, all in beige rocks, silk and goose feathers. The mix of both spartan and luxurious is peculiar, and I suppose this should be close to Persian aesthetics, though I could be wrong. There is even a basket of fruits, mundane ones this...
2020-02-27 07:05:35 +0000 UTC View Post
As I walk across the circle, I sense power beneath my feet and realize what is happening. The untrained mages outside are not casters, they are fuel.
Semiramis is casually channelling a spell that will change the world, sitting on a comfortable chair, while a hundred mortals unwittingly do her bidding. I have no idea how she pulls that off, but I know that the skill required to do so should not exist at all. The glyph pulsates with more energy than the Herald ever had. I fe...
2020-02-20 02:42:47 +0000 UTC View Post
The removal of minorities from Marquette goes without trouble, the few concerned individuals already resolved to their fates. The Dream as well as the main street are exempt, which makes my establishment even more popular among travelers, with our reputation reaching farther than ever before. Meanwhile, the new district opens and it takes more effort than I expected to keep it well provisioned. Many of my suppliers refuse to even enter the place and I am forced to arrange my own ...
2020-02-14 03:21:21 +0000 UTC View Post
The strange ship bobs on the waves of an endless ocean. Above there are no clouds, only a sky without stars and the quiescent tendrils of the Watcher. The ship is small enough that I can operate it, yet still large and threatening. The sail curves back like the fin of a titanic shark, and the prow points out like a jagged spear. We cleave through the tide like a knife through flesh, carried ever forward by an inescapable current.
Slowly, the morose surroundings...
2020-02-09 05:36:20 +0000 UTC View Post
First comes a wave, then the feeling of being compressed, like under a cosmic rolling pin. The blast sends me into the air like a ragdoll. Up becomes down, down becomes left and earth is in the sky. For a moment, I feel lost, the certainty of my mind fractured. The next instant I see something at the edge of my field of vision that grants me enough willpower to regain my focus.
No.
I refuse!
I gasp in pain and dig a claw in the ground, leaving behind tortured fu...
2020-02-03 15:55:49 +0000 UTC View Post
I immediately recognize the visiting mage. Her hair color is more intense than I remember, reminding me of Sinead’s true form. The rebellious girl has turned assertive and her beauty is now that of a mature woman, calm and composed. The black marks under her eyes and other signs of wariness do little to damage her elegance and composure. When I enter the study, she turns to me and her mask cracks. Under the apparent control is a woman at the end of her rope. Two children, a boy...
2020-01-29 15:02:01 +0000 UTC View Post
I dodge a clawing motion then another, stunned at what I see.
So weak.
Ogotai is pitifully slow, his movements jerky and inefficient. I feel like I am fighting a drunk child. Were rogues not supposed to be particularly dangerous? Was he always so feeble?
I reminisce as I stop another assault and slam my old jailor against the stone wall. Back in the vampire fortress as I first woke up, he had been terrifying. I was powerless before his strength and the pain he c...
2020-01-24 13:58:23 +0000 UTC View PostA few days ago I cashed out the Patreon earnings for the first time since I started writing. The total was just over a thousand USD and I could not be more grateful for your support. I quit my job for unrelated reasons in December and this is already groceries and some bills covered. Anyway.
As you are my supporters I wanted to communicate on how I intend to move things forward.
Writing process.
- I intend to try to increase my writing speed to one chapter every four days ev...
2020-01-17 17:45:18 +0000 UTC View Post
I awaken to moans of pain and the coppery scent of congealed blood. My hands find the sarcophagus’ opening mechanism and the lid opens without a sound.
Something went wrong. We are still a day away from the prison, and from any patrol that would take exception to our presence. I make sure my dark battle gown is secured and my weapons ready before stepping outside.
Eight men and one woman in good health I left last dawn. Now Laure is missing, Tom is dying on the gras...
2020-01-17 17:29:24 +0000 UTC View PostSinead plops on my comfortable mattress and extends his arms with a satisfied smile.
“That’s my bed!”
“And it saddens me to see it go to waste. Goose feathers, the best one can find in this sad plane.”
I massage the bridge of my nose between two fingers. I should have said no. It was folly to accept this wastrel into my perfectly controlled life. I just need to stay at the top for two more years then I can have justice. What came over me, to risk everything so?
... 2020-01-12 15:18:55 +0000 UTC View Post
Behind the Dream, two minutes on foot eastward, one can find a small shop called the Seamstress Union. Every month, a cart makes the rounds of nearby farms to drop off spools of cotton thread and pick up finished cloth. The best are dyed and sold here to Marquette’s more affluent citizens, under the watchful eye of its proprietor.
“Good evening Debbie.”
“Ms Lethe.”
Deborah frowns. I’d like to think that, if I had stayed human, I would have been a bit...
2020-01-06 22:13:44 +0000 UTC View Post
September 1813
Message to Isaac of the Rosenthal.
Metis is well.
Marquette, IL.
A.
December 1813
Milady,
After reviewing your project, you will be pleased to learn that the board has approved your loan, with a one-year grace period before interest is collected.
You will find the signed agreement, as well as a reminder of our terms and conditions in separat...
2020-01-03 19:09:52 +0000 UTC View Post
I slowly make my way to a flat piece of ground and sit down.
I feel tired, in a bone-wary way that I did not think possible. The pain of asphyxiation has mostly abated with the death of the Herald but the many wounds I collected are still slowly closing, Jimena’s stolen dagger having bitten deep.
So, it is over.
I won.
Victory tastes of ash and regret.
Now, If I want to send Dalton off, then I will have to leave, flee once more. There is a chance t...
2019-12-28 23:25:02 +0000 UTC View PostI lean against one of the corners of the tent and breathe in vain. Isaac takes a step forward, as if to help, then shakes his head in shame.
“I will not go against direct orders from my clan. I cannot come. I am sorry.”
I care little. I don’t need him to exert my vengeance. He is clearly torn but it is not up to me to grant him forgiveness...
Instead of asking me to wait, Venet’s two sentries bow smartly and lift the flap of the command tent. I find Isaac sitting at a desk busy making notes, and he stands up as soon as I enter.
“Ariane of the Nirari, a capital performance once again. It was a pleasure to see you at work.”
“You saw?”
“Indeed! A spectacle the likes of which I never thought I would witness. The way you tore through their ranks and slaughtered their offi...
2019-12-15 20:42:08 +0000 UTC View PostNormally I keep communications here at a minimum but there are officially a hundred people supporting me and that means a lot to me. I am flattered beyond words. So there, please accept the expression of I'm super grateful. And chapter 46 should be done tomorrow.
I sprint up the cliff to the best artillery expert we have. Behind me, fiery flowers bloom in the midst of our encampments, forcing the remaining men away from their cots and their weapons. Already, a layer of cloying black smoke covers the stars. White tents and piles of supplies are set ablaze by the fire and no man is foolish enough to try and stop it. The air is thick with soot and the unsettling aroma of cooking meat.
I left the mages and Dalton behind a ridge at the b...
2019-12-11 10:22:44 +0000 UTC View Post
Perhaps due to my deep concern, or simply by chance, I find myself at the heart of my mental palace. The Watcher’s tendrils float outside, more animated than usual. The fire in the master bedroom’s hearth brings no comfort.
I want to see. I need to see. For the first time, I live the incapacitation that comes with the day as the burden it is. I will spend almost ten hours in slumber, during which my friends and allies will fight, bleed and die, and there is...
2019-12-07 04:12:35 +0000 UTC View PostAfter Dalton had his fun, Loth takes over and get us moored or anchored or whatever it is called to the Clarkson Cove pier. Nobody in the tiny port town even reacts to the obvious signs of battle damage and I am reminded that this nation is at war with a naval power. Privateers and raided merchants are almost an everyday occurrence. There are even talks of ships fighting duels, one on one, as if they were champions of old.
Loth heads out to the city of Black Harbor to scout it whi...
2019-12-02 04:47:40 +0000 UTC View Post