When my magic was let loose, a lot happened in an instant. Bone-chilling cold surged through me, and I felt myself falling forward, void replacing the table in front of me in my mind’s eye. Someone shouted, but they sounded far off, like I was deep under water.
The last moments of sight I had before my magic was cut off were filled entirely with a familiar, golden light. Then t...
2023-06-09 01:15:04 +0000 UTC View Post“Yes, Father,” Aretan said through gritted teeth.
He turned on a heel and strode out of the room, barely restraining himself from slamming the door on his way out. His glower softened when his eyes met the startled maid outside. The woman was surprisingly tall—almost as tall as Aretan was, and her features were a mixture of Navanaean and Turquoiser, with medium-dark skin and ver...
2023-06-07 01:55:49 +0000 UTC View Post“Stop poking around in dangerous places!” Pah! Stop making dangerous places so worthwhile to go poking around in!
-Uru Farlight, Archaeologist, Anthropologist, and Delver of Lost Histories
I was wrong to say our sire would be the only one to suffer the next few days. Phaeliisthia’s relatively harmless pranks weren’t the r...
2023-06-05 03:52:44 +0000 UTC View PostAfter a stop at a secondhand clothing store that saw me walk out with a pile of men’s clothing that was still too short, we dropped everything at the Knight’s Rest to pack later. With the pass in its current condition and a very high threat of attack from demons, we opted to carry what we could, leaving the rest in storage with the Gelles Company.
This included my dress that ...
2023-06-03 01:48:01 +0000 UTC View Post“What happens when a god is no longer worshiped? Do they cease to be, or do they continue on in darkness?”
-Uru Farlight, Archaeologist, Anthropologist, and Delver of Lost Histories
Phaeliisthia called for a break, and Kyrae and I handed her our weapons before joining Ssiina in mobbing around our sire. Even with how little ti...
2023-06-02 00:29:02 +0000 UTC View PostHi everyone! I've taken a minute to spruce up the place (many of you noticed the new and improved banner).
“How is your wrath?” I asked Joisse once the others had retired for the night.
“A lot better,” she smiled softly. “Thanks for taking a chance on me, but…”
“But?” I raised an eyebrow.
“But… one of these days, it’s not going to work out. Someone’s going to take your trust and give you a magicked blade between the ribs in return. And they might succeed w...
2023-05-31 01:57:00 +0000 UTC View PostTyaniis gripped the ship’s railing hard enough to dent the wood, her knuckles pale. She barely paid any attention to the gorgeously dense mangroves and their hordes of colorful birds as they slid past. Excitement over seeing her daughters warred with worry. Had she abandoned them with Phaeliisthia and shirked her duties as sire?
That such an act was no different to how distant she’d b...
2023-05-29 03:53:56 +0000 UTC View Post“Howling horrors” was an unfortunately apt name for the demonic monstrosities that emerged from the tree line. A hodgepodge of wolf, bear, mountain cat, various prey species, and very disturbingly humanoid features, the sight of them made my stomach turn. There must have been a dozen loping out from the tree line, and the undergrowth all around the clearing shivered and sh...
2023-05-27 01:48:03 +0000 UTC View Post“People often ask me why I spend so much time away from the ocean. If you could explore either a vast wasteland largely devoid of sapient life, or a rich world of storied cultures and forgotten histories, which would you choose?”
—Uru Farlight, Archaeologist, Anthropologist, and Delver of Lost Histories
I picked a moonflowe...
2023-05-26 02:37:05 +0000 UTC View PostI was informed that the training schedule had been adjusted without my input. No one visited the Gelles Company’s courtyard grounds the night prior, as concerns were levied, by those who shall remain anonymous, that such a semi-public space could give much away.
Unfortunately, Seyari and Kartania had a point. And with two of them, they knew they were harder to outvote....
2023-05-24 00:42:13 +0000 UTC View PostI beheld Phaeliisthia’s true form, and despite my overwhelming fear, I felt a calm settle over me.
Magnificent. Pedantic or not, no lesser word would serve to capture Phaeliisthia’s sheer presence. Not to mention her size.
I could see in an instant why she chose an elf-like form. Her massive, sharp-toothed, and lizard-like head alone was the same length as her manor’s...
2023-05-22 01:52:01 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: Woah new post title format! Going forward, as S&S is released and people may join for it specifically, I need to have a more unified format. Anyway, this chapter was fun and a long time coming (a bit of a theme for Linthel) so enjoy!
My jaw hung open, and I felt like if I didn’t hold my tongue in, I’d taste the floor. “You… w...
2023-05-20 01:48:36 +0000 UTC View PostThis morning, the sun was fading in and out behind pale clouds, and the breeze carried a hint more water than salt. Already, I was beginning to miss the warmest months, even if Kyrae seemed ecstatic for the “cooler” season. She may be my sister, but there are some things I’ll never understand about elves. Like legs.
“I’m pleased none of you saw fit to attempt to skip yo...
2023-05-19 00:29:40 +0000 UTC View PostEven with everyone inside all at once, our room at the Knight’s Rest wouldn’t be a tight fit. Despite that, I admittedly preferred the cozy atmosphere of the small room Sey and I shared briefly in the mountain town where we had Myrna’s cart repaired.
I glanced around at the opulent furnishings and four-poster bed as I entered with Kartania and Joisse. This room certainly wasn’t ba...
2023-05-17 01:55:57 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: This one's a pretty short interlude, but I hope there's some fun setting stuff in here, and a few sneaky hints as well!
Descending through thin, wispy clouds, Phaeliisthia fought against the winds of the Northern Current as the land and shining sea below came into view. Somewhere far to her left, north up the long, undulating coastline, ...
2023-05-15 00:10:45 +0000 UTC View PostHiya folks! For the Secret Trans Writing lair's MerMay event, FlitterPuff and I have written a cute short story. If you're interested in the whole bundle of 8 stories, you can check it out here: https://itch.io/b/1837/secret-trans-writing-lair-presents-mermay
However, since you folks a...
2023-05-14 01:19:40 +0000 UTC View Post“Hello, Miss Miller,” King Carvalon said in a slow, deliberate voice. With a wave of his hand, he dispersed the knights to leave through side doors.
In moments, we were alone in the massive throne room. I bowed, hastily. I have no idea what the procedure for this is! I should’ve asked when I had the chance!
“Rise, Miss Miller, and come closer, if you would.”
“Pitahaya,” Kyrae answered easily. She skipped a flat rock out into the pond in front of us, then sat back down between me and our hssen-raised sister. “Alright, Ssiina, what’s your favorite fruit?”
“Hmm… papaya, probably? I’ve had some wonderful confections made with fruits from further south, but I don’t know how much of what I liked was the fruit itself.” Ssiina lea...
2023-05-12 00:43:44 +0000 UTC View PostI watched as Kartania drifted off to sleep in my arms, mumbling something about an academy. My hand was a fraction of a centimeter away from her hair before I stopped myself from running my fingers through it.
I don’t want to wake her. I… also don’t know if she’d be okay with me doing this. She’s an adult now—older than I was when I died, actually.
For what must...
2023-05-10 02:05:10 +0000 UTC View Post“Breathe, Issa,” Phaeliisthia’s voice floated out of the darkness near me. Her hand, colder than I’d hoped, tethered me. “This place is no special shrine, no altar. Darkness and deep cold dwell here, as do many marvelous beauties.
I let my held breath hiss out between closed teeth and extended fangs, and realized my eyes had been shut. When I opened them, I saw the cave in shade...
2023-05-08 03:26:20 +0000 UTC View PostPast the threshold and into the weeping dark stone of the old fort, I crept along. Doubtless, I should have had no fear, but childhood memories hold strong sway—even ones made into young adulthood. This time, there was no Abigail to crack jokes and break the tension by jumping me around corners. Seyari was waiting somewhere outside, just beyond the gatehouse.
And so, the tension mounted...
2023-05-06 01:50:48 +0000 UTC View PostWe stayed in the secret glade until the sun started to dip across the sky, falling to one side of the waterfall. Orange started to tinge the light falling across the mangroves below, giving a surreal floating feeling to the waterfall and the cliff edge of the island.
Unfortunately, as we slid from the glade back up into the dense garden, we quickly came to an unfortunate conclusion:
For a short, wonderful, moment, I was an apprentice smith again. I could imagine a younger version of myself, still a demon, working the forge and finishing off tent stakes like the kind I was buying here today.
I’d never made a blade, let alone a sword. The few guided-hands lessons Bourick had given me years ago were hardly something worth considering. The things I made were simple: te...
2023-05-03 03:04:21 +0000 UTC View PostHi all!
As we approach the public release of Scales & Shadows, I want to take a minute to talk about tier reorganization. Let’s be honest, my Patreon is on the more expensive side, especially if you’ve no interest in Scales & Shadows. I want to remedy that, and provide better value for patrons new and old. These changes are coming at the start of June.
...
2023-05-01 15:57:22 +0000 UTC View PostI assumed six hours of sleep per night to be a lot. In a life where several days could be spent doing little to nothing, it would have been.
I quickly found that it wasn’t enough. Phaeliisthia’s teaching schedule was nonstop, even for this first week. Glyphs in the morning, history in the evening, and etiquette at every mealtime—we never truly stopped. For Ssiina and Kyrae, they als...
2023-05-01 02:15:07 +0000 UTC View PostAfter asking around about Bourick and his smithy, I found myself walking down an uncanny street with my friends. Nelys had taken the lead, while I watched the buildings as we passed. This part of Linthel was dense—shops and homes built right up next to each other in places. Some buildings were familiar and some weren’t. The effect was similar to missing teeth, and unnerving to my once-solid...
2023-04-29 02:54:37 +0000 UTC View PostKyrae and I followed Phaeliisthia out to the courtyard, where the smell of flowers was strong in the air. Bird calls shattered the silence of the estate’s interior, and the soft notes of hushed conversation drifted over from a flat area of large black paving stones just beyond a massive white stone sundial wider across than I was tall.
The gnomon of the sundial was edged in gleaming gol...
2023-04-28 02:03:07 +0000 UTC View Post“Look, I know I haven’t met your sister, but ya gotta know she’s not gonna be freezin’ her tail off out here every night waitin’. Especially since you’re months early,” Taava complained through chattering teeth.
I exhaled through my nose and glanced up at the snow-laden branches framing the narrow trail we walked. “I know. But she’ll have left something...
2023-04-26 02:17:51 +0000 UTC View PostI jerked awake to something yanking my arm.
“Issa!” Kyrae shouted. “We’re going to be late.”
“Go ‘way,” I loosened a little and slipped my upper body between my coils where Kyrae couldn’t get to it.
“Issa! I’m not playing around; we will be late!” Kyrae banged on my scales and I pulled tighter.
“Late for what?” I mumbled, my lower bod...
2023-04-24 03:44:00 +0000 UTC View Post