Godfrey was sleeping in Manzik the scribe’s room when there was a knock on the door. Stirring, he got up and grabbed his sword in its scabbard.
“It’s me,” Kamran’s voice spoke.
Relaxing and putting the weapon away, Godfrey opened the door to let him in. “How is the situation?”
“The same. There’s no sign that...
2020-03-04 08:37:34 +0000 UTC View PostWeeks after their arrival in the Reach, the Mearcians had established a camp in the hills south of the Langstan. The elevated terrain kept them shielded from hostile eyes, and a pleasant brook nearby supplied them with freshwater. Their numbers were diminished, but not due to casualties; given the need to both hide from outlander patrols while also findi...
2020-02-26 17:55:23 +0000 UTC View PostA few nights after his arrival in Rund, Godfrey once more skulked through the streets. With sword and cloak, he passed from one district to another, remaining unseen. He made his way to a building previously visited, soon after knocking on the door to one of its rooms. “Manzik,” he spoke quietly.
The scribe opened, gesturing for Godfrey to enter q...
2020-02-19 13:08:39 +0000 UTC View PostIn Crimson Colours
The Reach
Close to evening, a procession of fifty soldiers marched on the road north of Rund. The land around them grew dry and dusty as they progressed, and they were sweaty at the end of each day’s march, despite the coolness of their robes. Several days after leaving Rund, they reached the small outpost just south of the Langstan with its promise ...
2020-02-12 17:51:48 +0000 UTC View PostRund was little more than a garrison city on the western fringe of the Godking’s domain, controlling the surrounding lands and providing a staging point for raids into Hæthiod. This meant that a sizeable part of the population were soldiers or officials in direct service to the Godking, and its remote location had kept it untouched by the insurr...
2020-02-05 11:05:52 +0000 UTC View Post
The full e-book is available for download, same as the first book. For those patrons waiting for the print book, I apologise for the delay. I'm waiting for the printer to send me the proof copy and check that everything is correct before I order a full lot. Of course, I'll update as soon as I know more.
2020-02-03 13:47:26 +0000 UTC View PostThe Langstan rose thirty feet into the air, making it visible from some distance. As it came into view, Brand’s people poked each other and spoke in excited terms. Everyone knew of this mighty feat of stonework that ran the length of Adalmearc to the south and partly to the east, but few had seen it before this day. It protected the Realms against rai...
2020-01-29 12:08:59 +0000 UTC View PostNorth of Lakon, a skirmish was fought. The winter had been quiet, but with the return of spring came also war. The outlander army, after raising the siege of Lakon, had remained in the vicinity to defend their holdings in southern Hæthiod. Further north lay the Mercian camp, likewise defending the part of Hæthiod under their control. In between, scou...
2020-01-22 13:17:41 +0000 UTC View PostWith the games completed, the theatre became empty and the streets full. Soon, Labdah was a maelstrom of drunken revelry. Music was played everywhere by anyone with the slightest skill, and countless songs filled the air in honour of this mystical time where night and day was even.
Few places celebrated with more fervour than Hanno’s house; the presen...
2020-01-15 17:00:16 +0000 UTC View PostBeautiful work by Shen Fei, who also did the cover for The Prince of Cats. The full cover is for the hardcover editions, which go out to patrons on certain tiers valued at $5 or above (knight, kingthane, templar, or jarl).
While the e-book is slated for release at 3rd of February, the hardcovers will arrive later t...
2020-01-13 15:16:27 +0000 UTC View PostWhile Adalmearc celebrated summer solstice and mourned winter solstice, the triumph and defeat of light, the South Cities reserved their festivities for the days of equinox when light and dark were in balance. The Evenday in spring was particularly revered, bringing new life. Revellers filled the streets at all hours, and no work was done if it could be avoided. E...
2020-01-08 22:34:30 +0000 UTC View PostIn the house of Hanno, the new fighters were becoming accustomed to their routine, especially as they found their place among the veterans, and fewer arguments broke out. When such happened, it was settled in the training yard, and few held grudges afterwards. An exception was the mamluk, who stared with ill intent upon Garrick whether they were bathing, ea...
2020-01-01 13:53:30 +0000 UTC View PostAs Labdah had no single ruler, there was not a royal palace either. And while the members of the Elder Council each tried to outdo their peers in displays of opulence and luxury, their meetings were held in a small, unassuming building. Its only virtue was that it lay in the middle of the city. Besides that, it was one of its oldest buildings, second only to t...
2019-12-25 10:30:05 +0000 UTC View PostThe next morning, Garrick and his fellows were rustled from bed at dawn. They began the day with a thorough scrubbing of their bodies; given the high risk of scratches and small wounds, it was imperative to keep clean. Afterwards, they lined up for food, keeping the same pecking order as established yesterday; as last time, only the veterans a...
2019-12-18 13:35:10 +0000 UTC View PostMany settlements encircled the Mydlonde Sea; together, they were known to the Mearcians as the South Cities. Alcázar was familiar to most; in part because it was the largest and most prosperous, in part because it lay closest to Adalmearc. Gadir was famous for its incense, Surru for its pearls and purple dye. Labdah did not have the wealth or size of its riva...
2019-12-11 12:53:08 +0000 UTC View PostDār al-Imāra was counted among the Hundred Houses of Alcázar, making it one of the preeminent trading houses of the city. It was owned by the family al-Musharaf, who made their wealth known by living in a splendid palace with stables and beautiful gardens. As the principal trade of Dār al-Imāra was training slave boys into mamluks, the large compound also con...
2019-12-04 12:38:39 +0000 UTC View PostThe Broken Tooth had two cellars. One contained food supplies, barrels of beverages, and what else a tavern might need. The other basement held shackles, cages, and devices of torture. Surrounded by these instruments in the dim light of torches, the Mistress of the Black Teeth stood out in her bright, expensive clothing and jewellery.
“H...
2019-11-27 12:49:36 +0000 UTC View PostAlcázar had many names. In the language of its own people, it was the Fortress. The poets called it the jewel of the Inner and Outer Seas. To the merchants, it was the City of Coin. For the ships leaving Herbergja to cross the Storvik, traverse Drake Run, pass around the Fortönn, and sail for weeks on open waters on the Outer Sea, Alcázar was most of all...
2019-11-20 13:00:38 +0000 UTC View PostThe day after the Adalthing, Nicholas was in Lowtown. He was wearing the finest clothes that he could get hold of on short notice. The sleeves were a bit too long, and the weave was slightly tattered in places; other than that, he looked grander than he ever had before in his life. By his side stood Ellen, wearing her mother’s best dress. They w...
2019-11-13 15:48:00 +0000 UTC View PostNext morning, Brand went to the Citadel, accompanied by his sister and a few protectors. Not only the guards stared; so did all the nobility with their retinue, arriving to participate in the Adalthing as well. Brand paid them no heed but strode inside and located Theodoric’s quarters. The jarl greeted them with a strained smile. “I have done my best,” ...
2019-11-06 09:32:51 +0000 UTC View PostEven war could not subdue the festivities of summer solstice; Middanhal was packed with people. In the days preceding, hefty bartering and bribing had taken place among the Red Hawks between those desperate to be off guard duty and those eager to profit on the former. His purse considerably lighter, Jorund was among the Hawks leaving the Citadel o...
2019-10-30 09:23:19 +0000 UTC View PostTheodoric departed a few days after Konstans had done so. As the dragonlord had predicted, time was suddenly pressing the jarl; the Adalthing was about three weeks away, and Theodoric had a vote to win that would require nearly all the southern landgraves swayed to his side. It was time for favours to be returned or granted, promises made or kept...
2019-10-16 21:58:16 +0000 UTC View PostMore than a week of restitution followed after the nightly assault. The highlanders rested, tended to their injuries, and distributed the spoils of the battle among Brand’s adjutants. Sharp watch was kept throughout the surrounding woods, but there were no further signs of the Isarn army; it had retreated beyond Theodstan to lick its wounds. Brand personally ...
2019-10-16 21:57:25 +0000 UTC View PostPeaceful days followed in Theodstan after Brand’s negotiations with Theodoric. The jarl had not called a general conscription yet, but had a small force at the ready; they were the soldiers hastily assembled when the army of highlanders had first been discovered. His thanes were training them to make the most of the quiet days. Brand’...
2019-10-16 21:56:26 +0000 UTC View PostWhile northern Adalrik was overrun by armies, Middanhal itself seemed undisturbed by war for the most part. The Order garrison was slowly returning to strength, patrolling even Lowtown and maintaining law throughout the city. Goods still flowed through the southern gate, allowing commerce to proceed nearly as usual. Some things were becoming scarce, such ...
2019-10-16 21:55:10 +0000 UTC View PostThe fortunes of war had changed for Isarn. The Red Hawks had bitterly tried to defend their siege of Castle Grenwold, but constant harassment from Isarn’s forces had made it untenable. Supplies from Middanhal could no longer be expected to arrive; soon, the besiegers had felt they were beleaguered themselves and were forced to break camp, lif...
2019-10-16 21:54:05 +0000 UTC View PostUnderneath the keep in Cragstan, countless hours had been spent digging into the rock below, allowing for a crypt to be hollowed out. Here rested the jarls of Theodstan and their kin. As space was scarce, all couples shared a sarcophagus, and small children rested with their parents. At first, it was merely one chamber, meaning that closest to the e...
2019-10-16 21:53:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe day after leaving Ardbeann, the group of whiterobes reached the small army following Brand. Spread out across the rocky terrain, it was a mixed affair. Tents of undyed colour were scattered through the area, pitched in clusters without pattern or thought. Here and there, banners proclaimed the identity of a minor house from one of the clans, though n...
2019-10-16 21:51:26 +0000 UTC View PostMost of the religious orders in Adalmearc had their largest temple in a major city; the Order of the Bear was one of two exceptions. Originally, their temple in Cairn Donn had served as headquarters, but three centuries ago, the whiterobes had built a monastery south of the city upon a plateau in the Weolcan Mountains. Refusing to use any labour ot...
2019-10-16 21:49:19 +0000 UTC View PostAt breakfast the next morning, space at the table had been cleared for the many guests. Brand was placed near one end, by Ciarán’s right hand at the seat of honour, while his men were dispersed along the sides. Opposite Brand sat a whiterobe while the sons and daughters of Ciarán took the remaining nearby seats.
“You must bring a tale...
2019-10-16 21:47:55 +0000 UTC View Post