All of the commanders of the army of Ravenveld chattered incessantly as the king sat at the table with his arms crossed. Arnoud stared into the distance like no one else was around him, like no one else was talking. Even the Grand Commander, Princess Clara, seemed at a loss of what to do. The prevailing topic of conversation was the sudden disappearance of Sarah and Willem both.
The pair ...
2025-05-02 06:50:58 +0000 UTC View PostWillem was very glad to finally lie down in his stiff bedroll and go to sleep. He was proportionately displeased when he was woken up in the middle of that sleep by someone poking his cheek.
Sarah crouched over him, peering down with her black and red eyes.
“I feel too terrible for this to be a dream.” Willem sat up, rubbing his eyes groggily. “Why were you poking me? Did you ...
2025-05-01 06:56:08 +0000 UTC View PostSince time immemorial, the people of Ravenveld and Avaria had been sworn enemies.
Countless times their armies had clashed on the field of battle, one of them composed of slaves, the other of dedicated lineages of great warriors. The slave armies had all manner of unnatural creatures, using foul magics long forgotten and arts best left sealed underground. The armies of the Kingdom of Rave...
2025-04-30 07:06:29 +0000 UTC View PostCount Dietrich von Schwarnhelmensteinfeldran was a tall man with a hard jaw, a long nose, and deep-set brown eyes. His dark hair was neatly combed back, and he carried himself with stiff military posture at all times. He stood alert in the commander’s tent, awaiting the day of his doom. Already, the new commander, ‘Willem,’ was late.
Count Dietrich von Schwarnhelmensteinfeldran had ...
2025-04-29 07:09:25 +0000 UTC View Post"Your Majesty, the problem is freedom from the financial system. Too many people have it,” Willem said. “What I’m offering you is a network where no one spends, earns, or saves without your permission. Taxes pull themselves. Debts pay themselves. Dissidents find themselves very poor, very fast. Your nobles will call it modernization, your merchants will call it opportunity, and your peasa...
2025-04-28 06:52:04 +0000 UTC View PostWillem walked into the grand workshop that had often been of during his long talks with Karel. This was the van der Heiden workshop. From the sheer grandeur of the place, it was clear that this was the most advanced workshop in the land. The hum of magic could be faintly felt as mages and smiths worked in tandem to turn the most mystical of metals into workable gear.
It didn’t take long...
2025-04-28 01:03:56 +0000 UTC View PostUnfortunately, there wasn’t much business for Willem to attend to. While he might have thrown himself to work looking over the various soap purchases that were occurring around the capital, or focusing on the newly-acquired stakes in Dubois, the majority of that was at hand and micromanagement was largely a detriment. Thus, he was left to attend the very unfortunate reality of his situation. ...
2025-04-24 06:46:45 +0000 UTC View PostWillem had a rather difficult conundrum on his hands.
He’d come to enjoy being honest. It was a vaguely fun restriction, where he had to say the truth while doing decidedly underhanded things. A little treachery was expected in investing—one had to buy things for less than they were worth, which was someone dishonest or at the very least opportunistic. Finding enjoyment in it was how ...
2025-04-23 06:33:11 +0000 UTC View PostWillem and Arend travelled alone on a small, humble carriage. Viviene had chosen to remain behind in the Dubois territories, at least until the estate could be settled and the king’s men had decided the fate of the duchy. Willem worked on some papers as the carriage moved, while Arend watched the surroundings.
“So, are we just about done in the Dubois territories?” Arend asked.
<... 2025-04-22 07:05:05 +0000 UTC View PostLeonardo and Raphael again stood in the study of the capital estate of the Dukes of Villamar.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” The Duke of Villamar looked at Raphael uncompromisingly. “Bending the knee to that Crown Princess?”
“I’ve done very little, except secure the grace of Her Highness,” Raphael said. “It was clear to me that Willem had the advantage of...
2025-04-21 06:50:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe largest benefit to being involved in politics, in Willem’s view, was the beautiful prospect of insider trading. Usually, people were left to figure these trifling geopolitical crises out on their own. They had to assess the situation, analyze the risk, decide how much to invest, and puzzle out if more information would come out later that changed things. When one was on the inside, actual...
2025-04-18 06:59:08 +0000 UTC View Post“You need but give the word, Your Majesty, and I’ll see this beast removed from this world,” Galahad said enthusiastically, staring at Sarah as if she was an abomination.
“Speak when spoken to,” King Arnoud commanded. Then, he walked toward Willem and Sarah without fear, tapping that pitch black sword of his on the ground like it was a cane instead of a weapon. “Now… explain...
2025-04-17 06:58:14 +0000 UTC View PostBaptiste stirred when he heard the scrape of boots against the stone. He lifted his broken and beaten head, feeling absolutely miserable. This was worse than any hangover that he had ever endured, and he still wasn’t quite sure what was happening. For some reason, the royal knights had intercepted him, not Tielman, upon the conclusion of the fighting. He’d been in this dismal cell for hours...
2025-04-16 06:53:48 +0000 UTC View Post“I know what you are,” Princess Clara said, staring at Eleanor evenly.
Eleanor sipped at the tea that had been provided for her. This was one of the last places that she expected to end up today. Once Willem told her Clara was interested in diplomacy, Eleanor had put out a few feelers, trying to catch the princess’ attention. She hadn’t expected a bite so quickly. They were certai...
2025-04-15 06:58:27 +0000 UTC View PostWillem walked to the arena in Ravenveld early in the morning, feeling well rested. He’d never really felt that he needed an excessive amount of sleep, usually only six or so hours. He always had energy enough for the day, even with that amount of sleep. Today, he got a solid eight. That meant that he would be performing above optimal performance.
When he arrived, he found Raphael alread...
2025-04-14 07:01:53 +0000 UTC View PostIt was quite early in the morning. It had to be, because as Willem’s fame grew, more and more people were paying attention to the sparring grounds in the arena.
Willem Junior finished another fight with his bodyguard by disarming his foe and kicking his legs out from under him. He paused to look down at Arend, not quite short of breath. “You’re stepping up your game. But it seems li...
2025-04-11 06:58:46 +0000 UTC View PostHans sat in a boat in the middle of the lake holding a paddle. This was not quite the way that he expected his day to go, but here he was. Sitting just opposite him was Princess Clara Isabella Eugenia Maria Antonia van Ravenveld. This was not who we expected to be sitting alone with, but here he was. Life worked in mysterious ways.
Yes, alone. There was no one else, not even an attendant....
2025-04-10 07:01:26 +0000 UTC View PostDespite Willem’s concerns, it hadn’t been especially difficult to arrange a meeting with the princess. As it turned out, his name had a lot more weight now that he had become one of the Six Drakes. It wasn’t even so much as half an hour before he was sitting in front of her.
“Do you remember, Your Highness, when you mentioned the possibility of engaging in diplomacy with Avaria?...
2025-04-09 07:07:03 +0000 UTC View Post“The only advantage that we have over the Red Raven is that she doesn’t know we’re looking for her,” Levente told Pascal, Duke of Sturmbann, whose daughter he had met at the event hosted by Sybrand. “There’s no possible way that she would have been able to learn about our pursuit that quickly. No one’s that good.”
“Are you certain of that?” Pascal asked.
The Duke...
2025-04-08 06:51:54 +0000 UTC View PostWillem bore witness to the boring scene of Baron Tielman being raised to the title of Count. There was a lot of talking, ceremony, and symbolism, and none of that suited him well at all. His eyes wandered around the throne room, and eventually settled on Hans. The man was staring up at the seat beside the king’s with a dumb grin on his face. That seat was reserved for his heir. Princess Clara...
2025-04-07 06:55:51 +0000 UTC View PostKing Arnoud arrived to the ball that had been ongoing in the royal carriage. Although he wouldn’t express as much publicly, he harbored a great deal of concern for his daughter. Clara looked very much like his late wife, and even though her demeanor was vastly different, he cherished her more than almost anything in the world. In a way, she was the last keepsake that he truly had of his wife....
2025-04-04 06:38:51 +0000 UTC View PostAlmost immediately upon arriving at the event, Willem’s vicinity became a storm of activity. First, he was approached by one of the Six Drakes: the man by the name of Levente. He was paler than most, and had the dark hair and dark eyes common in the people of Avaria.
“Willem,” the man greeted evenly. “I believe we’ve not been properly introduced. I’m Levente.” He offered his...
2025-04-03 07:00:25 +0000 UTC View PostEleanor looked at Willem intently. This would be the second time that her strange and singular fixation on Willem had landed her in hot water. Only… this time, there was something else in the back of her mind. Her people had sent her here with the intention that she come back a hero or not come back at all. But then, they’ve never really been her people. They were her masters. And she had l...
2025-04-02 06:58:16 +0000 UTC View PostWillem stared at the lineup that had come through the final gate in the royal talk. There was Raphael and the king, obviously, but four others joined beside them. They seemed like quite eccentric personalities, and each had notable appearances. As Willem wondered curiously, Raphael sidled close to his ear.
“I know each of the four that made it. Some of them I predicted, some of them I d...
2025-04-01 06:39:42 +0000 UTC View PostAfter the devastation, the two Willems turned their gaze to the fractured territories beyond their borders. Dorgul Khan’s invasion had left lands lawless, each prey to brigands and famine that naturally arose without centralized authority. Rather than raze them further, Willem Junior deployed their armies as instruments of order. His commanders were issued writs of integration with their inst...
2025-03-31 07:02:31 +0000 UTC View PostThe moment that Willen van Brugh attacked the Lord of the Blue Sky, he could tell that this would be a fight to remember. An elegant savagery—that was the fighting style of the nomadic horsemen of the steppes from which this horde had come from. That, coupled with the various other aura users all around, would make this a desperate struggle.
Dorgul parried Willem’s thrust, and then pr...
2025-03-28 06:51:48 +0000 UTC View PostThe Lord of the Blue Sky surged forth on his horse at full speed, leaving a great cloud of dust behind. the wind whipped his face, stung his eyes, but he hardly noticed—his world had shrunk to the thunder of hooves, the tightening grip on his saber, the electric crackle of fear and exhilaration in his chest. For a fleeting second, he felt weightless. He was like a storm breaking loose, like f...
2025-03-27 07:06:05 +0000 UTC View PostThe Lord of the Blue Sky stared at the land before him, steadying his horse as it tried to buck from the sight of the grand fires blazing. The fire illuminated his features quite well. He wore lamellar armor. The overlapping plates, dulled by dust and battle, creaked faintly as he shifted his weight in the saddle. His gloved hand rested on the hilt of his saber, fingers idly tapping against the...
2025-03-26 06:59:06 +0000 UTC View PostWillem woke up with tired eyes, blinking them open. When he looked down at himself, he saw silken pajamas… and more than that, body heat behind. He turned back, wondering if he was having just another dream or an accident with someone. When he turned, he was staring at himself, who watched with drowsy blue eyes all the same.
“AH!” Junior shouted, pushing off the bed and falling down...
2025-03-25 07:02:23 +0000 UTC View PostEleanor sat opposite Willem after the conversation with Galahad. The King’s Hound had already left. Despite the total blindside, she genuinely didn’t think that he had any idea who she was. If he had, he wouldn’t have come so close to her. He’d given her more than one opportunity to end him. There wasn’t a chance he wouldn’t be so incautious if he knew what she was.
She couldn...
2025-03-24 06:59:29 +0000 UTC View Post