"Has everyone understood that? Anyone need another explanation?" Corco asked, as if to imply that anyone with a question was an idiot.
"Please spare us, master. We have all understood," a tired Fadelio whined. "You plan to use cultivation as an incentive to prevent an accumulation of private power through the use of an inheritance tax."
Maybe, Corco thought, his explanation had been...
2024-01-05 21:20:15 +0000 UTC View PostSoon after Corco's return to Saniya, his spirits were lifted, almost by accident. Although the king had only come to this military training yard to check on the progress of his troops — and of course to catch up on the developments he had missed during his vacation — the image in front of Corco was far too spectacular for him to stay glum. No one could possibly be unhappy in the face of suc...
2024-01-04 21:45:56 +0000 UTC View PostHermit's Notes: My PC arrived this evening. But setting the thing up will take a while. That means I will start posting EnEm chapters again from tomorrow onwards.
In the meantime, here is the setup for some spain-based kingdom building/adventure/spy novel I have been thinking about. Names and places aren't entirely final, I think.
And yes, all of these are kingdom building. A whi...
Untitled Page
By the grace of God, I have returned, though more lost than ever. Once more I live. I thought that I would never return to see my parents.
The dreams at night have made things clear for me: I have been returned, and with the tools to change my fate. If there truly is a Lord above, and He cares for His children, then surely He must be Swedish.
27th of J...
Charlie still remembered the day he died.
He had stood in the trench, the soles of his boots grabbed by the inescapable mud. At the thought of his many problems, most without solution, his brows furrowed. Yet, he remained optimistic. There was no other choice, for too many people depended on his success.
That morning, he had still been in the little chapel at the barracks, and pr...
Tl;dr: Still alive, will post random stuff the next few days, then new EnEm chapters from Tuesday or Wednesday. Book to be published Jan or Feb.
Hello. Here I am, once more. Far too late with updates, once more.
Yes, I'm still alive, and yes, the reasons why I didn't post for so long were stupid, as usual.
Here goes: So I was writing the next mini- arc for the current boo...
"I burnt it," a motionless Corco said, as he stared at the blackened vegetables.
"They're not too bad. The base ingredients are good, so a bit of char isn't a big deal," Sumaci argued back, and shoveled some more food into her mouth with gusto.
"I burnt it, and the fish is dry as well," Corco added this time.
"If you don't want it, you can give your portion to me," Sumaci teas...
2023-05-27 00:57:48 +0000 UTC View PostAfter Corco and Sumaci had retreated from their veranda, they came to their dining room. Although the entire building had been built at break-neck pace to accommodate the erratic travel schedule of the two leaders, southern Medala's workers had plenty of experience with quick construction by now. In this case, only a few walls had to be pulled up anyways. The royal fleet would carry all the fur...
2023-05-27 00:56:15 +0000 UTC View PostOut in the green waters of the Verduic Sea, a diver broke through the surface and clung onto a readied flotation device made of cork. Deep, desperate breaths returned life-giving air into his lungs, and from there into his blood stream.
Although the man's actions looked desperate, this was all just part of his daily routine. Every day, the people on this island would dive down into the wa...
2023-05-27 00:52:40 +0000 UTC View Post"Let's get to the interesting parts then," Corco said. "Group One just confirmed that people can cultivate. So what about Group Two? That's where the magic should have happened, right?"
In response, Joren returned to his folders and replied in the same impassive voice as before.
"At twice the population density, Group Two was still able to cultivate at speeds comparable to group one...
2023-05-19 20:29:25 +0000 UTC View PostJoren, one of two head researchers of Corco's cultivation research project, looked, in many regards, quite similar to Eclestius. Both men were carefully groomed, both looked like scholars, and both had default stoic expressions plastered on their faces. To Corco, it was a mystery how two people could look so similar yet get along so poorly. As expected, Joren's first words after entering the ro...
2023-05-19 20:27:47 +0000 UTC View PostA ship's bow lightly dinged against the pier on a small island in the middle of the Narrow Sea. For decades, only an old, decrepit ferry had landed here, to supply the locals with the necessities for survival. Back then, the island hadn't even had a pier in the first place. This time, the visitor weren't coming on an old ferry, and they hadn't come to bring supplies either. In fact, much more t...
2023-05-19 20:25:14 +0000 UTC View PostHello, all.
Since the next chapters require quite a bit of preparatory work to get right (since the details of cultivation will be crucially important for future arcs), I'll be spending the rest of the week collecting and organizing all my notes, and putting together a proper outline. In the meantime, I've also been working on Book 0 after a while again, and been making pretty good progre...
2023-05-12 20:03:15 +0000 UTC View Post"That sounds incredible. I never thought about it this way. So do we already know how it works, teacher?" Sumaci played her usual role as the inquisitive student, ready to prod her teacher into further explanations while ignoring some of the references she couldn't possibly understand. Yet once more, Corco could act far less self-assured than usual. His enthusiasm quickly faded. As he was remin...
2023-05-07 23:11:46 +0000 UTC View PostThe cool, salty wind of the Narrow Sea blew across Corco's face, as the soft sound of flute entered his ear and enveloped his being. His body relaxed as he sank into his seat placed atop the ship's main deck, as waves gently rocked his body side to side. Maybe, he thought, this is what freedom feels like.
After some wrangling in the privy council — and plenty of useles...
2023-05-07 23:10:56 +0000 UTC View Post"Riding a bicycle is easy," Corco explained to Fadelio, as he was still driving circles around him, "and you'll never forget once you learn. It's like..." Well, that's not gonna work, he realized before he awkwardly finished the sentence, "it's like something easy, you know? Anyways, they'll learn soon enough. And they'll have to. Not only the runners, but all of our soldiers."
"...
2023-05-05 20:28:31 +0000 UTC View PostToday had been a great day. First, Corco had woken up next to his wife, by himself, with the rising sun. With how busy both of them had been for years now, that much was already a rare enough occurrence. From there, things had only gotten better.
In a genius move, Corco had hidden away from Fadelio the previous evening already, which meant there was no one who could read him his schedule ...
2023-05-05 20:26:47 +0000 UTC View PostA thousand miles away from the site of Medala's most bizarre proposal, a strangely similar type of play was being staged by Inti's very own brother.
"Hey, let's get married," Fadelio said towards the woman sitting to his opposite.
At first, Llamka — one of Queen Sumaci's personal maids — had returned nothing but a vicious stare to the unwelcome visitor, but it didn't seem to be ...
2023-05-05 20:24:34 +0000 UTC View PostAlthough it took Inti quite some time to return from the Old Well, she was still upset by the time she reached her temporary stay in Challwala, a courtyard attached to a local Wonders of the World shop. Thus preoccupied with her own anger, she barely noticed an excited looking Brym sitting bent over some documents as she stomped into the main building's hall. Instead, she just charged past him ...
2023-05-01 20:27:07 +0000 UTC View PostOnce again, Inti found herself in the Old Well, the same secret room she had sought out two days prior. Just like the first time, she once again found her mother already waiting for her inside. However, the busy office atmosphere from last time had disappeared.
Only a few masked ghosts were left to inject some life into the room. Though they were still walking from here to there, it looke...
2023-04-30 17:39:43 +0000 UTC View PostAs he looked up at the Wonders of the World shop in Challwala's outer city, Amautu once more realized how poor his initial negotiating position was. After the events from last night, the southern minister Brymstock insisted on advancing the time of the meeting to today, and he insisted on changing the meeting place as well.
In the southern kingdom's own property out here in the outer city...
2023-04-28 22:07:49 +0000 UTC View PostAfter a night of violence in Challwala, King Amautu reacted quickly to the shifting situation. After all, he had been ready for a failure of the operation well in advance. While the outcome had been even worse than what he had expected, their defeat hadn't been catastrophic. Not to mention, even a defeat could be leveraged into an advantage with enough finesse.
Sure, the southern ghost wa...
2023-04-28 22:06:13 +0000 UTC View Post"What happened?" Lord Gratidia mumbled when he opened his eyes, shortly followed by: "What is this place?"
When the confused lord rose from the bunk with the soft bedding, he found himself in a dimly lit room, with a crackling fireplace in the corner and dark night outside the windows. After a fierce fight with the attackers, he had already expected to wake up in the underworld, but his a...
2023-04-24 18:37:55 +0000 UTC View PostWhile most of Challwala's citizens were peacefully sleeping in their beds, they were completely oblivious to the spy war which had been taking place throughout the city just outside their windows.
By now, the warmth of dark night had begun to make way for another stuffy day in the north, yet Inkasius still remained at the Terminus compound. Of course, he wasn't staying here out of choice....
2023-04-24 18:35:40 +0000 UTC View PostNot for the first time, Inkasius stood in front of this nondescript stone block on the edge of Challwala's inner city. Hidden behind these walls was one of King Amautu's newest projects, and, as far as Inkasius was concerned, the shame of the northern kingdom. Inside, he would find 'Terminus', an organization created to wipe out all enemies of the king, no matter the price.
Truly a de...
2023-04-20 22:28:27 +0000 UTC View Post"Mother, what are you doing here?"
Some time had passed since Inti had entered the Old Well. By now, she sat opposite her mother — Antaya di Pluritac — but she was still as confused as she had first met her here.
"What does it look like I am doing, my dear daughter?" her mother asked, without looking up from a piece of paper she was writing on. Based on the book sitting next to ...
2023-04-17 19:17:36 +0000 UTC View PostDeserted Wonders of the World shops were a familiar sight to Brym by now. Thus, as he sat in the center of his empty store and stared at the entrance, he wasn't bothered by the eerie calm. Unlike many other stores in the north, at least this one hadn't been looted and burned down. Even the shop keepers were still here, safe enough to remain in plain sight, although they couldn't do their main w...
2023-04-15 21:11:02 +0000 UTC View PostChallwala, pearl of the north.
As the largest port along Medala's northern coast, it had also been, for centuries, the most important port in Medala. Unlike Saniya, which had only been a hub for trade in Sachay even during its best days, and unlike Porcero, which had only really traded with the Bronze Coast until the arrival of visitors from distant Arcavia, Challwala had always been the ...
2023-04-13 22:34:51 +0000 UTC View PostIt had been almost three months since Brym had left Rhodanos. Now, he found himself in a nameless little forest on the western foot of the Sallqata Mountain Range. Until recently, this place was untouched by civilization, far away from any cities controlled by nobles, or any sites of pilgrimage. No major road led through the area either. It was truly the middle of nowhere.
However, there ...
2023-04-11 21:46:17 +0000 UTC View PostFor a full trium after the arrival of the scholars, Rhondanos had turned from a vibrant city into a stale pond. After most enjoyable things in life had become illegal over night, the citizens had retreated into their homes and waited in trepidation, hoping that their lord would soon restore order in the city.
Yet when even the lord's city guards showed subservience towards the scholars, t...
2023-04-08 22:39:33 +0000 UTC View Post