IllustratorsLeak
North Drake

North Drake

patreon


North Drake posts

Book 2: Chapter 29: A Quiet Morning

Chapter 29:

A Quiet Morning

It was a calm morning at the border fortress between the Crown Duchy and Ashford. A thin veil of fog drifted lazily over the fields, wrapping the plains in silver. The fortress was already stirring, the rhythm of boots on stone and shouts of the changing watch echoing against the walls. For the past week, every morning ha...

View Post

Demon Princess: Chapter 12: The Collector

Chapter 12: The Collector

After Lily finished her inspection of her new “home” in Tiara, she pulled a small piece of glittery chalk out of her inventory. Of course, she had bought the fancy kind back in Xantia—the cheap stuff smudged too easily. Kneeling on the polished wooden floor, she drew careful lines, forming the outer ring of a magic circle. Then she filled i...

View Post

Poll about a timeskip

I started the same poll on RR, so I figured I’d catch your opinions here too!

My plan was to do a timeskip of about a year around Chapter 45. But I think it’s a good idea to get your opinion on whether the pacing feels too slow right now, or if it’s fine as it is. So here are four options:

View Post

Book 2: Chapter 28: Rivermouth

Hey there, sorry I was absent for a few days. With my luck I caught food poisoning the very first time I ever went to a fish restaurant last week. I’m feeling better now, but I might be a little slower this week. Those toilet sessions were no joke lol. x)

Chapter 28:

Rivermouth

The townhall of Rivermouth was crowded, the air thick with smok...

View Post

Demon Princess: Chapter 11: The City of Tiara

For all ebook reader, I put the chapters 1-11 as an epub here. I'm working currently with a new program (scrivener), thats the reason I start doing epubs on this story only now. (:

Chapter 11: The City of Tiara

Lily was walking towards the gates.

Sevrin’s smugness had piled up until Lily finally snapped inwardly. Without a word, she raised her hand and cast ...

View Post

Demon Princess: Chapter 10: The Elf’s Disguise

Chapter 10: The Elf’s Disguise

Lily sat cross-legged on the edge of her bed, staring into the shimmering skill list that floated before her like a holographic HUD. Her crimson eyes flicked back and forth between two glowing icons.

[Transform] and [Illusion]

It should have been simple. Pick one, slap on a disguise, done. But nothing in this world was ever tha...

View Post

Book 2: Chapter 27: Burdened

Hey, two things! First, someone sent me this video of how he imagined Grace on her throne in Gatewick, he created it with Veo3, and I must say, wow! He also allowed me to share it with you and use it. And honestly, a real-life version of Grace is quite frightening! (:

The second thing is, personally, AI art doesn’t sit quite right with me for a 'bigger' story. But thanks to your support...

View Post

Demon Princess: Chapter 9: First Morning

Chapter 9: First Morning

Lily awoke tangled in thick velvet sheets.

For a blissful moment, she didn’t move. She rolled from one side to the other, eyes shut, trying to sink back into the heavy warmth of the mattress. The bed was too soft, too deep, like a black sea trying to swallow her whole. But she couldn’t get comfortable. Something kept pressing against her...

View Post

Book 2: Chapter 26: A Long Night Part II

And because I know no one likes cliffhangers, here’s the second part right away :P
Once again, it’s a Selira chapter, and it’s so big I had to split it into two parts, just like The Road to Ashford. Apparently, Selira needs a little special love in every book. (:

Chapter 26:

A Long Night Part II

When Ronan left the mansion, h...

View Post

Book 2: Chapter 25: A Long Night Part I

Chapter 25:

A Long Night Part I

Selira was fed up.

She had searched for Ronan the entire day. Every retainer who was free had been sent across Valewick’s noble district. They checked taverns, inns, and markets. They spoke to gate guards and stable boys. They even asked vendors who sold gossip with their fruit.

Still, nothing. And it wa...

View Post

Demon Princess: Chapter 8: The First Night

Chapter 8: The First Night

The echo of the doors thudding shut was louder than it had any right to be. It rolled through the throne room, reverberated up into the rafters, and died away into silence.

Lily sagged back in the throne and let out a long, theatrical sigh. The kind of sigh you gave when your coworkers left you with cleanup after a shift.

“Well,” she muttered t...

View Post

Book 2: Chapter 24: When Hate Becomes Useful

Chapter 24:

When Hate Becomes Useful

Grace shut the door behind her with more force than she intended. The echo lingered in her private chamber, bouncing off the carved walls like it wanted to scold her. Her mood was sour, though she tried to deny it at first. A mess of worry, fascination, and irritation churned in her chest, refusing to settle.

...

View Post

Chapter 7: The Princess’s Bargain

Chapter 7: The Princess’s Bargain

The massive doors creaked open before them. There was no choice, no path left but forward.

Marlon’s feet shuffled after the others, his body trembling despite his best efforts to keep steady. His heart hammered in his chest as they crossed the threshold, stepping deeper into the mansion.

Why me? he thought, bitter...

View Post

Book 2: Chapter 23: My Clara

Chapter 23:

My Clara

The Barony of Bellgrave was one of the few places in Ashford that looked almost… gentle.

While most of the duchy was all mountains, jagged peaks, and hard soil, Bellgrave lay in a wide green valley where the land opened up into real fields. Wheat swayed there, tall and gold, and fruit trees bent under their own weight. T...

View Post

Demon Princess: Chapter 6: A Quest of Her Own

Chapter 6: A Quest of Her Own

The cultists stirred. One by one, groans broke the silence as they shifted on the cold ground. Damp grass pressed against their robes. Night air bit into their bones.

Sevrin opened his eyes.

For a moment, nothing made sense. His head throbbed like he’d been struck again, his vision blurred. He pushed himself upright, wobbling as...

View Post

Book 2: Chapter 22: Pain That Shapes

Chapter 22:

Pain That Shapes

2nd of Liriane, Year 646 of the Seventh Era.

That was the date. The fracture point, six centuries ago. Their fate would be decided there—and here—at the same time.

Krayden crouched on the bare rock of a mountain ridge a few miles outside the Academy for Imperial Magicians in Tyranore, his chalk-stained ha...

View Post

Demon Princess: Chapter 5: First Base

Chapter 5: First Base

The Cathedral of Light towered over the holy city of Veythral, the capital of the theocracy Ecclesia Regnum, its spires reaching into the clouds. Deep within its heart lay the Council Chamber, a hall where only the highest in the Ecclesia Regnum could gather.

At the center of the chamber sat a young woman in flowing white and gold robes. Her lo...

View Post

Book 2: Chapter 21: Screams And Whispers

Chapter 21:

Screams And Whispers

Lord Weran was bent over a crate of herbs, peering through his half-moon spectacles as he muttered to himself. The storeroom smelled of dried roots and faint resin, freshly stacked shelves half-filled with jars and bundles. It was not much yet, this “working place” they had given him in Gatewick, but it would ser...

View Post

Demon Princess: Chapter 4: No Escape

Chapter 4: No Escape

Lily sat at the table and gulped down the wine. After all this… whatever this was, she needed it. Sevrin had led her up out of their summoning cave into a house, and it definitely didn’t look like his house. The interior was expensive, furnished in that old-fashioned way you only saw when visiting the estates of long-dead important people...

View Post

Demon Princess: Chapter 3: The Abyssal Tome

Chapter 3: The Abyssal Tome

Lily met Servin’s eyes. “We’re going to talk a little. I need a few information, since you summoned me out of the blue. What is this place, and what is going on here?”

Sevrin still looked afraid. Fair. She’d bitch-slapped him into a wall. Healed or not, he had it coming. At least he wasn’t babbling anymore.

But there was...

View Post

Demon Princess: Chapter 2: The Children of the Abyss

Chapter 2: The Children of the Abyss

Lily stood in the circle, the Lumox orb warm in her palm. Should she break the barrier and deal with the shadows outside?

A voice came again, this time not in her head, but muffled beyond the red film:

“Princess, hear my call. Aid us in the darkness. Guide us to the Abyss.”

Right. Whatever happened, it was that vo...

View Post

Demon Princess: Chapter 1: Princess of the Abyss

Demon Princess: Chapter 1: Princess of the Abyss

Hey guys, maybe you remember me from the last RR challenge, where I wrote a story a bit outside my comfort zone, a LitRPG. After some trouble, I realized I’m not the kind of guy to write big status screens and all that. But I really liked the story I had outlined and planned, and it felt like a waste to just abandon it.

So, I merged it with another idea I had, and I’m currently...

View Post

Book 2: Chapter 20: Selira’s Dilemma

Chapter 20:

Selira’s Dilemma

Selira sat elegantly, posture flawless, in the opulent drawing room of her new mansion. Sunlight poured through tall arched windows, glinting off polished glassware and gilded trim. The sofas were upholstered in velvet, the rugs thick and lush, every detail screaming wealth and permanence.

Across from her, Lady A...

View Post

Book 2: Chapter 19: Breaking Points

Chapter 19:

Breaking Points

Everything was dark around him.

Ronan’s head throbbed with a deep, pulsing ache, as though the street itself had risen up and struck him. He groaned, trying to move, but his arms refused to answer. A rope, rough and tight, was digging into his wrists. He twisted uselessly, but all he felt was the burning numbness ...

View Post

Book 2: Chapter 18: A Princess Takes A Walk

Hey guys!

After some of you asked about EPUB files, I decided to occasionally format the chapters so you can read them on your e-readers!

You can download Book 2, Chapters 1–18 here.

________________

Chapter 18:

A Princess Takes A Walk

Grace yawned, long and unprincesslike, and squinted at the courtyard flooding with noon l...

View Post

Book 2: Chapter 17: For The Gate

Chapter 17:

For The Gate

“HOLD THE LINE!”

The voice cut through the clash and screams and set something straight inside Elen. She didn’t know whose voice it was anymore, but it was deep enough to steady hands.

Her fingers trembled on the hilt anyway.

She stood shoulder to shoulder with Faren, boots sunk in churned mud, breath...

View Post

Book 2: Chapter 16: The Wyrm Does Not Wait

Chapter 16:

The Wyrm Does Not Wait

The capital was in an uproar.

News from the East and the North came every day now. Refugees with cracked lips and bandaged feet. Merchants talking in tight circles, counting losses under their breath. Travelers who had seen too much. Homecoming soldiers who stared past everyone and said very little. Even the ...

View Post

Book 2: Chapter 15: An Audience In Gatewick

Chapter 15:

An Audience In Gatewick

Grace’s slippers made barely a sound on the stone floor, but in her head, every step seemed too loud. She was walking to her throne room.

Her throne room.

It still felt wrong in a way she could not name. Or maybe not wrong—just strange. If her older self were here, Blair would be giggling like a ma...

View Post

Book 2: Chapter 14: Every Day A New Problem

Chapter 14:

Every Day a New Problem

Elen could not remember ever being this tired. Her legs ached with every step, a bone-deep weariness that had settled into her body like a second skin. The days blurred together in a long, gray haze. There had been the endless trudge up narrow mountain paths, feet soaked from freezing rain, every breath sharp with...

View Post

Book 2: Chapter 13: To Be Seen

Chapter 13:

To Be Seen

Clara blinked.

Blood. That was the first thing she noticed, the sticky, spreading pool, bright red and horrifying, soaking into the stone floor. Grace’s hand, so small and pale, still clutched the bloody knife, her knuckles bone-white. The world had gone silent, except for the gasping, ugly sounds from the steward on h...

View Post