Songs reigned in the Silent King’s realm.
Valdemar was no music specialist. His experience was limited to his mother’s music box and street performers playing tunes in taverns for a coin; he had never listened an opera or an orchestra.
But as he listened to the melodies echoing across the sand dunes, Valdemar doubted that any mortal instrument could play them. Some sounds he rec...
2021-11-20 09:27:09 +0000 UTC View PostEach level of the Necromanteion was more ominous than the last.
The first layer had been a standard temple, not so different from the many shrines Kairos had visited in his lifetime; the second floor had been a cavern with mysterious magical properties, but somewhat familiar all the same.
The third, though, was unlike anything existing on the surface.
The party held their brea...
2021-11-20 09:26:46 +0000 UTC View PostThe Institute’s Hall of Rituals had turned into an art gallery.
When the time came to finally complete the Painted Door project, Hermann decided to have multiple pictomancy works set on the room’s walls; especially pictures associated with death, the Silent King, or doorways. The troglodyte hoped that the presence of so many art pieces in close proximity would somehow enhance the plan...
2021-11-16 09:24:44 +0000 UTC View PostCerberus roared and the cavern was set ablaze.
Streams of flames erupted from his three mouths, illuminating the darkness with their bright light. Kairos’ party dispersed in all directions, the spot where they had been standing a few seconds ago turning into a smouldering crater.
“Buckle up, Kairos!” Rook warned his rider as he took flight to avoid the flames. No sooner did th...
2021-11-16 09:24:04 +0000 UTC View Post“A giant rat, you say?” The old man smiled with a crooked tooth, his eyes hidden behind bandages and an old musket resting on his thighs. “Haven’t smelled a rat in a while. My cat catches them all.”
“A hooded visitor, maybe?” Marianne asked from atop her giant beetle. The farm was calm and peaceful, with giant snails peacefully grazing moss inside their pens. Their owner liv...
2021-11-13 09:16:17 +0000 UTC View PostIt was getting darker the further they went.
For the first time since he had started riding Rook, Kairos had to carry a torch in one hand and his spear in the other. It was a struggle, as the flame flickered whenever the griffin flapped his wings, but necessary to see anything. The cavern’s ceiling had grown high enough that Rook could fly relatively unhindered, but he still st...
2021-11-13 09:16:08 +0000 UTC View Post“You should have let him die,” the Knight of the Beast told her, his eyes squinting behind his horned helm. A lantern’s glow reflected on his plate armor’s steel. “You made a mistake.”
Marianne ignored him, as she and a dozen armored warriors searched the beach of rocks that had once been Verney Castle. Her messenger bat did reach its destination, and a warband of the Knights ...
2021-11-09 09:21:45 +0000 UTC View PostReaching the outpost turned out to be harder than expected.
The adventurers had fortified their small island by digging row after row of coiling ditches and pitfall traps around their settlement. After making landfall, Kairos’ group had spent minutes following Thales’ lead as the automaton navigated them through the defenses, who he had apparently helped to design. The pits were full ...
2021-11-09 09:21:36 +0000 UTC View PostLady Mathilde had advised Valdemar not to reinforce his entire body, as it cost a great amount of energy and he only needed to protect a few vital areas.
But she probably hadn’t expected her student to be subjected to artillery fire.
As he heard a click echo from the golem’s cannon arm, Valdemar instinctively jumped between the unconscious Iren and the line of fire. His skin tur...
2021-11-06 09:14:44 +0000 UTC View PostThe Necromanteion’s entrance had changed a great deal since Kairos had left.
A fortified camp had grown at the central mountain’s feet, shielded by trenches, spikes, and earth walls. Most ‘houses’ were temporary amenities like huts and tents, but wooden buildings had risen with Kairos’ [Idol] at its center: an inn catering to adventurers, an alehouse, an infirmary…
Accor...
2021-11-06 09:14:35 +0000 UTC View PostHi guys,
A while ago I announced that the first audiobook for the Perfect Run was available for pre-order.
Well, today is the official release date! You can now enjoy Ryan's adventures on Audible in all their mad glory ;)
“Are you certain… it was her?” Hermann asked. The disguised troglodyte attracted many curious gazes with his plague doctor outfit, but paid him no mind. “It could have been… a trick of the mind.”
“I know what I saw,” Valdemar insisted. “My True Sight should have protected me from any illusion. I can even see Iren’s real eye color now.”
Iren put a finger on his ...
2021-11-02 08:43:18 +0000 UTC View PostThales hadn’t wasted time.
He had increased his workshop’s size threefold while the Foresight’s crew had been abroad, and the already large laboratory had turned into what Kairos could only call a factory. The air was thick with the smell of alchemical fumes and the smoke of forges; hammers shaped molten steel into weapons and armors. [Common] and [Elite] Crafters worked together ac...
2021-11-02 08:43:10 +0000 UTC View PostHi guys, a few things. First of all, a weird thing happened as I wrote this chapter. I realized Freyja might have been subconsciously inspired by another character from Fire Emblem. I suppose I consumed so much pop culture content she slipped through a backdoor.
So to avoid any potential problem, Freyja's true name is Frigga and she was always called this. Also changed ...
2021-10-30 08:13:15 +0000 UTC View PostHi guys, I confirm that I'm skipping payments for November, so you won't be charged for this month. Peace.
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It had been months since Kairos slept in his own bed.
Though he had grown used to the Foresight’s cabin and the guest rooms on his journey had been quite comfortable, he felt more at peace in his fortress in Histria. Perha...
2021-10-30 08:13:08 +0000 UTC View PostLady Mathilde believed in traveling light.
Valdemar had expected such an esteemed alchemist to gather a large escort of knights for her trip to Astaphanos, but the priestess did none of this. As he reached the Institute’s stables with a bag full of painting supplies, he only found Liliane, Hermann, and Iren waiting next to the carriage.
They had all dressed for the trip. Liliane h...
2021-10-26 08:22:12 +0000 UTC View PostWhen the Foresight returned home, its crew found snow falling on Histria.
Deep clouds obscured the sun and showered the shores with a thin layer of ice. The smoke of fires rose from the cities’ countless chimneys, warming the citizens in their homes. After enjoying the Valian warmth, Kairos had no choice but to put a heavy coat over his armor so as not to shudder.
His ent...
2021-10-26 08:21:55 +0000 UTC View PostThe fangs lunged at Marianne’s face to devour her alive.
Reacting quickly, the swordswoman raised her free left hand and stabbed the monstrous rat in the eye. A layer of bone grew over her thumb, as it crushed the eyeball and hit the soft flesh underneath.
Shelley’s fangs stopped within an inch of Marianne’s face as the monster let out a screeching roar. The noblewoman channel...
2021-10-23 08:02:17 +0000 UTC View PostAndromache looked so beautiful as the wind brushed against her face.
Kairos could have watched her all day. Her hair and robes floated with the morning breeze and the sunlight reflected on her perfect skin. The nymph looked every bit like Aphrodite after rising from the sea.
But it was her bright smile that Kairos found the most charming. Andromache’s joy always had an undercurren...
2021-10-23 08:02:10 +0000 UTC View PostHi guys,
So early poll results are in and option 3 is clearly in the lead by a ratio of two to one. I'll thus proceed with releasing four early chapters and suspend billing for November (be warned that Patreon will still charge you if you change your pledge however).
Many of you suggested that I release the early chapters without pausing the billing feature, and while it does ...
2021-10-20 09:23:56 +0000 UTC View PostHi everyone!
So, uh, I'm facing something of an odd problem I would like to consult you on.
First of all, the first chapter of Underland is now finally available on RR! However, I have been informed by the webmaster that due to how the trending/Rising Stars algorithm works, I'll probably get penalized unless I publish more content in a quick succession. Too m...
2021-10-19 20:57:00 +0000 UTC View PostEven as a crumbling ruin, Castle Verney looked foreboding.
The fortress’ dark walls hadn’t aged well. Marianne scarcely saw a roof without a hole, or a battlement without a breach in its stone. The Knights’ fires had consumed most of the wooden parts of the architecture, leaving only ashes and black stone. Most towers had collapsed, and the few that still stood looked like broken fi...
2021-10-19 08:41:23 +0000 UTC View PostThe world was cold and her lover’s hands were warm.
Andromache’s tentacles coiled on the stone floor, while her hound-heads snapped at both Orgonos and Nessus. Even Kairos’ attempts to scratch them behind the ears didn’t appease them. Their existence was bound to the curse, and they sensed their doom approaching.
Even after centuries of cohabitation, Andromache still wondere...
2021-10-19 08:41:07 +0000 UTC View PostApologies for the slight delay, been having internet troubles.
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Many scholars fantasized about the fourth and deepest level of the Institute.
Valdemar had asked everyone from Liliane to Iren about what the Dark Lord kept underneath his fortress, only to always receive the same answer: nobody knew. Lady Mathilde and Edwin seemed to have an inkling...
2021-10-16 08:43:45 +0000 UTC View PostApologies for the slight delay, internet troubles.
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The crew celebrated all the way to Argos.
After their victory against Teuta’s fleet, the deck had all but transformed into a banquet hall. Nessus had opened some of the Valian wine amphoras they brought, and his honeyed lamb recipe was probably the best Kairos had tasted in his entire life. The cre...
2021-10-16 08:43:35 +0000 UTC View PostHermann’s master was just as odd as he was.
The droning song of flies and cavern locusts heralded his coming in the Hall of Rituals, alongside a black mass of spiders creeping down the walls. A swirling tide of maggots fell from the ceiling, piling up next to one of the twelve columns holding up the underground dome.
Valdemar watched in amazement as the insects and arachnids gathe...
2021-10-12 08:17:54 +0000 UTC View PostThe Unconquered chased the Foresight across the ocean.
A harsh wind blew behind its sails, fueled by two tornado-shaped wind elementals. Its hundred oars pushed it against the treacherous currents, while a flock of sirens sung above them. Their sweet voice echoed across the waves, soothing Kairos’ wrath and telling him to fall into the ocean. Many sailors had fallen pr...
2021-10-12 08:17:47 +0000 UTC View PostHi guys, here's the monthly poll. Since we are close to the end of Kairos' second volume, I'll let you choose which arc shall conclude it.
1) The Wolves of Winter
The Beast Cult of Lycaon has terrorized Lyce's noble families for many years, its werewolf assassins doing their best to weaken their master's seal one murder at a time. Their leader, the ...
2021-10-11 11:20:49 +0000 UTC View PostThe ecto-catcher hummed as the shadow of Valdemar’s grandfather returned from the dead.
The workshop’s walls trembled as technology and magic merged into a single force. The ring of blood around the machine ondulated as a tired Valdemar fueled it. With his slashed right hand, he gave his life force to call his grandfather’s remaining psychic energies back to the world of the living;...
2021-10-09 08:05:46 +0000 UTC View PostThe Foresight had received a warm welcome when they reached Vali, and would depart in a cold silence.
There were silver linings to the situation though. The Myrmidons had accepted Kairos’ offer to settle a new colony in Histria by sending a fertile queen alongside a retinue of male workers and soldiers to the island. If the first ant settlement proved successful, more Myrmidons...
2021-10-09 08:05:27 +0000 UTC View Post