Now, then, Leon loudly said as Roland saw to Gellius. Whos next?
Im not done yet! Gellius shouted as he tried to struggle back to his feet. Roland pulled back a bit as the Baron began struggling to rise. A couple of his knights rushed forward to help their Lord, but he waved them away.
Once the Baron managed to struggle back up, he assumed an aggressive st...
2020-04-17 15:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostThe day after their first clash with Duronius army was one of rest and recovery. Both sides watched each other quite closely, but neither made any significant moves against the other.
Since it seemed like nothing interesting was going to happen for a while, Leon decided that morning to take care of some business now that he had a unit of his own: assert his authority. Twice had he been ...
2020-04-15 15:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostIn the wake of the battle with Duke Duronius, August ordered the entire army to take a few days of rest and relaxation. They werent allowed to leave the camp unless they were on official business, but it was more than enough time for everyone to get some much-needed rest after the first major battle of the southern campaign.
All things considered, the soldiers and noble retainers perfor...
2020-04-13 15:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostSo, how did it go on your end? Roland asked Leon as they rode along toward the camp where August had returned once the battle was over.
Fairly well Leon replied, quickly giving Roland a summary of what his people had done.
Thats impressive, Roland said appreciatively. Its not easy keeping nobles and their retainers under control in the best of circumstances, let ...
2020-04-10 15:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe unit of Octavius army that had turned to face Leon had been broken. Leon and the giants had cracked it open, and then the rest of the knights and their followers smashed it to pieces, routing thousands of men and women who fought for Octavius.
This success then cascaded into the rest of the army, which had been preoccupied with combating Augusts main force and could no longer hand...
2020-04-08 15:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostLeon glanced around at his unit as he rejoined it. It had been about ten minutes since he had left to bring Baron Gellius troops back under control, and in that time, the rest of the Barons and leading knights had gotten the rest of the unit back into a rough formation. It was time for them to push east, acting as the hammer that would crush the rest of the Octavian troops that were crashing ...
2020-04-06 15:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostJust in case you missed the announcement, I made a map for the continent of Aeterna! Check it out here! I will, of course, improve upon it in time, so treat it like a rough draft for now. Up next will be a political map, rather than one that focuses mostly on terrain.
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Leons forces crashed into those of Duke...
2020-04-03 15:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostRoland and Augusts forces established contact when they were about a days march apart from each otherabout twenty-five miles or so. Their scouts had also managed to find Duke Duronius forces shadowing Rolands about five miles further west, encamped on a large hill surrounded by wet, marshy forests.
The general landscape of the Southern Territories was awful by most standardswo...
2020-04-01 15:04:39 +0000 UTC View PostIt's only a rough draft, so I could definitely use some feedback on this. Had to downscale and remove some detail since Squarespace has a 20 MB file limit =(
https://wardenreading.com/maps
Wonderdraft is going to release a new tool in the near future which should make drawing political borders easier. Probably wo...
2020-03-30 20:48:41 +0000 UTC View PostSmall announcement after the chapter. Nothing that affects patrons, though, but I figured it was best to give all of you a heads-up, too.
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It wasnt an easy path for August and the reinforcements that accompanied him to reach Roland in the Southern Territories. First, theyd have to march west along the Iron Road, but turn off of it and go south once they passed the castle that...
2020-03-30 15:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostThere was no time for Leon and the others to rest once they reached Ironford. A group of one hundred stone giants was hard to miss, especially with so many panicked messengers from eastern towns and villages bringing word of their march west, and so when Leon arrived at the eastern gates of Ironford, a runner had been sent by August to bring him directly to the palace for a debrief.
Walki...
2020-03-27 15:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostIt was, in Valerias mind, a strange mystery. Why were the giants so willing to follow Leon? It seemed so strange, so illogical, that after thousands of years fighting against the Bull Kingdom, they would suddenly capitulate to the first Valeman they encountered who gave them a good fightat least, thats how it was explained to her.
The truth, she suspected, was much more complicated ...
2020-03-25 15:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostIf you haven't yet, please leave a rating or review on Royal Road! =)
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As soon as Leon and his party entered Rakos palatial home, it became clear that something was wrong. Piles of stone were scattered around the main hall like rubble, and dozens of giants were frozen like statues aro...
2020-03-23 15:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostLeon couldnt enchant his gift to Elise right away; rather, he and the Thunderbird needed to first plan out what he wanted to do with it, and that process alone would take days, followed by weeks of preparation. And as much as Leon wanted to devote his time to nothing but that and his own training, the civil war had waited long enough.
For two months, Octavius and August had been amassin...
2020-03-20 15:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe forges of Ironford were never cold. They turned out weapons, armor, and accessories of all kinds by the hundreds, making the city the single largest producer of war material in the entire Kingdom. A few of these forges were owned by Heavens Eye, but the vast majority were owned and operated by their only real local competition: the Blasted Furnace.
Leon, however, wasnt interested ...
2020-03-18 15:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostNaiad ascended the stairs to the summit of the Great Pyramid. It was a long climb, but her eighth-tier body made it with ease. As she drew closer to the blue light that surrounded the peak, it steadily grew softer until it vanished entirely just as she passed through it.
The blue beam of light that connected the altars of the two pyramids, however, remained as bright as ever, and it gave ...
2020-03-16 15:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostJourneying across the large Bull Kingdom was something that Naiad could do quite effortlessly. The Naga River and all of its branches and tributaries ran up and down its length, from the farthest reaches of the Northern Territories down to the coast of the Gulf of Discord. If she wanted to, she could go from the Bull Kingdoms capital back to her cave in the western marches of the Talfar Kingd...
2020-03-13 15:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostWhen Leon thought about war, he imagined an incredibly intense conflict, something that would grind thousands of warriors into bloody meat on a daily basis. For the most part, that was accurate to the kind of lightning wars that he had experiencedeven the war with Talfar was over in a matter of weeks, but it still left tens of thousands dead.
This war, however, was surprisingly peaceful...
2020-03-11 15:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe palace in Ironford was a nice place, Gaius had to admit, especially since he was a prisoner. Despite this, he was afforded all the care and comfort he could ask for; the only thing he couldnt do was leave. If he wanted something to eat, it would be brought to him. If he wanted something to read, again, a palace servant would fetch it.
Following his surrender, Gaius found himself rel...
2020-03-09 15:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post and they havent moved since? August asked as he stared down from the cliffside battlements at the Central Consuls army.
No, Your Highness, theyve been maintaining their position, but they havent so much as pissed in our direction, Brimstone replied.
It had been three days since the latest assault where the Central Consul had sent Legion soldiers to die in the thou...
2020-03-06 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostLeon, Valeria, and Alix all shared a suite of small apartments in the castle since the latter two were in the formers retinueValeria as Leons de facto second-in-command, and Alix acting as an unofficial assistant. Unfortunately, said suite had neither a bath nor a shower, and so all three had to visit the castles large bathhouse.
Said bathhouse was rather small compared...
2020-03-04 16:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostHey, if you haven't yet, please be sure to visit Royal Road and leave a rating or review! Every one of them helps!
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Ursus, welcome back, Minerva said with a rare smile as Leon, Alix, and Valeria walked into the castles audience chamber. Im happy that youre safe.
As...
2020-03-02 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostI surrender Gaius said, barely able to get the words out. He had about a dozen knights and minor Lords there with him to formally surrender as well, since, despite Gaius being officially in charge, it was a noble army and not a professional Legionnobles still commanded their own private forces and Gaius didnt have as much authority to command those knights to stand down as his posit...
2020-02-28 16:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostLets go! Keep moving! Gaius shouted as he, Victoria, Marius, and all the rest of the remaining leaders in their army urged their people onward. It had been a terrible few days, with the army taking hundreds of additional casualties, and while they had been unable to find and deal with the enemy harassing them, they still had to keep to the rough schedule.
When they had broken off fr...
2020-02-26 16:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostTheir foraging parties were large, too large for all of them to be hit, but we got quite a few, Grim reported to Leon. Our casualties were minimal, while theirs were substantial.
Define minimal and substantial, Leon said, his eyebrow rising almost into his hair at the mention of their casualties.
We lost three knights, and seven more were wounded,...
2020-02-24 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostIf you didn't notice it, I made a map of the Bull Kingdom yesterday! It's much more detailed and overall much better looking than the one I made way back, so if you haven't yet, be sure to check it out!
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Leon could see his Thunderblast spell go off in the distance, and he immediately turned around and ran back ...
2020-02-21 16:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostI was asked on Discord about the possibility of making a map of the Bull Kingdom, and during that conversation, Fastus recommended I use a program called Wonderdraft rather than MS Paint. So I did, and I made a map of the Bull Kingdom. It isn't as detailed as I would like, and a lot of places still need names, but overall, I rather like it as it is. I'll be improving upon it in the future, but ...
2020-02-20 22:15:54 +0000 UTC View PostGaius groggily shook his head, trying to clear his head of the high-pitched whining and ringing in his ears. Something had just happened, he was sure of it, but the pounding in his brain was preventing him from remembering just what it was.
Minutes passed as Gaius tried to open his eyes. He had no idea what was around him, but he wasnt in the proper state of mind to truly care. It took ...
2020-02-19 16:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostIt didnt take long for the fires to be brought back under control. Octavius forces had been taken completely by surprise, but with a few water mages in their ranks, the rain that continued to hammer the camp, and a few good experienced knights taking control of the situation, the fires were extinguished within half an hour.
The white fire that had consumed the supply tent took the mos...
2020-02-17 16:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe knightly host began to set up camp around forty-five miles from Ironfordbarely a days march on good terrain, but in the hills and forests it would take them more like three days to reach the city walls. They hadnt harassed any villages along the way, nor had they made to secure any of the small castles owned by the local Barons. In fact, they seemed to be going out of their way to avo...
2020-02-14 16:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post