Sorry. I know I’ve been pretty quiet. It’s not been for lack of work, I assure you. In fact, I have many fun ideas that I wish to implement in the world of Koeleth. That being said, I have not forgotten to work on the task at hand. Chapter 6 (the former chapter 7) is coming. Next week, if all goes well. To fill the time, though, I have a bit of an informative thing here to help you in reading future chapters of Koeleth and other Eirmoda stories.

Classifying Koeleth, Pt 1

Blessed – Any creature, human or otherwise, who has been gifted magic by the guardians. Universally used term. Ex: Tom, Aaron, Lilly, etc.

Abomination – Any creature, human or otherwise, who has been born or cursed with adverse magical abilities. This includes the magically diseased, but most often the magically diseased are treated differently than more severely affected abominations. Universally used term. Ex: Theo, Dennis, Rydia, etc.

Mage Hunter – Anyone without magic who is trained to combat the magic of blessed individuals and abominations. Primarily Trialian term, but used in other regions as well. Ex: Laurel, Judas, etc. (You haven’t met these guys yet)

World Walker – In extraordinarily rare circumstances, an earthbound guardian will bond with a human. They lack the power to bless this human with a magical artifact, so instead, they bless them with companionship. The earthbound guardian forges a mystical bond with their chosen human. The pair then becomes known as world walkers. Primarily Trialian term, but used in other regions as well. Ex: Drago and Kaiser, Johannes and Leone, etc. (Won’t meet many of these)

Apostate – Rumors speak of those who have artificially created magic. Though rare, sometimes these rumors are true. Apostates are rarely responsible for their own magic, often times being the subject of some mad scientist’s experiment. Ex: Anna, Joshua, etc. (VERY RARE)

Paragon – The chosen human representative of a guardian. Though generally restricted to one paragon per guardian, there are exceptions. They wield far greater power than most blessed individuals. Predominantly Trialian term. Ex: Vincent (Valro), Kilroy (Despar), Tyrion (Fearl), etc.

Renegade – A paragon who has in someway forsaken their guardian. These betrayals often result in the twisting of their magic when it breaks from their guardians. The guardians, officially speaking, do not tolerate renegades. However, most are willing to look past them, so long as they do not actively hinder them. Predominantly Trialian term. Ex: Meredith, Daniella, Delvin, etc. (Probably only actually meet Meredith)

Exemplar – Technically not a paragon, but essentially someone who has been gifted with paragon-like power. The details surrounding how guardians get away with this are vague. The rules on how their magic operates and what their magic can be are less stringent than those of paragons, since paragons are meant to be the earthly representation of guardians, and exemplars are not. Primarily Trialian term. Ex: Specs the Cat, Barret, Gaius, etc. (Haven’t met)

Archfiend – An abomination of such great magical power that they are comparable to a paragon. In nearly all cases, this is due to honing their powers and learning to control the wealth of magic they have, as untrained magic is more dangerous to the wielder than the wielder’s foes. Predominantly Trialian term. Ex: The Tainted King (Remember from the legend?), Jackrabbit Sam, Lucius, etc. (Haven’t met those last two either)

Slayer – A mage hunter of such high caliber that they could fight on the same level as a paragon, sans the magic. They go through years, sometimes decades of training. Predominantly Trillion term. Ex: Matthew, JoAnn, Anselm, etc. (Still haven’t met)

World Eater – World eaters are the joint power of two souls so in sync that they act as one. Much like the bond between greater guardian and paragon, the bond between lesser guardian and human tether is so pure and precise as to resonate perfectly. Accordingly, the world eater tether and the world eater familiar wield vast power. Predominantly Trialian term. Ex: Clayton and Loba Luna, Eione and Chargonard, etc. (You’ll meet these two, eventually)

Iconoclast – Some apostates resonate so well with their artificial magic that they achieve paragon levels of power. Thus, iconoclasts are born. Predominantly Trialian term. Ex: Genevieve, Colleen, etc. (You will meet these guys later)

Eidolon – In a distant land, millennia ago, a great calamity ravaged the nation. As a result, chaotic magic devastated the people of the land, leaving some of them to wander the earth as undying wraiths. Though containing vast quantities of magic within their souls, the ghosts could not use it. Thus they sought living men to wield the power on their behalf. These ghosts became known as eidolons and they paired themselves with fitting humans. They are cursed to serve their living masters until those masters die themselves. Predominantly Rygost term. Ex: The Ghost from the one story I mentioned, Thanasis, etc.

Beacon – The people eidolons haunt are called beacons. They have full access to whatever magic the eidolon provides, but must take on the curse themselves when they die. This cycle continues until a beacon or an eidolon somehow manages to break it. Predominantly Rygost term. Ex: Leontios, etc.

So, there are some…inconsistencies with my history of Koeleth that you may or may not have noticed. I’d like to explain one of those. The biggest one is where I say that Koeleth has been the home of the Koelings since forever, but they had to settle Koeleth and take it from the current inhabitants.

A (Very) Brief History of Koeleth

The Progenitor formed human life long after he formed Eirmoda, placing them in the bountiful bosom of the Triali Riverlands. From this core, humanity branched out and spread, forming Trialias. Of the many nations of Trialias, three rose to prominence: Ariluo, Angamufi, and Ekoalund. Over time, Ariluo grew and absorbed its neighbors, forming the Arilese Empire, which still exists today, though its borders are ever changing. While the empire grew through conquest or alliance, Angamufi dominated its neighbors through war and bloodshed, forming the Nagybi Empire. Unlike its neighbors, Ekoalund neither conquered nor assimilated its neighbors. The people of Ekoalund, the Ekoalem, were nomadic by nature, so for many centuries they simply traveled the land, and no one challenged their right to it. Over time, some Ekoalem established small kingdoms that served as safe havens for their nomadic brethren. Conflict was inevitable, however, and, after several centuries of relative peace, the Ekoalem were driven from their lands by a new and foreign empire: Orgalav. Orgalav, with its well trained armies and superior weaponry, scattered the Ekoalem to the winds and subjugated those peoples whom they protected. For centuries more, the nomadic Ekoalem traveled foreign lands, from Elvairnian to Anverlund, from Krshnl (yeah, that’s a name I’m using, deal with it) to Rendalaea, always adapting to their temporary homes, but ever longing for Ekoalund’s sweet embrace. After a millenia or two, Orgalav, the mighty empire that had driven them away, collapsed nearly overnight. When the living descendants of the Ekoalem heard this, they returned to their home as quickly as they could. Some of those who had been under Orgalav’s thumb resented their return and fought them, but most of them welcomed them back with open arms, longing once more for days of peace and prosperity. The current Koeleth kingdom is strong enough where if they were to see a repeat of the events of Orgalav, they wouldn’t go down easily. Any attacker would think twice about trying to conquer them again.

So, recently I’ve been brushing up on my knowledge of all things medieval — not with the express purpose of making my worlds more realistic, more out of curiosity, but I digress — and it has occurred to me that some of my characters do very unreal things. I don’t

Continue reading Thoughts on Fact vs. Fantasy

Alright, first off, I’d like to say this: I’m glad you guys like my writing and I really appreciate the support of those of you who have followed my personal blog, but I have to let you know that doing that is purposeless. It is highly improbable that I will ever use that blog for writing. It serves me and my colleagues much better if you follow Verbal Realms. And it serves you better too! Not only do you get my stuff, you also get Jack and

Continue reading Yet Another Update! I Know, So Shocking, You Never Saw This Coming…

Well, yeah. Chapter 5 is done. Hope it isn’t too dull for you.

Chronicles of Koeleth: The River’s Tale
Chapter V
Purloined Prizes

Tom awoke late the next morning. Not yet adjusted to his new abode, Tom panicked at the foreign sight of a bedroom. He soon regained his bearings, however, and, realizing how late it was, began to prepare for the day ahead. There were still a few matters to sort

Continue reading Chapter 5: Never Fear! Super-Chapter is Here!

I felt bad for not having a thing ready, so here is a preview of one of my legends.

The Death of a Guardian

“I am a god to these mortals! They fear my power! They revere my might! They pay homage to me!” the mighty dragon bellowed in anger. “You cannot defeat me!”

“You may be a god, but I am a man with god-sized blade!” the warrior cried back as he swung his sword, ripping the dragon’s wing to shreds.

The dragon screamed in pain, wildly lashing about with his claws and tail, only to have his other leathery pinion rent from his shoulder. A blood-soaked exchange followed, ending, ultimately, with the colossal guardian’s agonizing defeat

“I didn’t know guardians could bleed,” the swordsman scoffed, as he wiped clean his blade.

“The Progenitor…may be my father, but the…the earth is my mother. I bleed her blood,” the dragon gasped. “You…you know not what you have done…”

The god-slayer simply raised his sword and delivered one final, fatal blow.

“I have guaranteed a future for my people, daemon.”

Now, at this point, you may think this is the end of a story about a heroic man taking on a bloodthirsty false god, but that is not the case. The dragon is Flusswächter, the River Dragon, an ally to the Men of the River and the protector of the River’s mighty shores. The man is Ragnar the Scorched, the infamous barbarian chieftain and an enemy to all but his own clan of savages. This is the beginning of a story about the death of a guardian and the birth of the people who would take up his mantle. This is the story of Eloy the Cradle-born, the first Chosen of the River Dragon and the forefather of the lords of Sorowa’s Cradle.

So, I am almost finished with the somewhat haphazard fusion of chapter 5 and 6. It’s not pretty, but it at least reduces the drudgery of the original two chapters, I think. It is not as seamless as I like, but I did not start with the intention of fusing two chapters. My original plan was to totally rewrite them, but I didn’t want to have a repeat of chapter 4. Hopefully, next week will see the super chapter brought to light. Then I can get working on chapter 7, where things start to get rolling again. Sorry it took so long. I could regale you with excuses, but none of them are really any good. Sorry again. I have some bonus content planned for you, though, so that should be looked forward to. Part two of the Lion and the Dragon, part two of the Sorowa’s Cradle chapter of the legendary blades series, some other stuff about the history of Koeleth, etc. But hey! Guess what? Jack will be back soon! So look forward to his writing and his editing (thank the Lord)!

I have not been as diligent as I should be, true, but I have been working on my next couple of chapters. It’s just a bit of drudgery to go through chapters I’ve already written. In this case, what I’m specifically trying to do is condense chapters 5 and 6 into one chapter, which means I’m trying to cut out a lot of stuff that might be slowing the story down or that might be unnecessary. Those of you who have been watching for a while can probably attest to how slow the early chapters are, and I’d like to change that for future readers and for you guys, too, to make it more enjoyable and easy to get into the story. Anyways, I have one more thing for you, something that was bouncing around in my head last night. Now, I’ve just kept this to necessary facts and interesting tidbits. These will make more sense when I start actually writing these stories, I’m sure.

Tom As He Would Appear in My Other Worlds

Zandelaria

Name: Tommel Relordem

Race: Human

Ethnicity: Artaean

Nationality: Artaean

Class: Spellsword

Weapon: Enchanted Halberd – Water Manipulation

Occupation: Adventurer

Tesgrand

Name: Tomus Erividen

Race: Human

Ethnicity: Maridian

Nationality: Castonian

Class: Halberdier

Occupation: Underground Rebel

Mount: Giant Riding Gerbil (yes, it’s a thing in Tesgrand)

Pangea (yes, it’s spelled wrong on purpose)

Name: Tomaz of Ritander

Race: Human

Ethnicity: Vernaus

Nationality: Pader-Grid

Class: Swashbuckler

Occupation: Seafaring Adventurer (Considered a pirate, but in actuality far more agreeable than other Vernaus pirates)

Notes: Prefers to travel in a small one-man vessel rather than aboard a ship with a crew

Akrea (basically alternate reality of modern day earth)

Name: Thomas Smith

Race: Human

Ethnicity: German

Nationality: American

Class: Brawler

Occupation: Gunsmith, vigilante

Pet: Siberian Husky named Freya

So, I’ve got a boatload of ideas for Koeleth and the world of Eirmoda, and I can’t wait to get to them. That, of course, means I need to get my ass in gear on the Chronicles of Koeleth. However, I do have some interesting characters that never show their faces in the Chronicles of Koeleth series but might pop up elsewhere, so I thought I’d share.

Cool Characters Who (Probably) Won’t Be In CoK

Sir Wilhelm Greyfog

Sir Wilhelm was a knight from the Ghostlands two centuries prior to the War of the Dragons (the hopefully epic finale to the River’s Tale and the Clash of Dragons books). A friend of the people and a hero to common folk, he stood against all those who threatened the Ghostlands. He was also a valued leader in the War for Barren Reach. He achieved mythic status when he fought and defeated the earthbound guardian Sylph in one-on-one combat. Sylph honored his victory but forever held a grudge against him (hell hath no fury and whatnot). Through a curious twist of fate, brought about by the mysterious magic of the Ghostlands’ mist, upon his inevitable death, Sir Wilhelm’s soul lingered on the earth, earning him the slightly misleading title of Sir Wilhelm the Hero Undying. He still wanders the Ghostlands, protecting travelers and interfering with the mischievous Sylph and her cunning machinations.

Serhild Warmaiden

Serhild Warmaiden is, as her name implies, a descendant of a battle maiden and trained as one herself. The notion of a battle maiden is well accepted in modern Koeleth culture, as there are a fair number of female warriors in Koeleth’s military organizations. However, in their early days, the battle maidens were a radical notion. In a world that refused to believe women could fight, the battle maidens fought and won their respect and honor. Serhild herself is an accomplished slayer and a valued member of the Vanguard. Her time in the Vanguard is cut short, however, as she is slain in battle during the Champions’ War. She does technically appear in CoK, but her name is only mentioned once, when counting the losses of the Champions’ War. Nevertheless, during her life she was a heroic figure and earned her reputation as an icon of Koeling strength.

He Who Walks The Earth

A cryptic entity to be sure, He Who Walks The Earth (sometimes shortened to just He Who Walks) is notable for supposedly being the rarest form of magical being: a human possessed by a guardian. Though this has yet to be confirmed, it defies all known interactions between guardians and the physical world. Though earthbound guardians and lesser guardians have a minimal impact on the environment around them, it is well known that ascendant guardians and greater guardians can warp the very essence of reality around them when they descend to Eirmoda. In the past, to accommodate for this, guardians have tried to possess humans, but to no avail. The human body was not meant to contain such and magic, and a possessed human will typically burn up within days of being possessed. This being the case, He Who Walks The Earth is a living impossibility. Even he does not know how he came to be, or even how old he is, but he claims that his earliest memory is from around the year 3000, making him no less than four millennia old. Both his identity as a human and that as a guardian are long forgotten, both souls having melded together long ago. Cool and aloof, He Who Walks is relatively amoral, neither praising what is traditionally good, nor condemning what is traditionally bad. With no reasonable fear of death, and a lack of strong desires, He Who Walks finds himself seeking only one thing: a purpose for which to continue. In the absence of that, he would gladly accept a means of ending his existence, though no form of permanent death has yet been found.

der Waldrichter

Der Waldrichter, the Forest Judge, is the earthbound guardian of Dead-Man-Walking, a lawless and dark province of Koeleth. Most of the Blacknight Forest is contained within DMW. Der Waldrichter rarely appears, but when he does, guilty men know true fear. Like the Grim Reaper himself, he only shows up when he deems it is someone’s time to die. Unlike the River Dragonof Sorowa’s Cradle, who is characterized by compassion and selflessness, or the Thorn King of the Thorn Crown Mountain Territory, who is characterized by strength and steadfastness, der Waldrichter is characterized by judgement and punishment. He has no special hatred or love of humans, but he will tolerate wickedness for only so long. Many outlaws and villains seek refuge in the Blacknight Woods, only to find that death itself is all that awaits. There is no trial, no jury, no mercy and no forgiveness. When der Waldrichter comes for you, there is no hope. But do not think he is a hero; he protects no one, and not even the purest of souls is safe in the Blacknight Woods. He offers not salvation, but justice and vengeance.

Captain Coral Shipstealer

In a bit of exceptionally lazy naming, Coral Shipstealer’s pirate captain mother named her after the first thing she saw in the ocean and her own exploits, so “Coral” and “Shipstealer.” Such is the naming convention of pirates who are also orphans. Capt. Shipstealer was raised aboard a pirate ship and knows no other way of life. When her mother died in a battle with the Danagir Navy, Coral wrested control of her mother’s ship, the Leviathan’s Wife, from the first mate, who, quite naturally, assumed control after the previous captain’s death. Clever and skillful, few can match Coral in her mastery of seafaring. As with so many other areas of Eirmoda, the Leviathan Ocean is aptly named, as the earthbound guardian residing underneath its waters is Leviathan. Rarely does Leviathan favor humans, but after a grueling test of wills, Leviathan decided that Coral was worthy of his blessing, and gave her the Heart of Leviathan, a basket-hilted broadsword with magical properties. When not on the waves, she calls Eternal Reach, in Koeleth, her home, and seafarers the world over revere her.

Leontios Harbinger and the Master Soul Thanasis

In a far off land, Leontios Harbinger wields great power. Magic works very differently in his homeland. In an incident centuries prior, a group of human souls was cursed with great magical power that they cannot use and fated to roam the earth. The only way to rid themselves of the curse is to haunt living humans, who, in exchange, get to wield their magic. Upon the death of the haunted, the curse is lifted from the soul and passed onto the haunted, who then joins the curse’s cruel cycle. The previous cursed soul is allowed to move on. Each line of souls has different types of magic. Unfortunately for Thanasis, the current Master soul, one of the more powerful soul types, Leontios is seemingly immortal. Thanasis seems to tolerate him well enough, though. Though somewhat prone to giving in to his desires, Leontios is also very intelligent and cunning, and he demonstrates a great deal of control and restraint when he’s trying achieve his goals. He is a generally kind person, but one could not classify him as being moral.His magical power and his immortality give him the room to do whatever he wishes.

Aleida Riverbank

A hero from Koeleth’s past, Aleida Riverbank was the daughter of a Woman of the River and a Man of the Dale. This made her very versatile. As a member of the People of the River, she was an excellent Storm Rider. As a member of the Dalefolk, she was an excellent Far-seer. Both lineages allowed her a masterful understanding of the water. The Dalefolk started off as a branch of the River People, who, after settling Sorowa’s Cradle quickly went on to settle the Rainy Dales. However, after other Koelings settled in the Dales, and as the natives slowly disappeared, melding with the Koelings, the Dalefolk developed a distinct identity. Their hold over River Runners was significantly diminished, but in exchange, they developed excellent eyesight and a special bond with the Dale foxes, Scarlet Thieves, who serve as their pets and are often paired with skilled rangers known as Far-Seers. Aleida, with the help of her River Runner Nymph and her Scarlet Thief Minx, achieved legend as one of the first non-blessed members of the Vanguard. She was awarded that honor for scouting out an enemy army approaching the Dales and leading a small band of Far-Seers to drive off the superior force. They were successful, causing a great number of enemy losses while suffering none of their own through trickery, cunning and an ample knowledge of their environment.

Alright, so, very quickly. I’m still working on chapter 5. I wanted to do some different stuff with it. Stuff I think will work. Furthermore, I will eventually be releasing part 2 of the whole Lion and Dragon thing soonish, too. I just need to think about it some more. You see, Vincent is an important character, but I defined much of his backstory by certain key points and now I have to think about other aspects of his person because I’m exploring other parts of his life. But none of this is what I wanted to talk about! So, I’ve been rewriting my story in the hopes of improving it, yes? Yes! Well, I’ve noticed some things about the originals as I’ve done this, some good, some not so much. So let’s start with the good, eh? When I started out, I was so much more creative and colorful with my wording and expressions. A character didn’t just “say” something nice to someone; they “extolled” them. They didn’t just criticize someone; they “rebuked” them. In the past year and a half, I’ve gotten away from that, and I’d like to get back to it. I like the color and pizzazz of the old style. I was also much more eager to make every word the perfect word for the situation. Not as much so now. Perhaps I could do for a little more of that. I’d also like to get back into “showing” the world more than explaining it. I get very Tolkienesque sometimes, and I just describe the picture rather than demonstrating it. This would be great, if I had the ability to paint the world with words like Tolkien painted Middle Earth. I do not. Now, for the bad. I am a new author. I had only been writing for a couple years before Verbal Realms came about, in college notebooks and stray scraps of paper, and only recreationally, so I wasn’t terribly concerned with the quality of the work. I hadn’t finished more than two chapters of a story, let alone written a book ready to be shared with the real world. Because of that, when I wrote my first chapter of Koeleth, it was a rough, ugly thing. The old chapters don’t flow as well as my newer ones. They’re choppy, hard to chew through, rough around the edges. Lots of little things that could be improved to make them much better. That might not always happen, as you saw with chapter 4, but I’ll be trying. So those are my thoughts, vague and nebulous though they be. With any luck, I can find a happy new medium between my new style and my old. But alas, it will take time. In the meantime, the list of ideas and concepts I’ve formed around Koeleth has grown, and I have big plans. I hope to get away from Tom and Aaron in some of my other stories (worry not, Tom and Aaron are still central to the Chronicles series). Now, I wanted to do something more in the way of bonus content, but I’ve not had much chance, so I whipped up a quick list of Tom’s best weapons, not including the Hardened Tear, the Heartfelt Tear, the River Dragon or any other blades made specifically for him.

Tom’s Favorite Weapons

1. Oathkeeper, Royal Oathkeeper

The Oathkeeper is a stone longsword, most likely cut from quartz or a similar material. It is slightly heavier than metal swords, an attribute that appeals to Tom, but it is just as deadly, if not more so. Sturdy, strong and sharp, it easily cleaves through shields and armor. Though dating back to a time before the formation of modern Koeleth, Tom’s Oathkeeper was well-preserved and worthy of the battlefield. The Royal Oathkeeper is much the same, though generally superior to its fellow Oathkeepers. Once the pearly white symbol of the lord of Earthgift, it now serves as the trusted companion of Mercy’s Mercenary.

Associated Styles: Koeleth Dueling

2. Night and Day

The Night and Day are a pair of Danigiri-style falchions forged by a godsteel smith. The weapons earned their name due to a peculiar trait that is not shared with other godsteel weapons: they are different colors. The majority of godsteel weapons have a curious black luster to them, which is how most people identify them. The Night, however, has a raven color to it, whereas the Day has an opalescent color. The secret behind their peculiar hues is unknown. The perfect balance and razor-sharp edges of the twin blades make them potent tools in Tom’s hands.

Associated Styles: Danagiri Dueling

3. Aegis of the Giant

The Aegis of the Giant is a godsteel shield that houses four godsteel daggers of varying length and style within it. The already weighty shield is made even more heavy by the presence of the daggers, and therefore it is rarely paired with other weapons. Tom forgoes typical shield and sword combat for a purely shield focused style. Thus, the Aegis serves as both weapon and armor. Because Tom is left-handed, he typically uses his right hand for shields instead of his left, but for the sake of the Aegis, he always uses his left hand.

Associated Styles: Unique

4. Earthstar

The Earthstar is a hand-and-a-half cut from a large chunk of diamond. Prized by treasure hunters, warriors and nobles alike, the Earthstar is a masterpiece in every regard. Tom acquires it quite by accident, but uses it to devastating effect. Tom pairs it with another longsword, the Dreamphase, and sweeps the competition away.

Associated Styles: Koeleth Dual Wielding

5. Dreamphase

The Dreamphase is a hand-and-a-half forged from in the Damygli style. What makes it stand out from other Damygli blades is its exceptionally chromatic blade. Its beauty hardly detracts from its deadliness, however, and its light weight is a perfect compliment to its heavier counterpart, the Earthstar.

Associated Styles: Koeleth Dual Wielding