Sorry, I don’t have a chapter for you today. The week of Thanksgiving proved to be busier than I expected. I attended not one, not two, but three Thanksgiving celebrations with my family, and we have fun. Basically, I had two days where I didn’t do anything that wasn’t related to eating, football or spending time with family. Other than that, I had other, more mundane obligations. What I’m driving at here is that I didn’t have as much time to work on Koeleth as I would have liked. Thus, I will be unable to post this week. However, I will not allow myself to fall behind as I have in the past; next Wednesday you will get two chapters instead of one. As usual, I will not leave you without anything. I always talk about Tom, so let’s visit Aaron this time.

As the battle-ax sliced through the air, carving a path to Aaron’s unguarded head, his life did not flash before his eyes, he did not see all his fondest memories or relive his past; instead, a single memory, long forgotten, buried under layers of cynicism and apathy, rose to the surface. It was an important memory, but one that Aaron wished never happened.

A young lad cried into his mother’s chest while she stroked his head, trying to calm him.

“There, there, Aaron,” she said gently. “I know it may be hard to believe, but there is good in the world.”

The boy continued to sob, his body beaten and battered by cruel masters. He was the bastard son of a slave mother and an unknown father. His mother, as beautiful as an abused and spent slave could be, did her best to take care of him, knowing that she had very little time before they took him away. His life was doomed to be a bleak one, and she was determined to make it as bright as she could while she still had the strength to do it.

“One day, you’ll escape this hellhole, this pit of suffering, and you’ll find good people who will love you and care about you just like I do. This is not the end of your road, even if it’s the end of mine. Keep your chin up.”

“Snap out of it, Aaron!” Tom shouted, breaking his trance. “Get out of here!”

Maybe you’re right, Mom, Aaron thought to himself, as he watched Tom fight of his would-be killer. Maybe there are genuinely good people in the world…Fools and dreamers, the lot of them.

“Maybe the world needs more fools and dreamers,” Tom said, as if he was reading Aaron’s thoughts.

“How did you-” Aaron began, before Tom interrupted.

“C’mon, man. I’ve known you long enough to know what that look means. I’m hurt,” Tom jested.

“Geez, if I’d known I was going to be scolded, I would’ve let him kill me sooner.”

Hello, everyone. Chapter 1 makes its grand return. Now, it is a bit longer than the original, but I think it is better written. The downside is that, while the original article had a link attached, this one is just part of the blog post, so it doesn’t have pages or anything that might make it easier to read.  A couple of minor story changes were made, but nothing that will disrupt the flow of the story. In fact, ideally the opposite will be true.

Chronicles of Koeleth: the River’s Tale
Chapter 1
An Old Man’s Tale

“What’ll it be?” the barman asked his customer.

“Just a bit of ale for me, thanks,” the farmer replied. “Any new stories from the travelers?”

“Nothing worth retelling. Just the usual chatter about trade routes and business dealings. Not even a steamy affair for the town gossips to gab on about.”

Continue reading Chapter 1: Meet Tom, Again

Hello, cherished readers. I just wanted to let you know that I might have to delay my chapter one more day. I realized that I had not submitted it for editing, but my pool of editors has grown a tad bit, so I’ll be able to get one of them to look over it today. Ideally they will have  it done in time for me to post it today. If not, just now that regardless of circumstances, I will have a quality chapter for you tomorrow at the latest. In the meantime, I have a bit of something for you. I don’t believe I have shared this yet, but no doubt you’ve noticed a Koeleth Standard Warrior Ranking in my character profiles. That DOES mean something. Though not a hard and fast system, the KSWR gives a fairly solid guideline as to how skilled a warrior is. It ranks from A to E, with the Special rank “S” above them all. E is the weakest and A is just below S. I’ll give you a simple breakdown.

E – People who are so terrible at fighting that they’re safest bet is to just run away. Mostly the disabled, elderly, children, and monks. You know, people who wouldn’t fight anyways.

D – People who can fight but probably shouldn’t. Barmaids, farmers, common folk. Normal people. Most people in Koeleth are right here.

C – People who have actual skill or training. The army, mercenaries, blacksmiths who take pride in making good weapons. They might be able to fight for a living.

B – A few steps above average. Elite soldiers, guild fighters, well-trained nobles, freelancers. Skillful enough to not be messed with by most.

A – True masters of combat. Generals, mercenary lords, guild masters, vanguards. Worth their weight in gold. Fighting isn’t just a job; it’s a lifestyle.

S – The matchless few. Paragons, slayers, arch fiends, world eaters. People who command powerful magic and those who have trained to defeat them. The Koeleth Vanguard is composed of the elites among these.

This update doesn’t contain a chapter, as you might have otherwise assumed by the title, but it is an honest to goodness important update. As I suspected, increasing the amount of work I had to do has motivated me to do more of the work I wanted to do. I’ve picked up the work I had to put down last month, and now I can honestly tell you I will at least have the rewritten first chapter of The Chronicles of Koeleth: The River’s Tale (that’s its new official title, because I will have other C of K books that will need their own identities) up on next Wednesday. Call me out if I don’t deliver, but rest assured that I will deliver. However, I will leave you with a tidbit of an important thing from a future chapter.

Excerpt, future chapter

Aaron sought out Tom in the bar, but he could not see him. Seeing Cleo working at the bar, he approached her, inquiring about his companion’s location.

“He’s in his room,” Cleo offered. “What do ya need?”

“I require his assistance,” Aaron replied cryptically, before charging up the inn stairs.

Tom was scanning the pages of an ancient Ekoalem tome he had picked up on his most recent job. He did not have the time to properly translate and read it right now, but he would give a more dignified review of it when he arrived at his home in Ramsthrone. His progress was arrested by Aaron’s hurried entrance into his room.

“Tom, I have an emergency,” he declared, his eyes betraying a confusion that his face refused to express. “I don’t feel well. I think someone is doing something to me.”

“Woah, calm down!” Tom said, worried for his friend. “What’s wrong?”

“You know that woman who has been hunting me?” Aaron said.

“Yeah, she’s Catalina’s friend, I think. One of the Vanguard.”

“That’s the one. I think she’s doing something to me whenever we fight. I get nervous, I feel ill, my head gets fuzzy, I can’t think straight.”

“Okay…” Tom grinned, beginning to understand. “So, you think this is some sort of chemical or magical attack?”

“Yes. Nothing else could explain it. Despite all the discomfort and misery, it also…makes me want to be near her. And I don’t want to steal her valuables, either. I’m tempted to let her kill me, if it would please her.”

“You’re an idiot,” Tom laughed.

“What?” Aaron answered, befuddled.

“Have you never been in love before? Because that’s what that sounds like.”

“I…I see. How do I stop it?”

“Well, I don’t know if you can. Matters of the heart are tricky things. What fascinates me is that Mr. Suave and Debonair, who has won the hearts and bedded so many women, needs help when he falls in love.”

“Normally, I would take a tiny bit of pleasure in volleying insults with you, but this is too important. I have to see her again. I want to get to know her before I die. Which may may not be long after.”

This piece will later be developed into a fuller, better extra chapter but this is the skin and bones of a story I’ve had about Tom’s past for a while now.

Intrinsic Value: What is “Human?”

“No, I haven’t seen Tom today, Amelia. He left this morning in a hurry, but he seemed fine,” the blacksmith said.

“Really? Okay. I was hoping to go exploring today, but if he’s busy, I guess that’s okay. Thanks anyways, Mr. Riversedge,” a teenage Amelia Worldwalker said, slightly crestfallen.

Just then, a man rushed into the smithy, gasping and visibly upset.

“Will!” the man shouted “It’s Tom! Come quickly!”

Without a second thought, William Riversedge grabbed a sword off his wall, readying himself to defend his son if necessary, and rushed out the door, Amelia hot on his heels. Upon arriving at the scene of the disturbance, however, the blacksmith stopped dead in his tracks. This was no simple scuffle. Thomas was standing in front of the door to a house, facing down a group of soldiers. Three of the soldiers stood out above the rest. The first Will and Amelia immediately recognized as the captain of the local branch of the guard. The other two were unknown, but the blazing cross on their chests identified them as Inquisitors. The other six members of the group were common guards. It took only a moment for Will to realize whose house Tom was defending. A few months back, a family from some western region moved in to Lilly Pond. They were a pleasant enough bunch, but their young daughter was off-putting. Before long, it became a well-known secret that she was an abomination. It was hardly a threatening disease, a simple case of telescopic vision, but apparently word got out to the Inquisitors, who set out to exterminate abominations, no matter how small the threat. William watched in horror as his son began to verbally lash out at his opponents.

“Get away from here! You have no right!” Tom shouted angrily.

“Move aside, Thomas!” the guard captain shouted back. “This comes from a higher authority than you or I have the ability to dispute!”

“I don’t care if a guardian issued the order, I would still fight it! This isn’t right!”

“Enough! Move aside or I’ll be forced to arrest you!”

“Fine! I’d rather be a righteous criminal than a spineless lawman!”

“Please, Thomas! I don’t want to hurt you!”

“But you’re okay with letting these two monsters forcibly remove a child from her home!?”

“We’re not the monstrosities here,” one of the Inquisitors coolly replied. “That child and all those like her are. They are not human. Now, step aside, boy.”

“She’s just a little girl, you bastard! She’s just as worthy of living a normal, happy life as any of the rest of us!”

“I’ve had enough of this,” the second Inquisitor said. “If he will not willingly move aside, we must force him to.”

The Inquisitor grabbed Tom and attempted to throw him aside, but the strong teenager didn’t give. Instead, Tom grappled with him, and eventually threw his opponent to the ground. The first Inquisitor, upon seeing his ally humiliated, lunged at Tom, fist aiming squarely for his face. Tom blocked the punch and returned a blow of his own, knocking the surprised Inquisitor off balance, giving Tom the opportunity to knock him down.

“Thomas!” the guard captain shouted. “You’ve forced my hand! Guards, arrest him!”

The handful of guards rushed Tom all at once, but he didn’t go down easy. The young warrior lasted much longer than they expected, fending them all off. He proved to be a tough opponent, enduring several punches and kicks and never staying down. He often dodged and maneuvered in such a manner that the guards ran into each other. For fear of causing unnecessary bloodshed, the captain had ordered them to not draw their swords unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise, this fight would have been a bit more grim for Tom. Finally, one of the Inquisitors managed to deliver a devastating blow to Tom’s jaw, knocking him to the ground. The guard captain drew his saber and pointed it at Tom’s throat.

“Surrender now.”

“Coward! I hope what you’ve done today keeps you up at night!” Tom screamed, though he complied with the captain’s order.

The guard captain and the Inquisitors entered the family’s home while the other guards stayed outside with Tom, just in case he decided to start trouble.

“What are you going to do with our daughter?” the mother wept.

“We’re going to take her to the nearest Inquisitor base and see if we are able to safely remove the magical disease,” the first Inquisitor informed her. “If that is the case, she shall be monitored for several weeks to ensure that she is safe, and then she shall be returned to you. If that is not the case, then we shall have no choice but to keep her contained. She is not yet dangerous, but we cannot risk her becoming dangerous. If she becomes too dangerous, then we shall be forced to euthanize her.”

“Euthanize?” the father replied in outrage. “Don’t you mean murder!?”

“Sir, do repeat the mistakes of that young upstart. We lack the patience to deal with you as kindly as we dealt with him. Allow us to do our jobs.”

The family put up no resistance and the girl was taken.

“Sorry…” the captain whispered. Then he turned to his guards as he was leaving and said, “release the boy. He no longer poses a threat.”

They obeyed, and as soon as he was released, Will, Amelia, and Cheryl, Tom’s mother, ran up to him.

“Are you okay, Tom!?” Amelia asked, concern in her voice.

“Yeah,” Tom coughed. “My pride is hurt more than anything.

“Oh, thank the guardians,” his mother declared. “Why’d you do that, Tom!? Are you stupid!? You could have died! You had no business being there!”

“Mom, I couldn’t just stand by and watch them punish an innocent girl. It’s not right, it’s not right.”

“I know, son, but you have to pick your battles. You’re fighting an ages old institution, you’ll need to be a bit smarter about it than that. If you ask me, you should leave that to others. I’d like my son to stay alive and in one piece.”

“Never you mind your mother’s worrying, Tom, my boy,” Will comforted him. “You did what was right, and even though you may not have succeeded in saving that girl, you sent those bastards a message that they won’t soon forget.”

“Language, William Thomas Riversedge!” Cheryl rebuked her husband.

“Sorry, honey.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Tom said, rubbing his jaw. “I need to go apologize to the family.”

Tom clumsily made his way to the house he was protecting. Before he could even get to the door, he received an unexpected hug.

“Thank you,” the mother said as she embraced him. “You may not have been able to save our daughter, but you tried. That’s more than anyone else can say.”

“We’re not giving up on our daughter,” the father said as he shook Tom’s hand. “You’ve shown us that there are good people out there, and we have hope. We’re going to find someone to help us. We have nothing but our thanks to give, unfortunately.”

“Oh,” Tom uttered, shocked by this warm reception. “That’s quite alright. I didn’t do anything special. I just wish I could help more. What happened to your daughter isn’t right, and I hope that your endeavors succeed. If I can help in the future in anyway, please let me know.”

“Thank you again. We’ll be sure to take you up on that offer if it comes to it.”

This is an excerpt from a future story in Koeleth. Like the Slayers of Koeleth, and the Forgotten War, and any other excerpts I might have offered (other than the legends) it is connected to the main story, and might even be considered a sequel in this case. However, the focus is not on Tom and Aaron, but on another character. Now, because most of the characters are the same, I will be omitting names, so this won’t be as smooth as some of my other excerpts, but I felt like posting it. I have no updates on my progress that will amount to anything important, otherwise.

Excerpt, The Wolf and The Blade

The guild master dropped a heavy leather-bound package on his desk. It was full of documents, most of them neat and tidy, but some of them worn and burnt, as if someone had attempted to destroy them. The girl looked at the stack, very confused. Her superior had said nothing when she initially arrived in his office, and now he had dropped all this paperwork in front of her. Seeing the question in her eyes, he quickly explained.
“This is you, princess,” he said lovingly, as if to a daughter. “I’ve been working on this for a couple years now. It’s been tough, but I wanted to give you the best gift I could on your birthday.”
“But…it’s not my birthday…” the teenager replied, still perplexed as she pulled the package towards her. “My birthday…I thought it wasn’t for another couple weeks.”
“That’s when someone dropped you off at the orphanage, but that’s not the day you were born. Honey, that was today. Everything there is to know is right there. In that pile of papers is your whole life.”
She ran her hands over the leather cover, simultaneously awestruck and fearful of what she might find.
“How? I mean…there’s no way…”
He laughed, saying, “Well, it wasn’t easy. I had some tough fights. I had to dive into some dangerous places, broke a few laws, broke a few bones—mine and other people’s—had to cash in more than a few favors. But it was worth it.”
“Thank you…I don’t know what to say…I just…How can I repay you?”
“It’s a gift, honey. You don’t have to. And you may not want to, after you see what’s inside; it’s not all sunshine and rainbows in there. Now, you best get going. I have some more work to do, and I’m sure you’re eager to get to it. You know where to find me if you have any questions.”
“Yeah…Thank you, Dad…” she just barely muttered, too busy contemplating the documents before her.
She picked up the stack of papers, cradling almost as if they were her child, and headed towards the door to the office.
“I love you, my precious little girl,” the guild master said affectionately.
“…I love you, too, Dad…” she said, as stoically as ever, but not without sincerity.
She closed the door shut behind her, leaving her adoptive father to his work, and ran quickly to her room, dodging her guild mates along the way. When she finally reached her bedroom, she locked the door behind her and began digging into her past. She learned about her parents, a noblewoman and her farmhand lover, and the reason behind her abandonment, the scorn of her mother’s family. She learned of the faithful servant who was tasked with finding her a safe home and how she came to the orphanage. Everything after that she remembered, up until her adoption. Everything after that was a blur. She learned that her adopter was a scientist who was dead set on creating a reliable form of producing artificial magic. She was one of his test subjects, and these experiments were the source of her own magical weapon’s power. She learned of her connection to her psychopathic counterpart, the boy with the saw tooth sword. Many of the documents had nothing to do with her directly, but they explained why all these things happened to her. The last document was the most powerful, though. Every other document had addressed who she was, the parts of her past she didn’t remember, the birthright she didn’t know she had, but this one was addressed specifically to her current self. It read:
Dear Daughter,
No doubt, if you’re reading this, it means that you’ve filtered through all the other information contained within and reached the end. So you know who you were now. Your life, your experiences, your missing past, everything that brought you to me. Legally, you became my daughter five years ago, but ever since we found you in the woods, a lost, confused, amnesiac child, I’ve watched over you. I want you to know that whatever you found in those documents, you are my daughter, and I couldn’t love you anymore if you were my own flesh and blood. I’m proud of you and everything you’ve done. I couldn’t hope for a better role model for your younger siblings. You have had many unique struggles, due to the side effects of the artificial magic and your cloudy history, and yet you have succeeded despite all this. Perhaps you will embark on some great journey in the future. Perhaps you wish to meet your biological parents, or seek out the man who gave you magic and robbed you of your memory and emotion. Whatever you do, and wherever you go, I have no doubt you will meet with success, but never forget yourself. Not the you in this file, but the you that trusted me with her life; the you that learned to be merciful and kind, even when it was difficult; the you that has learned when to hold back and when to push forward; the you that is happy, and loved, and not afraid of herself. You’ll always have a home to come back to and a family that loves you. Now, I’m no poet, nor am I an author, so this letter may not do much for you, but it’s vitally important that you remember that you are important, that you are valuable, and that you are precious. Never forget that. Ever.
Love, Dad
The girl stared at the letter, moved by the heartfelt, if a bit clumsy, words, and saw something she had never seen before. Droplets of water had started to moisten the paper, and the ink bled. The source? Her own face. Tears were rolling down her face. She could feel it. Sad, happy, loved. A conflagration of emotion, and she was expressing it.

This a quick drawing of Tom I did a while back. Sorry about the poor quality. It’s late and I didn’t want to disturb anyone, so I took this on my phone. I just found it, so I decided it would be interesting to post. It’s not that different than the current Tom, the clothing style being slightly altered. Also that’s not his current halberd. Anyways, I’m not an artist, so be kind.

You may have noticed a distinct lack of Halloween Special when you logged in on Monday. This was no accident, nor was it fluke. It was very, very intentional. The reason there wasn’t a special posted for Halloween is because I didn’t finish writing it. The reasons I didn’t finish writing it are simple, but potent. Firstly, I have not been writing as actively as

Continue reading I Pretended to be an Author for Halloween

As the title implies, I don’t have a chapter for you yet. I decided I wanted to get started on my rewrites right away. I am excited to say that the new chapters are looking great. With some more editing and polishing, I think we’ll all be very pleased with the results. I also wanted to announce that I will be taking on a second story very soon. A friend of mine asked me to put a story of hers on paper, so that’s what’s going to happen. She has the story pretty well planned out, I’m just the vessel for sharing it. She has the ideas, I have the means of executing them. I’m looking forward to it, myself. As always, though, I won’t leave you with nothing. It’s not much, but here is my gift to you all.

Slogans of Guilds in Koeleth

Valiant Blades: “Honor in life. Valor in the face of death.”

Inquisitors: “May the greatest of fiends flee before us.”

Compassia’s Hand: “Let mercy and kindness guide our hands, even in the midst of darkness.”

Adventurer’s Guild: “Blaze trails and carve out new roads. Never walk down the well-trodden path.”

Death-dealers: “Silent as an owl in the night, and twice as deadly.”

Temple of Hedonism: “Pleasure and pain, all wrapped up in the same package. Come and enjoy.”

Celestial Slayers: “Let the strength of our hands be surpassed only by the strength of our will.”

Revelers of Joye: “May you be blessed with joy and happiness all of your days.”

Mission of Hope: “A bright light in the darkness.”

Wasserdrachen: “Be merciful when possible. Be a nightmare when necessary.”

Blades of the New Age: “Never back down. Let our enemies fear our approach.”