"Think, too, of the great part that is played by the unpredictable in war: think of it now, before you are actually committed to war. The longer a war lasts, the more things tend to depend on accidents."
- Thucydides, Historian and General
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There was a light fog, barely more than a mist, that hung low ...
2025-04-30 22:49:34 +0000 UTC View PostTaliesin and Jarl Gunther left the wall swiftly after the gnolls scattered, before the Sheriff’s men and militia allies realized that they had the Jarl severely outnumbered and no common foe uniting them outside the walls at the moment. It was just as well, for word of their hostage rescue was spreading swiftly. Taliesin had no doubts that the...
2025-04-29 01:39:24 +0000 UTC View PostArnulf could hardly believe that a person could be so powerful.
Magic activated all around the Stormlord. The air flared with it, shining like stars bursting in the air. Yet the most impressive feat was still to come. Just as Arnulf thought they would soon be overwhelmed, two portals appeared in the pens at the same time!
Arnulf race...
2025-04-26 00:46:11 +0000 UTC View Post“Sometimes the path of virtue requires acts of sheer idiocy.”
Taliesin the Stormlord, Archmage
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“You canna’ be serious,” exploded Runolf in a shout of disbelief, a rare display of temper from the normally silent guardian.
The various voices of protest and argument that had exploded ar...
2025-04-23 22:57:03 +0000 UTC View Post“Every dust-covered scholar loves to spout off about how you need ‘patience to win a siege’ and point to their ‘studies of history’ as proof. Those fools know nothing. If all it took was a bit of time, any conquest would be impossible to stop. Siegecraft is the ultimate skill in war, and its mastery has built and broken more cities...
2025-04-21 23:01:31 +0000 UTC View Post"A war may only be deemed just if it is waged by a legitimate authority, not in haste or for conquest, but as a grave responsibility to uphold justice and order. It must be fought with a just cause, aiming to right a wrong or defend the innocent against aggression. Above all, it must be propelled by right intention, seeking to restore peace ...
2025-04-18 22:52:03 +0000 UTC View Post“If you must strike your foe, do not do it in half-measures. Do it right and do it completely.”
- Taliesin the Stormlord, Archmage
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The icy wind cut across the hilltop without mercy. Taliesin bundled his cloak tightly about himself as he stood in knee-deep snow, but otherwise ignored the chill. Run...
2025-04-16 21:39:04 +0000 UTC View Post“The real hubris of nobles is that they believe the privilege of their birth means they are immune to the consequences of their actions. I believe recognizing this flaw is key to truly measuring up to the virtues of one’s lineage.”
- Letter from Dom Francisco de Oliveira e Dias, Marquês de Viseu, to King João de Andrad...
2025-04-14 22:44:12 +0000 UTC View Post“With you as my allies, my enemies want for nothing!”
- Final words of War King Herodius
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Taliesin stood in the freezing rain of his own creation and watched as the wall burned. He and his closest bodyguards stood aside as his recruits joined the Jarl’s House Guards in a vain attempt to extinguis...
2025-04-11 23:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post“There is one truth taught by history.
Everything ends.”
- Waltheoff Odinsgode, Grand Priest of the Old Way
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Taliesin shivered in the pre-dawn morning as he walked across Buverik. A few sleep-dazed thralls were up and around, hauling firewood mostly, but little stirred otherwise. Aina...
2025-04-09 23:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post“Magic is not just chaos and destruction.
Magic is power. Magic is life. Magic is creation.
Magic shapes the entire world.”
- Hemlock the Shaper, Archmage
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There were never enough hours in the day.
Taliesin ignored the temptation to seek out compani...
2025-04-07 22:33:13 +0000 UTC View Post“Civilization isn’t formed from good intentions and profound ideas. Neither do superior morals or faith in the gods play a vital role. Rather, it is formed by the application of deliberate violence in ways meant to provoke or hinder specific actions. When the untamed man is subjected to the rules of the sword, he either becomes a useful ...
2025-04-04 22:29:02 +0000 UTC View Post“The echo of an enemy's deeds rings louder than his words.”
- King Ivar the Old, after executing his son
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Aina paced back and forth in the receiving room outside the Jarl’s great hall. Her body ached from overuse of her Forging. She’d stayed invisible too long, had moved too swiftly while tryin...
2025-04-02 22:53:36 +0000 UTC View PostI wanted to give a heads up to anyone who uses the Patreon App through the App Store. If you decide to sign up for membership - please do so through the website, not the app! The app store charges a 30% fee which gets tacked on top of the subscription, simply for using the app to sign up. You get the same benefits by signing up on the website, t...
2025-04-01 18:04:12 +0000 UTC View Post“The size of a man’s arm rarely pairs with great strength of mind. When the two align however… Beware the cunning warrior, my son.”
- Old Farmer Wisdom, Ballad of the Troll Slayer
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“He’s a goliath!” shouted one of the men, while another screamed, “Earth Forging!”
Taliesin’s men...
2025-03-31 23:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
Bonus behind the scenes bonus content!
Aina was an interesting character for me because I've always wondered, what makes someone deeply loyal? How could that be earned?
Taliesin, of course, is the magical glass cannon of the operation. Ultimate cosmic power? Check. Fragile human form? Also check. That meant he'd need people to shore ...
2025-03-30 12:22:01 +0000 UTC View Post"The art of ambush is the art of the unexpected. It is the unseen dagger that cuts deepest."
- Taliesin the Stormlord, Archmage
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Taliesin yawned as he walked through the kitchens towards the muster yard behind the manor. The temperatures had taken a dip, and a brisk wind was blasting snow d...
2025-03-28 17:39:23 +0000 UTC View Post"The unwilling can find no escape from change's relentless grasp."
- Thane’s Edda
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Taliesin stepped outside of the manor into the crisp, pre-dawn light. He was tired from an exhaustive, all-night session of experimenting with his spellforms and planning. He was pleased with his progress - given a few...
2025-03-22 00:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post
Behind the Scenes: I don't know how often I'll do these, but I felt like sharing, and you are the kind souls who are supporting the story so if anyone was interested in bonus content, I'm going to give it to you.
I found this image floating around as a wallpaper of all things, when I was dreaming up the idea of a wizard in a new world. I k...
2025-03-21 14:32:13 +0000 UTC View Post“You come to me with your skin unweathered and palest of blues, boasting of your Sea Forging and demanding to learn how to gain a Second. Who are you but a dirt farmer who tracks mud upon the decks of my ship? You know nothing of the Sea yet proclaim your ignorance with pride.”
- Awilda, Pirate Queen of the Kattegat 2025-03-20 00:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
"Nothing is more perilous for a ruler than being incompetent, for it invites the derision of his enemies and the scorn of his subjects."
- Puck the Jester, before the basque King Mario Bedua’s military loss to an inferior force
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Nothing had gone according to plan.
Hallfred paced his office, a s...
2025-03-19 00:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post"Civilizations may rise and fall, but the enduring legacy of a sword is the indomitable spirit it instills in those who wield it."
- Xenophon of Athens, "The Sword and the Soul: Musings on the Art of Combat"
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The manor was far larger than any building Aina had ever seen before. It housed all of the Jar...
2025-03-19 00:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostThere was no visible sign that anything had happened, but a series of visions assaulted him. He saw the manor, newly built with only one wing and the formal hall, and a young family living happily inside it. He saw a man with elaborate face paint and wild hair leading the family in a religious ritual, and wandering inside. He caught flashes of a...
2025-03-18 18:58:16 +0000 UTC View Post"Progress consists in knowing how to distinguish the nature of different difficulties, and in selecting the best means for overcoming them. But this cannot be achieved without effort and hard work. For just as a house cannot stand without a foundation, so too, success cannot be achieved without a strong and steady base. Let us, therefore, no...
2025-03-18 18:53:51 +0000 UTC View Post“He had enough fire in his belly to burn down a dozen nations.”
- Anonymous
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The morning was somber and cold, and was well-suited to the occasion. The skies were clear and the winds were calm, as if Hel herself had decided to witness the funeral of a warlord. A quiet crowd had gathered in the open...
2025-03-18 18:42:12 +0000 UTC View Post"Sometimes it's the kindness of strangers that can help us rebuild trust. A simple gesture, a genuine smile, or a listening ear can remind us that there is still goodness in the world and that we are not alone in our struggles."
- Journal of a Theban warrior on the eve of the Battle of Leuctra
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Aina ...
2025-03-18 18:36:59 +0000 UTC View Post“The criteria for being Godforged has been one of Odin’s greatest mysteries. Why does he - and the Aesir and Vanir gods who follow him - choose who they choose? Why do the bodies of those who first receive an Elemental Forging change so drastically? Are the Conceptual Forgings lesser because they leave no such modifications? 2025-03-18 18:10:12 +0000 UTC View Post
“It was far worse than a crime. It was a mistake.”
Taliesin the Stormlord, Archmage
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“Milord, the young Jarl is looking to manipulate you,” said Viggo as he walked alongside Taliesin. Runolf walked on the other side of Taliesin, and the two strolled around outside the manor house, ostensibly to...
2025-03-18 17:55:53 +0000 UTC View PostTaliesin was so exhausted that he collapsed into the bed and fell into a deep sleep. He dreamt of the Void, and the long years of introspection that had forced him to deal with the loss of his family, his country, and his world. The familiarity of endlessly reconstructing spellforms soon replaced the bittersweet memories of a past forever gone, ...
2025-03-18 17:52:37 +0000 UTC View Post“It is important to recognize opportunities when they present themselves. If those opportunities are stubborn and refuse to be revealed, an ambitious man must seek them out.”
- Prince Harald Ivarsson, before his execution
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The town of Buverik was just as unimpressive as the town walls in Taliesin...
2025-03-18 17:50:28 +0000 UTC View Post