The theory of war is one that has been endlessly-refined by some of the keenest minds in history. More so than economics, engineering or the other sciences of society, it is war that lends definition to the machinery of state.
It is curious, then, that opinions on the matter differ so wildly. Generals and kings alike quarrel ov...
2022-05-04 16:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
The raven came upon the tortoise in the woods. It flew down to stand on its shell and wish it a good day. The tortoise looked up and did the same. The raven talked of simple things and the tortoise answered, and after some time they walked in silence.
Then the tortoise turned to the raven, asking if they were friends. &nb...
2022-04-27 16:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post
Here is a truth: that no man acts without believing himself correct. Even in doing something he knows is wrong, there is a circumstance invoked within his mind to excuse that trespass. Every evil upon this earth is inflicted with the same conviction as the acts of greatest good.
Here, too, is a truth: good and evil remain disti...
2022-04-22 15:02:49 +0000 UTC View Post
My work has been doing a phased back-to-office thing and my schedule has been wacky, with the end result being that this chapter needs another day or two to cook. I will target posting it sometime on Friday, although as always it will be posted sooner if I happen to finish sooner. Next week's chapter should release on Wednesday the 2...
2022-04-20 01:16:10 +0000 UTC View Post
The office of the Star is not a simple one, for all its luxuries. I imagine many a person bemoans their station and feels vaguely ridiculous while doing so; I find myself no exception in that regard. My life is comfortable, my every need seen to, my opinions respected and my wishes obeyed.
There is some deprivation, yes, but it...
2022-04-13 16:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
It is difficult for many men to reconcile the exhortation to love one’s brother with the reality of war and conflict. The divinity within us is merciful and kind beyond human limits, and we hear it calling out to the divine in others even as they strive to their utmost against us.
All men are men; this is not a mere tautology, as i...
2022-04-06 16:00:27 +0000 UTC View Post
Some of you might accuse me of that same hubris, given my temerity in lecturing this august body. I know I have earned your contempt for refusing to participate directly in the War. There is no lofty rhetoric I would offer by way of an excuse, because the answer is simple enough to understand - though my soul is often thought of fore...
2022-03-30 16:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post
Assets in the Strait have observed large Mendiko convoys traveling by both air and sea to the port of Estu. At a minimum, the observed quantities of aircraft exceed our estimates for Mendiko strength by thirty percent, and estimated troop totals are at least ten-thousand.
Initiative Parasol teams shall convene in emergency sessions t...
2022-03-23 16:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post
The asymmetry of time is its cruelest aspect. We may look back and see the ebb and flow of events, but not forward; we walk blindly through moments, never realizing that they are the most important of our lives. Only after long years do we recognize them for what they were - though we cannot see but the faintest glimpse of them now, ...
2022-03-18 20:08:45 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi folks! Between work, life and a surprise migraine I don't see myself having this chapter put together in proper form by Wednesday. As a result, I'm going to put it up later - probably on Friday, although I'll put it up sooner if I happen to work faster than expected. No later than Friday, though! The remaining March ch...
2022-03-15 00:47:39 +0000 UTC View Post
The divinity we bear wields us like a hammer against the world, and its will is seen in righteous action. It is simple and easy to listen to this voice, but the righteous man must do so without regard for pain. Divinity does not recognize the frailty of men, and shows us the path that must be taken even unto our deaths.
The tes...
2022-03-09 16:54:04 +0000 UTC View Post
I did not start out writing a story about war with the expectation that it would become this relevant to current events. I've spent the past year or so marinating in the history of WWI and hearing about the devastation it wrought on Europe; now we are faced with an echo of that tragedy in Russia's senseless invasion of Ukraine....
2022-03-07 01:46:10 +0000 UTC View Post
A man grows to love the ground he stands on. Many phrase this as a blessing, but it is a sickness of the worst sort. It is the human impulse to accept stagnation, a comfortable lack of progress that works against the path of the divine within us all.
Land is divine, as everything is. Unlike men, however, land may only cru...
2022-03-02 17:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post
The mockingbird alit on the man’s shoulder one day and asked him of his tools, for the others in the forest had none. The man replied that he used the hoe to bring crops from the earth, the net to bring fish from the ocean, the hammer to build a house and the flint to light a fire in its hearth.
The mockingbird thanked the man for ...
2022-02-23 17:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Until further notice all domestic project budgets are suspended unless directly supporting field assets. Affected teams shall report to their departmental heads for reassignment within Initiative Parasol. All non-medical leave is canceled.
The covert withdrawal of irreplaceable field assets from the continental theatre is less ...
2022-02-16 16:53:02 +0000 UTC View Post
The divine light shines through us all, but it does not pass through unchanged. The facets of our being shape it just as our flaws distort it. We are, each of us, prisms for divinity. Learn to see the light you spread by observing the way your life brings good to others. Learn to know the shape of your being by watching t...
2022-02-09 17:00:53 +0000 UTC View Post
Talk of reclaiming the continent dances in wide and delicate circles around the subject of Mendian, which is strange considering the extent to which it pervades the fabric of the War. Troops conduct themselves according to the Code of Goitxea, strategies contort to accommodate a whispered word from the Mendiko ambassador. This great ...
2022-02-02 17:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
Each newly-ensouled individual must face a choice: given the power they now have, how best shall they make use of it? Most pursue a trade, some seek glory, and still others prefer to withdraw into obscurity.
A handful of people come to me for counsel on this matter each year, usually those who have received a particularly powerful or...
2022-01-26 17:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
The raven and the mockingbird spoke one morning. The night before there had been a meeting of the forest. The raven and the mockingbird stood opposite each other, as did the hound and the wolf, as did the tortoise and the boar. Man came to the circle and stood opposite an empty space, however. The mockingbird asked the ra...
2022-01-19 17:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post
I have been asked before what I believe my legacy will be, which I maintain is a nonsensical question. Every man should live as humbly as the least important beggar, and as nobly as the hero whose path it is to save the world.
Who could tell me which I am? Even if I think myself one, in the moment of my death I may find myself ...
2022-01-12 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Do not spend your days in worry, or in doubt, or in fear. These are born of the unknown, the truths the world keeps from man. It is not necessary to know these truths in order to live contentedly; indeed, there are secrets that man will never know.
Instead, we are given faith. Faith that we are all set on our path, with t...
2022-01-06 15:36:39 +0000 UTC View Post
Sorry! Work was a little more hectic than I had counted on coming back into the new year, and as a result I need to push the release of Chapter 42 back by one day. I don't anticipate needing to push any of the other chapters this month around. Thanks for staying with the story as we tackle 2022 - it should be an exciting month ...
2022-01-05 02:18:29 +0000 UTC View Post
Seer, Seeker, Caller, Speaker, Ember, Sunlight, Sword and Stone
She who sees what lingers hidden, She who sees all else that’s shown
He who speaks the names of things and He who knows the hearts of men
He who wraps the world in darkness, She who brings the light again
He who parts...
2021-12-29 17:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
I received a curious report today; it details a request from Ardalt to submit one of their ensouled for tutelage here in Mendian. Curious for two reasons - the first, that they would ask such a thing; the second, that we should entertain it for even an instant. Yet the third curiosity makes the rest fall into place.
Ardalt has ...
2021-12-22 17:01:03 +0000 UTC View Post
The white wolf came upon the black hound. It spoke and boasted that it was man’s constant friend, running ahead of him morning until evening every day. The black hound could not hope to compare to the white wolf’s natural majesty, its shining coat and eyes of ice.
The black hound replied that this was so. The white wo...
2021-12-17 22:51:52 +0000 UTC View Post
Men are not alone in bearing divinity; it is in every raindrop and stone, every tree and beast. In this we are not set apart from the rest. What lifts man up from unthinking nature is that we see the divine other and know it as kin.
This is why mercy is solely the province of men. Do not beg the sea for kindness or the st...
2021-12-13 22:53:41 +0000 UTC View Post
This is indeed extra chapter week! Chapter 38 will be up momentarily. What I'm going to do in order to reconcile the posting schedule with my writing, holiday plans and waning sanity is post one chapter today, post 39 on Friday and return to regular Wednesday posts from chapter 40 onward. As with today, Friday's chapter may div...
2021-12-13 22:52:52 +0000 UTC View Post
One of the most-researched aspects of the soul is its perceived strength. There have been many proposals for systems of classification, standardized units of measurement, exhaustive rubrics for defining the capabilities and nature of souls. I have no doubt that such a thing would advance our understanding of souls well past our curre...
2021-12-08 17:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post
It is not uncommon that I hear voices of discontent at the lack of progress in the War. Mine rose among their number, when I was freshly-ensouled and new to the conflict. That we have fought for nearly a century and find ourselves trading the same denuded scraps of land back and forth each season - it feels futile, and in its immedia...
2021-12-01 17:00:01 +0000 UTC View PostJust wanted to give an update on the extra chapter I've been working up for the pledge goal - I'm plugging along on it but November has been a crazy month between work and holiday stuff, so it's not looking like I'll have it before 12/1 like I had planned. I will keep on after it and work to post it as soon as I can in December.
... 2021-11-30 00:08:16 +0000 UTC View Post