“Now, repeat after me,” Willem said, looking upon his new prospective knight. "I, Arend, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Free Market against all enemies, socialist and dome...
2025-03-21 07:02:28 +0000 UTC View PostThe inside of the gargantuan church of life could be likened to that of a greenhouse, standing in stark contrast to that of the decadent cathedral in Gent. There, the beauty of the architecture see...
2025-03-20 06:59:28 +0000 UTC View PostAfter arriving at Baptiste’s estate in the capital, Eleanor had led him up to the study. She stood in the room, but was removed from the conversation, watching off to the side. Baptiste stood beh...
2025-03-19 07:01:09 +0000 UTC View Post“I heard about what happened with Hans,” Arend said as he and Willem prepared for a sparring bout. “I admit I had my own troubles with the man, but… no warrior deserves something like that....
2025-03-18 06:57:41 +0000 UTC View PostA young priestess sat by Hans’ bedside, giving him his diagnosis. “A prosthetic is going to be difficult, sir. The aura… impedes it directly. Using even the sturdiest of materials, you’d ne...
2025-03-17 06:54:41 +0000 UTC View PostWillem looked down at Hans, who laid up in one of the beds in the Verdant Spring Guesthouse. His hand had stopped bleeding, but that swirling red aura still danced around it. Hans had taken some na...
2025-03-14 06:50:57 +0000 UTC View Post“As members of the Brugh family, the fact is that you stand as one of the last bastions of resistance we have against the forces of Avaria,” King Arnoud said, looking out at the three assembled...
2025-03-13 06:14:46 +0000 UTC View PostUnder ordinary circumstances, Willem probably wouldn’t have given this Eleanor woman the time of day. But the fact was, if he was going to make something happen with the Dubois family, he needed ...
2025-03-12 07:01:37 +0000 UTC View Post“I won’t be coming with you today,” Viviene informed Willem as he woke up. “I have to help your brothers out with something.”
“Aren’t they nearing thirty?” Willem asked off-ha...
2025-03-11 07:02:58 +0000 UTC View Post“He has changed somewhat,” Godfried said as he and Viviene watched.
In the distance, Willem bashed Arend’s shield of aura with the pommel of his sword while the man was brought low by t...
2025-03-10 06:57:04 +0000 UTC View PostWillem, after giving the princess her due deference, sat across from Clara in this comfortable little pavilion. The princess looked him in the eye. Since he’d come here, she hadn’t said a word...
2025-03-07 06:43:34 +0000 UTC View PostWillem’s first visit to the royal palace wasn’t quite what he expected. But then, that was because he didn’t enter through the main portal.
Together with Viviene, they went to wha...
2025-03-06 06:53:28 +0000 UTC View PostViviene watched her son—sons—with a great deal of trepidation. They had occupied one of the smaller sub-arenas in the Ravenveld colosseum. So long as someone could demonstrate the fact that the...
2025-03-05 06:55:13 +0000 UTC View PostWillem looked at Arend (formerly Arend Rook), the other side of the conspiracy to kill him that’d taken place many months ago by this point. He’d only seen the man briefly—he’d pointed to W...
2025-03-04 06:45:43 +0000 UTC View Post“You know, maybe this King Arnoud the Blood Traitor guy isn’t so bad,” Willem said, looking out of the window of the enchanted carriage.
Viviene studied her son. Her fifth son, as it tu...
2025-03-03 06:41:20 +0000 UTC View PostAbout a week had passed since Willem had gotten permission to establish a free-trade zone outside of the city limits. They were planning to build a production facility right alongside the river, ha...
2025-02-28 07:06:18 +0000 UTC View Post“So, the man expects me to vie for the hand of Princess What’s-her-name?” Willem said, leaning his head against his hand. He was still in the upstairs rooms of the Society of Assured Prosperi...
2025-02-27 07:03:58 +0000 UTC View Post“So… the reason that I’ve called all of you together today is because you’re the people that expressed the most concern about my ability to act as the treasurer for the Society of Assured P...
2025-02-26 07:00:45 +0000 UTC View PostSuzanne sat beside Willem’s bed, reading her book of research as she waited for the man to go asleep. Well, she tried to read, but in reality her mind was occupied.
Everyone had co...
2025-02-25 06:53:35 +0000 UTC View PostAs of 2/23, I edited some of the prior chapters. Nothing major, just added foreshadowing for Willem's government bailout in the monthly meeting, replaced the scene in chapter 39 to Suzanne's confro...
2025-02-24 06:08:24 +0000 UTC View PostSuzanne stood over Willem, staring down into his blue eyes. He sat on a couch in the palace of the count of Gent, and she stood over him with a collection of her things in her bag. She organized th...
2025-02-21 06:54:37 +0000 UTC View PostWillem, Gustav, and Dirk sat in the lobby of the Society of Assured Prosperity. Off to the side, there was a completed contract to join with the society. Gustav had elected to do so of his own voli...
2025-02-20 06:48:02 +0000 UTC View PostThere were very few people that could claim to put their kingdom, their duchy, their county, or their barony before their own needs. Everyone was mortal, and everyone succumbed to some manner of pe...
2025-02-19 06:34:58 +0000 UTC View Post“I really do have to go now. I have to go to a funeral,” Willem said, looking at the clock ticking in the corner of his office. He stood up from his chair. “On that front, maybe we can hold o...
2025-02-18 06:43:59 +0000 UTC View PostSuzanne had been interrogating Willem’s servant, a man by the name of Dirk, for some time. She was certain that he knew something, but he was closed-lipped and loyal. Still, his dithering on cert...
2025-02-17 06:57:42 +0000 UTC View Post“I hope that you have a good explanation for what happened yesterday,” Anne Claire demanded of Willem, not long after his talk with Dirk. She had cornered him in the streets just outside the So...
2025-02-14 06:06:01 +0000 UTC View PostWillem walked into the cathedral very late into the night. When he did, green eyes turned to meet him.
“Didn’t think that you’d have the nerve to come,” Petronella said, walking forth...
2025-02-13 06:41:48 +0000 UTC View PostWillem looked out across the carnage. If he didn’t understand the gravity of the situation, he might say something like, ‘this is going to be a disaster for my Society of Assured Prosperity.’...
2025-02-12 06:10:06 +0000 UTC View PostDorothea handled a bottle of poison hidden in her sleeve quite delicately. This was something that had been given to her long, long ago, ever since she first made contact with Avaria. It was intend...
2025-02-11 06:29:22 +0000 UTC View PostGalahad walked up the cold iron stairs of the outer Iron Stomach. When he arrived at the top, there was a woman looking into the holding area down below. She was fairly tall, with black hair and ic...
2025-02-10 06:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post