Bongosian Press

§088 The Cleansing

With the crab gone, they could enter the lava tubes again without worrying so much about them collapsing. They didn't have to travel far to find the corruption; it was only a few minutes' journey i...

§087 The Praxium Brigade

SCENE: Night, on a muddy battlefield. The sounds of fighting are heard in the distance. Vergner pulls his sword from the body of a beast. A group of soldiers runs past him in fear, but ...

2025-10-27 19:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post

§086 Monthy Brief

Princess Mariella — Imperial Palace

The imperial children were briefed once a month, in a stuffy room without windows. This wasn’t where the decisions were made, but wher...

§085 Payouts

"Sweetie, your new man lives in a ruined castle in a dangerous forest, and nobody will go there because of all the strange magic. He is totally a Dark Lord."

"Your boyfrien...

2025-10-22 19:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post

§084 Chess

Chess

“You’re usually more entertaining than this.” Strife, the god of conflict and protection, was bored and grumbling. Instead of trying to win, his opponent had bo...

Definitely Not Canon

It seems like ages ago now, but I published the first chapters of ISINADL in April. True to my usual form, I began in March by writing a bunch of random scenes based on familiar light novel tropes,...

Curator Jane Enjoys Her Books

Sometimes, you need to take a break and hang out with your best friends.

Volume 4 Update & Process

Rest assured, I have not been idle for the last few weeks. I have devised an outline for the next book, laid down the first few installments, and written first drafts of key chapters here and ther...

Travel Mishaps

Things seemed to go very smoothly this morning. 3am wake-up, hotel check-out, and ride acquisition all went without a hitch. I got through the first security checkpoint and dropped off my checked b...

The Magic of Aarden

Ultimately, magic always comes down to power (how much mana can a user bring to bear) and will (how badly does a user want to change reality). With enough of the two, a magician can do nearly anyth...

Kasper, Meet Bees

He looks like a little rascal, doesn't he? But soon, he will learn his lesson: "Bees are strong."

Kasper will appear in black & white in the published novel. Only the fortunate few get to...

Imperial Coinage

Coins are round, solid, and have milled edges. Their precious metal content has been stable for several generations. However, the base metals have changed over the years, reflecting their relative ...

Billing paused; Curator Jane and her books

I have paused billing for one month, as of today. Existing members will not be billed again until October 22nd. By then, I'll have chapters of Book 4 ready for you to enjoy. New members will be bil...

§083 Tanglewood II

Taylor

The clubhouse was located in the center of the course, surrounded by the "front nine" that everyone could see. Players who finished the first nine baskets r...

§082 Tanglewood I

Otis

Otis's party of eight rented rooms at a Wokehaad hotel. This town had a train stop, so it was used to travelers passing through to other places, or even stopping for a few days to fish...

Something to tide you over

Today's chapter will be late. So here's something to look at while you wait … Kasper discovering that "bees are strong."

I hope my artist is up to the task, because I'm not ;-)

§081 Montage

Hannah — Bostkirk

"It's done, Lady Augburg. Blodwin d'Mourne is at home, nursing her bruises. Otis is in Midway. He's visiting his old crew."

"Do you think he knows?"

"That he...

The end is nigh — Can you feel it?

It should be obvious at this point that we're near the end of book 3, Twilight Hunters.

So, what happens next?

I have this awesome button on Patreon that lets me pause subscrip...

§080 Wokehaad

Originally, the idea was to spend a month at Wokehaad Farms training Alexis and Willemien to handle mana. Alexis was Taylor's sometime-apprentice. She had the Orchardist class, but he had failed to...

Ophelia

This is one of the illustrations for book 2, The Legate of Mourne. Ophelia only has a couple of scenes, but Taylor's crush on her continues.

I tapped local Sonoma County artist Ruby ...

§079 Otis & Blodwin

Col. Otis d'Mourne (ret)

The harvest was good that year. For a rural township with little in the way of industry, that was everything. The granaries were full. Carts piled hi...

Appease Him With Treats

TheNeverBored on RoyalRoad posted this, and I had to share. It's inspired by the scene in Vacation I where ...

§078 Classes

There were fewer people inside the Temple of Origins than Taylor expected. The priestess from earlier was there, as was another priest he hadn't seen before, sitting in pews at the front of the roo...

Lunchtime Sketches

I'm thinking of commissioning a drawing of Curator Jane, and I would love to see her in her nest of books.

So I ended up doodling for lunch. Moments like this make me want to spend time learn...

§077 Moyalwande

"What's so important that you can't stay?" Cecilia was in his suite, the self-appointed captain of searching rooms for anything left behind.

"I have to sort out the church situation. Then I h...

§076 Vacation VI

Theudebald declared he was conducting an impromptu assessment and brought along a senior appraiser. The two extra people barely put a dent in the carriage's expansive interior. Their next st...

§058 The Other Place

Matthijs was a cleverly moustached arc, a handsbreadth taller than three feet, and greeted the two boys with open arms. He was even more enthusiastic about the supplies they brought. The group's ca...

§075 Vacation V

Taylor rented a large carriage for the day, nearly as long as a fast coach. It wasn't as ornate as the princess's transportation, but it seated more people and came with a uniformed catkin driver a...

On The Nature Of Spirits

From Collected Treatises, Vol 3 (Second Arcaic Edition, out of print) 

My master was the renowned Hazel Mage. Though famous for his spellwork, he had a ...

§059 Otis & Blodwin

Colonel Otis d'Mourne (Ret.), Legate of Mourne

That monster ruined everything. If Otis had known he was bringing ruin to his house by allowing it to live, he would have killed it long bef...