Now, Kyri had made a promise to Lady Shae... ----- Chapter 10. Zogen Josan stared at them from wide eyes. He hadn't moved for several seconds. It is, Kyri admitted to herself, an awful lot to take in at once, even if some of it tells you that you weren't crazy. Reflect Jenten also had the glaze-eyed look of someone hit in the head hard during sparring. He was the only other person they'd brought in to hear the story of what had happened in Sha Kaizatenzei Valatar; the ruler of [ Continue reading... ]
Phoenix Ascendant: Chapter 4
December 21, 2015 By Leave a Comment
It's time to delve into the mystery of Kyri's supposedly-dead brother... ----- Chapter 4. "Ready," said Poplock. Kyri looked around the large, rectangular room and saw Miri, Tobimar, and Lady Shae in combat poses. "Do you actually think he's going to lunge out of the tube to kill us all?" she demanded, feeling a somewhat unreasonable annoyance at this suspicion. We don't know it's Rion, she reminded herself. It really can't be him. Can it? "Expect, no," Hriista said from beside [ Continue reading... ]
Phoenix Ascendant: Chapter 1
December 14, 2015 By Leave a Comment
We've been reminded of what went before; now the new material begins! Chapter 1. "Lady Shae!" Kyri shouted even as she realized that Shae could not possibly react in time, and lunged forward, shoving the taller woman aside. Her gauntleted hands caught the sagging beam, gripped so tightly that the hardwood dented beneath her fingers, and she braced herself, throwing all the Vantage strength into keeping the monstrous mass of stone above from moving so much as one more inch. By then, Shae had caught herself [ Continue reading... ]
Phoenix Ascendant: What Has Gone Before
December 11, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Today I begin the snippeting of the final book in the Balanced Sword trilogy, Phoenix Rising; we start with a summary of the prior two books. The first chapter will be up next week! Previously in The Balanced Sword Phoenix Rising Kyri Victoria Vantage lost her parents to unknown attackers some years before; even the Justiciars of Myrionar, God of Justice and Vengeance, the patron deity of her country Evanwyl, were unable to discover the identity of the assailants. But she has moved on, and her brother Rion has become a Justiciar [ Continue reading... ]
Under the Influence: Wizards of the Coast
November 5, 2015 By 1 Comment
As I have mentioned elsewhere, I was a major presence online in the Usenet gaming communities rec.games.frp.* for many years (going back to the late 1980s). One day, in 1991, I was contacted by a person going by the name of Mavra, whose real name I later learned was Peter Adkison. He said he was part of a new RPG company and was looking for people to take a look at an early draft of their first planned product, and I was the sort of gamer he was looking for. Little did I realize how important a first contact I had just made. I of course [ Continue reading... ]
Phoenix in Shadow: Chapter 26
February 23, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Our Heroes were heading north to deliver justice, which might be difficult... ------ Chapter 26. The echoing, many-layered murmur ahead of them was unmistakable; they had heard something similar on the day they had – with Xavier – confronted Bolthawk and Skyharrier. It was a crowd, perhaps a mob. Hiriista broke into a trotting run, his tail held high, head maintaining a steady level to guide him. Kyri sprinted alongside of him. Please, Myrionar, let us be in time! The forest opened up ahead, and a [ Continue reading... ]
Phoenix in Shadow: Chapter 21
February 11, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Finally, our heroes get on the road again! ------ Chapter 21. Kyri took a deep breath of the morning air, which once more brought that sparkling feeling into her, something beyond the freshness of an ordinary dawn. I wonder how I'll manage to adapt to the ordinary world when we go back, she mused. Evanwyl will seem dull and grimy by comparison. Even Zarathanton may pall. The three of them stood at the eastern gate of Sha Murnitenzei, looking at the rolling hills that led off into the golden haze of dawn, [ Continue reading... ]
Phoenix in Shadow: Chapter 16
January 30, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Our friends had been invited to a party! ------ Chapter 16. "Come in," Tobimar's voice said cheerfully in response to her knock. Entering, she saw her friend's hair completely unbound, a flowing waterfall of smooth ebony startling in its length and black-shining perfection. "Balance, I know a lot of women – and a few men – who'd kill for hair like yours." "Why, thank you!" Tobimar bowed, the hair following in a smooth flow that he cast back from his face with a practiced gesture as he rose again. [ Continue reading... ]
Phoenix in Shadow: Chapter 14
January 26, 2015 By Leave a Comment
So our friends had found something rather puzzling... ------ Chapter 14. Kyri forced herself to step forward, belatedly following Miri as the much smaller woman strode quickly in the direction of the beautiful city below them. She exchanged a disbelieving glance with Tobimar, and could see even Poplock's eyes wider than usual. This… makes no sense at all. Yet I can sense nothing dark. My powers may be reduced here, but they are not gone, and the only darkness I can sense at all is the forest [ Continue reading... ]
Phoenix in Shadow: Chapter 11
January 19, 2015 By Leave a Comment
The extended flashback is over, and new developments await! ------- Chapter 11. Kyri shook herself, breaking out of a reverie of remembrance, seeing again the darkness of Rivendream Pass, the serpent's corpse, the burned bush. The memories of how they had come here seeming to have streamed by her in a moment, and she shivered anew at the oppressive wrongness that now weighed upon her. "We were warned," she repeated. "Warned that even Myrionar's powers would be weakened [ Continue reading... ]
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