L. J. Amber posts
Posts: 125
Files: 16
TEWWBAD Chapter 77
CHAPTER 77 – Unrequited“…Our hand is numb. We cannot move it.”Behold what Saphienne beheld in her mind as she and Hyacinth drew apart: vines writhing across the library and all upon the steps, their blossoms twinkling with motes of gold within an oppressive darkness. Lightning cracked the sky – the sun smothered by thundersnow – and revealed the endless field was buried beneath bleakest winter.Saphienne was eerily calm within the embrace of the spirit. “…Filaurel said that old wounds can’t be healed…”“This is not old!”...
Something is Coming
And I looked, and behold
TEWWBAD Chapter 76
CHAPTER 76 – Oaths of Bone and WindWhen Saphienne had been healed of her injuries by Hyacinth the transformation had been dramatic, restoring her to near-perfect health in an instant. She would later understand it was because her wounds had been fresh, the magic of the bloomkith well-suited to mending the injuries she had sustained.Gaelyn’s spell was not so immediate.She moaned as she resurfaced from her seizure, violently shaking where she lay held down by Celaena and Laelansa on her bedroom floor. Her head hurt as though it’d been split...
TEWWBAD Chapter 75
CHAPTER 75 – PeacesTranquil, she lay beneath the weeping willow upon a bed of summer grass, content where she dozed in the daylight. All stood still, even the sun, and nothing could add to or detract from the wholeness of her much-needed rest.Beyond where the long leaves hung and the fence encircled the tree, she knew there were people and places, feelings and meanings that would demand of her and contend with her until she was sickened. Her name was out there, somewhere; she had no care for it, nor interest in exploring its mystery. What nee...
TEWWBAD Interlude
INTERLUDEHave you felt the hour growing early? Here we must pause for the night.I do not sleep; I seldom eat. But you are more mortal than I, and I would not deny you the rest and sustenance that your always-aging body demands.The story of Saphienne is told day or night, depending only on when each traveller crosses the vale to arrive at this grotto. I turn no one away. Should no new listener come within the hour, I am willing to continue, if your need is great enough.Or perhaps you have had heard all you care for? The hoard yet awaits you. Sur...
TEWWBAD Chapter 74
CHAPTER 74 – The Crown of SummerYou see her other side, now.Not all of her: much of Saphienne had not yet come to be as she stood amid that crowd in the festival grounds, watching Tolduin depart as Faylar drew near. She had not yet learned to master her impulses, nor gained the wisdom to know what was achievable and what was madness. Her intellect was profound, yes, but although she had learned much about elves and spirits and mortals, she knew very little about the Great Art — and scarcely more about people’s inconstant natures, especial...
TEWWBAD Chapter 73
CHAPTER 73 – RevelationsSummer crept slowly into the Eastern Vale, announced by changing flowers and the dryness that came with the heat. What mild rains fell were refreshing to the grasses as they turned from verdant to golden green, and the trees flourished and grew splendid in their leafy gowns. So too the elves transitioned from pallid to sun-kissed, though Saphienne was among the last to turn blonde, too close to the solstice festival for her to experiment on her mismatched strands with dyes.She didn’t have time to dwell on her misfort...
Forthcoming Update to Read-Ahead for Patrons
Hello everyone,Good news! I forgot to update the goals for the Patreon after I changed the prices, and having now checked where we're at, I see that the first milestone has been reached.The original plan was to give all tiers another chapter of read-ahead when we hit >$250 a month. However, after discussing with fellow authors, and life permitting, we're aiming for better.The Elf member tier (which had zero members) has been unpublished for now.On the week beginning the 15th of September I'm pausing public (not Patreon) updates for ...
TEWWBAD Chapter 72
CHAPTER 72 – Making Space for the SunshineJourneying home to the Eastern Vale was uneventful for Saphienne, who furtively put on the ring from time to time, never with any regularity, and never while she was standing more than five feet away from Filaurel and Faylar. She hoped that the Wardens of the Wilds were following them westward — and that the goblins remained far from the shrine. Whether or not her plan was working, after three days hiking in the wilderness, Saphienne was very glad for a hot bath and an early night.Much demanded her ...
TEWWBAD Chapter 71
CHAPTER 71 – Spare the RodWhy had the goblins returned the ring? As she waited for the Warden of the Wilds, Saphienne struggled with that — along with what she should do with it. Anyone who found it would reasonably believe that she’d lied about the goblins carrying it off, and then they’d look more closely at everything else she had lied about.She palmed the band while polishing the scales, feeling the silvery ferns around its outer edge where they dug into her skin. Claiming that she’d just happened to stumble across it was too farf...
TEWWBAD Chapter 70
CHAPTER 70 – Into the LightBefore Saphienne and Hyacinth hid the tracks left by the goblins, they took their time meticulously studying the scene. Any mistake that made the Wardens of the Wilds suspicious could have dire consequences, and Saphienne refused to be caught through another careless oversight — never again.Fortunately, though goblins were denser than elves, they weighed so little that they only left footprints when rushing. While there were countless impressions on the grass around the offering trees, the sole trail led away from...
Schedule Update for Patrons
Hello Wizards and Dragons,It's finally happened: today's chapter will be late.I've been sick on antibiotics for the past week, and it's really made my work suffer. You might have noticed that I re-edited the last chapter today — I wasn't happy with its overall quality, so I gave it another thorough polish.Today's chapter is important to the story in a couple of ways, and I really don't want to kick it out to you until it's the best I can make it. So, I'm sorry, but I'm holding back until it's ready,...
TEWWBAD Chapter 69
CHAPTER 69 – Barely ConcealedWhile the librarian and the merchant sat at the folding table and skimmed through the books they had each been brought, the elven children talked with the human child and wiled away the warm morning.Saphienne and Faylar eventually ran out of questions to ask Felipe, at least about being human. He in turn exhausted the questions about elven nature and society that they felt they were permitted to answer, which were far fewer, though Saphienne did her best to imply more about their lives in how she phrased what she ...
TEWWBAD Chapter 68
CHAPTER 68 – Maturity“I present to you Felipe of Tenerosa, my only heir, and son!”Saphienne blinked. Standing in the curtained doorway to the cart was the most extraordinary boy she had ever seen.Whereas his father carried himself with confidence and verve that made him seem larger than his frailties, Felipe was unsure, pausing with one hand on the curtain and another placed awkwardly against his hip. Despite this, he was better dressed than Cosme, wearing a loose and pleated burgundy shirt that bunched around his elbows and came down alm...
TEWWBAD Chapter 67
CHAPTER 67 – The Valleys of YouthAt last came the morning when Saphienne and Faylar were to leave the Eastern Vale with Filaurel. Despite the early hour, the sun having barely risen, Celaena and Laewyn and Iolas and even Thessa came out to see them off, and the whole group walked together as far as the lake to the north of the village.Filaurel had requested more practical clothes for the journey itself, and so all three travellers were dressed in warm and waterproof coats, trousers, and boots. Each of them also carried backpacks that the libr...
Essay: Part of My Authorial Intent
We're deep enough into The Elf Who Would Become A Dragon now that I can confess part of what I'm doing to everyone.One of the goals of this story is to welcome in readers who've not been served well by our education systems — readers who don't have much confidence, and who've been turned off from 'literature' because of how fucking terribly it's taught.But I'm not trying to make them like so-called 'better' writing. That's not what I'm about.I don't look down on people who 'only'...
TEWWBAD Chapter 66
CHAPTER 66 – Low EsteemHaving completed his introduction to practical spellcraft in elven society, Almon would finish the second week by at last addressing the spectre that had haunted the feast throughout. He’d unfold maps that showed the full extent of the woodlands — and then also the known world, pointing out to his students the far more extensive territories that lay beyond their homeland.Saphienne would note that all across the foreign maps were writ three words of ominous warning: ‘Here Be Dragons.’Yet dragons were not intended...
Updated TEWWBAD Chapter 65
Hello everyone,I wasn't happy with the pacing toward the end of Chapter 65. I realised yesterday that I need one more chapter in this section than I'd initially planned, but unfortunately I didn't get to write yesterday due to having to move quickly to set up the new cover before we hit the front page of Royal Road.Which we did! And then got a rating bomb pushing us back off of it.I've lightly polished 65 up to the end of the teahouse scene, and then the final two scenes have been more extensively tweaked. If you've already ...
TEWWBAD Second Cover Reveal
Art by Wheatfarm.Hello everyone,The new cover is here! And just in time, too: we're very close to hitting the front page of Best Rated on Royal Road. Currently sitting at rank #24 at time of writing, while the front page is #20 or above.If you'd told me when I started writing this that it'd be so well received, I would have been deeply sceptical. I honestly thought we're run out of gas somewhere between #500 and #250 — but here we are.My deepest thanks to all of you, and my humble gratitude to the anonymous patron who has been...
TEWWBAD Chapter 65
CHAPTER 65 – High ExpectationsOnce Almon had finished his overview of the ways in which their living conditions were improved by elven magic, he would lead Saphienne, Celaena, and Iolas further, showing them how the Great Art benefitted their culture.He’d start by stressing that there were significant overlaps between the material and the cultural — including areas where the division between the two didn’t meaningfully exist. Amusingly to Saphienne, he’d illustrate his point using the Tome of Correspondence through which he communicat...
Something is Coming
And there appeared another wonder in heaven;
TEWWBAD Chapter 64
CHAPTER 64 – High DemandTrue to his word, Almon would spend much of the next two weeks summarising the practical applications of spellcraft within elven society.He would begin with a brief review of the Luminary Vale’s role in overseeing how magic was taught and practised, and from there he’d expand to cover the provision of education for every elf. To her surprise, Saphienne would soon learn that all libraries were ultimately accountable to the head librarian of the Luminary Vale, which meant that Filaurel was nominally under their super...
TEWWBAD Chapter 63
CHAPTER 63 – Golden DaysOnce Almon had accepted the essays of his unproven apprentices, the remainder of the morning was spent finishing their incomplete lesson in Invocation. Saphienne and Iolas summarised what Celaena had shared with them during their subsequent study sessions, and then all three students took notes while the wizard recounted the history of the discipline and its key contributors.So elated was Saphienne by success – the faint ringing from upstairs telling her that the discussion over her submission still raged on – that...
Sad Update
Hello everyone,I've been putting off writing this, but I owe you fair warning: I might be a little late with the TEWWBAD chapters this week.You may remember that my cat took unwell a couple of months ago, so unwell that it seemed like she was going to pass. With antibiotics and changes to her diet, I managed to get her back into a good place... but she was still slowly dying of kidney disease.Last week, she went blind due to high blood pressure. Medication brought her blood pressure back down and her sight seemed to come back, but she had r...
TEWWBAD Chapter 62
CHAPTER 62 – Covered in FullOn the night before her next lesson with Almon, Saphienne set about reasoning through what she would say in her essay.She was not in a rush: she never had any difficulty putting what she understood into words – assuming she did understand – and so she knew that whatever needed saying could be written out quickly. Were it just as simple as writing what she believed, she was confident she could produce her essay within the hour.But as she stood by her bedroom windowsill and watered the freshly repotted hyacinth n...
TEWWBAD Chapter 61
CHAPTER 61 – What Immortal Hand or EyeIn the lesser warmth of that sunroom within the greater warmth of that loving home, Saphienne experienced a revelation as she beheld the ancient poem held by Iolas’ father, all her surroundings falling away as she read and reread the concluding verses.Every morn and every nightSome are born to sweet delight;Some are born to sweet delight,Some are born to endless night.We are led to believe a lieWhen we see not through the eyeWhich was born in a night to perish in a nightWhile the elves slept in trees of...
TEWWBAD Chapter 60
CHAPTER 60 – Auguries of InnocenceThe two apprentices walked back toward the village together, Saphienne abandoning her plan to hunt for wildflowers as she outlined her boundaries for Taerelle. “If we’re to be friends, then we have to be able to trust each other. I don’t consent for you – or whoever was helping you – to augur my future, and I don’t want you scrying on me.”Taerelle smirked at her demand. “And how would you tell if someone did? I’ve been scrying on you for days now.”Although better in control of herself than...
Update on Patreon Plans
Hello everyone,Don't panic: the cost of your subscription is not increasing.I've been chatting to some successful authors who use Patreon, and literally all of them have told me that I'm hurting the growth of this Patreon by undercharging. Apparently this sends the signal that my content isn't worth as much as the content in comparable Patreons, which makes people less likely to subscribe, and less likely to keep their subscription.So, after thinking it over, I'm going to raise the prices for new members only. The subscripti...
Old Article: Sex in Stories, Stories in Sex
Back in 2024 I wrote a guest blog for the NSFW website girlonthenet.com; you can consider this a minor manifesto about the role of sex in storytelling.Once upon a time, a fledgling novelist sat down to learn how they should be writing. There were many books available, some very highly regarded, and so this ought to have been easy. How better to learn, than to read what the masters had to say?True enough, there was plenty of good advice in those books. There was also bad advice, but that was only to be expected; art, like life, is gloriously imp...
TEWWBAD Chapter 59
CHAPTER 59 – Innocence and ExperienceAcross the week that followed Saphienne gave very little thought to the practicalities of magic, throwing herself into what she had learned from Faylar by seeking other activities that would clear and sharpen her mind. Apart from a conversation with Gaeleath – to be recounted another time – she merely spent half an afternoon compiling her notes and then putting them away, though where she could safely leave them gave her pause. She didn’t trust her mother with her belongings.She asked Filaurel where ...
