tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49063185585010560052024-03-14T07:08:20.922+01:00Jack de Nileth - World of MortaevumFirst drafts and releases of Jack de Nileths short stories, novellas, serials and novels. Most of them focus on fantasy, science fiction, and horror.~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-39191252165552420252024-01-05T13:23:00.005+01:002024-01-05T13:31:30.632+01:00Lucid Nightmares (Fantasy/Horror Novel) Release<div style="text-align: justify;">I am alive! And I've returned with not only a new novel, but my first actual physical release, with both paperback and hardcover editions available. Getting both of those set up was a real pain in the ass, though, as the program I usually use for image editing (an ancient version of Paintshop Pro) simply couldn't process images big enough without slowing to a crawl. And even when I did seem to get the covers made properly, converting them into PDF documents didn't work as intended, as their resolution ended up being so huge that only a tiny portion of the image showed up on the cover. Apparently because I was supposed to crop the background even though the rest of it wasn't visible beyond the image borders anyway. But hey, I finally got it done and learned something for the future, so that's something, at least! And since I plan to buy a new PC sometime this year (after having used my current one for about eight years), I hopefully shouldn't have to struggle with as much performance issues in the future.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">To make sure the actual interior of the book looks good, I also spent some money on <b><a href="https://www.atticus.io/" target="_blank">Atticus</a></b>, which makes it incredibly easy to format both physical books as well as e-books, though I still spent considerable time fine-tuning all the settings and trying out different dividers. Though I ended up going with none of them, as all of them take up too much space for my taste, especially if they show up near the beginning or end of a page. And even a two line break looks off to me, so I ended up going with a single line for every scene break instead.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Apart from that, my only real gripe with the program would be that it doesn't offer a fully functional offline version. Sure, you can work on your latest book while offline, but only if you signed into Atticus while you still had an internet connection. And the most important part, converting the book to pdf and epub, can only be done online. Which may not be too much of an issue in this day and age, but if the site ever went offline, it would also render Atticus useless.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Aside from that, I can wholeheartedly recommend it, especially since it requires only a one-time payment. Though anyone that owns a Mac might want to have a look at <b><a href="https://vellum.pub/" target="_blank">Vellum</a></b> instead, which is also supposed to be really good and seems to work entirely offline. So it may have been a better option for me too ... if I actually owned a Mac, or ever planned to buy one. But I can't even justify buying a game console since they always end up gathering dust, so a Mac would be even worse off.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, as for the book itself: here's the cover, whose blurb should hopefully be all I need to say about it! The only thing it doesn't mention is that it also takes place in my Mortaevum universe. Haven't gotten any of the physical copies myself yet, since I tinkered with the cover until the very last moment, and author copies would take a while to arrive, which could be a problem since I'm supposed to move sometime in the near future. Might have to get some retail copies instead to make use of my free Prime membership before it expires.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhby3TsGx7nAzL0_kJyIDPHfVdGhxq6sOX2CFuOL_1j_L5_m5eHRKAOqICAbxHKn4wAPqadSr-3tITCyUmmLhdZGFvgt6CxskFTYfvOhlqFjzzFGv7IqYYAX_2oepHAKM-SlahIchEEue-dRYjZnS3BwhGVSnYtHOJv9jA87Mh0QVu6ZT7vTCn-lLIDrSje/s1754/Lucid.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Mortaevum Fantasy Horror Novel" border="0" data-original-height="1332" data-original-width="1754" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhby3TsGx7nAzL0_kJyIDPHfVdGhxq6sOX2CFuOL_1j_L5_m5eHRKAOqICAbxHKn4wAPqadSr-3tITCyUmmLhdZGFvgt6CxskFTYfvOhlqFjzzFGv7IqYYAX_2oepHAKM-SlahIchEEue-dRYjZnS3BwhGVSnYtHOJv9jA87Mh0QVu6ZT7vTCn-lLIDrSje/w640-h486/Lucid.jpg" title="Lucid Nightmares" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://mybook.to/LucidNightmares" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">>> You can buy Lucid Nightmares on Amazon <<</span></a></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've done more than just finish a single book, however. I actually decided to participate in NaNoWriMo last November for the very first time. And I hit the 50k goal with time to spare! Though I didn't manage to actually finish the book, which will most likely end up twice as long, at the very least. As to what it is: an indirect sequel to Lifelines, part murder mystery, part killing game, and somewhat inspired by the visual novels Zero Escape, Ever17 and Dei Gratia in the fifth day. The last two especially, since the story also takes place in the deep sea, but is supposed to offer a bit more tension than either of these visual novels, which have way too many slice of life moments. No idea when I'll manage to get the book done, however.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And since I finally released a physical book (because someone urged me to), I want to do the same for Grim Memoria and Lifelines, but that will also take some time. Partially because I might want to create new covers, but also because I want to look through them again. And also write a whole new ending for Grim Memoria, as I no longer like how vague I left it in the original release.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And that's about everything of note. So let's see if I'll manage to re-release these books and also finish that Lifelines sequel. Getting at least one of my full length Mortaevum novels out there also couldn't hurt, but will most likely require more revisions, as I plan to rewrite an entire chapter, and also make some changes to the one directly afterwards, so that something that happened early on in the book actually has a proper payoff (instead of none at all).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-53209852866518289332018-06-16T01:42:00.001+02:002019-08-10T12:09:50.634+02:00Lifelines (Mystery Thriller Novella) Release<div style="text-align: justify;">
Are you ready for a book release? If so, you're too late! Because the book is already out. But, as can be seen from the title, it's still not A Decaying World. And it has nothing to do with my Mortaevum Universe. It's just something that popped into my head one day, although I honestly can't remember the details anymore. And while it isn't a full-length novel, it should still keep you busy (and hopefully entertained) for a couple of hours, judging by my text-to-speech program, which I used like dozens of times until I was satisfied at last.</div>
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I also have another finished novella lying around, which once again takes place in my Mortaevum Universe. But that one needs more polishing, so I won't release it until sometime next month. Until then, I'll try to focus on A Decaying World again. Especially because I won a beta read that would otherwise have been quite pricy. No idea if it's going to be worth it, but I have to focus on the novel anyway. It's been lying around for far too long, after all. I'm not going to make any promises on when it will actually be released, though. Just that I will split the book after the first part, while also releasing a complete edition later on. And I'll try not to work on too many other projects in the meantime.</div>
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And with that out of the way, here's the link to <b>Lifelines: A Terrifying Christmas Night</b> ... which only has a subtitle because I noticed there are lots of Lifelines on Amazon. Damn them all! Anyway, I hope you have fun with it! And if you do, please leave a review on Amazon so others can find it too!</div>
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<a href="http://mybook.to/Lifelines" target="_blank"><img alt="Mystery Thriller" border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ASuMn2ugq3c/WyRFLCkxq4I/AAAAAAAAQl4/TKxpsFt-TO0KJQNaUCrMo-DH6gj1osfVQCLcBGAs/s640/Lifelines.jpg" title="Lifelines" width="426" /></a></div>
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<i>Lifelines is a mystery thriller about a young woman who can see when
other people will die, no matter if the cause is natural or not. It's a
power she despised for many years, until it made her realize that no
one's destiny is set in stone. From that moment on, she has tried to
save as many people as possible, particularly those with suicidal
thoughts.<br /><br />Unfortunately, one of these cases puts her own life in
danger, for reasons she cannot understand. And it seems like the whole
world conspires against her that day, as none of the options to resolve
that situation are easily accessible. Will she be able to change her
destiny, nonetheless? Or will she finally pay the price for interfering
with the natural order?<br /><br />There's only one night to find out!</i></blockquote>
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~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-31654177233521659602017-08-17T07:00:00.000+02:002017-08-17T07:00:18.231+02:00A Decaying World: Final Chapter<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>And here's the final chapter of A Decaying World! I'm not quite sure what the next book will be called, but it will most certainly end the story that I began so many years ago. And I didn't even need to adapt the second part as it ultimately added nothing of importance, except for something that I can easily include in the story that follows. And erasing it also removes some characters that would make the sequel way too bloated. There'll be enough new characters as it is.</b><br />
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<iframe height="800" src="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l1VXmJtEYAfPGZQsiM4DFtVPnn70rwK3yPOzMYZj0Ak/pub?embedded=true" width="700"></iframe><br /></div>
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~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-11899208745933308462017-08-16T07:00:00.000+02:002017-08-16T07:00:32.531+02:00A Decaying World Chapter 32: The Angel of Death<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>And here's the penultimate chapter. Might not be as epic as the finale of the Calamity arc, but I hope it works well nonetheless.</b><br />
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<iframe height="800" src="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YcIhomge9JU2J7Pm_UKApWRmow2w_kvD_8v9j2n7o_c/pub?embedded=true" width="700"></iframe><br /></div>
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~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-60398356629173221402017-08-15T07:00:00.000+02:002017-08-15T07:00:15.828+02:00A Decaying World Chapter 31: Point of No Return<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>And here's another chapter! Two more until the book is done, which means the final chapter comes out on Thursday (in case anyone is actually reading this). I originally thought of maybe including one more, to add some hints about what's to come, but it might be better to wait with that.</b><br />
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~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-71064525681028537832017-08-14T18:25:00.001+02:002017-08-14T18:25:37.910+02:00A Decaying World Chapter 30: The Final Barrier<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>A Decaying World is finished! So all the remaining chapters will follow in the next few days. And then ... I'll just have to fix it up and release it eventually. But first I'll have to focus on something else for a bit.</b><br />
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<iframe height="800" src="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UtIqB-3-v9ONLvkM9Hizd81s_jzni-tlEyvHVoAAcX8/pub?embedded=true" width="700"></iframe><br /></div>
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~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-89607513596571916402017-08-09T02:36:00.001+02:002017-08-09T02:36:26.872+02:00A Decaying World Chapter 29: The Dark Crystal<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>And here's yet another chapter, one of three I've written while being on vacation. Although the third of these is actually not finished, which is why Chapter 30 will only be posted when Chapter 31 is done. Afterward, there's only two more chapters till the book is finally done. So it shouldn't take too long ... hopefully. Getting all of that ready for release is a different story.</b><br />
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<iframe height="800" src="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RGek29ayO0sTuvKFeZ016CVgehESogfy7c6Qd7qeOvE/pub?embedded=true" width="700"></iframe><br /></div>
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~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-87496020315609122552017-07-08T14:59:00.000+02:002017-07-08T14:59:23.707+02:00A Decaying World Chapter 28: Prisoner of Time<br />
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<b>And here's another chapter of A Decaying World. This time one with lots of dialogue and little action, which I'm sure could be improved upon, but this is only the first draft after all. I also found a better title for this last part of the book: Exctinction! Certainly sounds less cliched than Destiny ... and allows me to keep a certain naming scheme! Not sure I can keep this going till the end of there series, however.</b><br />
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<iframe height="800" src="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KTpLdUPThGJWvucIQ44uwzJ_jCUXhk-EIbQGz9gB88s/pub?embedded=true" width="700"></iframe><br /></div>
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~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-12171251858050477432017-06-30T21:07:00.002+02:002017-06-30T21:07:37.536+02:00A Decaying World Chapter 27: Last of the Nine<br />
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<b>And here's the final chapter of the Desolation Arc! Really liked the ending personally, although I won't spoil why. And now there's only two or maybe three chapters left until the story reaches its finale. Which might take up another two or three chapters. We'll see.</b><br />
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<b>But no matter the result, the book will finally be done in the very near future (well ... the draft, at least)! A bit faster than anticipated, but my original plans would have involved taking a longer detour through the underground. Which might not have been interesting.</b><br />
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<iframe height="800" src="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gYc9prTzMSCZ0L0C3U3lhexV7z4MjY_w5QabVSW_snE/pub?embedded=true" width="700"></iframe><br /></div>
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~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-68890285678347690612017-06-24T22:11:00.000+02:002017-06-24T22:14:24.648+02:00A Decaying World Chapter 26: The Depths of Bel Ga'nahn<br />
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<b>And here's another chapter, this time full of riddles for the characters to solve. So exactly what the player would have done if this was still a game. It's also the second to last chapter of the Desolation arc. Not sure how the final arc will be called, although Destiny might be most fitting. It won't be anywhere as long as the previous arcs, however.</b><br />
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<iframe height="800" src="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XY9-2d8oVXgxJqgYFqoAFA9OR253OAJXgCDYiCVjHKs/pub?embedded=true" width="700"></iframe><br /></div>
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~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-35179494958307427612017-06-14T18:41:00.000+02:002017-06-14T18:41:10.694+02:00A Decaying World Chapter 25: Assembly of the Dead<br />
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<b>And here's yet another chapter of A Decaying World. Actually turned out to be a little longer again, although I still stopped earlier than originally intended. So no idea how long the following chapter will be. Still getting very close to resolving this part of the story. And then it's actually going to move toward the finale! Although there's still some events that need to be dealt with in-between.</b><br />
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<iframe height="800" src="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vc0qHONpWGujWoFBb3BDO4KFJRrRfi7FUVJG2c0cI2w/pub?embedded=true" width="700"></iframe><br /></div>
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<br />~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-44190564507756327942017-06-07T11:35:00.000+02:002017-06-07T11:35:35.941+02:00A Decaying World Chapter 24: The Underground Network<br />
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<b>And here's another chapter of A Decaying World! Slightly longer than the previous one, but not by much. And I see the title formatting has actually worked this time. No idea why the previous one refuses to let itself be centered...</b><br />
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<b>Anyway, the ending was originally supposed to be a little different, but that might have been overkill. And also dragged things out too long. The next chapter might be a lot longer ... or maybe not. We'll see!</b><br />
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<iframe height="800" src="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FwMybdiQiuoZ9J5SzVLVPyR-pweTTnQbu5T_55uHQaM/pub?embedded=true" width="700"></iframe><br /></div>
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~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-37384743694494663372017-06-03T03:31:00.001+02:002017-06-03T03:59:45.298+02:00A Decaying World Chapter 23: Dark Omen<br />
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<b>And here we go again after way too much time has passed. The chapter is also rather short, but that's just how it worked out. More should be following soon. And I actually found a better way to display this than by simply copying the text in here. I'm not going to update the old postings again, however, as that would mean posting my revision, which isn't even finished. So this will have to do. Especially since the drafts will most likely be removed when I finally get around to publishing the actual book.</b><br />
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~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-34193928733028944672016-12-11T01:21:00.000+01:002016-12-11T01:21:25.791+01:00Grim Memoria Release!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://a-fwd.com/asin-com=B01N2SAX48" target="_blank"><img alt="Mortaevum fantasy" border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E9BGLzfoKXQ/WEv0TikBBmI/AAAAAAAAPEs/37Q1FizaPL8XSX3c-jJnwY1xoC6mnGJ-gCEw/s400/Grim%2BMemoria.jpg" title="Grim Memoria" width="276" /></a></div>
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<b><i>"Grim Memoria tells the story of a man who falls from the sky, with no idea where he came from or who he actually is. A young woman fishes him from the river and offers him a life that his previous self could never have dreamt of. But the past has a habit of catching up, no matter how long or far he tries to run. Can he find a way to escape the Wheel of Fate? Or will it shatter his one and only chance to attain a life shaped by his own free will?"</i></b><br />
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<a href="http://a-fwd.com/asin-com=B01N2SAX48" target="_blank">>> Buy the novel to find out! <<</a></h2>
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My first full-length novel is finally available on Amazon! Might not be as long as a A Decaying World (which still hasn't been released), but I hope some of you will enjoy it nonetheless. So if you're interested in fantasy, romance or mystery, why not check it out? You can even read it for free if you have a Kindle Unlimited membership. I might also release a paperback somewhere down the road, but not right now. Mostly because I would like a unique cover instead of having to use stock photos.</div>
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Please leave a review when you're done. A few lines would be enough. It truly helps a lot, especially in terms of visibility. And <span class="text_exposed_show">it would be great if you could share the novel with friends or acquaintances who might be interested in this kind of story.</span><br />
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So, what happens next? Well, I planned to finally get back to A Decaying World, but after reading Grim Memoria for like a thousand times in a row, I feel a little burnt out. So I'll delay that until the new year. But then I'll try to get through the entire book (the Calamity portion anyway). Might still need more revisions afterward, but I really want to release it next year.</div>
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But I also need to finish the Desolation portion of the story, which will lead Drake and his companions into the World Below, a place full of wonders and horrors that connects all of Meceruun. So please look forward to me writing new chapters ... more than two years after the cliffhanger of Chapter 22!<br />
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Until then, have fun with Grim Memoria. And don't forget <a href="http://www.jack-de-nileth.com/2016/11/grim-memoria-release-giveaway.html" target="_blank"><b>the $20 giveaway</b></a>! I added new entry options today, so tell others about Grim Memoria and increase your chances to win some money!<br />
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~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-54630455487368816552016-12-01T00:36:00.000+01:002016-12-01T01:18:03.944+01:00Grim Memoria Release Date Announcement<div style="text-align: justify;">
After going through Grim Memoria multiple times, I've finally decided on a release date! While I could upload the book right now, I want to make sure that I haven't overlooked any errors, especially where missing letters are concerned. And I want to see if anyone else is interested in getting a review copy, as I've only received one reply so far. So I'll give it ten more days and will release the book <span style="color: red;"><b>around the 10th of December</b></span>!</div>
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I also thought of including two short stories that are somewhat connected to the events of Grim Memoria. Then I realized I couldn't do that as both of them have already been published on other sites. And I'd really like to make use of KU for the time being. That's why everyone who signs up for my <a href="http://eepurl.com/3C0TD" target="_blank"><b>newsletter</b></a> (or has already signed up) will get a free story when Grim Memoria comes out. It's nothing huge and also nothing new, but it seems to help other people getting newsletter subscribers, so I might as well give it a try.</div>
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Until then, don't forget the <a href="http://www.jack-de-nileth.com/2016/11/grim-memoria-release-giveaway.html"><b>$20 Paypal Giveaway</b></a>! You can earn additional points every day. And the more you get, the better your chances.</div>
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<img alt="Fantas novel" border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-orO7Vju35Gw/V2-XCYCjnZI/AAAAAAAAOhU/wMzBPJFOSq4mO7HXO-ZwTTMGxr9iRA6pACPcB/s640/Grim%2BMemoria.jpg" title="Grim Memoria" width="444" /></div>
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~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-67282996369458775922016-11-02T01:00:00.000+01:002016-11-02T01:00:15.047+01:00Grim Memoria Release Giveaway!<div style="text-align: justify;">
Another year is almost over and I haven't really accomplished what I would have liked to accomplish. Partially due to being depressed for way too long, but also due to being lazy. And because I got a couple of beta reading offers, but those seem to have dried up for now.</div>
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Additionally, I'm turning 29 today and have no one to celebrate it with. Not that there's a reason to celebrate after everything that's happened (or hasn't happened) in the last year. I don't plan to go into any details, so here's two things I'd like to announce today:<br />
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<li>Grim Memoria is gonna be released either this month or the next. I'm not entirely sure yet, as I still have to finish up a side-project before I can check the story two or three more times. I also expected another project to keep me busy for a week or two, but I guess the one asking for it has simply dropped out. So that might not happen. </li>
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<li>As the title already implies, there's gonna be a giveaway! Nothing huge, just something to hopefully get the word out. Certainly better than just throwing the book out there. It's gonna end on the 24th of December. Too late to buy some Christmas presents, but it gives me more than enough time to get the book ready and up on Amazon. And for people to actually find the giveaway!</li>
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What can you win? <span style="color: red;"><b>$20 in Paypal cash.</b></span> All you need to do is sign into the Gleam widget and participate in at least one activity. Afterwards you can get a free bonus entry every day. Everything else is entirely optional but gives you better chances to win. I might add some options when the book is ready, so come back every day to make sure you don't miss out! So good luck! And if anyone is interested in fantasy, why not check out my book after its release? It's only going to cost $2,99!</div>
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<a class="e-widget" href="https://gleam.io/bHw8V/grim-memoria-giveaway" rel="nofollow">Grim Memoria Giveaway</a><br />
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~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-18329116258501436402016-08-17T21:18:00.000+02:002016-08-17T21:39:11.976+02:00Artworks, beta reading, and plans for the rest of the year<div style="text-align: justify;">
Time for another update, I guess. I haven't gotten much done these last few weeks, partially due to a vacation and also because I didn't feel well mentally. Again. The last year just kinda sucked, even if it's mostly my fault. I also started a new story some days ago, but I'm just not feeling it. Might be okay for the game I planned to use it in. Not sure how well it translates into a book.</div>
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So I'll put it aside for now and will focus entirely on Grim Memoria. Which has been done for a while, by the way (at 43K words). Just need to put on the finishing touches. Afterwards, I'll finally get back to Loop. It's been dormant for way too long despite being a relatively short story. I'll have to start from the beginning, though, as the original was written in 3rd person while 1st person would make a lot more sense.<br />
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And when I'm done with that, as well as some side projects, I'll try to finish the first part of A Decaying World. Just need to hope that I can keep my perfectionism in check. And that my mood doesn't hit rock bottom again, which might very well happen in 2 1/2 months...</div>
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<img alt="Geryon Roza - Bella Hostia" border="0" height="256" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7dcsEmHFIKo/V7R6mhchPbI/AAAAAAAAOtQ/M9fBSPvesIElmRU6PsXRQImDU-Xd1GRKQCLcB/s320/gb%2Bchibi.png" title="Grim Memoria" width="320" /></div>
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There's also been a couple of changes, as you might have noticed. The first would be the <a href="http://www.jack-de-nileth.com/p/artworks.html" target="_blank"><b>artworks section</b></a>, which I finally have actual content for! All thanks to a <a href="http://flightrising.com/" target="_blank"><b>browser game</b></a> I don't even like. Seems to be all the rage amongst women, but all I care about is earning ingame currency which other people accept as payment for artworks. Might sound annoying, but I can easily watch a movie or a tv show while farming the game. So if you can't afford to pay for artworks, why not have a look?</div>
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The other change would be <a href="http://www.jack-de-nileth.com/p/beta-services.html" target="_blank"><b>me offering beta reading</b></a> in exchange for a relatively small fee. I know it's frowned upon, but I think it makes more sense than giving your manuscript to a total stranger and hoping for some feedback, which most people might not deliver, as I've experienced myself. And if I'm going to spend hours reading and commenting on someone else's story, I might as well ask for something in return.</div>
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I don't expect much to come of it, but my bank account would certainly be happy about a few gigs once in a while. And who knows, maybe I'll get more customers if I manage to build an actual portfolio. To achieve that, I'll also look around for short stories to critique. </div>
~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-69446677248368584632016-06-26T10:55:00.001+02:002016-06-26T10:55:36.370+02:00Still alive ... and writing!<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hey guys, sorry for the absence, but there wasn't much to say about my writing projects. Which doesn't mean I stopped writing, but most of it had nothing to do with the my Jack de Nileth pen name. And while I'm trying to get back in the grove, the last year wasn't easy. And there are still days when I don't feel motivated to write anything. The summer heat doesn't help in that regard. Really wish I had some window shades...</div>
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But hey, I finally got rid of my student loan some weeks ago! Takes a bit of pressure off. Which doesn't mean I can focus 100% on my projects, as I have others running that need to be finished. The Way of Darkness should be one of them, but I don't feel like focusing on a serial for now. Which is why I started adapting another of my games: Grim Memoria. And man, the dialogue was awful. The written version should hopefully be an improvement. I'm about 20K words in but have no idea how much is left. Maybe another 20K, but I know my writing can get a bit excessive.</div>
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Afterwards, I'll finish some other projects and maybe then I can focus on getting the first Mortaevum book released. And then I'll see about the second half. Can't make any promises, though. I just hope my motivation doesn't take a nosedive again. Being depressed sucks.</div>
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I also made a cover for Grim Memoria, by the way. An artwork made specifically for the story would have been nicer, but this one has to do for now, even though it doesn't totally fit the character it's meant to portray.</div>
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<img alt="Mortaevum" border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-orO7Vju35Gw/V2-XCYCjnZI/AAAAAAAAOhM/Fu82l7TgLDMWtXvlJwI9R_ig23OMEx7XACLcB/s400/Grim%2BMemoria.jpg" title="Grim Memoria" width="277" /></div>
~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-90539619343921292972015-09-09T00:53:00.000+02:002015-09-09T00:53:46.780+02:00The Way of Darkness Vol.2 - Beyond the Mist<div style="text-align: justify;">
The second volume of <b>The Way of Darkness</b> has been released ... some days ago. Sorry for not writing a post back then, but I'm still too busy with lots of other stuff, which also prevents me from going through the last two chapters of <b>A Decaying World</b>. No idea how long it's going to take, but at the current rate, I'll expect a few more months, as I need to repay some student loans. Or rather I'm forced to do so, for the second time now, as I've suddenly never been eligible to receive them in the first place ... right~</div>
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Anyway, I wanted to release the second volume about a month ago, but then I got stuck when going through it again, went on vacation, got depressed, had to focus on working on the loans again ... so yeah, kinda annoying, especially with all those ideas floating through my head. Haven't even started the third volume yet. Would make more sense for a serial, but I simply can't spare the time till the loan-story is out of the world.</div>
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<b>Beyond the Mist</b> was supposed to be a rather simple continuation to the first volume. But then it got bigger. And more epic. Might seem out of the place so soon into the story, but that's simply how it went. The third might be a little more down to earth. Or maybe not ... who knows? I certainly don't, as all I've planned are some of the more important facts. Everything else is a surprise even to me. <b>Mortaevum</b> is similar, but has a lot more cornerstones. Mostly because it was a game before it became a novel.</div>
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And that's about everything I wanted to talk about. So if you're interested in the second volume, click on the following image. And if you'd rather wait till it's complete: be my guest. I don't like having to wait either. </div>
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<a href="http://a-fwd.com/s=Beyond+Mist+Jack+de+Nileth&asin=B014QARDTU" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="http://a-fwd.com/s=Beyond+Mist+Jack+de+Nileth&asin=B014QARDTU" border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lgRAzWZhD38/Ve9iGTKk9JI/AAAAAAAANgE/_rQtmDiiAII/s400/way%2Bof%2Bdarkness%2Bvol2.jpg" width="286" /></a></div>
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~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-79496127798416567192015-07-05T22:37:00.001+02:002015-07-05T23:00:09.154+02:00Distractions and stupid payment changes<div style="text-align: justify;">
Hello guys! After remodeling my blog and not posting anything for months, an update surely couldn't hurt. So here's one! Unfortunately, I cannot claim to have finished the revision of <b>A Decaying World</b>. Why? Because I haven't touched it in a month. Instead, I decided to work on other projects instead, some of which you can see in the sidebar now. All of these (except for <b>Spam Up your Life</b>) can be found on Kindle Unlimited ... which might not be worth it anymore. It's certainly better than selling nothing, but if the payment actually turns out to be $0.005/page, then it's simply a joke.</div>
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Sure, it means long form writers can potentially earn more (while everyone else gets peanuts), but that's assuming readers get through enough of the book. If they don't, you're also going to lose out. Having to get through 10% was a lot better in that regard. The payments might not have been sustainable, but Amazon should have come up with a better system. Like paying a flat rate for every borrow and then adding bonuses for a certain amount of pages or whatever. Would certainly be better than the stupid system they've got now.</div>
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Despite all that, I'll keep my serials exclusive to Amazon right now. <b>Death Zone of Dheygar</b> still needs a lot of stories before I can even think of creating a bundle anyway. <b>The Way of Darkness</b> might be easier in that regard, especially since I've changed my rhythm to allow for 3000-4000 words a day. No idea how long the second volume is going to be, though.</div>
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<a href="http://a-fwd.com/s=Dazzling+Light+Jack+de+Nileth&asin=B00YMDM5H2"><img alt="Horror Serial" border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aKBc5l9GgNY/VZlb1VK6mbI/AAAAAAAAMPY/ZWWEhe0zXPo/s1600/Dheygar-Dazzling.jpg" title="Dazzling Light" width="147" /></a><a href="http://a-fwd.com/s=Insidious+Terror+Jack+de+Nileth&asin=B010M3TQ36"><img alt="Serial Horror" border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h-q1DgXiOBo/VZlb1h_CekI/AAAAAAAAMPc/y7-1LFkW4uY/s1600/Dheygar-Terror.jpg" title="Insidious Terror" width="142" /></a><a href="http://a-fwd.com/s=Sales+of+the+Apocalypse+Jack+de+Nileth&asin=B010YRNF5U"><img alt="Death Zones of Dheygar" border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TxV9oWzAyTE/VZlb2IB7ruI/AAAAAAAAMPs/knJyc1dS0MM/s1600/Dheygar-salesman.jpg" title="Salesman of the Apocalypse" width="128" /></a><a href="http://a-fwd.com/s=Snag+in+the+Road+Jack+de+Nileth&asin=B010YEHEK0"><img alt="Way of Darkness" border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r1yGaw6qOVQ/VZlb2wLj40I/AAAAAAAAMPo/lPNf05ZynW0/s1600/way%2Bof%2Bdarkness%2Bvol1.jpg" title="The Way of Darkness Vol. 1" width="143" /></a></div>
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Sadly, I've already forgotten where the idea for <b>Death Zones of Dheygar</b> came from. Shouldn't have waited so long to post something about it. <b>The Way of Darkness</b>, on the other hand, has been inspired <b><a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/266210/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">by a game</a></b> I've played some time ago. It didn't have much in terms of plot, so all I took was the basic premise—a world consumed by darkness.</div>
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Since someone will surely claim I stole the protagonist's weapons from Wolverine: nope. Sure, they're almost identical, but I didn't even think of that. All I wanted was an unsual weapon, especially since most of my characters use swords.</div>
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So if you're interested in horror, why not check out <b>Death Zones of Dheygar</b>? And if you want more fantasy instead, <b>The Way of Darkness</b> will hopefully deliver! I'll try to focus on the latter now, with occasional glances at <b>A Decaying World</b>. So it might still take a while for the first book in the Mortaevum series to be released. But hey, it's my first actual book. One where I had to change a lot during the last two revisions. So having the release pushed back might not be such a bad thing.</div>
~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-21357696321375089102015-04-30T04:11:00.002+02:002015-04-30T04:11:29.482+02:00The state of A Decaying World's revision<div style="text-align: justify;">
How long has it been since my last update? Two and a half months? Oh well. No point in writing any posts when I don't have much to say. You can get more updates on <a href="https://twitter.com/Nileth_Author" target="_blank"><b>twitter</b></a>, but still not all that many.</div>
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Anyway, what I have achieved since my last update? I've finished revising everything up to chapter 9, which means I got rid of a lot of useless exposition and hopefully tightened up the prose. It might have led to a few sudden scene transitions, but I'll see about that later on. Really need to get the revision done first.</div>
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If everything goes well, I could finish the remaining 44K words in the latter half of May. I don't expect that to happen, though. Why? Because of all the fighting going on at the end. Chapter 9 has been quite an ordeal in that regard, as it took me almost a week to get the ending done. I really wasn't happy with how the original turned out, so I had to rewrite basically the entire finale.</div>
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So yeah, I might be done in May, but more likely in June. But that's when I really need to finish this, as I also need to look over it once more (especially since I tend to omit words way too often) and hopefully get some input from beta readers. The first revision wasn't exactly fruitful in that regard. I don't think anyone read more than the first few chapters, with most never even giving any feedback.</div>
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And that's about it for now. Haven't really managed to write much else, as I'm also busy writing a lot of reviews. But I'll get to that when the revision is done. There's no need to finish the second half of the book just yet. Would be nice, of course, especially for anyone that hates cliffhangers. But I really want to get more stuff out there. Most likely on Kindle Unlimited, as it might be a better platform for short stories and novellas.</div>
~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-79390932787215411692015-02-18T09:20:00.001+01:002015-02-18T09:20:36.588+01:00February Update<div style="text-align: justify;">
While the second revision of the first half of A Decaying World will still take some time, I've decided to slightly redesign the <a href="http://www.jack-de-nileth.com/p/my-books.html" target="_blank"><b>Published eBooks-Page</b></a>. Whereas earlier, every cover would link you to a different page, they now serve as anchor-links as I've put every summary and link on the same page.</div>
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The summaries themselves will surely be changed, as some of them aren't that good, but that can wait. Might also change the way everything's displayed later on, as I'm never really satisfied.</div>
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I've also created a <a href="https://twitter.com/Nileth_Author" target="_blank"><b>new twitter-account</b></a> for my writing, as my main account is mostly written in German, which might not be that interesting for those of you who can't understand it.</div>
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And I've removed the link to my Patreon-campaign, as I'm not writing nearly enough to justify having it. Maybe I'll get back to it later on.</div>
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That's about it, for now. I'll try to get the revision done in less time than before, but I can't promise anything.</div>
~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-38244754389301591882015-01-21T04:15:00.001+01:002015-01-21T04:15:38.525+01:00Plans for 2015<div style="text-align: justify;">
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Guess it couldn't hurt to post something once in a while. It's only been 21 days since the beginning of the year! Anyway, there won't be any new chapters for a while, as I'm trying to focus on the second revision of the first half of A Decaying World. What will this revision entail?</div>
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<li><b>Everything written in first person will be changed to third person </b></li>
<li><b>I might give Drake's sword an actual name. Constantly calling it the shadow sword doesn't sound all that interesting.</b></li>
<li><b>The interlude between Chapter 4 and 5 has been removed</b></li>
<li><b>Chapter 10: Calm Before the Storm will almost be entirely rewritten and tightened up, as there's too much stuff happening that isn't really necessary</b></li>
<li><b>And I'm obviously trying to improve upon the writing wherever it seems necessary, like removing pointless adverbs and stuff.</b></li>
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I think that's about it. It could take me a month or two, if I don't keep slacking off. But I can't make any promises. Especially since I might start working on another project I've come up with some time ago. It's called Lifelines and might work well as a serial. But as with Loop, I'm not going to post it on my blog, at least not all of it. So don't expect too much new content in the coming weeks.</div>
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If everything goes well, I will release the first half of A Decaying World sometime this year. And maybe even the second, if I manage to finish it anytime soon. Which I'm not going to be able to do while working on the revision. </div>
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I'm also trying to get Loop finished, as it's not that long of a story, which should make revising it a little bit easier. But that remains to be seen, as the Lifeline concept seems more intriguing at the moment.</div>
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So yeah, that's all for now. Till next time!</div>
~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-33799791242838117652014-12-24T04:18:00.000+01:002014-12-24T04:18:33.382+01:00A Decaying World Chapter 22: The Asen Fall<div style="text-align: justify;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>And here's the final chapter for this year. Be aware, that this is more of a draft than any of the chapters before. I normally edit these before posting them, but there's not enough time left before my vacation. There's also going to be another short story today. Didn't want to post these all at once, but that's just how it happened. </b></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Chapter 22: The Asen Fall</span></h2>
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From atop the hill overlooking the Sanctuary, only a small fraction of Mimeidr could be seen. No tree in existence could ever have hope to challenge its splendor. Neither in a thousand years, nor in a billion. Its sprawling crown had loomed over Meceruun's soil long before life decided to crawl from the oceans. Its position had changed over the aeons, however, as was evident by the ruins crushed beneath its roots. They disturbed the tree's precarious balance and gave its form a crooked appearance. Not that anyone would have noticed from up close.</div>
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Pulsing light emanated from Mimeidr's bark, invisible to the naked eye. It traveled across the land to confront the approaching darkness. Yet halfway there, the power waned and fizzled out. The tree had simply exhausted too much of his power. And the longer it tried to hold oblivion at bay, the more of its leaves withered away.</div>
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Looking at the fields leading up to the tree revealed a more immediate threat, however. An army of darkelves had surged up from beneath. They were dressed for battle and armed to the teeth, with swords and spears and claws and flails. Similarly dressed lizards were scattered through their ranks, only made visible due to their impressive size of at least 8 feet.</div>
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A beast made of wood and earth, with white moss spread out like hair, clombered along behind the army. Its body consisted of two giant faces opposing each other, with noses long enough to impale a human from top to bottom. They had no mouths to speak of, as that area was connected to small, tendril-like arms holding onto giant spheres with eyeballs in their center. Yellow, pulsing veins covered their circumference like a net.</div>
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Corpses of their surface-dwelling brothers lay in the darkelves' wake. Most seemed to have died without being able to offer resistance. More of them were gathered in front of Mimeidr and preparing for battle, despite being severely outnumbered. A group of mages sat around the entrance to the sanctuary, with their fingers were interlocked and their eyes closed. Whatever they were planning could not yet be deduced.</div>
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The thunder of the army's footsteps suddenly came to a halt. Two pillars broke through the ground and a dome of darkness expanded from within. It remained for about five seconds before fading away, unveiling Ri'zzar's bandaged form.</div>
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Crimson light emanated from within the Splinter of Desolation and forced the army to back away, lest they be consumed by its power. Ri'zzar clenched his fist to dim its influence and peered at the elves gathered in front of Mimeidr. They talked to each other in hushed whispers and held their weapons at the ready, apparently realizing that the time of battle drew near.</div>
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“Where did these maggots come from?” said Ri'zzar into the void.</div>
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A darkelf dressed in obsidian armor squeezed himself through the ranks and stepped onto Ri'zzar's right, avoiding the Splinter.</div>
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“They must have sought shelter after seeing Golgotha rise again.”</div>
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Ri'zzar chuckled and the Splinter flashed. His voice echoed across the field like the laughter of a demon. Some of the elves backed away, looking at each other in fright.</div>
<div class="western">
“As if the crippled spirit of Mimeidr could save them.” He raised his left hand and stared at the fire burning within the Splinter. “I could put them out of their misery with only a thought. But I can't afford to waste the power that I need to destroy the tree.” He clenched his fist shut again and turned his head to look into the unseeing eyes of the army's commander. “Crush them and stop anyone who tries to enter the Sanctuary. I cannot afford to be disturbed.”</div>
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A wide smile crept onto the commander's face. “As you wish.” He drew his sword and raised it high. Darkness trailed behind. “They've driven us into the darkness to silence our faith. Yet we grew stronger, even when robbed of our sight. They had to sacrifice Elvone just to kept themselves afloat. But now the time of reckoning has come.” He swung his sword forward. “Kill every single one of them and the surface will be ours again!”</div>
<div class="western">
The bandages around Ri'zzar's mouth deformed into the hint of a vicious smile. Opening his hand once more transformed him into a flash of light that shot past the elves and penetrated the barrier erected around Mimeidr's Sanctuary. It took him only the fraction of a second, therefore preventing anyone from noticing his passing. The army now charging towards them was too much of a distraction anyway.</div>
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</div></div></div><a href="http://www.jack-de-nileth.com/2014/12/a-decaying-world-chapter-22-asen-fall.html#more">Read more »</a>~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906318558501056005.post-71810092144192879972014-12-08T01:01:00.000+01:002014-12-08T01:01:05.242+01:00A Decaying World Chapter 21: The Voidwalker<div style="text-align: justify;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>And one more chapter of A Decaying World. Not much else to say, really. I hope I'll be able to release one more chapter before the year is over, as I'll be away on vacation shortly after christmas. No idea how long the next chapter is going to be, however, as it is a finale of sorts. Not quite as final as Chapter 12 might have seemed, though.</b></blockquote>
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<h2>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Chapter 21: The Voidwalker</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The arbiters could have struck hard and fast, preventing their prey from gathering their thoughts. Instead, they fanned out, with Halath walking clockwise and Aquis the other way around. The earth gushed out behind the Arbiter of Nature and rose into the sky like a waterspout. Its surface was coated in barbs whose tips were secreting a green, slimy substance. Nauseating fumes ascended into the air wherever it hit the ground.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That barrier was all that would have been needed to prevent our heroes from escaping. But Aquis created yet another layer by transforming the earth beneath her feet into sludge. It corrugated long after the arbiter had passed, as if a billion worms were moving beneath its surface, desperately searching for something to devour.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mordred spread her arms when Halath's barrier sealed itself and a myriad of wyrms shot into the sky. They danced around each other and merged into a blistering tempest of fire that rose far above the arena. When not a single body remained to be seen, a shockwave ripped it apart, enveloping the wall in a fiery net that no one could have passed without suffering life-threatening burns.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Maximilian watched all of this happen with trepidation, ready to unleash Elegnis' power at the first sign of an attack. “What now? Do we run or do we fight?”</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How could we fight someone who already defeated us not long ago?” said Feyadal. “But escape is no option. They'd simply create another barrier further away.”</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Not that it matters.” Alyssa followed Halath's every step with an arrow resting between the tip of her fingers. “Reaching Mimeidr before Ri'zzar is impossible without a portal.” </span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>There has to be something we can do. </i>Drake looked at the arbiters, as if hoping for a miracle. Yet all he saw was Mordred's haughty gaze, who was still waiting for the final touches of Halath's barrier at that point. <i>Maybe turn powers against each other. </i><i><b>And how would you possibly do that? Invite them to stand next to you and hope they attack without a thought? </b></i><i>If you put it like that...</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The vampire's gaze wandered over the billowing steam. It grew thicker when the slime came into contact with Aquis' mud, offering only rare glimpses of the arena's outer shell.</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Drake, any ideas?” Maximilian turned towards his friend, who showed no sign of having noticed his name being spoken. So he stepped closer and tried again. “Hello, are you listening?” When even that accomplished nothing, he raised his hand in annoyance.</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ouch!” Drake screamed and rubbed the cheek Maximilian had struck. At that exact moment, his eyes opened wide, lit up with inspiration. While not of his own making, he remembered a method that could allow them to escape while also catching up to their enemy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The vampire turned his head and flinched. Maximilian had almost slapped him again and only caught his hand inches from his face.</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What are you doing?”</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just trying to get your attention.”</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You could have said something.”</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I did!”</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh … anyway, I think I might have found the perfect solution for our predicament.” Everyone's eyes focused on him while Mordred's firms ascended into the sky. “Remember our trip through the desert? When we helped the villagers by defeating that giant scorpion?”</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How could I forget jumping into the maw of a beast? What about it?”</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The creature came into this world by escaping the Void, which we then used as a shortcut into the swamp. That's how we could escape while also reaching Mimeidr in time!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Maximilian nodded and a smile flashed over his lips, but his expression darkened immediately after. “Good idea, but how should we cross over when there's no tear in the fabric of reality?”</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm sure the Alp could help. But I haven't heard from him since he went missing.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Alyssa joined them moments before Mordred's net closed off the arena. “What is this Void you're talking about?”</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's a place for our souls to gather when we're asleep.”</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But you did enter with your physical bodies?” They nodded. “Then there's only one thing—”</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Are you done yet?” A wall of fire as wide as the chasm rushed towards them. Drake and Maximilian jumped into opposite directions while Alyssa propelled herself into the air. It would have been too soon to evade the attack entirely, but she managed to keep herself afloat by unleashing a short bust of air. Feyadal, however, could not get away. Claws created by the earth itself had latched onto his feet and were keeping him in place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Halath smiled from beside her sisters. “One down, three to go.”</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No, not with such a halfhearted attempt.” Mordred spread her arms. A fiery bubble displaying the events beyond the fire came into focus.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Drake saw Feyadal's dilemma before hitting the ground and propelled himself backwards. The elf gasped and buckled over when the vampire's arm connected with his stomach. That's the only reason he didn't scream when his feet were wrenched loose at a painful angle.</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Are you okay?” A pointless question, as Feyadal could barely take a step without faltering. “Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you.”</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Better than turning into ash.” Kneeling down, he traced his fingers over his covered feet. He grimaced once, then raised himself into a standing position by reaching for Drake's offered arm. “They don't appear to be broken. But I won't be of much help.”</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No one will. You're all too pathetic to stand up to the likes of us!” Halath leapt from beneath the earth and pointed her palms forward. A myriad of barbs ejected themselves from beneath her dress, tearing it to shreds and revealing a wooden body underneath.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Drake stepped in front of Feyadal, dug his feet into the ground, and conjured a barrier. But the arbiter's attack was as powerful as the fist of a giant, easily pushing him backwards and into the elf. Feyadal pressed his hands into Drake's back, but without magic, there was nothing he could do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The barrier shattered as they both toppled over. Yet Halath could not enjoy her victory. An arrow had pierced her face with perfect timing. Its force was powerful enough to push her skull upwards, almost severing the strands of flesh keeping her body connected to her head.</span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nice shot.” Drake scrambled to his feet and pulled Feyadal with him.</span></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
“<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank you. But it won't deter her for lo—”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mordred's body wreathed in fire shot from the sky like a comet. The ground shattered upon impact, propelling Drake and Feyadal into Halath and Alyssa dangerously close to Aquis' barrier.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Huge bubbles rose from beneath the mud and splattered Alyssa's dress upon popping. A minor inconvenience compared to the foul-smelling odor assaulting her at the same time. It coiled itself around her brain and clogged up her cerebrum, slowing down her thought-processes. One could say she felt horribly drunk. A sensation entirely new to her.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She pressed her right hand onto her skull and toppled forward, constantly opening and closing her eyes. Blue and black shadows were moving in the distance, but she could neither make out what they were nor logically connect the dots.</span><br>
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</div></div><a href="http://www.jack-de-nileth.com/2014/12/a-decaying-world-chapter-21-voidwalker.html#more">Read more »</a>~Jack~http://www.blogger.com/profile/05877439558436491608noreply@blogger.com0