Our twin hearts pound in our chest as our wings strain to carry us beneath the clear, moonless night. Death comes for us as surely as the stars continue their silent paths across the sky.Â
Creed has killed our nephew, Khan the Hoarder. He killed our uncle, Nash the Hunter. They did not heed our warnings, and they paid with their lives.Â
And now our cousin comes to kill us.Â
There is a spasm in one of our left wings, and the uneven load causes our other three wings to fail as well. We have pushed them beyond their limit trying to escape the inescapable, and we land hard on the desert sand below.Â
We are not alone for long. Creed’s wings flap as he lands, creating a localized sandstorm in the process. The pride emanating from him is palpable.Â
“Ah, the Destiny Sisters at last,” says Creed. “Good evening Vy. Good evening, Bea. I’ve been looking for you. It seems you’ve somehow wandered a long, long way outside the borders you and those other traitors agreed to.”Â
“Bold of you to call us traitors when you’re the one killing the last of your own kind,” we reply in unison.Â
“You have only yourselves to blame,” Creed spits back, malice dripping from his voice. “The moment you and the others betrayed what you are and entered into this farce you call peace, you sealed your own fate.”Â
Creed’s face twists into a hungry grin. “But then, you know all about fate, don’t you cousins?”Â
“More than you ever will,” we reply.Â
A jet of fire lights up the scene as Creed roars in fury. “Then why choose the path of blindness and a slow death by atrophy when it came time for us to make our choice?” Creed bellows. “The others I understand. Khan just wanted to be left alone to admire his ridiculous pile of trinkets, and Nash only cares about his fun at the top of the food chain.”Â
“But I expected more from you,” he says, a quiet sadness now creeping into his voice. “You were supposed to be the wisest of us all. If the two of you had sided with me, Khan and Nash would have been outnumbered, and they would have listened to reason.”Â
We stand on our feet. Our limbs and tail are strong and ready for a fight, but it makes little difference while our wings are still useless and spent. “It was your sense of superiority and entitlement that made you deaf to reason,” we say.Â
“Am I not Creed the Proud?” he roars back. “If I don’t speak up to uphold the pride of our kind and all those who look to us for inspiration, then who will? We spent an entire age of this world enduring wars and attacks from those who should be little more than insects to us. And when our enemies finally wore themselves down into broken fragments, it should have been the hour of our great final victory over them. The dawning of an age where they would have to scrape and struggle against us! And instead you accept a truce?”Â
“You imagine a future that would not have been, because you lack the sight we have been entrusted with,” we say. “You say that we should have been the wisest of our kind. Do not delude yourself, Creed. We Destiny Sisters ARE the wisest of our kind. And if you were wise, you would listen as we tell you what you are blind to under your own nose.”Â
“And what is that?” Creed asks derisively.Â
“That the Primafolk are far more important to this world than you realize,” we say, “and they were at their breaking point. If our kind had pressed our advantage while they were at their lowest point, it would not have caused their subjugation. It would have caused their destruction. Followed by the destruction of us all.”Â
“You speak nonsense,” says Creed. “Excuses invented by the weak.”Â
We do not argue. Creed knows we speak only truth, but is too proud to admit it. Instead, we let our flame speak for us. Black flame with the sheen of a hundred colors washes over Creed, and for the first time since he began hunting us, Creed looks truly afraid. He was not expecting this.Â
Creed’s body is unharmed of course, but his eyes cloud over with the same color as the flame. He whips his head wildly from side to side as he sees the vision we have shared with him. When it is over, his eyes return to their natural golden color.Â
“I see,” he says. “It appears there are powers at play greater than I had realized. Powers that even our kind would stand no hope of defeating, though it wounds my pride to admit. You’re right, cousins. The Primafolk must survive.”Â
“Yes,” we say. “You finally understand.”Â
“And yet, there’s something that bothers me,” he says, narrowing his eyes. “Vy used her Obsidian Flame to show me this vision, but where was Bea’s Opal Flame? In all the centuries we’ve known one another, I’ve never seen the black without the white. Could it be you’re holding something back from me?”Â
“You underestimate how far our sight extends,” we say. “We knew you were coming to kill us and take both of our flames. Every destiny has two sides, and it is impossible for any being to possess both at once. So we have already entrusted the Opal Flame of Destiny to other caretakers.”Â
“Is that why you’re out here in this worthless desert?” Creed asks with spiteful laughter. “You know I’ll simply find whatever gullible worms you’ve doomed with your gift. All you’ve done is ensure your allies will die, and I’ll still claim both your flames.”Â
“No, you will not,” we state as simple fact. “You will hunt high and low for the Opal Flame for a hundred years, but you will not find it until it finds you.”Â
Creed’s hungry grin then returns. “So you violated your own borders to grant one of our kind’s greatest weapons to our oldest enemies,” he says. “I can think of no greater act of treason.”Â
He steps towards us, slowly and menacingly. His sharp teeth illuminated from behind by his own crimson red flame. “A hundred years you say?” Creed asks, closing in. “Perfect. That will give the Primafolk enough time to recover and prepare so they can actually survive the coming war.”Â
He looms over us, and we lay both of our heads down to the cold sand, resigning ourselves to the fate we could not escape.Â
“You know what?” Creed taunts. “I think I’ll even give them a little help to make sure the fight is worth my time.”Â
[Want more? The story continues at EnemiesOfCreed.com]
The snow and ice crunched under Brynwolfn’s feet as she made her way over the mountain. The sun was only hours away from setting, and as she looked at the horizon she knew that if she turned around within the next few minutes, she would likely make it back to the nearest entrance tunnel before dark. If she kept going, she would be forced to either make her way back across icy cliffs and slopes in…
Waybreaker was underway. Brynwolfn had taken a much more direct role in ordering the commanding weapon for Keledrain than she ever had in years past. Ever since she had accepted her position as the highest ranking general of the Hulfraust army, she had been more than happy to leave the commissioning of the weapon between Keledrain and the leaders of the various artisan guilds. Up until now,…
New chapters being published once again! (Not just previews, but full chapters.) Thanks for your patience everyone!!
Tarun held his fur cape tight around himself to keep it from flapping in the wind as he continued to explore the frozen grounds of the monastery. The cold air was dry and made his cheeks sting, his lips chap, and his eyes water, but Tarun still preferred to walk through the harsh outdoors rather than wait inside any longer. The room where Mendoji still continued his vigilant chanting and…
Me, having a pre-chapter huddle with a bunch of my characters
*at this point, I’m writing book 4 in my series and going into this meeting I’m starting to feel like I know what I’m doing*
Me: “OK, look this is going to be a pretty straightforward scene. I just need you all to have a conversation that helps establish why you’re splitting into different groups and what your goals are to get the plot moving. Everyone remember their lines?”
Sassy New Etherial Being Character: “I mean, I skimmed the script, but it seemed really bland and boring, so I edited a bunch of my lines. I also added a bunch of lines.”
Me: “You’re not authorized to do that.”
Sassy: “I used permanent marker. Whatcha gonna do?” *shrugs*
Regal Enchantress Character: “I don’t trust the new Sassy character.”
Me: “I mean, I guess that’s understandable, but don’t let it draw too much focus from the objective of the chapter, OK? We need to keep things moving.”
Enchantress: “You will need to split it into two chapters just to resolve my trust issues, or I’m going back to my trailer.”
Me: “What?!”
Sassy: *shouting and pointing finger* “The Kindhearted Healer Character has been having dreams of apocalyptic visions that he’s been keeping a secret from everyone!!”
Me: “WHAT?!”
Healer: “Wait, I have?”
Sassy: “Yeah! After all, the author doesn’t have any ideas to make you interesting or give you a story arc in this book, do you Dave?”
Me: *sighs* “I mean, I guess you have a point. Just as long as it’s not too distracting from the goal of the chapter.”
Sassy: “You will literally have to include another whole chapter where I explain the nature of reality just for the vision to make sense to the reader.”
Me: *groans* “Alright fine! What even happens in this big epic vision anyway?”
Sassy: “How am I supposed to know? You’re the writer, you figure it out!”
Wizard Protagonist: *raises hand* “Hey guys? Does anybody remember that I’m still here, and the whole point of this meeting was to kick off the search for my parents?”
The character formerly known as "Seftis" (introduced in Book 2) has had an official name change in all the books. He is now Gravine.Â
There are a few reasons for this change. The biggest reason is to help avoid confusion with his character and the character Seth (my wife pointed out how similar the two names are, and how easy it is to mistake them when reading out loud.)Â
This name change has now happened across the board on all chapters posted on the book blog, as well as newer chapters posted on our Patreon page. If I happened to miss it anywhere, please let me know.Â
Laronius ran through the ever-present wheat, his attention fixed on getting to the top of the chilly hill ahead. A cold, ominous feeling grew in Laronius as the hill grew nearer, further confirming that the phantom that had slipped past their defenses was hiding at the top. The pale blue mist beginning to form was also a dead giveaway. After all, any weather other than beautiful sunny days and…
When Tarun and Mendoji first started out on their journey to Mendoji’s old monastery, they expected the trip would take about a week and a half to go and come back. After several unexpected detours and distractions, they were finally in sight of their destination after six weeks. In the course of that time, they had each saved the other’s life on multiple occasions, and had gained a greater…
As a special holiday treat, our amazing character artist @giant-bean has posted three times more brand new character art on our Enemies of Creed Patreon this month! And since the holidays are a time for giving, we thought we’d share this beautiful art of Solimar Silverbow posted earlier this afternoon with everyone!! (Though please, for your own safety, don’t ever make the mistake of referring to Solimar as a “Christmat Elf.” Trust us on this.)Â
Below is the character description from Solimar’s post on Patreon:Â
For Solimar Silverbow, pride is not a vice, it's what makes life worth living. Solimar's pride manifests in many ways, some helpful, others to their detriment.
Solimar's pride is what drove them to excel at any skill they set out to learn, including archery, hunting, woodlore, and tracking. All their life, the other elves in the Silverbow kingdom thought it was their place to label and define Solimar's identity, but Solimar's pride refused to be limited by anyone, and that conviction has provided them with an uncommon inner strength and sense of self worth.
Sometimes Solimar's pride makes their life harder than it needs to be though. If Solimar needs help they will ask for it, and they will accept no help otherwise. Advice given unasked for is an insult to Solimar, and they would rather make a choice they know to be foolish before giving someone else the satisfaction of bowing to their directions. This stubbornness has come at a personal cost to Solimar over the years, not the least of which was the loss of one of their eyes. Though the details of that story are a mystery to everyone but Solimar alone.
Chewing thoughtfully on a grain of wild wheat, a large rat looked up at the full moon through a tangle of thorny vines. The rat loved nights when the moon was full, because those were the nights it felt the most like the normal, natural rat it used to be. Those were the nights when the angry voice of the soul that it shared a body with was quietest. The rat stuffed two more kernels of wheat in…
The wind howled as Keledrain continued her climb towards the icy mountain peak. Every now and then she would look over her shoulder, just out of habit, but she knew there was no chance of anyone following her. The dwarves of the Hulfraust nation only ventured outside the mountain when a specific need drove them to do so.
Keledrain once encountered a goatherd in the snow looking for a lost goat that had wandered outside of the mountain. She occasionally saw small teams of three or four dwarves performing maintenance duties, such as replacing old pipes that stuck up through the rocks below, or clearing stubborn snow off the array of mirrors that directed sunlight down into their tunnels. And of course there were the annual combat drills the Hulfraust warriors would participate in for a week every year to ensure they could fight in the snow when necessary.Â
But those encounters were rare, and never this high up on the mountain. Keledrain was certain that the cave she was climbing to near the mountain’s peak had never been touched by any of the Hulfraust dwarves. It was one place she could go and be certain she was alone.Â
In short, because showing the faces and bodies of these characters is important, and high-quality character art is the best way to do that. And the best way to make more character art available, is to let other people help.
You see, there are several aspects of the Enemies of Creed series that I’m very proud of. The emotional weight of the journey, the suspense of the mystery, the relatability of the dialogue, and the openness of the world and its history are just a few.
But one aspect in particular that I’ve become increasingly proud of (especially given the how much I’ve learned this year about my own implicit racial bias) is how diverse the cast of characters is.
There isn’t a “default” skin color in this world, and the characters come in a variety of shades, shapes, and sizes. Multiple body types, facial features, and age ranges are represented, not just the ones that Hollywood considers ideal for marketing purposes.
And I believe one of the best ways to celebrate this diversity of characters is through the amazing art of Ryan Salway. Ryan approaches character visual design with a careful eye and genuine respect for each character as an individual, and I think you can see that in the art I’ve commissioned from him in the past. Every piece that Ryan has created for Enemies of Creed has never failed to far surpass my expectations, and further fuel my excitement for the series and provide endless inspiration.
And that’s why I want to be able to provide SO MUCH MORE of this incredible and diverse character artwork to all of you. But funding those commissions on my own requires saving up, and that takes time. (Usually just about two pieces every other year.)
That’s where Patreon comes in.
Ryan has agreed to partner with me in creating this Patreon page to see if we can use it to successfully fund new ongoing character art every month. It’s an experiment and we’re taking a chance on it, but I’m hoping you’ll help us make it work.
By becoming a patron, you’ll be helping to support the creation of independent fantasy art that both enriches the Enemies of Creed series AND promotes the idea that not all fantasy characters need to look like they’re Europeans in their mid-twenties.
Patrons at ANY tier of support will be able to continue new chapters of Enemies of Creed as they come out each month (yes, I’m committing to that) and they’ll be able to see new character art as it appears within those chapters. (In other words, you’ll see the art for a character when they appear in the story.)
Patrons at the next tier and above will get early access to character art as soon as it is shared by Ryan (even if that character may not show up in the story for a long time.)
I won’t go into all the different tiers and there benefits here. My main point is that by helping us fund this art, we want to make sure you’re getting something out of it too. And if you have any suggestions or feedback on how we can do that better, please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts.
I’m excited to be on this journey together with you all! Now let’s make something FANTASTIC!!
It’s when my wife knows that I’m trying to be responsible and spread out spending money on character art for @enemiesofcreed, so months ago she goes behind my back and commissions two of the character art updates from @giant-bean as an anniversary present instead.
Have I mentioned lately how MADLY IN LOVE I AM WITH MY WIFE?! She’s my favorite person of all time, no contest.
“We have so much to do,” Brynwolfn thought to herself as another pressure point in her foot sent a small wave of tension into her leg, followed by a much larger wave of release. Part of her wanted to sit up and ask, “Can we really afford to spend any more time on this?” But of course she knew how the sages would reply back to her.Â
“Can we really afford to make any crucial decisions without…
Our twin hearts pound in our chest as our wings strain to carry us beneath the clear, moonless night. Death comes for us as surely as the stars continue their silent paths across the sky.
Creed has killed our nephew, Khan the Hoarder. He killed our uncle, Nash the Hunter. They did not heed our warnings, and they paid with their lives.
I’m currently writing a chapter with a council of 12 dwarves (mix of genders) and they all need names. Anybody up for helping me come up with some ideas?
The proper nouns in this dwarven nation are a blend of Nordic and Germanic influences. Below are a few examples:
Hulfraust - The name of the dwarvish nation
Brynwolfn - General of the Hulfraust army and new protagonist introduced in Book 4
Malvapn - Special war hammer axe that is the main weapon used by Hulfraust infantry
If anybody feels like participating, I’d love your help!
Brynwolfn character art by @giant-bean please do not use without permission
On a side note, I’ve never shared the Old Norse words I took inspiration from to come up with “Brynwolfn” and “Hulfraust,” so I decided this would be a fun time to do that.Â
Brynja - Chain mail armor
Fremja - Accomplish, perform, commit
Hulfr - Holly
Hraustr - Brave
Hraust - Health
The one Germanic element in all of this was that the “frau” in “Hulfraust” was (among other things) a reference to the fact that of the most elite group among the warriors in the Hulfraust army, the vast majority of them are women.Â
(Art by @giant-bean, commissioned by @flavoracle, please do not repost without permission and attribution)
I have SO MUCH I want to say about this amazing woman and the elite army of dwarves that she commands. But for now, I’m just gonna bask in this awesome new art for a little while.
