Hi! Not to be that person, but I’m totally manifesting a new chapter of #War Of Hearts because I miss it so much! 😭 No pressure, but my heart is aching for an update.
awww anaimade trust me i feel the same way 😭
I finally, finally got a job (I haven't had one of those since before I started writing War of Hearts), and while it's not a job in any of the industries I've, you know, spent time and money studying in, it is at least some form of income. But it does take up quite a lot of time, so War of Hearts has fallen to the back burner.
I'm still working on chapter 11, and I'm even writing another Sylux fic that's hit 22k words (!), but the writing is going a bit slower. Chapter 11 is also shaping up to be one of the longer ones, there are a few more emotional hurdles for Lux to hit before the climax.
But I'm happy to give you a sneak peek! [Disclaimer that things are subject to adjustment as I edit, of course.]
Context: Lux sneaks into Terbisia and spies on some mageseekers going through her library.
"We're not working under Eldred anymore," a female voice says. The eye hole of her half-mask is lined with petricite, fractal swirls carving up her brow. The golden metal magnifies the brown of her eyes. "If I'm not ordered to do it, then we're not doing it." "Eldred's niece betrayed our king," the other mageseeker says. He's tall, blond, and his voice is unmistakably male, but it still cracks with unfamiliar puberty. He slaps a book to the table at the center of the room. "She got those ideas from reading revolutionary filth like this. A Shuriman slave becoming an Ascended and attacking the throne? What kind of idiot would let that happen?" "We are not burning or confiscating another book unless it's our job. That's an order." The woman picks up the book the man had discarded and brushes nonexistent dust from the cover before sliding it back onto the shelf. It's in the wrong place, but you do appreciate the respect for literature. "We are here to observe and contain, not engage in vigilantism. I'll reassign you to Damian's squad if you can't restrain yourself." The man sighs, and as he turns you can see him fingering the Greymark fastened to his cloak. "Yes, ma'am." "I prefer the way things are under His Majesty, personally," the woman continues. "Eldred wanted to hoard all this arcane knowledge for himself." Her hand trails along the spines of the bookshelf, tracing the embossed titles in the leather and wood. "He collected and destroyed everything he felt was too dangerous, like a jealous tyrant." "He was trying to prevent an uprising from happening, and look how that turned out. He should have done more." His superior gives him a sharp look. "You act like a child, Juca." "I'm seventeen—" "And the only reason I recommended you to remain with us when the Order dissolved was because you were young enough to still learn. Things are different under Jarvan the Fourth, and you shame your House by not respecting it." Juca says nothing, but from behind you watch his shoulders stiffen. Several moments pass. The woman nods approvingly, apparently convinced of his acquiescence. "Take your complaints to Damien, and don't let me see you near the library again. Understood?" He hesitates only a moment before saluting. "Yes, ma'am. Sorry, ma'am."