I Published My First Book! Threads of the Wyrd, first story of the Cycle
Its been a long time in the making. The world and this plot have been rattling around in my brain for most of my life now, but it was only in 2020 that I finally put word to page and wrote the first chapter.
Back then, my mother - an avid reader for her entire life - had recently been diagnosed with cancer, which would eventually take her life. In those dark days, this story kept me focused and drove me onward. I had hoped to be able to hand her the first copy, but that was one dream that would not come true.
Years have passed since then and at long last the first book of the Cycleverse is ready and available. More are on the way - sequels to this book, along with other stories to explore the world that I have crafted.
Get your copy here!
Alric Lightsworn is a mage in training – heir to the magical traditions of his people, the fiery Hydrisians of the cold north. His path to glory is assured – until he is afflicted with the curse of the werewolf.
His brother, Bjorn, refuses to let him flee alone and so the two turn their backs on the only home they have ever known. Those that the brothers meet along the way are as strange to them as they are to the strangers.
Mila Numitorii finds herself in a distant, foreign land and tasked to bring two fugitives to the jarl's justice. Intelligent, diligent, and perceptive, she makes for a formidable hunter - but can she bring herself to finish the pursuit?
Aderyn, druid of the misty Fells. The woods have long been her home, a cozy place far from the worries of the world. But danger finds its way to even the most secluded lands and soon her path will diverge.
Julian. Nimble thief, favored of the spirits of the wind. A burned home behind him and the open road ahead. He's made it this far by himself, but how long can his luck truly last?
The Hydrisians speak of fate and the wyrd. The path ahead and the step taken. None can see the tapestry until it comes together. None of these five would notice their fates converging ever closer together, tied up in the Threads of the Wyrd.
So I saw this dress on Twitter and it fits harem AU!Bella in very good ways. So yeah I spent like several hours drawing this. (My twitter feed is skeletons, cats, and clothes. And more skeletons) (Im currently working on updating sibverse, harem AU, and *hopefully* Flowers in Bloom, so expect updates soon!)
Weapons: Longbow, Dual Swords, Staff of Positivity
*Check: Secretly called the Warlord among the council
Dream is not considered a prince. He does not stand behind Nightmare as such. Rather, he stands next to Nightmare as a judge. Those who die by Dream's hand are killed for a reason, and those who are saved have a reason for redemption. This is why Dream is considered the Scales of Justice
There are a few important things about Dream, but the most important is that he will hunt you down if you have not met the justice you deserve. He's especially fond of killing abusers and the like, so make sure you watch your back if you're one of those...
When not using his weapons, Dream will use brute force. He may not look strong, but he can pick up Cross and Nightmare at the same time(plus a third person if he really tried). He trains both for strength and accuracy and feels that he can never be the best, but wants to be.
Ecto
Unfortunately, Dream has a condition where his ecto will summon neutral if he uses any form of magic. This can be summoning his bow, creating his arrows, or when he holds his staff.
It will only form neutral, but that does not stop the danger. Ecto can still be damaged, and it may hold together certain injuries, but damaging ecto can damage other things, from nerves to internal systems.
Weapons
Dream has multiple weapons, each with its own abilities.
The Staff of Positivity is a powerful weapon. It gets stronger as Dream does, and while it does have magical projections, these are only for show. Dream will make these disappear in battle and use the staff like a bo staff. It currents positivity through anyone that it hits, which can be a bad combination since it will daze someone with said positivity.
Dream's nickname for the original form of his staff is "that old stick".
Dream's Longbow is a work of art by itself. He has pinpoint accuracy with it, and there is nothing he can't strike. The type of arrow does not matter, but if someone else were to try and hold the bow without Dream's permission, they would seem clumsy with it, not hitting their target like they wish to. Even so, Dream is the only one that can split the bow into his dual short swords.
Arrows are an important pair with the bow. This is what his arrows of positivity look like, but Dream will often carve his own arrows out of wood in order to conserve magic and hope to prevent his condition kicking in.
Dream's dual short swords are very important in Dream's close-up combat. His bow splits into them, and he treats them more like daggers than swords, but they are still deadly. They have the ability to current positivity like the staff does, but Dream chooses to never do this due to his condition, and the much higher risk that close-up combat would prove.
My wonderful friend @star-gamerxox and I have an ongoing project, a multiverse called CycleVerse
Along with it, I have drawn Cycle!Nightmare. Please enjoy him.
Also remember that asks for certain characters are open, and the list is attached to the masterpost, but also feel free to ask specific things about pir characters! Just make sure we know they're pointed to us.
Lessons From the Grand Sage: The Beasts of the Cycle
Magic suffuses the world and all things in it. Sometimes that elemental energy comes to rest in items, as we discussed last. Occasionally, those magical nodes are not metal or crystal, but living, thinking beings. There are more masters of magic in the world than just mortals.
I speak, of course, of the Natural Masters, also known as the Beasts of the Cycle. Creatures of tremendous skill that wield one of the five elements as intuitively as a wolf wields its fangs or a bear its claws.
All are intelligent, in their own fashion, and are often sought for their wisdom and ability… or as a means to test one’s own skill in the same art.
The Green – Dagfolk
(art by Dinwardo on twitter)
Also called the Firstborn of Dagma, the Dagfolk are giants that take the form of trees. They are often considered to be physical Green spirits, embodying the power of wild places. Left to their own devices, they act as shepherds to ancient forests and reclaiming sundered landscapes in the Sapfather’s name
Slow to act, but fearsome when angered, the Dagfolk are content to guard their groves against interlopers. They are most often seen in the mist shrouded forests of the Fells. Even to the Dagfolk their friendship with the Felfolk is ancient and many trace back the druidic tradition to Dagfolk tutelage.
Being tree-like, the Dagfolk focus more on the negative Green than positive. They nurture plant growth, summon mists and rains, and it is said they can even command the hills and rivers if they chose.
Body – Unicorns
(art by @ohsweetsweetie)
The mighty unicorn resembles a tall and strong war horse. One with shaggy fur complete with a beard, and a radiant horn that acts as the focus of its power. They are often found in places where life and death are balanced, and life force waxes strong – the Magoean Swamps are known to be host to many of them.
There is no greater conduit of life force than the unicorn and this makes them among the physically strongest and healthiest beings recorded. A unicorn’s horn can pierce a knight in plate clean through, or carry several of the same upon its strong back.
But it is not the ferocity of the unicorn for which it is known but its skill at the art of medicine. Short of death itself, the unicorn can cure all woes that it chooses. Most lack the power of speech, but they understand it well enough and can be persuaded to lend their healing art for a noble cause.
There exists a corruption of the unicorn, known as the nightmare. Neither living nor dead, the nightmare exists in perversion of the natural order. A sighting of a nightmare is often the prelude to an undead horde.
Mind – The Firebird
(art also by ohsweetsweetie)
Little is known of the Firebird, for its unmatched skill in Mind make it more than capable of avoiding any hunters or lore seekers from ever laying eyes upon it, let alone encountering it. So muddied is its lore, that it is unknown if there are many Firebirds, or simply one immortal Firebird.
Legend has it that the Firebird will grant a gift of knowledge to any who can acquire one of its feathers. It is uncertain if it is the feather that gives the knowledge, or if this act merely impresses the Firebird. In either case, just as its skill at Mind conceals it from any it considers unworthy, free secrets are hidden from its divinations.
There are many tales of heroes questing for or finding the Firebird, but only one is known to the historical record – the Temple Knight of Lumanox turned Emperor, Aerimus of the Rainbow. In his quest, perhaps aided by the gods, he learned from the Firebird the cure to a wicked plague besetting the Empire.
If Emperor Aerimus has peers in his success, it is not known by the scholars of the Imperial library.
The Grey – The Atuins
(art by ohsweetsweetie)
Enigmatic as the Grey itself, the Atuins are turtles of titanic size and wisdom. So vast are they that entire islands fit upon their backs, carried about as they swim through the warm waters that lap at the Telent Triple Alliance.
They appear and vanish, seemingly at will. Sometimes a particular Atuin will vanish for decades or centuries at a time, only to return as if not even a day has passed. Likewise for those that they might bear upon their backs during their disappearances.
They grow larger as they age, but seldom are particularly large specimens found. It is theorized that the Mortal Realm is but their spawning grounds, and once they come of age they leave to swim the astral waters of the Cosmic Infinity.
Seeped in the Grey, the Atuins are often sought by sages and philosophers to gain their insight into the deeper machinations of the universe. What they hear is little spoken of and often troubles them.
Spirit – Dragons
(art by ohsweetsweetie)
Dragons are known to the people of the continent. As keepers of hidden lore. As mighty protectors. As blood soaked reavers. As tragic monsters.
The pinnacle of Spirit’s art, a dragon’s very words are edged with power. Dragonfire has become a byword for unavoidable damage, but they are not limited to flame. Each dragon has a preference for a element, with ice, flame, or lightning being the most common.
Despite their tremendous size, dragons are surprisingly light, and agile in the skies. Spirit infuses their very being, down to scale and bone. A hollow dragon femur will shatter steel brought against it, due solely to the Spirit energy seeped into it.
Despite this power, the dragons bear a curse, laid upon them by a long dead dark god. It is a madness that gnaws at their mind – a lust for domination, gold, and devastation. Some are born lost to the curse; others succumb to it over time. Others never fall at all. But it is felt by all their number. At its worst, it saps them of their intelligence and renders them little more than ravening beasts.
It has come to my attention that there have been… gaps in your study. As the Grand Sage, it is my duty to see these filled.
Today, we will start with the wheel which defines the world. The Cycle, through which all we know and are flows.
Shall we begin?
(art by @ohsweetsweetie)
Study this diagram well – friends and foes before you already have. The arrows upon the outer wheel show the flow of energy as it courses through our reality. Energy changes states as it flows, with five elements recognized by the wise.
We start, as always, with the Green. Nebulous and living. The life force of storms and mountains and oceans. This coalesces to Body.
Body, steady and true. The life force of individuals, be they animal, plant, or person. From Body springs thought and, with it, Mind.
Mind is ephemeral and formless. It is the power behind truth, imagination, and deception. The emotions born of Mind take shape in the Grey.
The Grey is power in the truest sense. Energy shaped not by physical law but by ideals and deeds. When given direction and purpose, it sharpens to Spirit.
Spirit, the motive force. The drive behind mortality, and the unbreakable inner strength. When this strength is dispersed into the mortal realm, it is reshaped into the Green.
The Cycle flows, ever and always.
Each element has a positive and negative aspect. Body, for example is split between positive Body (Life) and negative Body (Death). Remember my lord; neither is evil, and both are necessary. Like one’s hands, a mage may have a preference for one or the other. But to ignore one entirely is to court disaster.
We shall discuss these elements in depth at a later date. For now, suffice that a mage will specialize in one, but all have their place.
Each element has a relationship with the other four. The first is a harmonious relationship – its adjacent elements. One feeds the element; the other is fed by it. Body is fed by the Green; Body, in turn, feeds Mind. A mage can brush into elements adjacent to their specialty, though less skillfully than their focus.
The second is a destructive relationship. These are the elements opposites. One is the element that it counters; the other counts it. Body neutralizes the Grey, yet Body is defeated by Spirit. In this way, no one element dominates over the others. A mage cannot evoke elements that oppose their specialty.
The day grows long and its light, short. We will continue these lessons at a later date.
