Re: Blood and Iron - Chapter 12: The Horrors of War Part I

One hundred fifty-eight years have passed since humanity first spread beyond the bounds of Earth. It has been two years since we made first contact with an alien race. Two years since the war began. A war we are losing.We have been driven back to our last bastion, Earth. Our colonies lie in ruins, our fleets decimated. Our enemy is at our doorsteps, and soon our fortress may fall, but we have one last hope. A new ship that may change the tide of this war, and provide salvation for our race. That ship is humankind’s first ship capable of breaking the lightspeed barrier and bringing the fight to the enemy. Will that ship be able to save our race? Or is she doomed to fail?Note: This is a rewrite of my Earlier work Nomads of Sol.

Welcome! If you want to jump in without any spoilers, feel free. Otherwise, here's a story primer, with a list of more specifics on what to expect from my work further below.Our story follows a fallen knight haunted by his past, in a world afflicted by war and supernatural wounds. Alken is the Headsman of Seydis, an executioner tasked by the divine powers of his homeland to hunt dark sorcerers, warlords, and traitors of all varieties, lest they drag the world into calamity.Once a paladin, this role ill suits him. Forced to cross lines that shake his beliefs, tempted by dark forces, and seen as an ill omen wherever he wanders, his path is often a bloody one. The longer he spends in the shadows of his world, the more he comes to realize just how many have been disenfranchised by the existent order. During his lonely battles through a land haunted by the restless dead and ancient magics, his journey becomes increasingly strange and personal.Enter a realm where the dead stir in every shadow and brooding demigods wage a millennia long war for a ruined heaven, where blessed knights wield gilded flames and sorcerers battle with weapons forged of their own souls. Enter a world of faustian alchemists, of saintly demons, and of time-weary elves.From Oathbreaker you can expect— A setting heavily inspired by Forgotten Realms, Planescape, Fromsoft games, and authors such as Michael Moorcock and Kentauro Miura. — A first person POV from an older protagonist who already knows a lot about his world’s history and cultures, who shares this information with the reader as it becomes relevant.— A mix of action adventure and quieter moments where the focus is on character development. Lore is shared piecemeal, usually only as it relates to a particular arc or character beat.— A heavy focus on mystery, both with the setting and the protagonist. The main character’s backstory isn’t shared up front, and a lot of the narrative involves learning about him a bit at a time, either from his own narration or other characters interacting with him.— A semi-soft magic system where many mages manifest unique powers tied to their own soul, or gain unique powers through eldritch pacts.— Romantic elements. These don’t crop up much until later in the story.— A variety of supernatural beings, such as elves, vampires, gargoyles, chimera, and trolls. Many are familiar, some are not, and most of the familiar ones have my own twists put on them.—Nobledark fantasy. This means that the world is often themed around tragedy and horror, but it’s not dedicated to being gritty. There are elements of high fantasy intermixed with the scarier stuff.—Episodic arcs. Each story arc usually has a specific locale and antagonist or set of antagonists, but certain overarching plots tie them together.— A long running narrative. I don’t have a specific projection of how long or how many arcs or books, but you should expect this to be equivalent to a long running serialized work.This is my first web serial! I hope everyone enjoys it. For trigger warnings, readers should beware that there are some heavy topics in here. When I think something might upset certain readers, I’ll put a warning in the author notes above a chapter. If I miss or overlook anything, feel free to let me know in the comments! I am currently publishing the same story on my wordpress, which is linked below and in my profile. I release three chapters a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Thanks for reading!(I originally had a link to a wordpress, but I'm in the process of overhauling that space. It's not a priority since my readership is all here, but just in case anyone noticed and was wondering)

“Hunter Full Time”, who traveled to the top of the three high-risk worlds, obtained the trait-type telekinetic ability-the fruit of face, and began to live (zhuang) daily (bi) with a single sentence.

“Give me some face, let’s leave this matter alone!”

- Description from novelbuddy

Other people’s Alliance Heads are unrivaled in the lands, with an incomparable domineering air. With a shake of their arm they could cause a thousand waves to ripple throughout Jianghu.Tang Doudou practically wants to flip the table!Cook, warm the bed, warm the bed, cook… She’s completely been caught up in a goddamned cycle!After she finishes she still has to ask a phrase of husband-sama are you pleased?Uncle could endure but Auntie can’t endure!“Wife has worked hard. A moment in the spring night is worth a thousand pounds of gold, when we get home this husband will give you a massage!” This demonically charming black-bellied man’s phoenix eyes flashed as he smiled with a completely harmless expression.Tang Doudou looked to the sky speechless, …