Annals: Year 33

A Dustsong story fragment and codex entry—and updates

From the Annals of the Vaporous Realms

At this time, the ears of the Wind Trackers heard restless mutterings on uneasy currents off the Fangs. And rumors spread that Livyat was stirring.

Year 32

Year 33

©2024 Ekaterina Glazkova. Used by exclusive license.

Codex: Boulderbeast

The boulderbeast, sometimes called a stone-beast, was a hulking herbivore that roamed the temperate woodlands of the Elder World, grazing upon leafy branches. It was wont to wander in small herds.

A boulderbeast had the body of a great behemoth, but tough, wrinkly, and nearly hairless. Its ponderous frame sprouted legs and neck like tree trunks. Its comparatively small head featured a beaky nose, twitchy ears, and sometimes little horns or tusks.

The most notable boulderbeast was the critter Len Ghremson encountered on its lonesome in the western marches of the wastes. Dubbed Big Len, it was known to folk throughout the first epoch from a nearly life-sized statue in Danoh-town.

Author Note

Greetings to my trusty longtime readers, and welcome to newcomers, including any of the fine folks I had the chance to meet at Tidewater Comicon a couple weeks past!

Now I’m rolling up my sleeves to finish the Vaporous Realms at War beta rulebook and otherwise prep for the “Watchers” / Beta Rules crowdfund that’s slated to launch in late June. (Lots more info and previews to come once an official date is set.) I’ll also be promoting the tabletop game and my impromptu Daughters of the Rising Sun paperback at fun local events throughout the summer. If you’re one of the numerous folk who dwell or vacation in the marchlands of the Great Dismal Swamp, I hope you’ll drop by!

Look at me, sneaking in an announcement out of sequence. Here are my other recommendations and updates from May:

3 (Very Different) Recommendations

• “The Shadow of Doubt” (completed serialized novelette) by Nick Thurston

• “Backstory or Backbone: Give Your Character Something to Stand On” by GMaia

• “Men’s Quiet Nostalgia” by Patrick Lawrence

2 (Sprawling) Publishing Updates

• In case you missed my recent post, I published a revised edition of the Daughters of the Rising Sun novella in print, with the PDF book available to paid subscribers.

• I’ve updated the publishing calendar, in part to allow ample time to finish the imminent Vaporous Realms at War “Watchers” / Beta booklet and prepare the crowdfund campaign. The latest playtest of the “Watchers” venture went well, apart from a handful of oversights and ambiguities easily corrected. To my astonishment, after much second-guessing over the past several months year, I’m finally convinced this tabletop scenario (and the game system as a whole) are actual, functional fun. Side effects of all this ongoing developmental work include:

  • the unexpected decision (that I’m exceptionally excited about) to test out a card game adaptation(!) of the tabletop game as part of the beta rules

  • fully updated character profiles for paid subscribers, including all characters in the “Watchers” venture

  • upcoming revisions to the rules currently posted on the site, both the free and paywalled versions

  • a newly touched-up and reformatted version of the scenario for paid subscribers, once I’m finished tinkering

1 (Friendly) PSA

• The talented writer and gifted storyteller Bam Boncher has contributed a short story, “Decimae: The Tithe,” to an anthology being released in three days (June 2)! If you haven’t read any of her short stories, you’re decidedly missing out.

Happy reading, y’all!