Annals: Year 34
A Dustsong story fragment and codex entry—and updates
From the Annals of the Vaporous Realms
In this year, the eyes of the Desert Stars witnessed fire in the heavenly sphere, among the peaks nearest the wastes. The desert roses bloomed early, withered soon after, and came forth a second time. . . .
Codex: Dawnbreak
Dawnbreak was the term by which most civilized folk spoke of the beginning of the earthly realm. It commonly referred to the formation of the land and its denizens, human and critterly, by the Wright.
Scribes sometimes invoked the word more narrowly, when commenting on the point at which earthly time began, which clerics associated with the triumph of the Scion host over Livyat and her minions at the climax of the primordial Dawnbreak War. Over the epochs, pious and cultish folk alike placed their hopes in a second Dawnbreak, in expectation of the heaven-lord or the Mother of Serpents, respectively, emerging victorious from a final, apocalyptic clash.
Author Note
Summer event season is in full swing here, with comic con appearances giving way to brewery pop-ups and the like. Yet crowdfund prep for the upcoming Watchers / Vaporous Realms at War Beta campaign proceeds apace! (A little more info below.)
Here are my recommendations (beyond my weekly liking and restacking of my favorite stories and articles) and updates from June:
3 Recommendations
“On the Cozy Genre and Writing Female Characters: I’m Not Good at Either One,” by K. M. Carroll
“The Return of the King Read-through: Week 9 Recap,” on the scouring of the Shire, by Noah Nevils on Patrick Lawrence’s Ringfolk Substack
for a different sort of fiction fun, Mercedes de Santiago’s voiced-over video readings from her Sinardia book series, including “How Toringen III married Abalina, Duchess of Tandras”
3 Publishing Updates (Other Folks)
Mary Hare is offering the ebook version of Hearth and Helm: Voices from the Epics for free right now, in advance of its print publication.
The eminent Brothers Krynn have their latest crowdfund campaign underway, for Akuma no Ran!
If you haven’t checked out Kathrine Elaine’s “Everlasting” and D. S. Brandt’s “La Bella Morte,” you can now read both completed serials.
3 Publishing Updates (Vaporous Realms)
For those of y’all inclined toward tabletop gaming, the Watchers / Beta Rulebook crowdfund campaign will run on Kickstarter
from July 31 to August 31! This version of “Watchers” will be a further refined edition of the short story and complementary, narrative-driven skirmish scenario (now in editing). Accompanying the “venture” scenario will be a much expanded, tested, and refined version of the beta rules for the Vaporous Realms at War tactical roleplaying game (now half-drafted and counting). [Amendment: I’ve nudged the crowdfund for the tabletop book itself back to September to allow for better prep and promotion and a much quicker fulfillment window. In August, instead, there will be a separate crowdfund for the card-based scenario and the crafted terrain, critters, and characters. I’ll share more info when it’s all ready and the dates are officially locked in.]The main reward tiers will be the PDF book and/or spiral-bound print book, with a sticker and crafted terrain piece as bonuses for print-level backers.
Higher tiers will offer a card-based adaptation of the venture and/or handcrafted miniatures (superior to the prototypes I’ve shared previously).
There’ll be a brand-new cover illustration if the campaign meets its minimum goal. If it succeeds beyond that, I’ll include additional illustrations and character stickers.
In an unexpected twist, embracing the world of conventions and pop-up events has compelled me to spend less time designing and carving character miniatures and much more time felting terrain pieces and critters. So expect fewer pics of pegfolk and more of rocks, fields, prowlers, and all sorts of prehistoric beasts. Whatever it takes to get my books written, published, and in readers’ hands!
I’ve kept delaying my poll on handcrafted miniature styles until I had sample photos I was satisfied with. As a compromise, since I’m already knee-deep in Kickstarter prep, I’ll share a recent work-in-progress pic but limit the poll to general descriptions, just to get the gist of your collective wisdom:
Thanks, y’all, and happy reading!
Thank you for the shout out!🩶