July ‘24 Situation Report (Patreon)

I'm sure you've all been eagerly awaiting this month's situation report. I know I have. So, sit back, grab a cookie or two, and enjoy.

This month has found me getting a new pair of glasses so I will hopefully stop suffering from the dumbest diagnosis since restless leg syndrome... eye strain. When I heard the doc telling me that I needed to stop staring at screens or my scratchy eyes wouldn't go away, it took every bit of my considerable social training not to tell him something profoundly hurtful and emotionally debilitating. But, like the good and noble human being that I am, I smiled and nodded while thanking him for his concern. So now I have new glasses... so... that happened.

Other than that, I've been spending all my free time on this... my passion project. I'm so happy that the dwarven connection is finally being introduced. I've been waiting for this since I mentioned Dorchen's mining colony that was housing his mercenary forces. Unfortunately, they won't be arriving for a bit as Nero still has to finish his personal development arc where he is forced to care about people who've sworn their lives to him.

Poor bastard.

Regardless, the kobald surface invasion is almost over, and soon Nero will be heading underground to confront his dreams. As I'm sure you've all no doubt realized, he's been connecting to the essence signatures floating through the ether while he sleeps. With all the connections the kobalds have open to their primal plane, he's been getting an overview of their culture and environment. For the record, it's happening because of ... reasons.

Concerning the other things I've been working on, I unfortunately haven't made as much progress as I'd like. I've been told that I need to get another book up and running, and this one should be intended as an actual book. You know, with a beginning, middle, and end. It needs an overarching plot, character development, a McGuffin, a villain, and a morally superior hero. The idea being that I'll send this one off to publishers and hopefully someone will give a shit. Huh, that came out way more hostile than I meant it to. If I had a therapist, I'd probably bring that up in my next session.

Regardless, aside from creating a bunch of characters and doing some worldbuilding in the plane of existence where they reside, I haven't made a lot of progress. I've got the basic plot mapped out, but I haven't actually started writing it. I have, however, created about 120 pages of worldbuilding info... so that's something.

I just enjoy writing Nero's tale too much to put much effort into anything else. There are so many characters that I like writing about, and I enjoy letting Nero work through what I've put in front of him. It's kind of like playing D&D with myself. I like how the story develops on its own and the situations around him shape how he sees the world. Hopefully, you all do too.

Well, that about covers what I've been up to. As usual, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support. And I'm hoping you're looking forward to the conclusion of this arc as much as I am. It's fun watching Nero grow his forces whether he wants to or not, while his legend spreads across the kingdom without his consent... like any good internet personality's legend tends to.

Thank you all for following and supporting Nero on his journey to become one of the most unique citizens of the great and powerful kingdom of Oglivarch! In the future he'll learn more about the magic system and the source of his natural abilities. So you can look forward to Nero misunderstanding things while accidentally impressing everyone around him. I really can't wait to have him drinking with dwarves and telling them that they're smithing wrong. It's gonna be great!

Take care, and drink your sodas responsibly,

L.S.