Vivat Libertas

At last! I managed to write a new chapter! The next one will probably be up in May though, maybe April...just joking. Hopefully that doesn't turn out true. Apologies if anyone acts OOC - please tell me so I can rewrite it. Also, from here it starts to diverge from the published universe as I embroider the world (which, from the translations so far, isn't very embroidered). Also, NEVER do Les Mis in choir or elsewhere - you will  get addicted. "Lovely Ladies" is haunting me at the moment. “That’s it,” yawned Ceo, his tone silky smooth. “I really can’t go on any more.”  “I can,” sniffed Neo, “and we will go on, because we don’t have a place to sleep.”  “Ceo’s right,” said Teppe. “You’re not the only person in the world, and...er...we’re tired and need to get some shut-eye.”  Angering Neo was both easy to do and not advisable, especially when he was tired and even more short-tempered than usual, and Chasel had to physically restrain him from beating Teppe into a ...

Hallelujah! I finally managed to write a new chapter! Going into serious stuff now, and I might try my hand at black humour soon. Everything said before still applies. (By the way, if Vival isn't as snarky as I've written him, I heartily apologise and will hand the lines to another character.) “ Elves?! ” everyone said, more or less in unison. Sure enough, there were about fifty elves standing in the wreck of the woods, bows raised to kill.  “I think we know who we are,” said the one who had first spoken. Compared to the others, he was small and frail, and almost effeminate with his light brown hair and large eyes. Ceo was even about to practice throwing a flirtatious wink or two, but Teppe restrained him.  “Excuse me,” Elmyr began, “but – well, could you give us directions to Seabloom?” Not for the first time, Neo shot him a death glare.  The elves cast the humans some decidedly snobbish looks. “Well, we don’t have knowledge of a place called Seabloom,” the elf who...

OK! I have now officially run out of buffer, so updates will be very slow and random. As Lesus predicted, Grisia did indeed end up with a massive hangover. He also ended up with a visit from his teacher, a reprimand from the same, and an order from the doctor not to get out of bed.  As soon as the bells rang out for Sices, Lesus snuck into the “warm, good” faction’s quarters and into Grisia’s room, where the future Sun Knight lay bandaged like a mummy.  “How are you going to get your things packed now?...” Lesus gently put a plate of cookies by Grisia’s bed, and the future Sun Knight turned to sniff them. “Echilan made these for you once he found out what happened.”  “Tell him I said thanks,” Grisia said, or at least he tried to say it; the poor boy was so badly battered that he had trouble speaking. Lesus frowned.  “Grisia, are you quite sure you’re all right?...Speak slowly.”  “...I’ve been worse off.”  “Do you need any help?”  “I’ll be fine.” ...

Fuck, running out of buffer. Updates will start being random soon. Everything I've said before still applies. “And yeah, my teacher forgot the date,” said Grisia quietly, perched on a windowsill. Lesus chuckled, the laughter reverberating through the bathroom.  “You’re so mean about him. He can’t be that bad,” Lesus answered.  “Trust me, he is . I swear your teacher must be a saint to put up with him!”  “Eh, not a saint,” Lesus said, stretching out his legs, “just organised. Apparently we’re going on Dies Lunae at about Tierce.”  “So...” said Grisia, counting on his fingers, “that gives me 2 days to sew in a false bottom, add hidden pockets, make up a concentrated body mask mixture with chemicals that are almost certainly lethal if handled wrongly, add a preservative which is even more lethal to stop the mixture from going off and stinking like the pits of Hell, stash my wine and beer under the false bottom, and pack clean clothes. Whew.”  “A bit much, don’...

Everything said about the prologue applies here, too. Enjoy! “So then, if the opponent feints like so , the correct stance to take up is like so ,” explained Neo, darting around the sunny palaestra and artfully avoiding the eleven students. He was pleased that so many of them were turning out to be good swordsmen. Of course, there was always Grisia...not that that could really be helped.  Meanwhile, the students were sweltering in the summer heat, their eyes drawn to the doors and windows. All the same, they followed Neo’s example to the last flick of the wrist, afraid of his temper. Or at least, they tried to follow Neo’s example to the last flick of the wrist.  With an almighty clanging and a stifled yelp, Grisia managed to trip over his own sword, flicking his legs out elegantly and pointing his delicate feet. Golden hair fell around him in a messy cloud as he splayed his hands wide and drew his legs underneath his trunk, looking up at Neo with innocent blue eyes. ...