A perverse conspiracy between the forces alive inside of the Lord of Horikawa and the painter Yoshihide.

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What strategies can a man employ when the only reliable foodstuff is the flesh of supernatural predators? Things whose breath may be fatal, whose bodies may be metal, whose eyes may control the mind?

In the face of this many men turn to cannibalism and other Faustian bargains.

Ramec must depart his home in the underworld sanctuary of Kalas Da, a place fed and comforted by a strand of the World Fungus.

He must forge his path to the surface in a world of absolute darkness and privation, where light is the beacon of death.

Ramec goes knowing only that there can be no categorization of the predators of the deep and that the humans of the underworld can be the most dangerous of all.

He will be transformed, because every moment in the chaos of the underworld commands death or adaptation.
 ---
Art by Dan Sullivan: "Xenostygian"

I've been inspired by fantastic depictions of civilizations and their privations in the deep underworld for a long time, probably beginning with descriptions of the confined-space planes in the old Manual of the Planes, deepening with the phenomenal Underdark, and culminating in the epoch-making Veins of the Earth.

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What strategies can a man employ when the only reliable foodstuff is the flesh of supernatural predators? Things whose breath may be fatal, whose bodies may be metal, whose eyes may control the mind?

In the face of this many men turn to cannibalism and other Faustian bargains.

Ramec must depart his home in the underworld sanctuary of Kalas Da, a place fed and comforted by a strand of the World Fungus.

He must forge his path to the surface in a world of absolute darkness and privation, where light is the beacon of death.

Ramec goes knowing only that there can be no categorization of the predators of the deep and that the humans of the underworld can be the most dangerous of all.

He will be transformed, because every moment in the chaos of the underworld commands death or adaptation.
 ---
Art by Dan Sullivan: "Xenostygian"

I've been inspired by fantastic depictions of civilizations and their privations in the deep underworld for a long time, probably beginning with descriptions of the confined-space planes in the old Manual of the Planes, deepening with the phenomenal Underdark, and culminating in the epoch-making Veins of the Earth.

Support the show

What strategies can a man employ when the only reliable foodstuff is the flesh of supernatural predators? Things whose breath may be fatal, whose bodies may be metal, whose eyes may control the mind?

In the face of this many men turn to cannibalism and other Faustian bargains.

Ramec must depart his home in the underworld sanctuary of Kalas Da, a place fed and comforted by a strand of the World Fungus.

He must forge his path to the surface in a world of absolute darkness and privation, where light is the beacon of death.

Ramec goes knowing only that there can be no categorization of the predators of the deep and that the humans of the underworld can be the most dangerous of all.

He will be transformed, because every moment in the chaos of the underworld commands death or adaptation.
 ---
Art by Dan Sullivan: "Xenostygian"

I've been inspired by fantastic depictions of civilizations and their privations in the deep underworld for a long time, probably beginning with descriptions of the confined-space planes in the old Manual of the Planes, deepening with the phenomenal Underdark, and culminating in the epoch-making Veins of the Earth.

Please note that I will be gone from tomorrow (24MAR) until 16APR, after which we will resume Monster Eater and Herodotus. 

Support the show

What strategies can a man employ when the only reliable foodstuff is the flesh of supernatural predators? Things whose breath may be fatal, whose bodies may be metal, whose eyes may control the mind?

In the face of this many men turn to cannibalism and other Faustian bargains.

Ramec must depart his home in the underworld sanctuary of Kalas Da, a place fed and comforted by a strand of the World Fungus.

He must forge his path to the surface in a world of absolute darkness and privation, where light is the beacon of death.

Ramec goes knowing only that there can be no categorization of the predators of the deep and that the humans of the underworld can be the most dangerous of all.

He will be transformed, because every moment in the chaos of the underworld commands death or adaptation. 

 ---
Art by Dan Sullivan: "Xenostygian"

I've been inspired by fantastic depictions of civilizations and their privations in the deep underworld for a long time, probably beginning with descriptions of the confined-space planes in the old Manual of the Planes, deepening with the phenomenal Underdark, and culminating in the epoch-making Veins of the Earth.

So far, I've written about four chapters of Monster Eater.

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If you are born to be a warrior, and relish your future in that role, where do you draw the line in terms of what you will fight for? If you are eager to fight for your family's prosperity, what if the truth of their methods horrifies you?

Truanor Hightower's dreams of glory in battle and the romance of aristocracy come up against what his House will do for power.

Chapter 4- the finale.

https://wheretofind.me/@davegreggs

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If you are born to be a warrior, and relish your future in that role, where do you draw the line in terms of what you will fight for? If you are eager to fight for your family's prosperity, what if the truth of their methods horrifies you?

Truanor Hightower's dreams of glory in battle and the romance of aristocracy come up against what his House will do for power.

Chapter 3.

City-State Generator
Worldbuilding and Woolgathering

https://wheretofind.me/@davegreggs

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When he spoke, the cleric’s tone was like the chill of an endless body of dark water.  “Indeed, you will go through hell, my son.  But in order to know hell, you must know what heaven is first.”

The man brought a crystal syringe level with Eli’s eyes.

-----------

I thought that this story was so affecting that I commissioned the rights to do a recording of it for this podcast.
You can find more of Dan's writing at:
lacrimisdraconis.blogspot.com

Cover art by Dan Sullivan

Reuploaded with higher quality September 5th 2024

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If you are born to be a warrior, and relish your future in that role, where do you draw the line in terms of what you will fight for? If you are eager to fight for your family's prosperity, what if the truth of their methods horrifies you?

Truanor Hightower's dreams of glory in battle and the romance of aristocracy come up against what his House will do for power.

Chapter 2.


https://wheretofind.me/@davegreggs

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The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, first published 1798. One of my favorite poems. This is the version from Lyrical Ballads, 1800, assembled by William Wordsworth; the title of this edition is "The Ancient Mariner", but it's generally been published as "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" ever since then. Note that I prize running through readings in a natural way over total accuracy, so I have a few missed or displaced words in the reading; I encourage you to read the poem, as if any parts of this are hard to understand it will make sense on the page and carry its power.

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Lyrical_Ballads_(1800)/Volume_1/The_Ancient_Mariner

https://wheretofind.me/@davegreggs

Reuploaded with higher quality on September 5th 2024.

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