This year was wild.

It is hard to overstate how big of a shift 2024 has been for me as an author. I’ll go into details on why that is in the sections below, but I want to say up front how grateful I am for everyone who has supported me this year and previous ones. Whether as beta readers, reviewers, social media supporters, Kickstarter backers, or just people reading and enjoying my books, you are all incredible. This year is the first in my six years of publishing that I have a vision of a near future where I can make this a full time career instead of a side hobby. That is because of all of you.

So THANK YOU!

Now, let’s move on from the soppy section and talk more about what’s fun! Books and events. The past and the future. All the good stuff.

2024 Highlights

Book Releases: The Realm Reachers

If you’ve been following my posts at all this year, you’ve probably heard me harp on endlessly about The Crimson Court, the beginning of The Realm Reachers series and also the universe I’m calling the Crystal Realms. Between The Crimson Court and it’s prequel novella The Amber Dame, all my releases this year were in this new series. I know that probably disappointed some Frostmarked fans, but if that’s you, keep reading for the Frostmarked section. You won’t have to wait much longer!

Every new series is both an opportunity and a risk. With The Frostmarked Chronicles, I jumped from dystopian (The Prism Files) into epic fantasy and found my genre in the process. Switching genres often means starting over marketing wise as an author, though, so it took a lot of time and energy to get my Frostmarked books selling and also to adapt to the writing epic fantasy. It was amazing practice, and the series has a special place in my heart. After writing so many books in its Slavic mythology inspired world, though, I finally felt ready to create something entirely of my own making.

Now, The Realm Reachers is a continuation of my writing in the epic fantasy genre, and it has felt like a springboard compared to the more sluggish start to my Frostmarked books. Writing and world-building for this series and universe has been so smooth and fun. I have more freedom with this being my own universe now, so I finally feel like I can do everything I’ve wanted to in the genre, and I’m just getting started with the Crystal Realms.

It is far from more major authors’ numbers, but The Crimson Court has by far had my best book launch ever. Despite having only one book and a prequel in the series so far, The Realm Reachers’ profit has matched the entire profit so far for The Frostmarked Chronicles, which has four novels, two novellas, and has been selling since 2021. This isn’t all about money, but I cannot wait to see where we continue to go with this series.

The Crimson Court Deluxe Release Edition Kickstarter

The Kickstarter for The Crimson Court in February knocked my socks off. I am so grateful for all of you who supported it. We had 246 backers and funded at $14,039!!! I had a very low goal from the start because I wanted to add cool stuff through stretch goals, and we blew through every one of them, plus more. It has been a dream of mine to have a deluxe edition of my books with full color art, maps, etc. and we’re creating that together. Book 2, The Crystal Heir, will be having its Kickstarter in March of next year. More on that in the 2025 section.

If you missed the Kickstarter and still want deluxe editions, good news! I have copies available on my store.

That last stretch goal we unlocked was also The Crimson Court‘s audiobook! I was so excited to unlock it, and I worked with Ellie Gossage, who has done over a hundred audiobooks already, for its creation. She did an incredible job! You can get a copy from my store, Audible, Kobo, Google Play Books, Apple Books, and Spotify

I had wanted to work with Kateryna Vitkovska for a book’s art for a long time, and she has been incredible through the creation of the covers for The Crimson Court, The Amber Dame, and the soon to be revealed one for book 2, The Crystal Heir. She also did some incredible work for the case hardcovers beneath the dust jacket and the cityscape of Kalastok. I am so excited to have her continuing through the rest of the series and the Kickstarters for them. These funding projects make all the incredible art for the books possible!

With five point-of-view characters, I wanted to make sure readers had a picture of what they all looked like, so I also partnered with Joni Matoz for character sketches. I love how they turned out! They also were excellent to be used on the foil bookmarks that were part of the Kickstarter, and I’m so giddy to be able to work with artists to create all this cool stuff for you all.

Writing Progress: The Shards of the Moon (Frostmarked #5)

I know I had previously announced that the final book in The Frostmarked Chronicles, The Shards of the Moon (previously named The Way of Souls), would be released in 2024, but to be honest, it was a difficult write. Though far shorter than The Crimson Court, I struggled to push through the writing for this one during a chaotic spring and early fall, so things got pushed back a few months from where I wanted them.

The good news, however, is that The Shards of the Moon is finished and just in final revisions and formatting. It’ll be coming to you on January 28th, 2025. More on the release below. But first, enjoy the final cover of the series by Mariia Lytovchenko.

Struggling with the writing doesn’t reflect my love for this series. I have absolutely adored working in the sandbox of Slavic mythology for The Frostmarked Chronicles. Some books just come more easily and others don’t. It is a hard thing to complete a series and say goodbye to characters I’ve been writing with since 2020. Both they and I have grown a lot in that time, and it’s been incredible to look back on that journey.

Writing Progress: The Crystal Heir (Realm Reachers #2)

So, I must confess that part of my struggle with The Shards of the Moon may have been my excitement to continue The Realm Reachers with The Crystal Heir. There is so much I had planned for these books, and no joke, I have written this book around 2.5 times as fast as The Shards of the Moon so far. Having started in mid-October, I will have over 125k words written of the book by the end of December. That is just over two-thirds of the way finished. This puts me on pace for a March Kickstarter for the book and a wide release in June.

It’s rare to get these inspired pushes of productivity, so I am going to keep pushing forward with it while I can. It has been SO FUN to write this book so far. Of course, Kasia still plays a major role, but many of your favorite other POV and side characters have crucial bits to play in this one. Nikoza especially takes on a lead role along with her complicated relationship with Nex, and it has been fun to see both of them grow throughout it.

I expect the book’s first draft to be completed by the end of January if I can keep this up. I would say fingers crossed, but I need to keep them on the keyboard! The book’s cover reveal will also be at the end of January or early February.

ALSO: If you want to help shape what the final book looks like, I’m currently accepting beta reader applications.

In-Person Events (C2E2, Dragonsteel Nexus, and many more)

Last year was my first time doing in-person events. It was a lot of fun, so I massively expanded my schedule this year and took on some massive events like C2E2 and FanExpo Chicago in well, Chicago, and Brandon Sanderson’s Dragonsteel Nexus in Salt Lake City. In total, I believe I did fifteen events, including comic cons, bookstore signings, and other selling events this year.

I absolutely loved all of it! It is so special getting to meet both new and returning readers to my books in person and signing their books in person. I am a rare extrovert among authors, so I loved every minute talking books with you all.

My favorite event of the year was definitely Dragonsteel Nexus just a couple weeks ago. I am a huge Sanderson fan, so being around fellow epic fantasy readers was fantastic along with meeting Brian McClellan, author of The Powder Mage books that inspired my switch to Victorian age inspired fantasy. I got to participate in a panel on Earth’s history and how fantasy is inspired by it, and we had over 500 people in attendance! The con in general had about 8,000 people. They were all incredible. The biggest highlight, though, was meeting Sanderson (twice) and getting to give him a copy of The Crimson Court, which he said he loved the cover of! Seriously, dream come true.

C2E2 in April was another major highlight. I mean, it’s an event with over 90,000 people. How could it not be a highlight? Sanderson was actually there too, and I had met him quickly there before Dragonsteel (I swear I’m not just copying the same events haha). This was the first major con I had ever done, so it was overwhelming but such an awesome experience. I also had the chance to do a panel there about using Kickstarter for books, which was a lot of fun.

Awards

I attempted to enter a few competitions this year with The Crimson Court‘s release.

Illinois Author Project: The Crimson Court has been selected as one of three finalists in the Illinois Author Project’s annual competition (also called “Illinois Soon to Be Famous” competition, but that name feels pretentious, so I’ll stick with the other one). This is a competition connected to libraries across the state with judges from those libraries picking what they considered to be the best submissions out of the hundreds in the competition. The winner has yet to be announced, but should be revealed soon. I’m hoping it’s a certain red book with a big old crystal dragon on the cover!

Indie Author Project: I also entered The Crimson Court into the national affiliate of the Illinois Author Project, but as you can imagine, the competition is stiff nationally. It was not selected in this competition, but that’s alright! It’s a great program regardless to give attention to some amazing indie authors.

Mark Lawrence’s Self Publishing Fantasy Blog Off (SPFBO): I attempted to follow-up A Dagger in the Winds reaching the semi-finals in SPFBO 9 last year with hopefully more success this year, but SPFBO 10’s entry process turned to a random selection for the 300 included books. About half of the books didn’t get selected, and The Crimson Court was one of those. I’ll be trying again to enter it again, hoping the odds are ever in my favor.

A Look Ahead at 2025

Book Release: The Shards of the Moon

As mentioned above, The Shards of the Moon finalizes The Frostmarked Chronicles. It got pushed back unfortunately, but not too far into 2025! It is only a month away now. Retailer pre-orders are available for the eBook, and you can also order eBook, signed physical editions, and bundles of the series from my store.

Feedback on the book has been great. I believe it will be a satisfying conclusion to Wacław and Otylia’s stories for all of you, and we get some final looks at some fun aspects in Slavic myth. Between Marzanna, Czarnobóg, Weles, and Dziewanna, we also have a full slate of gods to handle. And that’s not to mention the twelve magical blades they need to collect (the Moonstones, thus the name The Shards of the Moon). It will be hard finally saying goodbye to all these characters, but I hope this final book gives them the final story they deserve.

I am grateful as well to Mariia Lytovchenko for her amazing work on the covers and interior art for the entire series. Being in Ukraine, she has worked through horrible conditions in her country, and I’m honored to have worked with her. More interior art reveals to come in January!

Release Date: January 28th, 2025

Book Release and Kickstarter: The Crystal Heir

That quick progress I talked about earlier on The Crystal Heir has ensured I’m keeping on pace for the wide release of the book in June, with a Kickstarter for the Deluxe Release Edition coming in March (follow the Kickstarter pre-launch if you haven’t yet). Editions of The Crimson Court will also be available as part of the Kickstarter in case you missed the first one.

Expect a cover reveal of Kateryna Vitkovska’s art in late January or early February!

While I talked a bit about the story of this one in the writing section, know that it picks right up where The Crimson Court left off. I won’t put spoilers here, but the situation is chaotic in Kalastok and beyond. There are multiple factions all seeking to control or destroy the Commonwealth of Two Nations. Not to mention those dastardly spirits over the mountains…

All editions of the book will come with art, and the Kickstarter will hopefully fund some awesome stuff especially for the deluxe edition. We’re starting off with another amazing Kateryna Vitkosvka cover and hardcover case cover under the dust jacket, a full color interior piece by Alhin Row, and another full color piece by Eddie Yorke. Depending on stretch goals, we’ll have a ton of interior art for the book along with graphics for magic stuff, another new map (bringing the total to four), and more. With another Joni Matoz sketch in stretch goals for a portrait of Wanusa, Radais’s Glassblade mentee, that also brings us up to four artists for The Crystal Heir. I’m telling you, this is going to be awesome.

Kickstarter Launch: March, 2025

Wide Release Date: June 24th, 2025

Book Release and Kickstarter: Lifeless Lands Book 1

With the completion of The Frostmarked Chronicles, I need another active series! I tend to write in one series while editing a book from another to avoid messing up the time-space continuum and breaking things in the previous book that require me to rewrite a lot in the one I’m currently working on. Don’t ask me about those 40k words from The Daughters of the Earth that will never see the light of day. *shudders*

That new series is going to be another set in the universe of the Crystal Realms. More specifically: the realm of Death.

I had previously mentioned wanting to do some pirate fantasy with the Water realm in last year’s update, but as I fleshed out my ideas, I decided to do the Death realm first. That Water one is still coming… eventually. I just have too many ideas not to jump into Lifeless Lands right after I’m done with The Crystal Heir, and besides, there’s some connections between the series that might be fun.

My intent is for these to be like Sanderson’s Cosmere. Lifeless Lands will be able to be read independently of The Realm Reachers, but there will be easter eggs and some cross over elements. Each realm will share elements of the Reacher magic system that crosses across realms, but each realm also has its inherent magic, some being more prominent and common than others. This is the start of the branching out into the Crystal Realms, and I am very excited to be building out this universe and showing you all the cool stuff in it.

This one is for all my fellow Sleep Token fans. Being the Death realm, this one will have pretty dark elements, but I won’t be straying into grimdark. I want my books in the Crystal Realms to be enjoyable for anyone who has read any of the series within the universe. That being said, this one will likely be less political and flintlock fantasy and more undead assassin serving a dark goddess. It’ll have an immersive, very fun world with competing necromancers, different tiers of undead, and a hunt for a servant of Life who is trying to ruin it all.

This one may also get a prequel novella that I’ll give away free to newsletter subscribers too.

Kickstarter: Autumn/Winter, 2025

Wide Release: Winter, 2025

Writing: The Realm Reachers Book 3

I’ll also begin writing book 3 of The Realm Reachers once Lifeless Lands 1 is complete. No details about this one yet, besides that it’s a continuation of what I anticipate being at least a five-book series. The Crystal Heir ended up going deeper than I expected in some parts, so I may have more content to write for the series than expected, which is all great, because it’s more for you to enjoy!

Anticipate a Kickstarter and wide release for this one in early 2026.

In-Person Events

Like I mentioned before, I expanded my event schedule in 2024, and 2025 will be another ramp-up. I am already committed to 11 events next year, and most have either not finalized the acceptance of vendors yet or not even opened applications yet. So, in other words, I’m going to be doing a LOT.

So far, I am signed up for many smaller events in the Rockford/Chicago and Madison/Milwaukee areas with the larger confirmations being for the Midwest Gaming Classic (Milwaukee) in April and FanExpo Chicago in August. C2E2 is super competitive to get into with limited Writer’s Block spots, but I’ll be hearing whether I was accepted again in January. I am also intending to return to Dragonsteel Nexus in Salt Lake City in 2025! No confirmation yet, though, since they haven’t opened details for vendors as of now.

I am also looking to expand my schedule beyond my Midwestern area that I can easily drive to. I intend to apply to Dragon Con in Atlanta, which is also super competitive, and may also be looking to apply to some of the bigger comic cons like New York and San Diego depending on logistics and acceptance. These cons have been huge for marketing and profit, so I’d like to do as many as possible. There are only so many weekends in the year, though, and it takes a lot to plan for the further away ones.

Keep a watch on my socials to see a more complete schedule as I find out more. The early year schedule above is pretty much locked in, probably with the addition of a release signing for The Shards of the Moon at Maze Books in Rockford sometime in January or February.

The Future

What? An update on four books isn’t enough for you? FINE! I’ll talk about future plans, series-by-series.

The Realm Reachers: At least 5 novels total (not including The Amber Dame), with potentially more depending on how much I can convince the characters to do what they’re supposed to (I’m looking at you Kasia and Nex). There’s a lot of realms and Reaching and wars to do still. Too much Crimson around for my liking. One of the characters is going to have to fix that before the series gets to finish.

Lifeless Lands: This one may just be a trilogy. I haven’t plotted out the full arc yet, so stay tuned. Because of timelines and things between realms, there also be multiple series set in different eras within the Death realm eventually depending on how things go. Later eras would come after I do some other realms first.

Crystal Realms Pirate Fantasy: Eventually… I can jump between two projects pretty well. I worry that entering another one into the mix will befuddle my mind a bit. I will at some point do a Crystal Realms Water realm pirate fantasy, though. And there will be sentient crabs, because all things evolve back to crabs.

The Frostmarked Chronicles: I will answer the two biggest questions I get. First, no this series was not secretly in the Crystal Realms. It is separate and shall stay that way. Second, I do not have plans to ever return to this world. I did all I could to bring my ideas around Slavic mythology into the series, and I fear doing so further would stretch me thin. At most, I have an idea about Baba Jaga and Koschei the Deathless in their younger forms before they became what they are, but they would be standalones just technically in the same world. Do not expect this soon, if ever.

The Prism Files: It’s dead. Stop asking me (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE).

Anticipated Future Release Schedule

This will likely change, but take it for what it is.

2025: The Shards of the Moon, The Crystal Heir, Lifeless Lands #1, Lifeless Lands Prequel (maybe)

2026: Realm Reachers #3, Lifeless Lands #2

2027: Realm Reachers #4, Lifeless Lands #3

2028: Realm Reachers #5, New Crystal Realms Series #1 (Water, Possibility, or Fire)

Conclusion

Once again, I want to thank everyone who has supported me, especially my wife, Andrea. She tolerates all my rants about my books and is my first reader for all of them. Plus, if you see me at events, there is a good chance she’s there helping me be able to make those happen.

Thank you to everyone as well who has ever bought a book, left a review, commented on a post, or shared any of my books with a friend. I could not do this without your support. This year has been incredible when it comes to growing my audience, and hearing from each of you means so much. Whether at book one or thirteen, I’m honored to have the chance to write and have people actually enjoy reading it.

That is all for 2024. It has been an awesome year, definitely the best of my publishing career so far. I cannot wait to see what 2025 has in store! Until then, Happy Holidays and New Year!

The post 2024 Year in Review appeared first on Brendan Noble.

Pre-Order eBooks, Paperbacks, and Hardcovers from my store (best deals plus signed editions): https://brendan-noble.com/product/the-shards-of-the-moon/

Get the full series from my store for an awesome bundle discount: https://brendan-noble.com/product/the-frostmarked-chronicles-complete-series/

Pre-Order eBooks from retailers (paperback/hardcover coming soon): books2read.com/TheShardsofthemoon

Full description (SPOILER WARNING for earlier books in the series):

The gods of death and darkness await.

Chosen. Having defeated the Frostmarked Horde, Otylia and her mother turn to ending winter’s lingering grip. But when Dziewanna’s ritual locks her into holding back Marzanna’s power in the living realm, she commands Otylia to follow the dead into the Way of Souls and defeat winter’s corruption at its source.

If only she knew how…

Crowned. Wacław labors beneath the burden of leading those who survived the Horde’s attack. They are his responsibility, but as a Naw born to protect the Way of Souls, he is the key to ensuring Otylia and his friends are to survive the trials ahead.

Except their foes have Nawie of their own…

Delve into the furthest depths of Slavic mythology in this adventure-filled finale to The Frostmarked Chronicles. The living do not belong among the dead, but the risen moon may be the only hope for the fallen stars.

The post The Shards of the Moon Cover Reveal appeared first on Brendan Noble.

I typically don’t do a formal year-end post, but this year has been incredibly eventful, so it feels like now is the right time to change that. 2023 was one of those years that flew by yet took forever at the same time. It marked the beginning of some major projects for me and some major changes. But that’s for the rest of this post to cover!

Intros are boring, so let’s move into the fun stuff.

2023

The Frostmarked Chronicles

Speaking of being forever, it’s hard to believe I started writing my first epic fantasy back during COVID lock-down in 2020. It was a different world, and when A Dagger in the Winds came out a year later, I was a different author. This series has reminded me that fantasy is my true love with reading and writing, and two years and sixth months after A Dagger in the Winds, I’m still loving these books. My research, posts, and now books with Slavic mythology have allowed me to meet so many amazing people and spread tales that haven’t been heard by many English speakers. That alone has been incredibly rewarding.

Now, onto my writing for this year.

With book 3 of The Frostmarked Chronicles, The Daughters of the Earth, coming out at the end of 2022, I knew it was going to be difficult to release two full-length books in 2023. The result was one novella in The Lady of Rolika (March) and one full-length novel with book 4, The Deathless Sons (November). The latter of these marked my tenth published book (novellas included) and one-millionth published word. The Frostmarked Chronicles so far is around 677k words, and with one more book coming, it alone will finish at over 800k words.

I especially enjoyed writing The Deathless Sons this year, as it allowed me to finally use many of the seeds I’ve planted throughout the series so far. For the first time, many things are resolved, but many things are still broken too. It’s hard not to include spoilers in here, but writing a certain new realm was my favorite part. That and the fight with a certain three-headed beast.

If you’d told me when I started writing in 2018 that I would have written that many words five years later, I’d have thought you ridiculous. Maybe it is ridiculous, but I’ve loved the journey so far. Every book has taught me something about writing, publishing, and marketing. It’s a constant learning journey, and I’ve been honored to have all of you along as part of it.

I’m not done with Wacław and Otylia quite yet, though, so don’t you worry. More on that in the 2024 section.

The Realm Reachers

Part of learning about the publishing process came the realization that I can’t keep writing the next book in a series while editing the previous one. It worked with my old series The Prism Files, but fantasy books have too many interwoven plots and facts to be changing previous things while writing new ones. That meant that while editing The Deathless Sons, I had to start something new.

Cue The Realm Reachers.

I’ve been inspired for a while now to write a series of connected worlds, each with a basis of a certain force/power. Drawing roots from D&D’s realms and an old dark fantasy mod for Civilization IV called Fall From Heaven 2, I decided to depart from the common “material” realm. Instead of there just being one material realm, I wanted each realm to have inspiration from its connected power, yet still be recognizable as a world. The first of these realms, Zekiaz, is the spirit realm, which hosts The Realm Reachers and book 1, The Crimson Court.

If you haven’t seen my constant posts lately about The Crimson Court, I have finished writing it, and it will be coming out in April of 2024 along with a Kickstarter. More on that release in the 2024 section. For now, know that it is dark (not grimdark) fantasy with flintlock guns, Victorian era technology, a diverse cast, and a revenge plot with a mystery at its core. This isn’t a sales post, though, so check out the book’s page if you’d like to read the full description.

I also have plans for future series in these realms that can be read together with The Realm Reachers or separately, but I’ll go more into that in the 2024 section too.

SPFBO

I also went out on a limb this year and entered A Dagger in the Winds into the Self Publishing Fantasy Blog Off (better known as SPFBO), which is the largest fantasy book competition in indie publishing. Along with 299 other others, A Dagger in the Winds would face reviewers steeped in the genre to see which of the bunch is the best.

To put it simply: no, I didn’t win.

But I didn’t expect to either! This was my first fantasy book ever, and the reviewers over at Queen’s Book Asylum (my assigned group along with 29 other books) advanced my book to the semi-finals of the group. Top six out of thirty is not bad for my first fantasy book, and it actually finished fourth out of the six semi-finalists with an rating of 7. You can read their reviews of the book HERE if you’re interested.

I learned a lot through this process, and critical reviews are… well… critical to improving. The feedback I’ve received from them and the over hundred other reviewers for the book have helped me learn a lot for my upcoming series The Realm Reachers. But that’s getting ahead of myself. I’ve also met SO MANY fantastic people through the community around the competition. That alone has been priceless.

I plan to enter SPFBO next year as well with The Crimson Court, so I’m excited to continue with this journey.

Comic Cons and In-Person Events

As much as SPFBO was huge for increasing my digital network and marketing, attending comic cons has exploded my sales in a way I had not anticipated. I literally doubled my book profits this year by attending nine comic cons and other in-person events. That is huge for a new author, and it has helped me refine my marketing and gain more confidence in selling. The people I’ve met at these cons have been awesome, and I’m excited to continue.

I’m also super grateful to my friends Alex Kujawa, who got me into the cons in the first place, and Justin Rose, a fellow author who went to over twenty cons this year. Without them, I would never have managed to do this cons as much and as well as I have, and I’m glad to see them as friendly faces at the cons I attend.

I would also be remiss not to mention that my wife, Andrea, has been fantastic to support me on these. She’s always dressing up with me and helping run the table, which is a relief for full day events.

More on my comic con plans for next year in the 2024 section.

To-Come in 2024

The Crimson Court Release and Kickstarter

Like I hinted at above, The Crimson Court is coming out on April 23rd of 2024. I wanted to make this release as special as possible, so I’ve worked with amazing artists Kateryna Vitkovskaya and Joni Matoz to add additional art to the books. Kateryna has done an amazing cover that will be revealed January 10th as well as art that will go on the case hardcover of the book and the inside covers of the paperback. Joni, meanwhile, has created character portraits of three of the major characters in the book. The first of those is the main protagonist, Kasia, which I recently revealed.

These art pieces and custom interior chapter headings, great house emblems, and maps that I’ve done will all be part of the Kickstarter release of the book. Not only is there this awesome art, but the Kickstarter includes full color interiors for the art, designs, emblems, and maps. It’s going to be awesome!

The Kickstarter starts in February, but you can follow the campaign now to be the first to hear when it launches. The follows are super helpful for algorithms, and you’ll also make sure you don’t miss the early bird specials I’ll have on the first day or so of the launch.

If Kickstarter isn’t your thing, you can also pre-order the eBook HERE from stores around the world or pre-order the physical books from my store. More physical stores coming closer to release.

There will also be a companion prequel novella to The Crimson Court called The Amber Dame, but I’ll talk more about that soon. It’ll be released to newsletter subscribers for free, so yet another reason to subscribe for updates!

I can’t wait to share this book with all of you. I’ve learned so much over the million words I’ve written, and this series is hopefully going to be the culmination of that, sparking the beginning of my own universe of novels.

The Conclusion of The Frostmarked Chronicles

The Crimson Court allowed me to write more productively while The Deathless Sons was edited, and now, as I finish The Amber Dame, my attention turns to the final book in The Frostmarked Chronicles. I haven’t officially named it yet, but I anticipate it being called The Way of Souls. There’s a hint of what that means if you read book 2, The Trials of Ascension.

I’m both excited and sad to be almost done with this series. Writing this world and characters has been so fun, along with discovering more about the Slavic mythology that comes with my Polish ancestry. I may return to mythology stuff more later, but for now, this is my last planned book in the series.

That doesn’t mean that The Way of Souls won’t be exciting in itself. There is so much still to wrap up. After all, who’s going to stop a rogue goddess’s endless winter?

Look for this one in autumn or the start of winter for 2024.

Comic Cons and In-Person Events

Along with the nine events I attended this past year, I am planning to increase the number of comic cons I attend in 2024. The most significant of those is that I will be attending the massive comic con in Chicago, C2E2, in April. It will be just a week after The Crimson Court‘s release, so It will be awesome to be marketing my new series alongside The Frostmarked Chronicles there.

A full list of events I’m attending will be released throughout the year. Mostly, I still to driveable places from my home in Rockford, Illinois, but I will definitely be in Rockford’s events as well as Chicago (IL), Madison (WI), Milwaukee (WI), DuPage (IL), and Oregon (IL).

I’ll also be holding a launch event for The Crimson Court‘s release at Rockford’s awesome indie bookstore Maze Books in probably April. More details on that soon.

SPFBO

The Crimson Court releasing in April is perfect timing for it to be entered into the 2024 edition of SPFBO in summer. It’ll be exciting to see how this new story does. I’ve grown a lot, and I believe my writing has grown with me. Anything is great, though, and it’ll just be fun to be part of the competition.

The Future

Assuming AI doesn’t kill us all past 2024, I’ll be continuing to work on the world of The Realm Reachers. After The Way of Souls, I’ll be turning to book 2 of The Realm Reachers and then the first book in a Realm Reachers adjacent series. I have some ideas around a water realm pirate fantasy epic, but I haven’t decided anything yet.

Beyond that, who knows? I’m hoping the fifteen realms of The Realm Reachers provide plenty of story opportunities for me to write in, but the success of the series will have a major impact on whether I try to branch out somewhere else. Regardless, any series written in the world will be able to be read independently of each other or together (think like Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere). I have no plans to stop writing. I have one million words published, and I hope that someday that’s ten million.

Conclusion

I want to end with a thank you to all the amazing people who have supported me throughout this journey. My wife, Andrea, has been my backbone through this process throughout the years, inspiring me to write in the first place and ensuring I have a fan no matter what. I’m so grateful that she finds time in her busy schedule to be the first to make notes on my chonky books.

I’m also so grateful to my incredible beta readers. You all ensure that the story gets to where it needs to be, as we writers are blind to our mistakes sometimes. Without you, these books would be messes, so thank you!!!

The books would just be text without the incredible artists that bring them alive, so I want to express my thanks to Mariia Lytovchenko (cover and interior artist for The Frostmarked Chronicles), Kateryna Vitkovskaya (cover artist for The Realm Reachers), and Joni Matoz (portrait artist for The Realm Reachers). Marichka literally drew some of the covers and interior art for the Frostmarked books while in a bomb shelter during Russia’s horrific invasion of Ukraine. She’s been incredible (and incredibly brave) and I cannot thank her enough for the passion she’s put into these projects while enduring the trials she has. On a lighter note, Kateryna and Joni have brought The Crimson Court alive in awesome ways, and I can’t wait to share more of their art with you soon.

Lastly, I’d like to thank all of you. I couldn’t do this without all of your support. I love every reply I hear about the book, critical or positive. It is an honor to share these stories with you. There are so many who say that they dream of becoming an author, and because of you, I get that chance.

That’s all for this year folks. Enjoy the holidays, and stay safe out there!

The post 2023 Year in Review appeared first on Brendan Noble.

If you missed the first chapter, you can read that first HERE. Again, know that I do not recommend reading ahead if you haven’t finished The Daughters of the Earth, as there are definite spoilers.

With that all finished, here’s chapter 2!

Chapter 2 – Otylia

Where are you, Mother? I don’t care who or what Marzanna has guarding you. I’ll bring you home. I swear upon my moon and your wilds. I’ll bring you home.

For the first time in what seemed an eternity, I awoke to the light of the setting sun as I emerged from the shelter we’d dug in the snow. No clouds. No blizzard. It was as if Marzanna had forgotten to swallow us whole.

Her frozen wasteland dwarfed us anyway.

White extended for as far as I could see, amplifying the sun’s rays and making me squint as I stared to the northeast. The distant forest Wacław had scouted the night before was obvious now. It was leafless like all the others before it, but could this be the one I’d seen in Jaryło’s memories on the night Marzanna captured Dziewanna? Part of me wanted to hope. But I couldn’t. My hope had been beaten out of me by the combined efforts of Weles, Jaryło, Marzanna, Czarnobóg, and seemingly every other god and demon in the Three Realms. Spite drove me on now. To prove my enemies wrong, and to bring them Dziewanna’s wrath.

Wacław’s unruly blond hair and bleary-eyed face peeked out of the shelter. It was a short and narrow space, barely offering enough room for the two of us to lie next to each other. He liked that more than he was willing to admit. So did I.

“Hopefully that forest has some animals,” he said with a stretch before kicking himself out of the shelter with the grace of a newborn pup. “I’m starving.”

“You have enough žityje?” I asked, half-knowing the answer already.

He wiped the snow off his wide-brimmed płanetnik hat and put in on as he gave a tired smile. “Yeah, but—”

“Then you’re fine. Mortal hunger can’t kill us.”

His smile grew, and I resisted the urge to smack it off his face. “Remind me why Jaryło forced you to pledge that you’d marry him? A god like him sure as Oblivion would hate to miss breakfast.”

I smacked him anyway.

“Mention that bastard again and I’ll make sure your other cheek is red enough to cover your dark veins.”

Wacław’s eyes widened as he wiped dark demonic blood from his lip. I’d hit him hard, but in the emotions we shared, all the regret was his. “Don’t worry,” he said, thumbing the black dagger sheathed at his hip. Thunderstone, capable of draining žityje and killing a god. “I don’t need to speak his name to stab him the next time he shows his stupid golden face.”

To quiet his rage, I swooped in for a kiss before grabbing my travel bag and pulling up my hood. “Glad the demon left you some guts. We’ll need them if Marzanna knows I’m coming for Mother.”

“Think Czarnobóg is actually guarding her?” He shouldered his own bag. “It seems like a waste for Marzanna to free a dragon from Oblivion just to have him guard her unconscious sister.”

“I don’t know how much of Death’s Trial was real, but we have to be ready for anything. If Czarnobóg really was the first żmij, he’s as ancient as Perun and Weles.”

“And most of that time was spent trapped in Oblivion.”

A gust circled us as Wacław flexed his hands beside him. Eight winds, the grandchildren of the god Strzybóg, each with their own unique personalities. I’d spent enough time with Kyustendil, the northwest wind, to know that even the youngest gods had their surprises. I shuddered just wondering what one of the eldest was capable of—if Czarnobóg could be considered a god at all.

“Let’s go,” I said, taking Wacław’s hand. “It’ll be another hour before the moon shows up. I’m not waiting that long.”

He gave my hand a squeeze before leaping into the air. The gusts brought me with him, and I was grateful for the trousers beneath my slit dress as my skirt and coat flapped around me.

Using his winds to fly still unnerved me. End’s force pulled me with the moon’s power when I flew, controlled and direct, but Wacław’s winds battered me. Each time, I gained newfound respect for birds’ abilities to dive through the narrowest gaps with ease. Wacław’s too, as he didn’t hesitate or care about the winds’ shifts. He just pulled down his hat and stared at the path ahead. A master of the winds. With black veins crossing his skin and his fur-lined coat drifting behind him to expose Marzanna’s Thunderstone dagger, he surely gave the appearance of a storm demon. But his eyes held their bright blue. My Wašek was still in control, even if his demon had left its mark.

The winds carried us quickly over the forest. Starting at the bend of a north-flowing river, the trees crossed from its eastern bank to a second river. Here, the snow covered all but the tallest underbrush, but no tracks pierced its surface. We’d traveled far to the north. Were animals capable of living here in normal conditions, let alone the brutal terrain this land had become?

A howl answered my thought.

Wacław glanced at me for confirmation, and when I nodded, we dove toward the sound. Darkness crept over us with the descent. The wolves reveled in the night.

The winds silently caught us just above the snow, creating a surface beneath us that almost resembled solid ground. Wacław crept across it with ease. I moved slower. Each step felt like it could send me sprawling, but the winds held.

A short metallic sound broke the quiet. The last rays of light reflected off Grudzień’s jagged black Moonblade streaked in colors as Wacław looked ahead with narrowed eyes. Seven wolves gathered at the base of a massive oak, two pups nuzzling into their mother in a nook of the tree as four others broke into another howl. They hadn’t seen us yet.

Plenty of žityje for breakfast, I quipped to Wacław through our bond.

But he turned to me with worry in his gaze. “They aren’t Marzanna’s,” he replied. “No glowing blue eyes. These woods are nearly dead already without me slaughtering the last of its animals.”

They’re hunters like you. Mother said that’s the way of the wild, and demons are no different.

“Wolves rarely kill an entire flock of their prey. Neither will I.” He rose slowly, taking a long breath. “Stay here. I’ll go invisible and make this quick.”

The winds weakened beneath me, and the tips of my boots struck the snow as he took flight. Mortals and animals alike couldn’t see him when he chose to be invisible in his soul-form. The wolves noticed the gust, though. Heads raised, they sniffed the air. One growled as Wacław drifted nearer, and both wolf and demon lunged at once.

Grudzień found flesh in a single strike.

The wolf had smelled Wacław’s presence, but without sight, its teeth missed as Wacław tore through to its heart. “One,” his voice said in my mind as he devoured the heart and the žityje in its blood. “One is enough.” It sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than me, and when he finished, I sensed the thrill in his soul for another.

Listen to your mind, not the hunger, I told him. The demon’s control is gone.

He looked at me with blood covering his chin and gloved fingers. A beast. I fought my instinct to believe that. A beast would satiate its hunger until none remained, but Wacław forced himself to show mercy, to control the demonic urges. They’d lessened ever since I’d taken part of his demonic corruption in Huebia. That couldn’t change what he was.

Most of the other wolves whimpered and backed away from the invisible threat. One advanced, and I expected Wacław to accept the second kill nature handed to him. Instead, he took flight and rushed upward, his winds dragging me with him.

We rose together as the sun disappeared over the horizon. Nightfall replaced it, and I grinned at the rush of power that came with the force of endings, bound to the moon. My skin released a dull glow. It rose from my fingers in white wisps that joined with End’s colored ones for each creature nearby—for now just Wacław and the wolves in a vapor that spiraled through the night.

I broke free from the winds and grabbed hold of the moon’s pull. It tore me upward, straight and faultless as I climbed ever higher. Breathing grew harder with each moment I climbed, but I needed to fly, to see Jawia from the above. This was the first time since we’d left Vastroth that clouds couldn’t obscure the view, allowing me to rise to the stars as another flickering soul in the night sky. Then I saw it.

Water. Water!

I nearly screamed in glee at the sight of the moonlight reflecting off the sea’s waves. The two rivers converged upon a bridge at the forest’s end before splitting again and pouring into a small bay. A ring of ice encircled the land after that bridge, and my chest ached at the memory of Mother lying in the black dragon’s shadow.

“We found her…” I whispered to myself before scanning the sky for Wacław. “Wašek! Come here! I see it.”

The winds rushed through my hair and coat as he appeared beside me, his eyes wide. “This is actually it? Where’s the palace?”

“Czarnobóg destroyed it.” Our words were distant. All I could focus on were the spikes of ice forming a dome over the place Dziewanna had fallen, where Mother was trapped. My hand found her bone Bowmark amulet hanging at my collar. I couldn’t breathe.

Wacław cupped my cheek, forgetting his bloodied glove and smearing crimson across my face. “Otylka, are… are you okay?”

I clenched my jaw. A spear of cold silver manifested in my open hand as I stared down at the fallen palace. The spear’s light pushed back the darkness and my fear, replacing it with a need for revenge. I didn’t care what kept her trapped there. I would kill it and free my mother, my goddess.

“Not until she’s free.” I met his gaze, and his eyes reflected my anger. Good. Let Marzanna see what happens when he’s unleashed.

We charged north without another word. Wacław knew I needed action. Reassurance would’ve only redirected my fury at him, and no strategy could prepare us for whatever lay ahead.

Whoever guarded the palace remnants would see us quickly as we approached, but it didn’t matter. Stealth was irrelevant. There would be no hiding within the circle of ice, and that was fine by me. I wanted nothing more than to tear apart the fiends that entrapped Mother, that kept her from me. She suffered.

So would they.

My power would reveal anything living, but there was nothing until a new puff of vapor appeared beside Wacław’s wisp. The soft brown of a willow’s bark, it drifted, slow compared to the excitement of the others.

It’s her!

I opened my vision to the Threads of Life. My bright green Thread wrapped around me before shooting in each direction: one strand binding me to Wacław, others heading southwest toward Ara, Sabina, and Father, another dropping to the rivers and Weles in Nawia, and a final one stretching toward the far end of the ice ring.

In the darkness, I couldn’t see her, but Mother was there. End’s force confirmed it.

I removed my glove when her wisp stopped before me. So many questions wrapped themselves around my mind, and my hand shook as I raised my fingers toward the wisp. Seeing other’s ends, both past and future, was jarring. To know I was about to see Mother’s own…

“You see her wisp, don’t you?” Wacław asked.

“I do.”

He held my spear-hand, offering a smile I knew was forced. “You can do this. I’ll be right here.”

I couldn’t return his smile. End could show me what’s ahead or give me some answer to what had happened to Dziewanna, to Mother, but did I want to know? Suffering lay in those visions—of what she’d endured and what battles would come. I’d seen the destruction brought by Wacław’s fall to the Płanetnik in Huebia and had been unable to believe it.

Mother’s wisp moved toward my hand as I raised it. I pretended she could see me, that she was reaching to touch me for the first time in over four years. Childish hopes. I clung to them anyway, but as my fingers met her wisp, End’s force didn’t tear me away.

Cold silence met me instead. Shooting from my fingers up my arm and into my chest, Marzanna’s frigid grip tightened around my soul. I recognized it from moons before. Wacław had cast out her curse through his Frostmark and now endured permanently frostbitten fingers as a result. But this time, her power held no sway over me.

I released a burst of žityje, repelling the chill in a blinding flash. When the light faded, my shaking hand drifted through empty space. Mother’s wisp was gone, and tears streamed down my face. No more willow brown. No more dynamic energy. Just darkness punctured by the light pulsing from my skin and rising in silvery strands.

I yelled through the night, my rage echoing for eternity. Then I dove toward my mother’s prison.

Spear in hand, I crashed into the blue ice dome, and its silver tip plunged through the barrier, shattering it the moment I struck. Power surged from the weapon. Light and endings both as dark wisps collided with me midair.

Screaming, the vapored forms of a hundred demons passed through me in search of escape. Each brought another onslaught of visions. Of their mortal death. Of the unnatural elements tethering their undead souls to Jawia. And of Marzanna’s promises to fulfill their desires for freedom. Oaths unfulfilled. Minds corrupted.

The towers of ice I’d faced in Death’s Trial rose above the ruins. Sharp and unnatural, they encircled me for over fifty strides in each direction. The moonlight above fractured through what remained of the dome. The ice and snow seemed a hollow gray with only the cores of the towers offering blue to break the colorless void. What unfiltered light remained covered me. My glow no longer pulsed, instead absorbing the moon’s power and growing with my anger. I’d kill Marzanna for what she’d done. I’d torture Czarnobóg for a thousand lifetimes more. Once I freed Dziewanna and restored her power, the dark gods would truly understand wrath when they faced mother and daughter together.

Yet the air hung still. Impossibly cold against my skin, it stayed, as if trapped in time. Wacław slowly descending to my side broke the motionless space, but the eerie sensation remained. End’s wisps had shown the demons within the dome. Where were they?

I opened my mind to the Threads of Life, but there was only a single source beyond the two of us. A figure lay in shadows at the ruin’s far end. Her dim Thread wrapped her body before stretching out in only a few directions. The brightest one connected us, and my tears began again as I stared down at Mother’s crumpled body. My power confirmed she lived, but what had Marzanna done to her? Why was she left unguarded?

“Czarnobóg isn’t here,” I stammered through gritted teeth. “Why? Dziewanna is the only one who can stop Marzanna.”

Wacław laid a hand softly on my back. His other still clutched the dagger. “I don’t know, but I don’t like this. Go to her. I’ll watch to make sure there aren’t any lingering demons.”

I dismissed my spear into a puff of light before dropping to the snow strides from Mother. Her appearance was the same as during the Trial, tearing at my heart. A few stray dark veins like Wacław’s crossed her pale face, and her crown of antlers was broken as her brown hair hung mangled over a ripped, deep green dress. Her skin and bare feet were bloodied when they’d once been unblemished. She was a queen stripped of her wild throne, a goddess drained and broken. She’d suffered here alone because of Jaryło’s betrayal.

She’d never be alone again.

As I approached, the shadow over her didn’t shift. There was no żmij. There were no demons. Marzanna had drained her and left her here to rot, and none of the gods had bothered to save her. Neither her father Perun nor her husband Weles could turn from their simmering war. Cowards.

“Mother?” I pled, kneeling beside her and taking her hand in mine. It was cold and limp. Her chest rose with each breath, but barely. “Mother, it’s me, Otylia.”

No reply came. Sorrow crept into my rage, forcing me to choke on my tears as I screamed and begged for her to answer. For years, I’d wished to just see her again, but now that I could, I was forced to watch her suffer Marzanna’s Curse for a second time.

“No,” I muttered. “I couldn’t save you before, but this is different now. I’m different now.”

I squeezed my Bowmark amulet like I had so many times, allowing its sharp ends to jab into my palm until blood seeped free. Žityje-filled blood. Holding my hand over her lips, I forced the trickle into her mouth and whispered a prayer I’d used as a szeptuchy to make sacrifices at her altar. The words in the old tongue spilled from my mouth, sloppy and ill-timed. Power flowed through them regardless, and Mother’s Thread slowly glowed stronger.

“Come back to me,” I told her. “You taught me to fight, and I haven’t stopped since you died. But I need you now. The wilds need you now. Please, Mother, wake up!”

With those final words, I pressed my hands to her chest and sent the force of a moonblast directly into her. The ground shook beneath us as the spell scattered snow and cracked ice. I sensed Wacław’s concern through our bond, but he didn’t intervene as my light faded slightly. My breaths became chilled, forced. Though the blast hadn’t taken everything, a cold sweat clung to my skin and žityje no longer flowed as freely from my fingers. It was a last effort to wake her—one that had failed.

“Uh, Otylka?” Wacław called.

I shivered, unable to reply as I stared down at Mother’s unmoving body. Light emanated from her core, but nothing changed. Then that light disappeared completely, enough to make me fall back with my knees tucked in like a weeping child. What else could I do? I’d Ascended and fought across two realms to save her, and none of it mattered. Without her, spring would never return. Jawia would perish, and everyone I loved would die with it.

What good is the end if nothing comes after?

Light burst from behind my tears. I scrambled to my feet, wiping my eyes as every part of Mother exuded radiant white light. The Threads connecting us shone brighter than any I’d ever seen, and her body lifted into the air as the air shook around me. I felt her power pulse with mine. A steady rhythm, it grew with every beat until she awoke with a gasp, dropping hard to the now snow-free earth and stumbling. I caught her, and her green eyes widened as she looked up at me with the smile only a mother can give.

“Otylia, my Otylia! You came!” She said, her voice raspy as she looked up at the ice towers nearby. “Did you kill them?”

“Kill who?” I clutched her as she squirmed. “Mother, Czarnobóg is gone.”

She tensed. “Not him. Them!”

My joy faded as she looked at Wacław. Dark, lumbering figures surrounded him. They crawled from the cracks in the ice with limbs broken and darkness swirling at their feet—demons, hundreds of them. And they were coming straight for us.

The post The Deathless Sons – Chapter 2 appeared first on Brendan Noble.

With that all finished, here’s chapter 1!

Chapter 1 – Wacław

Will Jawia ever bloom again?

Death claimed the living realm.

Marzanna’s blizzard obscured my foggy breaths as ice and snow crunched beneath my boots. Frost crept up to mid-calf, snatching me with every step before I finally broke free of its frigid grasp. Shivering, I pulled my furs tighter. There was no end to the snowfall in sight.

The winds circled me, as if begging for me to wield them as a Naw płanetnik—a half-mortal, half-demon of the storm. We shared that desire, but in the weeks since the Huebia Revolt, each wintery tempest had fought my control of our flight. One like this would make it near impossible to even hold myself aloft, let alone fend off the demonic chały that lurked in the dark clouds.

I yearned to be free.

With the waxing moon above covered by the storm, only the twinkling of our campfire ahead offered any real light. Luckily, I didn’t need sight. The tether binding me to Otylia pointed the way to her, growing tighter with each haggard step.

Her shadowed form blocked one side of the fire. Black hair hung freely down her back, covered only partly by the silver fox pelt she draped over her shoulders to warm her neck. One hand clutched her fur coat shut as she stared into the flames. She didn’t sit, not when I was away. It was hard enough to get her to rest when I was by her side, trying to calm her nerves as we grew ever closer to finding her mother, the wild goddess Dziewanna.

Even from here, I sensed Otylia’s anticipation. Our souls’ bond prevented much in the way of secrets. That didn’t stop us from trying, and she hadn’t told me everything that had happened in the last few moons. I let her hold back. The walls around her heart and mind were strong, requiring care—not force—to be brought down.

It was that bond that alerted her to my presence amid the noise of the gales. She looked at me over her shoulder, her ivy green eyes alight against the campfire and her thin lips curled into the slightest of smiles.

The chill’s clutches melted away at the sight of her.

I collapsed into Otylia the moment my feet slipped onto the thawing mush around the fire. My thighs throbbed from pushing through the snow. My face stung from the hail. The fire slowly dulled that ache, but it was nothing compared to her silent embrace.

We’d traveled hundreds of miles since leaving Vastroth, and each day wore us down more than the one before. Our support for each other was the last flame keeping us moving forward. Dziewanna had to be close. We would save her, and then she’d help us end Marzanna’s winter over the living realm of Jawia. If it could be ended at all.

“You’re rarely this quiet after scouting,” Otylia said, pulling down my snow-covered hood and running her warm hands over my ears. They’d been numb, and when their feeling returned, so did the pain. A pin prick compared to the demonic hunger she quieted with her touch.

I gave a solemn smile and rested my eyes for a moment. Black and red danced across my eyelids with the flames. “The storms are getting worse. I’m worried for Mom and for Kuba and the others. You can survive from offerings and me from animal blood, but the crops are dead. Game is scarce. If we don’t find Dziewanna soon, it won’t matter what Koschei and the Frostmarked Horde do. They’ll conquer our tribe’s skeletons.”

“Krowik exiled you.”

“They feared me.” I pulled back, circling the fire. Its constant motion held my gaze, some primal part of me not wanting to look away. “Huebia proved they were right to.”

She crossed her arms and gave me a warning glare. “Don’t do this again, Wašek, not tonight. You’re tired. That’s it. Tell me what you saw and then we can rest.”

“A dead forest, like all the others.” Having rounded the fire, I stopped beside her, taking her hands. “There’s a river to the east of it and another to the west, so maybe this is the one we’re looking for?”

We’d agreed one of us would scout ahead during the blizzards bad enough to stop both of us from flying. Going alone was dangerous, but she’d needed the time to recollect her strength through offerings from her worshippers. She despised drinking the blood from her moonlight altars. We had little other choice with the risk of demons and Horde patrols ahead. For a few hours of scouting, though, a goddess and demon were each plenty capable of handling a few enemies without the other. Our bond allowed us to call for help through our minds anyway if the situation escalated.

A larger group would’ve made the journey easier. I missed Kuba and Xobas, and Otylia had smiled so much more around Ara, the nymph Sabina, and the Mothermarked Vastrothie girl Ta-naro. With the blizzards growing ever more brutal, though, we’d had little choice but to leave them with the Vastrothie army, who’d used Mokosz’s szeptuchy to travel through the mountains and toward Dwie Rzeki. We barely slept between treks. Every step and flight between those rests was met with Marzanna’s frigid wrath. No mortal or nymph would’ve survived at the pace we were going, and through our marks, our friends would ensure we remained in touch with our allies—no matter how far.

“Vida and Jaryło’s memories showed two rivers meeting at a bridge before her palace on the frozen bay,” Otylia said, nose wrinkled. “This could be it, or it could be just another dead end.”

The Frostmarked szeptucha known as Minna had controlled Vastroth until Otylia discovered she was actually Vida, a girl we’d thought had died during the szeptucha initiation rituals almost five years ago. Vida had chosen to kill herself rather than remember what had happened to her. The rumor was that she’d been brought back from death multiple times by Marzanna. I feared what that did to a person, and what it meant if Vida wasn’t the only one.

“Your Thread of Life still shows northeast?” I asked Otylia. As the goddess of endings, she saw the connections that bonded us to those we love and heard whispers of ends both future and past. The power frightened and fascinated me at the same time.

Our Threads appeared as Otylia’s eyes flashed pure white. Stretching from our chests to those we loved, they glowed brilliantly—hers green and mine light blue. We’d followed the single green strand traveling north. It had to show us the way to Dziewanna.

“Mother’s Thread hasn’t moved since I discovered I could see it,” she said. “We’re going the right way, but when does the land end?”

“I have no idea. Zorza Wieczorna’s evening gate in the sea was a long way west, but it feels like we’ve traveled further from Vastroth.”

Her eyes returned to normal as the Threads disappeared, and the pulsing of our shared mark on my forearm faded with them. It reminded me that seeing the Threads with her was a gift only I had. “Weles claimed Jawia is far larger than Nawia, but I didn’t even see the entire realm of the dead. The tundra could go on forever.”

“Then we’ll follow it forever,” I replied, pulling her close and resting my forehead against hers. She was warm, and despite weeks of travel and her Ascension, she still smelled of wild herbs burnt in offering to her mother. A scent I’d known so well when we were little. “I’m sorry. I wish I could take the pain of her loss away.”

For a moment, Otylia didn’t react at all. We stood still with our heads touching and our souls sharing both love and loss. Silence was her choice, so I let the crackle of the fire and the howls of the dying blizzard replace our voices. She’d talk when she was ready. Until then, I shared her pain.

She stepped back when the fire smoldered to little more than orange ash and the sun’s dull glow appeared in the east. Neither of us moved to restore the flames. Without the storm’s cover, the daylight would expose its smoke and alert any nearby Frostmarked to our presence.

“Rambling won’t save her,” Otylia said, her head tilted down as she looked back at me. “We should rest until then.”

I nodded. “Then tomorrow we fly.”

The post The Deathless Sons – Chapter 1 appeared first on Brendan Noble.

Note: If you enjoy Slavic mythology, check out A Dagger in the Winds, the first book in my Slavic fantasy series called The Frostmarked Chronicles. You can also get a free eBook copy of the prequel novella, The Rider in the Night, via most retailers throughout the world or by joining my newsletter.

Deathless

It is hard to study Russian folktales (known as skazki) for long without encountering Koschei the Deathless. Ironically, the most famous tale related to the character is called “The Death of Koschei the Deathless” (or “Marya Morevna”), and that irony draws into his character. Koschei is thought to be a powerful sorcerer afraid of nothing… except death itself. So, he does everything possible to avoid death’s grip.

According to the many skazki in which Koschei appears, he achieves his immortal status by separating his soul from his body. He puts Voldemort to shame by not just hiding his soul in various objects but placing it on the tip of a needle in an egg that is in a duck that is in a hare that is in a chest buried beneath an ancient oak tree. *Takes breath* That chest is often claimed to be on the mythical island of Buyan in the middle of the ocean that could appear or disappear depending on the tides and whims of the wind gods that lived upon it. Obviously, this makes his soul quite difficult to find – the entire point of why it’s there. To make matters worse, some tales claim a dragon guards the island.

Okay, so let’s assume the bogatyr (the hero) reaches this mysterious hidden island, slays the dragon, and finds the chest. That’s it, right? Koschei will be vulnerable.

Well… kind of. In the tales, the hare would run away when the bogatyr opened the chest, and even if the hare was killed, the duck would try to fly away. Only when the bogatyr manages to reach the egg does Koschei become vulnerable, as he would die if the needle within were destroyed. This could make the one possessing the egg very powerful if they were to command Koschei using the egg.

Koschei, Meet Marya

Now, let’s talk about “The Death of Koschei the Deathless”/”Marya Morevna”. This tale is a fascinating one, involving a warrior queen, a wandering prince, an immortal sorcerer, the most famous witch in Slavic mythology, wizards, and a good old mafia-style chopping people up and throwing them in barrels. What else could you ask for?

The tale begins with the young Ivan Tsarevich. His last name quite literal means “son of the tsar,” so we know Ivan is important. It is said in the tale that he has three sisters, who at various points are married off to wizards (specifically wizards associated with certain birds) after his parent’s deaths. In this tale, it’s not specified that Ivan is the youngest son, but typically he is the youngest of three. Perhaps this is why he is allowed to just leave and wander in search of his sisters when he decides he misses them.

Along his journey, Ivan discovers the warrior princess Marya Morevna and marries her. She soon decides to march to war, though, and leaves Ivan to oversee the castle (or house) while she’s gone, warning him not to go into the dungeon. This only ignites Ivan’s curiosity, and he opens the dungeon to see our favorite immortal sorcerer in chains.

Somehow, Marya had captured Koschei and left him to rot. That’s never fully explained in the tales I’ve seen, but Ivan takes pity on Koschei when he asks for water. When Ivan brings the water, though, the sorcerer’s powers return to full. He breaks from his chains and flees. On his way, he kidnaps Marya (kidnapping and womanizing are also associated with Koschei in some other stories).

Ivan chases after the sorcerer and his lost wife, but when he approaches their camp and frees Marya, Koschei is too fast on his steed. Twice, Ivan tries and fails, and on the third attempt, Koschei loses his patience. He chops up Ivan, throws him in a barrel, and then tosses him into a river (or ocean).

Now, remember those bird wizards that married Ivan’s sisters? The three of them (Falcon, Eagle, and Raven) find Ivan in the barrel and rescue him. Then, they tell him about Baba Jaga/Baba Yaga, an infamous witch in the woods who just happens to have magic horses that are faster than Koschei’s.

Ivan leaves to find Baba Jaga at once. He encounters various animals along the way and helps them, earning their trust before he crosses a flaming river to find Baba Jaga’s hut. Typically adorned with skulls on sticks and walking on chicken legs, the hut is quite the sight, but Ivan approaches the witch and asks her for a horse. She gives him tasks each day that he must complete to earn the horse, and each day he fails. The animals he helped, though, bring him aid, completing the tasks for him. The witch doesn’t know the difference, and Ivan escapes with a horse in the end.

Now with his faster steed, Ivan finds Koschei and Marya again. This time, he is quicker, and when he saves Marya, he is able to slay the mighty sorcerer. This is the death of Koschei the Deathless.

But what? Didn’t I say before that the only way to kill Koschei was by destroying the pin in the egg in the duck in the hare in the chest under the tree on the island guarded by a dragon? Once again, we have the irony of this story, as it completely ignores that. Funny, isn’t it? The most famous tale about Koschei is the one that ignores his most important trait.

In The Frostmarked Chronicles

While not taking part in A Dagger in the Winds (book 1), I can most definitely confirm Koschei appears in The Frostmarked Chronicles. Ivan as well makes an appearance in a form you may be surprised by. And in the end, all three will likely appear in a side-novella (that may end up as way more than that) as I plan to write my own spin on Koschei, Marya, and Ivan’s tale at some point. Make sure to join my newsletter to keep updated and get those related novellas for free.

That’s all for this week’s Slavic Saturday. Be sure to keep a lookout for more posts soon, and if you haven’t seen the full series of posts, be sure to check them out.

*As always just a quick disclaimer. Slavic mythology is broad and not written in many if any primary sources, so there’s a variety of interpretations. The interpretations I’m using here are from the sources I’ve found to be reliable.

The post The Death of Koschei the Deathless – Slavic Folklore Saturday appeared first on Brendan Noble.

Note: If you enjoy Slavic mythology, check out A Dagger in the Winds, the first book in my Slavic fantasy series called The Frostmarked Chronicles. You can also get a free eBook copy of the prequel novella, The Rider in the Night, via most retailers throughout the world.

The Folktale

While I’ll talk more about the folktale in the next post, Marya Morevna’s story along with that of the sorcerer Koschei the Deathless is one of the most famous “skazki” from Russia. Ivan Tsarevich, another major character, is also a famous bogatyr (hero) who appears in Marya’s tale as well as many others. Marya herself is also no common princess, being known as a war leader to be feared by many.

The main story the web comic Marya Morevna is based on is the folktale by the same name: “Marya Morevna” (also called “The Death of Koschei the Deathless”). In that story, the focus is on Ivan’s fight to save Marya after he accidentally releases Koschei, allowing the sorcerer to steal Marya. The tale has made Koschei incredibly popular, and the story also includes perhaps the most famous character in Slavic myth: Baba Jaga/Baba Yaga.

At the start, however, the Marya Morevna comic focuses on the meeting of Ivan and Marya as well as Marya’s backstory. That alone is a fun take on the old tale, and it will be interesting to see how they venture into the more popularly known areas of Marya’s story.

Art

I have to begin by saying I don’t read many web comics, but reading this series (as of now the first six episodes have been released on Webtoon Factory) has me ready for more. The art style of the Studio Myrà team is absolutely stunning. Going from adorable to sweeping and magical in seconds, they truly capture the aesthetic of the Russian tale. I especially have to comment on the clothing styles. Whether it’s young Marya in a kokoshnik crown and royal robes that she hates or a grown one who truly looks like a queen at war, each outfit fits the scene perfectly.

So many times after reading through an episode I go back again just to take in each piece of art. The details of simple things like chess pieces to grand landscapes that are worthy of being a phone wallpaper capture me each time.

The characters themselves are also incredibly cute. Ivan Tsarevich’s massive tuft of hair, Marya’s stubbornness, and Koschei’s eccentric head movements make me smile every time. Koschei especially is awesome to see, somehow combining that cute element while still maintaining the fierce appearance he very much should have as an immortal sorcerer.

Writing

Rare for Slavic works, Marya Morevna was first created in French and then translated to English. I’d initially had worries about how that would impact readability, but after six episodes, I can say I am impressed! There have been no mistakes that I have seen so far, and the writing meshes so well with the art style to create a cohesive aesthetic. I really love as well how the text plays with the art instead of being a separate element much of the time.

The writing itself and story line is well done so far. Each character has their personality both shown in the art and in how they speak, and even only six episodes in, some of the side characters already have distinct voices. I look forward to how the story evolves and we get to see more of Marya’s character to see how she responds to certain events.

Unfortunately, I love the art so much that the writing occasionally takes a back seat. That isn’t an insult to the well-done writing at all. Instead, it just speaks to how much I love the style of art and the execution of it.

Do I recommend it?

Definitely! Whether you’ve tried web comics or not, Marya Morevna is a fantastic little tale that I look forward to reading every Thursday during my lunch hour. The first three episodes are free on Webtoon Factory to read if you’re curious. Those alone were enough to sell me, and I’ve been hooked ever since. There are few works out there that can make you wonder, smile, and be in awe of at the same time. Marya Morevna truly does that.

That’s all for this week’s Slavic Saturday. I’ll be likely doing more reviews and recommendations of Slavic mythology related things as part of the series, so let me know what you think of these being mixed in every now and then. Be sure to keep a lookout for more posts soon, and if you haven’t seen the full series of posts, be sure to check them out.

*As always just a quick disclaimer. Slavic mythology is broad and not written in many if any primary sources, so there’s a variety of interpretations. The interpretations I’m using here are from the sources I’ve found to be reliable.

The post Marya Morevna Webtoon Review – Slavic Folklore Saturday appeared first on Brendan Noble.

Note: If you enjoy Slavic mythology, check out A Dagger in the Winds, the first book in my Slavic fantasy series called The Frostmarked Chronicles. You can also get a free eBook copy of the prequel novella, The Rider in the Night, via most retailers throughout the world.

The Multi-Headed and Multi-Tailed Beast

As Zmey Gorynych’s name implies, he follows the characteristics of a type of Slavic dragon called the Zmey/Zmei/Żmij. Check out that post for more about these “vipers” in general, but Gorynych follows the trend of having many heads (ranging from three to six or even twelve), all of which can breathe fire. He is described as being large enough to block out the sun with massive wings and even seven tails. And with this power, he is capable of mass destruction, burning villages and kidnapping women (much like the story of other dragons including Chudo-Yudo and Smok Wawelski). Specifically as well, his name means “Serpent of the Mountains.”

The color of Zmey Gorynych ranges from black to green. Regardless of color, however, he is thought to be an incredibly menacing opponent for a bogatyr (a hero of Russian tales) and has sharp claws of shining copper in addition to his flaming maws.

Importantly, like most Slavic dragons, he is capable of shape-shifting in order to scheme. Zmey Gorynych specifically was thought to transform into a young man to seduce princesses and other women, often kidnapping them. In the former case, this could lead to the tales of the children of dragons and humans being great warriors or other beasts. In the latter one, the kidnapping led to a bogatyr’s journey to face the dragon and free the princess.

The most famous of these bogatyrs connected to Zmey Gorynych was Dobrynya Nikitich. Said to have emerged during the Kieven Rus period, Dobrynya was a powerful warrior of the noble class. The dragon had kidnapped princesses and destroyed too many villages, so Dobrynya went to defeat him. Though a difficult fight against a three-headed beast capable of breathing fire, Dobrynya manages to strike Zmey Gorynych.

The Zmey immediately begged for mercy, claiming he would never burn villages or kidnap princesses ever again. With this promise, the bogatyr allowed his opponent to go, but Slavic dragons are known to be tricksters. Zmey Gorynych returned to his schemes without delay, forcing Dobrynya to chase him down again.

The resulting fight lasted three long days and nights. In the end, Dobrynya manages to defeat the great beast and put an end to his destruction, and his story has become the inspiration for many stories in especially Russian popular culture today.

Statues of Zmey Gorynych are spread throughout modern Russia. A Christianized version of the story involving Saint George slaying the dragon instead is pictured on both the Russian coat of arms and that of Moscow as well. That part was new to me, and I had to take a closer look into the Russian double-eagle to see the white rider driving a spear into the black dragon in the crest’s center. If that doesn’t tell you how important this story is to Russia, I don’t know what does.

In The Frostmarked Chronicles

There will be dragons in the series, and there may or may not be a giant, black, multi-headed and multi-tailed one with copper claws at some point. But… spoilers… so sorry! A Dagger in the Winds is dragonless, so such an appearance will be later in the series, though there is a sneak peek in book 2, The Trials of Ascension.

That’s all for this week’s Slavic Saturday. Be sure to keep a lookout for more posts next week, and if you haven’t seen the full series of posts, be sure to check them out.

*As always just a quick disclaimer. Slavic mythology is broad and not written in many if any primary sources, so there’s a variety of interpretations. The interpretations I’m using here are from the sources I’ve found to be reliable.

The post Zmey Gorynych and Dobrynya Nikitich – Dragon-Slaying Tale in Slavic Mythology – Slavic Saturday appeared first on Brendan Noble.

Love, Flowers, and Demons – Oh My!

It’s safe to say that the celebrations around Noc Kupały during early Slavic times emphasized the festival’s role as one of fertility and love. Like many cultures, young Slavs often had their marriages determined by their parents. Noc Kupały, though, offered a bit of a loophole. I talk more about the festival itself in the relevant post, but it is important to understand the romantic traditions around it if we’re going to discuss the fern flower.

One of the most famous traditions was that of the wreaths. Girls would spend the day of the Solstice weaving a wreath to wear upon their head and then send down the river. If a boy found it and brought it to her, then they could become engaged. In similar traditions, it was said that the girls instead went into the woods ahead of the boys, and if a boy emerged with a girl’s wreath, then they could be engaged. Thus, the loophole.

The latter of these stories goes with the idea of the wilds during the Solstice. Magic was supposedly plentiful during the sun’s longest day (and in some tales, during the shortest day in winter as well), and at midnight, the fern flower would bloom in only the deepest, most magical part of the wilderness. Legends told that, if collected, the flower offered its owner wealth, and in some stories, powers to ward off evil, speak to animals, and read minds. It was said that the couples going into the woods were often “searching for the fern flower,” but the phrase has carried on today with its actual, romantic meaning.

For those actually searching for the flower, though, demons, witches, and dark spirits loomed. The same magic that bloomed the flower gave them strength as well. Time was short, and the flower bloomed for only an hour around midnight. So, with such threats everywhere, some seekers would cover themselves in a herb used often to ward off spirits called mugwort. In Christian times, a rosary became the deterrent.

Regardless of how, if the seeker managed to reach the fern, they would see a glowing flower of red, gold, or purple upon its stalk. They must draw a protective circle around its base and climb to the flower as demons tempted them. Deafening and numerous, they surround the seeker, trying to make them look away from the fern flower. If the seeker did, they would die. If they were strong, however, and retrieved the flower, then they were one step closer to their dreams.

But once the fern flower was brought home, the seeker could face worse terrors than demons. Though the tale could be positive – with the seeker receiving their wonderful gifts at no cost – in others, the wealth was cursed to never be shared. They would watch those around them be poor and suffering, but the seeker could not offer them help. For if they gave away any of the wealth, it would all disappear.

The lesson for this was meant to be the strength of family and community. It was often seen that those who risked everything to seek the fern flower were desperate or selfish, and by leaving their families in pursuit of the flower’s wealth, they were dooming both themselves and those they loved. Family and community could make them happy, but all the flower’s wealth, unable to be shared, was nothing but a burden.

In The Frostmarked Chronicles

Because of the time of year, the fern flower doesn’t show up in A Dagger in the Winds, but I have plans for it to appear later in the series or in a side-novella, depending on how things work out. The temptations behind it are fun. As are the challenges one faces after taking hold of the flower.

That’s all for this week’s Slavic Saturday. Be sure to keep a lookout for more posts next week, and if you haven’t seen the full series of posts, be sure to check them out.

*As always just a quick disclaimer. Slavic mythology is broad and not written in many if any primary sources, so there’s a variety of interpretations. The interpretations I’m using here are from the sources I’ve found to be reliable.

The post The Fern Flower – Magical Flower of the Slavic Solstice – Slavic Mythology Saturday appeared first on Brendan Noble.

(June 2021 Updated) Note: If you enjoy Slavic mythology, check out A Dagger in the Winds, the first book in my Slavic fantasy series called The Frostmarked Chronicles. You can also join my monthly newsletter for updates and free novellas (such as the prequel, The Rider in the Night) set in the world of the series.

The Dragon Beneath the Burning Bridge

Chudo-Yudo is a famous example of the aforementioned Żmij, a dragon capable of massive destruction as well as devious trickery. You can read more about Żmije in general in that post, but Chudo-Yudo fits the qualities attributed to these beasts: breath of fire, a dragon form with often multiple heads, a cunningness to confront heroes, and shapeshifting. The last of these is one of the elements that makes Slavic dragons different than most others in European mythologies. Chudo-Yudo follows this ability, having both the appearance of a dragon as well as a man riding a horse (specifically in the tale “The Battle on the Kalinov Bridge“).

This Russian tale involves three brothers who are tasked with confronting Chudo-Yudo, who is attacking villages and burning them to the ground with his fire. Ivan, the eldest brother (and also a common name for bogatyr heroes in Russian skazki tales), assures his family that they will slay the dragon. He goes with his two brothers to the Smorodina River, the river separating the land of the living from that of the dead (Jawia/Yav and Nawia/Nav respectively).

Roughly translated as the “stinking river,” the Smorodina is described as a river of flames. Across it spans the Kalinov Bridge – the only way across – and beneath the Kalinov lived Chudo-Yudo. It is here that Ivan faced the beast multiple times. At first, Chudo-Yudo appeared with Six heads and is described as being able to be in a form able to ride a horse while a black raven and dog accompanied him. Ivan sliced off his enemy’s heads and chopped up his body, but when he returned the next night, Chudo-Yudo had nine heads. When Ivan does the same this time, Chudo-Yudo returned the final night with twelve heads.

This ability to reattach his heads with a flaming finger that he drags across the stump where the head had been sliced has drawn comparisons to that of the Hydra of Greek mythology. It paints a frightening picture, especially in his twelve-headed form, when he is described with copper hair and tail of iron (this also has to do with an apparent transformation of him into a horse for a time). Regardless of whether his appearance was horse or dragon at this moment, though, all twelve of his heads breathed fire.

Ivan alone was no match for Chudo-Yudo in this final fight. The beast is said to stun him with a whistle, burn him with fire, showering him in spark with sparks, and then (a translation that I’m not certain the exact meaning of) “driving the earth into cheese up to his knees.” It is only when Ivan calls his brothers for aid that he can defeat Chudo-Yudo. Together, they slice off his firey finger before slicing him up and then throwing him into the Smorodina – finally defeating Chudo-Yudo.

Chudo-Yudo’s exact role is hard to pin down. Guarding the Kalinov Bridge makes him a defender of the underworld. The journey to Nawia’s paradise is often considered a difficult one, but my research hasn’t concluded if Chudo-Yudo is an obstacle to common souls or just those not allowed to enter the underworld. Regardless, he represents a fearsome opponent for those that face him over the Smorodina.

In The Frostmarked Chronicles

Like last week’s Żmije, Chudo-Yudo does not appear in A Dagger in the Winds, but he will be around in some form later in the series. I don’t want to say too much and spoil his involvement. Regardless, though, he’s a fun character to work with, and I’m excited to see how he interacts with the main characters, Wacław and Otylia.

That’s all for this week’s Slavic Saturday. Be sure to keep a lookout for more posts next week, and if you haven’t seen the full series of posts, be sure to check them out.

*As always just a quick disclaimer. Slavic mythology is broad and not written in many if any primary sources, so there’s a variety of interpretations. The interpretations I’m using here are from the sources I’ve found to be reliable.

The post Chudo-Yudo – Dragon Guarding the Slavic Underworld – Slavic Mythology Saturday appeared first on Brendan Noble.