Another great one, Ian! I really enjoyed the pacing on this one. I like how you introduced the magic system in parallel with the action of the story. Plus, Wingolf seems like a fun dude to share a beer with.
Thanks, Brannley! I totally replied to this on your restack so sorry for redundancy, but Wingolf is shamelessly plucked from somebody I know who is indeed a great guy to grab a drink with!
This is insanely good. The philosophy and the fighting — Grade A Beef. (Also, thanks for your help with my story, I just posted it and it’s much better thanks to your aid!)
“You’ve missed, magister, and left only a dint! Now hear my riposte: you shall never be safe from me! Every meal you eat shall have poison and every shadow shall harbor assassins! I shall empty my accounts in pursuit of your head! Every mercenary plying death shall seek your blood! My life’s object shall be…”
He stopped, for another object was hurtling toward him, and this one would not miss.
It was the donkey.
That was worth the price of admission right there.
Alright, top marks, great job, and all that. Absolutely loved it.
That said, I suspect you're an Anglican or a Catholic, probably with a liberal arts education. I'm a Roman Papist myself, and I am absolutely delighted at your magic system and rationale. Although, it makes me nervous to share mine.
How are you handling the incarnation? It hasn't happened, it will happen, it's something different in this world?
You know too much haha, though no liberal arts education unfortunately!
That is an amazing question, and one I’ve definitely agonized over! In short, this world has no Incarnation. From a Christian perspective, I think of it more or less as folks who are otherwise outside the Abrahamic drama and have no realistic way of being a part of it. That said, there are mystics who have had dreams which have been recorded and constitute a scriptural canon. So in a sense its foundation might look more like Islam than Catholicism. I can guarantee there will be stories of hermits in the tradition of those desert mystics and the stuff that happens out there.
That's awesome. Thought provoking stuff. I ask because I'm wrestling with that same thing. I'm leaning more into the "don't ask about it" direction. Thanks for offering your perspective. Obviously, fiction breaks down at a certain point, but you really anchor your stories in hard historical accuracy, and I really love that. I don't write like that, but I love it.
For sure! Honestly I did it much out of necessity as I felt I couldn’t render an early modern European milieu without a Christianity of some sort. It doesn’t have to be done that way, but I’m the kind of guy who stopped writing sci fi because I couldn’t make it hard enough (my background is engineering). In some ways it’s been really great for my fantasy since it’s allowed me to explore much of the formative history that often gets neglected, but it’s also made all my stories highly religiously charged.
Another great one, Ian! I really enjoyed the pacing on this one. I like how you introduced the magic system in parallel with the action of the story. Plus, Wingolf seems like a fun dude to share a beer with.
Thanks, Brannley! I totally replied to this on your restack so sorry for redundancy, but Wingolf is shamelessly plucked from somebody I know who is indeed a great guy to grab a drink with!
No worries at all. Love it!
This is insanely good. The philosophy and the fighting — Grade A Beef. (Also, thanks for your help with my story, I just posted it and it’s much better thanks to your aid!)
I'm so glad you liked it! And I'll give your story a share as well!
Thanks very much!
Thanks, dude this was great
Glad you liked it James! Frenetic action and philosophical lecturing seemed an improbable combo, so I’m glad it turned out!
“You’ve missed, magister, and left only a dint! Now hear my riposte: you shall never be safe from me! Every meal you eat shall have poison and every shadow shall harbor assassins! I shall empty my accounts in pursuit of your head! Every mercenary plying death shall seek your blood! My life’s object shall be…”
He stopped, for another object was hurtling toward him, and this one would not miss.
It was the donkey.
That was worth the price of admission right there.
Great job, sirra.
Thank you, Joseph! I loved that part too, it felt like simply a moment of fun atop all the combat and philosophy.
Alright, top marks, great job, and all that. Absolutely loved it.
That said, I suspect you're an Anglican or a Catholic, probably with a liberal arts education. I'm a Roman Papist myself, and I am absolutely delighted at your magic system and rationale. Although, it makes me nervous to share mine.
How are you handling the incarnation? It hasn't happened, it will happen, it's something different in this world?
You know too much haha, though no liberal arts education unfortunately!
That is an amazing question, and one I’ve definitely agonized over! In short, this world has no Incarnation. From a Christian perspective, I think of it more or less as folks who are otherwise outside the Abrahamic drama and have no realistic way of being a part of it. That said, there are mystics who have had dreams which have been recorded and constitute a scriptural canon. So in a sense its foundation might look more like Islam than Catholicism. I can guarantee there will be stories of hermits in the tradition of those desert mystics and the stuff that happens out there.
That's awesome. Thought provoking stuff. I ask because I'm wrestling with that same thing. I'm leaning more into the "don't ask about it" direction. Thanks for offering your perspective. Obviously, fiction breaks down at a certain point, but you really anchor your stories in hard historical accuracy, and I really love that. I don't write like that, but I love it.
For sure! Honestly I did it much out of necessity as I felt I couldn’t render an early modern European milieu without a Christianity of some sort. It doesn’t have to be done that way, but I’m the kind of guy who stopped writing sci fi because I couldn’t make it hard enough (my background is engineering). In some ways it’s been really great for my fantasy since it’s allowed me to explore much of the formative history that often gets neglected, but it’s also made all my stories highly religiously charged.
I think you strike a great balance. It's not heavy handed at all.