Stories I Found
November 11th, 2025
Your Probably Wondering Why I have Gathered You Here Today…
Dear Readers,
Welcome back, and if you’re new, welcome in! These past couple weeks have been very full. First, Aubri and I attended our fourth Halloween party (We broke out Professor Plum and Ms. Peacock again) and battled through a nasty pair of head colds. This week has also been challenging as I found out on Thursday that I had been placed on administrative leave with full pay and benefits until January, 5th. Practically, what this means is that I am looking for a new job. Despite this, Aubri and I are doing well, even with the unexpected twists and turns.
Writing has been pretty good over the past two weeks. I worked on revising Chapter 6, and it turns out that what I thought would be one chapter is actually two. This now makes the chapter I am currently writing Chapter 18. It is coming along rather slowly as it is a chapter where quite a few very sad things happen. I am not sure why, but chapters that focus on bad things happening to characters are tricky for me to write.
This Week’s Chapter
Chapter 5 once again centers on Ulrich and Acretia. However, this chapter digs in at a more personal level. This allows the chapter to serve as a platform to examine why these two characters are at war. They ultimately contrast each other very starkly.
Ulrich is deeply inspired by one of my favorite characters in literature: Faramir of Gondor from The Lord of the Rings. The two share very similar motives about why they fight the wars they have found themselves in. They are not there for the glory of battle, but because they have things they love and desperately long to protect. Part of what distinguishes them is that for Faramir the war is on his doorstep. For Ulrich, his home is far from the front lines. The reader goes on a journey with Ulrich in this chapter, taking the fight from something that his king has commanded of him, to a battle that must be fought to save his home.
Acretia by contrast fights because she longs to dominate all, including Ulrich and Ulrich’s homeland. She wants to turn Ulrich into a tool for this purpose. We also learn more about her physical appearance under her armor in this chapter. She is rather plain, and somewhat familiar. I chose this because there are many ways in which the imagery of war, if not war itself, is very familiar to me and many other people who have grown up in the United States. I remember seeing soldiers on TV when I was very young, as part of U.S. Military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. As an adult, I have grown to recognize the militarization of local police forces around the country, so that some police units are difficult to distinguish from a group of soldiers. And of course, recently, there has been the militarization of I.C.E.. All of these have led me to a place where, to my eye, it seems as though people in the United States have been very thoroughly exposed to militarized imagery. To reflect this, I thought Acretia’s appearance should be very plain and familiar.
Please feel free to share these newsletters with other people you think may be interested, and leave comments on the chapters!
“Chapter 5: The Meeting of Commanders
After her defeat at the crossing of the Kelost-kel, the problem of Ulrich consumed the mind of Acretia as she longed for generals with the skill he possessed. Few had been able to cause the lady of war to suffer defeat and fewer still to do so without losses of their own. It was clear now that Ulrich was integral to the defenses of Irrkengrond that had resisted her for so long. Further still, in battle, cries of “For Ulrich!” and “Remember the bridge!” now rang whenever Irrkengrond and Kilkretha clashed. The victory of Ulrich at the bridge had inspired new hope all throughout the amber city and its domain. And so Acretia determined that Ulrich was the keystone of Irrkengrond’s morale and courage. Coveting his service and seeking to break Irrkengrond, Acretia set it in her heart to sway Ulrich to her cause.
As was her custom, the lady of war led her troops into the fray. But rather than command each aspect of the battle she moved…”
Something Extra!
This weeks something extra is a whole new section of the website! The “Extras” tab now appears on the main menu bar at the top of the webpage! Right now there are three pieces of content that you can find on the extras page. First is a pronunciation guide. My mom was the first (but not the only) person to ask for this. If you still have questions about pronunciations, please send them my way. I am happy to answer them! Second, is the world map. You will still be able to find this at the bottom of the Chapters page, but now you can find a version with a built in zoom function in the extras section. Finally, you can find a character relationship chart for quick reference while reading. You will find all the major characters on it and how they relate to the other characters in the story! Click here to check them out!
