Stories I Found
January 6th, 2026
Meeting in the Stars
Dear Readers,
Happy New Year! I hope that you are well and rested as we start 2026. The holiday season was very busy for Aubri and I as we spent a week with my parents in Ohio. Seeing my family was an all out blitz, going from event to event but we were able to do a few things with just my parents and brother, including attending a glass blowing workshop at Nyminal Glass. We made glass Christmas ornaments which you can see in the pictures below. I personally had a very literary holiday as I received no fewer than 3 books about writing, and as well as several other books. We also went up to Maine last weekend to celebrate Christmas with Aubri’s parents. It was a lovely celebration in a beautiful snowy place. Altogether, Aubri and I had a great Christmas season.
I did not do any writing over the past two weeks. I wanted to give myself a nice break before diving into the new year. So no real update for writing. I did do some editing over the last two weeks. This wasn’t much but just enough to keep the ideas flowing.
This Week’s Chapter
We return to the heavens in Chapter 9. A lot has happened and the gods need to talk about it. Milyos’ direct intervention on behalf of Irrkengrond seems to violate Aientas’ desire to not have gods battling each other.
This chapter is one of my favorites. In it, we begin to get to know the gods a little better. The happenings of Chapter 9 tell us a lot about Milyos, Kalikel, Silnethren, Boltumeth, Tilsitar and more. These characters have important interactions in Chapter 9 that lay the groundwork for the conflicts that will shape the rest of the narrative. However, it is important to note who is absent in this chapter as well.
Aientas takes a central role in this chapter as ruler of heaven who has called the council the chapter focuses on. He does not like it when his commands are ignored. He loves his rule of heaven and the rules he sets for the other gods. This makes Milyos a natural rival to him based on what he has done for the city of Irrkengrond.
Please feel free to share these newsletters with other people you think may be interested, and leave comments on the chapters!
“Chapter 9: The Council of the Gods
Now after the fall of Kilkretha, Milyos was held in high regard in the city and his phial was enshrined in the highest chamber of the amber tower. Likewise, he was greatly honored in the city for the work and service he had given to them in the healing of the Dreaming Fever. Milyos was ever after honored above all in Irrkengrond, for it was by his might that Kertriss raised the wave of earth and saved the city.
In time, word of the deeds of the arch mage came to the ears of Aientas. He was greatly disturbed, for he knew that no mortal could have produced such magic of their own power. Rumors had also reached heaven that the great cloud of Milyos descended on the city shortly before its salvation. So the Aientas, ruler of the heavens, called forth…”
Something Extra!
For this week, our something extra is a little piece of additional lore. An Accounting of Kilkretha is written as the introduction of a report for the rulers of Irrkengrond after they sack the city of Kilkretha. It lays out some basic features of the city and its organization. Acretia takes a back seat in our story for awhile, but I wanted to give you one last little bit of her so that you won’t forget her.
Overall, the report paints a pretty grim picture. However, writing documents that exist in the world of the story is extremely fun as it helps me understand what it might be like to live in the world that I am building. I hope you enjoy seeing this part of the story from this new angle.
