I don't post nearly at all this entire year. Long story short: I lost my house, ended up living in a place without running water or any regular internet for a month, ended up living in a place with undrinkable water and no AC and three people who might genuinely be psychotic, lost friends, and lost a cat, and became a local cryptid as well.
However, I found out I qualified for food stamps and I was like, "I thought that was for people in a really bad situation."
Uncle Sam: "Yeah."
Also, got a new cat. Not as replacement, my trailermate found her in a car.
I always figured if I had nothing else to do but write I'd write all day. I didn't.
So yeah.
Next for N:Era though:
This Winter season will have Sands of Ascalon, the Special that has been meant to come out throughout this year.
Spring will have the next parts of Owlis FOD, or the Apelpisia arc.
This will mostly be about Owlis' first attempts at building civilization. What I will announce is that this will be done in a "Block".
What Is a Block?
A block will be how I release Owlis: FOD for the next format. Going as such:
Six - eight parts will be released at first, forming the beginning of the arc. Then there will be two more releases of a few more parts, most likely four according to the outlines.
Release 0.0 of Owlis FOD is obviously the Apelpisia Arc.
In Summer
Teaser:
(All Teasers are not final and may depict parts that don't end up in final product. Parts that do show up may be edited significantly.)
[Rosod's last thought before the tower fell on her was her friends. Then she fell into darkness. On that mountain, she was reborn, and she saw Cyras standing in front of Sumhyr? She had never seen Sumhyr except in old pictures.
Sumhyr was laying, looking like she was dying. "Cyras . . . Cyras!"
"I'm right here." The red fox sat, almost kneeling. Ryvoh watched in the distance, and didn't acknowledge Rosod's presence. Cyras was quite a bit younger than Rosod remembered her.
Rosod reached for Cyras. This all must have been a dream.
Then, from the ground, thousands of skulls emerged, forcing Rosod to reel back. They rose into the sky like a great formless fog, creating a fierce whooshing, wind rushing towards them. Rosod's fur swirled in the vacuum, watching in horror as they all turned to Cyras.
Cyras instinctively stepped over Sumhyr's prone form.
The ten-thousand skulls spoke, every one with a different voice.
"Sumhyr, Sumhyr, please, you have to stop the tyrant Owlis!"
"Fight on, Queen Sumhyr. Take up your birthright."
"Who will save us if you don't rise?"
In unison, they chanted, "Save us, save us, save us, save us!" The noises were so loud, Rosod couldn't even hear her own thoughts for a moment and fell into the bitter cold of the snow.
In response, Sumhyr began to rise, the sweat pouring down from her, until Cyras argued at her, "No. You can't keep fighting." Sumhyr tenderly glanced at Cyras while panting.
Flames surrounded Cyras as she faced the spirits in her mother's stead. Her eyes were narrow, her expression fierce, as she faced the endless spirits.
"You will never harm her again." Cyras told them all, "From now on, Sumhyr is all mine."
"Selfish!"
"Give us back Sumhyr!"
"She is all ours . . . "
The skulls in their chanting floated towards Cyras.
Rosod reached out as she went towards the fox. "Cyras! Cyras!" There was no way to get to her in time before the skulls turned into ten-thousand threads, and--
Cyras' eyes widened.
Her tail flapped like in the sky.
Endless cables emerged/sprouted from Cyras, rushing towards Sumhyr, but from Cyras eight new tails grew, each aflame, each catching the cables. "All of you can go to hell."
The tails glowed yellow. "I will damn everyone who wants to harm her," Cyras said maliciously as ten-thousand souls howled in harmonious pain.
"Cyras! Sumhyr!"
Rosod fell through the snow and she could've sworn she saw the dragon known as Silence swimming around, a giant black sea dragon. "You can save her." Wait, this voice was masculine. Who was this, then? "But the only question is, are you ever going to be allowed inside this fortress? Can you possibly bear all of this weight? Why were you reborn?" Then, the dragon reached for her chest . .
Cyras kept shaking Rosod, forcing the otter girl awake. "We're gonna go meet with the teachers now. You miiight wanna make a better first impression."
Cyras' voice was high-pitched, nasally, and usually slightly annoying, and her sarcasm didn't help matters much. And yet, instead, Rosod focused more on the warmth and playfulness of her tone.
Rosod doubled over, groaning. She tried to separate reality from fantasy, dream from truth.
"You planning to be a while?" Cyras joked. "Or does seasickness even affect aquatic animals?"
Rosod rolled her eyes. "Just give me time."
Cyras laughed and shut the door to her cabin, while Rosod wasn't entirely sure how she felt about the fox. Yet, every negative thought for Cyras was about her safety.]
In Triple AAA (Name Pending): Rosod and Cyras will end up going to a Luxworth university where Rosod's family members are, however one of them is actually being framed for academic dishonesty, meanwhile she has a bad relationship with her eldest sister Rosetta.
This story will resume the storyline of Rosod and Cyras' relationship and their feelings of antagonism and rivalry, but also their feelings of purpose and mutual trust, as they navigate through this academy, and both start to develop an even deeper bond through the strife of this university.
We'll also see the comeback of the character Clovur after she was taken by N:Era in "Tunnels Under Wysdom". What knowledge will she bring, is unknown. However, this also adds in alchemy.
This is basically a parody of Murder Mystery where instead academic careers are threatened by folly. Who will be the "murderer".
Spotlights:
Rosetta: Rosetta is the eldest sibling of Rosod's family, and is almost perfect in every facet. Having had the best grades throughout her life, being a volunteer for school bake sales, being the president of class, and valedictorian, there is almost no stains. But is that because she washed them away really well or hidden them away? A personality based on being perfect is also a lack of personality, with a doubt as to her actual truthfulness.
99: 99 is a new Crimson character. Bound in a wheelchair for most of her life and suffering from biocrack, she makes the best of her own life and attends classes whenever her health permits. However, what is she looking for in biology? And what kinds of cures is she looking for, and what kinds of curses will she take upon herself.
Meanwhile this starts the first Crossover with @Regno-Works known as "Cyras and the Gryphons of Equiroth".
Summary:
A mysterious fox from a different world appears in the land of Equiroth and fights against five gryphons. However, she brings news of a treasure in the sky belonging to a gryphon of light. Cyras reveals where this treasure fell and finds out some link to her mother who vanished long ago. However, one of the gryphons, Windspeed, also falls in love with the allure of this treasure, this miraculous power that apparently can do anything to whoever unlocks the golden casing. But how much is one willing to sacrifice for the power of miracles, and how much is a miracle even worth in such sorrowful times? Cyras will get her revenge on the Gryphon of Light named Light Menace, and she will get back home to her friends.
Spotlights:
Windspeed: Windspeed is a dramatic and witty type of gryphon, but known for his extreme quickness. Haunted on some level by his own cowardice, he has many things to show up for.
https://www.deviantart.com/regno-works/art/Windspeed-the-Gryphon-958615931
Hugo: Autistic and shy, Hugo isn't really known for being upfront. However, he is still known for a type of internal resource that makes one still save a friend that's going down a dark or too bright path.
https://www.deviantart.com/regno-works/art/Hugo-the-Gryphon-952371623
Release 0.1. of Owlis FOD will come out known as "Eerie Springs of Aplepsis."
Autumn
If everything permits, then Autumn might be novella nine. However, the new novellettes or short story longs will be the unwritten Rosaberg story.
And then East Glacialane story.
Release 0.2., of Owlis FOD will come out, known as "The Battle for Utopia!"
While I doubt this, if somehow there is time, we'll see the start of Novella 9 of N:Era.
For Halloween, we will get two different short stories. Owlis: FOD will get "Murders of the Blood Mansion", unveiling BLOOD MAGIC.
And for N:Era, we will get a reference parody to Poe of Edgar Allen. What is Cyras' hatred towards a wealthy aristocrat? Dangerous, you might say.
Winter
Unknown Releases
What might be released is unknown.
This is a bit of a stretch to write 82,000 words and publish them.
One thought is that N:Era might be getting a couple more stories. The current plan for the Endgame/final two is "Beginning of the End (name pending)" and "Call of the End (name pending)".
For a year or so now there's been a growing urge to split Cycle 2 into, well, 2 cycles. AAA will be the end of Cycle 2, with Cycle 3 carrying on the torch. The fight for Call of the End part 8 will be Reynard and Kryyk versus Rosod and Cyras.
