Eli

-EngelReise, Chapter 47 released-
          
          'Following a dramatic duel between Tomako and the Northern Knight, Tomako had sought refuge in a nearby forest after making the controversial decision to run from a Dimmish duel. There in the forest, Kim and Tomako shared many thoughts and feelings, including an especially intimate few seconds of lip-locking. Any moments of happiness found in the forest were extinguished as the Northern Knight returned with a mission of finishing the duel that never ended. Now the Northern Knight is dead. By morning, Kim and Tomako are tasked with burying the corpse and deciding what to do now. Given her reluctant decision to slay the Northern Knight, it seems only most appropriate to return to the hostile Triumph camp and finalize the deal made with the Dark Knight to travel with them to Europe. What fate awaits Kim and Tomako in the Triumph encampment following a controversial decision to flee from a Dimmish duel is now what rattles the two…'
          
          The Triumph Finale.  I feel it's a great one, a great way to wrap up a year of Dimmish chapters. That said, this is coming right out the center of a battlefield of college finals so I definitely don't have much to say right now in response to this finale simply in that I'm tired but have so much work left to do. What I will repeat is that from this point forward, EngelReise is on a pause so that I can wrap up the current arc of Shrouded Piety and focus on the yearly capstone drawing for Revival Day (June 10th).

-EngelReise, Chapter 46 released-
          
          'The duel between Tomako and the Northern Knight has at long last ‘concluded’ with the woman fielding a desperate retreat from the encampment—without EngelReise, Sakura, and Kim. A forest exists on the outskirt of West Horgili and the Triumph encampment that Kim originally instructed Tomako to run to if Triumph turns hostile; still holding onto this instruction, the helpless Angel now throws herself against a forest tree and meditates. In this forest, Tomako questions morality, purpose, Kim’s role in her life, and why her Puritonist gods do not answer her in her time of need. It is up to Kim to snap Tomako out of her moment of despair and conclude this chapter with the Army of Triumph. With no Northern Knight or Elisabet around to intervene into their space, Kim and Tomako, at last, find a moment to spend together in what could prove to be developmental…'
          
          On to the Triumph Season Finale! This was another big chapter, this time 'big' as in 'substantial.' This one will no doubt be one of those chapters that are spoken of a lot in the future around the Realm. I think the part that'll be most interesting here are the comments/dialogue shared across sites and in the Realm considering the ware array of topics and occurrences touched in this one that can easily be argued/supported. Should be a very diverse 'Comment of the Month' in the Discord server. That said, this chapter changes a lot, and unsurprisingly gears us up for this coming season finale.
          
          After the season finale, I will be breaking from EngelReise for a bit to refresh and make sure I'm ready for the future of the story.

Hey. Would you be able to check out my story Azure and let me know what you think?
          I can add your stories to my reading list as well and get to them when I get a chance.

-Shrouded Piety, Chapter 45 released-
          
          'The final step in Father Vickers' eastern invasion plan now approaches as Seth finds himself looking to capture and fortify the Escambray Mountains. Unknown to Seth, Luisa has merged many fellow misplaced soldiers of the Armée de Crimée into a centralized battalion set on striking deep into the center of the mountains. Little resistance is expected, but with a full day passing with no sleep, Luisa and her troops face exhaustive attrition on the climb uphill to a weather station. From there, she will set up a headquarters much like Seth has in Santa Clara. Meanwhile, with the Texan amphibious assault on Pinar del Rio maintained but fruitless, Grand Admiral Crowhook leads a gamble of his own in an attempt to put the invasion to an early rest and assist Rall in freeing up the army to attack Havana with. Vickers and Rall thus prepare for a climatic clash of forces, but now trusting the Father is a devious and resourceful adversary, the General Secretary goes above and beyond by throwing the weapons of outer space into the Consortium's game plan, knowing the Havanan insurrection must be stopped at all costs...'
          
          The 2nd biggest Shrouded Piety chapter to date. This is the mid-arc 'two-parter' and as I have been hyping around the Realm, it is one of big suspense/drama/action deliveries throughout.  I really like this one and while I am more than relieved to be getting an upcoming Flashlore break, I am nevertheless more excited than ever to get back to the Modern chapters as things really get hot in the oven.

-EngelReise, Chapter 45 released-
          
          'Tomako has reaffirmed her intention to duel the Northern Knight and following a day of final training finds herself at the big day. All would seem ready for a day of blood and drama, but first, a dream overtakes a sleeping Angel which, in her mind, presents itself in the form of a possible warning from the gods, opposing the scheduled duel to occur. Panicked that the duel may bring about doomsday, Tomako is in a frenzy leading Kim to assume authority over the situation and do what he feels is most rational. When Elisabet unsurprisingly intervenes against Kim's authority, Tomako reaches a final decision on the Northern Knight matter—a last bid for reason...'
          
          A huge chapter and what we would call a 'two-parter' on Deviantart. This chapter has the substance of a season finale but is technically not such, as much as I hate breaking with my own conventions.  This chapter has the substance of the season finale and, therefore, the actual season finale (Chapter 47) will NOT be of the usual two-part size. That does not mean the remaining two Triumph chapters will be dry, just that THIS is the one with the big reveals and whatnot.
          
          As for how I feel about this substantial episode? Exhausted, but proud! It was a really hard chapter and one a lot of people in the Siontix Realm have been eagerly awaiting. The big conclusion to the Northern Knight Crisis... or is it..?

-Shrouded Piety, Chapter 44 released-
          
          'Operation Alamo continues on following the successful capturing of Matanzas. Now with Seth settled in, the fight goes on to the cities of Santa Clara and Cienfuegos, the latter of which Luisa and her squad tackle. Unfortunately for Luisa and Estabon, they pick the hardest battle yet to fight in as Rall ensures that the city sees minor military protection against an exhausted Havanan offensive. To make matters worse for Havana, Grand Admiral Crowhook departs with a plan of his own on how to deal with the ongoing Texan invasion of Pinar del Rio. With the difficulty in Cienfuegos much higher, Luisa will find herself hitting the ground much more for her life and yet again witness the great horrors and action of revolutionary warfare...'
          
          Not that I want to herd anyone away from Wattpad but I'd like to mention that this chapter, on Deviantart, is also the debut of 'Scene Illustrations', and as that would suggest, several scenes in the chapter are preceded by a lesser quality sketch of said scene. 
          
          But anyways, this chapter feels like a big winner to me. It's one of those episodes where I can go to bed and listen to this one on audio and just maintain this constant interest. I have high confidence this one will bring in positive feedback. That said, as the gory chapter illustration would suggest, the chapter's a bit... unorthodox from the usual Siontix chapter in terms of blood, death, etc. A bit more reminiscent of F-Zero: Seppuku's 'Endgame' chapters with the level of violence and gore. I don't have much more to say other than that we have ONE more chapter of anxiety and destruction ahead, then a jokey Flashlore intermission.

-EngelReise, Chapter 44 released-
          
          'Tomako has resubmitted her challenge to the Northern Knight due to his threat of fighting Elisabet should she retreat or fail. Even now, with a day devoted to final preparations, Tomako clings on to hope that her duel with the Northern Knight can be resolved without death. With a duel confirmed for the following day, Tomako settles into the idea once and for all that she will duel the Northern Knight and force him to concede his title to Snorri without death. Kim, however, maintains his stance that Tomako should back out of this commitment and run now, otherwise go the full mile of killing the Northern Knight. With both Tomako's friends now pressuring her to deliver death to the Northern Knight, she finds herself struggling more than ever on how to handle the approaching duel. Meanwhile, Snorri Krake receives news of the Northern Knight's threat to challenge Elisabet and has some harsh language for her as he demands she escape the commitment. As Elisabet is eager to see the Northern Knight die at any cost, even by her own hands, a clash between Elisabet and Snorri is all too inevitable on this final day...'
          
          This chapter is basically the perfect embodiment of my 'drama/suspense', though deep down I wonder if this one had TOO many major things going on at once. I won't be surprised if someone comes up to me and says "Great work, guy, but this chapter was TOO eventful." You'd think for chapters that average 9.5k words that this wouldn't be a problem, but it is. Aside from this, this is one of those very, very rare Siontix Realm chapters that features sexual content just short of that red flag range, but only by Siontix Realm standards. I almost never incorporate such 'graphic' sexual themes/nudity unless I feel I absolutely have to for the sake of the plot. This is one of those rare times, but I feel it's not too bad. Enough that I felt I had to throw a disclaimer down on Deviantart though.

-Shrouded Piety, Chapter 43 released-
          
          'Operation Alamo has gone hot, a Texan strategic operation seeking to strip Cuba's western Pinar del Rio from the Consortium and into President Vickers' hands in exchange for Suri Yaktosh services. In reality, Operation Alamo is a carefully crafted campaign by Vickers to have the Texans distract the Consortium military in Pinar del Rio while Havana unleashes an invasion of its own east and south—the true plan, and the start of Vickers' proclaimed 'Second Reconquista.' With the hierarchic command of General Lopez and the on-field leadership of Captain Seth Myland, the Democratic Republic of Havana begins its unprecedented attack on all cities east of Havana, most notably, the major coastal city of Matanzas. While Seth contests over Matanzas as a location to set up a base of operations, Luisa and a squad of Armée de Crimée volunteers fight further south under the command of Luisa's former boss and former Head of Police in Havana, Bermudo Estabon.'
          
          The beginning of the 'Reconquista Arc' and one that centers around Seth and Luisa. This is an arc I could only possibly compare to F-Zero: Seppuku's 'Endgame' in Part 3/3 as it, unsurprisingly, places a lot of emphasis on battle. That said, for a write who specializes in romance, drama, and suspense, this is some really foreign territory for me. I personally think this arc opener succeeded,  but I'm still going to make the safest claim that this was, fittingly, a warmup to greater things to come this arc. It cannot be stressed enough that this is unfamiliar territory to me,  but I am nonetheless hyped to drive us through this six-chapter arc. I will warn right now that Chapter 46 (Flashlore 11) is going to be a very non-vital, comedy-centered chapter meant to sort of be a place to exhale considering how deeply serious this Modern arc is going to be. That's just my way of saying, be ready for a pretty serious and action-packed six-chapter Modern, but a silly Flashlore in-between.

-EngelReise, Chapter 43 released-
          
          'The food caravan to West Horgili, thanks to Tomako and Kim quickly negotiating, has found its way to the city and the marketplace once again stocked with food, for now. To celebrate this, Elisabet tempted Kim and Tomako into drinking in her bed while listening to a favorite Dimmish story of great length, secretly, Elisabet's newest attempt to get the two intimate with each other. While this may have amounted only to the two falling asleep together in her bed, they nevertheless wake up together in a surprise embrace, neither knowing what led to this ultimate coming of bodies. While Kim and Tomako start their days in this rather sensual position, the Northern Knight, becoming impatient, demands confirmation from Tomako on when a duel is to take place, but Tomako herself remains unsure even now, a fact that provokes tension and fierce disagreement between Kim and Elisabet, and lastly, leaves Tomako with a great moral debate...'
          
          Last ER/SP chapter before the start of my Spring Semester and the final chapter of EngelReise to feature the 5th Gen. art style. As the illustration would hint at, the most passion put into this one really shows in the first scene, as well as the second and third scenes, but I'd say anything after that, admittedly, starts to go on a slight quality decline simply due to my mind being on other things. I really wanted to go into this next semester with a FRESH arc of Shrouded Piety to work on so, admittedly, the ending of this chapter was just a little bit rushed in its beta release just so I can start school with a fresh chapter. The chapter, nonetheless, concludes on the note I wanted it to, with even a lot of unexpected drama glittered. I think where this chapter really shines--depending on the demographic--will be the first scene though.

-Shrouded Piety, Chapter 42 (Flashlore 10) released-
          
          'Months have passed since Suri's time in Paris and letters exchanged back and forth between the two Godcrafts during a time that saw Portugal fall to French and Spanish occupation. With Suri subtly tricking Selina into sending a letter describing a strange book, the Crimean seizes the opportunity and convinces the pope to have her sent back to France to investigate. Of course, Suri's true intentions are nothing more than to reunite with her Frankish counterpart after being kept apart so long. Selina, meanwhile, continues on with her quest to become one of Napoleon's newest cavalry commanders; hitting the books and simulating battles, Selina now aspires to put her months of knowledge to the test and put on a presentation for Napoleon and his closest men (and wife) that will prove herself ideal for the position. Ever so concentrated on the pursuit of this promotion, it naturally hits Selina as a great surprise when her Crimean fellow makes her unexpected return--and with a dramatic change of appearance...'
          
          This was a great way to celebrate the tenth Flashlore. I produced this chapter in no time, leading me to conclude that this was a very good chapter. As the storyteller, I was captivated 100% through this chapter, perhaps making this one a personal favorite of mine. It's definitely one of those moments where I was very sad to see the chapter end, knowing we will not continue the Flashlore until the passing of three Modern chapters. Regardless, I personally love how this one turned out and trust it will similarly captivate the right demographic of reader. The comedy is definitely present but more than anything it's... just a delightfully fuzzy chapter, I feel. It is with great satisfaction that we see this chapter put into the collection.
          
          ...and there just might be a little surprise origin reveal in this one for our favorite Boxcraft...