Category: Darklaw Saga

VERIS MADE HIS way from the iceward tower where he lived with his mother, passing several checkpoints, guards, and servants as he entered the darkward tower. The guards were gone. The entrance to Avestine’s quarters…

ONE HAND STROKED Timor’s ear and the other tapped a cup of whiskey as Avestine watched the young women sleeping. Esme was on her stomach and Kami lay on top of her. Kami slept best…

“YOU’RE BOLD FOR a girl,” said Veris. “What makes you think I’m a girl?” He looked her over again, doubting himself. “You’re not a boy.” “No, I’m not.” “What are you then?” “Demonfell.” “Is that…

VERIS SAT ON the balcony of the suite of rooms he shared with his mother. It was past sunset, but torches provided light from steady flames. The night remained windless. Beneath the floor ran a…

Content Warning: consensual sexual violence Darklaw Episode 5 intersects with Demonrise Episodes 14-20 KAMI’S BARE FEET pressed against cold stone. Her right hand touched the wall in rhythm to each step before she paused to…

Kami had once relished the taste of his flesh and the urgency of his cock. She winced at a memory of his violence and marveled at the man who knew her in a way no other man ever had. She smiled to herself, recalling the blissful immersion when the girl she had been dissolved into the riot of life he hated so much.

ROOK STARED ACROSS the table at Kami. How many of these conversations had he had with her over the years? She was stubborn. She was brilliant. She was a fool greater than any he had…

AVESTINE STARED OUT a window made of smooth pink glass. Her private library overlooked the palace courtyard where a sparkling crystal menagerie of red animals walked through a mountain vista of painted brownstone. Scrolls and…

I have considered doing my webcomic, Demonrise, in grayscale, but I feel pressure to produce it in color. After all, color is free! When I was young, there was no web or digital art.

VERIS PAUSED TO listen. It wasn’t a sound but some other sensation that drew his attention. He took a breath, closed his eyes, took another breath. Avestine was nearby. He sensed her as prey senses a hunter. His mother had told him she knew when Avestine was close, too, but she felt her as a comfort. She said Avestine steadied her.

She held a god within her. She felt his power warm her, strengthen her. She had had her chest torn open, her heart pierced, her neck sliced, and still she lived. She commanded the obedience…

Transcript NARRATOR: Avestine poured herself more whiskey and watched Kami from the table. With Timur at her side, Kami roamed the room. AVESTINE: What do you sense? KAMI: Something that isn’t here. AVESTINE: Maybe you…

Transcript NARRATOR: Avestine followed Kami out of bed. She knew why Kami wasn’t tired. Only the scent of prey could stir her from the comfort of their bed. KAMI: You sense it, too, Timur. Where…

Transcript NARRATOR: Morning came and went before satiety claimed Avestine. Esme drifted off to sleep. Kami was tired yet restless. As Avestine gathered her senses and her breathing slowed, Kami observed her lover of many…

Transcript NARRATOR: Morning brought the sunrise, but in a land of ice and snow palace rooms allowed little access to the elements. The room remained dark, warmed only by two fires. NARRATOR: Through the dim…

Silence, Timur! And you will lie still, Child, or I’ll tie you to the bed posts.

Transcript NARRATOR: Wrestling Kami into bed wasn’t difficult for Avestine, but their struggle agitated Timur. The only dogs Avestine had ever kept were for hunting. Until Timur. Avestine found the bitch compelling for many reasons,…

Transcript NARRATOR: Esme had served Avestine for two years. She knew her queen found danger seductive and took pleasure from taming defiance. Esme wondered if all gods had such appetites. Certainly, Kami shared a taste…

Transcript NARRATOR: Avestine had already spent evensun between Kami’s legs. She never tired of Kami’s heat. And Kami never tired of her mouth. AVESTINE: Are you wet? KAMI: MMM…mmm…mmm ESME: (whispers) You smell like sun…

Transcript NARRATOR: Kami could be tenacious when she hunted. She was also hedonistic. Avestine was skilled at coaxing Kami from one feral obsession to another. NARRATOR: It didn’t take the mystical power she used to…

Transcript TOQA: Forgive me, Emissary, but the lady Kami insists on speaking with you.AVESTINE: Kami? Child, I hate it when you show up already naked. That can mean only one thing . . . you’re…

Transcript NARRATOR: In the throne room and on the battlefield, Avestine used her mystical ability to persuade the most resistant of men to do the most terrible of things. But she allowed the women who…

Transcript NARRATOR: Avestine has been awake all night. She’s less concerned with Rook’s mission than the new campaign season. Fifteen years at war with Darklaw, and she has still not set foot in Sahrdon. ESME:…

Transcript NARRATOR: Avestine had contrived to return Rook to his status as her Essanti. She believed her plan had left merely a piece of Coth within Rook, and thus his spiritual gifts served her. Instead,…

Transcript NARRATOR: It’s a foggy morning when Rook sets out from Castlebejel. This coldest part of the world has seen more foggy days recently, the result of warming unlike any the Ice Quarter has seen…

Transcript AVESTINE: Life is for the living. I have nothing to say to the dead. And don’t forget about the jeweler.NARRATOR: Men remembered Avestine’s legendary father as “The Architect of Imperial Darklaw.” Rook remembered him…

Transcript AVESTINE: What is it?ROOK: Not what. Who.AVESTINE: Oh. In that case you can tell him to find a fat boar and suck its hairy balls . . . and then he can dig up…

Transcript AVESTINE: What is your name?OLD WOMAN: Bolarma, Emissary.AVESTINE: You are unusually honest, and loyalty is something I value. AVESTINE: What do you think? Esme would love a necklace with this as a pendant, don’t…

Transcript OLD WOMAN: I work in the palace laundry and thought this must belong to you.AVESTINE: What use do I have for rubies?OLD WOMAN: Maybe it belongs to one of your favorites…or it could…a gift,…

Transcript OLD WOMAN: Emissary! Please…I have something I must give you. NARRATOR: Timur follows Avestine everywhere, but for a moment, she wanders toward something she sense, yet isn’t there. Creator Notes This is my favorite…