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The Eighth Warden Book 5 - Chapters 12 to 14 (Patreon)

Published:
2023-01-21 08:02:50
Imported:
2026-10
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Hi folks,

Here are chapters 12 to 14. I hope you enjoy them.

Sorry for how long they took--the middle of Book 5 is harder to write, due to keeping all the individual storylines in sync so they can progress at the right pace to correspond to the end of the book. I hope the next release will be faster, but I want to delve into it before I make any promises.

Thanks for reading, and please let me know if you have any feedback.

--Ivy

Comments

Jesse

Very good set of chapters. Well worth the wait. Let's see: Rusol thinking he will send one Yassi won't see coming. Her Parents. They are the only non-compelled (for the moment), non-bondmates left in that story arc. I will never understand why Rusol didn't persuade Yassi's brother to take up the training and bond him as well. I truly hope Yassi being in Sanvara and Yelena heading there means a meeting is forthcoming. I absolutely loved Ariadne calling out Hera's real name in her temple. I am sure that was an eye-opener. Shavala growing the crops for the farmers with the Dragon present with her will certainly go a long way to getting the dragon accepted. Interesting that the Highfell Chapter House has tales of Fox's intervention even if they don't attribute it to Fox. And that Shana noticed the connection. Now if Yelena or The First could get that knowledge it would allow them to start piecing together how Rusol and Corec were called "too early". I also enjoyed the closing bit with Rusol and his commanders. he really is blind without Yassi since he has nothing but "yes men" with no initiative. Looks like Ephrenia is about to get that opening she wants. I am however left with two questions. 1) If Hera bonded Ariadne long ago then that would mean that Hera's little blessing for Corec to find the right bondmates is not affected by an individual already being bonded? 2) Did Corec not getting the "calling dream" about being chosen as a Warden due to the spell not building up enough power or did Hera's little blessing interfere with that part?

ivyveritas

1. Yes, Corec's blessing to find the "right" bondmates isn't affected by whether they're already bonded. Which means, for example, that Sarlo, Venni, and Lastal wouldn't have been good matches for him, all for different reasons. Really, the only reason the blessing works that way is to make the Ariadne revelations more interesting. 2. Hera manipulated the strands of fate so that Marten's and Moira's future child would become a warden. Since Marten and Moira never met, those strands split in two, and both boys became wardens. But the ritual choosing spell takes time to build up power, so it only triggered on Rusol, because he was older and was chosen first. Corec still became a warden, but the spell's standard mechanism was depleted, so it had to pull power through the Collision (that wasn't part of the design, but wardens are inextricably linked to the Collision). Since it used a different triggering mechanism, outside the intended design, he never got the dream.

And Then There Was None

When Hera said "I release you of all obligations", does that include the warden bond?

ThatOneTacoTruck

I think there's a specific ritual that needs to be done to break the Warden bond. Just saying "I release you" isn't going to work.

And Then There Was None

There is for regular wardens. Perhaps it's easier for gods. I imagine most things are easier if you are a god.

ivyveritas

She didn't remove the bond, she only released Ariadne of any obligations she thinks she might have toward the warden who holds her bond. It's a bit of a cultural thing with the Chosar--even in the scenes where Ariadne is mad that someone bonded her, she's half-wondering what she's supposed to be doing about it. Hera's basically giving her a free pass to make her own future. Of course, Hera can see future probabilities based on current choices, so ...

Raman BNV

Great Set of Chapters, Ivy! A few questions... 1) Wild Magic "Unmakes" the Chosar: The Chosar are not native to this world. They are a combination of Humans and Elves, right? So the wild magic that unmakes them is the opposite of the magic that made them, right? So, is this a situation one of balance, the collision giving both wild and controlled magic? 2) Leena becoming fatigued makes a lot more sense now. Otherwise she was seriously overpowered compared to the others. She will still have a higher potential, since she is a bondmate, won't she? 3) Shavala fastforwarding crops with the Staff of Life was a given. But the humans accepting the dragon child is going to be harder, right? especially since most of the humans have suffered under the adult dragon. 4) Razai needs to find purpose with Corec. She would likely be the best candidate to head Corec's intelligence division, wouldn't she? 5) Slowly, all the pieces are falling into place with Corec and his bondmates forming their own version of a government. Most of the other bondmates of the other wardens do not complement their warden's abilities the way Corec's do. At the same time, they are also lethal in battle. All that is needed now is experience. 6) Sarette being able to fly large distances is a revelation. This gives Corec a long range reconnaissance option that was missing. 7) I can see Isabel coming to the keep and completely charming all of Corec's bondmates, while Lord Ansel gets intimidated with the amount of magic being done. What remains to be seen is if Lord Ansel throws his support behind Corec or not. 8) Since Moira was designed to be King Marten's concubine (as designed by Hera) and their child would then have 3 magics (Divine from Hera, Demonic from Marten, and naturally an arcane mage), then the person Rusol and Corec combined should have been would be a threat to Pallis, right?

ivyveritas

1. It's not really related to the Collision, except in the most general sense, and not related to balance at all. It's simply that the Chosar were artificially constructed (at least the first few generations), with just arcane and elder magic (cast as separate spells, and combined with what the combined kingdom of elves and humans had learned of science at the time). They had the strengths of both peoples, but wild magic was attracted to the unnatural part of their makeup. The elder mages among the new gods used elder magic plus divine (cast together in one spell rather than two separate spells) to remove that weakness, creating a more cohesive whole. They can still be affected by wild magic the way anything else can, but their bodies themselves won't be unmade just by coming into contact with it. 2. Leena still has a higher potential than any other Traveler we've seen so far, except possibly Satyana. 6. I guess I didn't specify the distance, but we did see Sarette fly almost ten miles back at the beginning of Book 4. The distance thing wasn't intended to be a surprise. When I revise Book 4, I'll have to tweak that a bit to make it more clear. 8. Moira and Marten's child would have had four magics (don't forget elder magic from Marten's side). Hera's intended purpose was to block the various combinations of pathways the wardens had used to grant themselves divine magic. The ritual worked by forcing arcane/elder/divine together for the first time (I'll add the qualifier 'in a being born of the mortal world' for now, since we still don't have a firm grasp on whether the totems can use all the magics). Hera's prophecy child would have added demonic to the mix, preventing that pathway from being used for the ritual, while not itself being a ritual (and thus hopefully not triggering an ascension, which is what she believes caused the Burning). So he'd be a threat in the sense that he'd block Pallis's plans. Once he's born, the deed's already done, so there's no reason for Pallis to treat him as an enemy. And in theory, he wouldn't be ascended so he can't combine his four magics, only use them separately, so he'd have a hard time facing one of the gods in battle--but four magics, backed by a warden's strength, would still be enough to worry them. The reason Fox blocked the plan, though, was because of that child's potential impact on the mortal world, not the immortal world--Rusol's worst tendencies mixed together with Corec's overall competence and charisma, and given huge amounts of magic power and Larso's military strength.

Jesse

I didn't notice that only the 4 elder magic using ascended wardens were the only ones alter the Chosar. That gives some reasoning for Pallis' distain of them since he had nothing to do with it and seemingly can't do it himself. Was there a reason Hera chose to do the child with 4 magics as the linage of Larso's royalty? Given she had Vatarxis introduce the Demon-Born aspect, then it should have been possible to do so away from Larso. Was she looking to destabilize the Kingdom that follows Pallis predominantly as a bonus? Or was it being Royalty made the combining of the various lineages easier to manipulate given how picky royalty tends to be on such things?

ivyveritas

She negotiated that deal with Vatarxis, and they both (would have) got(ten) something out of it. Vatarxis got a demonborn warden in the royal family (Hera likely wouldn't have discussed with him what the probability was of that child becoming king). Hera got an appropriate elder-magic line that could be merged with demonborn blood, and then further paired up with the child that she herself was most likely to produce (arcane/divine, though Moira ended up being fully human instead of godborn). And many elder-magic lines among humans are elderfolk, who tend to be either the barbarian clans or live in small farming communities. Vatarxis probably wouldn't have settled for that, and The Lady might have wanted better circumstances for her grandson as well--even if his primary purpose is served just by being born. Did she also hope to destabilize the center of power for Pallisur's Church? Well, that would be petty ... but I wouldn't put it past her. She sent Magnus, after all.

And Then There Was None

> 4) Razai needs to find purpose with Corec. She would likely be the best candidate to head Corec's intelligence division, wouldn't she? I'm actually kinda hoping Razai does unbond and leave. Not for any particular reason, it just feels right for her character.

Raman BNV

Also, 1) Would Rusol be sending blessed priests (with divine magic) along with his mercenary army and 100 compelled knights to attack Corec? It's not mentioned, but would be good to know... 2) Rusol is turning out to be one of the most complex characters, Ivy. He intends to do good, be a good king and protect his people but at the same time he is using compulsion as a tool to control others. He also seems to follow Pallisur's doctrine, that is, magic is too dangerous for everyone to wield it and it should be concentrated in as few people or people who follow the doctrine. He seems to be immature, but smart. He got lucky with Leonid, only because of Snake's blessings. He is showing some control over his rage in these chapters. I was wondering if, given time, he could get enough self control over his rage and he would realise that compulsion is wrong? Also that Pallisur's doctrine is purely self serving and not a general philosophy?

ivyveritas

1. Guess we'll have to wait and see. 2. Even now, Rusol's decision to avoid a war of attrition between their bondmates was because he thought it was too much of a gamble, and not out of any desire to spare his bondmates' lives. He plans to overwhelm Corec with greater numbers, knowing that means a lot of his own men would die. He does share some traits with the other wardens, and he often *wants* to do the right thing, but is he capable of it? That's asking for a lot, and I'm not sure he has that much to give.

Jesse

I do want to point out one thing regarding Rusol's use of compulsion on others, even his own bondmates. It took me awhile to realize that this behavior is mostly Martin's fault. Rusol grew up watching Martin do it constantly and he likely just doesn't understand how bad it is. Also, is Rusol just sending the 100 compelled Knights from Fort Northwatch or was the 100 Knights from Telfort that was sent to Fort Hightower (are ordered to stay there) also being included in the attack force? Being interesting to see how Sir Jesson, Sir Trentin, Sir Cason, and Sir Osbert take things. Maybe even Sir Loris given the Kangaroo Court Trial for Kevik.

ivyveritas

He plans to send other knights as well, not just the hundred compelled troops from Northtower. He hasn't decided on numbers yet, but there are two hundred knights normally based out of Hightower (though many are out on patrol at any given time), plus the hundred from Telfort that he sent when the dragon came near the border. So that makes four hundred possible knights, though he probably won't leave the fortress or the border patrol routes undefended. Plus, I don't remember the exact numbers, but there are at least 2500 mercenaries. Regarding Rusol, he's meant to be a very human sort of enemy--someone we can imagine meeting in real life, rather than a big bad source of all evil (which is a trope I'm not fond of; even Pallisur and Snake have reasons for what they do). Rusol makes mistakes out of ignorance and fear. He uses compulsion because he's not good with people and he's never faced any consequences for taking the easy route instead. He seems very reasonable and logical when we see things from his point of view, yet we know the outcomes of his actions result in the deaths of innocent people. Marten might have considered the same actions, but Marten had a certain sort of cold, calculated compassion that told him where the limits were. It might not always have been legitimate compassion, and more like a way to keep all the different factions supportive of his rule, but it was still a moral compass he had that Rusol lacks.

Raman BNV

This is going to be a major war, then. Not a small skirmish. I wonder how Rusol will feel when close to 3000 of his troops get wiped out... Since Rusol and his bondmates will not get involved, I'm assuming Hera / Fox may intervene for Corec. Ellerie may even be able to get help from Matagor since Matagor would much rather Corec be in charge of the Keep than Rusol (For financial reasons). Senshall and Tyrsall may also get involved to protect their trade routes. The Empress in Sanvar getting involved is a bigger stretch.. but is possible. Another possibility is Treya / Bobo being able to remove the compulsion from the 2500 mercenaries, leaving them purposeless and the 400 knights hightailing it back to Hightower when they realise that the 2500 mercenaries are not fighting for them anymore. This may finally open Rusol's eyes that Compulsion is a bad thing. I'm still rooting for Rusol and Corec working things out between themselves and then joining forces with the other wardens to fight off Pallisur and Snake

ivyveritas

Note that only four squads of mercenaries are under compulsion. After compelling everyone at Fort Northtower, then taking over his father's command of the royal guard and the unblessed priests in Telfort, Rusol realized he was reaching his limit and had to change his approach. He took over the upper levels of the army leadership, but he can't just compel everyone he runs into anymore. (He added the four squads of mercenaries in case he needed more hunters, but then he didn't do anything with them after that. The new version of the hunter bond lets them mingle with the normal mercenaries. They're not like the red-eyes.)

Dominic Janning

I'll say it again. Really love this book!! You do a awesome job of writing! I actually forgot u posted these chapters until today. Made my day when I remembered.

Dean Lee

A great twisted villain is needed to bring out an even greater hero

Jesse

It will be interesting to see if Rusol can get away with not sending any Blessed Priests with the forces he sends at Corec. Not sending any healers with an Army headed into active conflict will be a morale killer I would imagine. But if Blessed Priests are sent and they notice those compelled mercenaries or those compelled Knights from Northwatch, Rusol will likely have a rebellion on his hands in short order. (Or if Treya frees some of them and they start talking to the Priests). That is a serious dilemma Rusol will have to wrestle with. And that is assuming he doesn't send Sir Barat in command of them. If Rusol doesn't hamstring him with commands, I could see Sir Barat laying out camping assignments where the Blessed Priests are surrounded by the Compelled Knights every night. "One of these nights, one of these idiot priests will hit themselves upside their own head with the Clue by Four!"-Sir Barat

Ram Spencer

Any update for the ETA on the next chapters?

ivyveritas

It won't be in February, and it will probably take me a pretty big chunk of March too. I was hoping the turn-around would be faster this time, but I didn't manage it.

ivyveritas

It's still going to be a bit, unfortunately. I'd say probably three weeks, maybe a bit more?

Dominic Janning

No problem. Just showing my love of this story!

Aspiring Sage

Ivy, can you please provide an update on how close the next batch of chapters are. I want to re-read this one a day or two before the next release.

ivyveritas

It's looking like it'll be close to the end of the month. Probably the 25th at the earliest, but it could be a few days after that. Prior to the release, I plan to put out the "First Half of Book 5" compilation for the $2 patrons, which won't include any new content, but it'll package together everything up to chapter 14.

Jesse

Does it look like you will make this month or will it be April sometime?