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Salt and Blood - Chapter 67
<< Chapter 66| Table of Contents| Chapter 68>>1.67 - Divine PortentsBe careful who you make friends with, because you never know how they’ll react if circumstances change. Sometimes, it’s the people closest to you who can hurt you the most.-Quoted from Murian Redclaw, Vice Captain of the Saltbea...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 66
<< Chapter 65| Table of Contents| Chapter 67>>1.66 - Hasty FarewellYou’re always at the most vulnerable right at the beginning of a journey. Physical, spiritual, or mental—it doesn’t matter. Taking the first steps is always harder than the final ones.-Excerpt from ‘Gospel of Raggath’ by Bi...
Release Schedule
Now that the story is dropping off Rising Stars, I will be reducing the RoyalRoad release schedule to 4 chapters a week. Patreon will only drop to 6 chapters a week, meaning basically the same schedule but the number of chapters ahead will steadily increase! Which day would you prefer to have as a b...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 65
<< Chapter 64| Table of Contents| Chapter 66>>1.65 - The Art of Going UnnoticedSometimes, hiding in plain sight is far more effective than doing your best to stay out of view. You’d be surprised how quickly the mind ignores a person dressed plainly in favour of the one skulking in the shadows.-Exc...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 64
<< Chapter 63| Table of Contents| Chapter 65>>1.64 - Bad DreamsI heard that eating cheese before you sleep gives you bad dreams. Eating cheese makes me happy, so I choose to sacrifice my sleep for joy. I’m a pirate. I face bad dreams when I’m awake, so what’s a little disturbed sleep?-Excerpt ...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 63
<< Chapter 62| Table of Contents| Chapter 64>>1.63 - A Minor ProblemThey say to let sleeping dogs lie, but why can’t they do the same with civil servants. Every blood hour of the night I get woken up for some irrelevant complaint. How am I supposed to fix people’s problems if I can’t get a mom...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 62
<< Chapter 61| Table of Contents| Chapter 63>>1.62 - Old Flames ReignitedHell hath no fury like a woman scorned-Excerpt from ‘The Mourning Bride’ by Bill KongThe edges of Yasmin’s eyes turned black as the tiny vessels in her sclera seemed to carry pure darkness through them. Two tendrils of bl...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 61
<< Chapter 60| Table of Contents| Chapter 62>>1.61 - The Numbers, What do they Mean?Supposedly, there are unsolved formulas hidden away in Tidespire Keep that have driven scholars to madness. I reckon my neighbour Jim could solve a few. Plus, he’s already mad as a bat.-Excerpt from ‘A Mathematic...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 60
<< Chapter 59| Table of Contents| Chapter 61>>1.60 - Clissolt QuaysThey say Clissolt has four quays and three keys. I’ve only seen two of the former and have no idea what the latter part of the saying is supposed to mean. But I was told this by a drunk old man in a dingy alleyway and everyone know...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 59
<< Chapter 58| Table of Contents| Chapter 60>>1.59 - Patience of the HunterIn a world where the oceans dominate, the occupations of the land are often forgotten. Us sailors can glean insightful wisdom from many of them. I myself spent some time with a band of hunters in Zoria, where I learnt the imp...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 58
<< Chapter 57| Table of Contents| Chapter 59>>1.58 - Calm Before the StormOne of the most intriguing mysteries of the ocean—to me, at least—is how intertwined blissful calm and raging fury are when it comes to storms. The ocean is never calmer than before the most violent storm; the eye of the s...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 57
<< Chapter 56| Table of Contents| Chapter 58>>1.57 - Trouble MagnetSome people have a storm of fate around them. Perhaps fate is the wrong word, it does an injustice to those characters to ascribe it all to the world and not their own ridiculous actions. Many fall under the weight of their own ambit...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 56
<< Chapter 55| Table of Contents| Chapter 57>>1.56 - Reel It InMost pirates kill their first sea monster as part of the crew. It’s rare that a rookie has the skills, patience, or strength to bring one down by themselves. Those rare few who’ve brought down titans in their first voyage go on to do...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 55
<< Chapter 54| Table of Contents| Chapter 56>>1.55 - Blessed Fisherwoman of Fairwater BayWhispered in the darkest storms, rumoured in the halls of the Keep, and yearned for in the hearts of every sailor—divine blessings are as much a myth as the pantheon themselves. Yet, our belief keeps the fanta...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 54
<< Chapter 53| Table of Contents| Chapter 55>>1.54 - Big Game FishingTake care of your tools and they’ll never fail you. A poor workman blames his tools, forgetting to look at his own faults. I’ve had the same rod for half a century and she works even better than the day I bought her.-Quoted fro...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 53
<< Chapter 52| Table of Contents| Chapter 54>>1.53 - A Burning Desire to HelpMany look down on vocational skills like fishing, cooking, and cleaning as the realm of menial labourers. Anything can be a weapon in the hands of a master, given enough time to hone their craft.-Excerpt from ‘Charting th...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 52
<< Chapter 51| Table of Contents| Chapter 53>>1.52 - Converging FatesFifty kilos of sea serpent meat, thirty kilos of potatoes, twenty kilos of carrots, ten kilos of parsley, five kilos of devilscorch peppers-Recipe for Sea Serpent Stew from ‘Barry ‘Bottomless’ Bigjaw’s Pirate Cookbook’ by...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 51
<< Chapter 50| Table of Contents| Chapter 52>>1.51 - Sea MonstersNothing makes a pirate adventure more than battling a sea monster. I still remember my first kraken. Oh, she was a beauty. We preserved one of the tentacles to decorate the ship.-Excerpt from ‘Unusual Tales from the Dark Seas’ by v...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 50
<< Chapter 49| Table of Contents| Chapter 51>>1.50 - Taking FlightNever rouse a sleeping beast. If you have to, make sure your first cut is the only cut you need.-Excerpt from ‘Ten Laws of the Sea’, author unknownRose had hoped to dash past the salamanders while they recovered from the fallout o...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 49
<< Chapter 48| Table of Contents| Chapter 50>>1.49 - Bursting with AnticipationThere have been many quiet days at sea, spent lounging on the deck and staring up at the birds in the sky. Often I wondered what it would feel like to join them.-Quoted from Norris HowellCutting the salamander wouldn’t ...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 48
<< Chapter 47| Table of Contents| Chapter 49>>1.48 - Heating up a NotchOne thing you’ll rapidly realise, if you set out to sea for adventure and glory, is that no matter how far-fetched your imagination, you will never be able to concoct anything quite as absurd as the ocean itself. Real life is o...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 47
<< Chapter 46| Table of Contents| Chapter 48>>1.47 - Hungry for PowerLet me tell you a story about a frog. An unfortunate frog was tossed into a pot of boiling water. Sensing the temperature, it immediately leapt out and escaped. That same frog was then dropped into a pot of cool water, where it beg...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 46
<< Chapter 45| Table of Contents| Chapter 47>>1.46 - A Trial of TrustA fearsome foe is often better than a cowardly crewmate.-Excerpt from ‘Ten Laws of the Sea’, author unknownAs the lizard pounced at her, Felix rushed forward and swung the torch like a club. There was a meaty thud as the flamin...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 45
<< Chapter 44| Table of Contents| Chapter 46>>1.45 - An Opposing PerspectiveIt’s possible to escape a convergence without clearing it, but that seems rather wasteful to me. People sail for months on end, hoping to catch a glimpse and find their fortune—why would you want to run when one thrusts ...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 44
<< Chapter 43| Table of Contents| Chapter 45>>1.44 - Between a Rock and a Hard PlaceOne of my students once asked if it was possible for multiple convergences to form simultaneously. At the time I was a recently tenured lecturer. I had no answer for him, except the commonly accepted one—of course ...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 43
<< Chapter 42| Table of Contents| Chapter 44>>1.43 - The Truth of the TideIt is of the utmost importance that a blade be wet in the proper manner. No matter the skill of the smith who forged it, a weapon that isn’t used for war will grow weak. Steel forged in the heat of battle will never break ag...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 42
<< Chapter 41| Table of Contents| Chapter 43>>1.42 - Every Crew Needs a NameHaving a forgettable name or a poorly drawn flag is the easiest way to become a laughing stock. Every pirate worth their salt can be recognised in an instant. Any sailor who sees their flag should be struck with terror; any ...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 41
<< Chapter 40| Table of Contents| Chapter 42>>1.41 - Bitter ConclusionsThere’s something rather charming about being chased out of a place you’d learned to love. It seems scary, but the essence of piracy is freedom. Freedom to explore the wide world and all the magic it holds. When a town bands ...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 40
<< Chapter 39| Table of Contents| Chapter 41>>1.40 - IntertwinedI’ve lived for far too long and experienced a heart-aching number of farewells. I am still not sure if it hurts most when you get the chance to say goodbye, or if you leave a companion with a hint of hope in their heart. I imagine the...
Salt and Blood - Chapter 39
<< Chapter 38| Table of Contents| Chapter 40>>1.39 - SunsplitterNothing in this world captures my heart and soul more than gazing at the sun. Never directly, of course. That’s the beauty of the sea, though. She offers a reflection of that cold mistress, one that offers us sailors a glimpse into it...
