Gave out the next five chapters to beta readers! I wrote better breaking up the original draft into smaller, manageable goals; a few chapters at a time. I know beta readers are "supposed to" read the whole thing, but rewriting and handing out in chunks has brought back my productivity!

The collier revolver comes from an era when weapon design was changing, and you can tell. It's like a flintlock and revolver in one, and it looks sick as hell.

"Hendao Shebel, Foxfolk High Lancer with broad command over most forces on this part of the continent. He had on a clean cut red suit that complimented his red and white fur, and he had the same bold, dashing expression from all his depictions, and Epicus assumed that he had a resting hero face."

Enough beta readers responded that I'm getting back to work! Each of them noticed a different area of improvement. A common theme is I "show, don't tell" TOO much, which is easy to fix! "MORE exposition? Don't mind if I do!"

I was writing a trade-prince while at a loss as to what he would trade. Websites offering to help with global trade goods and routes were talking about things like low pressure zones, currents, humidity... So I just dropped resource icons from Civ 6 & 7 around the map and called it a day!

"All right! I'm all done!" *zooms out*

Speaking of gods, the religious makeup of the shell is diverse. Iwanya is the goddess most encountered in my games set on the shell. She has multiple aspects, Iwanya-Solar, Iwanya-Healer, etc. People pray to each, but its common to pick one as your "patron", since it affects so much of your life.

When the island was destroyed by the Battle of Sepulchre's Aegis, the Aegis dracofolk and the himaguham were all but wiped out save for exclaves. The himaguham wizard Tumikar dedicated the rest of their life to repair the damage. When they ran out of life, they kept going.

Im waiting for beta readers and im taking a break from writing for a few days. I feel so listless!

Ive gotten two beta-reads of the first seven chapters back!

Me making a fruit salad: "Mmm, this looks as yummy as those colorful detergent pods."

POV: You are holding a friend who is also a raptor: [Epicus briefly wondered if he could drop Ilku like a cat, or if they had to be placed down like a dog, then elected to perch them on his shoulder. Their talons dug into his shoulder and he winced, but didn’t break his stride.]

I color coordinate outfits using "A Dictionary Of Color Combinations" by Sanzo Wada. (I also use it as a guide to pick colors in House Flipper)

The three cities of the foxfolk of Midlaen are far apart, but with teleportation pads on every block, they are a single city: Threesoul. Walking from one end of the city to the other is like starting in LA, stopping for snacks in NYC, and ending Chicago. Don't worry about the huge demonic eye. :)

Jaq'l and Jakari are two Commonwealth realms inhabited by primarily Jackalfolk, but have become home to all manner of strange, mercurial beings which find the jackalfolk to be unusually welcoming and tolerant. The Jaq'l are a federation of anarchist city-states themed after ancient greece.

There has been no war more terrible than that of the Great Crusade, often called the Great War; the War of the Lich-Kings, or the War of the Living. The maelstrom of this conflict swept the known world, and in its aftermath entire cultures are now nothing more than art installations.

Midonax Thero, one of the primary leads of Weathered Realms: Diplomacy, is a seasoned emissary. He's well groomed, polite, thoughtful, and loves learning about new cultures and people. But he's also hiding severe depression, in a world without the science of psychology. He can also be passive.

The Ugelkal Empire is primarily Koelfolk, on a continent of other avian ancestries. The Ugelkal retained their brood parasitism, and are very much like feyfolk in stories. They abduct infants and, with magic, disguise the koel newborn to be familiar to the parents.

The Weathered Realms was born in a home-brew TTRPG campaign about seven years ago, and it's grown since. The world is on the back of a giant turtle, in a system with other giant titans. It's possible there are other worlds also on something like a giant snake... Or perhaps some manner of hedgehog...

Hello, my name is Earl Phoenix and I'm working on my debut novel, Weathered Realms: Diplomacy! I'll post quotes from the draft and share updates as I get closer to launch day. I'm at 120k words, and working on the second draft!