Sphigypt.
Once a mighty and feared kingdom, the sphinxes' ancestral home fell twenty years ago to turmoil and infighting.
A new Pharaoh sits on the throne in Thebanus now, and he has a single goal in mind: recover his ancestors’ legacy and unify the kingdom once more.
The Republic of Akhri stands in his way. Weak and unstable, plagued by corruption and an exploding social question, it's armies will not survive the coming onslaught.
And the Federated Kingdom of Owlstria, architect of the Southern Campaign that once brought Sphigypt to its knees, shows an ever-growing distance from a puppet that it never managed to fully control.
In the mist of all this, foreign powers have set their sight on these lands, some openly, others not so, and this small, local conflict might very well spiral out of control, setting the entire continent ablaze in the process.
Captain Edward Blackwing doesn’t like being in Sphigypt. Still, that’s where he and his company are, assigned as garrison in the city of Kaska. There isn’t much to do, unless you’re interested in running behind petty river smugglers. And as day after day pass by, some might wonder if his career in the Owlstrian Royal Army has truly reached a dead end.
But as the threat from the West grows, Kaska itself turns into a powder keg ready to blow, and Blackwing will find himself in the middle of a literal maelstrom. Alone, and with only an handful of allies by his side, he will have to employ all his cunning and ruthlessness if he and his company are to survive, or they'll soon become the first casualties of a bigger and bloodier war.
A sandstorm is approaching, and heroes shall either be born or buried in its wake.
WARNING: This story contains violence and profanities, althought not so much of the latter. In any case, readers discretion is advised.
I really like the premise to that story. Hope you update soon, 'cause I always love a good griffon and sphinxes story.
Do you already have an update schedule?
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Thank you! That's good to hear and I hope you'll enjoy my story! Regarding the updates, I'll try to stick to a monthly schedule, especially given the chapters' lenght. Stay tuned for more!
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These are interesting points; I wish I could aswer them fully, even a couple of them, but that would ruin the surprise. Regarding slavery, well, I'll just say that there is some form of it, though not in the way you may think. Stay tuned for the next chapter!
How'd you come up with the name Sphigypt? It kind of makes me think of spaghetti.
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To be honest, coming up with the name was the easy part (Sphinx + Egypt = Sphigypt)
You're right though; it does sound like it.
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Well, despite the name, calling Akhri a democracy would require an impressive ammount of mental gymnastic, as you're about to find out. The Pharaoh ends up looking good simply by comparison.
And yes, discipline is a problem, but that's more due to the fact that those are troops of second order, meant to act as garrison and little else. Just you wait to see the regulars in action.
I feel the need to advocate in Red Ruby's favour, though. Lighting spells act in two ways: 1) they strike with amazing precision against a single target; 2) their flash can easily shock (pun intended) and impress an enemy that doesn't expect them, discouraging them from leaving their cover. (In short, think of them as sniper rifles rather than actual artillery).
She really needs to learn to communicate more though: from here on out, things will only get worse.
Good read of a chapter, those re-writes sure were worth it if that's the result. I'm surprised the story doesn't have more readers with quality like that. The geopolitics involved are downright fascinating, trying to piece it all together. That's some beautiful worldbuilding.
If I may suggest:
You could cut down on chapter size to improve your update schedule. This chapter alone could easily be cut in three more published separately, and you'd have better reader retention with the more frequent updates. I'm aware that might make some chapters feel like the story isn't advancing, but if that means one little chapter every month instead of one every three month the result isn't that different.
Just my little grain of salt.
Interesting. I'll give it a read here later.
Took me a while to find the time to read this chapter, but it sure was worth it.
Looks like you're taking the slow boil approach to the conflict. I like it. Civil conflict doesn't happen in a vacuum, so it's nice to see the build up to it, and it sheds a light on the whole situation. Neat worldbuilding. Now to try and find a balance between the relative quiet of barracks life, character development, worldbuilding -and internal politics-, and getting things done.
Now that's a whole 'nother matter.
That Storm King really came out of nowhere in the story. I assumed the cast of factions wouldn't expand any further, but I must say I'm pleasantly surprised. Haven't seen too many stories try to shed a light on how he came to take over an entire hemisphere in the first place. To see him getting involved with Abyssinia and Sphigypt at the same time... Can't wait to see how it pans out. Even though I'm of those that think Storm Creatures are more hedgehog-based than yetis but that's beside the point.
Also that yeti must really hate cat hair.
If I may ask though: the sphinxes, do you give them any kind of racial attribute? By this I mean stuff like long lives, gigantism, magic...
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Thank you, although I should point out that I'm trying to keep things somewhat realistic regarding the Storm King. You might not see him conquer an entire hemisphere, but that doesn't make him less dangerous. He's got ambition, a numerous army, and an unhealthy obsession with magical artifacts. Now, if only his officers could just get along ...
Regarding racial attribute, sphinxes don't have magic. Usually. I don't want to spoiler anything, but let's just say that Sacanas didn't built a staff just for fun. Will it play a role in the future? We'll see ...
Looks like those experimental weapons pack even more punch after the fact than they first let on. Gonna be nasty when Tempest and co. figure out how to solve the issues they come with.
I'm interested in how that side of the story will pan out eventually. Maybe we'll even get to see some ship vs. airship action? There's a lot of ways it could go wrong for either side depending on how they approach the fight.
Though in a world where a significant portion of the population can fly, I'm going to assume all ships have decent AA batteries. Unlike what we had in WW1 / Interwar era vessels.
Wish I could provide advice on the slow pacing, but unfortunately it seems it's as much of an issue to you as it is to me. You can force yourself to speed things up and 'get on with it', but then again doing that runs the risk of skipping much-needed character development and SoL scenes that help the reader get involved with the characters.
Seems to be a frequent problem with worldbuilding-heavy fics... balancing fleshing out the world, the characters, while still having a good flow of action. Thing is... that depends entirely on your own standards. Slow pacing and long descriptions are nothing new: Tolkien did it when describing the Shire, Hugo did it when describing Paris, and there is a whole movement of literary realism and naturalism that draws fans of long descriptions and the slow pacing that inevitably ensues.
I guess... it depends how you manage the scope of the story and the amount of details you want. If you only kept it to Blackwing, you could ramp it up however you want, but when you add necessary asides to flesh out the setting, it will inevitably slow things down.
Excellent chapter though.
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Yeah, I figured as much. There's really no easy answer for pacing, but maybe is just something you get better with constant practice. I'm not a big fan of long descriptions though, and I always try to diluite them throughout the chapter, if they are absolutely necessary.
Oh, and I'm glad you enjoyed it!
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Thank You! I hope you'll find it of your liking!