iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 13h

Oh to be a cat on a Monday. No job, no worries, just sunbeams and naps.

A tabby cat sitting in a cat tree in front of a bright window.

A calico cat laying on a green pillow while a grey and white cat sleeps on a peanuts blanket all on the corner of a couch and in bright natural light.

A grey and white Scottish fold cat resting on top of a white peanuts blanket in the afternoon sun.

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CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 16h

#SnippetShare How about a two for one? A description of the building and the spirit that represents it! #WritingQ #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompt

He'd wandered in front of the Green Dragon, a tavern set in the center of the park. It vied with several dozen other inns and taverns for the right to being "the oldest drinking hole in the Fifth Ring", but it had certainly been there a long time. For what he thought it worth, it was certainly one of the most beautifully placed.
Dead in the center of the rolling hills of the park, the owners throughout the years had planted all manner of trees and shrubbery, all hung with multicolored light crystals of every size and hue imaginable. It made the humble building, with its dark river stone walls and peaked barrel tile roof, look to be in the middle of some enchanted glade instead of in the middle of the city. Ownership of the tavern had passed from generation to generation for so long it had gained a Local God of its own, their influence then spreading enough to take over the entire park, the name having been changed to Green Dragon Park centuries ago.
That was who approached him now. The Green Dragon had found herself with an interesting confluence of traits. She had begun as a spirit, not a dragon, but since dragons were common enough and people knew enough about them, she had inherited many of their abilities. Like a Dragon she could assume the greater form of one, though now wore the one more like the other Alliance peoples, veridian scales shining off her arms and dotted through the rest of her skin. A slit up one side of the skirt of her low cut serving girl's attire showed off her scaled and clawed feet and calves. From around the back a thin serpentine tail trailed behind her, ending in a sharp point reminiscent of a cask tap. Even her hair was green, spilling over her shoulders in springy emerald curls.
She beckoned Melic over, the warm light of the tavern behind her almost more inviting than she was.

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CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 19h

#WIPSnips Arlo, Roderika, and their party roll into their first village exclusively populated by the Faithful and don’t exactly get a warm welcome… #WriteSky #WritingPrompt #WritingCommunity

They continued on for a few more miles in silence. More farms rolled past on either side of the road, and a few more people.
Some stopped to watch them go by but there were no further incidents. As afternoon was turning into evening they came to their first Faithful village.
The first difference was obvious. Where in Alliance towns and villages the churches were small buildings well away from the rest, here it was in the center of town. While every other building was built of wood and thatch, the church was constructed of stone and mortar. Its steeple rose above every other building and was topped with a large cross that the ones along the road here had lacked. The building itself too was at least double the size of any other building in town, with clean whitewashed walls where the buildings surrounding it were simple bare wood.
The people didn't look any different, though even after weeks on the road with a caravan of all human members it was still odd to Arlo not to see any elves towering over everyone or Wyldkin ears poking out of at least a few heads. They all wore clothes made of simple materials and muted colors; wool or linen from what he could see, all in shades of black, grey, or brown. The men all wore loose fitting, long-sleeved shirts tucked into pants that tapered in at the ends to be tucked into calf height leather boots or tall shoes.
The few women Arlo could see wore high necked dresses, most with an apron tied over the front. Their skirts ran to just barely over the ground, which seemed impractical given that none of the streets here were paved. Their faces were all deep inside bonnets the same muted colors as their clothes.

What was different was their reactions. In Alliance villages they'd gotten jaunty waves or questions about news, smiles and greetings. Here the gathering crowd was silent. Every person seemed to have turned out onto their porch or street to watch the caravan go by, but not one looked happy about it.
Arlo saw several men spit, either to the side or in the direction of the caravan, and at one point he heard someone shout something he couldn't understand but that definitely sounded derisive. Only the women didn't stop to look, keeping their eyes and heads down and carrying laundry, sweeping, or just continuing to do whatever it was they were doing.
As they approached the church at the center of town, Jonah came jogging up and vaulted himself up onto the steps leading to the driver's seat. "I'll need to speak to the local Priest about where your men can set up camp for the evening. There isn't anywhere here big enough to house you all."
Glancing around at the villagers' expressions again made Arlo glad they wouldn't have to stay under anyone's roof. "Fine by me, just let me know where to ao."

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CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 03/10/2026

#TFOTSnip Forget second breakfast, Roderika hasn’t even had her first yet. Fun fact, the last paragraph here is what Roderika the moniker “food criminal” in my worldbuilding doc. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompt

10 - Reka
"That was amazing!"
Mary bounced ahead of Reka with barely contained excitement. "I apologize for saying it over and over again, Princess, but I just can't think of another word. I've never seen anyone move like that!"
Reka was less annoyed with being called Princess again than she was with the fact that Mary still had both plates of food.
She hadn't eaten before her workout and it had made her ravenous. "Well I'm glad everyone enjoyed it, it means all the practice was worth it."
They arrived at the carriage and Mary flopped into a camp stool, nearly tipping over and losing their breakfasts. "You were so fast, I could hardly see you. No person can move that fast..?"
Mary finally noticed Reka's pointed look at the food in her hands and gasped in her first breath for the last several minutes. "Oh Redeemer in heaven, I am so sorry!"
She reached out and finally took one of the plates from the Sister's trembling hand. Nine, the girl was excited. "T'll answer your questions I promise, just, give me a minute."
Mary reached into her belt and handed her a knife and fork wrapped in a small towel. She took them while looking down at her plate. Eggs, bacon, and toast were all arrayed in a neat circle, each cooked to perfection. And someone had found strawberries! She moved those to the edge of her plate to save for last. Hungry as she was though, she couldn't decide where to start.
After an agonizing minute of indecision, she started cutting everything into bite sized pieces. She dragged roughly cubed pieces of bread through pools of perfectly runny egg yolk and bacon grease and shattered the strips of meat into shards.
After moving everything around a bit to ensure it was all evenly coated, she began shoveling forkfuls into her mouth. It was divine. Just enough pepper on the eggs, the salt and crunch from the bacon, all soaking into the fluffy interior of the bread.
She may have made an undignified noise, but was too busy enjoying herself to notice.

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CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 03/10/2026

Alas! This is addressed in story and she doesn’t do a very good job at it… Now, would she have a drawer full of aesthetically pleasing journals and unused cute stickers and washi tape and high end pens? *Absolutely*

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CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 03/10/2026

#WIPSnips Petal -> Flower -> Lilly Roderika and Mary are enjoying a hotspring together, and the former is stricken by the beary of the latter. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

"Okay!" She called back to Mary. "I'II close my eyes now so you can get in."
Reka did as she promised and leaned back and enjoyed the warmth of the water. After a few moments she could hear the rustling of fabric behind her as Mary undressed, followed by the soft sound of small feet, and then the water rippling gently as Mary lowered herself onto the shale shelf an arms length away.
"Okay, I'm in." Mary's voice trembled around the edges.
Reka opened her eyes.
The first thing she noticed was Mary's hair. She'd known offhandedly it would be fair, her eyebrows were certainly so, but hadn't expected shoulder length, spun-gold waves to frame Mary's delicate face. Her skin too was luminous and smooth, the paleness beneath her blush a perfect match for the white lilies up on the bank behind her.

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CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 03/10/2026

#LitHodepodge An excuse to post this wonderful commissioned piece of Roderika again? Don’t mind if I do! Roderika loves new hobbies, what would yall suggest for her?

Roderika from the Night of Fallen Gods, depicted as a young woman with red hair and green eyes, standing leaning on a railing of a balcony beneath an arch of iris flowers.

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CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 01/10/2026

They’re both adorable! I will trade for pictures of my 3 goobers, Maja, Zelda, and Tetra!

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CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 01/10/2026

#WIPSnip Injury -> Injured Tala, already frustrated by getting the runaround trying to get to an authority figure with some very important information, becomes aware of her partner being injured via magic necklace and promptly loses interest in anything else. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

She wanted to scratch someone's eyes out. Or scream. Both would suit her just fine. Instead she said as calmly she could,
"What about Gate Captain Aman? Is he here?"
"Oh, aye." Bett's voice brightened while Malla nodded her own encouragement. "He's up in his office, we'll take you to him."
"Good, there's something he really needs to hear..."
The feeling of several people standing on her chest, each one driving a shard of ice into her heart, stopped Tala in her tracks.
Her vision blacked around the edges, she struggled to breathe, and could not hear anything past the ringing in her ears. The pressure drove her down to her knees, then onto one hand as her other grasped at her chest. After an eternity she managed to choke out a breath, and another. The world seemed to be rocking back and forth, like a ship on choppy waters.
"... -y Tala? Lady Tala!" Mella crouched next to her, shaking her shoulders, panic painted across her face. It occurred to Tala then that she was screaming in between her choppy breaths. "Lady Tala, what's wrong?!"
Her mouth shut with a click of her teeth, fell to the side to sit on the ground. She clawed at her shirt, ripping it open hard enough that several buttons went flying off in various directions. Bett covered his eyes and turned around, but she paid him no mind. She snatched at the necklace hanging down her chest, the one Reka had given her after they'd told each other they loved the other. Solonathrax had told them it would tell them if the other was ever in trouble...
And it was cracked.

Directly down the center of the gem there was a crack. The white mist beyond didn't leak out, but it felt like it should have.
She stared at the pendant for a second that lasted an age, and then slowly the top and bottom began to knit back together.
She didn't know what that meant, but the crack and the pain could only mean one thing.
Reka was in danger.
That thought shut out everything else. Reka, hundreds of miles away, was in danger. Probably grievously injured if the pain she'd felt was anything to go by. Weeks away by horseback even if she rode a hundred of them to death. Days by wyvern flight.
She needed to know more, what was happening right now.
She didn't have the power to see across that distance, but she knew someone who did.
Tala leapt to her feet, bowling over Mella still crouched over her. Other Guardsmen and Women had come out of the barracks, drawn by her screaming, and formed a loose semi circle around them. She shoved past all of them without a word, ears pinned back and teeth bared. She didn't remember letting her nails out, but if any of them were fool enough to get in her way now, a scratch was a light price to pay.
Once she escaped the press of bodies, she ignored Bett and Mella calling her name and sprinted faster than she had ever run in her life towards Henet's apartment.

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CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 01/10/2026

#TFOTSnip Longer snip today because let’s me honest I cannot do anything else, but this I think is pretty good look at Roderika’s character so I didn’t want to slim it down. So yeah, sheer boredom forces Roderika to have an idea. #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity

23 - Rea
Reka was slowly losing her mind.
She knew when setting out this trip would take weeks. She thought she'd planned for that. Packed a number of books, a journal, even some games. Plenty to keep her occupied.
She read all of her books by the time they'd hit The Crossroads. Never much of a writer, most of her journal entries were a handful of uninspired lines at most. The games were better lately now that Mary had started to be more comfortable around Arlo, but there were only so many times they could play the same thing before it was more tedious than fun.
Mary on her own was fine company, but Reka never felt comfortable talking about anything but surface level topics.
She desperately wanted to know more about the Church and the Faithful, but when she got anywhere near those topics all the emotion would drain out of the Sister's face and she'd go quiet. She would look painfully uncomfortable whenever the subject of spirits or magic came up, which was all Reka wanted to talk about now that she had realized how unrefined her skills had been before. Stories of Reka's youth were the safest bets, but even then, Mary had so few frames of reference for anything having been so sheltered in the Church.
Those stories were also a minefield for Reka. The one subject she feared most was Tala. She knew that if she started talking about her something would slip and she still didn't know how Mary would react. She wasn't as closed minded as Reka would have thought given her upbringing, but between what her father had told her about the Church and the fact that Mary still struggled with the subjects of the other Alliance members, she just could not risk talking about her partner too much.

That, even more than the distance and time, made her heart ache from missing Tala.
Still, once she got going on a subject, Mary could talk for hours. After Reka had given her that tin of tea, Mary spent days talking about nothing but different types of leaf and what each was used for. The small tea and herb garden back in the Tower City was the only luxury she'd been allowed, and it seemed to be the one thing she had pushed Jonah about. This also bled into a decent knowledge of other plants, including medicinal herbs. Books on these subjects had apparently been how Mary learned to read the Alliance language. Now Reka had learned more about what any weed or flower they passed tasted like or could do in the last week than she'd ever thought to know.
Unfortunately, weeks of travel had all but exhausted every conversation they could have. Now their days were mostly silence punctuated by the creaking of the carriage. Reka just found herself staring out the window at the rolling hills the road wove through, with distant copses of trees the only thing to look at. Across from her Mary did much the same, sitting with her back straight and her hands in her lap. How was she not bored, not itching to move or do something?
Reka had at one point tried to teach Mary some of the stretches to warm up her muscles in the morning, but she had proven quite uncoordinated in her Sister's dress, and staunchly refused to switch to trousers even in the privacy of the carriage. So every morning she just sat with that same posture, coolly watching her bend and flex. It'd been embarrassing at first, but quickly just became part of the routine.
She had already done her stretching for the day though, and didn't want to get another set of clothes dirty if she could help it. Well, more than they already were. It had been a few days since Sister Hannah's village, so they were starting to run low on clean clothes again and would have to stop for a day to do laundry soon. In the meantime everyone was …

"Mary,
;" she asked, "have you ever ridden a horse before?"
She had to repeat herself a couple times before Mary shook herself and turned away from the window. "A horse? No, we didn't have any horses at the Church, not for riding anyway.
Why?"
"Grab the kettle and a water skin, we're going for a ride. One of the dirty blankets too." Reka got up and went to the front of the carriage and opened the little sliding window behind the drivers bench. "Arlo! Stop the carriage!"
"What?" Mary said in a small voice.
"What?" Arlo shouted back incredulously.
"You heard me!" Reka replied to both. As the carriage creaked and groaned to a stop she opened the door and leaned out over the steps. "Guardsmen!" She called out to the men riding behind them, "Who wants a break from the saddle to come ride in the carriage for the afternoon?!"

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CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 01/10/2026

#LitHodgepodge Good morning #WritingCommunity and especially Pamela, thank you for running a game this month. I’m CG Stewart, amateur Epic Fantasy Writer currently wrapping my first novel The Night of Fallen Gods. I also have a lot of strong feelings about my this or that, interested to see others’!

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CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 01/10/2026

#OctoberWorldbuilders The Forgelands are a large, volcanicly active desert in the southwest of the Alliance. Despite their aversion to the sun, it is also home to the majority of Dwarves in the setting, though they live under it. It is extremely rugged, with deep valleys and towering plateaus,

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CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 30/09/2026

#WIPSnips Longer one today but important in the context of the rest of the story. Tala finds one of the newly assigned Guards protecting Rodgier asleep on his doorstep and decides to correct that… #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompt

Rodgier wasn't awake yet when she padded out of Reka's room. In the few moments they'd spent together he seemed increasingly frayed, and though he would not say it outright, she knew the Faithful were causing him no end of stress. She made every effort to ghost through the house, washing her face and teeth without making a noise. Let the man sleep.
More concerning was that the Guardsman at Rodgier's front door was also not awake.
Tala stood over him as he sat loosely on a stool snoring softly into his chest, hoping he was pretending or at least aware enough to sense her there. When he made no move other than his deep breathing, she swung her hand back, made sure her nails were short enough they wouldn't scratch him, and slapped him full in the face.
The crack of her hand meeting his jaw echoed in the dark gardens. The guardsman spurted awake and fell onto the Sovereign's porch. Before he regained himself, she pounced, seizing him by the face and letting her nails out enough to dig into his cheeks. Now that she looked at him, this man was barely older than her, maybe younger.
"Good morning, Guardsman." She hissed.
Still shaking off the slap, it took his eyes a moment to focus on her. "Good Morning, Lady Tala."
She hardly qualified as a Lady, her closest connection to Rodgier besides Reka being her First Mother, who was not of any esteemed birth or one of the sovereigns better known functionaries. She would take it for the moment though. "What is your name Guardsman?"
"Bett, ma'am." He supplied, trying to get up. She let her nails out a little more, flexing her ring finger so that that one drew blood. He froze.
"Guardsman Bett." She leaned closer to his face and flattened her ears. "If I meant harm to Lord Rodgier, do you know what you would be right now?"
The poor boy looked ready to wet himself. "Dead, ma'am."

"Dead," she confirmed. "And I would be free to do whatever | wished to our Lord Sovereign. Does that sound like you would have fulfilled your duty to him, Guardsman Bett?" She released his face and stepped back.
Bett needed a couple tries sorting out his shaking legs to stand again. He was actually quite a bit taller than Tala, though that wasn't an extraordinary thing to be, and well built. If she hadn't gotten the drop on him she would not have lasted a second in a straight fight. "No ma'am."
"Then see this does not happen again." Tala took a deep breath and let her ears flex back upright. She looked around the porch. "There are supposed to be two of you. Where is your partner?"
"Returning now my lady." Said a deep female voice behind her.
She turned to see a woman with deep tan skin, a half foot taller than her, and twice as wide at the shoulders mounting the stairs that lead to the porch. "Guardsman Mella returning from patrol, ma'am."
"A patrol long enough for your partner to fall asleep, Guardsman Mella?" Her tail lashed around her ankles in annoyance, which she did not bother to stop.
"Full rounds of the gardens ma'am," Mella's cheeks took on a little more color, "and perhaps a visit to the privy."
Tala snorted and folded her arms in front of her. It was difficult to look down your nose at people taller than you, but years of practice and her mother's example made her an expert at it.
"When you are relieved by the next shift, go to First Captain Aman." She held no real authority over Arlo's father, but had worked with him to set up Rodgier's guard, so maybe her word meant something. "Tell him I advised you to have a separate patrol for the garden, and that they are to relieve you for privy breaks. I don't want this door left unguarded for any length of time." She gave a withering look to Bett, "Guarded attentively.
Am I understood?"
"Yes ma'am!" They both came to attention on either side of her.

"Good," she stepped so that she was just outside their reach again. "I will follow up with the First Captain to make sure he gets my message tonight," she smiled sweetly without letting the venom leave her eyes. "But I trust this little incident will remain between us?"
That got nods from them both.
In response she turned on her heel and strode away with purpose. The reddening mark on Bett's face would likely cause talk enough, and doubtless Mella would rib him about it for days, so hopefully the message was received. She did feel some remorse for hitting him though. Reka or Arlo would have handled that better. They always had a way of bringing the best in people without even really trying.
But they were both off on their mission. And besides, hardly anyone knew how to do this sort of thing anymore. The Lord Sovereign had not needed even a ceremonial guard for at least the last thousand years. If they got results, then she would have to be content with her own methods.

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CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 29/09/2026

I’ll pick it back up soon but if it doesn’t grab me back I’m jumping to the Burning Kingdoms books instead.

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CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 29/09/2026

#TFOTSnip Oh this one’s tailor made for Tala. Wyldkin like her all have varying levels of animal features, and she’s a typical anime cat-girl type. Here’s her introduction into the story. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

3 - Roderika
"Wait, they want you to go?"
After what seemed like an eternity of dickering over increasingly minute details, Roderika emerged from the meeting hall and had immediately run into her two best friends,
Tala and Arlo.
Tala was her Handmaiden, a title only she seemed to take seriously, and the daughter of one of his father's Wyldkin advisors. They were the same age and had grown up together from their first memories of childhood. She was shorter than Roderika despite the best effort of the cat's ears poking up from the top of her head, bursts of white fluff contrasting the midnight black of the rest of her hair. Her twitching tail, its long and silky black fur slightly puffed in indignation, and her gold vertically slitted eyes were the only other signs she was anything but human.

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CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 28/09/2026

#SnippetShare Pardon the longer snip, but this is a bit of a lore dump and also tracks to an answer that raises further questions while silencing them… Roderika, Arlo, and Mary are mid escape when their route takes a macabre turn… #WritingQ #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

The Sister shook her head, handing Reka a torch and lighting her own. "Come on, it's a long way yet."
Mary led them down the steps, the stone walls to either side close and narrow. The stairs wound their way back and forth through the rock. The deeper they went, the colder and damper the air became. Reka, her mind still filled with the sights and sounds of the Faithful's ritual could not stop questions from bubbling up from her mouth. "What did Pius mean when he spoke of cleansing the world? What is Heaven?"
The stairs evened out into large slabs and the tunnel opened up slightly, causing Mary's voice to echo eerily as she answered. "We are taught," she paused and shook her head
"the Faithful teach that they are the chosen few of their previous world. That the Savior called them to this one as a reward for their faith. In their minds, this world is the Heaven they were promised as that reward. They raised me to believe that their faith would show the people of this world the error of their ways, that eventually they would abandon their false Gods."
"False Gods?" Reka asked, bewildered. "I have met each of the Nine, and other minor Gods besides. There's nothing false about them." Then the way Mary spoke struck her. "You're talking about the Faithful like you're not one of them anymore."
"I don't think | am..." Mary's voice was hollow. "Everything | was raised to believe was a lie." A flash of hurt and sadness crept back into her voice, causing it to waver. "I'm not even sure the Savior is real. I see now that Jonah, Pius, no one back there truly follows His laws. And if that truly was Him..." her voice shook again, this time from the shudder Reka saw run down her back, "what they're doing is not something I want to believe in."
She could sympathize. No other ritual or ceremony for any other God she had seen turned her stomach the way what they'd seen did. "So, are the Savior and the Redeemer the same then?"

Mary started to shake her head, then pulled a face. "I think "the Redeemer' is the name the people of this world gave him, or it was mistranslated early on. We... The Faithful only ever call him 'Our Lord and Savior'. I suppose you could say that the man on the cross back there is his manifestation in the world, like how you've told me the Nine do."
They came to the bottom of the stairs and Mary stopped to raise her torch over her head. Reka raised her torch as well, peering at the walls around them. The dark stone had changed to be much lighter. It was also much more uneven, striated in odd layers. She reached out a hand and touched the wall, realizing as she did that they were no longer stone.
The walls were lined with human bones.
Her hand rested on a long thick bone with knobs on either side, and she snatched it back. She looked around and above herself again, taking the grisly sight in. "Polyana..." the prayer died on her tongue. The Goddess of Healing and Death had no place here. She would never allow something like this to be built.
They came to a wide archway like the one before, except where the previous had been stone blocks set with skulls in their center, this archway was made entirely of them. Past the archway, the tunnel immediately branched, continuing forward as well as to either side. She and Arlo kept to the tunnel's center while Mary led them forward, their torchlight casting jagged shadows between the bones lining the walls and the eye sockets of hundreds of human skulls placed haphazardly among the rest.
Every few yards there would be an alcove where a stone coffin would sit, identical to the ones above in front of the Saviors Altar, down to the strange cables running from the head and foot of each into the wall on either side. After the first half dozen they came to a junction, and corridors split off again to the left and right into the gloom. The corners of each point of the junction seemed to be made of spines.
She reached out and ran a hand…

They came to a second juncture before Mary answered, turning left without looking. "The First Saints, the people who were first brought to this world by the Savior. Each of these coffins holds a man who came from the Faithful's original world."
"Only the men?" Arlo, looked around. "What about the women?"
Mary held her torch up to the center of the next alcove they passed. In its light was a posed upper half skeleton, its arms outstretched in supplication and its skull turned towards the stone ceiling above. "It is a wife's duty to watch over and keep her husband. Even in death."
That silenced Reka and Arlo's questions.

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CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 27/09/2026

Fun fact, this even gets a callback later in Mary’s “snapping out of it” chapter.

He smiled that lopsided smile of his, opening his arms in greeting. "Ah, you're finally awake! You had me worried." He drew out the chair at the center of the table, gesturing to another opposite him. "Please, sit! You must be starving.
Practically nothing to eat yesterday, and now a late morning.
Yes, please eat."
What appetite she had fled with the sight of Him. Her stomach wanted to empty itself but had nothing to give. How could he sit there, piling food onto an empty plate, humming to himself, after everything He had done. Still, she knew better than to disobey. She shuffled forward wordlessly and sat.
There was a veritable feast arrayed before them. Steaming porridge, crisp rashers of bacon, golden yellow eggs, glistening sausages, and slices of toasted bread. She slid a bowl of porridge to herself, knowing anything else would push her stomach into open revolt. Resting on top were bright red strawberries, cut in slices and fanned out over the oats.
She remembered how sweet a strawberry could taste. These tasted only of ash.

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CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 27/09/2026

#SundaySnips This is one of my favorite ends to a chapter, mostly because Roderika cannot know the absolutely mess this action left Mary in after she turned around… #HQPress #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity

She held out the cloth over her shoulder and felt Mary take it before she dipped it into the water. A few drops hit the floor of the carriage when she wrung it out and began wiping down Reka's back. She had a gentle touch, different from Tala's when they bathed together. She didn't mind the difference though.
As Mary finished up, Reka reached for the other towel to dry herself when she noticed the last of her strawberries, sitting on the carriage seat in her napkin. She grabbed it along with the towel and was about to eat it when she realized Mary hadn't had any on her plate this morning. She draped the dry towel over her front and began to turn around. "Mary?"
"Yes, Princess?"
She was exhausted with the "Princess" nonsense. Instead of offering Mary the strawberry as intended, she stepped across space between them and pressed it gently but firmly to her lips.
Mary's face immediately matched the morsel poised on her mouth and let out a tiny squeak before Reka pushed on the fruit just enough to stop her speaking. "I know you have to call me 'Princess' in front of Father Jonah, but we talked about this yesterday. We are going to be friends, and my friends call me Reka. Can you please call me that when we're in private, at the very least?" Mary nod was the barest dropping of her head.
"Good. Now this is for you."
Mary parted her lips and accepted the piece of fruit. Once she had it between her teeth, Reka withdrew her hand and left her to finish it while she dressed.

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CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 27/09/2026

#TFOTSnip I think this is my first of this particular snip prompt, so what better way to start then at the beginning. Roderika is late, late for a very important date. Fitting for a Sunday morning I think. #WriteSky #WritingPromots #WritingCommunity

1 - Roderika
Roderika, First Daughter of the Tower City, was running late.
Rounding a corner, she nearly bowled over a serving woman and called back a half strangled, "Sorry! Sorry!"over her shoulder while continuing on her mad dash.
As the opulent halls of the Sovereign's Palace streaked by in a blur of polished stone and ornate tapestries, she kept asking herself why she'd agreed to attend this audience in the first place. There was no place for her in the bureaucracy of The Tower City or the Alliance of the Nine beyond being her father's daughter, and she had no interest in making one. She knew little enough about the matters at hand, only that it had been decades in the making. But when her father had told her how much her presence would help smooth tensions, it'd been easy to say "yes"
Now however, if the bell tolling in the courtyard blurring past was any indication, she was about an hour behind the meeting's start and just in time for her own funeral.

030

CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 26/09/2026

#WIPSnips Only one instance of this word in the whole novel and it is deep in spoiler territory… Aman and Kiera have had a very bad night. It might be about to get worse. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompt

"You have your orders." He said to the room at large, waving his arm in a gesture of mass dismissal, "see that it's all done and meet back here in three hours. Everyone else, out until l call you back in."
The room emptied until it was only Aman, Keira, and the other two figures at the far end of the room.
He turned to Keira first. "Anything?"
She shook her head. "There was no trail for me to follow after Tala and Henet are still missing as well. Henet's
apartment looked like a tornado blew through it."
"I believe we can shed some light on these matters, First Captain, Thief Catcher." Said a commanding voice from the other end of the table.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He'd hoped they were only here to observe, but if the Gods were getting directly involved
..•
He steeled himself and opened his eyes. "Of course Lord Thel, Lord Melic. Please, tell us what you can."

1143

CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 23/09/2026

#WholesomeWednesday I’m going to opt for pet photos because come on look at this perfect little creature.

A grey and white Scottish fold resting her head on her paws over an orange blanket.

A Scottish fold cat illuminated by blue and red lights

A Scottish fold cat laying over a human arm.

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CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 21/09/2026

9 Games that shaped me. my9games.net/en

020

CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 21/09/2026

#WIPSnips Rodgier recalls his daughter engaging in one of her favorite past times; using her friends (in this case Arlo) as living dress up dolls. At least this time it was for an actual state function. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompt

As much as he dreaded their necessity, he had to admit the new "Princess' Guard" would look quite dashing once the sun rose. He'd paid exorbitant prices to the best smiths and clothiers in the city to rush breastplates and uniforms.
Roderika had taken a personal interest in that, parading Arlo around in an endless stream of colors and cuts until one met her nebulous qualifications.
The uniforms turned out a deep emerald green with silver trim, buttoning up the left side of the torso and tucked into black breeches behind wide leather belts. For the breastplates she'd instructed the smiths to matte a silver dragon silhouette in the center. She apparently knew a number of cobblers in the city too because when the uniforms arrived, so did fifty two pairs of dark brown leather boots with silver buckles in the shape of tiny dragons. Fifty one were knee high riding boots for her guard, and the last pair calf high walking boots for herself.
Rodgier made a note to check with the treasury just how much she had spent on his authority.

0244

CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 20/09/2026

#SundaySnips Strawberries aren’t exactly a fall fruit, but oh well they’re where the word popped up 🤣 Roderika gets some fresh strawberries as a treat on the first day of her journey. … dang it now I want fresh fruit. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompt

Reka was left holding her fruit by the carriage. She rooted around in the napkin for a piece and turned to go up the steps.
As she went up, she bit down and had to catch her balance to keep from falling up the steps. The strawberry was perfect. An explosion of sweet juice flooded her mouth through the crisp flesh. She could smell the flavor almost as much as taste it. As she chewed her delightful treat, she jumped up into the carriage to finish off the rest.
When Mary came back with a half full bucket of cold water, Reka had one berry left. She looked up, mouth still full of luxurious fruit, and stood. "Mawwy," she choked out before swallowing, "Mary, thanks for getting the water. Here let me help."

061

CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 19/09/2026

#WIPSnips While the tubes in question are plot relevant later, those are spoilers, so let settle for them coming into the story. The, God of Knowledge and Magic, appears before Henet to help them in their studies. (When I picture him, I see young Sir Christopher Lee) #WriteSky #WritingPrompt

"I had hoped I would find a copy of their holy book," Henet, finding their drink empty, leaned forward again and reached for the bottle, "but apparently no library or university in the city has one."
"One of the greatest annoyances I have ever been forced to endure." A powerful voice echoed out from the dark.
Thel, God of Knowledge, Magic, and Education strode out from the gloom behind Melic. He appeared human, tall and thin with sleek black hair to his shoulders, a thin mustache over his lip paired with a pointed goatee, and eyes sunk deep into the back of his face. He wore white professors' robes, which were probably the inspiration for the garment, and carried several books and tubes for storing large documents in his arms.
Henet placed his glass down and stood to bow. "Lord Thel."
For his part Melic smirked up at the other God from his seat, twisted his hand to conjure another glass, and asked, "Drink?"
Thel came around the back of Melics couch and sat, laying his burdens down on the floor while Melic poured wine into the glass and handed it to Thel. His brother in Godhood swirled the liquid for a second before throwing his head back and draining half the glass in a single pull. Melic had refilled his own glass and raised it to Thel. Henet did as well, but was beginning to sway in place and seemed unable to keep their eyes fully open. Star Wine was strong stuff, even for an Elf.
"It would seem your pursuits are something important," Thel had a rich voice, something in it compelling you to listen, "for you to have summoned not one, but two Gods here tonight."
"I certainly had not planned on this," Henet stared down into their glass, rolling it in both hands. "But since I have you both here, I do have a few questions. If I may?"
"Ask,
," Intoned Thel.

0202

CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 18/09/2026

#WIPSnips Payment -> Pay Arlo’s a pretty observant dude, so of course he’d spot when someone was needlessly denying themself a little joy. Thankfully he’s just as generous. #WriteSky #WritingXommunity #WritingPrompt

15 - Arlo
As they trundled down the road again, Arlo was thinking fondly of his short time in Riverbridge.
Reka and Mary had made a tour of the town for the day they'd been stopped, coming back with bags of treats for him and the men of the Guard, along with more than a few extra for themselves. Well, mostly Reka. Mary hadn't shown much interest in anything sweet or new after the first day. Arlo had caught her looking sadly at a few things when she didn't think he was paying attention, so he'd taken the liberty of packing a small bag of them and hiding them in his own luggage to surprise her with later on the road.

0111

CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 17/09/2026

Rare occurrence of all 3 goobers close enough to each other to all be in frame.

041

CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 17/09/2026

#WIPSnips I don’t know that I’ve ever posted the description of what Tala looks like, and now seems as good a time as any! Also just the way today’s word is used always tickles me. It’s probably innocuous to anyone else but it’s funny to me. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompt

0102

CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 15/09/2026

#SeptemberWorldbuilders So I might not have much to say this week because I kind of inadvertently worldbuilt a scenario where this society interacts with the sea as little as possible… And unfortunately when the cast does see the ocean, it’s in a pretty ominous context…

Jonah sat back down and told Arlo, "We may continue. The Watcher and his men will escort us."
"Why the escort at all?" Arlo asked, cracking the reins in his hands to get the carriage moving again. "Your roads have been safe enough this whole time."
Jonah did not answer, opting instead to sit back and watch the countryside roll by. Arlo supposed Jonah didn't have to answer his questions anymore.
So he followed the Watcher through the afternoon. Slowly, the Holy City of the Faithful drew closer.
The road began to climb more steeply, tracking a few miles east of the city before turning back west. After it did, the road ran along cliffs overlooking the Dagger Sea, and Arlo could hear the distant sound of waves crashing below. The city was built around a particularly high cliff, its tall, black, stone walls encircling the bottom of a rise that jutted out into the waves.
Though he could see little of the city itself as they approached, he could see a massive building grand enough to rival any in the Tower City crouched up on that cliff. When they were within a mile he could make out figures atop the wall, hundreds of them dressed exactly like their escort. As they got within a hundred yards, the giant gates of the city began to creak open, metal screaming from disuse.
Jonah opened the shutter behind him before standing.
"Welcome," he said, hands clasped in front of him and eyes gone wild with reverence, "to Megiddo, Bastion of the Faithful."

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CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 14/09/2026

#WIPSnips To get out of an awkward conversation, Roderika and Arlo reminisce about that time Henet forgot how to talk for a month. (When writing this I was imagining a combination of Strongbad and I Can Haz Cheezburger speak) #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompt

"Who has strange ideas?" Asked a chipper, crystalline voice.
Mary walked out of the gloom on the other side of the fire, rolling her sleeves back down over her arms, and Reka noticed for the first time she could see the bones in Mary's wrists.
Arlo stood and she froze, but he showed his hands in a placating gesture and said. "Good evening Sister Mary.
Please, take my seat. I'll fetch another one."
"Thank you, Captain Arlo." Mary finished unrolling her sleeves but didn't move until Arlo had stepped around the fire to find another camp chair, not taking her eyes off of him. Then she didn't exactly dash to the seat next to Reka, but didn't loiter either. Reka gave her what she hoped was an encouraging smile as she sat down. Arlo returned a moment later, setting his seat on Reka's other side and a couple of feet away.
"So, who has strange ideas?" Mary asked.
"Our friend I've told you about," Reka answered, the lie stinging on the way passed her lips, "Henet."
"Ah, yes," Mary said, drawing in on herself a little, "the Elf." At some point Reka had let that slip, and Mary had gone quiet for a while before moving on to another subject entirely.
"They're not that bad," Arlo said, "just get a little too lost in the library sometimes. Remember when they found that old book full of thousand year old slang? Couldn't understand a word they said for a month!"
Reka laughed. She'd forgotten that. "They sounded like they were gargling rocks and had forgotten half their vocabulary."

1184

CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 14/09/2026

So this is probably just “Calexit” or “Texas can succeed when it wants” kind of talk… But also:

140

CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 13/09/2026

#SundaySnips In the theme of Autumnal special edition spiced drinks, Melic, God of Contracts and Intoxicants, gets to enjoy a special brew made for the All Gods Festival with an old friend who has a few other tricks up her sleeve. #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #HQPress

"No you wouldn't!" The Green Dragon bounced up to him with more than just her step. "And our Festival special brew at that!" She offered out a flagon topped with a hearty, bubbling foam.
He took the cup and drank deeply. He couldn't tell in the gloom but he knew by instinct this was the strange green ale the tavern produced every year. His mouth was bombarded with the taste of hops and autumn spices, with only the most subtle tang of alcohol and pear wafting through it. He lowered his cup and watched The Green Dragon drain her entire flagon gulp by gulp, each causing interesting tremors from her throat down.
As she finished she lowered her head sharply, exclaiming an
"ahhh!" of pleasure.
He felt the brew's effects radiate out of her and into the park around them. A cry went up from the drinking garden around the inn, and thousands of rainbow colored spirits rose up over the park. Her laugh was throaty and reckless as she turned in place before beckoning Melic after her into an expanse of grass that sloped down towards a sparkling pond.
He followed, stopping short at the edge of the path when The Green Dragon held up a warning hand. She tossed back her head and there were a series of booming pops from her throat.
A second later, more substantial booms sounded in the sky above and explosions of multicolored cascading sparks bloomed over the city.
Melic laughed and cheered with the rest of the crowds, allowing himself to be caught up in the wave of elation that radiated around the park. The Green Dragon jumped and jiggled her way back towards him, and he called out to her,
"I've seen plenty of dragons with fire breath, but never firework breath."
Her smile was dazzling, even with her longer canine teeth flashing over the bottom ones. "Had to practice for years to get those right. Not that I'm much match for a real dragon, but I'd bet the inn none of them could do that!"

072

CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 13/09/2026

I dream of the day I get fanart of my characters.

"May I please draw your OC?"
Reshare this post if you encourage anyone who wants to draw your OC to do so. There is no need to ask for permission in advance.
Go for it. Draw my OC. If you want, I'll even give you reference posts. Go to town on it.
You are welcome to draw my OC and surprise me with the result. Seriously. In fact, I encourage it. I will proudly display whatever it is you submit to me regarding my OC. There is a chance that I will sequel it about it for several days.
Even if you feel you aren't good at whatever artistic adventure it is you do, please feel free to submit it to me. I want to see what you have done.

000

CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 13/09/2026

#WIPSnips Looks Roderika, I get it, who hasn’t gotten lost in thought over the nature of spirits and their effect on people and forgotten they were boiling water for tea? Whomst among us?! #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompt

They both had a good chuckle and Mary at least put on a tight smile. After a moment she leaned forward and pointed to the fire, "What was that for?"
There was a pot at the edge of the fire. "Oh," Reka felt a gentle heat rise in her cheeks that had nothing to do with the flames,
"I was going to make us tea, but I got a little distracted."
Mary stood and looked more closely at the pot. "There isn't any water...
She felt the heat spread to the top of her ears. "There was when I put it there."
Mary picked up a piece of leather Reka had left out to grab the handle by and lifted the pot for closer inspection. "There's... there's char in the bottom? Princess, did you burn your water?"
Arlo let out a thunderous laugh that must have been heard back in the Tower City and Reka looked away from them both.
"I said I got distracted, okay?"
Arlo continued laughing to the point that she was surprised he was managing to stay in his seat. A peek at Mary showed even she was holding back a smile and shaking slightly. "I'll fetch the kettle and some more water."
"Please forget it. You should relax. Gods, you haven't been able to sit since we made camp."
"No, no, it's fine." Mary took a deep breath to steady herself. "I really enjoy a cup of tea in the evening, I'd be glad to make it."
Mary wandered off in search of the kettle while Arlo descended into wheezing giggles. Reka was about to get up and kick him when Mary returned with a sloshing kettle and three tin mugs.
She placed everything on the ground near the fire and asked Reka, "Where's the tea?"

0246

CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 12/09/2026

#WIPSnips For today we have the small town of Riverbridge, a ferry town on the banks of the White River, to feature in this prompt. Bonus doodles of the town one of my beta readers left in the margins of their copy. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompt

"Okay." It remained hard to tell from Mary's manner what she herself thought of the situation. The Sister turned to look out her window, so Reka let the matter go and did the same.
Riverbridge was set into a wide, bowl-shaped rise on the bank of the White River, gently sloping down to the water's edge.
Because of this, many of the buildings were either built on wedges of poured stone, or lifted up on stilts on one side with the other side built into the earth behind it. There was one main road in or out, four wagons wide, paved with large river stones. Smaller streets arched around the contours of the rise, and from what Reka could see from the windows each building had a door on either side, one at street level and another at the top of a small flight of stairs that lead to the level below. It all gave the town a stair step appearance that she found delightful.
The main road led into what she assumed was the town square, though this was more of a large half circle, running all the way to the docks reaching out into the water. Most of the ferries were docked at this side of the river, bobbing gently in the current, while on the other she could just barely make out more buildings surrounding a space mirroring this one. A statue of Integris stood on either side of the road, marking this also as the town market. Stalls littered the square in clumps of three or four, and a few folk going about their shopping paused to watch or wave as they passed.
They stopped on the far edge of the market, at the base of a building on stilts taller than Arlo could stand in the driver's bench. As Reka exited the carriage a woman of middling years came down the last of the steps and beneath a sign that read
"The High Water Line"

0216

CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 12/09/2026

#SeptemberWorldbuilders Elvish Star Wine is something I’ve created that I *desperately* wish existed in real life. It can only be made by the elves, not for any like, secrecy reasons, but because the magic involved is just unique to the elvish mind.

Henet moved a few more piles of books to the floor and cleared room on the table. Melic placed the glasses down and took up the bottle. A tap to the top and the cork leapt free with a cheery pop before disappearing. He did the honor of pouring, and a deep purple liquid the color of the last rays of sunset flowed into the glasses. As it swirled small sparkles danced throughout it, reflecting Henet's reading light throughout the glass. The two of them clinked their glasses and drank.
The wine was room temperature but immediately Melic's mouth went the deep, clear, cold of a snow capped mountain in the depths of winter. Echoes of blackberry and pomegranate played across his tongue as he swallowed, with a bright citrus finish when he inhaled. As it traveled through his body the feeling of cold grew less sharp, slowly transforming into the warmth of a fine liquor.
"Ahhhhhhhh...
" he sighed, "Elvish Star Wine. It's been some
time since l've enjoyed one this fine."

1102

CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 11/09/2026

#WIPSnips Exhaust(ed) today. As is Roderika after her capture by the Redeemer’s Faithful. Hopefully both of our days get better. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompt

33 - Reka
Reka was exhausted, and starving.
She emerged from unconsciousness only a few hours after being knocked out. Looking around, she found herself in a large apartment with all of the furniture removed save a simple bedroll. The walls and floor were cold, bare stone and the only light came from small narrow windows on the far wall, each too small for her to slip more than an arm through. Even the stone bucket left in a side room for her to relieve herself in was adhered to the floor somehow, the lid that barely contained the smell held on by thick steel hinges.
Not knowing what might happen if she fell asleep, she remained awake as long as she could, curled up with her knees held to her chest, sitting on her bedroll. Afternoon turned to evening, to dusk, and finally night. Then the only light came from the faint stars and the full moon.
But no one came. No food or water were brought to her. She was left in the silence and the dark.

1224

CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 10/09/2026

#WIPSnip I’ve probably shared this one before, but no shame in putting it out again. Tala, frustrated and getting no where with trying to talk to someone important, gets a message she can’t ignore via her magic connection to Roderika… #WritingPrompt #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

091

CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 09/09/2026

I was just editing this the other night and I just love how much you learn about both characters during this exchange. Also “Eventually their apartment began to look like it was slowly being ransacked.” Is kinda a banger line if I do say so myself. #WritingPrompt

35 - Henet
Henet had been up since dawn, pacing around their apartment.
Tala still wasn't back from last night's mission to break into the Church of the Faithful. They hadn't exactly arranged a debriefing, but if she'd found anything Henet thought she would tell them first. That she hadn't yet meant either she had found something and immediately brought it to higher authorities, or that she instead had been found out and was currently being held somewhere by the Faithful. Or worse.
They could have gone out and looked for her, but didn't want to miss her coming back. There were magical means by which they could track her, but even the simplest was a massive invasion of their friend's privacy. And highly illegal. Still, if she were in trouble, it might be worth it?
They fretted back and forth, picking up various crystals and enchanted tools and carrying them for a time before putting them back haphazardly. Eventually their apartment began to look like it was slowly being ransacked.
After hours of this, someone began pounding thunderously on their door.
Henet looked around wildly. It was just shy of the eleventh bell by the timepiece on their mantle. Was that Tala finally back?
Or someone looking for her? The banging continued unabated.
Anxiety mounting, they jerked open the door, stepping back sharply and yelling, "Tala?"
Tala pushed past them and into their room. "Where is your scrying gear?"
Thank all the Nine she was safe. "Why didn't you come back last night? What happened?"
"I don't know!" Her tail was puffed up as big as Henet had ever seen it, her ears flat enough to her skull to make her look human. "Which is why you need to find your scrying gear." She began tossing open cabinets and wrenching drawers out from their chests.

Henet would have grabbed Tala to stop her if they didn't think they'd get clawed at for their trouble. "Tala I don't have 'scrying gear'. You know what kind of warrants and licenses I would need for that sort of thing."
Scrying, or casting a remote viewing spell of any kind, came with extremely harsh punishments if one did it without proper permission. They were perfectly capable of the spells involved, but were too lazy to get the licenses necessary to practice them. And besides, that meant having to make oneself available to perform them if the City Guard ever needed someone found. They had no taste for that kind of responsibility.
Tala was back across the room in the blink of an eye. She grabbed onto Henet's robes and hauled them down to her level so that all they saw were her golden eyes, pupils wide enough only a thin burnished ring showed around the black.
"Henet. Reka is hurt. She is hundreds of miles away in a city of zealots who are doing Gods know what. You are going to scry her. Where. Is. Your. Scrying. Gear?"
"Under my bed. I'll get it."

030

CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 09/09/2026

How Maja sits on me after headbutting my chin like I owe her money.

A large Scottish fold cat crouched over the arm of her owner.

030

CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 08/09/2026

#WIPSnips Mental note, write out the scene of Mary trying to explain what a sin is and Roderika just not understanding at all because her culture doesn’t have anything remotely like the fear of God’s judgement that the Faithful do… #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompt

The Fifth Ring was little better, though for a different reason.
The streets here oscillated between broad avenues and narrow alleyways, one often becoming the other, then changing back or opening into the occasional spot of nature like the open fields of Green Dragon Park. Each was packed on either side with taverns, bars, and inns made of whatever building material people could get their hands on. More than any of the Rings so far, the Fifth was deep in the throes of preparing for the All Gods Festival, with stalls being erected in any available space and streamers or pendant flags hung from any sufficiently sized surface. Workers were repainting signs and buildings in colors ranging from natural hues to garish shouts of color. Street performers practiced on corner stages and a cacophony of barkers screamed out every entertainment imaginable.
Mary's eyes were wide with wonder again, face pressed to the glass to take in as much detail as possible, but her enthusiasm dulled considerably after Roderika explained this was the domain of Melic, God of Libation and Negotiation. At the mention of alcohol she made a disgusted face and said something about "liquid sin" under her breath. Roderika made a mental note to ask her what exactly a "sin" was later.

1273

CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 08/09/2026

#SeptemberWorldbuilding So I haven’t exactly world built around whose food is whose and belongs to what culture yet, partly because the Alliance is a monoculture and partly because it hasn’t come up yet. So instead, how bout a snip of some food made with a God’s recipe?

Integris still stirred the pot of stew, whose smell had deepened and permeated the air while she'd been absent. "This is one of Ale's recipes, and my favorite." He took up a bowl and began ladling it full. "It is her gift to you tonight. Ah, and Ela..." he looked to Mary in explanation, "Ela is the Goddess of the wild and the hunt, and Ale is her twin sister and Goddess of the Hearth. Anyway, Ela sent that fine gentleman over there as her gift. When she rescued him she felt a bond between him and young Roderika." After filling the next bowl he pointed the ladle at the horse tied on the other side of Arlo and Henet's tent.
"Rescued?" Reka asked, leaning back in her camp chair to peer at the animal. "I haven't ever owned a horse, I always borrowed from the Guard's stables if I needed one."
Mary too looked across the camp and gasped when the realization came. "That's Apple!" She cried, recognizing him more by his gentle bearing than any one feature. "But he would have been in Megiddo?! How could one of the Nine...?" She turned back to Integris in wonder.
Integris turned his head at an angle and had a wide amused smile across his face along with a delighted twinkle in his eye as he answered. "Much has happened the past week and change, which we will discuss in due time, but suffice it to say when Ela and Ale realized the animals that left with Roderika were... not returning, they made it something of a personal vendetta to retrieve every one they could."
She met Reka's eyes again and for the briefest moment was transported back to the hillside where she'd been asked to return to the Tower City. It felt like a lifetime since they had ridden through the sea of grass with spirits all around them, and Reka had opened her eyes to the beauty invisible all around her.
Reka broke eye contact first, turning to Integris and asking,
"So what has happened? Why were you two waiting here for us?"
"Eat first." Thel's voice was not as harsh as Mother Superior's, but it had that same wh…

Integris began filling bowls again and passing them to his left and right until they all had one. When Mary received hers she found the stew to be a thick, silky dark brown and crowded with cubes of lightly seared beef, gold skinned potatoes, slices of carrot, and chopped onion. She paused with the bowl in her lap and clasped her hands in front of her chest and bowed her head before she realized she no longer had a God to pray to for grace. While the others began to unceremoniously eat their portions, she remembered what Integris had said and offered a quiet thanks to the Goddess Ale, along with Integris himself for preparing it. As she took her first spoonful she noticed Integris's head snap up and his body go unnaturally still as he watched her eat.
The awkwardness of her prayerless thanks and Intergris's stare were immediately washed away by the taste of the stew.
It was luxuriously thick and warm, salted and spiced perfectly with a rich, earthy undertone from something she didn't recognize. The meat was so tender it immediately broke into strands across her tongue before touching her teeth. The vegetables were toothsome enough to still hold together without resisting her bite at all. As she continued to eat she felt warmth spread throughout her body and a deep contentment settle over her heart. She was not usually a heavy eater, but did not hesitate to ask for a second bowl when her first ran empty.
They all enjoyed their meal in near silence, the only sounds being the crackling of the fire, the scraping of spoons against bowls, and the occasional contented smacking of lips.

180

CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 07/09/2026

#WritingPrompt Sometimes you dig a little too far, too fast, into someone’s background and it shuts down any opportunity to learn more. #WriteSky

"Okay," Reka started, but Hannah pelted off as soon as she heard the confirmation, "as long as you don't call me Princess." She finished to the space the young Sister left behind. She turned to see Mary almost doubled over holding in her giggles. "Well I'm glad to see you're enjoying yourself."
It took Mary a moment to collect herself. "Oh, she doesn't mean any harm." She said as she dried the corner of one eye on her sleeve.
Reka sighed. "No I suppose not." She looked around, and noticed they were alone. She could hear Arlo off in the distance telling the Guard where to pitch their tents for the night, and none of the pilgrims except Mary and Jonah came near the carriage. "You didn't seem too happy to hear she was a Sister, or joining the Choir."
Mary froze, her eyes darting around in their own sweep of their surroundings. She stepped in close before speaking in low tones. "I was just surprised. I don't... I'm sure her training here was different from mine in the Holy City. From what I remember of the few days we spent here, Father Abraham isn't.. he isn't the worst man."
That begged many, many questions. Instead of asking any, she filed them away for later. "And the Choir?"
The Sister bit her bottom lip softly for a moment, and Reka said nothing. Finally Mary found her words, "The Choir is probably the best place for her. If she does well, there are privileges there."
"Is that why you joined?" Reka knew she'd overstepped before the question even finished leaving her mouth.
Apparently Mary was thinking even less. "Yes." she whispered before her face went blank and then back to the mask of neutrality she usually wore. "I have chores to attend to. You'll be wanting dinner, so I'll go see if there's anything in the village before the Guard buys everything up."
And like that she was walking briskly away.

"Damnit." Reka kicked one of the carriage wheels. She didn't like any of the answers Mary had given to her questions. It was the most she'd volunteered about growing up in the Church so far, and every half answer and concerning statement gnawed away at her. Now she would have to wait through Mary shutting her out to try again.
She looked up, and saw Jonah at the door to the Church, tracking Mary as she walked into the village. Ever since Arlo had pointed it out, she couldn't not notice the predatory way he looked at her.
She needed to learn more, and prayed she hadn't just closed her only door towards doing so.

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CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 06/09/2026

#SundaySnips You know the world she lives in doesn’t exactly have a word for it, but I think in these moments Roderika displays just a smidge of some ADHD… #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts #WriteSky #HQPress

23 - Reka
Reka was slowly losing her mind.
She knew when setting out this trip would take weeks. She thought she'd planned for that. Packed a number of books, a journal, even some games. Plenty to keep her occupied.
She read all of her books by the time they'd hit The Crossroads. Never much of a writer, most of her journal entries were a handful of uninspired lines at most. The games were better lately now that Mary had started to be more comfortable around Arlo, but there were only so many times they could play the same thing before it was more tedious than fun.
Mary on her own was fine company, but Reka never felt comfortable talking about anything but surface level topics.
She desperately wanted to know more about the Church and the Faithful, but when she got anywhere near those topics all the emotion would drain out of the Sister's face and she'd go quiet. She would look painfully uncomfortable whenever the subject of spirits or magic came up, which was all Reka wanted to talk about now that she had realized how unrefined her skills had been before. Stories of Reka's youth were the safest bets, but even then, Mary had so few frames of reference for anything having been so sheltered in the Church.
Those stories were also a minefield for Reka. The one subject she feared most was Tala. She knew that if she started talking about her something would slip and she still didn't know how Mary would react. She wasn't as closed minded as Reka would have thought given her upbringing, but between what her father had told her about the Church and the fact that Mary still struggled with the subjects of the other Alliance members, she just could not risk talking about her partner too much.
That, even more than the distance and time, made her heart ache from missing Tala.

Still, once she got going on a subject, Mary could talk for hours. After Reka had given her that tin of tea, Mary spent days talking about nothing but different types of leaf and what each was used for. The small tea and herb garden back in the Tower City was the only luxury she'd been allowed, and it seemed to be the one thing she had pushed Jonah about. This also bled into a decent knowledge of other plants, including medicinal herbs. Books on these subjects had apparently been how Mary learned to read the Alliance language. Now Reka had learned more about what any weed or flower they passed tasted like or could do in the last week than she'd ever thought to know.
Unfortunately, weeks of travel had all but exhausted every conversation they could have. Now their days were mostly silence punctuated by the creaking of the carriage. Reka just found herself staring out the window at the rolling hills the road wove through, with distant copses of trees the only thing to look at. Across from her Mary did much the same, sitting with her back straight and her hands in her lap. How was she not bored, not itching to move or do something?

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CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 04/09/2026

#AwesomeCharacters And the award goes to! 🥁🥁🥁 Roderika! 🥇 Of the gang, she’s the most fashion minded, and there is nothing she loves more than using her friends as dress up dolls during a day in the markets. (Mary will get to experience this in book 2) Henet gets 2nd, they know robes = drip 🥈

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CG Stewart 🖋️ 🫜 @nightoffallengods.com · 04/09/2026

Are they a color? Her best color is the deep green of mature growth leaves, forest bordering on emerald green.

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