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Writing Stories

Of Pride and Power Chapter 29 is Live

Chapter 29 As I noted I'll be on vacation for a bit, I'll leave a few short stories just so folks get some more info on side characters and stories. As for this chapter, it's an interesting culmination of effects. In the 16th century, the forces of the Calvinism Protestants and Counter-Reformation Catholics were very powerful movements that warped society and enforced a lot draconian moral rules. Places like the Netherlands, which traditionally were far more liberal and cosmopolitan du
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Writing Stories

Of Pride and Power Chapter 28 is Live

Chapter 28 FYI, I'll be heading on vacation soon, so I might be a bit spotty for a few weeks in terms of posting new chapters. An homage to the Field of Cloth of Gold is what I consider this chapter to be, where we see a bit more of the sophistication that commercial applications of technology have brought into existence by this point. These are luxuries without modern manufacturing or shipping would only be possible for world leaders that had nation-level resources. Like the historic
Writing Stories

Of Pride and Power Chapter 27 is Live

Chapter 27 Major internal reactions are happening in this alternative version of English history, especially with the addition of Omegas in the mix. When reading Omegaverse stories, I've always wondered, how would the introduction of Omegas, essentially gay/bisexual men with the ability to have children with other men, affect a society? Then, I considered what would the big religious implications be for dominant belief systems, like Christianity. Due to how I set up my timeline, especially
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Writing Stories

Of Pride and Power Interlude Search for Avalon Part II

Part II I hope readers were surprised with the various revelations and technological advances from the Avalon facility, including the introductions of battle androids with the consciousness of the teenage pages of Camelot's knights. For various readers, I love mechas and I wish they were used more in gay fiction, but alas, it's very hard to incorporate them into your storylines. Adding Mechas, my story is science fiction and science fantasy set at the end of the medieval era; can you imagin
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Writing Stories

Of Pride and Power Interlude Search for Avalon Part I

Interlude Search for Avalaon Part I This was supposed to be a short story, but I had to keep it in my main story as there are too many important facts that cannot be omitted if a reader didn't read this portion of the story. It's too integral to separate from the main plot. However, with that said, it is not directly connected with Eli's main story line of gaining power or fighting against the future factions. Thus, I created my story's first interlude chapter and before I knew it, the enti
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Of Pride and Power Chapter 26 is Live

Chapter 26 The beginning of the reign: All Hail Aelfric Elias Tudor! Aelfric is an old English-German name with the combination of "Aelf" meaning "Elf, fair people, fair, wisdom", "Ric, meaning "ruler, leader". I chose an English name as a Courtesy title/name to deviate from the traditions of Western Europe, incorporating the Asian monarch titling concept. This kind of reform isn't well known in Western Europe, but later German and Russian monarch did make their version of "Caesar" in
Writing Stories

Of Pride and Power Chapter 25 is live

Chapter 25 Going to pause after this chapter as the mid-way point for a week, see you all on March 8th This chapter is the promised Calais Campaign of 1558. Interesting historical footnotes: Thomas Wentworth was in charge of Calais during Mary I's reign and William Grey was a stubborn and capable military commander during the defense of Calais, who would go on to serve Elizabeth well in Scottish campaigns later. As for this story, all the build up of military technology and equipm
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Of Pride and Power Chapter 24 is live

Chapter 24 The battle has been won and there's a lot of revelations. I want readers to remember that Eli/Eric and Robert/Jack's backstory for how they're integrated into this alternate timeline is just as important as the big players. Reginald Pole died on November 17th, 1558 historically, so this death is only a few months earlier, coincidentally Mary Tudor also died on November 17th 1558, 12 hours before Reginald Pole. However, history would not play out as it once did as Mary is going to
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Of Pride and Power Chapter 23 is Live

Chapter 23 This is a big chapter when it comes to the results of the long plot threads. Military equipment is now being fully deployed by Eli and Robert. A lot of covert industrialization has been happening as I mentioned in prior chapters, funded by gold stowed away from the national treasury due to the clerical issue of coinage. A shadow economy developed in Western English areas where Eli has direct oversight. Recruitment for troops has also been building for quite some time, via the sho
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Of Pride and Power Chapter 22 is Live

Chapter 22 A lot happened between the Autumn of 1555 and 1556, but I began with what didn't happen for a reason. The Peace of Augsburg is considered by some Historians to be the point, when the Medieval History in Europe ended and the modern Era began. Concepts of "Self-Rule" began to grow with the latin doctrine in the peace treaty, Cuius regio, Euius religio” meaning “To Whose land, To Whom Religion”. Essentially, this is the basis for everything we take for granted in the modern world. R
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Of Pride and Power Chapter 21 is Live

Chapter 21 Somethings to mull about, England and offshoot cultures like United States have our democratic traditions based on principles established dating back to Magna Carta, at least in principle. In practice rather than theory or rhetoric, democracy can only function if the balance of power within a society can be exercised equally between various factions being represented. Monarchs and hereditary leaders in the past had more power than nobles (who served as bureaucrats and military of
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Of Pride and Power Chapter 20 is Live

Chapter 20 Reputation is very important to leaders, along with a public image. People want to believe in epic struggles, conspiracies, and concepts bigger than themselves. However, there's more complexities in belief than mere idealism. Some bad blood remained despite being a century separated from the War of the Roses, where competing York and Lancastrian lines fought for the throne, only to be won by the Tudor branch, a minor spiinoff of the Lancastrian line. One of the interesting things
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Of Pride and Power Chapter 19 is Live

Chapter 19 There are a lot of silent moves behind the scenes and overt moves by Eli in this chapter with his forces. Despite not being in the stronger position with superior firepower or superior technology like Mary had with her allies, Eli had his unique advantages. His focus was directed towards information warfare from the beginning rather than a head-on conflict with Mary and her allies. The mimeograph may be an antiquated technology to many people in modern times, but it represented a
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Writing Stories

Of Pride and Power Chapter 18 is Live

Chapter 18 I've returned to worldbuilding and massive elements in this storyline. I am blending in real historical information such the Royal Houses of Holy Roman Empire (Germany))/Spain under Habsburg family of Austria and Medici families default control over the throne of France through Catherine de Medici, along with control over Italy via Papacy. In history, these two powerful families and their forces would align briefly during Elizabeth I reign, posing a dangerous threat to Engla
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Writing Stories

Short Story Merlin's Crystal Cave: tie-in to Of Pride and Power

Merlin's Crystal Cave Some folks will be wondering, W_L why isn't this a chapter in your main story? My answer is simply, it doesn't fit among the displays of power. The main characters are on a side quest investigating one of those early threads I mentioned in my story about the connection to Merlin and King Arthur. I also needed to set up some interesting storylines down the road and make sure you guys know Eli and Robert have met a certain twelve-year-old wannabe highwayman  Francis
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Writing Stories

Of Pride and Power Chapter 17 is Live

Chapter 17 The war for the throne has begun. Two years have passed, there's a lot to unpack in this chapter. Without modern shipping and industrial capacity, it took Mary that long to build up her forces to launch a multi-front offensive. Scotland is still in the hands of the Catholic faction led by Queen Regent Mary of Guise, who is the mother the future Mary Queen of Scots, currently living in French Court controlled by Catherine de Medici, the de-facto leader of France during the mid-16t
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Writing Stories

Of Pride and Power Chapter 16 is live

Chapter 16 Some may ask: W_L: Why did you do a Christmas Special? chapter? My answer is I wanted to create a story that covers various things, including the celebration of Christmas, which is a major Holiday. Christmas Fete/feasts were common among the nobility, but it's rare to see similar celebrations for commoners or peasants during the 16th century. Additionally, one thing I did not mention in-depth for the novel was the old tradition of Fasting on Christmas Eve during the 16th century.
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Writing Stories

Of Pride and Power Chapter 15 is live

Chapter 15 Well that was an interesting encounter with the future Queen Mary I. It also highlights some very real-world issues with people of a certain ideological ilk, who play off victimization. I will warn everyone right now, I am going to make sure Mary I earns the title of Bloody Mary that historical epithets have honored her with. Her purges were bad in history, but imagine them several times worse and far more encompassing with modern techniques of propaganda. For a moment thoug
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Writing Stories

Chapter 14 of Pride and Power is Live

Chapter 14 We're back in London! This time I will give you a little geography and some background. There are a lot of details regarding the manner of the gate that you enter and the type of welcome you get in London as a person with a noble bloodline. It's something I should have mentioned during the first entrance to London, but I didn't  as it didn't feel right to add that level of etiquette to the early chapters of the novel. While I do have some working knowledge, limited as it is, of t
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Writing Stories

Of Pride and Power Chapter 13 is live

Chapter 13 After a chapter of down and dirty trench warfare (a taste of what I want to do for the big battles in the future   Maybe   ). I wanted to address our favorite star-crossed lovers/partners. Robert and Eli have this interesting sexual roleplay thing in their relationship, beyond just the BDSM stuff they experimented with. Here's the thing with sex, it's not just about the penis and an human orifice, there's a deeper connection and meaning. Pleasure is what everyone feels, if you're
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Writing Stories

Of Pride and Power Chapter 12 is live

Chapter 12 Surprise! An Early Chapter before US Thanksgiving Holiday! You did not expect me to go full battle-oriented chapter   I appreciate several GA authors for their understanding of history and military tactics. I enjoy writers who create scenarios for sea battles and squad-based combat scenarios, but I seldom read anyone explore the gritty battles of defense and tactics that I displayed here. Outnumbered 3:1 on the battlefield with inferior firepower, most modern folks would con
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Writing Stories

Of Pride and Power Chapter 11 is live

Chapter 11 I cried for Eli in this chapter towards the end, I don't think anyone was expecting me to take this story on such a dramatic ending. However, I had laid out a lot of hints throughout the story about the truth between Jack and Robert Dudley. They're not the same person, but they possess the same consciousness. Anyway, the ending is something I should discuss before I go into details about the many threads I just unleashed on you my readers. Amy Robsart was married to Robert D
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Writing Stories

Short story tie-in for Chapter 11 of Pride and Power

"Your Sins Will Be Wiped Out" is one of the tie-in short stories I wrote to expand the perspective of the universe and story beyond just Eli's 1st personal narrative. I wanted to establish a different perspective and showcase the situation of the people in this fictional universe. We've been following Eli throughout the story, but Robert Dudley has not been heard or sounded in a long time. While historically, such things were common, narratively, it is not compelling to leave a major romantic ch
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Writing Stories

Of Pride and Power Chapter 10 is live

Chapter 10 There's a lot of divergence now happening in my story from actual history. For one thing, the Prayer book rebellions of 1549 never happened in Devonshire, so Eli has taken all the rebels in and trained them to be part of his army. Additionally, due to the quick death of Edward Seymore, the famous Kett rebellion in Norfolk never happened, which is the battle that helped elevate Earl of Warwick, John Dudley, to fame with victory to Duke of Northumberland. However coincidentally, Ro
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Of Pride and Power chapter 9 is live

Chapter 9 A year passes by really quickly, when you have to gain and consolidate power within a short window of time. The Duke of Somerset's death was a power vacuum that technically would not be filled for many years in the normal course of history. Remember, the medieval and early modern periods did not have the convenience of modern communications, nor information disbursement like dedicated journalists. If you were a modern person with knowledge of future events and the right background
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