Welcome to our first regular monthly update. At this time, I've earmarked the Wednesday before the last Thursday of each month as Exalted update day, just to keep me on my toes. I've already strayed from that schedule a bit this year, but it's a good target to aim at.
As a reminder, I'll send these updates out every month to let you know where we sit. We're still in the earliest stages of this post-campaign, where projects make incremental movements along the progress path. A lot of months will be pretty similar, just a quick note to let you know that the Onyx Path team is still working on it. Any time we have a new reward or something of interest to share, I'll include that as well.
At the end of each month, I'll include a summary of our rewards and their current status (they'll either be delivered or marked as still pending, possibly with additional details if I know more). I'll also list any relevant Update posts, in case you want to go back and check into something.
Each month, I'll list our "Pending" rewards and our "Distributed" rewards. We'll track the project status of our pending rewards by filling in the stage dots, and I'll note which update (and include a link) with each delivered reward, in case you want to go back and re-read the relevant update for more information. If any of these rewards were on your pledge list, you can access download codes in your BackerKit Digital Rewards page. And once they've been added to your DriveThruRPG library, you can access them through your DTRPG digital library at any time.
Let's dive in!
Rewards Still Pending
Much like spending XP, we'll fill in dots as the Onyx Path team makes progress on the projects we funded. Right now, our main reward is currently in editing - the draft manuscript is being finalized based on the feedback you provided during the campaign. Then it'll go to one final round of development and the art side of the process can begin. We'll note the progress each month in an updated chart.
Rewards Distributed to Backers
Exalted Third Edition Core Rules PDF
Dragon-Blooded: What Fire Has Wrought PDF
Lunars: Fangs at the Gate PDF
Exigents: Out of the Ashes PDF
Sidereals: Charting Fate's Course PDF
Abyssals: Sworn to the GravePDF
Alchemicals: Forged by the Machine God Draft Manuscript
Exalted: Essence Core Rulebook PDF
Pillars of Creation PDF
Across the Eight Directions PDF
Hundred Devils Night Parade PDF
Adversaries of the Righteous PDF
Many-Faced Strangers PDF
Crucible of Legend PDF
Arms of the Chosen PDF
The Realm PDF
Heirs to the Shogunate PDF
Miracles of Divine Flame PDF
Complete Collection: Exalted 1E Digital Bundle
Complete Collection: Edxalted 2E Digital Bundle
As detailed in our last update, the existing Add On rewards have gone out to backers. If you added any of these on to your Rewards List and haven't yet claimed them, you can find redemption codes in your Digital Rewards page on your Pledge Manager.
Pledge Manager
If you need to review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://infernals.backerkit.com/
In addition to redemption links for these digital rewards, all backers have received a link to the compiled draft manuscript. This link can be found in your BackerKit digital rewards page, and you likely received an e-mail linking to that with the Backer Survey invitations. Again, this isn't a new manuscript, it's just all of the pieces we shared during the campaign put together in order. It's the same link that I previousl shared at the bottom of these campaign updates, but I want to make sure you have access to it in a place that makes sense.
Onyx Path Project Tracking
You can read Onyx Path's most recent monthly summary, covering all projects and their status up to that point here: <January 2026 Project Status Summary>
You can find the weekly Monday Meeting blog updates <here>, which note any projects with status changes since the previous Month End summary. The project statuses listed are current as of last Monday, so do check it out each Monday night to see if anything may have progressed!
I will continue to post regular updates every month until the final reward has gone out.
Remember: You can use the links at the bottom of this e-mail to unsubscribe from updates or Manage your notification settings. These status updates are available on the campaign page for you to review at any time.
Onyx Path Discussion Channels
If you've got questions about the rules or setting, or just want to discuss this game with other fans (as well as the Onyx Path writers and developers!), you can check out these Onyx Path discussion zones:
If you've got a question about your pledge or BackerKit page or any part of the process, you can contact me with any of these methods
Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.
CURRENTLY CROWDFUNDING!
The World Below: Buried Treasures
The World Below is a game of adversity, heroism, terror, and awe. Your characters will overcome or be defeated by terrible beasts, environmental calamities, and Kaos storms ravaging their surroundings and the souls they encounter. They will chart their journeys, chronicle their tales, and pass their stories down to their descendants, who will, in turn, become your characters when your old ones perish or retire.
Now, two new books will let you delve deeper into The World Below and illuminate some of the darkness!
The Delver’s Guide is a Player's Manual for The World Below.
Delvers may be brave, but that doesn’t mean they don’t require help once in a while. That’s what this guide is: help for all delvers, explorers, and survivors in the World Below. New Callings and weapons, new Dialectics and powers, a new scenario and fresh rules for crafting and harvesting, and much, much more await within, so every delver can feel properly equipped for the adventures ahead.
Secrets of Kalm and Kaos is a Storyguide’s Handbook for The World Below.
There are hundreds of tales to tell of the World Below. From stories of adventurers braving Kaos storms to intrepid explorers who throw themselves into the dreamlike Obscura or harrowing Abyss. From chronicles of settlements rising and falling to those of bold delvers who go so far as to tame the beasts of their realm and call them pets. New playable options, new powers, new rules for Kalm, machinery, monstrous mounts, and more besides await within.
It's been a few days since we started sending out our Pledge Manager invitations. If you haven't yet filled out your backer survey, please do so as soon as possible - you can change it or update it right up until the books are prepping to print and we start locking down orders, so quite a long time away. We use the Pledge Manager for all reward fulfillment, so having your backer page set up ensures you'll be getting your rewards in a timely manner.
If you need to review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://infernals.backerkit.com/
Many of the rewards for our Crowdfunding projects take a lot of time and effort to complete. Usually, the campaign is a means of moving the project from an idea (even when it's a mostly-fully-written idea) into the actual channel that turns it into a project/product. It'll be a while before we're ready to talk about delivery of Infernals: Crowned by Hellfire and the Stretch Goal projects.
That said, there are many rewards that are available now, as they were mostly add-ons for existing products. And now we can work on getting those out to you over the next few days.
The following Add On Rewards WillBe Distributed This Weekend:
Exalted Third Edition Core Rules PDF
Dragon-Blooded: What Fire Has Wrought PDF
Lunars: Fangs at the Gate PDF
Exigents: Out of the Ashes PDF
Sidereals: Charting Fate's Course PDF
Abyssals: Sworn to the GravePDF
Alchemicals: Forged by the Machine God Draft Manuscript
Exalted: Essence Core Rulebook PDF
Pillars of Creation PDF
Across the Eight Directions PDF
Hundred Devils Night Parade PDF
Adversaries of the Righteous PDF
Many-Faced Strangers PDF
Crucible of Legend PDF
Arms of the Chosen PDF
The Realm PDF
Heirs to the Shogunate PDF
Miracles of Divine Flame PDF
Complete Collection: Exalted 1E Digital Bundle
Complete Collection: Edxalted 2E Digital Bundle
It's basically this section from our Add On menu during the campaign.
The redemption codes will come over the next few days. You'll receive an e-mail if you have any of these rewards on your rewards list, sending you to the Digital Rewards page on your Pledge Manager. The Digital Rewards page will have redemption links to add the PDF files to your DriveThru cart at $0 cost.
You may need to click the links two or three times to get them to add to the cart properly. In my experience, the first click ends up getting me to login to my DTRPG cart and I have to click the redemption link a second time while my cart is open to properly add it (in a new tab, usually). Just keep trying, you'll get there!
REWARD DISTRIBUTION
Your link to claim these digital rewards will be sent out by our BackerKit pledge manager over the weekend, as noted above. Since we are using our partners at DriveThruRPG as the hosts for these, you will need to set up a DriveThru account if you don't have one already. If you encounter any problems with downloading your rewards, please contact DTRPG's customer service to resolve the matter, they've always been top-rated for customer service. http://www.drivethrurpg.com/contact_us.ph
DRAFT MANUSCRIPT
In addition to redemption links for these digital rewards, all backers have received a link to the compiled draft manuscript. This link can be found in your BackerKit digital rewards page, and you likely received an e-mail linking to that with the Backer Survey invitations. Again, this isn't a new manuscript, it's the same as the one I shared at the bottom of our previous update. From this point forward, your Digital Rewards page in your Pledge Manager will be the place to access the manuscript.
MONTHLY UPDATES
With the Pledge Manager up and running, in February I'll have our first "regular" update for our project. I'll send these updates out every month to let you know where we sit. We're still in the earliest stages of this post-campaign, where projects make incremental movements along the progress path. A lot of months will be pretty similar, just a quick note to let you know that the Onyx Path team is still working on it. Any time we have a new reward or something of interest to share, I'll include that as well.
At the end of each month, I'll include a summary of our rewards and their current status (they'll either be delivered or marked as still pending, possibly with additional details if I know more). I'll also list any relevant Update posts, in case you want to go back and check into something.
Each month, I'll list our "Pending" rewards and our "Delivered" rewards. We'll track the project status of our pending rewards by filling in the stage dots, and I'll note which update (and include a link) with each delivered reward, in case you want to go back and re-read the relevant update for more information. If any of these rewards were on your pledge list, you can access download codes in your BackerKit Digital Rewards page. And once they've been added to your DriveThruRPG library, you can access them through your DTRPG digital library at any time.
That's for the end of next month, though. For now, enjoy your Add On rewards!
To Contact James
Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.
Since this is my first update of 2026, Happy New Year!
We finished up the Crowdfunding portion of our campaign just over four weeks ago with a successful run, adding many backers and a several fun stretch goals. Now it's time to start the next phase of the project - the Post-Campaign, where we track the progress of the various projects we helped fund and send out rewards as they become available.
To help with all of that we use BackerKit's Pledge Manager.
Today's Topics
Backer Kit Password Resets
BackerKit Pledge Manager SurveysComing Soon
CompiledDraft Manuscript (available in BackerKit Digital Rewards)
ComingNext
BACKERKIT PASSWORD RESETS
Earlier this month, BackerKit discovered that some customers had received Phishing Scam emails impersonating BackerKit password change email notifications. These messages were not sent by BackerKit and appear to be part of this external phishing campaign designed to collect login credentials. Please check that emails that appear to be from BackerKit come from backerkit.com, s.backerkit.com, or o.backerkit.com.
In an abundance of caution, BackerKit reset the password on any account they think may have been targeted. When you next access your BackerKit account, you may to reset your password.
How to Reset your Password
To reset your password:
Go to backerkit.com
Click “Log In”
Click “Forgot Password”
Do this from their website, not through any links sent in an e-mail. Clicking the Forgot Password button will send you an e-mail that looks like this:
Doublecheck this email comes from [email protected] and click the Change my password link and follow the instructions to reset your password.
To further secure your account, BackerKit strongly recommends that you enable Two Factor Authentication (2FA) on your account (if you have not already) to follow best security practices. You can learn more about how to do this here.
If you have any additional questions, please email BackerKit directly at [email protected], or follow their BlueSky social media account for additional announcements.
BACKER SURVEYS
Over the next handfulof days (Jan 12 - Jan 15), you’ll receive an email from Onyx Path (via [email protected]) with a special link to your Pledge Manager survey. It’s important to respond to your survey as quickly as you can since we need this information to fulfill your rewards.
You don’t need to create a BackerKit account to fill out your survey (although you probably already have one from pledging to this campaign). When you receive the email with the survey, click the survey invitation link to respond. Answer the questions about your reward preferences, provide shipping information, and purchase add-on items if you like. You don’t have access to this survey link yet, but it will be available laterthis week via email!
The e-mail will have a button that looks something like this:
After you respond to your survey, you can go back later and change your responses at any time before we close the surveys and get our final counts, and that won't happen until the books are being printed and we're preparing to ship.
If you need to review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://infernals.backerkit.com/
If you have any other questions or concerns, you can post them to the comments for this update, the comment section, or message me via one of these methods:
TO CONTACT JAMES
Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.
If there are any issues you find with the Pledge Manager, please contact me as soon as possible to let me know. It rolls out in waves so that I can correct issues on the fly and make it work as best possible as people come on board.
I've been mostly in a zombie state over the year end, and the chances of a few errors in the Pledge Manager set up are ... greater than zero ... so let me know if you see something off and I'll fix it as quickly as possible.
Within the BackerKit Survey and Pledge Manager, you can:
Review your Pledge Tier Selection and Rewards
Upgrade your Reward Tier pledge selection
Confirm Add On selections
Set up payment information for any failed payments from the Crowdfunding campaign or to pay for any new Add On options selected.
Whenyou click on your BackerKit invitation link,you should see something like this...
From the Pledge Manager welcome page you can choose to
Review Your Pledge Level and Rewards
Start Your Survey, confirming pledge rewards, confirming or selecting new Add On options, and confirming any shipping and payment info that may be needed
Switch Your Pledge Level
If you've pledged to a reward tier that includes physical rewards, you can enter your shipping country at this stage. As noted during our campaign, we haven't set shipping costs yet - those will be calculated and added in when we're preparing to ship the book. That won't be for a long time, though, and there will be plenty of opportunity - and notice - for you to make changes.
If you click on your Pledge Level, you will see a list of all items included in your Pledge Rewards (including Stretch Goals and the Draft Manuscript), and also have the option to switch your Pledge Level, in case you've decided to get the hardcover pledge instead of the PDF-only pledge tier for example.
Once you've confirmed that your Pledge Level is correct and where you want it to be, you can GETSTARTED with your BackerKit Pledge Manager Survey.
Once we've got a fair response to our survey and collected a reasonable amount of info, I'll be working on fulfilling rewards that are available now - like the PDFs of the titles included in our Add On section (for example, The Compolete Collection 1E and 2E PDF bundles, as well as the other supplements and fat splats). Those will likely be coming to you by the end of the week, and I'll send another update with more info when that time comes.
So, in summary:
Look for an e-mail invitation to BackerKit's Pledge Manager sometime over the next 2-4 days
Get Started on your survey
Confirm your Pledge Level (or SWITCH your Pledge Level if you want to change it)
Confirm and Select Any Add On options
Confirm Your Shipping Information (if needed)
Confirm Your Payment Information (if needed)
I will post an update at the end of the week as I begin outlining the delivery of our first Add On rewards (the existing title PDFs, as noted above) and beginning distribution of those PDF rewards.
DRAFT MANUSCRIPT
Looking in the example pledge list above, you can see a listing for the Draft Manuscript. In your BackerKit digital rewards page, you will have access to the compiled draft manuscript. It won't be different from the version I shared a few weeks ago. There's a link for that compiled version at the bottom of this update post (when viewed on the BackerKit site), but I'll also have a download link sit alongside your other rewards on the Pledge Manager's Digital Reward Page. The Draft Manuscript link may not be active when you first login to your BackerKit survey, but I'll throw the switch and it'll send you a notice next week after all of the invitations have gone out.
I will talk about how to access your BackerKit digital rewards links in an update coming early next month, when I send out the first wave of available rewards.
COMING NEXT
On Friday or Saturday, I'll send an update with details about the distribution for that first wave of existing Exalted rewards. I'll also get the compiled draft manuscript up and ready for you to download from your Pledge Manager page (though you can download it now from this page, as noted above).
At the end of February we'll begin our regular monthly check-ins, tracking the progress of this project as it moves through this phase. It'll take some time, but we'll have regular updates all through the process. I'll also have notes on how to check the weekly and monthly All Project Progress updates on Onyx Path's website.
TO CONTACT JAMES
Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.
I'm sneaking in during my holiday break for a quick update.
Over the course of the Crowdfunding campaign, the developers shared the draft manusript for Infernals: Crowned by Hellfire in bite-sized chunks (or first circle demon-sized chunks?). Anyway, we had 11 downloads over four weeks to read through.
I've now mashed all of those sections together - and added in the Infernals fiction that we also received over the course of the campaign. There's no massive new material here, but there are a few tweaks to Chapter 3 and 4, just a couple corrections that slipped through in an earlier draft.
As per our usual practice, the manuscript download is at the bottom of this update when viewed on the BackerKit campaign page.
Before we get there, though, just a reminder that the Infernals Feedback Form will be open until we start 2026! So, if you've got notes to share with the developers and writers, make sure you've submitted them using this feedback form.
FEEDBACK FORM OPEN UNTIL JANUARY 1st
You can help guide the team through the next stages of development by providing feedback on this manuscript preview! The Onyx Path team has set up a special Feedback Form just for campaign backers for this very purpose: https://forms.gle/vXsoupab1AyG81H29
You can use this Feedback Form to share your thoughts directly with the Exalted creative team to help guide them through the next rounds of development and editing.
DRAFT MANUSCRIPT PREVIEWS - BACKERS ONLY
Remember, thanks to BackerKit magic, this download link is visible to Backers only - you must be logged in and reading this on the website to have access to the manuscript preview links. So, if you're reading this via e-mail, click that "Learn More" link on the bottom and I'll see you below the Infernals title treatment.
We did it! Thanks to the support of over 2,125 backers, Onyx Path will be developing the PDF and deluxe hardcover edition for Infernals: Crowned by Hellfire!
We funded fast and furious, but we didn't stop there! We had an awesome backer train at the end, and thanks to all of you, we unlocked an unbelievable 17 Stretch Goals!
New Add On: Infernals Storyteller Screen
Backers pledging to a tier that offers the deluxe edition hardcover are able to add a Storyteller Screen to their list of rewards as a new Add On option!
BONUS REWARDS
All backers supporting this project will automatically have the following Bonus Rewards added to their rewards list in the Pledge Manager!
Notification when the Infernal Shirt is available on Redbubble
Infernal Digital Wallpaper
Infernals Streaming Overlay
Infernals VTT Token Pack
INFERNALS COMPANION SUPPLEMENT
Backers receiving the Infernals PDF will receive the Infernals Companion PDF as a bonus reward. Backers receiving the Infernals Deluxe hardcover will also receive links to purchase a discounted Print-on-Demand version of the Infernals Companion book.
Working together, we unlocked TWELVE expansions for this book, including
CHARMS - New signature Charms for the Infernal Exalted
GAZETTEER OF THE DEMON REALMS - An array of new locales in Malfeas, full of adventure, opportunity, and danger
TREASURE-HOUSES OF HELL - A selection of Infernal artifacts and their wicked Evocations
CHARMS 2 - Further Charms for the Infernal Exalted
INFERNAL STORYTELLING - More guidance and suggestions for S Storyteller in crafting Infernal chronicles
SECRETS OF THE THREE CIRCLES - Additional spells, including more Adamant Circle Sorcery
THE LORDS OF HELL - Write-ups for more high-level demons, including one of the Third Circle
CHARMS 3 - Further Charms for the Infernal Exalted
HELL ON EARTH - New locales and plot hooks for Infernals in Creation
GREEN SUN PRINCES - Quick Character traits for a variety of Infernal Exalted
THE FACE OF THE TITANS - An in-depth look at the nature of the relationship between the Yozis and their demonic souls, with storytelling advice on how to use it in your games
THE PRICE OF DAMNATION - An in-depth look at the forbidden pacts and unholy power of warlocks, including the temptation of new Eclipse Charms
I truly thought those last two were longshots. What a great ending! LOL, who saw me throw a random "Charms 4" section on the end as we kept going. Full scramble mode. And we almost unlocked that one as well!! Ha, backers still grumbly about that Warstriders goal from 8 years ago! I thought we had it!! I've learned lessons about Stretch Goal ordering since then!
So a huge congratulations to Vance, Elliott and the team on this project, and to all of the backers who've joined in to make this possible. I'm happy about the goals we hit and rewards we introduced, but I'm also always amazed and excited about having 2,126 backers join in to support this epic game - and that epic Backer Train at the end! We lasted almost an extra hour!!
COMMUNICATION
So, as noted in today's earlier update, starting around the end of January I'll be sending out updates once a month and whenever we've got a new goal, survey, or other item to cover. If you have any questions or need clarification on something related to the campaign, feel free to get in touch. I may not respond until the new year, but after I've recovered from this campaign, that outrageous backer train, and all of 2025, I'll be in touch!
FEEDBACK FORM
You can use thisFeedback Form to share your thoughts with the developers until the end of the year. The form closes on December 31st, so make sure any notes you have are submitted before we head into 2026, and help guide the manuscript through the next stages of development and editing.
TO CONTACT ME
Via E-Mail: Onyx.Kickstarter [at] gmail.com
Via BackerKit: Click "Need Help?" from your forthcoming survey page, and then fill in the Contact Us form. BackerKit will pass your message along to me.
ONYX PATH DISCUSSION CHANNELS
If you've got questions about the rules or setting, or just want to discuss this game with other fans (as well as the Onyx Path writers and developers!), you can check out these Onyx Path discussion zones:
Four years passed swiftly. What once was Shumad became the Tassam Empire. Nerim remained the capital. Its walls were rebuilt within the year, and new sections depicted the night the Circle liberated the city: Six Wicked Strings smashing the gate, Nehramus Cast-Down-the-Heavens unlocking prison cells, Ajad radiant before a cowering king. Marvelous Cinnabar appeared twice: a striking figure at the helm of his ship and the towering monster rising out of the ocean ahead of it. Swift Hart Qu was depicted receiving the surrender of the Shumad generals, though in truth he’d spent most of that night working from the shadows. The artists had insisted on representing them all in some form, though, so accepting surrender it was.
Tassam had prospered. With Nerim stabilized, they’d looked outward. Cinnabar’s fleet controlled shipping lanes throughout the Sayfar Domain, bringing several ports into the empire. Under Six’s command, the empire’s influence spread inland as well. Ajad had discovered a warstrider deep within a First Age ruin, and brought in sorcerer-engineers to repair it. The Circle had even tamed a clutch of flying behemoths, as much as any such beasts could be tamed. The shadow of their leathery wings blotted out the sun when they passed overhead, stoking enemies’ fears.
But every year the Bronze Tide grew closer, swallowing up more and more of the Cinder Isles. At last, they’d arrived at Nerim. Their ships blockaded the harbor. Their army sat outside the gates, eager to begin the attack.
The Circle met in the council room. The siege had lasted weeks now, and unrest was taking its toll on the city. The Tide had been preceded by a wave of refugees, driven from their homes by the advancing forces. Nehramus had ordered them to be welcomed, clothed, and fed, given shelter and work. As it was, the Ascendant spent half her waking hours conjuring locusts to feed the city and fend off starvation.
Ajad and Six hovered over battle plans, arguing over their options.
“They’ll burn everything if they take the city,” said Six. “I’ve seen what they leave behind and it isn’t much. Kill the defenders, enslave anyone they deem useful, destroy the rest.” The Tide’s advance was only part of what had kept him busy in the outlying territories these last few years. Behind them would come Spear-Empress Bhadri and her Fair Folk.
“They won’t take it.” Ajad shuffled through dispatches, frowning at what she read therein. “Has there been any other word from our envoys?”
“The message is the same every time: Surrender.” Cinnabar paced back and forth. He wanted to be on the Pandemonium, cutting through the waves toward the Bronze Tide’s fleet, not here talking about it.
Qu consulted a sheaf of letters, some from his spies within Nerim, others from his contacts in neighboring city-states. “My informants say that Jural Three-Trees, one of Lukha’s advisors, meets with would-be rebels on the outskirts of Burr. And that there’s a rift between the two on the matter of what to do with Bhadri should they capture her. There’s an opportunity.”
“He’s right.” Six tapped the map where Burr was located, a small port less than a day’s ride from Nerim. “And even if this Jural wishes to remain loyal, we’ll have the chance to sow dissent.”
“We?” asked Nehramus.
Cinnabar finally stopped pacing, standing beside Qu. “If there are rebels plotting, we can root them out while we’re there.”
He said this to Ajad, who leveled a glare at him. “None of you need to go in person to shut down a handful of malcontents.”
“Burr has taken in hundreds of refugees,” said Nehramus. “They’re the ones who’ll suffer if you end up fighting one of Luna’s Chosen in the streets.”
Ajad nodded. She and Nehramus butted heads often, but in this they were united. “It puts our resources at unnecessary risk. When the siege lifts, we have shipments of food and supplies waiting in its harbor.”
Qu peered between the two of them. “What if the rebels set fire to the supply ships? Or the Bronze Tide seizes them for itself and razes the town? If we go, at least we’ll have tried something.”
Before they could argue further, a resonant clattering filled the air. Blood-ape guards threw the council room’s doors open to admit a rolling, rumbling oldrasek. The messenger-demon rolled toward Nehramus, and said in a chiming voice, “The generals report movement among the troops. Lukha Palash stands outside the gates, demanding an audience.”
Lukha Palash, the cobalt-haired leader of the Bronze Tide, hadn’t come alone. His entourage consisted of the keen-eyed Jural Three-Trees; a white-haired Yensei strategist named Parav; and several demon servitors including Astogal, his shape covered in flowers perpetually blooming and rotting.
Lukha had brought refreshments, delicacies from across the Cinder Isles: Mygdon wine, pomegranates from fallen Argidos, Issyk honey spread on flatbread. Such foods were both enticement and warning — see what riches we’ve taken from the people we’ve conquered. Six and Cinnabar partook with pleasure despite the tension. Qu and Ajad were more subdued, eating and drinking as much as etiquette required and nothing more. Nehramus declined all that was offered, insisting she couldn’t eat while her people went hungry within the city.
“That could all end now,” said Lukha. “Open the gates. Let us into the harbor. Nerim’s people can flee — those that we don’t need — and we’ll allow you to leave alive. You’ve conquered one empire. Surely you can find another somewhere suitable. You can even have your pick of treasures to take with you.”
Parav cleared her throat. “Within reason,” she said. She craned her neck to peer at the city’s warstrider, whose form towered above the gates. “We’ll be keeping that.”
“Or you could go back to your fleet and sail on,” said Ajad. “You can afford some losses, but how many ships smashed to flinders is too many? The waves will be red with your people’s blood before this is over, and when Bhadri and her Twelve Companions catch up to you, you’ll wish you hadn’t broken yourselves on the empire of Tassam.”
“You could join us,” said Lukha. “Add your fleet to ours and we’ll stand against the Fair Folk together.”
“Under your rule?” asked Qu.
Lukha spread his hands as if to say just so. “You’d be my advisors. The Tide has founded cities of its own. You could do the same, as part of us.”
“This is the city we chose,” said Six. “We’re not about to cede it to your rabble.”
Lukha smiled, but it had a dangerous, feral edge.
The talks broke down before sunset. The Bronze Tide insisted they’d be taking Nerim, and the Circle refused to yield.
“I should at least have bargained for more of that wine,” said Cinnabar to Qu. They were aboard the Sunrise Pandemonium, moving swiftly over the waves. The Bronze Tide’s fleet vastly outnumbered Tassam’s navy, but that hadn’t lessened Cinnabar’s eagerness to fight. It was just before dawn; the last stars were fading as the sky lightened. In the distance, the Tide’s lookouts would be getting their first glimpses of the navy approaching.
Dark shapes kept pace with the Pandemonium underwater. Every so often, something massive broke the surface in a spray of salt and seafoam, then submerged once more. Qu had lost track of which shapes were demons and which were behemoths beckoned by the Lintha among Cinnabar’s crew.
“I suppose you can try to salvage some from the ships we board today,” said Qu.
“My list of desired spoils is as long as your arm.” Cinnabar grinned. “I’ll present Lukha’s head to Ajad, but I’m keeping a lock of his hair.”
Six Wicked Strings hefted a chunk of stone from a pile of debris. Ajad would be furious at the prospect of having to repair the walls again, should they survive this. The enemy battalion had a Prince of the Earth among them, and moments ago the gates shook with the force of the Earth Aspect’s strikes before they gave way and the Bronze Tide’s warriors streamed through.
As he turned the stone over in his hands, he noticed it was part of the mural where the former rulers surrendered to the Circle. There was poetry in this, he was sure, but it would have to wait. The Dragon-Blooded monk slammed her fists into the ground. The ripples threw a dozen fighters off balance, but Six stood tall and unwavering.
The monk spotted him and leapt, her arc carrying her over the fallen and landing her before Six. He held the stone high and brought it smashing down, but she rolled away. She regained her feet quickly and charged, grabbing his arm.
Six let her get a hold of him. He waited until they were pressed close together, clasping her wrists and locking his leg around hers. Mouths opened all over his skin, teeth snapping eagerly. He laughed as she recoiled, but it was too late: his tail traced a line across the back of her neck, its barb dribbling with venom.
Nehramus chased Astagol into the palace garden. The demon had cavorted through Nerim, terrorizing all in his path with the searing rain that swirled around his body. He was bound to another, and Nehramus was unable to wrest control away from whoever that might be.
He fled from her at every turn — what she’d done to him last time wasn’t easily forgotten. But at last she had him cornered. He didn’t beg for mercy, didn’t attempt to bargain or wheedle. When her fists pummeled his abstract flesh, he gibbered with pain as pieces of his material form sloughed away.
But Nehramus suffered, too, her skin sizzling as each strike passed through the poison rain surrounding him. At last, Astagol dissipated, and she clutched her hands to her chest and wept.
She didn’t see the invader approaching her, dagger raised high.
Not, that was, until a blade glowing with Ligier’s green fire sang through the air and severed his hand. Flames licked at the stump, then engulfed the man entirely. Ajad stepped in close and drove her sword into his heart. She let the body fall. “I might have let him scream awhile,” she said, “but I didn’t think you’d like that.”
Nehramus smiled wearily. “After the day we’ve all had, I might not be opposed.”
“Well, we’re not dead yet.” Ajad sheathed the sword and crouched beside Nehramus, reaching for her hands. “First, let me see to those.”
Debris and bodies bobbed on the waves, the seafoam and water beneath churning with crimson. Siaka circled, eager to feast on the dead and nearly-dead. Qu was bloody and exhausted, but rest was a distant dream. The Bronze Tide was relentless, its numbers beyond even what they’d imagined. Cinnabar and his crew seemed energized by it all, roaring as they clambered aboard another vessel.
Qu was among the last to go across, hanging back to provide cover. Like now, when a raider dropped down from the rigging, dagger ready to strike the boy — Atash — from behind.
Only, Qu flung a poison needle into the woman’s neck. Before blood could flow, she disappeared, banished to some other space for a time. Qu had a moment to glance back toward Nerim. Smoke curled from several districts, and even from so far away, people were fighting everywhere he looked. Should we have surrendered? Should we have made a deal, no matter how bitter a pill for all of us?
Then came the bone-chilling roar of the warstrider. On the other side of the city, it rose to its full height and stepped over Nerim’s gates. Terrified shouts — thin at this distance, but distinct — reached Qu’s ears. Six must have been at the helm, or maybe Ajad. From the other side of the gangplank, Cinnabar whooped with glee.
