Flame Nation,

A few days ago, I asked which pantheon would claim you.

I expected some competition between the Norse, Greek, Egyptian, Roman, and ancient gods.

Instead, the current winner is:

NONE. Absolutely not. I have seen what happens when mortals make deals with gods. 😂

And then I read the comments.

Some of you are torn between Loki and Anubis. Some are perfectly happy to sit in the stands and cheer while the mortals attempt to survive. And at least one of you has quite reasonably pointed out that you already have enough people claiming your time, heart, and soul without adding an egotistical god to the list.

This is exactly the kind of thing I hoped would happen as we explored Dragon Origins together.

Nanna and Baldr's story may be at the heart of these books, but the world surrounding them is enormous. Gods and monsters. Ancient civilizations. Forgotten myths. Dragons. And, of course, humans trying to navigate all of it without becoming collateral damage.

While we've been debating the wisdom of making deals with gods, we've officially entered the final eight days of Dragon Origins.

That puts us just 10 backers away from 75, when we'll unlock the ribbon bookmark upgrade for the Ancient Tome.

So I have a little challenge for Flame Nation:

Not ten. Not twenty. Just one.

Someone who argues about mythology with you. Someone with strong opinions about Loki. Someone fascinated by ancient history. Someone who hoards beautiful books. Or perhaps someone who took one look at our poll and immediately thought, Absolutely not. I know how this ends.

If ten of us bring one more person into the Hoard, we'll reach 75.

And if we can do that, we'll turn our attention toward 100 backers and the slipcase. 

There's a brand-new poll attached to this update, and this time, the gods are offering you a gift.

Choose carefully. You know how these things tend to go. 😂

Let's see what Flame Nation can do. 🔥🐉

Yours in dragon fire,
Tina

P.S. Still watching from the sidelines? There are only eight days left to join us and help awaken the dragons. We'd love to have you in the Hoard. 🐉 Come join us!

Hi Flame Nation,

We've talked a lot about gods lately.

Norse gods. Carthaginian gods. Old myths, forgotten stories, monsters, fate, and all the wonderfully messy things that happen when mortals get tangled up with the divine.

But now I have a very important question: Which pantheon claims YOU?

I put together a new poll for us, and this one is purely for fun.

Are you answering the call of Loki, Odin and Freyja?

Would you rather stand among Athena, Hades, and the Olympians?

Maybe Anubis, Bastet, and the Egyptian gods have already claimed you.

Or perhaps you're heading straight for Minerva and the gods of Rome.

🐉 Go cast your vote in the "Which Pantheon Claims You?" poll!

And because I apparently can't leave well enough alone...

Let's make this interesting.

If we reach 50 votes, I'll turn the winning pantheon into an exclusive sticker for this campaign. Because clearly what every expedition into ancient mythology needs is another artifact to bring home. 😂

I love these little moments because Dragon Origins was born from exactly this kind of curiosity. One myth leads to another. One historical rabbit hole opens three more. Suddenly we're standing in ancient Carthage asking what happens when gods from different worlds collide.

That's part of what we're building together here.

For my collectors, I've also added something special to the campaign: the Dragon Hoard Bundle.

There are only 5 available.

Each hoard includes:

✦ A Dragon's Queen Black Velvet Collector's Edition
✦ A Dragon's Queen stainless steel water bottle
✦ The handcrafted Artifact Bag

We're getting down to the final copies of the Black Velvet first-print edition of A Dragon's Queen.

Once those first-print collector editions are gone, they're gone.

So I wanted to create a very small number of true Dragon Hoards for the collectors who love the artifacts surrounding these stories just as much as the books themselves.

Before I go, I have one more little piece of news for my gamers.

On October 1, Glasneck Games is returning to Kickstarter with: HAUNTED HOUSE: A Halloween TTRPG Adventure  with 2 short stories, a comic, and hours of fun.

It's a digital-only 5e Halloween adventure set in 1985, where costumes, candy, and trick-or-treating collide with some very real monsters.

And because we're having fun with this one...

It launches for just $1.

The longer you wait, the more it costs to survive the night. 🎃

I'll tell you more as we get closer.

For now, though, I have gods to count.

🔥 Tina

Hi Flame Nation,

Dragon Origins: Norse Gods of War takes us back to the beginning, from Ancient Carthage to Asgard, to discover the love story and war that set the awakening of the dragons in motion.

And we're kicking off this Monday fully funded and now 61 backers strong! 🔥🐉

That puts us only 14 backers away from our next Ancient Tome upgrade!

It still amazes me that Dragon Origins funded in under 15 minutes. Since then, we've unlocked our first community reward, opened the archives for a little flash-fiction lore drop, and continued watching this hoard grow.

And now we're closing in on our next goal.

When we reach 75 backers, we're adding a ribbon bookmark to the Dragon Origins Ancient Tome Collector's Edition.

It's another detail that will make this book feel less like something pulled from an ordinary bookshelf and more like an ancient tome you might have discovered tucked away in some forgotten archive.

And we're already at:

🔥 61 / 75

One of my favorite things about crowdfunding has always been watching a book become our project, rather than simply mine.

You're helping decide what gets unlocked. You're gathering around the Campfire, diving into the lore, and slowly transforming this Ancient Tome as the hoard grows.

And if there's another dragon lover in your life who should be sitting around this fire with us, invite them in. ❤️🐉

There are only 14 spots between us and that ribbon.

While we're making our way toward 75, I have a new question for you over in the Campfire.

After giving you a little taste of Nanna's Carthage in our latest lore drop, I want to know:

🏺 Ancient Carthage and Nanna's world
 ⚔️ Asgard and the Norse gods
 🐉 The origins of the dragons
 ❤️ Nanna and Baldr's story
 🔥 The war between gods and dragons
 👀 Honestly? Give me ALL the lore.

The poll will be open through Thursday, so stop by the Campfire and cast your vote. I'm genuinely curious to see where Flame Nation lands on this one.

Thank you for continuing to back, share, comment, vote, and help bring this project to life.

We've awakened quite a few dragons already.

Fourteen more, and that ribbon is ours. 🔥🐉

We're building this together!

Yours in dragon fire,
Tina

P.S. Returning backer? Don't forget, if you've backed one of my campaigns before and join us with a physical pledge, you'll receive the exclusive “I Helped Awaken the Dragons” sticker as my thank-you for coming back for another adventure. 🐉❤️ 

Hi Flame Nation,

 55 BACKERS! 🐉🔥

You all continue to amaze me.

As our little gathering of dragon lovers keeps growing, I thought we should celebrate this milestone with something a little different.

Not another stretch goal.

Not another upgrade.

A story.

Or perhaps I should say... a secret.

Today, we're opening the archives for a little Dragon Origins lore drop, told through a brand-new piece of flash fiction.

Before Nanna crossed worlds. Before she met Baldr. Before the dragons awakened... she was a woman in Carthage who had already begun questioning the stories told by the gods.

At 55 backers, I'm opening the archives and sharing a tiny piece of Dragon Origins lore.

A storm is coming. Ten orphaned children need reassurance.

And Nanna is about to tell them a story she probably shouldn't.

The sea’s howl screeched across the high wall of Carthage. Storm clouds blacked out the sun. Lightning ripped across the sky and the emergency bell clanged, alerting all to seek shelter.

“Come, children,” I called after those in my care. They were the ones often overlooked, orphans who’d been abandoned or disregarded after years of battle.

Though the tall walls might protect us from much of the storm, we still needed to brace ourselves.

In the small room, I ushered in the last of us, pushing hard against the wooden door as the wind battered back.

“Nanna.” Isolde pulled on the edge of my tunic for my attention. “Is Baal angry at us?”

I cupped her tear-streaked face and glanced around at the ten of us.

“Oh, but we must take heart. For what we have outside is not a spectacle of rage but of protection. For tonight Baal fights Lotan, the dragon of the sea.”

The myths of the gods gave us hope and understanding. And often when I stared out at the sea, I too wondered where Lotan was and if Baal truly heard our cries without fire sacrifice.

The horn blew loudly in the distance as gusts battered the door and shuttered window.

“Are all the dragons bad?” Isolde asked. Dirt streaked her heart-shaped face. I plucked a leaf from her hair.

A shiver coursed through me, like the first time I’d heard a ram stuck in the thicket right outside the city walls. Its piercing cry for help as its horns rubbed against the stone walls.

Grating.

Violent men raced forward with blades drawn. I knew no one was coming to help it.

Only kill it.

Still, its cries didn’t cease. Its pleas grew louder. Even now, faintly, I heard it on the breeze. The memory made my mind hiccup, my soul crying out for belonging in a world that regarded vulnerability as opportunity.

But would it have mattered if it were a ram or a lion?

Both were stitched together with this city’s fate.

“Dragons are like people. Those who are evil must be dealt with, and those who are good can find goodness, too. But Lotan, it is not that he is bad, but that he fights because of his brother...”

“He has a brother?” Isolde asked.

Family bonds were difficult for those who did not have them. We understood that blood did not mean relationship any more than a cloudy sky meant rain. Yet knowing such devotion could exist, even among those depicted as evil, warmed my spirit in a world filled with contradictions.

“We pay for Koran’s refusal to kneel, caught in the middle of this cosmic battle.” I lowered myself to eye level. “A long time ago, my grandmother passed on a secret about Koran, Lotan’s brother, who refused to kneel for the gods and was turned into a dragon. Maybe that is why Lotan fights so hard. For his brother. For family. Honor is not black or white.

“And the gods are not always good.”

A gasp rippled across the room.

What I had said was akin to treason, at least enough to put me at the top of the temple’s list to pay homage. But if these children did not learn the truth, they would end up where all of those who lacked care and family ties did: the pyre.

Lured there by the promise of eternal glory for a god who gave not a damn.

The storm raged on.

Thunder made the ground quake. And as the rumble moved over us, I wasn’t sure if I heard a ram’s cry or a lion’s roar.

Either way, a shiver coursed through me.

Something lay on the horizon. Something I couldn’t quite discern.

As lightning flashed, water pounded against the building. The bell tolled ever louder.

In the battle between the gods, could we mere humans ever win?

Thank you for getting us to 55 backers and for continuing to show up for this world.

I hope you enjoyed this tiny glimpse into Nanna's life in Carthage and one of the secrets hiding beneath the mythology of *Dragon Origins*.

And now we keep going.

🐉 NEXT UNLOCK: 75 BACKERS

When we reach 75 backers, we'll add a ribbon bookmark to the Dragon Origins Ancient Tome, another beautiful upgrade to our collector edition.

We're only 20 backers away.

And after opening the archives today...

I have a feeling there are still quite a few secrets waiting inside. 🔥

One question before I go:

Do you think Lotan is the monster the stories claim he is... or is there more to his war with the gods?

Thank you for helping me awaken the dragons.

Yours in dragon fire,

Tina