Hyba Is Writing

The Pirates of Sissa   April 2021 Update This month, I haven't gotten much writing done. At all. Because I've been focused so deeply on my serial fictions - The Falcon's Claw and The Beast of Ildenwood - I've neglected The Pirates of Sissa . I don't regret it, because I'm quite proud with the writing I've been doing for both of these projects (in addition to the original art I've been making for The Beast of Ildenwood ). I've also come up to a point of the story where I'm not entirely sure how to get from point A to B. I know how I want the story to end, and I know where the story's mean to be going at this point in time - it just feels like the actual linking of where I'm at with the story right now and where I'd like to be is harder than I thought. I think what's bothering me the most with the manuscript at this point in time is that I feel it's gotten to a point where it's too packed - too much is happening all at onc

Character Backstories  Vol. 5 - The Manager & Governor Bor's Wife  In today's volume of Character Backstories, I'll be chatting a bit about:  the mysterious character of The Manager in Apartment ( spoiler alert! ) the not-so-mysterious character that is Governor Bor Rammal's wife (unnamed at the moment, but we're getting there) from The Pirates of Sissa Let's get started! The Manager ( Apartment ) The Manager, as the name suggests, is the manager of the huge, ugly apartment building on Wallstone Avenue where the majority of the book takes place. He is a mysterious character, but from the very beginning there's something very eerie about him (well, granted, there's something eerie about all of them). He seems to visit the building from time to time to conduct maintenance checks and ensure that there are no squatters, since the building is mostly empty. He also seems quite interested in the numbers going up, and seems to be preparing for something. Wh

The Falcon's Claw - April 2021 Writing Update ⚡ With all of the content I've been sharing for my LitRPG/GameLit story, The Beast of Ildenwood , I was reminded by a good friend to also share an update for my other writing projects. So, today, here's one for The Falcon's Claw (the title of which I am increasingly dissatisfied with, but we'll see what else pops up over time). High-Tier Decisions I recently had a long brainstorming session for this serialized fiction, and I'm quite satisfied with some of the higher-level plot decisions I made concerning the overall direction of the story. Because I'm writing it in an episodic manner, with short chapters that aim to keep readers engaged, I thought about the plot arcs I want to include - and have come to the conclusion that the story will have four "seasons" (in fact, this is how I will refer to them from now on) - each revolving around a big reveal and/or its impact on the characters. Generally speakin

The Beast of Ildenwood  1. Foreign Tongues & Flaming Lungs He awakens under a starry sky. The crackling of fire sounds nearby, and he can feel its warm glow on his skin. His skin… feels strange. His body feels unlike itself. And all he can remember is… A sudden pain rushes through his head and down his spine. With a groan, he sits up and looks around. The fire is small, its blue flames dancing eagerly in the breeze, but its heat is fierce. Even twelve steps away, he can feel the warmth envelop him. Across from him, on the other side of the fire, there is a person. A woman. For a moment, he sees another face in hers, someone he ought to remember, but the vision soon disappears, and instead he stares at the woman who watches him cautiously. “Wms’pc yuyic,” she says, and he doesn’t understand a word of it. Suddenly, a strange item materializes before him, like a parchment, floating in mid-air.  Learn Foreign Tongue ? Cost: (

Worldbuilding: The Lydiadem - The Beast of Ildenwood Chapter 4 of my GameLit and LitRPG serial fiction, The Beast of Ildenwood , features a legendary item that helps a character get out of trouble. This item is the Lydiadem, a crown-like artifact that allows the wearer to disappear completely - along with whatever personal effects they are holding or wearing. The Lydiadem has a long history, and there is apparently no artifact quite like it anywhere in the world. There are, of course, items that can cause people to disappear, but none is as old - or as powerful - as the Lydiadem. It is thought that the true power of this artifact has not yet been discovered, and that its power to make one disappear is one of many enchantments held within this ring. You can learn more about the Lydiadem in Chapter 4, which is scheduled to be released May 16, 2021. For now, I will leave you with some art of the item that I made quickly in order to have an illustration that can be included in the serial f

Author's Note: Welcome, readers, to The Beast of Ildenwood ! This is a story that's been brewing in my mind for quite some time. When I learned about LitRPG and GameLit, I decided to write the story with the elements of these genres in mind. Since this is my first LitRPG/GameLit work, there may be issues with the "game mechanics" of the world or little plot holes related to that. If you do have questions or pick up on something, please don't hesitate to let me know! I am also excited to be featuring some original art in this fiction, so I hope you enjoy that! (Note: The beast on the cover is not my original art, but a free-for-use element found online.) I plan to update once per week. The Beast of Ildenwood Prologue When she finds him, she’s running for her life. The battlefield lies behind her somewhere – too close still, the shouts of men and the clanging of weapons all too distinct, all too harrowing. She’s runni

   Worldbuilding: The Feral Lepur - A Fantasy Creature Chapter 3 of my serial GameLit fantasy, The Beast of Ildenwood , will feature a creature called the feral lepur. It's a large, hare-like animal with a large pointed horn on its head, as you can see in the portrait I made above.  This particular creature is closely related to another creature that is featured in my high fantasy series, The Qarran Tales, and this is a good time to also note that The Beast of Ildenwood is connected to my high fantasy series, if perhaps in a way that won't be evident until the end of the series.  The feral lepur might look adorable, but it's a deadly beast that lives in the Ildenwood Forest. You can learn more about it in Chapter 3 of The Beast of Ildenwood , which comes out May 9, 2021. What do you think of the portrait? It's my first try at something like this - a digital portrait of a fantasy creature - so there is definitely room for improvement, but I'm quite enjoying this exp

The Beast of Ildenwood - A LitRPG Serial Fiction I've spoken briefly about my LitRPG work in progress, and today I want to officially introduce it. The Beast of Ildenwood follows a young woman in a race to save her world from the clutches of evil and destruction, and a strange young amnesiac whose life is endangered by a fatal curse. Together, the two of them set out to save him and the world - not realizing just how intertwined both truly are.  The blurb as it currently stands: He awakens in a strange forest with no memory of who he is, where he's from, or what has happened to him. She is on the run, carrying a precious bundle that could mean the destruction of the world as they know it, or peace everlasting. When their paths intertwine, the two of them are in a battle against time - to save him, and to save the world - with death biting at their heels. 🏹 Lahab takes her oath as a Noble Guardian with dead seriousness, so when an artifact that has the power to destroy

Making Fantasy Maps: Ildenwood Forest - V2 After much consideration, while I'm very proud of how my first version of this map came out, I've decided to replace my drawn icons with simple symbols and a legend. My digital art skills leave much to be desired, and while I am actively trying to improve them, right now they're just not up to par. So, symbols it is!  I also wanted to make it easier for readers to identify the different relevant zones in the forest, and that was another reason that I chose the symbols & legend route - it's simply a lot clearer, especially when paired with the shading I've now used in this second version for each separate region.  Here's the final result: This map is going to be featured in Chapter 2 of The Beast of Ildenwood , which will be available on Royal Road on May 2, 2021. Until then, readers of my blog get an early peek at the map! 😉  

💭 A few days ago, I decided to go a while without electronics. I'm still not entirely back yet, but I thought this would be a good time to let readers know what's been running around in my mind as I get some clarity and realign myself with my personal goals and wishes. In short, I'm going to be doing a major overhaul of my website, blog, and social media presence. Here are some important decisions I've made: I'm shutting down my newsletter on May 1, 2021. You might notice that I've been completely removing all links to my newsletter in my blog posts and my website. I am no longer collecting newsletter subscribers. Moving forward, I don't think I will be using a newsletter. Any "subscriber-exclusives" will simply be shared right on my blog and/or website for all readers to enjoy. (This also means that the 50% discount is no longer available for my Spring Sale , as that was a subscriber-exclusive discount. Those who were subscribed to my newslett

Character Backstories Vol. 4 - Lucius & Qays Another day, another volume of Character Backstories! Out of the Pencil Case of Mysterious Depths have emerged the following character names: Lucius Fei ( The Qarran Tales ) Qays ( The Fall of the Black Masks ) ⚜️ ⚜️ ⚜️ Lucius Fei ( The Qarran Tales ) Lucius Fei is a character most readers following my fantasy series have not yet met. He's a young aristocrat from the Kingdom of Valgus, which has been at odds with the Empire of Sissa for many years. He wields the mysterious power that has kept Valgus protected from any attempts at conquest, and grew up around various other Valgan nobility and royalty, being close friends to the late prince and heir to the throne.  The original character notes for Lucius aren't entirely generous. They read:  Arrogant, vain, and cunning. Manipulative and intelligent. A known troublemaker among his friends. Is especially close to Lysia Solas, whose father is the chief lawmaker in the City of Light.

S02E01: Re-Introducing The Pirates of Sissa - TRANSCRIPT Hi, there! I hope you're doing great, and that April is treating you well so far. After many days of sun, these past couple of days have been a little cloudy over here, and the nights are still a little chilly overall. Still, it's wonderful to look out of your window and see such vibrant green everywhere. Today I want to re-introduce The Pirates of Sissa . If you've listened since the beginning of the podcast, you might notice that I already introduced The Pirates of Sissa in Season 1 Episode 2. That was a long while ago, but I do feel like the essence of the story is the same - if with many more characters involved than I had previously thought. Before I get into the major changes that have taken place, I want to go ahead and read the original blurbs out to you again, because they are still very relevant, though certain terms and wording has been changed:     Sahra despises the Sissans for what they have done to her

Character Backstories Vol. 3 - Krig & Alex Back with another volume of character backstories, and the two that were randomly chosen from the Pencil Case come from very different stories and probably couldn't be farther from each other than they already are. Today, we shine the spotlight on: General Krig Varonis ( The Pirates of Sissa ) Alex ( Apartment )   📚 General Krig Varonis ( The Pirates of Sissa ) General Krig Varonis is the highest military authority in all of Sissa, second only to the Emperor himself. He was born and raised for the role, educated by various highly respected scholars. Most of Krig's childhood was spent in the imperial palace, where he lived with his father and mother. When he was old enough, Krig's father and predecessor began to train him to become a suitable general. Because Krig's mother was adamant her son also have a somewhat normal childhood, he had some freedom growing up, made ma

  🧙 A Sorcerer's Calling Based on Prompt #13 from my newly-released digital workbook, 101 Writing Prompts ! 🧴 Regis hissed as the bubbling cauldron sent droplets of scalding liquid onto his hand. Curses! Blowing on it lightly, he continued to stir. Why had he taken this post again? Ah, yes - because he had failed the single most important assessment in his entire life, and now he had been relegated to mixing potions for a miserly old man who paid him ten gold coins a month for his troubles. He frowned bitterly into his cauldron, and added another pinch of powdered bat hair into the mix. He'd had to pluck the hair from the bat himself - a time-consuming and unrewarding task, which was then followed-up with the equally distasteful task of grinding the hairs into powder. Why the old geezer, who had a beard down to his chest, needed a nocturnal beard-growing spell wasn't of any importance to Regis. He simply did as he had been tasked, earning his measly wage of ten gold coi

Lit Commentary: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, Chapter 2   🚬 "I can tell by the way he will look lost and puzzled suddenly, all expression dying away from his dear face as though swept clean by an unseen hand, and in its place a mask will form, a sculptured thing, formal and cold, beautiful still but lifeless. He will fall to smoking cigarette after cigarette, not bothering to extinguish them, and the glowing stubs will lie around on the ground like petals. He will talk quickly and eagerly about nothing at all, snatching at any subject as a panacea to pain. I believe there is a theory that men and women emerge finer and stronger after suffering, and that to advance in this or any world we must endure ordeal by fire. This we have done in full measure, ironic though it seems." The protagonist makes an interesting statement with this quote, because I wonder if they aren't more fragile as well. When Maxim remembers, he falls into