Inglorion arrives home to find Aramil and Valentine installed in his library. Valentine is drinking coffee, and Aramil has a snifter of brandy. “Excellent,” says Inglorion, “A hassle of Shelawns. Now the evening is complete. I see you’ve gotten yourselves drinks, and of course Aramil has helped himself to my valet. I only regret that […]
Soundtrack and Video, Marilyn Manson, “Sweet Dreams,” live early 90s Inglorion returns to his quarters to find Ajax in the storeroom, scratching in one of the many ledgers he keeps tracking the flow of black market goods through Inglorion’s household. Inglorion cocks his head. “Why are you up so late, Ajax?” “Are you ready for […]
The first step is to see the Duchess outside the usual setting: Formal cabinet meetings and the like. He sends a note to Clytemnestra asking when he can have an audience, and receives the following reply: Your Lordship, If you present yourself at Her Grace’s quarters late this evening, I will admit you. Philomela’s private […]
Life in the Underdark as Marquis Theates sounds exotic, but at times it resembles the life of a mid-level manager in corporate America, seen through infrared vision. Over the next few days, Inglorion attends a lot of meetings and briefings, and holds some. He writes and reads reports, resumes his usual alliances and vendettas. All […]
Though the throne room is grand — high-ceilinged and ornate — it gives a curious sense of intimacy. A whisper in any corner can be heard throughout with uncanny clarity. Inglorion walks down the aisle, between the rows of empty stone benches. As usual, Philomela sits on a low stone dais. Before her, there is […]
He’s gone when her water breaks. The pain yanks her into the open, impales her in her body and the cell around her. She’s bound, as always. The force is terrible — a series of rhythmic blows from the inside that warp her frame. It grips her by the nape, shakes her over and over, […]
Another episode of Man Raised by Spiders, the coming-of-age story of Valentine Shelawn. A masked assassin bursts through the doorway. There are three more behind him, all armed with daggers. They must have been counting on some combination of surprise and weight of numbers to overcome their victims. Inglorion disarms his opponent with the first […]
