Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright

Devlog

• Austerity and maximalism
  November 22, 2024 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright, #verse-craft

  This is the third in a short run of postmortem devlogs following the release of CWKB . I offer these in case they're useful! I think the formal choices in Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright show two instincts... Continue reading

  
• Starting at the start
  November 20, 2024 by Thaliarchus

  1

  #writing

  This is the second in a short run of postmortem devlogs following the release of CWKB . I offer these in case they're useful! Although the idea for Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright crystallised when I though... Continue reading
• ​You can just write what you want
  November 18, 2024 by Thaliarchus

  5

  #writing

  This is the first in what I hope will be a series of short postmortem reflections on CWKB as a project. I offer these in case they're useful! Several people have remarked, to me or elsewhere, that thi... Continue reading
• Tweaks to EPUB
  November 18, 2024 by Thaliarchus

  I've just uploaded a version of the EPUB file with a few final tweaks and minor corrections. I'd managed to get these into the PDF version before release, but I think they hadn't reached the ebook—s... Continue reading
• CWKB discussion and interview on On the Shoulders of Giants
  November 13, 2024 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright, #podcast

  The good people at the mecha-focused podcast On the Shoulders of Giants just released an episode about CWKB ! You can find it here . Or you can play it straight from this embed: The first two-thirds o... Continue reading
• Process notes directory
  November 11, 2024 by Thaliarchus

  1

  #cosmic warlord kin-bright

  This is a collection of process notes posts I wrote while composing Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright . Practicalities Exactly which stages of construction did each book go through? General FAQ, but at the en... Continue reading
• CWKB recordings directory
  November 09, 2024 by Thaliarchus

  CWKB is now complete. In the fullness of time, I'd like to do a clean audio recording of the poem. For now, though, there're recordings of live performances on Twitch. These have pauses and flubs and... Continue reading
• Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright is complete!
  November 09, 2024 by Thaliarchus

  2

  #cosmic warlord kin-bright

  CWKB is now complete and released. Maybe I’ll come back and tweak it in future, but the poem is now a full thing that exists in the world. As promised, the poem is available for free and I encourage... Continue reading
• Live reading reminder; forthcoming podcast
  November 06, 2024 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright, #on the shoulders of giants

  1. Final live reading The finale of Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright will premiere this coming Saturday on twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/thaliarchus , at 2000 UTC / Zulu / GMT. I will read Books 17 and 18... Continue reading
• Books 15 and 16 released! VOD links inside
  November 02, 2024 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright

  Books 15 and 16 have premiered on Twitch and have been added to the files available here on Itch. Here's the recording of the live reading of Books 15 and 16: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2292156689 ... Continue reading
• Live reading reminder
  October 31, 2024 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright

  The next live reading premiering part of CWKB will happen at 2000 UTC this coming Saturday at https://www.twitch.tv/thaliarchus . I'll be reading Books 15 and 16. This is a change from the time of 190... Continue reading
• CWKB interview on Crunchyroll
  October 28, 2024 by Thaliarchus

  2

  Adam Westcott very kindly interviewed me for Crunchyroll News . We chatted about inspirations and methods, and I'm very flattered by the strapline, 'One of the best mecha anime of 2024 is an epic poem... Continue reading
• Books 13 and 14 released; VOD links
  October 27, 2024 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright, #live reading, #twitch

  Books 13 and 14 have premiered on Twitch and have been added to the files available here on Itch. Here's the recording of the live reading of Books 13 and 14: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2286187299 ... Continue reading
• Final release plans
  October 23, 2024 by Thaliarchus

  1

  #cosmic warlord kin-bright

  The final books of Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright are now coming out weekly. Barring accidents and illness, I expect to release the final books, Books 17 and 18, on 9 November, 2024 . (And, as a reminder,... Continue reading
• 1,000 downloads! and a recommendation
  October 23, 2024 by Thaliarchus

  2

  #cosmic warlord kin-bright, #milestone, #the gordian cycle

  Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright has now passed 1,000 download s! This is a small readership, and the number must be taken with the caveats that (1) some of those downloads will be people re-downloading the... Continue reading
• Books 11 and 12 released! live reading VOD available
  October 19, 2024 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright

  Today, we hit previously unreleased material! Books 11 and 12 have premiered on Twitch and have been added to the files available here on Itch. Here's the recording of the live reading of Books 11 and... Continue reading
• Live reading reminder: NEW material this Saturday
  October 17, 2024 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright

  Saturday's live reading (at 1900 UTC, at https://www.twitch.tv/thaliarchus ) will cover Books XI and XII, which haven't yet been released. I'll upload them late on Saturday night. This marks the shift... Continue reading
• Books 9 and 10 live reading VOD
  October 13, 2024 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright, #stream, #vod

  Here's the recording of the live reading of Books 9 and 10: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2275057228 . If you want to find the recorded readings of previous books, see Book 1: https://www.twitch.tv/vid... Continue reading
• Book 8 live reading VOD
  October 05, 2024 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright

  Here's the recording of the live reading of Book 8: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2268549576 . If you want to find the recorded readings of previous books: Book 1: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/22511784... Continue reading
• Further minor updates; live reading reminder
  October 05, 2024 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright

  I've just uploaded clean versions of Books I to X with a few further corrections and improvements up to the end of Book VIII. Tonight's live reading (at 1900 UTC, https://www.twitch.tv/thaliarchus ) w... Continue reading
• Books 6 and 7 live reading VOD
  September 28, 2024 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright

  Here's the recording of the live reading of Books 6 and 7: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2262808738 . If you want to find the recorded readings of previous books: Book 1: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2... Continue reading
• Further minor updates; live reading reminder
  September 28, 2024 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright

  I've just uploaded clean versions of Books I to X with a few further corrections and improvements up to the end of Book VII. Tonight's live reading (at 1900 UTC) will cover Books VI and VII... Continue reading
• Notes on translating with 'mood'
  September 25, 2024 by Thaliarchus

  1

  #translation, #homer, #iliad, #george chapman, #virgil, #aeneid, #the battle of maldon, #gavin douglas, #simone weil

  You might call this post a worked example of some of my semi-translating process. Here's a passage from CWKB with some spoilers redacted: [x/x/x/] Upon the wreck then Spireback pressed with foot; the... Continue reading

  
• Books 4 and 5 reading VOD
  September 21, 2024 by Thaliarchus

  1

  #cosmic warlord kin-bright

  Here's the recording of the live reading of Books 4 and 5: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2257021580 . If you want to find the recorded readings of previous books: Book 1: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2... Continue reading
• Further minor updates; live reading reminder
  September 21, 2024 by Thaliarchus

  1

  #cosmic warlord kin-bright

  I've just uploaded clean versions of Books I to X with a few further corrections and improvements up to the end of Book V. Tonight's live reading (at 1900 UTC) will cover Books IV and V... Continue reading
• Books 2 and 3 live reading VOD
  September 14, 2024 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright

  Thank you everyone who came to the live reading of Books 2 and 3! If you want to catch up, here's the VOD : https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2251182763 Books 4 and 5 will be read live on Twitch at 1900 UT... Continue reading
• Minor updates
  September 13, 2024 by Thaliarchus

  I just uploaded tweaked files (PDF and EPUB) containing a few further corrections and minor improvements. As a final reminder, the live reading of Books II and III tomorrow (Saturday 14 September) is... Continue reading
• Inspirations; how to track them down
  September 12, 2024 by Thaliarchus

  1

  #influence, #poetics, #old english, #middle english

  A while back, a friend asked on Cohost for a list of some of the older textual influences on Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright with advice about where to find/read them. In response, I wrote something—on Co... Continue reading

  
• CWKB Book 1 live reading VOD
  September 07, 2024 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright

  Thank you everyone who came to the live reading of Book 1! If you want to catch up, here's the VOD : https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2251178425 In the long run I'd like to record a proper, no-flubs audio... Continue reading
• Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright release schedule!
  September 06, 2024 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright, #live reading, #twitch stream

  Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright , this millennium's best giant robot yuri space opera, is complete. To release it, I'm going to read CWKB aloud on Twitch ( https://www.twitch.tv/thaliarchus ), in instalment... Continue reading
• CWKB is complete; release details soon
  August 28, 2024 by Thaliarchus

  3

  #cosmic warlord kin-bright, #writing, #poetry

  I've now finished my pass rereading and checking all of Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright . As I think I remarked before, big projects finish many times. I'm sure the current form of the text still contains e... Continue reading
• Minor updates to books VII to X
  August 17, 2024 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright

  As part of my preparations for finishing the whole poem, I'm working through and checking the earlier books. I've just uploaded files with new versions of books VII–X. Most of the changes are small... Continue reading
• Minor updates to books IV–VI
  August 06, 2024 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright

  As part of my preparations for finishing the whole poem, I'm working through and checking the earlier books. I've just uploaded files with new versions of books IV–VI. Most of the changes are small... Continue reading
• First full contiguous draft complete
  July 26, 2024 by Thaliarchus

  1

  #cosmic warlord kin-bright, #update

  Tonight I have in my files the first full draft of Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright , the first draft of clean text from first line to last, with no placeholders, no notes to self, and nothing left to fill i... Continue reading
• Minor updates to books I–III
  July 20, 2024 by Thaliarchus

  As part of my preparations for finishing the whole poem, I'm working through and checking the earlier books. I've just uploaded files with new versions of books I–III. Most of the changes are small... Continue reading
• 2024-05-07 update: first draft complete—now for editing…
  July 06, 2024 by Thaliarchus

  2

  Today, I finished the rough first draft for the last parts of Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright . Big projects begin many times. They also end many times over. Weeks of work yet remain: I must dictate handwri... Continue reading
• Revived wheels
  May 21, 2024 by Thaliarchus

  1

  #cosmic warlord kin-bright, #iliad, #chariots, #homer, #victory gundam

  in wheels Abiding Bishoprics deployed some armours light, recalling age-old way of ancestors, who tyred the open plain; so ancient forms of riding they revived (as always, draft material!) An old (and... Continue reading

  
• 2024-05-16 update: Book XV complete
  May 16, 2024 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright, #writing

  I'm happy to report that Book XV of Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright is pretty much in place. I think we might be looking at two or three more books to wrap the poem up. (That isn't a promise.) I have some p... Continue reading
• 2024-04-16 update; more notes on word-choice
  April 16, 2024 by Thaliarchus#word-choice, #lexis, #archaism, #writing

  I'm happy to report that the core writing of Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright Book XIV is done, though some work suturing remains. I'm certainly closing in on the story's end: I can't say for sure, and this... Continue reading
• Notes on writing process
  March 21, 2024 by Thaliarchus

  1

  #cosmic warlord kin-bright, #writing, #aurality

  I'm happy to report that I've now finished a clean draft of CWKB Book XIII, and I'm forging ahead into XIV. sarantine sent an ask on cohost about how much I think about the poem as something heard: co... Continue reading
• Progress report
  March 09, 2024 by Thaliarchus#progress report, #cosmic warlord kin-bright

  The briefest of brief updates: I haven't died, and work on CWKB continues apace. I now have clean drafts of books XI and XII, and a rough draft for most of Book XIII, as well as drafts for substantial... Continue reading
• Minor update
  January 28, 2024 by Thaliarchus

  I've just uploaded new versions of the poem in PDF and EPUB. The plot hasn't changed, and these versions offer no new books; I've just tweaked a bunch of things in Book I, which has long been the leas... Continue reading
• On narration
  December 21, 2023 by Thaliarchus

  1

  #writing, #narrative, #narration, #cosmic warlord kin-bright, #homer, #iliad

  As I think of it, Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright has narration, but no narrator. That is, I have a narrating position in mind when I write, one very distinct from me, but I make no attempt to characterise... Continue reading

  
• Designing the underworld
  December 08, 2023 by Thaliarchus#worldbuilding, #writing

  Where did the details of the underworld in Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright come from? 1. The shrouded halls and mournful paths have had a rhetorical foothold in the poem since early work: I had an important... Continue reading
• Forming the dawn-song
  December 04, 2023 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright, #poetry, #poetics, #aubade

  1. We have a tradition, going back at least to the late twelfth century, of songs sung by lovers regretting that dawn requires them to rise and potentially part. Two names for this tradition are the a... Continue reading
• Rhyme royal
  December 03, 2023 by Thaliarchus#poetics, #rhyme royal, #cosmic warlord kin-bright

  Most of books IX and X of Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright are written in a stanza-form called 'rhyme royal'. Why? A rhyme royal stanza rhymes ababbcc , and most poetry using the form arrives in five-beat li... Continue reading
• Books IX and X released! EPUB version released!
  December 02, 2023 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright

  As per title, the latest instalment of Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright is now public! And all ten books of the poem so far should now be available in EPUB too... Continue reading
• EPUB version coming
  November 08, 2023 by Thaliarchus

  1

  #cosmic warlord kin-bright, #epub

  As an addendum to my announcement about the next instalment: when that instalment drops, on 2 December, I will also release an up-to-date EPUB containing all the same books. It won't be very sophistic... Continue reading
• 2 December: release & live reading of books IX, X!
  November 04, 2023 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright, #live reading, #twitch

  Books IX and X of Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright come out on Saturday 2 December ! On that day, I will read these three books aloud live on Twitch starting at 21:30 GMT / UTC / Zulu . Once the live reading... Continue reading

  
• New cover image
  October 23, 2023 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright, #cover image, #szkin

  Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright has a new cover image! The new look comes from the hand of talented digital artist Szkin . The design of the helmet takes inspiration from Bronze Age boar's-tusk helmets , as... Continue reading

  
• Naming characters
  September 25, 2023 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright, #naming conventions, #writing, #worldbuilding

  I worked this up from my Afterword, on the basis that some people who haven't yet read CWKB —and some who'll never read it—might like some notes on how I generate names for characters. As with nam... Continue reading
• Refurbishment of Book I
  August 24, 2023 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright, #update, #minor update

  I've spent the last few days ironing out some things that dissatisfied me about Book I of Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright . The plot hasn't changed, but I removed a few infelicities, tightened the metre in... Continue reading
• Roadmap
  August 20, 2023 by Thaliarchus

  1

  #roadmap, #cosmic warlord kin-bright

  So, where next? To the underworld: I'm now writing the katabasis sequence, the trip that Kin-Bright and Qwerthart will make to the shrouded halls, in search of advice on where to go next. Because Taru... Continue reading
• A form for Taru death-songs
  August 14, 2023 by Thaliarchus

  1

  #alliterative metre, #verse form, #metrics, #poetry

  Book VII of Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright introduces a new verse-form to the poem, for Taru death-songs. I have long found haiku in English dissatisfying—personally, that is, to write. I’ve met some v... Continue reading
• Books VI, VII, and VIII released!
  August 12, 2023 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright, #release

  Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright books VI, VII, and VIII are now out! Read on to enjoy the poem's next major battle, the Battle of Three Askings, and learn how the Taru-Skelond fleet came to the Star Encaged... Continue reading
• 12 August: release & live reading of books VI to VIII
  July 27, 2023 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright, #poetry, #progress report, #release date

  Books VI, VII, and VIII of Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright come out on Saturday 12 August ! On that day I will read these three books aloud live on Twitch starting at 20:30 GMT / UTC / Zulu . Once the live... Continue reading

  
• Progress update
  July 23, 2023 by Thaliarchus

  1

  #cosmic warlord kin-bright, #progress report

  I've just finished writing the first contiguous draft of the next narrative unit in Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright . This material will form either books VI and VII, or books VI to VIII, depending on how m... Continue reading
• Choosing words, choosing weapons (feat. handy resources list!)
  July 08, 2023 by Thaliarchus#language, #lexis, #vocabulary, #syntax, #writing, #archaism, #poetry, #kennings

  I sometimes think pretty hard about the words and orders of words that I use when composing Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright . This post contains some notes on the topic: what I’m doing, some of the tacit... Continue reading
• Why itch?
  July 07, 2023 by Thaliarchus

  1

  #cosmic warlord kin-bright, #publication venues

  One or two have asked me: why put Kin-Bright , an epic poem, on itch.io? It's a good and fair question. There're what you might call push factors. In my other life, I've some in-the-guts knowledge of... Continue reading
• Writing FAQ
  June 07, 2023 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright, #writing, #faq

  Miscellaneous questions I've had from various quarters about Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright ! Some of these I've answered before on streams or in individual tweets; gathering them up seemed worthwhile. Wil... Continue reading
• The uses of simile
  May 25, 2023 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright, #simile, #writing, #worldbuilding

  Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright deploys a bunch of long, showy similes. Why? And what do I hope they do? Extended similes are a noted feature of Homeric style, much imitated by later poets; the PF offers a... Continue reading
• On inventing mecha names
  May 18, 2023 by Thaliarchus#naming conventions, #writing, #metre

  Naming people, and naming things: perennial troubles in writing. I find that defining some rules, restrictive though it might feel, actually makes the whole business easier. It also shapes the resulti... Continue reading
• Books IV and V released!
  May 13, 2023 by Thaliarchus

  1

  #cosmic warlord kin-bright, #release

  Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright books IV and V are now out! Read on to find out what the Taru discover when they return to their ancestral origin-planet, and how Kin-Bright grows closer to Qwerthart and clo... Continue reading
• 6 May: Book IV *and* V release and live reading
  May 04, 2023 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright, #release date, #live reading

  I've now not only finished writing Book IV of Kin-Bright , I've finished Book V as well!! I will release Book IV and V late on Saturday 6 May. At 2030 GMT / UTC / Zulu on that day (2130 UK time), I'll... Continue reading
• 6 May: Book IV release and live reading
  April 24, 2023 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright, #live reading, #stream

  I've now finished writing Book IV of Kin-Bright ! I will release Book IV late on Saturday 6 May. At 2030 GMT / UTC / Zulu on that day (2130 UK time), I'll also run a live reading of Kin-Bright Book IV... Continue reading
• The alliterative line
  April 22, 2023 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright, #alliterative verse, #alliterative metre, #metrics

  So last time I did this I talked a bit about the five-beat line (5BL), the workhorse for Kin-Bright . The poem has other metres, some of them very different. Today, I'll talk about the alliterative ve... Continue reading
• Update; stream this Saturday (8 April)
  April 03, 2023 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright

  Book IV is progressing, and if life doesn't intervene I expect to release it this month! I'll be doing another stream this coming Saturday, 8 April, at 2030 GMT/ UTC / Zulu (2130 UK time), at https://... Continue reading
• The five-beat line
  March 31, 2023 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright, #metre, #five-beat line, #metrics

  People build games in frameworks that allow some things and disallow others. I’m writing Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright in a set of metrical frameworks that allow some things and disallow others, so I fi... Continue reading
• Book III released; VOD of recording available!
  March 11, 2023 by Thaliarchus

  1

  #cosmic warlord kin-bright, #release

  Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright Book III is now out! I've produced all three complete books written so far in one PDF, for convenience, and I've updated the afterword. I also did a live reading on Twitch! Y... Continue reading
• 11 March: Book III release & live reading
  March 05, 2023 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright, #live reading

  I've now finished writing Book III of Kin-Bright ! I've also made another pass through Book I, tweaking and fixing a few things (in the metre, not the plot!). I will release Book III late on Saturday... Continue reading
• Book III progress update
  February 26, 2023 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright

  To keep everyone posted: Book III nears its first clean draft. I have five short interstitial passages left to write, after which I'll need to do some passes of reading aloud and editing. Right now it... Continue reading
• Book II released!
  February 11, 2023 by Thaliarchus#cosmic warlord kin-bright, #release

  Book II is now out! And the Afterword's updated in a few places as well. Given elements of Book II and the urging of friends, I've added the 'yuri' tag. Expect Book III in March!... Continue reading
• Book II update
  February 04, 2023 by Thaliarchus

  1

  #cosmic warlord kin-bright, #timescale

  I have just settled a clean draft of Book II of Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright . Expect it to arrive next weekend (11/12 February)! Book III sits relatively close to completion too, though I don't want to... Continue reading

  
• Inventing hyperspace
  January 19, 2023 by Thaliarchus

  1

  #worldbuilding, #wording, #metrics, #what counts as design anyway?

  After I unleashed Book I of Cosmic Warlord Kin-Bright , a reader got in touch to ask how I came up with both the name and the details of the Fold, the story's equivalent of hyperspace travel, and whet... Continue reading