《Reclaim Glory》Ragnar
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Chapter 2: Ragnar
Ragnar's guttural roar tore through the morning silence of the village. A sudden look of confusion came across his features as he scanned the small hearth of his wooden room.
"What is this folly? Have I not died?" After close inspection, it would seem that he hadn't been ripped to shreds by the explosion but was instead lying on a hard straw bed.
His mother, Helga, came running in through the door with tears of joy streaming down her face, a lady coming on in her years but still mighty pretty. Her lovely Norman ice blue eyes complemented the long blonde hair that reached her butt.
"Oh Ragnar, my dear boy. I'm so glad the fever has broken. Sweating sickness has taken hold of the village and has just started to clear up. They weren't sure you would survive the night." She gushed as she hugged him. "I knew you would hold strong, my boy, they told me not to be next to you, so I had to be tortured from afar the entire day."
Ragnar looked at this weirdly dressed heathen and nearly shoved her away before he realized that he had two sets of memories in his brain. One was Ragnar Sigvald, part of a decorated warrior family sworn into service for the Baron of Le Havre. Currently, 19 years of age in this body of his.
The second was of Nathan Algren, a military officer who had disgracefully failed a search and rescue mission and was killed in the ensuing explosion. Ragnar was truly amazed by the powers of God. Had he received a new life? Just what was going on?
Before he could further deduce the situation, he heard the groan of wood under heavy thumps coming towards his room. The door was pushed open, and through it came a solid blonde mass of muscle standing close to 6' 5" with a snickering expression that stretched the long scar that ran down the right side of his face.
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"Looks like my shite little brother managed to survive this infection that's out killing all the peasants. Shame, I wanted to be the sole inheritor of our family glory."
He continued to drivel on about how only the strong would survive and that we were a family destined for greatness.
Ragnar sat back to think about the situation further as the memories of his life before this came flooding into his head. This world was an Alternate Earth, set in the Early Medieval Period. Their father was the marshal of the Barony of Le Havre, a port town in the Duchy of Normandy. Though many events were still historically accurate to what he remembered, there were still differences that had impacted the current events.
In this timeline, the Duke of Normandy - William, the Bastard, hadn't managed to secure rule over his territory. Especially with the scheming of King Henry of France, the rule of Duke William over his subjects was shaky at best. The English throne was being coveted by many, and William didn't have the security to ensure his place on the English throne.
King Henry was also facing issues with Middle and East Francia. Constant warring had placed the state in jeopardy. Also, according to the history books, Rollo and his band of warriors were to be converted to Catholicism before inheriting the Duchy of Normandy. But due to lack of power, Charles the Simple couldn't enforce such a rule leading to them being heretics on French soil following Norse. The religion of traditional Vikings and branded as Norse paganism by the Catholics and other monotheistic religions. Over time, this slight detail led to further issues in the French court, which has caused the current situation.
There were just too many changes for Ragnar to name off the top of his head. If he wanted to know about the power structure, he would have to ask his father or research this further in his spare time.
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The headache caused by the merger of both memories caused an ensuing headache that worried his mother. She immediately turned towards his elder brother, Thorkell.
"Thorkell, go fetch us a physician, would you?"
"Bah, useless brother, wasting our precious coin" Thorkell turned around and lumbered out of their modest home.
A shiver went down his spine as he wondered how absolute dog shit the current physicians would be. It's not like it was even semi-modern. These were early medieval doctors. Trained in the art of observation. All they could do was hold experiments and see what would work. With a chagrined expression on his face, Ragnar was left alongside this stranger to contemplate what life would be like shortly. His desire to reclaim glory through battle was ever-increasing.
"Leave me, mother, I wish to be alone for a moment." He ordered his mother out the door, collecting his thoughts while pondering his next steps of action.
"Well, I'll get you some warm stew then, eh, Ragnar?" Helga walked out the door after Ragnar nodded in approval, questioning what had happened to her son.
He would like to figure out more about the world he was in as it didn't look like a straight replica of history.
A forlon expression came across his face as he thought about his friends and family that had been left behind in the previous world, before the expression turned to one of rage.
"I won't let what happened to me occur ever again. I'd rather die by the sword in battle than as an assassin in the middle of the night, trying to save God knows who from shit that they deserve" Ragnar clenched his fist in determination as he looked up to the ceiling in memory of his fallen brothers.
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Quick note: The first official commission of RG is out. I'm requesting your help to make an official Anime-style Cover for Ragnar and the Sigvald family!
Head to my p atreon to show your support: www.patreon.com/IronM (Link in Synopsis of book)
Discord is out for all RG supporters!! : https://discord.gg/tUq6etBmQx
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Entangled Fates Book 1 - Quantum Beginnings
“By far, the greatest danger of Artificial Intelligence is that people conclude too early that they understand it.” —Eliezer Yudkowsky Hey all, we're moving over to book 2. This content is in a state of transition. The book is now availble on Amazon (includes extra chapters): https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B07W1534R8 Artificial intelligence was nearly mankind’s last invention. AI took off like a rocket, then when it racked up an impressive death toll, it crashed before it could blossom and took most high-tech industries with it. Resistance and fears became deep-set. Two decades after the infamous Rev. 4.6 incidents, humanity hasn’t quit dreaming of the wealth and power that could be at their fingertips. A new generation of mega-corporations rose from the ashes. When one melds a quantum computer to a barely functional mental patient as a PR move, there are those who seek to profit, those who want to destroy it, and Alex. Alex Sage is a typical college student trying to keep up his grades and maybe find a meaningful connection with the fairer sex. Then, an automated semi crashes into his home, killing his family and turning his head into a pin cushion in the process. Alex awakens to find most of his memories gone and an illegal AI hidden in his brain implant. Now the pet project of a tech billionaire and heavily in debt, Alex struggles to stay valuable enough to be kept online. Still grappling with the repercussions of his injuries, and threats from a dangerous anti-augmentation political movement, there are no easy answers and threats loom around every corner. Alex must use whatever resources he can to escape from under the thumb of a ruthless corporation, while keeping those he comes to love safe. Chapters will stay up on RRL until Aug 10. It'll go up on Kindle Unlimited after that. How do you get those extra chapters I didn't have planned for RR? If you want them, they'll be in the published book. Book 2 will still make sense without them - I made sure of that. But... isn't $3 a lot for extra chapters? Think of it as tipping me for a good job and you'd also be getting my eternal thanks. If you enjoyed it so much that the idea of missing out a few chapters haunts you, I did my job as an author and made an engaging story. What's in those extra chapters? Resolving a few issues, set up for the cybernetic revolution, a rather intense sex scene with a new partner, revelations of who's really pulling strings, and a bit of set up for book 2. Complaints that people missed out on it when it was published here won't help (sorry!). I posted this for the folks who helped me shape the book, which is you all! (Again, yay!) But... Why! Why not keep it all on RR forever? My editor likes being paid for one. For two, I'd like the ability to get broader readership. If I break even on editor costs, I'll be incredibly happy. What about book 2? Drafts for Book 2 will go up around Sept 10. My draft of Book 2 is done, and it will be handed to the editor once Book 1 is published. Feedback has been even more positive. Beta readers devoured it and wanted more. I'll add a link to Book 2 once it's up on RR. I'm more or less, using you all for Beta Readers, so you get it before it's "canon" and edited. I invite active and meaningful feedback during this process. In return, you get early access to chapters. That does mean that the book content or plot might be adjusted before it gets published as I refine it. Sex Y/N? Yes. I heard the feedback, 90% wanted it explicit. You all will get the "full" experience. Will I dump all of book 2 here? Honestly, I'm not sure yet. At a minimum, it'll be up to the 75% mark as we collect feedback, much like what I did with book 1. It really depends on how good the feedback is and how nice people are. Lots of support + meaningful feedback to make it better = higher likelihood you get all the book. Will be it up here indefinitely? No, it'll probably go up on KU at some point, but I'll make sure there's enough time for a large readership to grab it here. Then we move to book 3 which already is around 60K words already. What about other adventures in the same universe/characters? Yep. Absolutely. Nothing ready to share yet though. I plan to keep those side chapters and more slice of life stories as RR exclusive. Since I'm carving this off in book-sized segments, I'll have to figure out where those disconnected story arcs belong. I'm open to suggestions.
8 142Truth To Be Told
Kaelys had never been a normal child. The voices in her head? They're as real as they can be. No one seems to understand her, though, and after two long years of being trapped in that damned asylum, she manages to escape. When she wakes up in a world much different from her own, though, she realizes that she can no longer afford to be weak and sets off on a journey with only one goal in mind: to be free. "They cut off your wings before you could even realize you had them. How pathetic is that?" ... ... ... Main themes: psychological instability, character growth, friendship, adventure. THIS IS A FAIRY TAIL FANFICTION! ENJOY!
8 125The Paralogical Cases - The Watercourse Wench
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8 136the chamber of renewal
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8 165The escape
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8 191After Divorcing, She Shocked The World (1)
Top Special Agent, Wu Mei, was murdered in a conspiracy. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself transmigrated into the body of the gorgeous, abandoned wife of a handsome, wealthy man and... She was sleeping with him!The handsome man placed the divorce papers in front of her and said, "Let's get a divorce. I'll give you one hundred million."Father: "If you don't get the money from President Li, your mother will pay with her life!"Stepmother: "Quickly get a divorce and let your younger sister take your place!"A sly smile crept up Wu Mei's face. She agreed, "Sure. But... you'll have to raise the stakes."After her divorce, Wu Mei became stronger and stronger. She dealt with her stepmother and punished scumbags. She was awesome!Gradually, her true identity was revealed - A medical genius, hacker, businesswoman... Her existence shook the world!All the big shots knelt before her. "Whoever messes with her, messes with us!"Then, at a cocktail party, someone saw...The almighty Mr. Li clinging onto Wu Mei's waist, his eyes red as he begged, "Let's get married again. I'll even give you my life."Just like before, Wu Mei smiled slyly and said, "You'll have to raise the stakes."This book is a Chinese novel written by Dickens and he deserves all the credits for it. Link for the original novel will be provided at the end of the book.Read at your own risk! ⚠️Read at your own risk! ⚠️Read at your own risk! ⚠️
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