From Nightfall to New Beginnings
Wardens of the Equinox. The way the name hung in the air after Gunterius suggested it, Laharynn knew that the group would pick it. There was a certain rightness about it, and, looking around the firelit tavern-turned-quarters, Laharynn could see each of them in it. The light of Castiel and life of Maren on one side, the shadow of herself and the death of Gunterius on the other, and Sydaccus a line of balanced fire down the center, like the wavering light of the sunset on the sea. And so they had a name–the warmth of pride ebbed out of Laharynn and her smile faded. The cutting edge of notoriety was keen–on the one side were the accolades and doors that knowledge of their good deeds had opened, but on the other, no doubt, were those that gathered in the dark and circled the Wardens like jackals.
Wardens of the Equinox is the party name in the Dungeons & Dragons game Melissa plays in. It’s a story-rich, roleplay-heavy, and heavily homebrewed 5th edition game with compelling characters, gritty combat, immersive worldbuilding, and clever magic item systems. The in-game character art, items, and assets are created by Melissa’s husband–an amazing storyteller and designer in his own right.
Unpublished Adventures only for Patrons
Bless my husband, who is our DM , the most talented worldbuilder I know, and the creative force behind our game. He started running this game for us, in part because after publishing The Iyarri Chronicles I was creatively wiped out and he wanted me to have fun. I have had the time of my life playing this game--it's the first and only long-term game I've had the pleasure of playing, and I am so grateful it's this table with this story. One of my brothers (who plays Castiel Theron) kept lovingly hinting (in the most unsubtle way possible) that it would be really cool if I wrote our adventures down. I wanted to, but I resisted. I didn't want another project. My husband cautioned me that I was supposed to be having fun, and he didn't want me to burn out and not enjoy the game. We got to one particular session and there was a particular Moment (capital M moment) that I just couldn't let go. I couldn't not capture it. The idea of curling up with the adventures of the Wardens of the Equinox next to the fire, many years from now, was something I was determined to make happen--if only because I wanted to hand my husband's entire world back to him with a big bow of love on top of it. (And, perhaps, for some minor revenge that he still has his own Patreon tier because he refuses to stop supporting me.) From that point on, I've written every session after we finish playing it but before our next session, and for the first time since before I started publishing my books, I was not just writing, I was enjoying writing.
After publishing The Iyarri Chronicles, Melissa’s creative writing focus turned to The Wardens of the Equinox, and she has been steadily novelizing their adventures. Adventures that you can read, enjoy, and draw inspiration for your own games from! These stories are available to Patrons who support Melissa’s creative works.
Meet the Wardens
The party dynamic is half the fun.
Table of Contents
Chapter 0
You must gather your party before venturing forth.
A Note from Melissa:
Some things I am going to ask you to keep in mind.
This is writing for fun. Unlike my books, this isn’t going through three rounds of editing, two rounds of copy editing, and two rounds of proofreading. There are going to be errors, but they don’t need to be pointed out, just focus on enjoying the story.
It’s a very new style of writing for me. All my novels are close POV first person, so swapping to a 5 person party in third person is a big shift, and a fun challenge. It’s also not going to be quite as polished as I hone this new skillset.
This is written to be a mostly-accurate record of our game. There are places where I condense some of the back-and-forth (anyone that’s ever been in a party making a plan in D&D knows how convoluted THAT gets in a hurry). I’m not writing a book loosely inspired by our game, I’m taking it session-by-session because, first and foremost, this is for our table to remember and revisit. That means there’s no neatly laid out pacing, some chapters will be longer, others shorter, but each will be as long as it takes to tell that session’s tale and will follow the events of that particular session.
- Please do not “well, actually” about rules. I’m retelling the story and that means that some spells, actions, monsters, etc. are not perfectly defined in this representation. For example, in the first chapter, The Deal & The Blackdaggers, Laharynn is using features of her homebrew race (Shadows of Selûne–which is how she teleports and gets a single Mirror Image) and class (Misty Step), and I’m using spell names (Misty Step) and the effect (teleported) interchangeably, even though I’m well aware that teleportation is its own thing in D&D. But nobody wants to read (and I do not want to write) in a super-clunky way for the sake of enumerating exactly what power, spell, or class feature is being used at any given moment.
There is a lot of homebrewing in our game. Laharynn is a Selûndriel elf, a homebrew race. Her Rogue subclass (Twilight Traveler) is also homebrewed. I’ll be explaining special races, classes, items, monsters, and more as we go. This additional content will always be at the bottom of the chapter–and please ask questions and leave comments! Our table loves them.
- After each bit of writing I post, I’ll give some background on the OOC ( out of character) things of interest, and take questions if you have them
But mostly, I hope you love this journey and this story as much as I do. 💚 Hit me up with any questions or comments you have, and I’ll continue this story soon!
Independently Published
Melissa has poured her heart and artistic focus into bringing The Iyarri Chronicles and Wardens of the Equinox to you without compromise. Independently published, she was involved in every step of the way, including cover design, which most traditionally published authors are locked out of. Consider supporting her and becoming her Patron to read her unpublished Wardens of the Equinox adventures, get exclusive access to a Patrons-exclusive storefront, and discounts at NightBlooming.
