#Irastenys

[bishopofblack]

"Be silent, and be still." It’s a pity Tajorinen had not been the Knight some centuries ago, when Irastenys had rather more patience for this sort of thing. But he doesn’t want to play games. Not anymore. He stretches out his hand, catching Tajorinen’s chin in his fingers, feeling the muscle in his jaw flexing. He’s a good match for Ashtoryan. Yet another waste of a beautiful face. "You must be feeling terribly pleased with yourself, to have gotten under my skin, hm? To counsel me, for fear that I might be bereft a second time, for fear of a murderer in our court?" Irastenys traces along the taut muscles of the other man’s neck. "But you see, Tajorinen… There are a few things you don’t know about me. Sit down. Stay still." Irastenys watches as the Knight’s body obeys, and his mind rebels. He must be screaming inside. And this is just a little taste. Sitting there beside him, Irastenys lays his head on Tajorinen’s shoulder, in some mockery of fondness. The poor man is bristling from head to toe. "Relax. I won’t hurt you. And if you’re thinking that next time, you’ll strike before I can speak, well… There won’t be a next time, either."

- The Bishop of Black

Click here to learn more about our story!

[theskeletonprior]

📂📂📂 you may tell me about whomever you wish :3

~ @void-botanist

I think I'll talk about some of the characters I'm personally responsible for in The Bishop of Black. We've finally finished our first book, and I really should be boasting about it more. Also I'll include some art! My husband does all the art for this project, and I ride quite happily on their coat tails.

Irastenys

Despite his long years, Irastenys never experiences malaise when it comes to forming human connection. He just can't help himself. He longs to be close to others, or at least as close as his immortality and his terrible secrets allow. Even in eras where he's attempted to keep others at a distance, it's inevitable that he breaks this self-imposed restriction.

Ennyn

When startled enough, Ennyn will use all four of their arms to scale the nearest tall object or wall. They have no idea how unsettling it looks when they do this.

Isbellor

In order to mantle spirits properly, Isbellor has to work to minimize her own imprint inside her body. She keeps her attire fairly nondescript, as well as her diet. But she does have cheat days, during which she enjoys as much and as many different varieties of curry as she can stomach.

[send 📂 for a fact about one of my OCs]

To learn more about The Bishop of Black, you can check out the WIP Intro here!

[bishopofblack]

How it started | How it's going

We've come a long way from our very first volume, but the T4T disaster gays just keep on disastering...

[bishopofblack]

A polycule, three ways

Irastenys (he/him), Shifra (he/him), and Femi (she/her) are from The Bishop of Black. Check out our reading guide!

[bishopofblack]

The Seer

Irastenys (he/him) is from The Bishop of Black. Check out our reading guide!

[ceph-the-ghost-writer]

I am very normal about these characters and can be trusted around all of them.

@korblez's Dillon and Zadimus

@thatndginger's The Pack and Jaime

@sunset-a-story and @touloserlautrec's Alyosha, Reeve, Alex, and Marek

@theskeletonprior and @rosieartsie's Femi, Syl, and Irastenys

@likegemstone's Nyxabella + all her friends/acquaintances

@space-writes's Prince Sorrow, the Wraith, Rainier and Vivien, Ashenivir and Vizeth

@stjohnstarling's Father A and Lord Vane

@drawnecromancy's Hélianthe

@albatris's Nat

@vacantgodling's versions of Cole, Hanzo, and Hana, plus Amon and the VDTRT cast

@jezifster's Veronica and Shadow

sometimes you just have GOT to get weird about someone's oc. embrace them. treat them like you would the main character of a hit tv show. blorbo from someone else' brain. it's good for you

[bishopofblack]

His tea is cold, probably.

[bishopofblack]

One sweet polycule, one wartorn world. What could possibly go wrong?

[theskeletonprior]

Happy STS! If someone was looking for your characters, how would they describe them to people? What features would they most pick out to distinguish them from a crowd?

First of all, I finally have the chance and the energy to answer these. Sorry it took so long. I really appreciate how many you sent! My unique cocktail of miseries makes it hard to get to these things more often than not.

I think over all, I have a tendency to make characters who would stick out in a crowd. Ravenot is well over six feet tall, dresses all in black, carries a sword and trumpet, and along with all that, he has a voice like a clarion. Heaven forbid they laugh; all heads turn toward them. My BG3 Tav, Vah'ikith is a githyanki draconic sorcerer with red dragon lineage. Very conspicuous amongst his kin, and very conspicuous in Faerûn as the githyanki are seldom seen. "The gith with red scales" is probably easy enough to pick out. But then again, there's Irastenys. He's soft-spoken, dresses plainly. Even his footsteps are quiet. I think someone looking for him might say that he's quiet, with wavy salt-and-pepper hair that's about elbow length. And that's really the best that they'd manage.

[theskeletonprior]

<3 It's my anniversary today! <3

A year ago today I was married to my soulmate, my closest confidant, the other half of so many of my stories, my Alexander. It was a beautiful day, and to celebrate, I thought I'd take a moment to talk about The Bishop of Black, which we've been writing together for years on end. You can check out the whole first book right here for free, if you like.

My Alexander does all of the beautiful artwork, and together we tell the tale! You can follow them at @alexanderflowerbird for more of their art and their solo writing, which I highly recommend. But more about The Bishop of Black! There are four PoV characters: Femi, Atsa, Irastenys, and Scythaline, and all of them are in different flavors of the worst trouble they've ever been in.

Femi (left) just wants to pursue her career as a medic in the Kingdom of Black, but when tragedy strikes, she finds herself on the hunt for a murderer.

Atsa (right) is desperate to vanish into her work as an aide in the Kingdom of White, and work off her family's debts, but her good work attracts the attention of powerful people.

Irastenys (left) is helplessly in love with Femi, an immortal... And a murderer. (Don't think too hard about the last part. He can totally be trusted.)

Scythaline (right) is trying to step out of the shadow of his beloved mentor... while having an affair with a married man who may not have his best interests at heart.

And the mess. Gets. Messier! Anyway, I just wanted to take a moment to showcase some of my husband's beautiful artwork and promote the project we've been working on together. I have loved our life together as much as I've loved writing this story, and I'd be delighted to share it more broadly in hopes that others might love it almost as much. We're in the middle of revamping the early chapters (which are a little bit rough) so it's really a great time to dive into The Bishop of Black!

[bishopofblack]

Want to read The Bishop of Black, but not sure where to start? Check out our handy reading guide.

The Bishop of Black is a queer dark fantasy set in a haunted realm encased by a mysterious, sorcerous barrier. When a tragedy rekindles an ancient bloodfeud, Femi, the court medic, must search for answers, treading the knife-edge of wartime politics, and her fraught relationship with Irastenys, the Bishop of Black.

[theskeletonprior]

I was tagged by the lovely @thatndginger who also filled this prompt right here. Thank you!

Prompt: Share a sentence from your WIP that starts with each letter in the word given to you by the person who tagged you.

My word was SMOKE. All of these excerpts come from The Bishop of Black, which you can read right here! My husband @rosieartsie and I are in the middle of a big update to the early chapters, so there's much more to come.

S

“She’s going to bite you, love,” he warns, “I can see it in her eyes.”

M

Maybe he manages it, then. Maybe he is far away. Is he collapsing? He doesn't know anymore.

O

Once, their knight intruded here, and Irastenys hissed at him to begone so venomously that he did not need to compel.

K

Kelradest is nevertheless sitting almost peacefully in the centre of their prison, bound hands folded in their lap.

E

"Everything is life and death in this court, my Second Knight," Atsa says, and she knows her voice is cold, hard as the truth of what it means to serve the Kingdom of White.

I'm a little out of date, regarding who likes to be tagged, but I will be tagging @flowerprose @vacantgodling and some of my shiny new mutuals, @sunset-a-story and @maggieharlan. This is also an open tag! Feel free to fill the prompt and tag me. Your word is: CASTLE.

[bishopofblack]

A handy guide for readers of The Bishop of Black! All available free chapters under the cut. New chapters weekly! Can't wait? Check us out on Patreon. Memberships start at $1 USD!

In a nation torn by a war that has been waged for centuries, tensions run high as the Kingdoms of Black and White seem to be on the verge of a lasting peace after generations of strife and bloodshed. Femi, a medic in the Kingdom of Black, is swept up into the dangerous politics of the court after a horrible tragedy returns them to the brink of war.

Chapter One: Femi Chapter Two: Scythaline Chapter Three: Femi Chapter Four: Irastenys

Chapter Five: Atsa Chapter Six: Femi Chapter Seven: Irastenys Chapter Eight: Scythaline

Chapter Nine: Atsa Chapter Ten: Femi Chapter Eleven: Irastenys Chapter Twelve: Scythaline

Chapter Thirteen: Atsa Chapter Fourteen [Coming soon!] Chapter Fifteen [Coming soon!] Chapter Sixteen [Coming soon!]

[theskeletonprior]

It's STS time! What's something about your OC(s) that people wouldn't expect just from looking at them?

For Ravenot, I don't think at a glance, people would realize that he's so friendly, and so gentle. But then once they get to know him, it'd be a surprise to see the incredible violence of which he is capable. Irastenys, meanwhile, is astronomically more dangerous than he looks. I don't think someone would look at this wet cat of a man and know instantly that he's responsible for more human casualties than he's even aware of. He's a war criminal, he cries if his tea is too hot when he drinks it, he can kill you just by telling you to drop dead, he also cries if his tea tastes too good. But he hides his hand very well. Zephrinus Pact is a goofball. He's also over seven feet tall, and his sockets burn like the eternal fire of the sun or whatever. But deep down? This man is deeply goofy. He doesn't take himself even half as seriously as the rest of the universe does, most of the time.

[bishopofblack]

Chapter Ten | Femi

After the day she's had, Femi is glad to be one of the Pawns free to enjoy festivities for the evening rather than working in service of the court Pieces. She's drinking in hopes that wine will soothe her temper after the day's events, but so far she's danced, drank, ate, and all the while stewed over the back to back instances of insult she's had to deal with. She’s had time to mull over what it was that brought the King to call her over during the day’s feast, and has realized she has a right to add Irastenys and Shifra’s silence to her grievances. She could be forgiving, considering their difference in station... the Court Pieces have bigger affairs to attend to during the games than etiquette in things such as romantic courtship and the King’s prodding seemed only to be for the fun of it. At least she knows that of those who have caused her discomfort today, she can actively make Shifra pay for his fault if he'll show up to the festivities attempting to make amends—Second to the Bishop or not, he is her lover, and she imagines she has not seen him yet, or since the exchange with the King for more reasons than his work as a diplomat. Irastenys she can scold when the games are over with, if her temper still has a hold of her. The King was right after all, and she’d hardly noticed until he’d said so. She deserves a parade. Femi notices it of course, when her anxious best friend appears at her side, but she’s busy glaring at the masses so she doesn’t speak to him.

"You know how when you wind up a music box, it gets harder to wind the more you go? That's what you're like right now."

Continue reading for free on Patreon! New chapters every Tuesday at 3pm, EST. <3 New to the story? Start here!

[bishopofblack]

Chapter Eleven | Irastenys

Irastenys wakes up alone. That isn’t so unusual. Indeed, when he wakes up somewhere he barely remembers falling asleep, even that isn’t so terribly odd. A chair in his assigned quarters. Did he walk here? If someone had found him sleeping somewhere else, they might have brought him to the bed. So he must have walked. Shifra must have stayed with Femi, smoothing things over, and must have been tired, because he tends to return in the morning, otherwise. Irastenys doesn’t take much more time in wondering about how he came to be here alone, beginning instead the painstaking process of preparing for the rest of the day. There are appearances that must be maintained, after all. He is, for better or worse, the Bishop of Black, and while Kalmin will be lenient, there are some responsibilities that must not go unattended. As such, a change of clothes is required. He should wash his face. Brush his hair, all these menial things which seem so small and far away. Breathe. Remember, nearly everyone breathes. He loses several minutes just to breathing, and might have lost more time had Shifra not returned, looking a little tired, but wakeful in a way that Irastenys hasn’t been in a very long time. Shifra never seems to mind.

"You’re dressed already," Shifra observes, pressing a kiss to Irastenys’ cheek that he only barely feels. It’s as though he’s buried in a deep layer of snow, and Shifra is the distant sunlight. "It’s almost time for the meeting," his lover tells him, "come back. Help me get ready."

Continue reading for free on Patreon! New chapters every Tuesday at 3pm, EST. <3 New to the story? Start here!