#PhantastikPrompts am 22.03.:
Stell uns bitte das letzte Phantastikbuch kurz vor, das du gelesen hast.

Heute habe ich den #Steampunk #Comic Lady Mechanika Teil 9 fertig gelesen. Die Protagonistin reist in den kalten Norden Russlands um mehrere Wissenschaftler*innen zu retten. Diese forschte an einem See, wo ein urzeitliches Wesen gesichtet wurde. Dabei muss sie sich nicht nur russischen Waldwesen und der Wildnis stellen, sondern auch den inneren Dämonen aus den letzten Teilen. #LadyMechanika

A bit of a bonus for March. Beware the Ills is FREE today and tomorrow on the Kindle. Dark fantasy, steampunk, sasquatch, sword fights, airships, and disturbing POV. More in link:

#writing #reading #fiction #darkfantasy #steampunk #books #horror #novels #FreeBook #FreeKindleBook #KindleFreebie

https://patrickwmarshauthor.wordpress.com/2026/03/21/bonus-free-book-weekend/

Steampunk World Tour (Feb 13 2020)

https://spectra.video/w/4BY3pAyc2Xgvmgn9vwd3nA

Been playing around with my designs on shirts and set up an Etsy shop! I like it so far.
Etsy link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/4473683595/book-wyrm-short-sleeve-unisex-t-shirt?ref=shop_home_active_1&logging_key=758812734f39729e080f9c568aa9dc5f9cb573a8%3A4473683595

#steampunk

Beware the Ills: Part 35

Two machines worked their way towards me in the melee. One stalks in my shadow, the other sits directly in front of me. They start to glow blue-green fire. It collects around their peeled cores in translucent streams and smudges. I tilt the machine over and leap off. The two orbs streak through the air and destroy each other in a verdant flourish of crackling metal. Idiots. They’ve lost their edge completely. Their commander must be ashamed of how they’re behaving.

I’m running through the clouds of brown armor now. I’ve got my left shoulder down to cut or stab any man which steps in my way. My sword slashes up and down as I run, hacking men left and right. I’m too close for arrows. They’ll hit each other in the crossfire. They’re also too slow to pull out their swords, and swing around their shields to deflect me.

I had such high hopes for them.

I behead a man in front of me. I leap off his stumped body and grab the crossbow out of his hands. I fire one solitary shot in front of me. The heavy weapon clatters awkwardly. A man falls impaled. I grab his crossbow before it hits the ground. I have two now. I fire in all directions around me, unleashing a wide circle of pointed stalks. They fall back like a broken brown wave. The crossbow’s metal chamber hammers back and forth. The screaming and thrashing shapes topple against one another. Blue’s just beyond me, attacking and carving away at their outer lines.

I hope he’s okay.

They’ve started to out flank me in this melee. One crossbow is empty. I run into the crowd so they can’t focus fire on me. I bet they’re willing to sacrifice a few men to take me down at this point. Where’s the man with the spear? What’s taking him so long? I run. I can’t expose myself to their bum rushes any longer. The other crossbow twines empty. I throw it towards the men behind me like a broken toy.

I make my way towards the river. I’m not far out from its icy billows. Speaking of which, where’s the woman-monster hiding? She has yet to make an appearance. I leap over the last confused soldier before the river and jump down onto the ice below. It’s empty, quiet, and absent of any blood.

The peons haven’t even turned around to me. The bloodshed spooked them even further. During my escape towards the river, the machines realigned at the front of the army to powder the river with their pretty lights. They roar and grind, as they center on me standing on the river. It’s too late for them. Screams hit the air.

Blue has fallen upon them.

I join him. Blue’s strong enough to throw and swing the machines freely in his enormous paws. They howl and groan under him, as he grabs and tosses them into the scrambling invaders. Men scream too, firing arrows randomly into the air. I’m running towards the muddled edge of falling machines. He grips the machines at their backwards feet. His paws look small against their metal extensions, an enemy worthy of his size. He strains under their weight; you can see the lines of his muscles and veins beneath his fur. He balances them, one on each paw. Smart boy. He can only spin them twice before he scatters them in each direction. The men fall like blades of red ice, cracking and shattering in bloody streaks between their shells. Four other machines are smashed and turned over. The troops run from the colliding metal. They run onto the river in a wild panic. The shore and trees ooze red in extravagant patterns.

It’s quite a sight.

The ground troops are collecting again further down the shore. The man with the spear has taken control of them, directing swarms of hissing arrows at Blue’s blood-painted form. He barrels forward to take away their sharp momentum.

Two of the machines have turned to me on the river’s edge, just south of where Blue is attacking. They fire a pair of orbs at me like melted lighting. They move too straight, too stubborn. I run in between them as they scorch towards me. My sword is out in my right hand like a waiting needle. I need it to balance me out as I move horizontally between these blasts. The shore and ice below my feet bursts and cracks against the round fire. It will all come apart. The cold-water sprays under the deafening air. The sound annoys me. I weave my way between the ruptures. I can see the surprise on their goggled white faces atop their machines. The wind whips the spraying water, it nearly freezes in midair. The machines groan and bend down, unleashing a fade of arrows against me. So annoyingly predictable. I’m in the air before the metal rods reach me. I’m a little late in this jump. The arrows are up against me in a pointy wall. The momentum pushes me back. I whip the fur cloak out in a wide shield in front of me. Arrows break and clatter into one another. A few stranglers spear at me below my cloak and I knock them away with my sword. They shake my sword and sting the handle.

The black storm takes a large amount of my momentum in the air, pushing me back against the shattered ice. I spin my cloak again and knock more arrows away. Troops have started to run onto the river. They’re tired of watching the slaughter. A middle-aged man with a short sword and broad shield rushes me. He’s a fool. Brave, but a fool, nonetheless. I impale him with the long hilt of my sword and kick his body off onto the ice. They surround and crowd me, on both sides of my shoulders. I cleave in a wide sweep leaving my feet and spinning. Only limbs, ligaments, and blood remain in a motionless pile.

Where is the man with the spear?

I’ll be releasing my novel Beware the Ills in segments every Friday. You can find out more about the book right here, or check out Amazon’s info. I love this book. Happy to simply share it. 

It is Friday, so that means you get to take your weekly trip to the Cursed Island via my weird and dark narrator. Enjoy.

#writing #reading #fiction #books #novels #horror #fantasy #darkfantasy #steampunk

https://patrickwmarshauthor.wordpress.com/2026/03/20/beware-the-ills-part-35/

Mystic Era
https://fantasyexpo.hu/mystic-era/

#Killts #Steampunk

steampunk music

#Steampunk #Musical #Mechanical #Device #Technology #Industrial #Gears #Pipes #Metal #Brass #Copper #Retro #Sci-fi
#Img2img #AiArt #AiArtists #AiArtCommunity #StableDiffusion

on non-mechanical stuff: https://aieris.art/featured/steampunk-music-eris-and-ai.html