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Black Nerve Lore

A trove of scattered exposition and cryptic vignettes

Beneath a sky like a black ocean ever-rippling, trees of chitin and cuticle crawl high. This world is scarred, and the only reprieve to plagues and malediction are vesperbanes — bugs who kill just by existing.

And yet still they dream — they promise to bring about a burning dream of peace, and every oath binds.

Read more about Black Nerve.

Contents
  1. 0
Arete
Our Bond is an Altar2024-11-30Story of three bugs with only each other to lose3.5k words
With Gnawed Wings Defending2024-11-10Who saves the saviors?2.4k words
A Mantis Typology2024-10-20Sixteen Ways to Hunt and Dance2.8k words
Sweet Silk, Dream-Woven2024-10-13notes on ancient therids2.0k words
A Mind Like a Massacre2024-09-03a tale of minds flayed and sanity subverted3.6k words
Moths, Gifts, Curses2024-05-21a sorrow more constant than the moon above1.9k words
In Dialogue With Plagues2023-12-13a tale of infectious revelation6.1k words
Gildenighter, Wormthew, Eelwoven2023-12-06an abbreviated history4.5k words
A Heart to Judge2023-12-06Makuja’s Prelude10.0k words
The Complete History of Western Overscourges2023-09-04a tale of uneasy succession8.0k words
Lardsuckers and (What Were) Grubsuckers2023-06-01a tale of greed gourged and potential realized3.3k words
Nous Inspira2023-04-03the art of impulse ablaze3.2k words
The Duality of Mantes2023-01-26on the psychology of dancing and hunting3.0k words
Demise and the Gods2021-12-31a Heartlands Myth4.8k words
Wasp2021-01-12Iecka’s Story11.1k words
Shorts
Our Bond is an Altar2024-11-30Story of three bugs with only each other to lose3.5k words
With Gnawed Wings Defending2024-11-10Who saves the saviors?2.4k words
Glimpses of Chitin2024-07-22flash fiction813 words
A Heart to Judge2023-12-06Makuja’s Prelude10.0k words
Your Soul’s Weight in Sand2023-10-24outline of Anna’s life7.0k words
In The Hours Before Sunrise2022-11-26A Prefigurement of A Beatific Cage10.1k words
On the Plurality of Evening2022-08-09a side story1.5k words
Beetle2022-06-08a side story4.0k words
Demise and the Gods2021-12-31a Heartlands Myth4.8k words
Transnouetic Arrival2021-02-03a Black Nerve isekai fragment1.5k words
Wasp2021-01-12Iecka’s Story11.1k words
Silk & Ember2020-04-14an old draft of the first Black Nerve work5.4k words
Lore
The Deepkin2024-11-13Notes on the Heartlands’ Most Elusive1.2k words
A Mantis Typology2024-10-20Sixteen Ways to Hunt and Dance2.8k words
Sweet Silk, Dream-Woven2024-10-13notes on ancient therids2.0k words
A Mind Like a Massacre2024-09-03a tale of minds flayed and sanity subverted3.6k words
Notes on the Contradiction of Paradise2024-07-20a lore document1.2k words
Let’s Talk About the Sun-Cutter2024-06-20an informal ramble about the biggest, baddest bat3.3k words
Moths, Gifts, Curses2024-05-21a sorrow more constant than the moon above1.9k words
In Dialogue With Plagues2023-12-13a tale of infectious revelation6.1k words
Gildenighter, Wormthew, Eelwoven2023-12-06an abbreviated history4.5k words
The Complete History of Western Overscourges2023-09-04a tale of uneasy succession8.0k words
Notes on Crepuscules2023-06-01a lore document1.1k words
Lardsuckers and (What Were) Grubsuckers2023-06-01a tale of greed gourged and potential realized3.3k words
The New Theory of Umbral Physics2023-04-25a lore document1.9k words
Nous Inspira2023-04-03the art of impulse ablaze3.2k words
The Duality of Mantes2023-01-26on the psychology of dancing and hunting3.0k words
Gathered Apocrypha2022-11-24a lore document14.1k words
Umbracognition, Briefly2022-11-02notes on mental influence through black nerve1.4k words
Endowments and Techniques2022-10-07a lore document1.4k words
The Ophisrhodon2022-09-05notes on the cursed eye of the beholden2.9k words
Pharmacia & Nocturnes2022-08-19a lore document1.5k words
The Fourfold Divisions of Vesperbanes2022-01-15a lore document3.0k words
The Origins of Oosifea2021-12-02a lore document3.1k words
Overscourges of the Major Strongholds2021-08-14a lore document1.4k words
The Thirteen Arts of Vesperbanes2021-07-28a lore document2.0k words
Six Doctrines2020-08-11a lore document1.0k words
On Enervate2020-07-19a lore document3.9k words
Five Letters of Recruitment2020-06-13a lore document1.8k words
A Few Exclusion Zones2020-05-07a lore document2.9k words
RPG
Vesperbane Backgrounds2024-11-13Black Nerve1.0k words
Character Generation Tables2022-10-06Black Nerve976 words
Three Wretches in Ribbolef [WIP]2022-06-22a BNRPG Demostration1.5k words
BNRPG 2021 Draft2021-12-16Another attempt8.0k words
BNRPG 2020 Draft2020-07-19Initial efforts22.8k words
All Posts
The Weak Must2025-01-19Black Nerve2.4k words
Wisps and Pawns2025-01-07Black Nerve2.1k words
Our Bond is an Altar2024-11-30Story of three bugs with only each other to lose3.5k words
The Deepkin2024-11-13Notes on the Heartlands’ Most Elusive1.2k words
Vesperbane Backgrounds2024-11-13Black Nerve1.0k words
With Gnawed Wings Defending2024-11-10Who saves the saviors?2.4k words
A Mantis Typology2024-10-20Sixteen Ways to Hunt and Dance2.8k words
Sweet Silk, Dream-Woven2024-10-13notes on ancient therids2.0k words
A Mind Like a Massacre2024-09-03a tale of minds flayed and sanity subverted3.6k words
Glimpses of Chitin2024-07-22flash fiction813 words
Notes on the Contradiction of Paradise2024-07-20a lore document1.2k words
Sketches of the Heartlands2024-07-12Black Nerve5.3k words
Let’s Talk About the Sun-Cutter2024-06-20an informal ramble about the biggest, baddest bat3.3k words
Moths, Gifts, Curses2024-05-21a sorrow more constant than the moon above1.9k words
In Dialogue With Plagues2023-12-13a tale of infectious revelation6.1k words
Gildenighter, Wormthew, Eelwoven2023-12-06an abbreviated history4.5k words
A Heart to Judge2023-12-06Makuja’s Prelude10.0k words
Your Soul’s Weight in Sand2023-10-24outline of Anna’s life7.0k words
The Complete History of Western Overscourges2023-09-04a tale of uneasy succession8.0k words
Notes on Crepuscules2023-06-01a lore document1.1k words
Lardsuckers and (What Were) Grubsuckers2023-06-01a tale of greed gourged and potential realized3.3k words
The New Theory of Umbral Physics2023-04-25a lore document1.9k words
Nous Inspira2023-04-03the art of impulse ablaze3.2k words
28: A Murderous Misdirection2023-01-31A chapter of A Chimerical Hope8.5k words
A Chimerical Hope2023-01-31Story of three bugs with grand dreams caught in grander schemes.96.6k words
The Duality of Mantes2023-01-26on the psychology of dancing and hunting3.0k words
In The Hours Before Sunrise2022-11-26A Prefigurement of A Beatific Cage10.1k words
Gathered Apocrypha2022-11-24a lore document14.1k words
Umbracognition, Briefly2022-11-02notes on mental influence through black nerve1.4k words
Endowments and Techniques2022-10-07a lore document1.4k words
Character Generation Tables2022-10-06Black Nerve976 words
27: To Trap Your Hunter2022-09-06A chapter of A Chimerical Hope7.3k words
The Ophisrhodon2022-09-05notes on the cursed eye of the beholden2.9k words
Pharmacia & Nocturnes2022-08-19a lore document1.5k words
On the Plurality of Evening2022-08-09a side story1.5k words
26: Twilight for the Sky Below2022-08-01A chapter of A Chimerical Hope4.8k words
25: A Stifling Protection2022-07-17A chapter of A Chimerical Hope3.8k words
24: Awaiting the Unexpected2022-07-08A chapter of A Chimerical Hope4.9k words
23: A Debt Uncollected, a Demand Unfulfilled2022-07-03A chapter of A Chimerical Hope4.0k words
22: Suspicions and Sermons2022-06-29A chapter of A Chimerical Hope3.4k words
21: A Wisterun Welcome2022-06-26A chapter of A Chimerical Hope3.8k words
Three Wretches in Ribbolef [WIP]2022-06-22a BNRPG Demostration1.5k words
20: A Final Stretch2022-06-15A chapter of A Chimerical Hope3.5k words
19: A Distant Dark Lake2022-06-13A chapter of A Chimerical Hope2.6k words
Beetle2022-06-08a side story4.0k words
18: Death in the East2022-05-21A chapter of A Chimerical Hope4.7k words
16: An Occluded Path2022-05-18A chapter of A Chimerical Hope3.0k words
15: Experiment and Application2022-05-18A chapter of A Chimerical Hope5.4k words
17: A Pursuit Concluded2022-05-18A chapter of A Chimerical Hope3.1k words
14: An Elusive Wolf, a Relentless Wolf2022-05-12A chapter of A Chimerical Hope4.0k words
13: Two Techniques and a Beetle2022-05-05A chapter of A Chimerical Hope2.3k words
12: A Spar and a Specter2022-05-04A chapter of A Chimerical Hope2.8k words
11: A Wasp and a Pond2022-04-25A chapter of A Chimerical Hope4.5k words
10: Direction Without a Path2022-04-24A chapter of A Chimerical Hope2.5k words
9: Lingering Clouds2022-04-19A chapter of A Chimerical Hope2.8k words
8: A Chimerical Hope2022-03-07A chapter of A Chimerical Hope2.6k words
7: A Servant, a Scholar, a Scion2022-03-07A chapter of A Chimerical Hope1.7k words
5: A Hunter and a Dead Bug2022-03-06A chapter of A Chimerical Hope2.4k words
6: An Overburn2022-03-06A chapter of A Chimerical Hope1.1k words
4: A Beleaguered Journey2022-03-06A chapter of A Chimerical Hope1.7k words
3: A Bloody Wolf2022-03-03A chapter of A Chimerical Hope1.6k words
2: A Nymph and a Trap2022-03-01A chapter of A Chimerical Hope2.3k words
22: Part B12022-01-22A chapter of Eifre Quest8.1k words
Eifre Quest2022-01-22A reader-driven web serial.147.8k words
The Fourfold Divisions of Vesperbanes2022-01-15a lore document3.0k words
1: Wisps and Pawns2022-01-04A chapter of A Chimerical Hope1.7k words
Demise and the Gods2021-12-31a Heartlands Myth4.8k words
BNRPG 2021 Draft2021-12-16Another attempt8.0k words
The Origins of Oosifea2021-12-02a lore document3.1k words
21: Part 152021-09-15A chapter of Eifre Quest8.7k words
20: Part 142021-09-03A chapter of Eifre Quest4.9k words
Overscourges of the Major Strongholds2021-08-14a lore document1.4k words
19: Part 132021-08-12A chapter of Eifre Quest4.8k words
18: Part 122021-08-06A chapter of Eifre Quest6.6k words
The Thirteen Arts of Vesperbanes2021-07-28a lore document2.0k words
17: Part 112021-06-12A chapter of Eifre Quest3.6k words
16: Part A62021-06-09A chapter of Eifre Quest23.6k words
15: Part A52021-05-18A chapter of Eifre Quest31.6k words
14: Part A42021-03-30A chapter of Eifre Quest14.3k words
13: Part A32021-03-15A chapter of Eifre Quest10.6k words
12: Part A22021-02-26A chapter of Eifre Quest4.1k words
11: Part A12021-02-24A chapter of Eifre Quest3.1k words
Transnouetic Arrival2021-02-03a Black Nerve isekai fragment1.5k words
Wasp2021-01-12Iecka’s Story11.1k words
10: Part 102020-09-07A chapter of Eifre Quest5.4k words
Six Doctrines2020-08-11a lore document1.0k words
On Enervate2020-07-19a lore document3.9k words
BNRPG 2020 Draft2020-07-19Initial efforts22.8k words
Five Letters of Recruitment2020-06-13a lore document1.8k words
A Few Exclusion Zones2020-05-07a lore document2.9k words
9: Part 92020-04-25A chapter of Eifre Quest5.1k words
8: Part 82020-04-21A chapter of Eifre Quest4.4k words
7: Part 72020-04-19A chapter of Eifre Quest3.0k words
Silk & Ember2020-04-14an old draft of the first Black Nerve work5.4k words
5: Part 52020-03-24A chapter of Eifre Quest1.0k words
4: Part 42020-03-24A chapter of Eifre Quest2.0k words
6: Part 62020-03-24A chapter of Eifre Quest1.4k words
3: Part 32020-03-23A chapter of Eifre Quest360 words
1: Part 12020-03-23A chapter of Eifre Quest621 words
2: Part 22020-03-23A chapter of Eifre Quest727 words
UntitlednullBlack Nerve0 words
Lost Fragment of Part B1 [WIP]nullBlack Nerve293 words
UntitlednullBlack Nerve0 words
Black Nervenulla world of mantids and mutation;
predators and parasites;
hope and its erosion756 words
A Sword Descending [WIP]nullA Chimerical Hope903 words
A Chimerical Cast [WIP]nullBlack Nerve215 words