The Eternal Knot

The monks of the Togashi Order are known for their wisdom, their strength, their mystery, and the superhuman powers they gain from their unique tattoos. For Togashi Kazue, completing her training is only the beginning—discovering the true power of her enigmatic tattoo may be the true test.

Accompanied by the experienced monk Togashi Mitsu, Kazue embarks on a journey to learn the power of the newly acquired knot design on her forehead. When Kazue discovers the danger her tattoo poses to others, she contemplates the unthinkable. But she soon learns that attempting to deny her destiny is the truly dangerous path.

I’ve written a fair bit of short fiction for the ongoing narrative in the game Legend of the Five Rings, particularly for the mystically-oriented Dragon Clan, so when they announced the opportunity for people to pitch them novella concepts, I leapt on it immediately.

Unlike the short stories, this is a relatively stand-alone work, in the sense that you don’t need to know anything about L5R beforehand to enjoy it — though it’ll be clear that the world is much larger than this specific story, and that the events here will have consequences later on. (And if you order a physical copy instead of an ebook, it will show up with cards for the game.)

The Eternal Knot was published in November of 2019.