Margin Notes 12 : Taverns and Songs, Marines and Explosive Barrels
- Daniel Langley
- Oct 28
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 30
Gosh, it’s been four months since I last posted a Margin Notes. Sorry about that! Life has sent some curveballs our way making things slightly more tricky to balance. Without getting into the gritty details, the TLDR is we’ve moved which took longer than anticipated, and that’s the main reason for the big delay in Margin Notes posts.
On top of that I’ve also been working on art for a new book series that just started to release on Substack called “The Pale Elf” (more info below), and then on top of even that I’ve been hard at work on my own story piecing together the lore of ASSIAH, the events that precede the game, as well as what comes after. So lots of things are happening behind the scenes as always.
Alright, let’s get into it.
~ TAVERN AT THE FAR END OF THE WORLD ~
“The Pale Elf” is a book written by Dale McGuire that I’ve had the privilege of doing art for. I can only share a little bit of it so below will be some of the images I’ve worked up including the cover art as well as character portraits. I’m also doing the weekly chapter drawings for this book that will accompany every new chapter as they are released.
Follow Dale McGuire's socials to keep up to date on all future story updates. https://substack.com/@storiesatwitchwicks https://x.com/witchwicks
Read up to Chapter Two for free, and subscribe for future chapters as well as more content such as short stories. https://witchwicks.substack.com/
Join Alya on her journey as she searches for a new home in the warm halls of Witchwicks Tavern, a place where adventurers from every world come to rest, share their grand tales, and hang the trophies of their victories. Alya meets new friends and finally feels safe in the walls of this fabled tavern only to have an adventure of her own find her even at the farthest ends of the world.
New chapters are released weekly on Substack. You can read up to chapter two for free. Give the Pale Elf a read, it’s a great dive into a new fantasy world and a wonderful blend of cozy and adventure for this autumn's reading list.
Here are some of the main characters of the story. Left to right; Mirra, Alya, Jasmine.
And here is a cheeky goblin trying to flirt with Witchwicks’ best waitress, Tess - and finding little success.
Follow the links to Substack to read this exciting new story and follow Dale McGuire to stay up to date on the latest chapters as they release on Substack.
~ ASSIAH: SONG OF DARKNESS ~
Turning to ASSIAH there is a lot of narrative development happening here as well with its own story being more fleshed out and the broader world being explored not just through lore posts but also a prequel novel called “Song of Darkness”.
Follow the story of Jace, ex-Factionist gone civilian, and Cleo, an up and coming officer in the U.E.C, as they survive an attack aboard the S.C.S. Prophet during first contact with a new and highly dangerous alien threat never before seen in the galaxy. More than that, there is a lingering song spanning across the cosmos luring people into a trance that sends them spiraling into violent delirium. Ackerman, a S.I.L.O. operative, follows this song as it leads him across the galaxy to a distant world.
You can check out the Song of Darkness here on the website. New chapters are being released monthly all for free! So please give it a read and dive into the world of ASSIAH here first to get yourself ready for when the game launches.
~ LEAN, MEAN, FIGHTING MACHINE ~
Now, for something I’m particularly excited to share.
For the game ASSIAH I’ve been working on bringing to life the guys you’ll be fighting alongside. The United Earth Colonial Military Marine Corp. These boots on the ground troops are ready for combat with their models and textures being completed and ready for rigging in the engine. Inspired by the work being done on the remake of Halo Combat Evolved I’ve designed them to evoke as much of that early 2000’s military sci-fi aesthetics while fitting into the industrial brutalism of humanity in the universe of ASSIAH. Combining those ideas we get these results-
The marines feature a handful of unique customizations that we’ll be able to mix and match to create an array of troops to kill aliens by your side. Below is an example of some of those combinations.
In addition to helmets there’s also their radio, health packs, and grenades, and their gear pack to make them look even more lethal in combat.
It’s important to have lively and interesting characters to fight alongside, it’s with that in mind that these marines were designed.
In addition to the marines of the U.E.C.M. I’ve also put together the tried and true explosive barrel. As everyone is aware when you shoot red barrels they explode and these barrels are no different. They both damage the player character and enemies, so don't get too close while you try and use them to your advantage.
~ UPDATES TO THE ARCHIVES ~
Additionally the website has seen a slight adjustment to how the Archives are set up. With some new backgrounds and a different slideshow presentation accessing the lore for ASSIAH should be a little easier now and it looks better too. All up to date lore posts have been added to the archives as well so you can see the entire history of the timeline of events that are leading up to the start of ASSIAH.
Thanks for reading this month’s Margin Notes and thank you again for your patience!
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Cheers!
-DannyMac
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