by GebuFai Verse
June 2026 Community Magazine Contest Entry "Director's" Dilemma© by GebuFai Verse "I endured bombings... of flesh and of design. And you? With a hand cannon pressing against my skull.We all know this: to slay Donagh McOrin Barsatan is to hasten our fatherland’s demise as well. Kekeke…" "…are you prepared to grasp that responsibility—to hold our beloved Æstreş, brother?" In the world of Geböþæð, on the Fifth Parallel and within the continent of Ijœkrix, stands a nation dancing between virtue and self-interest. Opulence and poverty blur together beneath the banner of the Provisional Government of Æstreş. Dreadnoughts they covet, horses they lack, magic they project, men they garrison, power called 'electricity' they hunger for, airships they scarcely dare dream of; but the means to obtain them remain beyond their grasp.Only one strongman, with his trusted junta committee, keeps the administration intact. Three powers greater than Æstreş watch from beyond his waters:the (Second) Grand Empire of Inglovia, a vast pluralistic supernation second to none in its complexity;the Juichishima Devolved Shogunate, where the chivalric code warriors of old and the new army are bound in uneasy accord against a reformist naval counterpart;and the Principal Crowned Republic of Vampirversteck, realm of vampiric überleben and dhampiric überleben—each locked in a tense subtle standoff of deterrence, waiting for the others to blink. Amid this precarious balance stands another man with a different vision, determined to claim what he believes is best for his fatherland, his countrymen, and his spiritual fraternity.And when disaster strikes, will he become the brother he has always pretended to be? DISCLAIMER/What to expect: [1] Part of the Geböþæð-verse.[2] Narration alternates between first-person and third-person perspectives on a chapter-by-chapter basis and is written in the past tense.[3] Parentheses provide additional context without exposition; dialogue uses quotation marks and bold emphasis (e.g. “Is’t you, Brutus?”); brackets denote skills, weapons, and stats/attributes.[4] No professional editing (as of yet).[5] "Director's" Dilemma is set in a fictional world with deliberate historical anachronisms. Its baseline aesthetic is dieselpunk-adjacent industrial fantasy, broadly inspired by Victorian-era (19th–20th century, in-world 20th millennium). ADDITIONAL INFO:Current Grand Inglovian Capital: County of Verkham UPDATE:Average of 800–1,600 words/chapter.The first chapter was released on 9th of June 2026.This work is officially posted ONLY on royalroad.com. Any versions found on other platforms are unauthorized reproductions and may not reflect the author’s original content. Ads:Please check out Oberst Punkt's (O.P.'s) Domitores.Feel free to give our other works, GIVOS and Fahrt, a look!Also, check the wikia Geböþæðia by Sulfur'n'Soap and Oberst Punkt (the second author).
