The Glass Wizard - The tale of a somewhat depressed wizard

-

-

-
-

-

-

DEAR TRAVELLERS,
-
today, I am celebrating, and if you are here, I would love to invite you to celebrate with me.

Also, this humble duck offers you a trade; for 22.222 more words of story, to be precise.

-

-<img alt="image" height="370" src="https://glasswizardchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/The-Duckman_The-Glass-Wizard-Chronicles_Depressed-Wizard-Webseries_Author_2-Year-Anniversary.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" width="327"/>

-

-

TWO YEARS OF THE GLASS WIZARD
-
It was on the 29th of August, 2023, that I first posted the prologue of The Glass Wizard on Royal Road. Two years have now passed, and it has been an extraordinary time of encouragement and growth. So many fantastic readers have shared their insights when I most needed them, at the start, and through the forums I have had the privilege of meeting wonderful authors as well.

This celebration is dedicated to THE NUMBER 2. It lines up just oh so wonderfully:

2

years of publishing

200,000

words written

202

favourites, amidst the 860+ readers who chose to give this tale a chance

I remain profoundly grateful to each of you who braved the desert with Yves, the darkness with Midnight, and the Albweiss with Yu. Some of you have accompanied this journey from the very first steps, with remarkable patience and endurance.

-

-

THERE IS SO MUCH MORE
-
I have many plans still waiting for these characters. The one limitation is my writing speed. Please know that every free moment I possess is poured into this story — and oftentimes the moments that are not free as well. Still, with rewriting and editing, I generally spend not hours but days on one section.

That said, I managed to prepare a small backlog for this celebration!

In the spirit of THE TWO, I have 22,222 more words of guild guards ready to share with you.

At the end of that, Midnight awaits. And then – at long last – we return to That Guy. Afterward, I may even brave a partial rewrite of the earliest lighthouse chapters.

Now, you may feel inclined to quote Yu's word of the day: "What?"
Or perhaps: "Why? How? When?"

Kindly read on.

-

-

HELP MAKE THIS STORY MORE
-
Midnight wants to be MORE.
So does this story.

If you have enjoyed what you have read so far — if it gave you a moment of joy or even a pause to reflect — may I kindly ask you to consider sharing your experience?

Until now, I have never requested ratings or reviews through the author's notes, nor have I taken part in review swaps or shout-outs with other authors to push the tale forward by statistics. What matters to me are genuine words from those who found something that is worthwhile, or missing, in these chapters and characters.

Yet, like every author, I would love to see my story grow and reach further. At this moment, The Glass Wizard has six reviews in total, some from readers who never ventured further than the lighthouse. So if you have the time to be what Midnight called a giver, I would be deeply grateful for your support. Of course, remaining with Midnight, GIVING should never be without TAKING — for something can not come from nothing.

-

-

--

WHAT YOU TAKE IN RETURN

— THE STORY OF A TRADE
-

-

Dear Traveller,

On your pursuit of good deals and stories, you enter the marketplace.

After a while of browsing aimlessly, you come across the Duck Merchant. You have been told to look for him.

-

-

"Quack!" he greets you warmly, and bids you examine his wares. There is a respectable selection of bread, crumbs, and coffee. He tells you that he makes the crumbs himself. With a piece of bread between his wings, he asks if you were interested in a demonstration.

"This is nice," you say, "but I was searching for something else."

"Quack," he replies. He humbly notes that he is not, in fact, a man selling ducks. He apologises if you have been misled.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

You assure him that you were not. Or perhaps you were. It does not matter. You explain that what you truly seek is a book.

"Quack." There is understanding in his voice. He understands that there is no fooling you. You know. Yes, he is the Duck Merchant. And he is also the Book Merchant.

He leads you into the small shop behind his market stall. There is more bread and coffee here. Also, a small wooden writing desk and a shelf with books. This is what you came for. You step forward to examine the books. You lift one from the shelf, only to discover the pages are blank. It is the same for the next three books you pick out.

"There is nothing in them?" you ask.

"Quack," he compliments your attentive eye, recognising in you the discerning spirit of a true connoisseur of the craft.

"Wait, so all of these are blanks?" you repeat, turning another empty book in your hands. "Is this a joke?"

"Quack. Quack? Quack. Quack."

What follows is a winding philosophical discourse. He speaks at length about the dialectics of text and absence, about the interrelationship of intertextual identity and metatextual matter. You are utterly captivated. With startling precision, he frames his argument in terms of semiotic potential: these blank volumes exist simultaneously as both vessels of meaning and as voids awaiting inscription. They are books, and at the same time, they are not; paradoxes of existence that mirror the human condition itself, oscillating between essence and nothingness.

As he continues, the scope of his thought pushes you to uncomfortable depths. His words edge into questions of selfhood, memory, and the psychology of narrative identity. You begin to wonder whether your own existence is as fragile, as contingent, as these empty pages. You truly wonder who you are, and where, as you continue, right here and now, to read into existence, from a black and white text, a being that stares on a blank page; both you.

You dare not give voice to such a thought, lest his reply undo you entirely. So at last, you cautiously cut him off.

"What I meant, then, was not a book but a story," you insist, steadying yourself. "I heard you have stories."

"Quack."

That reassures you.

You wait, as the Duck and Book Merchant retrieves the single book that rests upon his desk.

"Quack," he explains.

"Let me get this straight. It's only one actual book? That's all you have?"

"Quack. Quack."

"Yes, yes, yes. Only this one story?"

"Quack."

"All right, let me have it." After all, it is the one you sought.

"Quack." He withdraws a small set of pages and passes them to you.

"Not even the whole thing?" you exclaim.

Yet you do not turn away. You have come too far. You already hold 200.000 words in your pocket, 200.000 words that you collected over the last two years. They led you to this very moment, and you are ready to see the tale to its end.

"Well then," you say, resigned but resolute, "how much is there?"

-

From then on, the two of you are all business. And at the end of your exchange, the One-Book Duck Merchant offers you a trade for 22.222 more words.

-

--

-
-

-

THE TRADE
-
For every 2 ratings received within the next two weeks, I will publish 222 additional words.

For every single review, it will also be 222 words.

-

I will count every 2 days, and then release the respective amount of words, with up to 22.222 words in total.

[At the point of writing, this story has 27 ratings and 6 reviews.]

-
Now, this can go either way, and many ways in between.

Should the total ever reach 50 reviews or 100 ratings, I will publish all 22.222 words at once — the equivalent of roughly 80 pages, or 10 regular chapters. Book One would reach its conclusion not long after.

If there are no ratings or reviews, there will be no additional releases.

Please do not feel obliged to partake — I would fully understand if all of this might be a bit too silly for you. You will of course still receive the regular weekly updates!

-

With that, there is only more story to be gained for you,

and perhaps a little more feedback and visibility for me.

-

If not for yourself, and not for me, then perhaps do it for Yves?

-

-

He has been stuck in the desert for far too long. Every word published gets him out there faster.

The sign does not read "SOS".

It reads "505".

Why?

For that is the true number of days since he last appeared.

-

-
-

-

THANK YOU
-

I can not thank you enough, but I shall certainly try — by writing many more chapters.

If you would like to support the story in other ways, I will soon be launching a Patreon page. Details will follow in the next update — which, in the spirit of this celebration, will arrive in 22 hours. For today is dedicated to THE TWO — And so, of course, you shall receive two sections this week. Oh, and there will also be more music!

You know what to do, if you feel the <img alt="image" height="19" src="https://glasswizardchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/HUNGER.png" width="81"/> for MORE.

-

May you travel well, across this story and all the other stories that shape your life beyond your life.

With heartfelt gratitude,

The Duckman

-

--

-
--

-

-

--