Yeah monthly releases are great. Now we wair for 3 months. It is just so stupid.. I cant wait for Tent update though..
Well, the patrons voted for a longer release schedule in exchange for lengthier updates, though I do wonder what the results would be if Hreinn redid the poll now.
Regarding the short story, it's interesting enough. More lore is always nice, and it's a good little window into what I suppose you'd call happier times between Sabia and her family. That said, Tyra has obvious blindspots that make it hard for me to believe in her as a master manipulator sort of character. She's clearly got the politics game down pat, but she's willfully ignoring the fact that politics aren't worth much without any way to enforce their actual policies. Her trying to rope Sabia into the games of nobility against her will makes no sense and is a stupid over-concentration of resources. Tyra already has herself and Lynn for that arena and they've clearly got it well in hand. What doesn't Tyra have? The military (And the Order of Relona, but that's an issue family ties can't solve). Where does her other daughter want to be? The military. I might've assumed Tyra had the military in hand through whoever her husband is, but apparently she doesn't want him spending any more time with them either.
I suppose Tyra and Lynn overlooking the fact that force of arms is why people go along with policies in the first place is part of their character. But it would have been easy enough to maneuver Sabia into a position of influence in the military as well instead of just going "Fufufu, SWORDS? What good do SWORDS do for us when we have all these lavish PARTIES? You're going straight to the orcs, dear daughter; can't be having any of THIS disreputable SWORDS business tarinishing the family name."
Also, the fact that Sabia takes to the politics of the Orc tribe like a duck to water (or on its back, if you prefer that route) indicates that she never had any real problems with the games themselves; she'd just rather have been playing them elsewhere. She clearly absorbed the lessons even if she didn't like them. I suppose this does raise the question of what happened to her father, because he's almost certainly dead at this point. Or what exactly it was that happened to cause Tyra and Lynn to decide that Sabia had to go in order to further their plans. But maybe more stories will clarify that eventually.
Now, all that said, maybe if we're very nice and lucky we'll see Sabia again before Christmas.