Demesne is a (NOT LitRPG) "Dungeon", Slice-of-life, Fantasy webnovel created and written by Shadow Crystal Mage. Cover Art by JackOfheart.
Synopsis[]
Out on the frontier of a new continent, the wizard Lori and her group of settlers try to build a community for themselves in a land actively hostile to intelligent life. With their wits, their will, and their newly built Dungeon to protect them against the Iridescence, they should be fine. If they can survive the lack of infrastructure. And the supply shortages. And other settlements poaching their people. And idiots who don't get exactly what having to settle somewhere entails. And dragons... A slice-of-life fantasy story.
Official Synopsis
Chapters[]
Book 1: Setting a Frontier[]
1 - Our Unfortunately Named Protagonist
2 - Do-It-Yourself Dungeon
3 - How to Build a Dungeon's Core
4 - Parts and Advanced Features Not Included
5 - When a Lord And A Lady Love Each Other Very Much…
6 - Food and Other Resources to Manage
7 - Suspiciously Sunny Day
8 - Minions Require Facilities
9 - Naming the Community With Malice Aforethought
10 - Material Shortages of Lori's Demesne
11 - We Left Living in a Society To Live Here
12 - Working with Tools
13 - Advancing Building Techniques
14 - Lori Goes Seeling
15 - Yes, There Are Dragons
16 - The Dragon and the Dark
17 - Stories In The Dark
18 - After The Dragon
19 - A Mess To Deal With
20 - Detritus To Clean
21 - Checking On Corpses
22 - Rebuilding
23 - The Importance of Lunch
24 - The Strangers
25 - Rian's List and Reasons
26 - Inconsistency
27 - Lori's Boat
28 - Beyond the Demesne Again
29 - Obviously, Grem Lied
30 - This Place Isn't Civilized
31 - River's Fork Demesne
32 - The Doctor of the Demesne
33 - The Savant
34 - She Remembered Someone's Name!
35 - Winter Plans
36 - The Aunt and the Niece
37 - Grem Explains Himself
38 - Don't Mention Your Fetish
39 - Runaway
40 - Fruits of the Morning
41 - The Promise of Breakfast
42 - The Binder of River's Fork
43 - Shanalorre Rising
44 - You're Wrong
45 - Grem's Sentence
46 - Home Is Lori's Demesne
47 - Finally Back At The Dungeon
48 - The Next Level
49 - Other Business
50 - Laundry Day
51 - We Need More Houses
52 - Foundations
53 - Building On The Foundation
54 - Work and Play
55 - Adequate Ventilation
56 - House Envy
57 - Minions Need Maintenance
58 - Material Restitution
59 - Post-Meeting Details
60 - Priorities in Construction
61 - The Map
62 - The Laundry Area
63 - The Laundry Area, Revised
64 - Lori Gets Ready To Explore
65 - Lori The Explorer
66 - Lori Goes To The Hospital
67 - Wounded
68 - Oh, Rainbows
69 - The Cost of Treatment
70 - An Altercation
71 - That Would Have Been Nice To Know
72 - The Proposal
73 - Home Again
74 - The Morning Of A Sudden Holiday
75 - Holiday Morning
76 - Things People Do On Holidays
77 - Lori's Bored, So She Goes Seeling Again
78 - Something To Do Tomorrow
79 - Breakfast Swimming Prizes
80 - Competitions
81 - Holiday Logistics
82 - Just A Thought During Holiday-Appropriate Semi-Violent Outlets
83 - The End of the Holiday
84 - The Holiday Is Over, Back To Work
85 - Unfinished Business and Experiment Preparation
86 - Experimental Preparation and Contextual Exposition
87 - Rian and Lori Experiment With Each Other
88 - Tests, Tanks and… Taxes?
89 - Successful Test
90 - Privacy, Privies, and Winter Worries
91 - The First Miners
92 - The Mine
93 - Subcontracting To Experts
94 - Lori Does Carpentry
95 - Craftsmanship and Cleanliness
Omake - Can You Fly?
96 - Emergency Order Bonus
97 - Fulfilled Obligations and Bedroom Hygiene
98 - Miners Home Again
99 - Blood, Wire and Water
100 - Ice Boats and Housewarming
101 - Lori Builds The… Um…
102 - Thank You
103 - Obvious, Insight and Brilliance
104 - Making Better Plumbing
105 - Waterworks and Ice… Actually Works?
106 - The Ice Boat Prototype
107 - Prepare As You Did The Last Time
108 - Yes, There Are Still Dragons
109 - From The Core
110 - Timekeeping
111 - Day Shift
112 - Into the Night Shift
113 - Just Barely Not A Dragon Shelter Party
114 - A Mess To Deal With, Again
115 - Improving Defensive Measures
116 - Responsible For Fourteen
117 - No One Died
118 - Making A Better Water Jet
119 - Modeling
120 - Rian's Problem
121 - The Better Water Jet
122 - The Ice Boat Floateth
123 - A Favor
124 - Something To Come Back To
125 - A Lonely House
126 - Cheerful, Unreadable
127 - Playing with Water
128 - Golden Sweetwood Company
129 - Finishing Touches
130 - Trying To Convince Himself
131 - Come Back Safe, We'll Be Waiting
132 - Finally, To Covehold
Book 2: Expand, Exploit, Experiment[]
133 - Can't Bring Herself To Care
134 - A Small Hole
135 - Hungry After All
136 - Even When He's Not Around
137 - It's Just Not The Same
138 - Needing More Light And Heat
139 - Chatrang And A Petition
140 - Riz's Chimney
141 - More Chimneys
142 - The Dock On The Other Side
143 - Beginning Improved Defensive Measures
144 - To Keep Busy
Demesne Anniversary Special 1: Riz And Mikon In Bed
145 - The Harvest
146 - The Best Kind Of Advice
147 - Drying To Thresh
148 - Experimenting With Riz
149 - Final Desiccation Test
150 - Threshing and Storage
151 - Everything Back To Normal
152 - I Missed You Too
153 - We're Home
154 - Leaving The Silliness To Rian
SS 12 - Talking About This
155 - First Morning Back
156 - Lori Reads An Almanac
157 - Customs Inspection
158 - All Was Right
159 - Report On A Journey To Covehold
160 - Images Bound In Light
161 - The Importance Of Milling
162 - The Mill Stone
163 - The Milling Process
164 - Warm and Cold
165 - Salt, Fees, Anchorage, Heat
166 - Ship Sinking
167 - Better Farming Through Explosions
168 - Tired Of Stairs
169 - The Dungeon Farm
170 - Winter Is Co—Oh Wait, It's Already Here
171 - Lori's Demesne In Winter
172 - Traveling In Winter
173 - River's Fork in Winter
174 - Punitive Measures
175 - An Accord
176 - Things Left Unattended
177 - Preparing To Smelt
178 - Smelting Copper
180 - Most Definitely Not Procrastinating
181 - Borders
182 - Expansion
183 - The Rest Of Her Life
184 - When It Rians It Floods
185 - Schedule Optimization
186 - Lori and Rian Wake Up Together
187 - Experimenting With Expansion Variables
188 - And Bloody War Followed
189 - Matters of Marriage
190 - Theatricality In The Presentation
191 - Seasonal Hazards
192 - Fortunately, No One Asphyxiated
193 - Taking A Rest
194 - Lori Officiates Marriages
195 - Application Complications
196 - Smarter, Not Harder
197 - Planning For Recovery
198 - Unexpected Unexpected
199 - A Success By Any Standard
200 - Past The Storm
201 - Oh
202 - The Sled
203 - The Sled Air Jet
204 - The Sled, Completed
205 - Not a Dungeon Core
206 - Bead Economic Theory
207 - Bead Experiments
208 - Breaking Bead
209 - White Iridescence
210 - Routine Set In
211 - A Gap In Understanding
212 - In Case of Pregnancy
213 - Interest
214 - Expecting
215 - Expecting Visitors
216 - A Guest
217 - Due Diligence
218 - A Clear Hazard
219 - An Outrageous Offer
220 - Project Negotiations
221 - Finalizing Agreements
222 - Flood Preparations
223 - Infrastructure Assessment
224 - One More Day
225 - Lori's Rest Day
226 - Sewing and Board Games
227 - Back to Work
228 - Rolling Stones
229 - Building The Flood Barrier
230 - Basic Bricklaying
231 - Stone Finishing
232 - Diagnose Shanalorre
233 - The Winter Community Meeting
234 - Land, Again
235 - Denied. Next!
236 - Not Her Problem
237 - Raining And Still Freezing
238 - The Coming Of Spring
239 - (Re)Securing Water
240 - Forward Planning
241 - Bug Repellent
242 - Cold Room Improvements
243 - Cold Room And Holiday Preparation
244 - Binder V Binder
245 - Holiday Excitement
246 - Worth More Than Anything
247 - The Horrified Light Of Realization
248 - Subordinates
249 - You Just Want To Eat Our Food
250 - To Deal With Malcontents
251 - Spring Construction
252 - Land Inspection
253 - The Dehydration Shed
254 - Further Adjustments
255 - Preparing For River's Fork
256 - Getting The Boat Ready
257 - Necessary Maintenance
258 - Water Jet Improvement Test
259 - Uncovered Results
260 - To River's Fork Once More
261 - Arrival
262 - The Core Of River's Fork
263 - What Have You Done
264 - A Poll, Not A Vote
265 - New Minions Require New Facilities
266 - They Know Where You Sleep
267 - A Belated Realization
268 - One Night's Rest
269 - A Restless Walk
270 - Ah, A Sound Idea
271 - A Little Girl And A House
272 - Shanalorre's House
273 - Shanalorre's Rock
274 - Suffering Marriage Problems
275 - A Standard Sales Technique
276 - Seeling Again
277 - Indecisions And Responsibility
278 - Under Serious Consideration
279 - Consequences Of (More) Theft
280 - Making Farmable Land
281 - This Probably Wouldn't Last
282 - Questionable Assistance
283 - Lori Needs Her Note-Taker
284 - Decreed Perpetual Non-Officer
285 - Warm Weather Bead Experiments
286 - To be Pleasantly Surprised
287 - Pleasantly Surprised, But Slightly Disappointed
288 - Rudimentary Bound Tools
289 - It's A Euphemism
290 - Another of Rian's Fetishes
291 - Prototyping
292 - The First Prototype
293 - Testing the First Prototype
294 - Unpaid Gainful Employment
295 - Congratulations
296 - Prototyping for Mass Production
297 - It's Not The Same, Again
298 - Ignorance of Something
299 - The Shed On The Edge
300 - The Production Mold And The Second Prototype
301 - Rian's Considered Advice
302 - Speaking of Tax Evasion
303 - Making The Third Prototype
304 - A New Line Of Inquiry
305 - Needing More
Book 3: Recruitment[]
306 - The Summer Dragon Comes
307 - An Itch In Her Mind
308 - The Dragon Shelter
309 - The Dungeon And The Dragon
310 - Sealing The Dungeon
311 - Between Friends
312 - Waiting For The Boat
313 - The New Girls
314 - The Dragon Arrives During Lunch
315 - Sleep and Farming
316 - Shana Speaks To Rian
317 - To Not Shirk Responsibilities
318 - Sleeping And Waking
319 - Illumination and Water Reclamation
320 - Resting to Be Ready For Emergencies
321 - Uncomfortable, Boring and Annoying
322 - Stepping Outside Again
323 - Distillation and Damage Assessment
324 - Welcome Home
325 - Fixing Home
326 - Leaving For Covehold, Again
327 - Three For One
328 - A Coldhold Interlude
329 - I Want To Shirk My Responsibilities!
330 - Food Supply Problems
331 - Shirking My Responsibilities Is Sounding More And More Tempting
332 - Seeling Is Not Shirking My Responsibilities!
333 - Reading Is Not Shirking My Responsibilities!
334 - Testing For The Trap
335 - Further Testing for the Trap
336 - Studying The Problem Is Not Procrastinating
337 - Coming To Covehold Demesne
338 - The Streets of Covehold
339 - Rian’s Adventures In Mercantilism
340 - Back On The Streets Of Covehold
341 - Worth The Price
342 - Rian Is Betrayed
343 - A Lorian Interlude: Karina
344 - A Little Wager
345 - The Tour
346 - Ravia’s Party Trick
347 - The Man Whose Name Was On The Sign
348 - The Final Negotiations
349 - Only Just Starting
350 - A Lorian Interlude: Mikon
351 - A Little Bit Evil
352 - Going Out Tonight
353 - A Night Out In Covehold
354 - The Lawyer And The Letter
355 - Installments, Bound Tools And A Deadspeaker
356 - The Interview
357 - Looking For Deadspeakers
358 - The Ship
359 - The Ship In The Morning
360 - Siblings
361 - A Large Cart
362 - Loaded And Ready To Go
363 - Settling In The New Recruits
364 - Good Night, Everyone
365 - Settling Accounts
366 - Towards Home
367 - Your Absence Was Missed
368 - Annoying Introductions, The First
369 - Deadspeaking Work Logistics
370 - Annoying Introductions, The Next
371 - Disproportionately Hurtful
372 - Isn't That… Dangerous?
373 - To Itch
374 - The Dangers Of Books To Schedules
375 - Until Dragons Drop Gold
376 - Honey Is Very Thankful
377 - A Room For Honey
378 - Tales Of Adventures In Mercantilism
379 - More Tales of Adventures In Mercantilism
380 - Not Completely Useless
381 - Projects
382 - Accelerated Harvest
383 - Prelude To Shana’s Holiday
384 - Shana's Holiday
385 - Shanalorre At Work
386 - Shana's Breakfast
387 - More Of Shanalore At Work
388 - Shana's Afternoon
389 - There Be Fruit
390 - The Return Of The Letter
391 - Tree Adjustments
392 - Ventilation and Boats
393 - New Bound Tools
2024 Anniversary Special: Good Night
394 - The Sawmill And Trees
395 - Resuming Expansion
396 - Rian in Trouble
397- A Third Alloy
398 - A Fourth Alloy
399 - Alloys Of Light And Dark
400 - Sliders And Dials
401 - Dedicated Expansion
402 - The Prototype Sliding Switch
403 - Prototype And Storage
404 - Resuming Excavation
405 - Building Another Wood Shed
406 - Post-Shed And Harvest Exhaustion
407 - Rest And Regret
408 - Probation's End
409 - Mine Shelter Development Planning
410 - Returning The Children
411 - Shana, We Need To Talk
412 - You Fall Beneath That Purview
413 - In Complete Opposition
414 - I Could Use Some Advice
415 - You Won’t Be Alone
416 - I Am Not A Child. I Am A Dungeon Binder
417 - Here With Me
418 - Shared Transition
419 - Sweet Talk
420 - A Very Strange Place
421 - Boat Shed Bead Making
422 - The Year's Second Dragon
423 - Time Until The Dragon Arrives
424 - The Possibility Of Invisible Dragons
425 - A Cold Wind
426 - Beneath The Dragon’s Shadow
427 - Simple Solutions
428 - Reading Words
429 - Cutting Wit
430 - Conspiracy
431 - Doing Great
432 - A Worrying Routine
433 - Someday
434 - Very Commendable Watchfulness
435 - Creatively Applied Deadspeaking
436 - Lori Retrieval Operations, Start!
437 - Fallen Abominations
438 - Just Mostly Irresponsible
439 - Still Being Fulfilled
440 - Familiar Ceiling
441 - Back To A Working State
442 - How To Get Rid Of Dragonfrost, Prototype
443 - Restoring Water
444 - How To Get Rid Of Dragonfrost, Limited Mass Implementation
445 - She Hates It When…
446 - How To Burn A Corpse
447 - How To Get Rid Of Dragonfrost (Version 2), And Other Cleaning Hazards
448 - Sample Containment
449 - Officially A Best Friend
450 - Rainbows With All The Colors
451 - Premeditated Death
452 - Not Actually Trying To Procrastinate
453 - Staying Up To Work
454 - Setting Off To Finally Kill This Thing
455 - The Abomination
456 - Lightning
457 - Anti-Climactic
458 - It Will Always Be Waiting
459 - Places To Study
460 - Better Ways To Use Lightningwisps
461 - Satisfying To Build
462 - Oh, NOW They're Here
Book 4: Ugh, Neighbors[]
463 - How Had It Come to This? This Was Supposed To Be A Cushy Retirement!
464 - The Civilian
465 - A Sweet Welcome
466 - No Need For Spears
467 - Prologue End: The Wizards
468 - The Great And Powerful Protagonist
469 - Clarity and Regret
470 - Looking Like A Good Day
471 - How To Aim Your Lightning
472 - For Her Consideration
473 - Like A Classroom Alchemy Distillation Rig Covered In Black Paint
474 - The Other Dungeon Binder
475 - Frowny Face, Smiley Face
TBA
Patron Exclusive Short Stories[]
V1 EX SS 1 - Little Lori Goes To The Library
V1 EX SS 3 - A Mentalist's Morning (Preview Sample)
V1 EX SS 4 - The Mighty Hunter
V1 EX SS 5 - Shanalorre's Morning
V1 EX SS 6 - Riz's Sortie
V1 EX SS 7 - To Hunt Beasts
V1 EX SS 8 - Mikon Wants…
V1 EX SS 9 - The End of Umu's Day
V1 EX SS 10 - Riz and the Dragon
V2 EX SS 11 - House Cleaning With Umu and Mikon
V2 EX SS 12 - Talking About This
V2 EX SS 13 - An Armada Horotract's Morning
V2 EX SS 14 - Open Hand Demesne Mentalism Skills Tournament
V2 EX SS 15 - A Lord's Day
V2 EX SS 16 - A River's Fork Binder in Lori's Demesne
V2 EX SS 17 – Rousing In The Morning
V2 EX SS 18 – "What If… Lori Was A Mentalist Instead Of A Whisperer"
V2 EX SS 19 – Cause And Consequence
V2 EX SS 20 – To Be A Guide
V2 EX SS 21 – An Astrologer's Sometimes
V2 EX SS 22 – The Mighty Hunter Returns
V2 EX SS 23 – Shanalorre's Morning, Again
V2 EX SS 24 – To Make It A Euphemism
V2 EX SS 25 – We Need To Talk
V3 EX SS 26 – It Was That Girl's Fault This Happened!
V3 EX SS 27 – Moon Gazing
V3 EX SS 28 – Swimming Lessons
V3 EX SS 29 – Fruit Picking
V3 EX SS 30 – Banditry
V3 EX SS 31 – Cooperative Practice
V3 EX SS 32 – My Next Demesne! I'm Happy With My Wife!
V3 EX SS 33 – Good Morning
V3 EX SS 34 – Happy With My Wife In Our New Demesne
V3 EX SS 35 – Learning With Kutago!
V3 EX SS 36 – More Learning With Kutago!
V3 EX SS 37 – The Captain, Retired
V3 EX SS 38 – Holding Hands Forever
V3 EX SS 39 – Commitment and Debauchery
Demesne Snippets[]
1: A Story
2: More Of A Story
3: Shana Watch
4: Parental Embarrassment
5: Brewing
Demesne What If...?[]
SS1 – "What If Lori Was A Generic Charismatic Main Character?"
SS2 – "What If Mikon Was Lady Instead Of Rian?"
SS3.1 – "What If (nearly) EVERYONE In Lorian But Lori And Rian Was An Isekai?" Part 1
SS3.2 – "What If (nearly) EVERYONE In Lorian But Lori And Rian Was An Isekai?" Part 2
SS3.3 – "What If (nearly) EVERYONE In Lorian But Lori And Rian Was An Isekai?" Part 3
SS3.4 – "What If (nearly) EVERYONE In Lorian But Lori And Rian Was An Isekai?" Part 4
Demesne Non-Canon Stories[]
SS 1 – "What If Lori Was A Generic Charismatic Main Character?"
SS 2 - Ryan Is An Isekai! (Non-Canon April Fools)
Ryan Is An Isekai Zeo! - April Fools 2022!
Ryan Is An Isekai Turbo! - April Fools 2023!
Ryan Is An Isekai In Space! - April Fools 2024!
Demesne Deleted Scenes! Chapter 245 to 371!
Demesne 2025 Anniversary: LEWD!!!
Notes[]
Demesne Measurement Guide
Random Demesne Trivia!
Demesne Name Pronounciation Guide (1?)
More Fascinating Lore Secrets in Demesne Item Descriptions!!
Relative Bead Values
A Rant On Demesne Tech, and Isekai Uplift
2024 Christmas... Gift? (Volume 4 new characters)