Even as his heart pounded in his chest and his mind whirled to remember the plan for this eventuality, Tercius stood silent and stoic. Here is the moment to perform, so you better have your wits pulled together. You have planned for this, so play along with the established guidelines.
“Answer me.”
“By Ascension, you me...
2022-05-22 20:48:20 +0000 UTC View PostTercius shifted in the saddle. Below, the lake he made was already full and the water was rushing over the landbridge to restore the flow it had.
“That went well…”
Lucky bleated.
Tercius pulled on the reins, turning Lucky around. “Now let’s make some real distance before we start on a shelter for the night.”
T...
2022-03-09 21:44:57 +0000 UTC View PostTercius' Skills at the end of Chapter 16:
For long and boring hours, Tercius and Lucky kept going east at a trot, sticking close to the canyon, and still they remained on the southern side of it. As no narrow point in the canyon came, Tercius had to acknowledge that erosion or some other factor had taken its toll.
That left him with two options.
Cross the gap directly by fly...
2022-03-03 21:02:49 +0000 UTC View PostTercius tried to stay as still as possible. “It feels like a snake or something. What should I… do?”
“Snake? Oh, snakes. No snakes in forest. But—”
“What? What is it?”
“Don’t worry, they won’t harm us. The forest is with us,”
There was movement where Leawarra was and then, in a sh...
2022-03-01 21:38:16 +0000 UTC View PostHis wrapped head was on fire, but a strange calm existed below his pumping heart.
“Lucky, down!” Tercius commanded and felt his {Teaching Bond} with the ram snap into place. With all the urgency he could muster, he said the command again. “Down!”
The nervous ram reluctantly obeyed, folding it...
2022-02-28 21:23:12 +0000 UTC View PostTercius heard them before he saw them.
First came a short, high-pitched screech, a sound wave that gave both him and Lucky the shudders. Then, barely a breath later, came a series of fast, hollow-sounding clicks.
Born and raised on the other end of the continent, Tercius had never heard the calling sounds made by Steel Beaks before, ...
2022-02-27 19:41:16 +0000 UTC View PostJust as the world itself was waking with the arrival of the sun, their golden bubble landed and the solid spherical surface dispersed into golden motes of magia. The land was flat here, the dry grass below their feet crunching. Directly north of them, the land rose into gentle hills of gray rocks.
“This is as far as we can take you,” M...
2022-02-27 10:25:02 +0000 UTC View PostAN: Chapter 2/2. Make sure to catch the one below first.
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By morning, Tercius was as good as new. He resumed his training with Lucky at first daylight. He only stopped when sunlight went away and the progress made for the day could be summed up with a single word.
AN: Sorry for tardiness. Chapter 1/2. Next one is after this one.
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Day or night, Tercius spent the hours being instructed by the magi or giving instructions to Lucky. He pushed himself forward of his own free will and the three magi supported him unconditionally with anything he needed.
In his ...
2022-02-24 22:34:11 +0000 UTC View Post“That one,” Tercius’ beast of choice was a shaggy gray mountain of a ram, easily tall enough for a grown horse to hide under it.
Upon hearing his words, Mistress Kalina's eyes narrowed at the beast, and a finger was pointed. Magia swirled on the top of that finger and the greenish bubble that was their vehicle made a small hole for t...
2022-02-19 20:55:29 +0000 UTC View PostTercius read through the books that his Mentor gave him well before the last of his candles melted entirely.
The books were written like a survivalist guide, with clear guidelines as to what to do in case this or that happened. In concise paragraphs, Tercius was introduced to the nature of dangerous and usable flora, fauna, and fungi, foll...
2022-02-12 12:19:17 +0000 UTC View PostThe brainstorming session ended with a successful conclusion and Tercius was completely agreeable to the choice of the two elder Mistresses.
Still, the accumulation of so many things that happened to him in a single day finally wore him down. As soon as the three women left his room, he collapsed on the creaking bed and took that nap that ...
2022-02-12 12:18:17 +0000 UTC View PostTercius roamed the old city’s districts, with no discernable pattern to his path. He chose the turns and twists at random, provided that he moved west.
Skill {Magia Touch} developed. Obtain Yes/No?
The notification impeded his vision as it awaited his decision, but despite it, he observed the surroundings like a to...
2022-02-12 12:17:25 +0000 UTC View PostSkill {Magia Touch} developed. Obtain Yes/No?
Tercius just blinked at the notification. As his lids fell to cover his eyes, the words turned from black to white, as if to refuse his weak attempt to hide from it. The letters would adapt to whatever shape and color they needed to and they would stay to occupy the center of h...
2022-02-12 12:14:49 +0000 UTC View PostIsidorus didn’t make Tercius wait for long.
The temple was on the other side of the old city and the walk to their destination promised to take at least half an hour, if not more. One small blessing was that by the time Tercius and Isidorus had started their journey, the early morning crowd was thinned by at least half. It made navigatin...
2022-02-12 12:13:02 +0000 UTC View PostSitting back to back on the dry grass, Tercius and his brother-in-craft Neiran spent their time shaping raw stone, taking large gravel, chipped stone, or those stones that were too small and too big, and reforming them all to the specifications their master-in-craft, Ciron, gave them. Each block they made had to have a certain length, width,...
2022-02-12 12:12:45 +0000 UTC View PostThe innkeeper of the inn they chose to settle in was a friendly man, for they were paying guests after all, but the smile on his chubby cheeks didn’t reach his suspicious eyes. He served them dinner on a candle-lit corner table and the four of them ate under the suspicious gazes of the other guests of the establishment. There were questions in...
2022-02-12 12:12:34 +0000 UTC View PostTercius swallowed heavily, his fingers digging into his sweaty palms. He had experienced this once before and he was not looking forward to the repeat. And yet, despite what awaited in the immediate future, he couldn't help but observe with wide-open eyes.
Thick veins of neon green covered his emerald irises as he observed the formation of...
2022-02-12 12:12:23 +0000 UTC View PostFirst of all, I owe you all an apology for the week-long gap without chapters.
As you all know, I've been ill in late January and even though my health is all good now, my days now are still suffering the aftereffects of that. My job needs me to pick up the lost time and I'm struggling to get back on track. I'm managing, but I'm dead tired...
2022-02-12 12:10:08 +0000 UTC View PostWord of a young shaman spread through the forest village like a summer wildfire through dry leaves.
Tales told by the trainee hunters that Leawarra and Murrayn had taken under their wing told of an outlander that was a capable hunter, a beastspeaker, and a capable healer without whom Murrayn would have died. The men who had gone...
2022-02-04 14:55:23 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 166 is down below.
Some of you might have gone and read the revised version that's up on RR. You likely noticed he changes I've done there, but let me make some short notes for those who haven't read it.
First, in the revised version, Prime'era and Helfira remained with Tercius and Kalina.
Second, in the chapters on RR ...
2022-01-30 12:30:18 +0000 UTC View PostDespite their best efforts, the night had fallen on them before they reached Leavara’s settlement, but at least they had made it past the boundary of safety.
Tercius carried a torch in one hand and led Lucky by the reins up the dark and uneven terrain. The forested ground was full of sudden indentations and rocks, while the trees grew th...
2022-01-30 12:28:02 +0000 UTC View PostHey everyone,
So, I've been with a fever and a headache for the past two days. Nothing major in both cases. I have no idea if it's Covid, as our local hospital is swamped. They are advising me to wait a day or two longer before I come for testing, simply because it could be the seasonal flu. Apparently, its everywhere in the city.&nb...
2022-01-22 18:36:07 +0000 UTC View Post“I understand,” one of the girls said.
Her words were spoken softly and with hesitation, coming out strangely accented. She couldn't have been much older than he was, at least biologically speaking. Red-haired, red-eyed, and tall, with a sharp nose and pronounced cheekbones, the girl made him take a glance at the silently weeping Leava...
2022-01-17 22:58:24 +0000 UTC View PostThere was a moment of silence, a quiet peace where Tercius counted eight new arrivals, fast-moving, slender and long, white-scaled and gilded with a colorful crown of feathers. Three of them were bigger than the rest, yet they stayed centered in the moving formation, with five slightly smaller protectors running around them in concert. All of th...
2022-01-13 21:38:21 +0000 UTC View PostTercius heard them before he saw them.
First came a short, high-pitched screech, a sound wave that gave both him and Lucky the shudders. Then, barely a breath later, came a series of fast, hollow-sounding clicks.
Born and raised near the other end of the continent, Tercius had never heard the calling sounds made by Steel Beaks before...
2022-01-10 21:57:06 +0000 UTC View PostWhere the dry grasslands of the Empire met the gray rocky foothills of Izmittor, Tercius, his mount, and his Mentor arrived in the early morning hours. The seal on his Well was tightened the previous evening and now nothing else remained but to venture forth.
"You should find the first tribes directly northwest from here. Farmer...
2022-01-05 14:31:21 +0000 UTC View PostAN: Chapter 3/3
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By morning, Tercius' ankle, torso, and head were as good as new, but the late-night had left a mark on him. Mistress Kalina boosted him with a potion that cleared away the fog of tiredness and then he resumed his training with Lucky at first daylight. He only stopped when sunlight went away, the pro...
2021-12-30 12:42:06 +0000 UTC View Post