“I don’t like it,” Sadie said, her hands clenched into tight fists as she looked back at the town. “I don’t like this at all. We’re supposed to be helping people, not…abandoning them.”
Elijah was inclined to agree. He certainly didn’t support the notion of letting the Immortals – and their enigmatic an...
2024-08-06 15:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostA beam of pure destruction cut through the mass of trolls. Hundreds of them burst into flame, burning to ash in only a moment, while the strongest among them were merely cut in half. A second later, a whirlwind of ethereal hammers slammed into them, pulverizing the scattered few who’d managed to live through [Eye of Reckoning].&nbs...
2024-08-06 13:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post“What kind of a problem?” asked Sadie, her tone intense. “What’s going on?”
“The Immortals.”
“What about them?” Elijah asked before Sadie could cut in.
“They’re taking over,” Atticus responded with a shake of his head. “They’re multiplying. I don’t know how, but every day, there s...
2024-08-05 15:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post“Are we certain that it’s stabilized?” asked Zeke, glancing away from the dungeon portal and looking at Sasha. In addition to leading the academy in the Crimson Tower, she was also the most knowledgeable person when it came to mana, dungeons, and just about everything else that didn’t involve killing.
The boarkin girl g...
2024-08-05 13:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostA gentle wind rustled the leaves above, and a cacophony of chirps cascaded across the canopy. Twinkling motes of ethera danced in the air, casting the forest floor in a slightly blue glow that, in most situations, Elijah would have found quite comforting. He was distracted, though. Because for once, he’d found a group of ka...
2024-08-04 15:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostElijah crept forward, his footsteps barely making a sound as he held his hand outstretched. His fingers trembled slightly as he reached toward the creature. It cringed away, letting out a pitiful whine, but it didn’t run. It couldn’t.
“Shh,” he breathed. “It’ll be okay.”
The beast clearly d...
2024-08-03 15:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostGwenivere sat at the bar, staring into the tumbler of whiskey in front of her. It remained untouched, though she wanted nothing more than to take a drink. After everything she and the rest of the others had been through, she felt that she deserved that much.
Yet, she refused. Five years of sobriety – forced by circumsta...
2024-08-02 15:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostIgnatius, the High Abbot of the Radiant Host and the Lord of the Imperium, took a deep breath. He didn’t see his surroundings, no matter how grand. Nor did he feel secure in his own power, though in his territory, it was absolute. Few people in the Eternal Realm could hope to stand up to him, and yet, he felt as weak as a chi...
2024-08-02 13:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostSadie sat atop what was left of the ruined wall, her head in her hands as she tried to come to grips with everything. It didn’t happen often, but every now and then, she found herself overwhelmed by events. Normally, she pushed those feelings aside, shoving them deep down where nobody could see how much they affected her. But...
2024-08-01 15:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostSomething smashed into Zeke’s hip, sending him stumbling to the side. At the same time, another force hit him from the other direction, followed by the Karag Morn, the level ninety-four Knight, finally making his move. Zeke raised his hammer to block the oncoming strike from the big man’s cudgel, but he was too slow. It hit...
2024-08-01 13:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostRamik was frustrated.
After five years of clawing toward prosperity, Ironshore was finally on the verge of turning a profit. He could see it in his mind’s eye, looming just out of reach. Once they crossed that ephemeral line, everything would change. Already, he’d begun to see the effects. Humans made up almost ...
2024-07-31 15:10:00 +0000 UTC View PostIn a daze, Elijah left the ruins behind. He still paid attention to his surroundings, but he struggled to pull his thoughts away from contemplation of his recent experiences. The puzzle itself hadn’t been terribly complex. However, his ability to solve it had been compromised by external factors – like the fact that he’d ...
2024-07-31 15:00:24 +0000 UTC View PostElijah ran his fingers along the damp wall, then pressed his thumb and forefinger together. Because of the algae that covered the stone, they stuck together, though only slightly. In addition, a slightly musty smell hung in the air, suggesting the presence of rot. But he wasn’t put off by that. Instead, he marveled at t...
2024-07-30 15:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post“It was a trap,” Eveline said in Zeke’s mind as he stared out across the battlefield. His people were hard-pressed, being attacked from three sides, but they were holding their own. Or they would have been if it weren’t for four figures dominating the fight.
They were all knights, wearing bulky sets of shining arm...
2024-07-30 13:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post“That’s the biggest damn ingot I’ve ever seen,” Kurik said. He tore his eyes away from the bar of celestial gold and asked, “Can I touch it? Just once, so I can tell my clan I actually laid a finger on a bar of celestial gold.”
“Of course you can touch it,” Sadie said. “You earned it, just like the rest ...
2024-07-29 15:00:16 +0000 UTC View PostThe hammer fell with inevitable finality, crushing a mighty Knight of the Radiant Host into nothing. Zeke felt a wave of kill energy sweep through him, announcing the Knight’s death. With that confirmation of his victory, his shoulders sagged and he looked around. Hundreds of Knights lay dead all around him, each one crushed ...
2024-07-29 13:00:17 +0000 UTC View PostElijah lay on the floor, his breath coming deep and slow, as he came to grips with the previous battle. In the beginning, he’d thought that his new abilities hadn’t been effective, but as the battle wore on, he’d come to realize that the Engineer was just that powerful. He didn’t know what the ka’alaki had done to himself ...
2024-07-28 15:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post“Tell me,” said the four-legged amalgamation of flesh and metal as he loomed over Sadie. A huge circular saw whirred to life, its blade glistening with ethera. “Does your world know the value of technology? Mine did not. Does not. I was mocked. Derided. Exiled to the far reaches of my planet, and f...
2024-07-27 15:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostElectricity arced from one wire to the next, never stopping even for a moment. Somehow, Dat managed to tiptoe through them, his feet never touching a single wire as he made his way to the console. Meanwhile, Sadie fended off the veritable horde of spiders that had descended upon her when she’d used Call of the Crusader.
Tucker took aim and shot an alchemical globe above the enemy ship. When it was halfway to its destination, it split into ten smaller balls that spread out to cover the whole ship. Once they were in position, they all exploded, showering the deck – and the sailors upon it – in green mist that he knew would weaken even the stronges...
2024-07-26 13:00:19 +0000 UTC View Post
Sadie slammed into the wall, her pauldron crumpling as the impact sent a web of cracks spreading across the concrete surface. But the armor – as well as Bulwark of the Faithful – did its job, preventing her bones from shattering. It was a good thing, too, because if she’d been stunned, even for a moment, she would ...
2024-07-25 15:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostZeke cracked his knuckles as he looked at the freestanding arch. The interior was filled with gray fog, through which he could see nothing. That wasn’t surprising, given what he was looking at. He turned to Pudge and asked, “When did it pop up?”
“Yesterday,” Zeke’s demonic bearkin companion answered. Pud...
2024-07-25 13:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostElijah was on fire, and he regretted ever volunteering to lead the horde of robotic insects away. He dove aside as a roach-bot descend upon him from above – who knew they were capable of flight? – and rolled across the muddy ground to put out the flames ruining his scaled back. He never stopped moving before he sprang to his feet...
2024-07-24 15:10:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe noise was deafening.
Hundreds of metal creatures, all clanking together as they chased Elijah away from the facility, created a cacophony of sound that Sadie would never forget. It was overwhelming, especially when she knew what it represented. If he made one simple mistake, if he tripped or had overestimated his own speed,...
2024-07-24 15:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostSo, those who frequent my Discord probably know that I've come up on a bit of an issue with the current book. As far as I'm concerned, it's a good problem to have, but it does force me to make some choices, and soon. So, let me explain.
Basically, we're at about the 40-50% mark with the Trial of Primacy arc as outlined. That means that ...
2024-07-23 21:14:58 +0000 UTC View Post“Here’s how I see it,” said Elijah. As he spoke, he pointed to a rough diagram he’d scratched into the mud. It had begun to rain, so the lines he’d drawn had started to fill with water, but everything was still visible. “Three wasps patrol the area here. They’re evenly spaced, so they’ve got the whole faci...
2024-07-23 15:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostAbby blazed across the sky as a streak of sunlight, and if she’d had a heart, it would have been beating out of control. Of all the people she might have expected to meet in battle, Talia Nightingale was not one of them. They had been separated upon ascension, and though Abby had often thought of the girl – and her undead curse ...
2024-07-23 13:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostThe tree was twisted, with gnarly branches and lacking any leaves. To most casual observers, it would have seemed dead. But as Elijah laid his hand on the trunk, feeling the rough bark beneath his fingers, he couldn’t deny the sense of vitality it exuded. It was alive, and in the truest sense of the word. Its existence ...
2024-07-22 15:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostThe Inashi fell upon the Radiant Host’s support personnel in what seemed to be an indiscriminate campaign of slaughter. However, their targets had been well-chosen, and their strikes were surgical, intentional, and most of all, effective. So, when Adara led her own contingent of former Knights of Adontis in a charge, she and her people were ...
2024-07-22 13:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostBenedict was trying.
He truly was. Throughout his time in the Trial, he’d done everything possible to mind his own business and leave everyone else alone. And for the most part, he’d succeeded. Certainly, he’d sacrificed a few people so he could summon another Malicious Guard, but they’d practically begged him to ...
2024-07-21 15:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post