Ian and Eury were like statues, their heads bowed as they both viewed the unrolling weave of the future. Three times already Achemiss had almost asked a question that would lead to mentions of Maria, requiring intervention–Clara changing the subject or saying something of her own volition.
The most nerve-wrackin...
2024-01-06 05:24:47 +0000 UTC View PostHours later, the duo had fought against more swarms of tier two monsters, but never anything as powerful as the serpent. They were exhausted but undeterred.
Ros saw the end of the featureless water first. Fifteen minutes later, Isen could finally see the dark smudge that parted the glowing fathoms and disappeared into t...
2024-01-03 03:54:03 +0000 UTC View PostRos thrashed and the serpent’s body twisted, the water churning with white and gray blood, a furious cyclone of monsters carried by chaotic currents.
Isen crashed against Ros’s hips, the last of the air knocked from his lungs. But he sensed it. An opportunity. The serpent’s lower length coiled around Ros, nearly c...
2024-01-01 23:03:26 +0000 UTC View Post[ happy 2024! ]
Isen lay on his stomach between Ros’s shoulders as the beast swam through the radiant waters, the golden light reflected in its pearlescent scales. Its tail propelled them over the surface far faster than Isen could manage on his own.
Soon, they were further out than Isen had ever been. The caver...
2024-01-01 09:00:32 +0000 UTC View PostIsen honed himself against the monsters in the radiant fathoms, cycling the ambient energy between forays. Ros stood sentinel on the rock, prepared to descend if necessary. While Isen returned with injuries every time, Ros’s intervention was never required.
After the third day, Ros seemed confident in Isen’s ability...
2023-12-30 22:07:55 +0000 UTC View PostIsen fastened the bundle of books around Ros’s neck, using a crude thong made from divine bear sinew to secure it to a few strategic scales so it wouldn’t jostle as the beast moved. He’d picked at least one book from each language, as far as he could tell. He hadn’t grabbed more than he could carry on his own after le...
2023-12-30 04:07:06 +0000 UTC View PostRos didn’t think much of Isen commencing his advancement in the bathroom. The boy had done his other minor tempering breakthroughs in there as well. Ros was too large to fit inside the door, but it knew there was a tub with running water inside. Sometimes, Isen brought water out for the beast to drink or wash with.
Th...
2023-12-28 06:26:51 +0000 UTC View PostIsen crouched in the darkness, a bone spear clutched firmly in his hands. Both eyes could see in the mist now, a side effect of tempering with the blood of the bear monster. Free of impurities, his right eye still looked normal, though Isen thought his ability to perceive the mist with it was slightly worse.
Both eyes s...
2023-12-23 20:29:43 +0000 UTC View PostThe first time Isen tried to drink the blood, he threw up. His mind rebelled against the idea, even if his tongue said the blood tasted fine. But eventually, he forced several swallows down.
“Do you feel it in your core?” Ros asked.
“It’s in my stomach, like where I gather the ambient ener...
2023-12-23 00:04:23 +0000 UTC View PostIt had been a long, long time since Rosophilus had seen the surface. Ros had never seen human children up close, but had excellent hearing and had learned many things by living in proximity to their settlements.
It had been easy to forget that the boy was, indeed, a boy. He didn’t often act like one. He didn’t chatt...
2023-12-19 22:47:41 +0000 UTC View PostAchemiss hated this wretched world.
It was literally the only thing in existence holding him back. His only vulnerability.
And his present circumstances? They had confirmed his every fear. He’d never expected the one to send him here was Ancient Black, also, impossibly, known as Ignatius Julian Dunai. 2023-12-19 05:31:39 +0000 UTC View Post
[ the last of the chapter dump. from now on i'll only post a chapter when i write one :) but i'm writing quite fast ]
Isen woke up in sticky darkness and retched at the smell of sickly sweet blood.
He was still inside the bear.
Every part of him hurt. Gritting his teeth, he crawled his way out of the bear’...
2023-12-17 21:56:29 +0000 UTC View Post
^ The scaled vulpine beast in the glow of the golden water. Isen only comes up to its ankle.
------------
Over the past few days, Isen had grown increasingly adept at perceiving the world with his left eye. Now he could s...
2023-12-17 18:37:27 +0000 UTC View PostIsen still couldn’t see anything but gold in his left eye, and his right was as useless as ever in the absolute dark.
It was hard to keep track of time when all he heard were the rhythmic footfalls of the scaled beast. Now that he was no longer so exhausted, he thought more critically about his benefactor. What did it...
2023-12-17 00:29:05 +0000 UTC View PostIsen curled up in the gap between two boulders, exhausted. He was no stranger to sleeping on hard earth, but the rock was hard even for his standards. His body didn’t care, falling asleep in seconds.
He awoke in the same darkness.
That would have been a beautiful dream, he thought, sighing. Instead,...
2023-12-16 22:06:42 +0000 UTC View Post[ thanks all for giving this a chance! early feedback is extremely welcome. this chapter has already been workshopped and edited (thanks sontag), but i'm always open to making it better. if the issue is premise, you can let me know but i probably won't be able to make revisions to the entire book's premise lol. ]
The Tw...
2023-12-16 20:46:12 +0000 UTC View PostHey guys!
Finishing a series is hard! I've been writing very slowly. It's literally just hard to write the mind games I've necessitated in Menocht's plot. Everyone is playing 4D chess.
I will still continue to write it, obviously, but I decided that I need to start working on something else as well to reinvigorate...
2023-12-16 20:40:24 +0000 UTC View PostClara’s hatred for the plan only increased the deeper she fell into it. It was simple: the Eldemari would infiltrate and use her End to save Clara from her life-death oath. Supposedly, all the lich needed to do was touch Clara.
Clara had heard the rough plan before today, but the full horror of it hadn’t hit her unt...
2023-12-09 04:09:13 +0000 UTC View PostIan kneaded his forehead, his eyes shut tightly. Next to him, Euryphel lay on the table, his jaw clenched.
He cracked open his eyes and met the former prince’s gaze. No words were needed between them.
Twenty minutes into Maria’s infiltration and they were already in a world of mental pain. Ian practically want...
2023-11-14 07:50:05 +0000 UTC View PostThe water had a peculiar buoyancy, like a mix between water and air. Maria fell faster than she’d anticipated, cutting through the false liquid like a missile. Soon the bottom of the lake, dark and covered in plants that shone whitish gray in her vital vision, was only a few feet away.
She passed right through it, sla...
2023-10-28 06:27:40 +0000 UTC View PostFrom high above the surface, End arrows between people became almost completely indistinct, though masses of them in one place–such as cities–were visible. The arrows between herself and people below–such as Ian–extended beyond sight, though they served as a rough compass, allowing her to instinctively orient herself ...
2023-10-21 07:00:42 +0000 UTC View PostZilverna was alone in his room, sprawled on a chair, his arms wide and draping toward the ground. A thick blanket lay over him. He was in his own room, his original room.
Maria frowned. He should have taken my chambers once I was gone, she thought. It’s where I stayed, and before me, my mother.
[ hey guys, really sorry for the lack of updates last month -- it wasn't planned, otherwise I would've paused patreon for september. i really appreciate your patience and understanding.
it was a very busy month for me -- i traveled to over 7 states, most of that for work, between my day job as an engineer (pennsylvania,...
2023-10-01 05:23:06 +0000 UTC View PostAfter the assembly’s conclusion, Ian waited until Clara was back home, scoping out her activities through Euryphel’s Regret scenarios. Then, he summoned her with the transmission artifact. Knowing that she’d appear behind him–the artifact always manifested the projected person directly behind their quarry–Ian turned...
2023-08-26 07:50:53 +0000 UTC View Post[ longer than usual chapter. enjoy! ]
So, the Sere Consortium ultimately refused the request of an ascendant.
Interesting.
Euryphel took all the time he needed to think within scenarios, his brow furrowed in contemplation. He wasn’t shocked by the Sere Consortium assembly’s refusal of Achemiss...
2023-08-12 22:35:48 +0000 UTC View Post“It’s starting in a minute,” Euryphel said. He reclined in one of the chairs situated around the table, his legs perched on an adjacent seat.
Ian stretched an arm across his chest and curved his neck. “Should’ve brought popcorn.”
Euryphel snorted and gestured to a lovely spread of finger sandwiches lai...
2023-08-07 21:08:14 +0000 UTC View PostAfter Euryphel left, Ian focused his gaze on Clara. He felt the new bond between them, raw, unidirectional. It was distinct from the two-way connection he had with Maria that shared their emotions and allowed them to freely communicate.
When he’d turned Maria into a lich… his mind had been electric, his body on fire...
2023-08-05 23:04:52 +0000 UTC View PostEuryphel watched silently as Ian told Clara Belvaire what he planned to do at a high level. He made impossibility sound so simple. Ultimately, he persuaded Clara to accept the procedure–depending on one’s definition of persuade.
Euryphel recognized that the power dynamics in the room were grossly imbalanced. Ian was...
2023-07-29 00:42:53 +0000 UTC View PostClara Belvaire’s terror was overwhelming. Ian sensed it with his decemancy and Remorse. Her body locked up, her heart raced, and her mind was frantic. He sensed her frustrating feelings of helplessness.
She had reason to fear him–Ian didn’t exactly come with peaceful intentions–but it would be best for her to ca...
2023-07-14 22:26:44 +0000 UTC View PostClara Belvaire knew something was off when she returned home. Outwardly, nothing was wrong. The lights were all out, aside from the lamp she always kept on in the living room. Her husband was away in the Adrilli Isles on business, so it was to be expected. Her entire residence was layered in complex arrays unbreakable to all ...
2023-07-09 14:42:07 +0000 UTC View Post
