Ad Astra

61. In These Trying Times

Hells. Hells! Dorian resisted with all his might, but the pressure still had him in a vise. Sweat matted his brow and his face turned pallid with effort. There were few things in this world which caused him real concern. The attention of a god was one. Gods needed no physical form to strike; even a god’s avatar cou...

60. God's Eye

A/N: Hello! I'm not dead! But my computer is, sadly. Had to send it to a shop to get it fixed two days ago, and I've since clackered out this chapter on a very old loaner machine. Which is all to say--sorry about the delay! Onward!

Two hours later, his tinkering finished. 

[Level-u...

59. Trial of the Mind (III)

“I’m done for,” whispered Kaya, biting her lip. She sagged like all the air had been let out of her. Then she snorted, a rueful hint of a smile tinging her face. “To think—it’s not a three-ton spiked wrecking ball that foils me but damned reading comprehension.”

“You’re very much not done for,” said ...

58. Trial of the Mind (II)

Kono’s face drooped like an old, wilting sunflower. “Please don’t take it as an… assault,” he said softly. “I meant no harm. I meant it merely as a test.”

Dorian’s blood ran cold. “A test,” he repeated. The words were bitter on his tongue. “A test.” His mind spun. He’d throw...

57. Trial of the Mind (I)

Dorian’s breath caught. There wasn’t a frost fae’s chance in hells this was made by the Azcan Oasis or any of the Oases. Before him were ten pitch-black monoliths which towered above all of them, as though ten etched tablets had been blown up a thousandfold. Dorian could imagine the hands—or claws, or talons—which d...

Chapter 56. Preparation & Separation

2,716 Lira. That was what they made that day, and it sent the rest of the Alchemists into yellow-eyed frenzies. Hu and Dorian, meanwhile, chuckled their way back to Rust Tribe’s base camp. The profits were split 50/50 between he and Hu, a figure he’d gotten after much haggling over the past two weeks; he’d walk home tod...

Chapter 55. Filthy Rich

Whatever cosmic anomalies Pearl had brought didn’t resurface, nor did any explanation for them, leaving a gaping hole which the Festivalgoers filled with endless speculation. Dorian heard all manner of rumors flying about as he trudged over to the merchants’ quarters, ranging from Pearl’s being a Blessed of the Dweller ...

54. Trial of the Body (IV)

Dorian watched the trial with mild interest. Statistically he was safely within qualification territory; it’d take a serious anomaly for half their number to qualify, which was the only way he’d get shoved out of the top 128. The contestants drifted up the artifact-powered elevator to the course, fidgeting and tugging at ...

53. Trial of the Body (III)

Note: I’ve edited the requirements to pass this Trial a bit, and have updated the last chapter. In short: The Trial of the Body has two parts, one of Speed and of Strength. The top 128 in Speed make it to the Trial of Strength. The top 64 of those make it to the second day & the next Trial. Everyone els...

52. Trial of the Body (II)

First came registration. Each of the contestants stepped up to one of a line of Azcan representatives, offering their palms. The representative then deposited a crystal ball, an artifact which sent a pulse of qi through the user to check for some basic vitals—things like age and qi response. The brighter the ball’s glow, ...

51. Trial of the Body (I)

He felt like he’d been boiled alive, like all his skin and muscle had been shaved off with a scalding knife, then pasted back on piece by piece, melting together to a perfect whole. He didn’t bother opening his eyes; he knew all he’d see was a storm of rising black-gray smoke. He’d passed the critical point and a shoc...

50. Golden Boy

Pearl nodded to a girl in rags whose hair resembled a pigeon’s nest.

“Ray? You’re up.”

The girl nodded, licking her lips. “I went to see what the Narong’s got,” she said. She was young, barely a teen, yet her voice was so hoarse it could’ve been a grandmother’s. “I got myself a few robes n’ p...

49. Faustian Deals

Kaya was steaming hot. Literally. Dorian knew something was off the moment he saw trails of smoke rising from the tent flaps. He went in, frowning, to the sight of his sister red as a roast crab. Qi leaked out of her like she was a piping kettle.

“Er…” He made to check her vitals, then froze. The closer he got the...

48. Commencement

The sun straddled the horizon, casting a spectrum of orange on the assembly ringing the Festival grounds. Every year, it was the largest gathering of peoples to grace the western Izod Desert; tribes large and small met in this hotspot of qi. Over the years it’d transformed to a hotspot of glory and wealth too.

This ye...

47. Life Sacrifice

Dorian flipped through a thick leatherbound, stroking his chin as he scanned the pages. None of these were quite right. All too weak or too slow. To create the kind of potion that’d get Kaya literally back on her feet, he’d need explosion: fast, big, powerful. That needed both potent ingredients and a few sacrifices that ...

46. Arrival

The Festival was held in the heart of the West. The closer you got the smaller the dunes, the more they melted into the landscape, flattening out. Here there was only one long plane stretching as far as the eye could see, level as a table. It was here that the Festival was held every year.

They called it the heart not o...

45. Playing Doctor

That night he paid another visit to Kaya, a slab of prime Vordor meat in tow. She greeted him with a sullen look but brightened a bit at the gift. She chewed on it in silence. She didn’t look in the mood to talk. She didn’t look in the mood to exist. She was a human airtight safe.

So naturally he tried prying her op...

Chapter 44. A Taste of It

They overshot their aims. Hours later, they ended up returning with five Vordors in tow. Dorian played the anchor while letting the others unleash on their victims. It was, all in all, a very effective strategy. Almost too effective.

After being stuffed with three full-grown adult Vordors, Dorian’s Interspatial Ring w...

Chapter 43: The I in Team

“Our rations are running thin,” said Tuketu. His eyes glinted in the waning light. “We may have restocked on resources, but we’ve only two weeks of meat supplies. Nothing debilitating, mind you—but the Tribe tries to stay at least a month ahead.”

He cleared his throat. “Your first assignment: to hunt down ...

42. Yama's Chains

The first step to designing a fitting martial art was to understand the nature of his qi. To start he’d need to catalogue his new Bloodline’s properties. His qi was edged black as obsidian. It was steeped in decay. It sank into whatever it touched, rotting skin and flesh and bone alike, burning away even layers of stone. ...

41: Tribal Ties

Note: Chapter’s a bit late, sorry about that! Will get the next one out soon too.

He interned Kaya with the healers alongside a slew of other injured. In Rust Tribe many wore multiple hats; the bulk of them were gatherers moonlighting as healers. The injured were carried aloft on cots, two to a person...

40. A Hard Reunion

Dorian was patient. You had to be, at his age. He could stomach silence. It was good in moderate doses, but too much grew tiresome fast. As he stepped through the skies, scouting out a wide perimeter and taking a winding route toward the constellation, Kaya faded in and out of consciousness on his back, groaning and shudderin...

39. Festivalgoers

A/N: I've been a day late these last two uploads--sorry about that. I've been swamped in midterms, to my chagrin... it's been a very hectic week. But things should be back to normal now!

In the Outskirts of the Western Desert, it never rained. The only source of water came from the Sinkholes, and they w...

38. Tearing & Repairing

Tongues of Flame shot out like chains from his palms. They latched onto the Vordor’s limbs in a flash, wrapping around its wings, biting into its tail. It screeched and bucked, trying to throw them off; it beat its wings with fervor, sending up clouds of sand. Its head whipped around, confusion stark in its eyes. Why wasn�...

37. New Blood (VI)

1 hour earlier…

The chaos of the night had given way to a spent, weary calm. Blood had been shed. Corpses riddled the sands. Flocks of Vordors flitted to and fro, picking at the remains of the Beasts—the [Profound] Realm beast had a whole herd of them plucking at the eyeballs, swallowing tendons who...

36. New Blood (V)

Note: Saw some good feedback about the plot-armory nature of her survival on the last chap. Edited it for realism so Kaya takes only one quick slap by the Profound Beast, not an extended beating (which should probably kill her, bloodline or not). I should make clear that I’m not the type of author to pull p...

35. New Blood (IV)

It was a sensation he’d never get used to—in part because he’d gone so long without it. That feeling of smallness, nearly stifling, hit like a shock of cold water to the face. Then it settled in on him, cloaking him like a straightjacket. Making stone of his limbs.

A lesser human might’ve fainted on the spot. As...

34. New Blood (III)

Kaya went in first. Dorian could decipher a few general things about the black miasma before him—he sensed auras all around; a few strikes marked places where fighting was fiercest—but the haze still swept over all. He could barely see his fingers and so he let her brave the minefield first. Tracking her aura, he followed...

33. New Blood (II)

Rust’s whispers to Tuketu grew more urgent. Tuketu’s frown grew more lined. After a pregnant pause he gave a slow nod, and Rust whirled back to face the crowd.

“Gatherers, come!” He yelled out. Three dozen, garbed in dark smocks, pressed forward with their bags and kits at the ready.

“Deploy,” he said,...

32. New Blood (I)

Tuketu barked a command. Instantly the Hunters leapt into formation at the front, arranging themselves into a human spearhead. Each cycled as they did, alert, tensed for action. Nobody threw a strike. The air was charged with qi, pent-up and begging for release.

The sandwolves washed over the dunes like a surging tide o...