Bi Xi appeared to Nox again during the spirit walk, looking worse for wear. It appeared as if recent events had affected the spirit, too. Craters pock-marked the intact sections of his shell. However, the critters crawling and squirming around the holes seemed sparser than before.
“Are you a spirit of the land?” Nox asked, sitting six feet from Bi Xi.
The spirit just looked as s...
2023-12-23 17:27:26 +0000 UTC View PostThe return journey to the city was long but uneventful. Nox diverted the party when passing myconid colonies they had bombed during their trip to the rift. Several had local wildlife feeding on them. New mushrooms sprouted around the statues, and Caitlin reported that only clean life essence flowed through them. They collected samples and gave Nox half an hour to study the whole organism before...
2023-12-23 07:30:45 +0000 UTC View Post“Don’t you want to consume what’s left?” Nox asked Lillin after catching his breath.
“I wouldn’t even if there was anything left for me to have,” she replied. “That thing… its minions… they felt sickening. I don’t think we would’ve survived the energy.”
“Mind if I have at it, then?” Joey enquired. His spearhead floated over his right shoulder. “Nar wa...
2023-12-22 16:55:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe party used mana and stamina recovery brews to recover. Nox gave everyone a diluted version of his empowering cocktail. He worried they’d struggle to deal with the concentrated version’s toxicity. Caitlin had suffered burns and used her wood elementals’ magic to accelerate healing. Lillin had also suffered a few lacerations. She shed the injured flesh and replaced it with biomass from ...
2023-12-22 10:30:40 +0000 UTC View PostThe rift's interior was as bleak as the exterior. It had no natural light besides the little coming from the stars overhead, and the temperature felt well below freezing. The party saw no signs of snow, but the eerily silent dimension appeared frozen solid.
Everyone in the party except Lillin had a source of light. Thanks to her mimic physiology, she didn't need any. Her irises and pupils...
2023-12-21 18:00:39 +0000 UTC View PostThe airship departed from the university’s docks at first light. After preparing the party and all the necessary brews, Nox spent the night on campus with Aria. They caught each other up on everything they had learned and experienced over the last couple of days. Several students had jumped at the opportunity to help the city with relief efforts or combat support on the walls. Almost just as ...
2023-12-21 09:50:04 +0000 UTC View Post“The Titans are dead they said. You can’t declare war on the gods without taking down the Titans, too. They’re not unstoppable forces of nature. They’re not our allies in the fight against the gods. The Titans have lived longer than humanity or their supposed creators.
Terrastalia on land. The Leviathan in the seas. Aeros in the skies.
Nothing but death...
2023-12-20 20:39:37 +0000 UTC View PostThe following business day passed mostly without incident. The morning started slow, letting Nox have brunch with his friends and tell them about the past evening. Much to their delight, Michelle and Ernest had joined them, making the day extra special. Joey had recently started joining them for the meals, too. He occupied the Beaufort sister’s usual seat next to Caitlin.
When Joey firs...
2023-12-20 15:55:36 +0000 UTC View PostNox felt like a show familiar. Mages raised and tailored familiars in the Imperium and several allied cities for show or gladiatorial matches. The rade Empire didn’t engage in such activities but helped transport contracts and conduits to facilitate those who indulged. He had only ever seen the mages from a distance during gatherings in the Golden Isles. The familiars and summons on show ofte...
2023-12-19 09:46:03 +0000 UTC View PostA carriage arrived at Ratra’s Knightly Brews precisely at the sixth bell. Its driver knocked on the door and informed Nox that he’d happily wait however long was necessary. Despite the ‘we stick to our own attitude’ Swati had a local in her employ. Nox wasn’t sure why the discovery surprised him as much as it did.
After foot traffic slowed down enough, he had left Hilda, Emily, ...
2023-12-17 21:13:42 +0000 UTC View Post“Ruipur and its neighboring city-states are largely matriarchal in stark contrast to most of Daksinthan. The societal hierarchies are unusually close to the wildfowl settlements in the Arctic North. When a Daksinthani woman sees a partner she desires, nothing but the bonds of marriage will stop her from pursuing the person.
Councils of powerful female mages lead the artisan...
2023-12-17 12:36:40 +0000 UTC View PostAn unexpected interruption woke Nox on the first Seventhday of the third month of the semester. It was Jess, the once-homeless teenager. He had employed her on his friends’ insistence. Jess had the lightest workload of all the staff and alternated between assisting the Tanner women with their jobs, cleaning, cooking, and handling the laundry. Aisha had taken it upon herself to teach the girl ...
2023-12-17 08:07:36 +0000 UTC View PostLife in the City of Ygg adopted a comfortable routine over the following month. Nox and his friends attended classes from First to Fourthday. Then delved on the Fifth. His mastery of Finesse Shaping and Live Spell Weaving steadily improved, making the mental strain of using them in combat tolerable. No supervised delve was as eventful as the first. The party continued to improve their teamwork ...
2023-12-16 12:18:13 +0000 UTC View PostNox Ratra
Journeyman
Crystalize Essence | Essence Animation
69/104 | 6/22
Essence Shaping | Arrow
20/41 | 2/8
The party explored for an hour, spending a cumulative quarter of it in combat. They crept, tracked their targets for several minutes, and ensured other patrols were a sufficient distance away before engaging. Nox and Lillin had to restrain themselve...
2023-12-15 22:23:47 +0000 UTC View PostSound traveled without interruption through the dungeon’s cavernous fourth floor. The fight drew the second patrol’s attention, and then the party was fighting on both fronts.
If not for Alexander's squirrels, the second would have got the party off guard and unprepared. He bought them time by setting traps. Nox gave everyone a pouch of alchemist-made supplies before the delve. Alexan...
2023-12-15 19:09:12 +0000 UTC View PostThe party met Professor Wolfhammer at the sixth-morning bell in front of the Department of Dungeon Studies’ main entrance. He led them through the giant main hall and between the grand staircases that led to the upper floors. They passed through heavy ashwood doors and into a section of the building Nox had never seen before. Dean Woodson and the long-dead builders who constructed the univers...
2023-12-15 09:53:39 +0000 UTC View PostThe sales numbers continued to grow. Nox expected overall business to take a hit following the previous Seventhday’s events. Instead, non-cosmetic sales exploded. He couldn’t tell whether it was his new friends who had spread the word or the sabotage event had earned him some publicity. After all, people didn’t just know that he had brought myconids into the city but also devised the mean...
2023-12-14 18:20:40 +0000 UTC View Post“Daksinsthan, or the Southern Continent, as the locals call it, is a lot harsher land than what the Imperium or all west of it know. The distance from Ygg, sparse leylines, and hostile intersection points limit the places of power humanity can safely use. We see more rifts and godfalls, too.
As a result, the magic beasts and roving dungeons continue to strengthen while the ...
2023-12-13 21:46:46 +0000 UTC View PostThe urchin gang leaders brought twenty young children instead of the requested ten. The youngest had seen two summers at most, while the oldest proudly held up eight or nine fingers when Nox asked them about their age. Beyond the noticed rashes, they had a variety of other ailments, and Nox tended to them all.
Kishan and Aisha assisted. Only the former of the pair displayed any displeasur...
2023-12-13 10:03:34 +0000 UTC View PostNox spoke to the guards regarding his suspicions. The Guptas were trying to sabotage and infiltrate his business. They called his fears insufficient for launching an investigation.
“Law-abiding citizens run Gupta Alchemists, and they’ve always been excellent friends of the city government,” the guard captain told them. “Ungrounded accusations will likely hurt you and your business...
2023-12-12 18:09:51 +0000 UTC View PostAfter a night of indulging in adventurous and intense amorous activities and far too much Spirit Caller’s Tea, Nox once again found himself in a dreamscape of vivid colors and alluring scents.
“Bi Xi!” Nox yelled into the ethereal mist surrounding him.
Laughter, growls, and roars echoed through the masked world, but he didn’t get the response he wanted. Instead, a familiar f...
2023-12-12 09:47:35 +0000 UTC View Post“Thank you for shaving,” Aria said, picking Nox up in a carriage. “I spotted you around campus earlier this week, and you were starting to look rough.” She ran her fingers through his hair, brushing curling locks off his forehead. “A trim would’ve been nice, too, but we can work with this.”
“Launching a business. Keeping it stocked. Advanced classes.” Nox sighed. “I th...
2023-12-09 16:42:11 +0000 UTC View PostAdvanced Dungeon Combat’s delving sessions wouldn’t start until the week after. As a result, the party got Fifthday off. The rest of the week’s classes provided mostly introductory knowledge, going over what to expect and what they needed to achieve by the semester’s end to pass.
Nox didn't particularly enjoy Intermediate Dungeon Theory. However, passing it, completing Advanced Du...
2023-12-09 07:04:33 +0000 UTC View Post“Advanced Dungeon Combat works differently from the Beginner and Intermediate courses,” Professor Wolfhammer explained. “We’re going to spend every First and Third-day focusing on individual improvement and training in duos or trios of my choosing.”
“Why not party combat?” Caitlin asked. “I only plan to delve with parties that include my Alexander—”
“I know you...
2023-12-08 08:48:29 +0000 UTC View PostNox and his party reported for Advanced Dungeon Combat a quarter of an hour before it was due to begin. They started their warm-up straight away, stretching and then jogging around the long, ring-shaped roof. Two other groups joined them not long after. Prince Louis Mercer, Nox’s half-brother, led one, and Nox didn’t know the second group.
“They took last semester off,” Alexander ...
2023-12-07 11:32:01 +0000 UTC View Post“Are mages truly complete without a familiar? They’re more than servants and battle companions. A well-raised and bonded familiar reduces the mental load and strains of spell-casting. A familiar with a planet is essentially immortal. They plant a fragment of their being inside the mage’s mana system, giving them the freedom to undertake dangerous tasks or act as conduits for dangerous...
2023-11-30 13:10:13 +0000 UTC View Post
By the time Ratra’s Knightly Brews opened its doors, two more first-floor bedrooms had occupants, and Nox had his adept alchemy license. The city granted him a plaque to display in the window. It highlighted his qualifications.
Nox hired Aisha, a young apprentice from the north. She was one of the three more disadvantaged individuals Professor Das recommended. His second hire, Kishan, w...
2023-11-29 09:52:41 +0000 UTC View Post
Nox had heard that Professor Das delayed his return from the southern continent as much as possible, often arriving just before his first class of the semester. Nox wasn’t expecting to see the man for another week, if not more. He was eager to talk to the university’s head of alchemy. After all, Nox needed Professor Das’ approval to track the progress of his alchemy license.
Fortuna...
2023-11-29 06:37:00 +0000 UTC View Post“Good mage. That is such a subjective term. Anyone can gain power with enough hard work, dedication, and deep pockets. All it takes is growing one’s star through steady mana absorption—occasionally using alchemical reinforcement or dungeon-born relics—and access to spell weavers to fill the planets and moons. A good mage is an individual who understands the in-and-out of their mana ...
2023-11-27 10:30:11 +0000 UTC View PostThe next couple of days blurred by. He interviewed potential new hires, procured materials, started brewing his Noxian Brews’ best-selling products, and worked on upgrading his star. He had a solid idea of what he wanted to do but needed to iron out the spellform.
Nox completed his Animation planet during the voyage. Kris liked his runescript and also deemed his mastery well beyond the ...
2023-11-27 10:29:24 +0000 UTC View Post