Tsaimath

Chapter 1234

• AN: You wouldn’t believe how difficult it was to keep myself from making a “thumb-war” joke in this chapter.

The crumbling sounds coming from the guardian’s shell were incredible to witness. The whole thing falling apart sounded more like a landslide going downhill than anything else, with cracks and rumbles echoing throughout the valley we had us...

Chapter 1233

The fact that the guardian looked and acted just like it had during our first confrontation provided me with a comforting sense of relief. If it had acted in an entirely different manner, maybe already trying to counter the way we had fought against it before, it would be evidence of a fair intelligence, making it all the more dangerous. A powerful foe was one thing, but a foe that was both pow...

Chapter 1232

Finding the best spot for an engagement was a difficult challenge. The primary problem was that we couldn’t make the guardian appear. So far, we hadn’t even tried to venture deeper into the mountains using other paths, simply because I hadn’t been willing to risk another encounter until we were better prepared to face the thing. It was possible, though I considered it highly unlikely, tha...

Chapter 1231

Most of the time, the lingering connection between me and my Astral Power, even after it ostensibly had left my direct control, was an incredible boon. It allowed me to wield my powers over a much greater distance, to infuse objects in ways other people just couldn’t and accomplish a few other things with impossible ease. I didn’t need to channel my magic through the Astral River if I had a...

Chapter 1230

“So, Mother, do you have a good plan to deal with that Guardian?” Lia asked me as we were sitting down together, going over the things we had seen throughout the day. Or night, in Lia’s case. At the same time, Luna and I were eating dinner, and I would give Lia a drink of blood, topping off her reserves. Sasha and Silva were nearby, eating their own food and listening in. However, the dif...

Chapter 1229

The more I looked at the mountains in the area, the more I realised just how troublesome this would be. The entire landscape was one of ice and rocks, with a few small streams running off the ice in areas where the sun was shining directly on it. The only trees in sight were on the horizon, only visible thanks to the elevation of my constructs, meaning everything we could use in a...

Chapter 1228

Luckily, a tactical withdrawal from the Tallest’ Guardian was easily accomplished. While the thing was studendously powerful and about as durable as the average mountain, it was also about as fast as a glacier. That is, one without the benefit of an avalanche or some other instability, just the, well, glacially slow drift of one as they expanded down the mountain. Similarly, its ranged capabi...

Chapter 1227

The moment after I managed to rouse the rest of my family from the brief stupor the roar had pushed them into, things became hectic. Incredibly so, with everyone scattering, trying to get into the best position possible. Lia instantly moved to the side, trying to keep her portable shade as deployed as possible during her evasion. But given that fighting with the thing was nearly impossible, she...

Chapter 1226

After we initially entered the mountains, there had been a small betting pool between the four of us, only Sasha not yet able to join in on the fun. The question had been, which of the numerous beasts calling these mountains their home would be the first to take a swipe, charge or swoop at us in an attempt to either drive us off or make a meal out of one of us. 

We all had our own pr...

Chapter 1225

Leaving the giants behind was quite the liberating experience. I hadn’t really noticed just how stressful escorting a band of territorial giants had been. Sure, there had been quite a few emergencies in which I had been forced to focus and use some of my sizable focus to bring them back to task, to keep them from attacking something or another of their kind, or even to wander off and similar ...

Interlude: A Rising Force

If there was one thing Maggy could appreciate about the shitshow the world had turned into, it was the lack of paperwork. No endless files to keep track of, no forms to fill out in triplicate, no bureaucratic bullshit turning even the most minor and trivial thing into an entire production. Granted, the lack of organised paperwork meant she needed to keep herself organised without the usual chec...

Chapter 1224

As my efforts to develop teamwork among the giants had yet to succeed, settling them was a bit of a challenge. I had continuously nudged them along with a combination of their own, innate desire to roam and find a place to settle and Mind Magic, keeping them interested in travelling and occasionally pushing the different giants to stumble across something interesting to them until we finally go...

Chapter 1223

There was something incredibly eerie about the realisation that the entire population of a US state had likely died or been turned into something inherently inhuman by the Change. Looking at older maps of Alaska and comparing those with the things I could see thanks to my scrying constructs was a sobering experience. It was one thing to wander through northern Canada, where few people had lived...

Chapter 1222

There was something slightly eerie about the ruins hidden below the Ice. A part of me wanted to go there, to personally investigate the Ice covering the city, as there had to be something magical about it. Nothing else made any real sense, not with the massive hunk of ice just sitting there, in the August sun and being partially in ocean water without any signs of melting. Channelling my senses...

Chapter 1221

There were many ways in which one might react to seeing strange, green-skinned and slimy creatures, slightly reminiscent of the Rumcols in t

There were many ways in which one might react to seeing strange, green-skinned and slimy creatures, slightly reminiscent of the Rumcols in the old Craft of War game, lurk in the water near the coast. Even I could only see them thanks to the raised al...

Chapter 1220

There was something deeply satisfying about the knowledge that the current stage of our journey was almost at an end. Over the last two, maybe three, weeks, the pull I could feel from the Nexus had shifted from a heading almost directly North-West, towards one that pulled me straight north. Given that we had been going pretty much directly west during that time, following a large valley through...

Chapter 1219

One big challenge regarding travelling with a group of territorial giants surrounding you was navigating natural barriers. As we made our way from what once was Yukon into Alaska,  the towering mountains posed a massive challenge. I could hardly keep the giants separated from one another while having them climb across glaciers and march through alpine forests, meaning I had to follow the l...

Chapter 1218

As it turned out, the tried and true method of applying carrot and stick worked with the giants just as well as it did with so many other creatures. Giving them positive reinforcement when they acted in ways I approved of meant that they readily acted in those ways, although I made sure to gradually reduce the rewards they received. I didn’t want them to act for the reward; I wanted to get th...

Chapter 1217

As it turned out, getting a few Giants to move as one wanted them to was, amusingly, fairly simple. They liked the small and somewhat comfor

As it turned out, getting a few Giants to move as one wanted them to was, amusingly, fairly simple. They liked the small and somewhat comfortable shelters they usually built for themselves, but ultimately, their primary concern was food. With that in...

Chapter 1216

AN: How do you feel about something like this as divider for future chapters? Also, how well centred does it show up for you? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• AN: How do you feel about something like this as divider for future chapters? Also, how well centred does it show up for you?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~❄~~~~~~~~~~~❄~~~~~~~~~~~❄~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2025-08-02 16:00:17 +0000 UTC View Post