Thomas knelt at the narrow passage. The light was too dim to see anything worthwhile, and yet he listened for any sounds of movement.
He waited, hearing nothing.
Then there was the soft scraping of claws against rock and rubble. Nothing too close, but there were monsters beyond this area the dragon deposited the two of them into.
Thomas looked back at Gwen, one of his g...
2025-01-07 00:16:02 +0000 UTC View PostRather than wasting the instant scroll, Mel and Heath gathered up enough deadfall to use as firewood and made a camp in the middle of the clearing where the snow had melted from the portal.
As soon as Mel sat on a log rolled up to the fire, a notification popped up in her vision.
Quest Complete: Frozen Beneath
Objective: Endure the cold and esca...
2025-01-07 00:15:24 +0000 UTC View Post“Is that what those green-robed freaks really are? From another world?” Heath asked, staring out into the wintry darkness.
Drifts of snow made strange shapes in Mel’s heat vision. “Did they have odd powers and talk about being part of a Covenant?”
“You’ve met them too?”
Mel nodded. “Red robes though. Seems they’re color-coded. How fun.”
“An...
2025-01-07 00:11:42 +0000 UTC View PostInsidious cold battled with the [Firestorm] raging around Mel. Heath rushed to her side, then threw up his arms to fend against the flames. “Mel! Are you okay?”
Mel slurred something that was meant to be another scathing, unfounded insult about Ohio, but came out as, “Fleehhh.”
Oh, shit, I might actually be in trouble, Mel thought to herself as she reach...
2025-01-07 00:10:37 +0000 UTC View Post“Huh,” Heath said, staring at the dead end.
Mel looked over. “Legolas, what do your Ohio eyes see?”
Heath sighed and shook his head. “This isn’t normal ice.”
Mel struggled not to make another joke. “How so?”
“For one, it’s black.”
“Everything is black without light,” Mel told him.
He paused and turned toward her. “Wait, I ...
2025-01-07 00:08:29 +0000 UTC View PostMel got up slowly and walked around the edge of the fire. Heath looked at her worriedly and then went into a seizure. Mel eased him down and made sure he didn’t hurt himself or her.
By the time his moans of pain were replaced with snoring, Mel judged him safe enough to leave to his own devices. She sat by the fire and sipped from her flask of water left to cool on the ice nearby....
2025-01-07 00:07:29 +0000 UTC View PostMel turned her attention to the notification hanging in her vision. She knew what it would say. She had felt it happen.
Rank Up!
You advance to Copper Rank.
You awaken greater stores of health, mana, and stamina, along with resilience against lower ranked aspects, imprints, skills, magic, and auras.
...
2025-01-07 00:06:23 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 21 – A Shift in the Wind
2025-01-06 23:48:05 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 11 – Enter the Serpent
2025-01-06 23:40:41 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 1 – Tales From the Crypt
2025-01-06 23:35:28 +0000 UTC View PostThis is going to be the largest amount of early access we've ever done before at a whopping 50 chapters so if you've found Mira interesting at all in Beastborne and would like to see what sort of trouble she'd get up to on her own, come check out OOTW!
For those of you at Diamond and above, I apologize in advance for the spam that Patreon will send your way from all t...
2025-01-06 22:10:56 +0000 UTC View Post
Today's the day! The seventh Beastborne Chronicles book is finally out on Kindle Unlimited & Amazon, and what a wonderful way to kick off the new year!
Grab yours here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DBFNCYGW
A new locale, new threats, new beast magic, and new allies await Hal in the Dunes of Midnight that...
2025-01-01 20:02:51 +0000 UTC View Post
Read it on RR: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/100617/omen-of-the-witchblade
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As I mentioned in the last post, Sohmer and I are producing a new series set in the Shardrune universe. Omen of the Witchblade features many characters you might be familiar with from other stories,...
2024-12-14 01:28:26 +0000 UTC View PostHey everybody, James here with an update, hope you all (that celebrate) had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Now that the 4th book of Voidknight is wrapped up, Sohmer and I would normally be taking a break to work on the laundry list of behind-the-scenes stuff that usually goes into producing a book and audiobook after the relatively "easy" part of writing is done.
This time, however, ther...
2024-11-29 18:14:18 +0000 UTC View Post
Zarishna watched Sam go, frustrated, happy, and heartbroken all at once.
The inner turmoil was confusing. It felt too much like letting her husband disappear.
They were both Incarnates of War. Although they were different in many ways, they supposedly shared a piece of the same godsoul. The result toyed with her emotions.
In her own way, she had loved Sam. ...
2024-11-15 12:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
As soon as Sam stepped through the portal, the Lumanots burst out of him. One took up residence in the Pinnacle, while the other streaked off through the lightening sky toward another set of towers poking out from the dark waters of the sea.
The weight lifted from his shoulders, leaving him refreshed and eager. It was as if he hadn’t nearly been ground to atoms a few...
2024-11-13 12:57:06 +0000 UTC View Post
Sam struggled against the thrumming power of the Lumanot. It perpetually strained against his control, trying to break free. Containing it took almost all of his power, leaving little left for controlling it or his body.
That didn’t turn out to be much of a problem.
[Heavy Blade] became a gargantuan sword of silver light that scythed through the ra...
2024-11-09 02:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
K’thran slithered forward, sending her minions to harry the adventurers who had given ground so readily before their assault. With the power of the Lumanot at Kel’brek’s disposal, they forced open any of the sealed doors the Empire loved to use.
Doors that would have funneled their forces into kill zones, splitting up the weakest and strongest to be taken apart b...
2024-11-07 02:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
The lightning was a dead giveaway to the element the Immortal was relying upon for his speed. In a normal fight, that would have spelled his doom. Good fighters, especially mages, could neutralize a known element if they were skilled and experienced enough. However, the Immortal’s speed increase made that a non-issue.
Even if somebody could counter the element, by th...
2024-11-05 02:45:55 +0000 UTC View Post
Gray soon found himself swept up with the leadership of Sil’mara. Not only because he had helped to root out the bandits and kept Haman safe, but because Kai had been a vocal supporter.
“I only did what any decent person would do,” Gray said for what felt like the hundredth time.
“Nonsense, you kept my baby sister safe!” Kai said, putting one large, tan...
2024-11-01 19:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
The days following Relagia’s near-destruction and subsequent salvation seemed like a dream to Gray. The Skyshard of Sil’mara was larger than anything Relagia had even at its height, and it was growing by the day.
One group, however, was quickly finding out that they were not as welcomed as they had hoped they would be.
The raven-feathered bandits, having alre...
2024-10-30 19:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post
True to Zahif’s instructions, Sam was met with a “ladder” almost immediately. What the old man left out was that the thing was carved into a wall of stone. Each sharp-edged groove was cut deeply into the dense rock with ample space between. Most people would have to leap between the gaps to proceed up. Being larger than normal, Sam figured he would have an easier time ...
2024-10-28 19:02:52 +0000 UTC View Post
Talmuuz, Granserpent of the North, peered into the polished archaic mirror that the Granserpents used to spy on the surrounding environs.
“The grimal and the lamia must have patched things up after their recent spat,” he remarked thoughtfully.
An Immortal, hands clasped behind his back, stood stoically nearby. There was always one of the blasted Immortals aro...
2024-10-26 00:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
“What is this?” Zahif asked, indicating the wrapped present in the middle of the training hall.
“A gift,” Sam said.
Next to him, Komachi wiggled her rump with excitement. She had been instrumental in creating the perfect gift for Zahif. Sam could only hope that he liked it.
“I do not need a gift…”
“Nobody needs&nb...
2024-10-25 00:53:05 +0000 UTC View Post
All around Sil’mara, things were changing. The Skyshard grew. People gathered under one alliance. Monsters were repelled. Nests were sunk beneath the clouds.
The golden leaves of the Sacred Tree tarnished into the rich colors of autumn. Red and orange leaves drifted down the riverbeds and danced through the crisp air.
The Skyshard had advanced enough to acquire...
2024-10-25 00:52:52 +0000 UTC View Post
Sam wasn’t the only one hard at work.
His fluffy golden cat was beside him more often than not, despite having her own tutors. She learned a great deal about the various unique instruments of the Alzahan Empire and their own variations on healing magic.
From perfumers to invigorating dancers, the Empire had it all. With Zahif’s many connections, Komachi was a...
2024-10-19 00:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Like most mornings, Sam awoke to Komachi batting his face with her paw. He snatched her around the middle, eliciting a yowl from the young cat, then buried his face in her fluffy golden belly.
His cat flailed and meowed boisterously until they were both fully awake.
Komachi slinked off to the foot of the bed and began grooming herself where Sam had ruffled her fu...
2024-10-16 23:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
It was only later that night at the Scarlet Lotus that Sam bothered to look through his gains from the incursion.
He couldn’t deny that they were useful for progression. While they were ethically dubious, the people who stood in defense of the Empire prospered greatly.
The people were safe enough. Sam hadn’t heard of a single injury or fatality, though he kne...
2024-10-14 23:59:25 +0000 UTC View Post
A floating island swarming with monsters descended upon the crumbling Relagia Skyshard. The long-necked creatures screeched for his people’s deaths. Scorching lines of red flowed up the monsters’ scaled bodies, driving the dinosaurs into a frenzy.
They would be stronger than any Gray had faced before.
It was all Gray could do to keep his beleaguered people to...
2024-10-12 01:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Quest Complete: Enter the Dragon
You stuck to your word and not only refused to use a weapon; you prohibited yourself from using your Void mana as well. Though not a part of the original quest, the additional self-imposed restriction has netted you greater rewards. The Empire is watching your progress closely. You gain the following: 2024-10-10 01:19:52 +0000 UTC View Post