“What about the Irtyshenan Empire?” Alex had asked Professor Jules. “You said they still bind elementals to use in golems?”
Professor Jules had sighed. “In a sense…their wizards devised a means to effectively destroy an elemental’s mind upon its binding, like if one had simply injected acid through the skull and into the brain. With the mind destroyed, ...
2023-10-11 20:08:37 +0000 UTC View PostFlocks of birds startled, scattering to the four winds as four figures materialised in the sky beside them.
A hulking wizard was first to appear.
He was soon followed by a lean huntress beside a fearsome cerberus, as big as a workhorse and sheathed in bone armour.
A four-armed iron golem wielding a massive war-spear towered over the trio.
They floated in mid-air—held a...
2023-10-10 22:38:03 +0000 UTC View PostHey hey everybody!
We're back with book 5! Absolutely wild, ain't it? Like over a year since book 1 launched and folks are already on book 5 with the polished amazon version. As always, thank you for supporting me on the way here. I could not be here without you :)
As it has been in the past, I could use a little bit of help.
If you have kindle unli...
Several weeks had passed since the king of Thameland had pardoned the Fool. Several weeks had passed since Alex Roth was freed from the threat of chains, Thameish priests, and kings.
But he hadn’t spent that time resting, contemplating, or celebrating.
He’d spent it training.
By day, he’d attended class and studied with Professor Mangal in her tower, preparing for ...
2023-10-07 19:54:23 +0000 UTC View Post“Father, what does ‘harmony’ mean?” Prince Athelstan asked.
“Harmony is the music of civilization,” his father said. “It is the melody that binds mortals together under divine law and social contract.”
It had been a cold winter night some decades ago.
Athelstan had been in his bedroom.
He remembered the fire crackling in his hearth.
Its flickering l...
2023-10-06 20:03:36 +0000 UTC View Post“Under the Regulations of the University of Generasi, all students of the school will have the freedom to attend—as long as they are of sound mind, pay tuition and follow both university regulations and Generasian law—until such time as they graduate or withdraw under their own will. Your god is not a Generasian authority, and therefore your forcible removal of a student from their studie...
2023-10-05 21:51:12 +0000 UTC View Post‘The Heroes are with the king.’
Prince Khalik’s words stunned the group waiting at Rockmoot, stopping all conversation for a time.
‘What?’ Alex wondered. ‘No one said they’d be here. They weren’t even mentioned.’
“Are you sure it’s them?” Theresa looked at Khalik sharply before turning back to their surroundings. “I don’t see anything.”
“N...
2023-10-04 22:02:21 +0000 UTC View Post“It’s way too early for this,” Thundar grumbled, flying effortlessly through the early morning sky over Thameland. “Way too early.”
“The earlier the better,” Prince Khalik replied, Najyah was beside him. “The sooner this comes to an end, the sooner I shall be able to breathe easier.”
“You and me both, brother,” Alex said. “You and me both.”
Morning ha...
2023-10-03 23:32:04 +0000 UTC View Post“Well, we won,” Theresa smiled, taking Alex by the hand.
“I guess…so,” he said, squeezing her hand in his. “I guess we actually won.”
The huntress and wizard stood together, looking through a window in the ruling council’s dining hall.
The twelve wizards had already departed, after finishing their extended lunch, they’d returned to their duties.
They’...
2023-09-30 20:06:14 +0000 UTC View PostAlex fought the panic rising in his chest.
His face remained a mask of calm, but dread stalked through every fibre of his being.
The council had asked no questions.
Not one.
He’d had no opportunity to defend himself, explain his position, or even try to bargain.
They were ready to decide his fate, and from the way they were acting, it was clear which direct...
2023-09-29 23:18:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe council of wizards looked down from their floating thrones, considering the young wizard with eyes that held deep wisdom and great power.
Meeting those eyes wasn’t quite as intimidating as holding Baelin’s gaze— especially if you didn’t know him—but it was uncomfortably close.
The Fool of Thameland tried reading their body language, looking for clues on how they felt t...
2023-09-28 22:01:50 +0000 UTC View PostAlex already felt like a criminal.
The army of wizard-warriors’ eyes were fixed on them as the young wizard and his companions stepped from the floating disk. Alex could almost feel suspicion emanating from them as their eyes followed him.
The two iron golems watched Claygon and Theresa, titanic iron fists clenching and unclenching in preparation to protect the wizard-cou...
2023-09-27 19:58:51 +0000 UTC View PostRelief ran through the breakfast crowd as they watched the backs of the annoying Uldarites go through the bakery door. Customers could finally relax, and they did; some were laughing, some murmuring to one another, others were busy thanking Troy, Alex and the mutton-chopped patron for pushing the irritants to use the door. Some made a point of offering the young wizard their sympathies, while o...
2023-09-26 20:52:43 +0000 UTC View Post“Erm, I’m not being flippant, it’s just—” He gestured to the customers standing in line. “—these people are buying breakfast before they have to get to work; a lot of them don’t have extra time, so I was simply thinking that we could stop interrupting their morning.”
There.
A reminder that many of his customers were on their way to work, and didn’t have time to w...
2023-09-23 21:28:46 +0000 UTC View PostAlex Roth had been in his bakery’s kitchen since well before sunrise, preparing for the day. Truthfully, he wasn’t needed, there was no emergency and Troy and the rest of his staff were more than capable, but this morning, he’d been glad to be busy. He’d made it a point to hire staff who were creative, eager and willing to learn.
He was no McHarris, who used to simply grab a...
2023-09-22 21:34:42 +0000 UTC View Post“We’re in your debt!” Fan-Dor leaned across the table in the portside taproom as a tall hearth cast flickering light across the selechar’s face. The ship’s captain slid a foaming tankard of ale to Alex. “Three cheers, for Alex Roth! The best wizard that ever set foot on the Red Siren!”
A roar of approval erupted from a grateful crew now filling the taproom to bursti...
2023-09-21 22:29:50 +0000 UTC View PostAlex didn’t know which was the bigger shock; finding Gel-Dor in the middle of a storm at sea, or seeing the crewman wash overboard. Whichever it was, the lost sailor took priority.
“One of your crew fell overboard!” he shouted, immediately feeling stupid.
‘Of course he knows that, you fool!’ he thought. ‘Why else would he be half- way over the side?’
“I sent hi...
2023-09-20 20:18:43 +0000 UTC View Post“Speaking of friends,” Thundar said. “What about the Heroes? Do they know what’s happening? I think they’d have something to say about all this.”
“Professor Jules sent Tyris to tell them,” Alex said. “But they haven’t answered her yet. I’m wondering how they’ll react.”
“I can tell you that Cedric will be very unimpressed,” Isolde said.
“Drestra ...
2023-09-19 19:01:54 +0000 UTC View PostAlex’s question for Isolde didn’t come easy. In a way, he’d never wanted to ask it, too frightened of what her answer might be. It was a question he’d even avoided asking himself for the longest time, but eventually he had, finding peace with himself. The attack on Patrizia DePaolo’s ball—which felt like a lifetime ago—was what he’d wrestled with, wondering if he was to blame. H...
2023-09-16 23:43:18 +0000 UTC View PostPrince Khalik Behr-Medr’s villa suited him perfectly.
Peeking from behind a stone wall was an older grey building situated near the southern wall, standing at the end of a quiet boulevard on a hill, offering its occupant a fine view of much of the district. A copper roof—long turned green—capped rough walls thick with ivy.
Alex stepped through the open gate and was greeted by ...
2023-09-15 21:05:06 +0000 UTC View Post“In turn, I have a question for you,” Professor Jules said, stepping away from Alex and meeting his eyes. “Could you answer mine first?”
“Of course,” Alex agreed readily.
“Have you taken leave of what little sense you have left?” she shouted, startling him. “I swear that old goat has completely ruined your mind, Mr. Roth! In all the long and miserable hist...
2023-09-14 18:51:57 +0000 UTC View PostAlex had to be meticulous, checking a diagram for the summoning circle he was drawing.
It had to be perfect.
The afternoon had found the young wizard in his laboratory, bent over his desk, sketching a magical circle for a new fifth-tier spell…
…Summon Planar Ally, the very first relational contract summoning spell he would ever cast. And he was almost ready to cas...
2023-09-13 20:07:23 +0000 UTC View Post“You spoke of your soldiers being avenged.” Professor Vernia Jules advanced on Sir Sean Swift. “You said that we destroyed the monsters who’d killed them. Well, would you care to know how that came to be? It was because of—”
Her finger formed quotation marks.
“—that ‘fool’ you people keep referring to—like he was the vilest, lowest form of life ever born. It wa...
2023-09-12 21:41:14 +0000 UTC View Post‘Mother Charity’.
The irony of the name made Professor Jules sick to the core.
It implied goodwill, mercy, and other kindly virtues; virtues attached to compassionate deities, mortals, and rulers. Did this Mother Charity represent any of those qualities, or did she represent a monstrous god who gladly sent children to fight monsters of his own making?
Professor Ju...
2023-09-09 21:28:50 +0000 UTC View PostThere were only four times in the life of Professor Vernia Jules that she’d wished she was more like Chancellor Baelin.
For the most part, she found the barbaric and likely insane—by modern standards—colleague fascinating, highly intelligent, and filled with an abundance of wisdom.
But, he was also a monster.
His casual disregard for the safety of young ...
2023-09-08 23:00:57 +0000 UTC View PostOne instant Alexander Roth was hovering high above the sun-blasted wasteland known as the Barrens of Kravernus.
The next, he was gone, appearing in clear skies high above sun-kissed waves rolling along the Prinean sea.
“Holy hells,” he whispered. “That was far. I think I’m nearly ready.”
In the months since Carey’s death, the Fool of Thameland kept practis...
2023-09-08 00:12:53 +0000 UTC View PostWhen stalking prey, maintaining proper distance was important.
If one followed too closely, they risked scaring it away. Deer would startle and flee. Squirrels would race up nearby trees. Foxes and rabbits would disappear in the brush.
And people?
People would ask awkward questions or throw around accusations.
But if one followed at too big a distance?
They risked ...
2023-09-06 23:15:52 +0000 UTC View Post“Good morning, young miss.” A voice called. “Could you do something for an old lady and please tell her what this ‘Fool’ business is about?”
Theresa Lu froze, slowly turning around, squinting in the early morning sunlight. Brutus, who had been sniffing a barrel of fletching nearby—looked up, suddenly alert—one head watching the old woman, sensing his maste...
2023-09-05 16:53:57 +0000 UTC View Post“So that is what I saw!” Mother Charity suddenly cried, half-rising from her seat. Surprising strength seemed to lay in her aged body, as her eyes shone with a sudden revelation. “Holy one—” She turned to High Priest Tobias. “—I was attending to my duties in my study earlier when my attention was called to the window. Outside, among the trees, a great fog bank...
2023-09-02 21:28:20 +0000 UTC View PostThe church messenger rode through the night surrounded by an honour guard of Thameish soldiers. There was a fog that evening—as thick as a witch’s brew—and a full moon that cast the entire countryside in an eerie light.
Her heart pounded in her chest as gnarled branches reached from the fog, seeming like Ravener-spawn claws grasping for her throat. All she wished for was to return h...
2023-09-01 20:16:25 +0000 UTC View Post