Vir gazed down upon the slow-moving, slovenly mass from his perch high atop a dark peak just inches away from the Ash Boundary. The wolves claimed the nearby peaks, surrounding Vir as they, too, eyed the convoy, silently salivating in anticipation.
“Another one…” Ashani muttered. “Is there no end to these?”
“I suspect they are having quite the time ridding thems...
2024-09-28 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostThat was the thing about assumptions… They had a tendency to fuck you in the butt.
As Richard and I rocketed back to the ground, I couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of making it all the way to the final boss’ lair and collapsing the dungeon… Only to succumb to gravity.
Or at least, it was funny right up until the moment my eyes caught sight of Eskil, and th...
2024-09-27 18:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostWhen Vir left Raoul’s tent, he wasn’t quite sure what to feel about the enigmatic cult leader. During times like these, Vir often found it helpful to consult those he trusted, and there was no one he trusted more than Cirayus.
He found the Ravager on the field outside the garrison’s gates. Previously forest that had been clear cut, it now served as an ideal training ground ...
2024-09-26 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post“Come on, lad,” Cirayus said, shaking his head at Vir’s dour expression. “Act like that, and your troops will fear the end of the realms has come. Look alive!”
“Alive?” Vir asked, standing from his cross-legged meditation position in Janak’s lab. “You mean, like this?”
Balancer of Scales activated, and channeling every lesson he’d learned over...
2024-09-24 17:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post“We can’t hurt him without destroying the army, first!” I shouted, switching targets to the nearest troops. “Take them out as fast as you can.”
“Already on it!” Richard said from behind me. Surprising me, Aerion actually halted her attack, saw that I was now engaging the army instead of the head honcho, and instantly switched targets, joining the fray by my side. He...
2024-09-23 18:12:04 +0000 UTC View PostNarak the Destroyer was… not what Vir had expected. While the giant Bairan was every bit as physically imposing as his legendary reputation suggested, it was his personality that threw Vir off.
Perhaps he should have guessed that the terrifyingly powerful Biaran king of old was a softie at heart, from the brief memory he’d shared of his predecessor fighting off the Narapazu i...
2024-09-21 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostWe didn’t wait. We didn’t coordinate. We exploded into action. Everyone, at the same time.
Eskil jumped high into the air, soaring above the battlefield with what could only have been a ridiculous Dominion stat or some Blessing.
Aerion and I surged through the mass of troops ahead of us, ripping and reaving, working in perfect harmony achieved without a single ...
2024-09-20 18:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post“Enter,” Greesha said, only glancing briefly at the urchin before returning to her work. “What is it? If you’re here to beg forgiveness for
“Enter,” Greesha said, only glancing briefly at the urchin before returning to her work. “What is it? If you’re here to beg forgiveness for some crime you committed, be quick about it. Well?”
The urchin said nothing, instead wa...
2024-09-19 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post“At least let her down!” I shouted after Eskil. “The middle of a battle is no place for an unconscious fighter.”
“As I said, slave, if you wish to claim her, you may fight me for the honor. Until then, she belongs to me.”
“She belongs to no one, you fucking moron,” I muttered. Eskil didn’t hear me He’d already bounded away on his giant’s legs....
2024-09-18 18:53:33 +0000 UTC View PostAs Vir walked the camp listening to Balagra’s onslaught of updates, he wished for one thing, and one thing only.
To retreat to his mindscape and practice Balancer of Scales. With Tara’s healing, his wound would be closed in minutes, allowing him to practice to his heart’s content.
If only it weren’t for his duties as the Akh Nara. As a leader.
So...
2024-09-17 17:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostEskil rushed to Aerion faster than I would’ve thought possible, propping her up before she hit the ground. I only noticed it after the fact, but he’d crushed three ice warriors along the way, leaving a trail of shards behind him.
Like he was handling fragile glass, he hoisted Aerion onto his shoulder, patting her back as he whispered something I couldn’t hear.
It made...
2024-09-16 18:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post‘Why?’
Maiya looked at the single word as she collected her thoughts. Why indeed? What she asked of Bheem was no small favor. To force him to revisit the pain of his childhood… To be reminded of his elder brother, the Blessed Chosen. The man she’d killed.
Truthfully, Maiya had put off this discussion for far too long. She’d convinced herself there were higher prio...
2024-09-14 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post“Aerion! Aerion, listen to me. You’ve gotta… Aw, shit.”
Aerion wasn’t listening. She continued to happily hack away at our foes, oblivious to my words. To extreme effect, I had to add.
Her new strength was absolutely monstrous, allowing her to cleave through the ice warriors with a single swing of Aurora. She wasn’t even using my sword… With it, she’d be an ...
2024-09-13 18:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post“Well,” Maiya said, slouching in her chair. “That doesn’t sound too bad.”
Yamal glanced at Bheem, who wore the same worried expression as his colleague.
“I’m afraid it is bad, Maiya. Exceedingly bad. This level of dissent among the ranks is unprecedented in the Childrens’ long and storied history. I’m afraid we could be staring at the unraveling of the ent...
2024-09-12 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post---
It didn’t take a genius to realize just how fucked we were. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide… The only hope we had of surviving was to break through the lines of the endless ice zombies that emerged from the walls, like a clutch of mosquitos spawning from their eggs.
These beings felt no pain, or if they did, th...
2024-09-11 18:08:14 +0000 UTC View Post“What is all this about, hm?” Saunak said. “Why won’t you just tell me?”
“Please, Saunak,” Vir said, nearly forcing the Thaumaturge to sit in his chair. Given Saunak’s obsession with magic, and considering his devotion to Ashani… Vir thought it best they prepare the demon for the news they were about to heap onto him.
With much grumbling, Saunak finally sa...
2024-09-10 17:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostSoon after we dropped down to the level of the maze, it became clear why one couldn’t just go over it.
“It’s as cold as ice,” Aerion said from up above us. She’d volunteered to climb up the ice wall, using her dagger and shortsword as handholds that she jabbed in. “I can’t seem to break through.”
“Would you figure that,” Richard said. “An invisib...
2024-09-09 18:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post“You need to make this easier to fly,” Vir said as they stepped out of the lift to Saunak’s study. “And land. And pick a better site for launching them while you’re at it. Also, see if you can make it bigger.”
“Oh, yes. Just do everything in the realm, is it? Yes, Akh Nara. No problem. Would you like it today or tomorrow? And would you like a silk rug to go with it?...
2024-09-07 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post“Well, that’s not something you see every day,” I said, letting out a whistle.
“It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” Aerion replied. “What is this place?”
The maze stretched on for as far as our eyes could see, all the way to the horizon, and off to the sides as well. Considering we stood on a ledge about fifty feet above it… that was qui...
2024-09-06 18:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post“Okay, so this one makes it go up, and this other one makes it go down, go forward, and roll the airship over,” Vir said, pointing to the three inscriptions carved onto the dashboard of the pilot’s seat. “That one makes it go faster, and this one makes it slow down. This one on the right makes the airship roll to the right, which will somehow allow me to turn…”
“And the one ...
2024-09-05 17:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostI found myself at a loss for words. On the one hand… It was a rock. It looked like a rock, and it was even called rocky.
On the other, the description clearly said it was a Champion. It would seem Cosmo hadn’t been kidding, after all… I couldn’t believe I actually found one.
“What?” Aerion asked. “What do you see?”
“Not here.” I glanced at Richard,...
2024-09-04 19:08:37 +0000 UTC View Post“Air…ship?” Vir asked, walking around the strange contraption. “This looks like no skyship I’ve ever seen.”
Vir ran his fingers over the small, beautiful machine. Constructed primarily of wood and reinforced in places with metal plates, it consisted of a frame large enough for two people sitting in a line, two large arms that extended several paces to either side, and...
2024-08-31 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostIt took me another few seconds to comprehend what had just happened. Richard… The Champion—my only connection to Earth—had just been swallowed.
One moment he was there, and the next…
What the fuck was that? Richard was dead… Just like that? And I was supposed to accept this?
Screw this bullshit.
Screaming like a deranged man, I beat down on th...
2024-08-30 18:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post“I wish for you to assist Vir to the best of his ability, to take no hostile actions against him, and to listen to his every command.”
“Consider it done,” Saunak said. “Akh Nara, my services are at your disposal.”
Vir opened and closed his mouth several times, but no words came out. He’d braced for a long, drawn out battle of wits and guile. Of word games and ...
2024-08-29 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post---
My first instinct was to run for the passage, but I quickly realized what a deathtrap that would be. Sure, the giant ice serpent couldn’t move as freely in there, but neither could we. It took up the full width, le...
2024-08-28 18:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostSaunak of Garga was working steadily on his newest contraption, despite all evidence pointing to it being a dead end. Just like the previous dozen iterations of this idea.
The issue was not one of design, but merely prana conductivity. Was there even a demon alive who could channel the prana needed?
An alarm blared, causing Saunak to startle and knock over seve...
2024-08-27 17:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post“Greg! Hurry!” Richard cried, on the verge of panic. “He’s still alive. Cut him out!”
I moved instinctively, activating [Light of the Fearless] to make several precision cuts. I’d have been far slower without all the practice I’d just had cutting stairs while cradling my injured left shoulder, but even with all that, would I make it in time? 2024-08-26 18:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post
“Absolutely not,” was Cirayus’ immediate response. “You nearly just died, lad. You think I’ll let you go to that madman’s tower? Have you forgotten what he tried to do to you last time?”
“I remember it well,” Vir said calmly.
“Wel, then you’re out of your mind if you think I’ll let that abomination carve a tattoo into your skin.”
The me...
2024-08-24 17:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostAs I expected, the journey down was tedious and time-consuming. Mostly because of the cooldown period between activations of my sword’s abilities. I was forced to idle around, waiting between invocations.
I’d hoped that the many consecutive uses of the abilities would’ve leveled them up, but no such luck. Apparently, the System didn’t consider hacking ice a useful experie...
2024-08-23 18:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostThe revelation came not just as a shock, but as a humbling moment to him. That feeling doubled when he learned just how truly close he’d been, losing multiple limbs, being a hair’s breath away from death.. Here he’d been, single-handedly attacking an Automaton of the Gods, thinking he’d prevail simply because he’d grown a bit stronger, and because he had Ashani by hi...
2024-08-22 17:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post