“Artur is one of the best craftsmen in the world,” Anneliese said to Argrave. “I do believe the idea of letting him choose another method to utilize the fruit holds some merit.”
Argrave cleaned off his armor of black dirt accrued in the cave of volcanic rock—armor of Artur’s make, upon reflection—as he listened to Anneliese. Raven had derided Argrave somewhat for cowardice, ...
2024-05-02 06:57:31 +0000 UTC View PostMany of the people of the research team had a unifying thought. This thought was shared between some few members that knew one another and had a rapport.
The queen only received her role because of nepotism.
Some few quietly dissented against that opinion, arguing that the fact that she had become an S-rank spellcaster at all was evidence enough of her right to belong here. Still, t...
2024-05-01 06:59:42 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave finished explaining what had happened with Durran and Garm to Anneliese, and leaned back in his chair with quite the sigh. She sat on the edge of his desk, listening patiently for her chance to interject.
“I would be very interested to know what kind of person Llewellen was,” Anneliese commented. “Garm… I suppose we might change the name of our first son, if he’s returne...
2024-04-30 06:58:44 +0000 UTC View PostAs Argrave stared in stunned silence, Garm seemed to be having quite a few problems.
“How does one move their arm, again?” He studied Durran’s arms. “Quite nice arms, but my faculties appear to have eroded somewhat.”
“The same way you’re talking, I imagine.” Argrave studied him, trying his best to act as though this situation wasn’t abnormal.
Just then, Garm ...
2024-04-29 06:58:35 +0000 UTC View PostI'm killing the discord in cold blood. I made it solely because other authors did it and people asked, but I've always hated discord in general and I'm tired of seeing its icon on my desktop. You can still message me here on Patreon and receive a response in a somewhat timely fashion. I also read the comments on most recent chapters for a day or two afterward, and then again when I'm editing fo...
2024-04-28 20:05:50 +0000 UTC View PostUpon seeing Durran clutching his head and howling at invisible enemies, Argrave first assumed the worst—that he had made a mistake, and he had fed poison to one of the most important people in his kingdom. He had survived the Fruit of Being, but others unrelated to the Gilderwatchers might not be able to endure its power. Or, worse yet, he’d been fooled by Gerechtigkeit, somehow.
With...
2024-04-26 06:56:49 +0000 UTC View PostIn case you missed it, I streamed the fateful roll of the dice. Having plotted out where things go from here, I'm actually really excited and thankful I did this stupid joke. The story has definitely improved.
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Argrave and Anneliese both stared at the number that had come up on the die. The first win...
I livestreamed the gamble. Find it here on twitch!
2024-04-24 19:23:09 +0000 UTC View PostTo satiate his desire to gamble the fate of the universe, Argrave visited someone to enable him; a craftsman who was entirely ignorant of what these fruits were.
“I need you to make two four-sided dice that have a hollow space that could fit this fruit inside of it,” Argrave gestured toward the two of them. “I can’t accept them being damaged, so you’ll have to be gentle. On top ...
2024-04-24 06:51:28 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave rolled his shoulders and flexed his hand, warding away the pain. After the funeral, he’d taken some time to explore his powers more in-depth. As it turned out, he wasn’t barred from using spirits in magic—he merely needed to change the way that he did it. Every shamanic spell that he learned had to be changed with [Blood Infusion]. Effectively, the field of shamanic magic had been...
2024-04-23 06:53:31 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave stared into the fire as it roared. Some time ago it had been something familiar, but now it was only flame. There was no service—just a searing fire contained by a makeshift stone structure that signaled that the time for mourning Vasquer around Blackgard, and perhaps all of Vasquer. While it burned, Argrave’s mind kept running back to what Orion had asked of him. His brother had gr...
2024-04-22 06:55:10 +0000 UTC View Post“Sophia.”
Upon hearing her name called, she blinked open her eyes, expecting to see the familiar and comforting wooden ceiling of the room that Argrave had given her. Instead, there was an endless grayness above that gave no sense of distance. She sat up urgently and looked around. There, she saw the man was not her father, yet resembled him all the same.
Tall. Neat black hair. ...
2024-04-19 06:57:51 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave was having a moment rather similar to the distant past—something that inspired him to get into editing wikis to begin with. It was that feeling he got when he discovered something very fascinating about something he thought he was intimately familiar with. A wiki page for a character in a franchise that had a neat backstory, or a place in the world that inspired deep consideration; qu...
2024-04-18 06:55:00 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave felt like he had a parasite in his body, and though he longed to move to cut it out, he saw the sense in what was said. If this was an attack, it likely wouldn’t have started with words. He would listen—listen distrustfully, listen with total suspicion, but listen all the same.
“Thank you,” Lindon said, relief flavoring his tone. If this was an act, Argrave already thought...
2024-04-17 06:55:14 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave’s hand hovered just near Vasquer’s scales, and his eyes scanned her body. He looked at her eyes, but they were still and unblinking. He looked at her wounds, and already, the blood coming from them was beginning to wane in volume. He heard noise from behind, and then felt a huge arm at his shoulder.
“Don’t touch the body,” Raven instructed him. “Not until all that powe...
2024-04-16 06:56:50 +0000 UTC View PostAfter Lindon declared that he wanted to take guardianship of Sophia, Argrave asked the first question that came to mind. Life wasn’t one or the other—it was a gradient.
“Why not both?”
Vasquer projected only uncertainty, as the messages she bore could not answer such questions. It faded as something welled up from within her being, and Argrave felt something dormant come to ...
2024-04-15 06:55:25 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave reached out to touch Vasquer alongside Elenore and Orion, expecting to feel what she usually offered as greeting—a matriarchal love, far unlike anything else in its intensity. They had come here alone to deliver a brief message and have a slightly longer reunion chat, then return to check on the parliament. But instead of unending love, gray solemnity welled up into Argrave’s being....
2024-04-12 06:52:59 +0000 UTC View Post“Thanks for coming, Melanie,” Argrave expressed his gratitude. “I know you’ve been taking it a bit easy since that debacle with Traugott.”
The red-haired mercenary-turned-countess stared up at him with her defiant green eyes. “You just haven’t been giving me things to do,” Melanie disagreed. “Unless you include fobbing off Dario onto me, having me follow him about as we ...
2024-04-11 06:57:10 +0000 UTC View PostWho the hell really was Argrave?
It was the answer to that question that had led him to avoiding pursuing S-rank ascension in any detail. He didn’t like mirrors; he’d made a point of not checking the bronze one, as a point of fact, to keep him grounded in the here and now. He’d somewhat dodged the bullet of ascension by taking on Erlebnis’ knowledge. He had enough information abou...
2024-04-10 06:59:30 +0000 UTC View PostThough the siege against Kirel Qircassia persisted above the skies in the Great Chu, Argrave was infinitely more engaged with the changes that had taken place within himself. He and his family returned to Blackgard, and thereafter to the mountains, enduring Raven’s constant scrutiny. Along the way, he explained to his companions what he believed he had experienced. But rather unexpectedly, he...
2024-04-09 07:00:39 +0000 UTC View Post“So… Argrave of Vasquer.”
The lead interviewer scrutinized Argrave from behind his glasses, golden eyes moving calculatingly. Despite the suit he wore, he sported many tattoos. It spoke to an accommodating workplace, or a poor one.
“That’s right,” Argrave confirmed cordially.
“You’re applying for the position of Upper-Level Human.” The man looked to the other...
2024-04-08 06:54:26 +0000 UTC View Post“He speaks the truth,” said Law, speaking from one of his Justiciars as they stayed within his realm. “If he’s sworn while bound by my power, he could not lie. It’s an impossibility.”
Argrave exhaled, looking upon Raven with a great measure of satisfaction. They had returned to Law’s Court. He had agreed to be bound by its power, and they had inquired whether or not he was s...
2024-04-05 06:58:42 +0000 UTC View PostWhat did Lindon want?
The only things that they had learned that might clue them in was what he had done and what he had said. He seemed to have vague dominion over much of the world, though was in some ways limited by the events of millennia past—unfortunately, Argrave hadn’t seen the details of this peace treaty to know how his vast power was limited. Despite his power, Lindon remai...
2024-04-04 06:48:37 +0000 UTC View PostVolume 5's edited edition is out on Amazon. If you'd like a reminder at the point Elenore started from, look no further.
Also, the last audiobook is out on Audible. Discontinued narration by Luke Daniels.
We’ve had some hard times, the three of us. There was a period when the youngest considered every word and action he said to us like it might be his last. Maybe he was right to do so, given how two of us had acted once; one a zealot, the other cold-blooded. But he brought with him from Earth a little softness, rounding the edges out of his elders. One of us had been sharp by nature, the other...
2024-04-03 06:53:29 +0000 UTC View PostThe further that Argrave and his siblings descended down into the cavern that Lindon directed them to enter, the less things made sense. The first crack in the image came when Argrave questioned why they hadn’t run into seawater, as the stairs that had been carved hadn’t been steep enough to avoiding breaching the island and running into water. Then, when Argrave looked ahead and behind, tr...
2024-04-02 06:56:29 +0000 UTC View PostGilderwatchers.
As the name suggested, they were gigantic snakes that appeared gilded. All from their eyes on their head to the feathers adorning their body shone with the color. They possessed a presence of mind expanding far beyond their body, and the ability to communicate telepathically with their kin by touch alone. In the past, Argrave and Elenore had used this ability in several ci...
2024-04-01 06:55:59 +0000 UTC View PostArgrave stood at an elevated place in Law’s Court, looking down at the assembling masses. Though he most preferred single-player games, he had to confess he had some experience with what these people were preparing for: a raid boss. Law was the raid leader, while the majority of the junior partners and some of the seniors were mere participants, each hoping to score a great bounty in the batt...
2024-03-29 06:55:00 +0000 UTC View PostA hulking humanoid wearing white armor walked onto a golden platform and moved to the center where a podium stood prominently. Below the platform, countless people sat ready to listen. But perhaps to call them mere people was a disservice—these were gods, one and all. Nevertheless, they stayed silent. They had to—they were in Law’s Court, and the ancient god’s Justiciars kept the peace....
2024-03-28 06:55:12 +0000 UTC View Post“Could you tell me just what happened there?” The beautiful goddess of birth inquired of Lira, goddess of connections. It looked like grandmother and daughter, almost. “Everything’s abuzz. Everyone can feel that something major happened, and the more attuned among us know there was a huge explosion of spirits in the sky above the Great Chu. But you were there, weren’t you?”
Li...
2024-03-27 06:57:23 +0000 UTC View Post