Chris
Gabriel and Jon both tried to convince me of other courses of action, but I shot them all down. The path forward was clear, and I was prepared to march down it. Yes, I understood that this had the potential to end poorly, but my mind was set and there was no changing it.
Elliot and Hal mostly stayed out of it, either because they agreed or saw there w...
2025-11-26 23:20:47 +0000 UTC View PostChris
Abigail's voice echoed in my ears long after her skill fizzled out. We were still reeling from the battle we had just taken part in, yet there was another on the horizon. One in a place far from here with stakes larger than this.
The one just fought had a field of just under ten thousand men and women. The one ahead of us would be one of hundreds of t...
2025-11-25 00:04:00 +0000 UTC View PostChris
Essence was the energy of advancement. It was what we built, augmented, and reconstructed our bodies with to get stronger. Nearly everything in this new world revolved around it, and I had a tsunami of it rushing into me once the fight ended.
Essence Transfer was still something we were studying and researching. The total amount of essence inside a be...
2025-11-22 02:01:17 +0000 UTC View PostSecond Chapter coming later today!
Marcus
"Hold!" Marcus yelled over the din of battle.
"Hold!" He repeated.
[Tide of Battle] was churning in a way like it never had before. The swings back and forth resulted in waters that were quick, choppy, and violent. Not to mention incredibly hard to predict.
His glaive cut through another war...
2025-11-19 21:51:18 +0000 UTC View PostElliot
His grip tightened around the grip of his sword as he watched the two lines of cavalry meet. The sounds were... nightmare fuel. It was one thing to hold the concept of a cavalry charge in mind; it was another to see it happen.
Beasts of hundreds of pounds met boulders that weigh tons. Two unstoppable forces that smacked into one another with terrifyi...
2025-11-15 03:49:26 +0000 UTC View PostChris
Immediately after using the skill, I could feel a tether snapping into place. A spiritual chain connecting me to Tasunka in a way that felt indestructible. Even for my famed strength, there would be no breaking the chain.
I could tell Tasunka felt the chain latch on because he was staring down at his chest, where it connected to him. He swung his arm ...
2025-11-13 03:54:19 +0000 UTC View PostChris
Icebreaker took little urging to begin the charge. It was harder to hold him back than to push him onward, and the rest of the herd was right on my heels. Zion had worked his unit tremendously well over the years, allowing for experience to keep formation while charging.
At the tip of the spear, I held my hammer and tried to get as comfortable with th...
2025-11-11 02:03:05 +0000 UTC View PostChris
Walking out of the tent, I saw everyone else rushing to strap on armor and gather up their weapons. Helmets were latched tight, chest plates were donned, and the thick fur cloaks were removed.
Cloaks were good for warmth, but bad for a battle. My own bear-furred cloak was left behind in the tent as well.
Faces were determined, rather than grim. ...
2025-11-07 23:31:31 +0000 UTC View PostTasunka
"Sir, another message from Viscountess Stuart," Rain, his usually helpful assistant, interrupted him with yet another message during his morning meditation. He knew it wasn't the man's fault, but it was becoming increasingly difficult not to blame the man.
"What does she want now?" Tasunka sighed in exasperation. It was nearly every other day that a...
2025-11-05 23:46:36 +0000 UTC View PostChris
Our mission was set, and now it was time to see it through. Marcus marched off south with just under a thousand men behind him, while we set off west.
The place we were to defend was only a couple of days travel, which made for a quick trip. With both factions just now leaving their respective cities, it would be a while before any confrontation was t...
2025-11-04 00:16:53 +0000 UTC View PostHappy Halloween!
Chris
Gemini City
A sharp horn blast echoed through the city to gather everyone. It wasn't the four long blasts for war, just a short one to alert and notify everyone that we were gathering.
With movement from the enemy, it was time for us to also get on the move.
Elliot, Hal, and Gabriel all left to do their own ...
2025-11-01 00:02:33 +0000 UTC View PostMikayla
Velmara
The Viscountess stood and watched the snow continue to fall while the courtyard filled up with wagons, provisions, people, and warriors. The group was sluggish due to the weather, but they were making good enough time, all things considered.
"This fucking snow..." she cursed.
It's almost like they have nature on thei...
2025-10-29 22:34:01 +0000 UTC View PostChris
Gemini City
Surprisingly, war didn't erupt at the moment of my arrival. It sure felt like it would have, but it didn't. It had been a week already, and it looked like it would be a while more until things became... lively.
I reckoned it was for a few reasons: Frostheim's arrival, Marcus's movements along the border, and Mikayla...
2025-10-27 23:33:48 +0000 UTC View PostHello all, and first I must apologize for my radio silence lately, the late chapters, and the randomly missing days. At the very least, I should have said something and I didn't. For that, I apologize. I also apologize for the fact it happened.
It's been a mixture of a lot of things, really. Burnout, personal reasons, and a few other things. My goal for this week was to take a breather an...
2025-10-23 22:52:36 +0000 UTC View PostChris
As the walls of my city finally came back into view, I knew something was wrong. The snow was piled high, and people walked to and fro outside the walls like normal, but something was different.
There was something off. I wasn't sure what, but I could tell.
I hurried the last few miles back at just under a sprint.
As I jogged, I p...
2025-10-18 01:42:13 +0000 UTC View PostChris
The trip back was less chaotic than the trip there by a large margin. While the few levels I managed to pick up, along with the increase in my Law and Bloodline, made me more powerful, that power wasn't tested on my way home.
That didn't mean I was without any scars to show for it, just that none of what I faced matched up to the bear from before.
... 2025-10-17 02:04:00 +0000 UTC View PostRachel
The snow fell generously upon Flame Falls despite its name, and winter had well and truly arrived. The cold wasn't as bad now that they were within the city's bounds, but there was still a nip to the air.
Chris would love it if he weren't miles north in what was no doubt more 'pleasant' weather. Anyone who would consider blizzards and ice storms plea...
2025-10-15 03:24:10 +0000 UTC View PostAustin
Sounds of conversation and daily life surrounded him at levels he hadn't felt in a long, long time. Being alone was part of the job, and the silence that came with it was inevitable, but times like these, when he was back to being surrounded by so much life... It was hard to adjust so rapidly.
Days, weeks, sometimes even months where the only people ...
2025-10-14 01:41:30 +0000 UTC View PostAbigail
Frostheim
"Annabeth, sweetie, I'm telling you that he'll be back soon. He should already be on his way." Abigail said.
"Why does he have to be gone for so long? I wanna show him how strong I am now." Her daughter punctuated it by showcasing her flexed bicep.
Abigail had to admit that her daughter was in much better shape than sh...
2025-10-11 00:35:15 +0000 UTC View PostChris
Thankfully, of the five potential upgrades I could now do, evolving my Bloodline was the easiest and most straightforward.
Like most things related to Bloodlines, it was supposedly instinctual. Similar to how strengthening and purifying a Bloodline was instinctual. I wasn't sure if all of that was true, but seeing how it had been so far, I chose to be...
2025-10-09 21:09:20 +0000 UTC View PostChris
Round three wasn't the end of our bout, far from it, really. It was only with mild surprise that we continued to clash again and again, with neither one of us giving any ground.
There were times when I was sent flying back and times when I sent the bear skidding away, but we were right back at each other a second later.
I wasn't surprised that t...
2025-10-07 21:30:42 +0000 UTC View PostChris
The days after my Law improvement were rather boring. I played around and grew used to the increase, but other than that, there wasn't much to do.
That was until I found what I was looking for.
My days following the coast were over as I felt the ground become further and further away. The sheet of snow and ice I was walking on became thicker and...
2025-10-02 21:55:39 +0000 UTC View PostMaeve
"The Big Man wants to see you," Griff said after tracking her down to the tavern she was in.
Those words were never good, and she suppressed a shudder at hearing them. They weren't always bad, as she had met with him many times before, but it still caused her body to react instinctively.
There was no one who could compare to his sheer... pre...
2025-09-30 21:54:46 +0000 UTC View PostMonths ago.
Anna
Frostheim
Finally! Finally, she had a Class!
Feeling her selection settle in was probably the best thing she had felt in a long, long while. Finally, after waiting for what felt like ages, she now had a Class and could level up.
She was at the bottom rung on what would be a long ladder, but that did...
2025-09-29 22:06:52 +0000 UTC View PostMonths ago
Chris
Frostheim
Seeing that I still had a little time before Abigail's scheduled gathering, I took some time to admire the differences Frostheim had gone through. It was so easy to forget what the city had once started as, compared to the monolith it now was.
Hundreds of acres of forest around the City had been clear...
2025-09-26 21:44:11 +0000 UTC View PostChris
A grin so large it split my face in two appeared on my face as I felt out the new aspect. It would take some getting used to, but I could already see it adding a lot to my strength.
Heaviness was close to the essence of how I fought. If I could somehow imbue that into my hammer while I fought, that would make every blow that much more. Using skills li...
2025-09-26 00:10:36 +0000 UTC View PostChris
As the storm built, my body was continually covered in layers of snow. It started slowly, but quickly built as layer after layer fell. To avoid being buried in it, I had to occasionally sweep out with [Ice Manipulation] to clear it off of me.
The action occurred on a subconscious level, as I kept all my attention focused on understanding what I was se...
2025-09-24 23:29:21 +0000 UTC View PostChris
Further updates continued to come in on what Rachel was doing in the South, but I mainly tuned those out. It wasn't that I didn't care about them; I most certainly did, but it was that I could focus on those things later.
Even though the implications of what was going on down there were high, along with what they would lead to in the future, all of th...
2025-09-22 21:18:32 +0000 UTC View PostThe Admiral
Now, why in the fuck would she go and say that?
The past week of deliberation and meetings hadn't been going swimmingly, but they hadn't been going poorly either. Sure, there had been hiccups here and there, but those were to be expected.
Not the giant wrench that had just been launched at him.
Fitzwallace had finally manage...
2025-09-19 00:42:39 +0000 UTC View PostChris
"Hahaha!" I laughed gleefully, "This is what I've been missing! Come at me, you mongrels!"
It had been a while since I had felt this joyful while in a battle. There were no Order members behind me fighting for life or death. There were no screams of the dying that played in my ear.
No. It was just me versus some ugly monsters.
It was the way it should be. I didn't ...
2025-09-16 23:07:39 +0000 UTC View Post