Vibru grabbed the table, his sharp claws drilling into the precious wood as he held back his desire to rage at the towering Loydin standing in front of him. It was holding a small crystal covered in tiny runes with an image hovering above it that showed the metallic, gleaming face of a young man with long hair. An emerald crystal dangling from his hair showed he was a cardsmith.
"Y...
2024-04-13 16:28:31 +0000 UTC View PostWhen the first day of the second eight-day at the Golden Friction Academy arrived, Irwin was leaning against a wall. A few steps away was the closed door of the card reforging course. Pasilha and Roubi stood nearby. Eyes closed and face sunken. There had been two parties the day before, the last ending only hours ago, and they attended both.
I wonder why they go to parties so m...
2024-04-12 16:20:47 +0000 UTC View PostIrwin struck the Gneisian Ore and instantly felt the massive resistance contained in the tiny chunk of ore. His hammer skidded off it with a screech while thin, sharp waves of soulforce zipped out of it. They moved faster than most other soulforce waves he had seen, and as they hit things, they rebounded back off.
Those that hit him felt like tiny jabs, almost as if someone was pok...
2024-04-07 19:17:09 +0000 UTC View PostIrwin hummed along as he listened to Teacher Narios play a slew of instruments. Some he began shaking his head almost as fast as it started, and as time progressed, Teacher Narios began nodding along, a knowing smile appearing on his face. He stopped after a while, putting back the instrument that he had placed against his shoulder to draw a stick with hair across. The sound had reminded Irwin ...
2024-04-06 12:58:28 +0000 UTC View PostOrion watched carefully as Krastin stood before him, eyes closed. He, Brawl, the overly large Breloom, and the even larger Chesnaught stood in a sort of triangle around him, and he felt… something.
It started as a slight itch, not in his body but in his mind, and rapidly increased to a tapping and scratching sensation.
Orion tried to pinpoint it, but all he could say was that it w...
2024-04-06 11:41:37 +0000 UTC View PostOrion held his hand before him, trying to sense the aura he held within him. He could very faintly sense it if he focused hard enough. A fiery, unyielding sensation that seemed to be bubbling beneath the surface, like boiling rage.
Riolu sat on the floor before him, arms crossed and head cocked.
It took almost half an hour before Orion managed to sense the ...
2024-04-06 08:04:53 +0000 UTC View Post"Seriously?" Skylar hissed as he leaned across the table, staring at Irwin, who was chewing on a large mouthful of some burned root-like thing that crunched loudly.
They were sitting inside The Tappestery, a few simple dishes between them, while gentle lyre music played from a solo player on the stage.
Two days had passed since Irwin's first day, and both had bee...
2024-04-05 17:44:45 +0000 UTC View PostIrwin felt a wave of awe as he walked into the massive, multi-layered smithy.
"Stop gawking. You're making me look bad," Ambraz hissed in his ear.
"What kind of smith needs a workplace that big?" Irwin muttered.
A few of the nearby students snickered while Skylar grinned.
"You will see in a moment," he said. "Let's go grab some good spots!"
Irwin followed Sky...
2024-03-31 20:39:02 +0000 UTC View Post"Have you actually been here before?" Irwin asked Ambraz as he stood in the center of a spacious room. "In this academy, I mean."
"Never needed to," Ambraz said.
They were standing in their new quarters, the second in a week. Irwin wondered if he would be going to another just as quickly. Probably not, but who knew? Singara had left as soon as she'd dropped them off, saying she woul...
2024-03-30 20:22:27 +0000 UTC View PostAmbraz zipped through the night, unrestrained by worry- well, almost.
I get back only to find the jackals found a way in, he thought as he flew through the tunnels at a speed he couldn't have the last time he was here.
He knew it shouldn't surprise him as much as it did. Fleshies had been trying to take advantage of Ganvils for as long as he knew, a...
2024-03-29 20:06:19 +0000 UTC View PostSo, based on all the feedback, I'm going to add two more. Based on one thing, the age, and card, I agree that there's something lacking in the previous ones. So, although I might still use one of the others because in the end the impossible thing is that people see it, click it and then read it :)
So, same question! Red, blue? Also, are these better or worse than the previous ones?
(F...
Hey everyone, I've been working on the cover nearly as much as on the edits of book one, and I have something to show.
There are two directions I'm leaning in right now, both with the same background. I'd love to hear what you guys think!
Just FYI - the words "Irwin's Journey" are something I still haven't decided on where and how to place them. Just respond with teal or fire!...
Hey guys! As I shouted out in my discord, I've added/changed the first... 30 chapters on RR. Well, it's actually chapters 1 to 27, but there are 3 new ones mixed in. Because of how difficult it is to release them here, I've decided to do this differently. Attached, you will find the edited/rewritten start of Irwin's Journey in EPUB format.
Now, for those who don't want to re-read them, ...
"Okay, kid, now let's show him what you can do," Ambraz said. "Just ignore those stupid stairs and jump to the platform he's on."
Irwin hesitated, but Brazardian remained quiet. Hoping he wasn't going to get problems, Irwin ran forward rapidly, building kinetic energy, before releasing it at the last jump. With a dull explosion, he shot forward, rapidly bridging the thirty or forty-foot g...
2024-03-24 17:46:21 +0000 UTC View PostAs soon as Ambraz entered Brazardian's private chambers a bolt of dark metal shot towards him. It was so fast that the shouted 'AM!' almost seemed to be left behind. Then a Ganvil that was the same coloration, and dimensions slammed into him, knocking both of them back out of the chambers and into the wall.
"You piece of rusted cutlery, I've missed you so much!" a slightly larger copy of ...
2024-03-23 20:21:22 +0000 UTC View PostIrwin had expected to step out into a confined room with guards. Instead, as he stumbled out of the portal, he looked across a massive square bordering a rugged mountain landscape.
Snow-covered trees dotted its glittering white sides and the valleys between. From between the mountains, massive dark red gas plumes wafted up out of what had to be volcanoes. Pillars, statues, and an en...
2024-03-22 18:45:57 +0000 UTC View Post"Riiiiiolu!"
Orion jolted up and looked around.
"Wha-"
"Ri… Ri… Ri… “
He blearily looked at Riolu standing in the center of the room, punching at the air before him. His eyes were filled with focus and determination while the book on fighting-type auras lay open to the side.
"Are you practicing?" Orion muttered as he struggled out of the b...
2024-03-22 14:56:41 +0000 UTC View PostIrwin stood with the others on the prow, Ambraz on his shoulder.
They were flying between two lines of stone pillars carved out of the mountains. At the top of each was a semblance of a Ganvil, seemingly a natural continuation of the rocky pillar. Far at the end was a massive stone city carved out of a mountain, with a tower on each side that held two docks. Hundreds of ships were anchor...
The tension on The Sonata's deck was palpable. Each person still standing was bleeding from multiple wounds, while Greldo and Rindiri stood a few steps beside Irwin. Greldo's eyes were gleaming dangerously, and his lips curled up a snarl. Rindiri's face was completely emotionless, but her eyes burned with a cold fire as she glared at the pirates.
Pieplionyr was holding Irwin's gaze, his e...
2024-03-16 18:50:06 +0000 UTC View PostA swirl of lights rushed towards the heavily modified scout ship. It hung just behind the bend of a very narrow stretch of Portal Gallery, barely wide enough for a single large merchant ship to slip through.
This was known for being a dangerous area, far enough away from Dimarintsia River that none of the regular guard ships patrolled it, and with four paths leading away into a chaotic ar...
2024-03-15 18:13:45 +0000 UTC View PostOrion walked away from the Ferrum Gym, hugging Riolu. He barely noticed where he was going. After the invitation, Krastin told him to head back to Nurse Joy and to think about it for a bit before deciding.
Should I join Krastin's Course? Orion thought.
The idea of training under a gym leader was very enticing. If Krastin hadn't told him that he expected full effort, an...
2024-03-15 13:05:07 +0000 UTC View PostIrwin walked through the massive shop, scanning for useful cards. Far behind him, Boohm was holding a shouting match with the shop owner while the sales personnel were hovering around wide-eyed.
He'd watched it for only a minute before quickly setting out in search of cards.
His head was almost brushing against the low ceiling as he looked around the shelves, bookcases, and crystal-...
2024-03-10 20:36:03 +0000 UTC View PostDaubutim crossed his arms as he gazed out across the small city that was starting to take shape along the river Treb. He had started to get in the habit of taking the first of every ten-day to watch what was being built.
Tréanbá had been growing rapidly before, but things had sped up immensely in the last few ten-days. Two weeks ago, Portal Keep had been deemed finished and the stonesh...
Irwin rushed forward, using kinetic energy to speed himself up before grabbing the connected anvils. He barely wrapped his hands around them when he felt You'gyn resist.
"What is going on? Let go of me, you-"
Both Anvils vanished from Irwin's grip, and his hand slammed together with a hollow clang. A horrible sensation in his soulscape stopped any confused questions he might have. 2024-03-08 20:54:28 +0000 UTC View Post
Orion dumbly looked at Krastin, who was glaring at him, arms crossed.
What should he say? Should he try to explain where he was from and what had happened? That he was from the past and moved here through some crazy portal? After all he had heard from Elena, he didn't think it was likely that Krastin would believe him. If they didn't even really believe Johto was real!
"Let me guess...
2024-03-07 21:22:24 +0000 UTC View PostIrwin was surprised by how empty and desolate the town felt. There were some people wandering around, but they all looked like guards that were off-duty.
"Does nobody live here?" he asked, looking at the guard beside him.
The man looked up with a raised eyebrow. "Never been to a central world's guard station?"
Irwin frowned. "I'm pretty sure there were merchants there. And ...
"Good job! Now, pour the red and yellow spices in and keep stirring," Boohm ordered.
Zender was looking at the massive, new cauldron, stirring with the ladle, also new. Both were bought by Boohm himself during their last stop. Zender was pressing his left hand against the cauldron's bottom, his silver hand and lower arm seeming to glow from within like molten metal.
Irwin was leanin...
2024-03-02 20:07:50 +0000 UTC View PostCome on, hurry up already, Irwin thought as he watched the three men push the barrel-laden cart across the dock.
He glanced up at the Dead Pact Mercenary ship, a pale-hulled, sleek vessel. Everything about it oozed speed and danger, perhaps even more than the red Currant Hunter vessel they had encountered. Rindiri said it was an altered, small Escort Vessel. Due to its build, it ...
2024-03-01 17:02:59 +0000 UTC View PostSo everything is gone, Orion thought, barely believing what he had read.
He stared at the distant wall of books, the book on the Storm of Shadows forgotten on his lap. Ryulu was leaning against him, snoring softly.
The story he'd just read played through his mind constantly.
One hundred and forty-one years ago, an unknown number of legendary Pokemon had gone insane. T...
2024-02-28 09:48:35 +0000 UTC View PostIrwin cracked his neck as he walked out of the room. The bed had been reasonable. A bit too short, and it had hung down due to his weight, but he knew it was going to be hard for him to find anything that really fit him.
Rindiri and Earila stood in the hallway.
"You slept in again," Earila hissed as she walked to her brother and prodded him. "It's hot here. I want to leave."
I...
2024-02-25 20:37:32 +0000 UTC View Post