ThatHumanMage

158. Thread and Thunder

The adventurers guild had turned into a war camp. No, that wasn’t quite right—it had already become something similar in response to the siege. But the once darkened mood had shifted, taking on an energy it hadn’t had before. Across the courtyards, swords were sharpened, bowstrings were waxed, and armor was donned in preparation for the battle ahead.

Wyn supposed it was the helplessness that had held everyone down prior. They’d been like rats in a cage, trapped within the walls ...

157. Blood and Ice

Corrin bounced on the balls of his feet as he waited by the front gate. His sword felt heavier than normal in its sheathe, and he itched to draw it, but he stayed his hand for the time being.

His eyes were drawn across the grassy space, towards the sand pit where Aria was performing, dozens of song spirits dancing in the air around her. They were even more numerous now than they’d been before, and her voice seemed stronger for it. She’d started by singing for some of the children, w...

156. Stars in the Night

Corrin stared at the crater in the sand ahead of him as he rolled another ball of aura between his fingers. He finished, and tossed it at the same spot he’d been throwing them at for the last thirty minutes, sending a small plume of sand into the air with a dull popping sound once more.

Three weeks. That was the prognosis from the healers, after they’d examined Eryndor for almost an hour. Three weeks before he would be able to move around again—longer to return to fighting shape....

155. Moonless Sky

Wyn was encouraged to find that the infirmary at the guild was actually quite robust. Unlike the other guild buildings, it was not raised up on a stone terrace, but rather set between two of them, and pressed against the back wall. As he entered beneath the tiled awning, the warmth of lanternlight gave way to the steadier radiance of lightstones, set into sturdy fixtures above each bed.

There were actually far fewer wounded than he expected. More than half of the men and women present ...

154. Diverted Course

[A/N:

To get it all out of the way here... I'm working on it. I wish I had a good explanation, but I don't. I guess I just feel off lately, lame as that is. Maybe I'm getting the yips.
I don't want to keep making "Update, I suck" posts, ya know? The perpetual update is: I'm behind, and I'm working on it. I've said it before though, and I'll say it again. I'm not abandoning anything, I'm just slow as all hell right now.

I'm going to fix it, come hell, high water, or getting ba...

153. Discordant

Corrin decided that he was officially jealous of Luscien’s bond abilities.

They wove through the city streets, taking a winding, irregular path on their way to Eryndor’s estate, passing destruction wherever they went. Entire streets had been cracked open, like something had burst up from the ground below, and the buildings bore the signs of battle.

The cost clearly hadn’t been paid in just destruction either. Bodies littered the streets—corpses of beast and man, some dre...

152. Dance Until Your Heart Explodes, Laugh Until You Choke

The wind howled past his ears as Corrin plunged, arms held wide. The world quickly became a blur as the tree’s massive limbs raced past him to either side. Behind him, a flash of light and heat lit the night, and he felt the warmth on his back even as he fell.

He hit the branch hard, like a leaf thrown by a storm, and the partial mantle he’d gathered around his feet flared with the bone-jarring impact. He dropped into a roll, tumbling over the slick, mossy wood in order to reduce t...

151. Twisted Revelry

Kei took a step back as the man’s limp body hit the ground, finally released from the Acolyte’s clutches. She pressed her hand against her chest, trying to steady the pounding of her heart.

“The Cult…” Bruno muttered, his own stance stiff as he took a protective step in front of the two of them.

The Cult of The Old God. Kei had heard of them before—a violent organization that appeared from nothing, pursuing objectives no one really understood, and disappearing as quick...

150. Subito (II)

Haoma’s highest levels were quiet as the three of them reached the penultimate platform. Corrin could feel the tension within him, the fear of what they’d find at the top warring with the excitement of what was to come.

Luscien could clearly feel it as well, his head swiveling around, glasses glinting in the fading sun. Kita hadn’t taken his usual perch atop the second year’s shoulders, instead pacing around his feet, ears perked as his twin tails swished nervously.

Corrin...

149. Subito (I)

No matter how he tried, Wyn couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in his gut. The sense of steadiness that he’d felt from Eryndor had faded, leaving only a gnawing unease behind.

Zavi was missing, vanished from The House of Spring the night before, without so much as a trace.

Iskareth had not known where Zavi had gone either, though he had apparently excused himself quickly, stating he’d received an urgent summons, and would be on a house call. Though he’d instructed the ch...

148. Old God

[A/N:

It wouldn't be Delay Wielding if it was ever on time I suppose. Next chapter going up right away, next two I'm still gonna fight with a little longer, but they'll go up before I go to sleep again.

In the end, getting the pacing right here was all but impossible, hence the delay. But pro tip, if you read this chapter and the next back-to-back, I think it mostly works itself out. Lemme know though.

Anyways, happy to be back, and looking forward ...

Update

08/10:
Four chapters coming today... well, might be two today two tomorrow, haven't actually made up my mind yet on one last part. Anyways, we're coming back as promised, just need to finish a few scenes and rearrange some sections. But I'm going to do that after sleeping. I'll say more words once they come out but I'm schnoozin now.
Cya very soon!

TL;DR: Pausing payments for the next month for all current patreon subs. Chapter coming out soon, th...

147. Creeping Rot

Corrin looked once more at the rotted, withering leaf that sat on the table in the parlor of Eryndor’s manor. It didn’t take a genius to see it for the sign that it was—Haoma was in danger, and somewhere, a force was working against them.

Despite it, not much had changed since the day before. None of their investigations had borne much fruit, save perhaps for Eryndor’s, but he promised them he hadn’t found out anything they needed to know.

“The solstice begins the morn...

146. ...Would You Show Me What I Want To See?

Haoma’s roots were an omnipresent part of Liresil, breaching into the city in vast arches, and reaching out into the surrounding landscape, tunneling through dirt and stone for miles in all directions. In that sense, they were not hard to find, and there were relatively few of them compared to many trees he’d seen, so they really didn’t have much to search.

But that didn’t change the sheer area that they encompassed. Even just within the city limits, a single winding ro...

145. Rat in the Walls

Wyn tried his best to keep up with what was going on once the ward-breaking started, but to his untrained ears, they may as well have been speaking Khadati. They were bent over the notebook Nathae had brought, a page of which had been covered in sigils and lines—which Wyn was pretty sure represented the warding scheme somehow? Nathae had performed some sort of ritual involving a mana stone and the notebook, and Wyn had watched as ink appeared on the page, drawing itself into the pr...

144. Silence Beneath the Boughs

“What do you know of the sepals?” Eryndor asked some time into their walk.

Corrin raised his hand. “They’re like, warrior-priests right?”

“Correct! One point to Corrin!”

You had to get the question-answering points while you could, especially with Wyn around, and Corrin bet Luscien was no slouch either. The second-year caught him staring and edged away, a bit uncomfortable. Another victory for him!

“But of course, that doesn’t quite do them justice,�...

143. Chromaticism

Wyn knew it was a dream.

It wasn’t because the location was dreamlike—it wasn’t. His childhood home in Straetum was just as he remembered it. The wooden flooring, built by his grandfather, was old, but had been maintained well. The windows let in the early morning light, and it streamed into the main room of the house, illuminating the motes of dust that drifted through the air.

It wasn’t because he felt anything wrong with his senses either. The comforting scent of baking...

142. Good Company

Corrin panted heavily, wiping the sand and sweat out of his stinging eyes as he stared at his opponent across the sand. Wyn had left hours ago, and hadn’t returned. While it was possible that he was simply taking longer than expected to recover, Corrin suspected he’d gotten wrapped into something as usual. Nonetheless, he and Luscien had continued training under Eryndor’s tutelage in his absence.

After Corrin had repeated several mind-numbing technique exercises for hundreds of re...

141. If I Told You How I Really Felt...

Wyn adjusted his grip on the basket of groceries as they walked down the dirt path towards The House of Spring. The hospital—as he had come to understand it was—sat a short ways from the base of the trunk, atop a hill overlooking the lower city and the river. Sitting within a grove which separated it from the bustle of the main streets, a winding dirt path led into a small courtyard gated by a wooden fence. Two buildings sat within the fence, the house proper, where Sadirah and her siblin...

140. The Withering

After all, you won’t need to worry about refilling your mana quickly if you never run out!

Wyn sighed, kicking a small pebble down the street. It was good advice, and he appreciated Eryndor for showing him how to expand his reserves, but it didn’t really help him now. Spirit fire kept his body and mind fresh, but after even just a few hours of training, his aura reserves were low enough that the spirit knight had recommended he take a break to replenish them.

So he wa...

139. Limitation is Strength

[A/N:

A choice came to me yesterday: Release a long chapter late, or release a short chapter on time and break this scene into two. That would've been lame though, and I've already done it enough this arc, so here's a long chapter

]

******

******

The Kaelburn estate in Liresil rested beneath the shade of one of the tree’s enormous arching roots, not on the outskirts of the city, but neither in the center near the trunk. A stone wall capped in iron ringed the pr...

138. Discontent to Burn Alone

[A/N:
I WIN!!! AHAHAHAHA

YEAH FUCK DELAY WIELDING THIS SHIT IS ON TIME! RAAAAAAGHHHHHH

Phew, sorry that's out of my system now.

Anyways, hope you guys enjoy the chapter lol. Good to be back

]

******

******

It turned out there was actually a shrine quite close to their inn, a small wooden building tucked away near the base of the trunk, surrounded by greenery. True to purpose, it did seem to gather quite a few spirits near its roof,...

137. Sing Me a Song of Gathering

If Wyn was being honest, his acceptance of Bruno’s offer had mostly been out of politeness. It wasn’t that he had no interest in talking with the bard and his sister, but his mind was taken with other things. They had made it to Liresil, they were at the spirit tree, he was so close to answers he could almost taste them. Thus, the bard twins hadn’t been of much interest to him at first.

That was before he’d seen Aria Virellian’s effect on the spirits. During the perfo...

136. Sing Me a Song You've Heard Before

Wyn double checked, then triple checked. He hummed along with the song, and watched as the city flowed with it as well. Throughout the winding streets draped in greenery, crowds stepped together, and voices occasionally harmonized with the song for a moment before drifting apart into separate melodies. It wasn’t as perfect as he’d first thought—some people definitely seemed more in sync than others, and in many places it was so subtle he thought he might actually just be finding pattern...

135. The City of Songs

[A/N:

It's Wednesday right? Haha.... yeah... my bad... My schedule is a struggle for my abilities right now, and this arc is haaaard. But it just comes down to me needing to lock in. I'll keep working on it.

Hope you enjoy!

]

******

******

Wyn peeled back the scales of his sipa fruit before biting into the ripe green flesh. He hummed in satisfaction as the spicy-sweet taste filled his mouth. It reminded him of something like cinnamon, and was easily his fa...

134. The Summer Sun

In all, the whole ordeal with the slaves had only taken them about a day out of their way. It was pure chance that they’d heard of the caravan from another trader they’d met on the road, and been close enough to hasten and catch up to them.

Judging the strength of the mercenaries was difficult, but Wyn and Corrin had grown much stronger in the past few months, and had a hard time believing anyone truly formidable would be amidst them. They’d been right, and were able to take care ...

133. A Small Mountain is Still a Mountain

Heza’s stomach rumbled along with the wagon as it rolled along the bumpy dirt path, her feet hanging out through the bars of the cage.

The gruel they’d been given sat cold on the wooden floor next to her, solidified into almost a paste, with a few flies buzzing around it curiously, but even they didn’t seem to want to taste it. Even still, she refused to let the other slaves take it from her. They hadn’t yet resorted to force, worried they would upset Ksvir for ‘ruining his me...

132. The Singers and the Song

“A hero is someone who is recognized by their back…” Bruno tapped the quill against his chin. “Yeah, yeah that’s not bad. What do you think, Aria?”

His twin sister brushed aside her silver hair, lavender eyes glancing in his direction.

“Is that so important right this moment?” she asked, her foot tapping softly against the wooden floor. “We have a show in an hour.”

Bruno waved his hand dismissively. “There’s always a show coming up, Aria, and anoth...

131. For Whom the World...

Previous Chapter

******

******

Sadira tiptoed through the peristyle of the House of Spring, her bare feet silent against the polished stone floor. The sun was already peering through the branches of the tree, filtering through the leaves, down into the courtyard in countless beams of light.

Reaching a small door at the end of the walkway, she quietly turned the knob, opening it with the faintest of creaks. She crept into the dim room, past the rows...

130. The Players (IV)

The heavy iron door groaned shut behind Iskareth, sealing the chamber with a dull, final thud. From within, the wails of his children faded into silence, swallowed by the thick metal and the encroaching dark. The claustrophobic stone hallway stretched behind him and dampness clung to the air. With each step away from the door, his footsteps echoed quietly off the walls.

The floor beneath him was cracked, though of course that was intentional, letting mana and other energies seep up from...