I'm Getting a Job
Hello, everyone! It’s been a week. By now, you know something’s happened and yes, it has to do with the trip to my dad’s. What did though? Well…
I’m getting a job!
Yeah. It’s my choice if you’re wondering (though my parents think it is a great one). Let’s face facts, I’m not a student anymore and at 22, I can no longer call myself a child. Soon, I need to move out and “get responsible” as well as take care of m...
2017-08-27 02:45:21 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Thirty-one: Survival Training
Reynard ended up commissioning five rooms at 2 gold sovereigns each, an unimaginable sum. Valerian hadn't thought that he'd be earning such a bulk sum for his first commission. He ended up giving his new client a discount to bring the price down to 100 sovereigns. Thus, Valerian was hard at work for the next few days, installing the necessary arrays in the Selected rooms at Squad Four's barracks.
Many were c...
2017-08-27 02:42:48 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Thirty: The First Commission
After Major's Atakoma's class was done, the cadets left for their barracks with heads laden with thoughts and questions. Forging their own paths? What did that even mean? Many of them had merely gone according to the instructions of their methods and teachers to get to where they were today. Now they were to break away? For those who had been cautioned all their lives about the dangers of training and experimenting without supervis...
2017-08-16 02:26:44 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Twenty-eight: General Cultivation
"Welcome!" Major Atakoma said dispassionately as the door into the lecture room shut.
He appeared completely ignorant of the tension in the room or the fact that two of the teams were separated by as much distance as they could put between them. It was like he couldn't see the glares they shot each other or the fact that a few had their weapons on display in class.
"Today will be treating General Cultivation"...
2017-08-16 00:24:56 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Twenty-seven: And The Winner Is...
Valerian's qi began pulsing like mad and in response, his body began to change. His hair became feathery bristles, spikes grew from multiple joints and huge translucent golden wings burst from his back. Before Gigne could express his shock at the unexpected form, Valerian was already on the move, his [Rending Talons] out and slashing at his foe.
Hanging in the air, as he had earlier, was a mistake. Even...
2017-08-16 00:22:36 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Twenty-six: Enter The Lion
Gigne landed on the platform, taking the place Fallenwood was vacating. Straightening his knees after landing, the gold armoured two-metre tall elite swaggered over so that only a few yards separated them. Valerian watched him warily. The dark skinned, bushy haired tellurian was the removed, cocky sort. He rarely spoke to anyone outside of his circle and he never acknowledged them either. Surely, he wasn’t thinking...
2017-08-16 00:16:25 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Twenty-five: Combat Drills II
It looked logical and simple, didn't it? Valerian had kicked Fallenwood and his friends off his squad. Now, Fallenwood had seized this chance to challenge him. Mayhaps for revenge or to assuage his honour. Too bad the entire thing was scripted. Valerian found himself annoyed beyond measure that Clearcrest would resort to this measure to deal with him and that he was the one she chose to challenge first.
He c...
2017-08-16 00:14:02 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Twenty-four: Combat Drills
The training field allotted for use by Platoon Nine was no simple thing. It had a large paved yard for formation drills, a range with many targets set up for target practice and several raised platforms for duels and combat practice. The range was unique in that every target was either man or beast shaped whilst each fighting platform had a rack of assorted weapons beside it. The entire field covered at least a squar...
2017-08-16 00:10:17 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Twenty-three: Military Affairs
It was exactly seven in the morning. Rembrandt closed the tome he was browsing and stood up. Walking out from behind his desk, he scanned the seats in the lecture room he was to take and noted that all fifty-three cadets were present. He nodded in satisfaction. However, this was only their first lesson, first in Strapping's even. He'd see how long they kept it up. With a flick of his wrist, the entrance's double doors closed. He ...
2017-08-16 00:05:25 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Twenty-two: Nine plus One
Strapping's orientation was interesting. Besides being shown around the centre, learning which places they had access to and which places they shouldn't even think of visiting, there was a lot of studying of rules and regulations. Strappings was run like a military installation and they were actually lucky that they had someone to educate them on some of the customs and social etiquette for the centre. A lot of such things were normal...
2017-08-16 00:02:44 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Twenty-one: Introductions
Valerian had worked through most of the night and he was finally proud of what he had. The was the best arrangement he could come with for the effects he wanted. Also, he designed it to be impressive. His grandfather always said that there were two things that invoked wonder in people; mystery and awe. Simple was good for oneself but never for anything that was meant to be presented for often, simple came with the connotation of easy....
2017-08-15 23:57:37 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Twenty: Team Selection
“Every cadet should try to get on a team of his choosing, with the leader he wishes!” the Chief Instructor advised the assembled cadets.
“If you are selected by a leader for a squad you do not want, you may refuse to join. However, remember that is the cadets who do not get assigned teams that will be sent to the reserves”, he warned. “Is this clear?”
“YES, SIR!” they yelled in response.
“We’ll begin...
2017-08-15 23:54:13 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Nineteen: The Elite
Valerian woke up early the next morning. With nary a word, he took out a faintly humanoid object from his spatial ring. His eyes seemed to look through its cloth covering. With a smile, Valerian pulled the sheet off, unveiling his cloudsteel armour. Quickly, he drew an array and had it descend on his armour, cleaning and polishing it from head to toe.
Attracted by the flashing lights, the others watched as he out on the armour. Valeri...
2017-08-15 23:52:47 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Eighteen: Assessments
"Stop!" yelled someone. "What do you think you are doing?"
Valerian ignored the voice. Having caught their attention, Valerian's finger sped up, etching five more glyphs into the air in the next second. With a flick of his fingers, they flew into the array at his feet, melding into a glyph configuration there before fading away softly. The lady examining him wisely began to step backwards, not wanting to get caught in whatever was g...
2017-08-15 23:44:14 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Seventeen: The Second Exam
It took a while before things settled down. Even then, people kept shooting glances over at Valerian or as they now him as; the dual force possessor. It was hard not to. He was still standing in the middle of the field with four different orbs of essence floating around him. Most had never even heard of a dual force possessor and now, here was one. The sheer amount of constant murmuring going on had taken on its own hum.
Their examiner ha...
2017-08-15 23:38:47 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Sixteen: Four Orbs
Alenwaa opened his eyes tentatively, staring through his eyelashes at the array that surrounded him. Unable to help himself, he poked one of the glyphs. Affected by the essence he laced his finger with, it wobbled. He immediately snatched his finger back as if stung. He stared at it intensely for a few seconds but it did not seem like he had destabilised it. Bad things happened to people who played with unstable arrays. Even worse things hap...
2017-08-15 23:24:22 +0000 UTC
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Invitation to HoGW’s Anniversary Celebration
Well folks, the day is here
Our age now says one year
Let’s beat our chests and boast
Let’s raise mugs and cheer
‘Cause HoGW is one year!
We’re calling all to us dear,
We’re making noise for all to hear
We’re popping champagne
Pouring out wine and beer
‘Cause HoGW is one year!
It’s here folks, our First Anniversary! Please join us at our official site by fol...
2017-07-13 18:09:08 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Fifteen: The Pitiful People
Despair. Numbness. Exhaustion. That's all they felt. Today was the end of the eighth day. Everywhere people were helping each other stumble towards the longhouses. Others just lay on the ground, chests heaving and soaked in sweat but unable to move. They'd just run the endurance course. Actually, they had never stopped.
Contrary to their beliefs the test didn't end after the fifth day. No! Only the cut off was abolished. Anyone who...
2017-07-04 21:54:20 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Fourteen: The First Exam
The light of morning struck the pave stones as one by one the applicants trickled into the large assembly field. Unlike the days before, however, they came dressed for battle and armed to the teeth. Many came early, fully prepared for the trails ahead. Slowly, they took their accustomed places, choosing to stay in groups mostly made up of friends, teams and longhouse members.
It had been a tense week. The clustered living conditi...
2017-07-04 21:48:52 +0000 UTC
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[Announcement] Anniversary Celebration
Did the title catch your eye? It should. HoGW will be one year old on the 13th of July! Of course, that's cause for celebration. I think I mentioned that I had something in the works in some of the comments. This is it. sinisterSonnet and I have been hard at work getting everything ready in time for the big day. Hence the silence. Honestly, it took longer than expected. The prayer is that you guys love it.
Some things we have in store...
2017-07-04 21:42:53 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Thirteen: Longhouse Four
Strappings or what he had seen of it so far was not what Valerian expected. Their journey had brought them to a cluster of large hills and to a valley mouth obstructed by a massive gate. The scenery was beautiful but they were barely given any time to take in their surroundings before they were literally marched off by their current chaperone. Valerian found that he was glad for this.
They had been on the road fo...
2017-06-15 15:37:35 +0000 UTC
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Author's Note:
This is something new. Well, not really. It is the first time you're seeing one, though. Basically, I'm giving you a glimpse of what to expect from the published version. Each "Part" has an introduction, a snippet that encapsulates one of the primary themes of what is to come. It can be a poem, a short scene, a letter, a journal entry, etc. This one is the longest so far (BK I, Part II is the shortest ironically). That might change though. sin...
2017-06-13 03:59:17 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Twelve: Departure
Valerian stood still, allowing Avery to fasten the pieces of his armour. He watched as the manservant fussed about but said nothing. He understood why the man was acting this way. Strapping’s didn’t allow or make accommodation for servants of recruits. Today, master and valet would part ways. That hit Valerian harder than he would have liked. He’d known it was coming. They’d even discussed it yesterday after he got done with his grand...
2017-06-12 23:55:46 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Eleven: Grand Meetings
Valan Steelborn's ability to keep a party going was not as great as say his organisational skills or his writing and it paled greatly when held up to his predilection for deductive logic and his gift at dialectics. Even so, he thought it a little insulting that the party broke right when he arrived. He tried to get everyone to stay but apparently, half the food had been eaten and the presents had already been given. There just wasn't muc...
2017-06-04 19:12:32 +0000 UTC
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Author's Note: HoGW resumes!
HoGW resumes! Guess who's done with his undergraduate degree? It's just waiting for the results and graduation from here on out. Thanks so much for being so supportive and understanding when I needed to take time off.
Things are going to change a bit around here. To start with, weekly releases are going up to three maybe four if we meet our patreon goal. We'll return to our original Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday schedule...
2017-06-02 03:35:24 +0000 UTC
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The Epistle of Aganbar "Earth Scourge"
Honoured ancestor, this child greets you
And comes to you with news aplenty
My name is Aganbar, titled “Earth Scourge”
Apprentice to the great Toa, foremost sage of Arzom.
Ancestor, your child has attained feats
And gone further than any other in the history of our line
A lot of this is thanks to my master, Toa
It was he who found and raised me to my standing
Believing in m...
2017-04-17 03:38:53 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Nine: The Man in the Shadows
The room was dim but that was only because many of the candles had long since been extinguished. Normally, in such a situation, you'd get up and light more or even make use of the crystal lamp installed in the ceiling. The occupant of the room did no such thing. In fact, he did not seem to care, after all, with his eyesight the darkened room might as well have been day. The only reason he used the candle in the first place as because they exu...
2017-04-16 22:51:39 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Eight: Cloudsteel Armour
"I'm sorry", Valerian said, thinking he had not been clear enough. "I meant to ask, what is it made from? What does it do?"
The smith sighed but said nothing. Luckily, Jonas took this as a cue to explain.
"The mercurial orb is an ancient menhirionn creation meant to act as an arcanist's focus, weapon and protection all at once. The process of its manufacture is something known only to the top-ranked artificers of the clan",...
2017-04-14 12:17:23 +0000 UTC
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Author's Note: This was to be released yesterday in accordance with the announcement I made on the twitter page. Unfortunately, I came home after mass to discover that we had no internet. I can do nothing but apologise. The last few weeks haven't been easy on me and I'd hoped to get everything back on track as well as make it up to you guys with this Easter Special but it seems we're off to a bad start.
Stay tuned for this evening's chapter. Don't worry, I have si...
2017-04-14 11:54:33 +0000 UTC
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Author's note:
I had intended to release two chapters today on account of shutting myself in my bunker on April Fools (It's not a real holiday, there I said it). Sadly, I have a test tomorrow and need to prepare. We'll have the double release on Saturday instead.
If you'd like to support the series please check out my social media pages. Follow me on Twitter page @LupineKing and
2017-04-07 00:34:01 +0000 UTC
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