Miles English

Book 5 - Interlude - Lyssa

Lyssa prepared what she hoped was a meal fit for a king. She didn’t have any Skills around cooking, not even the General Skill. Instead, she’d been bothering the camp's cooks incessantly for the past several weeks, begging whatever guidance they could as they tried to stretch the measly remnants of their food supplies to feed a starving army. It had to be her, of course, since she couldn’t trust anyone else with this prisoner, but that didn’t make it any easier. She had to swallow oft...

Book 5 - Chapter 40

Brin had taken wounds of flesh many times and thought he understood what pain was. Nothing he’d ever felt could prepare him for what it meant to split his mind into forty. But with the pain came power.

“You might be right,” said [Archmage] Brin. With his mind so severely limited, this mind was beginning to forget he wasn’t actually an [Archmage]. That was fine. “You may be totally correct. Very well, Zaff the Wight, you’ve earned this honor: I will unlock my full power.” 2025-11-07 18:10:01 +0000 UTC View Post

Book 5 - Chapter 39

Zaff tilted his head to the side, incredulous. He gave Brin a look like he was waiting for him to crack, to admit that it was all a joke. When Brin kept his face stern, Zaff shook his head ruefully.

“I’m tempted, Brin, I really am. I’d just love to play this out and see how it goes. Unfortunately for you, I can’t take the chance that you’ll find a way to escape in the confusion. You’re a vital ingredient to the enemy’s victory. You’re too dangerous to leave alive any lon...

Book 5 - Chapter 38

Brin raced through the cavern network and his mind raced ahead of him. What was his plan? What could he do? There had to be something. He screamed internally at [Battle Sense], trying to force some solution to present itself, but every scenario he dreamed up ended the same way: with all of them dead.

Use illusions to escape? Zaff was undead. He had Heat Vision. Brin’s armor had been built to overcome that so that he could hide from undead while invisible, but none of the rest of the L...

Book 5 - Chapter 37

Tenerer. His mysterious benefactor. Tenerer was the godling who had delivered messages from Solia, who had talked him through the [Multithreading] Skill, and who had given him the [Filial Piety] Missions.

But everything the gods had done for him was done in the name of fairness and balance. He’d gotten [Know What’s Real] because it wasn’t fair for him to die before coming to understand his situation in this world. The System Quest was given because it wasn’t fair that he’d kil...

Book 5 - Chapter 36

“Can you sense that? Brych, or anyone else? Due east-northeast about six miles, there’s an undead scout,” said Zilly. She was looking at Brin as she spoke, only avoiding calling out his [Illusionist] Class because she couldn’t be sure no spies were watching them.

Brin checked the direction. He already had several Invisible Eyes in that area, but they hadn’t alerted him to anything. He shook his head.

“Follow the dry gulch until the end. Then there are a few trees, one ...

Book 5 - Chapter 35

The news that Zilly had finally been found wasn’t met with any sort of cheer, not when they’d been right about to start heading back to the main camp and their first meal in two days. But looking around, the men didn’t seem as mutinous as he expected, just resigned.

“What shape is her unit in?” asked Cid.

“She’s alone, but she seems fine,” said Brin.

Cid raised an eyebrow, but many of the others stopped what they were doing and looked at Brin with wide eyes. ...

Book 5 - Chapter 34

They left the horses in a flat field with healthy grass, where they’d have a lot of room to run if something came for them. Then the Lance made their way on foot towards the undead patrol.

The undead soldiers were armed with the same wide variety of weapons that Brin was used to, but of the armored elites, most of them carried shields and spears. A charge from horseback would be a poor match-up. Even if that weren’t the case, they would probably leave the horses behind anyway. They ...

Book 5 - Chapter 33

They would only spend one night back at camp, and then resume their search for Zilly and Brin’s step-brother tomorrow, but Brin made sure to take the time to ask around about the Easterlings. He got very little information because while everyone seemed to have a lot of ideas about them but he had no idea what could be trusted. Even Brin's brief encounter with them told him that much of it was obviously wrong.

"They fear the sunlight."

"The touch of iron poisons them."

"The...

Chapter will be late

I won't be able to post todays chapter until pretty late this afternoon. Sorry for the delay.

Book 5 - Chapter 32

They set off in the gray morning light, riding west back towards Arcaena's mainland, their backs to the colors of the rising sun. They passed fields of cut grain and green stalks that must've recently carried vegetables. The army had sent a few skimmers through the fields to check for anything left behind from the harvest, but from the empty sacks he saw them carrying, they weren't having any luck.

Cowl's pack held a week's worth of rations, but only according to the new portions the ar...

Book 5 - Chapter 31

Lumina only stayed a single day and left the next morning before dawn. Their parting was brief and drama-free, because it didn’t really feel like a good-bye. He knew he’d see her again soon. They had only enough time for one last chat about his magic where he asked her opinion on his current project of trying to brainwash himself into becoming the blade.

She flatly told him that he was being silly to avoid human testing. His level of Mental Manipulation wouldn't come close to drivin...

Book 5 - Chapter 30

Lumina pulled back the orb. The sharp movement made the colors inside swirl more quickly before starting to settle again. "If I give this to you now, you'll be careful? There are a good number of eyes on me wherever I go. I've warded against eavesdroppers, but these spells won't hide visible illusions appearing inside our circle."

"I'll be careful," said Brin.

She handed it over. Brin grabbed it and immediately started turning it over in his hands.

"Normally, a Lightmind is ...

Book 5 - Chapter 29

Brin fretted about the imminent arrival of his mother. The camp of the Order of the Long Sleep didn't seem fine enough to entertain a lady of her stature. Even if it were Sion visiting him, he'd be embarrassed. There wasn't really anywhere to sit, and he didn't have cookies or pastries to offer, and there wasn't an easy way to make tea.

Despite the fact that the camp got torn down and reassembled every day, it felt like a place. The tents all went up in the same order, with the Lances t...

Book 5 - Chapter 28

Early chapter. I'll be out of town Friday, so I'm pushing up the schedule by a day. Next chapter Thursday.

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The next day, Cid woke them up early to go see the city. Brin had assumed it was cursed or trapped or something, but apparently not. They rode their horses across the camp and when they reached the walls, no guard, monster, or curse rose to bar their way.

The walls were nothing special, just smooth concrete without buttresses or crenellations. Once inside, however, ...

Book 5 - Chapter 27

The journey back to the front was quick, distractingly so. The trip to the border felt normal, like they were just on another patrol, but as soon as they crossed into Arcaena Brin was struck with something like vertigo. The first time they'd made this trip it was step by bloody step, fighting in the mud while puking their guts out. Now that hard won land passed beneath their horses hooves with barely a thought. It was empty and tame, as if it weren't valuable, as if men hadn't died for every ...

Book 5 - Chapter 26

Sometimes patrons join my discord and they don't automatically get assigned the right roles. Let me know in a DM if you don't see the Patreon-Only channel and I'll get that fixed for you.

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In the end, they got off light. Sion didn't insist on divvying out a full twenty-five percent of his possessions, but he did give them each something as a thank-you gift. They were potions, mostly, but they were so perfect for each member of the Lance that the sheer foresight and thoughtfulnes...

Book 5 - Chapter 25

Brin still had hesitations about the idea of looting the town. Surely all of this belonged to the relatives of those who'd died? It was impossible to think that none of them had other family. This little hamlet had a small enough population and it was near enough to Fortmouth that he doubted it was as insular as the Bog towns. But no one else seemed to have any hangups.

"Will this place even have anything worth taking?" asked Govannon. "Other than Sion's treasure."

"Sion's treasur...

Book 5 - Chapter 24

Davi played his song. Brin wanted to make a request; the Doom theme would feel really cool right now, but his senses in the Wyrd were telling him to leave it to Davi to decide. He was the expert on that, after all.

As soon as he recognized the song, he knew it was the right decision. That was the Adventurer's Anthem, a song that complained about all the trials and inconveniences of a dangerous life on the road, set to peppy and upbeat dancing music. It fit the mood of the men pretty wel...

Book 5 - Chapter 23

Brin held the marble containing a little piece of primordial chaos for all to see. In all their faces, he saw a mirror of the awe that he felt whenever he gazed upon it. It didn't have a color, or a shape, and he couldn't say that it was bright or dark, but it also wasn't invisible. In fact, it was more visible than any of the real world around it. Even dormant and sleeping, the mote of chaos was the most visible thing he'd ever seen.

Davi flicked his eyes away as if offended. He made a...

Book 5 - Chapter 22

There were a few preparations to be made and Cid took care of them quickly. There were things that needed to be done in the commoners' camp, but that was where Sion was and they didn't want to tip him off about what they were up to. This was supposed to be a surprise, and if Sion found out about it, he'd definitely find some way to help.

Cid obtained a wagon, filled it with firewood, hired a few mundane horses to pull it, and enlisted two pages to help with leading the wagon and daily c...

Book 5 - Chapter 21

Back at the Order’s camp, Lyssa was waiting for them. She still had an arm in a cast, but Brin was glad to see she’d kept it at all. He wasn’t sure if the healers would be able to keep it. That wasn’t the only sign she wasn’t at her best. She still wore her heavy makeup but even with it Brin thought she looked exhausted, like she hadn’t slept at all since Galan was nearly assassinated.

“Come. I’ll escort you,” she said.

Cid looked like he wanted to follow the pag...

Book 5 - Chapter 20

The next battle was different. It started without the illusions. Instead of a wall of obscuring mist or a false army that stretched from horizon to horizon, the army of Arcaena approached in the open under the light of day.

Seeing them all at once made Brin shake his head in disbelief. This was it? This was the monstrous horde they'd been struggling against all this time? The Arcaenean army was tiny compared to the allies. He knew that there was a quality difference here. Arcaena's heav...

5 - Hogg Interlude - Part 2

If Hogg thought he was going to get to see what was inside the castle, he was disappointed. Instead, the illusion shifted and truly gargantuan tent walls seemed to grow out of the distant mountains and cover the entire world. All sorts of people and animals appeared. Herds of horses rode in rings, elephants stood on their hind legs, dragons climbed on themselves to form pyramids, and one truly massive mile-long dragon lazily let out a steady gout of flame that trapeze artists threw themselves...

Late Chapter notice

The chaos of the last couple days has left me out of time. I'll post the chapter tomorrow. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Book 5 - Hogg Interlude (Part 1)

This got a little long, so I'm posting it in two parts.

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The carriage rolled to a stop, crunching against the sandy dirt. Jeeves opened the door, and Hogg stepped down. His tendons popped as he stretched out his sore back and twisted his head around to work out the kinks. Long wagon rides were a literal pain in the neck, especially when the destination was as bleak as this one. The empty desert plains stretched for miles to end at the faint blue outlines of a mountain range in t...

Book 5 - Chapter 19

Brin didn't get anything from the meeting. The wards were too strong, but they dropped immediately when it was done and the aftermath told him nearly as much as the meeting might have. Down in a prominent position of the oval was a man who must be General Grimwalt. He was just like Lumina described; thin, dark, and severe-looking. He stood with a hand raised, still in the position of dismissing the meeting.

Galan stood behind him, looking as calm and confident as ever. Maybe it was Brin...

Book 5 - Chapter 18

Man, what a day. Sorry it's so late; I feel like I've done nothing but write for the last two days, but somehow the word count just hasn't been going up. If it makes you feel any better, the next chapter will be the last in Part 1, and then we'll have an interlude. A Hogg interlude.

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Brin entered the Commander's Camp to find a city of tents. Yes, there were tents everywhere in the rest of the camps, but those had a distinct "camp" feeling. This felt like a city. The tents were h...

Book 5 - Chapter 17

Brin arrived at the training ground just in time to hear a loud clang and see Aeron somersaulting backwards out of a dueling circle. Inside the circle, Cowl raised his heavy maul and a cheer went up, half astonished laughter, half wild roars of approval.

It was an impressive hit. Aeron had [Blade Mastery], and he was no slouch in training.

"Stop! Stop right there! I'm putting a stop to this!" an armored [Warrior] shouted. He was Isac, one of their trainers. He strode into the duel...

Book 5 - Chapter 16

Getting their horses back was just as much of a hassle as Cid expected, made worse by the fact that exposure to Eveladis meant that Brin hadn't actually kept an Invisible Eye watching them. As soon as the alchemical light faded Brin sent out a bunch of Invisible Eyes to look for them, but they seemed to have completely disappeared.

Cid talked to the hundred-man commander who'd drafted their Lance for the battle, and was directed to a stable worker who'd seen the horses last. The stable ...