Ekological Chimera

Chapter 30 - Plans

We rode silently through the night as I mulled over our next course of action. The deer were the wrong approach. A useful test, to be sure, one which would be quite useful once I finally started transforming the dogs, but I did not need control now, not truly. I would return to my original idea. Something big to rampage through enemy ranks, and as this test proved, something to distract the enemy mage, lest my monster be turned to cinders before it achieved anything.

I felt reasonably c...

Chapter 29 - The Hell Beasts of Erlenwald

The sorcerer, Wenceslaus, wiped his runny nose on his star-adorned robe. Garrik did his best to ignore the old man as he rode alongside him while the infantry slowly marched. King Severin had to part with a very nice sum of gold to get the geriatric to help them, something which did not sit well with Garrik. To serve one's country was the highest calling.

As the commander in charge of the punitive force, it fell to him to unite all the disparate troops clandestinely serving under Nazair...

Chapter 28 - Battle Plans

“Let’s move this somewhere more private, Faoiltiarna,” I responded.

We quickly made our way back to my tent. Both the elf and my Guard Captain entered after me. For his part, Isengrim barely raised an eyebrow when he saw the dismembered leshen. 

I barely noticed his reaction.

“The other army,” I stated calmly, “could you,” I paused, “expand upon that, please?”

“I could, " the elf answered with a smile that looked more like a grimace on his scar...

Chapter 27 - Housebreaking

“What the fuck!” Exclaimed the nobleman, before an icicle the size of a fist hit him in the chest, throwing him off his feet.

Cyril gave him a sympathetic look. 

With the addition of five hundred new soldiers, their leader had decided that they should return to their roots, so to speak. 

So they were digging holes again. 

Some of the new knights, led by the Baron himself, had tried protesting at first. Cyril thought their arguments had some merit, as...

Patreon update

I'll be implementing some changes to my Patreon:

1. Discord - There is now a Discord, with Patreon membership granting you access to exclusive channels (if I've set up everything properly). The bot likely added you to the server if you have your account linked with patreon.

2. New tier - the Supreme Barrage Afficionado tier (10$), 11 chapters ahea...

Chapter 26 - Reinforcements

Small Patreon update: There is now a Discord with Patreon-exclusive channels (I would appreciate feedback on this. I've set it up using the Patreon guide, so hopefully it works) and a new tier with more chapters. Details in a separate, pinned post. If your Discord is linked to your Patreon, the bot possibly already added you to the server.

______________________________...

Chapter 25 - Interlude: Wolves

“How long are we going to rot in this place, Isengrim? Can’t we at least check out the castle?” A female voice spoke smoothly, though Isengrim wasn’t fooled. 

Turning his head towards the woman sitting on a fallen tree, he mustered up his best glare. 

Aevinne’s posture radiated relaxation as she played with her black braid, her bow sitting unstrung next to her. The young elf met his glare with large eyes radiating innocence. 

“The castle,” he spo...

Chapter 24 - Monster Lessons

Shortly before we passed Hochebuz, I judged the purpose of my first set of training exercises complete. The men were reforged, if not in ability, then in trust of their fellows. Standouts were picked out for leadership roles, basic experience with the wagon fort and general camp order was learned. Perhaps more importantly, I doubted any of the soldiers would go against my orders any time soon. 

While I did not have a great understanding of spearmanship or archery, I was lucky enoug...

FYI: Subscription through the Apple/IOS Patreon app

Apple charges a brutal 43% fee for purchases made through their store, so if you subscribe through the IOS patreon app, you will end up paying more (6 USD vs 4 USD - which is the actual price - if I understand correctly). Apple pockets the difference. On top of that, Apple keeps the money you send for a whopping 75 days before sending it onwards.

TL:DR - If you subscribe through the IOS patreon app you will pay more while I get the same amount. I recommend subscribing through a browser....

Chapter 23 - For Peace and Retirement

I sat on a black horse a few hundred meters outside of Cintra's walls in my new armour. My shoulder still twinged, but the crossbow bolt had been removed and the armour patched up. Djikstra's own assassin had been a stroke of luck. I couldn't use Grealghane on my own assailants, considering the commotion I had caused, so the other assassin presented a perfect opportunity. Unfortunately, while the spell had not yielded much, it seemed that the man was really sent by the Duke of Attre....

Chapter 22 - Spy games

“Sigi” POV:

Sigismund Dijkstra calmly wiped his dagger, staring at the crumpled corpse of the ‘servant. ’ 

He had known something was fishy about the invitation. The Duke of Attre approaching a lowly ‘ambassador’, even if through a servant, had not sat right with him. Still, the opportunity had been enticing, especially since the bait, the topic of their conversation, was supposed to be Degurechaff herself. 

Dijkstra hadn’t expected the servant to try...

Chapter 21 - Round 3

My eyes were closed, my focus fully on fastening my armour. It had taken me a while to get the hang of it, but with the occasional use of telekinesis, I managed well enough. 

Once it was on, I stretched just to refresh the range of motion in my mind. It would have been more prudent to train in it more before leaving, alas, there had not been time. I’d have to familiarise myself with it properly on the march. 

Satisfied, I grabbed the staff, now with a giant, spherical ...

Chapter 20 - Armouring Up

“Viktoriya, heel,” the young wolfdog obeyed, following beside me. I had quickly started taking turns when it came to taking the dogs around, as walking around with the full group of five barely trained puppies was an ordeal. The kennel master was helping me with their training, but the matter still took a chunk of my time. 

On the plus side, the Princess clearly liked them.  

I moved with purpose through the city streets, the group of guards surrounding me preve...

Chapter 42 - Veni, Vidi

“You missed,” Ashwood commented as Jane entered the repurposed shuttle. The Fira Class shuttle was hidden inside a forest, a whole hill away from the Temple. As it was currently serving as the center their field headquarters, Ashwood wasn’t taking any chances. 

Normally, it’d be both safer and more convenient for the Colonel to command things from orbit, especially considering the non-existent countermeasures the locals possessed to electronic communications. Unfortunately,...

DoC: Chapter 19 - Sigi 

“So, Sigi, was it?” I spoke, my eyes not leaving the witcher as he readied his weapons, a simple manipulation of air keeping my words from reaching the witcher’s ears. 

I had put the rat to sleep beforehand, so he had some time to prepare. 

Of course, that’d skew the results somewhat, but frankly, I didn’t care too much about the rat’s combat potential. The rodents were always just a stepping stone. 

No, I was sure that seeing a witcher in action w...

Chapter 41 - The Beginning of the End

The Custodian watched as her soldiers streamed to the First Temple from the surrounding forts, sitting on the top of her still-damaged tower.

There just wasn’t much point in wasting manpower defending those when the effectiveness of their defense would rise tenfold thanks to her presence. The Temple itself, though it possessed a barracks, could not house the thousands of men ready to die in its defense. 

As such, the majority of them were positioned in and around the Temple...

SE: Chapter 40 - Interlude VI: Finlay

A knight stood in the middle of a snow-covered forest, her armour battered and bloodied, a Terran rifle slung over her shoulder. As she thought of what to do next, pieces of paper started falling from the sky like snow.

Finlay’s armoured hand grabbed a descending flier, her deep blue eyes quickly scanning over it.

‘Do you really wish to die for an uncaring God? There are no famines or disease in the Republic, can your so-called divinity say the same?’

Below th...

Chapter 39 - Interlude V: Jane

Lieutenant Moira Jane did not sigh, for even such an action required mental effort for a being like her, but she certainly would have, were she still fully human. 

Adjusting the sack on her shoulders, she resumed her track towards the nearest town. Well, the locals called it a city, but calling a tiny settlement like that a city did not sit well with her. 

With no electricity, there was, of course, no lighting. As such, the road was completely dark, with nary a traveller...

SE: Chapter 38 - All is Fair In Love and War

Navarro’s eyes widened as he beheld the shining, blood-stained figure. Their armour was dented all over and the blood made it seem as if the engraved eyes were crying. One arm hung limply, while the other clutched a longsword. 

The figure’s head turned towards him, the knight’s blazing silver eyes meeting Navarro’s own. His eyes narrowed as the knight pointed his sword at him. 

The Terran officer looked around. Most of the natives in between had run away or died,...

Chapter 18 - The Witcher

Coen played with his griffin medallion as he read the notice on the board.

‘Witcher wanted

TASK: Extermination of a mutated rat the size of a small cow, contained

REWARD: 100 Ducats

Healing of any sustained injuries will be provided free of charge

For details, see the Court Sorceress, Tanya von Degurechaff’

He knew enough to smell a metaphorical rat, but money was tight. Normally, he did not venture this far ...

Chapter 17 - Puppies

I frowned, looking at the litter of yipping Wolfdog puppies stuffed into a basket. I was outside of Cintra’s castle, having just purchased the creatures and I could already tell that they would be more trouble than I had expected. 

Though my experimentation with the Double Cross had yet to bear fruit, my hypothesis required dogs as loyal and as well-trained as possible, which meant puppies. Puppies and years of caring for them. 

I had already pestered the royal kennelm...

Chapter 16 - Interlude: The Iron Wolf

“Do you remember Ithline’s prophecy, Isengrim Faoiltiarna?” Ida Emean asked the elven warrior as she approached the heart of Shaerrawedd’s ruins. The destroyed city sat deep in the forests of Kaedwen and the two were in its heart, in the middle of a once grand marble palace.

Isengrim ignored her, carefully placing a white rose at the feet of a large block of marble with a relief of a beautiful elvish woman carved upon its side, her sad face gazing at the viewer. The relief was o...

Chapter 15 - Damn you, Being X!

I had worked my way up to rat seventeen before I decided to call it a day. Only rat thirteen had exploded and that had been a deliberate test on my part. I was confident I now understood the issue there and could account for it in the future. 

It was a mistake in the part of the spell which should have helped adapt the creature to a steady draw and diet of magic. Instead of doing that, it supercharged the rat’s stomach and guts, rapidly enlarging them. 

The mutations w...

Chapter 14 - The Audience II

The Baron nodded, “See, young maiden, things are like this,” he raised a hand, palm up, “This is royal influence,” he explained, before raising his other hand, balled into a fist, “This is the aristocracy. Now, let’s see what’d happen if the influence of her Ever-Incandescent Royal Majesty rose even closer to the sun.” 

Then he raised his palm up slightly, before hammering it with his fist back down. 

“Incandescent?” The Queen murmured, narrowing her ...

Chapter 13 - The Audience

Calanthé POV

The Queen looked at her new Court Sorceress, one of her fake smiles plastered on her face. 

Tanya von Degurechaff gazed back with a cold gaze, completely indifferent. 

Calanthé wondered again how she had miscalculated so badly when she requested her from Aretuza. Her own mother had been great friends with the current Rectoress and a few other sorceresses besides, so finding a graduate suitable for her purposes had been as si...

Chapter 12 - The Difficulties of Court Life

The next few days passed quickly. I had decided to look into the matter of Sources more on my own before bothering Tissaia again, but both the Cintran library and my own modest collection proved less than helpful.

While I was able to glean some new insights from my copy of Ard Aercane, one of the oldest books about magic, what I really desired was comprehensive advice in dealing with young, unawakened Sources. Ard Aercane only had some advice on training the already aw...

Chapter 11 - Source of Trouble

The next day, Haxo came to collect me early, “The Queen would like you to meet and examine the Princess,” the Castellan explained. 

He looked me up and down, “And you should really get more formal clothes fitted soon, Lady Sorceress. I can recommend a few tailors.”

I looked down at my travelling clothes and conceded his point. I wouldn’t be getting any dresses, obviously, but sorceresses were already expected to be eccentric. I could get some fancy riding clothes or...

Chapter 10 - Okay Google

“The name Coehoorn sounds familiar, give me a moment, dear,” Tissaia said, her steam image dissolving. 

A few minutes later she came back, holding a book. 

“This is an armorial of the southern kingdoms, though it covers genealogy too,” she explained, rapidly flicking through the book. 

“Coehoorn, Coehoorn…” She muttered, “Ah! Here. Noble family of Nilfgaard, seat of power in the Capital, two main branches. Known members Carl, Isaiah, Menno, Ald...

Chapter 9 - Calanthé Fiona Riannon

Sometime later, I found myself kneeling in a chamber alone with the Queen who lounged on her throne. The second throne was conspicuously empty. 

Seeing my glance, the ashen-haired Queen broke her silence, “Kingly duties do not suit my husband, except the one,” she winked at me, “You will meet Roegnar once he comes back from his hunting trip, but until then, you’ll have to be content with this poor Queen.” 

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so I stayed sil...

Sleeping Eternity: Chapter 37 - The Weight of Bodies

Frederick’s head snapped upwards as another explosion shook the sky, a shimmering shield intercepting the strike a safe distance away. Luckily, the Custodian had not abandoned them. The young knight had no idea how his meagre power would contend with such powerful weaponry, but he didn’t have high hopes.

He wasn’t doubting Eternity’s power, of course, merely his own mortal flesh.

Returning his gaze to the fortress, he winced. It was a miserable sight. The front walls had e...