The scent of blood and mildew hung heavy in the air. I held a small spark of violet flame in my hand, keeping it covered, trying to manage the light, so it only illuminated our immediate surroundings. My heart had been racing just minutes ago on our approach to the crypt, but now that we were inside, it was slow, and steady. I wore my anger like a wreath, allowing the umbra to erode and degrade any emotions that were no longer useful. Thoth was my enemy. My greatest foe. There wa...
2021-11-11 05:22:46 +0000 UTC
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The smoke pooled on the ceiling of the chamber. I swung the door wide, but there was so much of it that barely mattered. For a fleeting moment, I was back in Whitefall, in the middle of the carnage, watching as my home burned down to nothing. A pair of infernals laughed as they strode through the corridors, setting humans alight like timber. One of them elbowed the other, pointing out a fleeing serving girl, and set her smock aflame. They howled with mirth as the serving girl panicked, tryin...
2021-11-06 02:42:22 +0000 UTC
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There was no hostility between us. From what Infaris had said, this was meant to be Thoth’s final vision. The one that she failed. I watched through her eyes as she responded to this older, more seasoned version of myself. Cairn nodded, asked something unintelligible, though I think I picked up the word “eaten”. Thoth shook her head, and Cairn turned, seized a yellow-red apple from the basket, and tossed it to her. Thoth bit into it.
What was this? Where was the fear, the hostil...
2021-11-04 04:21:50 +0000 UTC
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The chamber was hexagonal. Its floor comprised a thin glass-like surface, and beyond its transparency was endless darkness below. I recognized it immediately as the void that I had returned to, so many times. The walls were painted in a vibrant collage of crimson, violet, and indigo. Depictions of horned figures on either side started as cave drawings, almost too rudimentary to recognize as infernal, then grew in complexity until they were as magnificent as the highest art. Vario...
2021-11-03 04:44:21 +0000 UTC
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The next trial was one of strength. Undead beastmen, furred, standing on horses feet and armed with axes came at us in droves. Individually, they weren’t particularly strong. But the insidiousness of the trial became clear. The physical requirement was significant in these portions, but still required some semblance of thought. The fountains mired us in the past, eroding our psyche, while the active trials required a clear head and total sharpness.
Lillian haunted my thoughts. My mi...
2021-11-03 04:43:01 +0000 UTC
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I stood across from Xarmos, watching his sword hand out of the corner of my eye.
“The trials of Infaris are known for this. Pulling in individuals from different points in history, allowing them to collide. It’s the only thing that makes sense.” The infernal seemed irritable at himself for not realizing it sooner. “The amount of outside help you seem to have. A bound demon, the dantalion flame—yes, I recognized the magic you imbued into that stone—the knowledge of our cult...
2021-10-30 02:12:24 +0000 UTC
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They were indeed serpents. Massive, fiery beasts with scales of glass and eyes of diamond. They were far more active than one would expect of their lazier, surface-dwelling counterparts. As they moved in their erratic, palsied way, their black shadowy tongues flicked out, sensing the surrounding air, as if anything could be gleaned from the fire they’d left in their wake. They were mostly silent, save the rare echoing hiss that carried with it the air pressure of an approaching monsoon.
2021-10-29 01:29:51 +0000 UTC
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Startled and shaking from the close call, it took a long time for my mind to correctly interpret what my eyes were seeing. The infernal before me wasn’t a younger version of Ralakos. He’d looked identical at first glance, but as I took him in more and more, the differences became more stark. His mouth was sterner, and his eyebrows more defined. Still, the resemblance was significant to the point where I couldn’t help but stare.
“You’re looking at me like you know me, but I’m...
2021-10-20 08:28:04 +0000 UTC
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Between the ingredients I’d brought into the sanctum, the Savannah’s Emerald and the more recent acquisition of the Bounty Caps, I had everything I needed to brew four potions of expansion, and a potential solution for a long-running problem. The concept itself was simple: expand the soul’s mana pathways throughout the body. If the process was as simple as that, I would have paid an ungodly amount for them, as would every other infernal in the enclave.
But on top of the fact tha...
2021-10-19 01:49:35 +0000 UTC
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The theory was more of a hunch. I hadn’t shared it, partially because there was some part of me that suspected it was far too paranoid, partially because I wanted desperately to be wrong.
It stemmed from the sanctum’s reputation. Rumors that hadn’t reflected reality. I had been told—originally by Morthus, then practically everyone I spoke to on the topic afterward—that the sanctum was not to be taken lightly. It was a trial by fire for the infernals, after all. It was said t...
2021-10-19 01:48:00 +0000 UTC
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“It felt like it took months to get down that mountain,” Jorra complained. But his words didn’t hold the same bite as before, feeling more as if they were directed at the sanctum itself than any of us. “Also, we’re underground. And yet, big snowy mountains. It makes no sense.”
“Oh?” Bell piped up, her eyes crinkling in a smile. The traditional braid that followed behind her bobbed back and forth as we walked. “And the desert was so logical? And the spooky ...
2021-10-15 21:56:00 +0000 UTC
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Hi. It’s been a while. Short version, I was nearly homeless for a bit, and managed to grab a place in a different state. Everything has settled now. Monarch has a publishing deal in the works, and I’m committed to the story, so we’ll be pushing hard to get back to a consistent output. Here’s a quick recap on prior events to bring you up to speed:
Last we left them, Cairn, Jorra, and Bell had entered the sanctum—a place of infernal study and learning...
2021-09-12 17:44:43 +0000 UTC
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There was no grotesque shifting and splitting of limbs as there had been with the other abominations, nor did cowl hold any of the strange, disquieting animal quality of the infernal’s transformation. But his eyes grew a deep red, his body sagging and shuddering.
He glanced up at the cascading paper birds lit with demon-fire, and seemed to come to the same conclusion as me. Time was the enemy.
With reckless abandon, he threw himself towards me, and our careful dance...
2021-07-01 22:50:03 +0000 UTC
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She was Sera of House Gil. First of her name. The lioness of lightning. The tainted scion. Admittedly, the last moniker had brought her no small measure of grief. But the whispers had given her strength. The rumors and muttering common amongst both nobles and common folk had become the kiln in which she stoked her anger, giving her something to rebel against, a fire of anger to hold to her breast and stoke, waiting for the day she might give it light.
Sera had always reveled in the wa...
2021-07-01 22:47:58 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 4.
As I stared at the reward, I knew the system had me. If it was anything other than cold hard cash, I might have ignored it. But that didn’t change the fact that there were several elements that were causing for concern.
<Local User Notification:>
Rogue bounty at 1400 Vinewood Drive, due north.
Threat Level: Low
Time Limit: Until a condition is met.
Conditions: Neutralize or Terminate.
Reward: EXP (S), $10,000
<Notificatio...
2021-06-23 22:10:04 +0000 UTC
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103. Sanctum XXVIII
You hate him because he resonates. A magician who lacks in sheer power, and resorts to tactics and manipulation of those weaker than him to achieve his goals. Children. Because he represents the logical conclusion of your abilities as they are now, taken as far as they can go. Based on what I know about you, about what I’ve heard, he is you, albeit in a twisted and dark mirror.
And you don’t like yourself very much, do you, young prince?...
2021-06-23 22:01:51 +0000 UTC
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102. Sanctum XXVII
Frigid air rushed by my ears as I fell into the newly created chasm. I pinwheeled in the air, rotating in vain, trying to visually locate the cowled magician. There was a red glow as I pushed mana through the inscription on my left arm, summoning fingers growing long and pointed as I summoned the demonic gauntlet, dark metal materializing over the length of my arm, extending my fingers in razor sharp claws.
The molten anger in my chest intensified with every p...
2021-06-23 01:53:21 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 3
There was a slight distortion that left my hand like a tiny heatwave. Nothing happened. SWAT guy smiled and pulled the trigger. There was an ear shattering crack and the gun exploded. A flare ejected out the side closest to SWAT guy’s arm. A misfire. He shrieked and fell, slapping at the growing flames on his arm.
I gawked at the scene. Holy shit. Either the rifle had misfired on its own, or something else had tipped the scales. Probability spiral—
I staggere...
2021-06-18 17:38:48 +0000 UTC
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101. Sanctum XXVI
The number of questions I had left for Morthus bordered on the hundreds. But I was tired of leaving blood in my wake. The longer I stayed, the bigger risk I ran of repeating prior events. The cowled magician was out there, searching. He’d likely been spying on us for quite some time. Possibly seen the direction we’d gone.
With enough information, whatever magic and wards protected the tower didn’t matter. He would find us, and reenact the...
2021-06-18 17:32:47 +0000 UTC
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AN: This is a new project. During hiatus, I was blocked and started writing something a little less intensive than Monarch for fun. I've never written a LITRPG and thought I'd try my hand at it. Basic description: What if a LITRPG took place in the real world, and fantasy elements started to blend over. It's darker in tone. Main influences are Code Geass and a bit of Mr. Robot. You guys are the first to read this so I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Chapter 1.
Have you ever ...
2021-06-18 00:49:45 +0000 UTC
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I felt that familiar tear within my mind again. I held on to the wooden railing of Morthus’s sick bed as the world reeled.
Despite knowing how far Thoth was beyond me, it was hard to accept. I had known that our fight would be difficult, nigh impossible. But knowing the cold reality made it all so much worse. So much about her actions made sense now. Her hesitation to kill me, despite being at her mercy more than once. It wasn’t about toying with me. That was just a bon...
2021-06-17 23:58:50 +0000 UTC
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I thought that I was over it. That I’d taken all the baggage of my past life and learned to channel it, use it productively.
But as I watched Thaddeus, sitting there smugly amongst the others, I realized that wasn't true. I could never forgive him for what he did.
It didn't help that he was very hands-on with Barion, giving him little glances, knowing nods, even a friendly touch on the shoulder from time to time. They were clearly friends, closer than anyone at the table, incl...
2021-05-29 22:35:41 +0000 UTC
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It was an old legend that came to mind, as the infernal guards walked me down the never-ending hall. A story my mother had told me a different version of on more than one occasion. As far as I knew, it had no bearing in reality. Just another human fable couched in faux history. Yet, it came to mind just the same.
Iona was the goddess of twilight. The rare few graced with her presence described her as terribly beautiful. The sort of beauty that haunted one’s waking hours and followed t...
2021-05-21 18:56:17 +0000 UTC
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Veldani’s alchemical set up dwarfed any I’d ever worked with. It made Casikas’s setup look almost childish in comparison. Countless beakers, alembics, and clear tubing scattered the workspace, which was as sprawling as it was organized. Normally, I’d be thrilled, possibilities for new or improved potions running through my mind.
But I could barely pay attention. The question of the metamorphosis cult and how they tied in with Thoth, as well as why she was now hunting and killi...
2021-05-17 23:14:02 +0000 UTC
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Bacchus looked different. It was hard to tell from if lines around his eyes were from growth general exhaustion. I’d seen him once after bringing him back to the enclave, then he’d entered the sanctum ahead of me. He carried himself differently now. When I’d approached him at the bookshop—before he knew who I was—he had a hunched, aloof manner about him. Now his shoulders were squared, his manner cautious but more confident as a whole.
“What were those things?” I asked.
2021-05-14 20:53:01 +0000 UTC
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The shadow of unresolved differences hung over the group like a shroud, exacerbating existing issues that contributed to the mounting tension. We had pushed hard into the sanctum and hadn’t stopped for more than a few hours each night to rest, forcing us to adapt with little downtime. Even Maya had stated that the pace felt dangerously rushed compared to the expeditions she’d been on prior. Previously, Thoth’s cowled mage had served as an unknown threat—motivation to push us forward ...
2021-04-26 22:46:06 +0000 UTC
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It was too close, by a magnitude of numbers that I did not dare to calculate. Instead, images flashed in my mind, underlining the harrowingly thin line between survival and destruction.
Catching the electric orb with my gauntlet was repeatable—ensuring that the bolt of discharge hit the nearby tree, showering the abomination with sparks and throwing off its aim, was not. Kastramoth, likewise, could not be relied upon to finish the abominations in a timely manner. But the crowning im...
2021-04-23 22:47:04 +0000 UTC
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It’s strange how differently circumstances play out given the smallest changes. With every iteration, I could see the lesson more clearly. It was impossible to completely control the way a battlefield played out. There were too many variables. Too many ways that things could go wrong. I couldn’t save everyone. With every iteration, I felt the coldness in my gut grow deeper and deeper. It’s impossible to compare two tragedies, but if I were to compare what was happening now with what wa...
2021-04-16 16:09:42 +0000 UTC
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Hi all,
First, I just want to say thanks for sticking with me so far. The last few months have blown by. I've been wanting to do more Patreon exclusive content for a while, but enclave was, in a lot of ways, a constant blackhole that required multiple rewrites and extra time. Sanctum is a lot less taxing, so I figure now would be a good time to start banging out some side stories and fleshing out the world a bit more. I have some great ideas for all of the options listed below, so I'm e...
2021-04-15 06:50:24 +0000 UTC
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As I stepped away from Maya, a familiar numbness set in. Everything felt faraway, distant, as if it didn’t matter. None of it mattered. I shook my head to clear the malaise, and when that didn’t work, slapped myself. Now wasn’t the time to slip. If I was going to take this risk, I needed to put contingencies in place.
I approached Kastramoth. My feet felt heavy, as if I was walking through a swamp. Kastramoth didn’t look at me. Rather, his posture was solely focused on her.
2021-04-15 03:59:50 +0000 UTC
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