Corwin Benedict

Risha Chapter 43

Risha woke to pain. The snow of the mountain had been placed against her skin, but she still burned with tormentous fire. 

Her vision went in and out, one second seeing Tya, the next a worried Glo. Her spiderlings never left her, always standing guard and brushing against her with their soft legs. 

Vaguely, she was aware that she’d leveled, just from escaping the fires of that angel. 

He’d only seen her for a moment, but that fire was so strong and unendin...

Risha Chapter 42

A/N 2/2 chapters today.

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Risha stood on the hilltop, surrounded by the commanders of her army. The sun had just begun to shine over the horizon, lighting up the world in a kaleidoscope of colors. The forest below them was carefully trapped with webs, a precaution in case of any kind of surprise attack.

In the distance, a small contingent of humans attempted to sneak through the trees, two drakes flying low over them. Kobolds led them through the many webbed traps that lin...

Risha Chapter 41

A/N: 1/2 chapters today

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Risha caught Elder Kulos’s eyes. He looked at her with an expression that was hard to describe, kind of like a grandpa annoyed with their grandchild. Risha got the feeling that he wasn’t happy with her newest choice of human allies. 

Risha turned away from the goblin’s gaze and walked back into the healing cabins. 

Tya waited past the curtain, her hands on her hips. 

She opened her mouth, but Risha held up her han...

Risha Chapter 40

Risha set down the wooden arrow she’d been carving, and stood up. “Where are they?”

The Goblin Warrior held the flap of the tent open for Risha as he responded, “They’re waiting in front of the gate.”

Risha grabbed her sword and tied it to her waist, then grabbed a spear as she stepped past the warrior. 

He followed behind Risha as she made her way towards the gate. Klu and Glo found her moments later, silently falling into step behind her. Risha thought abo...

Risha Chapter 39

With the orc’s warparty defeated, the fourth village of goblins were quickly brought into Risha’s ranks. They were upon the orc city hours later. 

Risha stared out at the city from a hilltop, her closest advisors arrayed around her. Klu stood closest to  her with his head bowed and Rilok kneeled next to him with his head lowered. Glo was on the other side of Risha, his arms crossed as he eyed the orc. Elder Kulos stood beside the general, his stance clear. Klaz’zks hung ...

Risha Chapter 38

Risha dodged another blade from the shadows, stepping back into the small area of visibility that Talo created. 

Risha glanced one more time at the man. His skin was pitch black, shadows twisting with each other in an ephemeral layer over his facial features. His eyes glowed a soft silver, in sharp contrast with the shadows that covered him.

Risha couldn’t look long, despite how fascinated she was with the effect. Instead, she focused back on the enemies that surrounded the...

Risha Chapter 37

Risha walked through the darkness, the eyes of her people watching her from the moonlight that was their only illumination. Fire would alert the enemy to their position and ruin their night vision, so Glo had forbidden their people from using it.

She arrived at the temporary command tent, and stepped inside. Her eyes took only a second to adjust to the complete darkness. 

Glo and Klu stood around a makeshift map, speaking in hushed whispers. They looked up, taking a moment to...

Risha Chapter 36

Risha let out a sigh, the last of the foreign people leaving her tent. It had been a long couple of hours, listening to their wishes, then speaking with Glo and Elder Kulos. 

The lizards had been the hardest. They seemed to dislike speaking with Risha, and had answered every question with the briefest explanation possible. The Dark Elves had been more willing to listen after Risha dropped Grand Mother Maya’s name, and had simply asked to be escorted to the caves in the mountains....

Book 1 is on Kindle Unlimited!

Hey folks, book one of Music Of An Immortal is up on Kindle Unlimited here:

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Reviews make all of the difference on KU, so if any of you have the time or inclination to go over there and write one, id appreciate it a ton. Thank you guys for all of the support ao far!

P.s. im planning on spending some time in the next two weeks to write a bunch of Moai and catch up on chapters. Thanks f...

Risha Interlude: War and Secret Societies

Alexandra pulled the mask of her hood up, covering her face. In front of her, a drunk man and woman stumbled out of a small wooden building, barely keeping their feet as they walked down the street of the border village. 

Leave it to soldiers to get drunk at the first opportunity. Alexandra shook her head, then pushed her way into the building. The pub smelled of the spices that were home to Alveron’s border towns. The pub’s owner hurried over to his kegs, refilling the drinks ...

Risha: Chapter 35

“Thank you, Elder.” Risha walked over to the Elder, and offered her hand to the kneeling High Goblin. He took the hand, and she lifted him to his feet, “Go to Glo, tell him about Kolo, and about my request of you.”

The Elder bowed his head, then turned to leave, the excitement of an outside party still making its way to her tent.

“Oh, one last thing, Elder.”  

Elder Kulos paused, and turned back to her.

“You look different,” Risha tilted her h...

Risha: Chapter 34

The warriors parted before Risha, bowing to her as she made her way through the returning raid party. 

Her spiderlings returned to her as she walked, crawling up her legs to hang from her silk cloak. Some were still elsewhere, but it seemed that they were just as curious as her about the slave wagons.

Glo met her at the back of the party, standing next to the wagons with several of his men. He gave her a bloody smile, proud of his success.

Risha tackled him in a hug. �...

Risha Interlude: Drake-Rider and Lalaila

Alexandra sat quietly, her fingers scratching the scales under her drake’s eye. The drake rumbled, almost like a purr, as it tilted its head into her hand. 

“I’m sorry Saya,” Alexandra said.

The drake opened its eyes to stare at its rider. “Why do you apologize?”

“It’s all my fault. My fault that we’re out here with slavers. My fault that you got poisoned like this.” Alexandra stopped scratching under Saya’s scales to lean against...

Risha Chapter 33

“But do we think that’s the best option? Bringing all of the new recruits into our ranks like that…” One of the Elders continued

Risha felt her eyes closing, but hurriedly snapped them open. The Elders had been discussing strategy for the better part of an hour, and after her speech, Risha could feel her exhaustion finally catching up with her.

A gentle hand on her shoulder brought her attention to Glo.

He motioned for her to follow him, and she did without much resi...

Risha: Chapter 32

“Prepare to die, monster!” The words were screamed with hatred, and Risha was surprised to discover that the human was female. Most of the humans she’d been fighting over the last four days had been male, and it was hard to tell through the gold and silver armor the flying warbeast riders wore.

The spear of fire flew forward. Risha drew back her arrow and loosed it in one smooth movement. 

The arrow hit the spear of flame, and the runes on it activated, exploding into a...

Risha Chapter 31

Risha stood up, stretching. The spiderlings that had snuck back onto her spidersilk cloak stretched and yawned with her. 

Klaz’zks waited for her nearby, her long legs curled around her humanoid form. On the other side of camp, Diel handled the newcomers and prepared them for a further retreat. 

Risha motioned for Klaz’zks to wait a moment as she made her way to Kolo.

Kolo sat next to a female orc in one of the hastily prepared healer beds, speaking to her in w...

Risha Chapter 30

Behind her arrow, followed a barrage, striking the humans, elves, and their horses. 

Risha pulled back another arrow as the humans shouted in surprise and turned to face the new threat. 

With a howl of rage, she activated the runes in her arrow and let it fly.
The arrow hit a shield of energy, exploding into blades of wind that cut past the barrier and into the flesh of her enemies. 

Then they were upon them. 

Risha let one last arrow fly befor...

Risha Chapter 29

Klaz’zks dropped down from the trees, landing softly next to Risha. Diel and Leaf-Watcher made their way over to her as well, the rest of their people forming behind them.

Risha kept walking, her gaze on the mountains they had just passed through “We’ll make base closer to the pass. Klaz’zks,” The spider tilted her head, “have the spiders work on defenses and keep a perimeter with our scouts.” The spider took to the trees, sprinting ahead of the rest of the army. “Diel, ...

Risha Chapter 28

Risha pulled her cloak tighter around her, her breath misting in the cold mountain air. She twisted her fingers, drawing her mana to create a small flame between her hands. The flame illuminated the many eyes of the spiderlings hanging onto her body.

Klaz’zks and Diel the Death Bringer stood beside her, looking at the landslide that blocked their path through the mountain pass. Leaf-Watcher lead goblins, orcs and kobolds in moving the snow and rocks, while four snow spiders and five o...

Risha Chapter 27

Risha’s injuries healed slowly, the old alpha’s anger not so easily gotten rid of. Risha had to admit that she was excited to see the scars that they would leave. Every scar was a sign of triumph for the goblin, reminding her of the battles she had fought for her people. These scars would be the largest she’d ever gotten, and Risha was sure that it would make her look extra cool. 

Unfortunately, with the injuries came a fussing old goblin who constantly checked in on Risha. T...

Risha: Interlude - Sun Chaser, Elder Oltak

The large Grey Lupus Kobold glared at Sun-Chaser, his gaze speaking of his hatred for their new leader.

Sun-Chaser returned the gaze calmly, her fingers twirling behind her back as mana flowed through her. 

“Traitor!” The kobold growled his words. “You turned against the true alpha, to have us twisted unnaturally. Look at us! They are supposed to be followers, little more than wolves. You take the power rightfully given to the alphas and give it to runts, who should liv...

Risha Chapter 26

It hurt to walk, but Risha hid the pain as best she could. Behind her, all the goblins, kobolds, orcs and spiders stood somberly. 

A large pyre burned, the smoke reaching into the sky. The first rays of the sun lit the forest leaves, barely peeking through the clouds.

The forest was quiet except for the cackles of the wood. Risha looked at it, wondering at everything. The last few conversations had her questioning all her decisions. She’d led them to their death, and they�...

Risha Chapter 25

Before Risha could say anything more to Elder Tya, Sun-Chaser returned to the tent with Klu and Glo. Behind them were three unevolved kobolds, just a little larger than the goblins used to be. 

Risha wished she could stand to fully examine the kobolds, but the careful eye of Tya stopped her. She settled for examining them from where she sat. She hadn’t seen many of the unevolved creatures, since they were kept in tight line by their packs. The smaller kobolds bowed their heads in...

Risha Chapter 24

The Goblin Elders stood across from the Evolved Kobolds, the Spider Queen watching from the tree branches above with her three representatives standing above the goblins who were used to the monstrous beasts.Klu stood alone with only the Death-Bringer Diel standing a few feet behind him. Glo had regained most of his health and stood next to the goblins while staring at the kobolds with his bandaged arms crossed. 

Sun-Chaser looked over her people, then cleared her throat, “First,...

Risha Chapter 23

The room fell into silence. Earth-Shaker shot one last glance at Sun-Chaser, who kept her eyes averted, then walked out of the tent. 

Risha looked at Elder Kulos, who gulped under her gaze. “Find my armor.” She turned her attention to Sun-Chaser. “Follow me.”

Risha grabbed her sword and walked out of the tent after the large kobold. The wound on her stomach hurt, but she just used the pain to fuel her as she walked towards a large clearing where wolves, goblins, and s...

Risha Chapter 22

Risha felt the wind rush past her as the spiderling she rode on descended the cliff face. 

Enemy warbeasts climbed up to meet her, only for her children to drop down on them and kill them and their riders instantly. 

She felt energy flow through her as her smile grew with her bloodlust. She lifted her arms above her head, moving them through forms that felt natural, each movement flowing into the next without conscious thought.. 

Fire grew at her fingertips as...

Risha Chapter 21

“No Klu.” Risha turned away, looking over all of the injured orcs and goblins laid out on furs next to the river. Most of them were healed, and just resting. Only Tya and a couple of her assistants were here to heal. The rest of the healers were supporting the frontline, fighting off the offensive that had drawn Glo’s attention. She turned back to Klu and the chained up orcs. “They are your responsibility.” 

Klu was shocked by her words, and couldn’t stop the increase o...

Risha Chapter 20

Dilo gasped for air as he brought his head out of the water. Kyra came up a second later, spluttering as she gasped for air. He held on tight to her while wedging a foot into a rock so that they wouldn’t be pulled away by the fast moving current.

Dilo turned in a slow circle, looking for the orcs that had been on their trail for the last two weeks of running. His eyes pierced the darkness well thanks to his Scout evolution. He heard the sounds and saw the lights of the army in the dis...

Risha Chapter 19

The next day, they set out. The goblins who would be staying behind cheered for the army as they marched. Unevolved goblin children watched from behind their mothers, while craftsmen and laborers worked hard to prepare the city for a possible retreat. 

It was an army to behold.

Smaller spiders skittered through the High Goblin warriors, Spider Tamers sitting comfortably on top of them. War Spiders stepped over everyone, entire bands of goblins riding on them as they made thei...

Risha Chapter 18

High Goblin Scout Dilo held onto the tree tight, his grip pushing into the bark as he held his breath. 

Under him, a scouting party of orcs walked carefully through the undergrowth. The party was five orcs strong, with two chained spiders being ridden by orcs. The orc riders were covered in reddish-brown paint… at least Dilo hoped it was paint. The orcs moved cautiously, almost as if they were searching for something. Dilo don’t know how they’d caught the Goblin’s trail. Bu...