Chapter Seventy-Five
Jessica was the last person Harmony expected to approach her after she used dust to cover Len’s Statue’s bits with makeshift pants. “Are you okay, Harmony? That statue was intense.” The sunfire berzerker asked.
“Probably the spirit's idea of a joke. I am the only necromancer here.” The deflection came out too quickly, naturally filtered through an underlying activity of [Poise and Bearing] and [Style and Grace]. No, her former co-worker didn'...
2025-03-03 14:36:15 +0000 UTC
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Seventy-Four
Max stumbled back into the group with a staggered step like he'd been hit in the head several times past too many.
“Check if he’s possessed!” Hagzul shrieked.
“He’s not,” Harmony assured the spirit. “How are you feeling Max?”
“Like I’m the jailer to a horny, violent, mass murderer who whispers the most inappropriate things into my ear. But I’ve got this.”
Jessica scooted away from the agent and closer to Tyler. “How about we...
2025-02-28 14:23:34 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Seventy-Three
The dream scenario for Max, Len, Rose, and Tyler quickly succumbed to reality as geists stopped coming. Spirits and geists tended to only be tier-one entities, and they needed stronger than that to compete. That didn’t mean they ignored other plans using the book Thorne had lent them for the expedition.
“This is a terrible idea,” Hagzul commented.
Len’s newly bonded spirit provided details the book didn’t have. He explained that half of their ...
2025-02-26 14:18:45 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Seventy-Two
“Which one of you is my path out of this cursed woods?” The large mostly-translucent orb of a creature with eyes dotting its limbless body demanded, blocking the path forward.
Len had the book out and started flipping through the pages of the creature compendium for the Deadwoods.
“Hazgul Keist. Tier two geist. Careful, the book lists him as hostile, otherwise he would be on our list.” Len reads
“Hostile! Hostile! You would be hostile too ...
2025-02-24 14:26:18 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Seventy-One
It tickled.
'You. You. You. You. You.'
If chronostasis wasn’t on it would be an unintelligible buzz as spirits streamed into, around, and sometimes through her. That was where the tickling happened, vague interactions as two spiritual containers interacted. Both are real but out of phase. When she needed to use soul strike, she needed to adjust for that. It was like squeezing all your muscles tense, but with a snap, she stopped the ...
2025-02-21 14:38:33 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Seventy
The large insect spirit who’d disrupted Harmony’s sleep sat perched on the foot of her cot. “Jin wishes to see you at the Grave Society house.” Its black semi-translucent form buzzed with necromantic energy.
Everyone else got to sleep. If this wasn’t worth it, Jin would wish he’d never made this request. Stripping her nightgown, Night snapped into place. Tapping into [Final Silence] she made sure her exit wouldn't disturb anyone as she muted...
2025-02-19 14:17:45 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Sixty-Nine
“Welcome to Fort Rabble. Get in here before it gets dark!” That was all the greeting the scruffy Sun Temple guard gave them as he ushered everyone in. The wooden wall circling the fort with its single entrance was painted with so many wards, blessings, and charms against undead that it made Harmony’s nose itch. Adric crossed a strip of warding across the entrance threshold like it was nothing before they slammed the gate shut.
Three Sun Temple ...
2025-02-17 16:30:58 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Sixty-Eight
One arm around Adric’s waist while riding double on Bowe’s back wasn’t the most comfortable way Harmony had ever traveled. [Shadowed Graves] cast a long shadow over their journey and allowed Hyacinth to travel with them swimming forward with his skills. To keep it going the shadow toad was extra vigilant in killing prey animals along the way. Plenty of scavengers around to feed on as he left his trail of disemboweled and broken corpses.
Rose, Len, Max, an...
2025-02-14 16:09:02 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Sixty-Seven
Even sitting, Countess Maye was still taller than her. “I was surprised when my niece delivered your letter with an offer to parley.”
Princess Rosaline coming through was unexpected. She'd been distant when they've crossed paths recently since her outburst. But she delivered the letter and Harmony had her meeting at the very public Golden Flower Cafe.
“I felt we should talk. After all, we both want what is best for our dear Prince Adric....
2025-02-12 14:38:24 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Sixty-Six
What a rot-ridden dream. Bloody vivid. Harmony opened her eyes with a deep breath, and there it was, a hint of death and that tang of copper and blood in the air. “Delve me.”
At the edge of the room, half covered in shadow, Maxwell labored with ragged breaths, an empty healing potion by his side. His slumped-over form was nearly unmoving.
Jumping out of bed, Harmony equipped Night, quicker than getting dressed, and rushed over. [Renew Spirit]...
2025-02-10 14:39:18 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Sixty-Five
[Mend] stitched up the nasty cut from the big squirt's last water blade. [Small Armor] not being able to fully block attack was compounded by the fact the cutting power curved and bent getting around spots where her armor should have had coverage. As fondly and spiritually attached to Night as she was, it was hard not to be frustrated at not having more practical armor.
Failing to defeat the guardian again without sacrificing one of her after [Stride] was more a...
2025-02-07 14:36:27 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Sixty-Four
After last night's near-disastrous group meeting, Harmony needed time to herself. Ambrosia had another concert, making her busy tonight singing with the Flows. It was time to tackle her greatest rival. In a bubble bath, Harmony finally cracked open Thibodeux on Evolution and started to read.
Evolution: a natural biological progression triggered by achieving your twenty-fifth level in both class and profession. No different from getti...
2025-02-05 14:57:27 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Sixty Three
Not all the mossifants burst nicely. There were too many self-checking skills for Harmony to ignore the irritation at certain princesses' oversized reactions that were causing imperfections in attack techniques. That left mud everywhere and in everything. The worst was when they ripped at the point of impact leaving the pair half-stuck in the mud that was once the mossifant's innards. Some paid for such treatments, as the mud rejuvenated skin and was used ...
2025-02-03 14:31:29 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Sixty-Two
Wine with the refreshments had been Harmony’s idea and now she regretted it. It made Len more of a babbler. “I think we should all bond geists, offensive or defensive; they are invisible and reform if dispelled or destroyed.” This was the third time he’d mentioned this as the group poured over the text. It slowly became clear that while they were okay with Harmony being a necromancer, they didn’t want to be seen as possibly having the class.
“Th...
2025-01-31 15:07:18 +0000 UTC
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Chapter sixty-one
Harmony let the shadows from [Shadowed Graves] recede for the third time. The goal of this training season was to adjust the height of the darkness covering the sky. Ambrosia had birds flying through it reporting back. The change to only using the [Beautician] modified version in the city had ceased many of the complaints. The guild training grounds were always busy with spectators there to at least see what new hell Thorne was putting her Ascendant Games ch...
2025-01-29 15:20:53 +0000 UTC
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I'm playing with prefixes and suffixes. I'm leaning either toward a Magniphasic or Arcane and one of the below. Feel free to comment. The poll will not decide, but I'm curious about what people like. [Most of the other stuff like rejection options and Profession choice I've got nailed down]
2025-01-27 17:27:00 +0000 UTC
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Chapter sixty
“Aaaaaaagaa – oof!” Max screamed as his legs were knocked out from underneath him, sending him face-first onto the floor. That was with only four of Ambrosias' birds sending softened [Wind Blades] at the man.
“Don’t you feel like you're in danger yet?” Harmony called out.
They'd been at this for half an hour. Max’s lip was split and one nostril leaked blood after that fall.
“Not yet. I think it needs to be something that I can't defe...
2025-01-27 16:48:33 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Fifty-Nine
“You Should have seen their faces!” Ambrosia cackled.
“I did,” Harmony answered.
“They all broke up into excited conversations. Even Madam Peartree couldn’t calm them down. I dare say that woman is pretty cross with you.”
That was part of the plan. A presentation that would end Peartree’s interest in getting Harmony to join the society. The society head got the appearance and quote she could leverage. And in th...
2025-01-24 13:56:05 +0000 UTC
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Chapter fifty-eight
The crowd of roughly five hundred people was more than Harmony expected. Had they gathered all the city’s members? Still, it is much smaller than many of Ambrosia’s concerts. A stage with a podium was waiting built to the dimensions she’d requested. Plenty of room for her and Hyacinth. Bodyguards would be posted around it.
Madam Peatree took the podium first. “Today we have a special guest at the Grave Society. A Necromancer who has joined t...
2025-01-22 15:06:45 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Fifty-Seven
No one complained when Harmony skipped practicing [Shadowed Graves]. This time, it wasn’t a matter of control, it was a matter of presentation. Time in the Nae’s Garden had worked out much of the kinks in how to influence it to apply the desired effects. The question was when and where to introduce it. There were still rules to follow for field area effects.
Guild mistress Thorne moved behind the desk at the small office at the training grounds ...
2025-01-20 17:05:18 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Fifty Six
The pack of five wooze swayed in place, not frozen in fear of death, but in awe. The [Beautician] and [Style and Grace] influenced [Shadowed Graves] effect had them admire the killer in front of them. It was only momentarily as their dungeon-influenced aggression overcame it, they twitched forward but not fast enough to get through the cold as their insulation was stripped away and the cold sent them fainting with shock. Harmony let that copy of her fade awa...
2025-01-17 16:22:27 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Fifty-Five
“Do you seriously want me to set up a visit to the Grave Society?” Ambrosia asked from her side of the magically heated tub.
It was the disbelieving tone that grated some. “They have the information I need. And what’s wrong with them? I didn’t think you had anything against necromancers.”
“I don’t have anything against necromancers. As you should know. Experiencing the Grave Society in Naewauld is like...
2025-01-15 22:16:21 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Fifty-Four
Harmony let [Shadowed Graves] end as the brood mother’s body dropped. Soul strike had improved under the shadows it cast, but not enough to punch through the floor guardian’s defense against that kind of attack. The most pleasant surprise had been how deaths under the effect returned some of the energy she lost keeping the spell in place. Just enough that she could hold perpetual shadows as she rushed through the first floor killing woozes.
“Groak.” Hyac...
2025-01-13 14:35:40 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Fifty-Three
“Can you please refrain from using that annoying skill? It's embarrassing.” Rose begged, looking ready to bolt at any second.
Harmony guessed the princess drew the short straw among those willing to approach her while she practiced [Shadowed Graves]. That, or her family pressured her again as after only two days [Shadowed Graves] was highly unpopular across the city. It was also why she was forced to practice at the guild training grounds.<...
2025-01-10 14:37:30 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Fifty-Two
Whatever Maxwell had done to his oath hadn’t affected his promise to be honest and forthright. The oath hurt but appeared to be working as Max scrambled back the best he could while in the seated position. “I… I… I… used [Chaos Seed] on my oath. It worked so well on [Chivalry], sure [Oath] required me to build up the most chaos of any other skill, but I needed it gone for my evolution. I only took [Oath] because it was rare an...
2025-01-08 14:26:04 +0000 UTC
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Chapter fifty-one
Unknown danger. Step one, [Stride Before the Fall]. Ker-chunk. Double the pain, overlapping vision, dislocation, like a shoulder or knee, but worse, as it was different and not physical. There was no second body. The skill that worked through being silenced or crushed by authority failed, at least partially.
My skills! The Harmonies echoed, not diverged enough as two senses of self shared the internal space she was focused on. Not that [Str...
2025-01-06 14:26:05 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Fifty
“Delve you! You scrawny ass chicken!”
That plan was supposed to work. Create a thick layer of mist, quiet all the sounds and drift in with it. That's being stealthy, right?
The thunder roc had disagreed that the creeping area of mist was stealthy enough. The blast of wind from its wings stripped the crafted fog away, toppling Harmony in the process.
“Graup?”
Wishing the floor guardian would back down was po...
2025-01-03 17:26:41 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Forty-Nine
“I don't think any of you should bond pets.” There was no way to make this statement sound good, but Harmony did her best to try. Pulling from [Poise and Bearing], memories of hard discussions, what it meant to be a lady. Just in case, she added a touch of authority and the seriousness of death. It didn't help that after A little bit of discussion she didn't think any of them would make good pet masters, making it hard to sound neutral. <...
2025-01-01 17:01:06 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Forty-Eight
Harmony's decision to invite Princess Rosaline to join their informal planning group was political. With Len, Tyler, and Max after some pressure, all the boys will be there. Not having the final member of their kingdom's selections for the Ascendant Games there would have sent mixed signals if anyone found out. And with journalists' progression on the line, they’d make it their business to find out.
Harmony could picture the headlines now. Wh...
2024-12-30 16:44:55 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Forty-Seven
“What!?” Harmony snatched her hand away. One thing no one has ever accused her of was being religious.
Thorne touched the gem facets one at a time. “Red, that’s your primal bond with Adric. Your armor, Night, I believe, is your paired bond, the blue one. That skill that had you leaving a body behind at the Harvest, I was unsure if it was fate, Astral, protoplasmic, or a summon. I’m slightly shocked it is a quantum bond. I’...
2024-12-27 16:35:37 +0000 UTC
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