A/N: I've never shared a deleted scene before, but I figured Patreon was a good place to test this out and see what people think. This was originally at the end of Chapter 43, but I couldn't think of a good ending line to go with it.
"Sorry," Relia said when they as finished the tour. "This is awkward, but I never asked before." She gestured a finger between Kalden and Akari "What's your status?"
"Tired." Akari moved her glasses to rub at her eyes. "Lo...
2021-08-11 16:50:52 +0000 UTC
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Kalden eyed the figures as they emerged from the darkness. They were both Espirian—a man and a woman in their mid-thirties. The woman wore her hair in a tight brown bun behind her head. The man's hair was cropped in a short military cut, about the same length as his beard.
A Martial with a beard? That was new. This guy might be undercover, but still.
Kalden relaxed his vision, seeing the world through his Silver Sight. Neither of the figures cycled their mana, which see...
2021-08-11 16:36:59 +0000 UTC
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Akari sat in the front passenger seat, watching the farmland roll by. They'd been driving for almost fifteen minutes now, and the sun fell like a dying flame on the horizon.
Kalden's knuckles were white as he gripped the leather steering wheel, but Akari couldn't blame him for being scared. Her own heart still pounded in her chest, and her eyes darted in every direction, half-expecting a squad of police cars to pop up in the rear-view mirror.
Or worse, a Martial helicopter.
2021-08-06 23:38:00 +0000 UTC
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Step five: get out of Elegan.
Kalden followed Akari through the crawl space, dodging pipes and wires along the way. It still felt wrong to leave Darren behind, but they'd known this might happen. His friends had helped him escape, but they had no desire to leave Arkala themselves.
Understandable. They hadn't heard Relia's story about the outside world, and Kalden couldn't tell them without serious consequences. The less they knew now, the less they had to lie whe...
2021-08-01 11:58:16 +0000 UTC
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Step four: disable the cuffs.
Akari lowered herself into the familiar cushioned chair. Her fingers stretched over the mechanical keyboard, and it felt as surreal as seeing her friends again. She hadn't touched a real computer since that last night in Kalden's house—the night everything started going wrong.
"I already logged into my home computer," Kalden said from the seat beside her. "Hopefully I did it right."
Akari nodded her approval at the open terminal windo...
2021-07-29 16:59:35 +0000 UTC
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Step one: find the system that controls the cuffs.
"Alright." Kalden clapped his hands together as he paced in his basement office. "What do we know so far?"
Maelyn sat up straighter on the sofa. "Akari's handler is a junior agent named Canin Stormspear. He works at the Martials' office here in Elegan."
Kalden wrote the agent's name on the blackboard. Stormspear ... why did the old Espirian clans get all the cool-sounding names? Trengsen ...
2021-07-25 16:37:58 +0000 UTC
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Akari shifted in her seat, staring down at her hands on the metal table. Almost twelve hours had passed since the battle, and rays of sunlight speared through the room's barred windows. This added some color to her otherwise gray surroundings.
Last night had been a mess of healers, police, and interrogations, and Akari hadn't slept for a minute of it. She'd tried closing her eyes in her cell, but her thoughts wouldn't stop racing.
How could she sleep after everything that had happ...
2021-07-18 22:57:27 +0000 UTC
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A/N: Thanks to everyone who signed up this week!
"That's Emberlyn's car," Darren said as they pulled into Phoenix Park.
Kalden followed his gaze to where an 870 Noble sat almost parallel to the sidewalk. She must have left her driver behind because no professional would park that badly. And as Darren drove them closer, the empty front seats confirmed his suspicion.
The scene was dark but for a single streetlight shining down on the clearing. A trio of figure...
2021-07-16 00:27:35 +0000 UTC
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Emberlyn lashed out with two ice Missiles. Akari struck back with her own attack, moving her hand in wide circles so the mana flew in a corkscrew pattern. This knocked both her opponent's Missiles off course and continued toward her.
Emberlyn raised a hand, and a wall of solid ice formed between them—just like the ones the Martials had used to trap Relia.
Akari leapt to the side, pulling back her Missile before it shattered on that frozen surface. Her mana grazed the Construct, ...
2021-07-11 12:42:44 +0000 UTC
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A/N: First advance chapter for this book!
Akari's Missile wove through the trees, leaving pale blue streaks against the dark forest.
She'd come to Phoenix Park to train, but also to escape the Cliftons. Mazren had just returned from another trip, and he'd bombarded her with a dozen questions about her weekend away.
"Where were you?" he'd asked once they sat down for dinner.
"Oretin Falls," Akari lied.
"Why? What were you doing there?"<...
2021-07-09 01:29:38 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone,
Thanks for your support as I finished the Aeonica series. It feels great to call that done, even if it’s just a polished first draft.
With that said, I wanted to let everyone know about my other projects (current, and upcoming.)
Web of Secrets
In January 2021, I started writing a new fantasy series called Web of Secrets. This is part of the Progression Fantasy and Cultivation subgenres (inspired by Will Wight’s Cradle series). it take...
2021-07-05 23:12:12 +0000 UTC
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A/N: Final chapter! Thanks for reading, everyone!
Cole was sitting in his office when someone knocked on the door. Probably Yimo, judging by the sound of his staff tapping against the wood.
"Come in," he hollered across the vast chamber.
Sure enough, his bodyguard sauntered inside and gave a ridiculous bow. "Your High Imperial Majesty."
"I told you not to call me that." Cole looked around for something to throw, but he only had papers on his desk. Just...
2021-06-26 15:51:28 +0000 UTC
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A/N: Second to last chapter!
Nahlia watched the ancient palace crumble as Thane's fire consumed it from within. Stone walls turned to dust, glass windows shattered, and the golden domes toppled into the river below. Each broken layer revealed another glimpse of the structure's burning core, brighter than any furnace.
Her mother stood opposite her inside the Moonshard barrier, not turning to face the inferno at her back. Instead, she kept her palms pressed against ...
2021-06-21 23:25:35 +0000 UTC
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Thane explained his plan to Nahlia and the others. He told them about Soulfire—the Sanctifiers' own version of Ethersmithing. At least, that's how Thane saw it. Truth be told, he understood little about this new technique. Could all Sanctifiers do it, or had Thane stumbled on something more unique? As the only Sanctifier in their group, they had no way to test it.
One thing was certain though—Etherite wasn't indestructible, and that included the Codices.
"Just basic physic...
2021-06-13 18:32:54 +0000 UTC
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Nahlia led her troops through the Sunfall palace. Their route took them down marble-lined hallways, and their footsteps echoed through the vast ceilings above. The rhythm formed a counterpoint with the gunshots outside, and flashes of fire lit their path through the tall glass windows.
"Lady Cole!" a scout jogged around the corner. "You should see this."
They followed the man to where a smaller corridor broke off from the larger one. There, dozens of bodies covered the ground. She...
2021-06-07 18:17:45 +0000 UTC
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Ciena's vision blurred as the battle raged around her. Templars clashed with the undead, and screams sounded from both sides. The gunshots left her ears ringing, and the coppery scent of blood filled her nostrils.
In the center of it all, Elias fought Trelidor on his own. They moved in streaks of silver and crimson, too fast for anyone but a Justicar to see.
Deep in the Serenity Trance, Elias reminded her of that night in Dragonshard. But he was far better now than she'd been two ...
2021-06-07 18:16:52 +0000 UTC
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Ash drifted around Thane as he knelt in the dark courtyard. The enemy Justicars closed in from every direction, raising their blades for the killing blow.
Then something changed. His surroundings grew even darker than before. Thane blinked up at the skyline where the dome of crystal light had once dominated the scene, tingeing the courtyard with shades of pale blue. Now, in place of the shield, he saw a cluster of domes and spires—black silhouettes against the night sky.
The...
2021-06-01 23:05:44 +0000 UTC
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"Yimo!" Cole shouted over the battle. "You're with me!"
To his left, an undead Templar swung its blade in a lazy arc. Cole raised his own saber to parry, then drove the tip through the creature's eye.
Three more undead closed in from his right, faster than he could pull the blade free. Cole lined up his pistol and blasted the first one between the eyes. His guards killed the next two with shots of their own. Blood sprayed his face as they fell forward.
Yimo rushed to Cole's ...
2021-05-24 23:54:22 +0000 UTC
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Ciena faced her enemy from across the crowded courtyard. The undead swarmed around them like feral dogs, clashing with the Templars on either side. Smoke blocked out the sky as rifles roared. Grenades exploded into darker clouds of smoke, shaking the ground beneath her boots.
Despite the chaos, Ciena only had eyes for her enemy.
Alexel Trelidor—the one who had started all of this. The tyrant who broke down the world and reshaped it to his will. Just like he'd done with ...
2021-05-24 23:53:20 +0000 UTC
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Thane jogged through the streets with Nahlia by his side. They'd met another group of Templars along the way, and now several squads followed them through the palace district. Cramped streets and tenements gave way to towering mansions as they ran. Iron lamps lined the street on either side, casting their crystal light on the snow-covered cobbles.
He and Nahlia faced sparse resistance along the way. Some might have called that good luck, but Thane knew better. If Trelidor didn't bother ...
2021-05-19 00:12:03 +0000 UTC
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Aaron Cole followed his army through Midring. Clouds of dust swirled in the sky above, reflecting the orange flames from the battle below. Civilians clustered in their homes on either side of the street. Some only dared to peek out their windows. Others emerged from their front doors armed and ready for battle. They'd all heard whispers of a second revolution. Many of them had refused his call to fight, clinging to what little they had left.
But things changed when they finally saw the ...
2021-05-11 23:21:34 +0000 UTC
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A dragon swooped over the rooftops, raining fire on the fleeing Templars. Nahlia aimed her staff at the creature and sent a burst of energy through her fingertips, activating the weapon's top sigil.
Blades of Moonshard shot out from the end, tearing over the battlefield in streaks of blue light. Her attack cut through the dragon's left wing, and the creature let out a bird-like screech as it plummeted toward the ground.
The rider tried to kick off from his falling mount and contin...
2021-05-03 22:48:24 +0000 UTC
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Thane was sipping his evening coffee when he heard the commotion outside. A little noise was hardly rare at this hour, especially for a city on the brink of war. Even so, he got up to investigate—mostly because Relyn still hadn't returned from her meeting across the city.
After climbing the ladder in the backroom, he pushed open a wooden hatch and emerged on top of the Templars’ hideout. From here, he had an unobstructed view of their surroundings.
An icy wind blew through the...
2021-04-27 23:21:30 +0000 UTC
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Cole blinked at the strange woman who stood across from him. Somehow, she knew his name. Had he seen her before? No. He didn't think so, but parts of her looked familiar. Her pale face was heart-shaped, like Lyraina's. Her eyes were the same vibrant blue as his wife's, and even her hair seemed almost red as it blew in the evening wind.
And yet ... there was something off about her. Artificial, even—like a dream. Her features were more exaggerated than Lyraina's. Larg...
2021-04-23 00:54:51 +0000 UTC
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Nahlia sat with Elias in the Templar hideout. They'd commandeered one of the larger supply closets, and forbidden books covered every surface of the cramped space.
Leafing through the old tomes, Nahlia could see why they'd been hidden from the public. Everything she read about the Codices reinforced her theory. The Archaeons weren't as special as they seemed. They'd simply left a part of themselves behind when they left the world, giving their descendants an advantage.
If th...
2021-04-14 11:38:16 +0000 UTC
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Ciena stomped the snow from her boots as she entered the abandoned tenement building. Wooden boards covered every window, and most of the furniture was long-gone—probably stolen or burned for firewood.
Some golden age, Trelidor.
She summoned Steelbreaker as a blade, and the crimson light chased away the shadows. Relyn followed her through the door, nocking a crystal arrow in her bow.
Two weeks had passed since they'd first arrived in Sunfall. Some part of Ciena ha...
2021-04-06 11:39:09 +0000 UTC
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Thane led the others down the airship's ramp and into the clearing. Darkness shrouded the forest, and snowflakes danced in the wind around his head
Even if the storm covered their landing tonight, this visit wouldn't surprise Trelidor or his allies. You couldn't fly an airship halfway across the continent without someone seeing it. All they had to do was glance up.
Snow crunched beneath his boots as he walked, and his breath puffed out in a cloud of white smoke. Unlike his compani...
2021-03-28 11:51:44 +0000 UTC
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Nahlia lay awake as the airship sailed through the night sky. They'd been flying since sunset, and several hours had passed since she'd first crawled into bed. Ciena breathed softly in the bunk above, and Shera—a member of the Onyx Guard—snored more loudly on the floor.
Whenever Nahlia closed her eyes, images of Redcliff flashed like daggers at the edge of her vision. Elveron and Vaulden trying to destroy her soul, Marwyn—who had once been her teacher—luring her into a trap.
...
2021-03-19 22:20:17 +0000 UTC
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Thane gazed out the apartment window, watching the smoke rise toward the afternoon sky. This time, the smoke came from funeral pyres rather than burning buildings. Snow danced in the wind and gathered on the rooftops, making the skyline an eerie mix of black and white.
Raidenwood had once been nine bridges. Only three remained now. As for the people, they still didn't have a complete death count. Too many had died in the bombs or fell with the collapsed bridges. Now their bodies lay sub...
2021-03-11 11:45:03 +0000 UTC
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Ciena raced over the city skyline, struggling to catch up to Rhia. Smoke and ash stung her eyes as she navigated steep rooftops, vaulted narrow alleys, and tore through abandoned buildings.
One second, Rhia was running along a stone wall, defying gravity with her speed. The next, she dove through an open window, barely two feet wide.
Bloody hell. Ciena wasn't cut out for this. She was a warrior, not some assassin princess. She could probably beat Rhia in a straight fight,...
2021-03-03 12:37:54 +0000 UTC
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