davidmusk

New Book Cover!

I just commissioned a new cover from Damonza, and it turned out great!

Book 3 - Chapter 12: Stained with Blood

Ciena pried her gaze from Cladius and examined the guardsmen behind him. Some carried steel sabres at their belts while others had holstered pistols. Fear flashed in their eyes as she approached. Steelbreaker’s glow painted the scene with shades of crimson, from the lacquered wooden table to the towering glass windows 

Still, despite their fear, they hadn’t drawn their weapons. Why not? What sort of guardsman kept his blade sheathed at a time like this? 

To ...

Book 3 - Chapter 11: Poetic Justice

Ciena and her brother waited outside the palace’s eastern wall. Midnight had come and gone, and even the upper bridges were shrouded in darkness.

Footsteps echoed from farther down the street. She snapped her head around to see Hankrim skulking in the shadows with a dozen more mercenaries in tow. The group broke apart as they drew nearer—some kept their distance while others vanished into the darker alleys.

Good thinking, that. Crowds would only draw attention at this...

Book 3 - Chapter 10: To Tongshan

Thane opened his eyes and stared up at the painted stone ceiling. Sunlight seeped through the bamboo curtains, casting striped shadows across the floor. The room was cramped by most standards, but the Cultivators were a humble sort. He’d be surprised if the Elders’ own chambers were any larger.

He shifted his head and planted a kiss on Relyn’s hairline. She lay sprawled on top of him, her arm resting on his bare chest, her leg wrapped around his.

“Mmm…” she muttered, s...

Book 3 - Chapter 9: Revolution

“We’ve got some bad news,” Hankrim said as Ciena and her brother returned to the tavern.

“And here I thought we filled the bad news quota for the day,” Ciena muttered. She collapsed on the leather sofa and put her boots up on the short table. “Am I gonna need a drink for this?”

Hankrim considered that for a moment, then turned to a younger guard. “Go get Lady Raider a drink, would you?”

“Figure of speech,” Ciena said, but the man was already gone. It wa...

Book 3 - Chapter 8: A Lesson in Strength

Two dreams in one night?

Nahlia stood in the same village where she'd fallen asleep. A blanket of snow still covered the ground, but the scene wasn't nearly as dark as the physical world had been. Mist blocked out the horizon, and the sky shone with shades of violet.

"Nahlia," her mother spoke her name from several yards away. Despite being well into her forties, Lyraina Trelian's skin was pale and flawless. Her auburn hair emerged in two thick braids from the sides of he...

Book 3 - Chapter 7: Fonder Memories

"Down," Yimo snapped.

Nahlia followed his lead and ducked her head beneath the snowbank. She burrowed her way through the fluffy white powder and peeked out the other side. 

The clouds blocked out the moonlight, and a flurry of snowflakes assailed her vision. Five or six soldiers trudged down the road ahead. Unlike the assassins on the train, these men wore the Vassaj colors of yellow and jade. 

Valaysian frostwolves sniffed the snow and ran ahead of their masters,...

Book 3 - Chapter 6: Noble Rulers

Thane broke the water's surface with his oar as their boat glided through a forest of stone spires. He'd seen plenty of canyons throughout his travels, but Kiburi Canyon was large enough to swallow them all tenfold. Even the Bloodrift couldn't compare. 

But unlike the raging rapids beneath Raidenwood, the water here was calm and steady. Its glass-like surface reflected the blue-tinged mist and the twilight sky above.

From the sky, the canyon had gone on for dozens of miles in...

Book 3 - Chapter 5: Lady Raider

Raidenwood had changed. Whether it was the siege, the Templar occupation, or the passage of time, Ciena couldn't say. Either way, she felt like a stranger in her own home.

"We're too exposed here," she muttered as she trailed Elias down Marketbridge. With every step they took, they passed a dozen more faces in the crowded thoroughfare. 

How many of them were spies for Cladius? How many could recognize their faces?

"We'll be fine," her brother said.

"We should have...

Book 3 - Chapter 4: Worse Than Death

Nahlia opened her eyes to an empty train coach. No Yimo, no orphaned children, and no unconscious crowd.

Heat prickled her face despite the cold, and her tongue felt as dry as cotton. The rest of her body was distant and unresponsive.

I've changed my mind, Alexel Trelidor's voice echoed in her skull.

Hot pain tore through her chest as the memory assaulted her. A blade of white crystal. Blood spilling from her wound. Long fingers around her neck. Her bones breaking a...

Book 3 - Chapter 3: The Sky Pirate King

The Raptor's Claw soared over the snow-capped mountains. Thane's crew had all donned black-tinted goggles as the sun crept over the horizon, spearing its golden rays through the airship's glass canopy.

Thane lowered his own goggles as he climbed the last few stairs onto the bridge.

"Officer on deck!" a technician's voice called out. Either Dario or Karlo. The Maric brothers looked nothing alike, but they sounded identical.

"Report?" Thane asked.

"Still deep in...

Book 3 - Chapter 2: Built for War

Ciena slashed her blade, opening the guard’s throat with a spray of crimson. Her victim stumbled back on the rocky floor, eyes wide with shock.

Another man fired a rifle from across the narrow cavern. Deep in the Serenity Trance, Ciena felt the air shift as the bullet closed in. She stepped aside and let it soar past her left braid, ricocheting off the stone wall.

Lead rang against steel as Elias blocked a second bullet with his katana. Her twin kept his back to hers, spinning h...

Book 3 - Chapter 1: Exile

A/N: Hi everyone! Thanks for donating, even before I had any Patron-only rewards on here. This is the first chapter of Aeonica Book 3: The Crowned Sanctifier. I'm working on getting a backlog of chapters before I post anything to Royal Road, so it will still be several weeks before this is public. If people like reading in advance, I can continue posting these here!

Nahlia shuffled down the crowded aisle as the train rocked on ...

Changes from Aeonica Book 1 and 2

Since the first two books aren’t officially published, I still consider the entire series a work in progress. As a result, any name can change. In fact, I’ve wanted to make most of these changes since midway through Book 2  but I thought I should at least wait until I started a new book.

Eventually, I’ll go back and incorporate these changes into the next drafts of Book 1 and 2. I hope those changes aren’t too jarring in the meantime. Also, If one sounds terrible to you, do...