davidmusk

Web of Chaos - Chapter 9: Time Traveler Syndrome

With the shaping tests behind them, Akari and Kalden moved on to the written portion of their admissions. This test differed for each grade level, but any student could walk into the Admissions Office and request a harder version. 

For a fee, of course. Koreldon University loved its fees. 

The incoming third-years needed to know all sorts of advanced science, and this included fields Akari hadn’t studied yet, like biochemical manadynamics. Elend had looked at their pra...

Web of Chaos - Chapter 8: Admissions

Akari began her Missile portion on Round Twenty-Five. Clearly, the Artegium had much higher standards for its incoming second-years. Especially when those second-years had reached the Artisan realm.

She breezed through the first twelve rounds, destroying the dream mana opponents like paper dolls. These rounds had challenged her last semester. Today, they felt like a total joke. 

Her opponents telegraphed all their moves, and her instincts caught a hundred tiny details she’d...

Free WoS Copies

Web of Secrets is up on Amazon, and I have an official release date of January 19, 2025!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D7XSBKH2

In the meantime, you can get a free copy through BookFunnel by clicking this link:

https://dl.bookfunnel.com/amij8kvrsr

That landing page will expire on 1/19 when the book launches. This is als...

WoS Cover

Hi everyone,

Here's the final version of the WoS cover!

I'm aiming to launch the ebook on Amazon very soon, so I might be busy with launch-related tasks this week, but I should be able to focus more on writing Book 5 when things calm down again.

As always, thanks for your support!

Web of Chaos - Chapter 7: Unity

Relia grabbed a pair of brass handles and pushed open the doors of her father’s study. This wasn’t the Cabinet Room he used for his official meetings. This was a smaller room in the East Wing of the residence, the place where he did most of his real work. Bookshelves lined three walls, and their spines were a mix of old leather and crisp new covers. Tall glass windows dominated the wall to her right, offering a view of the Inner Sea.

She stepped up to the walnut desk, stiff and form...

Web of Chaos - Chapter 6: Paradoxes

“I understand not wanting to go back,” Akari’s mother said later that night. “You’ve always been independent.”

“Right.” Akari paced around the forest in the dreamscape. “Some people can’t focus without school, but I never had that problem.” 

If anything, school had been a constant distraction. Last year, she’d treated the Artegium like the most important thing in the world, but that attitude seemed so immature in hindsight. Her younger self had constan...

Web of Chaos - Chapter 5: The Path to Victory

Kalden led the team across Cliff Street toward their base of operations. It was an old brick building on the North Side, halfway between the Trenches and Koreldon University. Close enough to the action downtown, but not so close that they’d get ambushed on a grocery run.

He climbed a short stone staircase and scanned his keycard on the front door. From there, they stepped down a long carpeted corridor, passing a few of their neighbors along the way. No one spared their armor a second ...

Web of Chaos - Chapter 4: The Long Game

Relia sat in the ballroom a few hours later, watching the festivities go on around her. Sapphire cloth draped the tables, and the fabric shimmered in the light of the crystal chandeliers above.   The sounds of piano and violin echoed all around her, mingled with the waves that crashed against the tall glass windows.

Her parents stood with a small crowd on the other side of the dance floor. Clara’s hand rested lightly on Ashur’s arm as they spoke with the president of Vaslana. H...

Web of Chaos - Chapter 3: Pain

Relia stood on the front steps of the Palace Prime, watching the black car glide toward the curb. Its smooth black surface caught the sharp lines of the palace, but the windows revealed nothing.

“Another one?” Relia asked under her breath. “How many cars do my parents own?”

“I believe this one’s new,” Master Dain said from a few paces behind her. Her bodyguard was a brown-haired Espirian man in his mid-thirties, with a receding hairline and a chiseled face. Not only ...

Next Draft of the Web of Secrets cover

I haven't passed on my feedback to the designer yet, so feel free to let me know what you think!

Web of Chaos - Chapter 2: Aeon Souls

PRESENT DAY

Water splashed beneath Akari’s boots as she charged the massive gloomfang. Standing over ten feet tall, the creature had the body of an ape and the face of a cave bat. Slick black carapace clung to its spindly frame, and its arms hung well past its knees as it waded through the flooded street.

Akari cycled spacetime mana as she ran, dodging cars and debris along the way. Movement flashed at the edge of her vision as Kalden and Zukan charged the creature’s flanks. 2024-12-18 13:29:12 +0000 UTC View Post

Web of Chaos - Chapter 1: Resurrection

FOUR YEARS AGO

Relia passed beneath an old stone archway and followed her master toward the temple. Curtains of green vines hung on either side of their path, and a few seemed to sway in the evening breeze. 

Except there was no breeze down here in the valley, just humid jungle air. So why were they moving like that? They almost looked . . .

“Tread carefully,” Lyraina said in a smooth voice. “Those vines belong to carnivorous plants.”

No soon...

Web of Chaos - Prologue: Possession

A/N: Book 5 is starting now!

FIFTY-SEVEN YEARS AGO

Elend’s feet moved without his permission, carrying his body toward the full-length mirror. A twelve-year-old boy stared back at him in the shiny glass surface, running his hands over the blue fabric of his pajamas.

The boy looked like Elend, with the same pale complexion and close-cropped brown hair. But that grin was far too wide, stretching his lips beyond their comfort zone. An unfamiliar spark shone i...

November Update

Hi Everyone! Checking in with another update.

The Book 2 rewrite is 80% done, including all the new scenes I set out to write. Here’s a quick rundown of those (feel free to skip straight to the Google Doc and search "new scene" if you'd rather read them with zero spoilers):

New Kalden Flashback 1: He and Akari meet in his backyard as kids in Last Haven.

New Kalden Flashback 2:  He talks to Akari in Last Haven High School and...

October Update

Hi everyone, just checking in with a quick update on the Mana Arts Saga.

Book 1: Web of Secrets is done with copy-edits, and the proofreader has the manuscript right now for the final round of revisions. I’m still aiming to release this on Amazon sometime in December, as long as the cover is done by then. In the meantime, I have the semi-final draft of Book 1 on Royal Road:

2024-10-23 18:01:46 +0000 UTC View Post

Pulling Back from Questers Valley

Hey everyone, 

I originally started QV to take a break from my other series, Web of Secrets. I’d meant to finish a whole book during that time, but it might be better if I pull back early and focus on WoS again.

I enjoyed working on this series, and it felt good to have a break. But for whatever reason, this story never took off in the way WoS did. I’m almost 40k words in now, and I only managed to scrape together ~100 followers on Royal Road. (For comparison, WoS had rou...

Questers Valley - Chapter 16: Gnomish Engineering

Zack pulled up the screen from earlier that day, letting it fill his mind’s eye.

New Possible Skills: 

Tactical Planning Level 1, Teamwork Level 1

You have reached the maximum of four Combat skills. Which skill would you like to keep?

Tactical Planning / Teamwork 

He hadn’t wanted to rush this choice in the dungeon. But here, in the comfort of his bedroom, he had plenty of time to mull things over.  “What can yo...

Questers Valley - Chapter 15: The Next Step

“Mind pulling around back?” Zack asked when they reached the Valley View.

“Sure.” Camille had been about to enter the front parking lot, but she kept driving down  Pinecrest Street. “How come?” 

“I have a rope upstairs,” he said after a short pause.”I was gonna pull the loot up through my window.”

She wanted to shoot him a knowing look, but she kept her eyes on the road. The Western Forest was close, and you could easily hit a deer if you weren�...

Questers Valley - Chapter 14: The Temple of Healing

“Did you earn any skills?” Zack asked Camille as they drove back into town. The sun was low on the horizon, and its golden beams shone through the trees, casting long shadows over the road.

“Yeah.” Camille lifted a nervous hand from the steering wheel, running it through her chestnut hair. “One point in marksmanship. Plus a cognition point when we opened the portal.”

“A whole cognition point?”

“Well, part of one. I don’t remember how much.�...

Questers Valley - Chapter 13: Mutant Birds

Zack dropped the chest and pulled his blade from its scabbard. He spun around in the same moment, facing the swarm of mutant blue starwings. He’d only counted seven of the birds before. Now, he faced well over a dozen, and they all looked hungry.

“Get back,” he told Daudilus. “Against the wall.” Master Kord always said to keep moving in a fight; moving targets were harder to hit, and no one could block every strike.

But they couldn’t avoid getting hit this time—not a...

Questers Valley - Chapter 12: The Outpost

Zack stepped toward the new doorway, stopping when he reached the precipice. The other side looked like an underground canyon, with strange trees sprouting up from the stone floor, and a web of green vines covering the walls. Light shone from some distant crystals, casting the whole scene in twilight.

It all made sense now. They must have passed through another portal to reach the library earlier this week, and now that portal was gone, leaving a stone wall in its place. That would also...

Questers Valley - Chapter 11: Back to the Dungeon

Zack crawled down a familiar hole toward the gnomish tunnel. Or the dungeon, as he’d taken to calling it these days. He knew life wasn’t a game, but it certainly felt like one with Gia around.

Their discovery looked mostly untouched. The boulders and wooden boards had still blocked the entry hole when he’d arrived, and the tunnel beyond lay quiet, with no sign of beetles or trolls. Not that Zack would turn down a skirmish, but he preferred something small, where he and Daudilus he...

Questers Valley - Chapter 10: Preparations

Camille stepped into Vance’s Hunting Goods later that evening. Zack had wanted to go straight back to the tunnels, but she’d talked him out of that crazy plan. If she was going to be an adventurer, then she planned to be a proper one. 

Gia must have agreed, judging by her first quest:

New Quest: Dress for Adventure.

A gnome Commando is always prepared, and that means wearing the right clothes for the job. So get to work, and find something su...

Questers Valley - Chapter 9: The Temple of Strength

Zack whistled to himself as he walked through the doors of Master Kord’s dojo. Camille had taken the third mana core, and they’d made plans to go back to the tunnels that week. A successful day, all things considered.

“I still think you owe me some charisma points,” Zack told Gia in a low voice.

[And why is that?]

“Camille didn’t want to come with me at first. I convinced her.”

[That’s not how charisma works. That attribute is about helping people, not ...

Questers Valley - Chapter 8: The Temple of Knowledge

Chapter 8: The Temple of Knowledge

Camille pushed her cart from the librarian’s desk toward the stacks. The wheels rumbled on the dark flagstones, and her route took her past tall oaken bookshelves and frosted glass windows.

The library was the oldest building in Starwing Town, and no lights shone from the high vaulted ceilings. Instead, pale yellow mana crystals hung from sconces on the walls and pillars, made to look like candles without the flames. Smaller lamps decorated eve...

Questers Valley - Chapter 7: The Morning Shift

The screen faded from Zack’s vision, and Daudilus rushed out from the nearby forest. The husky leapt up, putting his two front paws on Zack’s shoulders.

“Hey!” Zack reached out a hand to steady himself, then he scratched his friend behind the ears. “Good to see you, too.”

Daudilus gave Zack’s face a quick lick, then he stared down at the glowing sphere in his chest. His silver tail wagged furiously back and forth, and the rest of him practically bounced with exciteme...

Questers Valley - Chapter 6: Skills

No sooner had Zack spoken than another window appeared in his mind’s eye:

New Habit Quest: Tidy Up.

A gnome Commando always controls himself and his surroundings. Make your bed and clean your room every day. Don’t break the streak!

Days Completed: 0/21.

Reward: +1 Cognition.

Accept Quest?

Yes / No

“Wow,” Zack said as he mentally accepted the quest. “Wasn’t expecting that.”

[You haven�...

Questers Valley - Chapter 5: The System

[Hello,] said a feminine voice. [I am your Gamified Intelligence Assistant. Or GIA, for short.]

“Woah.” Zack glanced around the room, expecting to see the source of the strange voice. He met Camille’s eyes instead. “Did you hear that?” 

“Um . . .” She glanced nervously around the room. “Hear what?”

[She can’t hear me,] said the voice. [I can only speak with you and your squadmates.]

“Never mind,” Zack said to Camille. “It’s in my head.�...

Questers Valley - Chapter 4: Experiments

Camille pulled her truck into the Valley View the next morning. The eastern sky glowed with pale light as the sun promised to show its face, and the warm hues reflected off the inn’s rustic sign. Crystal lanterns hung from wooden posts around the parking lot, designed to look like old-fashioned lanterns. It seemed like everyone these days was following the elfish trends from Arvendale, but not Aria Farron. She knew exactly what this place was, and she embraced it wholeheartedly. 

Questers Valley - Chapter 3: Home

Zack stepped inside the Valley View Inn, and Daudilus trotted in beside him. The common room had high vaulted ceilings with a wooden staircase on one side. A massive glass window dominated the wall opposite the door, offering a clear view of the snow-capped mountains beyond. Leather armchairs and sturdy oak tables filled the floor, while a large stone fireplace crackled in one corner.

Of course, things weren’t all rustic wood and small-town charm. Two flat-screen crystal displays hung...