Tsaimath

Wandered Off - Prologue I

• AN: A different project of mine, something I worked on a little last year. Silly escapism, which is pretty much exactly what the doctor ordered. Something of a Pokemon-Fan-Fic, though I'm putting my own spin on the world, obviously. Enjoy.

If anyone had told me that I’d be sad on the evening of my highschool-graduation, I’d have laughed at them. Why would I be sad about not having to go to school, after all, school sucked, right?

Now, after a fancy lunch w...

Don't label me! - Hiatus

I had a rather surreal experience today. As I was pinning down the exact story-flow of Don't Label me! Book-6, I had the News playing in the background - Reporting on the Events in Eastern Europe. 

Writing about a para-military force invading a (ficitional) European Country, in order to break a democratically elected Regime by means of terrorism somehow doesn't feel right, with those news in the background.

I hoe everyone can understand and hopefully, the world will go back t...

DLM, Bk 6, Ch 1, Rewrite

The last two years had been an interesting time, in many ways. On one hand, my environment was reasonably peaceful, a large part of my time spent in quiet commune with Galatea, as the two of us were commanding and controlling a swarm of construction-robots, some of them using humanoid frames, most of them using insectile or arachnid frames, the low centre of gravity and extra legs providing excellent stability.

For anyone looking at the construction from the outside, the progress would ...

Chapter 544

The looks on the faces around me were simply priceless. Disbelief and fear warring with awe, making the smile on my face just a little wider, the effect having surpassed even what I had hoped to accomplish. Using the naturally occuring Astral Power, not quite on the level of Wild Magic but certainly higher than usual, had given me extraordinary results, possibly due to the Darkness-attunement the place had. That same attunement was the reason Undead could flourish here, the Aspects of Change ...

Chapter 543

“Rai, Gilo, the two of you are dealing with flankers. Gilo, I’ll support you against incorporeal creatures, Rai, you’ll have to deal with them on your own. Take a flank each.” I ordered, taking control of the situation. Just because the first attack had only been by a single spectre, didn’t mean there wouldn't be a lot more incoming, soon.

“Myra, Mibo, Jakyl, the three of you will form up with Sigmir. Love, you’ll take the lead.” I continued, getting nods from the three ...

DLM, Bk 6, Prologue II

It was a curious experience, not simply controlling a number of robots, but performing as Metis. I had done so before, but only while Mother was incapacitated or mentally engaged, using the control necessitated by her crippling injuries to move her body. Now, we had prepared a simple double, stuffing the armour she normally wore, very much like a sock-puppet. Splitting from Mother had been a necessity and now, the shard of myself that was controlling the armour was entirely left to its own de...

Chapter 542

My opening gambit settled things, though not quite in the way I had intended to. While there was quite a bit of shock and awe going around those in the group who weren’t used to me, it mostly manifested in a changed distribution of effort. Instead of staying in one large group, we split up, with my group providing close protection for the clerics while Mal and her group took over the lead, leaving some thirty metres between the different groups, That way, their group was able to do some fig...

DLM, Bk 6, Prologue I, Rewrite

“Those plans look quite interesting, but are you certain that they are feasible?” Nisha asked me, after looking at the project Metis had proposed.

“It is. There is a company called TitanTech, based in Cantonia, who would be quite willing to work with us on this. This is Catherine Alleyne, one of their managers at large. She has offered to work with us on this.” Metis explained, the mask completely expressionless. It was a good thing that Nisha and her father were used to meeting...

Chapter 541

From above, the change was quite obvious, the trees going from healthy evergreens, with some fall-coloured deciduous trees mixed in, to the sad image of bare tree trunks, stripped of their branches and even the bark having died and fallen off. The tall, white trunks reminded me of skeletons, the branches on the floor giving the impression of a graveyard, only that I noticed movement amongst some of those bones.

On my request, Lenore moved ahead a little further than normal, in order to ...

Bk 5, Epilogue, Rewrite

Two days had passed since the attack on Accord Island. There were so many questions I had regarding it, so many answers I needed to find. What I knew for certain was that Accord Island was gone and the shockwaves were felt around the world. While the devastation was more limited than I might have expected, given that there had been a massive energy-generator tapping directly into the Sun via a magical conduit in the basement, something I preliminarily attributed to Tailong, due to the brief a...

Chapter 540

The next morning, we all assembled at the Guild. Jakyl still looked a little grumpy, but the smiles on Gilo’s and Mal’s faces seemed to be genuine. Mal took the initiative to approach me, even before Weise could speak up, to introduce the two groups to each other, or introduce the three unknown people who were present, their garb making me assume them to be the clerics. The simple, sturdy travelling clothes, combined with the singular, ornate torch-amulet each of them was wearing gave tha...

DLM, Bk 5, Ch 36 [Re-Write]

For a moment, stillness ruled on the plaza, every scourge turning towards the chariot and its inhumane rider. The stillness only lasted a moment and despite the camera’s not having microphones, I was certain I heard the howling of wolves, as all the hounds raised their muzzles towards the sky in unison. The many shepherds on the plaza were moving, too, their arms striking the left chest once, before being raised towards the chariot in salute.

In response, the figure on the chariot rai...

Chapter 539

“What in the…?!” An intense voice ripped me from my focus, making me realise that I had zoned out. Sadly, the surprise meant that my hands shook for a moment, spilling the liquid I had been pouring into a different beaker, causing it to land on the table below and starting to enthusiastically rip the heat from it, freezing it instantly.

The sudden hissing and cracking caused Mal next to me to drop the vial in her hand, shattering on the table, introducing a secondary reagent into ...

DLM, Bk 5, Ch 35 (end) Rewrite

• AN: While writing the beginning of Book 6, I more and more noticed that I was mucking things up and decided to go back and start again, starting with the ending of Book 5. The general events will remain the same, but details and descriptions will change. Hopefully, you guys will enjoy the new versions more.

“Mother, wake up!” Galatea’s voice pierced my mind, dragging a small part of it into a vague wakefulness. I was feeling as if I was thinking thr...

DLM, Bk 6, Ch 12

Waking up was a curious sensation, especially when I began to access the part of me that was connected to Galatea. It also allowed me to answer the first question, namely my current location and the realisation that I was within my Bunker in New Brunsburg brought a wide smile to my face. My plan, faced with the prospect of playing chess while blindfolded, trying to out-manoeuvre Powered who may or may not be able to see the future in ways I could only vaguely guess was to not play.

Inst...

Chapter 538

Sadly, my hoped for discussion on Alchemy with Mal didn’t happen, at least not during the evening. By the time the introduction of her team was done, it was time for her to head off and for us, to head to bed. But she promised to answer a few questions, if I did likewise, in the morning. Exchanging knowledge was always a good thing, so I happily agreed, before following Sigmir to bed.

After a quick breakfast, we split up, each of us doing their own thing. The town was secure enough th...

Chapter 537

“So, Mal, is it? Good Evening and nice to meet you.” I returned her incredibly enthusiastic greeting, an amused smile on my face.

“Malachite, but, as I said, you can call me Mal.” she replied, before her eyes focused back on the flask in her hand, if only for a moment.

“Talk about Business, you said. What business do you have with me? Or is it business with the group you expected to join your group on the purification-quest?” I prodded, making the important distinction...

Chapter 536

Looking back down into the valley, after we had climbed the rough and rocky northern walls, the movement was obvious. Compared to earlier, when we had entered from the south-eastern slope, the contrast was too extreme, the Ankheg were swarming, reminding me of ants, after somebody had disturbed their hill.

“We should keep going, we’ve got what we wanted.” Adra suggested, looking just a little queasy at the skittering mass below.

“Agreed, and we should warn the Guild that t...

Chapter 535

From afar, the valley we were told the lichen was growing in was peaceful. Nothing seemed to be out of place, just rocky slopes, some sparse trees, some evergreens and leaves scattered on the ground. There was a small brook, maybe a remnant of the water that had, in days long past, dug the valley from the mountain and on the upper slopes, near that very brook, we were told to look for the peculiar lichen. Blood Moss, a red lichen, almost dark enough to be called black, and apparently, it was ...

DLM, Bk 6, Ch 11

Getting back to New Brunsburg was both simple and difficult at the same time. If not for the need to remain undetected, Sophia and I could simply have taken the plane, flying in and landing openly but given that I was still wanted in my identity as Metis, that plane could not fly. On the other hand, there was the flight-frame for personal, small aviation and with a few more tweaks, I had been able to make the design about as undetectable for technical sensors as possible. That had been done t...

Chapter 534

Sweaty, tired and thoroughly cold, I stumbled back into my apartment, a small part of me cursing out Mrs. Wu as I went. That smiling face of hers, as she ordered me to perform one set of exercises after the other, while having me describe the effects my strikes would have, if the training-dummy was an actual human, never letting up, driving me to exhaustion and beyond. By the end of our two-hours session, my mind had started to drift in and out of focus, the dummy becoming a blurry outline an...

Chapter 533

When we returned to the Guild in the morning, it turned out that we’d have to wait a few days to meet the rest of our prospective group. Originally, the mission had been planned to start within a week of our arrival, the clerics busy with preparations, which, in turn, caused the group to head out, partially to scout the area, partially to gain a couple extra EXP. It wasn’t a bad idea, especially if they were Travellers and thus wouldn’t permanently die, even if they were killed. However...

DLM, Bk 6, Ch 10

After the reception, which had been quite the interesting experience overall, Sophia and I enjoyed some romantic time together, simply enjoying the presence of the other. Galatea, on the other hand, had been tasked with looking into the information I had received, Even while walking down a slightly rocky beach, stepping carefully to avoid some of the larger stones, a part of me was looking at the data, drawing links and filling in some of the blanks, at times with information I had received i...

Chapter 532

“Elaborate, please.” Adra asked, just as interested in the follow-up as I was. There had to be a reason for him to ask us and not the locals, meaning that it most likely was dangerous, and thus, an excellent potential source of EXP. Or of death, but that was always the risk

“Certainly.” he nodded, and I briefly wondered about his species, though not enough to risk using Observe. Even with my Darkness-Magic to conceal the usage, there was always a risk and inviting scrutiny, or m...

Chapter 531

The terrain was slowly shifting, from the rough and largely desolate slopes of the Dorrian Mountains to gentle, rolling hills, covered in a couple of forests and large, almost steppe-like meadows. From our elevated position, we could make out a few farmsteads in the distance, the buildings surrounded by palisades and cultivated fields around those.

“Lenore, can you go up and look around, so we can find our way back to the Imperial Road?” I asked, knowing that there should be a town ...

Chapter 530

As the joke went, we were not fleeing, we were rapidly advancing towards the rear. Or maybe we were running away, no shame in running away from an unknown threat, it was the way to preserve the lives of those around me. Even for me, dying would be a major hassle, setting me back a great deal, though I would come back.

The scents floating on the wind, as we were moving, told me a great deal, yet nothing at all. I could taste that there was a powerful being coming, the scent of death and ...

DLM, Bk 6, Ch. 9

From a single realisation, a multitude of ideas came forth, all of them in need of testing and verification, to further our understanding of the world. Sophia spent an hour or two each day trying to learn how to fly by turning the concept of climbing without a rope into something less awkward. The rest of her days were spent with her own project, an attempt to formulate her education-plans for Powered into something tangible. She also discussed her idea with Isleen, though both of them were a...

Chapter 529

With Rai hiding, the attacking skeletons crashed into Sigmir, who was happily holding the line. Looking from behind, I almost had to laugh when Sigmir started to swing, timing her strikes in such a way to keep the Lok’Nar move in a perpetual dance of destruction. The skeletons moved in and before they ever were in reach to strike at Sigmir’s body, they were swept aside by her weapon, crushed by her incredible strength. For a moment, I lost myself in a fantasy of that fierce strength, only...

DLM, Bk 6, Ch 8

“I am just trying to digest what Galatea presented.” I admitted, shaking my head. Letting out a slow breath, I decided that Sophia needed to know and she hopefully would be able to harness that understanding.

“What you just did, was break the laws of physics, as we understood them before. I mean, you weigh maybe sixty kilogram but somehow, you managed to lift an object weighing a hundred kilos, without getting lifted in turn. That should not work, I mean, you know as well as I do ...

Chapter 528

With Rai having broken the second Divide, there naturally had to be testing. It was one thing to test his abilities outside of combat but a whole different question to use them in actual combat, even simple sparring was enough of a difference.

And so, we decided on a second day of camping and rest, letting Rai try out some of his new tricks. Testing his weapon-enchantment was somewhat simple, Sigmir volunteered, with Olivia and myself standing ready to clean up any damage. The effect wa...