neobear

624 - A Match

The Old World, Iron Kingdom, Iron Palace, Palace wing of the Second Prince

"He was not supposed to wake up!" The Second Prince cursed under his breathe as he paced around the room. "The healers were certain that old man had finally reached the end of his time!"

"Where did he get that witch from?" The Second Prince vented his anger by sweeping the items off his desk. "What do we do now?"

"You are already the nominated Crown Prince by the rest of the Iron Lords and ministers!"...

623 - The Grand Library

"This is outrageous!" The senior cleric nearly screamed as he finally couldn't control himself. He pushed Dr. Sharon away from the King's bed and pointed a shaking finger at her. "I do not know what witchcraft you have used to bewitch the Third Prince, but you shall not harm the King!"

Dr. Sharon's face flushed red with anger and as she was about to retort, the doors of the King's private chamber swung open. Prince Najja and Lord Sincia entered the chamber just in time to hear the accus...

622 - The Healer

Prince Najja was basking under the glow of the Iron Lords and ministers' salute. He was finally beat all his brothers to the throne despite his half blood lineage! He stepped forward to the head of the chamber and exchange a knowing smile with his royal uncle and was about to give a rousing speech that was prepared for him to the entire Council when the doors slammed open.

A figure stood at the doors, his golden hair glowing under the sun rays that shone through the windows. Despite the...

621 - Iron for Iron

The view outside the Old Ugly was extraordinary as Blake and the rest stared out from the bridge. Despite having heard of the Capital's description from Professor Hamlot and his students, it did no justice to its grandeur. The Capital of the Iron Kingdom was three to four times the size of Haven back in the New World. Suburbs after suburbs spread out from the Iron Palace which was sited on a small hill that overlooked the entire sprawling city.

A snaking river cut through the centre of ...

620 - The Seven

The Old World, Protectorate of Ramuh,

The female masked Inquisitor paused in her steps and looked over the battlement at the field packed with soldiers and airships. The field was outside the church walls was large enough to hold an entire fleet of airships and it was not the only field to do so. All over the country, similar scenes were unfolding as more and more ships and troops were marshalled.

"Chief Inquisitor Nerissa! Justice be upon you!" A paladin gave a prayer salute to t...

619 - Invading the Iron Kingdom

Blake stared at the plate sized object in his hand. It looked like some old Chinese Fengshui compass except it had multiple needle hands instead and covered with runes and scripts of arcane nature. He turned it left and right, but the compass needles remained unmoving. Finally, unable to decipher the arcane compass, he placed it back down into a foam lined case.

"Did they say anything about this?" Blake asked Trism who carefully secured and closed the case. "Like how to use it?"

T...

618 - Path to the Throne

Blake strolled into the interrogation cell and found Trism bent over one of the captives. The tied up prisoner vomited and gasped for air as Trism stepped back before he violently aimed a punch at the side of the prisoner, knocking the air out of his lungs.

"Sir," Trism greeted the Captain while one of the Marine medics checked on the prisoner. "They are definitely here for the Prince."

"The security detail picked up their movement on the infrared cameras and had been watching the...

617 - The City Of Ashmere

"Home!" Claire Banner cried out with tears of joy as the recognizable silhouette of the city appeared over the horizon. The city of Ashmere, ringed within an impenetrable wall of iron and topped with hundreds of chimneys and smoke stacks spewing smoke and steam, was shrouded in a grey haze.

Dozens of freighter airships buzzed around the city's air space, marking the busy city as a vibrant and important manufacturing hub of the region. As a testimonial of the city's brutal efficiency, pe...

616 - Excuses

The Old World, Tri State, Imperial Capital of the Trinity

Streamers of blue and silver flags fluttered gently in the breeze while the golden towers of the Trinity Palace glittered until the afternoon sun. The Grand Chamber where the most influential and powerful nobles made laws and govern the entire Tri State was in session. A massive ring table sat in the middle of the Chamber with exactly fifteen seats.

Only one chair which was more ornate and lavishly decorated compared to the...

615 - Useless!

The Old World, Capital of the Iron Kingdom

"Based on the bookkeeping records and the crew manifests of the nine air ships docked within the flying island's hangars," An elf wearing the military uniform of the Iron Kingdom and holding the rank of a General reported. He remained half kneeling before the Iron Throne where the Iron King stared at him with bloodshot eyes.

"Over eleven thousand soldiers, sailors, servants... including the Crown Prince and his retinue are believed to hav...

614 - Politics

"BY THE MOUNTAINS!" An angry roar shattered the quiet evening inside the great hall. Grand Lord Greenmane glared at his clan kin who delivered a piece of most unsettling news to him. "The Third Prince has gone missing? And unexplained murder everywhere in Iron Gate?"

"What of his knights?" Grand Lord Greenmane paced around the smooth stone floor of the great hall. "Who are the assailants?"

"The city guard has no idea who the assailants were..." The messenger's voice trailed off. "...

613 - Leaving the City

"I understand the risks," Dr. Sharon spoke softly into the radio handset. She was seated hidden at one corner of the tavern with two Marines covering her. The rest were purposely speaking loudly to mask her usage of the radio to the public's eyes. "But if he truly is part of the Third Prince of the Iron Kingdom's retinue, it would be a lot easier for us to travel within their territory. Over."

"I am still worried about the dangers that he would pose to everyone there," Blake's voice cam...

612 - Assassination

The Old World, The Cartel, Iron Gate

"How is he still alive?" A masked figure standing in the shadows snapped angrily at the two bowing dwarvans in the uniform armour of the city guard. "It was supposed to be done quietly! Look at the mess you all made!"

"Since you have paid us... He will be found!" One of the dwarvan promised. He was the same dwarvan who had ordered the arrest of the Prince of Fire in the tavern. "Our people are combing the streets and had closed off the city gat...

611 - Mad

Prince Herod stretched his arms out and allowed one of his surviving knights to pick the lock of the iron cuffs. He took a quick check of his surroundings and cursed as he spotted several patrols lit by steam lamps moving up and down the streets. One of his knights said quietly, "We need to find a safe place to hide and recover."

He nodded in agreement but he did not know where to find a safe spot. The Prince has some contacts in the city of Iron Gate but he did not know if they will tu...

610 - Stuck

Iron Gate Border City, South Gate

"Whaaaaat?" Dr. Sharon wailed as she saw the main gates shut tightly and the short dwarvan guards shaking their heads at her and waving her away. She glanced at her watch seeing the time was barely after eleven pm. "Why do they close the gates so early?"

"Well, strangers from afar." One of the dwarvan guards helpfully advised, "You can head down to the eastern side gate of the city if you wish to leave the city. That gate normally doesn't close at...

609 - Foul Deals

Sea of Clouds

Several oblong airships shot out of the dark clouds one after another. The outward appearance of the airships was all worse for wear, with peeling paint and visible damage to their hull and leaking smoke from broken funnels. If one were to observe the ships closely, they would notice that there were two distinctive designs, one of which resembled the ships of the Iron Kingdom and the other was that of the Tri State.

Duchess Manarva let out a breath of relief when she...

608 - The Future

Dr. Sharon was having the time of her life as she browsed through the dozens of stores and markets at the airfield. The items and strange steam gadgets on display were like out of some video game. Hawkers cried out their wares and gestured to any potential customers walking by. She paused every once in a while to peer at the wares displayed while Magister Thorn had an unhappy expression on his face.

"Cheer up friend!" Professor Hamlot comforted the crestfallen Magister who so far has no...

607 - Worries

Weighted lines fell off the side of the Old Ugly as it came to a low hover over the open field. Workmen reached out grabbed the lines and secured the dangling ropes to iron pegs hammered deep into the ground. More workmen and beasts of burden pushed over mooring towers for the airship to dock on and slowly the airscrews and boilers winded down.

The belly cargo ramp dropped down with a rattle of chains and the crew of the Old Ugly stepped off. Blake stood at the top of the ramp and looke...

606 - Where Are You?

Dragon Lord Alder eyed the Suugon ambassador warily as he rolled his impressive bulk over. He knew the Suugon ambassador was a snake, in fact all the Suugons were snakes to his reckoning. The fact that the ambassador came over and disclosed such news meant that the Suugons were up to something again.

"Why does it even matter to me?" Dragon Lord Alder replied lazily as he picked up another piece of sweet meat. "The Iron Kingdom's succession will not affect the Dragon Domain."

"It m...

605 - Murder

The Old World, Bronze Mountain 281st Cartel Air Fleet, The Bronze Picker

Cartel Lord Boldstar turned his attention away from the boarding action of the Loose Confed merchant airship and gave an order to the helmsman. "Bring us away from this place! Resume course to Waterfall Cove!"

"Yes, my Lord!" The helmsman replied as he spun the wheel. The heavy sky cruiser turned and pointed its nose towards the direction of the cove and its air screws powered up, pushing the heavy sky cruise...

604 - Illegal Actions

"Captain! Aerial contact bearing one sixty!" The sensor officer called out from his station. "Distance sixty klicks! Speed... fifteen knots!"

"Do we have visual?" Blake asked from his seat while Trism stood over the sensor station staring at the screen.

"Eh... Yes Sir!" Trism replied and a display screen mounted forward on the bridge ceiling switched to display a fat cigar shaped bronze painted airship captured by a set of high powered camera. "Its displaying Cartel markings, Sir....

603 - The Old Ugly

"Pressure is up," Acting XO, Trism said. The Intel Officer had been assigned the position of Executive Officer of the Old Ugly listened to the comms as reports came in from all the departments. "Aetherium temperature is holding."

"Release the mooring locks," Blake ordered from the side as he stared out of the forward viewports.

"Aye! Releasing the locks!" Trism repeated and the order was passed down. Almost immediately, there were several clanks as the mooring clamps holding the h...

602 - At What Cost

The Old World, Mithril Mountains, The Cartel

"We can no longer support any decision to send more convoys of airships into the New World!" A dwarvan announced from his seat. The stout red faced dwarvan hammered the stone tabletop with a clenched fist and complained. "These expeditions are wasting our resources! None of the previous expeditions had returned! We might as well throw gold away to the lowlanders!"

Mumbles and choruses of agreements broke out around the table as the rest...

601 - Phoenix Arriving

It was quiet except for the occasional beep of the instrumental panels inside the dark cockpit. Flickers of lightning lit the interior of the cockpit where the two pilots sat in a side by side configuration. Thunder rumbled shortly after while the massive wingship sandwiched between two layers of endless clouds continued its journey through a landscape no mortal being has ever laid their e...

Another cover update... >.<

After asking around... seems like this blue and red was more popular and also many preferred the flying wing instead... What do you all think of the new design? Or should I kept it to one color?

The UN logo/blue, I most likely be keeping it for now...

Currently looking up on CL-1201, Beriev Be 5000/2500, Boeing Pelican/RC-1,  Aerocon Dash 1.6 wingship, TTS-IS, Kawanishi KX-03, Caspian Sea Monster etc for ideas of the new UN wingship.

Which color is good?

I got blueprint blue, Tom Clancy blue, UN blue, and Tom Clancy red... ( from the left to right

Also two other designs other than the flying wing, UN Airship Icarus and the UN logo.

Which color or design is nice? What do you guys think?

*Update - changed design for Icarus and UN logo*

Book IV cover preview!

What do you guys think of the new book cover?

600 - Allegiance

The Old World, Entrance to Waterfall Cove

The air around the opening into the cove shimmered and the air turned thick, so thick that the air turned distorted. The distortion turned the air dark grey, like the color of the rock cliff around the cove. Under the watch of thousands, the entrance of the cove vanished to be replaced by a distorted arcane optical camouflage of the surrounding cliffs, effectively hiding the entrance from prying eyes.

Magister Thorn let out a breath of rel...

599 - The Floating Market

The New World, Waterfall Cove, UNEF FOB

Grand Lord Hammerfall set down the emptied pitcher of fermented cococane wine and let out a deep sigh. He sipped his drink moodily as he watched the people of the Un An enjoying themselves inside the canteen and unwillingly recalled such an experience of his own, when his forces landed on the New World.

"By the mountains... Oh how have the tables has turned..." He took another sip of the wine and sighed again. "I am home... yet not home..."<...

598 - No Doubt

A harpoon hissed out from the launcher and with a sharp shriek, it pierced into the side of the floating chunk of rock that was almost as large as the airship next to it. Several more harpoons hissed out from the steam launchers and attached themselves against the floating rock's surface and the crew put their muscles onto the cranks and reined in the ropes attached to the harpoons.

Once the floating rock was snuggled up tight against the air harvester, the four powerful aerial screws s...