Welcome to Arc 3!
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Unknown Location
An ancient stone hall near mountains, Tzintkra
Incarnate
More than an Aspect, you are an Incarnate. Your Concept sets what the meaning of the Affinity you Incarnate does and does not mean. Your Incarnate will always be a part of you, and you will always be a part of it.
As an Incarnate, you are not capable of combining or otherwise altering this Aff...
2021-09-21 23:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostPulled from a hopeless (if powerful) future back to the moment of Earth’s integration to try to improve the outcome, Serenity has met unexpected threats and unexpected allies - even friends. Everything is different this time. His girlfriend’s alive but back on Earth while Serenity is stranded on another world. He has a promise of a way out, but first he has to find a place to start.
Raz’s life is less hopeful; his Clan was destroyed and now he’s found himself conscripted as a ...
2021-09-21 00:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostNote for today - it turns out that I made a mistake and used Sterath instead of Stallet for Raz's Academy/City/ancestor. Oops. I've fixed these mistakes, and will try to use them correctly moving forward.
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Author’s Commentary
I’m not planning on rewriting anything soon, but I thought I’d share my thoughts with you on how the ride’s been so far. Bumpy is probably the first word that comes to mind. Since I didn’t talk about the first arc then, I...
2021-09-20 23:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostDO NOT FORGET TO READ CHAPTER 95! It also posted today (5 minutes earlier)!
It's the end of Arc 2, so it's worth a look :-)
Enjoy!
Arc 2's tentative title is Time or Death.
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Character List of Time or Death
This list does include people mentioned in both Arcs to date. I’ve included some people who showed up only in one scene or a small group of scenes, if they’re characters with a bigge...
2021-09-19 23:05:00 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
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[Path Quest Stage 2]
[Goal: Complete a Path Choice Quest]
[Reward: Transportation to Earth]
[Optional Goal: Recruit Assistance for Self or Earth]
[Optional Reward: Additional transportation to Earth]
[Penalty for Failure: Discontinuation of Path Quest]
Serenity had never been told he needed to find a Path Choice Quest befor...
2021-09-19 23:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
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In the morning, Serenity woke up to the noise of the waterfall and Rissa running her hands along the downy fuzz on his spine and wings. It was relaxing and comfortable and she seemed happy, so he snuggled into her and let her rub his back.
Eventually, the quiet moment ended. Both of them were used to getting up and going in the morning, and Serenity was hungry. Rissa gave him some mana, but that still meant it was time to be up.
As Rissa picked up ...
2021-09-18 23:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
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They were led to a long cave with tables piled high with food. The room itself was hung with tapestries, most of which seemed to show different varieties of dragon. It didn’t look anything like Serenity expected a kobold area to look; he’d expected the same run-down, poorly-constructed, filthy sort of place goblins tended to make, but this wasn’t like that at all. It was clean and well-lit, and the tables seemed sturdy and well-made.
The food looke...
2021-09-18 00:14:55 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
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The doors were marked with a sea lion, a bipedal lizard in clothing, and a large manlike figure. It was pretty easy to figure out they needed to take the last door (“Yeti”), the sea lion door, and the kobold door.
When they walked through the kobold door, they found themselves in a cave. Unlike the last corridor, this one twisted and wound like an actual cave passageway, though the ground was still far too level to be purely natural. Echo was the fi...
2021-09-16 23:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
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When they appeared on the tenth level, they appeared in a square white-walled room. In the middle of the room was a black stone pedestal with a plaque on it and three of the walls held a gray door. The doors had easily visible, colorful symbols that looked like a butterfly (or maybe a moth, since it wasn’t very colorful), a heart (the symbol, not the organ), and a lizard (or maybe a kobold since it was standing upright and wearing clothing). The plaque re...
2021-09-15 23:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
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After four days of enforced downtime due to Lancaster’s injuries, Serenity felt anxious to get back into the dungeon to have something to do other than answer inane questions from the people who didn’t delve. Somehow, he’d spent nearly half the time dealing with questions and arguments between people. Someone had to be handling them when he wasn’t there, right?
He had managed to spend several hours a day practicing unarmed combat, and he had a be...
2021-09-14 23:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
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Unknown Campsite, Tzintkra
The evening of Earth’s integration
Raz had never traveled on a floating metal disc before, and if he ever had the choice, he never would again. Not unless it was a much better design. Either a place to sit or something to hang on to, at the least. The flying carpet was a much more stable experience!
Gustav hopped off the disc and held out his hand. The disc shrank until it was half a foot acro...
2021-09-13 23:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
Edit: Corrected Sterath to Stallet.
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Sunrise Dungeon, Asihanya
The afternoon of Earth’s integration
It took Raz longer to get back to Aki than he’d expected. New monsters had wandered in from elsewhere in the dungeon - or maybe they’d respawned. They weren’t supposed to respawn that deep in the dungeon, but they weren’t supposed to spawn in the first place, either, so who could tell.
Aki was still where he...
2021-09-12 23:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
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Serenity needed to get the bull’s attention. “HEY UGLY LOOK OVER HERE.” Insults sometimes worked, and they didn’t cost anything.
It didn’t work this time.
Fine then. He needed to do something drastic; trying to outlast it wouldn’t work unless he could get it to stop first. Serenity circled around behind the bull. It turned a little, but when it had to choose between watching him and continuing to send the waves towards Echo and Moira, ...
2021-09-11 23:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
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The pool the kelp monster came out of led to a kelp forest. It was as beautiful as the coral reef, and both similar and different at the same time. Unlike the reef, there wasn’t a clear path through the kelp; it had to be carefully stepped around or even pushed over a bit when there wasn’t enough room to get through. The water was also noticeably colder, and there were different species of fish.
Serenity couldn’t really tell the fish apart, but they...
2021-09-10 23:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
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“The magic you’re using. You said Essence is what makes monsters?” Rissa touched the side of Serenity’s head and gently turned it to face her.
Serenity met her eyes. “Yes. That’s what makes it dangerous.”
Rissa shook her head. “No, inexperience is what makes it dangerous. Having the magic that can fix exactly what you’re worried about is what makes it safer. If something goes wrong, it’s a long term concern, right? So there will...
2021-09-09 23:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
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The analogy to a blood donation threw Serenity. He wouldn’t have had an issue if it had been a blood transfusion; why was this different?
It was. He would be literally drinking Rissa’s blood. It was wrong. He didn’t want to be a vampire.
Yet he wasn’t sure how to express that. He wasn’t even entirely certain why he felt it was different.
...
He did feel better than he had before. Hungrier, or perhaps noticing the hunger more,...
2021-09-08 23:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
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[Dungeon Party]
Serenity - Battle Adept - Melee Tank, Melee Damage, Self Healing
Moira (Follower) - Mage - Ranged Damage (Magic)
Echo - Baffles - Ranged Damage (Magic), Scout
Lancaster - Steadfast - Melee Damage, Agility Tank
Rissa - Time’s Eye - Healing, Support
A...
2021-09-07 23:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
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The next morning was awful. He felt dreadful when he woke up, tired and slightly dizzy. He was up before Rissa, which was just as well; he could change shape before she woke.
The shift was strangely painless. He didn’t feel hungry while he was shifting, and the relief was incredible until it hit him again when he finished transforming. A look down gave him the bad news; it hadn’t been as obvious in his other form because he wasn’t as familiar with...
2021-09-06 23:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
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The goat path led to a crevasse in the ice. The path led down one side and directly to another tunnel entrance. This tunnel seemed larger than the ones they’d explored at the entrance to the level, but it was even more regular. The sides were smooth, and looked partially melted.
Serenity was more than half convinced that the damaged ship at the beginning had been stage dressing, and was very much hoping that the tunnel walls were as well. They re...
2021-09-05 23:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostWelcome to the Patreon for After the End: Serenity!
For anyone who's somehow found their way here without knowing what After the End: Serenity is, it's a story I publish daily at https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/44593/after-the-end-serenity
There are currently 7 advance chapters (1 week) available here for $5 a month.
And for those of you who think this welcome is ou...
2021-09-04 19:56:55 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
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[Dungeon Party]
Serenity - Battle Adept - Melee Tank, Melee Damage, Self Healing
Moira (Follower) - Mage - Ranged Damage (Magic)
Echo - Baffles - Ranged Damage (Magic), Scout
Lancaster - Steadfast - Melee Damage, Agility Tank
Rissa - Time’s Eye - Healing, Support 2021-09-04 19:49:59 +0000 UTC View Post
Enjoy!
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Serenity woke up as a hatchling dragon again. Fortunately, he’d once again awakened before anyone else, so he was able to shift back without anyone noticing the slip.
When they got back into the dungeon, they pulled a couple of Death elementals, then finished the puzzle. The poles sank into the ground and were replaced by a pedestal with a crystal floating above it and a pair of chests.
They opened the chests first. There was another Runed ...
2021-09-04 19:47:59 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
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[Dungeon Party]
Serenity - Death-Eater - Melee Tank, Melee Damage, Self Healing
Moira (Follower) - Mage - Ranged Damage (Magic)
Echo - Baffles - Ranged Damage (Magic), Scout
Lancaster - Steadfast - Melee Damage, Agility Tank
Rissa - Time’s Eye - Healing, ...
2021-09-04 19:39:55 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
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“Today’s been mostly wasted, but we needed the rest.” Lancaster carefully didn’t look at Serenity, but Serenity knew he was a lot of the reason they hadn’t continued on; they couldn’t, while he was in an egg. “We should head back to the surface, see how the other groups are doing.” He turned to face Serenity. “I already warned them to take any cities they see slowly. I don’t want to go through that again and I’m sure they don’t ei...
2021-09-04 19:37:04 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
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Once the pants situation was resolved and Echo finally stopped laughing, everyone gathered around Serenity. Serenity was examining what little he could see of himself.
First of all, he didn’t have a tail. He was grateful for that; it meant there had been no surprises when putting pants on.
His chest was covered in scales that seemed to shade from deep blue to deep purple, depending on where they were. When the light caught a scale just righ...
2021-09-04 19:23:07 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
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Something woke Moira. She was comfortable, and didn’t want to get up. It was light out, but it’d been light out when she went to sleep. That wasn’t what had woken her.
Loneliness
It stabbed through her, and suddenly she was completely awake. Lancaster was still asleep next to her as she tried to figure out where the feeling came from.
All Alone
It had to be Serenity. She pulled on some clothes and grabbed h...
2021-09-04 19:19:46 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
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Why did Chimera disappear on the first one?
[The first option is an Evolving Path, while the second is a Chimeric Path]
[Transitioning to the Evolving Path removes your current Heritage, including all chimerical features, but you would gain all Species abilities of the species you belong to]
[Following the Chimeric Path maintains your full history but limits your Species abilities to th...
2021-09-04 19:11:23 +0000 UTC View Post