wardenraime

Chapter 533 - An Unexpected Request

Leon felt immeasurably better when he left his soul realm than he did when he entered it. He knew what he did and didn’t want to be, and he had the next few moves of his life planned out. He would build a new family, a new Clan, out of House Raime, and he would run it as he saw fit. No slavery, no using sentient creatures as magic power generators, and no needless and selfish conquest. Hopefully, if the day ever came when he wore the crown of the Storm King, any stigma associated with the o...

Chapter 532 - A Spark of Ambition

After his short talk with Nestor, Leon wandered the forest in his soul realm for a long time. He opened himself up to the sounds of nature, but since it was his soul realm, it was unnaturally quiet. Still, Leon reveled in that silence, feeling clear-headed for the first time in weeks. It had taken quite a bit of thinking and moralizing that even he found a little bit strange, but he felt like he was about ready to start coming to his own conclusions about who he was, how he related to his Cla...

Chapter 531 - Values of the Old Clan

Leon sat in his villa staring at a wall, at a loss as to what he should be doing with himself. The King and Penitent had an enormous amount of work to do with the western revolts, so after agreeing to accompany any force sent out to track down Octavius, Leon hadn’t stayed with them for long.

He consequently had a few questions that were left unanswered, mostly related to the whereabouts of people like August, Roland, Minerva, and the Sapphire Paladin, but he supposed these concerns we...

Chapter 530 - Hasty Return to the Capital

Leon numbly listened as Ajax narrated the events of only two days ago from the report he’d received. Octavius had escaped from the dungeon, broken free by unknown persons who were possessed of alarming strength. The current theories in the Bull Kingdom pointed to only a few parties, with the most likely being a group of rogue actors within the government of the Talfar Kingdom trying to exact some measure of revenge for their loss in the recent war.

But Leon didn’t think much of that...

Chapter 529 - Raid for a Prince

The capital was fairly quiet; surprisingly so, in Jormun’s opinion. It had barely even been a month since the Bull Kingdom’s civil war had ended, so he’d expected to see their capital in an absolute flurry of activity. However, it seemed that many of the people who had fled the city had yet to return, and without the Legions there to make up the difference, the city was relatively deserted.

A smile crossed the pirate’s plain face as he gazed out over the railing of his small slo...

Chapter 528 - The Card

Another long chapter today, almost 6k words.  529 will also be of comparable length. ;)
---
---
On the plane of Aeterna, the Heaven’s Eye Merchant Guild had a virtual monopoly on all banking from one side of the plane to the other. They were also the largest non-government operated group who participated in international trade, being more than capable of moving just about anything in any realistic quantity from one end of the plane to the other. Of course, this made them incre...

Chapter 527 - Regaining Some Pride

Chapter further below, this is just something I wanted to say beforehand.

A lot of patrons not returning in December, so I'd figured I'd leave everyone with a 6500 word chapter to end the month.  Next month, I'll be lowering the goal for bonus chapters again, and going forward I'll be increasing the minimum number of words I want for every chapter to 3,000, up from 2,000.  The 2,000 was definitely more workable on a day-to-day basis, and this'll mean more work, but hopeful...

Chapter 526 - Introspection

Leon’s heart was conflicted as his group returned to Teira. The weight on his mind from the thoughts he’d had in the control room of Xaphan’s prison had eased a little, but the problem persisted. In the end, he hadn’t taken the power crystal from the prison. He didn’t feel like he needed it, and that he’d go further without it.
Just setting aside the moral quandaries that the events of Nestor’s lab had left him with, he was still left with the realization that he needed to do...

Chapter 525 - The Future II

Asking Valeria to be a part of his future was a spur of the moment decision, but it wasn’t one that Leon took lightly. Neither Elise nor Maia seemed to be too surprised or perturbed by his statement, though he could feel their grips on his arms tighten so he knew there would have to be a discussion later. Given that both had expressed their support for his pursuing a romantic relationship with Valeria—to varying degrees of enthusiasm, to be sure—he felt confident that this wasn’t too ...

Chapter 524 - The Future I

“What in the name of the Ancestors is this place?” the Heaven’s Eye diplomat asked in wonder as Leon led them through the halls of Xaphan’s prison. He was asking the question on everyone’s mind, as Elise and the rest of the Heaven’s Eye escort stared at everything around them.
It had been surprisingly easy for Leon to convince all of them to take a different way home than the route they’d taken north, though he supposed that the discomfort of the Frozen Mountains had...

Chapters 73-76 Revised

Well, I was surprised for the reaction when I mentioned I had decided to cut Chapter 73.  Every piece of feedback I got back about that decision was that I should leave it in, and I mean every bit of feedback.  It was unanimous.  Caught me off-guard.

---

---

Chapter 73, The Pool

---

The events of the first two days in the Academy set the precedent for the next few days. In the morning, Leon would wake early and meditate to mentally prepare...

Chapter 523 - A Few Days of Rest

When Elise dragged Leon and Maia off to bathe, Leon didn’t even question it. He was looking forward to being with his fire-haired lover again even though neither he nor Maia were in moods to physically express that. The three simply enjoyed the time they had together, with Leon and Maia crammed together in a small wooden tub and Elise quietly rubbing their shoulders in turn, listening to them tell the story of their time in the Forest of Black and White.
For her part, Valeria went to ano...

Chapter 522 - Back in Vale Town

Leon stared back at the Forest of Black and White from the mountain pass that lead back to the Brown Bear’s vale. Everything had worked out in the end, but he couldn’t say that his time being back home had been particularly pleasant. The ice wraiths, the Gorgon, Nestor, Justin, all of it ran through his mind as he took some time to reflect on everything that had happened over the past week.

His power was considerable, especially considering where he’d been when he’d left the For...

Chapter 521 - A Second Departure

All too soon, Leon and his group’s time in the Heartwood grove came to an end. Leon didn’t want them to stay too long, even though the grove itself seemed to revel in his presence as much as he reveled in its. The golden leaves of the trees seemed to sparkle and glimmer more the second morning than they did the first, and Leon momentarily wondered what Nestor’s thoughts about the place would be.
However, he quickly put that out of his mind. He didn’t want to hear from that man righ...

Chapter 520 - Maia's Answer

The further Leon went into the Heartwood Glade, the more furious he became at Justin’s ‘apology’. While the apology itself had seemed genuine enough, Justin had not once said anything about feeling sorry for his attitude towards those with Inherited Bloodlines, showcasing that the attitude that allowed him to do what he did with a fairly clear conscience hadn’t changed. What was more, he showed his true colors when he got to the realreason why he wanted to talk: to try and co...

Chapter 519 - Justin's Request

When Leon’s group awoke in the Heartwood Grove, the sun was already high in the sky, showing that they had all been much more tired than they had realized—they’d slept for more than twelve hours. Without the unknown fate of Justin or a mysterious Thunderbird Clan base in the mountains to push them onward, however, no one was in too much of a hurry to leave.
As a result, Leon said that it ought to be fine for everyone to rest up for the day in the grove and return eastward the followi...

Chapter 518 - Leaving the Lab

It was a fairly short night for Leon, mostly because of his conversations with the Thunderbird, Nestor, and starting his tutelage under the latter. A lot had been given to him to think about and to practice, and now he was greatly looking forward to returning home and getting in some much needed rest.
One thing that he still had to figure out, however, was his relationship with Valeria. Now that he and her father had made their peace, even if Leon wasn’t ever going to forget what Justin ...

Chapter 517 - Death of the Thunderbird

For several long hours, Nestor and the young Raime spoke at great length, with Nestor getting a feel for Leon’s current skill in enchanting. By the end of it, he wasn’t particularly enthused about Leon’s skill, but he grudgingly admitted that there was some talent there that could be nourished.
It would have to be nourished another time, however, for Leon had to get at least some mental rest during the night, and he still had a few things to discuss with the Thunderbird. So,...

Chapter 516 - Leon's Offered Deal

Leon had no reservations about leaving Valeria and Justin alone again. If they hadn’t run away the first time he and Maia had left, then he doubted they’d vanish on him now. So, after seeing Valeria’s reaction to Justin revealing some personal information that Leon guessed she didn’t know, he felt it was best to give them some space.
To that end, he and Maia found another room to get some rest in. The facility was still completely dark since Leon had taken its power crystal that ke...

Chapter 515 - Khosrow's Law

“So, Kamran has enemies,” Leon continued, not letting Justin stop even for a moment, “how about the old Thunderbird Clan? Do you know of any old allies of them that might be willing to aid me?”
“I can’t say, the Thunderbird Clan’s destruction was long before my time.”
Leon nodded in understanding. Justin was barely more than a hundred years old, while the Thunderbird had told him that her descendants had been dwindling for thousands of years. They likely hadn’t been mu...

Chapter 514 - Titles

For a while, Leon and Justin’s conversation was dry and without too much emotion. Leon, after everything that had happened over the past few hours and days, was just about done with being passionate about his enemies, especially with Nestor and Justin firmly in hand. Justin, meanwhile, was utterly defeated, and was mostly going along with whatever Valeria wanted him to do.
Leon wondered if the man would ever snap out of this funk, but given the magnitude of what he had lost since vanishi...

Chapter 513 - Leon's Questions

Retrieving the crystal that stored all the power in the facility was fairly easy, at least compared to the moon stone. Leon’s only concern had been what might happen to the lift and the rest of the facility once it was no longer powered, but Nestor had been adamant that the enchantments running these things could still be powered individually.
It was still a little nerve-wracking for Leon when he found th storage crystal and began the process of disconnecting it and taking it for himself...

Chapter 512 - Valeria and Justin

For a long few seconds after Leon and Naiad left her alone with her father, Valeria stared at the door, simply contemplating the implications of what Leon had just done and all that had happened over the past few hours. He’d brought her father back to her alive, and he’d left her alone with him seemingly without care that she might take the opportunity to run away.
Given how difficult it had been for the three of them to get so far, however, Valeria knew that she and her terribly injur...

Chapter 72 Revised

Well, this one's a little late, I apologize for not getting it out the Monday after the last revised chapter like I'd been hoping.  Originally, I was planning on keeping most of the details of Leon and Valeria's fight, but in the end, I decided against it and just rewrote the entire chapter.  Oddly enough, Leon and Valeria's initial fight was actually one of the parts of this arc that I was happiest with, but I just decided, hey, new chapter, might as well have a new fight, even if ...

Chapter 511 - The Moon Stone II

[I couldn’t get a good look at it, but if I’m right, then that rock was touched by a Primal God,] the Thunderbird said, her tone grave. [Probably more than touched, though, if these wards are truly needed…]
Leon cocked his head and entered a more guarded pose, with Maia beside him doing likewise after seeing his caution, but he doubted it would make much of a difference if the thing was actually dangerous—he was just grateful that the dome of light was still in place and that the s...

Chapter 510 - The Moon Stone I

Leon exited the magic power generator room—he couldn’t think of anything else to call the place—with Justin still limply slung over his shoulder. A part of him was still demanding that he set Justin down and do as the man asked, to kill him before Valeria could find them, but by now, that part of him was growing smaller and weaker with every step he took.
For his part, Justin didn’t argue when Leon picked him up. He didn’t even struggle. Perhaps that was because of his extreme we...

Chapter 509 - Justin's Weakness

Leon sat down upon the platform that Justin had been imprisoned on, his eyes wandering the room. He felt surprisingly at peace despite the magnitude of what he’d just done; Justin would likely wake soon, and when he did, Leon’s entire world could—and probably would—change.
But he’d also finally made his choice, he’d follow through with his promise with Valeria and give Justin a chance to make peace. His decision was made, he could live with whatever came next.
As he...

Chapter 508 - Vengeance or Forgiveness

There he was, in the back of the room. Justin Isynos. One of the men responsible for the murder of his father, his uncle, his grandfather, and the destruction of his House.
Everything else in the room vanished, as far as Leon was concerned. He had eyes only for Justin, and he started to slowly stalk over, a dark look crossing over his face.
As he walked over, he took in the sight of the man. Justin had been completely enveloped in vines, with only his face, hands, and feet visible. He w...

Chapter 507 - Obsolete

Valeria sighed deeply as she stepped back from the lift panel.
“There’s no way I’m going to get this damn thing to move,” she said with a deep scowl. “The power requirements are too great for me to power myself, and besides, I think the lift has been physically locked wherever that Nestor guy took it, but I can’t say for certain.”
[But it isn’t going to move?] Naiad asked.
“No,” Valeria said as she stood up and stared at the panel with a look that spoke of nothing...

Chapter 506 - Round Two

Leon waited with bated breath, his eyes unwaveringly locked on Nestor. He saw every tiny movement of the older man’s magic body, and at the first sign of his return to Leon’s soul realm, Leon would spring into action. He’d done everything else he could do until then, so now he had to wait.
Above him on her perch was the Thunderbird, watching Nestor as well, but also occasionally sparing a disdainful glance for Xaphan. She and Leon had spent the past few hours going over his plan and ...