Evening had fallen, and for most folk outside the Heroes’ tent, the camp was still bustling with activity.
Soldiers were busy with defences and logistics. Thameish priests healed the wounded, while strategists poured over maps, planning for the next day. Men and women drank. Some shared a meal. Some spoke of the battle they’d just been through. While others were already tucked in their sleeping rolls, looking for any peace they could get before another attack came.
Outside the...
2023-11-21 21:22:35 +0000 UTC
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St. Merzhin used his divinity with a vengeance as he stood atop Vesuvius’ back.
The battle had been long, tough, and important.
All around him, a scene that resembled one he’d imagined one would see in the hells, unfolded.
The Heroes, Thameish knights and a group of allies from Generasi were defending a pass leading to the mountain city of Llanesam far in the western part of Thameland.
They had made a stand there.
Behind them, a vast medical camp sprawled wit...
2023-11-18 22:37:48 +0000 UTC
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Alex was dying.
Even as he and his companions hurtled through space, he could feel blood leaking between Birger’s fingers. His consciousness wavered. Warm frothy fluid, tasting of rust, dripped down his chin. Ashen skin turned clammy and cold.
Yet, his mind was on Theresa.
Burning.
How deep were those burns? Had the searing heat reached her lungs?
It was with these thoughts that Alex emerged back in the world a moment before his companions, hitting the ground, ...
2023-11-17 22:49:05 +0000 UTC
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Alexander Roth was no stranger to pain.
His parents’ deaths had dealt him a wound that would always cut to his very soul. McHarris, the Baker, had hit him more times than he could remember. Burn-saw’s blade left a deep scar on his flesh. Battles against greater demons in Cretalikon, and the Thameish church had wounded him in ways that went beyond physical pain.
Then, there was the Mark, a symbol placed on his skin that sought to drive him mad with mental anguish if he tried to...
2023-11-16 22:10:11 +0000 UTC
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Things had not gone as they were supposed to.
The plan had abruptly changed when Mouse, Crow and Fox had stepped through the portal first, supposedly to tell Warder that they had returned and that Alex’s group was going to accompany them to the safehouse.
Time had passed, then Crow came back, speaking to Rat quickly in their secret tongue before scurrying back to the portal.
The lone thief looked stricken, then turned to Alex and the others.
“Erm, I’m sorry…but...
2023-11-15 21:54:02 +0000 UTC
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Alex quickly slipped spell upon high-tiered spell into Claygon’s bag.
Cursed Land was described as a spell that inflicted wide swathes of terrain with a bloody curse. The earth would turn treacherous, the air stifling and shadows would grow deep. Where luck had once been neutral or good, it would abruptly turn ill, and all plant life would turn poisonous.
‘A classic witch’s spell from legend,’ Alex thought, recalling the tale of a bewitched princess who was cursed to wande...
2023-11-14 21:15:28 +0000 UTC
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Control Weather.
Magic Alex had always imagined, the true wonder of wizardry he always saw himself casting from the time he was small; images filling his mind of an ancient, powerful, bearded wizard wearing flowing robes and a wide-brimmed hat, holding his mighty staff aloft, raising it toward the heavens.
The spell Noarc was most famous for had captivated him when they’d visited the wizard’s magical tower to celebrate Selina’s eleventh birthday. With that one spell, h...
2023-11-11 22:06:35 +0000 UTC
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The thieves quickly found what they’d come for.
They moved through the library’s third level under invisibility magic, silent and experienced, mindful of those studying in desk-alcoves on the bridges, and the golem-knight standing guard below.
They plucked what they needed from various bookcases, slipping their prizes into invisible sacks, reaching for the next treasure on their list. Spell-guide after spell-guide disappeared from Brightfire’s third floor wi...
2023-11-10 23:07:02 +0000 UTC
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At midnight, the campus of Brightfire was a dark, sinister place.
With a new moon and a cloudy sky, no light of star or moon shone down, leaving much of the university in blackness. Certain streets and buildings were lit by firelight from braziers and hearths, glowing forceballs, and magical lamps, but these were only the most-travelled avenues and busiest centres of the campus. All else was in darkness.
A campus bar called the Emperor’s Tavern was alive with activity.
Uns...
2023-11-10 01:15:43 +0000 UTC
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The shadow of the northern university towered over Sorkovo like a massive hungry Gargoyle. Brightfire—or Blightfire, as most members of the guild called it, disparaging the school for its ostentatious, showiness that bordered on the obscene, spoiling the city’s already grim skyline.
Where the University of Generasi was built on the edge of a beautiful city that it had been named for, allowing it to spread over a vast area, Brightfire loomed in the centre of Sorkovo in a cla...
2023-11-09 00:05:06 +0000 UTC
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The door shut behind them with a click as final as a prison door.
Faint light illuminated the space, peeking through dilapidated shutters.
The ruffians’ young leader glanced at the bald man who watched Birger intently.
“I take it you have something to show me, old father?” he asked.
“Will you be my ‘moneychanger’, then?” Birger slowly dug the Red Mouse’s coin from his pocket, placing it in the palm of his hand.
The grey-clad Irtyshenans whistled.<...
2023-11-07 22:16:57 +0000 UTC
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Seeing the capital of the Empire—Sorkovo—for the first time was quite a surprise to Alex. It looked nothing—except for the mounds of snow—like he’d imagined, leaving him wondering why the capital city of such a vast and powerful Empire would look so dull.
Cobblestone streets and stone walls were a sea of grey, making the Irtyshenans seem to almost blend into their surroundings; Alex was yet to find a single one who wasn’t dressed in varying shades of grey. B...
2023-11-05 00:12:43 +0000 UTC
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“Hmmmmm, making the kind of ward you’re talking about would be a tricky proposition,” Professor Jules narrowed her eyes, tapping her desk in thought. “You’d need it to specifically drive away three separate groups—each group being tied together by blood, faith, magic or professional association—yet allow animals like deer to enter. You also need it to cover a wide area.”
She blew out a breath. “In some ways, that’s even more complex than the ward we built around the ...
2023-11-03 14:24:14 +0000 UTC
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It was in the early hours of the morning when Alexander Roth began experimenting on his soul.
The sun had crept over the horizon in Generasi, lighting up the rooftops, peaks and towers of its vast skyline. Yet, Alex was not outside under the waking sun, though—mere hours before—he, Theresa, and Claygon were burning bodies behind a giant ’s cottage thousands of miles to the north.
They’d returned home that evening, unwound with Selina, filling her in on what had happened in...
2023-11-02 20:30:26 +0000 UTC
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“Hah! Look at them run!” Bjorgrund laughed, sticking his tongue out, his blue eyes squeezing shut as he pointed at the tall figures disappearing in the blowing snow. “A few words and they turn craven. Would you look at that, father! They call me the animal, but they act like scared little mice!”
“Calm yourself, son,” Birger said. His voice was flat, but he couldn’t hide the grim smile growing behind his beard. “The more you provoke them, the more likely they’ll try to ...
2023-11-01 21:15:07 +0000 UTC
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The wind was rising when Alex and Birger materialised before the giant’s cottage.
And so was the tension.
Waiting in front of the cottage door as high winds buffeted it against the door frame was Bjorgrund, his face slowly washing scarlet, anger turning it as menacing as the demonic image carved in it. His hands were shaking, clenching and unclenching at his sides. Theresa was to his right, her fingers poised above the Twinblade, not yet touching their hilts.
Not for now, ...
2023-10-31 19:29:08 +0000 UTC
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“Kymiland’s resisted being conquered for thousands of years, and I’m willing to bet the Empire’s keen to bring that realm back into their territory, permanently.” Gel-Dor had said. “Which means, the Guild’s getting aggressive.”
Gel-Dor had said those words when Alex was entertaining him, his brother Fan-Dor, and Lucia in his dining room just before the young wizard, Theresa, Brutus an...
2023-10-28 18:59:37 +0000 UTC
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The celestial dire tiger dropped, all half ton of him, straight for the rune-marked warleader.
Claws spread.
Deadly jaws parted.
The celestial vanished.
With a blurring strike aimed at the plummeting spirit, the warleader swung his sword, cleaving the dire tiger, sending it back to the upper planes. He leapt up, aiming his axe at Alex.
The young wizard teleported, behind the warleader, away from the weapon’s path, sheathing himself in haste magic. Turning i...
2023-10-27 22:21:52 +0000 UTC
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All sound died. Snow melted, turning to puddles around them.
Swirling debris filled the air and Alex slammed his eyes shut, splintering wood piercing his torso as red dripped from burning flesh.
His skin felt raw, stinging, blistering. His lungs screamed for air as he held his breath, setting his teeth, stopping himself from choking on the arrow’s acrid smoke.
And through the haze, Bjorgrund bellowed in alarm, the young giant’s voice reverberating through the trees, loud...
2023-10-26 22:18:52 +0000 UTC
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“What is this?” the rune-marked scout whispered.
She pushed her hand between two symbol-etched trees, flexing gauntleted fingers. Her arm tingled as she shoved harder, struggling against what seemed to be empty air.
Seemed.
But she knew better. The scout knew with all certainty that the giants’ ward lay within this part of the forest, blocking her kin, denying them what their deity had desired. For many days, the rune-marked had sought this place; but in spite...
2023-10-25 22:45:21 +0000 UTC
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Hello everybody!
Well, folks have been asking about this for a time and the time has arrived.
MARK OF THE FOOL BOOK 4'S AUDIOBOOK HAS HIT AUDIBLE, NARRATED BY TRAVIS BALDREE.
Lots and lots of folk have been asking about this, and I'm so happy it's here.
You can find it through this link:
Link: https://www.audible.co...
2023-10-25 22:45:00 +0000 UTC
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A fire roared in the river rock hearth that dominated the cottage wall.
Inviting aromas of roasting venison seasoned with herbs drifted through the room.
Birger was seated at the head of his great table, the old giant was polishing a small—by his reckoning—tin cup. At his back, Bjorgrund tended the fire, the young giant’s head nearly scraped the gathering room’s ceiling when he stood upright.
“You must forgive me,” Birger’s ancient voice crackled like parchment...
2023-10-24 22:53:09 +0000 UTC
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“I think I’m hearing this Birger’s song,” Theresa whispered. “We’re getting closer.”
“Good…” Claygon whispered. “These woods…are strange…it is…unsafe here…”
He floated above the group, sheathed in invisibility magic while Theresa, Brutus and Alex trudged the twisting woodcutter’s path through the forest.
Strange symbols had been carved in the tree trunks.
Some looked like glyphs in the firbolgs’ tongue.
Others...
2023-10-21 19:37:28 +0000 UTC
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Within a forest clearing in Kymiland, a large elk sniffed the bark of a fir tree.
He was an old beast, with fur long greyed; by now his body should have been thick and full, ready for the scarcity of winter, instead, his curving rib bones stood out, stretching against sagging fur with each breath he drew. Slower than the rest, his herd had long left him behind, moving on, leaving him to fend for himself.
His time was edging near, coming sooner rather than later; t...
2023-10-20 22:12:01 +0000 UTC
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“So, the thing about mana regeneration at the highest levels is—” Val’Rok began.
“Wait, professor, there’s something important I need to ask you first,” Alex said, easing into a chair and placing his hands on Professor Val’Rok’s desk.
The lizardfolk wizard was just getting comfortable behind his desk, and paused. “What is it?”
“You’ve lost weight, haven’t you?” He said, eyeing the professor. “I remember the last time I saw you, you were on a d...
2023-10-19 22:09:39 +0000 UTC
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Thunder echoed through the room.
Power flowed across the planes and Alex touched it with Hannah’s energy. He felt for the mana as it reached out to a distant plane; a plane emitting the scent of fresh blood, a pulsing heat of flame, and the sound of metal striking metal.
The spell’s mana called, and something answered.
Alex felt the war-spirit touch the flow of energy, riding it across the gulf between planes.
A form rose within the summoning circle, at first it ap...
2023-10-18 20:51:59 +0000 UTC
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“It was the strangest thing.” The Stalker threw himself on the grotto’s stone floor, his plump legs splayed out before him. From his sleeve, he produced a steaming silver cup of mulled wine, then paused. “Aye, it’s cold outside—my good mortal friends—what say you join me in a cup of the good stuff?”
“I must decline.” The First Apostle rose from where he had been meditating.
“I’ll have a cup, thank you,” the Third Apostle said.
One of Gabrian’s eye...
2023-10-17 15:17:40 +0000 UTC
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“So you found the settlement?” Professor Jules asked, stirring a spoonful of honey into a cup of tea. The amber liquid’s steam rose through the morning sunlight streaming through the map room’s window.
Outside, Greymoor tasted the first snows of late fall.
A dusting for now, but the day was still young.
“We did.” The young wizard eased into a chair, poised to set his hot cup down on the map. Khalik’s glare froze him partway, making him think better of it. “We...
2023-10-14 17:11:01 +0000 UTC
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Alex Roth had entered the trading post of Turksini, knowing two things were guaranteed.
The first was that any locals he met there would be hardened frontier folk who would see him as a foreign–which meant bad—greedy, young merchant hunter who was way out of his depth in their land.
So, he’d reinforced that image by sounding greedy, desperate, nervous and inept the entire time he was in the trading post, inviting disdain. His act had drawn scorn from Old Illiana—and the hu...
2023-10-14 00:27:00 +0000 UTC
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“That’s what you want, big man? You‘re asking where the monsters are? Are you crazy, barbarian? We’re set for war with barbarians and beasts of the forest; you think I’m just going to show every greasy foreigner who walks in here a map?” Old Illiana scowled at Alex from across the trading post’s counter.
Women and men, clad in heavy furs with well-used weapons and vicious-looking traps hanging from their belts, glared at Alex and his companions from every corner o...
2023-10-13 00:08:56 +0000 UTC
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