Merzhin’s despair had quietened.
The choir was silent.
Stillness hung heavy in the dead god’s throne room as hardly a breath was heard.
“More secrets?” the Saint suddenly cried, shattering the silence. “More hidden truths! More lies! Were you ever planning to share this information with me? Were you?”
“Oi, bloody use your damned noggin, Merzhin.” Cedric shot him a fierce look. “What d’ya think we coulda done? Bloo...
2023-07-21 22:46:43 +0000 UTC View PostThere was an ancient saying in the realm of Thameland, one that had largely fallen away as the centuries wore on.
A simple phrase of gratitude, spoken during harvests, weddings and births: Our plenty comes from Uldar.
For thousands of years, the phrase was spoken in churches, fields, and by hearths. Every Sigmus. Every harvest moon.
Our plenty comes from Uldar.
Those words were ingrained in the very stones of Thameland, and spoken even as the language...
2023-07-20 20:59:50 +0000 UTC View PostSlight warning cuz I know some people read this book to their kids. So in PG-13 films, you get ONE use of the word f*ck. I'm using my one use here.
You'll see why.
###
“Tell me…do you know what a patch is?” Hannah had asked on that fateful day Alex had summoned her to the hell of Cretalikon.
He’d frowned. “Like on a piece of old clothing?”
“Something like that. I couldn’t remember if I wrote about that in...
2023-07-19 15:53:14 +0000 UTC View PostHeeeeyyyyy everybody!
Here I am again with a hot new track...that you've read already, lmao.
I want to thank everybody for their support in getting me and Fool here to this point.
You folks are incredible. It's been nice seeing Fool grow and looking at those beautiful covers ascend as each book gets published. And it's thanks to you. :)
Your support helped bring this dream into reality.
That said, I could use a little help today.
If ...
Alexander Roth looked at the top of Uldar’s Rise while the night deepened, feeling as though he was standing on the edge of a cliff.
There—rising before him—the place he’d sought since he’d turned eighteen and Uldar, the god of his homeland, had left his mark on his life. Two long years; a blink for an ancient like Baelin, but an eternity for a young wizard, especially one in his situation.
Alex had grown in many ways.
He’d certainly changed.
Those around h...
2023-07-18 21:27:21 +0000 UTC View PostThe iron golem strode through flame, light dancing across his reflective form. His fire-gems glowed like embers while his metallic fingers flexed and relaxed, metal groaning each time he tensed them. All damage to his body was gone; the massive hole in his torso dealt by the First Apostle was a bad memory. Claygon was whole, the surface of his body smooth, and his iron teeth flashed in the firelight.
He raised his hands, fire-gems gathering power.
Energy built slowly—as it had b...
2023-07-15 22:00:59 +0000 UTC View PostEarlier, an arrow scraped through Alex’s greater force armour, a throbbing line of pain had seared his body, burning flesh on his right side like a fireplace poker had been rammed into it.
Stone fists like cudgels rushed past his ears; Uldar’s statues missed his head by mere inches, any of those blows could have turned it into a red slurry.
Most folk would have fled, screaming.
But Alex was not most folk.
“Come on!” he taunted, dancing around a blow before tele...
2023-07-14 23:27:57 +0000 UTC View Post“You have to let me out!” Carey cried.
Standing on her bed, the young woman gripped the bars on the window, transfixed by the carnage outside. In the village, all traces of idyllic peace were gone, replaced by a bloody deluge of death.
Panic surged through Carey, guilt followed soon after.
She knew why her friends had come; they were there to rescue her.
And because of her, they could all die.
She had to get out, so they could get away.
“Our friends a...
2023-07-13 22:43:37 +0000 UTC View PostThe world stood still.
Silence crowned the village, broken by trembling breaths, the clink of metal, and creaking of leather.
The rain had stopped.
The battle paused.
And the First Apostle stared down on all below him.
The tension in the air was too thick to yield to even the sharpest blade.
Silence built.
Until everything exploded.
Alex raised his staff, reaching out to the heavens, calling forth celestial legions. Brilliant co...
2023-07-12 21:54:15 +0000 UTC View PostAlex returned to the village after leaving the injured Watchers in the care of a blood mage team, and was met by the aftermath of Drestra’s first attack against members of the secret church.
She’d dipped into her vast mana pool, combining dragon power with the power of the Sage—and cast an earth spell that had raised a rampart around the strike force and Watcher Hill’s besieged infiltration team. Khalik had cast his own earth spells, providing added cover in the...
2023-07-11 13:09:01 +0000 UTC View PostEldin froze mid-knife stroke while the world trembled as though a titan was shaking it apart.
Monsters roared from outside.
People shouted.
Steps away, the Saint began to turn.
Knowing his chance was lost, the holy leader plunged back into the stone.
More pressing things now called him.
Earlier, when the Saint had asked for time alone, Eldin suspected the young man’s faith was being tested. As the day went on, he’d seemed more troubled. Distracted. He...
2023-07-08 23:10:36 +0000 UTC View PostThe song was driving Carey nearer to madness.
When she’d first found herself in this prison that her kidnappers were much too fond of calling her ‘room,’ her thoughts had been jumbled, her mind too full of questions to notice much of anything but them. Now, she couldn’t shut the grating song out. It was all she could think about; that, and getting out of there. Even rain pounding on the village rooftops beneath the darkening clouds of an evening sky—couldn’t drown it out. 2023-07-07 21:54:44 +0000 UTC View Post
It was subtle.
So subtle that most folk wouldn’t have noticed it.
From deep within Alex’s mind, an intruding urge and an insistent whisper sprouted.
There’s nothing down there, it said.
I’m wasting time here, it whispered.
Spending time here will only delay us, I need to stay away from there, it murmured.
Each thought followed deep feelings of aversion; a range of emotions bubbled inside of him. That sense...
2023-07-06 23:38:53 +0000 UTC View PostThis was it.
They had a direction.
Floating freely in the jar, the third eye was fixed on the southeast—Alex had placed the Eye-Finder down on the peak of a mountain—its ‘vision’ piercing hills, distance, and woodlands. Somewhere to the southeast, Carey waited along with one of the greatest trials of their lives.
Alex could only pray that he was ready.
“We need a plan,” Watcher Hill said, standing near the peak.
The other Watchers, Al...
2023-07-05 21:41:55 +0000 UTC View PostInterrogations were useless with obstinate creatures like the ones Professor Jules had in her lab. They would neither bend, yield, nor crack, so she’d taken a different tack, locking herself in her lab with her assistants, the single-minded Ravener-spawn, and leaving strict orders for everyone else to keep out. According to the Watcher team standing guard—the sounds coming through the sealed doors were the stuff of nightmares.
Whether day or night, howls, explosions, long drawn out ...
2023-07-04 20:36:36 +0000 UTC View PostThe First Apostle’s face reddened, and he raised his hand higher.
Uldar’s divine light flared brighter, but Carey still felt none of its unwelcome warmth from earlier.
“What is happening?” Izas demanded again.
“Wait, Izas,” the First Apostle said. “I feel something…it feels much like a divine presence.”
“Who do you worship, child? The Traveller?” Izas asked. “If so, why? She is nothing more than a dead mortal.”
“Faith has power, even w...
2023-07-02 00:49:50 +0000 UTC View Post“The General’s Folly is something of a parable only taught in our holy order,” the First Apostle sat in a pew near the back of the chamber.
A seat very near the door, Carey noticed.
He gestured for her to sit, giving her a kindly nod.
She exchanged a look with Izas; the old man had returned to his pew, looking tense. Nervous.
Reluctantly, she forced herself to sit.
The First Apostle clasped his hands in his lap. “You should understand something about the ...
2023-06-30 21:34:13 +0000 UTC View Post“Wake up, my child,” an ancient voice called to her.
Carey’s eyes flew open. “What?”
“Don’t worry, you’re safe now,” the soothing voice said again. “No harm will come to you. You will be well taken care of among us.”
The young wizard’s mind raced.
‘What’s happening to me?’ she thought. ‘Why is it so dark? Am I…am I still in the…forest?’
The last thing she remembered was talking to Merzhin. They’d been in Finnegan’s Crags....
2023-06-30 00:01:07 +0000 UTC View PostSame thing, this is a bit dark. I think. Just be warned!
###
“What?” Butcher said. “What happened?”
“Track them!” Baker snarled, turning to a Hunter looking skyward. “Where have they gone?”
It frowned in confusion.
“They are not far…but are also not moving. I cannot tell where they went!” the Hunter cried.
The sky suddenly shimmered.
Earth shattering roars split the heavens.
The male ...
2023-06-28 20:55:16 +0000 UTC View PostSlight warning, the next couple of chapters are slightly dark. Not super, but a friend suggested I put this on. Enjoy, my friends!
###
Sir Sean Swift had been awake for so long that he could mark the number of nights since he’d last seen his bed on most of the fingers of one hand. Sunrise after sunrise had found him sleepless, and worried.
But, that was the way of things lately.
“Sir Swift, you must have your rest,” the soldier’s voice ...
2023-06-27 21:46:13 +0000 UTC View Post“What?” Professor Jules cried, grabbing Hart’s arm. “You mean one of those creatures that took so many lives at the Research Castle?”
“Ya,” the Champion of Uldar said. “It was spotted to the north.”
“Was it seen near where Carey was lost?” she asked, dread in her voice.
“We’ve gotta go, I don’t have time to be standing around giving anyone long explanations right now,” Hart pulled away. “C’mon Alex, I’ll brief you on the way.”
Prof...
2023-06-25 00:06:51 +0000 UTC View Post“Come, we must keep moving,” Eldin said, emerging from the cave wall about a mile from where he’d left the Saint.
Several of his agents startled, hands reaching for holy weapons and only relaxing when they realised it was him who had spoken. They formed a circle in the wide tunnel, filling the space they’d been led to by Uldar’s monsters, ready to defend not only against attacks from the rear and front, but also from the walls.
Just as Eldin had taught them.
He nod...
2023-06-23 22:39:33 +0000 UTC View PostMerzhin, the Saint of Uldar was troubled.
Carey’s words played through his mind, biting at him, gnawing at his resolve. There was a kernel of terrible truth in what she had said, echoing doubts he’d left unspoken, even in his own mind.
All of his life, there had been only silence.
Faith had filled his spirit, but he had never been graced by Uldar’s words, or the majesty of his revelation. No wisdom had ever come from his god. No guidance. Nothing save ...
2023-06-22 23:07:08 +0000 UTC View Post“If I might have a word,” Merzhin’s voice came inches from behind Carey.
The young woman yelped, the specimen jar in her hands slipped to the rocky ground at her feet.
Glass shattered, gleaming like crystals as she whirled, finding herself face to face with an apologetic Saint of Uldar.
“Oh, I am so sorry!” he bent down, quickly picking up shards of glass.
“No, no, stop!” she cried. “You need gloves, you’ll cut yourse—Ah.”
A line of red ran ...
2023-06-21 21:37:23 +0000 UTC View Post“This weather isn’t what I would have expected in Generasi. I’m truly surprised.” King Aksuma shook his head, watching the outdoors through a window lashed by rain. “People travel to this land for its beautiful sunny skies, not gloomy pelting rains.”
Outside, the world was wracked by wind and driving rain.
Thunder boomed in the distance.
Through the torrent of rain stretching beyond the horizon, lightning flashed, striking the Prinean Sea.
Flower beds burst...
2023-06-20 21:48:38 +0000 UTC View PostThe early morning sun trickled through the forest, filtering down beneath the lush canopy.
“Are you certain, holy leader?” one of Eldin’s agents whispered, alarm in her tone. The young woman—shockingly young—watched the clearing through the dappled light.
Ahead, figures emerged from the trees.
Monstrous figures.
“Do you mean if I am certain that these creatures are agents of our god?” he asked calmly.
Around him, the twenty agents under Eldin’s co...
2023-06-18 00:08:47 +0000 UTC View PostFlesh rippled.
Bone cracked.
The cerberus was gripped by a terrible change.
He growled and snarled, eyes shut tight—every muscle tensed—as Theresa’s enhanced lifeforce poured through him, empowering and transforming his form.
“What’s happening to Brutus?” Theresa tried to rise, her voice filled with alarm. She managed to partly stand before stumbling, still weak from the ritual.
“It’s okay! It’s okay!” Alex caught her, holding her up. “It’...
2023-06-16 22:34:21 +0000 UTC View PostAlex eyed the finished tonics as he searched for the right words.
He knew that Theresa was having doubts and feeling uncertain, so he didn’t want to push, or influence her in either direction.
“Last year,” he said. “In one of my magic theory classes, we learned that a good way to make decisions is to make a list of the pros and cons of whatever it is that you’re considering, then summarise the situation, then choose whichever has the most advantages.”
Theresa rai...
2023-06-15 21:35:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe predator stalked its prey. Cunning, silent, deadly.
Fangs gnashed. Low growls rumbled from the beast’s throats, sounding like stone grinding deep in the earth’s core. Rippling haunches catapulted the creature through the underbrush.
…or at least, that’s what was probably going through Brutus’ minds as he dreamt, curled up in Alex’s lab beside a piece of equipment that slowly brewed potions. Every now and then, his growls were followed by snarling, twitching and hig...
2023-06-14 19:36:16 +0000 UTC View Post“What does forever mean to you, Theresa?” Alex Roth asked Theresa Lu as they floated away, hovering above sand and crashing surf.
“That’s a strange question.” The huntress said, cocking her head to the right, while pulling her raven hair back as it tumbled down her shoulder. “What does it mean to you?”
They flew higher, the scent of brine wafting in the breeze. Below them, Brutus picked up where he’d left off, chasing screeching gulls along the shoreline, blissfull...
2023-06-13 22:05:26 +0000 UTC View Post