Maiya had dreamed of this moment for months. When she fled her cult prison and returned to civilization. To normalcy. To safety.
Playing the role of an undercover agent had placed far more stress on her than she could’ve imagined, to say nothing of the assassination attempts.
Yes, attempts—there had been more than one. First, it had been poison. If Riyan and Kin’jal hadn’t trained Maiya to detect exactly that sort of thing, she’d be long dead by now. Wh...
2023-12-13 17:17:19 +0000 UTC
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NOTE: I've created book collections, which can be accessed from the main page, for easy access to each book's chapters.
“I can! I just can’t!” Maiya guffawed. Her face, while not perfectly projected through the communication orb, was more than sufficient to convey her emotions. “I mean, Demon God Vaak!? Seriously?”
“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” Vir replied. “Blessed Prophet.”
Maiya’s mirth disappeared instantly. “Ugh. Did you ...
2023-12-10 19:16:24 +0000 UTC
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Vir had several reasons for wanting to fight this band of Chitran soldiers. At the moment, it was the thrill of a fight that interested him most. What tattoos would he get to see? What bloodline arts? What techniques?
He didn’t have to wait long to find out.
The first attack was swift, but it was neither physical nor Chakra, as Vir had expected.
Earth Affinity prana flared from the demon’s tattoo.
The guard bellowed, and the world shook. A good chunk o...
2023-12-10 19:14:59 +0000 UTC
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Vir’s jet black cloak fluttered gently in the breeze. Samar Patag wasn’t a windy city, but the Gargan Sea provided a constant, refreshing wind that moderated the sweltering humidity. It helped to reduce his sweat. Sweat that could ruin his face paint if he wasn’t careful.
Vir was currently crouched atop a stone dome in the Chitran neighborhood, looking down over the town. Nonexistent in the slums to the north, domes such as these made for ideal vantage points.
H...
2023-12-07 18:36:29 +0000 UTC
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“This mistreatment. This poverty… Is there truly nothing that can be done?” Vir asked. He paced around the orphanage classroom, which was currently devoid of children.
“I’ve been doing my best since the war,” Janani said, biting her lip. “If there was even a sliver of hope, believe me, I’d have grabbed a hold of it. But we have no power here. The Chitrans won the war, and it was no close thing. They wield ultimate authority here. It’s… Well, it’s not s...
2023-12-06 18:02:11 +0000 UTC
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Bolin moved forward, bravely shielding the other children from Svar and his gang. As the oldest, he wore the shoes of the orphans’ leader, and in Vir’s eyes, he filled them well.
A few other boys and a couple of girls crowded around him, facing off against the bullies. The orphans had the advantage of numbers, but Svar’s gang were older than them, and most wielded rudimentary weapons.
“Go away, Svar,” Bolin said. “You’re not welcome here.”
Svar r...
2023-12-05 17:11:19 +0000 UTC
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“That will be all for the day,” Janani announced. “Class is dismissed!”
A round of aww’s and no fair’s resounded through the room.
Some of the children rushed out of the room, talking animatedly. Others stayed, clustering into groups and stealing glances at Vir. There was little doubt that he’d be the talk of the orphanage for a good while.
“May… I help you?” Janani asked hesitantly. There was fear in her expression and mann...
2023-12-04 18:20:28 +0000 UTC
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Vir left Greesha’s temple with a torrent of emotions welling inside him. There had been so much more to say, but the time wasn’t right. Vir hadn’t even broached the topic of Greesha’s prophecy of his birth, and wasn’t sure when he would. He was afraid that if he had, he couldn’t have restrained his pent up anger.
And so he’d forced it down. Right now, he simply couldn’t afford to lose even a single ally.
Vir crossed the streets, passing by Kothis, red ...
2023-11-30 17:54:23 +0000 UTC
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“Well?” Greesha said once they’d arrived at her place of work. Resembling a miniature temple with pointed roofs, it was nestled in between other large, three-story structures. As if it’d been there first, and everything else had been built around it.
The temple was in a far nicer part of town compared to where Vir had just been.
“Give me one reason I shouldn’t have you thrown into jail. Entering my town and making a ruckus right away, hmm?”
<...
2023-11-29 18:49:22 +0000 UTC
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So, how should I play this? Vir thought, facing down the three Chitran guards. The captain was notably not taking part, choosing instead to oversee this duel. No doubt he expected this to be a beat-down.
Each fighter wore the same armor—a small, tight gambeson cuirass under chainmail that covered their biceps and thighs, leaving their forearms and legs open.
Two wielded talwars and round dhol shields, while one wielded a poleaxe. Overall, a solid setup.
...
2023-11-28 18:28:19 +0000 UTC
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2023-11-27 18:25:26 +0000 UTC
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From the shadows, Vir spotted many exits. He saw the insides of shacks, dark alleys, and plenty of exits along the wall.
In all of them, the common theme was squalor. A disturbing thought crossed his mind. He’d either entered a slum, or the entire city was this way. He prayed to all the gods that it wasn’t the latter.
Vir braced himself for the stench and exited a shadow into a deserted alley. His mental preparation did little good. The putrid smell of sewage and ...
2023-11-27 18:24:44 +0000 UTC
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NOTE: Check out the book one cover reveal at the end!
“Are you serious?” Maiya said. “It’s been that long already!?”
Two hours had passed in the blink of an eye as Vir and Maiya chatted, and soon the sun was setting in Maiya’s Realm.
As much as Vir wanted to stay up long into the ‘night’, Maiya could not. After becoming the Blessed Prophet—a development that Vir still couldn’t believe—Maiya’s free time had become exceedingly precious.
After he...
2023-11-21 19:51:30 +0000 UTC
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After handing Cirayus a handful of loaves of stale bread—which Vir felt was already straining Sani’s means—Vir set out on the road to Samar Patag with her two children and their communal Ash’va.
Darsh was the boy who’d fetched all the bread. He was a hardworking kid, and reminded Vir of himself in his younger days. Darsh’s sister, however, was far shier. She hadn’t said a word to Vir the entire time they’d eaten together, constantly stealing glances at...
2023-11-20 18:13:15 +0000 UTC
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“And after that, I ended up helping her wash her laundry. You won’t believe the conditions people live in here—”
“Vir, you’re breaking up,” Maiya’s image distorted, then cut out entirely. “I think you need… recharge… orb.”
“Grak it!” Vir cursed, unwilling for their conversation to be cut short. “Talk tomorrow? Same time?”
“You got it!”
The orb’s glow dissipated, and Vir heaved a sigh. He stared emptily at the perpetual s...
2023-11-16 18:14:23 +0000 UTC
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NOTE: Last Maiya chapter before we're back to Vir
I hate my life. Oh gods, I hate my life.
As so often happened lately, Maiya found herself wondering just how much Fate hated her for her life to end up this way. The past week had been some of the most trying of her life, full of blood rituals, ceremonial blood soakings, and other unspeakable obscenities.
When she’d done her fire performance, she’d hoped to gain enough bargaining power to haggle for her life. P...
2023-11-15 18:00:17 +0000 UTC
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Who split my head open with an ax? Maiya thought groggily as she blearily opened her eyes. And what’s with the smell?
She looked around, unable to make any sense of her surroundings. People surrounded her. Lots of them. All jeering.
What did I ever do to you?
Her wrists and ankles ached.
I don’t remember getting hurt… Wait, injuries?
Her vision cleared, and she realized the smell was awfully familiar. It was ...
2023-11-14 18:17:04 +0000 UTC
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“What do you think you’re doing?” Yamal cried. “She’s still alive, gods dammit!”
The Rector regarded him with as much affection as one would give a pile of trash.
“Our god has spoken. The Great Swarm has forsaken her.”
“Just hand her over to us, alright?” Yamal pleaded. “Please, don’t do this.”
Yamal had known that blasted tome was no good. The moment Maiya had fallen, Yamal had feared the worst. And while the worst hadn’t happe...
2023-11-13 18:17:02 +0000 UTC
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“Still,” Sani—the middle-aged mother who’d welcomed Vir into her home—said with a chuckle. “Must say I’m surprised. Warrior Callings aren’t usually so helpful with chores. Or at least, don’t let others see you doing chores.”
The woman had assumed Vir was of the Warrior Calling, and had put Vir to work right away to earn his keep. Despite not wanting any part of this, Vir obliged. He not only wanted to see what demons in the demon realm were like, but aft...
2023-11-09 18:06:24 +0000 UTC
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Note: Monday is Martin Luther King day in the US, so the next chapter will be on Tuesday.
“Maiya? Maiya can you hear me? Please, say something!” Vir said for what must have been the hundredth time.
“Might be these orbs don’t function across realms, lad,” Cirayus said, resting a hand upon Vir’s shoulder. “You can’t know.”
He put the orb back into his rucksack.
Vir ground his teeth in frustration. That was exactly the problem. He couldn...
2023-11-08 18:23:58 +0000 UTC
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We’ve made a terrible mistake.
Vir raged at the gods—at Adinat, at Janak, at Badrak, Chala, Vera, and especially Yuma—for cursing them with such terrible luck.
He hadn’t even had the chance to bemoan the muggy air, and the utter lack of prana in the area, or to appreciate the gorgeous, blood-red sunset that dyed the cracked desert crimson.
It wasn’t luck, of course. A stable Ash Gate in the middle of Demonic lands was bound to attract...
2023-11-07 18:48:55 +0000 UTC
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Note: RR showed an interest in seeing a fight between Vir & Cirayus when Vir returned from the Mahadi Realm. Here it is! All tiers will be getting the same chapter today. Back to the regular schedule tomorrow.
--
The dark cave that had only recently been the final domain lord’s lair seemed an appropriate location for a duel between such combatants as the Akh Nara and the Ravager.
The only light that filtered in came from the hole through which Vir and ...
2023-11-06 18:14:29 +0000 UTC
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Vir walked around the room in a daze, mind reeling from all that had just occurred. The world with the floating islands, Ekanai, Maiya… they’d all disappeared. Had it all just been a dream?
Vir’s Artifact Chakram lay on the ground nearby, but the orb that had contained Maiya’s soul was nowhere to be found.
Had she even been there in the first place, or had she been fake, like everything else seemed to be? It certainly appeared as though that entire world had...
2023-11-02 17:56:30 +0000 UTC
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NOTE: I'll be without internet connectivity the next several days, so here are Monday's and Tuesday's chapters. Next chapter will be Wednesday.
Greesha appeared as a white essence, semi translucent. She did not look pleased to be here.
“You’re like a cockroach, Cirayus. I see you survived the Ash,” Greesha said, her thin lips taut. Her voice trembled for a quick instant, and she scratched her neck.
She’d never been one to show her emotions, but having kn...
2023-11-01 17:57:33 +0000 UTC
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NOTE: I'll be without internet connectivity the next several days, so here are Monday's and Tuesday's chapters. Next chapter will be Wednesday.
- -
Vir left his cave the same way he’d arrived—through the shadows. Why Ekanai hadn’t pursued him, he couldn’t say.
All he knew was that he had to end the demon. Both to escape this place, and to do right by Ekanai’s memory. The real Ekanai, that was. Vir suspected the demon would be disgusted at the ...
2023-10-31 18:08:21 +0000 UTC
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A torrent of emotions assaulted Vir as his predecessor stepped through the Ash Gate into the City of the Gods. Emotions that stemmed as much from Ekanai as it did from himself.
From Ekanai, Vir felt the elation one can only feel after having finally taken the last step of a decades-long journey, along with the relief—and regret—that accompanies it. He felt longing for the Demon Realm, a faint sliver of hope that, when this was all over, he might be able to return home. ...
2023-10-30 18:13:24 +0000 UTC
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Vir found himself sitting on a stone bench. A long hearth fire burned a few paces away, its smoke rising to a circular hole cut in the top of the thatched yurt. The warm glow filled the dwelling with a sense of peace and security, something so foreign that Vir had nearly forgotten what it felt like.
A precious luxury, soon to be missed, Vir thought. The thought was not his own, but rather came from somewhere else.
Vir tried to move… but couldn’t. He had n...
2023-10-26 17:56:17 +0000 UTC
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NOTE: Start of a four parter to finish Arc 5! Will want to hear all of your thoughts once we're done! :D
Pure, unbridled fury burned Vir’s veins as if they were on fire.
Vir’s leg may have been broken, but in that moment, nothing could stop him from chasing Ekanai into the Shadow Realm.
He hadn’t paused to consider that following Ekanai might’ve been impossible. Or dangerous. He simply acted.
Without understanding how, he felt Eka...
2023-10-25 18:10:23 +0000 UTC
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Cirayus found himself amid pandemonium. Fires raged. Buildings burned, and demons screamed.
Some fled from their homes, on fire. Others knelt beside loved ones, mourning. The sky was blood red, as if mirroring the terrible destruction.
Cirayus knew this place. He knew it so well, he could even place the neighborhood and name the streets.
This was Samar Patag. Garga’s primary stronghold. Its capital city.
And it was in flames.
The castle loomed in t...
2023-10-24 18:16:54 +0000 UTC
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Vir didn’t wait for Ekanai to finish his speech. Blinking to the demon, he unleashed a Katar Launch at point-blank range. The disc of pure black prana blazed out, so thick it was visible. Ekanai was far too close to dodge.
Then a raging torrent of Ash prana flowed into the demon’s chest. His tattoo glowed, and Ekanai leaned and twisted slightly away. The blade passed by with less than an inch to spare.
What was that?
Not only had E...
2023-10-23 18:13:32 +0000 UTC
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