Vowron Prime

Ashborn 385: Tejas’ Gambit

Vir gazed down upon the slow-moving, slovenly mass from his perch high atop a dark peak just inches away from the Ash Boundary. The wolves claimed the nearby peaks, surrounding Vir as they, too, eyed the convoy, silently salivating in anticipation.

“Another one…” Ashani muttered. “Is there no end to these?”

“I suspect they are having quite the time ridding themselves of their unwanteds, now that the Prana Gorger is gone,” Vir said. “In their eyes, less tha...

Soulweaver 106: Flashpoints

That was the thing about assumptions… They had a tendency to fuck you in the butt. 

As Richard and I rocketed back to the ground, I couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of making it all the way to the final boss’ lair and collapsing the dungeon… Only to succumb to gravity.

Or at least, it was funny right up until the moment my eyes caught sight of Eskil, and the diminutive elf on his shoulder who was kicking viciously, looking very much like she wanted to be ...

Ashborn 383: Plots and Plans

When Vir left Raoul’s tent, he wasn’t quite sure what to feel about the enigmatic cult leader. During times like these, Vir often found it helpful to consult those he trusted, and there was no one he trusted more than Cirayus.

He found the Ravager on the field outside the garrison’s gates. Previously forest that had been clear cut, it now served as an ideal training ground for the newer recruits.

Today, around two hundred were sparring in pairs spread out across the...

Ashborn 382: Raoul

“Come on, lad,” Cirayus said, shaking his head at Vir’s dour expression. “Act like that, and your troops will fear the end of the realms has come. Look alive!”

“Alive?” Vir asked, standing from his cross-legged meditation position in Janak’s lab. “You mean, like this?”

Balancer of Scales activated, and channeling every lesson he’d learned over the past days, Vir focused the Ultimate art on Cirayus, and Cirayus alone.

The giant’s knee...

Soulweaver 105: For Aerion

“We can’t hurt him without destroying the army, first!” I shouted, switching targets to the nearest troops. “Take them out as fast as you can.”

“Already on it!” Richard said from behind me. Surprising me, Aerion actually halted her attack, saw that I was now engaging the army instead of the head honcho, and instantly switched targets, joining the fray by my side. Her recent rank up, while not giving her total control over her [Reave] state, d...

Ashborn 381: Narak the Mentor

Narak the Destroyer was… not what Vir had expected. While the giant Bairan was every bit as physically imposing as his legendary reputation suggested, it was his personality that threw Vir off.

Perhaps he should have guessed that the terrifyingly powerful Biaran king of old was a softie at heart, from the brief memory he’d shared of his predecessor fighting off the Narapazu in Rani. There, Vir had lived through the death of Narak’s wife, Reyi, and the grief and rage Narak...

Soulweaver 104: Cyrus

We didn’t wait. We didn’t coordinate. We exploded into action. Everyone, at the same time.

Eskil jumped high into the air, soaring above the battlefield with what could only have been a ridiculous Dominion stat or some Blessing.

Aerion and I surged through the mass of troops ahead of us, ripping and reaving, working in perfect harmony achieved without a single word or sign between us. I shielded her when she attacked. 

She killed every ice soldier ...

Ashborn 380: The Shield Chakra

“Enter,” Greesha said, only glancing briefly at the urchin before returning to her work. “What is it? If you’re here to beg forgiveness for

“Enter,” Greesha said, only glancing briefly at the urchin before returning to her work. “What is it? If you’re here to beg forgiveness for some crime you committed, be quick about it. Well?”

The urchin said nothing, instead walking up to Greesha’s desk with bold, purposeful footsteps. 

Greesha finally looked up,...

Soulweaver 103: Beheading the Snake

“At least let her down!” I shouted after Eskil. “The middle of a battle is no place for an unconscious fighter.”

“As I said, slave, if you wish to claim her, you may fight me for the honor. Until then, she belongs to me.”

“She belongs to no one, you fucking moron,” I muttered. Eskil didn’t hear me He’d already bounded away on his giant’s legs. 

“I’m with you there, friend. What an insufferable turd. So, what now?” Richard as...

Ashborn 379: Garga Lavani

As Vir walked the camp listening to Balagra’s onslaught of updates, he wished for one thing, and one thing only.

To retreat to his mindscape and practice Balancer of Scales. With Tara’s healing, his wound would be closed in minutes, allowing him to practice to his heart’s content.

If only it weren’t for his duties as the Akh Nara. As a leader.

So instead of cloistering himself for days to master his new ability, Vir stomped to the command hut a...

Soulweaver 102: Maze of Nightmares

Eskil rushed to Aerion faster than I would’ve thought possible, propping her up before she hit the ground. I only noticed it after the fact, but he’d crushed three ice warriors along the way, leaving a trail of shards behind him.

Like he was handling fragile glass, he hoisted Aerion onto his shoulder, patting her back as he whispered something I couldn’t hear.

It made me sick. My body felt like it was on fire. All I saw was Eskil. Not the warriors. Not our predicame...

Ashborn 378: Depths of Revelation (Part Two) (Maiya)

‘Why?’

Maiya looked at the single word as she collected her thoughts. Why indeed? What she asked of Bheem was no small favor. To force him to revisit the pain of his childhood… To be reminded of his elder brother, the Blessed Chosen. The man she’d killed.

Truthfully, Maiya had put off this discussion for far too long. She’d convinced herself there were higher priorities. That the meeting between the revolutionaries was more important. That this was a personal ma...

Soulweaver 101: Marry Me

“Aerion! Aerion, listen to me. You’ve gotta… Aw, shit.”

Aerion wasn’t listening. She continued to happily hack away at our foes, oblivious to my words. To extreme effect, I had to add.

Her new strength was absolutely monstrous, allowing her to cleave through the ice warriors with a single swing of Aurora. She wasn’t even using my sword… With it, she’d be an unstoppable machine.

Until her timer expired, of course. It didn’t matter how many of these ...

Ashborn 377: Depths of Revelation (Part One) (Maiya)

“Well,” Maiya said, slouching in her chair. “That doesn’t sound too bad.”

Yamal glanced at Bheem, who wore the same worried expression as his colleague.

“I’m afraid it is bad, Maiya. Exceedingly bad. This level of dissent among the ranks is unprecedented in the Childrens’ long and storied history. I’m afraid we could be staring at the unraveling of the entire organization, should this go unaddressed.”

“Yes, well, I imagine this level of reform ...

Soulweaver 100: Sliver of Hope

NOTE: Happy 100 Chapters of Soulweaver!

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It didn’t take a genius to realize just how fucked we were. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide… The only hope we had of surviving was to break through the lines of the endless ice zombies that emerged from the walls, like a clutch of mosquitos spawning from their eggs.

These beings felt no pain, or if they did, they laughed at it. They were relentless, and while not the hardest monsters I’d ever fought, they w...

Ashborn 376: Recruitment Drive

“What is all this about, hm?” Saunak said. “Why won’t you just tell me?”

“Please, Saunak,” Vir said, nearly forcing the Thaumaturge to sit in his chair. Given Saunak’s obsession with magic, and considering his devotion to Ashani… Vir thought it best they prepare the demon for the news they were about to heap onto him.

With much grumbling, Saunak finally sat, and Vir and Ashani took seats opposite him, across his desk that overflowed with papers and schem...

Soulweaver 99: The Labyrinth of Death

Soon after we dropped down to the level of the maze, it became clear why one couldn’t just go over it. 

“It’s as cold as ice,” Aerion said from up above us. She’d volunteered to climb up the ice wall, using her dagger and shortsword as handholds that she jabbed in. “I can’t seem to break through.”

“Would you figure that,” Richard said. “An invisible force field.”

“What’s that?” Aerion asked.

“Oh, just something fictional fr...

Ashborn 375: Foundations

“You need to make this easier to fly,” Vir said as they stepped out of the lift to Saunak’s study. “And land. And pick a better site for launching them while you’re at it. Also, see if you can make it bigger.”

“Oh, yes. Just do everything in the realm, is it? Yes, Akh Nara. No problem. Would you like it today or tomorrow? And would you like a silk rug to go with it? What color would you like me to paint the craft?”

Vir frowned. “Saunak… This magic is r...

Soulweaver 98: Race

“Well, that’s not something you see every day,” I said, letting out a whistle. 

“It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” Aerion replied. “What is this place?”

The maze stretched on for as far as our eyes could see, all the way to the horizon, and off to the sides as well. Considering we stood on a ledge about fifty feet above it… that was quite far indeed. Above us, the ice cavern finally ended, giving way to a cloudy gray sky, and for the ...

Ashborn 374: Air Trials

“Okay, so this one makes it go up, and this other one makes it go down, go forward, and roll the airship over,” Vir said, pointing to the three inscriptions carved onto the dashboard of the pilot’s seat. “That one makes it go faster, and this one makes it slow down. This one on the right makes the airship roll to the right, which will somehow allow me to turn…”

“And the one on the left does the opposite, yes,” Saunak confirmed. “Pitch, thrust, and bank. Simple!”

Soulweaver 97: The Spoils of Serpent Slaying

I found myself at a loss for words. On the one hand… It was a rock. It looked like a rock, and it was even called rocky.

On the other, the description clearly said it was a Champion. It would seem Cosmo hadn’t been kidding, after all… I couldn’t believe I actually found one.

“What?” Aerion asked. “What do you see?”

“Not here.” I glanced at Richard, who was resting nearby, and ushered Aerion a few dozen feet away. “Just to be safe.”

“I...

Ashborn 373: Airship

“Air…ship?” Vir asked, walking around the strange contraption. “This looks like no skyship I’ve ever seen.”

Vir ran his fingers over the small, beautiful machine. Constructed primarily of wood and reinforced in places with metal plates, it consisted of a frame large enough for two people sitting in a line, two large arms that extended several paces to either side, and another leading to a horizontal and vertical piece of wood at the rear.

It was also plastered...

Soulweaver 96: Rocky

It took me another few seconds to comprehend what had just happened. Richard… The Champion—my only connection to Earth—had just been swallowed.

One moment he was there, and the next…

What the fuck was that? Richard was dead… Just like that? And I was supposed to accept this?

Screw this bullshit.

Screaming like a deranged man, I beat down on the gouge Aerion had started with my mace. Nothing but fury drove me, and in that moment, I felt like ...

Ashborn 372: Favors for Favors

“I wish for you to assist Vir to the best of his ability, to take no hostile actions against him, and to listen to his every command.”

“Consider it done,” Saunak said. “Akh Nara, my services are at your disposal.”

Vir opened and closed his mouth several times, but no words came out. He’d braced for a long, drawn out battle of wits and guile. Of word games and politicking, all to sway the wily Saunak to his side.

It couldn’t be this easy. It simply co...

Soulweaver 95: Gates of the Dead

NOTE: I'm out this weekend, so I'm releasing the rest of the week's intermediate tiers now(I have to manually release these/Patreon doesn't let me schedule them).

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My first instinct was to run for the passage, but I quickly realized what a deathtrap that would be. Sure, the giant ice serpent couldn’t move as freely in there, but neither could we. It took up the full width, leaving us nowhere to run or hide, and we definitely couldn’t outpace it. All it’d have to do was ...

Ashborn 371: An Unexpected Encounter

Saunak of Garga was working steadily on his newest contraption, despite all evidence pointing to it being a dead end. Just like the previous dozen iterations of this idea. 

The issue was not one of design, but merely prana conductivity. Was there even a demon alive who could channel the prana needed?

An alarm blared, causing Saunak to startle and knock over several instruments, which went tumbling all over the floor. Even after all these years, he never did ge...

Soulweaver 94: Dance of the Sea Serpent

“Greg! Hurry!” Richard cried, on the verge of panic. “He’s still alive. Cut him out!”

I moved instinctively, activating [Light of the Fearless] to make several precision cuts. I’d have been far slower without all the practice I’d just had cutting stairs while cradling my injured left shoulder, but even with all that, would I make it in time?

Fundamentally, how was such a thing possible? Alarm bells began to ring in my head as I...

Ashborn 370: To Seek a Mad Demon

“Absolutely not,” was Cirayus’ immediate response. “You nearly just died, lad. You think I’ll let you go to that madman’s tower? Have you forgotten what he tried to do to you last time?”

“I remember it well,” Vir said calmly. 

“Wel, then you’re out of your mind if you think I’ll let that abomination carve a tattoo into your skin.”

The mention of Saunak immediately soured the mood in the room, as Vir had expected it would. 

�...

Soulweaver 93: Stairway to Hell

As I expected, the journey down was tedious and time-consuming. Mostly because of the cooldown period between activations of my sword’s abilities. I was forced to idle around, waiting between invocations.

I’d hoped that the many consecutive uses of the abilities would’ve leveled them up, but no such luck. Apparently, the System didn’t consider hacking ice a useful experience. I couldn’t really blame it. I gained more in three minutes training with Philip than I gained...

Ashborn 369: Council of the Akh Nara

The revelation came not just as a shock, but as a humbling moment to him. That feeling doubled when he learned just how truly close he’d been, losing multiple limbs, being a hair’s breath away from death.. Here he’d been, single-handedly attacking an Automaton of the Gods, thinking he’d prevail simply because he’d grown a bit stronger, and because he had Ashani by his side.

In doing so, he’d not only put his own life in danger, but that of his people, Ciray...