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Path of Dragons 11 - Chapter 69 - A Wasted Planet

Elijah’s efforts took him all the way to two-thirty-nine, and a good ways through that as well.  He wasn’t certain why the system had decided that every ninth level took so much more experience, but he’d begun to dread them.  That he’d progressed nearly halfway to two-forty was a testament to both the quantity and quality of his fallen opponents. 

Once the final vespiran was dead, Elijah took a moment to compose himself.  As he did so, he looked inward, and h...

Path of Dragons 11 - Chapter 68 - Eternal Foes

They made the first move.

Elijah leaped high into the air, using Cloud Step to go high enough to avoid the deluge of attacks.  They blistered the air beneath him, tearing through the abyssal monster’s remains with wind blades and blobs of paralytic poison.  The second was new, and Elijah only recognized its nature through Soul of the Wild.

It didn’t matter.

Each attack missed him, and as he descended among them, he activated Child of Fire.  The influx of a...

Path of Dragons 11 - Chapter 67 - Enemy of my Enemy

Elijah was exhausted.

He’d been at it for four days, constantly attacking the abyssal monster.  He’d poured everything he could into the prolonged battle, and, at long last, it had gotten fed up with his attacks.  With thundering steps, it followed him onto the chain. 

And very nearly got ahold of Elijah in the process.  His exhaustion, the monotony of the task at hand, and sheer surprise meant that the creature’s sudden movement had caught him unaware.&n...

Path of Dragons 11 - Chapter 66 - Poking the Bear

I've removed the chapters for book two from here and Royal Road. They will be available on September 2 when Whispers of the Wild (book 2 of Path of Dragons) releases on Kindle and Audible. Check it out HERE.

Like all abyssal monsters, the creature at the end of the chain defied proper description.  Elij...

Path of Dragons 11 - Chapter 65 - Worse Things

The ruins were the most intact Elijah had encountered since entering the Broken Crown.  The buildings loomed over him, towering to heights that would never have been possible back on Earth.  Thousands of floors, all empty.  He’d entered the city two days before, and he’d still not reached its outskirts.  He had even flown for a while, and after what had to be a thousand miles, had found nothing but more buildings. 

The sheer scale of it all defied descriptio...

Chapter 757 - The Need for Closure

“You don’t have to do this.”

“You’ve said that to me before.”

“And I’ve meant it every time, Ezekiel.”

He shook his head, turning away from Eveline.  She flitted across the room, planting herself in front of him.  It was hard to believe just how much she had changed, though only if he forgot just how much time had passed.  The woman he’d met so long ago was such a different person than the bobbing ball of blinking light he now saw.  2025-08-15 13:00:21 +0000 UTC View Post

Path of Dragons 11 - Chapter 64 - A Grove Untended

Elijah stomped on a floundering vespiran’s head, and as its skull cracked underfoot, he felt brains and other fluids squish between his bare toes.  He ignored it, whipping his head around to investigate the chamber for more survivors. 

There were none.

Silence reigned throughout the space, and dead bodies carpeted most of the floor.  In some places, they were piled three or four deep.  And that didn’t even include the ones that had liquified under the influ...

Path of Dragons 11 - Chapter 63 - Shape of Spores

Elijah grew, bypassing the size he normally associated with the Shape of Thorn.  It didn’t stop until he was staring Zhyratha eye-to-eye.  Something hit his back, but he barely even felt it.  Instead, his hand shot out, and his four fingers wrapped around the vespiran High Druid’s thin neck. 

He squeezed.

She croaked something that sounded a bit like, “How?” but Elijah ignored her.  Ethera flowed through her as he lifted her from her feet, and her ...

Chapter 756 - Meaning and Consequence

“If you were to ask most people what they thought godhood meant, what do you think they’d say?” asked Zeke, sitting in front of his captive.  Predictably, the knight said nothing, as much because he was terrified into silence as because he was bound and gagged.  There might have been some post-traumatic stress in there as well. 

In any case, Zeke had meant the question rhetorically.  So, he answered it himself, “I think most of them would go on and on about s...

Path of Dragons 11 - Chapter 62 - Zhyratha

Over the next three weeks – as far as Elijah could tell – six more groups met the same fate as the first.  Each instance was worse than the last, and not just because he was forced to endure the pain of a wasp larva boring through his skull and trying to take control of his mind. 

But he had no choice in the matter.  He couldn’t extend his Mantle of Authority outside his body, which meant that he had to wait until the larva was fully inside his skull before he could...

Path of Dragons 11 - Chapter 61 - Larva

Elijah awoke to discomfort and immobility.

His uneasiness only worsened when he opened his eyes to see the setting.  All around him, dragons hung, their bodies plastered to the wall by familiar resin.  Elijah was no different, his arms and legs entirely immobilized by that same substance.  Through it flowed a significant amount of ethera.  More troublingly, he felt that his spells were far off – as if someone held them at a distance – and his body felt far too we...

Announcements (Path of Dragons)

First of all, I rearranged the collections section, separating the Path of Dragons books. I think this will make it easier for people to read them. But let me know if there are any issues with those because I did it at like 2AM, and I'm sure I made some mistakes!

Second, Protector of the Grove (PoD 1) is on sale on Kindle for 2.99 right now, so if you haven't gotten your copy yet, you should do so soon. That sale runs until the 14th. Check it out 2025-08-12 19:49:00 +0000 UTC View Post

Path of Dragons 11 - Chapter 60 - Hollow

The wind whistled in Elijah’s ears as he rocketed toward the vespiran.  For the briefest of instants, the creature didn’t react.  Then, his eyes widened.  That moment of surprise was the only opening Elijah needed, and the Verdant Fang sank deep into the thing’s chest.  Elijah kicked free, spinning into a backflip as he ripped the blade of his scythe from the creature’s torso. 

He landed only a second before he was showered in ichor. 

The vesp...

Path of Dragons 11 - Chapter 59 - Broken

One thing that surprised Elijah more than anything else was the sheer variety on display within the army.  Not only was every facet of draconic society on display, but there was physical diversity within each category as well. 

For instance, some of the dragons looked much as he’d been led to expect.  Four-legged, reptilian creatures with scales, wings, and serpentine necks.  But some were entirely terrestrial, with far stumpier bodies and entirely lacking wings.&n...

Chapter 755 - Easier than it Should Be

Zeke crushed the man’s throat, then tossed him aside.  He didn’t even know his title.  Just that he was head of the Temple of the Sun, as evidenced by his once-fancy robes and elaborate scepter.  And the fact that everyone there seemed to defer to him. 

Looking down, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of regret.  Fires raged all around him, hot enough to weaken even the old stone of the Temple of the Sun.  The timbers above cracked, sending ashes and b...

Path of Dragons 11 - Chapter 58 - Chains

“The Red Tyrant's work.  Impressive, is it not?” asked Dolo, one of his arms on his hip.  The other had been severed during one of the previous battles.  When it had happened, the tetradrak had been only a little distraught, mostly because he wasn’t looking forward to the cost of having it regrown.  He was even considering simply replacing it with a crafted prosthesis, which was much cheaper and had the potential to be quite useful. 

It wouldn’t be a rea...

Path of Dragons 11 - Chapter 57 - Disconnected

The sky roiled, billowing clouds of corruption staining the atmosphere.  Even though he knew it couldn’t touch him, Elijah watched it like it was an impending natural disaster.  A tidal wave of wrongness that would sweep over what was left of the planet and infect them all.  Having experienced a taste of the abyss once before, he knew this was different.  If that cloud were allowed through, he would be lucky to survive more than a few minutes.  Any longer, and he’...

Chapter 754 - Why

Jonah took a swig from his beer as he studied the enigmatic stranger across the table.  The man had shown up at his gate only two days before, and since then, Jonah still hadn’t quite figured out what to think of him.  Immune to inspection and teeming with power, the guy was clearly an elite.

But he didn’t even carry any equipment.  And he dressed like he’d been living an isolated life in the woods for years.  His beard was poorly trimmed, his hair wild, and hi...

Path of Dragons 11 - Chapter 56 - Allies and Dragons

A swarm of glittering flies billowed, spreading in every direction and descending upon every wasp within a quarter-mile radius.  At the center of it was Elijah, spinning and leaping as he fell into the rhythm of battle.  Every now and again, lightning arced out, finishing off or stunning any vespirans or drachnids who got too close.  He was a whirlwind of a natural disaster, taking out his instinctual anger on any enemy within range.

The other dragons and their allies –...

Path of Dragons 11 - Chapter 55 - Big Break

Gunnar wanted to shoot someone.

Or maybe more than one.  Over the past few weeks, he’d added multiple names to his list.  Not only were there the ones he’d expect – like Lefevre and Kaffey – who’d more than earned their placement, but there were plenty of others as well.  At times, it felt like everyone who lived on the surface was a terrible person who deserved a bullet to the chest. 

They didn’t.

Gunnar knew that.  Most of his anger cam...

Path of Dragons 11 - Chapter 54 - Choosing a Path

Elijah stared at the portal, still unsure of which path to take.  He’d been sitting there for hours, endlessly debating each option.  And he was still no closer to a definitive decision.  The problem, as he’d first noted, was that each of his available options was attractive. 

Might would obviously make his physical body more powerful, and he expected that to extend to his bestial forms.  At best, it would be like advancing a stage in body cultivation, but w...

Path of Dragons 11 - Chapter 53 - Asserting Dominance

Elijah pushed himself to feet and finally let himself see the carnage he’d wrought.  Tens of thousands of wasps, spiders, drachnids, and vespirans lay dead.  But for the hatred flowing through him, it was not enough.  He knew that, even when they were all dead, he would want more.

So, when he saw the large vespiran, followed by a squad of lesser wasp-men, leap free of the fortress’ exit, he found himself looking forward to the confrontation.  He gripped his scyth...

Path of Dragons 11 - Chapter 52 - Sprint

Arriving at the Circle of Lost Seas was a little disconcerting, and not just because of the sudden change in temperature or the mostly imagined stink of wasps.  No – what Elijah found most jarring was the presence of a Conclave compound only a few hundred yards away from his dolmen. 

“What the…”

He didn’t finish his rhetorical question.  Instead, he strode forth from the center of his dolmen and toward the compound in question.  The walls were made of...

Path of Dragons 11 - Chapter 51 - Win Conditions

Miguel blocked a thrown dagger, slapping the blade aside as he charged forward.  With a surge of speed, he rammed into the goblin-sized troll, slamming his sword through its chest.  It erupted from the thing’s back in a shower of gore that sprayed the next sapper in the narrow corridor.  Miguel’s momentum sent the first creature into the next, and his blade had little difficulty parting that second troll’s flesh and obliterating its heart. 

He ripped his sword ...

Chapter 753 - Know Thy Enemy

Unsurprisingly, the City Registrar was located on the first tier.  Though Zeke did note that its surroundings were much better maintained and far cleaner than the rest of the tier.  It also played host to a great many guards, all of which sported the sunburst badge signifying allegiance to the Temple of the Sun. 

Every time Zeke looked upon one of those badges, he wanted to destroy its wearer.  While the individual guards might not have been terrible people, their or...

Path of Dragons 11 - Chapter 50 - Empty

For a few hours, Elijah just wandered the grove, wondering where everyone was.  He could feel them nearby, but so vaguely that they were barely even noticeable.  It was similar to what he felt from the people in Ironshore.  The city was within his grove’s sphere of influence, but not of the grove itself.  That put it in something of a gray area when it came to his authority over them.

Could he integrate the city?  Probably.  Especially if he was willing t...

Path of Dragons 11 - Chapter 49 - The Red Marsh

“I have to admit – that went better than expected,” Elijah remarked, looking down at the rapidly rotting troll.  Even with half its flesh having turned into a decaying slurry that mingled with the massive pool of congealing blood beneath it, the thing was huge.  His previous assessment that it was at least twice his height had been a slight underestimation.  If it was less than fifteen feet from heel to head, Elijah would have been immensely surprised.

What was not ...

Chapter 752 - Phoenix Reach

Zeke approached the tiered city with characteristic nonchalance.  He was unconcerned with how he was viewed, largely because there was nothing in the realm that could inflict consequences upon him.  Perhaps not in the entirety of the multi-versal landscape. 

Instead, he focused on the city itself, which, at first glance, looked much like its predecessor.  There were five tiers, each smaller than the one below.  Zeke had once compared it to a wedding cake, and th...