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Path of Dragons 14 - Chapter 18 - Avoidance

The words echoed across the ruins of Meridian Lux, cutting through the sound of gravel shifting beneath Elijah’s feet.  He paid very little attention to his surroundings, though.  Partially, because he’d spent the week pulverizing buildings into rubble, and there wasn’t much left to see. 

But mostly?  Elijah’s focus remained fixated on the new arrival.

Sadie Song looked better than ever.  Her armor gleamed, sleek and powerful, though it couldn’t ...

Path of Dragons 14 - Chapter 17 - Tearing it All Down

“By order of the Adjudicators, stand down!” came an echoing shout.

Elijah looked up to see a severe-looking man staring at him, sword drawn and silver armor shining in the flickering light of the casino.  Even from a few hundred feet away, Elijah could see that the man was an elf, though one with a slightly more approachable face.  His ears were still pointed, but not so severely as most elves Elijah had met.

Elijah’s foot descended in a stomp that crushed a man’...

Path of Dragons 14 - Chapter 16 - Disgust

Disgust was a powerful drug.

It latched onto a man’s mind, gripping it so tightly that he could think of nothing else.  And though Elijah was a dragon, he was also a man who’d drawn very definitive lines between what he would tolerate and what he would not.

He didn’t care about the gambling.  If someone wanted to cling to that vice, then that was their business.  Nor did he object to prostitution, at least not in and of itself.  People could make their ow...

Path of Dragons 14 - Chapter 15 - A Good Racket

Olaf Bruener sat in the booth, barely feeling the high-grade leather as he scanned the casino floor.  He recognized so many faces out there.  Some were regulars.  Degenerate gamblers who simply couldn’t overcome their own natures.  Others were first-timers.  Men and women who’d come to take advantage of the atmosphere, the culture, and the lack of restrictions in his city.

Meridian Lux. 

The bright light at the center of shadows. 

Olaf ...

Path of Dragons 14 - Chapter 14 - Debauchery

The landscape blurred beneath Elijah as he tore across the sky at supersonic speed.  Every now and then, particularly territorial monsters attempted to intercept him, but the Shape of the World Serpent was far too maneuverable to be contained.  Due to the nature of his magical flight, he didn’t need to worry about the physics of redirecting his flight.  Instead, he slithered through the air as easily as a normal snake maneuvered across solid ground.

None of the other wo...

Path of Dragons 14 - Chapter 13 - Still Necessary

Elijah tugged at the Girdle of the Wild Revenant, muttering, “I’m not sure about this.”

As he looked into the mirror, he saw Atticus standing behind him, his beefy arms crossed over his chest.  “I think it fits you.”

“Of course it fits,” Elijah mumbled.  That was one of the good things about the gear granted via system boxes.  Once someone bonded it, it automatically adjusted in size.  And the Raiment of the Wild Revenant was no different.  I...

Path of Dragons 14 - Chapter 12 - The Value of a Friend

“I think I scared that kid out of his mind,” Elijah admitted, referring to the young Animist he’d startled upon his return to the grove.  He added, “Since then, I’ve just been trying to catch up.”

Atticus remained silent for a few moments before taking a sip of his coffee.  Elijah had already drained two cups, and he was working on a third.  His recounting of events since leaving for the Labyrinth of Mad Gods had taken quite a while, largely because he’d hel...

Path of Dragons 14 - Chapter 11 - An Old Friend

The state of the city immediately on the other side of the wall was predictable in its utilitarianism.  Warehouses and transport companies made up the bulk of the buildings, but there were plenty of other businesses catering to their needs, which give the area some variety.  Everything from cheap restaurants to leatherworks dotted the area, and with everything in between. 

Elijah found it comforting.

The skyscrapers were located near the city’s center, so the arch...

Path of Dragons 14 - Chapter 10 - Understanding

Elijah stood in the forest surrounding Ironshore, hesitating for a moment before fully committing to the path he’d chosen.  It would have been so easy to simply turn away, to head back to the island and continue to relax.  Most people would have done just that, and they would have been grateful for the lack of conflict.

But Elijah wasn’t built that way.

Not only did he feel the weight of necessity bearing down on him, but the pressure of idle days had continued to bu...

Path of Dragons 14 - Chapter 9 - Plans and Updates

The smell of the forge permeated the office, punctuated by the unmistakable odor that came with Carmen’s hard work.  She clearly hadn’t had a shower in a while – a fact she seemed to disregard as unimportant as she settled into her office chair.  It was situated behind a huge, metal desk which she used as a footrest. 

“So?” she asked, leaning back and closing her eyes.  “”Why are you here?”

“Maybe I just wanted to visit my favorite sister-in-l...

Official Art - The Emerald Dragon (Elijah)

And for the last in this batch of art from Rashed Al Aroka, we get Elijah in his dragon form!

Path of Dragons 14 - Chapter 8 - The Hard Numbers

Edit: I screwed up Elijah's status in this chapter, so I fixed and reuploaded. Sorry about that!

Elijah had forgotten that the world could be hospitable.

As he dove beneath the waves, he was reminded just how pleasant something as simple as a swim could truly be.  Back on Gorveth, such an act would have been plagued by monster attacks and caustic corruption.  He’d long since proven he could endure whatever that planet threw at...

Official Art - Kurik

Art for our favorite grumpy dwarf!

Path of Dragons 14 - Chapter 7 - Spinning

“Was that kid an animist?” Elijah asked Nara.

“Who?  Alfie?”

“If that’s his name.  Took the form of a white owl,” Elijah answered.

“Oh.  Yes.  He and his parents joined the grove a little less than ten years ago,” Nara explained.  “A sad story.”

“How so?”

Then, she told a truly heartbreaking story of an entire grove destroyed, and for no other reason than pure greed.  According to what Nara had been told, al...

Path of Dragons 14 - Chapter 6 - The Passage of Time

“Elijah.”

He didn’t move from where he was lying in his mossy bed.  It hadn’t been used in decades, but it remained in perfect condition.  Probably Nerthus’ work.  The spryggent had yet to actually speak, but Elijah knew his friend well enough to recognize the pain, elation, and anxiety behind Nerthus’ eyes. 

“Elijah!”

“Huh?” he asked, looking up to see a crowd of people surrounding him.  They were all familiar faces, but he found...

Official Art - Shape of the Scourge

This is the latest piece of art, also by Rashed al Aroka. More to come soon!

Path of Dragons 14 - Chapter 5 - Relief and Realization

The Hartwood Grove had grown, and with every passing second, it continued to expand.  Elijah could feel it all.  The island.  The satellite trees.  Everything.  And for a moment, it was all so overwhelming that he remained stunned, slithering in the air. 

Then, he looked down at a snowy owl that had just emerged from the trees.  There was something different about it.  Something he couldn’t really pin down, but seemed obvious all the same. ...

Official Art - Miguel

I've had this for a week or so, but I didn't want to share it until we knew the grove was still around. Anyway - here's Elijah's favorite nephew:

There's more to come soon-ish. So keep an eye out for those!

Path of Dragons 14 - Chapter 4 - The Force of Nature

Alfie Simmons waved his hand through the dust motes dancing in the ray of sunlight peeking through the forest canopy.  His feet dangled over the edge of his balcony, brushing against dew-covered leaves as the sound of chirping insects and singing birds echoed in his ears. 

He leaned back, his palms resting against the smooth wood from which his home had been constructed.  Then, he let out a contented sigh. 

Morning.

It was Alfie’s favorite time of any d...

Path of Dragons 14 - Chapter 3 - Underlying Structure

As Elijah’s bare feet crunched against the crystalline surface of the planet, he found himself humming Annie Lennox’s Walking on Broken Glass.  It helped distract him from the pain that came from his trek back to his tent.  Once he reached it, he glanced back the way he’d come, only to see a trail of blood stretching into the distance.

Outside the cave, the air glittered with snowflake-like shards of sharp crystal.  Tiny bits of those flakes infested the wo...

Path of Dragons 14 - Chapter 2 - Unsuitable

The thread felt thicker.  Almost real, but still too ephemeral to count as an actual connection.  But so long as it still existed – as long as Elijah could feel it – it was all he needed to guide his path home.

He had been at it for longer than he cared to understand.  Months?  Years?  In the void, time didn’t exist.  Nor did it matter.  Not to his quest to return to Earth.  He’d lost count of how many other dimensions he’d visited. ...

Path of Dragons 14 - Chapter 1 - The Void

The void was nothing, and it was everything.

Elijah felt it pressing down on him, suffocating his very existence.  It squeezed him, both in a physical and ethereal sense.  The only reason he hadn’t already succumbed was the protection he received from Scales of Infinity. 

But even that wasn’t enough to safeguard him for all of eternity.

He had no idea how long he’d spent in the void.  In that space between the various layers of reality, time seemed ...

Shape of Spores (Official Art)

I just wanted to share some new art I commissioned from Rashed al Aroka (the same artist who's done all of the official art outside of the Amazon book covers). This time, it's Shape of Spores!

There's more art coming soon, and I'll share it as it's finished!

End of Book 13 - Ask Me Anything

Sometimes, I forget that the vast majority of you don't really participate in my Discord server, where I'm pretty active and respond to questions pretty frequently. I don't really read very many of the comments here, so I don't get the chance to respond. However, I figured it would be beneficial to make a post where you all can ask me whatever questions you have in mind. I'll do my best to respond to all of them (assuming they come over the next day or so). If it turns out that people enj...

Path of Dragons 13 - Chapter 87 - Last Tour

It took another six months for Elijah to decide that he was as prepared as he was ever going to get.  Certainly, he could keep going.  He could continue his shallow dives into the void.  That was the safe thing to do.

But he just couldn’t handle it anymore.

Not when the way home was so obvious.

In his mind, he imagined his journey home as a short trip through the void.  He would reappear on Earth, and everyone would welcome him back with open arms. ...

Path of Dragons 13 - Chapter 86 - Farewell

Elijah stood beside Jasai’i, his hands behind his back as he watched the pyre burn.  Two mages stood sentry over the flames, ensuring that it continued to burn despite the heavy rain.  For Zek’s funeral, Elijah had purchased a new outfit of undyed cloth.  The material was similar to cotton, stark white but with a slightly rougher texture that reminded Elijah more of wool. 

It was a simple outfit.

Everyone else wore white as well, though in a wide variety of...

Path of Dragons 13 - Chapter 85 - The Thin Thread of Connection

Elijah swam along the seafloor, cutting through the forest of kelp until he reached a precipitous drop.  He didn’t bother descending.  Nothing was down there.  Not after he’d spent two months tearing the monsters native to that ravine to pieces.  Among them were some of the strongest creatures he’d ever battled, and the only reason he’d managed to kill them was because they were unlucky enough to find themselves within the latest corruption-cleansing runic circle.<...

Path of Dragons 13 - Chapter 84 - Testing

“Do you have any concept of how dangerous it could be?” asked Benedict.  “No.  How dangerous it would be.  There’s no question about it.”

“It might be our only chance,” Elijah insisted.

“And it will probably kill you.  Or you’ll be lost in the void, entirely incapable of finding your way out.”

“I have abilities to guide and protect me.”

“I don’t think you understand what the void is.  It’s the space between realiti...

Path of Dragons 13 - Chapter 83 - A Long Time Coming

Elijah’s heart beat out of his chest as he floated amidst the gore of the previous battle.  He knew he couldn’t stay where he was for much longer – not without becoming embroiled in another battle – so he swam toward the surface.  Bursting through the waves like a humpback whale, he shifted into the Shape of the Sky and flapped his wings to gain altitude.  Once he was free of the mountainous peaks of the sea, he reoriented himself toward land and used Lightning Rush. 2026-01-10 16:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post

Path of Dragons 13 - Chapter 82 - Incremental Growth

“I think I’ve come to a realization,” Elijah told Treebie.  For once, they were entirely alone.  No tree-worshippers.  No Jasai’i.  Just a Druid and his tree, the way it always had been.  “You have no way of knowing this, but people are expected to grow.  To change.  Not like you, either.  Your growth is literal.  With people, it’s usually psychological.”

He slowly circled the tree’s enormous trunk, tracing his fingers across ...