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Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 58 - Structure

As he left Isaiah’s office, Elijah had no idea what to do.  The situation in Hong Kong sounded dire, but Elijah was in no position to help.  He only had six months before the Trial of Primacy, and he had a lot of work to do before he would feel ready for whatever challenges it would present.  On top of that, he only had a vague direction – east – to go on, meaning that finding the city would be incredibly difficult. 

Perhaps things would be different if he’d ...

Chapter 499 - The Past

“Again!” spat Master Silas as he loomed over Talia.  She looked up at him from where she’d fallen and glared.  The man had died before he’d had a chance to ascend, which should have meant that he was so far beneath her that even touching her should have been a distant dream.  And yet, he’d still managed to establish himself as her superior.  “You will never be a true fighter if you can’t even defeat me, girl.”

Talia ground her teeth, but she didn’t ...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 57 - Other Priorities

He had won.

As Isaiah stared at the huge screen, which was divided into a dozen squares, that simple fact was abundantly apparent.  Everywhere he looked, he saw dead bodies.  Most of the corpses belonged to members of the Adventurers Guild.  Apparently, Bruce Garet had an ability associated with his Guild Leader class that allowed him to magically enforce certain conditions upon people who’d sworn oaths to his guild.  Given that one of the requirements to join had ...

Chapter 498 - Different Paths

Red mist hung in the air, obscuring Zeke’s vision as he stomped forward.  The path was uneven, and there were often chasms and crevices he’d had to jump, so he had remained in his titanic form.  Still, it felt like the path had adapted to his larger size, and the obstacles had grown accordingly.

“That’s precisely what happened,” Eveline remarked as he leaped a thirty-foot-wide crevasse.  “Dungeons are meant to be a challenge.  You know this.”

Zeke...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 56 - Knowledge

Elijah lay on the bed, and for a long while, stared at the ceiling.  A fan twirled lazily above him, but otherwise, it was blank.  It was such a stark difference from the places he usually slept.  There were no stars twinkling above him.  No subtle sounds of nature.  No glowing flowers.  Just blank drywall. 

He sighed, already wishing he was back home.  Or out in the forest.  Even a tower would have felt more normal, if only because he wouldn...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 55 - Demagogue

Elijah’s knees were killing him.

It was understandable, too.  After falling for a few hundred feet and landing in the middle of Mercer Mesa, he was a little surprised that he hadn’t broken anything.  By comparison, a couple of sore joints was a small price to pay for his bombastic entrance.  Still, he was continuously surprised by how durable his body was.  Sure, he could look at the numbers in his status and recognize that they were high.  But that didn’t...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 54 - Dive Bomb

“I couldn’t stop myself,” Elijah said, staring at his cup of coffee.  He hadn’t taken a single sip, and by now, it had gone completely cold.  “I was just so angry.  Everywhere I looked, I saw a reminder of how broken that city was.  It looked nice.  It kept people safe.  But it was a cesspool that fed all of humanity’s worst instincts.”

He looked up.  “I killed hundreds of them, Lucy.  Thousands, probably.  And the worst part ...

Chapter 497 - Lasting Enmity

The bright rays of a midday sun shone down on the clearing, clashing with the dark thoughts rushing through Talia’s mind as she stared at the person she hated more than anyone else in the world.  She was shorter than Talia.  Stouter, too.  In terms of appearance, Talia had taken after her father, and to the point where she sometimes wondered – even before everything had changed – if she was truly her mother’s daughter.  She’d moved past such questions, though.&nb...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 53 - One Down, One to Go

Elijah lay there, staring up at the twinkling stars.  One thing he’d noticed about the desert was just how clear the nights were.  He could see so much, which elicited so many questions about the larger universe.  How many of those stars hosted planets?  Was K’hana’s home planet up there?  What about Ramik’s?  Kurik’s?  Would he one day visit those places?

Not if he ran into another monster like the guild master, Bruce Garet.  The man ha...

Chapter 496 - The Mountain Path

“I’m not asleep.  I’m just resting my eyes,” Zeke muttered as he lay on the ground.  Nearby, the pile of ashes that had been the raggedy princess remained scattered across the cracked and charred tile floor, evidence of the battle that had nearly claimed Talia’s life.  Meanwhile, the other battle Zeke had fought was less evident, though the pain and exhaustion gripping his body and soul reminded him of what it had cost.  It had been hours since his first use of [...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 52 - The Weight of Reality

Elijah dashed to the side, then immediately changed directions.  The transformed Bruce thundered past him, incapable of changing directions so quickly.  He tripped over a pile of rubble, and though he managed to right himself only a moment later, it gave Elijah just enough time to dart in, slash his claws across the man’s calf, then retreat.  To his horror, though, he barely even made a scratch. 

By that point, they’d been going back and forth for a couple of min...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 51 - Sacrifice

Silvery light shone down on the street between the guild headquarters and the abandoned building as Bruce eagerly watched three groups of seasoned adventurers rush toward the lone figure.  Their defenders led the way – two of which held shields, while the other was armed only with a massive sword – while the melee fighters fanned out to surround the man.  All three Sorcerers began the process of casting their most potent spells, while the Healers lagged behind.  Finally, th...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 50 - Terrifying

Florescent lights flickered as Elijah charged down the hall, intent on tearing through the defender.  She held her ground, setting her feet and raising her shield. 

It did no good.

He hit with the force of a runaway train, eliciting a loud clang as the shield split in two.  However, Elijah kept his wits about him enough to recognize that she was not his primary target.  Instead, unless he was forced to act otherwise, he would focus on that woman last.  Oth...

Chapter 495 - A Divine Gift

As Zeke knelt beside Talia, he closed his eyes and dove into his skill.  In the past, he’d let himself become restrained by the scope of each skill.  Every additional rune increased its instability, which necessitated even more runes to keep the structure from collapsing in on itself.  In a lot of ways, it was like building a pyramid.  The foundation had to be much broader than the peak, lest it would crumble.  The problem was that the peak he intended for his lates...

Weekly Check-In (5/6/24)

I'm sorry this is a day late. I kind of got tied up yesterday, and I completely forgot to do the weekly check-in. That's my bad! But better late than never, I say!

This past week has been pretty huge. I know we have lots of new people around here, so welcome! I hope you enjoy my work and have fun participating in the discussions (here and on Discord). I know I do! As for the week itself, there wasn't a whole lot of big news, except that Path of Dragons has retained the top spot o...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 49 - Ideal Circumstances

Elijah cartwheeled, skipping across the roof as his scales melted from the intense heat of the explosion.  However, at least one facet of his Quartz Mind remained aware enough that he initiated a transformation into the Shape of the Sky, which completed as he went over the edge and began a plummet to the ground below.  He beat his wings, pain arcing through him with every motion.  The membranous material that comprised the appendages was ripped in places, scattering blood acros...

Chapter 494 - Dance of Death

Talia raced forward, embracing all of her skills as she covered the ground in less than a second.  At times, she had to force herself to slow down, just so that her perception could keep up, but in this instance, she let herself run at full speed. 

And it was glorious.

But it was also uncontrollable.  At that speed, she could only move in a straight line, and as a result, she didn’t try to engage in any complex maneuvers.  Instead, she dashed close to the rag...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 48 - Raid

Elijah’s heart nearly stopped as the memory of a hundred little delays came rushing to mind.  Perhaps his reaction to Alyssa’s death was understandable, but he’d wasted a lot of time pointlessly trekking across the wilderness.  In the aftermath, he’d spent weeks wallowing in apathy that still hadn’t entirely lifted.  And as a result, he’d put one of the few people he actually cared about in danger.

Lucy wasn’t usually at the forefront of his mind.  She ...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 47 - Seattle's Plight

“I’m Elijah, by the way,” he said to the woman who’d been assigned to escort them.  She was pretty, maybe twenty years old if he had to guess.  But Elijah acknowledged that his perception of age might be a little off.  After all, with high attributes and a Body of Wood, the effects of aging really took a backseat.  Even he looked a few years younger than he really was, though much of it was hidden by his lacking grooming habits and scraggly appearance.  Perhap...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 46 - Making an Example

“What’s going on?” asked Elijah, grabbing a pedestrian’s arm.  The man tried to jerk free, but he was entirely unsuccessful.  “I don’t want any trouble.  I just want to know what to expect.”

“War,” the man spat.  “Those assholes on Mercer Mesa allied with the Lake City Adventurers and attacked the government.  Or what’s left of it.  They won’t last long, though.  They don’t have the power.”

“Shit,” Elijah breathed,...

Chapter 493 - Teacups and Tangents

“Sit, sit!” the Little Lord Liddle excitedly exclaimed, gesturing with his pudgy hands.  “Have some tea!”

“Uh…okay.”

Zeke had no real idea how to deal with children, let alone a toddler with enough power to squash him like a bug.  After he’d used [Inspect], revealing that the child was level one-hundred, the Liddle’s power had washed over him, letting him know that the boy was at least as strong as either of the wyrms back in Min Ferilik.  And whil...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 45 - Seattle

Dappled sunlight fell upon Elijah’s face, eliciting a feeling of peace that he’d so seldom experienced.  Sometimes, it felt like he was being pulled in a thousand different directions.  In most cases, it was his own fault.  He’d taken so many things onto his shoulders that the combined weight of his responsibilities – self-imposed or externally motivated – was almost enough to crush him. 

But he endeavored to persevere, continuing on to the best of his abil...

Chapter 492 - Little Lord

“Stop,” came a voice from nearby.  Pausing mid-stride, Zeke whipped around, ready to destroy the new threat, but relaxed when he saw Talia crouching behind the low wall that encircled the estate. 

“What?  How long have you been here?” he asked.

“Seven hours,” she answered.  “You move much more slowly than I do.”

Zeke knew as much, but still, he hadn’t expected it.  Clearly, he should have, if she’d beaten him there by seven hours....

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 44 - Visitor

“He’s a cute little guy, right?” asked Elijah, which caused K’hana to recoil.  That certainly wasn’t the reaction he’d intended to elicit.  Though, that was probably due to the creature he held in his hands. 

“I don’t think she likes Lizardface,” Miguel remarked, scratching the creature’s scaley ribs.

“They are incredibly venomous!” she hissed, taking a step back to put some distance between herself and the giant desert monitor Elijah held in...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 43 - Alliances

“Why would I do that?” asked K’hana, sitting primly on an elaborately colored cushion.   

“Because you need people,” Elijah answered.  “Your city here is not as isolated as you think.  You can’t even run your tower, can you?  Or did something change while I was gone?”

“We feel confident that, with your notes, we can overcome our deficiencies,” she claimed.  But even Elijah, who sometimes missed social cues, could tell that she...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 42 - A Whole New Warlock

Benedict Emerson leaned forward, checking his reflection in the shattered mirror.  Even though cracks marred the silvery surface, he could still see his features clearly enough.

And the sight was pleasing.

In the past, Benedict had never been referred to as handsome.  His skin was too sallow, his body was thin to the point of looking malnourished, and his complexion had long been marred by acne scars.  Now, though, when he looked upon his own reflection, he could se...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 41 - Classes

“Where are we going?” asked Miguel, following Elijah through the woods outside Ironshore.

“Does it matter?  The journey is more important than the destination,” Elijah said, doing his best to seem wise.  “Worry less about where we’re going and more about how we’re going to get there.  Or why we continue on.”

Miguel rolled his eyes, and Elijah’s aura of stoic pseud-intellectualism broke as he gave a little chuckle.  “Seriously, though – whe...

Chapter 491 - Labyrinth

Zeke splashed into a pool of tepid water, the impact burying him in the thick mud only a foot or two deep.  As he unsuccessfully tried to extricate himself, a moment of panic gripped his mind, but it only lasted for a few moments before he broke free of the sticky mud and pushed himself to all fours. 

He’d been falling for what felt like hours, but in reality had only been a few minutes.  The problem had been the impenetrable darkness, which had surrounded him throughou...

Art!

So, most of you know that, a while back, I commissioned a set of paintings from a very talented artist. It took him a while to get everything done, but I'm very happy with the results. Here they are in order:

Elijah:

This pieces is from around the end of book one. So, we see that his clothes are still all ripped up, and he has the Staff of Natural Harmony. Also, you can se...

Path of Dragons 4 - Chapter 40 - Wok

“Okay, so this is a problem,” Elijah said, looking at the spatial anchor, then across the grove and to the dense forest surrounding it.  The anchor itself was just a rod that had been driven into the ground, though now that it had been activated, it was impossible to move without ruining his previous efforts. 

He’d spent the past few days loading the ring with fifty multi-ton rocks.  Hopefully, that would be enough for Carmen’s project.  However, his current ...