Contrary to popular belief, the system was not built to encourage violence. It is molded by our nature, and as such, it has become a tool of death, oppression, and destruction.
Galatira Iamaxis
“I can’t believe you did that,” said Patrick, looking up at the sky. “There has to be some sort of repercussions for it, right? It’s part of the system.”
I didn’t bother following his gaze. There was nothing to...
2024-02-17 14:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe next morning, Elijah’s eyes fluttered open, and for a moment, he forgot the weight of responsibility resting on his shoulders. In those brief few seconds, he raised one hand, letting the warm blanket of dense ethera envelop him as he let the first rays of the morning sun dance across his fingers.
But it couldn’t last.
He knew he was on the clock in terms of preparation for the coming orc invasion, and as such, he didn’t have time to lie abed. So, with some degree of frus...
2024-02-16 16:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostZeke was meditating in his tower, working on a plan to upgrade one of his most fundamental skills, when Silik arrived. The giant kobold couldn’t hide his presence from Zeke’s perception, even though he remained outside of the meditation room, silently waiting. Still, Zeke didn’t immediately react. Instead, he spent another few minutes finalizing a few of his plans before finally pushing himself to his feet.
“How long was I out this time?” he asked.
“I am neither a watc...
2024-02-16 14:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostFor a few minutes, Elijah stood on the beach watching the crashing waves as the storm rolled in, bathing him in a deluge of precipitation. Spring had already taken hold, but the rain still felt like frigid needles against his skin. However, some of that discomfort was mitigated by the blanket of dense ethera that covered the island. The difference between what he’d felt in the valley he’d recently left behind and the power emanating from his grove was so stark that he wondered how he coul...
2024-02-15 16:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostGrand Magister Tordal seethed, but he held his temper in check as he looked out across the camp. There were hundreds of white-and-silver tents arrayed in a precise grid. Each one was topped with the streaming flag of Adontis, giving the entire camp an air of extreme organization.
Which was as it should be.
The men, though, they were the source of Tordal’s ire. Most of them were perfectly well groomed, with shining armor and pristine clothing. Those, he looked upon favorably. How...
2024-02-15 14:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostAlright folks - we're only a couple of weeks from the accelerated month (where I intend to post chapters for Path of Dragons twice a day for the entirety of March), and I wanted to do something in preparation for what's coming. The whole idea of doing this is to increase the story's visibility, but with an increased number of readers, there will inevitably come a few who don't like the story. That's always going to happen, regardless of how good it is. And some of those disg...
2024-02-15 11:53:46 +0000 UTC View Post“Are you sure?” asked Carmen, looking around Easton. It had been months since the last time she had visited, and in that time, the city had once again transformed. It was difficult to believe that only a few years before, it had been nothing more than a sleepy suburb. Now, it was a walled city that had to house at least a hundred thousand people. Probably a lot more. “Because if you’re wrong…”
Colt nodded. “Sure as I can be,” he responded, his hand on the hilt of his kat...
2024-02-14 16:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostMystics can die just like anyone else. You just have to know how to get to them.
Alistaris Kargat
I tossed a handful of grenades, one after the other, into the amassed army of Adjudicators and other combatants. A second later, they exploded, sending huge clumps of the enemy flying into the air. Few died, but that wasn’t the point. My intention was to disrupt, and in that arena, the grenades were very effective.
A...
2024-02-14 14:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostElijah knelt atop the hill, looking out across the valley. It was an idyllic scene, with lush vegetation and a gentle stream cutting through the center of the dell. Despite the drizzling rain that had pervaded the region since he’d left Argos a couple of days before, sunlight still bathed the hollow, giving it a surreal, yet comfortable atmosphere. The only thing marring the landscape was the crumbling skyscraper standing in an asphalt clearing on the eastern side of the valley.
Ignor...
2024-02-13 16:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostOutside of the Pillar, Zeke stood before the gathered people, his eyes flicking from one to the next until they settled on Kianma and Silik, standing in the center. The pair looked much the same as always – one a hulking brute of a kobold, the other much smaller and slimmer, though with a sense of dignity few could manage – but there was something else there, as well. Was it pride? Maybe. Or it could have been simple satisfaction. That made sense, too. Whatever the case, the pair practica...
2024-02-13 14:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostKurik dove aside, rolling away just in time to avoid the orc’s descending axe. The stone blade thudded into the loamy turf, sending an explosion of black soil and dead leaves into the air. The monster roared in frustration as it yanked the massive blade out of the ground, but it had dug into the roots of a nearby oak tree, so the motion wasn’t quite as smooth as it should have been.
That was the only opening Kurik needed.
The dwarf dashed in, drawing his one-handed axe from th...
2024-02-12 16:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post“I don’t want to do this,” Zeke said, pacing back and forth. Silik had just explained the results of his investigation into the string of deaths that had occurred over the past week, and Zeke did not like what he’d heard. “But I don’t know how else I’m supposed to respond. I can’t let sabotage go unpunished.”
“Better to kill them all than let a single guilty party roam free,” Eveline stated confidently.
That was so contrary to how it had been on Earth, where ...
2024-02-12 14:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostConsequences. It’s a concept that most of the universe does not fully understand. On the surface, that doesn’t seem to be the case, and yet, they consistently push people past their breaking point. Eventually, they snap. And one day, one of those people is going to set everything ablaze.
Alistaris Kargat
“It smells weird in here,” I remarked as we strode down the wide corridor. “Like a mixture of ozone and anti...
2024-02-11 14:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostTo the surprise of everyone, I'm doing this on time this week! Celebrate and rejoice, for I have finally figured out how to use a calendar!
Anyway...
So, this week was extremely productive for me. I've been grinding hard on all three stories, and I'm seeing tangible results in my progress. So, I'm very excited about that, and I'm having a blast writing right now. I hope it shows in the product.
In Death: Genesis news, remember that we're less than a m...
2024-02-11 12:17:16 +0000 UTC View PostThere are many mystics in the universe, and like any other population, some are good, others are bad, and a scant few are exceptional in either direction. But the vast majority are, by definition, average, and there is a wide gulf between each extreme.
Gala Iamaxis
I narrowed my eyes as I leveraged every thread of thought at my disposal toward accomplishing my chosen task. And to my ultimate surprise, I tore through the ...
2024-02-10 14:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostThat was the most prevalent thought in every facet of Elijah’s mind as he lay on his side, his head propped on one hand as he beheld the goddess he’d met the night before. As she dressed, this time in normal clothes as opposed to the Wonder Woman get-up she’d worn when she had accosted him, she gave him a small smirk. “What?” she asked.
“Do you think there’s a prostitute class?” he asked.
Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “Come again.”
“What?” he said. T...
2024-02-09 16:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostSilik looked down on the other kobold and frowned. It was odd, seeing a member of the new caste. Before, there were only four. The ones who took the path of the warrior ended up as legionnaires or centurions. Or in Silik’s case, a general. Then there were the scouts who ended up as rangers. Third came the broodtenders, who cared for the young. And finally, there were spiritweavers like Kianma, who’d once functioned as the link in the chain that kept them connected to the Mother. That had ...
2024-02-09 14:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostSunlight filtered through the curtains, illuminating the dancing dust motes in the air. For a moment, Carmen had no idea where she was, and she reached for a partner that wasn’t there. Then, everything came crashing down on her like a tidal wave, and she suddenly felt very alone.
That lasted right up until she saw Miguel curled up in a chair, his mother’s old spear leaning against the wall next to him. That brought all sorts of mixed feelings, but the most prevalent was that she cou...
2024-02-08 16:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostGripping the balcony banister, Silik gazed across the Residential District of the Crimson Tower, pleased with the progress they had made since leaving the caverns beneath Min Ferilik. They had come so far that he scarcely remembered the person he had been back then, but one thing he knew for certain was that, without Ak-Toh, none of it would have been possible. Indeed, without his intervention, the budding civilization of kobolds would have been consumed by the monstrous Blood Wraith.
B...
2024-02-08 14:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostMorning sunlight filtered through the forest’s canopy as a dewy chill carpeted the forest floor. Somewhere up above, a bird chirped, and in the distance, a squirrel chittered, painting the morning with a cold, yet idyllic brush. Elijah sat with his back to the trunk of a tree, his head tilted upward as he enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere for what it represented. He looked across the campsite to see Artemis staring back at him from her position cuddled next to Isaak.
She was a dangerous...
2024-02-07 16:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostEveryone else is always one step ahead. I understand the reasons behind it. Mira and I, as well as the rest of humanity, are playing catch-up. The rest of the universe already knows how to win the game, but we’re just starting to learn the rules. I just hope we can figure it out before we end up losing everything.
Patrick Ward
I felt weak.
Useless.
As if everything I had done since leaving Nova City had bee...
2024-02-07 14:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostI apologize for this being a couple of days late. In my defense, I was trying to pump out some chapters this weekend so I'm ready for the March accelerated publishing schedule (more on that later). So, I have a good excuse!
Anyway, this past week has been super busy. I'm producing chapters left and right as I barrel towards the ends of Death: Genesis 8 and Mistrunner 4 (which is the last book in that series). As I said earlier, I'm trying to write a bunch of chap...
2024-02-07 02:05:18 +0000 UTC View Post“Are you sure?” asked Isaak, looking around the darkening forest.
“It’s fine. I sleep outside all the time,” Elijah said, sitting beside the small fire he’d built. Artemis was draped over his lap, sound asleep. Because she was so much larger than any housecat had a right to be, she didn’t quite fit in his lap, but that clearly didn’t bother her very much. And if Elijah was honest, he didn’t mind, either. “I spent an entire winter sleeping outside once. Don’t recomm...
2024-02-06 16:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post“Relax,” said Eveline. “It’s going great.”
To Zeke, that didn’t seem to be the case. Certainly, from a purely strategic perspective, the battle for Wealton had progressed according to their meticulous plan. The various cohorts of kobolds had swept in from three different directions, forcing the enemy to split their focus. Meanwhile, another contingent of the versatile former monsters had dug a series of tunnels far beneath the walls, surfacing within the city itself. That pr...
2024-02-06 14:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostPurple lightning flashed in the sky as the smell of death filled Elijah’s nostrils. He stumbled toward the fallen Isaak, dread and despair mingling in his heart as he let his guardian form fall away. With each staggering step, pain lanced up his broken leg, but he forced himself to ignore it, and as soon as his transformation completed, he summoned Healing Rain. A storm of soothing precipitation gathered, dumping its rejuvenating payload on Elijah and Isaak alike.
But the young man wa...
2024-02-05 16:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post“The sounds of battle are such a unique thing,” said Eveline, a note of appreciation playing across her voice. “Weapons clashing, people screaming. Anger and agony, death and an unmatched verve for life. I’ve always found it fascinating.”
Zeke ignored her as he ducked beneath a massive blow meant to decapitate him. The Knight of Adontis who opposed him was under the influence of the familiar transformation skill that enhanced his size – and physical attributes – many times...
2024-02-05 14:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostEarth doesn’t even qualify as a backwater. It’s on the edge of the frontier, and the only people who care about it are the desperate or unscrupulous. I’m one of the former.
Galatira Iamaxis
“You’re really not going to tell me the whole story, are you?” I asked, glancing back at Gala. She’d crammed herself into one of the back seats of the Leviathan’s cockpit, and it was clear that she found it extremely u...
2024-02-04 14:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostLots of people love the idea of being a warrior, but the reality of it is one of horrifying loss and crippling sadness. I’ve lost so much. So many people I’ll never see again. I know we were justified. I know we didn’t have any choice. But I still struggle with the cost of resistance.
Patrick Ward
I sat on top of the Leviathan, staring out at the unsettled sea as slate gray clouds rolled in from the south. It was f...
2024-02-03 14:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostHe was dead.
“Help him!” Carmen shouted, whipping her head around. But the Healer she had brought into the mines was busy performing triage on another Warrior. Meanwhile, Colt and Tiffany stood at the head of the tunnel, defending them against a tide of critters. There were hundreds of them, each the size of a basketball and with teeth like razors. Alone, they weren’t that dangerous to anyone with a few levels under their belt. But in the numbers they’d found within the mine’s...
2024-02-02 16:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostZeke sat on the bed, his elbows on his knees as he perused the choices the Framework had set before him. And he was a little unsettled by what he saw. Not because he didn’t like the choices, but rather because all three options were decidedly demon-themed. The first was called [Mark of the Doomed].
[Mark of the Doomed] (C) – You are the arbiter of Hell’s twisted justice. Mark an enemy with a curse that gradually corrodes their vitality with every passing second. In addition, it im...
2024-02-02 14:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post