There is so much more to this universe than I can ever understand. Rings within rings, plots inside plots, and all of it built out of people lying to one another. Nobody has the whole picture. Anyone who says they do is lying.
Alistaris Kargat
“Are you okay?” I asked, my hand resting on the arm of Patrick’s mech suit. It was warm to the touch, which was evidence of just how hard he’d been pushing.
“I’m ...
2024-01-17 14:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostIt had been almost three weeks since the stranger had come out of nowhere, brought hundreds of people back from the brink of certain death, and then declared he would conquer the tower that had plagued Norcastle for months. In that time, Captain Orville Essex had begun to doubt his initial impression of the man. According to his Inspect ability, Elijah Smith was an unremarkable, level eighteen Healer. Yet, the way he’d moved, not to mention his feats in the hospital, had come at odds with t...
2024-01-16 16:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostZeke waited.
He would’ve liked to have claimed that he did so patiently, but the reality was so far from that standard that he didn’t even try to fool himself. Instead, he clenched his fists and stared out into the abyss of an overcast night. Earlier, the clouds had dumped a deluge of rain on the area, but that brief torrent had quickly petered out. What it had left in its wake was damp humidity and muddy turf as well as one of the blackest nights Zeke had ever seen.
But out t...
2024-01-16 14:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostElijah twisted away from the lacerating pain, trying at the same time to keep a grip on the monster’s bony shoulder. But he couldn’t do both at the same time, so his hind brain kicked in, forcing him to flee the agony cutting a long line into his scales. Against that, his Iron Scales were wholly insufficient, and he let out a roar of pain all his own. It joined the monster’s anguished whimpers.
No matter how quickly Elijah moved, though, the pain persisted, and soon enough, he saw...
2024-01-15 16:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post“You don’t have to do it,” Pudge said. “We can –”
Sasha cut him off, saying, “I know that, but I’ve already decided to go through with it.”
Indeed, she had been working night and day for the past week in order to construct the appropriate spell for the task at hand, and she wasn’t going to be dissuaded by something so inconsequential as morality. They were fighting a war, and a just one at that, so rules simply didn’t apply. The only thing that mattered was k...
2024-01-15 14:00:36 +0000 UTC View PostAnother week has come and gone (time doesn't seem to want to stop!), and there's some fun stuff going on. First, I'm getting closer to hiring an artist for my little marketing push, so I'm excited about that. Hopefully, I'll have something to show you sometime this week, but I'm still a bit skeptical about the artist I've hired. So, we'll see if I have to switch gears to my backup.
Second, the release of Mistrunner 2 on Kindle and Audible (find it HERE) is fast ...
2024-01-15 04:29:31 +0000 UTC View PostMira almost never encounters something she can’t simply overpower, but when she does, it spurs her forward like nothing else can. She doesn’t like to lose, but I think it’s more than that. It’s about strength. And weakness. Her abject loathing of failure. That’s what makes her who she is, for better or worse.
Patrick Ward
I felt the foreign Mist writhing around me like living bands of iron that squeezed my ches...
2024-01-14 14:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostOurs is a universe of obvious intention. The mighty crave power so they can maintain their wealth and influence. The weak need to grow stronger so they can throw off the yoke of oppression. Peace is a temporary illusion because war is both the means and the end of all things.
Alistaris Kargat
Freddy jogged ahead of me, his gait unhurried but his aura, held so close and controlled, roiled with obvious agitation. I could s...
2024-01-13 14:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostIf Elijah hadn’t been keenly aware of how close he was to the elves – and more importantly, to the Reaver himself – he would’ve sworn that he was watching a high-budget fantasy movie. The table itself was polished wood, and it was piled high with so much food that Elijah questioned whether or not the elves could consume even a quarter of it. He saw whole roast pigs, tureens of buttery potatoes, and a host of other foods he couldn’t identify but looked amazingly appetizing.
Sud...
2024-01-12 16:05:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe crowd went silent, as if they were unsure how to react to the fall of the Champion. That silence stretched for what felt to Elijah like an eternity before, suddenly, they let out a collective roar that shook the very foundations of the arena. It wasn’t simply deafening. Rather, it was a sound so loud – so visceral – that it was physically painful to endure. However, Elijah felt nothing but elation at his accomplishment. He bask...
2024-01-12 16:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostKnight-Champion Marcus stood atop the battlements, glaring down at the army beasts and monsters that had gathered less than a mile away. He seethed as he saw the creatures walking around and acting like men. They even wore clothing! It was a mockery that he could not let stand.
And yet, he waited.
Meeting such a force on open ground, no matter how barbaric they may be, would see the bulk of his knights dead or wounded. They may have been primitive monsters and beasts, but as derog...
2024-01-12 14:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostIn most cases, a frog alternates between disgusting and cute, depending on who’s looking at it. Rarely are they considered horrifying, and yet, that was precisely the thought that crossed Elijah’s mind as he barely managed to dodge a thick, rubbery tongue. It slapped against the body of one of his previous opponents – a mantis-like creature with organic scythes for hands – that he’d narrowly defeated only a few minutes before.
The frog’s tongue stuck fast to the corpse’s c...
2024-01-11 16:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post“Quick progress,” said Zeke, kneeling at the edge of the forest. The tree line was almost a mile away from the river – and subsequently, from where the beastkin enslaved by the Knights of Adontis were building a bridge – but he could see everything perfectly well.
And it was enough to set his blood to boiling.
The beastkin were not as malnourished as the ones back in Heartwood. However, they had still clearly been mistreated, as evidenced by the fact that their fur was pat...
2024-01-11 14:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostAfter examining the dark elf’s corpse, Elijah came away with an extra sword and three silver Ethereum, which was the most he’d gotten from any individual kill. Fortunately, when he returned to where he’d left his equipment in the central chamber, he found that the blade was just small enough to fit inside his pack. So, he added it to his collection before settling down to rest and recuperate.
Because of his copious use of Iron Scales, he’d sustained very little actual damage. Ho...
2024-01-10 16:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostPower without intention is the worst sort of sin.
Alistaris Kargat
Templars had a reputation.
Even on Earth, which was as isolated of a backwater as existed within the universe, everyone knew about them. Stories as to who they were and what they represented differed, though. To some people, they were looked up on as religious leaders – even when the Templars themselves eschewed such labels. To others, they were m...
2024-01-10 14:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostFinishing the two-headed ogre that was Tuk and Tok had come with a couple of benefits. The first was the enormous staff Elijah had thrown over his shoulder, but even more importantly, he’d gained another level. Given that it had taken an entire wing of elves to progress to level forty, doing so from a single kill – or two, if he counted the twin heads as separate entities – was phenomenal efficiency. That gave Elijah a little more insight into how the system awarded kill energy, and he ...
2024-01-09 16:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostZeke returned to the tower, intending to take a few days to rest and relax while his underlings managed the necessities for the coming war. However, he got quite a surprise when he stepped on the teleporter and saw a brand-new level.
Please choose a floor: the Hunting Grounds, the Residential District, the Merchant’s Floor, the Crimson Spring, the Craftsman’s Terrace, the Jail, or the Lord’s Manor.
“The Jail?” he muttered inwardly. “What the hell?” 2024-01-09 14:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Ice tickled the pads of Elijah’s feet as he stalked through the frost wing. On the surface, it looked little different than when he’d left it behind the first time. However, the halls had grown even colder than before, and as a result, the ice coating the walls had thickened. The same escalation had been present in the fire wing, though he’d not investigated it very thoroughly because he intended to target the frost lieutenant first.
With that in mind, he’d set off through the w...
2024-01-08 16:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostZeke stumbled free of the dungeon and fell to his knees. Hastily, he dismissed his prize – as he’d so flippantly labeled it – into his spatial storage. However, even the brief time he’d been forced to hold it had wrought havoc on his system. He glanced down at his hands, which were covered in a host of lesions, and pulsed [Cambion’s Awakening]. Even using the skill at full tilt wasn’t enough to completely counteract the poison coursing through his body. In fact, it wasn’t even e...
2024-01-08 14:00:16 +0000 UTC View PostAlright - it's time for everyone's favorite update! There's a part of me that hates doing these things, but I also find that, once I've finished, they give me some context for my work. That, in turn, gives me a little extra boost of motivation when I sometimes sorely need it. So, I intend to keep them going, as much for my sake as to let you all know what's going on.
I've been making steady progress on all my stories, and I'm also on the verge of hiring an artist to do...
2024-01-08 01:01:31 +0000 UTC View PostBit by bit, we’re losing her. I see it every time she comes back from one of her missions. They’re sucking the humanity right out of her. We both know it, too. She can feel it happening. But neither of us can see another way.
Patrick Ward
“That looks intimidating,” Patrick said as he stared at the holographic display in the center of the room. All around us, Dingyts worked at various terminals, coordinating vario...
2024-01-07 14:00:16 +0000 UTC View PostOn every world, and in every instance, war is ugly. So it has always been, and so it will always be. But when Mira fights a war, even battle-hardened veterans blanch at her commitment to atrocity. Such horrors are necessary if we want to win such a lopsided war.
Alistaris Kargat
I sat atop the Leviathan, staring at the horizon as the sun set behind the mountains. The fading light cast the expanse in a majestic cascade of blue and orange. ...
2024-01-06 14:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post“Stay on your side, fiend!” bellowed the blonde elf. As he spoke, he brandished a long, slim sword that glinted in the flickering firelight. “If you cross, we will be forced to take action!”
The dark elf planted her hands on her hips and sneered, “You haven’t the power to threaten me, cur.”
“Call me cur once again, and I shall –”
“Cur,” she purred. “Filthy. Mangy. Obedient. Dog.”
The blonde elf’s face screwed up in a rictus of anger, and h...
2024-01-05 16:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostZeke collapsed the moment he passed through the doorway, but he flared [Cambion’s Awakening] with as much mana as he could muster. The skill’s power swept through him, soothing the devastation his Will had left behind, though it didn’t heal him – not quickly, at least. Instead, he lay there, wallowing in his own pain, for nearly three hours before he could even summon the strength to sit up. When he did, he got a bit of a surprise.
His previous experiences had led him to expect ...
2024-01-05 14:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostIcicles hung from the ceiling, and thick frost coated every surface, but Elijah forced himself to ignore the biting cold as he raced through the corridor as quickly as he could manage. Behind him, two hulking ogres, both covered in icy spikes, followed with deceptive speed. Each stride of their long legs ate quite a bit of distance, and they had the Strength to propel their massive bodies forward with alarming alacrity. Still, Elijah narrowly outpaced them.
But he had no idea what to do...
2024-01-04 16:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostFor a few minutes, Zeke lay on the cold ground, letting [Cambion’s Awakening] flow through him. However, the lack of acid falling from the sky was probably even more soothing. His skill was powerful, though, especially when he used a bit of demonic corruption to boost it. In addition, the acid burns were new enough that they hadn’t begun to scar, which was a boon. Zeke wasn’t a particularly vain person, but he certainly didn’t wish to walk around looking like a burn victim.
So, ...
2024-01-04 14:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostThe first time Elijah attacked one of the ogre guards in the fire wing, he got quite a surprise when it summoned a fireball and tossed it in his direction. Fortunately, he’d kept one facet of his Mind focused on the monster, so he narrowly managed to leap aside before the ball of flame swallowed him. Still, it represented a serious deviation from what he’d found clearing the first half-dozen guards.
Regardless, the addition of spellcasting ability didn’t change his general strateg...
2024-01-03 16:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostLoose cannon. A bomb waiting to explode. An uncontrollable agent of chaos. All of those descriptors apply to Mirabelle Braddock. And yet, that is precisely what this world needs if it’s going to survive what’s coming.
Alistaris Kargat
A dense fog bank covered the entire valley, obscuring my view and hiding the alien outpost down below. However, I could still see the tower that extended high above the fog, stretching ...
2024-01-03 14:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostAs Elijah slipped from one shadow to the next, every exhale brought with it a cloud of mist. The temperature had been falling for a while, and with every step, it had grown ever colder until frost decorated the rough columns on either side of the hall. He glanced up at the vaulted ceilings that had become common in this wing of the citadel, and he saw that small icicles had formed. In addition, when he saw one of the armor-clad ogre guards tromping down the hall, he noticed that the giant cre...
2024-01-02 16:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostA gentle rain fell, casting a seemingly peaceful pall across the ravine. The pitter pat of raindrops hitting the ground was almost enough to mask the sizzling sound that came with each one. But for Zeke, it was all too obvious, especially when he felt every single one burning through his metallic body and leaving it pitted and scarred.
Zeke felt the pain of each drop, but he ignored the irritation as he gazed took in his surroundings. The sides of the ravine were sheer and perfectly ver...
2024-01-02 14:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post