Cold darkness enveloped Elijah as he passed through the jagged mouth of the cave. He could still see, if only barely, and the current threatened to throw him into the sharp rocks. He kicked forward, grabbing hold of those rocks as he pulled himself through the tunnel.
Cave diving was not for the weak of heart; nor was it fit for the easily panicked. Not only did the diver have to be cognizant of his oxygen levels, but it was incredibly easy to lose oneself in the twisting turns of a sub...
2023-12-07 16:00:04 +0000 UTC
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“What do you think it is?” Zeke asked, looking ahead at the item floating above the pedestal.
“I think that’s obvious,” said Eveline, who’d manifested beside him.
“Should I get Eta, maybe?” was his next question. He glanced toward the mind spirit, then past her to where Pudge stood. They were the only three who could step into the room without adverse reactions. “It seems kind of like her territory.”
“If you let her near that thing, she’ll never let i...
2023-12-07 14:00:05 +0000 UTC
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A drizzle fell from the grey sky, accompanied by a fine mist that dampened the entire island. It was the sort of lazy rain that wasn’t quite enough to drive one inside for the day, but too heavy to completely ignore. For Elijah, though, it was little different from any other day. He’d long since grown accustomed to much harsher elements, so as he tended his garden, he barely noticed the inclement weather.
A little more than a week had passed since his successful defense of the islan...
2023-12-06 16:00:06 +0000 UTC
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My world is civilized. Or so everyone claims. And yet, I’ve seen children starve. I’ve seen innocent people dying for no other crime than being too poor to evacuate before a natural disaster. Worse yet, I’ve seen my government turn a blind eye as other worlds are stripped of every natural resource then left to die a slow, ignoble death. In the core, that’s what civilization means, and I want no part of it.
Alistaris Kargat
It was ...
2023-12-06 14:00:09 +0000 UTC
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Carmen hammered away at the hunk of steel, steadily shaping it until she finally achieved her goal – a utilitarian longsword. The result was nothing impressive, though she hoped that once she was finished, it would at least reach Crude grade so she could practice her enchanting. Either way, it would be a useful piece, if only by virtue of her skill. Even her failures were head and shoulders above what anything the other Blacksmiths in Easton could forge.
She was busy inspecting the co...
2023-12-05 16:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Pudge leaped forward, his claws wreathed in [Hellfire] as he lashed out, ripping a huge chunk of earthy flesh from the giant’s torso. The damage didn’t end there, though – not before the corrosive flames claimed their due, at least. The fire took hold, consuming the giant’s muscular torso in a sudden burst of combustion. Pudge hit his enemy with a follow-up attack, swiping a hastily summoned [Netherclaw] across its legs before ripping through its face with an uppercutting claw that en...
2023-12-05 14:00:09 +0000 UTC
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Alright, so I want to say that Path of Dragons' success is pretty amazing so far. Right now, it's just ahead of Mistrunner in terms of average views, and only a bit behind in followers and favorites. So, that's kind of huge.
With that in mind, I was thinking about how to celebrate that, and I came up with a little deal with myself. If the series gets to 1500 followers and 3000 average views by the end of the week, I'll increase the Patreon benefit by five chapters. &nb...
2023-12-05 04:45:16 +0000 UTC
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Elijah watched Calix as she shoved one of the rowboats out into the sea, then board the small vessel and start paddling away. He didn’t avert his eyes until almost twenty minutes later when the little boat – and the goblin it carried – disappeared behind a rolling wave. That’s when his shoulders sagged in relief.
He knew he’d taken a risk by letting her go. There was every chance that, as soon as she reached Ironshore, she would gather as many fighters as she could find before...
2023-12-04 16:00:09 +0000 UTC
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The hill giant slammed his foot into Zeke’s chest, sending him skidding backwards until he collided with another giant. The impact made the large creature stumble, but he recovered quickly enough to connect with a backhanded slap that rattled Zeke’s teeth in his mouth. However, he didn’t let it throw him off course, and he quickly whipped around, leading the way with his hammer.
It hit the hill giant’s hip with a sickening crunch, eliciting a roar of mingled anger and agony, but...
2023-12-04 14:00:10 +0000 UTC
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Another week is in the books! And what a week? Not only have sales (on Kindle and Audible) continued with strong numbers, but my latest story, Path of Dragons, has already reached the top ten of Rising Stars, putting it on the front page of Royal Road.
And, of course, Alabama won yesterday afternoon, so that made my day a bit better (that's a college football reference for those of you who aren't from the States). And as of about 30 minutes ago, they're in the playoffs...
2023-12-03 18:00:07 +0000 UTC
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The charging gnome was shorter than any of the others Elijah had seen, a fact he’d tried to disguise with a very ridiculous mohawk that extended almost a foot higher than was reasonable. Still, the diminutive man moved with enough alacrity that Elijah almost didn’t have time to respond. At the last second, he pointed his staff in the gnome’s direction, casting Entagling Roots.
The spell took hold, transforming the targeted area into a quagmire of thorny roots. They reached up, wra...
2023-12-03 16:00:03 +0000 UTC
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I wish I knew how to fix it. The world, I mean. Machines are so much easier. I can diagnose the problem, find the appropriate parts, and replace whatever needs to be replaced. But with the world – and people, I guess – everything is so much more complicated. I can’t just replace a part or two, and suddenly, everything works the way it’s supposed to.
Patrick Ward
There was an argument to be made that I should have...
2023-12-03 14:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Using Descending Dragon, Alyssa rocketed toward the bulbous mass of sweaty flesh. It reacted far more quickly than she could have anticipated, and even as she fell, a series of appendages thrust upward, each one tipped with a yellow pustule. They burst, spraying her with a sticky goo that immediately set her armor to smoking. Through some miracle, she avoided getting it into her eyes, but the rest of her body was fair game.
She screamed in mingled agony and anger, but her spear remained...
2023-12-02 16:00:04 +0000 UTC
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I’ve seen dozens of worlds fall. Some were stripped of every resource they had to offer, then abandoned. Left with a dead world, the people had no choice but to become refugees. In other cases, one faction or another chose to destroy a planet simply because they couldn’t stomach their enemies winning. I don’t want that for Earth, but I don’t know if I can stop it.
Alistaris Kargat
I sat with Patrick, sharing a ta...
2023-12-02 14:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Sunlight streamed through the forest canopy, casting the undergrowth in deep shadow. Elijah stepped lightly, his feet making no sound as he slowly approached the trio of invaders. The closest was a slight gnome with bushy, turquoise hair, while her two escorts were both dwarves with magnificent, black beards. The pair of dwarves both held wicked axes, and the gnome wore a robe and carried an elegant staff that was taller than she was.
“I don’t like this,” growled one of the dwarve...
2023-12-01 16:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Zeke stood over the contraption, studying it with a skeptical eye. “Do we really think this thing’s going to work?” he asked.
Baros, one of the former slaves who’d been supervising construction, looked back with a grin and answered, “Probably.”
“That’s not…that doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence,” Zeke said.
Baros was one of the few dwarves among the former slaves, and to Zeke’s eye, he looked little different from most of the other uncorrupted d...
2023-12-01 14:00:09 +0000 UTC
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Alyssa stepped through the doors and felt the familiar moment of nothingness before the interior of the capital building came into focus. Once, she’d visited Washington, D.C., and while there, she’d taken a tour of the U.S. Capital building. So, the sight that greeted her was easily recognizable.
The expansive lobby was festooned with white marble, with a foursome of comparatively small statues standing before square columns. Behind and between those was the much larger replica of t...
2023-11-30 16:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Zeke dropped the head of his hammer to the ground and let out a sigh as he looked out over the latest battlefield. The fight hadn’t been more than a skirmish, but when the opponents were hill giants in their natural habitat, even that was potentially deadly. Fortunately, Pudge had sensed them far before they’d reached the site of the ambush, which meant that Zeke and the kobolds were ready when the trap was finally sprung.
“Lucky,” he said, glancing at his companion. He and Pudg...
2023-11-30 14:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Standing in the center of camp, Cabbot shouted, “They’re just crabs, you idiots! Just kill them!”
Even as he said it, the whole of Ironshore’s defense force waged war against the remaining three pests. They weren’t terribly dangerous – not unless his idiotic soldiers made a bunch of mistakes, which, given their performance so far, wasn’t outside the realm of possibility – but they were difficult to kill. Still, despite taking the camp by surprise, the attack hadn’t cla...
2023-11-29 16:00:06 +0000 UTC
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In my world – or any of the worlds colonized by my people – I am not a popular man. Tucked safely away in the Core Worlds, they can’t understand why I would dedicate my life to fighting on the frontier. To them, these people aren’t…well…people. They’re, at best, statistics. At worst, little more than animals meant to be tamed. Or pests to be exterminated. I’ve spent my life trying to change that perception, but everything is so far away from their comforta...
2023-11-29 14:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Mist swirled around Alyssa as the monster launched itself at her. Moving far more quickly than any normal human could have managed, she raised her Spear of the Dragon Lancer just in time to intercept its snapping jaws. Still, its momentum hit her like a truck, sending her tumbling onto her back. The monster followed, raking its claws across her breastplate. The metal held, but only barely, and Alyssa used the creature’s inertia against it as she rolled, kicking up as she sent it flying past...
2023-11-28 16:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Zeke crashed into the first giant, tearing into it with a herculean swing of his hammer. It hit the stunned creature in the hip, and the impact filled the air with the sound of cracking bones. The giant let out a bellowing roar of anguish as it tried to lash out, but Zeke ducked under the blow, then destroyed the creature’s jaw – and most of its head – with a vicious uppercut with his hammer.
Even as the enemy fell, Zeke raced forward and found a new foe only a moment later. After...
2023-11-28 14:00:07 +0000 UTC
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Elijah darted through the dark forest like a ghost, letting Guise of the Unseen hide him. The ability didn’t just change the color of his scales or use the shadows to obscure him. Instead, it also harnessed his Ethera to muffle every other aspect of his presence. He was quieter. His odor less pronounced. Even the air moved a little less while he was cloaked in the ability.
Still, it wasn’t perfect, and at the speed he dashed beneath the trees, he knew he was vaguely visible. Fortuna...
2023-11-27 16:30:16 +0000 UTC
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Zeke paced back and forth, periodically looking up at the sun. It was high in the sky, with only a few wispy clouds marring the blue expanse. But Zeke couldn’t banish the feeling that there was a storm coming.
“Can you be any more dramatic?” asked Eveline. “It’s just a battle. You’ve fought in hundreds of those.”
He didn’t favor her with a response. Instead, he cast his mind back to the decision to join the centaurs in a potential alliance. It made sense on just ab...
2023-11-27 14:00:08 +0000 UTC
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“First, you must understand the fundamental races that comprise the universe,” Nerthus stated. “Humans are one. Obviously. But there are also elves, dwarves, gnomes, goblins, kysar, and elementals, with each race having various branches. For instance, elves have three main variants – wood elves, dark elves, and high elves. Each of the other races have at least as many varieties who have followed different evolutionary paths.”
“Okay,” Elijah said. “When you say races, I...
2023-11-26 17:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Elijah awoke suddenly, springing upright the moment awareness returned. However, despite his alarm, he was in no danger. In fact, he felt better than he had in…well, ever. Sitting beside the ancestral tree, he glanced down at his hands, but saw no difference. One still bore the acid scars he’d gotten in the Sea of Sorrows, while the other, like most of the rest of his body, was riddled with thinner, much lighter scarring from overstepping in his use of Ancestral Circle.
It took only...
2023-11-26 16:00:02 +0000 UTC
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I don’t know how she does it. Day after day, battle after battle, she never shies away from what she has to do. Meanwhile, I have nightmares about every single fight I’ve ever been in. It makes me feel like a coward until I remember that Mira’s the odd one. Most people can’t go from one life-or-death struggle to another and be unaffected.
Patrick Ward
I let out a deep breath, then wiped my hand across my face. I...
2023-11-26 14:00:06 +0000 UTC
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So - this has been a really busy week for me. Normally, I would've taken the few days around Thanksgiving completely off, but the writing schedule's kind of tight right now, so I couldn't really afford to this year. So, I've had to juggle holiday obligations while trying to keep my output high. Not that I'm complaining, mind you - I love every second of it. It's just busy. So, I'm glad that I'll be able to get back to normal next week.
Of course, I'll be ta...
2023-11-26 13:06:58 +0000 UTC
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Elijah awoke, and for a long time, just lay there unmoving. His body was still a mess – he didn’t need to inspect his wounds to recognize that much – but he didn’t feel like he had the energy to do anything about it. Nor did he have any idea how much time had passed. But one thing he did know was that he’d survived, and judging by the steady sound of heavy breathing nearby, the dragon had as well.
For a while, that was enough.
Soon enough, though, Elijah’s eyes flutter...
2023-11-25 17:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Golden scales glinted in the flickering light of a dozen torches, giving the illusion that the figure was moving. But aside from the gentle rise and fall of her chest, the dragon was entirely motionless. The creature had been described as little more than infant, and yet, she was at least seven feet long, from delicate snout to tapered tail. With wings folded against her back, she had the sinuous shape of a serpent, and yet, four legs were tucked under her form.
In short, she was a stun...
2023-11-25 16:00:03 +0000 UTC
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