If there’s one thing the powerful leaders of Nova City hate, it’s being made to look like fools. For months, Mira has done just that, and now that the cat’s out of the bag, my peers have reacted predictably. They’re out for blood, one and all, and they won’t be satisfied until she’s dead.
Nora Lancaster
Under so much scrutiny, my grip on Stealthwavered. The Mist quivered, threatening to unmas...
2023-06-18 13:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostGunther never took her seriously. He just thought she was a silly girl with some expensive toys. I knew better. I had seen parts of her training. But more, I knew the depths of Jeremiah’s desire to prepare her for the harsh realities of the world. Even half-trained, Mira was a grave threat. Gunther couldn’t see that.
Nora Lancaster
Six identical thumps, all in quick succession, resounded, and a sextet of explosive ro...
2023-06-17 13:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostZeke knocked the trident aside, countering with a front kick that only sent the mer-demon sliding back a couple of feet. As creatures that seemed to swim through the air itself, the Nikapa had a curious relationship with gravity and momentum that kept some of his heavier blows from truly affecting the creatures. Against most other foes, that kick would have been sufficient to send them flying a dozen yards away, but with the mer-demons, it was wholly ineffective as anything more than a stalli...
2023-06-16 13:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostThe hell in question had a proper name – Mal’pravitas, or according to the translation granted by the Framework, The Sea of Corruption – and it lived up to that moniker. Everywhere Zeke looked, twisted coral sprouted from the black, sandy ground. Most of the coral was stark white, making it look like the bones of some long dead leviathan, but here and there, red versions dotted the landscape.
In the distance, Zeke could see a huge pillar jutting toward the sky; it was at least a m...
2023-06-15 13:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostAs always, Gunther has to be difficult. He wants her for himself. Not because of any vendetta – no, he wanted her stuff. The incredibly expensive weapons. The hoverbike that cost more than many buildings. And whatever else she has tucked away. It’s disgusting, but I can’t afford to add another side to the war I’ve been forced to fight.
Nora Lancaster
Everything erupted into chaos. Behind me, a pair of auto-turret...
2023-06-14 13:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostZeke stretched as he tried to get used to the leather cuirass. It was a curious piece of armor, mostly because he had no idea what sort of animal the leather had come from. After a little testing, he’d discovered that it was more resistant to penetration than steel, but far more flexible. Even so, there was something about it he just didn’t find comfortable. Given a choice, he would’ve much preferred a metal suit of armor.
But soon enough, he hoped that wouldn’t be an issue for ...
2023-06-13 13:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post“You are weak,” said the dwarf, looking Zeke up and down. The dwarf had yet to introduce himself, but he wore a black robe that reminded Zeke of Dáinn, the ancient dwarven king’s backstabbing brother. More importantly, he could sense the demonic atmosphere wafting off the dwarf like some sort of unholy perfume. “Too weak.”
“Tell me how you really feel,” Zeke growled, his arms pinned to his sides by some unseen force. A pair of other dwarves – warriors both, judgin...
2023-06-12 13:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostAnother week's in the books, and I'm pretty excited about the progress I've made lately. Remember that Death: Genesis 3 is coming out on Kindle and Audible later this month (on the 27th), so keep an eye out for that!
First, I'm starting to close the penultimate arc of Death: Genesis 5, which means that by the end of this coming week, I should be starting in on the climax. So, I'm understandably excited about that. It might take a few extra days (depending on how this c...
2023-06-12 00:07:18 +0000 UTC View PostI didn’t want to do it. My hand was forced. I can’t let defiance stand. They helped her – knowingly or unknowingly – and they refused to make it right. Now, everyone knows the price of standing against me. Sometimes, examples must be made in order to show others the consequences of making the wrong choices.
Nora Lancaster
“What…what do you think happened here?” asked Patrick, his hand covering the lower par...
2023-06-11 13:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostI hate traps. They’re so underhanded and dishonest. Instead, I prefer to tackle my issues head-on. But sometimes, the situation demands that we step out of our comfort zones. And never let it be said that Nora Lancaster backed away from a challenge.
Nora Lancaster
To my surprise, stepping out of the Rift was entirely anticlimactic. After gearing myself up for a fight, seeing that nothing about the octavangian camp was ...
2023-06-10 13:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostZeke sighed in relief as he trudged into the mining camp. With his stats, he shouldn’t have been so exhausted, and normally, he wouldn’t have been. However, two facets of his new circumstances seemed to wage a war against his energy levels. First, he’d spent the past two weeks trying to wrangle an entire city of sentient lizard people, organizing and guiding them to the First City, which was located in the only chamber he’d found big enough to accommodate the expanded tower.
The...
2023-06-09 13:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostZeke resisted the urge to summon Voromir from his spatial storage, largely because he instinctively knew that, if it came down to a fight against the creature in front of him, he would be incinerated in a matter of seconds. [Inspect] came back with only question marks, but if the huge monster before him was less than the maximum level associated with the Eternal Realm, he would have been incredibly surprised.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem angry.
Of course, Zeke was no expert in re...
2023-06-08 13:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostJeremiah never went far enough. He held back when he could have given us everything. I won’t make that mistake. I will drag the Specters to the top even if it kills every last one of them.
Nora Lancaster
After Patrick and I took a few minutes to rest, we set about gathering the contents of the enormous crate that had appeared once the giant spider had died. I’d already felt the strength of the agitated Mist surroundi...
2023-06-07 13:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostAs he had for the past few days, Zeke followed Silik through the tunnels beneath Min Ferilik. The journey had gone well, but he’d grown bored with the unchanging nature of the caves and caverns. Certainly, they’d seen a few notable sights. One – a cave that seemed to have been carved out of a giant diamond – would stick with him for the rest of his life. However, landmarks of that sort were few and far between, and they were only connected by miles of boring tunnels.
It probably...
2023-06-06 13:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostPudge crouched amidst the gnarled roots of the massive mangrove tree. It smelled atrocious, and he could feel all sorts of tiny creatures swirling around his fur-covered feet. But that was true of almost everything in the swamp. Even keeping to the edges, his instincts screamed at him to turn back. And rightly so. Some of his earliest memories were of his mother leading him and his siblings along the edge of a swamp. The natural denizens of such a mire were peerless ambush predators, and he...
2023-06-05 13:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostHey all! Long time no see. Sort of. I feel like I'm just starting to emerge from a dank cave of editing, and I can't help but be blinded by the light of day. Or something like that. It's nearly three in the morning, and I'm kind of hopped up on caffeine, so I hope my eccentricities will be excused.
Anyway, in addition to spending most of this week editing Mistrunner 2, I've been steadily plugging away at Death: Genesis 5 (I should finish it up this month!)....
2023-06-05 07:50:19 +0000 UTC View PostUsually, I am a straightforward person. I don’t like traps or convoluted plans. But for Mira, I need to step out of my comfort zone.
Nora Lancaster
I could feel the spider’s searching tendrils scraping against the back of my mind, but so long as I maintained concentration, its efforts remained futile. Or so I hoped. I had no way of knowing for sure – in fact, I was certain that this creature was something wholly un...
2023-06-04 13:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostSometimes, a purge is necessary. I didn’t want to, but it was my only option when dealing with those ungrateful wretches. Luckily, their entitlement never had a chance to spread before I nipped it in the bud. Still, I regret that it was necessary.
Nora Lancaster
Until that point, I’d eschewed the use of my most powerful weapon, mostly because I wasn’t sure how well the walls would hold up under the weight of its or...
2023-06-03 13:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostZeke had long known that the Framework granted some ability to understand foreign languages. He’d first encountered it in the troll caves when the warlord had accused him of being a child killer – which was actually fairly accurate, if not the entire story. It was difficult to feel bad about killing infant trolls when said babies attacked on sight and had come close to killing him a couple of times. In any case, the fact that he’d been capable of understanding the warlord meant that the...
2023-06-02 13:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostZeke was conflicted.
After spending more than a week trudging through the caverns, caves, and tunnels on his way back to the First City, he was absolutely exhausted. Physically, he was mostly fine; he could keep going almost indefinitely, so long as he kept [Metallurgical Repair] going. Even without it, his attunement passively drew some energy from his surroundings, keeping him fresh and well-rested. However, that did little for his mental state, which had already grown ragged even bef...
2023-06-01 13:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostI thought she would understand. I hoped she would see that what happened was necessary. And I tried – I truly tried – to keep her out of it. But how does she repay me? With betrayal. The apple clearly didn’t fall very far from the tree.
Nora Lancaster
The horde of spiders raced toward me in a grotesque wave of legs, clacking mandibles, and metallic chitin. Seeing that, it was so difficult not to panic. Lots of peop...
2023-05-31 13:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostPudge held up his hand, extending one claw over his lip as he gestured for Sasha to remain silent. It was a prudent admonition, given that the porcine girl was practically vibrating with a need for violence.
And Pudge understood it. Indeed, after what they had just seen, even he wanted to spring out from concealment and massacre the troll war party. However, Pudge was well schooled in squashing his instincts; after all, he’d done so from his earliest days as a dire bear. Sure, he only...
2023-05-30 13:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostZeke dodged to the left before darting in and hammering his fist into the face of the monster. At the most basic level, the monster resembled a toad, though its skin was covered in pebbles, and it had the uncanny ability to manipulate rock. Fortunately, it couldn’t do so without significant concentration – the rock toad was an ambush predator, after all – so it moved incredibly sluggishly, allowing Zeke free reign to pummel it into submission.
Of course, the toad was only one of a...
2023-05-29 13:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostOkay, so this is a big weekend for me because I'm finally finished with Mistrunner 2. I definitely intended to get it done far sooner (like 2.5 weeks ago), but while writing, I realized that the ending needed a bit more room to breathe. To that end, I had to re-do the detailed outline and add a couple of extra chapters. So, while the end product turned out to be about 30k words longer than I originally planned, I think that length serves the story very well and makes the end...
2023-05-28 19:38:06 +0000 UTC View PostFinally, I know the truth. At first, I couldn’t believe it. How did she survive so long? Why didn’t she come back? All Jeremiah ever did was torture her. She should have thanked me. Instead, she chose to set herself up as my enemy.
Nora Lancaster
I swept my arm, pushing Patrick behind me as I took aim at the abomination skittering down the corridor in my direction. It was a spider, but unlike any I had ever seen befo...
2023-05-28 13:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostIn the beginning, I thought I knew what I wanted. Money. Power. Respect. It seemed so simple. But now? I’d settle for a companion who isn’t looking to leverage my friendship into some advantage.
Nora Lancaster
I pressed myself against the wall of the pre-fabricated building, clutching a grenade as I focused on the readout on my HUD. Only one node remained before I gained access, but I didn’t immediately tear throug...
2023-05-27 13:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostZeke had always considered himself a serviceable fighter. Even going back to his Earth years, he’d harbored the idea that, if he were ever really pushed, he’d come out on top in any physical altercation. That notion had been supported during his time in the Mortal Realm, where he’d pummeled thousands of enemies into submission. However, he’d rarely fought against truly specialized opponents of the sort who’d spent their entire lives in pursuit of martial perfection. And when he had,...
2023-05-26 13:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostZeke sagged against the wall of the barracks and ran a hand through his sweaty hair. Nearby, Jasper sat on his own pallet, his forearms resting on his knees. Multiple burns decorated his bare arms, and half of his hair on the right side had been burned off. He looked even more exhausted than Zeke felt.
“This isn’t working,” Zeke muttered.
And it was true, too. He’d been back in the mining camp for almost a month, working his fingers to the bone, and he had nothing to show ...
2023-05-25 13:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostI’ve come to realize that the tribe feeds off of conflict. They need it. Without war, they’ll realize just how bad things have gotten. Often, I wonder what Jeremiah would have done in my place. Because of the mass exodus, times have gotten lean. A good fight and an enemy to hate is a perfect distraction.
Nora Lancaster
I crept into the stadium, whispering through the secure connection, “Approaching the entrance. No...
2023-05-24 13:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post“And then this huge dinosaur thing swallows him!” yelled Tucker, slapping the table for emphasis as the young Kirrans across surrounding him gasped.
“What then?” hissed Eranika, the smallest of the bunch. Unlike her parents, the child was much smaller than a human of the same age; apparently, the Kirr grew in defined stages rather than a continuous string of spurts, and Eranika was still a year away from her first development stage. The other three Kirran children were a little ...
2023-05-23 13:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post