As the elevation increased, so did the cold and wind until they were a constant, cutting force against Sam’s skin. His Constitution and the Belt of Gentle Climes kept him from being uncomfortable, but there was an implicit threat in the touch of the ice.
Snow began to drift through the air as they climbed higher, a light swirl in the air that was always present. It slowly floated down onto his skin and face, covering the reins and his horse’s mane until a movement shook it free.
...
2021-09-07 21:23:51 +0000 UTC
View Post
Highfold was still two weeks away on their travels, but the Western Reaches were already looming large above them, their towering forms stretching higher into the sky ahead. The city was nestled on the shoulder of a high peak above one of the rare passes through the mountains.
For the human inhabitants, it was a difficult place to live without a strong Constitution, since the wind and the cold were fierce. It was said that on a clear night, the wind there could cut through your skin lik...
2021-09-05 23:52:48 +0000 UTC
View Post
A couple of days later, they stopped for the night near a grove of scattered redfrost pines. A lone merchant wagon was the only other traveler on the road here, heading in the opposite direction. They waited for it to pass before they cut off into the grove, which was far enough away to give them some privacy.
After everyone was settled in, Sam set up his work table and returned to his enchanting practice. Caelus, the distant blue moon, was a quarter of the way up in the sky, marking th...
2021-09-04 01:39:46 +0000 UTC
View Post
Just a quick post to let you all know that Book 1 is now available on Amazon Kindle Unlimited.
If you have a moment to leave a rating or review, it would always be appreciated.
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B09CLKKF48/
Thanks so much, everyone!
2021-09-03 05:45:20 +0000 UTC
View Post
“So, that Barbarian knows you’re an Outsider,” Jeric frowned as he took in Sam’s words.
The fork towards Highfold was just ahead of them and the afternoon sun was bright in the western sky, radiating out a liquid gold energy across the horizon.
“What I don’t understand is why he had so little of a reaction to it.” Sam frowned. “The Visionary with him made it sound like they were familiar with Outsiders...and not just as enemies. It doesn’t make sense.”
Th...
2021-09-02 21:53:18 +0000 UTC
View Post
Sam will be doing some training and crafting over the next bit, and of course, killing monsters.
He'll be doing all of them to some extent, but the scenes can focus more attention on one part or another.
Where would you like to see the most attention, and which would be the most fun?
Options below:
2021-09-02 04:08:28 +0000 UTC
View Post
The Barbarian stared at Jeric as the threat to twist his head back on straight registered. Then he barked out a rough laugh. Unfortunately for him, Jeric’s anger wasn’t dissipating, and he took a step back as he assessed the situation.
“For thieves, you have balls.” He looked around, taking in Sam and Lesat. His gaze slid away and he frowned as he tried to look at Sam again.
It happened again and he forced it back, trying to focus on him. It was like staring through a hail...
2021-09-01 21:02:39 +0000 UTC
View Post
“Damned adventurers,” Sam muttered, agreeing with Krana as he jumped off his horse and walked forward in front of the others. If the adventurers had planned better, they wouldn’t have made the monsters go crazy.
Now they’d made them his problem. The Storm Striders and all ten of the Flamecaller Devils were heading straight for them. They were only mildly injured and they were far more enraged than they had been before, which meant their attacks would be suicidal.
He gave h...
2021-08-31 23:15:16 +0000 UTC
View Post
“No.” The answer was said without any particular emphasis.
“What do you mean no?” Nelgen was staring at a whipcord thin, vicious-looking man in front of him.
There was a prominently-placed tattoo of a silver viper curling around his forearms, which shined with some type of totemic magic.
“I mean no. They're poor villagers, which means they have no money, and they have an adventuring party with them,” the man replied blandly. “So, no. There’s...
2021-08-30 23:58:02 +0000 UTC
View Post
Everyone else was sleeping as Sam kept watch. It was near the middle of the night now, and except for the lightning, everything else was silent. The elemental storm was showing no sign of its force decreasing, which meant they might be here for a while, perhaps for a day or two.
The storms were the main reason that the plains saw few visitors and had almost no settlers.
They had been part of the plains for as long as anyone knew. There were ones for most elements, although some we...
2021-08-30 04:42:33 +0000 UTC
View Post
This is the first sketch of Sam from the artist.
Sam looks pretty barbaric here, which fits in many ways.
My first thought was that he should look more intelligent or cultured, but his Charisma at this point is only 15.
He’s wearing a rat hide tunic, angry that the warlord is attacking, and defending his dad.
He has a ways to go before he looks like a cultured demon. When he loots the gnome shamans and then gets Dauntless, his Cha jumps to 22.
This is the...
2021-08-29 22:54:27 +0000 UTC
View Post
The road stretched ahead of them across the Storm Plains. It wasn’t much more than a beaten cart track that somehow resisted the encroachment of time and grass. Whatever had gone into its construction, there was something about it that endured, like the western provinces themselves.
His gaze pierced back through the miles toward Cliff’s End. The low mountain that marked the village was just barely visible across the plains. The rolling hills were covered in a mist of purple mana tha...
2021-08-28 02:52:28 +0000 UTC
View Post
Somewhere
In the layers of the dimensional barrier around Aster Fall, the Outsider man and woman were staring at their orange spell sphere, which was flickering intermittently. It didn’t look as robust as it had a little while before.
Their spell bubble was currently floating in the fifth layer of the Seal around Aster Fall, as it had been for the past few hundred years. There was a constant cycle of energy between the galaxies on either side that was pushing it onward....
2021-08-27 00:40:04 +0000 UTC
View Post
Thanks for all the support this month, folks!
Some artwork is on the way from the last Goal tier. I've found a good artist and he's working on some concept sketches, which I'll add here as soon as they're ready.
The scene will be from Book 1, Chapter 30, with Sam and Jeric fighting against the Basalt Gnome Warlord. Sam should have a cool spiral of crystal flame and look pretty neat. We'll also get a close-up of Jeric blocking the warlord's blow.
Going into September, I...
2021-08-25 22:38:54 +0000 UTC
View Post
Sam Hastern
Character Sheet at the End of Book One.
General Level: 42
Class Level: 42
Class: Battlefield Reclaimer.
- Class Abilities: Reclaim Aura (Basic), Identify Aura (Basic), Aura Storage (Basic), Imbue Aura (Basic), Intensify Aura (Basic), Assume Aura (Basic).
- Racial Class Ability: Aura of Crystal Flame (Expert)
2021-08-25 04:39:07 +0000 UTC
View Post
It probably wasn’t a good idea to incinerate the villagers, but it was tempting.
Currently, a pack of idiots was blocking their path out of Cliff’s End. They were led by Nelgen, the village's main landlord who was more than a little shady.
This conflict had been building up over the last three days, ever since the crook had come to bother them and his father had tossed him out onto the street.
“Move aside,” Jeric’s voice rang out in the air as he frowned at N...
2021-08-24 21:41:03 +0000 UTC
View Post
Here's the epub for Book 1! It'll be up here for about a week until I have to take it down when the Kindle Unlimited version goes out.
2021-08-22 17:42:57 +0000 UTC
View Post
Two and a half months later.
A tall, broken-off cliff rose above the winding hills as a group of four people moved along the road through the rough terrain below. Calling it a road was generous, since it was little more than two cart tracks barely visible amongst the scraggly brush to either side.
The cliff in front of them was one side of a strange mountain. It was a giant chunk of stone that was very broad, but barely higher than the surrounding hills, and it stuck out ...
2021-08-22 17:33:36 +0000 UTC
View Post
When the world faded back into existence, Sam wasn’t sure how much time had passed. The image of the darkness stretching away from him hung in his mind, along with the distant stars. It was a strange vision, similar to when the Outsider ruins had transported him. Something about it told him that it was real, as if he'd glanced into what the World Law could see.
There was a dull ache throughout his body, as well as a sense of strength that hadn’t been there before. He’d thought the...
2021-08-20 18:17:57 +0000 UTC
View Post
The figure of the Bloodweaver was clear in Sam’s mind. It had turned toward the explosion just in time to see what was happening as the cores exploded. Somehow, it had survived the blast that had devastated the rest of the cavern. As he kept looking at it, however, he realized it wasn’t moving much.
It looked like the blast had done something to it after all.
He looked around him, checking to make sure that everyone was still intact. They exchanged a few words of planning as t...
2021-08-18 21:04:03 +0000 UTC
View Post
The wave of bloody serpents slithered toward Sam as his Essence Blade sped across the distance between him and the Bloodweaver. The snakes were moving quickly, but Essence Blade was faster. It closed in on the lizard with a burning crackle of energy.
The Bloodweaver’s staff shot into the air, a golden shield appearing around it. It hadn’t been disturbed by any attack so far, but the Essence Blade made it cautious. It could sense something strange about it, similar to the energy it f...
2021-08-17 00:49:29 +0000 UTC
View Post
As the figure’s hood fell back around his shoulders, its face was revealed. It bore some resemblance to the Grey Shard Stalkers, at least in a basic lizard-like appearance, but there were qualitative differences. All across its visible body, there were diamond-shaped scales made of a dull, dark gold, patterned with lighter and darker bands that resembled certain venomous serpents.
Its skull was a long dome from front to back with flat ear bumps running along both sides. Two gnarled bo...
2021-08-15 22:31:16 +0000 UTC
View Post
Sam set the second core down gently on the stone table in front of him while holding his breath. It shouldn’t blow up until he activated the rune pattern on it..., but it was charged with an incredible amount of energy. He had to handle it with care.
The enchanted sphere was a combination of two fully charged auras, forty points of his essence, and the mana that was already inherent to the monster core, which had come from a Level 30 Seeker. All together, it had over a hundred and ten...
2021-08-15 00:10:14 +0000 UTC
View Post
As he finished his meditation, Sam summoned a wave of crystal flame between his hands and began to study it. It was as easy to call as ever. All it took was a flicker of will. Sometimes, it was harder to keep it from appearing.
Spell theories and schools of magic were on his mind as he looked at it. The flames changed as he willed them to, turning into a sphere and then into a flat disk. Then, they rippled again and turned back to a loose wave in front of him. Its translucent edges flic...
2021-08-13 23:43:30 +0000 UTC
View Post
Thanks for all the support building up to the release here!
Here's the pre-order link for Book 1!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09CLKKF48
There will be minor content edits and revisions in it.
---
The Advance Reader Copy epub will be out here first, once it's ready, and available until about August 30th, when it will disappear due to Amazon's rules.
A huge thanks to you all!
---...
2021-08-13 17:49:18 +0000 UTC
View Post
Here's a quick ePub for Chapters 1-52, if you're looking for it. This is just to make it easy for folks who want to read it like that, since I was asked.
I'll delete this one and replace it with the full Advance Reader Copy for Book 1 after the last chapters come out here.
Ch 54 will be out later today.
2021-08-13 17:46:59 +0000 UTC
View Post
“That worked, but maybe a little less destruction next time, Sam?” Jeric chuckled, as he looked toward the ruins of the maze. “We could have pinned them down and finished them off together.”
His dad was looking at him with a mixed expression, one that was half amused and half frustrated, and it made it clear that he understood exactly what Sam was up to.
Maybe he had gotten a bit carried away there at the end.
“Ahh, sorry...,” Sam offered sheepishly. He did feel ...
2021-08-12 21:27:01 +0000 UTC
View Post
When he reached Ayala, Sam set the lizard down to the side as he looked at her. Her eyes were closed in meditation. He debated whether or not to disturb her, but he wanted to see if there was something he could do to help.
“I brought you a lizard,” he announced, trying to sound positive. “Are you alright?”
Ayala’s eyes opened slowly as she looked at him, and then she took in the lizard next to him. A flicker of some emotion passed through her expression, but it wasn’t ...
2021-08-11 20:47:03 +0000 UTC
View Post
The splintering sound of cracking stone exploded through the cavern as the wall blocking the tunnel shuddered under the impact of the Horned Water Lizards. Jeric turned to look at his son as he heard it, making sure that Sam was holding up alright. When he saw Sam’s confident expression, he only nodded and looked forward again, feeling a bit conflicted.
They were standing just inside the maze, close enough to the tunnel that they could sense what was on the other side. On the...
2021-08-10 22:24:47 +0000 UTC
View Post
Sam’s attention locked onto Krana as his thoughts raced, trying to figure out what could have scared a pack of Ivory Scale Pythons so badly that they’d fled from it rather than fighting. Whatever it was, it had to be more terrifying than they were, since the pythons had attacked them instantly.
He should have figured that getting out of the tunnels wouldn't be that easy.
“How far away is the first pack?” Jeric asked, moving forward next to Krana as he looked down the tunne...
2021-08-09 22:40:54 +0000 UTC
View Post
