“Seal it!” Councilor Caitlin screeched as she stumbled through the portal. She could hear the fighting growing closer as the technician in charge hurriedly fumbled at the controls. With hardly a moment to spare, the portal snapped closed.
With a sigh of relief, she turned toward the still frantic-looking tech. “Alert the Council, we are under attack!”
“…Um ma’am, most of the council is already here in the boardroom. They arrived only minutes before you did. I was sen...
2024-01-05 13:00:07 +0000 UTC
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The door to Donovan’s extensive mansion blew off with Eugene’s strike. Well, it was more the door, the frame, and part of the wall that blew inward from the force of his blow.
The reason for this was the extensive enchantments on the door itself. The problem was that those enchantments didn’t extend past the frame of the door. All that transferred force had to go somewhere. That was something Norman had learned quite a while ago, but it seemed like Donovan, or more likely his peop...
2024-01-03 13:00:07 +0000 UTC
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After they left Denver, it took a few hours to catch up with Grobert who was waiting well beyond the eternal blizzard that encircled the capital.
“The bypass is in place?” Norman asked as he hopped off of Scar.
“Who do you take me for, a child? Of course, I put the bypass in place,” the crotchety old gron grumbled.
“I’m just double-checking,” Norman said as he raised his hands defensively. “We don’t want to annoy President Barthus by having random people te...
2024-01-01 13:00:11 +0000 UTC
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The first thing Norman did after his return was seek out Eugene. While it was likely he could take down the Council on his own, it would be a protracted fight. And they couldn’t afford that at the moment. Had he known the fight with the Empire was going to drag on for almost four days, he would have planned things slightly differently there as well. But he couldn’t change the past. The Council also knew some of his capabilities already, so they would be prepared to counter him. Especially...
2023-12-29 13:00:09 +0000 UTC
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Donovan was inspecting one of the many projects he had going when his ring vibrated. “Keep up the pace, I need this project done as soon as possible.”
The worker nodded obediently before hurrying back to his station. Once the man was gone, Donovan unhurriedly walked to his office. If the vibrating ring signified what it should, he was inwardly ecstatic. But it wouldn’t do to let others know that.
Once secure inside his office, he began chanting and weaving a spell that seeme...
2023-12-27 13:00:07 +0000 UTC
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“What is taking him so long,” The Second Prince huffed in annoyance.
Cadian ignored his younger sibling's petulant whining. He assumed his brother's irritation came partly from his expectations that the man, Lord Norman, would assist in killing him.
The thought that some random commoner had a chance at killing him was almost enough to make him crack a smile. He resisted the temptation though. Of Course, he had known about his younger brother's correspondence with this so-calle...
2023-12-25 13:00:11 +0000 UTC
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The wind blew a hot gust of air across Norman’s face, making him squint his eyes to keep the blowing dust out.
“You sure you want to do this alone?” Grobert asked.
“No, but that’s what they requested.”
Grobert didn’t respond to this answer, he simply teleported away. Norman just sighed. He knew his choice to come here alone was frowned upon by both Grobert and Eugene. And he hadn’t told Kalia what he was planning. But he had faith his plan would work.
B...
2023-12-22 13:00:07 +0000 UTC
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As he headed back to the castle, he had plenty of time to think. Kalia was right, he would be hard-pressed to keep up with her being a greykin. There was so much going on right now that he simply didn’t have time to sleep, eat, or relieve himself. So he was going to have to rectify that.
He made a beeline for the workroom as soon as he arrived. Once inside he locked the doors and sat in the chair at his desk. Soon the spell he had been building in his mind coalesced and instead of pul...
2023-12-20 13:00:07 +0000 UTC
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Norman read over the scroll for the third time, surprise still etched on his face. With a disappointed exhale, he tossed it negligently to the table where the ornate caps cracked, sending the gems encrusted into them scattering across the surface. He didn’t even care.
“These people are fucking delusional,” he finally said.
“So what do you want to do about it?” Eugene asked.
“When did you say the knights caught this man?”
“Little over two weeks ago. He...
2023-12-18 13:00:09 +0000 UTC
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Norman massaged his temples as he felt another migraine coming on. It was going on three weeks since he had come to California and he felt like they weren’t any closer to coming up with a solution to the collapses. Thankfully, he didn’t have to worry about what Donovan and Vincent were up to anymore as Kalia was back in Ashvale getting the mitigation efforts up and running.
“How about this?” One of the researchers wrote out a series of steps on the board.
“That’s fine ...
2023-12-15 13:00:08 +0000 UTC
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The pair made their way to the teleporter they used to arrive. Although, they didn’t go back to Ashvale like Roberts expected them to. Instead, they arrived inside a city larger than anything Roberts had ever seen before.
He could tell the distance they traveled was quite far just by how much the trip affected him. He had thought he had gotten a handle on the teleportation effects but apparently, he was mistaken. He took a moment to recover as he looked around.
It was immediatel...
2023-12-13 13:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Roberts, formerly, Major General Roberts, followed along behind Chief Advisor Grobert. “Are you sure it was wise not to tell anyone what we were up to?”
After Lord Norman had rescued his people and the remaining survivors near his outpost, he decided to retire from service. At least for a few years. He needed time to decompress and take in these new changes.
Unfortunately, the Chief Advisor had other ideas, and the man was rather persistent.
“It’ll be fine. That larg...
2023-12-11 13:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Eugene sighed as he looked over the report. “You’re sure?”
The Death Knight nodded stiffly. “He’s been missing since yesterday.”
“Thank you for notifying me, you are dismissed.”
The man saluted before turning and exiting his office.
Eugene waited for the door to click closed before he balled his hand into a fist. He barely restrained an urge to slam it against the desk. The top was sturdy, but he was still likely to crack it if he used too much strength...
2023-12-08 13:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Norman did indeed earn a stern talking-to from the Admiral.
“You can’t just have your soldiers storm into the building whenever you feel like it!”
“I’m aware of that, And I’m sorry. But I’m also not going to let that bastard and his son terrorize my wife.” Norman managed to reply in an even tone.
He wasn’t mad at the Admiral, but he was still pissed about the stunt Vincent had pulled. And that was exactly what it was, a stunt. There was no sensible reason t...
2023-12-06 13:00:07 +0000 UTC
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The next few days flew by as everyone worked hard to come up with a solution to the impending crisis.
Norman grudgingly worked with the other leaders and a few other researchers to come up with an acceptable array size to implement. Too big and it would take far too long to create the proper arrays to prevent exactly what they were designed to prevent. Too small and they wouldn’t charge fast enough to trigger the spell. A spell that hadn’t been designed yet so there was quite a bit ...
2023-12-04 13:00:09 +0000 UTC
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“I’m telling you, you’re wrong!” One of the scientists from the Gorfan principality yelled.
Norman sighed. The man wasn’t yelling at him, he was yelling at one of the chicken-like Fariken. That didn’t make the outburst any less annoying though. There had been almost immediate friction between the Fariken and Gorfan states. It seemed like chickens and lizards didn’t much get along, even across dimensions. Honestly, he wasn’t sure who he was rooting for in this argument. T...
2023-12-01 13:00:09 +0000 UTC
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Norman enjoyed the quiet ride south. This trip was the longest time he had spent inside a car since his flight from Colorado. And he would prefer to forget that ordeal entirely.
Unlike that time, this trip was a small oasis of downtime in his frantic life. It was time well spent as he chatted with his wife about any number of things.
As with everything, this little moment of freedom ended too soon and their convoy arrived outside the sprawling university campus. Armed personnel gu...
2023-11-29 13:00:07 +0000 UTC
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The original estimate Grobert gave him to reconnect the teleportation network proved to be optimistic. He was able to reconnect the Alacala’s teleportation network in a few days, but another mass of land had pushed the far side of the great desert away from California, requiring Grobert to cover a secondary land mass to reach the jorik lands beyond. And one that was hostile.
The only thing that aided his Chief Advisor was the confusion and disorganization of this new society as they s...
2023-11-27 13:00:10 +0000 UTC
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Torn books and broken pieces of furniture crunched underfoot as Norman walked through the mansion that previously belonged to Bertrand. His people had ransacked the house, leaving no stone unturned as they looked for more evidence as well as any more of these hidden tunnels.
Everyone seemed to have overlooked the possibility of an actual underground organization. Something which Grobert, the wraiths, and his guard were taking rather personally as they scoured the rudimentary sewers belo...
2023-11-17 13:00:09 +0000 UTC
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Norman stared at the ceiling of the bedroom with his arm wrapped around Kalia.
She was still asleep and he wasn’t willing to wake her up yet. It had been two weeks since the wedding and he still couldn’t believe his luck some days. He was married! And to the most wonderful woman he had ever met. And he was happy. Happier than he had been at any time in his life.
Kalia stirred next to him and he looked over to see her looking at him. “Morning, Hubby.”
He chuckled and ...
2023-11-15 13:00:06 +0000 UTC
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A large bronze gong sounded out the noon bell. Norman idly wondered why his citizens had chosen to go with gongs instead of bells as he waited in the castle. He went over the steps of the wedding one last time while he nervously waited.
The wedding itself would take place inside the ministry building. They would take two separate processions. One from the castle, and one from Kalia’s workshop. And they would meet outside the steps of the Ministry where they would exit the carriages to...
2023-11-13 13:00:08 +0000 UTC
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It was certainly a day of revelations as the pair stepped out of the factory. Norman glanced at his Finance Administrator from the corner of his eye. She still wasn’t looking at him after Lausu had spilled their little secret. Whatever the heck chu’kana was, it seemed to be a very personal and private thing for her. He decided not to grill her about it, at least not at this moment.
Perhaps after the wedding.
While he had a friendly relationship with Nolia, it wasn’t nearly a...
2023-11-10 13:00:08 +0000 UTC
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What had once been a relatively calm time in Norman’s life turned into a madhouse as people prepared for the wedding. And he wasn’t exempt from the preparation.
He didn’t want to be one of those types of men who just made the future bride plan everything. For one, Kalia was a bit overwhelmed by all the new attention. So just being there helped split the focus. He also wanted them to share the choices evenly. This was going to be his only wedding after all.
“White dress, or...
2023-11-08 13:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Norman managed to suppress his nervous excitement. He had waited six months just to make sure he wasn’t jumping the gun on this decision. To some that might still seem like a short time to get to know someone, but he had known Kalia for nearly a year at this point. Most of his previous relationships hadn’t even lasted that long, let alone six months.
The fact that they hadn’t grown apart during that time said a lot. In fact, their relationship had only deepened during that time. A...
2023-11-06 13:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Norman awoke with a start as someone knocked on his door.
“Sir, you have a visitor.”
“Wha- What time is it?” Norman turned his bleary gaze to the pitch-dark window of his room. It was still the dead of night. He groaned. “Can’t this wait until morning?”
“I’m afraid the Admiral insisted he speak with you right away.”
Well fuck, that couldn’t be good. He twisted out of bed, his bare feet landing on the carpet. He was immediately thankful for that as...
2023-11-03 12:00:06 +0000 UTC
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The pair stepped out of the teleporter along with his guards.
It was Norman’s first time in California. Honestly, it was much like he imagined, only with fewer cars. Although, that could be due to the secure location where the teleporter was housed.
A man walked over and offered his hand. “Lord Norman, the Admiral is attending to some last-minute work but he will meet you at the restaurant. I will be your guide and driver.”
Norman shook the offered hand and followed th...
2023-11-01 12:00:16 +0000 UTC
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A couple of weeks had passed since Gabriel and his team had encountered their new British neighbors. And today was the final day of transporting people through the teleporters and into Ashvale.
Turns out it took quite a bit of time to transport three thousand people through a device designed to only handle two or three at a time.
Housing the people, even temporarily was a bit of an issue as well. But they lucked out. With all of the delegates from the talks gone, those residences ...
2023-10-30 12:00:07 +0000 UTC
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Gabriel enjoyed the startled looks of the SAS soldiers as he brought out his mount and equipped his armor.
The mirth quickly faded as he and his team raced toward the sounds of fighting along with other soldiers.
As they neared the fighting, he could see the distinctive flashes of magic. He had witnessed it enough during his time in California that he wouldn’t soon forget the sight.
He gestured to his team and they all nodded, splitting off to hunt. Although he stuck with ...
2023-10-20 12:00:06 +0000 UTC
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One moment he was sitting in his study, the next he was standing in an unfamiliar concrete room, festooned with faded military propaganda. “Join the SAS, serve your country and your Queen,” and other such items.
He looked around for a moment before spotting Gabriel. It didn’t escape his notice that he was about eye level with the man. Norman glanced down, seeing he did indeed have human hands. “I take it I’m in one of your men’s bodies?”
“Yes, Sir. We thought it mi...
2023-10-18 12:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Up and down. Up and down. Norman watched the motion of Kalia’s body as she groaned.
“Why are we doing this?” she asked breathlessly.
Norman chuckled, slightly out of breath himself. “You said you wanted to spend more time together.”
A grunt of exertion escaped his lips.
“Yeah, but I meant like going for a walk or something. Not this. I can’t believe you wanted to do this.”
Norman braced himself, letting out one final grunt of effort as he finished...
2023-10-16 12:00:06 +0000 UTC
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