“I get that reaction all the time. Nobody expects an ex-Climber to be working in the heart of the engineering department of an aethership!” she said, laughing.
“Right…” Cen mumbled, Rel nodding besides her with a just as confused look on her emerald eyes.
“Everyone, meet Mok. Mok, meet Cen, Rel and Nar,” Tuk introduced, as he closed the door behind them.
Unlike the first two engineers they had met on their way into the core, Mok wore a simple uniform of gray pa...
2025-05-30 10:30:02 +0000 UTC
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Deck 40, Nar read, as the elevators slowed to a halt. We’re almost right in the middle of the ship.
“Uhm…” Tuk suddenly said, making a face. “I forgot to tell you but, down here, the aether is really, really strong. We’ll be okay in the office, but elsewhere…”
The lift door sighed open and there was a collective sharp intake of air.
“Ow!” Rel cried, throwing Tuk an accusing look.
“Sorry!” he said, putting his hands tog...
2025-05-29 10:30:02 +0000 UTC
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After nearly four weeks of going at that breakneck pace, the faculty finally relented, and on Sixth, the 27th of Xu’Yotlan, another of the Fourteen Great Houses, the apprentices were allowed to have the afternoon for themselves.
On the morrow, they would head into the auditorium once more, this time to finally learn what awaited them in the Brightnight, and classes and lectures would be canceled in the upcoming week. It was a last chance for the apprentices to get their shit together ...
2025-05-28 10:36:34 +0000 UTC
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The sand elemental formed up behind Mul, the creature towering over him as it pulled in more and more sand to increase its bulk.
Before it could collapse onto the unsuspecting brawler, exploding into a blanket of sand in an attempt to smother him and give the other two elementals that Mul already faced an opening, Nar was there.
His sword cut through the creature's back, its aura disturbing the elemental’s aetheric hold over the sand, and ripples formed across its surface. Altho...
2025-05-27 10:35:07 +0000 UTC
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Viy followed after the white arrows at her feet. Her heart beat fast against her ribs, and she found herself having to unclench her jaw and open her fists every few steps.
Her chest was an indignant rage of pulped up pain after nearly five hours of trying, and failing, to get that blasted ball of aura to go along her right arm pathway, but she tried to ignore the pain, focusing instead of what was coming. It was finally time to move forward with her path.
At last, the final arrow ...
2025-05-26 10:30:02 +0000 UTC
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“Welcome back everyone, especially to those of you whom I haven’t seen since before the third assessment. Higher than some or lower than others, you have all reached a satisfying enough level in your [Mastery] and [Aura Pathways], so, well done in making it this far. Now, is where the real work begins.”
Nar sat besides Gad, with Kur sitting on his either side.
He did his best to appear utterly focused on the Master of Aura’s words, and ignore the glances that the rest of t...
2025-05-23 10:34:23 +0000 UTC
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Nar groaned as he came to, wondering why his bed felt so hard under him…
“Sore?” someone asked.
His eyes flared open and he backed up against the wall.
“What the…”
“Relax,” Jasphaer said, squeezing his shoulder. “You’re okay. Probably sore from sleeping on the floor, but your HP healed up the rest.”
“My HP…”
Nar sat up straighter, his eyes widening.
“Don’t worry!” the healer said, as Nar’s hand flew to his left leg....
2025-05-22 10:32:07 +0000 UTC
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Nar stumbled against the door. His legs trembled beneath him, spasming, and he couldn’t lean any weight on the left one at all.
He glanced behind him once more, to make sure he hadn’t left any bloody footprints behind him, and tumbled forward into the party room.
“Nar? Holy shit!”
Suddenly, there were hands on him, and he was being whisked into the boy’s room.
“Jasphaer! Jasphaer! He’s bleeding!” Mul hissed.
“Coming!” the healer shouted.
2025-05-21 10:37:58 +0000 UTC
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He did shower in the end, unable to drag his bloody self onto his immaculate bed, and he stood under the steaming water for a long while.
Long rivulets of red water swirled at his feet before disappearing down the drain, and he stared at all the blood as though it belonged to someone else. The memories of pain shifted and morphed into a continuous stream of half-formed images, and his mind stuttered on and off, having trouble coming to terms with what had just happened to him, now that ...
2025-05-20 10:28:40 +0000 UTC
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With the sand zooming in and out of focus, Nar raised his hands, and gasped at her gentle, but firm touch as she held onto his pinkies.
“I dumped all of this info on you because once we start, you won’t be thinking properly anymore, and I needed you lucid to get the basics,” she said, looking up from his hands to stare into his eyes.
He too looked into hers in turn, his breath quick and shallow.
“This is your last chance, Nar. Walk away now, or tell me that you w...
2025-05-19 10:28:37 +0000 UTC
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The final and last dungeon of the day was an interesting affair.
Its structure was similar to the first two, a boss room with several adds fighting alongside it, but the third dungeon had three such rooms instead, and in their “learner” state, it ended up taking hours to slog through the entire wet, smelly tunnels they found themselves in.
Thankfully, there was no near-wipe threat of the ceiling collapsing on them again, as Cen vowed to be extremely careful and Viy elected to ...
2025-05-16 10:35:24 +0000 UTC
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Things went a little better the second time around.
Nar looked up from the sand elemental as it burst apart, its core shattered by his blade, and he scanned the rest of the battle.
Cold wind blew sand and grit in his face, tugging at his body with its sudden gales as it howled across a narrow strait of beige sand that rose from the ocean. Around them, in the distance, pillars of black rock, cliffs and other isolated sandy beaches dotted a roaring dark gray ocean, which mirrored th...
2025-05-15 10:20:38 +0000 UTC
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They filtered out into what seemed to be a wider opening in between cliff walls. Above them, a line of featureless, bright gray sky, shone the light of day down a narrow gorge that opened into a wide space of sand banks, green coated rocks and peaceful eddies of whispering, shallow waters. The stench of something decomposing was even heavier out here, and in the distance, Nar caught the sound of waves, and realized with a start that it had been there from the very beginning, ignored as harmle...
2025-05-14 10:30:29 +0000 UTC
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Nar peered out the beetle’s window, but he couldn’t see anything other than Labyrinth wall as they slowly descended to the cluster. Then, just as he was about to look away, he caught sight of the topmost of the dungeons cubes, all neatly stacked up in an irregular, triangular formation that climbed up and clung to the wall. All of the dungeon entrances shone with a clear green light, but despite that, he couldn’t help the twisting sensation in his gut as he thought of the only other dun...
2025-05-13 10:29:25 +0000 UTC
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Tys stretched beside him, and turned around, leaning back against the handrail, her ashen dark gray hair swaying in the breeze.
“The plan is simple. I defer to the Master of Blades’ assessment that the longsword is the best weapon for you, and I’m not someone to be a stickler to whatever tool a fighter decides to use. But since I’m no swordmaster, the Master of Blades will continue handling that side of your instruction for now,” she said. “At the same time, after the Bright...
2025-05-12 10:30:01 +0000 UTC
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Nar had never been to training arena B, whatever that may be, but the usual white arrows sprung to life to guide him when he engaged his ship’s map.
The arrows guided him towards the by now familiar path to the lift that led down to the canteen, however, instead of the expected sensation of slight weightlessness, he instead felt a sinking in his stomach.
Eh? He looked at the numbers flashing by on the deck counter. We’re going up?
He frowned. As far as ...
2025-05-09 10:30:02 +0000 UTC
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“Uh… Sure. That’s my whole point in being here,” Jasphaer said, faced with the trio's enthusiasm. “Are-are you hurt anywhere?”
Viy patted herself. “Uh… I don’t think so.”
She turned to Jul who was sitting beside her. “Cut me.”
“What?” Jul shouted. “I’m not hurting you!”
“Nar?”
“Sure,” Nar said, pulling out his sword.
What was a little cut anyways? Plus, he really wanted to see their new healer in action.
“Wa...
2025-05-08 10:30:02 +0000 UTC
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They met Tuk and Rel just as they reached their party room’s door.
“Another surprise!” Tuk said, ever beaming with undying excitement. “What a day!”
At his side, Rel shook her head, but a smile played on her lips at the truggers antics. However, when Nar met her eyes, her smile dimmed, sadness coloring her now healthy alfin features. Nar widened his own smile in response and gave her a shake of his head.
Another one that will want to talk about it...
2025-05-07 10:30:03 +0000 UTC
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“There are some really good things in here that we should focus on first,” Kur said, scanning the list of recommended 2NET resources as they waited in the queue for the lift after the lecture.
True to his word, he had imposed the ban on the party chat except for strict party needs, and Nar was more than glad for it. After a solid twenty minutes of mental back and forth he had started to nurse a growing headache, and even Tuk had been happy to return to normal, spoken conversation.
2025-05-06 10:30:01 +0000 UTC
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>>
Hi everyone!
I hope you've had a great weekend!
We've got a shorter chapter today, as I mentioned last week. Also, apologies in the delays in answering comments and messages. I've got some hectic stuff going on at the moment, but I should be able to start replying again either today or tomorrow!
Have a great week everyone!
Everhart
>>
Nar splashed some water on his face and allowed it to drip over the sink.
The others were still s...
2025-05-05 10:30:02 +0000 UTC
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>>
Chapter split was a bit odd for this one, so we have an almost 5.5k word chapter today, and a smaller 2k chapter on Monday!
Happy Friday!
>>
Nar woke up the next morning to the sound of an alarm he didn’t recall setting, and grimaced at the dull ache that seemed to emanate from his chest.
It had taken him a long time to fall asleep, both due to maelstrom in his mind, heart and soul, but also due to the fact that having slept for apparently four e...
2025-05-02 10:30:02 +0000 UTC
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“Well, it’s… Complicated,” the Master of Blades said. "But first things first..."
He gestured for Nar to take a seat, and he himself paced the lightning lit room with his hands behind his back.
“Have you noticed the silver pin she sometimes wears?” his master asked him.
“The one that looks like the icon of the Crystal?” Nar asked, frowning.
“The very same,” his master said, with an inclination of his head. “That pin marks her as an Ascenting One, ...
2025-05-01 10:30:03 +0000 UTC
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You can’t go back, the words echoed in his mind, shattering his dreamless slumber into a thousand shards.
Nar opened his eyes to the familiar dim light of a sick bay room, and the gaping hole that now occupied the place of his heart quaked. An inhuman, gravely shriek wailed somewhere deep within him as he stared, unblinking, at the dim, beige ceiling above his head, and he did not stir when the door sighed open, and measured steps walked into the room.
“Nar?”
...
2025-04-30 10:30:03 +0000 UTC
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>>
I'm so sorry! I forgot to upload the chapter today!
Ugh, I got some stuff going on since last Friday, so I'm a bit all over the place and going half steam this week!
I'm really sorry about that!
We've got a smaller chapter today, and then tomorrow, we return to Nar's POV!
>>
The weapon in her hands was a stranger.
Despite fighting together for months, through guardians and cannibals, suffering and unfairness and terror… The spear was ...
2025-04-29 11:17:38 +0000 UTC
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>>
We have Jul's POV today, and Viy's tomorrow, before returning to Nar on Wednesday.
Have a great week everyone!
<<
“Relax… Don’t try to force it.”
The Master of Shadows’ hands rested caringly over Jul’s shoulders, and squeezed.
“This is not something you can brute force,” she said, her tone low. “It’s something you must feel within you first, as natural as breathing… And then, sense it across your surroundings too.”
...
2025-04-28 10:33:30 +0000 UTC
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To witness the emotion on her face was almost as startling as the emotion instructor Bas was displaying through her usually, carefully composed and bland expression.
Uh… Mul thought, eyeing the complex, bone-like structure that made up her forehead. I guess it’s not all hard.
Instructor Bas held a silently panting, tail wagging bundle of white fur in her hands, at eye level, and looked, for lack of a better word, utterly lost.
“So?” Mul asked, the o...
2025-04-25 10:30:02 +0000 UTC
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-[ Skills
Active
Aura Projectiles 3 (Aura/DPS): The merging of [Aura Projectile] and [Multi-Aura Projectiles]. Can be cast as a single projectile or up to 5 projectiles, each sharing equal amounts of aura in between them. Single projectiles can be aimed freely. Deals (x / 2) (y 0.05) * z, where x is the amount of aura cycled (half for damage, half for distance traveled), y is the amount of seconds charged, and z is the cu...
2025-04-24 10:30:02 +0000 UTC
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Kur stared at his interlaced fingers, resting atop his lap, and did his best to retain a neutral expression as instructor Cal checked his dungeon gains. After a moment of silence, she dismissed them and brought up his status instead.
“That was quite the first dungeon, wasn’t it?” she asked, her tone soft.
Kur nodded, suppressing a sigh.
“It was rough,” he conceded. “But the party was amazing, and we pulled through… And got lucky.”
“Hmm…” ...
2025-04-23 10:30:05 +0000 UTC
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The door sighed open at their approach, revealing a square mouth of pitch darkness.
“Prepare to be amazed!” Ves said, wiggling his eyebrows. “Lights!”
The entire ceiling turned into one giant light, and Gad’s scaly brow rose as the true length of the room before her was revealed. It was more accurate to call it a training hall, as the thing was as big as the tanks hall, if not even bigger.
The greatest surprise revealed before her, however, was that massive space w...
2025-04-22 10:30:01 +0000 UTC
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Part 1 - Growing Pains
“I cannot imagine what it must be like, for an auramancer, to reach the O-Nex and find that all of its fabled wonders are forever blocked from them… Or what it must feel like to live your whole life being forced to watch them so close at hand, but forever beyond your reach. I honestly cannot say which one is worse.” - Notes for an upcoming assignment by Student Kuon Feeir, KUO274021097334283LDX, Social Studies Tower, Year 3, The White Towers University...
2025-04-21 12:29:16 +0000 UTC
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