Enjoy!
* * *
"You cannot be serious!" Vess hissed at the man, trying and failing to keep her voice down. The silence was so leaden even an Untempered could have heard a pin drop down the street. "Here? Now?"
"When else?" the Hand replied, his gaze never once leaving Felix's own. "What say you, Fiend?"
Felix only frowned, but his eyes were unblinking as well. "And this will solve it? Put all our grievances to rest?"
"It will satisfy my honor,
Enjoy!
* * *
"Drink this, Pit."
Felix tilted a blue-stone carafe into his Companion's open beak. The tenku choked on it, warbling in agony.
"It doesn't taste that bad," Felix chided. He stroked the chimera's feathered throat, encouraging him to swallow the mixture and grimaced as the smell wafted back up at him. "Okay, it's...not the best. But it's good for you."
Pit drank it all while his tail lashed angrily into a stack of half-empty barrels to t...
2021-11-22 13:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post3/3
* * *
Stone Shaping!
Felix dropped from the cloud of earthen Mana vapor, trailing it behind him like a cloak. Down he flew, over the stumps of severed foremast and the limp remains of void leather lines. Pirates scattered from his path, the cloud roiling and crackling as if a storm brewed within. Felix's channels screamed at him, burnt raw and aching, but he held on.
He shaped.
He came to an abrupt stop above the mainmast ...
2021-11-20 19:45:38 +0000 UTC View Post2/3
* * *
A pirate's scuffed boot kicked open the door.
Reign of Vellus!
A narrow cone of blue lightning and kinetic Mana caught the door, slamming it closed again before blasting through it entirely. Beyond, a line of unwashed pirates fell atop one another, the stairs and their fellows fouling their feet. Pit screeched, and several Wingblades flew into the breach.
You Have Killed A Unknown Pirate (x2)!
XP Ea...
2021-11-20 19:44:08 +0000 UTC View Post1/3
* * *
The Harrowings flew silently, perfectly hidden from their prey as they wheeled through the Void. Their flesh was one with the nothing around them, their eyes as inky black as the Void from which they were born. Their minds were clear, only concerned with food, blood, and Mana. The truth of their existence was infallible: eat, or be eaten.
Closer they flew, gliding without movement, their talons poised to strike instantly. The small, strange ...
2021-11-20 19:43:02 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy.
* * *
Felix stepped over the glimmering lines of his Seal, trailing wisps of swirling Mana vapor as he approached the smoldering second chamber. It didn't feel like anything, though Karys acted as if a solid wall prevented him from advancing. He flexed his Will and Intent, and the armored Paragon took a surprised step forward before regaining his equilibrium. They stepped into the dark together.
It wasn't complete dark, though aside from the faint...
2021-11-20 19:27:53 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
* * *
I'm fine, Pit sent as Felix ran his hands across his fur and feathers.
"I'll believe that when I see it," he muttered. The call with Zara was important, but Felix needed to know if his friend was hurt. That Spirit Fruit was dangerous. He sent his senses questing into Pit's flesh, trying to see...something. Anything. But other than a strong heart beat and the gurgle of his internal organs, his mundane Perception couldn't pick up much.
<... 2021-11-19 17:07:14 +0000 UTC View PostAh, a bit later than I anticipated on this update. My son's babysitter is quarantined this week, so writing time has become playtime. Can't complain too much though!
Enjoy!
* * *
"Spirit Fruit?" Alister panted from behind, only just clearing the steps down from the Crafting Halls. He had to shout at Felix's back, who was already at the base of the Spirit Tree, staring upward. "I thought it was still attuning? Isn't that what he said?"
"It's—what I hea...
2021-11-17 19:41:42 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy.
* * *
Within the Forge it was even more bustling than Felix's Alchemy Lab, though it had far less folks. Only Davum had been suited to smithing from among their many inhabitants; neither the Risi nor the Henaari had any interest in the application of heat and metal, preferring ice and wood respectively. In fact, there were a few Green Shapers down in the Henaari village, though their main focus was on architecture and ornamentation. Here, in the Forge, th...
3/3
* * *
The Manaship tore into the dark, listing to the side no matter how Felix jostled it. Half of the rigging had been severed during his fight with Bridgven, and the rest was pulling the sails askew. It was also far, far bigger than the small sloop he'd stolen before and only his prodigious Mana capacity allowed him to pilot it at all. Especially since he didn't have anyone hooked up to the engine. When Pit and Felix had made it back to the Manaship, he qu...
2/3
* * *
Felix! Stop!
He didn't listen, bounding across the ground faster and faster, he pressed all he could out of his Skills. Relentless Charge carried him forward in a flash, and he chained them together over and over, pushing himself until his Mana hit the halfway mark. Then he ran some more, desperate, feeding some of the Essence into his crackling core. It washed back outward, lighting up his Skill pattern.
Relentless Charge ...
2021-11-13 18:37:41 +0000 UTC View Post1/3
* * *
Felix wandered the dark. The Rim Hunters had escorted him to the very edge of their territory, just beyond the ward array, the one they said he had sabotaged. He had tried talking to them, to convince them of his innocence, but none listened. Not even the ones he'd fought with, back at their lodge. Instead they glared at him with hard eyes and jabbed at his back with insistent spears.
The Conference Lords had followed at a distance as well, close enough ...
2021-11-13 18:36:28 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
* * *
He dreamed of flames.
There were figures in them. Faces, though he couldn't make them out. They flickered and bloomed before Felix, a wildfire consuming countless rolling hills beneath a blackened sky. The figures were beckoning to him. They wanted him to join them in the inferno. Felix backed away, but the fire followed.
Faces wept. A pale woman with sharp cheekbones and colorful feathers. An ashen-faced man with a bulbous nose and hand...
2021-11-13 18:31:38 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
* * *
It was the morning of the fifteenth day since they had departed from Setoria that Zara heard the cry.
"Haarwatch! Quarter-glass out!"
The shout was one of glee, unmistakable to anyone who heard it. The Haarguard around her cheered, the fog of sleep burnt away in their contagious excitement. Not even Zara herself couldn't keep a fierce smile from slipping across her lips. It was indeed good to see the city again. The Verdant Pass had been fil...
2021-11-12 16:30:14 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
* * *
Once more across the Beacon landing and up another set of stairs had Felix to the final Crafting Hall. The Alchemical Lab.
"And then there was one," Felix said.
"What?"
"Nothing, Karys."
This door was a plain, dark wood. Age worn, despite being recently constructed. It opened at his touch, and Felix could feel dozens of wards and locks disengaging the moment he chose to open it. Intent-sensitive, he realized. The other doors...
2021-11-10 15:47:17 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
* * *
Atar stood at the top of the steps, staring nervously at a white stone door before him.
"Atar! Did you see that lantern? Analyze calls it a Beacon, but can't give me any lore entry on it." Alister came up the steps behind the fire mage, still looking backward. "Strangest design too. I wonder what it does—Oh." He stopped, Atar in his way. "What's going on?"
"Look at this door, Alister. It's...gorgeous," Atar said softly. He walked forward s...
2021-11-08 17:16:43 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
* * *
Harn wasn't sure why he'd climbed the tumbled scaffolding alongside the cliffs, except that something inside felt...different. His core space had trembled for the smallest of moments, a hammer the size of the Guild tower smashing into an anvil built from the heart of a mountain. The warrior had felt the lurch in his channels, a surge of power that made him dizzy.
What caused it? he wondered for the fifth time. He was standing at the broke...
2021-11-06 14:18:52 +0000 UTC View Post3/3
* * *
The journey up to the tenth floor was a breathless rush, the three of them ducking into alcoves and side hallways whenever they heard other Guilders on the steps. With everyone scrambling over the Inqusition's arrival, few would have noticed their presence, yet all of three of them were on edge. Evie assumed Vess was nervous because she wasn't supposed to be down there, rubbing elbows with the common folk, but she couldn't put a finger on why Atar look...
2/3
* * *
Two days passed on since Evie had stopped brooding in the rafters. Cal was happy for it, and for the fervor with which she pushed herself into combat training again. It had been lacking in the weeks since their arrival, and Cal finally felt like some semblance of normalcy had returned to their lives.
The jobs continued on as well, though they grew harder by the day. Already the offers had dried up by half, with too many dangerous beasts pushing toward Haa...
2021-11-06 14:02:00 +0000 UTC View Post1/3
* * *
Atar paced outside the Elder's study, deep in thought and unable to come to a decision. His soft, suede boots whispered against the immaculate stone and intricately woven rug, but his eyes were blind to the wealth on display. The same two thoughts fought against one another in his mind, unable to quiet until one was victorious.
I am a Guilder. I am apprenticed to the Elder of Spirit and set to learn his esoteric sigaldry methods. I have responsibilit...
2021-11-06 14:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
* * *
Felix's conversation with Kikri was short and to the point. While his original Title would have required him to eat her blood or something, it was far easier now. "Just hit me with some Green Shaping, alright?"
"...If you're sure...?" the Elf asked. She traded glances with the Dwarven mage Nevia, who shrugged.
"He's strong, right? That means you can go all out," the mage suggested. Felix pointed at Nevia and nodded.
"She's got the ...
2021-11-05 12:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
* * *
Congratulations, Autarch!
You Have Recruited A Faction!
The Henaari (Night Talons Tribe) Have Joined Your Fledgling Nation!
+25% To All Positive Relations With Henaari!
+25% To All Positive Relations With The Endless Raven!
The Henaari gave an Oath, similar to the Frost Giants' own, but unique to their people. It didn't reference the Raven directly, but Felix knew what "swear to find light in the dark" meant in con...
2021-11-03 14:19:37 +0000 UTC View Post3/3
* * *
Felix and Bateo were off again, the skimmer shooting off into the dark on Felix's Mana. The farmer was surprised at their speed and seemed concerned that Felix was wasting his Mana, but Felix had waved off his concerns. He had the Mana to spare—at least for now.
It also meant they made good time, reaching the first monolith in short order. While the interior wards were closer—the ones that hide Echo's Reach away from sight—they were also apparently ...
2021-11-01 15:49:43 +0000 UTC View Post2/3
* * *
Wonderment gripped an empty candleholder—of all things—and gave it a solid yank. The candleholder tipped, audibly engaging some mechanism that swung open a panel between bookshelves. The raven gestured into the open doorway, which was well lit with a buttery yellow light.
"After you."
Felix and Pit walked through, senses stretched outward for any sort of threat, but the hallway was simply that. It was well made, just as the rest of the Conf...
2021-11-01 15:48:27 +0000 UTC View PostForgot to update these on Saturday! My apologies! We can blame the Halloween weekend crazies, I suppose.
1/3
* * *
When Felix saw the ring of chained islands denoting Echo's Reach, he let out a relieved breath. Clearly the voidbeasts hadn't made it that far, at least from the direction Felix was approaching. Felix hadn't caught sight of any, and Pit said everything smelled normal. He decided it would be good to at least cross the island chain before heading back ...
Enjoy!
* * *
"My first order of business should be more reliable stairs, I think," Felix mused. Even abstaining from Adamant Discord, his own Strength, Dexterity, and Agility let him leap up through the holes in the Temple with relative ease. Vess was right behind him, landing with no less grace despite her lesser stats; no doubt due to her high level Grace and Born Trait that let her leap extraordinarily high.
"Personally, I like the express path," Vess s...
2021-11-01 15:32:50 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
* * *
Zara Cyrene, Master Tier, Sorcerer of the Fallen Halls, and Chanter of Cantus Sodalus was very close to killing someone.
"You wish to beg for aid from Haarwatch? That backward hovel? What good will they do us, when their streets are likely as overrun as our own?" A rounded man with a drooping mustache and a gold chain of office leaned back, his gaze resolutely upon his desk. He refused to look at her.
"We are not begging aid, Lord Govern...
2021-10-30 19:13:49 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy!
* * *
Install them all? Felix mouthed. "Uh, Yes?"
Please Stand By...
Mapping Home.
Stronghold Detected.
A sudden holographic display appeared before him, a scale model of the Temple, the cliff, and a sizable portion of the river, lake, and forest around him. At the same time, Felix's sense of the actual, physical area swept through him, far more detailed than it had been with his Perception alone. It was a...
2021-10-29 17:05:57 +0000 UTC View PostBit longer than usual. Enjoy!
* * *
I'm sorry, what? Felix stared at the notification before him. Joined my what now?
Congratulations, Autarch!
You Have Vanquished A Threat!
The Risi (Frost Giants) Have Joined Your Fledgling Nation!
+25% To All Positive Relations With Giantfolk!
See Your Control Node For Further Options!
Oh, you bet your ass I'll be seeing my Control Node. He swiped the notifica...
2021-10-27 15:49:10 +0000 UTC View PostOkay, survey time! Which sounds more interesting as my next story? This would be a story I'll be updating along with Unbound in a couple months, first here on Patreon and then on RR once I've a certain amount backlogged. I've been working on several ideas but haven't fully committed to any of them yet.
Edit: changed the synopsis for Option A.
A - The Ring of Truth
A cursed Ring, used by a lawman to compel criminals to tell the Truth...