ailaaurie

Summer Jams 4: Horizon - Part II

There were two routes they could be taken that made the most sense for a delegation.  First, the land route, obviously.  They would enter from Osten in the east and take the main road down, through the Fekete Duchy, and into the Central Corridor and Horizon.  Depending on which gate of entry they entered from, and when, it could be a few days to two weeks or more of a journey.

This meant that Tori would need to ensure that the entire delegation had not only the proper sec...

Summer Jams 4: Horizon - Part I

“Tell me the truth.”  Albert sat on a wooden desk chair, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his fingers steepled as he narrowed his eyes and stared ahead of him.  He took a deep breath.  “I have been scammed?”

“Yes.” Several voices chorused from all around him and he sat up straight, his eyes wide as his brows shot up.

“What do you mean, yes?”  He almost choked out as he looked at his friends with stunned and accusing eyes.

H...

Summer Jams 4: Buchenburg - Part II

If it weren’t for the fact that she was in a fantasy world, she would’ve believed that the former Marquis and his wife had pulled ideas from pre-existing romance stories where there were ‘cute meets’.  At first, Tori didn’t think that being left alone to hang out with Piers was so bad.

In fact, after spending months traveling with a large group of friends, constantly scurrying around and herding everyone, it was a nice change to a quieter, slow-paced atmosphere.  It ...

Summer Jams 4: Buchenburg - Part I

Tall, slender, white-washed keeps topped with tilted roofs peeked just above the high tree line of the forest laced mountain that overlooked a scenic valley and river.  It was every bit as ‘fairy-tale’ castle as she imagined, right down to the picturesque town at the bottom of the mountain.

Tori’s lips were in a tight line and her eyes were narrowed.  Yes, there were thick walls surrounding the castle grounds, but from afar, it wasn’t difficult to imagine it being the ...

Summer Jams 4: Gorask - Part II

“I didn’t think it was necessary to point it ou

Summer Jams 4: Gorask - Part I

As she watched Ilyana go through the motions with her dagger, sparing against an imaginary partner with narrowed eyes and a concentrated expression, Tori played ‘Eye of the Tiger’ in her head.  Ewan, who was practicing with an imperial knight off to the side, didn’t seem to be in such a fervorous state as Ilyana.

“I’m starting to worry that when we get to Gorask, Ilyana is going to stab everyone who ever wronged her,” Sonia said in a careful voice as she squinted.

Summer Jams 4: Enda - Part II

“Ready?” Ilyana sat on the edge of a steamy pool that had water sourced from a small geyser several paces away.  In the night, with just a few light crystals illuminating the edges of the pool, they could barely see her.

“Can you read the hourglass in this light?” Albert asked with uncertainty in his voice.

“Yes, yes, don’t worry.  I’m sitting next to a light crystal.” Ilyana assured him and held out a little hourglass she would use to time the others. 2023-05-05 05:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post

Summer Jams 4: Enda - Part I

Tori leaned against the starboard bow railing, feeling like something was missing as she gazed across the chilly, choppy indigo waters.  For Whom the Sun Rises bobbed up and down with the waves as they approached the coast of Enda, the capital and only actual city in the Nord March.  She let out a heavy sigh.

“That’s the fifth time you’ve sighed,” Sonia said as she sat on a storage box attached to the deck floor.  Her deft fingers easily maneuvered a need...

Summer Jams 4: Moss Hill - Part II

“Yes, I know,” Tori said as she stood on the balcony, watching the light crystals slowly fade into the fog below.  “We’re keeping an eye on them.”

“They did not sound scared for ghost hunters when she called,” Piers replied from the comcry.

“Considering what they called you about, I doubt they'd sound scared.  Ah...it looks like Cousin Eili is taking the knights out.”

“Does she know that Marquess O’Tuagh knows?”

Tori let out a small sc...

Summer Jams 4: Moss Hill - Part I

“Legend has it that on the night of a full moon, if you walk east of the castle’s old walls for two hundred steps, you will stand on top the most ancient tomb of the O’Tuagh Warlords.  If you stand above their tomb when the full moon reaches its peak, you will feel them.  Ba-dum, ba-dum...the steady beating of their buried hearts, but that’s not all....”  Eili looked around the table of children and teenagers with wide, dilated eyes as her hands gripped the e...

Summer Jams 4: Presidio - Part II

“Lord Kasen is a gentleman.  He would not say that.” Ilyana appeared unconvinced.

Several pairs of eyes looked at her as if wondering what filter she used when looking at Kasen.  It wasn’t that Tori thought her brother was perfect, but she knew that the side of him he showed to their family, and that her friends saw, was the kindest version of him.

Piers wouldn’t be so obedient to Kasen if Kasen hadn’t tamed him in some way, and knowing Piers and Kasen, it wasn...

Summer Jams 4: Presidio - Part I

“So, don’t be surprised when she tells you.” Kasen leaned back against the carriage with his legs crossed.  Next to him, Robert was lying across the seat with his head on his lap, sleeping.

Fiona was seated next to Tori, looking out the window excitedly as they rolled through the gates of Presidio and into the capital city of Sur.  Tori was seated across from her brother with a slight frown on her face.

“I have my hands full with my guests.  Am I required to...

Summer Jams 4: Tres Arcos - Part II

“This is just a casual match, you said,” Ilyana huffed as she stood with her legs akimbo and her hands on her waist.  “No one is taking it seriously, you said.  Well, what do you call that!?”  She waved her hands towards the massive sign that was held up across the stadium, by at least three rows of people.

In burgundy with white letters selling out ‘Escuela Ecuestre del Sur’, the sign was proudly held by what appeared to be people of all ages, making Tori won...

Summer Jams 4: Tres Arcos - Part I

Ships belonging to the marches that were non-military in visit, and the imperial family, were supposed to dock around the bend from Tres Arcos city proper as a safety precaution and for convenience, as the port of Tres Arcos was busy being the closest port to Presidio.  Just up the coast was the Tres Arcos Naval Fortress, so it made the private docking area a bit safer.

As such, For Whom the Sun Rises was escorted by two naval cruisers to the private dock, which was close ...

Love Interest Side-Story: Constantine - Part 2

There was no mirror in his room, but he stood tugging at the plain white gown he’d been given to wear to his marking ceremony.  The ceremonies themselves were normally a few hours to half a day long, depending on how large the marking would be.  All initial markings started in one place; the upper back.

The gown he was wearing had no sleeves and metal clasps held the straps of the gown together at the top of his shoulders.  The plain leather cord acted as a belt around ...

Love Interest Side-Story: Constantine - Part I

The first person he called after he had officially completed his seminary studies was his uncle.

The second person he called was Tori.

Tori always picked up her calls in the past and Constantine couldn’t help but become worried when he couldn’t reach her for two days.  The Tori he knew was likely long expecting his call around this time, when he was scheduled to finish the seminary.  This was unlike her.

What was stranger was that he knew that the last semester...

Aila's Ramblings - Although We've Come To The End of The Road

So, here we are.  The main story is finally completed (for the highest tier, but it's coming!)

Let's get through this in as organized a way as possible!

📅 Annual Memberships

If you signed up for an Annual Membership and your membership will not expire for a couple of months, I'd like to offer:

🗸One-Shot on a Character Focus of Your Choosing x1

There are already some requests, some of which will likely require more than one chapter o...

Chapter 225: Let's Go on an Adventure

She was placed on academic leave for a month, waking up on the day her friends graduated from Lycée du Soleil. The exact details of her leave of absence were kept tightly guarded, and all most people knew was that she was in a ‘carriage accident’ and got crystal shock trying to protect Gideon and Fabian.

Those two were not allowed to speak of the kidnapping, escape, and Tori’s subsequent overpowered use of terracrystal to anyone. Even when Tori awoke on Anahata Island, the detail...

Chapter 224: This is For Victoria

In all honesty, she didn’t think goading him into proving her wrong would actually work. Despite getting confirmation that in the network of underground tunnels and caves beneath the village housed more than ten thousand soldiers, Tori couldn’t help but be a bit giddy.

Staying behind was worth it. This answered several questions, the most important at the moment being where those soldiers that passed through the smuggler’s tunnel in the northeastern mountains went.

And while...

Chapter 223: Avatar Tori is Here

Wood splintered above them and as Tori dragged Gideon past the threshold that was barely held up by a column of packed dirt, she strengthened the energy output of the ice crystal to surround them and block the sudden gush of hot air blowing out as the interior roof collapsed.

“Guevera!” Fabian ran towards them and shoved a single-handed sword through his belt and quickly supported Gideon on his other side.

“He inhaled too much smoke. We need to get somewhere safe so I can pu...

Chapter 222: A Really Stupid Rock

If she never smelled that syrupy sweet scent again in her lifetime, she could die satisfied. The lingering smell seemed to penetrate the upper reaches of her sinuses.

This is all that idiot Gideon’s fault. God, how could he possibly be a love interest with zero sense of danger, that little shit.... Her head was heavy, but her first thoughts upon regaining consciousness were cursing the prince of bad decision making who thought going to see Alessa was a good idea.

Grante...

Chapter 221: It's Not That I Don't Trust Your Judgment

They were responsible, experienced people who knew what they were doing. Deep down, she knew she could trust them. She should trust them. Yet, Tori didn’t take the step towards the awaiting imperial carriages like she was supposed to and stood rooted in her spot, gripping the handles of her bag like a vice as she met their dull, tired expressions with unnecessary worry.

“The high-waisted skirts need to have samples in three fabric types to cover three general weather condit...

Chapter 220: This Was Not a Hill For Her to Die On

A pair of big, violet eyes seemed to pierce her very soul with such intensity that her heart began to race. Tori could only take another step back. Except, she couldn’t go any further. A stone column brushed against the back of her dress.

She was trapped.

“Tell me, what do you like most about my nephew?” Princess Celine had grabbed her hands upon meeting her, then insisted on sitting next to her at the dinner table, and now she had cornered Tori during the reception ball. 2023-02-21 06:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 219: Naïve and Foolish

“Auntie, please tell Daddy to stop giving me so much work. If he keeps giving me work, I won’t finish and can’t go to Moss Hill.” Fiona sounded upset as she complained to Tori.

On her seat at a corner table at Duel Cafe, Tori adjusted the opaque pale blue and white crystal that was shaped and smoothened to fit in her ear. “Your dad told me that you don’t like doing your school work, so it piles up.”

“I told you!” Robert’s voice could be heard from the crystal e...

Aila's Ramblings - 2/17/23 - How many chapters left?

Okay, we are near the end.  I see the light at the end of the tunnel!  

Also, as I'm away from my computer all day Monday on a long drive back, I may not get back in time to release the chapters for the first and second tiers, so I will release them early.  The third (ALL THE COINS) tier is scheduled to go up at the regular time.  

📚 The Last Chapters 🕮

We have about 6 chapters of the main story left, then I've decided to try to ...

Chapter 218: Don't Let the Flap Hit You On the Way Out

Somehow, ends of semesters and ends of school years did not give her as elated a feeling as when she handed her completed Lycée Project report to Instructor Rosemund. Perhaps it was because this project stretched into four school years and now, it was finally over. At least the school portion was.

Tori’s hands almost shook with excitement as she turned in the inch thick portfolio packed with maps, charts, an entire section on building a village, sub-reports from Université professor...

Chapter 217: You Have a Lot of Pent Up Aggression

“Then each room can have the temperature changed in accordance with the guest?” the Emperor’s sharp eyes looked at Tori from across the table.

The central courtyard of the Lunar Pavilion almost appeared as a different space the morning after Piers’ new year ball. The banners and most of the other decorations had been taken down. The numerous tables, chairs, tablecloths, and centerpieces were gone.

The morning light was rather gentle coming in, and due to the high walls all...

Chapter 216: Do You Find Joy In Irritating Me?

Her fingers touched his wrist, and she gently pushed his hand that held the tiara down. “That’s fine, but how is Axton?”

“Axton is well.”

Tori let out a relieved breath and looked at Montan, who looked just as relieved. He seemed to whisper a silent thanks as his body relaxed. She looked back at Piers in front of her.

“When is he coming back?”

“I don’t know.”

Tori frowned. “What do you mean you don’t know? Didn’t you say he is well?” 2023-02-11 06:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 215: Do You Have Money?

The fabric was soft and cool; comfortable despite the seasonal chill weather. Tori closed her eyes and buried her face beneath it. If she could slide underneath, she would do so.

“I missed you so much,” she said in a soft voice. Her fingers curled into the familiar cat patterned blanket. “My bed.”

“Nyaow!” Alexander rolled on his back over the bed in her tent. From the entrance, Ilyana stood with a warm smile as she watched Tori snuggle against the so...

Chapter 214: Who Will Be My Sidekick If You're Dead?

The scraping of chair legs against the pavement stone beneath the dining area sounded as Kasen shot up from his seat. His eyes narrowed as he followed Piers’ gaze beyond the low wall.

“I don’t see anything?” Uncle Dom squinted unsurely and his wife frowned.

Auntie Anita stood up, as well, gripping Uncle Dom’s forearm in her hand. “I see some moving shadows. It’s unnatural.”

“Are you sure?” Uncle Dom asked.

His wife shot him a glare. “I’ve spent ...