It took Tyron longer to implement his new methods than he expected. Devising a functioning framework that utilised the newer, thicker threads was multiple times more difficult than the usual thin ones. Even before reaching that point, he’d needed to test and evaluate half a dozen different vari...
2024-04-23 02:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe Colony possesses a trait that is uniquely ascribed to it and to it alone, among the advanced, thinking societies that have emerged on Pangera. And that is, you can almost view them as a single entity, a super-organism, so to speak, due to how united in purpose they are.
<...
2024-04-21 22:38:39 +0000 UTC View PostIt takes a little while to figure out where Solant is. Whenever I turn up in a tunnel looking for her, someone tells me she was just there, but left not long ago. Well, where was she going? She was heading over to that tunnel in order to talk to so and so. Alr...
2024-04-19 02:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostAs much as he hated to admit it, Tyron did feel better. He disliked being mothered by Elsbeth; it was something Beory had never really done for him when he was growing up. If he associated anyone in his life with the kind of fussing and care that he considered t...
2024-04-18 04:22:35 +0000 UTC View PostWith my precious friends back by my side, I feel complete again. They fill in a hollow deep inside that not even the Vestibule can reach. With Tiny, Invidia and Crinis with me again, I can feel the confidence that was shattered by my confrontation with Rammon start to return. It was something I d...
2024-04-18 02:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostThe gang is back together, and my goodness, they all look so different! For starters, Invidia now has a blue eye, but not in a ‘imbibed too much spice’ kind of way. Only the iris is blue, and if anything, it’s kind of soft and welcoming. His physical form hasn’t changed much, at least the...
2024-04-17 02:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostRichard staggered out of the cave and into the light, blinking owlishly. It took a few seconds for his brain to register the glare of the light stabbing his brain. He closed his eyes and flinched back awkwardly, almost stumbling over his own feet. How long had it been since he’d slept? S...
2024-04-16 02:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostStepping off the ship and onto the shore is such a relief, I can barely put it into words. The Will of the Colony thrums through me once again, and I have to say, it feels right. The family is buzzing with industrious energy. Thousands of individuals are filled with the desire to work and improve...
2024-04-16 02:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostWhen our home mountain comes into view, I feel an upswell of emotion, stronger than I expected. We’ve been gone for a little over a month, and it’s wonderful to see the end of the journey come into sight.
Soon, I get the same feeling from all the other ants, locked away in the holds of ...
2024-04-14 22:18:52 +0000 UTC View Post“I’m impressed,” Tyron noted, nodding with satisfaction. “Each of you has managed to learn the ritual and reach level two. This is where the real work can finally begin.”
The three young Necromancers exchanged excited glances, pleased that he was pleased. After returning fr...
2024-04-12 11:26:21 +0000 UTC View PostAm I really going to die in here?
Once again, the thought bubbled up unbidden. It was getting harder to push it away, especially recently. Feolin didn’t try to fight it this time, just let that unsettling idea rattle around inside her head, growing louder and louder. Event...
2024-04-12 04:19:01 +0000 UTC View PostIt was a long time before my sister was out of range of the Vestibule. The last flickering embers of her Will reached me hours later. How many hours, I honestly can’t say. Unable to do anything else after my failure, all I could do was sit and listen as she Willed for freedom, Willed for...
2024-04-12 02:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostMorrelia watched the brathian fleet sailing in the distance. She’d watched Anthony’s confrontation with the Phoenix of Light with bated breath, certain she was about to watch the bizarre monster meet his end. Fearful of invoking the Child-Emperor’s wrath, the fleet had sat at anchor, unwill...
2024-04-11 02:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostThe Seneschal was a reserved man, usually. In this particular moment, he found he was having difficulty maintaining his smooth-faced facade, such was the anger bubbling away inside him. As he stood in the antechamber within the Great Cathedral, observers noted the man was tapping on his right leg...
2024-04-10 02:00:01 +0000 UTC View PostBeyn didn’t know what to think, or what to say. The Great One had risen high, taken the fight against the Phoenix of Light, although for reasons Beyn couldn’t understand.
When the Great One had launched his mighty spell and swallowed the light, Beyn had felt as if his eyes were about to...
2024-04-09 02:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostI can't count apparently.
It’s not possible to overstate just how large an impact the incident at the Golden City had upon the Colony. For their part, the people of Atreum paid it little mind. From their point of view, the great and glorious defender of the capital ha...
2024-04-08 03:17:11 +0000 UTC View PostMade a number of changes based on peoples thoughts and the good work of my editors.
The cold was even worse than Tyron remembered it, though he wasn’t sure if that was because it had gotten worse, or because he’d pushed it from his memory. Regardless, he’d come adequa...
2024-04-04 07:24:19 +0000 UTC View PostHere is the last of your chaps for the week folks. Nothing until (my) monday now.
To be clear, I don't actually care about people asking for more chaps in the comments. If anything it lets me know that people are hyped for the next chapter, and usually I simply DRIN...
2024-04-03 06:38:14 +0000 UTC View PostOkay. It’s not looking good. I can see that, big bird can see that, a blind mole in the second stratum can see that. Regenerative fluid pumps through my body, icy cold, and I feel my insides begin to un-roast themselves. Holy moly, that light attack was no joke. Not only was it scorching...
2024-04-03 06:35:14 +0000 UTC View PostOkay, you all complained so much, so here's tomorrow's chapter delivered hot and fresh.
AND YES! I know it's a lot of cliffs, but when I'm trying to write a climactic fight scene in 1.2k word chunks, you get a lot of cliffs! That's just how it works out! 2024-04-02 07:10:48 +0000 UTC View Post
Look, if I’m being honest, it’s not that easy to ‘steer’ when flying via gravity well. Manipulating the thing takes a lot of energy and focus, I’m basically doing something like controlled falling. It’s hard.
Now, in my head I imagine doing a nice swoop ...
2024-04-02 06:25:58 +0000 UTC View Post“Did you see his hands?”
“Yes. For the fifth time, we all saw his hands.”
“The movement was so crisp. No wasted motion. I could barely see him flip from one sigil to the next.”
“We know.”
“And he said he was working slowly. If tha...
2024-04-02 01:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostPushing my mastery over the gravity well to its limits, I begin to rocket upwards toward the golden city. Enshrouded by luminous clouds, the city radiates a warm light, turning the mist into a halo. Somewhere beyond that obstruction, my sibling is waiting.
Frustration is boiling up i...
2024-04-01 05:43:47 +0000 UTC View PostWhere is it coming from? It’s hard to tell. I dive deep into the Vestibule, following that single thread of Will, trying to trace it back to the source. The ant is in pain, wanting to be saved. Wanting me to save them.
Just what could be happening?! What is going on?!
<... 2024-03-30 10:32:55 +0000 UTC View PostSales have gone well, or so I’m told, and by the time the market has finished and everything is getting packed up, the ‘night’ of the fourth stratum is falling. Now, in a stratum filled with water and light mana, it’s rainbows and sunshine pretty much non-stop down here, but it doe...
2024-03-29 07:59:28 +0000 UTC View Post“We’re being pushed too hard. Magisters are falling over from fatigue. Mistakes are being made. You need to reconsider your timetable!”
Lady Erryn kept her expression neutral as her eyes bored into the Grand Magister’s.
“This is not my timetable, but that of ...
2024-03-28 03:43:19 +0000 UTC View PostNo matter how she tried, Enid couldn’t keep the smile from her face, so she eventually stopped trying. The legendary Silver City, heartbeat of the most populous stratum of the Dungeon, had turned out to see the Colony go to work, and go to work they did.
Ants were everywhere, forgi...
2024-03-27 06:34:01 +0000 UTC View PostNo problem. Not even a worry. Just play it cool.
[W-w-w-w-w-w-w-why w-w-w-w-w-would you s-s-s-s-s-say that?!]
Smooth. Rathwyn holds up both palms to show he comes in peace.
[There are a few tells. First of all, you are the only ant I’ve connected minds to who has a male...
2024-03-26 05:49:21 +0000 UTC View PostThe next two weeks passed faster than Tyron had imagined they could. His days were filled with preparing and delivering lessons to the various Necromancy-related Classed that had Awakened in Cragwhistle. When he had a spare moment from that, he was directing his minions to fight kin or poking awa...
2024-03-26 01:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostWhen the customers come, they come in a flood. I want to emphasise that I don’t use that word lightly. I have no idea how many people live in the Silver City, but I’m guessing it’s something along the lines of many. Much like Freehill, home of the Folk, pretty much the entir...
2024-03-25 04:30:26 +0000 UTC View Post