The cathedral wasn’t far; a short journey by any means. But it was frustrated by Takan’s mumbled complaints at having to take a carriage for such a distance. Suffice it to say, they didn’t care.
Olufemi joined Ezril in taking Shade to the stables at the heels of a priest there to rece...
2024-01-02 03:33:31 +0000 UTC View PostTheir reception at the seminary was without ceremony. They cut through the Umunna forest and through the mist as though these were not things that had once called fear upon them. They were ushered in by open gates, and—when they came close enough—raised portcullis.
Their rooms now under...
2024-01-02 03:29:39 +0000 UTC View PostThe room was dark. The only touch of light that stained it came from a bulb of trapped fireflies. These weren’t normal fireflies, not the ones indigenous to this world. They were immigrants strayed from too many cracks in the world. They were like unwanted guests with a desire to stay so strong...
2024-01-02 03:26:13 +0000 UTC View Post“You sent me into a mad house!” Seth growled, discarding his twin swords on Jim’s table.
Jim spared him the briefest look, perhaps contemplating an accurate response to his outburst. In the end, he chose calm. “And what exactly do you mean?”
Seth ran both hands through his h...
2024-01-02 03:24:24 +0000 UTC View PostThe ship went down in a manner befitting its size and possible weight. From within what had once been a quite and stable environment turned and turned and turned. Zed’s feet kept him firmly in place. He swayed as a paper boat in a spiraling pool of water but his footing never failed. [Equilibri...
2024-01-02 03:21:21 +0000 UTC View PostGeneral Truman looked back at Tilda and his expression was passive, empty.
“Are you angry, Mage Tilda?” He took a step closer so that they stood toe to toe. “Have I drawn your ire? Are you feeling dangerous, now?”
Tilda bit down on her anger, any harder and her jaw would break...
2024-01-02 03:17:58 +0000 UTC View Post“That’s not true,” Beth said.
She’d approached them not too long ago with a look of curiosity on her face.
“And what are you doing?” she added, studying Seth’s expression for a moment. “The adventure guild will deal with it once we report we’ve cleared the nest. Ther...
2023-12-27 04:23:40 +0000 UTC View PostSeth squeezed the trigger of his rifle and it boomed thunderously.
Thirty paces away, his bullet struck a beast’s head; slapped it aside. He smirked behind his shawl at the power of the rifle. Even now the recoil hurt his shoulder. He shifted slightly, minutely, and aimed again.
Off...
2023-12-27 04:18:03 +0000 UTC View PostTao Mei rubbed her hands together. She stepped forward with a bounce in her steps, cracking her neck from one side to the other.
When she reached behind her for her butcher knives the hall exploded in a loud boom. It shook the air and halted everything around them.
“As fun as it wou...
2023-12-27 04:13:05 +0000 UTC View PostFor four years Drew had been an adventurer, seeking out new nests and predicting fissures for the adventure society. Three years ago, however, for personal reasons he still suspected Jim knew, he had left the direct employ of the adventure society. Now he led his own team with Jim’s support. It...
2023-12-27 04:09:13 +0000 UTC View PostSeth held up an iron card with silver streaks. It was three inches long and two inches wide. Indented onto it was his name. Oden Jabari. Then beneath that was what was apparently his rank.
“What’s three stars?” he asked Jim.
They had left the guild hall and were in a vehicle dri...
2023-12-27 04:05:50 +0000 UTC View PostThey stayed in the tower for three days before embarking on the journey back to the capital.
Of all of Ezril’s brothers, only Darvi seemed truly disturbed by his actions. Takan treated the event as if it was a daily occurrence. Ezril often caught Salem with an expression of guilt, as thou...
2023-12-27 04:02:07 +0000 UTC View PostThe truth wasn’t pretty, so rather than tell her, Urden gave her an answer she was prone to scolding him for: he grunted something incoherent.
They had been traveling for four years. When he’d returned to her village and learned of her foster father’s death, he’d taken her with him....
2023-12-27 03:58:06 +0000 UTC View Post“The nerve of you, Priest!” Iyvena snarled. “You will have us break an oath given by ancestors who walked Vayla as early as time began. This is madness, even for you. And thinking we will help you simply for who you are is greater proof that you don’t know what you are asking. If you thin...
2023-12-27 03:53:44 +0000 UTC View Post“Does he win?”
“The prophecy does not say.” Helva shrugged. “Now, where did you hear this?”
“In battle,” Ezril said. “I heard a man say it while two men fought.”
The old lady regarded him, skeptical, and he fought not to squirm beneath her gaze. “Fine,” s...
2023-12-27 03:50:19 +0000 UTC View PostEzril crossed the expanse of the tribe, by-passing the tents as he moved. Shade’s attention twitched at his movement while a boy watched from a tent far removed from the wolf with a focused intensity. The child was no more than his tenth summer, and though he thought himself hidden, Shade was j...
2023-12-27 03:45:27 +0000 UTC View PostSomething in the air didn’t feel right. He was breathing normally. Air flowed into his lungs and out, mana filled him and left, yet something was off.
Zed came to a sudden stop. It took the others a step or two before they stopped too. Since he was no longer the one leading the exodus, th...
2023-12-27 03:34:15 +0000 UTC View Post“We have to move. Staying here is suicide, begging for my men to die.”
Daniel was growing furious. How he kept his fury from his voice was testament to his control, and logic. Exchanging words with his commanding Officer was one thing, but raising his voice was another. If there was eve...
2023-12-27 03:29:42 +0000 UTC View PostEveryone watched Zed in worry, waiting.
They seemed to be hanging on his next words. If he was rarely ever given any attention, he had every attention now. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it. One thing was certain, though, the Berserker liked it.
Thoughts flowed through Zed’s min...
2023-12-27 03:26:33 +0000 UTC View PostDaniel ran a hand down his face. In front of him the map was zoomed in on the location of the ship he was currently in. The stealth drones deployed around the forest weren’t given the best feeds at the moment. They were mapping the forest properly but that was all there was to it. however, they...
2023-12-27 03:22:34 +0000 UTC View PostZed found himself standing in a dilemma, stuck amidst a few people. He knew his silence would brew questions. If not in Ash, then certainly in Oliver and Shanine. After all, he wasn’t known for his silence.
He watched the last vestige of steam leave his hand, disappear into the dominance ...
2023-12-17 23:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostDaniel was standing in front of a holographic projection of a map when Zed walked in, throwing the door wide open without a knock. Once he was in, the sound of the roughly opened door done with its crescendo, he closed it gently behind him.
The planning room had been a hassle to find. Zed h...
2023-12-17 23:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostSeth cocked a brow at Jim.
“Oden?” he asked.
Jim smiled innocently. “We very well can’t have them know you as Seth, can we?”
“Then why not change the entire name; give me a befitting alias.”
“You have nothing befitting, Oden,” Jim teased. “Now ...
2023-12-17 23:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post“Where does he even find them?” Taliser scowled. “It’s as if he has a place, somewhere he grooms them and brings them when they are of age.”
“Calm down, T,” Jaqueline said. “It’s not that deep.”
He sighed and took a seat on one of the comfortable couches in her roo...
2023-12-17 23:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostSeth sucked in a deep breath as he prepared himself for the next attack he knew was coming. “I ask myself the same thing all the time.”
When Taliser disappeared again, he was ready. He ducked as the mage appeared. The man lit up within the range of his senses a fraction of a second befo...
2023-12-17 23:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostEzril turned instantly as Takan moved to land a fatal blow, his grip almost releasing his arrow when he stopped short. The blow fell, heralded by a painful howl, all of which were lost to him. He stood, arrow aimed at nothing as he watched Shade where it sat. Blue eyes watching him.
His bro...
2023-12-17 23:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostIt was high noon when they began their return to the tribe. Despite the hunt being ended, the men never broke formation. Always alert with each step, unlike their arrival, they walked with a caution, weapons drawn and arrows notched. It was an almost trained disposition, and Ezril might have been...
2023-12-17 23:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostEzril stroked Lenaria’s hair where it fell from her head rested on his chest, wondering what she was still doing in bed with him four hours past the crack of dawn. On previous days she would have made her exit three hours earlier only after ensuring his breakfast was ready and he wanted for not...
2023-12-17 23:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostThey drew closer, slow and alert. Closing the distance, they stood less than a hundred paces when Ezril armed himself with his bow, choosing not to notch an arrow. An unconscious decision, it seemed. As they moved, the women strategically positioned at the center of the group, he wondered what wa...
2023-12-17 23:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post