“What in the Ashen Fields was that?” Cassandra demanded as she, Leon, Maia, and Penelope finally sealed the door of the conference room behind them.
They’d emerged from the black wyvern’s gorge not even two minutes ago, and with barely a word to their retinues, Leon and Pen...
2022-01-12 16:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostThe gorge was deep and dark, certainly unnaturally so. Leon’s magic senses could only penetrate so far before the darkness became like a shroud, making the gorge appear like it led down into the deepest depths of the plane.
It wasn’t like this the first time Leon had seen it during the ...
2022-01-10 16:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post“I didn’t need your help,” Penelope vehemently claimed. Leon gave her an exasperated look, and a moment later, she added, “… Though, it was appreciated. Thank you.”
Leon nodded in acknowledgment, unsure how to respond to such direct thanks.
It had been about an hour since ...
2022-01-07 16:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostThe ark moved quickly, and that speed was needed, for it had barely taken off before Leon’s party received word that another hunting group of twenty-five had been wiped out by the black wyvern and his growing flight.
Talal spent the entirety of the flight on the comm stone with Vyrias, co...
2022-01-05 16:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post“All right!” Leon loudly said as he and his retinue spilled out into the main room of his fortified portable villa. “Let’s see what we’ve gained!”
With a wave of her hand, Valeria summoned the eggs taken from the wyvern lairs. A dozen in all appeared, all a light, pale gray. Ans...
2022-01-03 16:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostLeon, still wreathed in darkness and invisible to all senses—or so he was supposed to be—rose into the sky, the air all around him under his complete control. However, for all his supposed invisibility, the eyes of the black male wyvern that now rapidly approached were locked upon him too une...
2021-12-31 16:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostLeon’s retinue left their camp early the next morning. Only Elise and Talal stayed back in the safety of Leon’s magically fortified villa, everyone else accompanied him out into the mountains.
The pass was fairly narrow on the whole. It widened and narrowed in certain places, but in gen...
2021-12-29 16:01:03 +0000 UTC View Post[Finally assumed proper form, have you?] the Thunderbird drawled as Leon, for the first time in a long while, spread his wings and took flight, his family and retinue at his side.
[It was about time,] Leon replied, agreeing with her sentiment. [There’s only so much I can do on fo...
2021-12-27 16:01:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe wyvern bearing down upon them was large, sixty or seventy feet from snout to the tip of its tail. Its two massive bat-like wings stretched well over a hundred feet, and its two huge claws were each big enough to carry off a full-grown bull with ease.
And it wasn’t even fully grown. It...
2021-12-24 16:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostLeon and the rest of his party, as soon as the meeting between Maia and her Naiad contact ended, returned to Vyrias to link back up with Elise and Talal, their plans to spend the night out in the wild scrapped with the success of the mission. They returned not long after sundown. Elise and Talal ...
2021-12-22 16:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostAfter the lackluster testing of his new lightning weapon, Leon was much more gratified to find that his armor was in far better condition—for the most part, at least. Nearly all of the enchantments that he’d placed upon the armor that were self-contained functioned exactly as he needed them t...
2021-12-20 16:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostThe Princess sat upon her throne, the seat wrought of plain gray stone that lacked any real ornamentation. The thing looked as if it were just several slabs of stone thrown together. The Imperial Princess herself cut a much more impressive figure, and one that stood in stark contrast to the rest ...
2021-12-17 16:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostThe Scorched Fields were far to the southwest of the Ilian Empire. The entire breadth of the Empire had to be traversed before the ark even reached the halfway point of their journey, though, fortunately, the ark moved so quickly that the journey that had taken Leon weeks ten years ago was done i...
2021-12-15 16:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostLeon was excited, for in his ten years in the Ilion Empire, this was to be the first time he’d ever ridden in an ark before. Not even as a Hand of the Director had he had the privilege before now.
After he touched base with his retinue following the creation of his armor, he quickly packe...
2021-12-13 16:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostLeon stared at his work, now finished, a strange feeling of relief, apprehension, and pride in his heart.
Pride in what he’d created. Apprehension at how it might perform. Relief that it was done. More relief that all of his toil seemed to have paid off.
His new armor was a dark, sm...
2021-12-10 16:01:57 +0000 UTC View PostLeon wanted to throw himself directly into his work. He had the iron he’d received as payment for Sunlight, and he had a few other metals to alloy it with, but he still needed a host of other tools and materials if he were to ever hope to create his armor as he’d envisioned. So, after speakin...
2021-12-08 16:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostDamn, all of you making me look bad with those fantastic chapter names for 685. Seriously, I didn't see a single bad one there. Unfortunately, only one could be chosen, and I wound up going with 'A New Vision', suggested by Runaway_Cactaur. Thanks to all of you for your suggesti...
2021-12-06 16:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostNot going to lie, really not happy with the title of this one. If you have a better one in mind, drop in the comments, I'm open to suggestions! ;)
---
---
“Wow…” Katerina murmured. “I had no idea such a place was below my home this whole time…”
...
2021-12-03 16:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostLeon made his way over to the door that had more scratches upon it. The edges of the trapezoidal door made it seem like whoever had tried to force it open didn’t realize it slid into the wall, and instead had tried to pry it free from its frame. The gray metal door had clearly resisted quite we...
2021-12-01 16:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe supposedly haunted villa was a fairly large place, and one that was in a very desirable part of the Empire—in suburbs extremely close to the wealthy farming estates between the Scamander and Serenity rivers. The entire estate was smaller than Leon’s home, but the villa itself was about as...
2021-11-29 16:01:03 +0000 UTC View PostAs with the rest of the Ilian Empire, flight in public spaces was illegal. Leon couldn’t transform into his avian form and fly around as he pleased, he couldn’t ride Anzu places unless Anzu remained on the ground, and he couldn’t really use a flight suit when he was off private property. 2021-11-26 16:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Leon submerged the glowing piece of metal in the quenching oil, letting it rapidly cool with a loud hiss to keep its hardness. Aiding him in this endeavor were ice runes inscribed upon the metal barrel containing the oil. It had taken him some time to get it working properly, but the enchantments...
2021-11-24 16:02:52 +0000 UTC View PostJaguar of the West. That was what they called him back in Stormhollow. As he gazed out at the broken ships, listening to the death rattles of dying sailors, he felt like it was a title he deserved, however it might be taken. It didn’t make him particularly happy, but it was what it was.
I...
2021-11-22 16:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostAnastasios sighed as he stared at himself in the mirror. He was dressed incredibly well, with resplendent robes dyed deep crimson and a sash across one shoulder and down to his waist colored in bright royal purple. His clothing was trimmed with gold and embroidered with vines and many-colored flo...
2021-11-19 16:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe ride down the magic lift out of the Hexagon was rather awkward. Neither Leon nor Talal had said a word to each other since Leon left the Director’s office, and though the Samarid was now to be his personal assistant, he’d yet to so much as speak a single word to Leon.
To an extent, ...
2021-11-17 16:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostAfter the momentary shock of the tau’s visit to the ship wore off, Leon sprang out of bed, pulling the pearls in his hand into his soul realm. He then set about waking everyone up as quickly as he could and getting the ship secured.
He didn’t seriously think that the tau was a threat, g...
2021-11-15 16:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostA waste of time. That was the prevailing feeling among Leon’s family and his retinue. Only Anzu seemed to be having a good time, having spent much of their short excursion running around in the grassy meadows, chasing rabbits and flying about. Everyone else quickly lost all motivation as their ...
2021-11-12 16:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostLeon stood on the prow of his ship, letting the rain wash over him, his body filling with power in the light of distant lightning. He needed the energy, even if it wasn’t the sort that was most useful right now.
The enthusiasm he had for his quest died out fairly quickly once he’d trul...
“This is fucking horse shit,” Alix muttered, speaking the words that were on everyone’s mind.
Leon had returned to his family and retinue, who’d been shown to what would be their quarters until more permanent residences could be worked out. They were set up in apartments in one of ...
Occulara. They’d finally arrived. After almost half a year, they’d reached their destination.
They were hardly in a place where they could start getting settled in, but it was an enormous comfort to know that there weren’t going to be anymore cross-country carriage rides, or long tri...