Mana was the life blood of everything that existed. It was the very foundation of matter itself and a mage’s power was in the ability to manipulate it in all its various facets to create powers capable of bringing their enemies to their knees.
And a mage was strongest where their preferred mana type was most dominant.
Lady Long Leg...
2023-10-05 11:05:02 +0000 UTC View PostTimi stood behind him as he cut into it and it hissed in uncontrolled pain, the lower part of its body writhing as if dowsed in flames. He dug around in its large body, seeking out its heart, the action made more tasking by the pain from their battle.
When he didn’t find it, he moved on and cut again. Each time the snake hissed and cried...
2023-10-05 11:01:41 +0000 UTC View PostNelxit bar was popular for its mead, a special selection said to have been learned by the bar keep during one of his trips to the north. The soldiers visited it more often than not, as it was the closest bar to the tower. Ezril and his brothers, however, visited it less frequently than the full moon did the night sky. Although, it was never cert...
2023-10-05 10:59:35 +0000 UTC View PostAlanna scoffed visibly, drawing their attention.
“I expect this from Father Thrysis and Father Olufemi,” she said to Ezril. “But not from you, Father Ezril.”
Ezril smiled at her. Though his strength grew, it still waned significantly. It proved to be a while before he would carry himself with ease. “I would apologize, Siste...
2023-10-03 09:10:32 +0000 UTC View PostSeth’s body didn’t obey him as quickly as he hoped but it obeyed nonetheless. He snatched up his dropped sword and charged the snake.
His body responded slower and he sheathed both swords as he ran. He only had one shot at this. One chance to take the snake’s attention from his brother. The snake was already crowding Timi with strike...
2023-10-03 08:56:06 +0000 UTC View PostFestus frowned as he deflected an earth attack with a force spell. The air shimmered at the flick of his wrist and the stone spike rising from the ground in its adornment of soft glowing flowers shattered against it on impact.
At knight rank he was vastly superior to most of the enemies he’d come across, but he felt himself on the verge ...
2023-10-03 08:52:58 +0000 UTC View PostThe snake was ready for him as he forged into the battle. It swiped at him with its tail while it kept its attention on Timi and he ducked down, slid along the snow and through the space between its massive bulk and the floor. He came to a turning stop beside Timi and pushed off the floor with a single hand. His shoulder still burned but it was ...
2023-10-02 06:55:20 +0000 UTC View PostSeth tried his hand at playful banter as he and Timi walked. He joked about flying birds and digging squirrels. About dug out ruts and two men walking into a bar. It would amaze most to know the kinds of jokes one could spin from anything. Or at least that was the impression he’d gotten from the flock of girls that laughed at all of Derek’s ...
2023-10-02 06:53:29 +0000 UTC View PostThe first face Ezril saw was Darvi’s. With it came a sense of relief. He had believed Alanna when she’d spoken of his brother’s recovery, but seeing it made it real, not something he was simply told. It was fact, not Credo. This was a line of thinking he knew Salem would be proud of.
Darvi stood in a conversation with a man Ezril cou...
2023-10-02 06:37:24 +0000 UTC View PostEzril’s thoughts were duly and properly broken. He narrowed his gaze, squinting at the rush of light flooding his vision, and knew he was elsewhere.
Ezril blinked against the brightness. The action was slow, bereft of enthusiasm. He laid on a soft cushion, a bed unlike the one he had placed his head on the past few months.
Turning ...
2023-10-02 06:30:22 +0000 UTC View PostZed heaved, sucking in deep breaths. He stumbling away from a tree he was resting on as a creature spat at him. Its spittle was a large blob as fat as his face and he barely escaped it. The green goop smacked into the tree and let out a sizzling sound. He’d been struck by it once before and it had cost him what was left of his shirt.
His...
2023-10-02 06:23:31 +0000 UTC View Post“Daniel!” Ven bellowed under the weight of the monster’s scream. “We need to shut that thing up!”
He raised his gun and fired off two shots at the creature, his aim true. Two tight spheres of blue mana burst from his gun. They trailed a path towards the monster’s open maw before veering to the side.
Whatever the nature of...
2023-10-02 06:20:28 +0000 UTC View PostA true silence is one thing men rarely ever experience. However, there are times in their lives when they come across it. A silence void of life. A silence that calls forth a terror within some, and a peace within fewer. This is a silence Vayla blesses her children with every so often. It is true and, sometimes, deafening.
Ezril stood, wai...
2023-09-28 05:41:02 +0000 UTC View PostVen stepped out from the pathway after a much longer walk than he’d expected, and behind him the others followed.
The sight they were met with was less than he’d expected.
They stepped into a large clearing, the topography of the soil disharmonious so that it rose and fell chaotically. The plateau, if it could be called a plateau...
2023-09-28 05:36:03 +0000 UTC View PostSeth sat against the tree for a time he could not count. His injury had stopped bleeding and the cloth wrapped around it was no longer as moist as it had once been.
In front of him Timi had not moved an inch. His hulking size was reminiscent of the tree behind him and Seth found himself wondering how much discomfort it took for the boy to ...
2023-09-28 05:31:36 +0000 UTC View PostEven his minds agreed it was a ludicrous idea. There was a reason the seminary taught different forms of combat in different situations but never how to fight against an armed opponent when unarmed: it was stupid. Even Domitia for all his adeptness had said it.
“If you find yourself without a weapon and your opponent has one, run. There ...
2023-09-26 05:11:24 +0000 UTC View Post“W…why?” Ezril croaked, his attention on Loren. His throat was dry, like a pipe clogged with sand. It made the words come out hoarse. With them came the taste of blood.
“Because your trust was the easiest to gain,” was all she said. Then she came at him with the ferocity of an intoxicated animal.
She stopped short suddenly ...
2023-09-26 05:07:22 +0000 UTC View PostZed frowned as he read the notification again.
· You have defeated [Rolling armadillo (Beta, category 3)].
· You have gained +41 [Exp].
All the monsters he had fought alongside Ash were Beta ranked, category three at that, and they had given him Exp that didn’t count up to fifty, individually. That was madness. They usually...
2023-09-26 05:01:09 +0000 UTC View PostVen dropped to the ground with a heavy thud. He felt the floor depress slightly under the weight of his suit. If his control was any better, he would’ve qualified for a better suit than the one he wore but his mind wasn’t dwelling on that topic. Something else held his attention.
He stared at the carnage in front of him while Shanine s...
2023-09-25 05:23:59 +0000 UTC View PostEzril studied the cassock on his bed. He had a decision to make. Wear the black cotton shirt and leather trouser he always wore beneath his cloak or honor the Lord Commander’s dinner with his cassock.
It is not a dinner deserving of any honor, he told himself.
He returned the cassock to the wardrobe present at the corner o...
2023-09-25 05:14:17 +0000 UTC View PostSeth stared with an open mouth.
Bonus Quest: [The Hunter and The Hunted].
Your missing brother has been on the run. Now you have realized there is a hunter and a hunted. Find who hunts who and render your aid as you see fit.
Objective Passed: [Find The Hunter: 1/1].
The pale light of the moon gave way to the mooring of the morning. The sky was lit blue and was cloudy. It ensured the new dawn light remained a bright blue. Where the moon light blue had been pale, this one was simply blue.
His exit from the shelter was bristled with anger. The possibility of Timi being the one in trouble coursed through ...
2023-09-22 05:33:55 +0000 UTC View PostBattle is nothing like the glories boys fantasize as they grow. There is no glory to it, just blood, and gore, and screams, and pain. The king rewards men who return from it, and shrouds them in false glory. This glory sends boys of all ages into a wanderlust for it. This glory is as real as it is tangible.
Ezril spun on his foot, his Sund...
2023-09-22 05:31:51 +0000 UTC View PostZed stared at the lineup of fallen trees with a frown on his face, Festus’ book of runes forgotten in his hand.
“Am I the only one who thinks this looks kinda very intentional?” he asked, worried.
“No,” Kid answered.
Zed wasn’t entirely sure when they’d started calling this part of the forest the path of fallen tr...
2023-09-22 05:25:38 +0000 UTC View PostAt the foot of the tower, and the grounds of the fort, were smaller buildings where the soldiers lived. Ezril walked the fort grounds, returning nods and greetings from various soldiers. They may not like him and his brothers but they had gone on enough expeditions hunting down the Merdendi hordes together to build a minute form of comradery. In...
2023-09-21 05:49:37 +0000 UTC View PostSeth’s hunt for his brother was long and annoying. He stumbled a few more times from nothing and his breathing never subsided. He had no worry for the cold, the heat of his poisoning still running through his bones, muscles, and skin. The fur coat he had taken off the dead caused him to sweat and he unfurled it from around himself. He held it ...
2023-09-21 05:37:36 +0000 UTC View PostMost people think the life of a dwarf is terrible, and if Eitri was being honest, it was. But not entirely.
The trick to it is that like those not aesthetically pleasing to the eyes—and when he said aesthetically pleasing he didn’t mean the horrendous to look at or those who looked like God’s personal affront to reality, he meant tho...
2023-09-21 05:32:17 +0000 UTC View PostDarvi gave them his unwavering attention as Takan rehashed the tale of his experience at one of the famed taverns near the first tower of the realm.
One year, Ezril thought. The mandatory pastoral year required of all priests in their first year of priesthood, regardless of their class.
The shock had been palpable on all the...
2023-09-19 05:26:56 +0000 UTC View PostSeth paused at the sight of the new quest.
“You expect me to believe none of you saw this coming?” he asked his minds.
When have we ever predicted the notifications? One of them replied sarcastically.
“So this is all a coincidence?”
Call it what you want. As long as we gut that snake, that’s all tha...
2023-09-19 05:18:28 +0000 UTC View PostZed’s back hit the tree with enough force to shake his bones as Abed shoved him into it.
“I knew we shouldn’t have listened to you,” Abed snarled, spittle flying in Zed’s face as he pinned him in place with a forearm against his neck. “You led us into an ambush!”
Jason reacted immediately and the barrel of his rune blas...
2023-09-19 05:16:04 +0000 UTC View Post