euphridia

Book 4: Chapter 55: The True Origin of Evil

“As I told you,” I growled at Aina, “Nora is my best friend and not a threat! She’s literally half the reason I’m here!”

Well, half rounded up, anyway.

Aina flickered, revealing herself as a projection of some sort. When she spoke again, her tone flattened. “I recognize your emotional attachment to Nora. However, her thaumic signature does not conform to this world’s animus-amity polarity.”

“I don’t know what any of that means, but—”

...

Book 4: Chapter 54: Awe, Alarms, and All Alone

This time, there was no feeling of tearing through space. It was as if the world rendered a small, dark, and digital airlock around us, complete with runes floating in the air as if they were suspended code caught in an invisible matrix. However, the first thing that hit us wasn’t the visual.

It was the sound.

A klaxon blared, low, guttural, and continuous, with only a short pause after every fifth ring.

That sound is causing the tremors!

The mechan...

Book 4: Chapter 53: Two Tickets to Paradise

Before I could put together any initial talking points to defend my decision to let Sparkles decide her own fate, the shallow stone basin beneath Relias and me rang out with another quake. Unlike the brief tremors before, this one lingered, its vibrations deepening and rippling outward from its heart. The runes scratched across the stone’s surface began to pulse with shimmering pastels as we scrambled toward the edge, concentric circles spinning beneath our feet. Each new ring turned opposi...

Book 4: Chapter 52: Consulting the Heavens

With a bright flash of starlight white, Sparkles shifted from her grand draconic form into that of an older woman cloaked in simple white robes. Her hair was a fine, fiber-optic gray, with faint rainbows shimmering through several strands. A white opal, about half the size of my palm, rested at the center of her forehead, its light pulsing with the same subtle colors that cascaded through her tresses.

Do I ask about the jewel?

Or is that considered rude?

When there’s only ...

Book 4: Chapter 51: Playing with Fire

The sheer slope of the mountain turned from rock to glass about halfway through my stumbling descent. It wasn’t the slick, tempered kind; it was a scratchy, hastily hardened layer of bubbly slag that said plenty about the range of Sparkles’ breath weapon.

Oh, and speaking of things that were spoken, I would like to reiterate for any party members who are reading this entry that I distinctly told you to wait at the summit.

No, I don’t want to hear it.

...

Book 4: Chapter 50: Prayer to Pyre

Before Morin was even out of earshot, Relias insisted that we stop by the church. The abandoned buildings of southern Atramentis were silent save for the crunch of our boots on ice, and I was already chafing under the thought of yet another delay.

“You and I should seek all blessings available,” he called from behind. “And night will soon overtake us.”

“Every minute we spend here drains Oliver’s strength. And are you telling me the dragon is less than a day’s travel ...

Book 2: Chapter 49: Orders Obeyed

As Captain Morin predicted, the temperature plunged that night, from cold to unbearable. Ice formed along the rigging, with small shards snapping off and shattering on the deck above. The deck itself groaned under the onslaught, each crack echoing through the hull. Sleep wasn’t happening, so I turned to Nora and filled her in on the day’s progress.

“Congratulations,” Nora said with a smirk, still hanging out in her hammock. “You’re now finally in charge of triplets.”

Billing Paused Until November 1st

Hello:

I re-paused for one more month.

I'm currently in the midst of developmental edits for Book 2. Tess Irondale will be narrating Book 2 in her Discord sometime in March (more details to come!).

I also had a short LitRPG story accepted into an anthology and anticipate making edits on that this month. Here's a teaser image:

Thank you to 2025-10-01 16:25:51 +0000 UTC View Post

Book 4: Chapter 48: Urbane Pretenses

To be honest, I don’t know if concern or guilt was the primary driver that led me to seek out Relias next. There was always a vague discomfort about how I had been handling our relationship, but a fresh veneer had been recently applied.

As the frontliner, I shouldn’t have let that tentacle get past me.

I failed to protect the squishy.

“He entered the fray unannounced, attacked from the back row, and drew the beast’s ire,” Raedine noted from the de...

Book 4: Chapter 47: Situationship

Morin stomped, his boot ringing metal. “Sneak aboard my ship in borrowed skins, will you? To what end? I told Procul plain! No clergy meddling in my rigging!”

“I suppose his murder muddled your memo,” Oliver quipped, his staff snapping into his hand with a hollow thump. His robes slithered down his shoulders, flaring before settling around his newly formed boots. “But do let us know when you’re ready to thank us for keeping your rigging intact.”

Mor...

Book 4: Chapter 46: Two Heads Are (Sometimes) Better Than One

While the rising sea monster summoned more of its long and barbed tentacles, I armed myself with sword, shield, and aura.

“I’ll admit it’s no kraken, but a sea anemone? That’s stretching language to the breaking point.”

Oliver shrugged, summoning his staff. “I don’t think it cares what you would call it, even if you did ask.” He glanced about with a frown, his closed eyes lingering on the other entranced crew members. “Gawkers, go to the galley.”

Right. R...

Book 4: Chapter 45: Never Trust Ann

Our first few hours at sea were filled with vague tension. Relias made it quite clear he would brook no nonsense from the twin princes, only for Morin to assign them the very task of keeping a close eye on us. With Nora under the weather, however, it was clear that jamming all five of us into our assigned quarters would do her no favors.

“I’m going for a walk around deck,” I declared from the doorway. “One of you will have to come with me.”

The two ended up calling a coi...

Book 4: Chapter 44: Investiture and Divestiture

Translocation from Fort Turri was bumpier than our last few sojourns, with magical turbulence a mere footnoted phenomenon seldom discussed. Apparently, it has to do with poor attunement of the destination circle to the leyline it’s connected to. As someone who’s experienced it firsthand, however, I suggest we stop treating it like a rare, clinical curiosity and more like a never-event, because it felt like someone tried to pull my stomach through my ears.

I arrived in Borea...

Billing Paused

Hi all,

Today I made the decision to pause billing for the next calendar month. I’m currently managing a family medical emergency as a primary caregiver and am unable to maintain a comfortable writing schedule.

I will continue to post chapters as they are written, as the billing pause gives me peace of mind while I navigate family medical matters.

Thank you for your support and understanding.

Book 4: Chapter 43: Terms of Passage

Relias lifted his chin, and a rather sly smirk crossed his face. “There is only one dragon. Find comfort in the knowledge that Sparkles is a faithful servant to our Goddess.”

I guess you don’t often get a chance to out-info an information handler.

“As you say…” Vulture replied, turning away to rifle through a stack of ledgers on his desk. It only took him a moment or two to regain his composure, and his voice was once again full of ease. “It would seem I hav...

Book 4: Chapter 42: All That Glitters

While I tried not to look too giddy at the thought of finally learning what the rest of the Order of Gold was up to, Nora turned a bit icy.

“Our time would be better spent gathering intel for our journey ahead,” she muttered, folding her arms.

I put my hands together in faux prayer as I glanced between them both. “But… we can try to do both, right?”

Nora pursed her lips. “…If that’s what you want.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Why wouldn’t she?...