King, Dukes and Masters
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One minute, that’s how long the spell lasted. One minute. Most people may think that it was not enough time to do anything within reason well. But to those paying attention, one minute could be plenty of time, or it could feel like an eternity of pain And suffering. One minute. How much do you think gets done in one individual minute.
That same one minute spread across the hundreds of thousands living in the Mountains of Taelaris, and then you ...
2025-04-29 21:07:55 +0000 UTC
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“Oh yeah And what’s that?” He brought his ear close to the boy’s bloody face.
“Nova…. Of …..Shadow…..Sun” he had never cast the spell before, but if he was going to die, why not cast his most ominous-sounding spell, which often acted on its own?
As soon as the words left the other boy’s mouth, Thornan’s entire world went monochromatic. A brilliant bust of shadows making all colours disappear, leaving behind a small black orb that appeared between them.
...
2025-04-24 14:29:09 +0000 UTC
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Clara thought it was done, but when she woke and gained consciousness from her momentary comatose state, she saw Marcus fighting and trying to keep Thornan back.
They had a plan. They were supposed to fight together. “Get up, she ordered her body. ‘I need to fight. I need to help him,’ she stumbled, her hands shaking as she pushed herself off the ground.
Clara knew she needed to be strong enough to protect her friends, but she was also uncertain. Could she really do it? She ...
2025-04-24 09:30:41 +0000 UTC
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The sun was beginning its descent beyond the forest that surrounded the Ashfeilds, setting for the Taelaris cities and their residents. It was gracing them with its colourful last light, a sight that could only be seen by those who lived in the cities of the Third Wall.
There were murmurs and whispers filling a single street in the noble quarter Srok, mummers from the crowd, the watching audience, children who called the abandoned alleyways and spaces beneath bridges their homes, half...
2025-04-23 22:07:04 +0000 UTC
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——
The Sun was setting, and over the week and a half, Ivor had watched the boy. he had spoken to him, and when they spoke of matters of politics or consequence in the wider world, the boy seemed older than anyone his age should have been. He was more informed and could see the similarities between the breadth of knowledge he showed and that of the nobles. Unlike a child's wanting and curiosity, there was a deeper search for understanding behind the questions Marcus asked. And when h...
2025-04-23 20:00:38 +0000 UTC
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——-
It was evening, and the sun that blessed all with its light was on the twilight of its dusk beyond the clouds that covered the world. It turned the sky a dull grey-orange, leaving nothing but shadows for the people of Srok.
Clara had run through the streets looking but now she was tired, as she walked she looked through the dark alleys, asked the men and women who sold overripe fruit on the street and occasionally the street urchins who were fewer on the dark corners...
2025-04-23 13:37:13 +0000 UTC
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Zek had never been one to believe himself strong. He was strong compared to the other children and teenagers. Strong enough that no one would openly call him weak, something he had to thank his goliath blood for. But over the years he spent on the streets of Srok, he could not believe that anymore, and he would come to a realization about the sort of power innate magic afforded those in the Three lower cities.
It had all started when their mother left them alone ...
2025-04-23 07:33:07 +0000 UTC
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__
After that day, no one had spoken. A sombre air loomed over the small Manor, and when they did speak, it was only in hushed tones, their words few and measured.
The tension was thick enough, that a thief with the dullest blade could cut through it, the manor was filled with bitterness and anxiety, that had all their heads down-turned.
Two days. That was all that was left.
And they all knew it.
Gabe knew it more than anyone else. The others hadn’t seen what h...
2025-04-18 10:46:18 +0000 UTC
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—
Eight spells and they were all modified to perform with three affinities out of seven. and if his calculations were right about the Three affinities represented in the spell book it meant Ivor lucked ways to defend against the other four types of magic, and all the four the man was lacking Marcus had them in greater abundance. now Marcus understood why looking in ones grimoire showed their weaknesses.
Marcus looked up at Ivor and he slightly used his Ar...
2025-04-18 02:06:04 +0000 UTC
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Ever since Marcus had found himself in this world, He had not had time to think it would be one struggle after another. he had thought with his knowledge of a modern world, things would be different. He thought he would tell others what he knew--, teach them of modern ways, and they would see him as invaluable, and they would treat him like an honoured guest. Instead, what he found was the opposite. He was a beggar, a scavenger and, more recently, a self-taught magician. And even then,...
2025-04-17 12:26:04 +0000 UTC
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After Victor told them what to do, his dark room covered with expensive looking cloth fell silent as the guild master waited for the large half goliath to speak.
"i can do this job on my own. why do I need those two?" Thornan asked.
"The baron owes me a favor if this is done right and he doesn't want anything going wrong. he asked for three of my best and i gave him three of them... its a show of good will."
Vitctor said.
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It often did not ra...
2025-04-17 05:51:22 +0000 UTC
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‘An archduke.’
An archduke, not A Marquess or a count, the other boy had been sure that Marcus had the potential power of an archduke. And here, of all places in the slums of Srok, were the forgotten and unworthy lived. These were the thoughts that raced through his mind after the boys left his cabin.
Ivor remembered a time when he was young when he was employed by one of the Goliath Clan Noble Houses. It was during One Winter Tide at the estate of House Zakon wher...
2025-04-12 06:19:13 +0000 UTC
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—
The next morning was like any other in Srok. The Noble residents were filled with maids starting the kitchen work and cleaning after the evening festivities, day guards starting their shifts while the night guards left to nap, and coachmen cleaning their carriages and grooming their horses. In an abandoned corner of the noble quarters, a group of teenagers cheered.
‘So he finally figured it out,’ Levin chuckled to himself as he watched Marcus aiming his hands at a piece of...
2025-04-11 22:47:19 +0000 UTC
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After spending the rest of his time trying and failing horribly to activate the other three rings, he had nothing to show for it by the end of his endeavour but for a frustrated look on his face and strained, itchy eyes. The next day, along with the four rings, Marcus had a piece of black coal picked from the fire pit the group had used to roast their meat from the butchery. Holding out the ring, Marcus tried to read the runes curved into the metallic surface, but unfortunately, the letters o...
2025-04-11 20:00:09 +0000 UTC
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When Levin met Marcus’s eyes, his body froze for the briefest of moments. Cold tension ran through his body, and his mind screamed at him to escape. He did not. A dagger appeared in Levin’s hand, and as Marcus took a step towards him, he also moved, and the two met in an exchange of blows.
Levin ducked to the right, and Marcus took the opening, his fist flying to meet the other boy’s flank. He missed, however, having been baited into the opening.
While Levin swayed back and ...
2025-04-11 19:02:04 +0000 UTC
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