Lester Yong & Rosa Fontelera-Yong

CoESC Book 7-23.2: Challenge

“Yuri…you began hostilities already without going through the formalities,” Marron sighed. “I don’t really blame you given your spotty education, but whatever possessed you to begin by using a powerful spell? And for that matter! Since when did you initiate into Sorcery?”

“Indeed! I’d like to know that as well!” Eilis Merill said cheerily. “Nevermind the formalities, they began this without just cause, so we’re within the proper, civilised response.”

“Thi...

CoESC Book 7-23.1: Challenge

While at the observation tower at the southern end of town, the inability to do anything grated at Yuriko’s sensibilities.

With the news a couple of hours ago, the Knights had rushed into their designated positions. Yuriko’s initial part in the defence plan was to safeguard the unawakened children if the attack happened during school hours.

She had rushed back to the school and escorted Rami, his friends, and the rest of the school kids towards the town centre. Afterwards, eit...

CoESC Book 7-22.3: Lightning Strikes

When Colin Gael Foster found out that his nephews had disappeared overnight, he only shook his head in regret.

“The fools. They’ll ruin everything.”

He briefly considered reporting the incident to the commander. If they had been identified then the Foster family would be in dire straits. However, with the coming of the dawn and no squadron of warriors surrounded the compound, he sighed in relief.

What could have possessed them to do this?

Anyway, he would have to...

CoESC Book 7-22.2: Lightning Strikes

It was a quiet evening at the Olde Sweet Shoppe. Yuriko and Heron had just taken their seats and the server had presented the menu.

“Miss Keryn has added new items to the menu if you would like to peruse it?” the young man said with a smile.

“Sure, tell us about it,” Yuriko answered while firmly putting the board on the table. She gave an expectant smile and the server reddened and stammered.

“Ah, of course, Miss Davar. Miss Keryn presents this lovely four-course m...

CoESC Book 7-22.1: Lightning Strikes

Even by the time Yuriko made it back home, she was still flushed. The feel of his lips against her hand lingered oddly, and tingling waves went through her body. The heat seemed to focus on her chest, and even more embarrassingly, below her navel. There was a strange, tingly feeling, too. What had Finan done?

Oh. There was some lingering Animus on her hand. It faded away when she focused on it, along with the lingering warmth. Why didn’t she notice it before? Did her mind get so addle...

CoESC Book 7 -21.3: Breaking Tempest

Yuriko’s Anima expansion had reached five paces. Over the past week teaching, her Anima had inexplicably grown by at least an inch or so every day. It was progress that eclipsed her growth even back in the Kogasi plane, where the ambient Chaos levels were upwards of three iarvesh. Perhaps it was because she touched upon the Radiant Ennoia, and also because of her Radiant Body Refinement. But she was also certain that the expansion was because of her experiencing something new.

The mat...

CoESC Book 7-21.2: Breaking Tempest

Slowly but surely, Orrin Foster’s travel bag was filled with supplies, as well as several notebooks worth of his runescript scribblings. The time he had spent in Sharom Academy had not been spent in vain, and he learned several tips and tricks on how to create, maintain, and more importantly, innovate with what runescript words he already knew. Coupled with his Facet, he had quite the versatility.

And, even if he did say so himself, he was quite clever. In his hands was a cloak made o...

CoESC Book 7-21.1: Breaking Tempest

Finan’s dark green hair, gathered in a loose ponytail, fluttered in the breeze. His blue eyes stared avidly at Yuriko’s and his lips were held in a coy smile. He was dressed similarly to her travelling gear, dark slacks, button-down white shirt, and a red overcoat.

“Hello, Yuriko. May I come in?”

“Uhm, alright.”

Yuriko nodded and stepped back. As soon as the boy entered, she glanced outside but didn’t see anyone else before she closed the door.

Finan glan...

CoESC Book 7-20.3: A Gathering Storm

“She turned you down, didn’t she?” Zeyn asked with a decidedly gloating tone. Heron rolled his eyes and shrugged.

“I said how I felt. Yuriko…she said…”

He shook his head. His memory was worse than swarmfodder and he had trouble remembering the details. His emotions were clear though, and they burned through the fog.

All the while he had put himself under enormous pressure. An unacknowledged burden in his heart. But the moment he confronted his fears and said hi...

CoESC Book 7-20.2: A Gathering Storm

Getting appointed as the school kids’ self-defence instructor was both easy and hard. Hard because Yuriko was technically still a student herself and so, should not have the qualifications or mastery to teach. Easy because she was already a Knight. However, she didn’t have the ID card to prove it, and it wasn’t as if she could display her Anima or Facets as proof.

Judging a person’s Anima strength wasn’t easy for those on a lower level. There were fewer Knights in Faron’s Cr...

CoESC Book 7-20.1: A Gathering Storm

Taking an afternoon nap had never been Yuriko’s habit, so it was a surprise when she dozed off a few minutes after sequestering herself in her room.

Thoughts whirled in her mind, of Heron and his feelings, nearly all of which had transferred over to her mind. If she had examined them slowly, and with dispassionate distance, she would not have been exhausted at the sheer weight of his regard.

He had indeed been infatuated with her for far longer than she realised. If she identifi...

CoESC Book 7-19.3: Serenity

The next day Yuriko was in a conundrum. None of her clothes fit. She’d grown about six inches since she was last home and even the sundresses Mum bought for her back then were woefully short, not to mention tight across her bosom and hips. She couldn’t wear her traveller’s clothes the entire time, since she only had three changes.

More so when she received a letter this morning.

“After Founding 2999
60th Day of Air

Yuriko Mishala Davar
21 West Avenu...

CoESC Book 7-19.2: Serenity

At the edge of Faron’s Crossing, right before the road turned towards the Watchtower, Yuriko, Gwendith, Saki, and Desire disembarked.

“We’ll handle the reports in the Watchtower,” Marron said. “You go home. Rami’s waiting for you.”

“You sent a messenger crane?” Yuriko asked.

“Yes.” Marron answered. Then he looked at Gwendith and Desire. “We do have free rooms at home if you want to stay there. Unless you want to stay at the Homestead Inn? Or those bar...

CoESC Book 7-19.1: Serenity

“Knight Marron, good to see you.”

Yuriko looked towards the familiar voice finding Armsmaster Trevor Byrne making his way towards her brother. He nodded at her in greeting but kept duty at the forefront. Yuriko eyed the prisoners, finding most of them in the midst of a regenerative trance. Aside from Malise, none of the others was gravely wounded, a testament to how the battle had progressed before her interference.

Small wonder, really. Not only were Krystal and the others ou...

CoESC Book 7-18.3: Poignant Meetings

The Threads of Fate must spin to Yuriko’s whim, Gwendith thought, as there was no other way to explain the incredible coincidences that happened.

What were the odds that they would encounter her friends, the very people she wanted to see, a day after they arrived in Western Rumiga? Pretty slim, weren’t they?

Gwendith eyed Yuriko’s childhood friends as they walked towards Rumiga Road. Yuriko chatted with Krystal Farrow Zorin. Gwendith remembered the dark-haired woman back whe...

CoESC Book 7-18.2: Poignant Meetings

Even from a distance, it was quite clear to Yuriko that the commotion was between an Imperial squad and some sort of hostile group. The opposing side wasn’t in any sort of uniform, but the leather armour was quite telling. There were even a few wearing the same kind of cloak that made them harder to see, similar to what Edmund Sevier wore in Synkrasia. That, more than anything else, convinced Yuriko that it was a Federation troop against Imperials.

Ah, and the strongest warrior was on...

CoESC Book 7-18.1: Poignant Meetings

Walking along Rumiga Road brought back memories of the first time Yuriko travelled along it towards Rumiga City. She remembered they passed by several villages before reaching Horswick, but she couldn’t quite remember their names. They sort of blurred together anyway, since they were practically copies of each other.

Take the first one they reached from Horswick, Nirham. If not for the fact that Horswick was at the foot of the Zarek Mountain pass, hence the road was sloped, they were ...

CoESC Book 7-17.3: Troubles

Under Krystal’s eyes, the empty clearing was filled with figures composed of green light. One tended to a campfire set carefully so that it wouldn't betray its presence to anyone within the same elevation. A pot bubbled on top, smoke slowly rising until it encountered something that collected it into a ball and forcefully dispersed. She could smell the woodsmoke lingering in the air.

There were perhaps a dozen humanoid figures, but there were as many that weren’t. One of the humans ...

CoESC Book 7-17.2: Troubles

Faline Millet eased herself on the tree branch thirty paces above the ground. She clutched her spyglass tightly, wary of dropping the instrument and breaking it. The strange beam of light came from the Zarek Mountains, near the pass between the Imperial territories. She didn’t know what manner of weapon the Imperials had unleashed, but she had to find out.

As soon as she found an unimpeded view, she pushed herself up and used the glass. It wasn’t one with a spirit bound to her, but ...

CoESC Book 7-17.1: Troubles

It took everything Yuriko had to force the rogue Radiant light to heel.

One thing that was immediately clear right after the transformation of the inert ambient Chaos particle was that it didn’t hold her Will. Most of her touch had gone to igniting the smallest of particles and that had expanded and consumed the surroundings. The Radiant light was powerful enough to burn the contents of the tent to a crisp, and she was pretty sure that Desire, as a Chaos Lord, would be heavily injured...

CoESC Book 7-16.3: Arrivals

The Implacable Jade barrelled through the Fysalli, dancing along the edge of its Veil keeping the Chaos ship from being immersed into the Waypoint yet disallowing the Chaos Sea from affecting it either.

It made the operation of the ship harder but it cut down travel time by a good margin. Plus, it kept them away from whatever lurked in the Fysalli. This shallow in Chaos Sea, those couldn’t really be that strong, but powerful Chaos Lords and other dangerous dwellers were sometimes know...

CoESC Book 7-16.2: Arrivals

Orrin Cael Foster pretty much hated his current life.

As the only Runescribe in the village, it had fallen to him to repair and restore the protective and utility runescript throughout the entire place. The previous Runescribe, an elderly man with more wrinkles than skin, had been one of the people purged in the invasion. He had fought back, contrary to what his own family had done, and had been wounded gravely in the ensuing battle. He died of blood loss afterwards without even regaini...

CoESC Book 7-16.1: Arrivals

The walk from Synkrasia’s entrance tunnel towards the Avos Court took less time than Yuriko expected. Before, it had taken them two days, but now, despite the upslope, it took them just over a day and a half. Probably since Marron and Saki got a boost from the Basic Body Forging.

She also expected to meet with Avos Zarek to report their success, but only the Stonetoise that led them here was present in the large cavern. Stepanos was his name, and he rumbled his surprise and pleasure a...

CoESC Book 7-15.3: Close the Gate!

Heron Synka Muryh woke with a gasp, his hands scrambling for his weapons and his shield, as he blinked in confusion at a ceiling that was both familiar yet strange.

Home.

He was back home in Faron’s Crossing, and his own room felt strange to him after spending weeks sleeping under the stars or staring up at the light panels attached to underground ceilings.

The pre-dawn light shone through his bedroom windows, accompanied by the cold gusts of the Season of Air’s weather,...

CoESC Book 7-15.2: Close the Gate!

‘Damien, what…?’

Silence from the infuriating man who once again took control of her body without her leave. However, she didn’t feel his presence at all. It was as if he continued to slumber. But that couldn’t be right.

Those words she said couldn’t have come from her. She barely knew how to speak Old Imperial. Well, she could read it mostly, but barely better than Wojan or Ikash. Her second language was really Wojan, the trade tongue used by the Federation, and appar...

CoESC Book 7-15.1: Close the Gate!

The arming sword Yuriko picked up was more than what it seemed on the surface. For one thing, her Anima perception had a difficult time penetrating it, taking about twice as much Anima flare as what it would have taken to see through a stone wall of similar volume. For another, she could see runescript weaving within the grain of the metal, and most of it was opaque to her. Well, some of the weaving had to do with durability and sharpness, as well as a bit of self-repair, which was why the we...

Health break ahoy!

The difficulty with being in charge of our time is that we tend to neglect taking proper breaks.

We'll be taking a break near the end of this month, from August 22 - 26, 2022, as part of giving ourselves regular rest periods to chill and focus on family and other offline concerns.

The chapter releases will resume the week after that, on August 29. 

We are always grateful for your support and look forward to sharing more adventures--and maybe some new storylines and char...

CoESC Book 7-14.3: Secrets

“Maru, how are you feeling?” Yuriko asked as she half carried her brother towards the wall. Gwendith did the same for Saki. Coming closer to the wall allowed her to take a closer look at the runescript lines, and while it did remind her of her own Body Forging Technique, the ones here were…simpler.

“Like something pulled me inside out,” Marron groaned. “And don’t call…me…Maru.”

“Sorry.” Yuriko stuck her tongue out for a brief moment, and her brother rolled ...

CoESC Book 7-14.2: Secrets

Wait, I think I remember it now. Damien said as Yuriko and the others walked down the branching hallways. The override command.

‘The what now?’

Override. The key to any of these public doors. It’s simple really, a pattern recreated by the Anima, set at a pulsing frequency, performed within the override area.

‘What are you talking about Damien?’

How to open the door, child. The man sighed. I remembered how to open the do...