E. Patrick Lacerna, aka Random Mudkip, The Woodsman, Velvet Canopy

B4: Chapter 10: Reunions on the Battlefield

Chapter 10: Reunions on the Battlefield

My tendrils carved through another squad of Kingdom soldiers blocking the main corridor, their screams echoing off stone walls as I pressed deeper into the Academy. Blood spattered my midnight robes, though none of it was mine. The invaders had learned to fear the sound of my approach: the whisper of silk against stone, the metallic scrape of weapons emerging from my spine.

The infirmary lay ahead, its heavy oak doors barricaded fro...

B4: Chapter 9: Battle for the Academy

Chapter 9: Battle for the Academy

I pushed my divine speed to its limits, racing through the Academy's corridors as the sounds of battle grew louder ahead. The familiar stone walls blurred past me, each one holding memories of my time as a student here. Now those same halls ran red with blood, defiled by an unprovoked assault on this institution of war.

The intersection came into view, and I witnessed Professor Kellins locked in desperate combat. His conjured blade of pur...

B4: Chapter 8: A Goodbye, A Return

Chapter 8: A Goodbye, A Return

The first light of dawn painted Weath's thatched roofs in soft gold as I made my way to Antos's cottage. The familiar creak of his front gate welcomed me back to a place that had once been sanctuary. Willem answered my knock, his weathered face creased with concern.

"He's been awake since before sunrise," Willem said quietly, stepping aside to let me enter. "Been sitting in that chair, staring out the window. I think the reality of being hom...

B4: Chapter 7: Antos's Late Night Homecoming

Chapter 7: Antos's Late Night Homecoming

The sound of dimensional fabric tearing and snapping back into place carried farther than I'd anticipated. The harsh crack echoed through Weath's quiet streets like a thunderclap, shattering the peaceful silence that had blanketed the sleeping village.

We'd barely had time to orient ourselves in the familiar dirt square when lights began flickering to life behind shuttered windows. Doors creaked open with cautious hesitation, spill...

B4: Chapter 6: Quite Undeserved Intimidation Tactics

Chapter 6: Quite Undeserved Intimidation Tactics

The moment her mouth opened to scream, I moved with inhuman speed. One instant I loomed over the Duke's bed, the next I materialized beside the terrified girl. My left hand shot out, palm clamping over her parted lips before any sound could escape. The force of my sudden appearance sent her stumbling backward against the doorframe.

One of my dragon-headed tendrils snaked through the air, positioning itself mere inches from ...

B4: Chapter 5: Duke of Further Vale

Chapter 5: Duke of Further Vale

The time to depart arrived too quickly. I stood in Weath's central square, surrounded by faces that had become precious to me over the years. Garrett's calloused hands gripped mine with unexpected strength. Lily dabbed at her eyes with her apron. Even the children who'd once feared my broken appearance now tugged at my robes, reluctant to let go.

"But you only just got back!" protested Clarik, the blacksmith whose forge had once sheltered m...

B4: Chapter 4: House of the Gods

Chapter 4: House of the Gods

The village square beyond the town hall's threshold teemed with life. Bodies pressed together in excited clusters, faces turned upward to catch sight of me emerging from the building. The moment Willem and I stepped into view, a tremendous roar erupted from the gathered crowd.

"No Eyes!"

"He's back!"

"Look how tall she's gotten!"

The shouts overlapped in a cacophony of joy that struck my chest like physical blows. These voice...

B4: Chapter 3: A Very Warm Homecoming

Chapter 3: A Very Warm Homecoming

I stepped through the rift in space, feeling reality fold and twist around me before depositing me onto solid ground. The familiar sensation of packed earth beneath my feet replaced the obsidian floors of my temple. Cool air blew against my skin, a sharp contrast to the sulfurous heat that perpetually shrouded the Central Hellzone.

The woods of my youth stretched out before me, ancient oaks and maples creating a verdant canopy that filter...

B4: Chapter 2: A Short Neighborhood Stroll

Chapter 2: A Short Neighborhood Stroll

I stepped down from the stairs leading from the caldera and onto the enclave's main thoroughfare, the Voiceless Prophet's mechanical legs clicking rhythmically against the volcanic stone beside me. Within moments, a small crowd of onlookers began to gather in our wake, with kobolds, lizardmen, goblins, and other intelligent monsters maintaining what they considered a respectful distance while their eyes tracked our every movement.

Th...

B4: Chapter 1: Storm on the Horizon

Chapter 1: Storm on the Horizon

I stood motionless on the main balcony of my temple, my original arm gripping the obsidian railing as I gazed down at the courtyard below. The familiar sight of intelligent monsters gathered in reverent clusters met my eyes: orcs with their tusks gleaming in the volcanic light, scaled kobolds huddled together in whispered conversation, and lean goblins craning their necks upward in hopes of catching sight of me. Today's crowd numbered only a few ...

Art: Book 4 Cover Art

The cover art for Book 4.

It's Almost Over...

So with the most recent post, Book Three comes to a close. Book Four will be the final volume in the series. I wish to thank everyone here for reading this story; it's been quite the journey to get here! Also, many, many thanks to those of you who supported me; knowing so many believed enough in this project to support it with their hard-earned money makes me proud!

Thanks again for joining me on this journey to tell No Eyes/Widow/Vardiel's tale. I also hope you all will enjoy what's t...

B3: Interlude 1

Interlude 1

My unicorn horn wand trembled in my grip as I raised it high. The familiar weight of enchanted ivory anchored me against the terror crawling up my spine. Words of power spilled from my lips, each syllable sharp and precise.

"Ignis torrens!"

Three explosive flames erupted from my wand's tip, streaking through the air like miniature comets. They struck the nearest Veloth Raptor's emerald scales with thunderous cracks. The beast's flesh hissed and bubbled w...

B3: Chapter 47: In Armor Clad

Chapter 47: In Armor Clad

After stepping through the dimensional rift, I emerged in the heart of the Central Hellzone where I had achieved my ascension. The familiar oppressive atmosphere greeted me immediately, with sky as black as the void itself, utterly bereft of any celestial light. No sun, no moon, no stars penetrated this cursed realm's perpetual blackness. The air hung motionless, creating an unnatural stillness that pressed against my consciousness like a physical weig...

B3: Chapter 46: A Temporary Victory

Chapter 46: A Temporary Victory

I slithered through the dimensional rift onto the caldera's volcanic stones, my serpentine tendrils carrying my twelve-foot form with fluid grace. The surviving Tireless marched behind me in perfect formation, their steel feet ringing against the black rock as the portal sealed shut with a whisper of displaced air.

A semicircle of familiar faces waited near the war table, makeshift furniture constructed from volcanic stone and salvaged wood...

B3: Chapter 45: Stilling the Wind

Chapter 45: Stilling the Wind

The battle resumed its deadly rhythm, a macabre dance between divine power and mortal skill. I continued to weave between Sedna's strikes, my pale white form blurring as I twisted and dodged. But the starstone spear found its mark time and again, carving thin lines across my pale flesh that burned with unnatural fire. Each wound was shallow but persistent as the alien metal refused to let my divine form heal properly, leaving weeping gashes that ac...

B3: Chapter 44: Sedna the Dervish

Chapter 44: Sedna the Dervish

My Tireless soldiers continued their methodical advance through the broken street, their steel forms gleaming under the magical illumination that still functioned despite the destruction. Human defenders fell back step by step, some crying out as Tireless blades found gaps in their armor. My mechanical children showed no mercy, no hesitation; they simply executed their programming with flawless precision. A mage's desperate ice barrier shattered un...

B3: Chapter 43: Battle for Underside

Chapter 43: Battle for Underside

On the other side of the rift, the Underside district sprawled before me like a vision of apocalypse. The transformation was staggering in its completeness. Where bustling streets had once teemed with the enclave's seedier commerce (brothels advertising their wares with gaudy banners, gambling dens echoing with dice and laughter, slave houses conducting their grim transactions) now only devastation remained.

The Dancing Maiden, a prominent...

B3: Chapter 42: Enclave Under Siege

Chapter 42: Enclave Under Siege

I slithered through the spatial rift, my serpentine tendrils propelling my transformed body forward until I emerged in the heart of the monster enclave. The familiar cobblestone streets stretched before me, though I had materialized several blocks away from my workshop. The Tunnel sealed itself behind me with a sound like reality mending itself.

A substantial crowd had gathered around the spot where I appeared, their faces displaying a mixt...

B3: Chapter 41: God of Weaponry

Chapter 41: God of Weaponry

User Vardiel has been granted Administrator privileges.

Limiters have been removed from user Vardiel.

All Inspection Queries towards user Vardiel shall be revoked.

User Vardiel's physical shell has been reconstituted.

Reformatting user Vardiel's statistical data.

I rea...

B3: Chapter 40: Land Versus Sky

Chapter 40: Land Versus Sky

Blue flames continued their relentless descent upon the battlefield, transforming the silent, motionless air into a raging inferno. The residual heat from each breath attack lingered long after the azure fire dissipated, creating thermal waves that distorted vision and threatened to boil the very atmosphere around me. Deep furrows carved through the glass terrain told the story of our conflict, with channels of molten material bubbling within their d...

B3: Chapter 39: Max Level Prey

Chapter 39: Max Level Prey

From my concealment behind a towering obsidian spire, I observed the Apocalyptic Dragon methodically consume the Monument Decapod's remains. Each bite tore away chunks of shell and flesh with mechanical efficiency, molten gold eyes never losing their predatory focus. The creature's feeding ritual possessed an almost reverent quality, as if honoring the strength of its fallen prey.

Questions cascaded through my mind like water through broken pipe...

B3: Chapter 38: Heart of Hell

Chapter 38: Heart of Hell

My tendrils coiled beneath me, hydraulics building pressure as I calculated trajectory and force vectors. The Monument Decapod loomed above, thirty feet of chitinous nightmare that dwarfed even the massive creatures I'd fought in the Hellzone's deepest reaches. Its four gigantic claws moved with deceptive grace for something so massive, each one capable of crushing a building.

I released the stored energy in my tendrils, launching myself through ...

B3: Chapter 37: Race Against Time

Chapter 37: Race Against Time

Thirty-seven days vanished like mist under the Hellzone's scorching heat. We plunged deeper into the wasteland than any sane being would venture, seeking increasingly powerful adversaries. The landscape transformed around us: obsidian formations giving way to crystalline fields, then to vast pits of churning obsidian quicksand harboring creatures beyond description.

I slavishly tracked our battles: over 200 confirmed kills, all from monsters ...

B3: Chapter 36: Fighting through Hell

Chapter 36: Fighting through Hell

My tendrils lashed forward with surgical precision, each dragon-headed appendage seizing a Locust Crab in mechanical jaws. The creatures' shells, tough enough to withstand most weapons, crumpled like parchment between my auric steel teeth, spraying black ichor across the glassy terrain. I didn't pause to watch them fall, already targeting the next wave with cold efficiency.

Casper became a whirlwind of destruction at the swarm's edge. His...

B3: Chapter 35: Free from Distractions

Chapter 35: Free from Distractions

Dawn crept over the volcano's edge as I performed final adjustments to my war frame. The morning's lamp light filtered through the workshop windows, casting long shadows across the floor where my mechanical children gathered to see me off.

This workshop is under your supervision, I told the two Tireless units standing at attention. Maintain order and ensure all systems function optimally until my return.

They bowe...

Announcement: Cutting Back

Hello. As you may have noticed, the updates have been all goofy this month. Sadly, due to my new job, I am unable to keep up with the daily posting of new chapters. I hoped after July passed I would be able to keep it up, but I now see that this is not the case. Thus, I shall be cutting back on chapter updates, from daily to three/four times a week. I hope to update Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (possibly Saturdays, too, when I have time). I'm sorry for anyone who looked forward to reading...

B3: Chapter 34: On a Schedule

Chapter 34: On a Schedule

I sat motionless in the Dancing Crab as Casper's words washed over me. Each detail of Vardin's final stand carved itself into my consciousness like acid etching metal. My mechanical fingers tightened around the wooden table, leaving deep impressions in the surface.

You left him? The question escaped before I could contain it, mechanical tendons tensing beneath my frame.

Casper's weathered face creased with shame. "He ordered me to ...

B3: Death of Truth

Death of Truth

Within my primary workshop beneath the Shattered Mountains, I surveyed my domain with a mixture of pride and regret. Countless workbenches stretched across the cavernous space, each bearing the skeletal remains of ambition; projects abandoned midway as my mercurial intellect flitted to newer, more enticing challenges. A crystalline engine designed to harness energy from other planes lay partially disassembled beside a self-sustaining robot battery core. Nearby, a...

B3: Chapter 33: An Uncertain Future

Chapter 33: An Uncertain Future

With just the two of us traveling, our return journey through the Hellzone progressed at a remarkable pace. Arctur knew the terrain intimately, guiding us through safer passages while I deployed scout spiders to detect threats well in advance. What had taken nearly a month with the caravan required only seven days on our return.

The enclave's silhouette emerged from the black sands like a dark promise against the volcanic horizon. As we app...