“You recognize the name Ari, but not Achemiss?” I ask, exasperated. One is clearly more memorable than the other!
“We’ll talk about this later. You need to get out of here as soon as possible. Go back to my house and go to the second floor; I have a small white ring in my bedroom. It’s a void storage with some basic essentials in case I ever lose my main ring. Grab it, then get out. Please tell me you have a means of detecting weak spots in the veil?”
“That...
2021-03-24 15:31:02 +0000 UTC
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Messeras is certainly making a case for Ari’s anti-Infinity-Loop faction. Maybe it’s good he didn’t recognize Achemiss’ name. I am somewhat confused by what I’m hearing from Messeras, though: I don’t think that using something like the Infinity Loop would automatically turn someone into a selfish monster.
“How many ascendants are like this?”
“They’re definitely a minority, thankfully, and easy to spot. Now, you’re young...but you don’t seem like them. I wou...
2021-03-22 15:31:00 +0000 UTC
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I decide to try experimenting with the bats to pass the time. I take out a bit of bread from my void storage and hold it up to the bat just above me. It extends its wings half-way and warbles, then darts forward and nearly takes off my fingers as it snaps up the morsel. Almost immediately it spits the food onto my head.
Grimacing, I swipe the food away and give the bat a disparaging look. It clacks its beak and me and flaps its wings, batting its neighbors to gather their attention. Now...
2021-03-19 15:30:00 +0000 UTC
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[ as always, thanks for reading! :D ]
Maria pulls out three blankets from her personal void storage. She drapes two on the ground and keeps the other rolled in her arms. When I stare at her blankly, she gives me an exasperated look. “Do you have any blankets?”
I shake my head.
“Right. Use one of them. Keep it: I have plenty.” She turns to Holiday. “Do you have a bed roll?”
He smiles dryly. “I’m prepared for anything you might imagine, including sleep, t...
2021-03-17 15:31:00 +0000 UTC
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Holiday points behind me. “Dunai, follow the compass to the exact spot the threshold is weakest. Then I want both of you to try sundering it with your hands.”
I hold up the compass and walk a few steps forward until the needle is rotating back and forth. “It’s here.”
“Sezakuin first,” Holiday says.
Maria comes forward and gives me a look. I cough once, then move a few steps to the right, Maria taking my place. She focuses her gaze on the empty air, then pondero...
2021-03-15 15:30:59 +0000 UTC
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The environment astounds me with its monotony. I would have thought that after a few hours of travel there would be evidence of natural formations like mountains and valleys–perhaps even the scars of dried rivers or lakes–but all we encounter is the same flat sprawl of violet-tinged soot studded by black tree husks. The needle on Holiday’s gifted compass hangs limp, unable to detect anything.
“How much water do you have in your void storage?” Holiday asks. While Holiday and I ...
2021-03-13 16:21:27 +0000 UTC
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I’m not sure if Holiday realizes what he’s suggesting. Am I really supposed to trust the Eldemari to create an oath between the two of us? While an End ascendant would succeed at breaking Maria’s oaths, I’d rather avoid putting myself in a precarious position.
Sensing my concern, Maria pulls a sheet of clean paper seemingly out of nowhere. “This was made by me, but I made it weeks ago. It’s a standard life-death oath.”
Holiday’s eyes light up. “Oh, wonderful. I l...
2021-03-11 16:30:00 +0000 UTC
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As I continue to inspect Holiday’s soul, the black snake–who had seemingly been absent since we entered Eternity–emerges from the collar of Holiday’s shirt and stares at me with its slitted, yellow eyes. I have no idea how it keeps sneaking up with me; I think I would’ve noticed the vital signature of a snake on the ascendant’s chest. “You’re searching for the wrong answers,” it says, brushing its head against Holiday’s neck. “He likes to watch people try an...
2021-03-09 16:30:01 +0000 UTC
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[ accelerated release chapter 1/4 (to compensate for switch to 2 chapters/week without providing advanced notice) ]
Holiday scratches at the open air with his glowing red hand. What looks like a small tear forms in reality, beyond which I can see...somewhere else. It immediately reminds me of Achemiss’ lizard construct rending a hole in the sky to block Ari’s attack.
Energy condenses in my palm like oily vines. Fingers coated in talons of inky darkness, I scratch at the air......
2021-03-06 17:37:18 +0000 UTC
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I appear on a plain of desolation.
I sense the lack of vitality before my eyes register it in the withered, depleted husks of what might have been trees. The ashy soil is so gray it appears almost purple in the ambient light, and everything is so flat that I can see far off into the distance until the horizon kisses indistinct, gloomy clouds.
I gaze out expressionlessly, uncomprehendingly. When I first escaped the Infinity Loop, my prize was simply living in the real world, feelin...
2021-03-04 16:30:59 +0000 UTC
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[ Hello patrons and welcome to chapter 1 of the Samsara Crucible! ]
Ian’s knees and palms slammed onto cold granite. He cried out and clenched his jaw as his entire body erupted in pain, his injuries flaring up. Ian took solace in the fact that the Eldemari’s arrival was even worse: When she materialized, the back of her head slammed into the floor. Ian could tell with a glance that she was out cold.
The necromancer’s eyes moved up from the dark floor to take in the cavernou...
2021-03-02 16:31:00 +0000 UTC
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Hey guys,
Thanks again for reading!
Do you guys think book 3 should have en epilogue, or is it good ending where it does now (w/ sadboi Eury)?
If you say yes, please tell me in the comments what you'd like to see in an epilogue.
Thanks!
2021-01-29 17:33:56 +0000 UTC
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[ hello guys! colored text in this one so reading the attached pdf is recommended! ]
“I suppose you can move again,” Ari sneered, seeming to revel in Ian’s distress. “But you’re gravely injured and your avian weapon is destroyed. I’m disappointed.”
I may be injured, but that means very little for someone like me, Ian seethed, thoughts clouded by rage. And while Bluebird might be gone, his whip iced over...Ian wasn’t one to rely on weapons ...
2021-01-23 16:30:01 +0000 UTC
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Hello Peak Practitioners,
I'll be narrating tomorrow's chapter tomorrow at 11:00 am EST (30 minutes before the normal chapter drop). Apologies if that time is inconvenient to people! I'll also be sticking around to talk.
The narration will happen on the Patreon discord. Please comment if you are unable to access the Patreon discord and I can work with you to make sure you have access.
Looking forward,
caerulex
2021-01-22 21:42:51 +0000 UTC
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[ warning: this chapter has a horrible cliff hanger. truly terrible it's disgusting. if the next chapter was completely edited and polished i would just post them as one...but alas. ]
The light was white purity. It curdled and faded into a golden radiance, then melted into auburn sunset and ultimately melded with dark clouds from the city’s destruction. The palace was finally visible, dull grayscale hues revealed as opulent reds and golds.
The Cuna had been cleaved in two, its h...
2021-01-21 16:30:02 +0000 UTC
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“Kaiwen,” Maria murmured, sweat dripping down her temple. “What did you say?”
Kaiwen bowed her head. “Sorry to forcefully end your session, but...things have spiraled out of control.”
Maria hung her head and took in sips of air. One of the Infinity Loop scientists was sitting off to the side, his hands shaking softly with fear. The room designated for Infinity Loop experiments was as small as it was well-protected; just three people in the room was enough to make it fe...
2021-01-19 16:31:00 +0000 UTC
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The wyrm barreled into the first of the earthen walls, its skull rotating like a drill to ease its passage. It tore through, but half of its skull was missing. The bone looked as though it had been ground down by a sander.
That’s not earth elementalism, but Mountain affinity at play, Ian realized, intrigued despite the current situation. His mind flitted to his first opponent at the Fassari Summit, a woman who only had a Mountain affinity. She’d used it to change the proper...
2021-01-16 16:30:01 +0000 UTC
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Ian turned the wyrm around and headed back for Cunabulus. Neither he nor Eury convulsed, solid evidence that they’d shed the Eldemari’s End bindings.
“Why isn’t anyone firing on us?” Ian whispered.
“Because it won’t be any use,” Euryphel replied. His gaze was fixed to the ribcage, his eyes slightly irritated. “They either shoot you down or they don’t. If they fire hundreds of artillery and none of them breach the wyrm’s defenses, they won’t fire; they’ll ...
2021-01-14 16:30:01 +0000 UTC
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Ian had spent the last week preparing for when he needed to kill himself. He closed his eyes and focused on the riftbeast soul gem on his chest, its surface scintillating in the light of the sunset and the ambient pink-purple glow of the wyrm bones.
“When I die, the soul gem is going to keep everything going for–”
“Twenty seconds, I know,” Euryphel muttered, his voice filled with urgency. “If something happens and you take longer than that, all of your constructs are g...
2021-01-12 16:31:00 +0000 UTC
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Ian found himself hurtling through blackness, unsure if the space was just lightless or if the rapid acceleration was darkening his vision. Suddenly he stopped, his head whipping forward. He let out a choked gasp, vertigo turning every movement unsteady.
If that was real, I would’ve died, Ian thought, his heart pounding. Why can I still not see?
He realized with a start that there were small tendrils of shadows at the edge of his vision barely distinguishable f...
2021-01-09 21:33:58 +0000 UTC
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[ hope this one isn't too cerebral. Has colored text so see attachment. as a small recap, this starts with Ian drawn into Coronus Kiehl's illusion]
Ian stared down at his feet and noticed a flame beginning to lick at his boots, turning the soles uncomfortably hot. This is going to be bad, Ian thought, his stomach dropping as his mind involuntarily grasped onto the only source of sensation in the emptiness.
Almost on instinct, he began to retreat into himself, repeating th...
2021-01-08 02:34:23 +0000 UTC
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A horde of airborne constructs darted out of the Death cocoon, screeching in a horrible, grating cacophony. They were misshapen and non-uniform, running the gamut from small birds to flying hyenas. Unlike Ian’s typical constructs, many of them were composed mostly of cartilage with only some pieces of solid bone. All shared mouths lined with large, serrated teeth.
When life gives you sharks...
The constructs carried more shark teeth within their interiors. When they app...
2021-01-05 16:30:01 +0000 UTC
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The duo treaded water before the exit of the rift.
“We’ve prepared for this,” Euryphel repeated.
Ian nodded limply. “I know.”
“It’ll take us roughly three hours to reach Selejo if we’re moving carefully, which we will be. We don’t want to arrive early or late.”
“Which is why we waited a few hours, I know.”
Euryphel pointed to the portal. “It’s also why we need to leave now, rather than w...
2021-01-02 16:30:59 +0000 UTC
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By the time they exited the riftbeast’s slick hide, Euryphel was just thankful to breathe real water again versus the inky blood of the squid. While their masks could filter both liquids for oxygen, breathing blue blood was, to put it lightly, disgusting.
“I think the shift in orientation is permanent,” Euryphel said. “We should head downward and try to reach the new surface.”
The duo swam downward with Bluebird’s assistance. The prince had no compunc...
2020-12-31 21:44:38 +0000 UTC
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Ian turned toward the prince. “What’s the point of them gathering? We’re not going to enter the water.”
Euryphel shook his head. “That’s not why we need to get out of here.” The prince darted forward, tugging Ian behind. “It’s found us again.”
Ian’s lips curved downward. “The tentacle riftbeast? How did it catch up to us?” Ian hadn’t sensed its approach.
“It’s going to come up from an underwater passage,” Euryphel explained. “I also have n...
2020-12-29 16:29:09 +0000 UTC
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[ as in previous chapters, colored text PDF attached; text is bolded for viewing here on patreon. ]
Ian found himself in a world of absolute darkness.
All around him was a heavy, oppressive pressure. The darkness grasped at him with fimbrillated fingers as though trying to find purchase and pull him apart.
This is my soul, Ian realized. He began to ruminate on the words he stated previously: At the moment of death, my strength is in mastery.
Ian expec...
2020-12-26 16:49:03 +0000 UTC
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I wrote a little holiday special that is NON-CANON, I repeat, what follows is not canon material!!! You have been warned!
-----------------------------
“Ian, why are you doing that?” Eury asked, looking up from the glossY’s tactical projection.
“What?”
“It’s not cute.” If Eury tried to get a better look in a scenario, Ian scattered the bones of his pet project before the prince could see...but he had a general idea what Ian was creating.
...
2020-12-25 07:21:48 +0000 UTC
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Euryphel snapped his fingers. “We’re in a scenario.”
Ian nodded. “Let me know what you see.”
Euryphel’s eyes trailed unbidden to the golden arrow sunk into his hand, its shaft embedded near his middle finger. His eyes snapped back to the decemancer with morbid curiosity.
Ian smiled, and then it was over: the decemancer–no, necromancer–dropped to the ground with a thud. The bone floor immediately began to fall apart, sending everything into the dark w...
2020-12-24 16:30:01 +0000 UTC
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Euryphel snapped in Ian’s face. “Focus.”
Ian squeezed his eyes shut before reopening them. “You sound like Soolemar.”
Euryphel sighed. “Ian, we’ve been doing this for only an hour.”
Ian raised an eyebrow, his lips curling downward. “Eury...I don't think I’m absorbing anything. One plan blends into the next. I have no idea how you keep it all straight.”
Perhaps I’m going about this all wrong, Euryphel thought, his eyes tracing the tiny t...
2020-12-22 16:30:01 +0000 UTC
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The rift was a black, watery expanse, at first glance similar to the fathoms of the Jermal Trench.
“What...are these?” Ian wondered, his eyes widening. Hammerhead sharks drifted all around them. The rift variant sported tentacles spanning from the skull to the base of the tail, splitting in two and draping behind like stringy exhaust.
Euryphel darted next to Ian and grasped onto his shoulders. “Y’jeni, I’m useless in the water like this.”
...
2020-12-19 16:30:01 +0000 UTC
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