The passageway smelled like spring.
Rain the previous night had drenched the ground, grass-soaked water trickling down into the newborn tunnel and causing select parts of the passage to cave and collapse. Richard Fiermann grunted as he held out his hands, plying the earth aside to make room for the thousands of wasps further behind. Meanwhile, a squad of Light and Cloud practitioners corralled the buzzing hoard with illusions of light and barriers of wind.
“Finished yet?”<...
2020-10-13 15:30:01 +0000 UTC
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They’re not alive? Ian frowned. I’m too far to really get a good look at them. I can see only the vaguest outlines of vitality from where the figures are hiding.
“Are they puppets?” Ian asked, recalling Yuma Tai’s party.
Wolfien craned his head forward against the wyrm’s ribcage. “We need to get closer.”
The wyrm dipped downward, its sinuous body winding through the air. “Let me know when,” Ian said.
“Okay, that’s low enough; I...
2020-10-10 15:31:00 +0000 UTC
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“Skai’aren,” Lanhui called out, grunting as he pushed through the undergrowth. “Found you.”
Ian turned to face the guardian, his face devoid of emotion. “Lanah’we.”
Lanhui snorted and joined Ian in sitting on a capsized log. From their vantage point, the ocean peeked out through a copse of trees, cyan and scintillating in the harsh light of the sun.
“We’re alone; just call me Voren,” the guardian grumbled.
Ian’s mouth curled into a frown. “Sam...
2020-10-08 15:30:00 +0000 UTC
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The high war council members in Zukal’iss were sitting around the ovular table, sheets of paper strewn and crumpled up throughout the room while a massive holographic map lay suspended over the table’s center. General Hor’well was noting the progress of the platoons they’d sent to Godora’s western border, several small indicators inching forward in real time. Several groups had encountered resistance, but in the minutes and hours following Corvid’s capitulation, such resistance ha...
2020-10-06 15:28:52 +0000 UTC
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[this one is long; tempted to spill it into 2 chapters but decided to not be evil xD]
Ian braced himself for another round of artillery fire, his hands holding tightly to the handlebars of the aeropoint. Ko’la’s hands overlapped with Ian’s somewhat, the handlebars unable to accommodate two hand-widths.
Ian heard Wolfien’s voice sound in his ears: “Everyone, brace for a second round in 3, 2, 1!”
Ko’la’s hands left the handlebars and clapped toge...
2020-10-03 15:30:01 +0000 UTC
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As they drew closer to Corvid, Ko’la felt his entire body thrum with trepidation. Dunai was literally sitting in his lap, turned invisible by his touch. Ko’la felt the man shift every other second, likely as uncomfortable as he was. These aeropoints are not built to support more than one passenger, he thought, his stomach protesting. The additional passenger made the aeropoint more volatile than before, the wind-propelled vehicle spiraling every few seconds.
Mo’qin flew d...
2020-10-01 15:30:03 +0000 UTC
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[made some edits based off of reader comments. mostly just changed the first half of the chapter]
Aside from Por’sha and Koff who were within the manufacturing building, everyone else was on the field below. Ian heard Wolfien muttering almost constantly to Arima, seemingly relaying intelligence to Koff via the assistants’ shared quantum channel. Ian figured that Wolfien found it easier to just relay communications through Arima rather than opening up a channel of his own.
Wolf...
2020-09-29 15:30:59 +0000 UTC
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Ian and those unoccupied by the subterranean threat darted into the manufacturing center, spreading out around Var’dun’a. The ground still smoldered and smoked from Mo’qin’s earlier blast, the air rippling with heat.
Even though they seemed to be alone in the chamber, they relied on a limping Por’sha to communicate: They could never be too careful. While the woman’s torso was still trailed by noxious cuts, she was able to keep up by boosting herself forward with wind element...
2020-09-26 15:51:55 +0000 UTC
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Hi guys,
Based on the responses I'm planning to do a Q&A tomorrow in the morning and in the evening.
I'm planning to have us all meet on discord VC (the "#P VC" patreon VC channel) since I don't have premium zoom. If anyone has any thoughts on where/how we should be conducting the session(s) please say so in the comments!!!
Looking forward,
caerulex
2020-09-26 02:40:29 +0000 UTC
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After Euryphel left, Ian eventually fell asleep, but woke up in a cold sweat after only an hour. At that point he decided to get dressed and deal with a problem he’d put off: keeping the auburn soul from following him around.
Dawn approached, the sun barely illuminating the low clouds filling the sky. Souls spangled the warm, ochre sky like spatters of paint, visible from Ian’s window.
Using a small knife, he made several small cuts along the foot of his bed. He breathed in de...
2020-09-24 15:28:42 +0000 UTC
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Hi folks,
From the comments on the last non-chapter post, it seemed like people would be interested in a live Q&A/hangout session. We could use the discord VC option but could also use another medium like zoom, idrc.
I'd be free sometime this Saturday the 26th or October 2nd. My time zone is EST (GMT -4) so I apologize if time difference interferes with viewability.
I picked a morning, afternoon, and evening time for both dates. If none of these times work for you and yo...
2020-09-23 03:44:00 +0000 UTC
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“I need to sleep,” Ian moaned, rolling over in bed.
According to Hor’well, the business of seizing a country was best done in the light, where there were witnesses: In the shadows, there was only confusion and chaos. While Ian thought a sneak attack would be more successful at night, Var’dun’a assured him that the time of day wouldn’t impact their stealthy entry. She sided with Hor’well, adding that the Godoran authorities would be under pressure to protect more civilians ...
2020-09-22 15:31:01 +0000 UTC
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“The key is conquering Godora in one sweep,” General Milfins stated, his mellifluous baritone carrying throughout the room. “I reckon it would take most of our manpower, even with the element of surprise. Godora’s no push over, especially since their higher ranked officers have glosSwords.”
Milfins narrowed his eyes, his gaze falling over the room with an intensity only matched by the two other generals. It’s like they’ve mastered the art of the intimidating stare,
2020-09-19 15:41:29 +0000 UTC
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Euryphel strained to keep his eyes open. If anyone had a good point, it might be easier to pay attention, he thought ruefully.
“...And so you see, delivering the Skai’aren to the Eldemari is the only path forward that ends well for us.”
“Gaverus...that makes no sense,” Shivin’i asserted, rebuffing the words of the eighth prince. “As the Crowned Prime pointed out earlier, handing the Skai’aren to the Eldemari is just giving her a weapon. What’s to stop he...
2020-09-17 15:25:38 +0000 UTC
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Hi guys!
I'm going to talk about a few things!
Question: Do people want more author engagement? Do you want an author newsletter? Do you guys want VC sessions in discord where you can interact with me/ask questions etc?
I have really appreciated everyone's support and want to do my best to engage everyone :)
----
On another note, the reading statistics are pretty funny to me because it seems like most people read the releases the day after they publish. Tha...
2020-09-17 00:43:23 +0000 UTC
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Lanhui was first to see the coastline.
“Just another hour and we’ll make landfall,” he announced, turning toward Shivin’i and Euryphel. “Though traveling from Port Thumb to Zukal’iss will be another six hours at least.”
No matter how Ian craned his head, he couldn’t see anything but the dark green-blue of the waves. Overcast clouds cast everything in a dreary light, blocking out the morning sun.
“We weren’t detoured too badly,” Euryphel observed, his vo...
2020-09-15 15:30:01 +0000 UTC
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“Diana,” Ian bellowed, teeth chattering as he landed on the ship.
Lanhui climbed onto the deck behind him and grasped onto his shoulder. In a moment, Ian was dry.
Diana was standing on the boat’s bow, her eyes narrowed and gazing out into the dark, mist-cloaked surroundings. She turned and sprung back, releasing her hold on a pair of ropes tied to the boat’s second level. She stepped before Ian and Lanhui, holding out her hands to disperse blessed warmth.
“Thank yo...
2020-09-12 15:31:00 +0000 UTC
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Diana stared up at the yacht in wonder. “You actually got us a nice ship.”
Euryphel chuckled bitterly. “You wouldn’t believe the hoops I went through to hire its crew on such short notice.” Ian noticed the prince turn his way, grinning sheepishly.
“What?”
“I might have made a few promises.”
“...”
The first prince coughed. “We’ll discuss more once we’re out on the water. Alright, everyone, we don’t have time to waste.”
Ian fol...
2020-09-10 15:29:19 +0000 UTC
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Ian and Iucorsu both touched down on the untainted ground on Ian’s side of the stadium. Ian beckoned the expended Death energy to himself, condensing it down into a soul gem on the spot while deconstructing the bone wyrm and sending its components back into his void storage.
Iucorsu walked over to Ian and thrust their hands aloft in a victorious fist-pump, sleek white chassis grasping pink-tinged bone.
“It’ll be good for the pictures,” Iucorsu murmured, his lips barely mov...
2020-09-08 15:30:01 +0000 UTC
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Ian was alone in the SPU’s tunnel-shaped room at the base of the stadium. He exhaled and a stream of bones swam from his pockets to his hands, forming a pair of bone gloves. He first mimicked the design worn by the Breaker, thin gauntlets covering only the back of his hand and the first three fingers. He flexed his fingers and the bones peeled back, reorganizing into a more practical design–one that fully covered his hands.
While playing idly with the gloves, his eyes studied the tr...
2020-09-05 15:30:44 +0000 UTC
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[I dislike this chapter title; please comment suggestions!!!]
[Also, on discord in #tml-fanart, I added two pics of Ian and Eury that I made. They aren't canon because the characters in this story can look however you want to imagine (while in line with in-text description ofc), but I had fun doing it. ]
—
“Good luck,” Shivin’i said, squeezing Euryphel’s arm. The two of them were standing by a long table spanning across the left side of the room; man...
2020-09-03 15:30:00 +0000 UTC
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Ian’s thoughts were stormy. He released Zilverna and the youth gasped, giving Ian a complicated expression. “You’ve gotten better in the past month,” Zilverna muttered.
Ian snorted. “The same goes for you.” Ian never imagined Zilverna would be able to circumvent his shield and force him to use his own energy to defend. If he ends up being responsible for revealing my pre-ascendant status...Ian wasn’t sure what he’d do to Zilverna, but it wouldn’t be p...
2020-09-01 15:31:00 +0000 UTC
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Ian stood in front of Minerva Caffrey’s cot in the medical bay. Caffrey was sitting up with the peak of good posture, her shoulders back and her good hand in her lap, the ruined hand laying off to the right on the cot.
“How do you normally prepare to operate on someone?” Ian asked.
Caffrey tilted her head to the side, her expression focused. “Normally, you draft up a plan for both the Life and Death practitioners to follow. You need to carefully coordinate where to excise ...
2020-08-29 15:58:33 +0000 UTC
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“It’s time for our debrief,” Euryphel said. The SPU delegation was gathered in a private room specially reserved by Shivin’i. Ian yawned, barely awake: it was just after 7:00 am. Even after jolting himself to wakefulness using his decemancy, he felt more exhausted than normal. Perhaps it’s to do with recovering from the influence of the mystery wine?
Unsurprisingly, Lanhui seemed completely fine, the practitioner staying back to participate in the battle royale; in co...
2020-08-27 15:31:00 +0000 UTC
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After a second of blank staring, Ian recognized just who was addressing him: Yuma Tai herself, her wrinkles far more pronounced in person. But it couldn’t be Yuma Tai–the woman wasn’t an End practitioner.
Ian looked around at the others...and found that everyone suddenly looked like Yuma Tai. At once he narrowed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling, trying to see if looking in his peripheral vision would change anything.
It didn’t, so Ian closed his eyes and tried to rely...
2020-08-25 15:30:59 +0000 UTC
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The group set off for the transport array, waited in a short queue behind the delegation from Surno, and arrived at the Tai estate. Ian glanced around, realizing that they’d arrived on an inscribed platform of granite exposed to the elements. His eyes gravitated to the convergence of souls all around the mansion over a stadium’s length away.
Euryphel strode gracefully forward, his thin cape stirring slightly behind him. Ian followed with the others, assuming his position next to Eur...
2020-08-22 15:29:10 +0000 UTC
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Opening his eyes felt like drilling screws through his retinas, but it only took a moment for the pain to vanish. Ian squinted and reached out his hand, running his fingers through the air.
The entire room was filled with round bulbs of muted color. Ian could almost imagine them as globes of water pricked by a colored spindle, dye billowing slowly out. Some raced around, while others bobbed slowly in place; still others moved in languid patterns. He noticed that a large cluster ha...
2020-08-20 15:31:00 +0000 UTC
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Ian awoke with a start, his eyes watering. Fuck.
He stood up and banged his head against the wall, yelping and subsequently growling in frustration. Why was everything so ridiculously complicated? All he wanted to do was sleep a bit longer, and here he was, reeling from meeting what appeared to be an ascendant in a dream.
He tried to open his eyes, but the barest movement of his eyelids was excruciating.
At least he could see where he was going with his vitality vis...
2020-08-18 15:31:00 +0000 UTC
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When his alarm sounded the following morning, Ian seriously wondered whether he should just stay in bed. Rindo’s words, for one, put him on edge: He’d all but admitted his suspicions about Ian being a gestating ascendant. If Rindo came to suspect, wouldn’t the Eldemari?
All he needed was for the Eldemari’s attention to linger on him for too long.
Still, Rindo found me even when I remained in my room, he reasoned. If the Eldemari is interested, she’ll be able...
2020-08-15 15:30:01 +0000 UTC
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Six weeks later, Fassar International Array Station
Euryphel stepped out of the array circle and into the cavernous terminal, flanked on either side by his entourage: Ian stood immediately to his left, while Guardian Lanhui took the position on his right. Behind strode the fifth prince, Shivin’i, and behind him princess Diana. Around them were a nebula of advisers, congressional representatives, unranked princes, and various nobles.
As they arrived, reporters bearing gl...
2020-08-13 15:30:59 +0000 UTC
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