Sealed in Steel

B2. 21 - Ascended Plant Friend

“Gideon, Viney is starting to come out,” Elian said, shaking the floramage out of his meditative state. “If you have any concoctions that can help, now is the time for me to drink them.”

Gideon opened his eyes with a jolt. He lovingly held the cracked cocoon encasing Elian’s arm as if it were a baby. Bending down until his crooked nose touched the vine, Gideon marveled at the new Viney. “An Ascended form of my creation, fueled by the soul of a magical forest! I have made pre...

B2. 20 - Over the Plains

Elian tweaked his daily routine after they left the Sabyn Mountains and continued their journey to Ohmenstrat. He woke up early, with the last of the stars still twinkling in the sky before daybreak.

As the undrawn carriage rolled along the rough road, Elian sat on the soil box on the carriage’s roof, soaking in the vigorous energies of the Fecund Ground while meditating and summoning constructs. As luck would have it, the Fecund Ground also increased the Aether density around him, am...

B2. 19 - Portable Ground

“Verily, I grant your petition!” The boy’s voice suddenly turned deep and loud, as if the mountain itself spoke.

The ground rumbled as the Herbalists surrounding them chanted prayers. Reese and Gideon took a step back, wary of what was happening. Elian stayed kneeling as the boy touched his hand. The plants comprising the deity’s body writhed and glowed bright green. Snakes of emerald slithered from the boy’s hand to Elian’s arm and around his body, dissolving into his skin ...

B2. 18 - Return to the Twins

On the afternoon of the second day after leaving Golden Grove, Elian and Reese met with Gideon. The floramage, eager to administer Viney’s cure, was shocked to see what had happened to his precious creation.

“Gideon, this is Reese Gustall,” Elian said. “He will be—”

“Storm God! What have you done, Penitent? Wha-what…? Huh…?” Gideon wildly gestured at the Barkskin cocoon as his eyes bulged, mouthing words with no sounds. The three of them were inside the undrawn...

B2. 17 - The Third Party Member

Last night, part of Elian became increasingly unsure that they’d survive the darkness. And yet, here they were, several hours later, looking at the sun peeking over the horizon. Elian was with Maveron and Reese on top of the church’s belfry, sitting on the edge of the steepled roof. While the festivities went on the entire night, Elian decided to have some peace away from the crowd, contemplating everything that had happened.

For hours, he stared at the night sky pockmarked by twink...

B2. 16 - The Desperate Plea

Elian gripped the Warkodon mace with both hands and kept it close to his chest, activating its enchantment to cover himself with a shield made from Energy converted to Health. He tucked his chin to protect his head and also brought his knees to his body. He wiggled to align his position with the giant centaur’s mouth and throat, which were shredded open.

For a moment, everything was calm as he slowly fell, weightless and peaceful. Even the roars of the monsters below sounded distant.<...

B2. 15 - A Plant Connection

“There it is! The colossal abomination heads for the castle!” Reese led Elian to the giant shadow beast that took on the form of a centaur. The horns of its head were taller than the spire atop the town church’s belfry it was passing by.

Reese and Elian chased after it, jumping on the rooftops to keep it in view.

Even if physically fit and extremely durable, Elian didn’t have inhuman lower body strength to leap across gaps of several feet. He had a difficult time climbing ...

B2. 14 - Victory or Defeat

The night of shadow beasts rolled on.

Elian and the defenders were pushed to their limits as the fighting continued for hours. The Grovenians rotated, with Maveron and Reese taking short rests to recuperate. But Elian never left the walls. This area was the main target of the shadow beasts. He had to be there to face the giant monsters trying to break the wall, making the Grovenians' task of bringing them down much safer.

If he were gone, more Grovenians would die. Yes, s...

B2. 13 - Practice with the Giants

Elian and the Grovenians returned to the top of the walls. They gazed at the smoldering horizon. The clouds of smoke, both from the flames and the decomposing shadow beasts, obscured the hills. The wind spells of the town couldn’t reach that far. But they had an alternative. Archers let loose arrows with small shards containing wind-burst spells at the hills.

As swirls of wind cleared the smoke, the next wave of enemies appeared. The hills had turned black with shadow beasts. Several ...

B2. 12 - A Close Enough Test

Elian’s shoulder collided with the spiked head of a shadow beast bigger than his body. Spikes shattered against his skin, unable to penetrate it. His massive Armor attribute nullified the force of the shadow beast’s charge. He didn’t wear any piece of armor or carry a shield because Lord Gustall could only provide him with regular gear. Elian felt they wouldn’t last long with all the tanking he intended to do, and would be too cumbersome to remove once torn or warped.   

B2. 11 - Besieged by Shadows

Elian was pleasantly surprised by how much they accomplished in half a day. He thought convincing the townspeople to help would be difficult because it entailed venturing outside the walls for hours. The shadow beasts may hate the light, but there had been a few attacks during the day.

Lord Gustall’s rousing speech, bolstered by the offer of money, proved very effective. It was probably the money part that did the trick.

“Are you not afraid?” Elian asked an old man with a wo...

B2. 10 - Preparing for a Night of Shadows

Maveron rolled out a map of Golden Grove and its surroundings. “The town is situated in the flattest area among these hills,” he said to Elian, standing beside him. He frowned at the squire who handed him the map. “Took a while getting this map, didn’t it? One would think we’d have this ready near the walls.” 

“Apologies, sire,” said the squire.

“Get on with the explanation, cousin,” said Lord Gustall. “I want to hear the advice of our Penitent ally and ...

B2. 9 - A Naked Display

“Look yonder, esteemed Penitent!” Maveron yelled over the thunder of hooves. Elian, riding behind Maveron, could barely hear his words. “See the towers of Golden Grove!”

We’ve arrived earlier than expected, Elian thought.

Early morning of the day after meeting the Sabyn Twins, Elian joined the Grovenians returning to Golden Grove. Gideon stayed behind to wait for the ingredients for Viney’s cure. Moreover, the undrawn carriage would be terribly slow compared t...

B2. 8 - Himself as a Wall

“Wha-what?” Maveron stammered at the unexpected answer. “Vanquish the Lost Souls?”

“Can you not understand Angloise, human?” said the boy twin, emerald eyes staring blankly into space. They were likely not working. “I learned it to easier communicate with your kind.”

“We’d prefer not to speak in your language, but we are considerate,” added the girl. “That is why we’ve answered your question in the simplest way possible. Vanquish the Lost Souls, and your ...

B2. 7 - The Simple Solution

Ow, that kinda hurt, Elian thought, examining his palm with a bloody cut. The slash wasn’t stronger than the power of his current Tribulation. Far from it. However, the force of the tremendous weight of the blade swung by Maveron’s buffed strength was concentrated on an edge instead of spread over a wide area. There might be some enchantments improving its cutting power, too. This slice was the result.

If Elian had his mace equipped, there might not have been any wounds. Bu...

B2. 6 - Desperation Bred Stupidity

Hours passed, and Elian and his party continued their climb, joining more than a hundred others intent on meeting the Sabyn Twins of Autumn.

Besides hating humans, the books Elian had read about the Twins revealed only a bit of information about them. The Twins were said to have the appearance of humanoid children, a boy and a girl, made of sparkling green vines. Curiously, some books mentioned that each twin could grant a Boon different from each other, while other books were certain t...

B2. 5 - Up the Stairs

“Are you the floramage who created this abomination?” Abbomyr softly said, though his voice was tinged with contempt.

“Didn’t I mention it a mere second or two ago?” Gideon drew up to his full height. He looked quite tree-like himself next to Abbomyr. Tendrils from Gideon’s own plant symbiotes wrapped his hands and crept up the sides of his neck.

“More abominations?” Abbomyr pushed himself up on a pedestal of vine, ending a foot taller than Gideon.

Gideon rai...

B2. 4 - Bearer of Dire News

A couple of hours before the sun would go to rest, Elian, Gideon, and the Grovenians reached the base of Sabyn Mountain. There was still plenty of light, but the mountain’s shadow made it appear close to night. The humongous trees, majestic and lush, turned the place even dimmer. The air, cool and refreshing, somehow seeped inside the carriage. Each breath made Elian feel healthier.

“We’re not scaling the mountain this close to nighttime, are we?” Gideon asked, peering out the w...

B2.3 - Equal Reparations

“Why did you agree to their request?” Gideon asked Elian.

They were inside Gideon’s undrawn carriage, following behind Maveron and a dozen of his men. The other half of the Grovenians brought up the rear. They were on their way to Sabyn Mountain after a hearty breakfast of eggs, bread, cheese, and ale. Grovenian cheese was quite pungent, while their ale was light. The alcoholic content of drinks on Fellenyr was on the milder side because they would often substitute it for water. B...

B2. 2 - Petition for Peace

Hinter Engall of Golden Grove wore a chest plate displaying that distinct tree design. He never replaced that piece of armor, no matter how battered it got. He was a formidable swordsman wielding shard swords, the weapon equivalent of spell shard rings. The last one to join Yanira’s adventurer’s group, he had at that time three shard swords with three stored spells each. Expensive and powerful. Family heirlooms, he explained to them. They let him join because he was an excellent cook desp...

B2. 1 - The Flag of a Friend

“Another day, another Tribulation.” Elian Ward, with his Warkodon mace in hand, jumped off the top of the carriage as soon as it came to a stop beside a small pond and landed on soft grass.

Gideon’s carriage was quite large, twice longer and much wider than the wagons of pilgrims they met on the road. Yet, the inside was mindbogglingly cramped. An assortment of cabinets and crates containing various ingredients lined the sides, immediately cutting the space in half. There were als...

Author's Retrospective - Book 1

It has been almost three months since I published the first chapter of Sealed in Steel on Royal Road. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for accompanying me until we reached the end of Book 1. It’s my habit to write an Author’s Retrospective at the end of an arc/book/volume of my stories. Not only to assess what I’ve done so far, but I also want to share with you my thought process, my inspirations, ideas I want to explore, and plans.

How Sealed in Steel came to be is so...

64. A New Destination

Elian had one last errand for the day—visit Gideon for Viney’s check-up.

“Oh, wait. I have another one,” he muttered to himself. “I still need to do my Tribulation. I should’ve asked for the priest to help me with it too,” he added, clicking his tongue in annoyance. Still, it’d be a good opportunity to test the Warkodon mace.

Entering Vigor Hill, Elian passed by plenty of burnt shops and houses. It seemed that the riots were heaviest in this area. There were also p...

63. The Start of a Legend

Ihadir introduced Elian to the weapons master of the temple, a stout but muscular man with a woven white beard that spoke of his age. “Something sturdy enough to withstand Tribulations, eh?” The weapons masters inserted the key into a room and gestured for them to follow inside. “A weapon with high Attack Power, given that our dear friend here converts into the Armor attribute. I have what you’re looking for.”

“Ah, a mace, how fitting,” said Ihadir, nodding down at the wea...

62. Taking the Initiative

Stunned silence met Elian’s proposition. None of the priests had considered his suggestion as an option. Even the Magistrate closed itself into a fist and gently landed on the ground, appearing to withdraw into itself to consider the matter.

“Elaborate on your rationale, brother Elian,” said Ambrose.

Elian nodded. “No one has seen any Giants on these lands. Or on the surrounding seas. Safe to say that Giants really have been gone for a long time. Their return is the invasi...

61. The Debate of the Priests

Elian sighed. “Oh, well. Another penalty later. Going to be tough on my body in this state.” His hands, which were about to reach for the curtains, tingled. “What’s this? A seal?”

He tried to touch the curtains but his fingers met an invisible wall. The priests were aware of his Curse and took precautions. Would’ve been great if they had let his Tribulation come down while he was knocked out and tanked it for him. Hazelheart could probably just swat it away.

Though Eli...

60. Who Betrayed Who?

Elian didn’t waste any time either.

He hastened his climb, flinging himself from ledge to Aether block to statue, and so on. He didn’t care what he was jumping on. No hesitation. No fear of falling. Not that he was going to die if he did fall—he was too durable for that. But it might all be over if he fell and failed to cover the glass dome.

Reaching the topmost roof of the left-wing, Elian sprinted to the center towers as he wondered where Priestess Hazelheart was. There we...

59. Rush to the Top

The catfolk portal was the yawning mouth of a gigantic cat statue. Thalman chanted words with bizarre pronunciations, almost snarling and hissing. It might be the language of the catfolk. Sure enough, the eyes of the cat statue blazed with a purple flame. Its mouth, a hole of shadows, became filled with a watery, purple haze, different from the swirling blue of human portals. In contrast, Giant portals had a golden film over their massive openings to accommodate their size.

“Does this...

58. The Other Great Calamity

“My meeting… with the Magistrate?” Elian wondered if the crazy truth would be believable to Thalman.

“You couldn’t have been Cursed any other time because that was your first and only meeting with it,” Thalman said, his voice growing stronger. He stood straighter as Aether constructs encased his frail body and supported his posture. The cold lessened as the constructs clamped into place, and the heavy atmosphere reduced. “I asked the other priests if they have led you befo...

57. The Priest's Plot

“You make it sound like you’ve been hoping to meet me for some time already,” Elian said. He engaged in random chitchat as he organized his thoughts on how to proceed with Thalman.

“Not simply hoping,” Thalman said with much effort. “I was quite excited to meet you. There are a measly few of us who the Magistrate has Cursed. Only we can understand each other. Moreover, I haven’t met another Cursed Penitent this early in his journey as you, and so incredibly skilled though ...