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

B2: Chapter 20: Year One

Chapter 20: Year One

I sat in Basic Swordplay, watching Copelan practice the same basic strike against a training dummy for the hundredth time. My mind wandered to the night's upcoming delve.

The past two nights had proven educational. Not just in combat experience, but in un...

B2: Chapter 19: Academy Hellzone

Chapter 19: Academy Hellzone

I remained motionless, every mechanical joint locked in place. The silence pressed against my consciousness where that thunderous voice had echoed moments before. My own thoughts seemed muffled, as if something vast still lingered at the edges of my min...

B2: Chapter 18: Non History

Chapter 18: Non History

My final class of the day was History of Humanity's Kingdoms. It was held in one of the larger lecture rooms that seated over a hundred students.

I entered the lecture hall, scanning the rows of wooden benches that rose in tiers toward the back wall. M...

B2: Chapter 17: Remedial Courses

Chapter 17: Remedial Courses

I leaned against the stone balustrade, watching students mill about in the courtyard below. The morning sun cast long shadows across the Academy's grounds, making the whole scene look like some grand painting.

The balcony training section protrude...

Chapter 16: Chapter Houses

Chapter 16: Chapter Houses

I studied the jagged opening, my mechanical fingers tracing the worn edges of the stone. The breach was perfect, tucked and hidden away in this forgotten corner of the Academy's basement where no one ventured. During my time lost and exploring the schol's...

B2: Chapter 15: Rank C

Chapter 15: Rank C

Although outwardly calm, inwardly I was seething. I had thought myself prepared for Professor Shawe's unreasonable antics. I knew that he would interfere with my test in some fashion, but to do it so blatantly and without fear of repercussions; it was infuriating...

More Art?

So I put up art of the mushroom jelly. What art should I make of next?

Bonus Art: Omadzaburik

Just thought I'd add a little bit of art to flesh out the world. Here's an image of the Primordial Prestidigitation, Omadzaburik. I know we haven't met it yet, so, um... spoilers? Nah. It's just an ugly mushroom jellyfish with a planet for a head. No big deal!

B2: Interlude 1

Interlude 1

I crossed my arms, watching my fellow students shift nervously as they stared at the ordered line of stone golems in front of us. Such basic constructs hardly warranted their concern. Back home, our servants maintained dozens of them, though ours were crafted from the f...

B2: Chapter 14: First Test

Chapter 14: First Test

I trailed behind the flow of students exiting the classroom, but soon noticed I was wandering aimlessly through different training areas. The Academy sprawled across the grounds like a small city, with multiple courtyards and practice fields scattered through...

B2: Chapter 13: First Class

Chapter 13: First Class

I stood at the window of my dormitory room, watching the moonlight cast long shadows across the Academy's courtyard. The night air carried the distant sounds of the city beyond the walls.

A familiar blue window materialized before my eyes:

B2: Chapter 12: First Day

Chapter 12: First Day

I followed the group of successful candidates as the Headmaster and his two instructors led us into the Academy's main building. The entrance hall stretched before us, a cavernous space that dwarfed even the grandest rooms I'd seen in my fragmented memories.

Da...

Primordial Amity

Primordial Amity

I stood at the head of our army with the other leaders, my enchanted armor gleaming in the gentle sunlight as we entered Zantas Maladan's valley. The sight before us defied all expectations: no walls of thorns, no barriers of force, no armies of creatures ready to ...

B2: Chapter 11: Bloody Entrance

Chapter 11: Bloody Entrance

The crowd shifted uneasily as Headmaster Reins raised his hand. "Those with formal invitations, move to my right. The rest of you, to my left."

I clutched Mallie's invitation beneath my cloak as people began to separate. The sound of boots on cobbl...

B2: Chapter 10: Entrance Ceremony

Chapter 10: Entrance Ceremony

I sat cross-legged on the floor of my room, surrounded by failed experiments. Mechanical fingers lay scattered around me, their joints and gears exposed. Each represented hours of careful work at attempting to combine Assembly and Mana Manipulation, an...

B2: Chapter 9: Monster Town

Chapter 9: Monster Town

I spent the first few days in my room at the Dragon's Den, performing maintenance and watching the street below through dusty windows. The mechanical joints in my legs needed cleaning after the long journey, and my fingers required careful calibration. But s...

B2: Chapter 8: Kaldos City

Chapter 8: Kaldos City

The wagon wheels ground against gravel as we crested the final hill. I pulled back the canvas flap, my first glimpse of Kaldos City stealing my breath away. The sheer scale dwarfed anything I'd seen in my travels. Remembrance could have fit twice within its s...

B2: Chapter 7: Traveling East

Chapter 7: Traveling East

The steady creak of wagon wheels and clop of hooves marked time as we traveled the kingdom's highway. Each day blurred into the next, the caravan's routine as predictable as a well-oiled machine. At dusk, we'd halt. At dawn, we'd move. The Iron Trail Compa...

B2: Chapter 6: Small Steps

Chapter 6: Small Steps

"Dangerous place for a lady," one of the thieves sneered. "But don't worry, we'll take good care of you."

I kept my head down, my black veil hiding the white porcelain mask that covered the area where my eyes should have been. The sound of their boots o...

B2: Chapter 5: Warrior Town

Chapter 5: Warrior Town

I stepped onto Orengaad's cobblestone streets, my mechanical legs hidden beneath the black mourning dress. The crowd here moved differently than in Remembrance; less flowing, more purposeful. Steel clinked against steel as numerous warriors passed by me.

I ac...

B2: Chapter 4: Sea Voyage

Chapter 4: Sea Voyage

According to Garvis, the voyage to the central lands would take us around six weeks.

I sat cross-legged on the cabin floor, mechanical parts spread before me in a careful array. My fingers worked methodically, tightening joints and replacing worn compone...

B2: Chapter 3: In Remembrance

Chapter 3: In Remembrance

The spires of Remembrance pierced the morning sky, their white stone catching the sunlight. Our carriage wound through the outer districts, past crowded markets and bustling thoroughfares until we reached the central terminal.

My joints creaked as I ...

B2: Chapter 2: Carriage Ride

Chapter 2: Carriage Ride

I counted each creak of the carriage's wheels, marking time as travelers bustled past my window. The shadows lengthened across the leather seats until voices approached, followed by the door swinging open.

An elderly couple climbed in first, their fin...

B2: Chapter 1: Cobb Town

Chapter 1: Cobb Town

The wagon's wooden frame creaked beneath my mechanical body, which was hidden beneath layers of black cloth, as we bounced along the dirt road. Fields of wheat stretched across the landscape, their golden stalks swaying in the morning breeze. I was still as the...

B2: Our Enemy

Our Enemy

"The Primordials each hold sway over different facets of our world. Whether through conscious will or not, these beings dictate how each aspect of existence functions. The sun rises and sets due to one of the Primordials controlling the tilt and rotation of the world....