“Alright, I need you all to squeeze in a little closer,” Alex said, viewing the scene through the ‘phone’s’ screen.
“Like this?” Thundar asked, suddenly body checking Isolde.
“Oof! He certainly could not mean that, you ruffian!” she complained.
“Some...
2023-06-10 21:07:41 +0000 UTC View Post“Serving a crushing and total victory to every team who opposed them! Leaving devastation in their wake! Here are our first place victors in the Grand Battle! The Team of Terror! The Masters of Mayhem! The Destroyers of Dreams! The team of Alex Roth; Isolde von Anmut, Khalik Behr-Medr, Thundar,...
2023-06-09 21:51:00 +0000 UTC View PostAlex Roth had come to the Games of Roal with two trump cards up his sleeve, each born from realising that for him to understand the Traveller’s power, he’d had to recognise that destination point, and origin point, were key.
Knowing those two things, he’d been able to make Hannah’s ...
2023-06-08 22:52:30 +0000 UTC View Post“And without further delay, let the Grand Battle begin!” The lead Watcher cried.
Magical machinery—each piece resembling a circle of six golden orbs the size of human heads floating above brass platforms—began to hum. Spell-marks appeared on every contestant's hands, ready to whisk ...
2023-06-08 00:49:25 +0000 UTC View PostDays of intense competition had built to this moment, capping them with an event that all of Generasi longed for, the most anticipated test in the Games of Roal: The Grand Battle.
Gemini floated in the air, pointing to the illusion of a low, flat-topped mountain sitting high above her. Her ...
2023-06-06 22:24:31 +0000 UTC View Post“She did it,” Alex sat staring into the countryside. “She actually did it.” His tone was a mixture of awe and disbelief. “I don’t know if I want to applaud, high-five her, or scream.”
“She looks happy,” Theresa craned her neck, looking back at the villa.
An hour had ...
2023-06-03 20:12:25 +0000 UTC View Post“What?” Alex’s jaw dropped. “You can’t do that!”
“I need to.” She looked Alex directly in the eye, her gaze not wavering. “Fire is a part of me, just like it’s a part of Khalik’s mom. If I don’t do this now, then I’ll never do it. Please, Alex. Just let me do...
2023-06-02 21:39:41 +0000 UTC View Post“I waited until the hush of night, just as it turned midnight,” the queen said, her voice grim. “It was during the time of drought and famine in Tekezash, and, for most, it was a truly terrible time. My family’s food stores were holding well enough—we were not feasting, but we were not ...
2023-06-02 00:41:29 +0000 UTC View Post“Mother,” Khalik sounded worried, as he threw a nervous glance at Selina. “Perhaps we should speak of this at another time.” He gestured to the window. “The sun is high, the day is beautiful. There’s no need to darken our lunch with topics that might invite dread.”
“I’d li...
2023-05-31 22:25:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe spark filled Selina with an unusual sensation of warmth. A feeling that arose within her core, unlike any warmth she’d encountered before. It felt as though something had been stirred up within her…surprising her, making her gasp.
‘What is this?’ she wondered, as the spark pulse...
2023-05-30 21:25:53 +0000 UTC View Post“Contestants! Welcome to the Great Land Hunt!” an illusion of the announcer cried, his voice rumbling through the forest. “Today you’ll be tasked with finding a most elusive and charming creature, one some of you will be familiar with if you participated in the Land Hunt last year!”
... 2023-05-27 20:44:35 +0000 UTC View Post“You sure this surprise you’ve got in mind for our competition is going to be enough?” Theresa asked Alex while walking alongside him, Brutus and Claygon.
“I can’t say that I’m a hundred percent certain, ‘cos that’d be a lie, but I’m real hopeful.” Alex strode beside her...
2023-05-27 00:14:23 +0000 UTC View Post“There was blood in the water for a moment there.” Shale shook her head. “Because people are idiots. Now, drink up.”
“Toraka, you still haven’t told me what the hell happened up there.” Alex took a long sip of his beer, the second one bought for him by his business partner. 2023-05-25 20:00:33 +0000 UTC View Post
The timer was ticking down.
The match was nearing its end.
And so was the time for Prime.
Professor Ram’s mana flooded into his spell like an undammed river swamping the countryside. The force construct shuddered, engulfed by its master’s power, growing to twice its original...
2023-05-24 21:19:57 +0000 UTC View PostHarsha Ram was a warrior.
A man who had long realised that there was a governing law that decided everything encompassing one’s life: force.
As a boy, his closest friend drew other children to him by possessing an athletic body, a decisive manner, and a mesmerising personality. The ...
2023-05-23 20:36:42 +0000 UTC View PostIn the past two plus years, Alex had learned a lot about combat. Over time, he’d come to see and take note of how different fighters embraced their own ways of battle, using what best suited them, yet sharing the same goal; winning.
A fighter like Grimloch relied on the might of their phy...
2023-05-20 21:26:48 +0000 UTC View PostPower filled Claygon’s fire-gems, flooding them with searing heat and light. Towering high above the floating golem loomed Ram’s construct, Prime, unleashing a storm of force bolts the size of Claygon’s war-spear.
In mid-flight, the golem braced himself against the onslaught battering...
2023-05-19 23:33:05 +0000 UTC View Post“Alex and Claygon could be in trouble.” Isolde gripped the arms of her seat. “I have never seen a construct like that before in my life. Nor have I heard of one.”
Thundar squinted at Magnus. “Did you see what Prime did to everyone it went up against? By my ancestors, Vesu...
2023-05-18 22:10:27 +0000 UTC View Post“Soon it’ll be us against Tyris and Vesuvius.” Alex rubbed his hands together. “Are you excited, buddy?”
The young Thameish wizard and the golem descended from the arena, chatting excitedly about their upcoming match. Their last opponents—defeated and shamed—were trailing far ...
2023-05-17 20:32:55 +0000 UTC View Post“And the match is off to a rousing start!” the announcer thundered. “Let me tell you, gentlefolk, I’ve seen a lot of things in the many years I’ve been calling these exciting matches! But, nothing like this! We have a golem juggling another golem! Claygon juggling Ultrasteel! Litera...
2023-05-16 22:28:48 +0000 UTC View PostThere were a lot of things that Alex wasn’t shocked by anymore since he’d come to the university of Generasi.
Monsters? He’d started growing numb to them from his early experiences in the Art of the Wizard in combat and day to day life in Generasi. Mind-bending magic? Simply being aro...
2023-05-14 00:07:44 +0000 UTC View PostArtists and poets often waxed poetic when they captured the majesty of a grand battle.
Bards would spend night upon night by campfires, painting duels and deaths with colourful words, speaking of Heroes who rose and fell, proclaiming their victories for all to hear.
When it came time ...
2023-05-12 22:01:05 +0000 UTC View Post“Let’s go, Harmless,” Kybas shouted, “We're ahead by four points, now let’s bring it home. Go high!” the goblin pointed to the sky and his familiar shot from the fog like a ballista bolt.
Harmless soared back to Kybas’ side of the arena, climbing to the top of the cage.
...
2023-05-11 22:10:26 +0000 UTC View PostAlex leapt to his feet, “No!” He screamed at Violante.
The bright yellow ray arced toward Harmless, silent but mighty. The croc struggled, trying to free himself from vines holding him in place. Some slid away, but not quick enough.
Kybas’ wide eyes narrowed. “Death roll!” h...
2023-05-10 21:04:12 +0000 UTC View PostKybas and Harmless stacked one defeat after another against every opponent they faced.
In some of the other matches fought between familiars, monsters, or pets, their masters used tactics to their best ability: their partners circled, feinted, launched fire magic, struck quickly and used wr...
2023-05-09 23:12:59 +0000 UTC View Post“You can do it, Harmless!” Kybas cried. “Swat that bug!”
He chanted a flight spell, and the deadly reptile—terror of land and surf— became a terror of the wide blue yonder.
Harmless launched into the air like a raptor, jaws snapping, tail whipping like he was driving his b...
2023-05-06 20:38:50 +0000 UTC View PostAlex had been right about one thing.
The actions of others had indeed led to bad times. In this case, the actions of Kybas of the Clan Chulu had led to bad times for every single competitor he went up against in the medium-weight division of the Duel by Proxy.
Already, the first bout ...
2023-05-05 17:04:56 +0000 UTC View PostSelina watched the firestorm drake, Terris, lick his master’s hand as master and familiar received the silver metal.
There was flame on the drake’s tongue, but Jasmine didn’t wince or pull away from its touch. She just smiled at Terris, scratching his ear, as though his fire was as ge...
2023-05-04 21:22:22 +0000 UTC View PostKhalik stood on his side of the arena with Najyah perched on his arm. As he’d done the previous year, he stood confident, waving to the crowd like he was on his way to a coronation. Najyah looked poised today, like a symbol atop a kingdom’s banner with all traces of her usual mischievousness ...
2023-05-03 22:42:45 +0000 UTC View PostTo reach Alex’s little surprise, he and his companions travelled through an ocean of pavilions and stands covering the tournament grounds. They squeezed through gathering crowds to get there under the bright, early morning sunshine. The Roth Family Bakery’s tent stood in an alley of food vend...
2023-05-02 21:11:07 +0000 UTC View Post