“Baelin?” Alex gasped.
Isolde was standing perfectly still, seemingly stunned.
Professor Jules dropped the rest of the books on the table in surprise. “You old goat!” she cried, her voice muffled through her mask.
“A fine greeting to you too, Vernia,” Baelin said dry...
2024-03-23 21:13:13 +0000 UTC View PostThe ‘tree’ let out a low hiss as it rolled over, regarding Alex with a single reptilian eye.
Knowing how well Kybas fed Harmless, Alex wasn’t surprised at how much the croc had grown since he’d last seen him, which—if he was remembering correctly—was around the time of the Games...
2024-03-22 21:22:37 +0000 UTC View PostThe sound of fire crackling had not always been a welcome sound to Alex, though time had changed that.
His little sister had come to see and accept fire as more than pain and death, and she’d been inspired to embrace its benefits, to consider making cold from flame, an idea inspired by he...
2024-03-21 20:50:48 +0000 UTC View PostAlex didn't tell Professor Val’Rok everything about the Ravener.
He couldn't.
The archwizard left out the parts about the god being the one who’d made the construct, about him being dead, and that he’d engineered the Ravener’s endless cycles. He also left out the hidden church...
2024-03-20 21:01:47 +0000 UTC View Post“It's been too long! Too long! Come in, my door is always open to you. Come in!” the lizardfolk wizard cried. “You look rather bony, have you been eating properly, Alex?”
“I’m pretty sure you’re just imagining that, professor,” Alex said.
“You think so?” Val’Rok ...
2024-03-19 23:22:04 +0000 UTC View Post“I want you to tell them exactly what you told me.” Sir Swift’s deep voice filled the church in Luthering.
A group of soldiers—swaddled in towels and bloodstained rags—shivered as they sipped hot soup, throwing glances at Watcher Hill, Professor Jules, Alex and Isolde. Th...
2024-03-16 21:24:44 +0000 UTC View Post“Are you ready, Mr. Roth?” Professor Jules asked.
Alex was now seated in a comfortable chair in the middle of the lab, his feet firmly planted on the floor. He held the dungeon core between his hands as though he was trying to crush it.
Isolde was nearby, watching the General of T...
2024-03-16 00:25:32 +0000 UTC View PostHidden in a far corner of the room sat a container crafted of a grey-white metal, a material that Alex had never seen before. Glyphs of strengthening and hardening were etched into its surface; making it impervious to even the force of a battering ram.
Professor Jules waved a hand over the ...
2024-03-14 20:48:03 +0000 UTC View Post“It's good to be back,” Alex said, inhaling deeply.
He let the sights, sounds and smells pass over him.
The sight of researchers bustling about the lab dressed in their protective equipment. The sounds of liquids boiling in beakers, and the whir of mana powered machinery. The smel...
2024-03-13 22:48:21 +0000 UTC View Post“Professor!” Alex called, waving his hand clutching the papers. “Do you have a moment or do you have a class or office hours right now?”
The force magic professor paused, looking at Alex sternly. An air of reluctance passed over his face before he exhaled then squared his shoulders....
2024-03-12 23:04:24 +0000 UTC View PostAlex and Professor Mangal stepped into the Cell, locking the door behind them. The room was empty, clean and spacious.
It wouldn’t stay empty for long.
“This is the very cell where you demonstrated your mastery of fifth and sixth- tier summoning spells to me,” t...
2024-03-09 15:20:28 +0000 UTC View Post“If these steps will keep us alive then I am all ears,” Khalik said.
The other members of Alex’s cabal moved closer.
“Alright, so here’s the steps,” the General said. “The first one is what we’re doing right now. We'll be dealing with a lot of monsters, and probably on...
2024-03-08 23:41:08 +0000 UTC View Post“There you go, Khalik, that’s the way,” Alex said, watching the prince closely. ‘Remember, you don't need your tongue to convey meaning: even with spellcraft. As long as you can replace syllables with body language, or hand movements, you're still casting the spell.”
Khalik’s ey...
2024-03-07 21:22:34 +0000 UTC View PostUldar’s body floated before his creation.
All was silent in a cavern where ruined spawn corpses lay spread around the cave floor as a warning to their brethren. Cautioning the living of what would happen to any that disturbed the Ravener’s grieving.
The great orb of darkness hover...
2024-03-06 22:23:50 +0000 UTC View PostAlex, Khalik, and Thundar considered Isolde’s question, each one waiting for the other to answer. The prince spoke first.
“I believe I will remain here in Generasi,” Khalik said. “For the foreseeable future, at least. I want to show Sinope Tekezash, but there is little for me there ...
2024-03-05 19:47:35 +0000 UTC View Post“It's been way too long since we've gotten together like this.” Thundar leaned back in his chair, his arms behind his neck. “Way too long.”
“I agree, Thundar, I know.” Alex went to reach for his satchel, his hand pausing partway. In the past, when they would meet on this balcony...
2024-03-02 17:37:05 +0000 UTC View Post“Are you ready to go?” Alex asked, entering a small room in the Research Castle.
Bjorgrund and Birger were fastening their cloaks as the late morning sun over Greymoor beamed through the window. The two giants looked up at him, surprised.
“Alex!” Bjorgrund cried. “That was t...
2024-03-01 16:43:35 +0000 UTC View Post“This is why I don't like talking to old things who think they're above everything else,” Professor Jules grumbled as she walked down the hall with Alex. “Having a conversation with them is like trying to solve fifteen riddles at once, and their ‘cleverly disguised’ tests are more annoy...
2024-02-29 22:51:07 +0000 UTC View Post“What do you mean I won’t survive my next trial?” Alex asked the Registrar. “Are you talking about the Ravener?”
“Yes, you mean to fully engage with the great enemy of your homeland, do you not?” Hobb asked, his eyes locked on Alex’s. The young wizard met the devil’s gaze,...
2024-02-28 21:53:34 +0000 UTC View Post“Right on time, Mr. Roth,” Professor Jules said.
The slight, white-haired professor was standing outside the registrar's office holding a bulging satchel.
“Morning, professor,” Alex said. “Did you sleep well?”
“Well enough, all things considered,” she said wearil...
2024-02-27 22:33:12 +0000 UTC View PostUnder the midnight air, Alex Roth stood on the balcony of the villa. He looked over the courtyard with a dreamy smile, taking in the sounds, sights and scents of the Generasian countryside under moonlight.
Fireflies glowing in the distance.
Crickets chirping.
A warm wind.
...
2024-02-24 23:46:05 +0000 UTC View Post“What do you mean ‘if we didn’t have to abandon it’?” Mrs. Lu asked.
“What if you could start each day here—in paradise—and then go to the inn from here in the morning,” Alex suggested. “What if you had help, like an innkeeper who could manage the inn in the evening, whi...
2024-02-23 21:30:33 +0000 UTC View PostAlex Roth slowly peeled himself off the golem when Claygon finally broke their hug.
His knees felt like jelly, but it was worth it, he would have been a pretty bad father if he’d denied his son a hug. And he’d seen enough bad fatherhood lately.
“It’s good…...
2024-02-22 21:37:39 +0000 UTC View Post“It’s good to be back,” Alex said quietly, walking through the halls of the castle. The young wizard strolled slowly, one hand holding his staff, and the other relaxed at his side.
His steps were light, his head held high, and—for the first time in months—he felt ...
2024-02-21 22:06:08 +0000 UTC View Post“Thanks for the lift, Mr. Roth, I can never get over how efficient travelling by teleportation is,” Professor Jules laughed, stepping away from Alex. The two wizards had teleported to the alchemy professor’s office from the Heroes’ camp. “I wasn't aware that you’d become so proficient...
2024-02-20 21:06:35 +0000 UTC View PostAlex Roth stood in Uldar’s viewing room, scratching his head, trying to grasp what had just happened. He looked from the symbol of Uldar—on the floor—to the high priest of the god of Thameland, who’d thrown it there.
Had he really just done that?
He would have thought Tobias w...
2024-02-17 18:48:56 +0000 UTC View Post“By Uldar’s beard…” Tobias Jay gasped.
The high priest looked around the empty throne room of his god, his mouth agape and eyes wide. His breaths came quick and shallow, his eyes barely blinked. He was clutching the holy symbol of Uldar that he wore around his neck so tightly, it wa...
2024-02-16 23:15:03 +0000 UTC View PostAlex was surprised at how easy getting an audience with the king had been.
When they’d finished viewing Uldar’s journal, the group had split up.
Isolde, Watcher Hill, Grimloch, Theresa, Brutus, Birger and Bjorgrund had gone to Greymoor, while Alex, Cedric, Drestra, Hart, Merzhin a...
2024-02-16 00:50:19 +0000 UTC View PostThe next few entries were chaotic.
It was clear that Uldar was growing more forgetful. While his body would sometimes look healthier than others, his mind seemed to be fully on the decline.
“I…” he paused during entry ninety-two. He was blinking and frowning. “I…I…I’m no...
2024-02-15 00:00:39 +0000 UTC View PostMerzhin bolted from his seat and fled toward the hallway with one hand clamped on his mouth. He shoved the door open, took three steps and heaved the meagre contents of his stomach onto the white floor.
Alex cut the recording, shaking with rage.
The rest of the room was in an uproar.<...
2024-02-13 22:56:39 +0000 UTC View Post