“Congratulations on ninth-tier!” Bjorgrund slapped Alex on the back, nearly knocking the young wizard over. The giant’s strength had grown from their daily training together, while his rune now blazed brighter, glowing under the divine new breastplate Alex had given him. The armour was a bi...
2024-01-02 20:16:37 +0000 UTC View Post“I had him!” The Stalker’s scream echoed over the Lake of Ever Ice. He pulled his beard, gnashing his teeth. The squat fae stomped on the frozen surface, kicking at frost like a child throwing a tantrum. Below him, the ice rippled and writhed from his wrath.
Nearby, his mount pawed th...
2023-12-30 21:00:40 +0000 UTC View Post“What tier?” Alex had pressed Professor Mangal.
“Ninth,” she’d told him grimly. “Without a doubt. The spells would likely be Conjure Ultimate Ally or Conjure Grand Gate, both at ninth-tier. The former would allow you to conjure the most powerful of planar e...
2023-12-29 19:25:13 +0000 UTC View PostAlexander Roth embraced the feeling burning inside him.
As energy flowed from his natural mana pool to the artificial one, the new construct blazed, filling him with more power than he’d ever known. He felt like two fiery hearts were inside him, beating as one, pumping blood back-and-fort...
2023-12-28 21:36:59 +0000 UTC View PostAlex pointed to an instrument resembling a temperature gauge filled with blue glowing liquid.
“I've put enough of Hannah’s energy into the controls so you’ll be able to use them, Birger,” he said to the giant. “As long as the gauge has liquid in it, you’ll have enough energy to ...
2023-12-27 20:16:57 +0000 UTC View Post“Whoa! That's incredible!” Bjorgrund cried, shielding his eyes from the blasts of heat. “I can't believe this!”
“Me neither,” Alex paused, “I've got a plan if you'd like to help me.”
“What is it?” Bjorgrund asked.
“I'm going to do something I think I should...
2023-12-26 23:36:39 +0000 UTC View PostAlex and Bjorgrund came at each other at least a dozen times in an hour, each time the giant was moving a little faster, reacting a bit more aggressively.
Alex continued using the Mark of the General, seeing his speed and combativeness increase in bounds. The last three years spent battling...
2023-12-23 21:59:18 +0000 UTC View Post“Are you sure you want to do this?” Bjorgrund asked, hefting his greataxe. The enormous weapon—built to be wielded by golem knights for crushing through the hardest, thickest armour—gleamed in the multi-hued light of the sanctum’s portals. “This isn’t how you normally fight, is it? ...
2023-12-22 21:08:41 +0000 UTC View Post“The Marks aren't straightforward, they just appear that way!” Alex Roth cried, his mind was ablaze, like he was reaching new levels of understanding he’d never known before.
Everything he’d learned seemed to have been for this moment.
This revelation.
...
2023-12-21 21:55:36 +0000 UTC View PostAlex remembered more of his conversation with the ancient chancellor of Generasi.
“So…” he’d said. “The Mark obstructs my thoughts when I’m learning and casting spells, so I need to pay a lot more attention to every single detail of every spell I learn. That...
2023-12-20 21:20:05 +0000 UTC View PostBubbles burbled softly, watching its summoner work magic.
Alex cast Protective Force Weapon as easily as he had Wizard’s Hand, and just like that, crimson swords appeared, rotating around him, shielding his body. He stood wide eyed, grinning, shocked at what he’d just done.
“I c...
2023-12-19 19:37:03 +0000 UTC View Post“Are you dead?” Bjorgrund called through the portal to the kitchen.
“Would I be able to open the portal if I was dead?” Alex called back laughing.
The two giants were stooped low, moving through the portal at speed, eager to see the still living young wizard. Alex was not only...
2023-12-16 22:17:47 +0000 UTC View PostWarning: This chapter is darker
Deep within its lair, the Ravener was screaming.
Loose rock broke apart, rattling, shaking, raining from the ceiling. Its guardians yelped in fear, fleeing from what they feared was its rage.
Yet, rage was not what gripped their ...
2023-12-15 22:47:22 +0000 UTC View PostAlex Roth was screaming.
The energies of Kelda's machine were boiling through him, piercing his very soul with sensations unlike any he’d ever felt before. He’d known pain and pleasure, endured hunger, anger and despair.
He’d borne the shock of a bane knife carv...
2023-12-15 00:11:33 +0000 UTC View PostThe time was near.
Soon, Alex would be ready to take a step that would forever change his life.
The young wizard crouched beside the Cage—Kelda’s well-named device used to operate on her soul—carefully altering glyphs designed to work in tandem to energise the mortal soul. While...
2023-12-13 19:13:46 +0000 UTC View PostFor three hundred years, Kelda of Clan McCallum’s sanctum had been silent. For three hundred years, her laboratory had been dark. For all those many years, no living soul had walked its floors.
But no more.
In recent days, it had stirred, coming to life with activity.
When Bir...
2023-12-12 18:23:42 +0000 UTC View PostNOTE: Warning this chapter has part that is darker than usual.
“Has he found them?” a question was asked.
“Did he find them?” Someone asked the same question.
“Has he found them yet?” the question was repeated.
For hours, those word...
2023-12-09 21:20:58 +0000 UTC View Post“Tell me…do you know what a patch is?” Hannah Kim’s spirit had once asked.
Her question had come when Alex was in a corner of the Hells, within the burning maze of Cretalikon.
He’d frowned, answering her with a question, “Like on a piece of old clothing?” 2023-12-08 20:54:59 +0000 UTC View Post
Kelda—in death—looked much as she had in life.
The young woman was pale and still, yet showed no sign of withering or decay. In many ways, the state of her body reminded Alex of Uldar’s lying dead in his sanctum; both looked as though they might take a deep breath and open their eyes....
2023-12-07 22:14:11 +0000 UTC View PostFour crimson eyes watched Alex, burning from two snarling faces carved of slate-grey stone.
All else lay in blackness; the vicious expressions were all he could see under the light of glowing red eyes flickering like embers. A chilling memory returned.
One of fire, danger and death. 2023-12-06 23:25:53 +0000 UTC View Post
Three months.
Three months had passed since Alex, Bjorgrund and Birger had begun their search for Kelda’s sanctum. Three long months of cold, danger, frustration, and disappointment.
Time was running short.
Only a few weeks remained until Toraka was out of golems.
Accord...
2023-12-05 21:41:17 +0000 UTC View PostAlexander Roth was many things.
He was a wizard, alchemist, brother, a father, businessman, warrior, leader, friend, lover and prophesied Hero. The young man was also a baker, a hard worker, a scholar, and a traveller. He'd been a counsellor, guide, healer, and a helper.
Alexander Rot...
2023-12-02 19:01:08 +0000 UTC View PostCold waves crashed against the rocky coast.
Salt sprayed through the air.
“Merry bloody Sigmus,” Alex grumbled, flying close to the surf. He glared bitterly up at the moon, wiping droplets of salt water from his face, the closest he’d been to a bath in weeks. Looking over his sh...
2023-12-01 22:16:52 +0000 UTC View Post
From somewhere high above, something shifted, tumbling to the stone below, surprising the three companions.
Alex raised his staff, taking the first stance of the Spear-and-Oar dance as Birger reached for a rock from a heavy sack slung over his shoulder. Bjorgrund held his axe at the...
2023-11-30 23:00:26 +0000 UTC View Post“Get my house in order? You have a lot of nerve coming here and speaking to me that way! How dare you address a monarch in such a fashion?” King Athelstan Merciex’s voice rose, filling the meeting room.
On either side of him, High Priest Tobias Jay and court wizard Errol glared at cou...
2023-11-29 21:02:14 +0000 UTC View PostClaygon, at this point in his young life, couldn’t be considered ancient, old, or even aged, and as ridiculous as it sounded, he was still only a toddler, technically speaking. But, in his short life, the young golem had seen and experienced things that would inspire mortal legends for generati...
2023-11-28 21:08:17 +0000 UTC View PostThe frostbitten wind whipped over the Lake of Ever Ice, lashing a small cluster of buffeting tents. The lake spread from horizon to horizon: still, frozen, seeming to have neither banks nor shorelines, simply stretching out endlessly. From east to west, and north to south, one’s gaze found only...
2023-11-25 21:49:05 +0000 UTC View Post“What do you mean you can't stay here? And why are you saying you can’t go to the insula?” Alex looked around, eyes searching the room. “Did something happen while we were gone? I knew leaving you overnight by yourself was a bad idea!”
“I'm fine, I'm fine!” Selina insisted, wa...
2023-11-24 19:46:31 +0000 UTC View PostThe Roth siblings reluctantly broke their hug knowing that their time together was growing shorter.
Alex stepped away from his sister, placing his hands on her shoulders. His eyes held hers. “You’re one of the bravest people I’ve ever known, Selina, and I want you to never forget that...
2023-11-23 20:32:38 +0000 UTC View PostIn a quiet neighbourhood in Generasi—in the wee hours of the morning—all was still. Golem crafting carried on in Shale’s workshop as it always did at all hours of the night, while late night wanderers strolled down the magically lit street. Most windows were shuttered for the night, very fe...
2023-11-22 21:27:05 +0000 UTC View Post