Frozen at the sound of Soren’s voice, Rylan failed to react in time as the young Thistlethorn scion pulled something off his head, revealing a thick glowband with a generous piece of glowmetal, and took two swift steps to get in Rylan’s face.
Gritting his teeth, Rylan straightened his s...
2024-02-16 10:32:00 +0000 UTC View PostUpon hearing the captain’s booming voice from outside, Zahra practically flew out of the closet.
“Loukas, key!” she hissed, holding out a hand as she rushed towards Rylan.
The young guard tossed it over. She caught it even as she sank down in front of Rylan, gesturing at him to ...
2024-02-09 13:51:28 +0000 UTC View PostEven in the dim light from the hallway, there was no way Rylan wouldn’t recognise his best friend. He smiled as her barely visible eyes crinkled happily at his voice. Before he could do much more than whisper her name, however, her hand appeared before the narrow slit, beckoning him closer.
... 2024-02-02 10:47:12 +0000 UTC View PostAs Rylan’s hands quested blindly over the rough, cold stone floor in search of the message canister, he internally cursed Loukas for his impatience. Thankfully, the cooler was small, and it didn’t take long for his finger to stumble across the small bamboo tube.
He returned to his previ...
2024-01-26 14:17:29 +0000 UTC View PostAs usual when he entered the parlour, the smells of leather and pine momentarily transported Soren to the distant past.
When they were little, he, Rylan, and Zahra used to hang out here a lot during the colder of the six seasons; especially Tempis, the storm season, and Tenebris, the dark s...
2024-01-19 14:09:59 +0000 UTC View PostRylan groggily rubbed his eyes and sat up, the world spinning around him. His surroundings were pitch-black, and for a moment he wondered where he was.
Then the rancid smell of the bamboo bucket hit him, and he suddenly knew his exact location.
I’m in the cooler?! What ...
2024-01-12 11:38:11 +0000 UTC View PostThe moment the library’s door clicked shut behind Rylan, Soren carefully placed down the book he’d taken from his best friend, and let out a quiet groan, taking a moment to rub his eyes with the palms of his hands.
So, it was as he’d feared. Rylan didblame him, and probably <...
2024-01-05 10:56:17 +0000 UTC View PostPre-chapter note:
I mentioned I'd be making some updates to the story last time, and they've now been implemented!
It mostly concerns the first two chapters and the main two changes are:
1. The story now starts on the anniversary o...
2023-12-29 14:09:56 +0000 UTC View PostRylan’s heart practically jumped out of his chest as the lock clicked open. In stunned disbelief, he watched the handle go down. A soft gasp from the other side of the library caused him to lock eyes with Zahra before she quickly ducked behind a shelf.
The only upside to his position righ...
2023-12-22 13:32:02 +0000 UTC View PostRylan’s stomach twisted and roiled as he snuck down to the basement of the servants’ quarters. Zahra was right in front of him, a coil of rope hidden beneath the once-white apron she wore over her livery.
“This is crazy,” Zahra whispered to him the second he reached the bot...
2023-12-15 14:16:20 +0000 UTC View Post“Do I really want to know how long it’ll take to clear your debt? Sure,” Seth replied easily. “Why? Is it going to be some big, shocking—”
“Twenty-three years, at the current rate.”
Seth swore as he nearly fumbled his bamboo crate. “What?!”
“My pay covers h...
2023-12-08 11:14:00 +0000 UTC View PostThe brickwork tunnels below the Thistlethorn estate were narrow and cramped, and the fog that flowed through them smelled permanently of rotting mistweed.
And these were just some of the things Rylan disliked about carrying out fog-condenser mainte...
2023-12-01 13:15:47 +0000 UTC View PostSo far, all of Loudmouth’s plans had gone off without a hitch, but now, for the first time, he was stumped. While he was confident in defeating any warrior in single combat after Friend Alec’s excellent training, there was no such thing as ‘single combat’ when it came to Starmother, who w...
2023-11-24 08:16:54 +0000 UTC View PostThings changed drastically for Loudmouth after that night. It turned out, their goal had been to make the audience laugh all along. Who knew!
And the problem, had been Mister Lyrack.
The truth was, the Peilor had been stifling Loudmouth’s natural comedic talent, rather than letting ...
2023-11-17 14:05:07 +0000 UTC View PostEven though Loudmouth wished his Friends would stay more than anything he’d ever wished, he understood that they couldn’t, not if they were to defeat the evil Peilor. And so, despite the pain in his heroic heart, he offered to help in any way he could.
As it turned out, th...
2023-11-10 09:55:28 +0000 UTC View PostDespite all the scary stories Loudmouth had been told about the humans, he definitely wasn’t scared at all. Puffing out his chest, he strode out of the bushes.
“Humans!” he croaked loudly, “Prepare to face Loudmouth in honourable combat!”
The thought of striking some kind of...
2023-11-03 12:48:00 +0000 UTC View PostCHAPTER 1 The Birth of a Hero Before Loudmouth was born, nothing interesting or noteworthy ever happened in the village, so the Hoig who liv
Before Loudmouth was born, nothing interesting or noteworthy ever happened in the village, so the Hoig w...
2023-10-27 08:16:30 +0000 UTC View PostVery nigh, in fact. I have five more posts lined up for Tier 3 and up. That's chapters 312-315, and the epilogue.
The Whispering Crystals is about to come to an end.
Which of course begs the question: What's next?
Well, for starters, I'm working on a short story about L...
2023-09-29 09:36:09 +0000 UTC View PostThe moment I spot what I presume to be Starmother’s original body, her host looking out at the expanding ball of Astreum through the Final Hub’s transparent front wall, I signal the others with a flash of pink.
Then I prompt Alec to point at her, and without further communication, we al...
2023-09-22 09:50:59 +0000 UTC View PostThe black, owl-shaped whistle feels cool to Kaitlynn’s lips as she blows on it. The shrill sound it produces in no way resembles the cry of an actual owl, but that probably doesn’t matter anyway.
What matters is the tangible wave of Espir that erupts from the whistle, spreading in every...
2023-09-18 09:13:34 +0000 UTC View Post“Warptunnel stability at ninety-six percent,” the captured Peilor who I’ve tasked with keeping me informed chimes with a tremor in her voice.
I’m hovering in spiritform next to Alec, now in the Command Centre, having left communications behind in the capable hands of Trisha. After a...
2023-09-15 13:06:34 +0000 UTC View PostOur bad luck started off strong. We got up at 5 a.m. on Saturday, went to the airport, and... found out that our flight had a three-hour delay.
Fantastic.
Then, right around when we finally boarded the plane, we got a message from the guesthouse we were going to stay at...
2023-09-12 14:14:12 +0000 UTC View PostTime is a funny thing.
To Kaitlynn, the trial seems unending. Eternal. An endless parade of ‘witnesses’ are called to the stand where they are asked a strange mix of questions, ranging from the vague, seemingly irrelevant, to the strangely confrontational, to the downright ludicrous. 2023-09-12 13:48:49 +0000 UTC View Post
Because I'll still be in London on Monday. ;)
2023-09-08 08:57:21 +0000 UTC View PostSo far, so good. Could this guy move any slower though?
I try not to show my impatience as I float Alec after our guide, deeper into the Voidcannon’s bowels. While I’m confident we’re still on schedule, I really don’t want to risk any delays in our plan.
...
2023-09-08 08:56:12 +0000 UTC View PostThe big black castle they’re infiltrating this time looks weird to Loudmouth. It doesn’t have parapets, for starters. Also, the guards are just hanging around it rather than standing on top, for some reason.
Well, perhaps they also felt it would be awkward to stand on top when there are...
2023-09-04 09:50:32 +0000 UTC View PostThe blue scale mail armour that Alec made glints in the light of Big Bortha... for about three minutes, before we cover it all with grey cloth, dyed in the precise tint of the Starshade Syndicate.
That includes our helmets, which have even been fitted with grey masks. After all, we want to ...
2023-09-01 10:52:22 +0000 UTC View Post“A choice?” Kaitlynn asks, a frown on her avatar’s glowing face. “What choice do I have?”
“Well,” I start, “we’ve been talking to Yog. Officially, your trial is in two days, however, he could probably figure out a way to get it postponed until after the operation,...
2023-08-28 11:52:02 +0000 UTC View PostPre-chapter author's note:
Just a quick FYI: I've decided to name the organisation Sudo's a part of the Starshade Syndicate. I'll be editing that name in retroactively, as it doesn't make sense to reveal it this late, so I figured I'd give a heads-up. ;) 2023-08-25 10:31:49 +0000 UTC View Post
The days that follow string together—as they tend to when you don’t sleep—into a blur of preparations.
Alec finishes his new armours, and they look sick. They’re still blue and scaley, but this time—with a little help from Farouq—they’re made of lacquered Darksteel, rather tha...
2023-08-21 09:14:37 +0000 UTC View Post