Sealed in Steel

B2. 21 - Ascended Plant Friend

“Gideon, Viney is starting to come out,” Elian said, shaking the floramage out of his meditative state. “If you have any concoctions that can help, now is the time for me to drink them.”

Gideon opened his eyes with a jolt. He lovingly held the cracked cocoon encasing Elian’s arm a...

B2. 20 - Over the Plains

Elian tweaked his daily routine after they left the Sabyn Mountains and continued their journey to Ohmenstrat. He woke up early, with the last of the stars still twinkling in the sky before daybreak.

As the undrawn carriage rolled along the rough road, Elian sat on the soil box on the carri...

B2. 19 - Portable Ground

“Verily, I grant your petition!” The boy’s voice suddenly turned deep and loud, as if the mountain itself spoke.

The ground rumbled as the Herbalists surrounding them chanted prayers. Reese and Gideon took a step back, wary of what was happening. Elian stayed kneeling as the boy touch...

B2. 18 - Return to the Twins

On the afternoon of the second day after leaving Golden Grove, Elian and Reese met with Gideon. The floramage, eager to administer Viney’s cure, was shocked to see what had happened to his precious creation.

“Gideon, this is Reese Gustall,” Elian said. “He will be—”

“Sto...

B2. 17 - The Third Party Member

Last night, part of Elian became increasingly unsure that they’d survive the darkness. And yet, here they were, several hours later, looking at the sun peeking over the horizon. Elian was with Maveron and Reese on top of the church’s belfry, sitting on the edge of the steepled roof. While the...

B2. 16 - The Desperate Plea

Elian gripped the Warkodon mace with both hands and kept it close to his chest, activating its enchantment to cover himself with a shield made from Energy converted to Health. He tucked his chin to protect his head and also brought his knees to his body. He wiggled to align his position with the ...

B2. 15 - A Plant Connection

“There it is! The colossal abomination heads for the castle!” Reese led Elian to the giant shadow beast that took on the form of a centaur. The horns of its head were taller than the spire atop the town church’s belfry it was passing by.

Reese and Elian chased after it, jumping on the...

B2. 14 - Victory or Defeat

The night of shadow beasts rolled on.

Elian and the defenders were pushed to their limits as the fighting continued for hours. The Grovenians rotated, with Maveron and Reese taking short rests to recuperate. But Elian never left the walls. This area was the main target of the shadow beasts....

B2. 13 - Practice with the Giants

Elian and the Grovenians returned to the top of the walls. They gazed at the smoldering horizon. The clouds of smoke, both from the flames and the decomposing shadow beasts, obscured the hills. The wind spells of the town couldn’t reach that far. But they had an alternative. Archers let loose a...

B2. 12 - A Close Enough Test

Elian’s shoulder collided with the spiked head of a shadow beast bigger than his body. Spikes shattered against his skin, unable to penetrate it. His massive Armor attribute nullified the force of the shadow beast’s charge. He didn’t wear any piece of armor or carry a shield because Lord Gu...

B2. 11 - Besieged by Shadows

Elian was pleasantly surprised by how much they accomplished in half a day. He thought convincing the townspeople to help would be difficult because it entailed venturing outside the walls for hours. The shadow beasts may hate the light, but there had been a few attacks during the day.

Lord...

B2. 10 - Preparing for a Night of Shadows

Maveron rolled out a map of Golden Grove and its surroundings. “The town is situated in the flattest area among these hills,” he said to Elian, standing beside him. He frowned at the squire who handed him the map. “Took a while getting this map, didn’t it? One would think we’d have this...

B2. 9 - A Naked Display

“Look yonder, esteemed Penitent!” Maveron yelled over the thunder of hooves. Elian, riding behind Maveron, could barely hear his words. “See the towers of Golden Grove!”

We’ve arrived earlier than expected, Elian thought.

Early morning of the day after meeting the S...

B2. 8 - Himself as a Wall

“Wha-what?” Maveron stammered at the unexpected answer. “Vanquish the Lost Souls?”

“Can you not understand Angloise, human?” said the boy twin, emerald eyes staring blankly into space. They were likely not working. “I learned it to easier communicate with your kind.”

�...

B2. 7 - The Simple Solution

Ow, that kinda hurt, Elian thought, examining his palm with a bloody cut. The slash wasn’t stronger than the power of his current Tribulation. Far from it. However, the force of the tremendous weight of the blade swung by Maveron’s buffed strength was concentrated on an edge instead ...

B2. 6 - Desperation Bred Stupidity

Hours passed, and Elian and his party continued their climb, joining more than a hundred others intent on meeting the Sabyn Twins of Autumn.

Besides hating humans, the books Elian had read about the Twins revealed only a bit of information about them. The Twins were said to have the appeara...

B2. 5 - Up the Stairs

“Are you the floramage who created this abomination?” Abbomyr softly said, though his voice was tinged with contempt.

“Didn’t I mention it a mere second or two ago?” Gideon drew up to his full height. He looked quite tree-like himself next to Abbomyr. Tendrils from Gideon’s own ...

B2. 4 - Bearer of Dire News

A couple of hours before the sun would go to rest, Elian, Gideon, and the Grovenians reached the base of Sabyn Mountain. There was still plenty of light, but the mountain’s shadow made it appear close to night. The humongous trees, majestic and lush, turned the place even dimmer. The air, cool ...

B2.3 - Equal Reparations

“Why did you agree to their request?” Gideon asked Elian.

They were inside Gideon’s undrawn carriage, following behind Maveron and a dozen of his men. The other half of the Grovenians brought up the rear. They were on their way to Sabyn Mountain after a hearty breakfast of eggs, bread...

B2. 2 - Petition for Peace

Hinter Engall of Golden Grove wore a chest plate displaying that distinct tree design. He never replaced that piece of armor, no matter how battered it got. He was a formidable swordsman wielding shard swords, the weapon equivalent of spell shard rings. The last one to join Yanira’s adventurer�...

B2. 1 - The Flag of a Friend

“Another day, another Tribulation.” Elian Ward, with his Warkodon mace in hand, jumped off the top of the carriage as soon as it came to a stop beside a small pond and landed on soft grass.

Gideon’s carriage was quite large, twice longer and much wider than the wagons of pilgrims they...

Author's Retrospective - Book 1

It has been almost three months since I published the first chapter of Sealed in Steel on Royal Road. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for accompanying me until we reached the end of Book 1. It’s my habit to write an Author’s Retrospective at the end of an arc/book/volume of my stories...

64. A New Destination

Elian had one last errand for the day—visit Gideon for Viney’s check-up.

“Oh, wait. I have another one,” he muttered to himself. “I still need to do my Tribulation. I should’ve asked for the priest to help me with it too,” he added, clicking his tongue in annoyance. Still, it�...

63. The Start of a Legend

Ihadir introduced Elian to the weapons master of the temple, a stout but muscular man with a woven white beard that spoke of his age. “Something sturdy enough to withstand Tribulations, eh?” The weapons masters inserted the key into a room and gestured for them to follow inside. “A weapon w...

62. Taking the Initiative

Stunned silence met Elian’s proposition. None of the priests had considered his suggestion as an option. Even the Magistrate closed itself into a fist and gently landed on the ground, appearing to withdraw into itself to consider the matter.

“Elaborate on your rationale, brother Elian,�...

61. The Debate of the Priests

Elian sighed. “Oh, well. Another penalty later. Going to be tough on my body in this state.” His hands, which were about to reach for the curtains, tingled. “What’s this? A seal?”

He tried to touch the curtains but his fingers met an invisible wall. The priests were aware of his C...

60. Who Betrayed Who?

Elian didn’t waste any time either.

He hastened his climb, flinging himself from ledge to Aether block to statue, and so on. He didn’t care what he was jumping on. No hesitation. No fear of falling. Not that he was going to die if he did fall—he was too durable for that. But it might ...

59. Rush to the Top

The catfolk portal was the yawning mouth of a gigantic cat statue. Thalman chanted words with bizarre pronunciations, almost snarling and hissing. It might be the language of the catfolk. Sure enough, the eyes of the cat statue blazed with a purple flame. Its mouth, a hole of shadows, became fill...

58. The Other Great Calamity

“My meeting… with the Magistrate?” Elian wondered if the crazy truth would be believable to Thalman.

“You couldn’t have been Cursed any other time because that was your first and only meeting with it,” Thalman said, his voice growing stronger. He stood straighter as Aether const...

57. The Priest's Plot

“You make it sound like you’ve been hoping to meet me for some time already,” Elian said. He engaged in random chitchat as he organized his thoughts on how to proceed with Thalman.

“Not simply hoping,” Thalman said with much effort. “I was quite excited to meet you. There are a ...