Flavia Vin fidgeted behind her desk as she desperately tried to forget the hills of paperwork, not quite tall enough to be considered mountains, in front of her. She did so in the way she had been taught growing up, without any movements of her body or any nervousness reaching her face.
The kind of fidgeting only possible if you get beaten for appearing to not pay attention t...
2023-11-03 02:27:05 +0000 UTC View PostLeif forced himself to look away from the dozens of terrified faces that stared in horror at the retreating Empire’s Mercy. Far below, the wreckage of the bisected skimmers smashed into the rocky ground, they splintered and sparked at the impact, the sound echoing up like a haunting, dissonant melody.
The single surviving smaller skimmer cast off from the side of the bluff....
2023-10-20 06:44:42 +0000 UTC View PostIn the skies above Far-reach a formian princess fought to kill. No longer was it good enough to simply keep the humans away from her sire. The very last of her family was now actively participating in the slaughter below, X couldn’t let her opponents have an opportunity to strike out against her.
And so she fought, fending off three fighters while actively going for the kil...
2023-10-18 06:55:37 +0000 UTC View PostA team of three imperial thaumaturges cleared the street wide stone arch with wind and heat controlling skills as streams of people moved to where the three sky skimmers were hastily being pulled around the sides of the bluff. On the side Leif was standing, a temporary barricade was being hastily erected.
The undead still rushed through the outpost in a near continuous stream...
2023-10-16 06:09:52 +0000 UTC View PostKaan Alfredi, commander of the Ahle-ho garrison, captain of the Empire’s Mercy, bondmate of an ancient guardian, and grandfather to forty seven grandchildren made the sky weep at his approach.
He hung in the sky, as if the very air was capable of supporting his greatness. His well oiled moustache and beard remained perfectly still, despite the chaotic lashes of wind and rai...
2023-10-15 06:34:22 +0000 UTC View PostThe stormfront rolled in as the walls were abandoned. Carts, crates and debris were pulled into makeshift barriers to stem the undead’s advance through the winding streets. Leif ducked behind one such barrier as it was closed off, the soldiers didn’t give him a second glance.
His cloak hung heavy on his shoulders, the rain soaked fabric partially restricting his movements. ...
2023-10-13 05:53:30 +0000 UTC View PostOr rather, he was about to do something stupid. As he stepped up onto the sharpened wooden parapet a deafening roar split the battle. The undead seemed to shy back, recoiling from the sound as if in terror.
Many of the defending humans flinched, several clasping hands over their ears as the near deafening wave of sound buffeted them. All eyes turned to the burning sky. For a ...
2023-10-11 06:02:38 +0000 UTC View PostUndead streamed up the hill in a near continuous tide. Some were skeletal, almost fragile looking. Others were still possessing their skin, muscles or fur. Beasts, goblins and bizarre mixes of both met a hail of skills and weapon propelled missiles.
A screech split the air as row after row of undead fell, only for their place to be filled. Intermittently blue light would coal...
2023-10-09 05:49:07 +0000 UTC View PostThe dawn broke, the sun lighting up the underside of a blanket of wispy clouds, causing the sky to burn as if aflame. Then turbulence asserted itself, and smoke began to rise up from the layer of white and grey.
The condensed water vapour hanging above the world burned like the warmth of a hearth. The awe inspiring sight did little to revitalise the defenders of Far-Reach. Th...
2023-10-08 05:31:13 +0000 UTC View PostThe smell in the air was sterile and clean. The scent of blood and sweat mixed with medicinal balms and clean bandages. There was a pervasive sense of barely contained panic as the number of critically injured had begun to climb.
Climb, that was, until Leif got to work.
“Heal.”
The command resonated through the tent, the very world stirring at...
2023-10-06 05:50:06 +0000 UTC View PostThe slopes fronting the imperial outpost became still. Smoke rose in faint wisps where blasts from skills had scorched the hillside or ignited abandoned fields.
Among this smoke rose motes of amber light. Leif hissed out a long breath as he allowed his limbs to finally dissipate. Around him the few remaining sentinels, cracked and breaking apart faded away, white light mixing...
2023-10-04 05:16:57 +0000 UTC View PostA behemoth of twisted flesh and bone lumbered towards the imperial outpost. Each step shook the earth beneath its colossal legs. It wasn’t the first of its kind to approach the fortifications. But unlike the last time such a monster had threatened the outpost, the imperial defenders were run ragged from exhaustion and skill overuse.
On the battlements, soldiers scrambled to...
2023-10-02 05:44:32 +0000 UTC View PostSoldiers fought atop palisade walls built barely a month earlier. Undead shambled, ran and prowled towards the encampment. Few could ascend the three metre high fortifications, clumping up at the base of the wall and ineffectually battering the defences.
But some could, and those were the true threats in this battle. A large monkey-like creature used the shoulders of the weak...
2023-10-01 05:59:37 +0000 UTC View PostLeif put a golden fist through the skull of what had once been an evolved wolf. The monster, rotting and twisted, perished with a low gurgling growl. Overhead streaks of white light flashed, each targeting undead too far away for anyone else within the expedition to even have a chance of hitting.
From over a hill another group of undead of all different shapes and sizes came ...
2023-09-29 05:16:06 +0000 UTC View PostA flock of Highland Runners crested a distant hill. Their shrill cawing split the morning air. The caravan was in full momentum, they had awoken early and set off as fast as possible.
The world was gaining an almost dark and malevolent cast. And it wasn’t due to turbulence. Everything was fleeing south before an ever encroaching threat.
When the sun was hanging far ov...
2023-09-27 05:39:57 +0000 UTC View PostThe wind picked up, it rustled leaves and billowed clothing. The sound was not that of a raging gale, instead the wind possessed an almost shrill melody. In the distance, motes of purple and red fluttered up from the earth. Specs of bioluminescent light reaching for the sky.
An arrow of light streaked through the night. It impacted the side of a grassy hill with a thud. An in...
2023-09-25 05:07:26 +0000 UTC View PostThe word hung in the air, the sound seeming to come from all around, not just Leif’s mouth. Then something shifted, power built up in his hand, rising with every moment. Leif felt the well of power within him drain at an alarming rate, he had been so focused on getting his command to work he hadn’t limited the draw.
White light with dancing specs o...
2023-09-24 05:20:15 +0000 UTC View PostKala had told Leif he should read through the introductory chapters of ‘a novice’s guide to restoration’ before picking his newest skills. When Leif had told her the skills would be automatically selected by the system in several hours her reply had simply been: “Read quickly then.”
The convoy had set up camp for the evening, everyone on much higher alert than the night before. ...
2023-09-22 05:27:32 +0000 UTC View PostTwo hours later the expedition and nomad clan were on the move. Surprisingly there had been zero fatalities. The monsters had seemingly been more interested in disabling and stealing their potential victims than they were killing, and those who did sustain life threatening injuries had been healed in time.
Six people had been carried off into the night, but they had been save...
2023-09-20 05:12:22 +0000 UTC View PostLevel up! Class [Forest Deer] is now level 10!
For being the reason your herd was alert and ready, leading to them surviving an ambush you have gained a level!
+1 to [Alacrity]!
Congratulations! You have reached the level cap for your [Forest Deer] class! Would you like to evolve? Y/N
...
2023-09-18 06:11:33 +0000 UTC View PostHeat built under Leif’s bark and every muscle went tense. The paralysing cold was shunted to the side, his body regaining control. But that wasn’t all. Far from it.
All over his body his plant-like nature became clearly apparent. Red leaves bloomed where newly growing branches shot from his back and arms. The wooden spikes outlining the crown of his head rapidly lengthene...
2023-09-17 05:06:23 +0000 UTC View PostAn arrow of light was fired from atop the hill where the nomad camp was situated. It flew in a high arc, a radiant streak of white that illuminated the night like a personal star.
For the brief instant it hung at the peak of its arc, everything came into sight.
The panicking, half asleep expedition camp. Several of its members too young to be considered adults. Several ...
2023-09-15 05:03:12 +0000 UTC View Post===
Countdown to disaster: Ten minutes.
===
Johan dreamt of home. Of the canyon walls the size of mountains, the washed out rainbow colour dividing the hundreds of rock layers, each an indication of times long lost as the years went by.
He dreamt of the rolling dunes and hanging petrified forests, he dreamt of the people, hardy but always smiling. And he dre...
2023-09-13 05:04:51 +0000 UTC View PostThe conversation continued with Liv and Samil speculating about the strength of their respective monstrous ancestors. Leif tuned them both out, not on purpose, he was simply too distracted.
Marcus waddled over, more than a little tipsy. He started complaining about how: “Arcane formulas should just get along.” It seemed like nonsense and after a minute he was dragged away...
2023-09-11 06:02:20 +0000 UTC View PostLeif felt the attention on him, like gusts of wind constantly poking at his soul. Actually, some of the intent felt different, as if his aura was being questioned. Not understanding the difference and not having the time to consider he battered them away,
The questioning intent dispersed and Lief stepped forward. He was technically an employed healer, he’d already ...
2023-09-10 05:01:50 +0000 UTC View PostThere was a brief moment of tension as both groups stood still. Then the leader of the visiting nomads laughed.
“I like your attitude northman!” He bellowed. “Nowhere does hospitality like beyond the pass! It’s a damn travesty!”
Sieg grinned. “You’ll have to forgive them, their culture is far too advanced for such things.”
Both men clasped...
2023-09-08 05:01:54 +0000 UTC View PostAs the expedition drew closer they caught the attention of the nomad camp. Individuals, too far away for any recognisable details, grabbed weapons and began scrambling around. Clearly the expedition’s arrival had caught them unaware.
From his position at the rear of the expedition Leif saw the tension and nervous shuffling of the Academy students. He could sense several pre...
2023-09-06 05:06:09 +0000 UTC View PostThe crimson glow from the closest moon’s cracked surface filtered down onto the planet. Where water pooled red was reflected like glistening blood.
As season’s devastated side slowly rotated more and more into view over several days the weather began to shift. The winds would pick up, or become perfectly still. Rain or snow would fall in an endless wave only for the sun...
2023-09-04 04:57:49 +0000 UTC View PostLeif looked rather unassuming under his new cloak. He was roughly the size and shape of a human adult, though he had different proportions. His arms were longer and his hands were larger, possessing four claw tipped fingers.
With his hood up, aura withdrawn, and extremities hidden beneath fabric the spriggan wouldn’t draw too many odd glances.
The expedition marched in a quick, lo...
2023-09-03 05:04:30 +0000 UTC View PostCombat experience: Lesser!
Error: Target invalid!
Error: Target invalid!
“Huh?” Leif asked. Looking blankly at the system message.
“Huh?” Marcus asked, staring at his staring.
“My analysis skill is saying you’re an ‘invalid target’.” Leif said, thoroughly confused.
“What?” M...
2023-09-01 04:58:56 +0000 UTC View Post