Well, this officially wraps up Book 2 in this series!
At just 95k words, this is the shortest novel I’ve ever written. (Book 1: Web of Secrets was 120k words, and all three Aeonica books were well over 100k words.)
Web of Dreams always had a lot going against it though, so I didn’t want it to overstay its welcome. First of all is the setting. As a fellow reader, I know how annoy...
2022-06-25 19:42:19 +0000 UTC View PostValeria Antano strolled down the dock and stepped into the aluminum fishing boat. It rocked beneath her weight, but soon leveled out as she lowered herself onto the cushioned vinyl seat.
Valeria was no stranger to nighttime meetings like this. Of course, she was a Master now, and she spent more time behind a desk than out in the field. Still, there were some tasks she couldn’t trust to ...
2022-06-25 18:18:39 +0000 UTC View PostAkari wandered the airship’s fancy white hallways, too anxious to sleep another minute.
“Don’t worry,” Elend had said as they boarded. “We’re all safe now.”
“Heard that before,” she muttered. “There’s still time for another shipwreck.”
“Vaslana and Espiria are best friends,” he said with an easy shrug. “Even if we crash here, the worst is still be...
2022-06-24 00:04:35 +0000 UTC View PostElend stepped out of the captain's chamber and followed his wife down the airship's pristine white corridor.
He'd sworn to leave Creta as soon as possible, and his oath had compelled him to pass that onto Irina when she landed. Fortunately, they'd needed time to refuel the ship's gravity mana, and that was out of Elend's control. So he’d spent his last hour cleaning up the mess and gett...
2022-06-17 23:22:21 +0000 UTC View PostThe battlefield snapped into stillness, like a television being unplugged. Until now, the shouts and explosions had been a constant rhythm in the background. Akari had even gotten used to the shaking floor and rattling windows. Now the silence was almost deafening.
What the hell happened? She tried to speak, but her lips wouldn’t budge. Even her brain slowed down as if she had ...
2022-06-12 20:48:32 +0000 UTC View PostAkari opened her eyes and found Relia and Kalden hovering over her. She glanced from side to side, expecting to see the rubble from the broken hotel. But this building looked untouched from the battle. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, and a jungle of potted plants lined the balcony outside. She seemed to be laying on a stiff leather sofa, while her friends sat on the wooden coffee tabl...
2022-06-11 17:33:10 +0000 UTC View Post“Alright,” Lena announced to everyone in the throne room. “I’m ready.”
Elend drew in a deep breath, and the Dragonlord strode over to the wooden table. They’d waited all night as she finished bonding the last crystal. Now, the first rays of sunlight shone over Tureko’s skyline, shrouded by clouds of rising smoke.
Curious that Antano would push the Ethersmith so hard in...
2022-06-05 18:03:59 +0000 UTC View PostAkari sprang forward, starting the fight with a sweeping blow.
“Always make the first move,” Kalden had said in her first combat lesson. “Unless you’re confident your opponent will mess up. Then you might as well let him.”
Confidence was a distant dream in this fight. Zakiel was an Artisan—twice her size, with several years more experience. He had every...
2022-06-01 12:12:18 +0000 UTC View PostAkari huddled in her hiding place as the battle waged below. Kalden, Relia, and the others battled a dragon named Zakiel. She’d tried getting down there, but more Grevandi patrolled this floor—all Apprentices. They’d picked off the Unmarked one by one until she was the last one standing.
Her mana watch also showed 0/73. Otherwise, she could just copy Kalden’s trick and ge...
2022-05-28 23:38:59 +0000 UTC View PostRelia shot a glance at the nearest hallway. If she ran now, she could probably make it without getting burned. Unfortunately, Kalden stood on Kyzar’s opposite side, farther from the door.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Kyzar said to the other Artisan. “This is between the Unmarked and the Grevandi.”
Zakiel nodded once as he sauntered inside the lobby. Well, it was more of a co...
2022-05-24 12:27:29 +0000 UTC View PostKalden shot pure mana behind him as he fell, and the blast propelled him toward another piece of exposed floor. Pain shot through his legs when he hit the ground, and his momentum carried him straight through another wall. He fell face-first on the carpeted floor, and wood and concrete crashed down from the ceiling above. He gritted his teeth as they slammed into his back, hard enough to shatte...
2022-05-21 15:19:42 +0000 UTC View PostKalden and Akari left their room when the earthquakes started. They took their time for the first few minutes. He gathered their remaining potions in his pack while she rose from the bed on shaky feet, fumbling with her glasses and helmet.
Then the lights went dark, and the earthquakes grew more violent. The television toppled over from the dresser, landing glass-side down on the carpet. ...
2022-05-07 19:47:03 +0000 UTC View Post“Run!” Relia shouted to anyone who would listen. No sooner had the words left her mouth than she flooded her legs with mana and leapt for the hotel’s front door. She might be the strongest Apprentice here, but one technique from that Artisan would split her like a fish.
The others ignored her warning, and the fire ripped through their shields and armor. One man erupted in flames whi...
2022-05-03 00:51:24 +0000 UTC View PostHey everyone,
I thought I wouldn't be able to publish the first Aeonica book until May this year, but my proofreader got back to me a few days early (shout out to Fabled Planet!) I compiled the final ebook Monday night, and Amazon accepted it yesterday!
Aeonica: The Lost Redeemer Ebook
I also schedul...
2022-04-28 12:02:28 +0000 UTC View Post“Akari!” Someone shook her by the shoulder, and she snapped her eyes open. Sweat covered her body, and her chest rose and fell with rapid breaths. Her Mana Arts were gone. Her memories were gone. And—
But no, she felt the power in her channels, flowing as fast as her beating heart. She felt the memories too, from Last Haven to Arkala to Creta.
Akari lifted her wrist and glance...
2022-04-25 12:30:55 +0000 UTC View PostThe blasts grew louder outside, and Akari followed her friends down the hallway. Relia planned to wait for the Fangs downstairs, while Akari and Kalden struck from the balconies above, putting pressure on the enemy shields as they advanced through the streets.
The lights flickered as they walked, leaving eerie shadows on the plaster walls. Talek. They were lucky Irina Darklight h...
2022-04-19 01:14:38 +0000 UTC View PostAkari’s fingers flew across the keyboard as she traveled the dark web. Kyzar had lent them a laptop just like he’d promised, along with a hotel room to prepare for the upcoming battle.
And of course, that hotel sat right in the enemy’s path.
Explosions echoed from outside as the Grevandi drew closer, gaining ground on the bridge between the two territories. The Unmarked stalle...
2022-04-12 01:43:44 +0000 UTC View PostTheir escorts led them through an old department store in the Western Docks District. Kalden walked in silence with the others, still stunned by the memories that flooded his mind.
They didn’t all come at once—that would be like trying to see every star in the sky. Instead, they hit him in waves, all triggered by his surroundings. A row of palm trees grew on the curb, and he remembere...
2022-04-08 23:05:46 +0000 UTC View PostMana flowed like a river from Relia’s upraised hand, and she strained against the rising flames.
Can’t … hold … on.
Her technique failed a second later, and her head struck the asphalt road as she fell. That potion had let her focus through her pain, but now it returned in full force. Her vision grew dark around the edges as she stared up at the sky, watching it fil...
2022-04-01 17:28:59 +0000 UTC View PostAkari clutched the base of the pot as they tore through the alleyway. Missiles struck the back windows, and the van shook from the impact. Nothing had broken yet, but those protection sigils wouldn’t last long.
“Hang on!” Hector repeated. They left the alley a second later, taking a sharp right and spinning into the evening traffic. Akari and Kalden slid across the floor, but they d...
2022-03-27 12:05:13 +0000 UTC View PostHey everyone,
I just put together a new worldbuilding article that covers all the known Mana Artist ranks from Bronze all the way to Mystic:
https://davidmusk.com/worlds/web-of-secrets/mana-artist-ranks
These have all been mentioned in the story so far, but this is the first t...
2022-03-26 19:31:28 +0000 UTC View PostKalden sat in his alchemy lab, putting the final touches on Relia’s pill. He’d already refined the herbs, which was arguably the hardest part of the process. Now, those sat in the refrigerator, waiting for the final two reagents.
The lantre and helocite had to bond at fifty-five degrees over three hours. A few degrees higher and the lantre would dissolve. Colder, and the helocite woul...
2022-03-20 17:43:24 +0000 UTC View PostDreams assaulted Akari while she slept—one after the other in rapid succession.
But no … this couldn’t be sleep. Those soldiers had knocked her out with a steel rod to the face. Unconscious people didn’t dream, did they? Still, some part of her seemed desperate for these visions. Maybe it was her soul, or maybe it was the Construct Elend had placed inside her.
Time’s r...
2022-03-17 01:10:52 +0000 UTC View PostRelia followed her friends from the street into the hotel lobby. The air conditioning seemed to blast them from all sides, and it felt amazing after all that time in the tropical heat. Dragons didn’t normally believe in air conditioning, but they’d made an exception here. Probably because of all the foreigners.
How did she know this hotel was dragon-owned? The decor, of course. Golden...
2022-03-14 00:43:07 +0000 UTC View PostAkari trained alone for the first part of the morning. As usual, she started with a quick warmup, followed by a series of combat stances, punches, and kicks.
She knew the proper forms from her dreams, but it wasn't exactly like riding a bike. Dream Akari had fought with deadly precision, but recreating those moves felt like fighting while drunk. Akari had never been drunk, but that was th...
2022-03-08 01:04:28 +0000 UTC View PostDream Akari stomped out of the dueling ring, ignoring the crowd with their satisfied grins. Before today, she'd been the best Foundation duelist in Last Haven. Now, her reign was over. This duel with Kalden Trengsen hadn't been ranked, but she'd have to face him again. When she did, she had no counter to his blade mana.
Her combat suit clung to her as she walked, and her chest rose and fe...
2022-03-04 02:02:03 +0000 UTC View PostKalden opened the glass door to the alchemy lab, ushering the others inside. The room wasn't half as nice as his labs back home, but it had all the essentials. A dozen basic stations filled the floor, with a row of refrigerators along the back wall. Beyond that were more specialized rooms that housed the furnaces and compressors.
Bits of broken glass snapped beneath Kalden's boots, and he...
2022-02-25 00:56:10 +0000 UTC View Post“She’s an Unmarked,” the boy muttered the last word like a curse.
Relia lowered her head, letting a curtain of red hair cover her pale face.
Another of the Cadrian boys knelt down and tried to brush the curtain aside.
Hell no, Akari thought. A crowd had already gathered around, but no one else had heard his accusation. Best to keep it that way. They’d...
2022-02-19 21:15:31 +0000 UTC View PostHey everyone! I've had multiple people ask me for a better comparison between Aeons and Mana Artists, so I threw together a quick worldbuilding article this morning. Reading this is completely optional depending on how many details you like to know. (Honestly, you don't need to know much about Aeons to understand the Web of Secrets series at this point.)
But for those of you who lik...
2022-02-19 16:02:08 +0000 UTC View Post"You sure about this?" Kalden asked the shopkeeper. "It smells like lunch meat."
The man shrugged. "It's fine, shoko. That's how soulshine smells."
"No," Kalden set down the bottle on the counter. "That's how exinleaf smells when you let it oxidize for a week. And you see that color change? Light exposure reduces the potency by half. That's why we use amber bottles."
Akari lis...
2022-02-17 01:59:21 +0000 UTC View Post