Isobel’s eye twitched when Leland mumbled out a platter of identical words, each resulting in an equally identical snap of the fingers. Both the word “Fracture,” and the snap were, in her eyes, inartistic and frankly shameful. Every powerful mage she knew did not speak their spells, nor did they make gestures in the wind.
As she and Sybil watched the boy rush acros...
2023-08-22 20:53:14 +0000 UTC View PostThree days later, Leland was having trouble against a quick-moving gnat. The monster being the size of a tree wasn’t the issue, it was the fact it moved with the alacrity and flourish of a sparrow. Darting around trees and swooping to attack, the bug chased Leland despite lightning pulsing from his feet with every step.
“So!” Isobel yelled from the side. “You are countere...
2023-08-20 05:16:49 +0000 UTC View PostCursed contract of the Lord of Space:
Gain access to the spell Spatial Bend. Only usable once per hour.
Spatial Bend (Passive): Space bends just around you, routing lesser projectiles that would strike you to miss.
Return: Inform the Graverend Army of the growing wormhole in the basement of the Archon Citadel bef...
2023-08-18 02:24:21 +0000 UTC View PostThe Lord of Portals’ domain reminded Leland of his father’s study. Shelves of books, hundreds, if not thousands, of rolled scrolls holding bizarre or experimental runes, enough ink to fill a bath… Yet, his father didn’t decorate his walls with portals of other lands, remote viewings of nature, and life beyond the mortal plane.
Portals, literally, into other lives hung lik...
2023-08-16 02:37:08 +0000 UTC View PostStanding tall like a chiseled statue, Isobel commanded, “Explain!”
Sybil’s knees gave out and she crashed, landing on the soft grass as the impression of the Boneforged Monarch dissipated. The rush of movement expelled air from her lungs with a gasp, which devolved into a chuckle, then a bout of giggles. Tears welled and fell before she could whip them away, staining the Huntress’...
2023-08-14 02:08:34 +0000 UTC View PostIgnoring his bloodied nose, Leland slipped out of his blanket and to his knees. As subtly as he could, he pulled his grimoire from his hand, allowing it to silently flip pages. Was he preparing for battle? He didn’t know. Only that the gesture felt comfortable, that it felt reasonable to prepare for the worst.
From how the trio had set up for the night, the Princess was closest to the o...
2023-08-11 02:20:30 +0000 UTC View PostIn the “morning,” Isobel oversaw Leland’s routine exercise. Somehow, the former Inquisitor was more brutal and demanding than the Lord of Endurance, netting the Legacy of Curses another seventy-seven steps, making the grand total nearly two-fifty. This was, of course, at the cost of Leland’s sanity and the wellbeing of his lungs. But he did notice his legs were no were near as tired aft...
2023-08-10 02:14:54 +0000 UTC View PostAfter a short stint in the Void by himself, Leland arrived at the Lord of Erupting Skies’ domain with a snap. His vision went white, his whole world consumed by a crack of lighting. Then came the thunder, blowing his eardrums and causing his head to spin. Before he knew it, he was falling, his consciousness slipping under the pounding in his head.
Something slammed into his und...
2023-08-09 01:51:36 +0000 UTC View PostThe group continued through the Archon Valley until exhaustion overtook Sybil and Leland. Even with Touch of Regeneration, a person could only walk so far before needing rest. They stopped at what they assumed to be nightfall, which just so happened to be the same daybreak, noon, and dusk. Quickly they learned that the whole of the Valley was an experiment, and it never truly swapped betw...
2023-08-07 04:09:22 +0000 UTC View PostShaking, Sybil hid behind an oddly angular tree. Not thinking of the tree as an Archon experiment, she found solace from the being kneeling beside Leland and the Huntress. Green malted skin met with yellowed bones and the remains of haunted flesh. Its wicked face housed a blank expression, but the eyes were what remained in Sybil’s mind.
Burning with flames the color of lavender, she wa...
2023-08-05 18:42:19 +0000 UTC View PostBoth Isobel and Leland chose to keep Isobel’s worries from Sybil. Whether or not something actually was watching them didn’t matter in the grand scheme, at least not in terms of alerting the Princess. Either they would be attacked or not, which hopefully wouldn’t be an issue for the Huntress to take care of.
It wasn’t until after Sybil woke up that the trio decided on nex...
2023-08-03 05:59:11 +0000 UTC View PostA mass of bubbles burst from Leland’s mouth, the force of exiting the Void crushing against his lungs like a log falling on a cracker. Salt invaded his eyes and nose, blinding him to an awkward degree. With the Lord of the Chameleon’s contract still enabled, suddenly going blind kicked his instinct into high gear. His brain told him to swim up, but instinct told him to fully breathe out, de...
2023-08-01 19:35:20 +0000 UTC View Post“Well kid, you’ve really put us in a horrible spot,” Isobel said after another splattering of curses.
She, like Leland and Sybil, was floating motionlessly as the backdrop of the Void rushed by. Bundled in her ratty cloak, she twisted and craned, anything to touch something. Yet, such was the way of the Void. There was no ground to stand on, no trees to brush again...
2023-07-31 02:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post----AUTHOR NOTE SECOND CHAPTER UPLOADED TODAY!!! DON"T READ IN WRONG ORDER
“My name is Leland, and I am a Harbinger of the Calamity,” Leland said, mustering up every shred of courage he could conceivably find, “…and if you interfere with my plans, then it will be war.”
Cold, dead eyes locked onto Leland’s, and for a moment, the world was silent. No longer did th...
2023-07-29 04:07:32 +0000 UTC View PostFar from Leland, Glenny, and Carmon, Aunty P. stared blankly into a flickering fireplace. A look of worry crossed her brow and lacking posture, enough to make those in the room with her feel secure. If they knew her true feelings, then there would be little doubt in their eyes – she was as heartless as the rumors suggested.
In her hand she sipped from a porcelain cup, but even ...
2023-07-28 19:02:31 +0000 UTC View PostLeland knew little about the Umbra, only the most basic information drifting among the street rumors. The Umbra, sometimes called the Thieves’ Guild, the Assassins’ Guild, the Shadow Guild, and so on, liked their anonymity. Only those with connections or power had access to their services, often at a cost far higher than elsewhere. They were elites, killers and spies, people who were born w...
2023-07-26 19:17:14 +0000 UTC View Post---AUTHOR NOTE: THIS IS THE SECOND CHAPTER UPLOADED TODAY, MAKE SURE YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT ONE!---
Cloak pinned to the ground by a slick dagger, the Harbinger turned. “Ah Carmon. I was wondering when we’d meet again.”
Carmon, his cloak of blades shifting like ocean waves in the night, growled, “Where was Roy sent?”
Recoiling in laughter, the Harbinger slowly held up h...
2023-07-24 20:38:47 +0000 UTC View PostIn most young people’s lives, there comes a time when a son or daughter is forced to watch their parents in pain. These moments of utter agony are fleeting at best and long term at worst. An extended stay in bed, a sleepless night of coughing fit after coughing fit. Healing magic, luckily, was a great means of defending the young from seeing something truly horrible.
That luxury was unf...
2023-07-24 20:35:36 +0000 UTC View PostThe Harbinger’s emerald halo loomed, its size reaching far beyond that of Leland’s own. It secreted green ink which pooled before the man like frozen raindrops. Each was the size of a fist, yet charred the air as the man walked. A trail followed each drop, like a dredge net dragging against the bottom of the ocean.
An adventurer, a defender, reached out to the Harbinger, only...
2023-07-23 01:59:58 +0000 UTC View PostLeland and Jude stared at Glenny as he attempted to consolidate a platter of words, tests, and results that were freely swimming around in his mind. Some results came easier, others were near impossible. But that was the key, near.
His fingers kneading the blank scrap of fabric, Glenny realized he wasn’t holding an edged glass shard. He looked down, unraveling that cloth and lo...
2023-07-22 02:01:18 +0000 UTC View PostKing Harlen’s declaration that Aunty P. was possibly the greatest spy in the world hit a chord, and Leland suddenly found himself checking over his shoulder rather consistently. He was able to catch onto subtle cues, finding the Eldest Princess looking at him a hair too long or how she seemingly always entered a conversation when something of note was being mentioned.
For...
2023-07-20 02:15:35 +0000 UTC View Post“This isn’t what it looks like.”
King Harlen, floating just above the wood grain flooring, shifted his smile to something more obtuse. Jovial, like a fox extorting his way into a hen house, Harlen silently arced around Leland, looking at him through various angles. As he did, he made grunts and hums, each bounding with enough ghostly off-blue mist to water a greenhouse.
... 2023-07-18 01:54:57 +0000 UTC View Post“—so, I’d like to make a contract for any information that might help Glenny.”
The Lord of the Chameleon stared down at Leland from the lowest branch of a world tree. Blended nigh perfectly with the texture of the branch, the Lord’s mile-long tail slowly wrapped around its bed, gripping the branch tightly. The Lord then stepped off the tree, allowing himself the grace of a slow ...
2023-07-17 03:24:30 +0000 UTC View PostSybil Palemarrow’s official arrival to Ruinsforth was an event marked by the ghostly citizens of the Reflection Kingdom all floating over to the city’s main gate. The ordeal created a wake of movement, as citizens and tourists alike followed, much to the guard’s annoyance.
Like dozens of fish being packed into a can, the city moved as one down the main street. They clambere...
2023-07-13 20:36:41 +0000 UTC View Post“Is this the place?” Spencer asked, eying the black stone shop’s façade.
There was a definite lack of personnel walking around this section of the city compared to the nonblack stone districts, although that didn’t stop the Reflections from dancing around. The ghostly forms moved through walls and around roofs, mostly walking in pairs or groups, although each seemed familiar with...
2023-07-12 21:16:34 +0000 UTC View PostThe next day went by rather quickly, at least for Leland and Jude. Glenny, while not relaxing like his friends, technically had a simple day. Being induced to a dream-like state by a ghostly Priest of the Void did that to a person.
With the adults and Sybil moving around the royal campus preparing for tomorrow’s arrival, little was left for Leland and Jude to do. So af...
2023-07-10 21:12:50 +0000 UTC View PostA million different things sprung to mind as Leland stood awkwardly holding onto a limp Glenny. He tried not to look Aunty P. in the eyes, thinking the gesture would show a level of guilt he wasn’t yet ready to explain away. A mage with a healing spell, while not unheard of, was quite unusual especially for a lowly rank two.
Legacy specializations left a mage, by far, a b...
2023-07-08 21:13:35 +0000 UTC View PostLater that night, Jude and Glenny had their duel in front of a plethora of high-renowned Inquisitors and multiple members of royal families. They took their marks on opposite sides of a particularly “gross” courtyard, as Aunty P. put it. If they destroyed the garden and trimmed bushes, so be it. Aunty P. didn’t mind a total renovation of the yard.
Jude, donned in his full f...
2023-07-07 02:09:02 +0000 UTC View PostLeland felt… weird. There was something not right about the scene before him. It wasn’t King Harlen, in all his ghostly glory, talking to Diana and Roy. It wasn’t his parents’ hushed question about the Huntress. It wasn’t Carmon’s sudden disappearance and Glenny looking at Aunty P. like she’d grown a second head.
No, there was something nagging at him. Something tha...
2023-07-04 21:03:11 +0000 UTC View PostBefore the boys could so much as frown at the transparent man, he shimmied to the side before speaking.
“Announcing His Majesty, King of the Reflection Kingdom, Sir Harlen of the Dormant.”
At his words, a troop of trumpets began to play. The sound appeared from within the room, a previously invisible grouping of transparent people engaging in the music. They flared into being, s...
2023-07-03 03:36:29 +0000 UTC View Post