“Fine. The answer is destiny.”
The room remains silents besides Allen’s giggles as Alyssa bounces him on a leg, waiting for Aurelius to elaborate. When he refuses to speak after several long moments, I jab him in the side. He grunts but reluctantly continues his story. “My family, the Silvari—"
“I thought your last name was Errent,” Alyssa interrupts.
Aurelius sn...
2023-10-26 06:41:10 +0000 UTC View Post“Geneva, get our guest something to drink.” No one should tell a story on a dry throat.
“You called the creature something else before,” he says as she disappears into the kitchen.
“This isn’t the time for you to be asking questions.” I grab the closest chair and set it right beside him, intentionally too close for him to be comfortable. He leans his body away from me ...
2023-10-26 06:41:07 +0000 UTC View PostAs much as I wish Aurelius was only a nuisance, he is also a master caster. Combat isn’t his forte, or so I once heard, but it’s clear that he has experience in battle. But no experience could ever prepare him for my prime form.
My fist manages to connect with his face, and it’s very satisfying, but it lacks a lot of force after pushing through a block of air that I can only describ...
2023-10-21 09:05:00 +0000 UTC View PostI probably look like an idiot, staring at the guards with a slightly dropped jaw but I really didn’t see this coming.
The lord of Quest is a coward. That is an unmistakable fact, one demonstrated by him letting the guilds run amok. The guildmasters have more sway in the city than he does. Given his reluctance to confront me before I left for the campaign, I was sure he would maintain hi...
2023-10-21 09:04:55 +0000 UTC View PostOur time together is cut short by Alana’s grumbling stomach. As irresistible as I would hope I am, I cannot trump the allure of breakfast. So, we take a moment to get cleaned up, and to cool down for me, and head downstairs.
The dining room is unexpectedly crowded. I expect Yulia and Allen, looking full and content. Kierra and Talia are unexpected. I thought they might pick a room and i...
2023-10-19 22:45:23 +0000 UTC View PostIt was almost sinful how much Yulia was enjoying her vacation. When she offered to return to Quest with her sister, the best she hoped for was repairing their relationship but she willing to settle for bringing the negotiations with the guilds to a peaceful end, bolstering both her own reputation and that of the north’s.
Whether he knew it or not, her father had taken the first steps of...
2023-10-19 22:45:17 +0000 UTC View PostAlana quickly loses her nerves after her bold usurpation of Kierra’s advances. We spend so long simply staring at one another that I can’t help bursting into laughter. She slaps my stomach but laughs with me. I pull her down and turn us so we’re lying on our sides, facing each other. “Hi.”
“Hey.” Her face is slightly flushed and she still smells like soap. She lets out a shu...
2023-10-19 22:45:13 +0000 UTC View PostAgainst my quiet expectations, the four of us get up to nothing more than a good night’s rest. A pleasure in its own right. Alana was correct when she said the bed is big enough for four and we’ve all moved past being shy about physical contact.
When morning dawns, I find myself sandwiched between Alana that is dreaming within my arms and Talia who is pressed against my back. Kierra i...
2023-10-14 22:49:48 +0000 UTC View PostHalf an hour later, the four of us are relaxing in my bath. Alana is lounging in what is her usual place between my legs, looking one quiet minute from sleep. Kierra and Talia are on the opposite side of the bath, the ex-dorm mother leaning on Kierra’s shoulder, an arm wrapped around the elf’s toned stomach.
Yulia wasn’t invited. I’m sure that would have been a…tantalizing situa...
2023-10-14 22:49:10 +0000 UTC View PostThe sun is setting as we arrive home. A warm feeling rapidly builds in my chest, threatening to erupt as I step off the carriage in front of the estate. I’ve heard songs that claim that the best part of a journey is returning home. I understand those words now. Even taking into account how horrible the north is, coming home takes a weight off my shoulders I didn’t even know I was carrying.<...
2023-10-12 16:56:02 +0000 UTC View PostThere isn’t an army waiting for us. Nor a pack of hunters with their magic at the ready. Not even a crowd of peasants ready to take their chances at bludgeoning me with tools or the largest stick they can find.
The biggest reaction to my arrival is the guard taking a second too long to ask for the reason for my stay after I step out of the carriage. I’m the one to step down as I would...
2023-10-10 13:54:30 +0000 UTC View PostIt always amazes me that tragedies aren’t heralded by the world. The gray sky of Victory didn’t darken as we marched to the Witness Circle to reap the lives of the hunters. Similarly, the blue sky above us is without a menacing cloud or sinister storm as Quest appears in the distance. Not that I hope our return to the city will be the start of another tragedy but, given my track record with...
2023-10-10 13:54:22 +0000 UTC View PostI wake to the soothing motions of someone running their fingers through my hair. Hm, it’s growing a bit long. I usually let it tickle the base of my neck, a length that gives the appearance of adhering to the trends of Summer Spire without it being so long it requires hours of maintenance and bags of gold to maintain. It’s grown well past my shoulders.
It’s still manageable, given m...
2023-10-07 05:13:34 +0000 UTC View Post“It’s the lumber, you see.”
Alana and I managed to find the animal at the end of the tracks we found and, as usual, Geneva made a feast fit for gods from the meat. We don’t have much shroom juice left over, having sold most of it in the north, but there’s enough to put a cup in each man’s hand after watering it down. It’s not like they have the constitution of me or my elf. ...
2023-10-07 05:13:29 +0000 UTC View Post“Negotiating sucks.”
“This is what you wanted, Lou,” Alana says mercilessly, walking ahead of me as we trek through a field, searching for signs of prey. Inviting the bandits to dinner means we’re doing the cooking and that’s a lot of mouths to feed.
I thought Kierra would handle the hunting, as she’s the one who usually puts fresh meat on the table, but she passed the...
2023-10-05 04:48:22 +0000 UTC View PostUnfortunately, I do not get to watch Alana and Kierra’s “conversation”. Yulia convinces me to accompany her out of the carriage. Certainly not as a deterrent. Geneva, who is sitting on the driver’s bench, is more than capable of that. I suppose she wants me to watch her work from up close. I don’t mind. It’s not where I want to be but listening in is a thrill of its own.
I’m...
2023-10-03 06:03:10 +0000 UTC View PostHarvest is a peaceful kingdom.
After the Great War forcefully disbanded the ancient kingdoms and humanity was forced to find a new home, the whole of the race, I would say our race but I don’t really count anymore, came together to ensure their survival. The elites of every kingdom, empire, city-state, and settlement of every size under one banner, fighting for one purpose. They could d...
2023-10-03 06:03:06 +0000 UTC View PostThe decision to bring along the winter rose does come with a few issues. Not from her. As a James, roughing it on the road for a week or two isn’t enough to remotely bother her. It’s the butterball that causes all the fuss.
I’m not particularly fond of children. Something that has nothing to do with said tykes. It’s me. I am deathly afraid of hurting them or influencing them in im...
2023-09-30 04:40:42 +0000 UTC View PostAs winter packs the last of its belongings, spring is warming up in preparation to take its place. Three days into our journey back to Quest, the frost hasn’t quite disappeared from the roads, forcing us to slow our pace lest we tempt fate. Our pace is further compromised by the presence of two unexpected guests in the carriage, Yulia and her son, Allen.
The rose of the north and her bu...
2023-09-30 04:40:36 +0000 UTC View Post“Thank you for all your help, Gourd.”
“Eh, no worries.” The seaman absently scratched at his scraggly beard. He had a strong physique with his large arms and toned shoulders, but no one would mistake him for a fighter. Or at least, not a very good one. It was the way he moved. Clumsy and flat-footed. The man would trip over his own feet trying to dodge an attacker. Not to mention ...
2023-09-20 21:40:49 +0000 UTC View PostGourd thought of the stranger he’d hauled into his life as a quiet warrior, a man weighed down by a heavy quest. It was impressive and perhaps a little intimidating. He’d faced many dangers on the sea but rarely was he so close to them. Violence roiled beneath the mountain’s blood skin, ready to be unleased at a moment’s notice but held in check by a firm will, his discipline evident in...
2023-09-20 21:40:44 +0000 UTC View PostThe stranger’s name was Orum Draceana Atainna and he was vraekiri, wandering warriors who spent their lives seeking out greater heights of strength by challenging greater opponents. Some went as far as to cross the sea to find their next challenge, as Orum had done. But the crazy mountain blood hadn’t taken a boat, like any sane person. No. The man had swam to different co...
2023-09-17 03:46:24 +0000 UTC View PostGourd was a simple man who lived a simple life and that was just fine by him. Born the son of a Dawn dockworker and too mundane to aspire to much more, he dedicated his life to the sea.
Most of his days were spent hauling crates that contained her treasures, down ship ramps and onto carts to be taken to market. When he wanted quieter work and a gentler pace, he hauled nets on one of the f...
2023-09-17 03:46:21 +0000 UTC View PostSamuel kor Harvest, second prince of the Harvest kingdom, stood alone in his bedroom, studying his reflection, something he’d been doing for far too long. The men of the harvest line were blessed with tall physiques and broad shoulders. A figure fit for a general. One his brother appreciated, with his bulging arms and dreams of leading in army.
It wasn’t meant for a man like Samuel, w...
2023-09-17 03:46:16 +0000 UTC View PostTalia first met Lord Remmings one year after being brought to the capital by the interrogators. The law dictated that any orphan with the mental affinity was to be taken into their custody, without question, but her new guardians didn’t think much of her.
It wasn’t the first or the last time someone would see her lack of sight and think she suffered an impairment of the mind. The tuto...
2023-09-14 07:04:40 +0000 UTC View PostUmphrieltalia didn’t think much of children. During her time in the orphanage, she was always an outcast. Once she was older, her focus was entirely consumed with the mental affinity and it was never to be used against children, both out of moral concerns and the fragility of a young mind.
Her mentor briefly mentioned her having children but Talia was never interested in the idea. Havin...
2023-09-14 07:04:37 +0000 UTC View PostA redhead waited in the welcoming room, seated on a couch with a teacup in her hand. Earl stood to the side, watching her with the faintest of frowns. Likely because of the dirt on her clothes. The woman looked like she had spent hours rolling around in mud and her boots were in a rougher state.
As the one in charge of maintaining the state of the home, the boy had good reason to be upset...
2023-09-10 02:13:39 +0000 UTC View PostAs was becoming her new routine, Talia woke late in the morning, sprawled across the large bed in the main bedroom. The estate had more than enough space for her to claim a room for herself and Kierra had given her leave to do just that, but Talia made a point of sleeping in Lou’s bed.
At first, her actions were motivated by her contract. A flower wilted when not properly attended to. S...
2023-09-10 02:13:35 +0000 UTC View PostUmphrieltalia didn’t like the cold months. Snow and brisk winds reminded her of her time in the kingdom’s orphanage, nothing but unpleasant memories. If the caretakers had ever cared about their job, years of being mired in the tragedies of others had robbed them of that empathy. Their charges were nothing more than faceless burdens. Responsibilities rather than passions. There was never en...
2023-09-08 00:11:06 +0000 UTC View PostWhile Marcella had confidence in her charm, much of her success could be attributed to a proper respect for theatrics. She was a beautiful woman but the right lighting and a properly decorated room could turn her, or anyone else, into the kind of vision bards wrote songs about.
She could say the same thing a hundred different ways. The trick was finding the words that touched someone’s ...
2023-09-06 03:47:56 +0000 UTC View Post