Geneva hummed as she walked past the Witness Circle, easily dodging the fast-moving carriages, the shirtless fighters in the midst of training, workers moving at a quick pace, and faster moving servants that resembled rodents with their demeanors. Many looked at her but few did so for more than a moment. An aftereffect of their little display during the March but she paid it no mind, her though...
2023-02-28 09:44:19 +0000 UTC View PostSlaid was not having a good day.
It would be better to say the entire month had been terrible. The misfortune he found himself mired in, through no fault of his own, was astonishing. To a degree that would be unbelievable if he weren’t living through the events as they transpired, assuring him it was no nightmare or horror story.
The trail of misfortune didn’t begin with the dea...
2023-02-28 09:44:16 +0000 UTC View PostStill holding onto Alana who isn’t keen to let go of me, I take a seat on the corner of the bed. There’s no point in circling the burning bush and my wife has always been a fan of directness. Her eyes hold expectations. I steel myself. “You went too far today.”
“I know. Forgive me, my love.”
I freeze, physically and mentally. That…that was too easy. Far too easy. Where...
2023-02-23 06:59:53 +0000 UTC View PostOut of consideration for the much more fragile bunny asking for a bit of my time, we move, standing under one of the arched entrances to the Witness Circle. It does nothing for the cold of course, but snow is no longer gently raining onto her head and that must count for something. I get a grateful smile for the effort but there’s no way to tell if she’s just being polite.
“Then? Wh...
2023-02-21 07:59:03 +0000 UTC View PostA part of me wishes I could linger in the snow forever. I’ve gotten adept at compressing the white fluff into solid shapes. I figure I can make myself a little bed and a nice pillow. Not like sleeping in the cold will do me any harm.
The plan has one flaw. I won’t be alone for long. I’m surprised Kierra hasn’t already tracked me down. She’s not one to leave a conflict unsettled....
2023-02-21 07:59:01 +0000 UTC View PostUnfortunately, my short tour of the James estate didn’t include any good places to disappear from loved ones for a few hours. My verbal explosion leaves me feeling relieved, drained, and incredibly embarrassed. It’s obvious I’m going to have to talk to them, if only because I hate the thought of finding another place to sleep tonight, but I need a place of quiet until the thought stops ma...
2023-02-18 07:21:04 +0000 UTC View Post“Why did you stop me?” Alana snapped at the elf lounging on her bed.
“Because your next words to her should not be spoken lightly.” Kierra shifted onto her side, holding her head in a palm as she closed her eyes. Despite the lingering tension, the older woman looked unbothered. Alana didn’t know if she was really unaffected or if she was just a phenomenal actor who didn’t want...
2023-02-18 07:21:02 +0000 UTC View PostThere should be chaos. Over fifty people were just killed in an explosion of magic and violence. They saw me, who is only meant to have a fire affinity, transform multiple times with a speed and ease that not even a pure affinity can explain satisfactorily. They watched me recover from having my head removed. Bell rearranged the field and there’s no telling what other secrets the succubi reve...
2023-02-16 05:38:35 +0000 UTC View PostHow did things come to this?
“Ahhhh!”
“Fucking bitch!” A hunter wielding twin short swords leaps at Kierra, four more swords hovering behind him. My wife throws away the hunter currently in her grasp to dodge the flurry of attacks. The barrage is interrupted by a spike of earth pushing through the attacker’s heel. Kierra uses the opening to leap at him, clawed hands reachi...
2023-02-15 03:51:50 +0000 UTC View PostMagic is not equal.
It is a discipline that is heavily dependent on natural talent and that talent is not distributed equally. There are nine affinities, four basic and five greater. There is a good reason for that distinction. Manipulating the elements is impressive and useful, but, at the end of the day, limited.
The guildmaster Kierra slew was a master fire caster. The epitome of...
2023-02-15 03:51:46 +0000 UTC View PostGeneva’s influence on my mind wanes and time resumes its natural flow. The hunter moving at a glacial pace moves faster. He is not as stern in the face of death as his predecessor but seems just as determined. Despite trembling, he doesn’t hesitate for a moment. He runs toward me as he opens his coat, revealing the flasks in question.
Half a dozen glass bottles with round bottom...
2023-02-11 06:22:26 +0000 UTC View PostThe hunters are, understandably, panicking. It’s one thing to die for a cause. They can take a sword if it means providing for their families and defending the reputation of the guilds.
Watching one of their compatriots claw himself to death after being tapped on the head two times has firmly driven home the reality of their circumstances. This is not an impossible challenge with a king...
2023-02-11 06:22:21 +0000 UTC View PostThe world should announce the grim event about to take place with booming thunder and bright flashes of lightning. Instead, the sky is calm, scant snowflakes falling softly. Without the knights conducting exercises on the field outside the estate nor the rampant foot traffic I saw before, the stroll is quiet and, though I’m hesitant to ever think such in this place, peaceful.
A large pr...
2023-02-09 05:06:53 +0000 UTC View PostThe morning of the March, Alana, Kierra, Rolly, my succubi, and myself are seated on Alana’s bed, ready to discuss our strategy for the last time. The average person in our circumstances would probably have their shoulders hunched with tension and deep frowns on their faces. The air isn’t exactly cheery, there’s an undercurrent of tension, but there’s far more excitement. This isn’t a...
2023-02-07 16:57:22 +0000 UTC View Post“My lord.”
Inside the sweathouse, the more common way of addressing the training room attached to the main house, Zachariah paused in his morning practice, lowering his wooden sword. His preferred weapon was a large warhammer that he used his prodigious strength, aided by the best melders in the north, to swing around with the same ease a child swung a stick, but the sword was the nob...
2023-02-07 16:57:20 +0000 UTC View Post“Your family is insane.”
The rest of dinner passes quickly. The hunters’ representative, who I learn is the fabled Emberton, spends several minutes trying to dissuade the duke and his wife from their decision. He may as well be talking to blocks of ice. They don’t bend, they don’t break, and they certainly don’t compromise.
Afterwards, the meal finishes quickly. There ha...
2023-02-04 06:46:41 +0000 UTC View PostI thought the dinner table was tense before but it can’t be compared to the heavy air weighing down the room as Alana and I take our seats. Two more places are filled. Yulia has joined us but she doesn’t look happy about it, lovely face slightly pale as she sits with her shoulders hunched and her hands in her lap beside her brother. She doesn’t look up as we walk in.
The second new ...
2023-02-04 06:46:38 +0000 UTC View Post“You want me to believe that dozens of hunters came here just to kill my family?” I ask slowly, disbelief evident in every word. I refuse to believe it. Not even nobles would go so far. The Tomes hated the Grimoires, and they us, but neither family would mindlessly throw themselves onto swords for their vengeance.
“Do you know how manabeasts are fought?” the hunter says, a distinc...
2023-02-02 06:58:59 +0000 UTC View PostI stare at the man, brows furrowed and lips pursed. I understand the intent clearly enough. He’s come looking for revenge. What gives me pause is that speech. It sounded very deliberate. He spoke slowly, as if checking his words before he said them. The better tell is the sharp breath Alana takes beside me.
“What’s happening right now?” I ask, leaning toward her.
“Allow me...
2023-01-31 07:44:41 +0000 UTC View PostAfter a rousing discussion, trying to follow along as Alana talked at me about troop deployment for the campaign and optimal positioning, I convince her to give me a tour of the house. Not even the James are exempt from noble pride. Their home still has places of extravagance and leisure.
Like every noble worth their title, the James have a library, though theirs is focused on military hi...
2023-01-31 07:44:40 +0000 UTC View PostI find Cloud and Geneva in the room I was meant to be sleeping in, beside Alana’s room. The tamer is sprawled on the bed face down, dressed in nothing but a towel over the back of her waist. My succubus in the guise of a thrall is hunched over her back, dainty hooves digging into the sheets while her fingers dig into Cloud’s shoulders. If I didn’t have my eyes on them, the sounds they’r...
2023-01-28 13:04:18 +0000 UTC View PostYulianna smiles. “A decision that seems to have turned out for the best. Here you are.”
“So confident. You don’t know anything about me.”
She finishes her food and laces her fingers. “Mm, I need to make a small confession. I may know a little about you.”
My eyes narrow. Sneaky sister has been being sneaky, hm? “Oh?”
“My husband is one of the ...
2023-01-28 13:04:17 +0000 UTC View PostSaints, I understand now why this woman has a title as outrageous as the rose blooming in frost or some such. She’s even cuter bathed in candlelight. Someone could get lost in those eyes of hers, happily. They’re far less intense than those of the man who sired her. Even less than my future saint, who is a chip off the old block.
Everything about her just seems soft and comfortable. L...
2023-01-26 02:54:29 +0000 UTC View Post“That went well,” Alana says as we enter her bedroom.
“Did it?” I ask. I was expecting sparks to fly but after Kierra’s rather outrageous intro, dinner became rather dull. I paid attention, as everything said was quite relevant to our impending war effort, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a struggle. They didn’t stray from topics of battle for one moment.
I thoug...
2023-01-24 03:44:38 +0000 UTC View PostKierra sweeps her gaze over the table, her smile stretching wider. “I give thanks for inviting me to your table and your battle. I understand the sacredness of a blood feud and what it means to allow others to interfere. I will repay your trusts with a mountain of corpses.”
“Haha, that’s the spirit!” Kalise shouts around a mouthful of food. “If all elves are like you, I should...
2023-01-24 03:44:37 +0000 UTC View PostSurprisingly, the dress code for dinner at the James manor is rather strict. I admit, I expected sweaty men and women to plop down in the chairs fresh from training and drink their soups straight from their bowls. Alana’s manners when she’s enjoying a meal and doesn’t have to be concerned about appearances are rather atrocious. More than once, I’ve spied her eating with her hands.
AN: Decided to start marking the chapters from different points of view, for my convenience and yours. In hindsight, should have always done this. Live and learn.
As effective immortals, succubi planned in the long-term. Geneva had the luxury to make careful, calculated moves for centuries if that’s what it took to achieve her goals. The patience as well. Piling stone a...
2023-01-21 06:20:17 +0000 UTC View PostAs a child, I thought people were simple. I took what people showed me at face value. Gordon, my childhood bully, was a chubby, red-headed bundle of evil. My father a cold and distant man lest baited with the allure of summoning. The servants and peasants simple creatures that couldn’t break free from their routines.
After growing up, a combination of my tutors and sneaking into the loc...
2023-01-19 06:30:20 +0000 UTC View PostThankfully, no one else ambushes us as Alana guides me to her room. With her treatment so far, I half-expected her to show me to a closet next to the servant quarters. It seems that would be too much as she has a proper room. Nothing as grand as the manor given to my wife but it’s nice, if a bit cluttered. I would say it’s a bit small but that could simply be because of the general lack of ...
2023-01-17 04:31:31 +0000 UTC View Post“You’ve certainly made yourself comfortable.”
We exit the portrait room to a sarcastic voice. A young man, maybe a few years older than me, with heavy stubble and short dark hair stands in the middle of the trophy room, a frown on his face. What I notice about him most is the dagger strapped to his waist. Who walks around the house armed? Suppose it’s another quirk of the fort. 2023-01-17 04:31:28 +0000 UTC View Post