A faint impression of shadows on the wind came to Sam, making him glance up. It wasn’t much, but it hadn’t been there a moment before. His senses swept out across the region as he looked over at Sleset.
Two weeks had passed and they were halfway through the area, but so far no bandits had shown up, only a couple of beasts. Their pelts were now part of the stack that Sleset was carting...
2022-12-26 03:11:03 +0000 UTC View PostSeveral months later, a silver streak appeared in the Void in a remote region of the Near Wild, the area of the Borderlands closest to the Deep Wild. The area was thinly populated, but it was a key region for the transportation of materials from the depths to the border. Even in the busiest of times, however, the dangers of the Wild meant travelers were few and far between.
Sam stepped fr...
2022-12-22 05:29:20 +0000 UTC View PostSam looked down at the naga’s crown as thoughts ran fiercely through his mind. It was hard to tell if the naga was honest about the blood oath, but if it was true, it might solve the problem of what to do with him.
He didn’t necessarily want the naga following him around, since the presence of others made his essence more chaotic than when he was alone, but Sleset had given him good i...
2022-12-20 03:14:10 +0000 UTC View PostSam’s eyes narrowed as he observed the mercenaries, evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of dealing with them. At the moment, they were trapped outside the pillars and the enchantments blocked their vision of anything inside, so it was unlikely that they knew he was here.
From the look of them, they were probably up to no good. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be attacking his defenses...
2022-12-17 01:12:05 +0000 UTC View PostHe unrolled the length of Frostscale Cloudwolf hide and held it up. It was nearly fifty feet long with intricate blue-white scales along the back and a dark, silver-speckled underside. In refining it, he’d infused his own astral energy and crystal flame into the material to strengthen and attune it.
It wasn’t finished yet, but the elemental properties that suited him were already stro...
2022-12-15 03:17:53 +0000 UTC View PostNear the Peak of Sun’s Rest
“Resel, that’s going to fall!” Jeric’s shout carried across the slope of snow and tumbled stones that made up the edge of the second layer. His frown was deep as he looked over at the new addition to their work party. Then he headed that way.
Any moment now, if Resel didn’t pay more attention, the section of the tumbled building they ...
2022-12-13 01:11:11 +0000 UTC View Post
Here’s the hot new cover for Book 5!
2022-12-11 08:49:21 +0000 UTC View Post
Happy Holidays, folks. Sam found a Santa hat in the Void!
2022-12-09 19:43:49 +0000 UTC View PostThe flare of light from the runes blasted outward as a shimmering rain of crystal flame covered the area around Sam. His time traveling on the way to the Path hadn’t been wasted, and this spell was one of the results.
Hundreds of points of essence flowed into the runes and resonated with the concept of Astral Ice and Fire as those powers infused his crystal flame.
Crystal Stor...
2022-12-07 21:59:45 +0000 UTC View PostThe Void was filled with tumbling currents that swept across Sam’s mind. They flowed around him like a breeze, pulling his attention one way only to distract him by pushing it another way a moment later. He spent a while drifting with it, walking to wherever the urge pushed him.
He wasn’t sure where was best, so he followed a low, drumming heartbeat that called him deeper into the Voi...
2022-12-03 01:13:37 +0000 UTC View PostThe energy of the border washed over Sam’s shoulders like a cool and burning river. It was a mix of things—hot and dark, light and cold. Things that should not have been next to one another were held in stasis, forced to coexist as the currents of the galaxy balanced them precisely at that single point. He didn’t understand how it worked, but he could feel the truth of it.
Something...
2022-11-24 19:31:09 +0000 UTC View PostThe stars streamed past as the Will of the Path carried Sam along. It was almost like walking, but he could sense the shifting currents of the astral threads moving around him as the stars turned into lines of diamond-edged flame.
He’d walked along the astral threads in the memory from the Path, but this was a little different. It felt like the Will was bending the threads around them a...
2022-11-19 23:30:57 +0000 UTC View PostSam considered the words from the Will of the Path as he felt his body reforming. Memories from Titans who had walked the stars poured into him, far more than the images that the Will had just shown him. They fused into his bones and essence as he felt his sense of self expanding.
Then the starform that made him up began to draw in on itself, condensing until he once again stood in the Vo...
2022-11-15 01:23:26 +0000 UTC View Post
This one was just finished. It’s by EL Geron, the same artist who did the xianxia version a month or so back.
Enjoy!
2022-11-11 23:00:51 +0000 UTC View PostThis is the beginning of the Path.
The voice of the Will of the Path echoed, its words a crashing roar as it seemed to fade into the distance. Knowledge filled Sam’s mind as he became the star. He burned in the Void as darkness and light whispered to him, telling him of what had come before.
His essence star wasn’t an exact cop...
2022-11-09 07:31:59 +0000 UTC View PostThe Path of Stars stretched through the Void. Sparkling colors in a thousand streaks of flame and fury rippled into the distance, flowing past at the edge of Sam’s awareness. His eyes were half-closed, but he was still aware of them. The presence of the stars was as unmistakable as his own breath.
He wasn’t sure how long it had been, but as the thought flickered through his mind, an a...
2022-11-01 00:37:18 +0000 UTC View PostThis is from the beginning of River of Fate, Book 1: The Jade Scripture.
It's about a chapter in, rather than the first page. The scene is Old Yuan and Verse talking. I won't say more, since it'd be a spoiler.
It's narrated by Zachary Johnson. He's awesome and works with Soundbooth Theater sometimes, so you might have heard him before!
The audio for RoF1 is about done. R...
2022-10-31 04:56:14 +0000 UTC View Post
Book 4 is live on Amazon KU!
I hope you enjoyed the chapters as they came out here.
If you feel like leaving a review, it's always appreciated.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B4KQYS3K
2022-10-22 05:21:06 +0000 UTC View PostSam Hastern
Level 200
Race: Astral Titan (Young Adult)
Class: Astral Artificer
Subclass: Spirit of Crystal Flame
Class Experience (Level 0): 0 / 500,000
General Experience (200): 0 / 500,000
Essence Constellation (Single Star): 598,092 / 2,000,000.
Titles: Horned ...
2022-10-17 00:07:58 +0000 UTC View PostThere's nothing to worry about if you missed the epub release. I've taken it down due to Kindle's exclusivity rules, but if you were here for this release (pre-20th of Oct), just send me a message and I'll get you a backup copy.
I'll put out a chapter with the final character sheets for Book 4 tomorrow or so.
The plan moving forward is to spend a week or so fixing up some edits and ...
2022-10-16 02:49:10 +0000 UTC View PostIn the remains of an ancient crater, there was only scorched earth and the damaged frame of a gateway that had led somewhere else. Golden shoots of young grass were already climbing around the base. Nearby, the corpses of almost a dozen bellisagi were strewn across the field, their four arms broken at sharp angles.
Only one was still alive.
He held two dark daggers with his left han...
2022-10-15 05:24:12 +0000 UTC View Post
In a slightly different universe, here's some other art of Sam.
I prefer his face a bit older, but some folks asked for a younger-looking version of him, so here’s one.
His Charisma is out of this world and he condenses the Void on his hand.
I think I'll call it "Tiny Titan."
2022-10-13 15:55:55 +0000 UTC View PostThe world disappeared behind a silver barrier as Sam was swept away into the void. Stars floated in the distance, both near and far, like shining promises of what could be. It was familiar and not. It was almost the same as his First Evolution, but there was something deeper in it, as if it were a layer or more closer to the truth of reality. The stars shone brighter here, their fires more pure...
2022-10-06 23:20:00 +0000 UTC View PostThree teams of the assassins headed toward Sam with their strange, liquid speed. This time, all but two of them were at the Second Evolution, their levels ranging from 202 to 211. Their classes were similar to before. A mix of Dark Hunter, Wild Assassin, and Shadow Mage ones stood out to him, but he didn’t have time to focus on all the details.
The distance to him disappeared as the bel...
2022-10-04 20:12:34 +0000 UTC View PostThe spells from Sam’s bracers descended on the invaders like a wave of death. He avoided targeting the elementals, but fortunately they were grouped near the back along with a few Legionnaires and Enslavers, which meant he could ignore that section for a bit.
As far as he was concerned, only the eight Second Evolution Outsiders counted as real enemies, and he planned to clear the field ...
2022-10-01 04:02:49 +0000 UTC View PostLightning tore through the earth below as Sam looked down at the broken stones that led to the first place marked on his map. It was a massive impact crater on the plains, as if the heavens had reached down and slammed their fist into the earth. The center of it was a glowing roil of dark blue and cobalt lightning that spun in a mangled sphere, almost as if it were alive.
Whips of energy ...
2022-09-29 23:58:05 +0000 UTC View PostThe cavern where Sam was walking was heated by the earth until flows of magma ran along cracks in the floor, turning the area into a lake of fire dotted by only the occasional stone island. The currents of heat that twisted through the cavern were enough to melt gold.
Veins of quartz crystal cut across the walls, decorated with flecks of that precious metal, and accompanied by the presenc...
2022-09-28 18:31:57 +0000 UTC View PostThe way through the tunnels took two hours. It went around in a curving descent as they descended into the earth and then it swept up again, until they were nearly on the same level as Runekeld, but the area where the seers had their hall was far quieter than the city.
From the impressions in Crystal Focus, there were very few people who lived here. It was only quartz and other mineral de...
2022-09-25 00:18:34 +0000 UTC View PostThe world shimmered with green pillars that rose upward on every side. They weren’t trees, but rather columns of lightning stretching between earth and sky. Only their shape was similar. Despite that, they held a resonant aura of lightning and wood, as if a storm had created a memory of what was.
On the far border of his vision, walls of sizzling green fire arced into the distance, crea...
2022-09-24 22:20:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe Heart of Magma floated above the pool as Sam fed it the last aura related to fire and earth that he had. There were about thirty, so it took a little while as the Heart absorbed each of them. A few were Auras of Burning Stone, but most were the Auras of Enduring Stone from arctic cave trolls, which had been a threat to travelers a few times after he left Highfold.
The central ruby and...
2022-09-21 05:42:33 +0000 UTC View Post