∼ Little Market ∼
Lost in a sea of people from all walks of life, bartering away at stalls and shops, rushing down the street to not be late for work, or just plain exploring the city's many sights. This was the Little Market. After the altercation at the inn, Eric, Aria, and Nyx have since then made their way to the local market. Like Small Gate, calling this market ...
2021-12-14 03:18:18 +0000 UTC View Post∼ Disturbing Practices ∼
Darting up, knife unsheathed and in hand, Eric's eyes searched for the danger. But as the surroundings slowly came into view with his sleep-addled mind, the faint glow of a morning sun faintly lighting up rather the modest room, the memories of yesterday came flooding back.
That's right, he wasn't in the wild anymore. He sighed....
2021-12-12 23:41:38 +0000 UTC View Post∼ The Dregs ∼
The tumble of dirt, gravel, and crumbling debris trickled down the incline as one foot was placed in front of the other. Eric and Aria had to exert quite the effort in scaling this steep collapse whereas Nigel and Nyx were making short work of this otherwise troublesome terrain. It had admittedly taken a bit getting through the winding tunnels of the Lan...
2021-12-11 00:43:30 +0000 UTC View Post∼ Squirrel Thief ∼
Startled Nyx whipped around to hiss at the shadows, on the verge of summoning forth his magic fire. Eric too had his fists raised, ready to throttle any who came too close. They were apparently not the only people in this dark corridor as they had previously thought.
It was too dark to make anything out as the small space stretched onwards int...
2021-12-09 02:04:20 +0000 UTC View Post∼ The Lane ∼
It was dank in the tight tunnel, the footfalls of the group echoing off the dank walls and down the passage.
They were walking through what appeared to be an aged network of underground tunnels and rooms. They passed multiple branching tunnels and turns that were little more than claustrophobic holes of collapsed rock and dirt. Some of the dark offs...
2021-12-07 02:57:25 +0000 UTC View Post∼ The Verve of Old Bones ∼
"You sure it was the outer barracks he meant?" Eric asked, eyeing the large buildings adorning the sides of the Small Gate as they walked along the encampment stationed at the gate's entrance. There were large stone and wood structures, an archery range, and multiple training quarters, all filled with armored men doing drills and exercising ...
2021-12-06 00:11:30 +0000 UTC View Post∼ Boreas ∼
In the dark expanse lit by wayward strands of arcane-blue lights, Nyx's consciousness floated. His mind had, at last, recovered from the mana lesions. Those wounds of which he had gotten from recklessly exposing his vulnerable mind to the infernal mana storms of the second stratum during his ritual of familiar bonding.
Despite how very well known it w...
2021-12-03 23:59:14 +0000 UTC View Post∼ The Council ∼
‹ Artorian Lucius ›
Feeling the warmth of his own hot breath dampening his face, he tried his best not to make a sound despite the fact that his cloak shrouded not only his body but anything that might even hint at his presence.
Still, he could not shake the nervousness as sneaked around the shadows of the large white h...
2021-11-29 23:09:24 +0000 UTC View Post
∼ Clingy Familiars and Stubborn Growth ∼
"Gyah! I said's stop it!" Nyx protested as he felt a coarse and wet tongue run the side of his neck.
Looking back, it was the thrasher, the eager smile on her brutish face as always. Nyx got chills down his back, picking up the pace a little so that he could catch up to Aria. He rubbed his neck as he held onto Aria's robe...
2021-11-29 23:07:37 +0000 UTC View Post∼ Mastery ∼
Dodging a kick that nearly sent Nyx sprawling, the demon scowled at the stupid human's accursed long reach with those accursedly long limbs. But curse all he might, the smirk on the human's stupid face would not vanish unless he taught him a lesson!
Jumping up and down with enthusiasm, giggling and cheering on Nyx, was the thrasher. She beat her ches...
2021-11-29 23:03:51 +0000 UTC View Post
∼ A Gory Sight to Behold ∼
Right, left, then slash.
Eric deftly bobbed and weaved the huge beast's searching attacks that had become more and more hesitant, though his own strength was waning. The creature had taken one too many hits to the head and its delicate hide was sliced up quite badly, yet it was far from dying. The damage Eric had left with his bare fis...
2021-11-26 23:25:03 +0000 UTC View Post∼ Summonings ∼
‹ Nyx ›
In the clearing of the woodlands, the echoes of pained groans rung between the trees. It was Nyx. His mind had been a landscape of agony ever since the contract ritual, the cause being something called; "mana lesions". At least, that was what Aria called them. All that Nyx cared to know about them though, was the fact ...
2021-11-24 22:52:57 +0000 UTC View Post∼ Arcane Domination ∼
‹ Artorian Lucius ›
"Chaotic, yet moving with uniform purpose. As uninterpretable as existence, yet it is the basest form of energy. Observe the winds of mana. How they flow. How they act. Do not try to make sense of it, just empty your mind and let no thoughts enter. Simply... perceive."
As the strands a...
2021-11-23 01:31:43 +0000 UTC View Post∼ Infernal Storms of Lost Souls∼
"Now Nyx, it is very important that you keep still. Do not touch any of the runes or the ritual can become unstable and any matter of things might happen. Death being the least of them." Aria warned with a serious expression on her freckled face.
Gulping, Nyx looked warily at the array of runes encircling him. Though his brief wo...
2021-11-22 22:43:40 +0000 UTC View Post∼ Skills and Traits ∼
Inspecting the various information on display, the demon hummed and hawed. Though much came clear before the learning demon, like the base mana cost for casting a spell and the level associated with it.
But he wasn't able to make out what exactly "effects" and "advancement" entailed.
"Low damage demonic... and ar-cane? What does that ...
2021-11-21 23:21:57 +0000 UTC View Post∼ New Powers ∼
From the coarse and sometimes non-sensical speech in third-person to the slightly-more understandable words in first-person, it was no surprise that Aria was so emphatic. She had been trying day-in and day-out to correct Nyx's speech as they went, but more often than not, it seemed that his animalistic instincts came in the way of that.
B...
2021-11-19 23:00:38 +0000 UTC View Post
A/N - A notice about changes to the last chapter. I wasn't satisfied with the number of evolution options and how they were explained in the previous chapter, therefore I've changed them. So first evolutions for a monster will always have 3 base evolutions to choose from, but 2 additional evolutions can be unlocked by either undergoing unique circumstances or having achieved something e...
2021-11-17 22:40:47 +0000 UTC View Post∼ Evolution ∼
Getting to her feet, Aria walked over. "What did you choose? That looked like an active skill."
"I chose brawler, and that was [Jab]. I actually got three whole class skills from just that. [Jab], [Cross], and [Hook]."
"Yes, three class skills from the start is quite good for...
2021-11-14 22:15:36 +0000 UTC View Post∼ Class Choosing ∼
Grunting, Eric scratched the back of his head. "What do you mean? We don't have a class stone, nor do we have a suitable scribe. But there should definitely be one next town over and undoubtedly one in Boreas."
In response, Aria just smiled sheepishly, lifting the grimoire to indicate it. "Well, a class stone is not always necessary, and while...
2021-11-14 22:13:51 +0000 UTC View Post∼ Aftermath ∼
Coming to in a mind-numbing haze of pain, filled with reds and greens, Eric could only make what sounded even to him as a pitiful whine. He wasn't actually sure what he had wanted to say. He had just needed to know that at least some part of him still worked. That he hadn't already passed on to purgatory to surrender whichever dreaded ancient god fancied...
2021-11-14 22:13:12 +0000 UTC View Post∼ What Lies Beneath ∼
Carried on by Boram's buck once again, the two tired teens rode in each other's comforting silence, Aria nearly nodding off as she leaned against Eric's broad back. It was straight and firm once more, anew with the distant and guarded walls of the traumatized lad. Yet something else too laid within now, a certain... protectiveness.
Blinking...
2021-11-07 22:54:08 +0000 UTC View Post∼ The Ache of Memory ∼
At a steady gait through the foliage of a woodland on its fall, the trees shedding their leaves for a winter soon to come, the thickset buck carried on. Other than the sounds of morning birds and the crunch of leaves under hoof, it was a quiet morning. They had ridden all through the night and into the morning, their luck lasting as they went wi...
2021-11-07 22:52:17 +0000 UTC View Post∼ Hot Pursuit ∼
Drawing up on Guard's Crossing, the mysterious caravan was met by a host of armored guards. Center-front, stood the captain himself. With the sighs of the black steeds and the groan of carriages, the procession came to a halt. A moment passed between the caravan of nearly a hundred men fitted to the bone in gear and the dozen heavily armored guardsmen....
2021-11-02 05:48:15 +0000 UTC View Post∼ A Fleeting Respite ∼
Guard's Crossing was a frequently visited place for many caravans traveling to the great city of Boreas through the Iron Road as it laid right in between. Therefore, the throng of people, stalls, and many tents outside the walls was no oddity. They were mostly just a conglomeration of caravans seeking refuge before taking on the last stretch of ...
2021-10-31 23:42:50 +0000 UTC View Post"Heritages - The great collections of the Enlightened, knowledge of the unexplored powers granted to them by the omniscient Codex. Heritages are often considered the greatest treasure of the Enlightened, as they hold the knowledge of a given path. Without a heritage, many will find their ascend halted and forever stunted. One might possess a god-given talent, yet without meeting the prerequisit...
2021-10-31 23:42:36 +0000 UTC View Post∼ Future Pursuits ∼
"Okay, then. Nyx, please conjure your [Demon Bolt] for me - but do not release it," Aria said, on her haunches as she observed the small impling from almost too short a distance.
Nyx merely shot her a hesitant glance at her plea.
"Please?" She tried, her crimson eyes giving off a different glow.
At that, ...
2021-10-27 07:01:06 +0000 UTC View Post∼ Decadent Charlatans and Rabid Mutts ∼
Amongst tents, wagons, and throngs of people milling about the sea of flea markets and ramshackle booths housing peddlers from all over Moravia, a small red creature scuttled in between the much taller two-legged and their many wares, causing quite the flare-up whenever one of them would catch a glance of the mischievous demon.<...
2021-10-22 01:12:41 +0000 UTC View Post
∼ The Catalyst of Curiosity ∼
The wagon rumbled as it was pulled along the Iron Road, its cloth canopy doing little for privacy as long furrows had been torn in the fabric from the attack last night. Inside, Aria sat cross-legged, an impling in her lap. Eric sat resting against the other side of the wagon, atop sacks of wheat and grain, sleeping his woe away.
He...
2021-10-18 04:42:09 +0000 UTC View Post∼ The Shadows in the Night ∼
In the fall of dark, only the torches and their soft flickering glow dispelled the encroaching gloom. The sounds of critters, the blow of wind, and the distant creatures most foul echoed through the night with their ever-present toll.
It was no different from any other night spent beyond the walls of civilization. But all present kne...
2021-10-17 22:31:46 +0000 UTC View Post∼ Codex ∼
The crackle of stone underbed, the rumble of the carriages, and the sounds of conversation at their backs - Nyx was bored. His legs dangled off the edge of the coach, watching the gravelly Iron Road go by as he absentmindedly picked his fanged teeth with one long, clawed finger. Nothing much had happened in recent days, other than doing some hunting here and...
2021-10-15 05:38:48 +0000 UTC View Post