December Update

Great news, bad news, and kinda interesting news.

So let's start things off on the right foot with the good news. I'm way ahead with the next Spellheart book: Warlord of the Blackgorge. So far ahead that this draft alone is already beyond the scope of what I can stuff into one novel.

That's where the bad news comes in. I'm going to have to split this one into two books. At first I was hoping I could just make one big book like in book 3, but that just isn't going to work. I've drafted ~160,000 words and I'm only just past the story's midpoint.

Basically, I was experimenting with new writing methodology after speaking with several other authors. I'm once again trying something new. I've never used this technique before so my estimates for final book length were way off, and the only way to fix it would be to cut out 3/4 of a plot I've really been looking forward to writing, so instead I'm just going to slice the book down the middle and write them as two novels.

Now, I'm definitely going to rework each book in editing so that it can stand on its own as a novel, but at the end of the day I did design both novels to be one continuous story, and no amount of editing is going to completely overcome the fact that I designed them to be one. Some aspects of the books will have to be edited together to get the beginning of book 5 to tie in with the end of book 6.

So here's the bad news; I may have to delay book 5 until I'm almost done with book 6, that way I can release one shortly after the other and they can be experienced the way I originally intended. (And also give me the chance to edit them properly as a set.)

This may make things take a bit longer than they otherwise would, but the fact that I'm well ahead of my original timeline means we'll be going a bit faster. At the end of the day, I'm hoping books 5 & 6 will release about when you'd normally expect the next Spellheart book.

I'll keep you updated here!

The kinda interesting news:

I'm working on another series! You all knew I had to start one of these eventually. A man can not live on Theo's adventures alone.

It's still on the back burner for now, since I'm pushing hard to get these next two Spellheart books out together so there isn't too great a delay between books 4 and 5. Right now I'm thinking I'll make it a much shorter series than the Spellheart books and just save them on my hard drive until I'm nearly done with the third one. That way I can release with a bit of a bang, and I'm not on the treadmill to write more because I've already done most of the work ahead of time.

Spellheart 4 is Live!

 Spellheart Book 4, Legacy of Vanished Friends, is now live!

(And in considerably less-thrilling news, I recently figured out how to make advertisements.)

US Link: https://amzn.to/3jSemQ0

Universal Link:  mybook.to/Spellheart4

 

I know most readers like to buy books on the Amazon.com store, in which case click that first link. The second link has some geolocator magic built into it so if you click it, it will find the book listing for the Amazon web store in your local country.

 

Hope you all enjoy this book! I'll be busy working on book 5.

And if you did like the book, please consider leaving a review! They really help authors find more readers.

(The secrets of the universe are laid bare before me! Look, I can also now also make cool box things for people to look at and wonder why they haven't subscribed to my mailing list!)

Enter your email address

Mailing list singup fourm

Now uploading Spellheart 4...

The cover art is done! It's our first hint of the world outside the Hearthwood! It's the full size cover with both a front and a back, that way it's ready for that paperback copy I'm going to get around to making and formatting... someday.

I'm done with the book at this point. I'd hoped to have it live right now, but I've run into a few minor formatting issues. Amazon changed the recommended file upload types and my scene separators aren't playing nice with the new format. They look fine as they are, they just don't look quite the same as they did for previous books. It's not a huge deal and I bet most people wouldn't notice it, but I'd like every book in the series to be consistent.

So I'm going to spend the next few hours sorting that out. Afterwards, I'll hit that upload button and we'll wait for Amazon to approve it. That takes up to 72 hours but it's usually live well before then.

So to tide you over until it goes live, I've included the first chapter here on my blog.

Chapter 1

I was spending some quality time with my kids by helping them loot the corpses piled on my lawn. Massive broken trees were tossed everywhere like toothpicks the size of skyscrapers. This morning’s fight had cut the tops off mountains and carved craters the size of buildings. The massive holes were filled with as much blood and broken bones as they were with mud and water, though the necromancers had already made off with all the intact corpses. That was the only positive note I had for our little ferry ride through the newly formed lake we were sailing across in my daughters’ makeshift boat.

“Would it kill you to be a little more squeamish?” I asked my daughter. “Mind your clothes. Mac’s going to be furious if we track blood into The Wanderer.”

Sora, my second daughter by Sava, gave me a small chuckle as she reached into the brackish water and plucked out a fleshless unicorn leg bone, which she used like an oar to paddle us across the small sea. “For the prizes we’ve been gathering all morning, we can buy entire wardrobes.” She glanced back at me and gave me a cheeky grin. “Besides, I’m sure Malla would be more than happy to measure you for a new set of clothes.”

I held up a hand. “Easy there, Sora. I’ve got my hands full with your mother and the rest of the Hearthwood Clan’s matriarchs. I certainly don’t need my own daughter setting me up for yet another woman.”

Sora laughed again and winked away. “I’m sure I can trust mom and the other matriarchs to put you to work expanding our clan. I just want you to know I’m looking forward to a few younger siblings.”

“Aren’t you worried about wearing your parents out? There are thirteen of you now, including Segolas.” I complained.

Sora’s face turned downcast at the mention of her brother. Word of his crippled condition and the news that he wouldn’t be getting better any time soon had gotten around.

“I don’t think we’ve been much trouble to you and mother.” Sora said. “And we’re established enough in the clan that we can stand on our own. I, for one, would like to start building my own faction beyond my mother’s, and having a few little sisters to boss around would really help with that.”

“Ha.” I grinned. “You’re right, you girls have done a lot for this clan, despite only being a few days old. But if you want little sisters, you’re going to have to talk to your mother. She decides how many eggs she lays, not me.”

The fact that elves laid eggs still confused me, and Sava and the rest of the matriarchs continued to joke about human childbirth amongst themselves. The thought of miniature people popping out from between a woman’s legs sounded as whimsical to them as elves laying eggs that hatched wisps which then manifested fully grown adult elves sounded to me.

“Darn.” Sora said. “It looks like my sisters had the same idea as me.” The green-haired little elf started rowing her bone faster, driving our raft towards a small island in the middle of the water where a true mage from the Cult of the Unblinking Eye had died under a swarm of Undead Abominations. The bodies of the abominations themselves were what formed the island, though the elf’s corpse had long since disappeared into motes of light. For my kids’ sake, I was glad that death for elves was blessedly clean.

“You’re too slow, sister!” Aminal said as she waved to the two of us on the raft. She, along with Laminel turning over a pile of bones nearby, were daughters of Illiel and me. “Laminel’s already harvested what few spellhearts Sielus and Myrus left behind.” She jerked her thumb backwards at two tall blue-haired elves. Like their mother Assyrus, my daughters of the Waterbeetle bloodline were as strapping as elves could be with their naturally willowy forms. The two Waterbeetle sisters had no trouble turning over dead monsters ten times their weight to reach for their real prize: spellhearts.

And spellhearts were a prize, especially for a clan as full to bursting with skilled alchemists as ours was. My daughters were all heartwielders, still at the first realm of cultivation. But there wasn’t a girl among them who didn’t have designs on reaching mage acolyte. These spellhearts were valuable as reagents for a wide variety of potions, pills, and other cultivation-enhancing substances. If the spellheart was of the right aspect, a heartwielder could even use them to enhance the zeal of their own bonded spellhearts directly. So naturally, my kids were grabbing everything they could get their hands on.

“We aren’t grabbing everything.” Sielus protested. “The necromancer and her undead collected all the good stuff already. And even she only got what Princess Tivana didn’t think was worth the space it would take up in her bag of holding.”

“There’s no shame in cleaning up the scraps.” I said as I worked a little earth magic to speed our raft to the small island. There was enough gravel and mud mixed with the blood and bones that I could carry us with magic faster than Sora could paddle. “And if our new allies will let us enrich ourselves off a battle fought mostly by them, I’m certainly not going to protest.”

“Father’s right.” Sora agreed. “What’s trash to sorcerers and wizards is still invaluable to us.”

Sielus snorted. “You don’t need to tell me that. I’ve gotten more spellhearts today than I did during my entire career as a dungeon diver.” She bent over and grabbed the skeletal remains of a Stone Hoof Unicorn. “So for the good of the clan, help me pull this thing out of the way. I think the true mage died somewhere under here.”

My girls were all supernaturally strong when they wanted to be. All they had to do was tap their spellhearts and they could lift boulders, sprint for hours, and tear doors off their hinges with a sudden burst of energy. However, they were only heartwielders.

So when the Stone Hoof Unicorn skeleton turned out to be bound up in a dense network of connected bones that made up a deceased Undead Abomination’s torso, they started struggling. Had this monster been covered in flesh, it likely would have weighed as much as a building. As it was, the cracked and brittle bones linked by desiccated ligaments still weighed as much as a truck.

The girls made a good plan to slowly chop the mass of bones down into a dozen different fragments and pull them out one at a time. That would have worked eventually, but I figured I could lend them a hand.

So I grabbed the Stonehoof Unicorn leg Sielus was holding and jerked it upwards. Those dried and dusty ligaments proved quite strong as I hauled on the piece of bone and pulled the entire mass out of the hole. With a rough shove, I rolled the gigantic torso over and pushed it to the edge of the island.

“Thank’s Dad.” Sora said.

Sielus whistled. “What do I have to do to get that strong?”

“Become a mage acolyte.” I replied. “And you might also have to pick up the Blackgorge Fiendbody while you're at it.”

Sielus grimaced. “I think that would slow down my cultivation. I’ll stick to my spellheart until I get stuck. Then I’ll think about integrating orc techniques.”

I chuckled. “Don’t worry. I still plan to be here for you girls whenever you need something heavy moved.”

“Everyone, look!” Aminel shouted as she jumped up and down, clutching a bronze mirror. “I think I found something the true mage left behind!”

I jumped off the pile of bones that made up the Undead Abomination I’d just rolled over and slid to Aminel’s side. She held a sheet of polished copper that should have reflected her features. The mirror was empty though and showed only the stars overhead. I studied the mirror and through it saw the pile of bones at our feet, but no matter which way I turned my head I couldn’t see myself or any of the elves around me.

“How strange.” Sora said. “But it does look magical. Do you recognize it, father?”

“I’m afraid I’m as clueless as you girls. I recognize that script running up the side as some sort of enchantment though.”

[Which qualifies it as a genuine magic treasure.] Mac provided, speaking directly into my mind.

“Mac says it’s a real treasure.” I repeated for the sake of the surrounding elves. Mac had speakers he could talk from aboard The Wanderer but when we were out and about like this only I could hear him. It earned me some strange looks occasionally, but all my children had interacted with Mac enough to know he was real, and not just a voice in my head.

“Does he know how to activate it?” Sora asked hopefully. "Or what it is?"

Spell Mirror

Status: Damaged

Item properties unknown.

[That's the best I can do for now. Figuring out more would take some experimentation. I have a few ideas though, and if you hand the treasure off to Argona, I could have her run through a few simple experiments.]

I handed the mirror back to Aminel. “Let’s go find your sister, Argona. She and Mac can figure out how to get it working. I assume she’s in the Drafter’s Study?”

[Any other day you would be correct with that assumption. But today Argona has left her room and gone outside! It’s extremely strange and unusual behavior from her.]

It took me only a moment to guess what Argona was after. During the battle that made all the chaos and turned earth around us, Tim used five enchanted discs of incredible power. Each of those disks made or summoned a massive golem at the sorcerer ranks, a stage higher than even wizards and far beyond the golems I’d been crafting.

Of all my children, Argona inherited the most of my inquisitive nature and I was beginning to worry that her thirst for knowledge surpassed even my own. I would have already grabbed the broken remains of those golem summoning disks for myself if I didn’t already know Princess Tivana had claimed them for herself. I could only hope Argona didn’t know who had the disks yet and was off digging in the dirt in hopes of finding them.

I had yet to take Princess Tivana’s measure, but cultivators as powerful as she was were often strange and eccentric, with unknowable and mysterious plans. With lifespans stretching over a thousand years, they rarely bonded with or cared about lesser cultivators, who were as numerous as the grass below their feet and whose lives passed as quickly as the wilting of a summer flower in comparison their own.

I had to abandon my girls to break out my flying sword and try to get a better view. Down below, I could see Yorik and her forces were looming over a group of bedraggled elves. These were the survivors from the defeated army who weren’t important enough to own a treasure like mine to let them get away.

All the enemies at true mage or higher had long since taken off, but the heartwielders and mage acolytes weren’t fast enough to escape my people. This forest was our home, and the invaders stood no chance at escaping pursuit through it.

I landed my flying sword by Yorik’s side. A few dozen elves turned and saluted me, but most stayed focused on the prisoners. Many had quickly surrendered and bore no more than a pair of ropes around their wrists to show for their part in the invasion of the Hearthwood. Others had fought before being subdued, and we’d collected quite a few new wisps.

“How are things going over here?” I asked Yorik.

The strong, green-skinned orc woman stood out among the sea of elves. Originally, her species had earned her a great deal of distrust amongst the elves, but over time she’d gained both my trust and theirs. Now, she was unquestionably the commander of the Hearthwood Clan’s fighting force.

“Slow.” Yorik replied. “Didn’t drill them for clean up.”

“Our troops seem to be taking to it well enough.” I said as I surveyed the orderly lines and keen eyes on the Hearthwood soldiers. “Besides, I prefer cleaning up after our allies over fighting that battle on our own. We can handle heartwielders and mage acolytes all day, but true mages and wizards aren’t something we can contend against in number. As for sorcerers?” I whistled. “Apparently, it takes more than a mountain or two to hide from one of them.” New hills piled high around us, one of them the entire upper half of the dungeon my people had been hiding in until Tim and his wizards yanked the entire network of tunnels out of the ground.

“Theo!” An elf with dirty blonde hair pushed up her glasses and tucked her clipboard under her arm. Then she glanced around at the elves around us and corrected herself. “Patriarch of the Hearthwood Clan!” She gave me a formal curtsy, though the fact that she wore armored leather pants instead of a skirt made the gesture look like a half-crouch.

I smiled and wrapped an arm around Illiel’s waist. “You don’t have to be so formal, Illiel. Everyone knows you’re a matriarch of the Hearthwood Clan, even before your position as the head of the clan’s administrative duties.”

Illiel glanced around at the Hearthwood warriors as she leaned against me. “Fine… though since when does matriarch refer to someone who shares your bed?”

“I’m the patriarch, aren’t I? It’s only fitting.” I said with a laugh. “In most clans the matriarchs are a circle of ancient old elves who rule over their clan of descendants with an iron fist. I like my definition better, and I’d like to shift the rest of the clan to seeing things my way.” I pulled Illiel closer to my side, and she wrapped an arm around me. “And to do that, the clan needs to see how close we are.”

“O-okay, Theo. I suppose I’ll have to keep that in mind.” Illiel replied as she nuzzled my arm.

Yorik snorted, and I realized she was within arms reach too. “You too, Yorik.” I said, pulling the orc in with my other arm. “Now how about the two of you fill me in on everything that’s happened since this morning. Also, I’d like to know if either of you has seen Argona or Princess Tivana.”

Illiel and Yorik explained that most of the prisoners were either Corpse Collectors or low-ranking members of the Sakaku Clan. Illiel was already busy sorting them by their skills and level of cooperativeness.

“We can use more unskilled laborers fixing up the town, seeing how there’s nothing left of it at this point.” Illiel explained. “And nobody is going to refuse talented craftsmen who want to settle. With the Sakaku Clan practically slaves to the Cult of the Unblinking Eye, we don’t need to bother with the thought of releasing the members of their clan that we’ve captured. Besides, with Kysalian, Sharian, and Shakaran all staying here this place has more of the true Sakaku Clan than anywhere else. The surviving Corpse Collectors aren’t much of a threat now either. We’ve captured all three of their leaders and the cult aggressively utilized mind magic to suppress anyone with ambitions of leadership. I recommend we take the good workers and cooperative laborers, then sell the rest for a few Queensmarks.”

I’d been nodding along and taking notes when Illiel said that last part. “Wait, sell the rest of them? As in, slavery?”

Illiel glanced up at me curiously. “We won’t profit as much as we have by looting weapons and treasures off the battlefield, but the elves themselves should bring in quite a bit of money. I know you like having your own currency, but if we want to trade with the rest of the Deanian Queendom, we’ll need Queensmarks.”

I shook my head. “I’m just surprised, is all.” I glanced at Yorik. “I thought the reason elves hated and feared orcs was because you robbed and enslaved them?”

“Hate it when we do it.” Yorik explained. “Fine when they do it to each other.”

I scraped my brain for a morally justifiable reason for selling these elves and came up blank. We’d be able to rebuild the settlement fine on our own, and the Hydroponic Farm room aboard The Wanderer would keep us all fed while we did so. We needed Queensmarks, but there was no reason we had to use elves when we had plenty of trade goods.

Slavery might be commonplace in this world, but I wasn’t from this world. If I sold these elves for a few coins, I didn’t even need, then I’d have gone past morally gray and into the black. What would Sam and Dean think?

“Yes to everything,” I began, “except for selling the elves. That’s not something we need to do.”

I expected pushback, but Illiel just shrugged and jotted a note down on her clipboard. “That’ll hurt our finances a bit, but we’ll manage.”

Neither of the girls knew where Argona was, but after asking a few of the Hearthwood soldiers I quickly found someone who had seen Princess Tivana flying north. After getting a few vague directions, I hopped back on my flying sword and left to track the down the princess, and hopefully my daughter too.

I came across Princess Tivana meditating in a clearing surrounded entirely by water. Cultivators of her level could spend months replenishing their zeal reserves after a battle like the one she just fought, and Tivana wasted no time in returning to her cultivation. So, there she sat on a massive, flattened stump, cross-legged with her hands in her lap. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was clear and steady. Her silvery hair flowed with the air like standing waves on a seashore. Anyone who saw her would instantly realize she was a powerful being immersed in deep meditation.

I had many questions I wanted to ask the princess, some of which she hadn’t yet answered, like the whereabouts of my friend Dean. She hadn’t given me an answer yet, but I was patient and could wait until she was ready to tell me. Cultivation was a delicate time for an elf and the slightest disturbance could yield disastrous consequences. On this world it was common courtesy to never disturb someone in the midst of cultivation and breaking that courtesy could have deadly consequences for the perpetrator if the elf you disturbed was more powerful than you and of poor temper. I made a point to not disturb the elves of the Hearthwood while they were cultivating, and I wouldn’t disturb Princess Tivana for something as simple as a few questions.

I couldn’t say the same for Argona. My daughter was standing on her tiptoes, quietly creeping towards the bag of holding at the princess’ waist. It seemed Argona was a notch too clever for her own good, and it was clear that she wanted to do far worse than ask the princess a few questions. She figured out who had the golem summoning disks and had even managed to track her down.

The fact that she could figure all that out but still decided to try to steal from a sorcerer made me realize there were some drawbacks to being born fully grown. With another few days of experience under her belt, I hoped Argona would realize how monumentally stupid an idea it was to try to steal from a sorcerer.

I circled above the two figures, gesturing wildly to Argona below. My daughter was focused on the Princess Tivana’s bag and didn’t notice me until I was practically in her face.

I waved my hands while silently mouthing the words get back at my daughter.

While she lacked wisdom, Argona was a loyal daughter and only spared the princess’ pouch a single glance before averting her eyes and stepping backwards as slowly and quietly as possible. I nodded and was about to breathe a sigh of relief when Argona stepped on a broken stick.

The quiet sound echoed through the clearing like it was thunder under a clear sky. A jolt of lightning ran up my back as both me and Argona froze in place.

We both held our breath for a long moment. Princess Tivana stayed completely still, breathing in rhythm with the wind and flowing leaves. Argona and I both let out a slow breath when the sorcerer continued meditating. Argona walked backwards slowly and quietly stepped up onto my flying sword.

Together we flew off back towards The Wanderer. I thought about how to be a good parent for a while before eventually I simply said, “That was a foolish idea, Argona.”

My daughter hung her head sadly. “I know. I just… really wanted to look at those golem summoning disks.”

“Me too.” I replied. “So how about you let me handle getting our hands on them? I plan on arranging a trade soon, and you’ll be the first person I share them with. But only if you promise not to do anything that dangerous again.”

“Really?” Argona’s eyes lit up. “Okay, father. Thanks for talking sense into me.”

Originally, I’d been planning on putting Argona on cleaning duty under Mac as punishment. Her innocent, smiling face shunted those thoughts aside and any remaining anger over the worry she’d just put me through turned fatherly pride. I ruffled her hair and laughed, “It’s good that you listen to your parents. Well, to me at any rate. Eltiana, your mother, just returned this morning and I don’t think you’ve been introduced yet.”

“I heard she was back.” Argona replied. “Truthfully, I’ve been a bit nervous to meet her. She’s the leader of a secretive tribe of poison cultivators who practice the assassin’s art.”

I chuckled. “She’s not that scary, I promise. Besides, you were someone who just faced down a meditating sorcerer. Don’t tell me you can do that, but you’re afraid of your own mother?” We both turned back, glancing at the clearing where Princess Tivana was meditating. “I kind of wonder if you would have actually pulled it off. Sorcerer’s have superhuman senses, but somehow you managed to get that close. I didn’t think that was possible.”

“It isn’t.” Answered a voice that was far too regal to be Argona’s.

I clutched my temple and answered without turning. “Princess Tivana. I see we disturbed your meditation after all. I apologize.” I said as I shifted Argona behind me.

Princess Tivana hovered in the air beside us, unsupported by any flying sword, carpet, or platform of any sort. Her own magic was enough to keep her aloft with no external aid. She glanced over my shoulder, eyes cold as ice in the dead of winter. “I was curious to see what your daughter was after. So it turned out to be one of these things.” The princess reached into her bag of holding and withdrew a small, broken copper disk. At first glance it looked rough and bumpy, but on closer glance I could see each line and ripple was meticulously ordered into readily discernible symbols and shapes.

Behind me, Argona’s eyes were wide as saucers as she tried to rapidly memorize every symbol on the disk’s surface. I had to stop myself from doing the same so I could meet the princess’ gaze.

Tivana glanced at Argona and the tiniest hint of a smile peeked out from the corner of her mouth before being quickly quenched as she returned to her usual icy and aloof demeanor.

“Your father was right, you know.” Princess Tivana said. “Disturbing any other sorcerer, or even just a cultivating wizard, would have spelled death for you without another thought. Especially when you were attempting something as bold as stealing from my bag of holding.”

Argona’s face went pale. Her gaze was still fixed on the disk, but now she was more afraid of meeting the princess’ eyes than anything else.

I wrapped a hand around my daughter’s shoulder and held on to her protectively. “I’m sure I can compensate you for your trouble. You were interested in my adamantium weapon from before? I can get you a bit of adamantium of your own.”

Tivana’s eyes flicked to mine. “Are you offering a gift?”

I ran a hand fondly over my daughter's hair before glancing meaningfully back at Princess Tivana.

The princess nodded, then with a flick of her wrist tossed the broken disk to Argona. My daughter fumbled to catch it and when she did, she glanced in shock between the object in her hands and the princess.

“I’ll be keeping the intact one, but those broken pieces are of little use to me. I’ve already taken images for the royal libraries and that artifact would likely just sit in a dusty drawer for the rest of its days. Consider that a gift for a gift.”

Argona’s mouth went wide, and she struggled to form words.

“My daughter thanks you for your generosity.” I said for her.

“H-humble gratitude, your royal highness.” Argona finally stuttered out.

Princess Tivana turned towards me. “As for your question about the whereabouts of my grandfather? It’s a long and complicated story. I’ll have Baroness Jynna fill you in, as it’s a tedious tale to tell.”

I nodded and turned my flying sword, but the princess spoke again.

“One more thing.” She began. “If I didn’t want to give your daughter the chance to see me in that clearing, she never would have found me.” Then she turned and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Spellheart 4 Going through final stages soon.

 I'll be making another announcement once the cover art comes in, but I'm mostly done writing book 4. I just need to do a bit of surface-level editing and make the Amazon listing. I'm hoping for an early November release.

Spellheart Book 4 new progress update!

Hello one and all!

I, Marvin Whiteknight, return from many hours spent in the distant lands of the Hearthwood, staring through the tiny camera I implanted in Theo's nose.

If you're here, you've probably read the Spellheart series and liked it enough that you want to know when book 4 will be released. Well I am here to dramatically announce that the book will be released...

...soon. (But I'm hoping for an October release)

Sorry, that's still the best I can do.

But I can now tell you where I am in the process!

Write first draft -- Done

Revisions based on personal notes -- Done

Write second draft -- 95% completed (This is the version I'm posting on Patreon. We're currently on the very last chapter)

Gamelit redraft --  15% (I often have to add or remove a lot of major plot points in earlier sections, which doesn't work well with a gamelit system if I do it all at the same time. Usually I get this story aspect generally the way I want while drafting it then lock it down with numbers after by going over Theo's assets with a spreadsheet and make sure all the numbers jibe.)

Post Patreon edits -- 20% completed (Changes I'm making in response to stuff Patrons have said + more notes I've taken myself. Some scenes get deleted, others get added. characters get tweaked, ect.)

Beta Readers -- 0% completed (I'm going to send the book off to beta readers once I'm finished with my Patreon edits and the Gamelit stuff.

Final story edits -- 0% (This can either be a ton of work, or very little depending on what Beta Readers say. In the past though I haven't had to rework anything too extensive.)

Final Gamelit stuff -- 0% (Numbers are annoying in that the slightest change anywhere in the book means changes propagate throughout the story. This is an editing pass specifically to make sure that they’re right. As long as they don’t mess up something crucial, they shouldn’t take more than a day or two).

So that's what I'm working on now! Finalizing the points system, editing based on Patreon feedback, and generally getting everything ready. Despite how it looks, the first draft and second draft are the two that take by far the longest amount of time. As long as I don't need to do any more massive sweeping edits we should be on track for an October release! I hope you all are as excited as I am!

Spellheart 4 Progress Update

These middle-of-a-book progress updates are always awkward because I figure you guys (and gals) want something more than the generic update like "I'm working on it."

If you're perfectly satisfied with that as an update, then by all means; I'm working on it.




Still here? Okay, fine. You can have a little more detail.

I'm currently about 60-70k words into my current draft of book four (10,000 words is about 1 hour of spoken audio according to audiobook makers). The exact count is iffy because I have a couple of scenes that may or may not make it into the book. Those words are out of an estimated 120,000 word total, though I may once again have to stretch that word count to fit in everything I want to cover. You might say I'm a little over halfway done with the drafting phase, but pulling the ending together properly always takes me more time than writing the middle.

I've got more time off these days thanks to Covid-19, which has definitely translated to getting more of the book done faster. I'm significantly ahead of schedule, and combined with the fact that this book is going to be (hopefully) significantly shorter than book 3, I should be able to get it out a lot sooner.

I'm not going to make any definitive claims about how long this is going to take until I'm well into the editing phase, but for now I just want you to know I'm ahead of schedule.



Edit: I should also mention that I do have a patreon. As of writing this, 10 chapters to book 4 are up, and I'm posting new chapters every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. Keep in mind these chapters are from my draft, and aspects of the story will almost certainly change when I head into the editing phase of writing the book.

New Author Recommendation

So today I have something new for you. I'm recommending a book from a new author. I used the mysterious and super-exclusive authors only network that lets me get books before they're released, like GRRM's the Winds of Winter, Daniel Black 5, the next Kingkiller Chronicles book, and everything else you wanted to read but can't because its not out yet.

Book 1 of the Ruinland Ranger series: Framework of the Frontier

Available Here!

Let's take a look at the author's description first.

Monster girls, divine magic, and a frontier of dungeons to tame.

William Adams hoped to escape his dead-end life by reconnecting with estranged friends. They died when a floating cuboid interrupted the gaming night and vaporized everyone. Waking with powers reminiscent of his paladin character, William finds himself alone in a fantasy frontier of dungeoneers, desperadoes, and damsels of the monster girl varieties.

Set on reuniting with his friends, William accepts the duties of a Frontier Ranger. Unfortunately, the job is a ticket to a lifetime of trouble.

Local ruffians, a laser golem infested dungeon, and enemies from the deep seas force the former mall cop to stretch his magic of divine blessings to its limits. Thankfully, William has a nerdy faun archeologist and a psychic aboleth princess by his side. Together they explore the hidden mysteries of the Cursed Frontier.

Ruinland Ranger contains explicit engagements between a monster girl harem and the main character.

If you're sold already, click the link above to check out the listing. That's an Amazon.com link, but you should be able to find the listing on your home country's Amazon by running a search for it.

If you're not sold yet, keep reading and I'll tell you what I thought about the story.

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Spoiler Warning!

There be spoilers past this point!

Really spoily spoilers! Don't scroll past here if you don't want to be spoiled!

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So the story starts off in the real world. William (the protagonist) doesn't like his job. He and his buddies are playing Dungeons and Dragons and then they all get isekai'd to a fantasy world. Only they all get sent separately. William is the last to arrive and finds his friends have already caused trouble and skipped town, so right off the bat he's separated from his friends (You guys know I liked that, because I went for the same kind of setup.)

William is a Radiant Paladin. His team needed a support player so that's the character type he chose, though he didn't know when he chose the class he'd end up in the body for real. It's not a particularly powerful class for direct combat, but he can buff himself and his allies.

He wasn't totally out of luck from picking his character though. He happened to pick up a thimbleful of god blood as his special item, which hints at grand stuff later in the series. How this character class plays out in the story basically means William sleeps with monster girls and then he can buff them to increase their powers significantly. He starts out stronger than average in the setting but not by a huge amount. He's definitely not OP and that's the cause of more than a little internal character conflict.

The setting is somewhat reminiscent of the frontier (I guess that's why it's called Framework of the Frontier, though the Framework part doesn't come in until the very last chapter), with settlers and pioneers exploring lands that were settled once but have since become completely abandoned by the races that once controlled them. This book in particular takes place in a sparsely populated area with a lot of ruins, and a few rough adventurers lending a hand here and there.

I'll leave the details to those of you who read the book, but at the end William bonds with something that seems kind of like a dungeon core at the heart of an ancient but extinct city. Sain even directly told me that there'd be a lot of base building stuff in the future books, which I know you guys enjoy.

The characters are all solid. Everyone is built well and the protagonist especially has his own baggage which shapes him but doesn't become all-consuming. There's plenty of attractive women, some harem material, some possible future harem material, but they're all definitely their own characters with their own goals, aspirations, and dispositions.

The first girl on the right, who we get to spend the most time with, is a magic researcher who went exploring to prove one of her theories right to her classmates, which leads the protagonist into a lost city and a conflict with the faction the girl on the left comes from and her own back story. Most of the conflict for this book involves fighting against the left girl's enemies from the Underwater city of R'lyeh (no Cthulhu yet, but maybe we'll see some great old ones later on.)

In summary, this novel is an adventure story that sets up a city-building series later on. I think fans of mine will really enjoy it, and Sain is a new author deserving of a few more readers. Go check it out!

Memories of the Reborn is now Live!

Amazon US Link

Amazon UK Link

Amazon DE Link

Amazon CA Link

Amazon AU Link

This one clocks in at 170,000 words, which is as long as I want to go with books in this series. There's a lot of content in here that I'm certain many of you will love. It was an adventure to write and I'm glad it's finally free to see the world. I'm already typing away to get book 4 to you someday soon.

Edit: FAQ: I'd like to support you Marvin. Should I buy the book or read it on KU?
Answer: Due to the books pricing to word count, I actually earn significantly more when you read the book on KU than when you buy it (About 42% more off KU, actually!). Don't change your reading habits on my account, but don't feel bad if you're reading on KU, because I'm definitely earning more that way. That isn't true for most books on KU, but it is for this one.

Memories of the Reborn is now in Amazon's hands.

As I'm typing this, Amazon is processing the .mobi file containing Memories of the Reborn. It will be live in 12-72 hours.

I, for one, am so glad we finally made it to this part of the process. You'd think releasing books would get easier the more you do it, but it just seems to get more stressful every time. I tried meditating, I tried walking, and I tried meditating while walking (definitely do them one at a time.)

Let's just say I don't understand how Brandon Sanderson and Stephen King don't just spontaneously explode from the stress when they publish a new book. When it goes live, I'll make a new blog post.

After that, I will at last be able to concentrate on writing book 4.

Memories of the Reborn Releases on Friday.

I'll be posting Memories of the Reborn on Friday, June 19. Most of the chapters are available now on my patreon.

There are three chapters already posted on this blog as well. I'm afraid I can't post more because of my KU contract with Amazon, but the book will go live around next Friday. I still haven't decided whether or not I want to try pre-orders, but if I do you should see that go up by Monday.

Memories of the Reborn Chapter 3

I'm on the home stretch editing Memories of the Reborn. Most of my efforts are editing in beta reader feedback and final touches from my own notes.

As two people have already discovered, my new patreon is a lot further ahead in chapters than this blog, with a new chapter being posted at about 11 AM EST time every day until I run out of chapters. I might vamp that up to two chapters per day if it looks like I'll finish editing sooner.

I should note it is paywalled. Patreon will charge you $1 per month to read them. Sorry, but I have to put a paywall up otherwise Amazon and my audio people will get mad at me, and $1 is as low as I could make it. On that note, we're going to tap out what I'm contractually able to post on my blog in another few chapters.

Memories of the Reborn Chapter 2 + Cover reveal!

Progress update: I'm sending out the second wave of beta copies for Memories of the Reborn. ETA 1 month before it hits Amazon. I'll likely start posting more chapters (possibly the whole book) on my Patreon once I max out what I'm allowed to post here on my blog (I can only put 10% up here because of my KU contract).

Here's what the cover looks like, featuring Nela Songstone. Just got it from my cover artist this morning.

The paperback for Secrets of the Hearthwood is still a work in progress, I'll hopefully do it and the Memories of the Reborn paperback at the same time. I've been playing with the demo for Vellum, the paperback making software most Amazon authors seem to use, and it's definitely easier than doing it manually like I did for book 1.


Now, what you probably clicked for:

Memories of the Reborn Chapter 2!

Urrrrrrrrrrrgnnnnn.

Low and rumbly, the deep groan creaked like a falling tree.

A wet and sickly sound echoed throughout the forest. It had a disgusting dampness to it, like a knife being drawn through a puddle of blood.

Schllllck

Then came the moaning. Dry and crackling throats echoed throughout the forest, crying out in hoarse, pained voices.

The girls instantly recognized the sounds we were hearing. "Undead!" Eltiana and Sava shouted in unison.

"They're headed this way?" I asked. This was sooner than I'd like to test my new defenses.

Mac was the one who answered me. Speaking directly into my head, he said [Hostiles incoming. I don't know how I missed them during my earlier scans. It's like they popped out of thin air!]

"Eltiana!" I shouted. "You're the fastest amongst us. Do you think you can get eyes on them? What are we up against?"

Illiel pressed two fingers against her temple as she closed her eyes. "I'm counting a few major entities here. It feels like ten mage acolyte level undead, and a lot of heartwielder-level lesser undead."

Eltiana was already up on the wall. "I recognize the sound alone. Undead Abominations, followed by a host of zombies and skeletons."

"I see the same." Nela confirmed, a golden glow fading from her eyes. “This would have been a tough battle for any one group here. But with all of us together, there’s no reason we should lose.”

"Waterbeetle tribe!" Assyrus called. "To battle! Man the walls!"

Blue-haired elves dropped what they were doing. Seconds ago they'd been working ordinary tasks like tanning hides and digging trenches. I noticed with surprise that most of them weren't more than a few steps away from an ironwood sword or spear, and within moments they were armed and rushing to the towers I'd just finished building.

"Ring the bell!" Sava said, yelling into the distance. Her voice carried with far greater clarity than it should have, considering the trees and the distant. It was like the grass and trees around us amplified Sava's voice instead of quieting it. The call went out, carried by all the elves who heard it to some distant location. Moments later, a chime rang through the air and the remaining elves dropped their tasks and scrambled to and fro.

"We need to deal with the mage acolytes ourselves." Sava said. "But the rest of the Hearthwood clan should be able to handle the rest."

Schlllllck!

That wet slimy sound hit my ears again, louder and closer this time.

"Agreed." I said. "We should form up, same as we did in the dungeon. From what I've read, these undead aren't too big on strategy. Together we should be able to take them down one at a time."

Nela reached for her waist, pulling a long golden spear free. "I'll take the front line."

"Not alone." Yorik said, stepping up beside her. I wasn't sure where she'd hidden her hammer, but it was in her hands once again as a grin pulled at the corners of her mouth.

"Sava!" I shouted over the stampede of elves rushing towards the sentry towers and half-formed walls. "Get your people to bring bows and arrows! Swords and spears will only be of so much use at the top of these walls!"

Sava nodded and reached into her own bag of holding. Moments later, a small pile of bows and arrows materialized on the ground before us. She grabbed one of her kin and yelled something in her ear while thrusting a bow into the elf's grasp.

Soon enough, those bows and the rest of the ranged weapons were retrieved and distributed amongst those standing on the walls.

I watched more than a few elves trip and stumble over each other as they tried to find a space on the wall. All the elves cleared away to make room as the tribal chiefs and I ascended to join them though.

In a hurry to make room, one of the nearby elves scrambled too far too fast and nearly fell off the wall. I grabbed her by the back of her shirt and haul her to safety before she could fall.

"Careful there." I cautioned as I pulled her back from the wall.

"T-thank you, Patriarch." The elf stuttered, clutching a small ironwood dagger in her shaking hands.

I looked her up and down under mage sight.

Hidden Serpent Heartwielder (Level 5)

The elf would have been powerful among her old tribe, but with all the spellheart enhancements happening these days, the sixth layer of zeal accumulation was no longer so difficult to get to.

Then I glanced out over at the oncoming horde of undead.

Riverweed Zombie (Level 4) x 50

Dungeon Skeleton (Level 6) x 35

Undead Abomination (Mid Mage Acolyte, Level 15) x 8

"Help the Riverweed elves distribute weapons." I decided after surveying the enemy forces. After realizing what we would be fighting against I raised my voice so everyone could hear me. "Heartwielders at the fifth layer and below! Pull back and distribute arrows and healing potions. Get off the walls!"

Those lower leveled heartwielders were evenly matched with the lower level undead before us and were outmatched by the Undead Abominations leading the pack. Keeping them on the frontline was only throwing their lives away.

The nearby elves glanced at me in confusion, but two low-ranked heartwielders pulled back as ordered, save one small group on a distant chunk of wall. A head of dirty off-green hair stood proud and strong on the wall, surrounded by a circle of low-leveled heartwielders as he glared defiantly at the oncoming army of undead monsters.

"Segolas!" I shouted. "Get down from there!"

Of the children I'd sired here, only Segolas had hatched. He was my only son, and I wasn't putting him at risk.

Segolas either didn't hear me, or had other ideas. He glared ahead, unflinching as he stared down an undead abomination headed directly for him.

"Damn it. I'm too young to have a rebellious teenager." I cursed to myself.

I looked around before spotting Ullua, pushing her way onto the walls. She was one of the mage acolytes who wasn't one of my girls, and I pointed her towards Segolas. "Grab a few other acolytes and keep my son out of trouble." I ordered.

Ullua didn't have to be told twice. Segolas was second in importance only to myself to the Hearthwood clan. Without even needing to hear my request, Ghessa jumped off the wall and scrambled to catch up to Ullua.

That was all the attention I could spare for Segolas, because I was about to have my hands full with the remaining seven Undead Abominations.

"I'm afraid I'll be of limited use in this fight." Illiel said, taking a step back. She turned to me worriedly. "Don't rely on Twisted Step to keep you safe. Undead are extremely resistant to mind magic. I imagine that's why they stumbled right through the warding network I set up around the settlement."

"That's unfortunate." I frowned. The best way to deal with large hordes of heartwielders I'd seen was to blast the entire group with mind magic. Even Yorik had subdued large numbers of elves with that strategy, despite her limited mind magic repertoire. But that wouldn't work here. This battle just got a lot harder.

"Then you'll sit back and coordinate the Heartwielder's defense of the walls." Nela said. "I can take one of these Undead Abominations myself. When I'm finished, I'll help you with the rest."

Nela whipped her spear forward, holding it under her arm like a cannon. I recognized the pose, and a moment later a beam of golden light shot out of the tip of the spear.

“Star Dragon’s Descent!” Nela shouted into the open air. She struck the closest Undead Abomination in the chest. The beam of sunlight zeal could not slay the Undead Abomination, but it could stop it in its tracks.

"Graaaaaaaa!" The Undead Abomination screeched as it faced Nela's blast. It held up one arm and a cloudy shroud of darkness filled the surrounding air.

"That won't be enough!" Nela bit her finger, drawing a drop of blood which she slapped to the shaft of her spear. The golden light spiraling down the shaft grew brighter and stronger. The power of the beam of sunlight doubled.

Moments later, the Undead Abomination fell to its knees. It tumbled to the ground and several small elf and animal-sized corpses crawled from its body. Like a balloon that had been poked with a needle, the Undead Abomination deflated, letting out enormous clouds of black mist as it fell apart into bits of gore and rotting flesh.

Undead Abomination slain by follower (+30 points)

"You wouldn't be able to do that seven more times?" I asked hopefully.

Nela wheezed in response. "No. Took more out of me than I'd hoped. Never unlocked the bloodline seal on my spear before."

"Then I suppose the rest of us will have to prove our worth." I said, pulling my steel sword out of my dimensional storage and into the open. I was confident I could kill one of these Undead Abominations with it before it became filled with death zeal.

"Hold the wall!" an elf in the background shouted as lesser undead piled atop each other as they rammed into the earthen wall. Armed with long spears and crossbows, the elves shot down the invading undead, killing them in droves before they could form a big enough pile to climb over the walls.

"A few hundred more skeletons and zombies and we'd be in trouble!" Assyrus laughed.

"Fight isn't over." Yorik said, hefting her hammer. "Abominations will break through the wall. The little ones will follow through."

I saw what she meant. The Undead Abominations stood three times taller than the other undead, putting their heads just above the height of my walls. Not only could they reach over the walls on their own, but their size would allow them to tear the walls open. If they broke through, the weaker elves behind the walls would suffer heavy losses.

Even those strong enough to fight the lesser undead alone might find themselves singled out by the Undead Abomination. On the eve of a massive war with the Corpse Collector Company, we couldn't afford to suffer those kinds of losses.

"So we have to stop the Abominations from breaking through the wall!" I shouted. With a bounding leap, I jumped over the side of the wall.

Eltiana followed close behind, landing far gentler. Yorik slammed into the earth, knee bent, and Sava appeared out of thin air next to me. She'd used the space-warping ability she'd gained from her botched ascension to mage acolyte to teleport to my side. Melise and Assyrus were quick to join us.

"I'll clear the path!" Melise shouted, pressing her palms together. When she pulled them apart, two glowing spheres of light hovered in each of her hands. She ran ahead of our group and made a grasping motion at one of the oncoming undead. Before the skeleton could even contact her, the light in her palm shone brighter. The dim red glow behind the skeleton's bleached-white skull went dim and it collapsed to the ground, burned and blackened.

Six more skeletons fell one after another before the light in Melise's palms faded. These heartwielder-level undead stood no chance against a mage acolyte.

Numbers were still effective against overwhelming power though, and the rest of the skeletons soon took notice of Melise.

The blonde elf hurried to recast her spell, but before she could, Yorik leaped clear over our heads, swinging her hammer in a massive arc. It hit a zombie, not stopping or slowing as it carried through two more enemies. Yorik's hammer blow was so mighty that all three undead were sent rocketing into the skeletons behind them, toppling more foes as they flew, before finally crashing unmoving into the ground.

A few faint lines of blue text scrawled across my vision.

Skeletons slain by followers (+10 points)

Zombies slain by followers (+10 points)

“Mac, stow these things somewhere until after the battle!” I shouted, certain he was watching the fight.

[Done.] Mac replied in my head. [And Theo, consider taking out that one ahead and to your left. It appears to be concealing an explosive device within its body.]

“Damn it.” I cursed. Now where did a mindless undead get a bomb? “Eleven o’clock! Follow me.”

“Eleven what?” Sava shouted as she and the rest of the girls trailed after me on the battlefield.

I held my steel sword aloft, prepared to deal the killing blow as we approached the massive legs of the Undead Abomination. Up close, it was even more sickly and foul. Each of the malformed limbs were made of half decayed animal corpses. There were a few elf bodies in there too, and I wondered how one even collected elf corpses, since they dispersed into zeal once killed.

“I’ve got this one—” But before I could sink my sword into the Undead Abomination’s foul flesh, it toppled over and died.

I looked up and found Eltiana sitting on its head, fearlessly reaching into one of the gooey sunken cavities that passed for eyes on these monsters to retrieve a pointed dagger as long as my arm. Purple light coursed along the daggers side and faded to nothing.

“Don’t touch the corpse!” I warned. “There’s a bomb inside of it!”

We left that dead Abomination for later and went to deal with the others. The remaining six were much closer to the wall now. Segolas was still waiting for the abomination headed in his direction, but Ghessa and Ullua should at least be able to get him out of there before he got hurt. He was wearing a big, eager smile on his face, like battle was a game he couldn’t wait to play. Maybe a scare like this would be good for him. It would teach him to know his limits.

We headed towards the next Undead Abomination. This time it was Sava who claimed the kill.

As we ran, she donned a pair of pitch-black gloves. She’d stolen those from Sharian’s bag of holding, but she must have figured out how to use them sometime recently because a dim crimson glow enveloped her hands.

In the distance, a pair of ephemeral red and white hands the size of Sava’s entire body picked up a zombie and hurled it under the Undead Abomination’s footing. The giant undead stumbled, and a moment later Sava appeared on its head, pouring a lust vitality potion down its neck.

The Undead Abomination howled and screamed as it stumbled to the ground. Frowning, Sava dug her heel into the back of the abomination’s head, stomping out a hole in which she could pour the potion. It sizzled and crackled like a pot over the fire. The Abomination twitched before finally going still.

“I’d always heard vitality was the opposite of death zeal, and would harm undead even though it helps us. I never expect it to be true.” Sava said, appearing beside me.

“That’s a trick I’ll have to remember. My blood would do the same then?”

“Yes, it would. I pity the vampire who tries to have a bite of you.”

I’d prepared myself for a tough fight. I’d been prepared for a long battle. I’d even been prepared to have to tack one of my girls onto the resurrection tree until I could revive them.

I hadn’t been prepared for what happened. We crushed every enemy we came across.

The last time I’d seen one of these Undead Abominations, our entire group could do nothing but huddle in terror. Each of those monsters was the equivalent of a mid mage acolyte!

But I’d forgotten Assyrus and Eltiana had already reached that level themselves. Nela was an even more powerful late mage acolyte. While the rest of us were just early mage acolytes or their equivalent, our teamwork gave us an overwhelming advantage picking off these Undead Abominations one at a time.

The closest we came to getting hurt happened when a second Undead Abomination charged us while we were still dealing with one of its kin.

“I’ll hold off the new guy!” Assyrus shouted, bearing her shield and club. She’d long since unlocked the force enchantments that enhanced the weapons, and crimson light sprouted from both tools as Assyrus drew on their power.

“Eat this!” She shouted as she leapt in the air towards the oncoming Undead Abomination.

She swung for the monster’s knee, sending it stumbling. These things were tougher than that though. Like a grotesque stream of flowing flesh it repaired the wound in an instant by corpses migrating from the monster’s torso.

Unlike the other girls, Assyrus didn’t have any killer move to bring her opponent down in one mighty blow. What she had was an instinct for combat and an exceptional talent for manipulating zeal.

When the monster summoned a fistful of cloudy necromantic energy, Assyrus let the blow strike her on the shoulder, only to be reflected at the monster by the Waterbeetle defensive technique. Now that she was a mage acolyte, Assyrus could cover most of her body with the ability, evading the corrosive effects of the black cloud.

On the back foot from having its initial blow deflected, the Abomination fell back only to be hit by a barrage of blows from Assyrus’ club. It lashed out at her with a fist, only for Assyrus to dodge and weave even deeper into its guard, bludgeoning it left and right.

By the time Melise finished off the Abomination we’d been fighting together with a fist of glowing starlight, Assyrus stood atop the Abomination and was busy beating its head in with her club.

“That makes seven.” I said, having kept careful count of each one we’d slain. I still hadn’t used my steel sword with how quick the girls were at dispatching each of these undead monsters.

“Ullua and Ghessa have fallen back. It looks like they’re dragging Segolas back over the wall.” Nela said.

Sava sighed. “He’ll definitely be grounded after this.”

[Theo! I just scanned that thing again! The remaining Abomination also has a bomb in it!]

“Damn it! Why didn’t you say something sooner!?”

[The scanner picked nothing up before. It’s like the bomb switched places!]

“We have to kill that thing, now!” I shouted, running at full speed for the remaining Undead Abomination.

I called on all the powers that would help me run.

Blackgorge Fiendbody.

Sutra of the Living Earth.

Heart of the Mountain.

At these speeds, only Sava and Eltiana could keep pace, with Nela close behind.

Segolas tore himself free of Ghessa and Ullua, jumping back into the open.

“You little…” I growled under my breath. The kid must have seen how quickly we took down those Abominations and thought he could do the same.

Inky shadows bloomed on the Abomination’s forearm. Deep crimson colors circled the air around its body and I felt the sudden presence of a mountain of force zeal that hadn’t been there a moment before. It weighed down on me like a mountain.

I hefted the steel sword in my grasp. I’d seen Eltiana throw bladed weapons this large. If I could just get my steel sword in there quickly enough, it could absorb the zeal before it could detonate.

I cast another spell, Quicksilver Thought.

Time slowed. My body felt like it was pushing through syrup, my mind a step ahead of my ability to move.

The Abomination’s body broke apart at the seams. Its arms flew to the side as the crimson light in its chest expanded and tore the monster apart from the inside.

How did Eltiana throw her daggers? My mind flashed back to my memories of her. When we’d first met in the woods nearby. 

Twirling her daggers with that cheeky grin.

Our first dungeon dive.

Fighting Sharian, Tim, and the Corpse Collectors.

She’d always gone through the same motions.

The Abomination’s frontmost arm detached under the might of the force zeal unleashed in the explosion.

Elbow up. Right foot forward, Twist of the wrist. And then… release.

A ring of crimson light blossomed in a wave around the Abomination’s corpse. The flying severed arm of the Abomination sailed over the wall where it would land somewhere near Segolas.

I felt the strength of my limb pushed to its limits. No ordinary human could have thrown the sword so far or so fast, and I watched the shard of steel leave my grasp point-first like I had shot it from a ballista.

The crimson ring of explosive force zeal reached the earthen walls, cracking and tearing them apart. The explosion threw the elves who guarded that wall into the air and tossed them to the ground as the wall beneath them gave way.

I watched the steel sword sail through the air, carrying my will to protect the elves of the Hearthwood. The balance wasn’t right for a thrown weapon. Nor was I Eltiana, who had spent countless hours practicing those motions. But the sword stuck my target in the upper right shoulder all the same.

Like a puppet with its strings cut, the Abomination collapsed to the ground. The explosion of crimson light was cut short and what little remained dispelled into the open air.

Though we had cut it short, the explosion had still done a considerable amount of damage. I spotted two blue and purple wisps floating among the debris of the destroyed walls, the only casualties of the battle so far.

My eyes scanned the wreckage for Ghessa, Ullua, and Segolas. I found the two mage acolytes, but not my son.

Moments later, I spotted the overly confident green-haired hooligan. He’d used the explosion to break free of his two mage acolyte retainers and was hacking away at a zombie with an ironwood sword he’d swiped from somewhere.

Maybe it was just paternal pride clouding my judgement, but the kid seemed rather skilled for his age. The zombie swept its axe at Segolas’ head, only for the kid to duck low and sweep high himself. At less than a week old, Segolas hadn’t even bonded a spellheart yet. He was using nothing but skill and speed to overpower an undead monster at the fourth layer of zeal accumulation.

I’d been able to do the same at his level. He must have inherited some innate advantages being human brought me when I came to this world. Being able to fight beyond your level was the mark of a rare talent, and he was valued and respected in the clan for that alone.

Seeing Segolas was unharmed quelled my anxiety. With all the mage acolyte level threats destroyed, all we needed to do was clean up the lesser undead.

Even unarmed, slaying monsters at this level had become effortless. I swept through the battlefield, the girls fanning out among the invading undead to cover the most ground.

Compared to my speed, the skeleton I’d set my sights on was nearly standing still. I appeared behind it in a flash, grabbing the white bone skull in my hands and crushing it with the strength of my grip.

A zombie behind me tried to slash my back with its sickly fingers, but with the body of a Stone Skin orc practicing the Blackgorge Fiendbody, it couldn’t do more than ruffle my shirt.

Still holding the Fists of Stone spell, I didn’t bother looking back at my attacker. A casual backhand was enough to bisect the zombie as I dashed off in search of further prey.

Sava was having fun testing her new gloves. I could see giant ephemeral hands of glowing light appearing across the battlefield, tossing zombies and skeletons left and right. These weren’t opponents worth of wasting new potions on, but she still had her nature magic and had no trouble binding the undead with the surrounding foliage.

Assyrus and Yorik were like me, dashing around the battlefield and crushing undead wherever they went. Illiel was limited to using her frost spellheart. The shards of ice she fired were weak, but she was an excellent shot. Though her projectiles didn’t slay her foe, since she was only a first layer heartwielder in the frost aspect, she was still a mage acolyte and could keep watch over the entire battle.

Any time a heartwielder on our side was about to lose a limb or get tossed over the wall, a shard of ice would come flying out of the distance to distract or disable the elf’s opponent for the instant they needed to regain their footing and seize the upper hand again.

Nela swept her spear in wide arcs, not even bothering to skewer undead with the tips. Melise stood by her side, smashing her foes with fiery palm strikes.

Eltiana was as effective as the rest of us combined. She wielded her nunchuks deftly, now that she was just fighting with them instead of trying to impress me.

Though they didn’t even appear to reach their targets, the nunchucks lit with crimson light and the undead nearby exploded into shards of bone and gore. With her other hand, Eltiana unleashed wave after wave of throwing knives, flying like a fountain of ironwood blades. She’d tossed two bandoliers of extra projectiles over her shoulder, and each passing second another three left her hands to fly across the battlefield.

By the time I made it to her region of the battlefield, every undead was full of holes or missing a limb and barely crawling along. And those were only the ones she didn’t kill outright.

“I had no idea there were so many undead in the Hearthwood.” Assyrus said.

“I’ve never seen the like before.” Sava said. “Perhaps an artificial creation?”

“These types of undead are typically formed through natural processes around dense sources of death zeal.” Illiel explained. “Though that explosion had a lot of force zeal in it. Perhaps our enemies used naturally occurring monsters, hoping to weaken our defenses?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the Sakaku clan set this up. It might even be Sharian’s idea. She’s not a skilled commander, but she is talented at pulling petty tricks like this.” Nela said.

“It would have worked,” Sava spoke as she reached her arm into the chest cavity of a dead Undead Abomination “if she’d sent this against us a month ago. We’ve gotten a lot stronger faster than anyone could predict.”

“We can’t rely on our enemies continuing to underestimate us though. They’ll know how strong we’ve gotten soon enough.” I said. “We just have to be even more powerful by the time they figure it out.”

Battle Won! (+1250 points)

Undead Abomination slain! Zombies slain! Skeletons slain! (+300 points)

Enemies Slain by followers. (+400 points)

Total Points: 2820