The bell chimed.
Rielle finished grandstanding and turned to face him. She rolled her shoulders, her silver engraved spear catching the sunlight. A smile curved her lips, devoid of warmth.
"Don't lose too quickly." Her voice carried ac...
2025-11-14 12:25:01 +0000 UTC View PostAUTHOR'S NOTE:
Thanks everyone for the great feedback and discussion on the previous chapter. I've taken some notes for potential future edits. Y'all are great. Thanks for reading.
Jon
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Not going to lie... I'm a little proud of this one. Of what it took to get here. Of how it turned out. I know the story isn't perfect, and that it still needs a lot of work. But this a big moment for me. I hope you enjoy it to...
2025-11-12 12:25:02 +0000 UTC View PostCaleb leaned against the earthen wall in the prep room, watching the other trainees go through their morning rituals. Some sharpened weapons that needed no sharpening. Others stretched muscles already loose. All of them avoided looking at the scry...
2025-11-11 12:25:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe stew sat between them, going cold.
Caleb watched the steam fade from the platter, the rich aroma of Gareth's cooking doing little to stir his appetite. His spoon pushed a chunk of meat through the broth, creating small eddies. Around the...
2025-11-10 12:25:02 +0000 UTC View PostAUTHOR'S NOTE:
A few revisions to remark on:
Thanks to Ihor's persistence getting through my thick skull, I did modify the prose in chapter 43 to more accurately reflect the tournament structure. Just simplified it. It'll be 10...
2025-11-07 12:25:01 +0000 UTC View PostAUTHOR'S NOTE:
This is a spoiler warning. Don't open the .PDF attachment of the tournament bracket if you want to avoid any spoilers about what fights might be upcoming.
Based on Ihor's comment last chapter I'm uploadi...
2025-11-06 12:25:00 +0000 UTC View PostThe final bell rang, a single bronze chime cutting across the arena. The sound echoed once before dying into absolute silence. Caleb stood motionless, his spear tip hovering a hair's breadth from Finn's wide, terrified eye. The boy's mouth hung op...
2025-11-05 12:25:02 +0000 UTC View PostAUTHOR'S NOTE:
I'm genuinely stoked for you all to read this chapter. Thanks for being here!
Leo stumbled through the doorway like a man...
2025-11-04 12:25:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe prep room door swung open with a weary creak, breaking Caleb's contemplations. Captain Hatch held it, his expression impassive as he ushered the two combatants inside. Corinne entered first. Her face was flushed with exertion and her training ...
2025-11-03 12:25:02 +0000 UTC View PostCaleb pressed forward through the throng of nervous trainees, his boots thumping against the hard packed dirt floor of the prep room. The air was ripe with anticipation, and the earthy scent of leather oil mixed with fear-sweat. A scrying mirror d...
2025-10-31 11:25:02 +0000 UTC View PostAUTHOR'S NOTE:
Thanks for all of the feedback I've been getting. Some good discussion in the comments, and the story is stronger for it (or in some cases will be stronger for it... when I have a chance to work on some of the bigger revisions...
2025-10-30 11:25:02 +0000 UTC View PostJakob's Magnificent Market commanded the corner where two streets intersected, its brightly painted storefront impossible to miss. From his displays came the smells of oiled leather and polishing wax, a distinct island in the sea of festival aroma...
2025-10-29 11:25:01 +0000 UTC View PostAUTHOR'S NOTE:
This be the first installment of milestone 3's additional chapters. Next one on Thursday. Thanks for reading and supporting!
Jon
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hey folks! Thank you all so very much for your support, and for reading this story. For those of you that might have missed it... The Sovereign's Toll reached the #1 spot on Rising Stars sometime my Saturday morning! Insane! Y...
2025-10-27 11:25:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe stables were quiet, the air thick with the scent of hay and animals settling in for the evening. Rune lights carved into the central beam kept the space lit with a gentle glow. The main aisle was clear, its length occupied only by the soft sou...
2025-10-24 11:27:02 +0000 UTC View PostCaleb pushed open the plain pine door, stepping out of the archive’s cramped, dusty air into the cool, orderly space of the main storeroom. The clean scent of the sterile storeroom was a pleasant change from the smell of old paper that had fille...
2025-10-24 11:26:01 +0000 UTC View PostHis eyes followed along a line of dense, academic text as he murmured the words aloud. "The territorial range of a mature mosshide bear is directly proportional to the ambient spiritual energy of its chosen denning site." He leaned back in the ric...
2025-10-24 11:25:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe air in the garrison yard was different. Before, Caleb had been a ghost, an anonymous trainee lost in the ranks. Now, he was a landmark. As he moved through the pre-dawn air, a space cleared around him, a bubble of respect and fear that followe...
2025-10-22 11:25:02 +0000 UTC View Post"That sword," Caleb began as they walked away from Yorrin's Forge, his new spear balanced across his shoulder. "Flamewright. How did you do that?"
The image wouldn't leave him. One moment, empty air. The next, a legendary weapon materializin...
2025-10-20 11:27:00 +0000 UTC View PostAs they left the forest, Selara glanced from the functional but unremarkable loaner spear in Caleb’s hand to the scuffed cuirass on his torso. “You look like you tried to hug a mosshide bear and it hugged back. My usual suppliers don't deal in...
2025-10-20 11:26:01 +0000 UTC View PostCaleb's legs trembled as he lowered his practice spear, muscles screaming from the morning's drills. The garrison yard felt different after Captain Hatch's dismissal—quieter, heavy with the lingering ache of pushed limits. His breath misted in t...
2025-10-20 11:25:02 +0000 UTC View PostBlood had dried on Caleb's shirt in rusty patches. Mud caked his boots, and the acrid smell of goblin fluids clung to his clothes. He stepped through Deadfall's gates, his stride even and measured, ignoring the curious stares from evening merchant...
2025-10-19 11:25:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe scraping grew closer. Three distinct sets of claws against stone, spreading out to flank him. Caleb's perception faltered, the beam flickering like a dying candle. His shattered right arm hung useless. Blood seeped steadily from the gouges in ...
2025-10-18 11:25:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe roar tore through the cavern again, closer, vibrating through the stone beneath Caleb's feet. Dust cascaded from invisible heights. Whatever made that sound was massive, and it was moving. Fast.
Run!
He spun on his heel, h...
2025-10-17 11:25:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe world vanished.
One moment, the blinding glare of two suns baking the quarry stone; the next, a suffocating blanket of absolute black. The sudden plunge from overwhelming light into a void left phantom lights dancing behind his eyes. The...
2025-10-16 11:25:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe scarred goblin's claw remained pointed at Caleb, steady as an executioner's blade. Another guttural bark. The pack moved.
The walls were too steep to scale quickly, and they'd already surrounded him before appearing. He was trapped.
<... 2025-10-15 11:25:01 +0000 UTC View PostHe committed. Pouring stamina from his body into his legs, Caleb executed a [Dash]. The ten feet of gravel separating them vanished in a blur of motion. The world compressed into a tunnel, his spear point aimed directly at the gob...
2025-10-14 11:25:01 +0000 UTC View PostThis is it.
The thought rang through Caleb's mind as he stood before Deadfall's main gates. Morning mist still clung to the ground, giving the world beyond the walls an ethereal quality. His breath formed small clouds in the cool ai...
2025-10-13 11:25:01 +0000 UTC View Post"Look what the mist dragged in. Come to beg for more handouts, dull-ear?"
Branson's voice cut through the noise of the Adventurer's Hall like a rusty blade. The drunk adventurer sprawled at the bar, his bloodshot eyes tracking Caleb's entran...
2025-10-12 11:25:01 +0000 UTC View Post