Ad Astra

116. Splendid Weaponry (VI)

A/N: Bonus Chapter #2. See y'all Sunday. :) 

//

Kaya gasped. “Is that where we’ll be fighting?”

She turned to Dorian, eyes wide. “It’s huge!”

Dorian chuckled. It was the biggest th...

113. Splendid Weaponry (III)

A/N: Bonus chap again! I don't know how this happened either. I'm in a rhythm! :D

//

When Dorian opened his eyes, he found, to his annoyance, he couldn’t quite let loose. Yet.

First there was the ...

112. Splendid Weaponry (III)

Streaks of golden sunlight slipped in through the tent flaps. Kaya yawned, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, and stretched. Then she stilled.

“Huh.”

She expected to feel sore. But she didn’t—at all. Her head was a clear blue s...

111. Splendid Weaponry (II)

A/N: Bonus chap! 

Morning found the Heilong Estate in shambles. It was as though a giant spoon had scooped a chunk out the middle, leaving nought but charred slumps behind. There were cringing hunks of steel welded toge...

110. Splendid Weaponry (I)

“You swear to wield this weapon… to vanquish the Ugoc threat!” screeched Bin, eyes shot with blood, angry purple veins bulging out of his neck.

Dorian hesitated. What to do?

There was a fruit in the Upper Realms called t...

Interlude III (II)

The dying day bled out in furious reds and stark yellows. The far edge of the sunset melted to violet as night crept up the horizon.

Assembled on a battlefield was a most curious scene: a Patriarch, eight warriors, and a child. A very peculi...

Interlude III (I)

Northern Izod Desert.

The battle was all but won.

The Heilong Patriarch stood with his lieutenants around a hidebound roundtable. One grimy lantern hung above them, swaying gently in the humid air. It threw sickly yell...

109. The Highest Bidder (V)

A/N: Why is there a bonus chapter on a Saturday? I’m not sure! I probably should've saved this for tomorrow, but I couldn't help myself. 

Fair warning: This release may push tomorrow’s scheduled chapter to Monday. D...

108. The Highest Bidder (IV)

A/N: New chapter! Your thoughts are much appreciated :) 

Silence choked the air.

Jaws sagged open. Eyes popped. Cheeks twitched. One Patriarch let out a reedy wheeze which reminded Dorian of a tiny critter being s...

107. The Highest Bidder (III)

A/N: Bonus chapter! Woo! See y’all again on Sunday!

Dorian stared, speechless, as the ships rolled in. The earliest to arrive was a chunky steamer studded with masts of all sizes. It plunked to a stop mid-air, blotting out...

106. The Highest Bidder (II)

A/N: Sorry for the late upload! I hope to get a bonus chap out this week on top of the usual chap! I’ve got a week off this week. Fingers crossed it’s a productive one!

The smoke was thinning, and Dorian...

105. The Highest Bidder (I)

Dorian and the Heilong Elites stood in a crater, a blackened ruin of a once-great chamber, its sizzling grounds sloshed with half-melted gold and iron. Smoke wafted up like incense over heaps of fractured treasures. The last of their qi leaked out...

Chapter 104. New Horizons (X)

The scale sank within him, down his throat, and nestled into his Spirit Sea. Right in the eye of the storm.

Dorian felt the shockwave of qi from his bones to his skin. His whole body vibrated, top-to-bottom, like a string plucked by the hand...

103. New Horizons (IX)

Dorian, of course, had no clue about the hubbub above him. Even if he did, he couldn’t afford to think about it. Fierce gales of qi scythed in and out of him, intent on carving his body from the inside-out. There was so much qi flowing through h...

102. New Horizons (VIII)

Note: I’m so excited for what’s coming, y’all.

Dorian would’ve never dreamed he’d get a Bloodline piece this early.

As he sprinted into the chamber proper, heartbeat thundering in his ears, he though...

101. New Horizons (VII)

Note: I will be trying to publish weekly on Sunday evenings from now on, likely ~6 PM EST 

“THE HEILONG FORGES,” read tall, stern block letters inscribed in the wrought-steel door. The thing looked like a shield bui...

100. New Horizons (VI)

“Sure!” beamed Tan. “This way…” and they were off.

They passed the first great door in the chamber, which was emblazoned with a hulking anvil symbol. “The forges,” said Tan airily. It made sense for a military family. There wer...

99. New Horizons (V)

“Do you know the origin of my name, Heilong?” said Tan, a glint in his eye.

“Tell me,” breathed Dorian.

Tan smirked. “Every year after the solstice, my father braves the dark corners of the Desert to hunt the Dusk Dragon— 2022-06-16 22:09:55 +0000 UTC View Post

99. New Horizons (V)

“You’ll see,” grinned Tan. “First, let me tell you a little story. My family name is Heilong. It means black dragon. It is my family’s signature Bloodline.”

He pressed a finger to the indent, and Dorian heard a ...

98. New Horizons (IV)

A/N:

Hi! I am alive, actually

sorry for the long break :/ schoolwork getting bad + bad writer’s block really got me at once

I suspect it will take a few chaps for me to get back into the groove of things but i ...

97. New Horizons (III)

Dorian was catching odd looks left and right as he waddled down Main Street. He sighed.

Yes, I know! I look like a clown.

He was wearing a bestiary’s worth of body-parts. King Vordor feathers crowned his black cap, which had...

96. New Horizons (II)

A/N: sunday bonus chapter! :D

//

Longfoot flailed back, crying out in pain.

“RUN!! I’ll hold them off!” she yelled. The little girl nodded, wide-eyed, and scampered off. Then Kaya put up her fists. She could do it! She coul...

95. New Horizons (I)

Kaya felt weirdly good tonight, considering she’d been bawling just hours before. But now she couldn’t stop grinning. The world seemed twice as bright, chock-full of life. She thrummed with spirit. She was so light she could’ve been...

94. Mister Popular (II)

“So?” Receptionist Tao sniffed. “What will it be?”

Dorian took a shallow breath. This little stunt might be risky…

His first move had to be off-balancing the mob. They were so hardened-up in rage no words had a hope ...

93. Mister Popular (I)

Note: Due to the tonally dissonant nature of the last two chapters, I’ve decided to make them a side-story!

Next chapter also coming today (Thurs) 

//

Dorian felt eyes on him the moment he arrived at the G...

Side-Story 1. The Witch and the Brute (II)

Morning found them tangled up in each other. Eudora woke first; she’d also slept first, in a manner of speaking. Her last waking hour was hardly conscious; she spent it in some addled haze of pleasure, limp, letting him do what he wis...

Side-Story 1. The Witch and The Brute (I)

A/N: Content warning! NSFW and Sexual Manipulation. These chapters are tonally pretty different from standard Speedrunning fare; covers Eudora & Feiyan'gs relationship. Can be skipped if you're uncomfortable with toxic re...

92. Friends! (III)

Sure enough, the old waiter stopped right between Dorian’s and Young Mistress Tao’s tables. He frowned as he jerked a thumb at Mistress Tao.

“Up, girl!” snapped the waiter. “Young Master Heilong demands your seat.”

Tao, for...

91. Friends! (II)

“I wish to be more than mere friends, Io Rust,” she purred. “I find you very promising. I saw your work in the Guild. I wish to sponsor you in the Tournament. I want you as a vassal of my clan—I want you to bear my crest.” <...