Urelle was inside the Crucible, and all her friends can do is wait... and hope. ----- Chapter 11. "How long do we wait?" Ingram heard himself demanding again. "As long as we must," Victoria responded from the dimness of the pre-dawn. Even without more light, Ingram could see how exhausted Victoria was, dark circles beneath her eyes, the eyelids heavy, the mouth bracketed with lines of worry and weariness. I look no better, probably. It's been more than two days. Quester was sleeping, at least; he could feel the vagueness [ Continue reading... ]
GODSWAR: The Spear of Athena, Chapter 10
February 15, 2021 By Leave a Comment
Urelle was the only practical candidate... and now she must prove she is worthy to be a Salandaras. ----- Chapter 10. Urelle stared at the crescent of carven cylindrical columns before her, columns cut off in a manner that made them look like stalks of grass sheared off by an errant sword-stroke, and shivered. At the center of that crescent was a single dark, unadorned archway, ten feet high and wide. The entrance to the Crucible of Children. She glanced backward, saw the figures outlined against the dawn: the tall, angular [ Continue reading... ]
GODSWAR: The Spear of Athena, Chapter 9
February 12, 2021 By 2 Comments
Time to look in on our adversary and see that he's thinking ahead... ----- Chapter 9. He stood atop Mistveil Peak, looking out from Aegeia to the north and west. Somewhere out there, he knew, the armies of the Sauran King and the Archmage were confronting those of Kerlamion. That would be a battle to see. And one that would likely allow him to steal countless souls for power. Unfortunately, I don't have time for such amusements. Raiagamor had come here for a far different and much more urgent purpose. He extended claws rarely [ Continue reading... ]
GODSWAR: The Spear of Athena, Chapter 8
February 10, 2021 By Leave a Comment
Quester had come up with an idea... ----- Chapter 8. Ingram had to laugh. It was typical of Quester to find the straightforward path that no one else saw. Druyar began to chuckle, too, and soon he and Frederic were laughing together. "That… that funny! Not stupid, maybe good idea. But funny." "That it was. Quite clever, Quester," Frederic said, a smile still evident. "A most interesting idea, in fact. Let us consider it." "Not much consider," Druyar said. "Salandaras if born, or if married to Salandaras. Yes?" "Well, [ Continue reading... ]
GODSWAR: The Spear of Athena, Chapter 7
February 8, 2021 By 3 Comments
Today, our heroes reach the Freehold -- and confront the problem of how to get past the Salandaras who are there to prevent anyone from passing! ----- Chapter 7. "We must be getting close," Urelle said. Victoria nodded, seeing the same signs as her niece. The path into Wisdom's Fortress was broad, not terribly difficult, but wound somewhat through the foothills. However, the way the slope of the path was changing, and the depth to which they had now penetrated the mountain range, argued that they must now be approaching the [ Continue reading... ]
GODSWAR: The Spear of Athena, Chapter 6
February 5, 2021 By 2 Comments
Our friends reach Salandar, and we learn something about these people that they're going to have to work with... ----- Chapter 6. Quester smelled Salandar before he could see it. There was a tang of fire and metal, the smell of forges at work; there was the faint understench of garbage and rot from the waste of many people living nearby, but no stronger than that of most places; Salandar must be reasonably clean. The scent of flowers, fields of gravelseed almost ready to be harvested, fresh water flowing; and the [ Continue reading... ]
GODSWAR: The Spear of Athena, Chapter 5
February 3, 2021 By Leave a Comment
And of course where there are heroes there are usually villains... ----- Chapter 5. Raiagamor smiled in quiet amusement, watching Kerlamion, the so-called King of All Hells, directing the actions of his wide-flung plan. Kerlamion did not realize that the entirety of his actions, of the plan itself, were mere distractions, parts of a shadow-play by the true King, Raiagamor's King, to allow him to reach a goal that even Raiagamor could only guess. No comments, my little tenant? he mused. No thoughts on seeing the world being [ Continue reading... ]
GODSWAR: The Spear of Athena, Chapter 4
February 2, 2021 By Leave a Comment
Well, they had a destination... ----- Chapter 4. "Ingram, have you taken leave of your senses?" Captain Pennon snapped. "If you are going back to Aegeia, we go with you!" "No, you do not!" Urelle saw the tension in Ingram's whole body as he kept his gaze locked on Pennon's. He's confronting the Captain of the Clan; I can't imagine how hard this is for Ingram, so soon after finding out that he wasn't the humiliating failure he thought he was. But it was his place to do this, and Urelle and the others had known it [ Continue reading... ]
GODSWAR: The Spear of Athena, Chapter 3
January 29, 2021 By Leave a Comment
They were looking for answers... ----- Chapter 3. "I can only afford you a few moments," said Calladan Mystraios. "Even for you, Victoria." "I quite understand," she said. "But I believe my friends' questions should be brief. But first, how have you been doing?" "Well enough until I found myself drafted into being King-in-Proxy," he said with a half-chuckle, half-sigh. "The Academy's been doing quite well, or was when I left. A nice new crop of students, about half sponsored in." His sharp black eyes looked distant for a [ Continue reading... ]
GODSWAR: The Spear of Athena, Chapter 2
January 27, 2021 By Leave a Comment
Quester and Ingram had had an unexpectedly enthusiastic greeting... ----- Chapter 2. Quester felt his antennae flick involuntarily – the equivalent of an astonished blink. "I am," he agreed, "but from whence this amazement?" The Sorter was still staring down at him, then glanced back at the Artan. "Excuse me a moment; Guild business, you unnerstand." Without waiting for the Querent to answer, the Sorter grasped both Quester and Ingram gently by the shoulders and guided them through a set of doors and down the hall [ Continue reading... ]
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