Valerian spun around to face her in shock. That couldn’t be right. His grandmother’s family were plains folk who bred and sold horses. While quite wealthy and well known among the plains tribes, they weren’t some secret ancient clan. “Do you know anything about this?” Avery whispered at Jonas. Jonas shook his head slowly. Luckily,…
The ceremony was drawing to a close. The champions had been hailed, the prizes given and the speeches said. The spectators had cheered themselves tired and hoarse and even the music troupes were weary. A few pompous officials were still trying to get their say in, but the Steelborn Arena was fast emptying. As…
In one of DaleGuard’s many packed taverns “DON’T YOU PEOPLE SEE?” one man was yelling. He was drunk. Incredibly so. So drunk that he had trouble standing straight. Still, he tried to make his point. Fortunately for him, he was one of those who got only more impassioned and loud rather than slurry and passive…
When Valerian saw his opponent he could not help but think of the more stereotypical depictions of arcanists he had read growing up. Tireneal Reed fit them to his ‘t’. He was gaunt, sickly and pale. His eyes were red, appearing bloodshot at first but on closer inspection revealed a cruel, crimson light. His…
Allard looked at him appraisingly before answering. “The how is something very few understand but I can tell you of the necessary conditions for it. The first is to have daemonic ancestry and a very strong blood tie at that. The second is to have very potent essence. Truthfully, innate phantasms are just another kind…
Tirenael Reed surveyed the fighting platform, delighting in the chaos that had been unleashed. Below, a mighty behemoth raged. Fifteen metres tall and built sturdier than a marble obelisk, the armoured spectre tore through everything in its path, guided by nothing but dark fury. However, it wasn’t quite… there. The giant knight was grey,…
Water overcomes fire. Earth overcomes water. Wood overcomes earth. Metal overcomes wood. Fire overcomes metal. That was the order of the primary elemental circle. It was something that popped into Dorian Veldt’s mind the moment he saw that damned Steelborn brat fall out of the sky like a dead bird. It took a considerable…
I lost. I lost so shamefully. Those were the words that kept echoing in Valerian’s head. He was still in shock. When the referee called the match, he meekly went home, ignoring all of the platitudes that were offered him by his family and well-wishers. He just walked into his room and sat on…
Ignoring the reactions of the crowd, the Viscount began to speak again. “What you see before you is a sign of new growth. Thus far, the changes have been varied and without set form, making it clear that this is just the beginning and that there’s more to come. “Despite our efforts, none of…
The finals were to begin. The Zebre was nearing its end. Every category had completed its group stages and now all that was left was to discover the true winners. The best combatants and their respective rankings. The day before the runner-ups from the various groups had met for a final clash to determine…
