MANTIS: On Hiatus Fantasy Comedy Action Adventure
Two young adults who were childhood friends are killed amidst a pandemic worse than our own. After many years apart, Rihelah was on her way to see Michael, hoping to rekindle their friendship on the day they would both lose their lives.
The pair are unwittingly selected to represent Earth in a test set forth by godlike beings who are intrigued that our world gave rise to complex life without having been intentionally seeded by their kind. Michael and Rihelah are reincarnated as predatory insects upon a distant planet called Edon. Elves, Dwarves, Dragons and their kin, Goblins, Ogres, Humans, Lizardfolk, Orcs, and sapient arthropods known as Enkelyn all inhabit this beautiful world touched by magic.
The tiny mantids must survive terrified and very much alone upon arrival, while neither is aware that the other has also been reincarnated upon the same island.
Naked in their new chitinous exoskeletons, they must now brave the terrors of an alien world's food chain. Each will benefit from their years of experience on Earth, but they must somehow find a balance between old lives and new. Moderate mindsets and peaceful values from a mostly safe and privileged life on Earth must now contend and somehow coexist with the strange physiology of a new and unfamiliar body as well as the violent aggressiveness of a predator's mind.
To top things off, the pair are about to find themselves struggling with their inner turmoil while swept up by terrible conflicts they know nothing about.
Both endure the hardships of their new lives while attempting to understand and make proper use of a mysterious and terse video-game-like System that pops status notifications into their vision from time to time, but initially has no useful interface. Some of the options they are presented with sound enticing, but as with everything else in life, each choice has benefits and drawbacks...
Author's Note: This story makes many changes to the original version, and readers of Mantid will find that many things in Mantis are new and different; especially after the first few chapters. I've learned a ton from writing like a madman, and also from the RR community. I appreciate you guys! :)
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1. Prologue: Young Lives Ended
2. Chapter 1: Naked and Afraid
3. Chapter 2: Welcome to the Food Chain (1)
4. Chapter 3: Welcome to the Food Chain (2)
5. Chapter 4: Learning Your Place
6. Chapter 5: Facing Her Fear
7. Chapter 6: First Contact
8. Chapter 7: Deadly Magical World
9. Chapter 8: Confluence Unraveling
10. Chapter 9: Harsh Realities
11. Chapter 10: Ignorance and Insignificance
12. Chapter 11: The White Witch and the Wizened Wizard
13. Chapter 12: Solitude and Confinement
14. Chapter 13: Sociopath
15. Chapter 14: Nytalis
16. Chapter 15: Breakthrough and Breakdown
17. Chapter 16: Conflict
18. Chapter 17: Invaders
19. Chapter 18: The Forest
20. Chapter 19: Wondrous Cavern
21. Chapter 20: A Close Shave
22. Chapter 21: The Deep Lady
23. Chapter 22: Once Bitten
24. Chapter 23: Evolution
25. Chapter 24: System Update
26. Chapter 25: Solid Progress
27. Chapter 26: Upward Mobility
28. Chapter 27: Enemy in the Woods
Aeterna Saga, Volume 1: Walking With Giants
A man in his twenties gets "reborn" in a fantasy world, seemingly with no special abilities. Read on as he and his family go through events that will change the world they live in, for better or worse. Also found in Fantasy-Books, and NovelUpdates.
8 434Beyond Floating
Muse thought her life had ended twenty years ago because, well, it had. Existing aimlessly for two decades as a ghost, she finds herself yanked along in a rip-tide of strange events. Thrust unwittingly into the midst of a group of paranormal hitmen-for-hire led by a man named Isaac. Michael, a normally rational and righteous holy soldier of God, succumbs to revenge and hatred, sacrificing everything in the fight to destroy Isaac and everyone who associates with him. Muse, by virtue of her inadvertent association with Isaac, is on that list. This is actually my first 'finished' fiction that I've ever written, which I completed about 8 years ago. I dug it up recently and I'm posting it as I thought people here might get a kick out of it. So, take that for what you will. Chapters will be released daily at 6:00pm EST.
8 101Rings of Gods
Leading a normal life, Sam is suddenly thrust into an unbelievable game called "Game of Gods" when he wakes up from a realistic dream. He must now complete the mysterious death game and uncover the truth behind it.
8 178The Paths of Magick
Credits: Story by Xcaliburnt. Cover Art by @Bervolart. Magick, the power to bend the laws of reality. All because of a mystical substance known as mana. Mages follow the Paths to achieve power, for there is no more addictive chase. Each Path winds and twists, forcing mages through the flames of adversity and challenge. Though the operative word is "path", the reality is far less straightforward. Instead of a road, Paths are like the branches of world trees, erupting into the heavens, intertwining, and ending in sharp snaps. Only the strongest reach the sky. There are several Paths, and many Ways to walk them—variations of the same Path, and like the stars, they are endless. Magick is the sacred flame that scours the fat, rendering the truest self. Superfluous flesh melting away to show the skeleton of one's being. A chance for ascension—apotheosis. Though not every mage works to godhood, if they survive long enough, It is inescapable. Witness the lives of those that tread the knife's edge of self-destruction. Each one intertwined in their search for answers, revenge, and, most of all: power. These individuals have all lost something precious—irreplaceable—and In search of filling the void left behind, they have taken up the mantle of a mage. Per aspera ad astra. Ad mortem vel divinitatis. (Through adversity to the stars. To death or divinity.) There is no consistent release schedule except my consistent inconsistency. Besides, there’s like a thousand pages worth of content, how can—you already read it? Goddamn. Oh, and there is a very long hiatus between volumes as I intend to edit and rewrite a lot. What to Expect: This story is progression fantasy, so expect a healthy dose of training. It's also heavy on slice of life, and it isn't entirely overarching-plot-driven. Expect characters to live their lives, and not always be on some quest to save the world. There's a lot of magic theory and discussion about it in the story. So, if you don't like impromptu lessons on sorcerous theory by traveling monster slayers, this might not be for you. But if you do like it, rejoice! For there is a lot of it. This is also heavy on prose, purple as a bruised eye. I use outdated, uneccesarily collegiate-level terms and play around with the writing style just for the heck of it. I find it fun to wax and wane poetic, and that might grate on you—I don’t plan to change this aspect of the Paths much if at all. Onto the viewer discretion is advised parts: This is grim-dark/ grim-heart. Take the tags seriously. There will be combat scenes that are brutal and horrifying. Fights to the death tend to be. This is a tale about medieval mercenaries (quite literal killers for hire), man-eating monsters, and eldritch gods beyond the material plane. Beside that, there will be traumatic events that are best left unread. I do not detail certain acts I find heinous enough, instead leaving some parts unwritten but still alludded to if not outright stated; there is simply no graphic narration thereof. This is not for the faint of heart.
8 282The Endless War
New chapters will be posted weekly on Mondays and Saturdays. ---------------------------------------------------- Seers are the only defense that Terra has against the monsters that lurk about in the world. Terra is a city fighting for its own survival in a fantasy world with finite resources. One of the main ways to survive is to fight. War is a common practice and more often than not the leaders of the world cannot get along with each other. In the end, however, all of this fighting does more harm than good. A young boy wishes to put an end to the wars, this boy's name is Isaac. He holds a strong belief that everyone can be saved in this world and that no one should be given up on. Peace is something that he truly believes will help the world and allow civilians to see another day. In order to reach such an impossible goal, he will have to fight in the name of his Region. Does he have what it takes to finally bring peace to the world with the help of his friends, or will he fail before he can even scratch the surface?
8 313Dungeon World
So I’m a dungeon, I’m supposed to save the world somehow but first I need to be strong enough to protect myself. Time to level up!
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