《Whispers of A Dead Empire》Chapter 94
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"It's not going to bite you." Her voice pierced the confines of my mind as I stared at the weird pasta-like item that she made as I weighed my choices. I didn't want to appear rude, so I ignored my misgivings, pierced the outer shell with my fork, and brought it to my lips. The smell wafted off up to my nose and gently caressed it, further loosening the last bits of my doubt.
I took a deep breath and prepared myself as I brought it closer to my lips. I pushed it into my mouth, tired of teasing myself. The heat radiated off of it in tantalizing waves and tickled my lips. The first wave was the taste of butter, thick with herbs as it flooded into my mouth, which quickly matched the pasta's light, fluffy taste. The flavors quickly melted together into one as I bit into it. "This is fantastic."
A low chuckle emanated from under her mask as she regarded me with her emerald orbs. "I'm glad you think so. Feel free to take a few more. I don't really have a way to keep them right now if you like." She waved her hand as she walked over to a table, pulled a chair out, and sat down.
I wandered over to the container and grabbed a few more of whatever she called it, and hurried to the table that she sat at. The palatines stood behind her and stared at me with an icy gaze. "Empress, where is Alessia?" I glanced nervously once more than I sat across from her.
"She's training with Nyx right now." She settled into her chair, interlaced her fingers, and regarded me with a guarded gaze.
Ah, yes, the princess. I was still shocked to see that she had a daughter. I was even more shocked to see that she looked to be only ten years of age. Even though she looked to be mostly human, it was still clear that she wasn't. Scales as black as night adorned her neck and faded into pale alabaster flesh. The most striking appearance, however, was her eyes. They looked just like the ones that were gazing at me now. "I'm far too aware of how that goes," I replied to her, but it was more for me in all reality.
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"Do tell." She leaned forward in her seat and interlaced her fingers.
"I grew up in a noble house, so I was forced to do many things, some of which I never wished to know." I felt the start of a sad smile slowly cross my face as a mixture of regret and nostalgia found its way into my heart.
"Ah, well, I will only teach her what she needs to know in her case. Nobility has always had such strange customs. Some of which I'm not fond of." She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms.
"That they do. But it's the way of the world." Saying those words made me feel weak. I wanted to change the world, but I still lacked the influence and power. It would take me a long time to get in a place where I could openly defy the norms without losing my head.
"That may be so. Where I come from, the nobility is all but extinct. Perhaps it's for the best." She nodded slowly as the words came in a whisper.
"What could have possibly happened that could ruin that?" The words that left my mouth were clad in astonishment.
"Cultural shifts mostly. Everyone saw that nobility had no merit. Though titles changed, so in a way, they evolved with the times. Not that they are totally extinct, mind you."
I tried to wrap my head around the fact that nobility didn't exist for her. Everything has always been split into those who serve and those who rule for all my life. To consider anything other than that really hurts my head a bit. "Tell me about where you come from, then." I tried to steer the conversation into an area that I felt a little more comfortable for me, all while trying to gather more information.
"Really, there isn't much to say. Though I feel that you aren't yet ready to learn about all of that just yet. Besides, you are here for the inauguration, no?" She sat forward again and interlaced her fingers. The black of her gloves seemed to drink the light from the various torches that lined the room. For the briefest of seconds, her eyes seemed to flicker as if they were a shifting pool of water.
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"Ah, yes, it reminds me of something that I wanted to talk to you about." I was slightly annoyed that she said I wasn't ready, but I would drop it for now. After all, I came here for something important. "Kharon tells me that the inauguration is for a hero of some sort for Asteria."
"Ah yes! It's for Octavian. I've already held the private ceremony, so now it's just for formalities."
"I see, well, from what I heard from Kharon, I have a cause of concern. Empress, are you a necro…" As the words left my mouth, a gust of wind slammed into me, threatening to throw me from my chair. My plate of food was torn away and slammed into the ground with a heavy clatter.
"That's enough." The Empress' voice ripped through the air like an explosion, and I felt the cold tip of a spear pressed against my throat quiver slightly.
The two palatine guards that stood behind the Empress closed the distance in the time it took to blink and had their weapons drawn. The male had its spear pressed to my neck, and the female drew a long knife and pressed it into my chest. My heart strummed quickly as slivers of white-hot pain danced across my flesh.
At the command of the Empress, the two took a step back and quietly sheathed their weapons. But the fury that they restrained earlier was now roaring fire. "Please forgive them. No one here likes that word." She gestured for the two to come to join her once more.
I quickly smoothed out my shirt and wiped away some of the blood that had come to the surface of my flesh. "I suppose I should watch my words. Forgive me." The incident did wonders to restore humility within me and a healthy amount of fear. They moved faster than anything I've ever seen.
She cleared her throat and adjusted her cloak. "It's alright. I just didn't expect them to react how they did." She cleared her throat and sat back. "But to touch on what you said, no. While the dead may listen to my commands, I do not treat them like slaves. Everyone in my empire has a choice, and I will not punish them for it. In the case of Octavian, he came back to life of his own accord and will lead my legions once more, as he did in life."
"I understand that; I do. The issue is that the outside world may not see things as such. Many are already wary of you and the undead that inhabit your domain. So I suggest that you tread carefully for a time, at least until the world warms up to you." I rubbed the spear's spot and found the flesh warm and still wet with blood.
"I wouldn't worry about that. Just let me take care of it." Her emerald eyes glittered with wisdom as the words left her mouth with such self-assurance that I couldn't help but agree with her. Yet, I still wondered, what did she have planned?
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8 113Iferes: Slaves Of The Gods
Iferes are creatures that roam the world. They are everywhere, and anywhere. From the deepest seas, to the highest mountains. From the heart of volcanos, to the never melting glaciers. Some are weak, some are strong. Some are calm, some are bloodthirsty. What they all have in common, is that they fight for survival. For hundreds of thousands of eras, humans and Iferes lived in a world of war and blood. Ifere against Ifere, Ifere against humans, and humans against humans. But one day, in a very distant past, the twelve Mystic Iferes, and the twelve greatest kings of humanity, joined hands to end that cruel era. Together, they created a contract. A contract that, once made, would bound the two parties, and could only be broken in death. Millions of years went by, and that period of war faded in legends. And a child was born, a child that would change everything. For bad or worse, only time would say. ----------------------------- Hello, everyone! Just a few warnings before you read the novel, so you won't be disappointed. First of all, as you can probably tell, I took more than a few ideas from pokemon and the like. It's almost impossible to write a novel where creatures (Iferes) have a major part in, and not relate it to pokemon. However, as you will see as the novel goes on, I tried (and I think I succeeded) in making a universe of my own. I am sure you will like it. Secondly, compared to pokemon, my novel is a lot darker, as you probably noticed by the synopsis. I also try to give a wild west vibe to it, if you know what I mean. Thirdly, you should check out my fanfic Broke: A Clone Wars Tale. Biased as I am towards it, I think it's a great story, and so do many of my readers. It will also give you a glance at what writing style to expect. Fourth and last, I feel like it's only fair that I tell you I am a student. As much as I love writing, my main priority will always be my studies. After all, writing is just a hobby for me, at least for now (fingers crossed). As such, there probably will be interruptions in the release schedule here and there, but, if you followed me on my other novel, you will know I rarely missed an upload, and, when I did, I always made up for it. So, with all that said, I hope you can give the novel a try, and leave a review. If you are a new reader, I hope we can have a lot of fun along the way. If you read Broke, then we already made a journey together, and I hope you will follow me on a new one. Also, you should check out my patreon, there you can get chapters in advance (although they will all be published normally after a while), and a few other benefits. I appreciate every bit of support you can give me! patreon.com/reis123 PS: there will be romance, but no harem or reincarnation. The MC is just someone who was born and raised on this world.
8 184[French] Le chat de Schrödinger - An Ephyria Story
Une fille, ayant vécu l'enfer par deux fois, est devenue un paradoxe. Morte, mais vivante. Présente mais absente. Son existence même est remise en cause par le monde lui-même. 1 chap / semaine (le dimanche) au mieux. Je suis étudiant, donc il est possible qu'il n'y est pas de chapitre durant certaines semaines, bien que j'essayerais de faire des chapitres, même s'ils sont courts (peut-être un chapitre extra ?) Au sujet de la fiction, il y aura peut-être un harem, mais que des femmes ! Pourquoi ? Pourquoi pas. Je ne me sens juste pas à l'aise d'écrire sur un homme faisant l'amour à mon personnage. Et oui, il y aura des citrons, mais pas de suite. Aussi, le texte sera très cru. Si jamais, pour une quelconque raison, un des personnages voit un pénis, j'écrirais clairement que c'est un pénis. De même pour la femme.
8 232The Broken Soul
Listening to the musical noise of peace and quiet, as I drifted off to dreamland....Bolting up wake, I was sweating practically having a panic attack.....ll I did was smiled and told him “ Don’t worry if they threatened you, they are all bark and no bite.”....When opened I locked the door behind me, instead of reading the journals in the chest I took out the tapes.... Here is a young soul named jade that is lost on life.
8 105To Walk The Mist
(Excerpt: "Ya! Old pervert! I heard you have a disciple. Which training ground did you send him to?" "it's definitely a ground... An execution ground!" "Old pervert. Your disciple is about to break through? what kind of pill do you want me to concoct for him?" "A good pill! His tribulation lightning, If possible, let's make it stay a few more days." "Old pervert, your disciple needs more tribulation lightning?" "Don't bother! Tribulation lightning refuses to descend, no matter what unheavenly act we commit! Say, old Iba! I heard you got some demon fire, lend it to me to test it on him. If it's original, I'll return it.") Ed is not from this world. Last he remembered, he had been on a quest to save someone's life, a debt he must repay. But he was deceived. stuck in a place called the mist, a bridge between worlds, time and space itself, a place gods would not go, he must not only find his way home, he must find out who he is, that the entire universe aims to kill him. With past lives to uncover and companions that should not walk any world. Will he lose himself to the mist or become what he has forgotten? both roads lead to doom, but whose?
8 221Chains
Eric Bane is one tough thug, but even he's not immortal. After a deadly ambush, he falls unconscious only to awaken in a castle preparing to meet a king. He was apparently summoned to a parallel world of fantasy to act as a hero who wields one of six Divine Weapons. However, being unfamiliar with video games, he doesn't see the new world the same way the other five do. After being framed for rape, Eric ends up hobbling out of the city with no money, no party, and draining motivation. However, if there's one thing that Samson is good at, it's spite. If the world is going to kick him to the curb, then he's going to beat the shit out of the next person he sees to get back on track. As Eric grows stronger through a natural progression, he slowly discovers the hidden history of the world and the dark secrets of the Church of the Trinity. And while some might wait for the right moment to strike, Samson isn't one for patience. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> This is a story that I've already gotten pretty far with, but I want to release it slowly over a few days to see what the critics say. I haven't finished it, but I've got a general idea where I want to go with it. Maturity for violence, sexual themes, and slavery. No outright sex or nudity, and there is no cruelty exhibited towards slaves. Tell me how you like it.
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