《Monstrous (First Draft)》Ch8. Preparations
Advertisement
The witch can wait, right now I needed to gather the materials. I decided to go to the abandoned camp first to see if they had anything useful. Suddenly something slowly floated by my head and I quickly snatched it out of instinct, it was a long silky smooth hair. My smile only increased, it was a hair from a small girl. With this single item, I could track the witch no matter how hard she tried to hide as long as she had recently been in contact with the girl. With careful hands, I placed the delicate hair into a special container that was by my knife.
The ceremony needed to be completed when the sun or moon was at its highest, so I had a bit of time to gather and process the needed items. Still, time was precious so I sprinted towards the camp and arrived in a few seconds. I quickly began ransacking it searching for anything of value. After a few minutes, I had two metal one-gallon pots, a box filled with four lilac scented candles, three wooden bowls, a purse of what looks like silver coins, two purses of copper coins, and eight well made black cloaks including the one I had grabbed previously. After thinking for a bit I decided to pack one of the large hiking bags and take it with me.
I started to head back along the path I had taken previously. I took this chance to observe the energies around me, I had already failed to notice the witch and I didn’t want to miss anything else. I could feel quite a few different kinds of spirits and monsters. This forest apparently had an abundance of supernatural forces, all the more reason to complete the claiming ceremony. A sigh escaped me, so much to do and so little time to do it.
Advertisement
After a few, I arrived back at my necklace and sack. I put on my necklace and slung the sack over my back. Even though I wanted to check the cave I awoke in for spatial anomalies, I needed to set up the ceremony. Instead of going further up the trail, I decided to follow it back down to the blood-soaked clearing. The blood will act as a good catalyst to bring out any spirit who wished to dispute my claim.
I dropped my supplies in the middle of the clearing and adventured off to gather the needed herbs, fungus, and tree sap. I did not truly need these materials but the ceremony was more formality than anything. I knelt down and sent a magic wave into the ground, I carefully intertwined my threads with the web of light green strands that interconnected the forest. Once connected with the network a wave of information flooded my mind, most of it went from one ear and out the other but I was able to filter out the information I was looking for. The forest I was in was apparently much bigger than I first thought, the cave I woke up in was on the edge of a large mountain range that stretched on a few hundred miles, and beyond that was the area I was currently in which also stretched as far if not farther than the mountains. The town, Rafton, was not at the edge of the forest but was actually quite a distance into it. While I was in the network I decided to look for the witch as well but when I tried nothing came up as expected, she either has a close connection with the forest or a heavily warded area.
Now for the real reason, I was doing this, the ingredients. I needed a grove of bloody leafed ferns, forty-two petals of bone fall flowers, one devouring tree, five feet of flesh vines, eight seeds(doesn’t really matter what kind), a tortured tree, a bundle of pine needles, etc. each where surprisingly easy to find, I suppose it’s the abundance in mana. Most of my materials are just normal plants that just had to be grown in certain conditions.
Advertisement
After receiving the needed information I disconnected from the network and began to venture out to collect them. Each ingredient were a reasonable distance so I began rushing to gather them. The day had reached around mid-morning by the time I had finished my adventure. With a sigh I began my preparations, first I needed specific tools. This is where the fledgling's bones come into play. I gathered a bundle of sticks in front of me and arranged them into a standing cone. With a wave of my hand, the sticks instantly combusted and a flame rose high into the air. A mere natural flame wouldn’t work for my needs so I grabbed the bag I prepared beforehand. It contained forty-two different ground-up herbs, the left foot of a weird rabbit I found, and three feathers of a crow.
When the bag made of grass landed at the base of the fire it blew up into a ball of green flames. The green fire spread until it was all a menacing green.
Now the next step, I grabbed the pot beside me that was filled with water and set it into the fire. Almost instantaneously the water rose to a rolling boil, I grabbed the wooden bowl beside me and dumped the assortment of freshly crushed black-blooded fungi and twenty-one petals of fall bone flowers. The water stopped boiling and turned vicious, I needed to wait for it to boil again. After a few the rolling boil started up again and now the last step could be performed. I retrieved my knife and raised it above my left forearm, without hesitation I drove it in-between the bones. With a twist a few black drops of blood fell into the pot, turning it into a pitch black. I proceeded to slowly place a doll of grass, blood, and hair into the pot and it pumped out a volatile mana infused with the curses I gathered from the expedition. Screams erupted abruptly from the black viscous liquid, each yelling and spitting the worst curses imaginable. A small chuckle came from me as I listened to the beautiful symphony.
Advertisement
Shovels In Spades
We all have dreams of becoming powerful, becoming the cool mage that rules the world, living as the dashing rogue who can steal a kingdom's entire royal treasury undetected, or perhaps, the valiant knight whose prowess on the battlefield is unmatched by all. However, when the apocalypse strikes, you can only use what you have at your disposal, be that guns, baseball bats, your fists, or maybe, just maybe, a shovel. One young man who goes by the name of Darenzo has just had his world altered into one that is now the focal point of some sort of experiment. Just at the end of his shift at the skip site, a worldwide announcement was made, that not only changed Darenzo's life, but also the lives of all of the Earth's inhabitants. Can Darenzo survive and thrive in this changed world? Or will his growing madness best him? The answers to these questions can only be revealed with time. [Goal of 2 chapters per week, the only exceptions being announced breaks or emergencies] (The new cover art is a courtesy of the very kind and talented ssddx and was designed using the fanart cover of cthulupillar as the base.) This novel is a participant in The Writer's Pledge
8 180Gaming The System
Jack desperately wants someone to believe him. He is seeing blue boxes that seem to know everything about him. He reveals himself to his family and neighbors, only to learn that some things are better kept quiet. At least he isn't alone. His childhood best friend seems to have powers too. How far down does this rabbit hole go? This is my first attempt at writing. Expect the genre to wander. Currently on Hiatius.
8 117Embrace the Ether
To burn away the old, rebuilding it anew. Countless years ago, a terrible war came for the ancient Primordials, casting down their once believed immovable dominance and securing the rise of a new empire. The Ether was fractured, broken into numerous pieces as peace was hard-fought. Thrown into this new hectic land, Deus must come to wield an unexplained power, one that threatens both his sanity and life simply to use. If he wishes to survive, he must learn not only how to harness this strength but how to grow and expand it, altering the path of those around him. What he doesn't know is that he's found himself involved in a terrifying plot hosted by those demons of old, a game of sorts to decide the fate of Midnight. Does Deus have what it takes to survive, or has he found himself trapped in a plot he has no hope of escaping? Note: This story has a slow-build and takes awhile for the pace to get going. If that isn't your thing, this may not be for you. Heavy emphasis on world-building and character creation and progression. --------------------------------------------------------------- • Release Schedule • Chapters will be released weekly, with some occasional alterations throughout. This may not be a permanent adjustment, but I'll do everything I can to remain active. --------------------------------------------------------------- • Important FAQ • Q: What is the cover art from?A: The current cover art for ETE is called 'Run Boy, Run...' which is a work from Gustavo Arteaga's collection, which can be found here - https://gusart.artstation.com/https://www.instagram.com/sirgusart/ If you're the original artist of the work and would like me to remove your content from my cover art, please send me a private message telling me so. I'm not making any direct profit off this story or the cover, as everything here is a passion project. Also; This story and all its chapters are a work-in-progress, and may be altered at a later date. Don't expect perfection, but I am trying my best. Look at everything posted on this fiction as a first draft.
8 152Rise of the nefarious devil
What is good ? What is evil ? Is good only principles brought by other people whom think are good?Is evil good but with a worse emotion? Who gets to decide upon what is good and evil? What is karma ? Is it nefarious to grow powerful? Is it nefarious to kill children ? Is it nefarious to drink blood ? This is the story of Carl , who was abandoned by the heavens , but found his own way to cultivate against them..This is the story of Carl , who was abandoned by the heavens , but found an artifact that enabled him to go the same way as his race - against the heavens! == 2nd novel if mine is this one , the first one is ' the rise of the death seeking emperor'. Fyi I'm a novice in writing , so there might be some mistakes here and there , and I'm doing my best in the grammar part as English isn't my native language.. Chapter schedule : 5ch/week ( only weekdays , no weekend chapters ) At UTC+0 : 09:30 AM. Gruesome and dark scenes involved in the novel , you have been warned, if you don't like really dark scenes then you can go ahead and read.
8 119I Only Want One
Natalie was raised in a world where there is nothing more sacred than the mate bond. She lived with that belief all of her life, but when one of her mates destroys her trust and their bond, she can't do anything about it because rejecting him would reject his twin as well.But she only wants one.---------------------------------------------------"If you don't like it, reject me. I can think of someone who would be happy to be your choice mate." I spit at him and he stops pacing to face me. "I don't want to reject you, Natalie. I want you. As our mate and our Luna. We're twins. We're a packaged fucking deal." He snarls and I shake my head, crossing my arms over my chest and squaring my shoulders. "I don't care." I say. "I only want one."
8 182Brothers by Heart ✅
The story of brothers who never thought that their closed ones will betray them !! Whom they considered as their family ! Will they ever forgive them ? Will they become family again?Join me in journey of this book having laughter, tears and many more deep emotions !Happy Reading !Enjoy !COMPLETED!
8 196