《Aegis》Chapter 33: Taking Stock
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Your one working eye fixes on Chief Medicae Berach, "status report doc?"
Berach pushes his horn-rimmed glasses back up his hooked nose, "well, you could be worse. Contusions and bruises are healing up nicely, swelling is down and your new augmetic eye is knitting in nicely. Lord Pyrus has already declared you clean of mutation, though he does want to examine your for corruption now that you are awake."
"Wait, new eye? What happened to my old one?"
Berach consults a clipboard, flipping through his notes, "short version? Torn to shreds by blast-launched shrapnel. I'm surprised you still have a head that's working as it should. I'll be taking the bandage off in a few days."
"And the others who went down to Vrenna?"
Berach hooks the clipboard over the end of the bed and pulls a dataslate out of a pocket, "Lady Saurlance has already returned to duty, despite a bruised collarbone. Lord Saurlance is still on limited duty due to a cracked rib. I expect both of them to make a full recovery, given time. Of the armsmen, I had to identify four of them by dental records. The fifth, a mr. Adam Mantium, is still getting used to his new augmetics. Of the Space Marines, all of them came off relatively unscathed. Lord Rubicon picked up a new scar or three, Lord Direwolf is having his augmetics repaired, and Lord Pyrus is assisting Master Echo in doing so. All survivors have been confirmed clean of fresh mutations and corruption, pending your interview with Lord Pyrus. I'll inform him that you are awake now." With that, he bustles out of the room, his white smock swirling about his legs.
You lay back on the bed and try to piece you thoughts together. Obviously, you need to tell Lord Pyrus about what the polearm-xeno said. Next step would be getting him back to the Mavros and getting back to regular business. But something tells you that these last few days, the ones that you can remember at least, are going to have consequences further down the road. Sure, you have an Inquisition contact, but he or she probably has you marked down as an asset. You refocus your thoughts as Lord Pyrus comes limping through the doorway. He is dressed in a slightly grimy work robe reminiscent of the ones Jace wares on a regular basis, and you notice him grimace as he sits down heavily on the end of the bed. He stares at you for a long, searching moment before speaking, "So you finally woke up."
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"Yes. I'm assuming that you are here to make sure I'm not a loose end then?"
"I've no fear of that. If I did, you would never have woken up. I know that the Farseer said something to you. I saw her turn back to you before boarding her shuttle, but my helmet was too badly damaged to make out what she said."
You sigh with relief, "she spoke a bit before you woke up. Most of it is slangspeach to me, but I guess psykers speak their own language the rest of us just don't get. What she said, word for word, is 'When you wake again, I and my kind will have departed. I would congratulate you Wanderer, for standing against the Beings That Should Not Be, and living to tell of it. Accordingly, the strands of fate have shifted, false paths falling away. We may yet meet again as friends on earth crimson.' At that point, she turned to leave, paused, and said 'Tell the Flamebringer that the oath he swore on the Bleeding Shard is fulfilled. He will know what it means.' I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that you are the one she called Flamebringer?"
Pyrus nods, clearly picking his words with care, "The Farseer was talking about events that may yet come to pass, and old history that has no bearing on the present any longer. I hope. Once you have recovered, it is time to head back to the Mavros. I have reports of my own to file, and you undoubtedly need to get back to your trade. Between the aid you offered back in Procyon, and your actions on Vrenna, it is safe to say that you are on the Ordo Xenos' list of assets. Accordingly, our paths may cross again. I hope my and Mr. Echo’s work on your eye will serve you well."
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He gets up to leave, and you lay back in bed once more. Two or three days from now, the Aegis will be headed back to Viking, and from there onward to more opportunities and more risks. You get the feeling of having stepped into the deep end of the pool as you contemplate your future plans.
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Stacking The Deck!
Waking up in an unfamiliar body within the Slifer Red dorm, what's a teen to do? Especially when there was no deck in sight and no currency to spend on new cards. Thankfully, an avid fan such as himself knew all about the discarded cards in a well deep within the forest of Duel Academy Island. With those spirits by his side, he'd fight his way to victory and survive! Self-Insert!
8 115The Arcanist Seer
An eye of which sees everything beyond the skies and heavens saw an embodying fate with reek of blood and greed. He who sees the future and yet is restrained by his own shackles of his destiny. An eye that serves a purpose but nothing in exchange for his freedom. Will he remain as a tool of his adversary or escape from his own shackles of fate? This is a story of two old men trying to free from the shackle of their destiny set in a future only to await their impending doom. This is a story of a dead god, and of a storyteller, trying to break from the bonds of the past. And as their stories go, one of them will face the events that unfold in their distant past, as the other one will unveil its mystery predicted by its future. Is it a mistake to challenge fate, after all? *** The world-building is set upon on the universal scale, with dungeon and old-style fantasy. It has a progression that follows with the consistency of a dungeon setting, although it's not what you call a dungeon, but a function of a crystal. There's a lot to take in this novel, but that's all within my intention. I have always enjoyed challenging conventional ideas. The cover is not mine, it's just temporary.
8 204Cymurai
In a dark future, something ancient and immeasurably powerful walks the mutant wastelands...Kensuke is a lowly ashigaru footsoldier in the Tachiyama Clan, one of the few remaining human settlements in a dark, post-apocalyptic future. Thousands of years in the past, deadly nanomutagens were released across Asia, killing hundreds of millions and transforming billions more over subsequent generations. Those who remained immune soon moved into enclaves. In Japan, the feudal system revolving around the samurai class was revived, and resource wars became common.In the present, the Tachiyama Clan is under attack by the brutal Sasagawa Clan whose goal is nothing less than the total subjegation of all remaining human enclaves. Both sides take to the battlefield with human soldiers, robots, and the powerful Augmented Samurai -- cyborg warriors who do battle by plugging into six-meter-tall mecha.Hard sci-fi samuraipunk action!Posting schedule will be slightly faster in the early chapters as I have most of them ready to go. Later chapters will take more time. That said, the outline is written and finished. I imagine the full work will top 50,000 words.Please note: The first 9000 words of this work were posted recently on Patreon (free) as part of a 30-day writing challenge. The work that will appear here will be complete and may differ in editing and chapter order. IMAGE SOURCE: Illustration 171244302 © Grandfailure | Dreamstime.com (Paid)
8 202Path Between Realms (Choosing Magic)
Addison was given up by her mother in a series of supernatural deals. She grew up not with one strange parent, but 3 demons, a faerie queen, and an old witch. Growing restless as she grows older, Addison searches for a way to choose her own path, and come into the powers of one realm instead of stuck between all three. So the faerie queen makes her a deal. Go on a quest, and earn your freedom. All she has to do is find the three things that bind her to each place. Now shes on a mission. Figure out what those are, and get them back to the fey realm.
8 84Yggdrasil Story
Six-years-war has ended, by the strength of only one man. Everyone calls him "Swordmaster". Unfortunately, this is not the story of such time of glory, bloodshed and.....Ruby, interrupting: Sola, why don't you just tell them that this is the story of a man in a harem full of beautiful flower girls.Almond: Could you not disturb her? This is the most important part of our story, and it could decide the future of us all.Ruby: And I want to ask you why the novel cover doesn't have me on it? Since I'm the main heroine and all.Sola: I am so fed up with pen tool.. uh... better not talk about it. So, we used a photo of flowers instead, and I think you are not the main heroine.Almond: It's a budget cost too. Those artists charge us over US$200. We are broke. Plain and simple.Ruby: That's really expensive, huh.Sola: Could you girls stop talking? So, I can continue with the synopsis....Ruby: I don't understand why this is so important.Sola: Ruby, listen. If we don't have a good synopsis, people will not buy our book, and then.....Iris: Then what? I want to know it too.Sola: Then there will be no book 2.Iris: No book 2, so what? Why should I care?Sola: Our universe will collapse, and we will disappear forever..Iris: What did you say?Almond: Well, too late now. You talked too much. We have run out of writing space...Ruby: What!!!!!NO!!! I don't want to DIE!!!!You do something sis!!! I should have done that human thing with our lord when I still had a chance. Noooooooo......Iris: Buy it now. People!! Yes, I mean, you!! YES! YOU!!! BUUUUUUUUUYYYYYYYYYY....Iris is shouting as loud as if this is the last moment of her life, but no one listens.
8 147When We're Older- The Maze Runner (Newt)
they're each other's angels in a world full of devils.--------and when we're olderand we're ready to leave Earth behindhere's to hoping it's exactly at the same damn time. --------#1 in literature (2/16/2021)#1 in fandom (5/2/2021)#1 in thedeathcure (6/9/2021)#1 in mazerunner (6/11/2021)#1 in newt (6/16/2021)#1 in thescorchtrials (11/13/21)i don't own any of these characters except for Mae, all credits go to James Dashner, the author of The Maze Runner Series
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