《Swords and a Shortage of Sorcery》Chronicles II
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Iris kicked the pebbles lining the dilapidated country trail as she made her way back to Silesia. The journey back was a solitary one. It was nice to walk the open fields, witness to no one but the blazing star above; however, it was not an entirely welcome change of pace. Travelling didn't seem as fun without companions. At least she could rectify that by returning to a land of celebration and revelry.
The timing couldn't be any more impeccable as the summer festival was one of the few things that never dulled; the bright colors, dances, and gift-giving breathed new life into the town. Nominated as head of the celebrations for the past three years, even the bombastic adventures of late couldn't compare to the euphoria of heading an event she had spent her younger years cherishing. Hopefully, the advance notice had arrived; maybe she had made it in time to be in the runnings for this year's festival. She crested a hill and saw one of the gates that led into the village. She walked up to the passage where a pair of men stood guard. A little light of a patrol for the morning, but if their striking green hats were any indication, it seems people have already gone to celebrate the holidays.
"Halt, who goes there!" one of the men stepped forth. "I'm going to have to take a name for the record... are you visiting for the festivities, or are you for work?"
"I guess... you could say I'm here for work. I've already sent prior notice of my arrival," Iris said.
The guard squinted at her, and a look of realization dawned on his face. "Oh, oh.." the guard looked at his partner, who gave him a smirk. "My apologies, you look a little different than I remember. Ahem, go right on ahead." Iris continued through the entrance as the man gave a swift elbow to his brother in arms. "Why didn't you tell me it was her?" he whispered forcefully.
Iris began to make her way towards the church, the hub of all the holiday planning. A path she had trod too many times to count was imbued with new flair. The grey, white, and brown hues commonly seen were replaced by oranges and greens. The buildings flanking the street hung various ornaments, and many small groups were out conversing in the streets. Iris approached the church and took a deep breath, pushing her way through the front gate.
Jules was attending to some locals and took a quick look towards the door as it yawed open. "Iris?" he ran forward to greet her, shaking her hand vigorously. "You're finally here! I was beginning to worry."
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Iris gently peeled off his hand with her other arm. "Glad to see you are well. Did I make it in time?"
"Well, no." he began, "But due to your letter and previous experience. I was given the go-ahead to enter your name into the runnings anyways." He gave her a soft smile. "I already gave you my vote. If you go to the main hall, you should be able to make your speech. Votes are about to be counted out soon."
"Thanks for the heads up," she replied, heading straight for the main hall. Jules flagged her down as she left. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm doing as fine as ever," she responded, "Why do you ask?"
"Well, it's just." Jules waved his hand by the left side of his face. "Does that hurt?"
"It's an old wound now, but I appreciate the concern."
"If you say so... I guess I shouldn't keep you," he said as he went back to bookkeeping.
Iris entered the main hall, and it looked ready to burst. The modest room was ordinarily enough to fit everyone attending the event, albeit a bit awkwardly, but an influx of people compared to last year had made the room an uncomfortable mess. Iris managed to slip inside unnoticed as everyone eagerly looked forward in anticipation of something.
A strong voice rang out from the back of the room, propelled forwards by the arduous planning of an unknown architect. "Now, we shall empty the boxes and crown this year's maiden of summer!"
Iris knew the voice by heart; it was that of the head priest. She pushed her way through the crowd to get a look herself. The head priest stood behind a pedestal with hands clasped while his attendants tallied the votes safeguard in the wooden boxes behind. Precious metals inlayed on the edges of his robe were the only way of differentiation between him and the others.
He swept his eyes over the crowd, a commanding gaze that kept silence in the room. He panned his head until he reached Iris, who had made it to the front of the crowd. He paused for a brief moment, face made of stone, before turning backward to talk to his attendants.
A pause, then the head priest audibly cleared his throat. "And the victor of this year's voting... Sister Monika Miller. You may take the pedestal when ready."
The crowd erupted into a round of applause as the head priest bowed his head. He left the stand to be replaced by Monika. Iris added her applause to the chorus. She felt a tinge of disappointment, but she had been organizing the event for the past three years. Maybe it would be nice to enjoy it herself. "Besides," she reasoned, "it only makes sense someone else one. I mean, these people haven't even seen me for seasons."
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Monika began her speech, promising the people gathered a time like no other. One of the head priest's attendants approached Iris during the address. With a few whispered words, he whisked Iris away to the head priest's office.
The head priest sat behind a small desk. Various talismans, oils, and other curiosities competed for space on the small tabletop. Oddities specially curated for use against malignant spirits or horrendous creatures of the night.
The man shifted forward in his chair. "Do you know why I've called you here, sister?" he asked.
"I can't say I do, father," Iris replied. "Could it be you still need my help with the festival?"
"Monika may seek you out of her own volition. I called you here because I think that you are destined for a higher calling."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you cannot be employed here any longer. Someone with your... accolades would be wasted here. Surely, it is more fitting for you to go to the capital and become an abbess or perhaps even a bishop with a little study. I daresay that if you go back to Palatine, you may be able to obtain the title of Cardinal."
Iris was flustered. "I. Erhm, I'm flattered. I don't know what to say. I don't know if I am ready for that kind of responsibility. I think that my place is here, at least, for the moment," she replied.
The head priest frowned, disappointment emanating from his voice. "That's quite regrettable. I had thought you were more than capable. I suppose we will have to keep your division of the building then. A shame, we had hoped to clear that part out to make way for the oh so war-weary peoples of our great nation, cast out from home and hearth by no fault of their own. But if you wish to stay, you are always welcome here."
Iris shrank back, retreating within the confines of the chair's armrests. "When you put it that way—" she began.
"Great!" the man stood up from his chair and uprooted Iris from her seat, gently pushing her to the door. "You have the month to clear out your belongings and make sure to enjoy the summer festival." As the door to the room shut behind her, Iris hung her head low and took a deep breath. Heading for the one place she could always find solace, she trod out the church. Jules shot a look of concern as she left, though he was quickly swamped with people moving in and out.
The Dancing Star, a respite for residents and travellers alike, was barren. It was still quite early in the morning after all. She sat on one of the many empty stools waiting for something, or more accurately, someone.
"Ah, my favorite customer is back." A man dressed in an apron rose from under the counter, almost like magic. "It gets lonely here in the morning without you ya know. I seriously considered just opening up a few hours later, but gotta keep the traditional alive, eh?"
Iris let a small sigh escape. "I wonder why you are so lonely. You are just so, so strikingly handsome."
The bartender and owner of the establishment crouched back down under the counter. He rose with a shot glass in one hand and a bottle of liquor. He masterfully twisted the cork on the bottle and poured it into the glass while looking directly at Iris. "Is something wrong? You seem to be lacking a bit of creativity today."
"It's just." Iris thrummed her fingers on the countertop. "You know."
"I know?"
"I'm going to be leaving."
"Again? But you just got here!" the man grabbed her shoulder, trying to stifle a laugh while Iris drank. "In all seriousness, good for you."
"About as good for me as this is for my decision-making," she said, swirling the glass.
"Why? I thought that's what you always wanted."
"What I wanted was a glimpse of what it was like outside the walls, and now that's forced me to leave for good. The head priest has got me heading off the greener pastures, and I'm sat here wondering how I can make it on my own."
"If you managed an adventure like that, some time in the city should be a cakewalk, and if not, you are always welcome to stay with me."
"Thanks mate, it really does mean a lot."
"It's no problem. Consider it a customer loyalty bonus."
"Now you've gotten me all riled up. I'm ready to see what the world has in store for me!" Iris leaned in over the counter. "Or, at least see half of it."
The barkeep slammed his fist down on the counter over and over again. "Glad you're back," he said, motioning downwards. "Yeah, That's the spirit!" Iris followed his arm, which gestured to the bottle of alcohol on the counter, and she gave a small chuckle.
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Chrysalis
Anthony has been reborn! Placed into the remarkable game-like world of Pangera. However, something seems a little off. What's with these skills? Bite? Dig? Wait.... I've been reborn as a WHAT?! Follow Anthony as he attempts to adjust to his new life, to survive and grow in his new Dungeon home! Thank you for reading updated Chrysalis novel @ReadWebNovels.net
8 1658World Genesis
Adam was reborn on a newly formed world after dying on a lonely cold night. Now he struggles to survive as The First Man on a desolate world with scarce resources... all while attempting to locate Eve and trying to figure out where he fits in to his new world. However, the world plays by different rules than the one he is used to... and there are worse things than death. - [This is not a Virtual Reality tag. However it is a Reality with game like aspects such as Status and Notifications. It starts off light, but will get darker as the story progresses. Adam will know both the glories and sorrows of a world of magic.] - WordPress: https://wordpress.com/stats/day/worldgenesisdotnet.wordpress.com
8 85Tale of Family - Book 1 - WIP
The world is peaceful in 2063. Fusion reactor and Diamon battery had taken care of the energetical problem. Countries were stable. Automation was everywhere. Life wasn't hard anymore, at least not in the United States of Europe. Summer break is about to start and, finally, Zoe will turn 18 and be able to play the game, Binding Fate. A simple video game, a vrmmo, but what swam under its surface wasn't simple. Power, fame and money were but the tip of the iceberg... State: Hiatus because I've an idea for another story. Quick F.A.Q. : - Yuri/female homosexual relation? Yes.- Yaoi/male homosexual relation? Maybe.- Explicit Sexual Content? Maybe.- Full Fledged Tragedy? No. Never, ever ever.- Body Modification/Body Horror? Yes. (Note: what one person think is body horror can be acceptable for someone else. If you want to see to what length I can go, read a bit of The Other Labyrinth. However, I won't go as high as quickly in the body mod/horror, so relax.- Gore? Hell yeah! I love gore! spraying blood and viscera etc...- Torture? Hurgh... maybe? Idk. Not at the start at the very least.- Memory loss/erasing? No, or at least not permanently. I basically hate this trope because it's like taking out all the character grow from a character, destroying everything that makes them what and who they are. so no.- Overpowered protagonist? You will see mufufu...- Will characters stay relevant seeing how numerous they are? YES, MOTHERFUCKING YES, I hate when characters relevance decay over time for no good reasons ^^'- Plot Armor? First of all, a definition: "Sometimes referred to as "Script Immunity" or a "Character Shield", Plot Armor is when a main character's life and health are safeguarded by the fact that he's the one person who can't be removed from the story. Therefore, whenever Bob is in a situation where he could be killed (or at the least very seriously injured), he comes out unharmed with no logical, in-universe explanation." (courtesy of https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PlotArmor I love you guys ^^) So now that this is said, do my characters have plot armour? No, because I always have an in-universe explanation, even if you don't know it yet ^^ Something is illogical or don't make sense? Read more, the answer is surely in the story ^u^- Balanced system? If you want to crush numbers and have a perfect equation balancing all the system, that's not the story for you. The system is more like a living being, and the rewards aren't forcibly tied to the level of the player. In fact, the system is purposely unbalanced ^^' Author's note: My goal here is to write a slow-paced story revolving around the bonds linking the characters, be them family, friends or lovers. Fight will be part of it, but I intend to build an actual interesting world before making truly large-scale battle happen, because the bigger a battle is, the larger its causes and effects are. I also aim at telling a story about how the characters actually help each other becoming stronger, more stable and happier. I particularly despise the lone MC type that becomes so powerful that every other character of the current setting become irrelevant beside being hostage targets, so this will not happen. I also like crafting, arrays, blacksmithing etc... so there may be crafting. Another thing I like is management game like sim-city or the like, so this while also appears, keeping in mind that I like MC's that make people around them stronger... For the tropers around here, a list of tropes that I like to use (note that I may not use all of them ^^) (this list will be updated as I dive deeper and deeper into our dear trope wiki.)- https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BodyHorror- https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SealedGoodInACan- https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/YouAreNotAlone- https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ZombieAdvocate (In particular since I see a lot of things that aren't human as worthy to live and to live with)- https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EvenEvilHasLovedOnes- https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EvenEvilHasStandards- https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HeelFaceTurn- https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CorruptTheCutie (Note: being corrupted don't mean you're a villain, only different than before.)- https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DefectingForLove (Of course.)- https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/VillainousRescue- https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InterspeciesAdoption (For the same reasons as zombie advocate, since I love family stuff)- https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BrokenBird (to go with corrupt the cutie if it's a girl)Cover: "The Bard" by John Martin, 1817.
8 153Blood Cursed: Demon of Time
James, the only normal human from super-heroes family, found he was blood cursed by the Demon of Time. The Demon world is about to invade Earth, leading to post appocolypse. The system, the gonverment are corrupted and are the manager of the heroes, some are involved. The bad guys are on top in name of good guys, no one's there to stop them. Joining with someone with the right view, James moves against the system, and dicovers his abilities.
8 145The Ultimate Car Enthusiast
The bond between man and machine is often a complicated one. Everyone believes that every machine are tools to be used as a means to an end - well, almost everyone. When a mechanic discovers that her love for vehicles is validated by her discovery of a magical, hidden world, it's up to her and a group of eccentric, otherworldly friends she'll meet along the way to save it. DISCLAIMER. The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this book are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased) and places is intended or should be inferred.
8 78Dying to be thin
This is based on a true story about a young girl battling an eating disorder. The book follows her journey as she gets worse and worse and the illness takes over her as a person. If you're reading this and have or do suffer from an eating disorder, I hope you recover and don't take a turn for the worst. You are beautiful inside and out and the one thing you may think is doing good for you is actually destroying you. I'm not saying it will be easy but you will get there, stay strong. Text copyright © Jordan Devine ™ 2014The moral right of the author has been asserted. All rights reserved. This story is published subject to the condition that it shall not be reproduced or retransmitted in whole or in part, in any manner, without the written consent of the copyright holder, and any infringement of this is a violation of copyright law.A single copy of the materials available in this story may be made solely for personal, non-commercial use. Individuals must preserve any copyright or other notices contained in or associated with them. Users may not distribute said copies to others, whether or not in electronic form or in hard copy, without prior written consent of the copyright holder of the materials. Contact information for requests for permission to reproduce or distribute materials available through this course are listed below.[email protected]All rights reserved ®
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