Ekological Chimera

Chapter 60 - Adaptation

Chapter 59 - Consolidation

Chapter 58 - The First Battle of Marnadal

Chapter 57 - The Beginning

Chapter 56 - The Enemy

I stood atop the outer wall alongside the King and Ortagor, staring at the army bustling outside in silence. They were already hard at work cutting trees, doubtless to construct siege engines. 

It was unfortunate, but my initial conclusion had been correct, and I had not had a real opportunity to whittle their numbers before they had arrived. Ultimately, it was a manpower issue. Though our numbers had pretty much doubled thanks to the levies and the sparse reinforcements from Attre...

Chapter 55 - Interlude: The Merchant

Chapter 54 - Preparations

Chapter 53 - Sowing and Reaping

Chapter 52 - Interlude: Rulers

Chapter 51 - Interlude: Pawns

Chapter 50 - It’s not a war crime the first time

Now, before I could get to that, there was one very important thing left to do - inform the Crown.

I was about to go and get a courier when I froze, still in the laboratory tent. I could portal there. The spell had completely slipped my mind, but with speed being of the essence, it was the only choice.

It was unfortunate that it’d make me the bearer of bad news…

I hummed in thought. No reason to go myself. Yes, I was far too busy coordinating the defence, someon...

Chapter 49 - The nefarious Being X strikes again

“Stop,” I ordered as we neared the tent. 

I strode in first, glancing at the dead monsters placed on wooden tables. I hadn’t yet had the opportunity to return to my research, but it seemed that Coen hadn’t been idle, bringing me more material in my absence. I could see that the temporary enchantments I had placed on the tables to delay decay were gone, but they had done their job well enough.

With a quick motion of my fingers and a muttered incantation, the insides of...

Chapter 48 - Rat hunt

I paced in my tent in full armour. It was the next day, and the entire affair hung over the camp like a dark cloud. 

Outside, the construction was paused as men spread gravel, dry leaves, and twigs around, hopefully making it impossible for anyone invisible to walk around unnoticed. I had also asked Isengrim to send someone to secure as many cats as he could from some of the nearby villages, as the animals were very good at detecting invisibility and making it vocally known.

...

Chapter 47 - Murder Mystery 101

It was around twenty-five days after our departure from Cintra when we arrived in Marnadal. Rather good time. It was well into autumn now, but if the construction stayed on track, the fort would be built up enough for us to winter here. Not that the cold was particularly harsh this far south.

I was even looking forward to it. A military fortress in the middle of nowhere wasn’t exactly a holiday destination, but it would allow me time to pursue my work properly. The hounds were likely ...

Chapter 46 - Interlude: Aevinne

Overhead slash, side, stab. With each movement of her blade, Aevinne stepped forward, maintaining her stance perfectly, despite her closed eyes. After three repetitions of the set, she began moving backwards, replacing the attacks with the appropriate passive blocks.

Her breathing never wavered as she moved through the kata, each movement fluid. It was one of the first exercises she had been taught, one she had done tens of thousands of times at this point. To her, it was a relaxing way...

Chapter 45 - I like portals

I smiled as the rabbit emerged from the portal, its body intact. It was evening, with most of the men resting after a hard day of marching, while I was standing by my tent, which was sparse but for my cot and the two small portals glowing on the ground. 

A success, but a trying one, utilising the Brotherhood’s methodology.

I didn’t like it. Dimensional magic was complex, and the conventional way of creating portals seemed to be all about willpower and visualisati...

Chapter 44 - The Lady of Dreadhold

My days in Cintra passed quickly and I stopped thinking about the so-called prophecy. I couldn’t know whether it was genuine or whether Being X was messing with me, but even if it was, the prophecy was too vague to be of much help anyway. So I moved on, putting the matter out of my mind. 

Moving my equipment proved not to be much of an issue, considering the scope of the reinforcements assigned to guard the pass. Around fifteen hundred men, a mix of volunteers and conscripts, fro...

Chapter 43 - Interlude: Ends and Beginnings

“Lady von Degurechaff,” Sigismund Dijkstra began, watching as the young sorceress wrote in a book, sitting behind a desk in her office. As she had not had enough time to properly furnish the place, the office was sparse, with the oaken desk and Degurechaff’s chair being the only furniture present. 

The cold walls of the harbour tower - Degurechaff’s tower - did not make the place any more welcoming.

As one of the few people who had seen some of the other rooms in the ...

Chapter 42 - Kingly matters

In the morning of the next day, I found myself standing in the throne room, two monarchs staring down at me from their thrones. I was outside my armour, in the blue riding outfit I had commissioned prior to my assignment in Marnadal.

“So this is Pavetta’s tutor,” the King, Roegnar of Ebbing, spoke, sounding bored. He was a shorter man, with brown hair and eyes, very unlike his daughter. 

Unlike our private meetings, Calanthé sat with the poise of a monarch, contrasting...

Chapter 41 - The Capital, Once More

After Haxo’s arrival, it only took a few days to get the transfer of power sorted out. The former castellan, though hesitant at first, proved more than up to the task, especially with the cooperation of the once-Duchess secured. 

The Queen’s mercy in sparing Baldemar’s family was quick to bear fruit in that regard, though hopefully, young Windhalm would not grow up with a grudge. His time with his mother was going to be restricted and monitored for that very purpose, but only...

Chapter 40 - Interlude: Haxo

Haxo of Coldwater rubbed his eyes, watching the streets of Attre from the window of his carriage. Everything seemed normal at first glance,

Haxo of Coldwater rubbed his eyes, watching the streets of Attre from the window of his carriage. Everything seemed normal at first glance, but the castellan could sense the undercurrent of unease in the people. Mothers clutched their children a bit too close, pedestrians walked fast, casting furtive looks around themselves and merchants hawked the...

Chapter 39 - Stop, you have violated the law!

The heavy door fell forward with a thud.  Baldemar stared from his seat. He sat at the head of a long, rectangular table, on the opposite si

The heavy door fell forward with a thud. 

Baldemar stared from his seat. He sat at the head of a long, rectangular table, on the opposite side of the destroyed door. Many of Attre’s lords and ladies had come upon his summons, though now the discussion had fallen silent. The soldiers who lined the walls unsheathed their weapons, wh...

Chapter 38 - Attre

Our travel continued, though much slower than expected. After the first few monsters, I ordered the men to proceed more cautiously, allowing

Our travel continued, though much slower than expected. After the first few monsters, I ordered the men to proceed more cautiously, allowing me to scout ahead with magic more. Though our travel was delayed, it allowed us to avoid most monsters. 

Their concentration was such that I debated risking the roads. The monster population might m...

Chapter 37 - Interlude: Ripples & The Rectoress and the Snake

Severin Mordain, the sovereign of Nazair, sat on his throne, utilising his inhuman willpower not to facepalm as yet another noble came forth

Severin Mordain, the sovereign of Nazair, sat on his throne, utilising his inhuman willpower not to facepalm as yet another noble came forth to report an attack.

“This monster,” he cut the blabbering fool off, “sounds remarkably like a griffin.”

The corpulent baron nodded, “Aye! But no griffins have attacked my land in years, ...

Chapter 36 - On the road, once again

In the end, phase one took two weeks to complete. It left the landscape nearly unrecognisable. Large earthen walls with crenelations encircl

In the end, phase one took two weeks to complete. It left the landscape nearly unrecognisable. Large earthen walls with crenelations encircled the bustling camp, with a deep ditch present for extra protection. Creating it had been little trouble, as I had to take the earth for the walls from somewhere. Unfortunately, there was no drawbridge or prop...

Chapter 35 - Marnadal

I looked upon my officers, all assembled in my tent, around a table, though chairs were absent, “We’ve got some new orders,” I began. The me

I looked upon my officers, all assembled in my tent, around a table, though chairs were absent, “We’ve got some new orders,” I began. The messenger had arrived barely a day after we had reached the agreed-upon place in Marnadal. 

It was an empty field, slightly raised compared to the rest of the pass, with a small river going...

Chapter 34 - Aftermath

Torture, I mused, was annoying. Garrik Belhade was lying on the ground, tied to a fallen chair with a cloth over his face, gasping for air. 

Unfortunately, as my chief goal was breaking his will enough for my mental magic to grow effective, I could not just leave this to my underlings. 

The man had been frustratingly resistant. Had. While he was still not willing to talk, his mental defences were rather leaky at this point. With a bit of wheedling, I had managed to get t...

Chapter 33 - A Slight Tumble

I slashed with my staff, cutting another infantryman in half as my horse reared. 

Things weren’t going according to plan. Despite the rapidly approaching serpent, the enemy infantry refused to break. As most of my spells were dedicated solely to keeping myself and my knights alive while the enemy sorcerer tried to fry us in our armour, I could not punch a hole through with magic either. The offensive repertoire of the enemy mage seemed rather limited, but that made him no less of...

Chapter 32 - Execution

I sat on my horse in full armour, one hand holding my metal staff. All ten of my Royal Guards surrounded me, though Roderic was not amongst them as he was once again commanding the bulk of the army. Dense forest surrounded us. 

The sun was beginning to peek through the foliage as dawn broke. 

My guards, despite their training, kept glancing behind us, at the giant, malformed snake, peacefully asleep. 

Soon, Isengrim materialised out of the woods, a pair of elv...

Chapter 31 - Crimes against nature

I poked the unconscious snake with my staff. I should, perhaps, trust my own spellcasting ability, but it was only natural to double-check that the thing you were going to turn into a giant man-eating monster was properly asleep.

The little viper lay on a stump, some ways away from our main campground, near a leyline. Roderic had availed himself well enough in my absence, with only Ortagor causing some issues. 

Nobility this, nobility that. The Empire might not have been a pe...