Bi Xi appeared to Nox again during the spirit walk, looking worse for wear. It appeared as if recent events had affected the spirit, too. Craters pock-marked the intact sections of his shell. However, the critters crawling and squirming around the...
2023-12-23 17:27:26 +0000 UTC View PostThe return journey to the city was long but uneventful. Nox diverted the party when passing myconid colonies they had bombed during their trip to the rift. Several had local wildlife feeding on them. New mushrooms sprouted around the statues, and ...
2023-12-23 07:30:45 +0000 UTC View Post“Don’t you want to consume what’s left?” Nox asked Lillin after catching his breath.
“I wouldn’t even if there was anything left for me to have,” she replied. “That thing… its minions… they felt sickening. I don’t think...
2023-12-22 16:55:04 +0000 UTC View PostThe party used mana and stamina recovery brews to recover. Nox gave everyone a diluted version of his empowering cocktail. He worried they’d struggle to deal with the concentrated version’s toxicity. Caitlin had suffered burns and used her woo...
2023-12-22 10:30:40 +0000 UTC View PostThe rift's interior was as bleak as the exterior. It had no natural light besides the little coming from the stars overhead, and the temperature felt well below freezing. The party saw no signs of snow, but the eerily silent dimension appeared fro...
2023-12-21 18:00:39 +0000 UTC View PostThe airship departed from the university’s docks at first light. After preparing the party and all the necessary brews, Nox spent the night on campus with Aria. They caught each other up on everything they had learned and experienced over the la...
2023-12-21 09:50:04 +0000 UTC View Post“The Titans are dead they said. You can’t declare war on the gods without taking down the Titans, too. They’re not unstoppable forces of nature. They’re not our allies in the fight against the gods. The Titans have lived longer than hu...
2023-12-20 20:39:37 +0000 UTC View PostThe following business day passed mostly without incident. The morning started slow, letting Nox have brunch with his friends and tell them about the past evening. Much to their delight, Michelle and Ernest had joined them, making the day extra sp...
2023-12-20 15:55:36 +0000 UTC View PostNox felt like a show familiar. Mages raised and tailored familiars in the Imperium and several allied cities for show or gladiatorial matches. The rade Empire didn’t engage in such activities but helped transport contracts and conduits to facili...
2023-12-19 09:46:03 +0000 UTC View PostA carriage arrived at Ratra’s Knightly Brews precisely at the sixth bell. Its driver knocked on the door and informed Nox that he’d happily wait however long was necessary. Despite the ‘we stick to our own attitude’ Swati had a local in he...
2023-12-17 21:13:42 +0000 UTC View Post“Ruipur and its neighboring city-states are largely matriarchal in stark contrast to most of Daksinthan. The societal hierarchies are unusually close to the wildfowl settlements in the Arctic North. When a Daksinthani woman sees a partner sh...
2023-12-17 12:36:40 +0000 UTC View PostAn unexpected interruption woke Nox on the first Seventhday of the third month of the semester. It was Jess, the once-homeless teenager. He had employed her on his friends’ insistence. Jess had the lightest workload of all the staff and alternat...
2023-12-17 08:07:36 +0000 UTC View PostLife in the City of Ygg adopted a comfortable routine over the following month. Nox and his friends attended classes from First to Fourthday. Then delved on the Fifth. His mastery of Finesse Shaping and Live Spell Weaving steadily improved, making...
2023-12-16 12:18:13 +0000 UTC View PostNox Ratra
Journeyman
Crystalize Essence | Essence Animation
69/104 | 6/22
Essence Shaping | Arrow
20/41 | 2/8
The party explored for an hour, spending a cumulative quarter of it in combat. They crept, tracked ...
2023-12-15 22:23:47 +0000 UTC View PostSound traveled without interruption through the dungeon’s cavernous fourth floor. The fight drew the second patrol’s attention, and then the party was fighting on both fronts.
If not for Alexander's squirrels, the second would have got t...
2023-12-15 19:09:12 +0000 UTC View PostThe party met Professor Wolfhammer at the sixth-morning bell in front of the Department of Dungeon Studies’ main entrance. He led them through the giant main hall and between the grand staircases that led to the upper floors. They passed through...
2023-12-15 09:53:39 +0000 UTC View PostThe sales numbers continued to grow. Nox expected overall business to take a hit following the previous Seventhday’s events. Instead, non-cosmetic sales exploded. He couldn’t tell whether it was his new friends who had spread the word or the s...
2023-12-14 18:20:40 +0000 UTC View Post“Daksinsthan, or the Southern Continent, as the locals call it, is a lot harsher land than what the Imperium or all west of it know. The distance from Ygg, sparse leylines, and hostile intersection points limit the places of power humanity c...
2023-12-13 21:46:46 +0000 UTC View PostThe urchin gang leaders brought twenty young children instead of the requested ten. The youngest had seen two summers at most, while the oldest proudly held up eight or nine fingers when Nox asked them about their age. Beyond the noticed rashes, t...
2023-12-13 10:03:34 +0000 UTC View PostNox spoke to the guards regarding his suspicions. The Guptas were trying to sabotage and infiltrate his business. They called his fears insufficient for launching an investigation.
“Law-abiding citizens run Gupta Alchemists, and they’ve ...
2023-12-12 18:09:51 +0000 UTC View PostAfter a night of indulging in adventurous and intense amorous activities and far too much Spirit Caller’s Tea, Nox once again found himself in a dreamscape of vivid colors and alluring scents.
“Bi Xi!” Nox yelled into the ethereal mist...
2023-12-12 09:47:35 +0000 UTC View Post“Thank you for shaving,” Aria said, picking Nox up in a carriage. “I spotted you around campus earlier this week, and you were starting to look rough.” She ran her fingers through his hair, brushing curling locks off his forehead. “A tri...
2023-12-09 16:42:11 +0000 UTC View PostAdvanced Dungeon Combat’s delving sessions wouldn’t start until the week after. As a result, the party got Fifthday off. The rest of the week’s classes provided mostly introductory knowledge, going over what to expect and what they needed to...
2023-12-09 07:04:33 +0000 UTC View Post“Advanced Dungeon Combat works differently from the Beginner and Intermediate courses,” Professor Wolfhammer explained. “We’re going to spend every First and Third-day focusing on individual improvement and training in duos or trios of my ...
2023-12-08 08:48:29 +0000 UTC View PostNox and his party reported for Advanced Dungeon Combat a quarter of an hour before it was due to begin. They started their warm-up straight away, stretching and then jogging around the long, ring-shaped roof. Two other groups joined them not long ...
2023-12-07 11:32:01 +0000 UTC View Post“Are mages truly complete without a familiar? They’re more than servants and battle companions. A well-raised and bonded familiar reduces the mental load and strains of spell-casting. A familiar with a planet is essentially immortal. They ...
2023-11-30 13:10:13 +0000 UTC View Post
By the time Ratra’s Knightly Brews opened its doors, two more first-floor bedrooms had occupants, and Nox had his adept alchemy license. The city granted him a plaque to display in the window. It highlighted his qualifications.
Nox hired A...
2023-11-29 09:52:41 +0000 UTC View Post
Nox had heard that Professor Das delayed his return from the southern continent as much as possible, often arriving just before his first class of the semester. Nox wasn’t expecting to see the man for another week, if not more. He was eager to t...
2023-11-29 06:37:00 +0000 UTC View Post“Good mage. That is such a subjective term. Anyone can gain power with enough hard work, dedication, and deep pockets. All it takes is growing one’s star through steady mana absorption—occasionally using alchemical reinforcement or dunge...
2023-11-27 10:30:11 +0000 UTC View PostThe next couple of days blurred by. He interviewed potential new hires, procured materials, started brewing his Noxian Brews’ best-selling products, and worked on upgrading his star. He had a solid idea of what he wanted to do but needed to iron...
2023-11-27 10:29:24 +0000 UTC View Post