34. Minarv and Magic Elvis
Lukas’ breath caught in his throat. His chest tightened. He felt heavy. It wasn’t like being in a high-mass state but something he hadn’t felt in a long time.
“I don’t know if y...
2025-06-05 16:46:28 +0000 UTC View Post
Nox Brews Stories posts
33. In Service Of The Shadow Seekers
Unlike the other competitors, El-Four didn’t make a beeline for the prize. Lukas had instructed him not to bother, no matter the value. It wasn’t worth the risk of exposure. Instead, he looked ...
2025-06-04 06:05:02 +0000 UTC View Post32. The Quartermaster's Quest
Lukas faced a week after the ascension of his Soul Pillar. The time to fulfill Kwame’s end of the bargain had come. He approached El-Four after a week of constant training. It had been a fruitful...
2025-06-02 14:07:25 +0000 UTC View Post31. Seeking Sound Advice
“I wasn’t expecting you today,” Esther said when Lukas entered her clinic. She froze mid-procedure. A strange cat-like creature lay unconscious on the table in front of her. Eyes scanned him....
2025-06-02 10:09:24 +0000 UTC View Post30. Shade's Mantle
“I’m glad you have something stealthy,” Penelope said, clapping her hands after Lukas demonstrated the Shade’s Mantle. “If I were you, I would’ve picked an upgrade or essence more in th...
2025-05-31 06:31:29 +0000 UTC View Post29. Soul Pillar Ascends
Lukas often wanted to curse Lady Silverspine for their continued entanglement. However, the journal had proven its value twice over. Even discounting Inspector’s Compendium being able to accurate...
2025-05-28 12:56:22 +0000 UTC View Post28. Revelations In The Dark
The Owl Temple was amongst the tallest buildings in Iskander, standing just short of the city hall and the many mage towers at approximately five stories. Much to Lukas’s surprise, it only appear...
2025-05-27 11:23:38 +0000 UTC View Post27. So Close But Yet So Far
Kelpie appeared within minutes of Penelope departing for the research center. She was in a hurry and they ate breakfast in the inn’s dining room for a change. It was fortunate the sorcerer didn...
2025-05-25 15:37:40 +0000 UTC View Post26. Talent In Demand
By the time Lukas returned, Humphrey was gone. Only Guard Captain Stefan Santana remained, wearing his casual, friendly smile. Lukas knew not to trust it. The man had proven himself two-faced. Luka...
2025-05-24 03:12:04 +0000 UTC View Post25. Life Is An Endless Grind
The samples found in the undercity kept Penelope busy and Lukas and Elvis mostly free. She only needed a porter and courier in the evenings, and it was mostly to run scrolls and stacks of research ...
2025-05-22 13:38:20 +0000 UTC View Post24. Another Pillar Awakened
Lukas didn’t know if it wasn’t the same for the Soul Pillar or if Lady Silverspine’s magic had made the Shard of Duplication special. He woke up two days after Penelope’s ritual, feeling si...
2025-05-22 13:37:47 +0000 UTC View Post23. The Smith And The Ritualist
“You’re back!” Kat exclaimed when Elvis returned to the smithy the following morning. She threw her arms around him and planted a long, deep kiss on his lips. The embrace only ended when her ...
2025-05-22 13:36:28 +0000 UTC View Post22. Half Truths and Full Lies
“How?” Penelope asked, mouth hanging open. She kneeled over the mutated phaser’s corpse, fingers running over the scales. “This thing should’ve been too strong for the likes of you.” 2025-05-22 13:35:57 +0000 UTC View Post
21. Dwellers Of The Deep
“Was that a smart use of magic, boss?” El-One asked, keeping his volume barely over a whisper. “Do we need the extra light or are we trying to impress the hot sorceress?”
“Impress? ...
2025-05-22 13:34:54 +0000 UTC View Post20. The Undercity Hungers
“What is it, Elvis?” Penelope asked as they approached.
“I found another live one,” the clone replied, holding up a rolled parchment. All but the edges were frozen solid and black mar...
2025-05-22 13:33:54 +0000 UTC View Post19. They Came From The Shadows
They came from the shadows.
No reverse mermen, troglodytes, slimes, or giant rats came for the trio. The attackers were human. Lukas spotted one peek out from behind a mushroom stalk an...
2025-05-22 13:32:16 +0000 UTC View Post18. The Darkness Beckons
“We’re going to be here for fricking forever,” El-One grumbled, tapping his foot impatiently.
A dense line extended from the guardhouse ahead. Groups of armed and armored individu...
2025-05-22 13:31:47 +0000 UTC View Post17. Delve Preparations
Following the shopping incident, Lukas started pushing the clones harder. Most of the days went into intense training at the Shadow Seekers guildhouse. El-Two’s Three-Stage Spear caught a trainer...
2025-05-22 13:31:12 +0000 UTC View Post16. More Than A Simple Vet
“First, the thing you need to understand is that unlike wherever you came from, sharded individuals are reasonably common,” Esther explained. “Every second person finds or gets a shard at som...
2025-05-22 13:30:45 +0000 UTC View Post15. Making The Most Of Loot
Essence of Blood.
Essence of Feathers.
Essence of Repulsion.
Essence of Shadow.
Holding onto all of the e...
2025-05-22 13:30:18 +0000 UTC View Post14. Questionable Testing
A magic circle spread from the point of contact, expanding in front of Big Mouth. Earth swirled up and twisted, shaping itself into a humanoid figure. Then, the textures and colors changed. The res...
2025-05-22 13:29:47 +0000 UTC View Post13. The Shadow Seeker's Guild
The journal’s Power Compass page had changed after the meeting with Penelope. Five new hollow circles sat where his conjunction and confluence abilities would go. He couldn’t tell if the journa...
2025-05-22 13:29:20 +0000 UTC View Post12. Dark Underbellies
Alchemical brews sizzled as they mixed on the floor, filling the shop with colorful, suffocating fumes. Lukas backpedaled, grabbed the sword’s hilt in one hand, and pulled his coat’s collar ove...
2025-05-22 13:28:56 +0000 UTC View Post11. Window Shopping
After spending the first day away from the inn laying low, Lukas started the second by visiting Esther’s clinic. Unfortunately, she was too busy to entertain him, and he turned to the markets ins...
2025-05-22 13:28:33 +0000 UTC View Post10. The Sorcerer's Contract
Few meals of Lukas’s life compared to the ones hosted by the Lord Of Brawls and Feasts. Eighty years and several dozen more lived through the clones was a long life by human standards, at least. ...
2025-05-22 13:26:09 +0000 UTC View Post9. All Startups Need Money
El-One didn’t get the job. More specifically, he didn’t get the job Lukas wanted for him.
“What does your shard ability do?” Kat’s Pa had asked, looking over the ‘letter of recomm...
2025-05-22 13:25:37 +0000 UTC View Post8. The City of Dreams And Corruption
Different varieties of white stone formed the bulk of Iskander’s buildings. The cliffs bordering the city matched the older buildings—white, flecked with black flint. Some, especially the grand...
2025-05-22 13:25:15 +0000 UTC View Post7. Shards And Essences
Once the guard captain departed, Lukas summoned the journal. It appeared out of thin almost as if growing out of a speck of dust. Words blossomed on the blank pages as soon as it opened.
6. Hell Of A Tutorial
Lukas woke up in a cot with stained grey sheets in a room that looked far from sterile. Stalls lined the wall to his left. Horses, bovines, and beasts he didn’t recognize stood in them, staring a...
2025-05-22 13:22:28 +0000 UTC View Post5. Target In Sight
The corridor-turned-tunnel widened until Lukas was walking on a seemingly endless bridge through a vast cavern. Crimson crystals stood on occasional pedestals. They weren’t equidistant but ...
2025-05-22 13:21:21 +0000 UTC View Post