3seed

74. Grace and Memory

Note: there's a reference to family violence in this chapter. I've marked the relevant paragraph with ^^^ for those who may wish to skip over it.

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The bowl was p...

73. An Unexpected Gift

Sheedi toured the glen to look for a good place for the shrine. I followed along and steered her away from anything that might disturb the pool. Those were Ikfael’s instructions to me prior to th...

72. A Spy in the Glen

The next few days were uncomfortable. Otwei’s presence in the glen was a barb under my skin, but then, I had a barb under hers as well. Only, she didn’t know it.

The portion of uekisheile...

71. A Weapon at the Ready

The next morning, I arrived early at the Hunter’s Lodge, but Inleio was at his desk instead of training a hunter. He must’ve seen the disappointment on my face.

“The day after a hunt is...

70. Truths and Visitations

We waited an hour beside the gap between boulders. I spent the time thinking about kevlar gloves, the kind used by veterinarians to deal with feral cats. Not that they’d actually protect my arms ...

69. Don't Blynx

The Family’s evening meal was interrupted by someone clapping outside the door. “It is Ghitha. I come with the gift of meat.”

Aluali paused his story about being dared to put his head i...

68. The Hunt Day

A handful of teams were already gathered in the lodge’s courtyard. They busily checked over their gear, while making small talk. Their actions were familiar and easy going, but there was also an ...

67. Title TBD

Woldec and Kiertie’s bodies laid beside each other in the big room I’d taken to calling the Main Hall. The space was bigger than I remembered, and I walked around, playing the light from the ca...

66. Knowledge is Power

Since it was just me and Ikfael in the glen, the uekisheile could hang out in the open as much as they wanted. I spent the next few days looking like a miniature fuschia bigfoot as a result; their ...

65. Growing Pains

Ikfael’s response to my story was unexpected--that is to say, she didn’t have much of one. All she did was to glance sideways at me, her expression reminiscent of my daughter Alex when she was ...

64. Making Deals, Making Donuts

Mumu escorted me to Biheila’s place. The rest of the village was still training their Militia Arts, so the paths between longhouses were as empty as before. We didn’t talk much. I could tell sh...

Eight: Knowledge Base

Inspired by comments on Royal Road, I put together a knowledge base for the novel. The information includes details like the currency and calendar systems, but there's also a cast list, the spells ...

63. Ghosts and Consequences

The fields outside of Voorhei’s gate were full of people, the whole of the village practicing their Militia Arts. To the right, the villagers took turns to cast arrows at a string of archery butt...

62. An Uncomfortable Talent

Note: I tweaked Chapter 61, starting from when Eight dreamed of the Deer God. The events are the same, but the tone is now more in keeping with what I originally intended. The post's been updat...