https://docs.google.com/document/d/16hsTjoNGcQYkFqQ92kJAa7-jAcWFXASnErI0ZfcwmDM/edit?usp=sharing
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Jeremy jumped back in surprise before clutching his chest. "Yeesh, Delphia, give a little warning next time, will ya? Scared me."
Cayden had startled as well, though he told himself that was more because of Jeremy's perspective hopping around rather than Delphia's sudden appearance. After a ...
2024-03-03 04:34:30 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/17HMQRtslxmy_nKyHJnby9GQp3NlUOwXDircpwWmBdj0/edit?usp=sharing
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"It should be doable. Not easy, but doable."
Cayden rubbed the back of his head as he looked down at the map Elise had folded carefully across the table in front of them, centering the area that was essential to their upcoming plans. Before pulling it from one of her borrowed spacial pouches...
2024-02-26 06:27:04 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1uwMAgV2GuqWHYprvrLhIBc6aY6Z2l9LmhuSb2W8we8M/edit?usp=sharing
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Cayden winced as he shifted in his seat on the ground, trying to find a position that was less painful on his sore body. Seven hours of running was enough to leave him sore in places he didn't even know he had muscles – and that wasn't even the worst part.
Even with all his vitality and de...
2024-02-20 19:18:35 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/11ompg7-uuysgYdAnh6WxuugEsxnP8CW5jqD2jOCfSPs/edit?usp=sharing
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"So that's it?" Cayden asked as they huddled around the tiny orb resting on Tiana's palm.
"That's it," Tiana responded, but when Cayden reached forward to grab it she closed her hand into a fist and pulled it back. "Ah, ah, ah! What do you say, first?"
Cayden sighed as a smirk pulled u...
2024-02-17 09:56:56 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1pd56pnVp920ZuuGqk0TFJHw8UssshDCAdNLNw2nH36c/edit?usp=sharing
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Unfortunately for Cayden and his friends, their delaying tactics had negative consequences. The expedition's wagons were packed almost to capacity, with the two long benches that lined the back of each wagon already crowded with students who'd boarded earlier. There were still spaces, but they wer...
2024-02-14 10:02:29 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1Jds7PLIbQD5K7NgMbl7gGhLx76wM9d_d7kDy-Po83A0/edit?usp=sharing
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It didn't take Cayden long to grab his bags and leave his dorm, locking the door behind him. He'd had to pay for the privilege of keeping the rooms reserved while he was gone, but he hadn't minded. It was expensive, much more than what his apartment back in Avernon had cost for an equivalent amoun...
2024-02-09 09:50:03 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1Bp4tbpt1KevRUF_zplnKimTJIO6Lo0cWN3xDoX7IzXc/edit?usp=sharing
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Cayden had never gotten around to finishing the conversation with Tiana about her offer of employment from the princess. There'd never seemed an appropriate moment; their time together walking to and from the dungeon had been pleasant, and Cayden hadn't wanted to ruin it with another argument. He ...
2024-02-05 10:17:52 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1y1wuGXxdLVwK16AJR0IaNLMfZORJGqbiCPTTOIVTyAc/edit?usp=sharing
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"That about lines up with what we've heard," Jeremy said with a groan. "Queen Aerilyn bit off more than she could chew, and enough nobles are united against her that she can't just kill or sanction them all. But neither is she willing to back down, not so soon after gaining her power."
They'...
2024-02-02 08:38:02 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1GGDQOEKHLMmSkMHbUfy4LHV_grZaqMIXyV88PpNEEVk/edit?usp=sharing
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The only upside of Cayden's walk across campus was that his blindness saved him the embarrassment of seeing any observers.
Not that he wasn't embarrassed. Just that he avoided the extra embarrassment of seeing them.
His hearing was good enough to detect the steps of the occasi...
2024-01-29 07:29:58 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1GZ64LXss59jkBMvHFli-CRVPF3Bxw1BMFQ4sSoIhMpo/edit?usp=sharing
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The room was a cell. It was larger than the previous room with benches lining three of the walls and a disgusting-smelling grate in the far corner, and from a single glance the purpose of the room was obvious. But they were allowed to remain together and walk into the cell under their own volition...
2024-01-26 09:43:39 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/173NNsweYJaAtn6-Dhxt3cTGe7A2C8rBgc4G2SUSX3xo/edit?usp=sharing
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"...and then I clipped its wing as it flew by, dodging the stinger at the same time!" Tiana explained, her perspective bobbing as she mimicked the action she'd used to defeat the queen dire bee. "It could still fly, but not fast enough. On the very next pass I skewered it, stinger to ...
2024-01-22 07:52:17 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1mM3fUbtLtkdbt2t_4bxKNXhrCZ4rbXA6gi3nt9CDSXs/edit?usp=sharing
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They got to the dungeon just before sunset. Despite being further from the capital than most of the more popular dungeons, the adventurer's guild was careful to ensure it was cleared on a semi-regular basis to prevent dungeon breaks, so they had no trouble locating the dungeon itself. It was an op...
2024-01-19 09:34:48 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1BtZSLOtGSvcnU2t__k87QabN43pYGNzby1ntUrlvNUY/edit?usp=sharing
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"Thanks for coming," Cayden said to his friend as they exited the gates of Valtane, ignoring the pair of legionnaire guards silently watching them leave. It was unusual for guards to be legionnaires – the combat-oriented race was typically employed directly by nobles or the crown in more prestig...
2024-01-14 08:39:29 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1WDlim-eEm1NXHQM0XlDU6Wd19A0DcKPZlFh5ycJ2yY8/edit?usp=sharing
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"I want to come with you."
Slowly, Cayden lowered the hand holding a half-eaten apple back to the table.
He'd known this was coming. Ever since his apology and Tiana's promise that she wouldn't make any agreements with the princess without first talking with him about it, he'd been wai...
2024-01-12 07:44:15 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1Pj85msJRniE9AzoTWcglvhCqozEtHcM-TwwrDcl69ik/edit?usp=sharing
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"She...what?"
"The queen made her move against the nobles. One earl and two counts – three noble families, wiped out to the last. It could be more, though."
Cayden stepped back and gestured, waiting until he heard Jeremy's boots clomp past him before closing the door. "To the last? L...
2024-01-09 09:01:25 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1zgyORE8pP4yj7ODqETWfi1PeGmhMOB7zu3zuakbxv8s/edit?usp=sharing
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It was late by the time they left the arena. Elise guided Cayden by the hand as, with the other, he tapped the ground in front of them with his spear.
"What's got you grinning?" Elise asked as they finally made their way to the dorm, Elise holding the door open for him as he felt for the fir...
2024-01-07 10:18:46 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1nRv4SjoSUw1vwcbjbL4dawwlq8g3CfEkLBPgvEzhIxA/edit?usp=sharing
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Unfortunately for Cayden and Elise, the academy was large enough that – despite the recent emptiness since the official end of the semester – they had no shot of tracking down Tiana unless they were extremely lucky. Fortunately, though, they didn’t have to track down Tiana to ensure she didn...
2023-12-31 06:59:10 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1YB3XSBWIxtia6uf5wdtGYOho7xDCahqHZm13Xr0iXPE/edit?usp=sharing
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Delver’s Academy prided itself on being separate from politics. On being above the petty squabbles that might embroil the rest of the kingdom. And though that wasn’t an expectation it could always meet – many of the students carried with them the prejudices and rivalries of their parents –...
2023-12-28 08:55:46 +0000 UTC View PostAs a reference for anyone who might want a refresher, here's a link to a google sheet that has a list of all the skills Cayden has encountered/known about, including those skills that are higher tier and what skills combine into them, as of the end of book one. If you notice any I missed (or incorrect/inconsistent descriptions), let me know.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xEOxCcUMtcuEXxV7vApq...
2023-12-22 17:32:02 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1OIHctP8VFlxymXmtLDQYCGPMb3aB2FfYhiN7Ax-IpAM/edit?usp=sharing
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“Get rid of it?” Cayden scoffed.
“Not permanently,” Elise hurried to respond. “Just remove it from your active skills with [Save Progress]. To make it temporarily inactive.”
“...why?” Cayden said with a frown.
With him learning [Dual-Speak] while his throat was he...
2023-12-22 17:24:41 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1C5KxjoFwRAAjff__xvX7DRtuq1c0AB6JgCH4jJDJvRw/edit?usp=sharing
Cayden slashed out at the training dummy with bared claws, the practiced motions digging slightly into the runed wooden surface before sending it spinning. With reflexes honed from hundreds of hours training with identical dummies, Cayden ducked under where he knew the arm would pass, ready to rise just as...
2023-12-19 08:38:51 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1P0Mv4VN2vnM7KGWHz8ziHFDcvuJ2Ua92Pmmn7H9-iQY/edit?usp=sharing
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Tiana closed the door to her brother’s room, the threads of fate binding them together passing through the solid wood as if it wasn’t there.
They were as strong as they’d ever been, but Tiana took a moment to try and [Strengthen Fate] regardless. She dumped the entirety of her mana poo...
2023-10-21 04:53:40 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/14V6zX1iYk-3bCMiQ-EVkpxwreZOLmaqUQlmG49HNaDA/edit?usp=sharing
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Cayden repeated the name to himself several times as they re-entered the square where the princess and her bodyguards waited, deactivating [Dual-Speak] as he did. He was amazed and impressed with the power of the skill; so far, it had managed his outward words and expressions perfectly, simulating...
2023-06-11 00:15:33 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1W54bjt9Jhxfxqko0jTv7S49sAM89tb34oVsLw1EJwXs/edit?usp=sharing
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Cayden bounced his leg nervously as he waited next to the fountain for Tiana to arrive with the princess. As the weeks had passed, Valeria had given Cayden and his sister slightly more freedom in their interactions. Instead of being confined to the market square around the fountain, they’d been ...
2023-05-18 02:06:10 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1TeeMKl9VjuWuCwWMbrnlISv4O1pK-e4nycCdxKI66UE/edit?usp=sharing
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Cayden sat patiently as the rest of the students in Class Progression filed out of the classroom, standing and walking up to the desk at the front when it was empty.
“Cayden, do you have a question for me? You can’t be due for another class upgrade already – was there an issue...
2023-05-16 01:13:06 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1I9h-q5EcskwAHclHvGqbkgHSOCXMs5siQd5i06HXQfM/edit?usp=sharing
--
For all that everything now seemed different, classes and life at the academy had no regard for the life-changing revelations that Cayden had experienced. And as much as he might have wanted to do so, he couldn’t simply skip his classes, not if he didn’t want to arouse suspicion.
And aft...
2023-05-10 09:35:21 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1HEuakpSi29XV3GRPrYlk7ABUawitO7-cMgYNkcyPXw0/edit?usp=sharing
--
The flame of Cayden’s anger surged up upon hearing Delphia’s words, but he managed to tamp it back down. As much as he wanted to go on a rampage, confronting the princess and then charging toward whatever target she pointed him to, he knew that was foolish.
He had friends. As much as he ...
2023-04-21 23:36:02 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1i7KDryQhuq-NdB2B0Eq4EiEl3nxM8sQTO9Rl4MSqt9c/edit?usp=sharing
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Velic made a strangled gurgling noise as Cayden’s sheathed claws tightened around his throat, and the boy’s eyes were wide without their usual calm superiority.
But then Cayden felt the cold touch of metal against his throat and looked down to see Marvenal holding a tiny blade against hi...
2023-04-20 22:46:40 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1SN2X_2Bx6c2qTKPM6EF4J2JykJtwz7P-oRwmcB5ku-o/edit?usp=sharing
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“...and so, we begin with perhaps the most humble of races: the halfling. The halfling is most easily identifiable by their small size, larger waistline, and affable demeanour. The halfling gains three racial skills: [Affable], [Nimbleness], and [The Great Escape]. [Affable] is a passive skill t...
2023-04-19 13:50:19 +0000 UTC View Posthttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZzZwVGNbcePLnDoKUBskgh5Oa3KuRWzB2Glyyaejwww/edit?usp=sharing
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Surprisingly, Cayden seemed to be the one least bothered by their team’s loss – aside from Marvenal, of course, who seemed to care for nothing unless it affected Velic’s safety.
Velic was clearly angry from the way he stomped back to their seats from the tunnels. He didn’t say anythi...
2023-04-17 21:24:58 +0000 UTC View Post
