Nectar posts
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Hey everyone,Firstly, no, the story isn’t being dropped, and it will continue as is. Don’t worry, lol. I just wanted to talk about something on my mind lately—something I’ve been trying to fix the last few days.Anyway, I got a DM on Discord that made me realize something from one of my author friends. If one person’s feeling a certain way about the story, chances are others are too. I was also feeling kind of same, and it felt good to get a confirmation.So, I wanted to open up a bit ab...
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< Previous| ToC|Next >The pounding of hooves was annoying.Not because Ethan disliked the horse, but because it was all he’d been hearing for quite some time now. Man, I’m bored of traveling so much. Ethan urged his mount forward. The sturdy chestnut mare neighed.They crested a small hill, and encountered a pack of Dire Wolves. Their fur was a mottled gray and black, and it emerged from the underbrush.The horse was startled.“Steady,” Ethan murmured to his horse, hand moving toward his swo...
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< Previous| ToC|Next >You have slain the Arachnid Swarm!You have slain the Arachnid Necromancer!Rewards:· [Book of the Dead] x1 — An ancient tome holding the secrets of death.· [Necrotic Core] x1 — A potent artifact imbued with the dark energy of the fallen necromancer. This core can be used to craft powerful items or to fuel dark rituals among other things.· [Mana Crystals] (x5)· [Divine Essence] (x10) — A rare and precious substance that has crystallized into the form of shards, stol...
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< Previous| ToC|Next >The town of Holden was in chaos.Crystalline creatures screeched and skittered through the streets, their razor-sharp limbs leaving deep gouges in the pavement.Jack stood at the center of it all. Around him, his horde of undead warriors moved, their lifeless eyes fixed on the crystalline creatures. But even as they fought, more of the creatures seemed to pour in from every shadow and crevice.“We’re losing ground!” shouted Marcus, one of Jack’s lieutenants, a more sop...
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< Previous| ToC|Next >Ethan’s breath came in ragged gasps as he faced down Malakai. The hybrid’s form was now tattered and singed, revealing glimpses of pallid flesh beneath. Its human face was full of hatred.Ethan, for his part, looked a little better. His armor was dented and scorched, blood seeping from a nasty gash on his stomach. The necromancer’s skin began to ripple and sizzle. It was as if its body had become a boiling cauldron, and from the fissures that opened, a horrifying swarm...
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< Previous| ToC|Next >The colossal spider’s leg lashed out with terrifying speed, catching Ethan off-guard. He tried to dodge, but the razor-sharp appendage sliced through his armor, piercing the side of his stomach. A cry of pain escaped his lips as he stumbled backward, pressing a hand against the wound.“Shit,” Ethan hissed, feeling warm blood seeping between his fingers.An angry hiss filled the air as Opie emerged from Ethan’s arm, the small obsidian snake’s eyes gleaming with fury....
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< Previous| ToC|Next >Jack sat hunched over his notes, eyes scanning the pages for what felt like the thousandth time. Goddammit. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he leaned back in his chair, and rubbed his temples.Time had passed since their expedition to the Quel Mines, and they were no closer to unraveling the mystery of the crystal plague or its perpetrators. Jack’s mind wandered back to that day as they’d set out at first light...---The sun had barely crested the horizon when their party ...
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< Previous| ToC|Next >Ethan winced as he gingerly applied the herbal ointment to his back and shoulder. The Goblin Lord’s acidic saliva had done a number on him, leaving angry red welts across his skin. He gritted his teeth, pushing through the discomfort as he worked the soothing paste into the affected areas.“Damn goblins,” he muttered, reaching awkwardly to cover a particularly nasty burn on his lower back.A soft hiss drew his attention downward. Opie slithered across the forest floor, ...
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< Previous| ToC|Next >Ethan stood his ground. The forest seemed to hold its breath. His eyes narrowed as he heard the approaching thump, thump, thumpsounds. His hand tightened on his sword hilt.This was it. The moment of truth.The underbrush parted, revealing a monstrous figure that towered over Ethan.Anticipation washed over him. Finally, a worthy opponent.The Goblin Lord. The monster was such a mockery of both goblin and man. Standing nearly nine feet tall, its muscular frame rippled with mana...
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< Previous| ToC|Next >The sun had barely crested the horizon when Jack stepped out of his makeshift laboratory. Leto looked at him as if he were crazy, and maybe he was—at least, he should appear as such, given his eyes were bloodshot from another sleepless night of research. The crisp morning air did little to invigorate him as he surveyed the town square, now transformed into a makeshift containment zone.To say the scene before him was grim would be an understatement—the rapid spread of th...
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< Previous| ToC|Next >Strangely desolate, Ethan thought. The road stretching endlessly before him like a ribbon of cracked earth winding through a landscape as bleak as death itself was strangelydesolate. No birds, no air—nothing. His horse’s hooves kicked up small clouds of dust with each step. Dead trees lined the path, with branches bare reaching toward the sky like skeletal fingers.“Deadwoods,” Ethan muttered. “What a fitting name.”As he rounded a bend, a sluggish river came into...
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< Previous| ToC|Next >AN:So, back in chapter Chapter 34, MC used [Arcane Awareness] coupled with [Sever]. That was a mistake on my part as I'd confused a skill. MC didn't use [Arcane Awarenmess] but instead [True Perception]. The chapter has been edited.On another note, some stuff came up IRL :[Thus the lack of updates. My apologies. I'm back to writing now.Chapter 36Ethan slouched in his high-backed chair, his brow furrowed as he pored over yet another murder report. A parchment. Ag...
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< Previous| ToC|Next >Ethan’s eyes widened in horror. He watched his own attack hurtling towards him in slow motion. The swirling vortex of water vapor, pressure changes, and fireballs that he’d so carefully crafted now bore down on him with terrifying speed.Shit, he thought, cursing himself. I should’ve realized it would try to change locations with me when I saw it do it with Baron Montague. Fuck!A cry escaped his lips as the attack closed in. But just as the devastating combination was ...
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< Previous| ToC|Next >Ethan rose to his feet, alarmed. “What kind of incident?”“It’s the disease, my lord. Someone infected has... changed. You need to see this for yourself.”Ethan turned to Montague apologetically, but the older man was already standing.“Well,” Montague said, his voice grim but his eyes alight with a strange excitement, “it seems our business will have to wait. Shall we go see what fresh hell awaits us in your charming little town?”Without waiting for a respon...
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Ethan sat in his study, a freshly delivered parchment in hand. His eyes scanned the detailed information about the [Necromancer] Jack had identified. As he read, he absently stroked the feathers of an undead raven perched on his desk, its hollow eye sockets staring blankly ahead.“Thornhaven, eh?” Ethan mused aloud. “Clever choice for a hideout, I’ll give him that.”He continued reading, taking note of the [Necromancer]’s description. The mention of animated corpses made him frown. Thi...
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Jack leaned over the sickbed, his eyes scanning the frail form of the child before him. The boy’s skin was a sickly pallor, so pale it seemed almost translucent in the dim light of the infirmary. Jack’s brow furrowed as he made careful notes on a piece of parchment.“Subject appears severely emaciated,” he muttered, quill scratching across the paper. “His flesh clings to his bones like a tattered shroud, most notably in his arms and legs. In some places, the stark architecture of his sk...
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“Well...” Jack said, “I need an assistant,” he said finally.Ethan blinked, surprised by the sudden request. “Oh.”“Yes. It will be better if I have an assistant. Quicker. I could’ve created a cure for the blight sooner if I had someone competent. Sir Miller is good, he really is. However, he is not suited for this kind of work. He is strange, really. Regardless, he is not suited for this kind of work. I need a professional, if possible.”“Sure. Tell me the specifics and I will ...
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The heavy doors of the meeting room creaked open as Ethan entered, his face a mask of concern. Roland and another man, Leto, were already seated at the long table, their expressions just what Ethan had expected them to be: grim.Ethan had promoted Leto after his good work. Taking his place at the head of the table, Ethan drummed his fingers in an anxious rhythm on the polished wood. Taking a breath, he looked at them both.“Report.” He asked.Leto cleared his throat. “My lord, I’m afraid th...
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Ethan stood near a window of his manor, peering through the curtains at the scene unfolding outside.The once-quiet streets of his estate were now filled with angry voices and raised fists. A sea of townspeople had gathered, their faces contorted with rage and most importantly, fear.Shouts like “NO MORE LIES!” and “RETURN OUR AURUMS!” drowned everything.He let the curtain fall back into place, shutting out the accusatory glares. When Leto had informed him the situation was bad, and it nee...
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AN: I'm finally done with outlining this book and doing a rough map of the next book! Now that we're halfway done with book 1, it's time to crank things up. I hope you remember that one random woman Ethan "saw" in Theo's memories of the bar where he also saw Jack for the first time lol.Expect two chapters tomorrow. And then, one every day instead of one every other day lol. I'm cranking things up!Chapter 28Rosemary crouched by the well, her basket of freshly gathered ...
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Chapter 27Ethan slammed the sealed letter down on the table, rattling the inkwell and sending a stray feather skittering across the parchment. A satisfied smirk stretched across his face as he tossed a hefty pouch of coins onto a pile already overflowing with similar ones. Hector’s shipment was dealt with.The soap business was practically booming.Though, yes, I need to get these pouches transferred instead of letting them sit here...Shaking his head, Ethan grabbed the letter with his hand, lif...
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Chapter 26“Sir Thomas, what are you doing here?” Ethan asked, surprised at the man’s arrival.Thomas was a burly man. Not just large, he was a mountain of a man. Encased in dented and polished steel plate, his chest seemed broad enough to shield two men. Beneath his helm, a grizzled beard the color of iron filings spilled over the mail protecting his neck. He was old, too. One hand, the size of a dinner plate, rested casually on the pommel of a longsword that seemed almost dainty in his gra...
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AN:I am back >_<Thank you for waiting.I changed the last sentence in the last chapter to this:—because the tax collectors arrived that week, knocking at Holden’s doors.Anyway, here is the chapter.Chapter 25The day the tax collectors arrived started normal enough with the pre-dawn light filtering weakly through Ethan’s window, pulling him from sleep. He stretched, yawning, blinking away the remnants of sleep. Scratching Opie absently as the snake coiled comfortably around his arm, Ethan ros...
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Chapter 24Excitement warred with apprehension within Ethan.He’d narrowly escaped the horrifying potential consequences of Connecting with a Constellation’s “embrace”—which was very unlikean embrace—and now, the prospect of summoning his [Familiar] was lucrative. Not onlywas it lucrative, he was looking forward to it. Really.But how? How to summon the [Familiar]? Will it be dangerous, again? I should’ve asked Derrick. Ethan swallowed. He didn’t tell me that Connecting would be tha...
Hello. This is slightly important.
First thing first, I just got signed with Aethon Books! Super excited! >_<Second, between traveling back home, juggling talking to a few publishers and signingthe contract, preparing for Eid (I'm Muslim; Eid is a festival), and writing whenever I get the time, and other stuff, I've been super busy and haven't had the time to update recently. It's been 3 days since the last update.I know not a lot of time. BUT--I feel the need to be transparent and communicate instead of going sil...
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Chapter 23Constellation: SunderType: Destruction, Chaos, EntropyAlignment: Chaotic NeutralAffinity: Severing, DestructionDescription: Unlike most of the other Constellations, Sunder is amongst the first to appear amidst the chaos and command respect from everyone. It is described as shining with thousands of small stars within, hinting at a complex and possibly fragmented nature. Information regarding this Constellation is either unknown, redacted, or hidden.Familiar: [Viper]Known Effects of Con...
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Chapter 22Derrick straightened from his kneeling position, wiping dust off his hands. The pungent aroma from the concoction on the table had intensified, swirling around the strange assortment of ingredients. He gestured towards the diagram drawn on the floor in chalk, its lines glowing faintly with a luminescence.“There you have it, my lord,” said Derrick. “The ritual circle is complete. All that’s left is the potion and your focus.”Ethan had been observing Derrick’s meticulous work...
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Chapter 21The ornately carved doors of Ethan’s private meeting room shut behind Derrick just as Roland bowed to Ethan and left. “Greetings, my lord,” Derrick said. “It’s time for our first class.”Derrick was a man with a salt-and-pepper beard that spoke of years spent in the unforgiving elements.“Apologies for the delay, my lord,” Derrick said, inclining his head in a gesture of respect.Ethan offered a curt nod. “No worries. Take a seat.”Derrick settled into the plush chair o...
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Chapter 20Ethan sat on the chair opposite his sister inside his manor. He’d been shocked to find Juliana waiting inside when he’d returned from Artos’s forge. While a part of him was always happy to see Juliana, part him was skeptical and suspicious—and the latter part far outweighed the former. For what purpose was she here? Had their father, the king, finally lost his patience with Theo? It was a possibility. One he was not looking forward to affirming. It would be best if she’s just...
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Chapter 19The following morning—having slept soundly for the first time in weeks, Ethan donned his finest attire: polished leather boots, a crisp linen shirt, and a heavy furred cloak that denoted his noble status. Done, he rode on his carriage toward the structure that housed the Inventors Guild, a guild tasked with maintaining a record of inventions and ensuring no one infringed on another’s creation.Inside the Inventor’s Guild, polished marble floors reflected the intricate stained-glas...
