The rhythmic grinding instantly escalated to a piercing, metal-on-stone shriek. It wasn't the distant hum of the drill anymore; it was the sound of a mechanical beast chewing through the final inches of our sanctuary. <CRRAAAAACKKK!> The drill bit ripped through the cistern ceiling with the violence of a cannon blast. The air exploded. A... Continue Reading →
4 – Cracks in the Void
Trapped! The word was a heavy stone in my gut. The basement door at the far wall of the Istoki Mysli basement exploded inward, splinters of ancient oak showering the damp stone floor. Hidden behind the ruins of a conduit, I watched the armed Okhrana agents pour into the space—their dark uniforms a stark, violent... Continue Reading →
3 – The Broken Machine
Istoki Mysli The aetheric shriek was a siren’s call, a frantic, desperate scream that cut through the silent hum of the city. It was not the harmonious resonance of the old world, but a chaotic, untamed energy, raw and dangerous. It felt like a dissonant note in a sacred hymn, a wrench in the gears... Continue Reading →
1 – The Aetherium Engineer (Prologue)
The Echo of the Lost Grid The year is 1898, and the world hums with the false promise of progress. It is a world I am forced to live in but do not belong to. Smoke belches from a thousand new factories, iron behemoths roar across continents, and a strange, chugging sound—the rhythm of the... Continue Reading →
7.4 Revenge of Atlantis
Location: To Atlantis, via travels around The Flat EarthTimeline: Winter 48 I'd recovered from my death communal and was sure I had discovered key secrets about Dagaal's whereabouts. Even though I'd searched these same places to try to find that artifact about six hundred years ago, I'd realized that perhaps my earlier searches were less... Continue Reading →
6.6 The Hunger
Location: Fubar in the Orkney RegionTimeline: Sixth Age, Spring, 51 Ah, the fleeting nature of mortal comfort. It's a delectable little tragedy, isn't it? One moment, they are basking in the warmth of their stolen triumphs, the next, the chilling winds of reality come howling in through the window. It is during these moments of... Continue Reading →
5.4 Formula 409
Location: Nektar’s Cauldron, KraTimeline: Sixth Age, 47th Year, Spring Ah, the bliss of a job well done. Kaoz, my new favorite little myz, was back on his path, his mind now a gleaming new toy of my own design. Confident that he wouldn’t stray, I turned my attention to other, more pressing matters. The little... Continue Reading →
2.1 The Arbols
Part II – The AmorosiChapter 1 – The ArbolsLocation: Arbola ForestTimeline: Sixth Age, 44th Year It may hearten you to learn that not every thread of this grand tapestry revolves around my inestimable self—though, if I had my way, it would, and the tale would be all the richer for it. But alas, A’H’s tiresome... Continue Reading →
2.2 Languishing
Part II – The AmorosiChapter 2 – LanguishingLocation: Arbola ForestTimeline: Sixth Age, 45th Year, Spring Oh, how delectable was the discord that soon festered in Arbola Forest - it became a symphony of mortal frailties that I surely would have savored at the time had my gaze not been fixed on grander schemes! Yet even... Continue Reading →
4.3 The Morati
Part IV: That Meddling KidChapter 3: The MoratiLocation: Monthaven, Eastern TerraVerdeTimeline: Sixth Age of Substance, 45th Year, Mid-Autumn Although you might think I'm bored recounting the tedious lives of Emcorae and his grandfather Alfranco, think again - I’ll admit, this part of his yarn stirs a flicker of delight in the shadows of my heart... Continue Reading →
The Apocrypha of Azazel 