Author: JS Groves
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Chapter Fifty-Four – In which Khanaarre gets the boat she has always wanted
Altogether, we spent five days in Nagaan. It was not nearly enough rest after almost a month in the mountains. Despite daily baths, it felt like it took the whole of that time to wash all the ground-in dirt off our bodies. We had to burn much of what we’d worn, and replace it with Read more
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Chapter Fifty-Three – In which Derrek leads the party to the headwaters of the Venn and back to the known world
Our morale waned after the ogre encounter. None of us, except possibly Rennin, had actually wanted to fight. The diplomats’ tongues spell had worked too slowly, and the language barrier had made it all but inevitable – though, given my own speculation, perhaps I should have anticipated that they would respond to the giant’s tongue Read more
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Chapter Fifty-Two – In which Khanaarre remembers her first murder
“The elf.” The words echoed in my mind every hour of every day. There was a part of me that was infuriated at being reduced to my species and grammatical gender – not the elf wizard, or even the elf woman, just … “the elf”. Most of me, though, was terrified. Aemillian Solirius, Usurper of Read more
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Chapter Fifty-One – In which Derrek recalls a vision
I severed the connection, and the tent went dark. Outside, the fire had been extinguished, and whatever moon and stars hung above us did not cast enough light to penetrate the canvas. I could not even see Khanaarre’s silhouette. “Fuck,” she said. “Yeah,” I said. I waited for her to ask what seemed like the Read more
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Chapter Fifty – In which Khanaarre and Derrek are reunited with their companions
In the morning, Derrek Rowan flew us up the tunnel we’d bored through solid rock. The spell he used was simple enough – two words of the celestial tongue, and the blood it took to fuel them – and he taught it to me in the process of performing it. I looked forward to trying Read more
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Chapter Forty-Nine – In which Derrek falls from a very great height
I should have seen it coming. Not the kick, per se, and certainly not Khanaarre’s attempted intervention, but my death-sentence. We had resisted the will of the Prince of the White Steppes, used his honor and pride against him. He could not retaliate against Elana, who he had acknowledged as his equal, or against Rennin, Read more
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Chapter Forty-Eight – In which Khanaarre looks over the edge of the world
Trade talks took up the last few weeks of winter: Elana and Rennin locked in an assortment of offices with various combinations of the Prince of the White Steppes, the archons of Ghol Vidar, and a laundry list of local commercial interests. Although I had no standing to negotiate for my people, I was invited Read more
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Chapter Forty-Seven – In which Derrek suffers a pyrrhic victory
I could not, in all courtesy, take my eyes off the Prince of the White Steppes, but I would have given much to see the look on Prince Elana’s face when our host gave the full name of the Storm. Tal Thannuu was known in the south as the Demon God, ever at odds with Read more
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Chapter Forty-Six – In which Khanaarre feels very alone, and the party at last meets the Prince of the White Steppes
And so we settled in, enjoying the hospitality of Vol Mak Khan while we awaited the pleasure of the archons and the Prince of the White Steppes. After so many weeks rushing from one city-state to the next, our eyes always on the horizon for signs of another wyvern attack or oncoming storm, the enforced Read more
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Chapter Forty-Five – In which Derrek is reunited with his mothers
To say that I did not expect to see my mothers in the house of Vol Mak Khan was an understatement so vast that even I would not have found it funny. Our host, however, clearly had expected them, for they and their cook laid out a feast more than generous enough to provide for Read more