The day of the launch arrived and the hanger was bustling with activity. The fleet was being loaded to the brim with equipment that’s how it and supplies and soldiers. Crew men gathered to ready the sails while engineers checked over the enchantments that will get them airborne. They had decided their route into the Unknown Region would remain in air, with all the precautions necessary. General Hanson oversaw the allocation of personnel, speaking with six captains who all had

Shade tossed and turned on the wafer thin mattress of his cot, unable to settle. Kept clutching at the sheets, his face contorting as the nightmares plagued him once again. He relived the horror of discovering the truth, hearing his own screams as well as those coming from everyone around him. He watched from an outside perspective as he lost control of his magic, putting everyone in danger. In his dreams, it felt like he had killed everyone. He wouldn’t wake up until he felt

Valerius found himself rather intimidated at the thought of approaching the Oracle. He was the High-King and ruler of the Realm, yet this old woman scared him more than anything else. “ Do not underestimate the power of the Oracle”  his own father had told him when he was young and being groomed for the throne. “ She can see more than any mage in all the lands. Her wisdom should be heeded with caution. Her motivations may not always coincide with our own. And she will never g

Once upon a time, the hospital was packed with wounded in the war on a daily basis. It was the largest medical centre in the capitol where patients from every surrounding district would be brought to when their respective healers were overwhelmed. The Citadel had its own medical wing, which was were the Guard would be treated so they wouldn’t affect the civilian treatment. As High-Princess of the Realm, Emelia Knight had the opportunity to visit the hospital to see the patien

Since building up a new communications network worldwide, getting transport around the globe was becoming easier. Still treacherous, but they had started mapping safe routes from one country to another by land and air. Outposts and transit hubs were established at key locations to make travel easier. Within a day, they could travel from the UK to China with one single helicopter flight. From the United States, there was an additional road trip, which only took a couple of hou

The transports picked them up and brought them across the wasteland, returning Clark and his team to their headquarters in this area.

The grey sky hung over their heads ominously like a blanket, blotting out the sun shrouding the wasteland in darkness.

The atmosphere across the Realm had changed now the war was over. The truce had been finalised months ago with the official inauguration of Balthazar as Elder, uniting the Death-Hunters and the Realm Guard at last. Peace was slow to restore as there was still tensions in the different districts, but almost all of the neutral factions had returned to the fold as promised. The mood was improving as each week passed, former death-hunters helping rebuild the countryside they had

Thunder rumbled in the distance, drawing Hanson’s eyes up to the overcast sky. Birds flocked overhead like an omen, fleeing their presence as they entered the small village. The General had to peel his eyes to the ground to remind him he was still in the Realm before his eyes started playing tricks on him.

It was a long and difficult labour, going on for over an hour. The midwives and nurses did what they could, but Aanya had to push through a lot of pain. Zander was late, but it was a relief when he finally arrived to support her. When she was finally dilated and ready, she had her husband by her side.

The sands stretched out towards the horizon as far as the eye could see, blanketing the landscape in a sea of grey and brown. There had been little to mark the distance as the man trudged through the desert, his feet sinking a few inches into the sand while his tattered cloak dragged behind him. He lifted his eyes up to the grey sky above him, the clouds obscuring the sun and any stars I might’ve used to navigate this wasteland.

The cheers echoed across the capitol all the way to the furthest outskirts where the Oracle’s tower resided. She listened to the voices of the crowd drifting through her open window, standing in the shadow beside the rays of sunlight bathing her chambers. She assembled her chess board diligently, placing the marble pieces with care while observing the threads of the present unfolding around her.

The crowds gathered outside the Citadel, filling the courtyards as the High-King stood on the balcony with his elders, his Guard, and his family, friends and close allies addressing the assembled crowd. His voice boomed over the sun kissed sky, amplified by a one of Nasir’s spells so he could be heard to all corners of the capitol. “After many years of bloodshed and bigotry, of distrust and treachery, I am privileged to announce the Realm is once again at peace” he roared. “T

The storm cloud gathered over their heads, thunder echoing across the sky. The superstitious among them might consider it an omen, a sign that bad things are to come. For those like James Clark, they knew dark times were already here.

The weeks that followed were a hectic affair. There was much to do once all the relevant parties had been debriefed and everyone was brought up to speed. Karen and Ramous stayed for the transition of power, helping Ferndale and Valerius as they made the peace between the Death-Hunters and the Realm Guard formal. Balthazar happily signed the treaty declaring a cease of hostilities, working with the High-King to move forward in a unified front.

The results were never in doubt. They all knew it would be.

Emma recalled the first time she asked why Sorcerers were so scary, so dangerous. She was sitting in Matrious’s office when she was very young, watching him perform one of his experiments with a potion over an open flame. The Spell-Caster was very careful to keep her away from the apparatus for her safety. Her curious mind had wandered to the topic as if by random, so she asked him “why do people say Sorcerers are dangerous?”

The man had positioned himself behind the young man, his wand in his left hand so he could hold his right hand out for the artefact. Shade stood frozen as the wand pressed against the back of his neck. From this close, any bolt could cause his head to explode like a grape. “Don’t try anything stupid” Valerius warned.

The two mage factions had had been at war for years finally called their truce in order to access the temple in a unified front. The only faction not a hundred percent on board with this was the mortals, who huddled behind the Realm Guard and the Death-Hunters shivering from the cold. As long as Scarlett remained in the hands of the Death-Hunter, nobody, not even Shade, was going to trust them.

The flight took them further than they had ever travelled before in a couple of hours. Midnight approached steadily like a foreboding cloud.