17: Thorne and Crow: An Ahran Archives Short

Easthaven; Tanahr Two weeks after the events of Aether and Honor. Brennan Hawke stooped low, shoving his armored body through the cramped passageway. Metal scraped across the crumbling wall, sending a shower of pebbles to the dirt beneath his boots. “You might wish to give me some space,” he muttered to the woman behind him. […]

16: Epilogue

Loremaster Olangah listened to Archmage Miir’s account of the past days, expression dark. “So the one who tainted Moya and Ahn with those traces of soul matter years ago—what was her name?” “Lady Larkwing of the Dominion Thaumaturgy Labs,” Miir supplied. “This Larkwing started the project that eventually resulted in orphans, a former Dominion assassin, […]

14: Of Remnants

Moya gathered three fresh bottles of restorative in her satchel, then guided Ahn and the new aethermage, Emrhys, to the leywater font. Her mind buzzed furiously, head full of stinging-wasp worries. Strangers portaling in from another land, a cloaked would-be assassin or thief breaking into the leytemple and attacking her, a whole school-room full of […]

13: Of Shattering

Ahn shuddered. The world was in darkness, a pressing weight, a sickness in his belly. Why were his thoughts swirling mud? Why did his heart try to beat against the current, and why did his limbs refuse his commands? And why did ice tear through his veins instead of blood? Voices sounded in his awareness—muted, […]

12: Of Preparation

“How can we assist you, Ahndras Frost?” Seshka asked, gazing up at Ahn with the first light of hope in her eyes. “I’ll need a large quantity of stinkwort for binding, salt for a grounding circle, some candles, and a bowl of pure leywater, preferably bottled and unopened. Oh, and feverbane bandages, in case of […]

11: Of Pathos

“Who are you?” Ahn brandished his staff, aethermagic flaring in the near darkness. “Stop it.” The chill, flat voice of the young woman standing between him and his guardian and the atrium’s exit echoed into the unnatural silence. “Magic will only call the darkness. Listen to me, or we will all perish. Put out the […]

8: Of Awakened

* Content warning: quick dagger cut, undead They set off through Duskmere’s west gate towards Nightstar Temple. The evening weather was exceptionally fine. A cool breeze with scents of late spring in the air dried the raindrops from the day’s squall, leaving no trace of the unseasonal heat and humidity from earlier. Moya listened as […]

7: Of Explosions

“The world looks a lot different when I’m not boiling mad, hungry and covered in mud after wrestling an ornery river stallion,” Moya said, shading her eyes from the lowering sun as she surveyed the area. She kept stride with the others, dodging merchants laden with packs and townsfolk out and about on their afternoon […]

6: Of Meetings

Ahn leaned back in his chair and watched as his friends and new guardian sat eating, planning, and getting along famously. It had taken no time for Moya to fall into easy conversation with the others, a skill he had never really learned himself. “So you are from Empyrea?” Moya asked Zander. “Indeed. And I’ll […]

5: Of the Rite

Ahn laughed until his stomach hurt, and Moya slumped against a tree, wiping her eyes. He inhaled, ignoring the stitch in his side, and surveyed the clearing. Now that it was over, his head pounded, and every muscle in his body cried out for rest. What in all the hells had just happened here? “You […]