Tales from the UnderCurrent - Volumes 1 & 2 (Short Story Series)

Momentie | tragedy | Complete

Sabban Vint & his fellow graduates of the 117th cadet core, are exhilarated at the chance to serve alongside the legendary ace pilots of IAFS - However they will soon learn that not all soldiers are heroes nor all pilots aces - Someone needs to don the redshirt, to bellow the Wilhelm-Scream - To pilot the mighty V-MBT-Neo-M - The Nemo.Bela Grimizanis considered the best of the best, regardless of any rumours her subordinates might speak of - But are years of training, experience & raw talent enough to counter someone with faith on their side?'Lucky' Luke.Luke is his middle name actually but it's what everyone calls him.That's the sort of place he lives - A place where a legend is required when war comes beckoning at their doors... Now on Royal Road!This is a series of short stories that take place in the world of the UnderCurrent.A world where 'plot-armour' is usually something the enemy have & where the machine you pilot may very well decide a battle before it ever begins.---- Now availableon Royal-Road!For my review of 'Zeta Gundam' I wrote a short story detailing what the lives of the poor everyday background pilots must be like - In a war predicated on the fact that one man said another's name; "Sounds like a girl's name" - Leading to the deaths of 1000s. Since then I've begun writing an original novel, carrying over the characters from here, called 'UnderCurrent'.These stories can be read without knowledge of UnderCurrent and likewise it can be read without knowledge of this. Optimally however it may benefit you to read UnderCurrent to have complete context, the following are some words that may not always be in all of the stories should you choose to skip from tale to tale;Vijaik - A blanket term for mechs made of regular metals. They come in a variety of designs.Casnel - Specifically refers to any mech made of the rare metal 'Goibniu'. They are exceptionally advanced and powerful machines.Bhaile and Abhaile - The planets of UnderCurrent's people.IAFS - 'Independent Alliance of Free States', a rebel faction backed by private corporations, seeking change for the solar-system.TSU - 'The States Union', ruling body of all controlled space, known for often-times being callous and extreme in method.Remembrance - A somewhat 'wild-card' faction made up of former rebellion survivors operating from the 'Remembrance' continent. ----Thanks for reading= =M.

39.68 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-26 16:53

Sacrifice (Give and Take Part 3)

lightpurplelilies | tragedy | Complete

**this is part 3 of a 3-part story. parts 1, fear-driven, and 2, renegades, are up and available on my profile** sacrifice synopsis: back home, on the beach, and all to find aber's sister again. well, they've found her, and it's not quite what they've expected. the world is upside down and backwards and the only way to make sense of it is to find the people who make sense of you. a reminder of the characters (plus a few updates): ABER -- he has spent all this time trying to get away from his wife and back to his sister. but now that they are here and he has to choose, the choice is harder than he thought. AVA -- she's a miracle. she's a brat. she's the most important person in the world. she has no idea what she's doing. she's losing her mind. she is going to save them all or die trying. again. NUA -- he got away. he went back. he must be out of his mind. ABIGALA -- what has she been doing for the past year? isn't that the million-dollar question. PENNY -- family reunions are never fun, per se. especially not this one. BAYAN -- everything happens the way it was meant to happen. but why was this meant to happen? and LILLY -- everything comes down to her.

33.18 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-26 11:03

The Bracelet I Got Was More Than I Bargained For

DivineEternal1 | tragedy | Complete

Andrew and his friends, Isaac, Lisbeth, and Cameron meet a shady man on the way home from school. This man promises them adventure on another world, called Calorin, if they are willing to help him with an experiment. This experiment requires the use of a bracelet, one that cannot be removed once bonded to but will give them abilities such as healing or enhanced strength. Thanks to some peer pressure Andrew reluctantly agrees to join the experiment. The friends are soon on their way to Calorin but Andrew notices feelings coming from the bracelet, ones that want nothing to do with the strange man. It is just before they arrive at their destination that the bracelet changes everything for Andrew and he finds himself separated from his friends and the strange man. Stuck in the middle of a forest Andrew will need to find out where he is, how to find his friends, and why the bracelet has been acting the way it has. Author's Note:This story is a sidequel/prequel to Artifice: Tools of the Gods. As it only has one or two connected characters there is no need to read one or the other to understand them.

39.08 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-22 13:50

Dice Cultivation: Brotherhood

Ihdob Laprok | tragedy | Complete

Roll for power! Enril and Zelek, cousins who's bond knows no bounds, are about to come of age - a pivotal moment which will change their lives forever. In Heaven's Vale, power reigns supreme. Under the guidance of their clan, they form the one-hundred-sided object which will shape their future: the riken Filter. Not all Filters are created equal, though. Can these boys overcome their clan's lowly status and grow into power? Will their bond persevere through trial and tribulation, or force them apart in disgust and jealousy? Join these boys on their journey in growth, understanding, and self-discovery in this tale of cultivation where dice determine destiny!

30.45 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:26

A Good Man

verus | tragedy | Complete

Book 1: A Good Man All are to be ordained. All ordained are to be registered. Those who stray from the path become obsolete. These are the tenants the grand Mercian Bureaucracy lives by. None can escape their destined path, lest they become obsolete. The obsolete are hunted down by the ordained assassins, supported by the Mercian government. Follow ordained assassin 2500116, Eli de Winter, as he performs his duties in the grand city of Victoria. Fifteen years ago Eli suddenly found himself in a world unlike his own. Within the maze of the many layered streets of the industrial city he was forced to make a new home, performing acts that would have seen him convicted on Earth. Gangsters, revolutionaries, kings and princes, all are playing a game with the highest stakes. The winds of change are blowing and everybody wants to be on the right side of history. While the powers that might be are making moves in the shadow there is only one question that haunts Eli's mind. Is he a good man, or is he obsolete?

36.80 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:23

Flowers Rain Upon Them (Tragic High Fantasy)

Lack of Poochline | tragedy | Complete

Terus doesn't exist. He breathes, speaks, and walks. He learns. He thinks. Yet he is not. Dreamed to life by a slumbering dragon, Terus and the rest of Cirruin's dreams inhabit Ludlun, a settlement that shares their nature. They exist solely for the old dragon to destroy the town and revive his glory days, again and again. Yet, one day, an unusual man arrives to the town, igniting Terus' desire to know more about the people that "move like pebbles rolling down a hillside", leading him to venture outside of the dream-town and into a city that couldn't be more real. In this city, he will try to become a bit more like the man he is supposed to incarnate and less like the dragon that dreams about him. This, of course, without forgetting that he should always care not to turn Cirruin's dreams into nightmares, and that the dreams of a dragon's dream are a dragon's dream all the same...[This fiction participates in the Royal Road Writathon challenge of April, 2023] (A milliard thanks to DragonOfRochester for the new cover! The aforementioned created the typography and applied it to a base image made with the Midjourney software.)

30.30 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-04-02 15:05

Rakshasha's Heart - Prologue

Erykon | tragedy | Complete

Adventurers - They posses immense strength and courage, as they delve into mysterious dungeons and ancient ruins. They pioneer unexplored lands, and defeat mythical creatures. When the world awaits its destruction by evil, they step forth to vanquish it. Or do they? A hunter boy from the countryside has a cynical view of adventurers contrary to normal beliefs. When destiny takes a turn for the worse, what choices will he make, after his hidden potential bursts forth?

42.46 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 15:31

139 Years to the End of the World

aden_ng | tragedy | Complete

"My name is Milton Jones. I am one hundred and sixty-nine years old. Welcome to the end of the world." Due to a terminal illness, Milton Jones has just 15 days left to live. When the government offered to cryogenically preserve him to save the world, he will become the judge of humanity. Journey with him through an ever-growing dystopian universe, where he will struggle with the meaning of family and the value of life. Discover whether there is still life left in the years to the end of the world, and if it is truly worth saving.

41.42 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 18:17

Seeker

sarvashaktimaan | tragedy | Complete

This is an older story which I do not think is up to my current writing abilities. Read at your own risk. The Gods are dead As they bled dry, so did the magic which gave them birth. In the new era of technology, its pathetic remnants must hide in the shadows or be locked away. In the ancient era of magic two beings often stood out: Galileo, an immortal scholar obsessed with knowledge and Angelica, the most loyal servant of the greatest among the now dead Gods. But why are they worthy of mention? Because after millennia of isolation, the two emerge in the new world beyond their reckoning. The entire story is told from the third person, however, each chapter will be told from the perspective of only one of the characters. This will be signified by the first letter of their names after the chapter number to avoid confusion. I submitted this fiction as a[participant in theRoyal RoadWritathon challenge] as well as a participant in National Novel Writing Month. The original challenge had been to finish this entire faction within the month of November reaching the 55.5k word minimum. This goal had been achieved. I do not own the cover picture

33.88 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-13 16:06