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

Other-Terrestrial Episode 11 - "Masquerade"

NolanConrey | drama | Complete

The holiday Darkeve has come, and the crew of the Craton get to relax, dress up, and have a good time! Apollonia Nor is able to experience the first real holiday in her life - if she can get left alone. For Pirra and Tred, a happy day may turn out to be less than they had hoped. While for Captain Brooks, an old friend comes calling to settle on a debt . . .

22.51 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-26 13:48

The Queen's Necromancer

ECWrites | action | Complete

Idris lost his name when he was twelve years old. His title, his ancestral home and his freedoms were stripped from him in a freak accident that changed everything. Since then, he has worked tirelessly at the side of his best friend, Queen Cressida Naga, to become a worthy courtier for her kingdom - except the title of Court Necromancer has always brought stares and whispers. After a brutal war breaks down the barriers of the kingdom, Idris finds himself entangled in a spate of break-ins and thefts that he would rather do without. But a trip to the kingdom's edge proves to him that nothing happening in Veridia is accidental - and someone else might be harbouring similar powers to his. With his attendant Lila, Idris has to cross the country to clear his name and find out the truth behind the dark magic that threatens his home, before he becomes powerless to stop it.

49.54 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-26 14:47

Life's Allegory

Philip Read | action | Complete

Explore the Barbarian Tundra, the Hito Mountain Villages and unknown lands of wonder and horror across Gaia and the worlds around her. See through the eyes of a few, experience the harsh realities of sword and sorcery and how Sachihiro, a young man who takes a path never before tread by another carves a place from the chaos of the world or dies trying. ______________________________________________________________________________________ Part I: The Followers of the Way Part II: The Fall of the Tribes Interlude Part III: The Lost Part IV: The Lost: Death and Birth of Legends Part V: The Fall of Worlds ______________________________________________________________________________ Cover Photo Not Original.

554.11 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 11:28

Magic College

Damaged | adventure | Complete

Kazuma Wilson was a young man who'd grown up knowing only his father. Sequestered away from his deceased mother's family, he became practical and capable of making do with a less than opulent life. When it came time for him to graduate from high school and enter the wider world, however, his Aunt came to visit and offer him a place at a collegepaid in full. Despite his father telling him little of his mother's family, Kaz took the opportunity his father couldn't afford to give him. The college, however, is far different than anything he could have imagined. This is a fantasy story set in a modern world. A vampire organizes social events, a fey creature runs the local watering hole, and if you go fishing you might run into a garappa trying to catch his dinner. Kazuma is plunged into the deeper world he never knew existed, and though the tide might be fighting him, he learns to swim. Blending elements of magic and spiritualism from many pantheons (that all exist in this world), I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I do writing it. This story will be published on a bi-monthly basis. Much is already written, but I intend to maintain a healthy buffer so there won't be any interruptions. Coverart created with permission from all sources, none requiring attribution.

111.91 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-26 18:24

Chimera Aberration - Volume 01

Matt Redskye | comedy | Complete

Enteico Mamorou is a struggling merchant running a failing business with his best friend, Keith. But when a terrible incident forces Keith to face the demons of his past, they begin to realize that paying rent is the least of their worries, alongside deranged customers, crazy adventurers and alcoholic horses. But all of these problems pale in comparison to our protagonist's ultimate enemy- responsibility. Will Keith sober up and finally confront reality head-on? Or will his path lead him down the bottom of his final bottle?

77.05 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-26 18:32

The New Magnolia: Red Fungus, White Spore

Hokage of Literature | psychological | Complete

The art for this cover was drawn by StarsColdNight whose account you can find on DeviantArt and BookCoversRealm for some great and splendid artwork at fair prices. Rillia flees from the Red Mountain Ant Colony and her country of Wassergras, hoping to find and explore the Primeval World, a legendary and untamed world she has only read about. However, after a surprise storm nearly drowns her, she is saved by Jason, a shrunken human with little memory of his past life. He is the first in a series of new allies she meets along with Melsil, the mushroom swordsman and Vesha the crawfish. A storm is brewing in Wassergras of political intrigue, prejudice and schemes within schemes that threaten to tear apart their world. Rillia must put her traveling plans on hold as she and her newly made friends work to defeat this threatone that has been waging since the dawn of the world between the forces that created it.

50.93 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 10:40

Stop Winceim Barbey

Nelsoa the Storyteller | tragedy | Complete

To stop the four-dimensional monster Winceim Barbey from granting the whole world Immortality, the spell caster, operator, and fighter had to destroy the dragon's heart before Winceim Barbey. It was the only way for the three agents to save the world. Most of the magical items were shattered and there was no time to wait for aid.

11.56 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 11:56

Restraining Silver: Warding Gait Book III (#7)

NicoleHayes | romance | Complete

In the finale of Sagan's trilogy, and the seventh in the overall Vast Collective Series, Sagan and the other Progeny pay for the mistake of trusting in the wrong people. Trapped and terrified, Sagan fights her way back to the worlds where she belongs. Likewise, Korac battles the restraints of his past to save her. With Sagan exhausted, starved, and disarmed, it seems impossible. Razor, the Pain Curator, made certain of it. Meanwhile, Imminent and Enki close in on the Shadow. The former culminate millennia of careful scheming and test the Progeny's familial bonds. The latter moves closer to finding the Ancient's Atheneum, a library of bones. A sleeper, a puppet master, and a black flame threaten the Shadow's worlds while Razor arranges the ascension of his empire. With Sagan gone, will he remain unchallenged?

57.67 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 13:40

Grow Legato

TrafficButter | psychological | Complete

500 years following the Nature-Nurture Fallout's resolution, humanity and nymphs continue to project the world into one where solar energy is the status quo, horticulture is booming, and, little by little, what is proclaimed to be global peace is on the horizon. Associated with the robotics firm Swiss Puppeteer Corps, which strives to advance the future of technology to higher heights, dryad Evie, a nymph bound to a pledge behind her cybernetic arm, spares time to reminisce. She ponders where she stood those years ago in the catastrophic war and what she works for now. Even in this Solarpunk utopia, Evie still seems to have doubts about herself. *This is a dialogue-heavy short story with a Solarpunk background, and

7.07 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 14:46

First Contact

Ralts Bloodthorne | action | Complete

Eight Thousand Years after the Glassing of Earth, Terran Descent Humanity has largely become a post-scarcity society based on consent and enjoying life. With the discovery of another ancient race beyond the "Great Gulf", events and history collide to draw the Terran Confederacy into war against a hundred million year old empire that has always won and believes it always will. With allies and enemies of multiple species, the Orion Galactic Arm Spur will be wracked by warfare the likes of which have not been seen. Cracked, harried, wounded, and damaged, Terran Descent Humanity willfully throws itself against the universe itself. "The universe hates you and will take away everything you love, laughing while it does so." - Terran belief. A wiki is available (although under construction) at: https://fcgestalt.fandom.com/wiki/First_Contact_Gestalt_Archive_Wiki Told largely from the viewpoint of other species, the story is currently ongoing. It involves graphic depictions of violence, war, adult language and situations, drug use, and other mature topics. The story will be updated on weekdays, so keep an eye on this page for more chapters. The story is 700+ chapters, and repeating characters do not start appearing until the Vuxten chapters. If you're in a hurry for repeating characters then this story will not be enjoyable to you. The interwoven plot is not based on a single person but the entire war, with its effects upon multiple people. [participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge for April 2022]

1,734.05 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-21 10:24

Lewy Body: The Demon in the Mirror [RRCM Winner June 2023]

Aest Belequa | contemporary | Complete

Some men have demons inside them. Lou's stays in the mirror, stalking his wife. It's at the doctor's office. It's in the bathroom at their assisted living apartment. It even chases the car when they go shopping. It keeps getting closer. And as it does, he's having a harder and harder time remembering. Lou doesn't want to find out what'll happen if if reaches Abigail. He has to stop the demon. Content Warning: This story is about dementia. I'm trying not to pull punches. Edit: I'm incredibly honored to have won the June 2023 Community Magazine Contest. Thank you all for reading!

4.65 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-13 10:51

Sixguns and Spellfire

Fresh_Pursuit | contemporary | Complete

Completed Story. Texas Lawman Cash Renshaw gets pulled into a world of magic and mysticism that he never knew existed but finds himself uniquely suited to handle. Alhambra Sheriff's Office Detective Cash Renshaw is about to wake up. He learns that there is another world out there where all the creatures of nightmare and magic are real. Not only that but he finds that he is a special type of person called an "Archetype" that derives powers from the collective power of human imagination. Now he will join his new partner in the Agency for Metanatural Investigation to investigate a strange new type of Runic Tattooing that allows normal humans to tap into magic powers, at the cost of their lives. Cash will learn that his new reality is as deadly as it is mysterious, and his first case might be his last.

51.07 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-20 14:16

King of the Mountain

tenqui | contemporary | Complete

Normal over 30 science teacher is "abducted" and tested by the GREAT GAME as a beta trial inductee. The GREAT GAME will eventually be implemented and remake the world. Our protagonist however is the only one that actually passes the beta test, which was not designed to be survivable, through sheer dumb luck and thus has an extreme head start on all other citizens of Earth. Follow the journey of our hero as he tries to walk a thin line between preparing to save as much of his family and friends as possible while also trying to make sure that he will have enough power to make other people do most of the work while remaining safe and sound. Poor guy is just a proto-hermit who wants to be left alone but also realizes the importance of others and family. The new reality just complicates things.

96.47 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 15:38

Hunting for jade beauties~ A trash novel

Sake Vision | contemporary | Complete

Long Dong is a young cultivator whom everyone underestimates! "That boy has no power!" his seniors say. Little do they know that his resolution will not break so easily! "I"ll show you all, and build a harem of jade beauties!" exclaimed the young man, pointing his fist at the moon. "Misha, calm down, do you want to fail another year?" "I don't care, as long as I have this demonic power!" Long Dong whips out a pack of over-the-counter codeine, leaving his friend in shock and awe. And thus a cultivation journey of eastern European delinquent begins! Wrtten for Fast Food Frontpage Competition, this novel is trash and don't take it as anything else.trigger warnings: all

8.78 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 15:36

Chronicles of the last Leïn

Not_Important | drama | Complete

This is the story of a child. One who should be dead, as nothing survives them. But the child fled and was rescued, through an act that broke prophecies and shattered Truth. Even though it was only an extended arm. Now, after excaping true horror, she faces the challenge of the grim reality. She needs to adapt; to survive, but also simply to live. Even though she was never meant to. This a world of fantasy. Magic exists, marvelous creatures roam the lands. But in no way is this reality fantastical, magical, or forgiving. It is one ruled by the Imperatrix. It takes place in an Empire that was created on the ashes of the War. And as it is true everywhere, its rules are made by the powerful, the rich and the mindless masses. [Release schedule is one chapter every two weeks on Fridays 8PM GMT+1 until I get myself in a good writing stride, and then I'll go back to one chapter per week.] (I am an aspiring author working full-time on my passion in the hope of one day being edited in either French or English, as I write in both languages.)

189.06 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 15:50

Leaving Earth

Warfox | drama | Complete

After Dr. Hawthorne Crenshaw's university experiences a terrorist attack, he undertakes a titanic effort to colonize a new planet in an effort to rescue some small part of humanity from what he suspects is an unstoppable spiral into a Dark Age on Earth. Subjecting himself to tens of thousands of years of repeated cycles of cryogenic freezing and unfreezing to monitor his passengers, he and his AI T.I.A. shepherd Earth's first, and perhaps only effort into colonizing a new planet. Cover by Ana Ristovska

125.13 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-20 15:43

The Emperor's Concubine

A Writers Refugium | historical | Complete

The heroine is good and the villainess is evil. That was the absolute truth. That rule was undeniable as well as the fact that only the heroine would receive true love and her happy ending. Likewise, the malicious villainess would always suffer and leave the stage to clear the path for the perfect heroine in the end. So, for Blanche, it felt like her world came crashing around her when she remembered the truth about her life. As the villainess in the typical romance novel "To Be Empress", she was fated to be condemned and abandoned by her lover. No matter how devoted she was to Theodore Estien, the emperor of Artias, she would only be the bratty concubine that would obstruct the heroine, who happened to be Theodore's lawful wife and the empress. In the end, the villainess would be deserted and executed. It was destined to happen like this, and yet she couldn't give up. She had to change the future. Preventing the romance between the main characters would get her killed. Much like trying to steer away from the enemies' intrigues, in which she was already caught up, would. But neither the heroine nor the emperor's political rivals would change the fact that Blanche loved the man that was supposed to be the heroine's. And no matter what happened she would always stay by her lover's side. So she wouldn't just follow the book's storyline and let her own doom arrive. Blanche would survive while trying to suppress all of the selfish desires that had made her the villainess. But was she truly fine with that? Did she not desire more than just surviving? Did she even have the right? Could the villainess ask for a happy end? Was she too brazen if she just wanted to stay with the man she loved and receive his affection? And wasn't there a bit more to this novel than she remembered? She didn't know and in the end that mattered little when the world around her changed with each day as more and more questions about the future and the past arose. *The Profanity tag was added due to the characters' occasional swearing, which should not happen too often.

982.28 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-11 13:58

Wander West, in Shadow

CloverCloverClover | horror | Complete

BOOK 1 COMPLETED A young wizard journeys west, through dark forests and dangerous lands, searching for something. Accompanied by a wild witch who has secrets of her own, they come across terrible creatures, hauntings, cursed villages, and memories from their past. Who else will they meet along their journey, and to find what he is looking for, how far will the wizard have to wander west? NOTE: The above synopsis is intentionally written to be as spoiler-free as possible. If you would like a more in-detail synopsis, one that contains minor spoilers, please check out the "Synopsis" chapter at the beginning of this fiction. If you read and enjoy, please leave a rating or review! FORMERLY TITLED: THE GLIMMERLING This story was formerly titled "The Glimmerling", because the first part was a short story of that title; it has since been expanded upon, thus the title change. Chapters 1-8 (30k words) are the first 'arc', if you want to get a feel for the story. To give some context on the setting: Magic is a bit weaker in this story than you might be used to, and we start off following some relatively new magic users. For some perspective, being able to light a campfire with magic is considered relatively advanced for someone who is the age of the main character. Magic can become very powerful - and there are some examples of powerful wizards within this story - but it's not where the main characters are yet. Part of the story is about following them as they learn more about magic. Enemies are also very dangerous, and running, hiding, or trying to talk their way out of a dangerous situation is often a better choice than fighting for the characters. While I have added tags for traumatizing content, sexuality, violence, swearing, etc. I try to avoid super-explicit descriptions of these things. But they are part of the story.

228.03 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 16:26

Vigor Mortis

Thundamoo | horror | Complete

In a world of sky islands orbiting around a core of mist, humanity is besieged with countless threats. When a young girl from the slums unwittingly becomes one of those threats, she finds herself capable of horrific things that she can't help but learn to love... Vigor Mortis is a lighthearted story about existential terror. Come for the horror, stay for the hope. Updates Fridays. Enjoy the read!

456.61 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 16:39