Sophia Harris
Stories
7
Chapters
2,628
Words
1.4 K
Comments
0
Reading
6 m
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Droplets fell through the collar of his shirt, drawing icy lines down his back. Kai bit down a curse. The Republic couldn’t even provide the appropriate clothing for the job. The rope ladder swayed when he reached with his hand to dry his neck. “Don’t squirm. Are you trying to make us fall!” Darlo's strained voice complained from above. “If you were scared of heights, you could have let them lower you down.” “My bad.” Kai was pretty sure the man was the one with acrophobia, but he kept…-
239 •
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Moans of pain echoed from the healers’ tents, soldiers shouted orders and hurried to their tasks. Kai stood still amidst the whirlwind of activity, too busy glaring a hole in the back of one particular officer. He could almost taste the smugness as Makyn strode back to the ruins. After confirming their deal, the man had accompanied him back to camp without another word, but Kai knew he was internally gloating. This was just a momentary setback. A small loss in a larger war. Revealing he was an…
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239 •
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Kai scratched his head in confusion. Improvisation masked his nervousness and the cold sweat down his back. He was happy to avoid a death duel with the wyrmling, though it peeved him to have revealed his ring for nothing. The beast lay in a widening pool of pale ichor, slitted eyes staring empty at the sky. It was two meters of gleaming pearl scales, its tail probably severed during the teleportation. Despite being low yellow and wounded, it was hard to believe how easily Makyn had killed it. The same man…
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239 •
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He had heard a screech inside the tunnels, but he had blamed it on the spatial anomaly. In all of the reports he read, beasts always appeared alone. Did Seryne withhold information? Or was it the size of Kawei's ruins? The human-sized toad surveyed the scene with its protruding eyes, horizontal pupils looked unblinking in opposite directions. It swelled its lighter vocal sac and took a cheerful bounce. The ground shook under its glistening bluish body while the vegetation hissed and withered. The stone…
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239 •
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“Release my arm,” Valela demanded while Lou coolly Asked. “What’s going on? Why do we need to run?” He stopped at an intersection of two corridors. Kai had lost count of the twists and turns they had taken to get here. Should he climb the nearest tower for an exit? It was slower to move in the dense vegetation outside. The tunnels were narrow and dark, the flow of mana growing stronger like when the sea serpent appeared. Could the ruins have another reason to gather mana? He’d rather find out…
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239 •
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Not one but both his elusive friends wanted to talk with him. “How do you know Valela? And what are The dirt path ran through ivory pillars and gnarly trees grasping for the sky. The signs of the Republic's activity were everywhere: broken branches, moved earth and hardened rocks like those for their houses. Lou stiffened his shoulders but didn’t stop striding into the dense shrubbery. “What did you think I was doing all this time? Going around murdering kittens?” “No, wait… You work for…
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239 •
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While Kai had never seen him in a dark-blue uniform, he would recognize that unreasonably large figure anywhere. As the barge rowed closer to shore, he became certain. Feeling the attention on him, Lou turned to the approaching boat and met his eyes. Distance hid his surprise right till he dropped the crate he was carrying. He hurried to pick it up and scurried away amidst the yells of some senior officers. Two streams of people carried supplies to opposite ends of the camp. Nothing too unusual by…
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239 •
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Aryanne went through the stacks of reports: geological surveys, mana readings, death counts, beasts’ autopsies, wild scholars’ theories. She had spread the documents on her desk, hoping to get some inspiration. How did they all connect? Every soldier made fun of Fate till they got stuck in an impossible job. Nothing made sense. The table aboard the zeppelin was too small for the papers. Now the clutter just irritated her. She rearranged the papers into neat piles, her eyes skimmed through the…
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239 •
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Crystal globes suffused the area in a soft light. The room was sparsely furnished with engraved alcoves and paintings that made it look fancy without taking up space. Crates stamped with the hawk sigil lay neatly piled in a corner. A woman in a blue and silver sailor uniform came to talk with Officer Makyn. Kai eavesdropped on the conversation till it was clear they were talking logistics. The floor of polished wood swayed gently when the chains and the bridge linking them to land were loosened. Kai…
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239 •
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Kai slumped his shoulders. “I’ve already signed your papers. I can reach my house and be back on my own.” “I don’t doubt that, but the streets are dangerous at night, and we can’t risk any “Let’s go.” Kai strolled to what he thought was the exit. The walk to his house would take ten minutes at a steady pace, which made twenty to get to the airdock. He had a library of journals and loose papers to gather, not to mention clothes and other necessities. “The exit is this way.” Officer…
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239 •
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