Null
Stories
3
Chapters
40
Words
75.6 K
Comments
5
Reading
6 h, 17 m
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A small fire crackled merrily. Topaz leaned against a log, drinking wine from a large bowl. No one objected. In fact, Karjen, the wine's owner, was emptying his pouch generously, asking if Topaz enjoyed it. Since last night's attack, the Grenrosha Forest had been unusually quiet, belying its ominous reputation. It allowed them the luxury of drinking around a fire in the yard in the middle of the night. Several empty wine bottles already littered the grass. "Topaz, why do you drink if you don't get…-
15.8 K • Ongoing
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Karjen woke to the sound of clashing steel. Sunlight streamed in through the small, curtainless window. Having lived under constant threat of assassination since his birth as the Emperor's third child, Karjen was a light sleeper. He woke easily at the slightest sound and rarely slept deeply. Lately, however, he'd been sleeping soundly in the unfamiliar, hard bed. It was partly due to his poor health, but not entirely. Karjen had never been in good health, not since his first birthday. He clenched…
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15.8 K • Ongoing
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"Are these enough flowers? Are they too plain?" No, they're excessively flamboyant, Topaz almost blurted out. It wasn't the flowers themselves, but Karjen, holding an armful of them, that was flamboyant. With a face like that, he could have become rich selling flowers in the marketplace, even without noble blood or magical talent. ‘Topaz, would you like to go flower picking with me?’ ‘.....’ Karjen, noticing the flowers he'd picked a few days ago had wilted, had asked him during…
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15.8 K • Ongoing
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The beasts, wild animals, and mutants that infested this forest were no easy opponents. But Haran and Merdina were more skilled swordsmen than he'd initially thought. They moved with a seamless coordination, honed by years of shared practice, leaving no openings in their defense. Soon, the ground was littered with carcasses and stained with blood. It had been a while since Topaz had seen such a sight. When he first built this cabin, all manner of beasts and magical creatures, drawn by the scent of…
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15.8 K • Ongoing
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Five days had passed since he'd taken in the uninvited guests. The sound of their voices outside his door had become almost familiar. Topaz tied back his hair and stepped out of his room. Karjen, who had tried to sneak into his room again last night only to be banished to the living room, sat at the table, his chin resting on his hand. "Good morning, Topaz." "What are you doing?" Topaz asked Haran, who was chopping something in the cramped space that barely qualified as a kitchen. "He's going to…
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15.8 K • Ongoing
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"Your Highness, time to wake up." The disrespectful tone and familiar voice roused Karjen. He opened his eyes, meeting Merdina's gaze as he looked down at him from beside the bed. Behind him, Haran leaned against the wall, arms crossed. Merdina spoke calmly, "Sleeping in, are we?" "Ah, the bed was quite comfortable." At his casual reply, Haran scowled. "Comfortable sleeping next to someone who could snap your neck with his bare hands?" "Indeed. I even had pleasant…
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15.8 K • Ongoing
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Returning to the cabin, Topaz found Haran diligently chopping firewood. Split logs were piled high around him. Merdina, with a single arm, was carrying and stacking an enormous pile of firewood. Karjen, returning with only a basket, tilted his head as he observed them. "Why are you chopping firewood?" Even in the northernmost regions, known for their harsh winters, this was the seventh month, the warmest time of the year. It wasn't cold enough to warrant a fire in the hearth. "This cabin doesn't…
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15.8 K • Ongoing
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The chirping of birds reached his ears. An unfamiliar scent drifted to his nose – the dry aroma of wood. Karjenif slowly opened his eyes. His sky-blue irises grew sharper with each blink. He was lying down. The surface beneath him was so hard it was difficult to tell if it was a bed or the floor. The blanket was rough. He frowned involuntarily. He turned his head, taking in the sparsely furnished room. A bed, a desk, and a chair were all it contained. Someone stood by the sunlit window. The…
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15.8 K • Ongoing
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It was too definitive a tone to be just a guess. Haran, his wariness deepening, looked ready to draw his sword at any moment. Merdina swallowed silently and asked, "What makes you think so?" "A mage's heart has a unique rhythm." It was true that mages possessed mana circuits called ‘vessels’ in their bodies, but Merdina had never seen anyone pinpoint it like taking a pulse. "He should be dead, yet he clings to life. It was foolish to wander through Grenrosha carrying a patient like…
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15.8 K • Ongoing
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"This might be our grave," Merdina muttered. Haran wanted to retort and tell him not to say such creepy things, but he couldn't deny the graveyard-like atmosphere. They had been wandering through the forest for hours. It was a place from which no one had ever returned alive. Its notoriety had prepared them, but the interior of the forest was eerily unsettling, beyond their imagination. Densely packed trees, stretching up to the sky, made it difficult to see even a hand's breadth ahead. As soon…
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15.8 K • Ongoing
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