eligos

64. Enclave XXXIV (First Draft)

“Come to finish the job?”

It was with that question that the air around us subtly changed. The man in red was far too professional to show any outward sign of tension, but the mess of bod...

63. Enclave XXXIII (First Draft)

I read quietly within my mother’s quarters, as I often did when she was taken with sudden bouts of the consumption we eventually came to know as Nithia’s syndrome. It hadn’t gotten serious ye...

62. Enclave XXXII (First Draft)

“What kind of edgy adolescent crap is this? It’s a recipe for disaster, it is.” The red infernal named Garth was bulky and large, wearing a simple black apron that reflected my face. I’d op...

61. Enclave XXXI (First Draft)

Again.

I heard the words, but the darkness did not flee. It gathered around me like a blanket, muffling my perception with a dull groaning buzz. I held on to the void and immersed my...

60. Enclave XXX (First Draft)

It wasn’t dissimilar from the feeling Thoth gave off. This black aura of unbelievable power. He was around six feet tall. A foot taller than me, but only literally speaking. He was clad in a gra...

2021-01-28 16:37:31 +0000 UTC View Post

59. Enclave XXIX (First Draft)

I was incredibly relieved that, so far, Ralakos had not shown.

No one wanted to move first. Everyone stood across from each other, feet planted, eyes narrowed. The straining tension was insuf...

58. Enclave XXVIII

Sometimes, in the never-ending torrent of pontificating politicians and overpromising, over-literate clergy, we forget how powerful words are. A fool can say little with an entire dictionary. But ...

2021-01-27 00:47:01 +0000 UTC View Post

57. Enclave XXVII

The degree to which I’d underestimated Ephira became clear the moment I took at seat at the table. I’d thought her melodramatic and petty. She was those things, but she was also more.

I w...

56. Enclave XXVI (First Draft)

I realize, communicating this after the fact, that it probably sounds like I took an unconscionable risk revealing myself to Bellarex. She was, after all, a relatively uninvolved party. But in the...

2021-01-22 20:21:28 +0000 UTC View Post

55. Enclave XXV (First Draft)

The broiling storm within the room lessened in intensity.

Ephira’s expression barely changed. But the palpable bloodlust she emitted slackened, and an expression of puzzlement played acro...

54. Enclave XXIV

It was tempting to call everything off at that point. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of the operation to begin with in the hypothetical scenario it went off without a snag, and we were miles be...

2021-01-19 21:20:20 +0000 UTC View Post

53. Enclave XXIII (First Draft)

King Gil walked away from the dueling grounds. Flecks of red adorned his ascended steel armor like bloody stars.

Ashby of House Morrow lay crumpled in the dirt, whimpering, his left arm ben...

52. Enclave XXII (First Draft)

There was a loathsome image in my mind ever since Persephone had given me this job. The image of a man dressed in black sneaking about in the dead of night, skulking between houses, his heavy breat...

51. Enclave XXI (First Draft)

“I’m going to need a minute to confer with my colleague.”

I left the building at a brisk pace with Jorra on my heels. He stopped, but I kept walking, heading towards the city center.<...

50. Enclave XX (First Draft)

For what must have been the hundredth time that day, I cursed Persephone’s name. I cursed her name and her entire lineage. Both sides of it. But I couldn’t just walk away. Kilvius’s contacts...

2021-01-18 01:02:40 +0000 UTC View Post

49. Enclave XIX (First Draft)

I breathed the mana in, letting the surge of sensation and relief take over. I had no idea how I’d ever lived without it before. It was like finding a rock to cling to amidst a raging ocean. The...

2021-01-18 01:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post

And we're back.

Hi folks. Sorry for the wait. It took a little more effort than expected to rework Enclave. I was also dealing with some personal stuff that triggered a lot of self doubt and made it hard to focus ...

Enclave Status

I need to take a few days to re-outline enclave. It was originally slated to be about thirty chapters, but at the current pace it's looking closer to fifty, which is just too long for a single arc....

48. Enclave XVIII (First Draft)

There wasn’t really a good way to start this. How do you tell someone their entire family is in danger? That all that stands between them and imminent destruction is a paltry few weeks?  2021-01-06 22:35:02 +0000 UTC View Post

47. Enclave XVII (First Draft)

There was no way this ended well. I reached behind me discretely and checked the doorknob. Locked. Because of course it was. I reminded myself that I was not Cairn. Sontar was not terrified of the...

2021-01-06 00:08:04 +0000 UTC View Post

46. Enclave XVI (Second Draft)

46. Enclave XVI

There was nothing I could do about my eyes and lack of horns. Regardless of how discretely I dressed, the eyes would give me away immediately. Thankfully, I was not the only...

45. Enclave XV

Everything I had seen, everything that could happen—would happen if I did nothing—weighed heavy on my shoulders. It was always there, lurking above me, threatening to crush me if I stopped and ...

Broken Line Breaks

Apparently, the line breaks from the software I use aren't showing up when I copy from HTML. My apologies. It's fixed for the most recent chapter and will be fixed for the others shortly. 

44. Enclave XIV (First Draft)

That moment changed me. It brought me back to the beginning. I thought that I could save them all. Everyone. But standing there, on the cliff-face, as the violet flames that consumed the enclave g...

2020-12-29 21:20:58 +0000 UTC View Post

43. Enclave XIII (First Draft)

I felt the darkness call to me. Somehow, I knew, even in the addled depths of my mind, that all I had to do was breathe, and it would all be over. Just open my mouth and suck in, and I could go bac...

42. Enclave XII (First Draft)

It took an embarrassingly long time to don my armor. I’d worn armor before, but there were typically around three people putting it on for me. With only Nethtari helping me, despite there being ...

2020-12-28 00:38:28 +0000 UTC View Post

41. Enclave XI (First Draft)

A wave of adrenaline washed over me. Months ago it would have left me shaking and practically useless, but the days spent training with Kastramoth had beaten that weakness out of me ruthlessly. I a...

40. Enclave X (First Draft)

I wasn’t afraid. Not at first. I don’t think I truly realized the significance of Maya’s absence. I was too caught up in the emotional aspect. The friend who had stuck by my side for the bet...

2020-12-27 04:40:29 +0000 UTC View Post

39. Enclave IX (First Draft)

39. Enclave IX

A pale yellow light crept in the apothecary window, confirming that I had once again stayed up all night. It wasn’t my intention. I had planned to go to bed a little after ...

38. Enclave VIII (First Draft)

38. Enclave VIII

I woke up, like I always did, around midnight in the room Jorra and I shared. It would be easy to blame it on the vurseng. But the truth was I had already started to expect...