Ash
It was a strange kind of ache, waking with the morning mist curling soft and silver around us, as if the world itself were trying to forget what had transpired under the hush of last night. The weight of our loss clung to me like a second skin, quiet, invisible, and inescapable. The ache nestled beneath my ribs, not sharp, not loud, just there. Breathing when I breathed. Beating when I blinked. I tried to steel myself. For Faelwen. For the journey ahead. She hadn’t spoken mush since dawn. Her presence, usually so bright, had become a distant flicker. A fading ember.
Whenever I asked if she needed anything, she gave me that gentle smile, the one she saved for when she was pretending not to break. “No thank you, love.”
Sweet. Soft. Hollow. But her eyes… her eyes screamed. Grief pooled in their depths, swirling like storm clouds trapped in a glass jar.
We had eight days ahead of us before we reach the Twin Lake, a marking point in our journey to Zan’kareth. From there, the mountains awaited. Old, jagged things with secrets in their veins.
The centaurs and whimpsprites had left us well-provisioned; braided bundles of dried moonberries, knuckle-hard cheese and bread, jerky from some creature I didn’t ask too much about, and fistfuls of nuts wrapped in soft bark leaves. It wasn’t a feast, but it was enough.
The wind was high and the sky hung low, clouds flying fast like they had somewhere more important to be. We made good time that first day, our horses eager to move.
As twilight stretched her fingers across the hills, we made camp among the rust-gold grasses. I was half-lost in setting up the tent when Spook’s familiar voice broke the hush. “Hey,” he said, catching the fabric and looping it deftly over the poles, “how you holding up?”
“Alright, I think.” The lie tasted dry in my mouth. “I’m more worried about Faelwen.”
He glanced toward her, where she stood brushing down the horses with rhythmic, distracted movements, dried grass hushing against their sweat-slick flanks. “She’s quiet,” he said.
“Too quiet,” I murmured, watching her as well.
“Maybe a distraction would help?” Spook offered. “Some training, maybe. She’s always liked knocking me on my ass.”
I managed a half-smile. “I don’t know if she’s up for it. But… try.”
He clapped a firm, reassuring hand on my back before turning to go.
“Hey, Spook,” I called, stopping him mid-step. He turned, brow raised. “Thanks.”
He nodded with a smile. No words. Just that look. The kind friends give when words would only get in the way.
That night, beneath a sky covered with stars, I saw her again, not the grieving specter from this morning, but her.
Faelwen.
Sparring with Elora, blades gleaming in the firelight, her movements sharp and sure. Spook paced nearby, barking corrections, dodging stray swings. And then, there it was. A spark.
She glanced at me and winked, mischief dancing in her eyes. Hells, I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed that look.
Like a flash of lightening, she lunged. One perfectly timed move sent Spook tumbling with a loud, surprised yelp, his legs swept from beneath him. Faelwen laughed. Elora joined in, their mirth echoing like music through the hills. For a moment, just a moment, it felt like grief had loosened its grip. And hope… fragile, foolish hope… stirred in my chest.
Six days passed. Hills gave way to ancient woods, where trees stood like slumbering titans cloaked in moss and shadow. Mushrooms the colour of amethysts and topaz burst from the forest floor like little lanterns. The air smelled of damp earth, magic and change.
Autumn crept closer with every breath, crisp nights, brittle leaves, the fading perfume of summer. And the creatures… so beautiful and strange. This land thrived with magic, nurtured by the elves. Here, the flow of magic was a whisper, not a command. A partnership. Not like the human lands, where magic was chained, broken, bent to will, like I had once tried to do. I saw a red-and-blue owl nestled on a branch, one eye half-lidded in lazy watchfulness. Winged foxes darted through the underbrush. Birds with feline eyes chirped riddles in a language I’d half-forgotten. Even the dragon-like lizards that scuttled up the trees were a creature that I barely recognized. This forest was alive in a way the Ancestral Region had forgotten. And I… I felt like an outsider all over again. I wondered how much of this magic I could tap to strengthen my own.
I sighed, breath misting. I used to tell myself I sought power to heal. To restore what was lost. But after I learned the truth, after I saw my mother and sister were never coming back, after I realized the Fiend had used me, I began chasing something darker. Obsession crept into my veins like ink in water.
I didn’t care about Orion or his war. Didn’t care about choosing sides between two brothers who wanted to reshape the world in their image. I just… wanted more. Knowledge. Power. Control. The hunger scratching at my insides.
I clenched my jaw. No.
I shouldn’t want more. I should be grateful with what I have.
My gaze drifted to Faelwen, riding ahead with Elora, their laughter soft and private. She didn’t know. She couldn’t know. The hours we spent training her magic… I learned just as much. Learned how to use it. How to adept it. How to bend it. And I realized I loved it. The knowledge it gave me.
Artemis trotted up beside me, his presence sudden and sharp. He gave a low, thoughtful growl, not hostile. Just… knowing.
I glanced at him. His golden eyes were too intelligent, too aware. He saw too much.
I looked away.
That wolf wasn’t just a wolf. He never had been.
? ? ?
Spook
That evening, campfire embers floated like tiny spirits into the darkening sky, dancing their final waltz before being swallowed by dusk. I noticed Ash seated just beyond the flickering glow, his frame hunched in quiet intensity, eyes lost in the ink-black pages of a leather-bound tome. A hollow shadow clung to him like a second skin, one carved from grief and unspoken pain. Faelwen’s sorrow was deep, but his… it coiled inwards, manifesting in silence and study. The knowledge that they were losing their child hung in the air between us, unspeakable, thick like smoke. I wanted to reach out, to offer something like words or a gesture, just anything, but everything I thought of crumbled in the weight of its own inadequacy.
As I drew closer, I caught the quiet murmur of his voice. Barely a whisper, words twisted in an ancient tongue, sharp and foreign. The script in the book shimmered crimson, not ink but something else, something that pulsed faintly with unnatural life. The temperature around him had dropped, a chill skimming down my spine like the breath of some watching thing.
When he noticed me, he didn’t lift his head, just turned his eyes up from beneath his lashes, his voice low, edged. “Can I help you? … Hmm?”
I paused, unsettled by his gaze, the way it lingered, heavy and unreadable. “Just checking in on you,” I offered with a thin smile, trying to play it casual.
“I’m alright, Spook,” he mumbled, returning to his study as though I hadn’t spoken. Dismissed like a ghost on the wind. I nodded stiffly and turned away.
Well… that wasn’t uncomfortable at all.
I wandered toward the fire’s edge, where Faelwen sat curled beside Artemis, her fingers absently braiding wildflowers into the wolf’s thick fur while he lay there grumbling. Her soft laughter with him had faded for now, replaced by a quiet murmur between them. As I approached, she looked up, and the faintest smile lifted her lips. Even subdued, she still carried the fragile glow of starlight.
“Hey, Spook.” She said, patting the space beside her. “You alright? You look a bit pale.”
I sat down, heart skipping at her attention. “I’m fine. Ash is muttering weird words again,” I chuckled, trying to chase away the dark tendrils of unease with humour.
She rolled her eyes with a fond, weary smile. “He does that sort of thing.”
“Have you seen that book he’s reading? It looks… kind of dark.”
“It’s one of many,” she said, snuffling closer to Artemis. “He also has a notebook. I’ve tried to peek, but he never lets me near it.”
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Her eyes were already closing as she leaned into the warmth beside her. “I’m so tired…” she murmured, voice trailing like the final note of a lullaby.
I hesitated, then gently tucked a stray of hair behind her ear, watching her chest rise and fall in slow rhythm. Artemis sighed, closing his golden eyes as well. I pulled a blanket over the two of them. They were like two souls from the same thread; wild, loyal, untamed. I wondered how many seasons they had left together. How long before she would have to say goodbye again?
I shook the thought from my mind like rain off a cloak.
One companion remained unaccounted for.
Elora.
I found her tent empty, the flaps fluttering in the evening breeze. My boots crunched softly as I followed the sound of water, drawn to the hidden pond nestled in the grove just beyond our camp. Moonlight painted the silver ribbons across its surface. We had found this place earlier in the day, fed by a brook that sang over rocks like a lullaby. It was a sanctuary, quiet, alive, sacred in a way words couldn’t touch.
As I reached the pond’s edge, anticipation bloomed unbidden in my chest. She wouldn’t be bathing, would she?
I scanned the dark waters, half-hoping, half-dreading, but saw no sign of her. Disappointment tugged at me, quickly replaced by a scolding thought. She’s not a courtesan, Spook. She’s a lady. A warrior. A daughter of high blood.
Still. A bit of distraction wouldn’t be unwelcome. Stop it.
With nothing better to do, I stripped down, wading into the pond with my laundry bundled in my arms. The water bit at my skin, icy against the night air. The water clouded quickly as I scrubbed dirt from my clothes. “Herdus’ beard, these clothes were filthy,” I muttered.
Suddenly, I heard a sharp splash. I froze.
My ears strained. Only the chirr of crickets and the low hoot of a night owl answered. I shook it off. Fish, probably.
Just as I turned to leave, something seized my legs. I was yanked under the water with a yelp, flailing against whatever had grabbed me. My foot collided with something solid and I kicked free, gasping for air as I broke the surface.
Then I felt arms around my neck, and a mischievous voice murmured close to my ear, “Got you, pretty boy.”
Elora.
I spun, grabbing her waist, nearly dunking her. She squealed and clung to me, laughing. Her eyes sparkled with that wild fire only she possessed. “You little…” I started, but she splashed me in the face, cutting me off with a wave of cold water. We wrestled like children, laughing, water flying everywhere. I caught her hands, halting her assault. And then there was silence, our breathing shallow, tangled.
She was pressed against me, warm, bare and far too close. The space between us teasing and temptation collapsed in an instant. She felt my reaction, and her smile curved wickedly. “The offer hasn’t changed,” she whispered.
Heath climbed my cheeks. Her fingers ghosted down my chest and lower. My body responded before my thoughts could catch up. “I… I can’t,” I breathed, pulling back with effort.
Confusion crossed her face. “Why not?”
“It wouldn’t be fair to you.”
She touched my cheek gently, tilting my face to hers.
“What makes you think that, Spook?”
The sound of my name on her lips nearly undid me.
“You deserve someone who adores you, worships you. Who only sees you. Who wants to spend the rest of his life with you. I’m not that man,” I said, my voice barely audible.
“Who says I want that kind of love?” she asked. “I don’t want that yet. I want freedom. I want pleasure. I want to live before I have to settle down out of duty for my country.”
Relief washed over me and the fire in my gut was ignited once more. A slow smile returned to her lips, and with it, her fire. “Besides,” she added with a grin, “do you really think my father would let me marry a mortal?”
“Careful, princess,” I teased, heart thundering. “After tonight, you might just want to convince him otherwise.”
She laughed. I pulled her closer, her body lithe and warm against mine, and without hesitation she wrapped her legs around my waist, drawing me in with a kind of magnetic boldness that made my breath catch. The water shimmered around us, moonlight dancing across its surface like ghost light, silver and ethereal. One hand found the curve of her back, steadying her, while the other gently cradled her chin. Her eyes met mine, aglow with mischief and heat, and I guided her lips to mine.
The kiss was first soft, slow then hungry. She tangled her fingers in my hair, pulling me closer still, deepening the connection until I could no longer tell where I ended and she began. She explored my body like a map, tracing the edges of want and restrain. Holding me gently first, moving up and down and then quickening her pace. A soft moan escaped my lips as her grip tightened.
And in that moment, all I knew was her, her scent, her warmth, the hitch in her breath as my tongue ghosted along her jawline.
With a sudden burst of movement, I rose from the water, her legs still fastened around my hips like ivy on stone. I carried her to the soft grass by the pond, the cool air a sharp contrast to the heat rising between us. Gently, I laid her down, the world around us falling away until there was only starlight and skin.
She looked up at me, her expression open and unguarded, shadows of moonlight playing across her face. “You’re magnificent,” I whispered, awe thick in my voice. She smiled, half wild, half tender, and reached up to draw me closer, her voice a breath against my ear. “Please…”
I paused, heart pounding. “Please what, princess?”
Her hips tilted up in answer, a silent plea spoken in the language of bodies and breath. I shivered with the restrain it took not to lose myself entirely. “Your wish is my command,” I murmured, brushing a kiss against her temple. I placed my hand next to her head and eased inside of her. I saw her eyes roll to the back of her mind, her breath caught. I started slow, picking up the pace as I felt the pleasure rise. With every thrust her grip on my back tightened. Her nails leaving scratches along my spine. I shivered. I could feel her body tensing underneath me as I increased my pace, helping her reach her climax with my finger. “Don’t stop,” she gasped. Her sounds becoming higher and more frequent until she went over the edge. That nearly undid me. I started thrusting harder and faster until I too felt myself going over the edge. I groaned and placed my lips back on hers to stiffen my own moans. She chuckled in between kisses and stroke my back as my body slowly relaxed.
When at last we stilled, tangled together in the afterglow, our bodies kissed by the breeze and our hearts beating in quiet unison, I collapsed beside her in the grass, my fingers still brushing hers. The water lapped gently at our toes. The stars above shimmered like a blessing.
“We should do this again,” Elora sighed, her voice drowsy with contentment.
I turned my head toward her, unable to keep the smile from my face. “I wouldn’t say no to that.”
And so we lay there, side by side beneath the ever-turning sky, sharing soft laughter and stories. For a while, the world outside the pond faded, and the weight we carried felt just a little lighter. Keeping the darkness at bay.
? ? ?
Morning broke like a mournful sigh over the drenched earth, the grey sky weeping in soft intermittent showers that left the world cloaked in mist. Yet somehow, the weight of the past days hung a little lighter upon our shoulders. Ash and Faelwen had found their laughter again. Brittle perhaps, but there all the same. I rode alongside Faelwen, who, with a mischievous gleam in her eye, tried in vain to pry from me the secrets of my midnight wanderings with Elora. I answered her in riddles, weaving a dance of half-truths and silences that only made her more determined. She turned her teasing to Elora, who rode ahead, but Elora merely glanced over her shoulder, a wicked glimmer in her eyes, the curve of her lips betraying the secret she would not share. I bit down on my grin, lifting my gaze to the mist-haunted woods that blurred and trembled around us. The forest was eerily quiet. No bird sang. No beast stirred. The mist curled around our horses’ legs, and every droplet from the leaves above seemed loud as a drumbeat in the hush. The rain had probably driven the creatures into hiding. At least, that’s what I hoped.
But then… silence fractured.
Faelwen’s words died in her throat. Her spine went rigid. Alarm kindled in her face as she brought a finger to her lips, commanding stillness. I followed her stare back to Ash and the darkening of his face told me all I needed to know. Danger had found us again. A chill curled down my spine.
Movement flickered at the edge of my vision. Something dark, something… wrong.
We reined in our horses, who snorted and pawed the ground anxiously, sensing the darkness that seeped from the shadows. My instincts screamed at me to run, but my body was rooted, breathless. Faelwen stared past me, her face draining of colour, horror written plain across her features.
I turned, slowly… so slowly, and came face to face with a nightmare.
It was a creature pulled from the deepest bowels of the Underworld. Vaguely humanoid, its skull stretched and deformed into a grotesque parody of a grin, a cavernous mouth lined with needle-sharp teeth. Hollow black sockets where its eyes should have been seemed to drink in the light. Gooey, tar-black saliva dripped from its jagged maw, hissing as it struck the earth. Its body was a writhing mass of white bone and churning black smoke, four arms twisted grotesquely from its torso, clawed and too long.
For a terrible heartbeat, the world was frozen. Then Ash’s voice cut through my frozen terror; low, harsh and furious. “Run, fool!”
The beast shrieked, a sound like metal tearing through armour, and a long, blackened tongue lashed out. It struck my shoulder with a force like a whip, a searing agony blooming across my skin.
Acid.
The pain ripped a scream from my lips, and instinct took over. I spurred my horse, who bolted eagerly, terror lending her wings. All of us burst into motion at once, hooves hammering the wet ground. Artemis running alongside us, whimpering in fear.
“A Vexmaw!” Ash barked over the thunder of our escape.
“What in the god’s name is that?!” Elora shouted, her horse flying over the uneven ground.
“Bounty hunters,” Ash snarled, “from the Underworld. Sent by the Fiend, no doubt.”
“And they teleport!” he added just as the air in front of us shimmered and the Vexmaw materialized, jaws wide in anticipation.
Ash uttered a guttural incantation, and a blast of emerald energy roared from his hand. But the creature dissolved into black mist an instant before it struck. Another shriek rose behind us and when I dared a glance, two more Vexmaws were closing in fast. Their skeletal forms weaving through the trees with dreadful speed.
Faelwen’s bow was in her hands in a flash. She loosed an lightning arrow, a crackling thread of blue-white light, but it passed harmlessly through the misty flesh of the monsters.
“How do we kill them?!” Elora cried, slashing wildly at a clawed hand that grazed her horse, drawing a scream of pain from the beast.
“Light!” Ash roared back. “They can’t stand the light!”
“Then make some, damn you!” I shouted, my voice cracking with panic.
“I can’t!” he snapped, blasting another bolt of green magic that missed as the creatures flickered and shifted through the mists like living shadows.
Faelwen turned in her saddle, her face pale but set with fierce determination. She cupped her hands together, murmuring words in a tongue older than the oldest trees. Between her palms, a tremulous, flickering light began to gather.
Ash pulled alongside her, his hand gripping her shoulder. His veins blackened, dark energy coiling through him. Faelwen gasped in pain, but did not falter. Her veins started to shimmer silver in response to Ash’s magic, her brow furrowed deep in concentration as the ball of light started to grow. First the size of her fist, then larger still, until it blazed brighter than the sun breaking through a storm.
I flinched, shielding my eyes.
The creatures behind us howled, a piercing sound of rage and agony, recoiling from the pure, searing brilliance. At that moment, we burst free from the clinging forest into the open, rain-drenched plains. The last stretch before the Twin Lakes.
Faelwen sagged in her saddle as soon as the light faded, barely upright, and only Ash’s steady arm kept her from tumbling down. We pushed the horses harder for a time, until their sides heaved with effort. Then finally we slowed to a cautious walk, our bodies and minds battered.
“Are they gone?” I rasped, my voice trembling with the aftershock of terror.
“For now,” Ash answered grimly, his arms still locked protectively around Faelwen. I leaned forward, heart squeezing in my chest. “Still alive, little fox?”
Faelwen, bleary-eyed, lifted a thumb in weary affirmation, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips. “You don’t get rid of me that easily, Spook,” her voice croaked. Relief broke through me in a flood. I reached out and clapped her back gently, smiling through the remnants of fear.
Soon we would reach the Twin Lakes and we would be safe for a while at least. I hoped.
Dark steampunk fantasy webnovel
The world of Rohana exists beneath a barrier of luminous crosses. Here, the Rohana Federation bends to Rohai, whose staff bears seven crystals of immense power. His Church of Harmony has divided civilization: city dwellers harness crystal technology while villagers cling to simpler traditions beyond the Church's reach.
In Haugstad, a forgotten village, Haran Baratti and his son Heron knew fragile peace. Then, unknown assailants burn it to ash. Haran draws the attackers away, giving Heron a chance to survive. His final words: We will meet again in Tiwaz.
Star-cycles later, Heron must earn an adventurer's passport to cross borders closed to villagers. To reach his father, he'll navigate crystalline cities and brutal hierarchies where allies carry secrets as dangerous as the enemies.
What to expect:
- Dark steampunk-inspired power fantasy with extensive world-building
- Magic systems where power comes at a psychological cost
- Visceral, well-choreographed combat sequences
- Mysteries that unfold across multiple volumes
- Steampunk aesthetics merged with elemental magic
- Stories where the actors are often found in morally grey areas
This work will appeal to readers who enjoyed:Works of Dan Simmons (Hyperion, Drood, The Terror), The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, A Song of Ice and Fire, Fullmetal Alchemist, HunterxHunter.
More influences and details can be found on the novel's page.
Chapters (1200 - 1500 words) are released daily at 20:00 (8 PM) GMT+1