AUTHOR'S NOTE
Hello all, and happy Monday!
It's been a wonderful journey so far with the Starsworn Saga, and I want to thank all of you for reading this far! As we move deeper into the holiday season, I wanted to loop you all in on an upcoming break that I'm planning for January. With some personal stuff going on, I'm going to take 1/1-1/31 of 2024 to continue working on upcoming arcs, get some of my editing backlog squared away, and overall keep polishing the story so that it's in great shape for many more chapters to come!
There will be no disruption to the rest of the chapters for the month, so expect to see consistent M-F uploads. As an added bonus, I'm also going to be sharing the C.H.A.D.D. side story, so keep an eye out for that to drop later today!
Thank you all so much for reading this far, it's truly been a blast getting to share my work with you. I'll drop another reminder as we get closer. For now, have a great week!
-StarswornAdmin
~~~
The moment the leaf touched the ground, the Shadow exploded into motion. Bamboo was sliced neatly as the creature moved, a storm of obsidian blades streaming towards Kyle. Without a conscious thought, Kyle activated STORM SHELTER, courtesy of his Instinctive Intelligence. The attack bounced off the shield ineffectually, and he looked for the creature as the shield faded away. Straining Auric Perception, he felt an area suspiciously devoid of mana and moved towards it. While he knew a direct conflict would likely end poorly, he had to get in range to use PARASITIC RESONANCE.
Kyle frowned the moment he turned. He expected to see the shape of the giant spider, instead he just saw the lengthening shadows of dusk in the forest. Trust your instincts. Only faltering for a moment, he continued his movement towards the void he felt. Reaching out with tendrils of mana, he found a connection. Kyle pushed with the full force of his Willpower. A small bundle of silk unraveled, falling to the ground. It’s camouflage disrupted, the body of one of the fallen expedition members fell free from the bundle. A trap?
Kyle didn’t get an opportunity to think of anything else as a massive force struck him from behind, knocking him to the ground. He heard his chitin armor creak and crack under the weight of the Shadow’s attacks, already feeling sharp talons against his Enhanced Carapace below his neck and along his unarmored hip. He didn’t have time to think. PARASITIC RESONANCE connected to the body of the enormous spider and frantically attacked. Once again tearing away the protection of the stealth skill, Kyle used his connection to twist and damage anything he could.
For a moment, the Shadow continued its assault. Kyle braced himself for the pain while he countered. Already most of the armor protecting his right arm had been torn away, and soon it would be tearing into his flesh. Then, as suddenly as the attack began, the weight lifted. Kyle got to his feet just in time to dart away as more barbs shot from the creature’s abdomen, more already growing in their place. In his panicked defense, he hadn’t seen the extent of the damage he’d done. Now, looking at the form of the Shadow, he could appreciate it. One of the middle legs on the creature’s left side looked to be twisted, now dangling uselessly by its side. The light in three of its eyes had gone out completely, and Kyle suspected there was likely more internal damage he couldn’t see.
Still, that was no real cause for celebration. In just two exchanges, the Shadow had demonstrated a capacity for tactical thinking far beyond what he’d seen from any of the awakened insects so far. Furthermore, it had a set of tools that made it a particularly bad matchup for Kyle. Its stealth capabilities neutralized much of the advantage C.H.A.D.D. could offer, and its speed and attack power likely exceeded his own. Despite the damage he’d done, Kyle couldn’t help but feel like he’d come out behind.
“C.H.A.D.D., how are you doing? Did you take any damage from that last attack?”
[THE PACK HELD, DR. MAYHEW, THOUGH THE STRUCTURE OF THE CHITIN IS BEGINNING TO SHOW SIGNS OF STRESS. I WOULD PREFER IT IF YOU DIDN’T GET SQUISHED BY THE CREATURE AGAIN, IF THAT’S AMENABLE TO YOU.]
Kyle felt some small relief at the snark, though he didn’t take his eyes off the Shadow.
“Were you able to detect it at all when it attacked us?”
[BRIEFLY, DR. MAYHEW. I BELIEVE YOUR INTERNAL ATTACK WAS EFFECTIVE. THIS ONE DOESN’T SEEM TO BE AS RESILIENT AS THE LAST TWO.]
Kyle nodded at the assessment. His picture of the Shadow was coming together – although one thing was growing increasingly clear. This wouldn’t be a fight that lasted for hours. The spider’s hunting style was designed for quick, sudden violence. One of them would die, and soon.
The beast watched him warily from its perch in the bamboo. Kyle reached towards his baton, still hanging at his side. The moment his hand touched it, the Shadow launched another volley of the barbs at him. Running towards them, Kyle held his left arm up to ward off some of the damage. As soon as he got in range to extend PARASITIC RESONANCE, the Shadow disappeared. He felt the absence of mana nearby once again, but didn’t turn towards it; instead turning his attention above. Kyle hoped it would try the same technique again, and he wasn’t disappointed. Far above him, near the top of the gently waving stalks, he felt the emptiness. In a move he hoped would be unexpected, he connected the tendrils of his skill to the supporting bamboo, shattering them.
The gentle rustling was replaced by riotous cracking and crumbling as the stalks crashed to the forest floor, bringing a massive spider along with them. The camouflage that covered it dissipated as it landed hard on the ground, revealing its ebony form. Kyle wasted no time. Tendrils of mana reached towards the spider as he engaged in melee. HASTE was active, and he focused the energy of the skill into his right arm to push it even farther. Dozens of quick strikes lashed out with the baton, all focused on the Shadow’s eyes. If I can blind it, I win.
At the same time as his melee offensive, he once again pushed his mana through the creature. He attacked indiscriminately, simply trying to do as much damage as he possibly could. Unfortunately for Kyle, the Shadow’s surprise didn’t last long. In a lightning-quick attack, it pounced at him, massive fangs and gaping maw aiming directly for his head. At least, it tried. STORM SHELTER exploded into existence, slamming into the creature and throwing it back with a satisfying crunch.
Kyle surveyed his handiwork from inside the shield, satisfied with the effectiveness of his attacks. Only four of the creature’s eyes still held the purple glow, and now three of its legs were limp. Still, it was mobile enough to get outside Kyle’s range, looking at him from outside the ring of fallen bamboo. The sun was almost entirely below the horizon now, bathing the forest in deep crimson light as the last vestiges of day faded. That was when the Shadow did something altogether unexpected.
The large spider began to circle the shield, just outside the range of PARASITIC RESONANCE. As it did, the Shadow shot out countless strands of silk, slowly covering the area. At first Kyle was confused, then his eyes started to widen as he considered what the creature was planning. Auric Perception revealed that there was mana infusing the silk, though he wasn’t sure exactly what it was.
“C.H.A.D.D., can you tell me anything about the silk?”
[I’M SORRY, DR. MAYHEW. SOMETHING ABOUT THE PROPERTIES OF THE MATERIAL IS OBSCURING IT FROM MY SCANS.]
The silk was beginning to cross over the dome of STORM SHELTER, and Kyle knew he had to make a decision. If he didn’t, the silk would simply fall on top of him when his skill ran out. Definitely not the outcome I’m looking for. Without more information, he’d have to roll the dice. Deactivating his skill, Kyle sidestepped as the silk fell around him. Immediately, he heard the gentle whisper of blades in flight. He narrowly dodged to the left, and cursed as he stepped on some of the silk, the sticky substance holding onto his boot. It slowed him just enough, and one of the barbs caught him squarely in his exposed right shoulder.
Even with his Enhanced Carapace, the blade bit deep. Gritting his teeth against the pain, his eyes widened as he realized the second layer of the attack. The barb was almost like a hypodermic needle, hollow inside and secreting venom. Already he could feel a dull fire spreading from the entry wound.
“C.H.A.D.D., can you identify the venom?”
[YES, DR. MAYHEW. IT APPEARS TO BE A NECROTIC AGENT, MIXED WITH A NEUROTOXIN.]
ADAPTIVE REGENERATION was already at work combatting the effects as he pulled the barb out of his shoulder. He barely kept his grip on the baton. He watched the barbs regrowing on the outline of the Shadow, impossibly fast. The spider chittered as it faded from view, and Kyle leaned on Auric Perception. He felt the empty space, and turned to face it just as the Shadow’s abdomen twitched, sending obsidian death directly at him.
As the volley cut through the air towards him, Kyle jumped away again. Two barbs that came close, and he deflected them using his baton. Kyle didn’t notice the trap until it was too late. Thin, almost invisible strands of silk connected several of the barbs, which wrapped around him as the attacks flew past. Behind them, pieces of the cut bamboo spun behind, also connected with strands of silk. In moments, Kyle found himself nearly bound up in the sticky fibers. His left arm was wrapped tight against his torso, and left boot was stuck to the ground.
Kyle watched as the outline of the barbs grew in his sight. The Shadow’s abdomen trembled slightly as it got into a position that was growing familiar. it would be ready to fire a fresh volley in moments, and Kyle knew that it had him. There was only one way out.
“I’ll be back soon, buddy.”
[WHAT ARE YOU DOING, DR. MAYHEW?]
Kyle didn’t respond, simply expanding PARASITIC RESONANCE to connect to his armor, to his boots. With an effort of will, he shattered the armor. The lustrous black carapace fell to the ground, still tied up in the Shadow’s silk. The C.H.A.D.D.pack was still intact, though without being secured to the armor it fell to the ground. Kyle leaped out of the way, wearing nothing but his light uniform as he faced the Shadow once again.
Blood still dripped from his right shoulder where he’d been struck. He felt exposed without his armor, and missed the familiar weight of C.H.A.D.D. on his back. The only way out is through. The last rays of light were fading as the forest descended into darkness. There was no orbital strike, no timely arrival to save the day. One would live, one would die. It would be Kyle or the Shadow.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Hello all, and happy Monday!
It's been a wonderful journey so far with the Starsworn Saga, and I want to thank all of you for reading this far! As we move deeper into the holiday season, I wanted to loop you all in on an upcoming break that I'm planning for January. With some personal stuff going on, I'm going to take 1/1-1/31 of 2024 to continue working on upcoming arcs, get some of my editing backlog squared away, and overall keep polishing the story so that it's in great shape for many more chapters to come!
There will be no disruption to the rest of the chapters for the month, so expect to see consistent M-F uploads. As an added bonus, I'm also going to be sharing the C.H.A.D.D. side story, so keep an eye out for that to drop later today!
Thank you all so much for reading this far, it's truly been a blast getting to share my work with you. I'll drop another reminder as we get closer. For now, have a great week!
-StarswornAdmin
~~~
The moment the leaf touched the ground, the Shadow exploded into motion. Bamboo was sliced neatly as the creature moved, a storm of obsidian blades streaming towards Kyle. Without a conscious thought, Kyle activated STORM SHELTER, courtesy of his Instinctive Intelligence. The attack bounced off the shield ineffectually, and he looked for the creature as the shield faded away. Straining Auric Perception, he felt an area suspiciously devoid of mana and moved towards it. While he knew a direct conflict would likely end poorly, he had to get in range to use PARASITIC RESONANCE.
Kyle frowned the moment he turned. He expected to see the shape of the giant spider, instead he just saw the lengthening shadows of dusk in the forest. Trust your instincts. Only faltering for a moment, he continued his movement towards the void he felt. Reaching out with tendrils of mana, he found a connection. Kyle pushed with the full force of his Willpower. A small bundle of silk unraveled, falling to the ground. It’s camouflage disrupted, the body of one of the fallen expedition members fell free from the bundle. A trap?
Kyle didn’t get an opportunity to think of anything else as a massive force struck him from behind, knocking him to the ground. He heard his chitin armor creak and crack under the weight of the Shadow’s attacks, already feeling sharp talons against his Enhanced Carapace below his neck and along his unarmored hip. He didn’t have time to think. PARASITIC RESONANCE connected to the body of the enormous spider and frantically attacked. Once again tearing away the protection of the stealth skill, Kyle used his connection to twist and damage anything he could.
For a moment, the Shadow continued its assault. Kyle braced himself for the pain while he countered. Already most of the armor protecting his right arm had been torn away, and soon it would be tearing into his flesh. Then, as suddenly as the attack began, the weight lifted. Kyle got to his feet just in time to dart away as more barbs shot from the creature’s abdomen, more already growing in their place. In his panicked defense, he hadn’t seen the extent of the damage he’d done. Now, looking at the form of the Shadow, he could appreciate it. One of the middle legs on the creature’s left side looked to be twisted, now dangling uselessly by its side. The light in three of its eyes had gone out completely, and Kyle suspected there was likely more internal damage he couldn’t see.
Still, that was no real cause for celebration. In just two exchanges, the Shadow had demonstrated a capacity for tactical thinking far beyond what he’d seen from any of the awakened insects so far. Furthermore, it had a set of tools that made it a particularly bad matchup for Kyle. Its stealth capabilities neutralized much of the advantage C.H.A.D.D. could offer, and its speed and attack power likely exceeded his own. Despite the damage he’d done, Kyle couldn’t help but feel like he’d come out behind.
“C.H.A.D.D., how are you doing? Did you take any damage from that last attack?”
[THE PACK HELD, DR. MAYHEW, THOUGH THE STRUCTURE OF THE CHITIN IS BEGINNING TO SHOW SIGNS OF STRESS. I WOULD PREFER IT IF YOU DIDN’T GET SQUISHED BY THE CREATURE AGAIN, IF THAT’S AMENABLE TO YOU.]
Kyle felt some small relief at the snark, though he didn’t take his eyes off the Shadow.
“Were you able to detect it at all when it attacked us?”
[BRIEFLY, DR. MAYHEW. I BELIEVE YOUR INTERNAL ATTACK WAS EFFECTIVE. THIS ONE DOESN’T SEEM TO BE AS RESILIENT AS THE LAST TWO.]
Kyle nodded at the assessment. His picture of the Shadow was coming together – although one thing was growing increasingly clear. This wouldn’t be a fight that lasted for hours. The spider’s hunting style was designed for quick, sudden violence. One of them would die, and soon.
The beast watched him warily from its perch in the bamboo. Kyle reached towards his baton, still hanging at his side. The moment his hand touched it, the Shadow launched another volley of the barbs at him. Running towards them, Kyle held his left arm up to ward off some of the damage. As soon as he got in range to extend PARASITIC RESONANCE, the Shadow disappeared. He felt the absence of mana nearby once again, but didn’t turn towards it; instead turning his attention above. Kyle hoped it would try the same technique again, and he wasn’t disappointed. Far above him, near the top of the gently waving stalks, he felt the emptiness. In a move he hoped would be unexpected, he connected the tendrils of his skill to the supporting bamboo, shattering them.
The gentle rustling was replaced by riotous cracking and crumbling as the stalks crashed to the forest floor, bringing a massive spider along with them. The camouflage that covered it dissipated as it landed hard on the ground, revealing its ebony form. Kyle wasted no time. Tendrils of mana reached towards the spider as he engaged in melee. HASTE was active, and he focused the energy of the skill into his right arm to push it even farther. Dozens of quick strikes lashed out with the baton, all focused on the Shadow’s eyes. If I can blind it, I win.
At the same time as his melee offensive, he once again pushed his mana through the creature. He attacked indiscriminately, simply trying to do as much damage as he possibly could. Unfortunately for Kyle, the Shadow’s surprise didn’t last long. In a lightning-quick attack, it pounced at him, massive fangs and gaping maw aiming directly for his head. At least, it tried. STORM SHELTER exploded into existence, slamming into the creature and throwing it back with a satisfying crunch.
Kyle surveyed his handiwork from inside the shield, satisfied with the effectiveness of his attacks. Only four of the creature’s eyes still held the purple glow, and now three of its legs were limp. Still, it was mobile enough to get outside Kyle’s range, looking at him from outside the ring of fallen bamboo. The sun was almost entirely below the horizon now, bathing the forest in deep crimson light as the last vestiges of day faded. That was when the Shadow did something altogether unexpected.
The large spider began to circle the shield, just outside the range of PARASITIC RESONANCE. As it did, the Shadow shot out countless strands of silk, slowly covering the area. At first Kyle was confused, then his eyes started to widen as he considered what the creature was planning. Auric Perception revealed that there was mana infusing the silk, though he wasn’t sure exactly what it was.
“C.H.A.D.D., can you tell me anything about the silk?”
[I’M SORRY, DR. MAYHEW. SOMETHING ABOUT THE PROPERTIES OF THE MATERIAL IS OBSCURING IT FROM MY SCANS.]
The silk was beginning to cross over the dome of STORM SHELTER, and Kyle knew he had to make a decision. If he didn’t, the silk would simply fall on top of him when his skill ran out. Definitely not the outcome I’m looking for. Without more information, he’d have to roll the dice. Deactivating his skill, Kyle sidestepped as the silk fell around him. Immediately, he heard the gentle whisper of blades in flight. He narrowly dodged to the left, and cursed as he stepped on some of the silk, the sticky substance holding onto his boot. It slowed him just enough, and one of the barbs caught him squarely in his exposed right shoulder.
Even with his Enhanced Carapace, the blade bit deep. Gritting his teeth against the pain, his eyes widened as he realized the second layer of the attack. The barb was almost like a hypodermic needle, hollow inside and secreting venom. Already he could feel a dull fire spreading from the entry wound.
“C.H.A.D.D., can you identify the venom?”
[YES, DR. MAYHEW. IT APPEARS TO BE A NECROTIC AGENT, MIXED WITH A NEUROTOXIN.]
ADAPTIVE REGENERATION was already at work combatting the effects as he pulled the barb out of his shoulder. He barely kept his grip on the baton. He watched the barbs regrowing on the outline of the Shadow, impossibly fast. The spider chittered as it faded from view, and Kyle leaned on Auric Perception. He felt the empty space, and turned to face it just as the Shadow’s abdomen twitched, sending obsidian death directly at him.
As the volley cut through the air towards him, Kyle jumped away again. Two barbs that came close, and he deflected them using his baton. Kyle didn’t notice the trap until it was too late. Thin, almost invisible strands of silk connected several of the barbs, which wrapped around him as the attacks flew past. Behind them, pieces of the cut bamboo spun behind, also connected with strands of silk. In moments, Kyle found himself nearly bound up in the sticky fibers. His left arm was wrapped tight against his torso, and left boot was stuck to the ground.
Kyle watched as the outline of the barbs grew in his sight. The Shadow’s abdomen trembled slightly as it got into a position that was growing familiar. it would be ready to fire a fresh volley in moments, and Kyle knew that it had him. There was only one way out.
“I’ll be back soon, buddy.”
[WHAT ARE YOU DOING, DR. MAYHEW?]
Kyle didn’t respond, simply expanding PARASITIC RESONANCE to connect to his armor, to his boots. With an effort of will, he shattered the armor. The lustrous black carapace fell to the ground, still tied up in the Shadow’s silk. The C.H.A.D.D.pack was still intact, though without being secured to the armor it fell to the ground. Kyle leaped out of the way, wearing nothing but his light uniform as he faced the Shadow once again.
Blood still dripped from his right shoulder where he’d been struck. He felt exposed without his armor, and missed the familiar weight of C.H.A.D.D. on his back. The only way out is through. The last rays of light were fading as the forest descended into darkness. There was no orbital strike, no timely arrival to save the day. One would live, one would die. It would be Kyle or the Shadow.
