Series
Symbiotic: Chapter 53
Chapter 53 Sara returned to her residence, the warmth of the hearth chasing away the chill of the evening. Taking a quick shower and readying herself for bed, she checks in on the Status of her Valley, “Tas, show me the Haven Valley Prosperity Tracker. With the Volcano added, I want to see the numbers.”
By Canyon Cappola (TheNomad)2 months ago in Fiction
Symbiotic: Chapter 52
Chapter 52 Sara trudged up the winding path to the mines, boots crunching against gravel and dust. The air grew cooler as she approached the cavern entrance, where the Dungeon Control Crystal pulsed faintly with its eerie light.
By Canyon Cappola (TheNomad)2 months ago in Fiction
Symbiotic: Chapter 51
Chapter 51 Sara’s Basic Alchemist Workshop was less a room and more an avalanche of controlled chaos. The walls were lined with shelves sagging under the weight of jars and vials. Herbs dried to brittle stalks, powders glittering faintly with mineral light, shards of Crystals of every hue and affinity glowing like captured stars. Each container bore a label, some neat System labels and others little more than a scribble that only she could decipher.
By Canyon Cappola (TheNomad)2 months ago in Fiction
Symbiotic: Chapter 50
Chapter 50 The climb out of the volcano was long and, before her System improved stats, would have been grueling. Sara’s boots scraped against jagged stone, her breath coming in steady rhythm as she ascended the winding tunnels. The heat pressed against her back like a living thing, the glow of magma fading as she rose higher toward the crater rim. Each step carried her farther from the pulsing heartbeat of the Volcano’s Control Crystal, and from Fluffy’s always full hearted laughter echoing faintly through the bond.
By Canyon Cappola (TheNomad)2 months ago in Fiction
Symbiotic: Chapter 48
Chapter 48 Sara settled herself at the bottom of the Magma lake, resting at the base of the Volcano Territory Control Shard, its crystalline pulse steady and reassuring behind her. She cradled the Greatworm Hatchling Egg in her lap, its shell glowing red from the outrageous ambient heat, veins of fire and stone energy threading across its surface. The hatchling’s spark pulsed erratically, stronger than ever, feeding greedily on the potent ambient energy saturating the magma chamber.
By Canyon Cappola (TheNomad)2 months ago in Fiction
Why NASA Never Returned to the Moon: A Deep Investigation
Like most Americans in grade school at the end of the last century, I learned about our first steps on the moon. I spent most of my life believing that we went to the moon the one time, made a big deal of it, brought back some moon rocks, and went about our lives. Later, of course, I’d learn that we mainly did it to show the world that we were more competent and advanced than our Soviet rivals. Who would have thought that the US government would dump millions of dollars into a clout-chasing Space Race?
By Tales from a Madman2 months ago in Fiction
Symbiotic: Chapter 47
Chapter 47 The magma lake roiling like a living sea of fire. The air shimmered with heat, waves of molten stone rising and falling in slow, heavy rhythm at the edges. She knew instinctively of course the strongest energy would be at the bottom, where fire and stone converged and condensed in their purest form.
By Canyon Cappola (TheNomad)2 months ago in Fiction
Day 6: The Occurrence Eve. Content Warning.
…And Wolfman Patrick’s journal, extra scratchy bold like a kid scribbling on his desk. I think last night’s haul was a little light. Ron read my journal and was becoming sick of my apathetic fight against his journalistic integrity. No details too small, and if there’s some kind of prize money for this find, he’ll split it with me down the middle. I won’t talk—yet. It’s not the stringing him along, but in the case of an F.B.I. raid before the sacrifices start, that I may, with escape time, be a waste of a charge. Protection is cheap when everyone is desperate. Something I discovered holy while shitting off the boat's side.
By Willem Indigo2 months ago in Fiction
Symbiotic: Chapter 46
Chapter 46 The volcano’s heart chamber pulsed with molten light, shadows dancing across jagged walls as the magma lake churned lazily. Sara sat down, cross legged upon the scorched stone. She pulled the Greatworm Egg from her Pocket Storage and cradled it before her in a cocoon of Soul and spore energy. Its crystalline shell shimmered faintly as the Hatchling within continued to feed on the powerful ambient Fire and Stone energies.
By Canyon Cappola (TheNomad)2 months ago in Fiction
