Chain Melody

Greetings everyone and thank you. As of today the last update of the Stormroot Arc of Chain Melody has gone up and to join it I have also posted the epilogue. It's been a long road and hope that those of you who joined me in getting here have enjoyed the journey as much as I have. There were perhaps a few too many hiatuses and weeks with less than 5 updates each, but it has been a learning experience, one that will greatly affect the future of this story. Although I feel like there have already been too many breaks, and I have just gotten back from another, it is time for another long break. If there is one thing that I learned from my time writing the Stormroot Arc, it is that even for writing by the seat of my pants I was far too unorganized. Perhaps if I had a dedicated editor it would not have been a problem, but this lack of organization had definitive effects on the story and presentation on a whole. Being aware of that, before continuing to the next story I intend to ...

“After her Eminence’s light faded it was utter chaos for a while. We weren’t able to truly sift through what happened until the Chain Dragon that appeared before Varen had taken its leave.” Taking a sip of tea Elliot looked out from his seat at the sea beyond the window of his fine suite and beneath the boughs of the Builder’s Tree. As he watched the serene waters he was addressed by one of many voices from a massive radio console that had been set up within the suite. - Then none of your party were witness to the movement of the Sycamore girl? - “I’m afraid not Knight Councilman. I was myself powerless to act as according to Master Wherks something must have been present for the Builders to remain silent for so long. If not for her Eminence’s blessing I surely would have fallen into the chasm of Aperture alongside the Sacred Sword. Even then it was all I could do to escape the remnants of the Sword Shrine as it collapsed.” - You have little reason to sound so ashamed Kni...

The airship collided with the bridge neighborhood where Finch and Roc had been engaged in battle and collapsed upon itself releasing the magical energies that kept it aloft. The resulting explosion mushroomed skyward in a bloom of flame as a powerful shock wave tore through Aperture and shook the whole of the city. “KYA!” “Whatever was that Lady Mail?!” Poking out from where he had been working beneath the radio transmitter console Wherks looked inquiringly upon Mail who had fallen onto her rear. Looking unsteadily at the Rattama, Mail remembered herself and scrambled to her feet to once again look beyond the window that Varen and Kyte had left through earlier. “It was the airship. The airship that Varen and the Hero had boarded. It just collided with one of the suspended neighborhoods in the middle of chasm!” Mail’s voice started calm but her apprehension quickly came through. Wherks read it and took a moment to think carefullybefore closing his eyes as he made up his ...

Corvina launched herself upon the roof of the train and began a mad dash towards where Chain and Melody stood. Melody braced herself to receive the charging Hero and was surprised as Chain moved to meet Corvina head on. “Link! What are you doing?! She’s a Hero, and your eyes…” “So she really is the real deal, huh? Perfect. I’ve been wanting to kill her since I heard about her from that pompous idiot back in the Stormroots.” “I couldn’t be happier to hear that southern maid!” Corvina squealed with delight at Chain’s murderous intent and the two met with swords leading. A flurry of steel and a chorus of ringing metal punctuated the meeting of Chain and the Hero she faced. Chain’s sword work was vastly superior to Corvina’s however and it took the Hero all she had to force Chain into a weapon lock. Chain was far from impressed and she let slip a question from her lips. “What’s the matter Hero? The Builders’ Song seems so weak around you right now.” “That shouldn’t matter...

“GUH!” Grunting in surprise as much as in effort to resist the strike from Finch’s eight meter tall steel biped, Roc could not hold his footing. The blow from Uprooter took the Bandit King from his feet and launched him nearly a quarter of a kilometer through the air. His unplanned flight was brought to an abrupt end as a larger stone brick building caught him and collapsed on top of him. The damage to the structure would not end there though as a barrage of blue energy shots from both Finch and Uprooter’s guns smashed into the collapsed building like a concentrated hailstorm. Each shot sparked a blue explosion which the embers of drifted through the air igniting the shadowy tendrils of Corvina’s city encompassing web and burning it away. The sparks did not just find their way to Corvina’s web but also the people of bright rift who found themselves bewildered by the situation as much as their suddenly returned freedom. Bewildered as they were though, the raging blue flames born...

(Why do people have to die?) As she worked furiously to pursue the Bandit King and free the people of Bright Rift from Corvina’s control, Finch began to lose her thoughts to the sight of the carnage around her. (I don’t understand. For as long as I can remember death and fear of it has controlled my life. The priest who left me in Misthead died from wounds that I’ll never know where they came from. So many traders who couldn’t afford airship passage died to bandits who had found ways to avoid the sight of the dragon. Countless adventurers down in the labyrinth seeking a life beyond their means. More soldiers than I can count under my command against the beasts of the Emerald Sea. And now the people of Aperture even as I try to save them. It all seems so pointless.) A weak squeak from within her left arm where she cradled Matches pulled Finch from her disparaging thoughts with a start. Looking down at the spirit in the form of a rodent quieted Finch’s mind and a gentle smile...