The Ashwalker
by Exterminatus
- Profanity
A sheltered flame does not grow. Peace and stability are commendable goals to strive for, yet humanity has only ever grown by overcoming adversity. None embody this trait better than mages. Born with the burden of magic, they are driven to pursue ever-greater heights of power as their blood demands it. Some falter and abandon the difficult path, resigning themselves to mediocrity and obscurity. Others dash madly along it with no disregard for the harm they cause themselves or others, and often find themselves stepping into Hell before long. Straddling the line between these extremes is a delicate balance, though not necessarily the best option. There are as many paths to ultimate power as there are wizards, and one particular practitioner leaves naught but dust and cinders in their wake.
A sheltered flame does not grow, and none are as ravenous or insatiable as an ash mage.
A short story that may or may not be expanded upon further.
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An open-ended story
Reviewed at: Chapter 5
For such a short length, the worldbuilding and premise are exceptionally good. It's a magical fantasy, with a main character whose recklessness is only matched by the heat of her fire spells. I'd love to know more about the setting, and this odd mage, both her past and future. Whether this stays a snippet or is developed further, I thank the author for sharing this work with us, for I enjoyed it.
Caught My Curiosity
Reviewed at: Chapter 5
Glad to see a new Exterminatus novel.
I haven't been able to get into one since Everyone Loves Larges Chests, but this one seems promising so far.
Looks like this turned out to be more of a mini-novel or short story. Definitely a fun little adventure in a magic world.
From a purely world building stance, I'm not sure how I feel about inner-fire as a source of magic.
The Ashwalker's Song
Reviewed at: Chapter 5
Right from the beginning it’s hard not to like this book
I guarantee, for fantasy fans, this is worth a look
The action starts up right away, but my favourite part
Is the character writing, which has a lot of heart
The style is pretty solid, though the paragraphs are dense
The exposition’s casual but it’s clean and makes sense
Past tense third person narration works well in this case
Although the text walls look scary, they move at a good pace
Often, dense paragraphs make me turn away and cringe
But I found these pleasant, and they will be worth a binge
It’s a well established style, consistent and well done
Most importantly to me, the style makes it feel fun
It's a short story that left me wanting more, it's good
It’s traditional and uses tropes the way it should
Magic is explained without a single status screen
And it’s among the better that I have recently seen
The main character is a mage, quite full of mystery
Early on, we don’t learn much about her history
But she’s cool as hell, and I find her entertaining
She’s written to be icy but also engaging
The side characters are well written, most are quite funny
Dialogue with them is written quite comedically
They help the plot progress in a more interesting way
Which helps because the main character has little to say
No problems with grammar here, it’s simple and it flows
I think it hits the genre’s expectations on the nose
Like I said, the paragraphs are pretty dense for sure
But they’re filled up with a fast action packed adventure
In conclusion, you’ll enjoy reading about this mage
She’ll draw you in every time you turn the burning page
It’s a good balance of fun an intense action scenes
I might go as far as to say this book is cool beans