Terry Barclay is a directionless young man. While a talented musician, he has no prospects for a career in his isolated, country town. Fortunately, an organization called Skyfleet is recruiting, an exploratory and peacekeeping armada of flying ships. One which is manned by humans and creatures alike.... more>>

After only two years of service, he will be able to join Skyfleet's Orchestra of Lights. Though before he can get there, his path will intercept the intrigue of the greater world and its colorful characters. These include a cantankerous dwarven scientist, a radicalized socialist princess, a rock golem dreaming of being a star chef, a snarky former pirate, a mysterious priest, and a friendly queen of a hive of giant insects who also have a love for music.

As a threat from over the horizon digs into the shadows, will Skyfleet and its new recruits be able to rise to the challenge? Or will the flying armada crash and burn, taking the republic it serves down with it? The future is always up for grabs... if it speaks in half-truths.

Author's Note: Star Trek meets Gaslamp Fantasy/Dieselpunk. This story is a work in progress. While I'm trying to avoid seriously changing already-posted chapters, there is a chance of it happening. <<less

In a world where the majority of the population possesses an uncanny ability, and the most elite among them are seen as heroes, icons, figures... more>> of worship, how does one define heroism? People have many ways to define it, heroes have many ways to approach it, and criminals have many ways to defy it. In a time when the most dangerous practitioners of criminality lurked in the shadows of the concrete forest, the Hero Public Safety Commission of Japan believed that they needed to respond not with heroes, but with a pack of elite hunters, the most dangerous, tightly-knit group of quirk users they could find. They are the Wolves of the HPSC, and this is their story. <<less

SYNOPSIS... more>>

…What if Uchiha Sasuke was, in fact, not the one you had always known; gone; replaced by some eldritch… thing. <<less

I’ll tell you how we met, how we got to where we are today and hopefully for the future, things will be better because as I sit here right now, I don’t know how I ended up not running away or killing myself. ... more>>

The life I am living is not for the fainthearted and no human being should have to suffer like this.

Yours sincerely,
The lover of a serial killer. <<less

Two is company, three is a crowd. Nine is a cult.... more>>

Having to fight a duel to the death at the start of my first day on the job was a new one for me.

Waking up with no memory was also odd. I think. But neither of those came close to the absurdity of having beautiful and deadly women ready and eager to kill for me.

What I need from them now, though, is nothing special. I just need them to teach me how to lead a cult of assassins. No big deal.

Extra chapters: https://www.patreon.com/MrBlissNine

RR Profile: https://www.royalroad.com/profile/430453 <<less

As their fifteenth winter approaches, teens from around the region undergo their week's seclusion beginning on the solstice.
As two teens prepare for this annual... more>> ritual, what duty will they receive? <<less

There’s a fact that every trillionaire in the Terran Accord knows: Power on Antares always comes with a price. And it was true; almost every position of power within the jurisdiction of the Antares Authority had some sort of string attached. ... more>>

Yet an entire third of the Antares Authority’s budget is exempt from public scrutiny, a gigantic bucket of odds and ends that the masses aren't allowed to know any details on. It's a glaring exception to the rule. Accountability is completely impossible. The money is poured down a hole and not subject to any form of oversight. Nobody knows a single thing they do — not even the very legislators who approve it, every single year, without failure. Whoever is in charge of this is one glaring exception to this rule: They have power without a price. Or so it seems…

This is the story of the Department of Autonomy, and their struggle preparing for a threat beyond their wildest nightmares. <<less

Nooa didn't know how this happened. How he somehow managed to be transmigrated into this world, but for all he knew he was here and... more>> he didn't know how to deal with these...chooms?
Night City is not a place to stay still, so now he had to sink or swim in the dystopian future where eddies are all that matters! <<less

A collection of short stories involving a bit of espionage, light bondage/damsels-in-distress or guys-in-distress, militarism, mostly yuri and of course all wrapped into an evolving fantasy setting. ... more>>

Most stories focus on the Black Rose Order, an all-female military host of the northern alliance, formerly a coven of elven witches worshipping the Goddess of Magic and Beauty. The order itself consists of many different fantasy races ranging from the various elves, humans [wake up my fellow programs], feyfolk, orcs and dragonkin. There are also dwarves, but what dwarf would want to resemble a midget elf? <<less

When those from beyond the stars came, the six Houses stood against them, saving the world from invaders intent on destroying it. Generations later, those same Houses form the bedrock of Lutov, a seemingly perfect society where all are provided for. Here, war is a myth and death, a choice. Yet here, no one questions their devotion to their chosen House.... more>>

Zaeden will soon join a House, a choice he’s dreaded since childhood. All he’s ever wanted is to live outside of the Houses' control, to find freedom. Unfortunately, he's caught the attention of the legendary Lokke Vitras, the protector and shield of the homeland, and that man is determined to decide his future. Zaeden will serve as his replacement, becoming the Lokke Vitras in his own time, whether he likes it or not.

As he goes through his training, Zaeden faces many trials and moral dilemmas, but the one that most challenges him is a question he’s asked his whole life. How can he find freedom when the world insists on defining who he is?

***

This story is for people who like snarky, clever protagonists with a dash of recklessness and extreme loyalty to those they love. It is for lovers of the self-critical, the idealistic, and what happens when such people are trapped in their own worst nightmare. Lastly, it is for those who enjoy reading about glittering societies that are not at all what they seem.

As with everything I write, The Art of Becoming is a slow-burn fiction with a heavy focus on characterization. There will be sexual content, but I am not graphic with that, and most of the scenes depicted serve to move the plot or character development along in one way or another. Also, Zaeden is pansexual, polyamorous, and most importantly, extremely social, so yes, there will be a romantic subplot. It is not, however, the main focus of the story.

The Art of Becoming takes place several centuries after one of my other fictions: Planetfall. Reading that story isn't necessary, and there will only be slight spoilers about the overall ending of that book in this one. I consider Planetfall to be the prequel for The Art of Becoming.

For the weekend of its release, I'll be uploading several chapters, but after that weekend, I will update with one chapter a day Monday-Friday at 1 pm PST. <<less