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The Black Watch Part 1
A Thunderstorm in Babylon It never rains in Babylon. Usually she saw short spells of drizzles, over and done in an hour or less. But some days, like today, the heavens opened and poured out their sorrow and their wrath on the city of the damned. Karim Mustafa gripped the cyclic with both hands, gently…
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Press Release: HEROES UNLEASHED by Silver Empire!
Yesterday, publisher Silver Empire announced a new superhero project titled Heroes Unleashed. Like Marvel and DC Comics, Heroes Unleashed will feature multiple superhero series set in a sprawling world of superheroes and supervillains, written by a number of up-and-coming critically acclaimed authors. The full press release is reproduced below: — SILVER EMPIRE ANNOUNCES “HEROES UNLEASHED” Multi-author shared universe…
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The Mad Monk of Geylang Part 7
I grab my flashlight and my knife. I click the light on, filling the room with faint white light, and flick the blade open. The metal snap reverberates in the tiny flat. Lupin and Leonhard teleport into my room. Both of them are bleeding streams of multicolored light from a dozen wounds. ‘Are you guys…
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The Mad Monk of Geylang Part 6
I spend the following morning preparing for the inevitable. When I wake up, I meditate and run through a panoply of deep breathing and energy exercises, leaving my body warm and humming. I lay out candles and water at my altar, dedicating them to the Buddha. I restrict myself to nuts and granola for breakfast,…
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The Mad Monk of Geylang Part 5
Successful magic, as with all things, follows the KISS principle: Keep it Simple, Stupid. Forget complicated rituals, rare ingredients, hours-long chants and lengthy evocations of gods and spirits. Once you understand the principles of magic, complexity is a curse. I don’t usually dabble much with rituals myself. But a case like this requires extra…
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The Mad Monk of Geylang Part 4
Over the phone, Diana spends the next hour explaining her situation. Shortly after leaving her home, Somchai’s followers began bombarding her. They filled her inbox with messages, some honeyed, some vitriolic, calling her to return and receive the monk’s forgiveness, else she be damned for uncountable lifetimes. The senior members kept calling her, either telling…