Aethernea Read online

  Aethernea by Cloe.D.Frost

  Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, English, Fantasy, Original, Romance, School Life, Xianxia

  Published: 2018-05-11

  Updated: 2018-05-11

  Packaged: 2018-06-30 23:05:19

  Chapters: 152

  Words: 378,453

  Publisher: gravitytales.com

  Summary:

  * * *

  Author: Cloe D. Frost

  [Best Fantasy Story Winner at Wattpad Fiction Awards 2016]

  Gallery | Wikia | Official Site | Patreon | Facebook | Twitter

  ✔ Fantasy ✔ Adventure ✔ Mystery ✔ Humor ✔ Romance ✔ Magic ✔ School Life ✔ Action ✔ Drama

  * * *

  ◈ What Readers Say about Aethernea? ◈

  “Aethernea is my absolute favorite read on wattpad, I love it as much as I love Harry Potter and The Mortal Instruments. You have such an amazing way to make the words flow and unbelievable descriptions. Unique characters and a great story line. All the small clues and mystery in the humor and fantasy just makes the book perfect in my opinion. I read all chapters in two days! Less than 48 hours even! I’m REALLY looking forward to the next update, the world of Aethernea is so deep and well thought out, it’s beautiful and magical. God I can’t believe how creative you are, so many small details with so many families and stories everywhere. Purely fantastical, I admire you.”

  - astro-logical from Wattpad

  “I love love love Aethernea so much! It is amazing how you created this new world with different creatures, magics, looks, illnesses, and evil! I was blown away by your explanation of the Mana pools and how to weave magic! Simply stunning really! You are one of my favorite authors and Wattpad and I am so glad I stumbled upon Aethernea because it is worth all of my time reading!”

  - Adriana_V_Blade from Wattpad

  “I absolutely am loving Aethernea so far. I am certain you belong in the ranks among J.K. Rowling, Rick Riordan, Suzane Collinings, and many more great and wonderful authors. You opened up a whole new world for me, which only a few great authors have accomplished. While it’s true I am pulled into each and every book, few are able to capture me to the point of inescapability. Though, somehow, you have managed this feat. I thank you for this and more! You are a wonderful author and can’t wait for more to come!”

  - daughterofpercabeth7 from Wattpad

  “WOW! just caught Aethernea in gravity tales! Just when I was getting tired of most xianxia novels this appears and completely blows my mind!

  I really like the depth and the humorous touch you give the characters and it seems you have the storyline well thought out since you are always hinting about things in the past and the future. It has been such an enjoyable experience that I couldn’t stop reading, finishing it in just one day and laughing my way through most of the episodes. But what keeps me so excited for what’s coming is the magic system and the professions of the world you are creating.

  The magic mechanics have such a huge potential! They are simple but at the same time they open so many possibilities. Even though we still only understand the basics of transmutation and augmentation, I expect them to enable fights where there is need of quick thinking and skill, and not just brainless overpower of every opponent. In a way this makes me reminiscent about The Mistborn Series by Brandon Sanderson, which are one of my favorite series ever. The thing that sets Mistborn apart from any other series is that the mechanics are so well thought out that they could be used to create a super cool triple A video game and I cannot help but hope Aethernea reaches the same level or even surpass it. I really think it has that potential. Really hope this series gets the attention it deserves. As for me, Thursdays and Sundays just got a whole more exciting! =)”

  - AlexMLion

  “Your writing is fantastic and riveting, the chapters and character flow so smooth, and it captivates the reader with the many twist and turns that tricks one mind into thinking this is about to happen, when suddenly the exact opposite happens. You truly are in inspirational writer with a brilliant mind that can see and put words into chapters and into this one truly awesome book. Thank you!”

  - AshleyStaar from Wattpad

  “I loved this story, such detailed description and accurate words, both Kiel and Elaru completely caught my attention, your writing style is just beautiful and the plot is astounding and it’s just the first episode! This kind of fantasy stories are my favourite, it has a lot of magic in it, rivalry and sense of humour.”

  - BlackWhiteD from Wattpad

  > More reader comments <

  Summary

  In a world where everyone can use magic, where treasure hunters, alchemists, and warlocks are common professions, and where mage duels are the most popular form of entertainment,

  Kiel is a “non-mage” - a person who doesn’t have the aptitude to use magic on regular basis - until he meets Elaru - a spell breaker of mysterious origin, wielder of the fabled ‘Aethernea of Sight’ - eyes that can see magic, who claims she can give him the power to become the greatest mage world of Halnea has ever seen.

  Coerced into binding his soul to hers, Kiel finds himself pulled into a web of secrets, where one wrong step could end in his untimely demise.

  Who, or what is Elaru Wayvin really? What is her relation to the ruling 15 noble mage families? What is the source of The Ink - a mysterious plague spreading through the continent? What is the Aetherneal bond between them and what has it turned them into? What is the truth behind gods and divine magic? Why has the third race of Halnea - the Ascended, mysteriously disappeared, and what is the connection between the remaining two races?

  In the search for truth, Kiel and Elaru enroll at the most prestigious University of Magic. Yet, between awkward social events, falling in love, thrilling competitions, blood curling battles, irritating peers, and damnable love rivals, there is little time for studying.

  And as if avoiding sinister plots from all sides wasn’t difficult enough, their new detestable mentor takes them on a voyage into the uncharted forbidden zone filled with unspeakable secrets, ancient riddles, man-eating monsters, and deadly traps.

  A quest that just might end up changing the fate of the entire world.

  Aethernea contains:

  ✔ Battles all about strategy and outsmarting the opponent

  ✔ Ploys, traps, puzzles and tests that the protagonists have to solve and beat

  ✔ Many secrets and mysteries about the world, the forgotten past, the noble families and the characters themselves that you will be trying to crack with given clues

  ✔ Exploration of the unknown

  ✔ Drama - romance, rivalry, clash of interests

  ✔ No black and white characters, character depth and development

  ✔ A unique, well-developed world with both eastern and western characteristics

  ✔ Almost scientific system of magic with well-defined rules and principles

  * * *

  Release Schedule:

  Regular releases every Thursday & Sunday

  Temporarily single release every Thursday

  * * *

  How to support Aethernea (and get extra chapters):

  Patreon - donate as little as 2$ per month to get many rewards: access to unreleased chapters, side stories, art, signed versions of published books, etc. Extra Aethernea chapters are released as a reward for every 200$ raised on Patreon. Significant Patreon support also works towards more weekly releases.

  Sponsor a Chapter - 100$ per chapter, currently closed

  Vote on TopWebFiction

  Update content on Aethernea wikia - significant wikia progress will be rewarded by extra chapters

  Share/Recommend to your friends

  Comment - reading your comments helps keep me motiva
ted to write more

  Follow Aethernea on Facebook & Twitter

  Episode 1 – Prologue

  Author Note:

  Prologue features a short battle part that is set in the future. Since you don’t know how magic works and aren’t familiar with the characters yet you can skip that part of the prologue if it would bother you. It only serves as foreshadowing. Don’t let it intimidate you, from the next chapter the world, magic and the characters will be introduced slowly. You won’t be feeling like you don’t know what is going on ever again.

  If you are reading this story for the humor - it starts getting funny from chapter 12 or so (you might want to avoid eating/drinking while reading Aethernea. Readers have been complaining about spewing their drinks over their keyboards.)

  If you are reading this story for the romance - keep in mind that romance in Aethernea due to the personalities and pasts of the main characters develops gradually, step by step. Therefore, a lot of chapters will need to pass for it to turn from initial dislike to full blown passion. If you want to read a chick-flick or shallow romantic subplot as seen in most chinese xianxia, Aethernea isn’t it.

  Thank you for giving Aethernea a shot!

  * * *

  Episode 1 – Prologue

  People are not born equal.

  Some are gifted with power, intelligence and status from the moment they leave their mother’s womb. Others might spend their entire lives helplessly chasing what they had been denied from the start.

  Kiel, who was born as a non-mage in a world ruled by magic, had become painfully aware of this fact at a very early age.

  But Kiel, as he was now, was no longer the same.

  The old Kiel had died. Even now, he remembered the deafening silence of his heart clearly.

  He was now someone… no, something else.

  This was clearly evident in the way he jumped around like a bouncing rubber ball, trying to avoid a stream of daggers, flying, swishing and slashing at him from all angles. Kiel put several reflective barriers up to ward off the daggers. However, they were enchanted with a high-level piercing magic that prevented a change of their velocity from external sources.

  They would collide with his barriers, the spell on the daggers causing strong waves of interference with his own spells, shattering the barriers in a single hit. The impact would send the imposing daggers flying away from him, however, the rest of them would continue on their path of destruction.

  Kiel didn’t have enough time to put up a stronger, more durable barrier. He didn’t even have the time to glare venomously at the enemy mage who attacked them for no apparent reason. Was it premeditated? Was it personal? Were they too close to something dangerous? Kiel didn’t have the time to ponder over it.

  All he could do was respond quickly with low-level spells, such as the weak barriers he was currently casting, which were quick and easy to put up. Unfortunately, he could not put enough barriers up to stop all of the daggers. Even he, as great a mage as he was, couldn’t create hundreds of barriers in a span of few short seconds. He doubted even Elaru herself would be able to do something of that magnitude.

  Kiel swore under his breath as a dagger whizzed past his head leaving a stinging shallow cut on his cheek in its wake. The searing hot blood pumping through his veins took his already superb reflexes to the next level when he was faced with the question of life and death.

  Kiel’s eyes briefly glanced towards the other side of the ancient, decaying hall, his eyes searching for Elaru. He was worried that she would be in a worse condition than him, knowing how reckless she was. Elaru was able to forget her own mortality and disregard her pain in the midst of battle, fighting and enjoying the rush. For the same reason, she often didn’t notice just how much damage she was taking in the process.

  However, Kiel’s worries were misplaced.

  Elaru didn’t have a single scratch on her - just a few cuts on her clothes, which didn’t reach her skin. Unlike him, who could attack both from the distance and from close range, Elaru almost exclusively and carelessly charged right into melee combat. All together, it left an impression of as if her luck was going to expire at any moment; like the next battle would be her last.

  Only by disregarding appearances and concentrating on the pure and simple truth, would one realize that Elaru was a combat master. When she suffered damage, it was because she deemed it necessary to get closer to her goal. Her movements, though they appeared reckless, were precise and planned, comparable to the flawless actions of a well-calibrated machine.

  Kiel let out a quiet “Tsk”. She made his blood boil. He hated being outperformed by her.

  She had become the determinant of his worth. The one he could compare himself with. The one who motivated him to exceed his own limits.

  His rival.

  He had to become better. Faster. Superior.

  Elaru dished out spells and avoided daggers with such speed and precision that one would think she could stop time itself. The swirling blades hissed as they fell down on her like rain, reflecting soft rays of light onto her long carmine red hair. Her ponytail flailed around like it had a life of its own. It was ethereally shining in the darkness of the ruins as if it was glowing. Which gave that last push to the beauty of her playful dance into otherworldly realms.

  Kiel was a high ranking mage, so his reaction speed and casting speed were both quite incredible. Elaru, on the other hand was on an entirely different level.

  Kiel swore again, his brief moment of distraction was enough for a few daggers to graze his skin.

  I don’t have time to worry about that monster! He thought.

  Unlike her, he was on the defensive. Keeping himself alive was already a big deal in itself. Besides, it’s not like she shared his sentiment! She was clearly enjoying the situation.

  She laughed, her lips spread in an eerie and wide, yet somehow attractive grin. In the midst of battle was where Elaru felt the most alive.

  Kiel’s mind was filled with possibilities. How to defend, avoid and destroy. All the facts gathered inside his mind into strains of clear and coherent thoughts.

  Each dagger was enchanted with three different magic spells. Acceleration, which allowed it to fly around swiftly, Piercing, which negated outside attempts to change the velocity of the dagger, and Protection which rendered attempts to destroy it meaningless.

  There were a few hundred of them and each had the three high-level spells cast on it.

  Sustaining that many simultaneous high-level spells was too much for any mage. This meant that daggers had a certain degree of autonomy and they were not drawing their power from the mage himself - they drew their power from crystallized mana. The mage prepared the mana days beforehand, maybe even weeks. Which means that if Kiel shattered the mana crystal powering them, the daggers would lose their enchantments, making them just regular daggers. And normal daggers were no threat to a mage of his level.

  Can’t defend…

  Unable to avoid…

  All that was left was to destroy them before they destroyed him.

  He smirked. Pinpointing the source of their mana was easy. Especially since they needed a lot of it to sustain them.

  He spread his mind, like it was a gentle wave of water, touching the magic of the daggers. Hundreds of small lights blossomed inside his head, giving a presence to the intangible magic that was brewing inside the daggers around him.

  He raised his arms in front of his face to protect it just in case he couldn’t shoot all of the daggers down before they reached him. His body was protected by enchanted gear, but his head was bare.

  With an icy tempest pulsating through his eyes, he started his offense.

  Dozens of high-density mana bolts spiraled and separated from his aura, mashed into existence with the sole purpose of destruction. Silently they honed in on the daggers.

  With incredible speed, achievable only through the lack of mass and through perfect accuracy, they collided with targeted mana crystals.

&
nbsp; The show of magic bloomed like a reflection of the storm hiding behind his eyes. Magic rained down on him. When his bolts collided with the crystals, a small explosion cracked and shattered them, creating a shower of beautiful mana sparks, turning solid matter into fluid vapor. Some of the bolts even pierced through their targets taking out multiple daggers with one well-aimed mana bolt.

  The air was crackling with glowing fireworks. Daggers shined like silver stars, glittering brightly just before their magic broke and they fell down to the floor, clattering and turning into nothing more than useless scraps of metal.

  His magic was beautiful. He could tell that much even without being able to see the magic, but he still craved her approval, the admiration and delight shining through her eyes down to the depths of his core. Unfortunately, she didn’t even spare one look at him. It was as if he wasn’t there at all.

  There was still a whirlwind of weaponry in the air around Kiel. He had managed to shoot enough of them down to raise his survival chances significantly. Despite that, blinded by the fireworks, he almost suffered a severe injury. He jumped backwards just in time, the sturdy cloth had torn from the force, leaving him with a new shallow cut on his thigh.

  He swore for not being as adept at evasion as Elaru was.

  However, the cut was worth it, he had lowered the number of daggers around him considerably. He should have no trouble stopping the next batch now.

  Just as Kiel was about to launch his finishing blow, the daggers stopped mid-air and changed their direction of movement away from Kiel.

  In that short moment, a brief sense of achievement and pride washed over him. The mage pulled back his daggers to avoid their destruction!

  …Until a potent thought flashed across his mind quieting all others - Elaru!

  His eyes quickly darted towards her, confirming his suspicions.

  The daggers weren’t retreating.