Stand Where We Cannot
In a world where magic is measured and prayer is obsolete, faithless swordsman Elias Renn survives a bridge collapse by speaking words he swore to forget. When the miracle draws investigators and a hidden religious order, Elias must learn what answered him before they decide what he has become.
The chapter shelf
Read from the beginning
- 01The Prayer He Buried
3,771 words
The inspection lens flashed red before Elias had both boots across the threshold. The checkpoint clerk glanced at the result suspended above its brass…
- 02Witnesses
24 words
Elias wakes in a checkpoint treatment room with his shoulder reset and both hands bandaged. His sword, coat, and ruined gloves have been removed.
A glimpse inside
The Prayer He Buried
The inspection lens flashed red before Elias had both boots across the threshold. The checkpoint clerk glanced at the result suspended above its brass frame, then tapped the side of the lens with one fingernail. The symbols blurred, rearranged themselves, and settled into the same configuration. “No natural capacity,” she said, recording the result in her ledger.
Elias shifted his weight, “That is correct.”
Her gaze moved from the empty reading to the sword at his hip. “A hired guard without magic. That is less common.”
“The east gate said the same,” Elias replied, resting a hand lightly near the…
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