
by S.nuffles
By virtue of war's nature, war itself is not moral or immoral. Killing is killing. But if you want to make yourself feel better about it, remember these two things. If you can kill the enemy to rescue a friend, kill the enemy. If you have a reason to fight, go to any lengths to achieve it. That is all I can say, Iris. That is fundamentally all I have to teach you. In a world where Spirits and Humans are fundamentally divided, Iris finds herself balancing along that thin line. She holds the intelligence and understanding of a human, while toying with the magic of Spirits. And she isn't the only one. She joins a scattered and secretive league of mercenaries under the wings of Evalyn Hardridge, the strongest being on the planet. Terrorists, war and espionage threaten to kick down the cage of society they are tasked with guarding, while a collective will of the people yearn for a world less cruel. Within her is an absolute power that few can have, and only one can rival. As she struggles to understand the power that defines her, and attempts to bring her own meaning to the name 'Iris', the world around her tugs at her strings, manipulating her for their own means. While she travels across the continent, from autocracy to dictatorship to anarchist state, the nations sneer at each other, ready to clash Aether against Diesel, and Iris stands in the center, on the cusp of a new era. What to Expect: Something new and refreshing. Character, story, theme and philosophy come before magic systems and world building. This is a story that questions characters, their world, our world, and you. Minor gore, nothing more than gunshot wounds, strong lovable characters and intricate politics. _____________________________________________________ Art by (Instagram) @lakelyn._ © S.nuffles 2022
| # | Title | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chapter 1 Part 1: Iris | 0 |
| 2 | Chapter 1 Part 2: A City to Stave Off the Night | 0 |
| 3 | Interlude: The Fortress Nation | 0 |
| 4 | Chapter 1 Part 3: The Thing in Her Ear | 0 |
| 5 | Chapter 2 Part 1: Coming Home to Roost | 0 |
| 6 | Chapter 2 Part 2: International Incident | 0 |
| 7 | Chapter 2 Part 3: Intruder | 0 |
| 8 | Chapter 2 Part 4: This is a Gun | 0 |
| 9 | Chapter 2 Part 5: The Steel Whale | 0 |
| 10 | Chapter 2 Part 6: King of the Skies | 0 |
| 11 | Chapter 3 Part 1: When Leaving the Nest | 0 |
| 12 | Interlude: Their Place on the Throne | 0 |
| 13 | Chapter 3 Part 2: Purple Gas | 0 |
| 14 | Chapter 3 Part 3: The Men in the Grey Coats | 0 |
| 15 | Chapter 3 Part 4: When the City has Eyes | 0 |
| 16 | Chapter 3 Part 5: At Her Mercy | 0 |
| 17 | Chapter 3 Part 6: S.S.T.U.D | 0 |
| 18 | Chapter 4 Part 1: Rivalry | 0 |
| 19 | Chapter 4 Part 2: Mountains or Dandelions | 0 |
| 20 | Chapter 4 Part 3: Warzone | 0 |
| 21 | Chapter 4 Part 4: Autocracy and Truck Theft | 0 |
| 22 | Chapter 4 Part 5: State your Purpose | 0 |
| 23 | Chapter 4 Part 6: Memories in Martial Law | 0 |
| 24 | Interlude: Marital Contract | 0 |
| 25 | Chapter 5 Part 1: Home for a Moment | 0 |
| 26 | Chapter 5 Part 2: The Siege of Salan Court | 0 |
| 27 | Chapter 5 Part 3: Conviction and Combustion | 0 |
| 28 | Chapter 5 Part 4: The Court of the Beast | 0 |
| 29 | Chapter 5 Part 5: What Could Have Been | 0 |
| 30 | Chapter 6: The Laws of the Woman Named Evalyn Hardridge | 0 |
| 31 | Interlude: Next Journey | 0 |
| 32 | Interlude: That Voice Inside my Head | 0 |
| 33 | Interlude: Senior Captain Elliot Maxwell | 0 |
| 34 | Interlude: Hell and Back | 0 |
| 35 | Interlude: Business as Usual | 0 |
| 36 | Interlude: Rememberance | 0 |
| 37 | Chapter 7 Part 1: Humour | 0 |
| 38 | Chapter 7 Part 2: Keep it a Secret | 0 |
| 39 | Chapter 7 Part 3: Bring Your Wife to Work Day | 0 |
| 40 | Chapter 7 Part 4: For the Crown | 0 |
| 41 | Chapter 7 Part 5: Floating Ballrooms, Dancing on Thin Lines | 0 |
| 42 | Chapter 8 Part 1: Dance Shoes off the Stage | 0 |
| 43 | Chapter 8 Part 2: The Ash Man | 0 |
| 44 | Interlude: Twenty Bullets | 0 |
| 45 | Interlude: Wonder Duo | 0 |
| 46 | Interlude: Iris Remembers I | 0 |
| 47 | Interlude: Compression Engines | 0 |
| 48 | Chapter 8 Part 3: Mind Palace | 0 |
| 49 | Interlude: Bluey | 0 |
| 50 | Chapter 8 Part 4: Lost Things in the Desert | 0 |
| 51 | Interlude: Bluey II | 0 |
| 52 | Chapter 8 Part 5: City Drifter | 0 |
| 53 | Interlude: Lt. Gen and the Beautiful Woman | 0 |
| 54 | Interlude: Iris Remembers II | 0 |
| 55 | Chapter 8 Part 6: Wishful Thinking | 0 |
| 56 | Interlude: Words That Don't Make Sense | 0 |
| 57 | Chapter 9 Part 1: Desert Heat or Aerilian Fire | 0 |
| 58 | Chapter 9 Part 2: Agent Maxwell | 0 |
| 59 | Interlude: Meat Eaters | 0 |
| 60 | Chapter 9 Part 3: Until the Day Utopia Begins | 0 |
| 61 | Interlude: The last of Percy Hardridge | 0 |
| 62 | Interlude: Rebellions have Armies | 0 |
| 63 | Chapter 9 Part 4: Welcome to Workar Tower | 0 |
| 64 | Chapter 10 Part 1: Permission Granted | 0 |
| 65 | Chapter 10 Part 2: Kurael's Final Day | 0 |
| 66 | Interlude: SNB News Seven o'clock | 0 |
| 67 | Chapter 10 Part 3: The Small God | 0 |
| 68 | Chapter 10 Part 4: The Currency of the World | 0 |
| 69 | Chapter 11 Part 1: His Brass Knuckles | 0 |
| 70 | Chapter 11 Part 2: New Memories | 0 |
| 71 | Chapter 11 Part 3: Fleeing Suspect | 0 |
| 72 | Interlude: All Our Spies are Dead | 0 |
| 73 | Chapter 11 Part 4: I need a Drink | 0 |
| 74 | Chapter 11 Part 5: Alis, the Live Grenade | 0 |
| 75 | Chapter 12 Part 1: Unknown Variable | 0 |
| 76 | Chapter 12 Part 2: Furnace Eyes | 0 |
| 77 | Chapter 12 Part 3: The East EGL | 0 |
| 78 | Chapter 12 Part 4: One Hundred and Four | 0 |
| 79 | Chapter 13 Part 1: None the Wiser | 0 |
| 80 | Chapter 13 Part 2: A Fake of a Fake | 0 |
| 81 | Interlude: Returning home | 0 |
| 82 | Chapter 13 Part 3: Knocking at the Border | 0 |
| 83 | Chapter 13 Part 4: For What it's Worth | 0 |
| 84 | Chapter 14 Part 1: Only Gods Can | 0 |
| 85 | Chapter 14 Part 2: To Eat Your Own Tail | 0 |
| 86 | Chapter 14 Part 3: Drawing the Line | 0 |
| 87 | Chapter 14 Part 4: The View She Fell in Love With | 0 |
| 88 | Chapter 15 Part 1: What The World Has Come To | 0 |
| 89 | Chapter 15 Part 2: Trust Me | 0 |
| 90 | Interlude: Escape | 0 |
| 91 | Interlude: Escape 2 | 0 |
| 92 | Chapter 15 Part 3: My Turn To Live | 0 |
| 93 | Chapter 15 Part 4: They Will Eat You Too | 0 |
| 94 | Chapter 15 Part 5: Better Than Anything | 0 |
| 95 | Chapter 16 Part 1: Don't Let Anything Stop You | 0 |
| 96 | Chapter 16 Part 2: A Letter a Month | 0 |
| 97 | Interlude: Iris Remembers III | 0 |
| 98 | Chapter 17 Part 1: Mark, Set, Ready | 0 |
| 99 | Chapter 17 Part 2: Sound the Sirens | 0 |
| 100 | Chapter 17 Part 3: A Familiar Dream | 0 |
| 101 | Chapter 17 Part 4: A Monument to Her Torment | 0 |
| 102 | Chapter 17 Part 5: Fly-like Payphone and Frog-like Statue | 0 |
| 103 | Chapter 17 Part 6: Ms Mallorine Needs her Drink | 0 |
| 104 | Chapter 18 part 1: Black Sheep | 0 |
| 105 | Chapter 18 Part 2: For a Uniform Pass | 0 |
| 106 | Chapter 18 Part 3: Ash in Snow | 0 |
| 107 | Chapter 18 Part 4: Differences | 0 |
| 108 | Chapter 18 Part 5: The Sigil Comes Closer | 0 |
| 109 | Chapter 19 Part 1: Is it worth it? | 0 |
| 110 | Chapter 19 Part 2: Clay Pigeon | 0 |
| 111 | Chapter 19 Part 3: Evidence | 0 |
| 112 | Chapter 19 Part 4: Code of Ethics | 0 |
| 113 | Chapter 19 Part 5: Dead Man Walking | 0 |
| 114 | Chapter 20 Part 1: Silent Words | 0 |
| 115 | Chapter 20 Part 2: To Be A Witch | 0 |
| 116 | Chapter 20 Part 3: Object of Intrigue | 0 |
| 117 | Chapter 20 Part 4: Tetrica | 0 |
| 118 | Chapter 21 Part 1: Rude Awakening | 0 |
| 119 | Chapter 21 Part 2: You. Know. Nothing. | 0 |
| 120 | Chapter 21 Part 3: Defense of the Realm | 0 |
| 121 | Chapter 21 Part 4: A Desperate Need for Hope | 0 |
| 122 | Chapter 22: Unspoken Bonds | 0 |
| 123 | Interlude: A Girl's Thoughts | 0 |
| 124 | Interlude: A Girl's Thoughts 2 | 0 |
| 125 | Chapter 23 Part 1: Blue and Green | 0 |
| 126 | Chapter 23 Part 2: A Sham in Every Sense | 0 |
| 127 | Chapter 23 Part 3: They Take Getting Used To | 0 |
| 128 | Chapter 23 Part 4: The Greatest Gift | 0 |
| 129 | Chapter 23 Part 5: The Perks of Being Oblivious | 0 |
| 130 | Interlude: You Have (Not) Changed | 0 |
| 131 | Interlude: You Have (Not) Changed II | 0 |
| 132 | Interlude: You Have (Not) Changed III | 0 |
| 133 | Chapter 24 Part 1: Schools of Thought | 0 |
| 134 | Chapter 24 Part 2: It Follows Her like a Rabid Dog | 0 |
| 135 | Chapter 24 Part 3: Violent Demonstration | 0 |
| 136 | Chapter 25 Part 1: Gauging Crisis | 0 |
| 137 | Chapter 25 Part 2: Handicapped | 0 |
| 138 | Chapter 25 Part 3: Threads That Slip | 0 |
| 139 | Chapter 25 Part 4: Summer Skies | 0 |
| 140 | Chapter 25 Part 5: For the Greater Good | 0 |
| 141 | Chapter 26 Part 1: A 'One Day' Sort of Thing | 0 |
| 142 | Chapter 26 Part 2: A Solutions Type of Guy | 0 |
| 143 | Chapter 26 Part 3: Round Two | 0 |
| 144 | Chapter 26 Part 4: And a Rapturous Clap Followed | 0 |
| 145 | Chapter 26 Part 5: Bad Omens | 0 |
| 146 | Chapter 27 Part 1: See Me As Human | 0 |
| 147 | Chapter 27 part 2: Hostage Exchange | 0 |
| 148 | Chapter 27 Part 3: Enemies in Our Own Borders | 0 |
| 149 | Chapter 27 Part 4: Two Points, One Line | 0 |
| 150 | Chapter 28 Part 1: Rebirth | 0 |
| 151 | Chapter 28 Part 2: Never Easy | 0 |
| 152 | Chapter 28 Part 3: Hotshot | 0 |
| 153 | Chapter 28 Part 4: Pretend That You Believe | 0 |
| 154 | Chapter 28 Part 5: If Skeletons Remain | 0 |
| 155 | Chapter 28 Part 6: Last Chances | 0 |
| 156 | Chapter 29 Part 1: To Those Who Push Us Forward | 0 |
| 157 | Chapter 29 part 2: We Don't Forget | 0 |
| 158 | Interlude: Thirteen | 0 |
| 159 | Interlude: Thirteen II | 0 |
| 160 | Interlude: Thirteen III | 0 |
| 161 | Chapter 30 Part 1: From Nothing | 0 |
| 162 | Chapter 30 Part 2: Talks of Little Importance | 0 |
| 163 | Chapter 30 Part 3: Eat Your Heart Out | 0 |
| 164 | Chapter 30 Part 4: She's Trying Her Best | 0 |
| 165 | Chapter 31 Part 1: No Substitute | 0 |
| 166 | Chapter 31 Part 2: The Crown In Her Head | 0 |
| 167 | Chapter 31 Part 3: No Better Way | 0 |
| 168 | Chapter 31 Part 4: Answers Just Out of Reach | 0 |
| 169 | Chapter 31 Part 5: Return on Investment | 0 |
| 170 | Chapter 32 Part 1: Field Trip | 0 |
| 171 | Chapter 32 Part 2: In Circles | 0 |
| 172 | Chapter 32 Part 3: Foreign Investment | 0 |
| 173 | Chapter 32 Part 4: Upstanding Citizen | 0 |
| 174 | Chapter 32 Part 5: Deserved or Not | 0 |
| 175 | Chapter 32 Part 6: In Place of Forgiveness | 0 |
| 176 | Chapter 33 Part 1: Poison Flower | 0 |
| 177 | Chapter 33 Part 2: Sanctum | 0 |
| 178 | Chapter 33 Part 3: Intersecting Lines | 0 |
| 179 | Chapter 33 Part 4: Necessity | 0 |
| 180 | Chapter 33 Part 5: When the Gauntlet Meets the Ground | 0 |
| 181 | Chapter 33 Part 6: Golden Opportunity | 0 |
| 182 | Chapter 33 Part 7: Behind Entropy | 0 |
| 183 | Chapter 33 Part 8: Not My Scars | 0 |
| 184 | Chapter 34 Part 1: Lost Past, Locked Future | 0 |
| 185 | Chapter 34 Part 2: Small Infinity | 0 |
| 186 | Chapter 34 Part 3: In Time, All Things | 0 |
| 187 | Interlude: Static | 0 |
| 188 | Chapter 35 Part 1: Years as Thin as Paper | 0 |
| 189 | Chapter 35 Part 2: Dream-like, Life-like | 0 |
| 190 | Chapter 35 Part 3: Liminal Lane | 0 |
| 191 | Chapter 35 Part 4: Constellations | 0 |
| 192 | Chapter 35 Part 5: Spectrum of Virtue | 0 |
| 193 | Chapter 36 Part 1: Forceful Favours | 0 |
| 194 | Chapter 36 Part 2: Flow of Information | 0 |
| 195 | Chapter 36 Part 3: From one Hand to Another | 0 |
| 196 | Chapter 36 Part 4: Fact, However Unwanted | 0 |
| 197 | Chapter 36 Part 5: Through Careless Fingers | 0 |
| 198 | Chapter 37 Part 1: Verge | 0 |
| 199 | Chapter 37 Part 2: Divided, Not Yet Conquered | 0 |
| 200 | Chapter 37 Part 3: Scripture | 0 |
| 201 | Chapter 37 Part 4: Death of Hope | 0 |
| 202 | Chapter 37 Part 5: Shattered Clock Face | 0 |
| 203 | Chapter 37 Part 6: Hills | 0 |
| 204 | Chapter 37 Part 7: Blueprints | 0 |
| 205 | Chapter 37 Part 8: Second Thoughts | 0 |
| 206 | Chapter 38 Part 1: Deals Rightly Unfavourable | 0 |
| 207 | Chapter 38 Part 2: Nature or Nurture | 0 |
| 208 | Chapter 38 Part 3: Broken Solitude | 0 |
| 209 | Chapter 38 Part 4: Changing Air | 0 |
| 210 | Chapter 38 Part 5: Everything's Turn, Everything's Time | 0 |
| 211 | Chapter 38 part 6: A Done Deal | 0 |
| 212 | Chapter 38 Part 7: Point of No Remorse | 0 |
| 213 | Chapter 38 Part 8: Tapeworm | 0 |
| 214 | Chapter 38 Part 9: Cuckoo | 0 |
| 215 | Chapter 38 Part 10: Disparity | 0 |
| 216 | Chapter 39 Part 1: A Rigged Game | 0 |
| 217 | Chapter 39 Part 2: Dream Come True | 0 |
| 218 | Chapter 39 Part 3: Breathe While You Still Can | 0 |
| 219 | Chapter 39 Part 4: Trust Bubble | 0 |
| 220 | Chapter 39 Part 5: Untimely Return | 0 |
| 221 | Chapter 39 Part 6: Hollow | 0 |
| 222 | Chapter 39 Part 7: The Greatest Excuse | 0 |
| 223 | Chapter 39 Part 8: You Will Be King | 0 |
| 224 | Chapter 39 Part 9: A Past to Call Her Own | 0 |
| 225 | Chapter 40 Part 1: King's Orders | 0 |
| 226 | Chapter 40 Part 2: The Familiar Backfoot | 0 |
| 227 | Chapter 40 Part 3: Poking the Mother Bear | 0 |
| 228 | Chapter 40 Part 4: To Commit All | 0 |
| 229 | Chapter 40 Part 5: Perhaps the Greatest Duty | 0 |
| 230 | Chapter 40 Part 6: My Everything | 0 |
| 231 | Chapter 40 Part 7: Lending More Than A Shoulder | 0 |
| 232 | Chapter 41 Part 1: Daydream | 0 |
| 233 | Chapter 41 Part 2: Long Live the King | 0 |
| 234 | Chapter 42 Part 1: Garden of Youth | 0 |
| 235 | Chapter 42 Part 2: In Essence | — |
| 236 | Chapter 42 Part 3: When You Ask for the Unthinkable | — |
| 237 | Chapter 42 Part 4: The Eyes of Hope | — |
| 238 | Chapter 42 Part 5: The Price Tag on Hope | — |
| 239 | Chapter 42 Part 6: Her Triumvirate | — |