Trials, p.1
Trials, page 1
Eternal Dominion Book 19
Trials
Bern Dean
Bern's Books LLC
Copyright © 2023 Bern's Book LLC
All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Cover design by: ebooklaunch.com
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Books in Review.
Morning March 31 to Evening April 3, 2268 & ED Year 6, Days 43-54.
Morning April 4 to Evening April 19, 2268 & ED Year 6 Days 56-102.
Morning April 20 to Evening April 28, 2268 & ED Year 6 Days 103-129.
Morning April 29 to Evening May 3, 2268 & ED Year 6 Days 130-144.
Morning May 4 to Evening May 8, 2268 & ED Year 6 Days 145-157.
ED Year 6 Days 158-159.
Morning May 9 to Evening May 13, 2268 & ED Year 6 Days 160-174.
Thanks!
Afterword.
Books in Review.
As always, I like to do these every three books, but I also don’t want 20 pages of review, so if you need to refresh your memory on books 1-12 book 13 has got you covered. Now as always these are not complete and if they are all you are reading of my prior books you are going to be lost at points. They are meant to simply jog your memory before you sit down to enjoy the latest of my works.
Book 13.
Book 13 sees Xeal/Alex and his companions dealing with both issues in reality and the world of Eternal Dominion. First, they finally complete locating the last of the phoenixes and obtaining their marks as they learn a bit more about the lore of them. Alongside that we have the first group of dwarves arriving as they begin to take up residence in the kobold-infested mines they call Ginlodur. With that handled, time passes as they celebrate a few birthdays while each of Xeal’s four NPC wives get closer and closer to their due date.
Meanwhile in reality, Anna and Dan are starting to get serious about each other as it comes out that life as a celebrity’s little sister isn’t as fun as one might think. Especially when it seems everyone wants to get closer to her to get to Alex and she wants to avoid it all after the year ends. So, a deal is made where the school will allow Anna and her friend Lauren to complete their senior year remotely. However, this also requires FAE to present multiple times a year on the various aspects of ED, with the first one being before the current school year was set to end.
During said presentation it becomes clear that not all those in attendance are willing to ignore Alex’s relationship choices as one student, Brianna Anderson, takes it upon herself to confront him during the Q&A. While her actions are handled as best as they can be, it becomes clear that some movements are occurring behind the scenes as they prep for an exposition the following day for all high school students 16 and up. Ignoring the protests in the front and the questions from the press that are clearly out to make Alex look bad if given a chance, the event proceeds as smoothly as can be expected. With his role fulfilled, Alex takes a moment to visit Mr. Carter, who is still trying to sell his home before Sam’s due date as they enjoy a bit of relaxation before it is time to leave once more. While there, Ava, Mia and Kate decide that they should at least say hi to the Juns, even if they expect a poor reception. Once there what follows is a bit of a surprise for Alex, especially as Ava and Mia seemingly make Mrs. Jun short circuit by hugging her before they leave.
Once back in Colorado, Alex is surprised to receive a call from the school as Brianna Anderson is essentially forced to apologize to him. During this Alex can tell that she is in a bit of distress and among other things learns of her father, a local preacher, having fathered more than one child out of wedlock behind her mother’s back. Feeling slightly guilty over his role in exposing her father, due to him pushing her and others to cause Alex issues, Alex attempts to comfort her and offers to help her discover who her siblings are if she so wishes. With the call over and many things on his mind, Alex returns to the never-ending grind of reaching the top of Eternal Dominion.
Book 14.
The time has come and Alex/Xeal’s children come one after another, as Xander, Maki, Xin and Ellis are born to Enye, Mari, Lingxin and Dyllis in Eternal Dominion. Following these events, Xeal finds himself needing to quickly complete his tier-6 ordeal. Only as he works to complete the task of rescuing the princess from the grasp of an evil noble, Xeal finds himself being confronted by the main system’s AI through the very princess he needs to rescue. Through these interactions, Xeal receives several revelations as well as questions that he may never get an answer to, as he puts them to the side and focuses on completing his ordeal. Upon reaching the conclusion of his ordeal, Xeal finds himself receiving a quest that would involve himself returning to the world in which his tier-6 ordeal took place. While the exact details are unknown, Xeal knows that he can’t simply ignore this quest as if he does, it could have ramifications beyond what he saw as acceptable due to the nature of it.
Still, Alex/Xeal was able to put the quest to the side as it would be a while before the rest of the participants would be selected. So, after the announcement of the start of the arena leagues, he returns his focus to his family, both in reality and in ED. This includes the family and friends who have arrived to celebrate the upcoming births of Sam’s and Nicole’s daughters. This sees Alex interacting with those whom he barely remembers from his last life, whom he has no real desire to reconnect with, but accepts that Sam, Nicole, Dan, Fred and Amanda still have connections to them. As such he does his best to be a gracious host while still keeping his distance as much as practical, even if he still ends up snapping at a few of them.
Finally, Alex finds himself with Sam and Nicole as they go into labor and deliver their daughters within hours of each other, but still separated by the stroke of midnight. As they are resting and recovering, the biotech nanite-enhanced stem cells are administered to babies Ahsa and Moyra as all three parents receive a booster for theirs. Alex just smiles as he knew that it was these cells that were responsible for allowing people to interface with many technologies, to include the VR equipment that makes Eternal Dominion possible.
Book 15.
Home from the hospital and all the visitors gone, Alex/Xeal and company return to daily life as they adjust to dealing with the new arrivals. This includes the start of the first arena league, his first anniversaries of being married in ED, the preparations for the marriage meeting between Nium’s nobles and the beast-men tribes and more. All of which kept them all busy as they focused on advancing deeper into the Vault of Ucnuc as they begin to encounter vampires and begin to discover how their society is organized.
Life continues like this as Alex/Xeal begins to find himself truly opening himself to Ava, Mia and Kate as he watches them interact with his daughters. As he begins to take the next steps with Ava and Mia, his birthday arrives and with it a visit from Kate’s father, Jasper, and mother, Catherine, as they inform Kate’s parents of their desire to have Kate removed from the Astor family before marrying Alex. Jasper agrees far too easily for Alex’s liking as he wonders if, being the habitual plotter that the man is, Jasper doesn’t have some other intent behind his actions.
Still, life moves on as Alex’s mom delivers her son, Alex’s younger brother Andy, and the beast-men and nobles’ marriage meeting occurs. Following the completion of the marriage meeting, Xeal’s NPC wives all return to their training as they work to reach tier-7 before war grips the continent. As they do so, the dwarven Princess Dafasli joins them, having reached tier-5 since arriving in the mines beneath Darefret’s forge.
With Cielo city’s return fast approaching, the rest of ED’s players seem to be focused on securing the slots that are being distributed through a guild-only competition. Meanwhile, FAE, Salty Dogs, Fire Oath and Dragon Legion all simply need to select the members they wish to become dragonoids from their own ranks. As such when the time arrives and Cielo city returns to being accessible to the few players selected, Xeal aids in guiding the super guilds’ players there.
Finally with that complete, Xeal finds himself negotiating a deal with both Habia and Paidhia concerning the situation with the inevitable war. As Xeal works to secure a deal that ensures certain lines will not be crossed, he finds himself being saddled with two more princesses. Only he just smiles as he hands them over to Enye’s master, Zylah Novy, for a year of training as he puts off the mandatory time he must spend with each until they return.
Book 16.
With Princess Lorena and Princess Bianca off with Enye’s master, Zylah Novy, Alex/Xeal settles back into life as usual. At least for a short moment as life seems to fly by, as Ava and Mia declare that they are pregnant and Kate’s family is making things difficult. Frustratingly for Xeal, the issues with Kate’s family make it so that it is no longer possible for FAE and Fire Oath to remain on friendly terms and the ending of their deals becomes rather more messy than he would like. At the same time, FAE has begun to recruit wealthy players who wish to obtain the dragonoid race for themselves to replace part of the revenue lost from their dealings with Fire Oath as Cielo city returns once again. Though each of these players will need to wait a full year in ED as they will be trained to succeed by FAE’s members during that time.
Follo wing this, Xeal continues his push to clear the Vault of Ucnuc. All the while keeping tabs on the countdown as one player after another is selected for the Quest for Godhood that Xeal received upon completing his tier-6 ordeal. This quest will have Xeal facing off against 64 other players to gain complete control of this other world. For this it appears as if each player will be based out of a city that has yet to fall to the demonic swarm that has infected the world as a whole. Thereby causing Xeal to find himself reunited with Princess Tsega and Austru once again, as Austru makes her desires towards Xeal known.
Thus, with a whole new world to focus his efforts on, Xeal finds his focus split between his efforts in the main ED world, and the struggle in this new quest world and reality. Culminating in Xeal’s first victory over another player in the quest world and the assimilation of a second city-state, Xeal finally officially proposes to Kate and Thanksgiving comes. With the arrival of Ava and Mia’s estranged mother, mixed in with all the other guests, one thing is certain, Alex/Xeal’s life is always interesting.
Book 17.
With Thanksgiving morning handled, Alex and company find themselves navigating the rocky family relationships that seems to come with dating five women at once, in reality at least. Thankfully all of them have long since learned to grin and bear it, at least for the most part as Ava and Mia’s wounds towards their mother are still fresh. Though it is clear that they still care, even if they are unsure if they wish for her to be back in their lives in any meaningful way.
Meanwhile, in ED Xeal is dealing with the return of Princesses Bianca and Lorena as he finds them vastly changed by their time away with Zylah. Still, tension is the nicest word that Xeal can use to describe the relationship between them and Enye, as the time has come for Xeal to start making good on his required time spent with each of the princesses.
Back in reality and with Christmas quickly approaching, Alex and most of those who live with him in Colorado once more find themselves in California as they prepare for Amanda and Fred’s wedding. Though before that, Alex has a Christmas gift for Ava and Mia as he asks them to wear a ring from him and become his fourth and fifth fiancées in reality. With their happy acceptance mixed in with a bit of teasing, all that remains is to see the legislation, that Kate has been pushing behind the scenes, passed for Alex to marry all five of them. Though there are a few weddings to take care of before that, the first of which is the aforementioned one between Fred and Amanda that happens just days after Christmas.
Following that New Year’s comes and goes with Alex and Kate celebrating officially knowing each other in reality for a full year in a rather intimate manner. Shortly after the new year, it was once more time for Alex and his group to visit his old high school for another of the FAE presentations on finding success in the VR gaming industry. Once that is complete, Alex and company happily return to Colorado and resume their focus on clearing the Vault of Ucnuc.
With the prep work complete and everything as ready as Xeal can make it, he leads the massive force of players into the Vault of Ucnuc and against the vampires within. They advance through one floor after another and seal each as they get closer and closer to their goal, while suffering heavy losses as they reach floors well above their current levels. As the struggle continues, Xeal eventually finds his party facing off against a corpse demon as he fights to seal the last floor while vampires threaten to overwhelm the remainder of his other forces. Thankfully with the trump cards that Taya brings from her connection with Eba the nature phoenix and Lucida brings with her connection to Brangwen the shadow phoenix, they are able to overcome the challenge.
At least that is what they thought as Xeal calls on Queen Alia Lorafir and hands her a drop of Brangwen’s blood for a bit of insurance, as they dive into the area beneath the Vault of Ucnuc. It is there that they learn of the dark secret that lies behind not only the Vault of Ucnuc, but Bula’s line and access to the sight as well, as they meet one of the sources of vampirism, the undying orc Ucnuc himself. As tensions build, words of anger are exchanged as Bula unloads her pent-up anger at her ancestor and the source of it all, the demonic god of predictions, Laplace himself, shows up. Tensions build as Xeal tries to figure out a way to overcome the circumstances without triggering an end game quest, but coming up empty as he focuses on talking his way out if the situation.
As things look like they will end up going a terrible direction, Daryu, the ED developer who has been tasked with monitoring Xeal, arrives. Claiming that to go any farther would threaten to create a situation that ED is not equipped to handle at the current time, he anticlimactically ends the situation in a way that leaves none of those involved happy. Though Kate is able to secure a path for Bula to go from accessing the sight through Laplace to doing so through Freya, if the goddess is willing to accept her. Thus ending the struggles in the Vault of Ucnuc with Ucnuc escaping to threaten them another day, but Xeal still manages to collect the last of the shards of the shattered blade. Although, until he finds an adamantium-level smith to repair it, it will do him little good.
Finally, Xeal finds himself preparing to make the final push to reach tier-7 as he breaks away from the rest of the team that he had cleared the Vault of Ucnuc with and forms a much smaller party. Included in this party is Eira, who is more than happy to once more get a chance to catch him as her birthday arrives once again. This time, unlike the times before, Xeal finds it a true struggle and fails to avoid her as she succeeds and they are married directly after in a small and intimate ceremony.
Book 18.
With the Vault of Ucnuc firmly in the rearview mirror, Xeal and company are firmly focused on reaching tier-7 before war comes to Nium. Though before that, they find themselves having to deal with the fallout from the revelations of Bula’s access to the sight and the fact that Durz and Chief Xuk seem unwilling to accept change. As Bula accepts Freya, a battle breaks out which is only contained due to Queen Aila Lorafir’s assistance. Following this, to pacify the horde of orcs, Bula declares Xeal to be the future orc chief and her their seer in a manner that makes it seem as if Xeal will take her as a wife.
While this succeeds in salvaging Nium’s current alliance with the orcs, it causes a whole host of other issues. Along with the revelation that the cleric Lucy, who has joined his party, is the divine scion of Aceso, Xeal finds his time filled with headaches as he tries to balance everything at once, only to feel overwhelmed. Upon learning that the women he loves have been trying to overload him, Xeal retreats to the quest world to clear his head. While he understood the why, it still hurt as he finds himself spending time with Austru as that relationship moves forward and Xeal decides to mark her. With that Xeal returns to Nium to add Austru’s blood to the revival point there, only to find Gale waiting for him as Freya summons Xeal to her.
A rather tense exchange later and Xeal uses his ability to transfer between worlds to make his way back to the quest world despite Freya not being done with him. With that Xeal spends a bit more time with Austru as they fight some demons together and eventually part ways as Xeal retunes to clear the air with those he loves. A productive meeting later and Xeal is feeling much better about things, but still has a few extra headaches to deal with before he can say that everything is handled. Still, time moves on as Xeal preps for another battle in the quest world.
Meanwhile, in reality, life has been continuing as normal as Ava and Mia get ever closer to their due date, but before that Alex has a meeting with Eternal Dominion’s lead developer, Ellayina Walsh. All to try and gain a quantum-entangled server for the FAE guild city that is planned for Wyoming. Through a bit of luck Alex is able to secure a second meeting with more of those who would need to be involved in any such decision, clearing the first hurdle. Though there will be several more before Alex will rest easy on the notion.
