Heretic Spellblade 8, page 1
HERETIC SPELLBLADE 8
K.D. ROBERTSON
Copyright © 2024 by K.D. Robertson
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and events are the product of imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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CONTENTS
Maps
Character List
The Story So Far…
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Thanks for reading!
Also by K.D. Robertson
MAPS
The following page has a map for the immediate area of the story. Check out the link below for a detailed map of the entire archipelago that the series takes place in.
You can find the full versions at:
https://www.kdrobertsonbooks.com/heretic-spellblade-maps/
CHARACTER LIST
This epic fantasy series has a lot of characters, so this list gives a very brief bio of notable characters relevant to this book. Refer back as necessary.
NATHAN AND CHAMPIONS
Nathan von Straub—protagonist; Bastion; originally Nathan Martel; human; mid-30s; unkempt black hair
Jafeila “Fei”—three sapphire gems; cat beastkin; early 20s; trigem Champion in original world; long black hair, bushy black tail and cat ears, green eyes, very large bust and hips, wears a standard uniform
Sen—possessed by an ifrit; one sapphire gem; human; early 20s; Nathan’s Champion in original world; mid-length white hair that was originally brown, red eyes, wears a red coat over her uniform
Ciana—two diamond gems and an alexandrite gem; unicorn beastkin; early 20s; Nathan’s Champion in original world; platinum blonde ponytail, blue eyes, iridescent horn, horse’s tail and ears; lost an arm to the Messenger Artemis
Sunstorm—two onyx gems and a jade gem; human from Kurai; mid-20s; Nathan’s Champion in original world; spiky black hair, hazel eyes, olive skin; real name is Choe
Seraph—two jade gems and a sapphire gem; human from Kurai; late-30s; did not exist in Nathan’s original world; long black hair, olive skin, dark blue eyes; real name is Lia
Narime—three sapphire gems; mystic fox from Kurai; 300-400 years old; trigem Champion in original world; six silver fox tails, bright blue eyes, long silver hair and fox ears
Nurevia—three amethyst gems; dark elf; Nathan’s Champion in original world; masochistic; dark skin, long lavender hair, purple eyes, wears revealing outfits
Astra—three iridescent opal gems; dark elf; functionally immortal but somehow died in original world; dark skin, mid-length white ponytail, green eyes
Fyre—two garnet gems; horse beastkin; possessed by Kadria; channeling Omria’s power as prophet; wings, two spiral horns, long golden blonde hair, red eyes, horse’s tail and ears
Reine—two alexandrite gems; wolf beastkin; Imperial spymaster and Grand Inquisitor; has “divine” eyes of Omria; long black hair, golden wings replace her pupils and irises; black wolf ears and tail
Kara—two amethyst gems and a diamond gem; dog beastkin; long brown hair with droopy dog ears and tail; Fei’s friend and subordinate
Vala—two diamond gems and an amethyst gem; human; early 20s; one of Nathan’s trigems in the original world; originally Oliver’s Champion, but was captured by Nathan and chose to join him; messy dark brown hair, tall, muscly
Tarako—three blue zoisite (tanzanite) gems; mystic fox; 10,000+ years old; long bronze hair, nine bronze fox tails and bronze fox ears
ANFANG EMPIRE
Alice von Arangar—Empress; Nathan’s wife; long golden blonde hair, dark brown eyes
Anna von Clair—Archduchess; Nathan’s wife; long dirty blonde hair
Gorthal von Arangar—former Emperor for the past 40+ years; Alice’s maternal grandfather and head of the Arangar family
Leopold Tyrim—deceased; Bastion and Emperor Gorthal’s right-hand man; helped raise Ciana and Alice; giant of a man with silvered hair
Maylis Suorne—deceased; Bastion and head of the Royal Knights until her betrayal
Hans von Milgar—Archduke; Alice’s paternal grandfather
Tharban von Straub—Count and Bastion; Nathan’s father in this world; leader of the Nationalist rebel; currently under Nathan’s control; bear of a man; deceased
Otto von Salms—Archduke; former supporter of the Nationalist rebels; now a reliable ally of Alice and Nathan but has political leanings to the Crusader faction
Lotte von Allesburg—last survivor of the Allesburg archducal family; 14 years old
Torneus—former regent of the Amica Federation, currently an administrator under Anna
Harrum Auerswald—Grand Imperial Sorcerer of the Imperial Sorcerer’s Lodge; Nathan’s lead researcher
Vera Nair—Bastion and sorceress; was Nathan’s apprentice previously; long red hair
Mae—Leopold’s former Champion; possesses divine eyes that can suppress magic; wears a mask to cover her strange eyes
Griem—trigem Champion of Kaufberg; three diamonds; deceased
The Hound—deceased; Maylis’s trigem Champion; trigem ability can permanently cripple someone’s magic, bypassing all resistances
Gareth Pike—Bastion and highly talented sorcerer; obsessed with magic; was Nathan’s mentor in the original world, but died; formerly of Falmir but has defected to the Anfang Empire
Beth—Gareth’s Champion; three diamond gems; short, burly woman who protects Gareth
Erica Reed—Gareth’s Champion; three moonstone gems; an assassin
HOLY KINGDOM OF FALMIR
Princess Charlotte—oldest remaining child of Falmir’s royal family; channeling Omria’s power as a prophet through unknown means; her mind has been replaced by the Messenger Sofia’s; long curly brown hair, extraordinarily beautiful, extremely large chest
Prince Maxwell—heir to Falmir’s throne as the sole surviving son
Oliver Martel—Bastion; Nathan’s alternative self in this world; oddly incompetent and babied by Charlotte; deceased
Adam Martel—Bastion and earl; human; late 40s; Oliver’s father and Nathan’s father in his old world; a staunch republican and opposed to the monarchy, but is loyal to Falmir
Lily—one of Adam’s Champions; two garnet gems; highly skilled warrior who defends Adam and commands his armies; helped raise Nathan in his original world
Veronica—one of Adam’s Champions; two ruby gems; talented sorceress and spymaster; helped raise Nathan in his original world
ORDER OF TRAFAUMH
Inquisitor Baudelaire—secret leader of the Inquisition and member of the Regal Council; secretly experiments on beastkin to create the divine eyes; turned Trafaumh into a dictatorship in the original world; deceased
Mary de Rosewald—Marquise; rules a border county near the Pearlescent Canyon
Deverese Monet—Bastion; was Nathan’s friend and rival in the original world; has betrayed Trafaumh and sided with Sofia
Dominic—Bastion of Soreaux; has one of Trafaumh’s two trigem Champions; was a traitor working with Bauer and Beatrice for months; deceased
Ester—Deverese’s Champion; two diamond gems; escaped Deverese
Ysabelle—Deverese’s Champion; two ruby gems
REPUBLIC OF ARCADIA
Tarkan Al’Dafian—elven merchant who is also a spy and smuggler; Nathan “convinced” him to help; is currently in the Spires
Darman Al’Dafian—Arcadian ambassador to the Empire; Tarkan’s brother
MESSENGERS
Kadria—the Messenger who defeated Nathan in his world and brought him to this one; extremely powerful; succubus; bronzed skin, long black hair, wears very little clothing
The Twins, Laura and Maura—a pair of Messengers who latched onto Nathan’s mind like parasites when he jumped worlds; currently bound to Nathan’s will; succubi; bronzed skin, inhumanly curvy, a little dumb
Thanatos—a Messenger from Japan with serious chuunibyou issues; defeated by Nathan in the Spires, but
Siv—the Messenger who destroyed Kurai, as well as the Empire in the original world; uses elemental powers
Beatrice—a Messenger working with Charlotte for unknown reasons; is a succubus with complete control over her appearance; currently inactive
Artemis—an elite Messenger that works for the “partner” of the outer being that controls the other Messengers; looks identical to Fei and appears to be a Messenger version of her from an alternate version of Nathan’s former world; undead
Bauer—an elite Messenger with deeply misanthropic views and powerful mental magic; is described by a certain fox as a “dandy”; currently inactive
Sofia—a former Messenger who fled and created Omria and the prophet system, and has fought to escape her former employer tens of millennia; has overwritten Charlotte’s mind and body
THE STORY SO FAR…
This is a summary of the first seven books of the series. Feel free to skip to Chapter 1 if you don’t need a recap.
Heretic Spellblade 1
Nathan Martel is the greatest Bastion of the Kingdom of Falmir, with the trigems Jafeila, Narime, and Vala serving him. Doumahr is nearly destroyed, with Falmir the sole remaining country. Overnight, the demonic Messenger Kadria attacks and destroys his headquarters, killing everyone he loves.
When he confronts her in an attempt to take her with him, she instead offers him a deal. A chance to travel to an alternate world (which he mistakenly believes is time travel), before demons laid waste to Doumahr, and create a perfect world. He accepts the offer.
In the new world, Nathan is now Nathan Straub, a newly trained Bastion in service to the Anfang Empire and son of Tharban von Straub, an infamous and brutal Bastion who wishes to overthrow the Emperor. Within months, the Empire will fall if Nathan doesn’t stop it, as the Messenger Siv will break through on the eastern border.
Nathan’s goal is to establish himself as a Bastion, claim binding stones to grant him power, train new Champions, and find the source of the invasion. He gathers multiple Champions that he loved from his old world: Jafeila (now called Fei), Sen, and Sunstorm. He also forges an alliance with the local countess, Anna von Clair, and the Emperor’s right-hand man and Bastion, Leopold Tyrim.
Once Nathan learns that the Amica Federation is attempting to cause the demonic invasion, his priority becomes stopping them. He defeats the bandits disrupting the leylines, which caused the invasion in his world. Following this, he fends off a demonic assault on the portal at Gharrick Pass, his main stronghold and binding stone, and defeats the Federation’s siege. He then counterattacks the Federation and captures their forward base, Fort Taubrum. Seraph, the duogem Champion behind everything, surrenders and agrees to serve Nathan.
Heretic Spellblade 2
Following the skirmish with the Federation, Nathan finds himself managing peace negotiations with High Lord Torneus, who is the de facto leader of the Federation and effectively a dictator. In Nathan’s old world, Torneus seized complete control of the Federation, went mad with power, and brought down all of eastern Doumahr when he was ousted. Nathan needs to remove Torneus from power without causing a massive demonic invasion that will destroy millions of lives and half the world.
As the Empire is already at war with their northern neighbor, the religious Order of Trafaumh, there is little interest in a second war. Princess Alice Arangar, the Emperor’s granddaughter, and also the granddaughter of Archduke von Milgar, one of the most powerful nobles in the Empire, arrives to handle negotiations. She has a reputation as an unmarriable tomboy, but swiftly falls in love with Nathan.
Nathan meets the alternate world version of Narime, who helps him negotiate for peace but doesn’t trust him. The negotiations go poorly, as Torneus actively sabotages any attempt at peace and insults everyone involved, before getting into a verbal brawl with Nathan. War is inevitable.
Immediately afterward, a cascade is triggered in the dark elf Aurelian Spires to the north, which causes demonic invasions in every portal along the border between the Empire and Federation. A new pair of Messengers, the Twins Maura and Laura, attack Nathan at Gharrick Pass. They are the first recorded Messenger invasion in this world’s history since Kurai was destroyed 20 years ago by the Messenger Siv.
Nathan defeats the Twins with Leopold’s help. Afterward, he learns that the Twins are effectively parasites inside his mind, along with Kadria, who brought him here. All three Messengers are succubi, who specialize in mental magic. The Twins are squatting in his mind but are largely harmless unless invading.
Before war ensures with the Federation, the dark elves arrive and blame Torneus for causing the cascade. They offer to help the Empire seize the Federation with their military might in exchange for Torneus. Nathan accepts and hatches a plan to threaten and bribe other nobles in the Federation to abandon Torneus, enabling him to sneak in and capture Torneus, ending the war before it even starts.
On the way to capture Torneus, Nathan battles and recruits Narime, who confesses her love for him. Nathan then defeats the Bastion defending Torneus, before confronting the High Lord himself. Torneus doesn’t try to bring down the Federation this time, and instead accepts his loss over drinks with Nathan, while implying that he views Nathan as the son he wished he could have had, but never found the time for due to his focus on politics.
In the aftermath, the Empire annexes the Federation, Anna becomes a duke, and Nathan is a war hero. Torneus is delivered to the Spires.
Heretic Spellblade 3
The Empire declares peace with Trafaumh following its victory over the Federation, and Nathan travels to the capital for the political ceremony along with Anna. His father, Tharban, leads a political faction called the Nationalists that oppose the peace treaty and works with the Kingdom of Falmir to sabotage it. They attempt to assassinate Anna but fail.
Nathan recruits multiple new Champions. Ciana, his unicorn bodyguard from his old world; Fyre, a beastkin obsessed with Nathan from the Federation; and many more to protect his new portals and binding stones. His father’s dark elf Champion, Nurevia, also taunts and teases him.
Following the cascade, the Spires invites the Empire to send a delegation, which Nathan leads. Once there, he meets Astra, the legendary trigem with the power of immortality. Not long after his visit, a dark elf Bastion attempts a coup but is stopped by Nathan and Astra. The ruling dark elves send Astra away with Nathan, worried that she might be used against them by another Bastion in another coup.
Back in the Empire’s capital, the Emperor’s health worsens, creating a succession crisis. Alice can’t succeed him without changing the constitution, because she’s also the granddaughter of an archduke, but the Nationalists are trying to appoint a puppet emperor that would drive Doumahr to the brink of ruin. Nathan stops an attempt by Tharban to overthrow the sick Emperor, but knows that it’s only a matter of time before civil war. Nurevia switches sides and joins Nathan during the attack.
When civil war breaks out, a Messenger attacks the Spires at the same time. Nathan chooses to stop the Messenger, risking the collapse of the Empire. He battles and defeats Thanatos, who is the Messenger who destroyed Trafaumh in Nathan’s old world, and vastly more powerful than almost every other Messenger. Only the help of the Twins and Astra lets Nathan win. Afterward, he suppresses another coup in the Spires.
But back in the Empire, Fyre has revealed that she’s the prophet of Omria, the one goddess of Doumahr, and has the power to prove it.
Heretic Spellblade 4
Civil war rages across the Empire and Nathan is the commander-in-chief of those loyal to the Emperor. The archdukes who started the civil war are slain by Tharban, who is working with Falmir, but the reason is to keep Falmir out of the war for longer and let Tharban lead the Nationalist faction with Falmir’s backing. Nathan’s first love, Falmir’s Princess Charlotte, is revealed to be the mastermind and far crueler than she was in Nathan’s world.
