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STORMWEAVER 3: Chapter 23 Sneak Peek
🕑 Added 2024-09-05 15:57:25 +0000 UTCI'm hoping to have this out to you guys tomorrow, but MIGHT have to be Saturday, sorry!
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CHAPTER 23
PLACEHOLDER
-PLACEHOLDER
“Okay. So I’m gonna try to lay this all out for us, and you’re going to stand there and tell me if I’ve got this gist of it. Deal?”
“Why do I feel like we’ve done this before…?”
“If we have, then it only adds to my point. Anyway: We get assigned not one, not two, but three S-Ranked trainers as a result of our sponsorship. Still very, very weird to say that out loud, by the way.”
“…Was there a question in there?”
“Don’t be dense. We get assigned three S-Ranked trainers, the leader of whom is the friggin’ Ivory Shield, of all people. She wants to train us as a squad. A full squad. Makes sense, right?”
“… Sure?”
“But there’s a problem. We’re down one. Our lovely resident hot head is in the hospital, has been for weeks, and we have no idea when she’s getting back on our feet. Correct?”
“Correct.”
“You learning. Proud of you. Now… The colonel has a decent plan. Pull Laquita Martin in, and have her fill for Viv until she can return to the team. Martin’s the best Duelist in our year, and has already been helping us in class, so why not? Seems like a decent fit.”
“I mean I wouldn’t call it a ‘good’ plan given Martin was—”
“Fine. An ‘okay’ plan. That’s not the point.”
“There’s a point?”
“Yes. And it’s that—somewhere in that mess—you and Aria come up with an idea. A crazy idea. A absolutely nuts idea.”
“Aria thought of it first, I just—”
“You just decided to walk all over Colonel Guest’s plan—the executive officer of the school’s plan—by putting it out into the universe.”
“Dude. It’s been half a month… Shouldn’t you be used to this by now?”
“Absolutely not. If anything I’ve spent two weeks in a constant state of shock. Time does not exist in this place.”
“Are you complaining?”
“About the years off my life this has taken? Most definitely. About the training opportunity? Hell no.”
“Then I don’t see the problem.”
“The problem, Rei, is that ninety percent of my day is starting to feel like a fever dream. One minute we’re coming back from Sectionals, and the next… well… we somehow ended up… here.”
“… Yes. Yes we did.”
Rei, like Catcher beside him, was standing in his combat suit with hands on hips, white hair tied back and head tilted to look up through the floor of the transparent hologram that made up the bottom of the Team Battle field. Having been FDAed first—Rei by von Bor and Catcher by Jetway—they’d already recalled Shido and Arthus respectively, and could now only wait for the fight to reach its inevitable conclusion. Near the south wall, Aria was in the process of trying to survive the second lieutenant’s careful assault. The Pawn-Class Lancer was shouting out feedback and occasional praise as she moved, slipping around Hippolyta’s shield as easily as the wind that occasionally ruffled the surface of the stream that bisected the Riverbank field variation. On the northeast side of the zone, in a thicket of trees, Logan had been lucky enough to meet up with Chancery before the Ivory Shield found them, the pair trying to use the heavy forest trunks around them to flank the woman.
It was the middle of the field, though, that Rei and Catcher couldn’t look away from.
The middle of the field, where Christopher Lennon—Ouroborus only partially called around his arms, and legs—was being properly pressed for the first time either of them had ever seen.
“Good use of both swords, Cadet!” Kalus Laurent was shouting as he drove the Lasher back pace after pace after pace. “Keep them moving! Yes! That’s it!”
Like Lennon—and the rest of the S-Ranks—while Aria’s brother wielded his weapon proper, his armor only covered his limbs, one of several measures the trainers had taken to level the playing field during most of their sessions. As a result, the sergeant major seemed only to be moving at roughly half speed to match his opponent’s own top end.
Which is still fast enough to make them hard to see, Rei admitted to himself with a sigh.
Comments
Karl Shlagel
Happy Saturday
Polaris
Just assume life is a closed position without any open diagonals and you’re good to go
Rasmus Salling
It is a bit of a personal chess statement that knight class is higher than bishop. Bishops are usually valued higher than knights unless the position favors them.
Shirley Jones
Thank you!!
Executive313
Calling back the Catcher summation is excellent and I hope it continues in future books.
Nahar
Correct. If I remember it goes Pawn, Bishop, Knight, Rook, King/Queen based on User gender
Shirley Jones
I can relate….
Shirley Jones
King and queen are equal rank and gender specific correct?
ABTelford
Yea thanks to me never playing chess I can’t keep the S rank names clear in my head either. Oh well. I just figure (screw it. S= strong and the story will tell me how strong.)
Shirley Jones
Thank you Nahar! That helps a little!!
Nahar
Spec ranks follow the 0-9 pattern. The User rank uses the chess pieces ranking. So Offense will go from A9 to S0 but Rei/Shido would go from A9 to S Rank Pawn class
Shirley Jones
Can someone explain about the S ranking to me. Does it go from S0 to S9 then into S pawn etc…. Or once you jump into S rank you go directly into S pawn??? I’m feeling really stupid here….
ABTelford
Thanks for the sneak peak! I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Linda Thompson
🤪😁
Raymond Lenihan
Check out Bruce's reply to my comment earlier on this post
Tim Kilgore
What surprises me is that there seems to be a huge jump between a9, which is what Lennon is and pawn class. Is that an accurate assessment?
Eric Edwards
I got a feeling this is building up to a huge cliff to throw us off of (i don't mind).Not to take away from the Lasher BUT... Viv... Viv... Viv... Viv
Bill Vaughan
While I’m always a fan of the tease 😈 I’d much prefer the classic Bryce cliffhanger. Can’t wait to see the challenge Christopher “The Lasher” Lennon can’t deal with.
Iaxys
The lack of an identifier is intentional, I believe. It builds suspense, sort of like a movie scene beginning with two characters speaking but not appearing on screen then panning/zooming out to show who was speaking after the fact.
ABTelford
I’m happy to wait for quality!… ok, impatiently happily waiting. 😅
K.Impossible
Thank you for the lesson PapaJohn... I learned something here. Of course, I had to Google it bc call back used to mean something you did when you missed a call in my day... 😆 Bryce, you're really an awesome writer... I keep asking myself, 'how does he do that?' The story just comes to life... I keep raving about this series so much so that my husband and several others purchased the audible book and are now asking when the next volume will be out. I told them to be patient bc greatness takes time. 😆. All the while I'm sneak peeking as you do what you do here. And loving it! You are the first and actually only author I've ever supported. Ever. OK confession over... Gotta love Catcher... how could you not?
Nicole Campbell
Love it so far..... I really love Catcher.
Kyle
This sounds like its going to be a great chapter but I have to admit I'm still on the edge of my seat to see how the reunion between Rei and his sister goes
Tim Drury
"If anything I’ve spent two weeks in a constant state of shock. Time does not exist in this place." Best lines of the book so far. I love Catcher.
Chris
I love Catcher's tone here. "You're learning. Proud of you." It is EXACTLY the condescending tone a close friend would use. One of my friends once referred to his sister as "the smartest dumb person I know." This is completely the thing Catcher would say about Rei.
Lyn Shirley
I knew it was Catcher from the beginning. He always makes me laugh!
Scott
Well, we know Lennon isn't going full out either, from this: Christopher Lennon—Ouroborus only partially called around his arms, and legs. So, Im guessing that they are both handicapping themselves....
Heather Herren
Awesome!! Hopefully Lennon gets his S rank.. and Aria gets into the Bs..I honestly can’t wait for her next ability!!
Iron Akela
Catcher is the friend we all need! Smart, funny, able to cut to the quick, reliable, trustworthy, eager
Christopher Generazio
love the snippet of the chapter so far! Can't wait to read the completed chapter!
Iron Akela
Seconded
Michael Walzer
Really hoping we get the conversation between Rei and Lennon about his s rank growth. Want to see how Lennon reacts! Love this friendship.
gratch42
At first I thought it was a catching Viv up in her hospital bed scene given the end of 22. But I like this better.
Grakyn
Would be awesome to have a mirror of Rei's training with Lennon in the training between Lennon/Laurent. Laurent: What do we lean into when facing a superior opponent, cadet? Lennon: *Grunting and glancing at Rei* Speed!
Devin Jaros
Always love it when Rei gets chewed out by his friends! Though I was a bit confused by who was speaking, would be helpful to throw in a quick “Catcher Says” in the first bit!
Wraithmarked Creative
So glad someone caught that hahaha -Bryce
Wraithmarked Creative
Remember that Lennon is also limiting his speed to be closer to Firesong here. That comes up later in this chatper ;) -Bryce
Christian Klein
Catcher just.... Gets you, takes your hand and pulls you into the insanity that is Firesong
gratch42
Let’s goooooo! Had to reread it with surfer Catcher and almost ready to laugh Rei voices. 😝
Gama
AWESOME!!!
Raymond Lenihan
Kalus is a Pawn, Lennon is A9 right? Is there that huge a jump between A9 and S that Kalus at half speed would match Lennons top speed?
Gregory Moses
Amazing!
Iron Akela
Oooooh boy!!! This is gonna be epic!!!
PapaJohn
FUCK YES!!! I love this callback!!!
