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Back Forsworn
Chapters (53)
  1. Map of Kingdom of Finfalla and Surrounding Area- Western Half
  2. Map of Kingdom of Finfalla and Surrounding Area - Eastern Half
  3. Map of Kingdom of Finfalla and Surrounding Area - Full Map
  4. Important Trigger Warning
  5. Prologue
  6. PART I
  7. One
  8. Two
  9. Three
  10. Four
  11. Five
  12. Six
  13. Seven
  14. Eight
  15. Nine
  16. Ten
  17. Eleven
  18. Twelve
  19. Interlude: The River of Life
  20. PART II
  21. Thirteen
  22. Fourteen
  23. Fifteen
  24. Sixteen
  25. Seventeen
  26. Eighteen
  27. Nineteen
  28. Interlude: Fallow Fields
  29. PART III
  30. Twenty
  31. Twenty-One
  32. Twenty-Two
  33. Twenty-Three
  34. Twenty-Four
  35. Twenty-Five
  36. Interlude: Of Man and Monster
  37. PART IV
  38. Twenty-Six
  39. Twenty-Seven
  40. Twenty-Eight
  41. Twenty-Nine
  42. Thirty
  43. Thirty-One
  44. Thirty-Two
  45. Thirty-Three
  46. Thirty-Four
  47. POSTLUDES
  48. Postlude 1: Lana Vica
  49. Postlude 2: Ludo Vica
  50. Postlude 3: Cainan
  51. Acknowledgments
  52. An excerpt from Heartsworn, Volume II in The Forsworn Oath, available for preorder now!
  53. PART I

“I kinda like it,” Gruff muttered, the dwarf cracking one open by smashing it against a rock and then dipping his finger into a gooey, sludgy golden substance inside the shell. He sucked it off his finger like it was honey, licking the remnants from his lips while some remained stuck in his prolific beard, oozing its way through the thick hair growth. “Nothing wrong with saving some for later.”

“Just don’t waste it,” Jereb said. Then, turning back to Perfidy, he said, “In a way, this stuff is better than godsblood. Bloodfruit only grows where there are thick concentrations of Narcissi’s blood, as though it’s fed by it. Somehow the godsblood is processed faster and more efficiently by the fruit as it grows than we’re able to do ourselves. Which means that, unlike pure godsblood, there are no limitations on how much we can consume. Each adds to our stores of power and makes it more likely that we’ll be able improve our Abilities or even add new Abilities. That’s why we call it a power surge. I’ve been working on calculating how powerful the surge is compared to our normal dose of godsblood, but haven’t figured out how to measure it yet. The closest I can tell is that one bloodfruit is about a tenth as potent as pure godsblood.”

“That’s not much,” Perfidy noted, still wrinkling her nose at the awful odor.

“True, but as I said, unlike godsblood, there’s no limit on how much we consume.”

“So why not jest eat a hunnerd a day?”

“That’s the only problem: bloodfruit are quite rare and hard to find. We’ve been saving these ones for a special occasion.”

Perfidy frowned. “Whut occasion is it?”

Aliza laughed. “Why you, of course.” Julio beamed. Clemmy, who’d returned a few moments earlier, nodded. Gruff grunted. Mirac ignored everyone entirely.

“I—I don’ know whut to say. I’m, er, kinda honored I s’pose. Thank ye. But one question.” Jereb raised an eyebrow. “Is there a way I can git the power from the bloodfruit without actually eatin’ it?”

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Jereb had lied. The bloodfruit hadn’t tasted as bad as it smelled. If only. No, it tasted far worse. Perfidy had to pinch her nose and swallow it straight down without thinking too much about it in order to consume it without gagging. By the time she was done, not only was she no longer hungry but she was also considering not ever eating again.