Blackstone Fortress Novels & Stories

"The Council can't afford to let the other sectors see the Vindicator broken. They will execute their secondary fallback protocol." ​"The Blackwater Extraction Facility," Julian rasped, stepping down from the weapon platform, his burning gray eyes locking onto Vivian's face with a fierce, possessive intensity. He reached down, his large hand firmly gripping her waist, pulling her back against his chest with an unyielding warmth. "The automated prison complex on the western edge of the lowlands. It’s the only fortress they have left outside the Inner Dome with an independent power core."

POV: Maya The Blackwood estate sat hidden in the mountains, three hours north of Blackstone. The road twisted through dense forest until suddenly the trees parted to reveal a gothic mansion that looked like it belonged in a Victorian horror novel. Gray stone walls covered in ivy. Tall windows with heavy curtains. Turrets that reached toward the cloudy sky like accusing fingers. The place radiated old money and older secrets. "This is where your mother grew up?" Jaxon asked from the driver's seat.

The screen shifted, rendering a 3D model of a massive, imposing stone fortress situated over a raging river of magical blue energy. LOCATION: THE OBSIDIAN BASTION. ZONE: LEVEL 50 PVP CONTESTED AREA. "There," Ren pointed at the digital fortress. "That is their Mobile Command Center. In the game, it's a Level 50 fortress that coordinates NPC guard patrols." Torque stared at the screen, completely lost. "What the hell am I looking at? What is an obsidian bastion? I need anti-tank weapons, not video games!" "You're going to get both," Ren said, turning to the cyborg warlord. The migraine was forgotten. He was back in the zone.

The storm came in without warning. One moment the sea beyond Black Hollow was silver and calm, and the next it was a heaving wall of iron-gray waves crashing against the cliffs. Wind screamed through the narrow streets, slamming shutters and rattling doors like impatient fists. Sixteen-year-old Mara Ellison stood at her bedroom window, heart pounding—not from the thunder, but from the light. It had flashed three times. Not lightning. The lighthouse. The old lighthouse had been dark for years.

’ Chester panicked. He was unwilling to accept his fate. He had a lot of things that he wished to do and he could not believe that he was dead. While he was distracted by his thoughts, the black shadow dashed towards him and dragged him toward the depths of the hole. Chester felt the cold whistling wind in his ears. Before he could get a grip of the situation, he arrived in front of a huge fortress in a blink of an eye. The fortress was a few times larger than the largest city in The Nine Continents. The fortress was surrounded by black mist. It looked like a chaotic world and exuded a depressed feeling.

"Mr. Oh, another delivery—four game machines and one dance machine.” One of the security personnel reported as he approached the butler, gesturing toward the truck parked just outside the mansion. Mr. Oh simply shook his head, a mix of disbelief and quiet amusement crossing his face as he stepped forward to oversee the delivery. “Bring them inside. I’ll show you where to place them,” he instructed calmly, already turning to lead the men in. It had only been a week. Just one week. And yet, the mansion had been transformed beyond recognition.

Krister asked, looking at his tablet still before walking to the back room. “Black? She doesn’t-- I mean didn’t wear anything else?” she asked, her eyebrows meeting in the middle confused. “Don’t tell me she’s one of those people…” “Yes, specifically black clothing. They’re hot in the day but you disappear in the night. That’s what she always said to me.” Krister disappeared in the back to get something whilst Rojean was left there to contemplate on her own how she was going to pull the act off if she was a bad liar herself.

I was broken out of my trance as a line started to form in the middle of the wolf's face, splitting right down the middle and spreading throughout his entire body, branching off and creating more cracks and holes in the once solid concrete. I stumbled back in surprise, "Liza!" I shouted for the raven-haired Latino, my eyes not once leaving the statue that seemed to be crumbling away. My heart sang its nervousness as it waited for something. What? I had no idea. "I'm over here!" Liza shouted back from a few rows away, her body out of sight. "I'm coming." My breathing hitched in my throat as I viewed the chestnut brown fur that sprouted from the leg that had cement crumbling away from it.

Everyone except her. The Blackstone mansion loomed ahead like something out of a gothic fairy tale. Perched on a hill overlooking the pack lands, the sprawling estate was more castle than home. High stone walls framed a grand entrance, and glowing lights spilled from the tall, arched windows. Even from the driveway, the distant thrum of music vibrated through the ground, mingling with the cool night air. Nicola’s stomach twisted as Theo pulled into the packed driveway, navigating between rows of sleek cars that screamed wealth.

My fortress built to keep the world at bay and where the beast can come out to play. Standing three stories tall, it’s a masterpiece of black stone and glass. The wide windows reflect the twilight sky, giving the illusion of openness, but inside, it’s anything but inviting. It’s a sanctuary for a beast; minimalist, calculated, and tailored to precision. No clutter. No chaos. Nothing I can’t control.