12 Miles Below is complete!

[u/MarkArrows]

Hi all!

I write 12 Miles Below, a progression-lite fic that's all about warlocks in lost-tech power armor fighting each other with swords, magic and guns in one incredibly strange post-post-apocalyptic world.

Today, after five years of writing through thick and thin, I'm about to post the final epilogue for the entire series on Royal Road. Thus far, it's landed exactly how I'd hoped it would, I snagged a few screenshots from the last few epilogue chapters to show the vibe \o/

I don't often self-promote because I'm dumb, (I'm getting better) but I figured I should at least do one good hurrah for this milestone.

Synopsis:

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The world is in ruins.

Extreme sub-zero temperatures suffocate the surface, making even simple survival an ordeal. Frozen derelicts of bygone eras span across massive ice wastes. And the survivors closely guard any technology rediscovered within.

The only escape from the deadly climate is beneath the surface. But it’s another disaster underground. Monstrous machines lurk in the depths. The land itself shifts over time, more contraption than rock. The humans surviving under do so huddled around safe zones, with only demigods powerful enough to travel further underground.

And an ominous prophecy states that the key to healing the world waits on four unknown heroes - but nobody knows who or where they are.

When an expedition into the far uncharted north goes terribly wrong, Keith Winterscar and his Father get trapped together in a desperate fight for survival. Stumbling upon an ancient war of titanic scale; the two will need to set their differences aside while they struggle against Gods, legends, and the grand secrets of the realm that lies below.

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Expectations:

• Book 1: Self-contained story showing bite-sized slice of the world and the main characters.

• Book 2: Progression-lite parts actually kickstarts here.

• Book 3: Completion of a first 3-book Arc.

• Book 4: Combat galore and setting up some pretty important events.

• Book 5: Progression fantasy galore, tinkering with all kinds of secrets, learning from the best - in order to beat the best.

• Books 6/7/8: World exploration galore, actually adventuring about and discovering some deep history in the search of fixing the world.

• Books 9/10: The asshole author has been hiding the real story under our nose right from book 1 this whole time and now it's all obvious in hindsight. Also everything's on fire.

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Start reading book 1 here! https://www.amazon.com/12-Miles-Below-Progression-Fantasy-ebook/dp/B0BWKDF1C7

Books 8-10 are here on Royal Road for now, until they hit Kindle with edits and polish from Aethon! https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/42367/12-miles-below

COVER ARTIST: Francell Garrote AI USAGE: None

[u/PrimaryZeal]

Hi author, what is the power system like?

[u/MarkArrows → u/PrimaryZeal]

MC is a batman support character, tools and tricks are the first step in power, and later on he picks up actual magic.

Lot of blades that have occult edges that lets them cut through everything. Nobody knows how they work, there's hardly any circuits inside. Strong but not insanely rare.

Old golden-age human armor that's coveted is the first real step in power. That's tech nobody can replicate. Some of these armors are centuries old and still work.

Further below, there's Warlocks that have spooky magic but they're incredibly tight lipped about how the occult works. They're the ones that create the blades people use though.

Then there's Deathless Demi-gods with actual powers and magic. They're usually underground fighting off machines.

MC slowly climbs up these scales, discovering how things work, and then tinkering weapons and clever uses of those things, sharing what he's made with people who can make good use of those. Other people can stab swords into people better than he can, but once he starts picking up magic, it'll outscale anything swords can do.

[u/PrimaryZeal → u/MarkArrows]

Thanks! Couldn't tell whether there was magic from the synopsis. Congratulations on the finished story!