Sleyca

Next Chapter: November 5th (approximate) ****** THREE HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE Return to LeafSong On that Friday afternoon, Alden was half convinced he was going to an event where everyone would expect him to don costume ryeh-b’t wings and serve them trays of appetizers. He didn’t care if it was like that

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. Some changes I was making to the larger story outline meant I ended up needing more time to sort out exactly what would happen when in the next few chapters than I usually do. I'd like the next chapter, 321, to come out a bit closer to this one than usual. I've al

Next Chapter: October 24 (approximate, updated) [Good morning. Leaving you three a breakfast snack from the Triplanets. Check outside your door when you wake up.] Alden set a to-go tiffin full of k’rethkan on the tile in front of the girls’ apartment door. [It’s just leftovers,] he texted. [I think

Next Chapter: October 15 (updated) All over the observation station, eyes and thoughts turned to catch what was happening to different squads of their Mother Planet’s knights. Errors and breakthroughs, victories and defeats of all magnitudes, magic old and new. “I like nights like this,” said one vo

Next Chapter: October 7 (approximate) “With the next one.” Emban’s words were soft. The bolt of magic soon to be released from her bow would be anything but. Sitting a couple of paces away from her, the same as the others, Alden watched the goat she was aiming at through his lenses. When she’d come

Next Chapter : October 1 (updated) ****** Stu’s brother and his housemate noticed him approaching at the same time. Eeaner flinched out of his stillness only for both of his eyes to turn immediately away from Stu and lock on his seemingly untouched drink. Jozz’s smile was unflagging, and he didn’t s

Next Chapter: 24 September (approximate) THREE HUNDRED FIFTEEN What Grows Unseen V It had been almost a year since Stu had visited the observation station. The bottom floor was as he remembered—a place where people from every Rapport mingled, making new acquaintances or reconnecting with old ones. T

Next Post: 17 September (approximate) ****** The night was aging, but Azeeda-und’h was still awake, hunting a trespasser through her own house and out onto the grounds. The trespasser was only a child who’d sneaked into rooms where the young children weren’t allowed to go, leaving drawers and cabine

Next Chapter: September 10th (approximate) “Lind…” “Esh.” “When I sent Alden off to find his own way in our Rapport, I advised him not to go to Wathe. I said that I didn’t recommend the city for a solo adventure. I don’t want him to encounter any trouble or unpleasant social scenarios on his own. So

Next Chapter: September 5th (approximate) ****** Did I really just do that? Alden had slammed more dirt into the hazard mimic to make sure it stayed down. He’d preserved a third load in case he encountered new trouble. But nothing else had come after him, he’d received no injuries, and now the groun

Next Chapter: August 29 (approximate) THREE HUNDRED ELEVEN What Grows Unseen ****** then ****** “They’re never going to stop.” The whisper was the only sound in the tiny room where Ryada stood, one hand splayed against the face of a monitoring cabinet and the other cupped against her ear. The room w

Edited (minor, epub updated): October 9, 2026 ****** Alden had wondered before what sky diving would be like. This experience didn’t match his imagination in the slightest. “All right!” he shouted, only moments into his descent. “What do I need to do?” He couldn’t see the others. He could hear their

Next Chapter: August 17 (approximate) ****** “Dust blockers,” said Seth, opening a box smaller than her palm to reveal two translucent crescents. “This is the ear set for him,” said Divin. Alden bent forward to give them easier access to his face. The dust blockers adhered to the skin beneath his no

Next Chapter: August 9 (approximate) ****** 308 Jump Again Alden tried twice to throw cooling words at the Artonans before a real argument could develop. First, he said again that he really didn’t want to throw the squad’s flow off. Then he tried to slow Tilliver and Emban down by requesting some gu

Next Update: August 3 (approximate) ****** Am I in over my head? He hadn’t been at first. He’d answered their questions about what he was doing here and how he and Stuart had dealt with Olget-ovekondo after the wand incident. Seth-wereft had explained the basics of their current activity to him, as

Next Chapter: July 27 (approximate) ****** An unusual tableau greeted Lind-otta that afternoon when she entered the room. Stu-art’h, with his mouth clamped shut and a tattoo kit still in hand, was purple as a frightened lacefin. Alden stood between him and Esh as if he sought to wall them off from e

Next Update: July 21 (approximate) ****** From a flyer that hovered high above the only honey locust tree in Rapport III, Alden watched dawn change the sky. Sunrises sometimes made him think of Neha. Her goal of seeing as many on Earth as she would have during an average human life seemed to be some

Next Chapter: July 14 (approximate) Stu’s pet ryeh-b’t had emerged from her egg on a chilly morning, when the forest outside his bedroom window was dark. He’d been anticipating the event and monitoring the egg for days, so he’d been awake and ready when it had begun. The habitat he’d made for her wa

Next Chapter: July 6 (approximate) ****** “It’s going to be one of the wave symbols, and we’ll make it work by using the phrasing about protecting Matadero’s secrets above and below the surface. The part of the design that represents the cube will be less prominent than the wave, and the functional

Edited (minor, epub updated): August 14, 2026 THREE HUNDRED TWO contracts and Contracts There was a place Esh-erdi liked, half an hour’s walk from Alden’s birth tree, where a copse of the native trees surrounded nestlike seating circles made of woven grasses. Each circle was big enough for a dozen p

Next Chapter: June 24 (approximate) ****** The songs were all old favorites, and the singers were everybody who felt like joining in for a time. Alden had hidden his interface to reduce distractions while he played Three-fingered Thief, so he had no translations. Sometimes he understood what they we

Next Chapter: June 19 (approximate) Author Note: It felt really special to type the chapter number for this one. I love that I get to share this story. Thank you for enjoying Alden with me. ****** “Moshk, you bank stalker, I’ll have half your thoughts and all your voice for the small news!” The spea

Edited (minor, epub updated): July 24, 2026 ****** Ploomp wasn’t a speedboat, especially not when she was cruising high in the water with passengers on her back. Alden could have kept pace with her if he were running alongside on the bank, but that wouldn’t have been nearly the excellent experience

Edited (minor, epub updated): July 17, 2026 ****** Alden hurried into the teleportation area at Matadero on Saturday morning, his nose still cold from a swift flight over, and found Esh-erdi and Lind-otta waiting for him. “Good morning! I hope your family likes these,” he said, holding up the bag of

Edited (minor, epub updated): July 10, 2026 Alden met up with Ignacio in between his storytelling class and Engaging With the Unexpected, then again later in the afternoon. Around seven thirty that evening, the Meister found him for a third time. He approached while Alden and Lexi were on their way

Edited (minor, epub updated): July 5, 2026 Pacific Welcome House stood at the back of a botanical garden on the university campus. It was the residence for wizards who were being hosted by the school, and although there wasn’t space for large lectures, Artonan instructors could make arrangements to

Next Chapter: May 19 (approximate) ****** “Let Me Take Your Luggage…‘luggage’, not belongings or baggage, but something heavy enough that it needs to be lugged around…. That’s one thing to think about. Travel…could be a relevant part of it for you to consider or not. Wizards are so proud of their ab

Edited (minor, epub updated): June 25, 2026 ****** Kon wondered if the guys knew how much attention they were suddenly getting from the other members of the class. Once the island started to fall, he couldn’t resist taking a glance around the room. People who had, in his opinion, been way too uninte

I'm sorry to send out a message that isn't a chapter and get people excited, but it looks like someone has started impersonating me and posting comments with a fake Sleyca Author account, including a link to supposed free merch. I'm trying to make sure this person is banned right now. In the past da

Edited (minor, epub updated): June 20, 2026 “…and I will travel a future road with a patience that hastens the journey of another. So we walk together for a short way and meet without meeting.” Alden stood in the empty locker room as the Artonan words echoed away, paying attention to how his body fe

Next Chapter: May 2 (approximate) “Haoyu! You’re suspiciously quiet in there.” Alden rapped his knuckles against the door to Haoyu’s room a couple of times. A muffled response that sounded like “mup” was all he got in reply. Alden had his doubts about that answer, but he headed to the kitchen anyway

Next Chapter: April 26 (approximate) Note: I put a "break" where I might have broken this one if I made it into two chapters. That's not really a recommendation, just a convenient marker for anyone who does prefer to read longer ones in two doses. I think it reads well all together. ****** 291 *****

Edited (minor, epub updated): May 30, 2026 Additional Reading: This is a link to Grimm's Fairy Tales on Project Gutenberg. "The Frog Prince" (or Frog-King in this edition) is the first story. For reading before, during, or after the chapter if you're curious. TWO HUNDRED NINETY When Wishing Was Havi

“Ro-den’s being a normal instructor now? Why? Is he afraid you’re going to bring the stick to class?” “Surely not. I’ve treated him generously. He received compensation merely for undoing what he should have undone anyway. And, also, I can’t turn one of the school labs into that kind of trap.” Stuar

Next Chapter: April 7 (approximate) ****** “Now we have floating island strategies that could be initiated by every member of the team. Except Everly.” Vandy Carisson ran a highlighter over a line she’d written in her notebook, then capped it and lifted blue eyes to regard the tall, brunette girl in

Last Edited: May 15, 2026 ****** By the middle of the second full week of term, Alden had settled in enough to start thinking of his schedule of classes and self-assigned practice hours as his routine until something big came up. He expected that big something to be Stuart’s affixation and everythin

Last Edited: May 10, 2026 (minor changes, epub updated) ****** “I’ve been using it as a tool to mark my page.” “A <<bookmark>>,” said Stuart, holding Alden’s living leaf up so that the sunlight coming through the streamview cottage’s front wall filtered through it. It was early Sunday on Anesidora a

Next Chapter: March 18 (approximate) ****** Before Stuart had stepped outside, he’d cleaned most of the melon from the alcove. The room still smelled like it. Alden was near the door, exhilarated by his freedom from the secrecy contract and eager to follow his friend, but waiting for a final interac

Next Chapter: March 12 (approximate) It's a long one! I do prefer it all together, so I'll be calling it one chapter after all. ****** a few years ago ****** Marleck tea stains ringed the glazed blue interior of the cup that Thenn-ar had been sipping from all day. Ro-den stood at a sterilizing basin

March 5, 2026: This is now a preview of Chapter 284. If you're someone who reads all the comments sections, it would be fun to read this version and then enjoy the comments before moving on, but if not, go ahead to 284 and read there. **** A note: "Those Who Reach" is something I planned to make a s

Next Chapter: March 3 (approximate) ****** Alden wished the water were colder. If it were numbing, dark, and churning with debris, maybe he’d be able to call on that part of himself that had once preserved Zeridee-und’h without touching her. That had been a near-death moment for both of them. Painfu

Last Edited: April 15, 2026 (epub updated) ****** “You find it this time.” “I appreciate your trust, but we’ve put a lot of effort into this spell, and we’re almost done. You should— ” “I should remind you that you need casting practice more than I do. Hurry.” Alden thought he should’ve been warned

The needs of a person’s body could become medicine that quieted their mind. The healer who’d tried to teach Stu that lesson had been so incompetently premature with it that they’d never had a second meeting. A child whose whole day could be ruined by the taste of a disappointing berry or the prick o

Next Chapter: Wednesday, February 11 (approximate) 280 Alden had been left alone, but Stuart had said he’d be back as soon as he could. The cottage was private. It was late in Chicago but probably not too late. There might not be a better time than this over the next couple of days. Got to call Boe.

Next Chapter: 12-24 hours (already written, just needs brushing up) At any of the great universities of wizardry, the students and professors were supported by a sizable community of ordinary class workers. LeafSong was no different. Many people took pride in serving a school so prestigious, and of

Next Chapter: February 3 (approximate) That afternoon, Alden was distracted with his new tablet and his book, but it was still hard for Stu to leave him behind at the cottage and head to the summonarium. This friendship they had woven was revealing new colors and greater strength with every passing

Edited (minor, epub and text): March 20, 2025 ****** 277 “It’s fine. I didn’t even know I wanted a set of armor rings until today. I can live without them.” Alden sat on a large, glossy wooden chest, watching Stuart close the lid on a jewelry box that was only big enough for a couple of fists instea

Next Chapter: Sunday, January 25 ****** 276: What are you like? ****** “Do you understand how wonderful this is to me? How much everything you said yesterday means?” That had been Stuart’s question this morning, and it echoed in Alden’s own head now as they explored the siblinghold’s supply library

Next Chapter: Monday, January 19 (approximate) Note: So many comments on the last chapter! I'm so excited to read them. It's been really special to approach this part of the story and share it with you all. TWO HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE Beginning “Kivb-ee?” “Kibby.” “Her?” “Her. Kibby. And Instructor Gwe