Tournike Ep 1 · Bonus Inside

Kaelen wiped sweat and tar from his brow. The first leg of the Tournike was over. But the real race had just begun.

He didn’t have time to celebrate. The ground shuddered. A geyser of hot, viscous tar erupted fifty meters to his left, and from it rose a hulking, asymmetrical creature of congealed asphalt and rage. A Tar-Shambler. Its only goal was to consume any Tournike Runner carrying a ring.

The first rule of the Tournike was simple: The race is a lie. The survival is real. tournike ep 1

He opened the pouch. The copper ring glowed. But his other hand, the one behind his back, had already plucked a small, corked vial from his belt— Insta-Crust , a chemical that flash-hardened tar into brittle rock.

Sova’s eye-slit widened. “You idiot—” Kaelen wiped sweat and tar from his brow

Every year, the Oligarchs of the Spire dropped three hundred rings into the Scorchlands—copper, silver, gold, and one single, mythic obsidian ring. The first hundred Runners to return a ring to the Spire’s Gate earned a fortune. The single Runner who returned the obsidian ring earned a wish.

“Take it,” Kaelen said, surprising her. He reached for the pouch. He didn’t have time to celebrate

He didn’t answer. He just ran, the copper ring humming against his chest, and the Spire growing ever larger on the horizon.