#[ and she would slay entire realms for them all ]

[katkalis-the-horror-fanartist]

Whats the order of hierarchy in this au? Who's the most powerful to least powerful?

(also op that art where zoth and abducius are dancing together make me so insane/pos)

GLAD YOU LIKE THAT ONE. They have a few other things they do together too...But that's for other times 😅

These Tierlists should sum up the question. Defense Levels and Power Levels:

Then, under this cut, I'm putting the details as to why they're ordered like this! I'm also adding much needed details to be known about all these characters!

Hierarchy List (and facts)

Considering both Strength and Defense.

• Yan Luo Wang Diyu: Princess of Death. Astral Life Reaper. Brings Death. She holds complete power over her respective astral circle. All events that happen within are all orchestrated and catered by her.

• Drugia Fleuretty: Nightmare Designer. Humans have assumed that she designs clothes in the nightmare, but this is not the case. Drugia's talent is creating and designing eldritch monstrosities that reside in the Astral Circle. These creatures of fear and suffering, created by her hands (and sometimes Izanami's) send irreparable dread into many that witness them. Along with her dreadful ability, she too is rendered nearly immortal, with no known weakness. Some say that, with her knowledge and talent, she can someday destroy other Astral Circles nearby with an army of beasts from realms unknown.

• Quachil Uttaus: Misfortion Bringer. Astral Guardian. Due to their abilities, none can best them. Their misfortune is deadly, as it causes attacks to miss, injuries to become more fatal, and human organs to fail to function properly (sudden ailments such as heart attacks, strokes, etc.). Due to this, fortune absent for their opponents, Quachil's success rate for winning in a battle is set in stone as 100%. This power of Quachil's is also able to protect residents of their Astral Circle, bringing misfortune to anyone that attempts to harm any of them. As long as Quachil is aware of said confrontation. They often are, but rare cases can occur where they are fixated solely on one task.

• Chaugnar Faugn: Occultist. He controls cults circled around Yao Luo. He commands groups of her worshippers, which is already a high priviledge, yet alongside that, his defense and power are close to infinite. His weakness is undiscovered. It is said that only the Princess of Death herself can cease his life. Of course, she never will. So he reigns alongside her and is able to command her followers to defend her, himself, and her partner Orcus.

• Shub Niggurath: Famine Bringer. She is able to cause crops to be unable to grow and livestock to become malnourished and ill. Her famines can devastate entire continents of humans, and sometimes even other residents of the Astral Plane as a whole. In these cases, humans brought to the Astral Plane for soul and bodily consumption will also wither away as livestock would. Even beyond planet Earth, she is feared. Though it is believed she does have a weakness: To be decapitated by a golden axe blessed by either a god of war or a goddess of fertility and bounty. It is said however that, even if she is somehow slayed, remnants of her soul may last and continue to spawn random bouts of drought and famine.

• Zoth Ommog: Ritual Leader. Similar to the past Astral entities, Zoth is akin to a hellish god. The rituals he conducts provide many effects, defects, abilities, and assistance. Centuries ago, this sinful, lustful monstrosity was imprisoned by gods. However, Yao Luo successfully planned and initiated tactics to free him. He has since honored her and resided in her Astral Circle, providing her and her fellow residents much from his rituals. Considered the most vile entity amongst the Princess' domain, most fear him, aside from a select few admirers and slaves, whom of which Zoth marks with special sigils and engages in heretical acts with. It is said that he does have a weakness: being pierced in the heart with any golden object that has been blessed by a god of purity. This however may still prove impossible, as his heart rests within his throat, which is shielded by the very collar the gods had imprisoned him with. That, and runes he created beneath his flesh grant him many defenses.

• Teutates Taranis: Annihilator. Considered the most proficient and deadly combatant in the Princess' Astral Circle, it is said that Teutates can best any that cross his path. He, like a few other Astral Residents, has his own select group of humans and beasts that obey his commands. His subjects are marked with specific tattoos and all go through a blood pact with him. His skill in battle and talent for both swift kills and agonizing annihilations make him a formidable challenge in battle, even against other higher demonic entities. Some theorize that he has a weakness: stabbing out his eyes. Others, however, say that he is able to sense foes without sight and that this is no weakness of his. But recently, some have thought about another possible weakness of the annihilator: shooting him between the eyes with an arrow coated in a sedative. Something powerful enough to alter his brain function.

• Anazareth Anazarel: Curse Creator. After having practiced under the guidance of Yan Luo herself, Anazareth has mastered many terrible and effective curses fit for many situations. She also has a sigil bestowed upon her by Zoth in Yan Luo's will that not only increases the potency of her curses compared to others, but gave her the ability to effect even those that use magic to protect them from said curses. This sigil in turn granted her other moderate demonic powers and altered her appearance, giving her horns. She is in high enough authority to have her own followers like Zoth, Abducius, and Teutates. Her owned subjects have special tattoos on their collarbones, cheeks, or backs, and all have at least one horn as a result of them. Some say that cutting off her horns is her weakness. Other say that you must specifically burn the base of the horns after cutting them off, otherwise they may grow back. This proves difficult in idea, as she must be completely still for this to be done properly.

• Ishtar Ereskigal: Pestbringer. Similar to Shub in the aspect of affecting entire populations with food-stunting issues. Her pests range from cockroaches to rats to locusts and even mosquitos plagued with disease. Ticks, fleas, and bedbugs aren't even out of the equation. While she too can hinder farms, she can also infect households and wild environments. Her ability to devastate wildlife as well has granted her a vile, disgusting reputation. She may also use pests to assist in torture methods. It is said that her weakness is submerging her in holy water, which is already difficult to aquire in the Astral Circle. And even from Earth, it must be a decent amount.

• Abducius Morail: Mutilator. Though not as high up on the hierarchy ladder, the Mad Mutilator is heavily feared by many in the Princess' Astral Circle. His taste for agony and screams of pain lead him to be as torturous as Exael Lanithro with nearly as much battle prowess as Teutates Taranis. He takes intense euphoria and ecstasy in performing near-deadly operations and Frankenstein-esque crafts on living victims with no sedation. Even other higher-ups show slight repulsion towards him. He has some disfigured followers of his own, each one mutilated and/or branded in various ways. From skinned body parts to burned or exposed bones to body parts and organs of different animals. He has no specific weakness as he is closer to a human, but his own modifications to his body grand him decent defense, both physically and magically.

• Barbatos Barrabam: Human Hunter. Assigned an important job that benefits the Princess, Barbatos is well respected among his peers and superiors. He both speaks and acts straight to the point, always set on completing his goals with accuracy and no wasted time. Others may play with their prey, but Barbatos plays no games. They say he can see through walls. It is theorized that only being fully crushed beneath unbearable weight is enough to hault him and end his streak of humans hunted.

• Ah Puch Xilbalbá: Bone Breaker. Usually tortures mortals and disobedient slaves alongside Exael. He also often assists Abducius in breaking bones in victims in order to encourage their bones to heal improperly and become disfigured for Abducius' own enjoyment. In battle, every crunch of bones fuels him to become more violent, and once his opponent can no longer move, he may simply rip their bones out completely.

• Exael Lanithro: Torturer. Owning more twisted instruments and machines than any Astral Resident, Exael rarely runs out of torture methods for his unlucky victims. While some prefer to inflict harsh violence against their select subjects, Exael prefers more psychological and lengthy approaches, from water torture to slowly pumping victims with poison to using machines to stretch and rip victims apart. It is unknown if he takes satisfaction from his job though, as his expression rarely changes from his usual, somber look.

• Nyogtha Z'mog: Gravedigger. Though she is never often seen fighting, most if not all around her respect her. Sometimes, even humans captured and brought to the Astral Circle have minimum qualms with her. Harm against her, whether successfully applied or not, calls for instant torture. Though she has never truly proven herself in a fight, some say that she has swiftly ended the lives of those near-death with the shovel she often uses. She has also been seen using electricity to charge herself, leading to her never needing any rest, which even some superiors of hers indulge in. Her dedication to her job grant's her protection directly ordered by Yan Luo, and none dare to test to see if she is truly able to slaughter efficiently.

• Orcus Dis Pater: Skin Collector. Although nowhere near as high on the social ladder as Yan Luo, he is kept in close company to her. None have ever figured out why she keeps him so close. Orcus himself rarely speaks to others outside of the Princess' chambers, but when he does speak, those around him listen intently. Eagerly. It is said that skins he wears come from slain victims in the Astral Arena, and others have caught wind of Yan Luo working on a cloak for him. One made of 1000 skins.

• Lilith Lilitu Lilit: Witch. Brought into this Astral Circle by her best friend Anazareth. Though she has no specific assignments, she has never crossed nor annoyed the Princess, and therefore is allowed to spectate. However, recently in the past 100 years or so, she has taught herself more spells, and plans to ask for tutoring from Yan Luo, as Anazareth got.

• Izanami Yomi: Face Deformer. Her title may seem weak compared to others, but her worth comes from the fear she garners from those subjected to her ability. Her deformation powers can greatly affect the outcome of different gastly creations made by others. Whether it be carving faces for Drugia's monstrosities, sculpting faces of horror in Abducius' creations, or simply weakening an opponent by disfiguring their facial features, she has proven to not be as useless as her title makes her seem.

• Yog Sothoth: Vampire. Previously nameless before he was named by the Princess herself. He was accepted into her Astral Circle as long as he performed his designated job loyaly. His job requires him to tread between the boundaries of humans and the Astral Realm and use his looks and charisma to lure humans into being captured by his co-worker of sorts, Barbatos. It is well known that his looks are not completely of his own free will, but designed by Drugia and Anazareth as means of making him more appealing to humankind.

• Xezbet Xerbeth: Soul Eater. Xezbet shows little to no participation in Yan Luo's events. Little to nothing is known about his existence and why he has not been sent elsewhere. Some say it is because of his ability to unnerve mortals into submitting, while other say that he is only kept here to someday be harvested of all souls he has devoured.

• Dagda Crom Cruach: Soul Scarecrow. Little is known about Dagda as a whole. From his existence to his appearances in the Princess' domain. Like Xezbet, one can only hypothesize why this strange entity lurks about.

[cuttyclowngirl]

Daima EP.6 (Spoiler) Review/theories

• HOLY SMOKES, the art direction! Lighting/colors/composition=chef's kiss.

• So Panzy really does wear a collar. Based on the short scene where a Gendarmerie scanned her collar, it's not a fake & fully functional. (Saddening) Wonder if that will somehow impede her ability to travel between worlds. Shin kinda looks like he's gonna do something about it in the next EP preview.

• So the "Kaio"/"Kaio-shin" titles are only given in the outer world, where they are viewed as "gods". They also don't get paid. Makes sense. The Kaio-shin, at least, have never come off as materialistic.

• Panzy essentially confirmed that the entire Demon Realm is smaller than an average universe (outer world), which I suppose checks out, given it only contains 3 worlds.

• Forgot to mention this like, 2 reviews ago, but the symbol that the Gendarmerie sport is clearly based on the Tertian Oculus.

• Goku's bounty is only 10 gold coins? BOO! 3 of that'll go to the routine offering anyways, so you're really only getting 7.

• Perhaps Goku will have to walk around as a Super Saiyan for a while to remain incognito. It would definitely help his body get used to it, Cell saga style.

• Originally, in the Dragon Ball Kanzenshu, the Kaio-shin were stated to have been born from fruit from 1 massive tree. It's now been retconed to 5 big (Onion shaped) Glind trees. Which, in my opinion, is fine since, as far as I know, the Kaio-shin birth origins have never been verbally stated in a Dragon Ball show prior to this scene. It's still a neat origin. It also implies we might see a few baby Kaio-shin in the 2nd world. "Born every few centuries" huh.

• Goku making us all realize we've never seen Shin eat & have only seen him drink drink liquids Namekian style. Makes sense, since the Glinds & Namekians originated from the 2nd demon world.

• So any Kaio-shin born from the same Glind tree are considered siblings. That's very cute.

• "Glinds don't have genders" implies that they essentially choose their own physical attributes/appearance, likely via that body altering magic we saw Shin use in EP 3. So... Y'know... Slay, Dr Arinsu.

• Since the 3rd Demon world has 2 suns, that implies that real night time is super brief, & that the night sky we saw in EP 3 appeared in the very dead of night.

• Panzy can fly a plane.

• Lmao, Supreme King Gohma matchboxes. I want one.

• Panzy's sleeping bag is SO CUTE! Hope they sell them IRL someday.

• Glorio implies that by living in the 1st Demon world, he, as a 3rd world demon, need not adhere to the collar law & whatnot. Makes a lotta sense. Privilege.

• We finally met the cute, silly(stinky) Minotaur from the OP. Clearly another one-off character we probably won't see again. So expressive though. I liked him. The way he left had me belly laughing.

• Through Glorio vs Goku we see that Glorio's strength is somewhere around Goku's full power at base form, we see how King Gohma & Degesu could mistake ki blasts for magic, that Goku has acclimated to the dense air just fine already, & that Glorio is a lightning magic user.

• While knowing Hybis is coming to pick up the gang on Earth is both reassuring & kills any possible tension that would've been there had the scene where Shin's old plane breaks down was shown before introducing us to Hybis, I gotta say... I feel pretty bad for Bulma here. She worked so hard & seemed so excited. But she'll probably shrug this off. She's Bulma.

• Oh, & of course, I was right about Glorio working for Dr Arinsu.

[thicctails]

"Viva la Viva, baby!"

So guess who watched Trolls 3 today~

Ngl, based on the trailers I had really low expectations for this movie, and it was really only after watching some TikToks with the villain song in them that I decided to give it a chance, and I'm so glad I did. 3 is by far my favourite of the entire series. Was not expecting to love Viva, but she was fantastic and I wish we had more screen time with her!

While I'm not entirely sure how I will/would integrate her into the Rough and Fluff AU, I decided to make a design for her anyways, complete with some little headcanons/additions. (Click the image for better quality)

More spoilery/AU discussions and 4th movie predictions below!

Okay okay, movie discussion first:

-I fucking LOVE the Putt Putt Trolls. Its so satisfying seeing how the trauma from the bergens being more fleshed out, and it makes perfect sense that they are as fearful as they are. I'm actually surprised there wasn't more pushback when Viva stopped them from executing Bridget and Gristle.

-(How did they escape actually? The tunnels collapsed, but were there other tunnels? Or did they have a different way out? How did so many, including the eldest heir to the throne, get left behind? Why did Peppy not get BOTH his daughter's immediately?)

-On the topic of Viva; notice how her ears are lower/sharper than Poppy's? I think that's typically a more masculine trait (not 100% bc we see some male trolls with softer/rounder ears) so uh yeah MTF Viva real suck my entire nards

-Fuck King Peppy. This guy gets worse every movie. He is the Dumbledoor/Sensi Wu of Trolls. Mans cannot just give Poppy relevant information to save his LIFE. I can understand not telling Poppy immediately, the grief of loosing his eldest daughter would understandably make that hard, but its been over 20 years now, and she deserved to know.

-Also, fuck most of Branch's brothers! I'm glad JD went back eventually (when exactly he did isn't clear, but sometime between the night of the escape and the first movie) but if he assumed Branch had died, why not try and contact his other siblings to tell them? Clay I can kinda understand with him not wanting to venture out beyond the mini golf area and leave the trolls he was helping to protect, but the rest of them? Not one of them tried to go back for their baby brother? Not even Floyd? When Trollstice was a thing?? Branch shoulda thrown hands fr.

-Rhonda the armadillo bus thing was hella cute and I want a plushie.

-I. Do not really like Crimp

-Velvet and Veneer slayed sooooooo hard. I hope Veneer makes a comeback.

-I also hope we see more of the other troll tribes again.

-The music for this movie was absolutely fire and I NEED a full cover of Sweet Dreams

-I wish the Grandma's death was touched on more than once for like .5 seconds. Like, come on guys, your brother just revealed a major trauma, and that your GRANDMA died!! For christ sake, maybe go apologize for fighting?? maybe go comfort him????

Movie numero 4 predictions:

-Broppy marriage. Branch fr said "Lets get married" by accident HES THINKING ABOUT IT

-Either Poppy/Viva get their mom back, or Branch gets one/both of his parents. Dreamworks will pull some bullshit out of their ass and say that uhm actually they escaped like years before the others did and have been, idk, trapped in the shadow realm or something.

-We see Chef/Creek again. Creek redemption ark would go crazy hard IF DONE RIGHT and I want to see that fear of some monster trying to eat all your friends come back again

-Broppy kid reveal at the end of the movie. Unbelievable amounts of Plush Toy Marketing and terrible spin offs ensue.

-backstory/lore/backstory/lore/backstory/lore/BACK

-I just want to see more Trollstice era stuff plz dreamworks

-We get a Sound of Silence reprise

-Branch/his brothers are revealed to be a hybrid/some kind of special troll. I am TELLING YOU this guy adapted to different kinds of music like it was NOTHING, something Poppy and the others struggled with. Hes got something in him I SWEAR

-Tiny diamond is, once again, part of the main supporting characters

Au shiz:

-If Viva IS put in, its going to most likely be during the sequel. Peppy is already going to be dragged through the mud, might have him mention something about a lost sibling near the end of the OG fic, and since the Pop trolls will be looking for a new home, maybe they'll run into her

-Branch's brothers will not be making an appearance. They simply dont fit into the narrative. I may do an alternate au with them included but who knows.

-Mildly considering making Tiny Diamond a Greek kid. (Guy x Creek) would make for some interesting angst.

[whomuses]

@fallesto

The wails echoed into the void. How many deities had he pledged his loyalty to throughout his existence? Had he not been devoted, had he not fought valiantly in their battles, offering them everything they demanded? Yet, when the moment arrived for them to grant him a single wish—his daughter’s return—how peculiar it was that they fell silent. When the time came for the gods to finally respond and restore what had been unjustly taken from him, a simple act for any divine being, all he received was an overwhelming stillness. It was a bitter realization that his entire life had been in vain, that all his faith and devotion had been entrusted to entities indifferent to his plight. In the end, it all amounted to nothing, as death claimed him too, or so it seemed for a fleeting moment. Then, his body stirred, shifted, and he rose from his grave; a god had acknowledged him, a god had granted him his deepest desire—his daughter. The light of his life was returned, her essence revived, pulled from the clutches of death, reborn as if she had never been taken from this world. “This is the cost that must be borne. My god is not one to overlook his desires. He fulfilled his part of the bargain, and now I must honor mine. Fragments of my soul bartered, the moonrise surrendered into his grasp, darkness spreading like a shadow, yet it is still insufficient. The entire realm will succumb, and an army of the fallen will rise.” In the shadowy depths of his fate, he found no alternative; the lord of bones had issued his decree. With unwavering resolve, he would comply, dedicating himself to the service of a realm shrouded in darkness, a void teeming with the very death he yearned to possess. The solitary deity who had acknowledged his existence was the one for whom he would battle, slay, and ultimately perish—time and again, he would embrace death, only to rise anew, each time more formidable, more eager to sacrifice fragments of his essence to fulfill his master’s ambitions. The culmination of all things would herald an end, paving the way for a fresh beginning in this desolate land. "I have attained precisely what I desired, and now, true soul, I demand your submission. Bow before my ranks, or face the abyss; either way, your fate is to serve."

Watching as the other stood before him - immense, powerful, undeniable - Myrkul's apostle, yes, carrying the flame of that dread God. Their nose wrinkled, lip curled - something of a creature like him was an affront before the full-blood intensity of the true child of Bhaal, yet he let him speak, let that voice wash over - the utter expectation of his demand. The only true answer was to sneer. These representations, they were nothing more than an insult to him - but to The Lordling, it was mere mockery. Only he was the one who could truly carry forth the plan. Only he was truly… Godly.

There was something so pitiable about him. Really, truly. So bound to life, that even resurrected, a ghost of the general that had once been oh so noble… he often considered himself beyond feeling pity for anything so below. To be slaughtered was a great gift. It would undoubtedly be his own fate, some day, life taken in splash of blood and gore, a worship to the greatest of the dead three. Jaw opened slowly; a flash of naturally sharp teeth, blue tongue, red eyes narrowing at his… dramatics. The Lordling wasn't really one for such dramatics; he would lay out the prized worship for his father, of course, but this…

"Do not mock me, Thorm." his voice could have carried rage, but it was low, slick with rotten disdain. "You may command your armies, but you speak to me, not our other dread companion." the tip of his tail flicked; a sign of growing indignation. "We do not serve under one another, as damn you know - do not let your master convince you of more than your actual worth." he closed his jaw hard enough that it clicked. "We will rend this world - together. As much as it sickens my foul heart to admit that - together is the only way that we will truly conquer."

[fantasyinvader]

"it's got to the point where they're misinterpreting the entire franchise as "fight dragons to free humanity" and any game that debunks this gets criticized for being "poorly written"

That's just an oversimplification of the franchise, as since the beginning the games have made it clear dragons are much like humans with there being good dragons and bad dragons. The good dragons follow an Eastern view of them as wise, divine beings who we need to coexist as they're tied to nature itself. Bad dragons follow the mold of Western dragons, and the ironic thing about all of this how Edelgard fits that mold better than Rhea does.

First off, Western dragons are animalistic. They're simply really strong beasts to be felled. With Edelgard, the Japanese text calls her path the animal path, linking it to Buddhism and implying that she isn't acting humanely or based on reason. She's acting on instinct and impulse, and even her ideals of the strong needing to rule over the weak subscribe to the animal realm which is basically law of the jungle. The strong prey on the weak, who live in fear of the strong.

Sometimes dragons need to be slain in order to obtain something. Like a treasure or a maiden. We need to slay Edelgard in order to free Fodlan and rescue Rhea. Whomever slays Edelgard is crowned king.

The whole rescuing maidens was because it was seen as more virtuous than simply seeking a treasure, with the dragon often being presented as a symbol of paganism. At times dragons are flat out demonic, tied to the devil. Not only do we have Edelgard opposing the Church, holding a vastly different set of beliefs from not just it but every FE lord according to heroes, Edelgard is also designed to invoke demons, specifically Baphomet which is a pagan symbol in her final evolutions. Not only that, Edelgard's beliefs came from the Agarthans whose fall would align with Lucifer's from a Christian perspective. Edelgard's weapon even has the settings on mark of the beast on it indicating she's an Antichrist figure of sort.

Greed is often attached to dragons, while the Buddhist symbolism would link it as one of the three flames. Attachment and greed are symbolized by a cock, a bird whereas Edelgard is the lord linked to eagles. Edelgard desires control over all of Fodlan, shaping it as she sees fit since she views it as her right to do so, and even turns herself into a monster, literally a beast unit, to do so.

Eastern dragons are associated with water, Sothis flooded the earth in order to heal the damage caused by the Agarthans while Rhea is an ice dragon going by her attacks. Western dragons are associated with fire, Edelgard is the flame emperor. Owing to this, dragons also have a history across the world of being slain by storm gods.

Edelgard herself may be part dragon, as the game says her family is supposedly descended from Seiros. We're being told Rhea is her ancestor.

The Eastern perspective is about coexisting with the dragons, as they embody nature itself, whereas the West is more about slaying dragons to show mankind's right to rule over the world. Edelgard repeats that mankind's right to rule the world bit. She rejects coexistence while she is trying to kill people who are part of her own family.

And if you think about the parallels of Fodlan to Elibe, what happened to Edelgard invokes Idunn. Edelgard was turned in a demon dragon as part of an effort to win the war, except it was done by the humans against the dragons. They took away her humanity, her soul as it were reducing her to following the animal path but unlike Idunn Edelgard can't be brought back to the light because she's more than just a victim. She's an active accomplice.

Edelgard is symbolically the game's evil dragon, whereas the Nabateans are the divine dragons which also aligns with them being the benevolent devas to the Agarthans being the drunk on their own power asuras.

[y-rhywbeth2]

Gods and Clergy: Tiamat

Link: Disclaimer regarding D&D "canon" & Index [tldr: D&D lore is a giant conflicting mess. Larian's lore is also a conflicting mess. You learn to take what you want and leave the rest]

Religion | Gods | Shar | Selûne | Bhaal | Mystra | Jergal | Bane #1 | Bane #2 | Bane #3 | Myrkul | Lathander | Kelemvor | Tyr | Helm | Ilmater | Mielikki | Oghma | Gond | Tempus | Silvanus | Talos | Umberlee | Corellon | Moradin | Yondalla | Garl Glittergold | Eilistraee | Lolth | Laduguer | Gruumsh | Bahamut | Tiamat | Amodeus | The rest of the Faerûnian Pantheon --WIP

@neonbutchery The Cult of Tiamat, as requested.

Summary: "The gods are all inherently evil and need to die, so let's replace them with dragons."

Clergy: Dragons! Anarchy! Swords that are also snakes! And you don't need healing magic, it's just a flesh wound - walk it off!

Wyrmkeepers: Flight, fire breathing, pet dragons! Lae'zel is right, where the hell is my dragon steed?

Tiamat: Gods forbid women do anything.

---

"Tiamat teaches that rival powers of all creeds and from every pantheon are inherently tyrannical. They seek only power, at any cost, despite their honeyed words. The Dragon Queen is the only being powerful enough to defy the gods and their despotic rule. Worshippers of the Dark Lady are to work tirelessly towards the day when their queen will banish the gods from Faerûn and unite the Realms under her rule. Towards this goal, all true believers must follow her commands unquestioningly and be willing to sacrifice themselves in her service. To overthrow the gods requires power, and power is acquired through the accumulation of wealth and magic. Power demands respect. Chromatic dragons everywhere are to be venerated as the spawn of the Dragon Queen and paid homage. When Tiamat assumes her throne, her draconic children shall serve her as dukes, and her clergy as their mortal vassals." - Tiamat's Dogma

Holy Symbol: A ring formed of five dragon heads (one for each chromatic dragon)

Sacred colours: Black and gold Sacred animals: Reptiles, particularly snakes Sacred stones: Any Sacred metals: Any precious metal Sacred monsters: Evil dragons, abishai, dragonkin

In ancient times, a nation of mages called the Imaskar had a slave work force that it bolstered by stealing people from other worlds. Earth was one of those worlds, and from Earth they kidnapped an entire settlement from somewhere in Mesopotamia. Eventually, after the fall of Imaskar these abductees and their descendants would go on to form the empire of Unther.

The Untheri brought worship of their gods with them, including the first non-draconic worshippers of Marduk (Bahamut) and Tiamat. Mainstream Untheric religion taught that Tiamat was the Queen of Chaos, Nemesis of the Gods. Unther laid its every single misfortune at the feet of Tiamat.

Untheric myth claims that Marduk and Tiamat were at continuous war with one another. In -1071 DR, during a battle in a war with the local Orcs, Tiamat saw an opportunity to slay the god Gilgeam as he battled with the orc god Ilneval. Marduk stopped her before she could, and the two destroyed each in the ensuing fight. Marduk's Untheric aspect was lost, and he was temporarily lost to the realms, existing only as the draconic god Bahamut. Tiamat was stripped of power, and depending on the source was either reduced to the lowest tier of godhood or became an archfiend in the Hells.

Marduk's cult quickly began to fade away after the disappearance of their god, due to the influence of the priesthood of the envious god Gilgeam. Meanwhile, Tiamat's cult went to ground, undeterred by the total silence of their goddess. Ironically, Gilgeam kept Tiamat's ties to Toril intact by continuing to maintain the populace's memory and fear of her by using her as a scapegoat.

The Untheric pantheon slowly faded away, leaving little but Gilgeam as he degenerated into brutal tyranny. Dissenters found their way into the ranks of the cult, and by 1346 DR the cult was powerful enough to summon an avatar of the goddess back into the Realms, and once again her priests could cast spells. They went to work, formenting rebellion against Gilgeam. Towards the end of the Time of Troubles, Gilgeam and TIamat did battle, with Gilgeam seemingly winning. What he actually did was scatter her essence amongst the three most powerful chromatic dragons in the area. One of them was Tchazzar, a red dragon ascendant (a dragon who has undergone a ritual to become a minor deity). He had already started his own cult in the realm of Chessenta. The dragon then went out and killed and ate the other two holders, becoming an avatar of Tiamat.

Tiamat proceeded to ambush Gilgeam, resulting in a massive battle that almost destroyed the capital city, and caused a fair bit of carnage on other planes of existence. The battle ended with both seemingly destroyed. And you will surely be shocked beyond the pale to learn that Tiamat was merely dematerialised. Before Tiamat could return to Uther and establish herself as the sole deity of the nation, she was ambushed outside of her lair on Avernus by a company of mortal warriors sent by Bahamut (formerly Marduk). Tiamat spent a year in recovery, but by the time she had, Unther had been conquered by neighbouring empires, and the native Faerûnian and Mulhorandi (Egyptian) pantheons had already established themselves.

With the death of Gilgeam, the Untheric gods were so utterly destroyed that Ao dissolved the pantheon, leaving Tiamat as a member of the draconic pantheon only.

Despite her many setbacks, Tiamat has never given up on her plans to overthrow the other gods. She has her cults wherever she can put them, fermenting rebellion and pushing her draconic children towards conquest.

-

Many of Tiamat's cultists were born into her cult. They are tasked with accumulating wealth and power for the faith, and sabotaging and sowing discord amongst all others'. Thefts, temple vandalism, assassinations, arson...

In its ancestral land of Unther, and the realm of Chessenta, the cult is focused on climbing the ranks of power. Within Chessenta she is worshipped in her aspect as Tchazzar, and his old cult is a branch of the larger faith.

Outside of these regions Tiamat's faithful focused their energy on taking over another cult; the Cult of the Dragon, and turning it to their mistress' control. The Cult of the Dragon reveres "the Sacred Ones" and believes that undead dragons are destined to rule the world, based on an interpretation of a prophecy claiming that all the rulers of the world would die, and dragons would rule. They try to convince dragons to transform themselves into liches in preparation for this event (it's also essentially Bane's fault that this cult exists, but that's off topic). Tiamat appeared to them as one of her avatars; a five headed dracolich, in order to draw their worship, and now works to bring them fully into her cult. Many belong to both cults, and the blurred loyalties can cause problems.

As of 1480 DR they have mostly succeeded in assimilating the Cult. The Cult of the Dragon is lead by Severin Silrajin, who has pushed the cult strongly into the worship of Tiamat over dragons in general, and believes that their energy should be focused on summoning her into the Realms to destroy the world as we know it and pave the way for our draconic overlords. Though not everybody in the Cult agrees with the Tiamat worship...

Tiamatans are also known for hunting metallic dragons, and are believed to have devastated their numbers over the years.

The Undying Queen frowns on healing magic; she teaches that people must understand their losses, and as such you should not simply erase the pain. Her followers are to learn from their mistakes as she has, and take full credit for their own successes. Only in the most extreme cases are Tiamatans supposed to use healing magic. That said, some individuals have ignored this restriction and Tiamat has done nothing to stop them.

Tiamat's temples are built in dragon lairs, decorated with frescoes of the Dragon Queen and her many consorts, depicting her being worshipped by all peoples. The temples are filled with the wealth her cult has accumulated for the purposes of sacrificing it to her. The temples are guarded by at least one juvenile or young adult dragon, sometimes more than that. The most important temples contain permanent portals to Avernus.

The ceremonial garb for most of Tiamatans is a form-fitting outfit made of the scales of a living being - preferably a metallic dragon. They wear dragon masks decorated with the images of the various chromatic dragon species, encrusted with gems. Across their back they wear a diaphanous, multihued silk cloaks, draped across their backs in a way that resembles wings. Their claw-tipped gauntlets are red-tinted steel.

In Chessenta priests of Chazar wear black scale armour under a breast plate or tabard sporting the symbol of Tchazzar. Their ornate masks and helms depict red dragons, and they are armed with saw-edged two-handed swords

Outside of ceremony Tiamat's faithful enjoy dressing in ways that bring dragons to mind, out of homage to their goddess.

Regardless of which branch a priest belongs to, they share the same holy symbol, usually in the form of jewellery - a stylised five headed dragon, bearing one of each colour.

Tiamat's faith involves many daily ceremonies. Most notable is the Tithing.

The Tithing involves the worshipper hiding an offering of a small tithe in clasped hands - typically several coins or a small gem. They offer a small prayer, and when they unclasp their hands there is a 10% chance the offering will vanish, and the supplicant will be blessed.

The Rite of Respect is a ceremony a cultist must perform when approaching a chromatic dragon, described as a "complicated ritual of abasement and appeasement." It doesn't offer any magical protection against the dragon, should it attack, but if the rite is not performed to exact perfection the dragon is almost definitely going to attack just for the disrespect.

In Unther the first full moon after midsummer is considered a holy day; the Festival of Vengeance, marking the day Tiamat defeated Gilgeam. In the city of Unthalass, which could've been destroyed by the battle, the night is dedicated to absolute anarchy as the faithful incite mayhem and riots throughout the city. People bearing grudges are encouraged to act upon them on this night, and the cult sees support from native Untheri, who would see their country returned to rulership under their own people and culture rather than that of foreign invaders. The priests of the Mulhorandi and Faerûnian pantheons prepare ahead of these nights in order to try and contain the damage, but this can sometimes be difficult because another way to celebrate the day is to assassinate prominent officials who would be responsible for managing these task forces.

The ranks of the clergy begin with the acolytes, known as Wyrmfodder. Advancement in the cult is a cutthroat affair - sometime literally. Those who can't keep up avoid the clergy, serving as lay worshippers, guards and spies. For clerics, any sign of fear or weakness can be the end of them, and priests guard their thoughts, feelings and plans at all times. You do not have to be powerful in the ranks of the cult, so long as you can fake it convincingly enough. The high priests however, are as powerful as they seem.

In rising order of rank, the cultists are known as;

Custodian of the Copper Chalice

Defender of the Silver Shield

Warden of the Electrum Mail

Guardian of the Gold Scepter

Keeper of the Platinum Crown

Scale of the White Wyrm

Horn of the Black Beast

Wing of the Green Gargantua

Talon of the Blue Baatoran

Breath of the Red Ravager

The High Priests are collectively known as the Dark Scaled Ones.

High ranking priests are permitted to carry serpent blades, green blades decorated with scale patterns that transforms into a live, venomous snake and begins striking at everyone within reach when drawn (the venom is a paralytic). Said priests also wear a specific ring, shaped like a snake biting its own tail, which keeps the snake from turning on them.

There are two holy orders in service to the cult, both centred in Unther. The Serpent Guards are holy warriors tasked with guarding temples and hunting down enemies who meddle in the cult's affairs - including spying on, assassinating and otherwise sabotaging individuals who have the political power and inclination to get in the way.

The best of the Serpent Guards are inducted into the Knights of the Five-Thorned Rose, an order of dragon hunters dedicated to eliminating metallic dragons and their father Bahamut/Marduk. They keep massive libraries, chronicling every scrap of lore on dragons the order has come across and have plans for dragon hunts that are centuries in the making. "These persistent, seemingly inexhaustible, assaults are taking a great toll on the population of Faerûn's dragons."

--

Wyrmkeepers are Tiamat's most devoted priests. Prior to 1358 DR, they were only present in Unther, however they may now be found in any human culture.

They can magically cause an individual to be overcome with fear

They can cast featherfall for free, once per day

They can fly

They can breathe fire, as a red dragon can.

They are immune to a specific form of elemental and physical damage. Which varies by individual. It may be piercing, slashing, bludgeoning, fire, cold, acid, lighting, poison... The elemental immunity includes immunity to the breath weapons of dragons.

The most powerful of them can summon a young adult chromatic dragon to serve as a mount. Tiamat is the one who decides on the dragon who answers, but it's usually whichever type is native to the area. The dragons will not tolerate disrespect and will leave once they are above a certain age (the young dragon stage is between 51-100 years old). They must be treated with absolute respect, and the priest can expect a lot of bribery, bargaining, pleading and placating.

Tiamatans can detect the presence of and identify precious metals and gems within a 20-foot radius by scent. They can't tell the exact location, but they can tell when they're getting hotter or colder in trying to find it. In order to use this ability, Tiamat requires 20% of the treasure given to her within 10 days, lest she lose her temper.

They can magically cover their entire body, except their face, with dragon scales. The exact colour is up to the priest, but must correspond with one of the chromatic dragons.

They can induce a magical sleep in a target by touching them, during which the sleeper doesn't require food, drink or air, and ages only a single year per century. The only way for this sleep to end is by the death of the sleeper or by touching them with dragon bone.

They can also make chromatic dragons grow a magical second head.

--

Tiamat is a Lawful Evil deity known by many titles: The Dragon Queen; the Chromatic Dragon; the Dark Lady; Queen of Chaos; the Undying Queen; Bane of Bahamut; the Avaricious. She is the embodiment of the idea of the chromatic dragon; embodying all of a dragon's avarice, vanity and arrogance, and all of their legendary strength, with none of their weaknesses. She is capable of being charming if she feels like it, but ultimately sees mortals as nothing but pawns.

Most of Faerûn outside of Unther is unaware that Tiamat is, or has ever been, a deity. They only know her as a terrifying monster from the Hells.

In larger D&D lore (or one version of it, anyway) she is considered one half of the original dragon god Io, and twin sister to Bahamut, who was the other half. He became the father of all metallic dragons, and she the mother of the chromatic breeds. This is apparently the version of her known on Abeir, and the version the post-4e version of the dragonborn believe.

On Toril, Tiamat was first worshipped in the Dawn Age, when dragons were the dominant species. The fighting between followers of Bahamut and Tiamat escalated into a full blown war (the Dragonfall War) in -30,000 DR and only got worse when Tiamat started creating horrible reptilian abominations as weapons. Bahamut's answer was the original dragonborn, but those got retconned in 4e. The resulting mass carnage saw dragons as a whole turn their backs on religion, deciding that if this was how gods were then they wanted nothing to do with them. The draconic pantheon only saw a minority of reverence for the better part of 30,000+ years, only really coming back to draconic attention in 1373 DR - which is great news for Tiamat and her cult. Until recently, Torilian dragons dismissed her as a human god - one worthy of respect, but nothing to do with them.

Tiamat usually announces that she's paying attention in ways that are likened to a sudden bolt of lighting. Explosions of fire and ice, and other things that draw from the elemental powers of dragons.

Tiamat's messengers and servants include chromatic dragons and similar dragon kin, abishai (dragon like devils of her own creation) as well as ordinary reptiles. She is particularly fond of snakes.

Her approval is shown in the sudden discovery of priceless valuables made of precious metals and gems (which she then expects to be offered up to her in gratitude, or else) When she's displeased with them, followers may find their valuables vanishing en masse.

When taking an avatar, Tiamat primarily appears in three forms:

One of her avatars is the Dark Lady, a human sorceress of the Mulan ethnic group (a group descended from humans abducted from across bronze age North Africa and the Middle East). Her beauty is described as "fey", her smile "seductive" and her entire eye is black (including the sclera)

Another avatar - the Chromatic Dragon - is a five headed dragon. Typically she has one head for each dragon, but she can change them at will. For example, she may decide to manifest with five red dragon heads.

Her final avatar - the Undying Queen, is much like her Chromatic Dragon avatar, except that she takes the form of a five headed dracolich.

[dawnslight-aegis]

1. steer

If someone had told Kaede even a few moons earlier that she would be standing on the deck of two ships, lashed together, with the express intent of drawing dread Leviathan up from the briny deep, she would have laughed in their face. No Llymlaen-fearing daughter of La Noscea would be so foolish as to court the attention of the master of the depths, and Kaede may not have had the cautionary tales against him as her cradle songs, but she had grown up among former pirates all the same. The first Spoken blood to ever coat her blade was sahagin. The first man she’d ever killed was a roegadyn with coral growing from his eye sockets, crying out to the Lord of the Whorl with his final, garbled breath.

And yet, here she stood, pelted by wind and rain, staring down Leviathan himself. Navigator preserve me, she thought with a sigh, and fair winds guide me back to shore. Not that the ship had sails to catch them, more a floating platform than something you could properly steer, now that the ship towing them had cut the lines. It ran counter to everything that Kaede had ever been taught about surviving Leviathan’s waves – speed and manuverability were the only things that kept you safe when the seas rose up against you, at least according to the Captain of the Sea Shriek, whose crew had become the mercenaries that raised her when piracy was outlawed. She hadn’t dared go visit before setting out, fearing the lecture from half a dozen salt-crusted old men almost as much as Leviathan himself.

A loose collection of adventurers that the Scions had cobbled together from the Echo-blessed of the realm clustered behind her, some well known to her, some not, while somewhere off to her right, far closer to the roiling waves than any person in their right mind should be, stood Marzanna Kimbatuul, spear in hand.

“Tell me again why we’re going to all this trouble? I’ve killed plenty of sea serpents, without resorting to all this nonsense. So what if this one’s really big? A spear in the right place and it dies like all the rest.” The xaela shifted her weight from foot to foot in anticipation, as if debating whether to fling herself directly into the water’s embrace.

Leave it to Marz to have only paid half-attention to her explanation of the plan, ready always to leap spear first into the fray without considering the wisdom of caution or discretion. Kaede rolled her eyes, but before she could respond with the admonishment that gathered on her tongue, a soft laugh drew her attention, and a woman stepped out of the nervous crowd of glory-seekers – a viera, and the only other proper Scion among them, recently come from Sharlayan to assist with the construction of the Rising Stones. “I do not doubt your familiarity with the seas, Mistress Kimbatuul, but it is one thing to slay a sea monster – even an enormous one – within its own domain, and another entirely to have the waters themselves as an enemy. Be at peace. The battle will be joined soon enough.”

The woman’s voice, tinged with a far more foreign accent that yet lingered under the Sharlayan lilt, calmed Marz’s anxious fidgeting much more quickly and completely than any sharp words that Kaede could have brought to bear. Hard indeed to argue with the woman whose conjury would be that which decided whether or not you lived to fight another day.

A momentary calm descended on the Whorleater, and Kaede drew in a sharp breath. It was always when the water grew still that heralded the greatest danger. And indeed, before she could exhale, the deck shook and the sea erupted, and then all thought was given over to the act of survival, as the Lord of the Whorl battered them with head and tail, sea and sahagin. Kaede’s role was the same it always was – draw the beast’s ire, so that spear and spell and arrow could find their mark, and to pray that she survived longer than their foe. Several times she was thrown against the railing of the ship by waves that towered above her head, the wood splintering on impact, but just barely keeping her from being swept away.

In the end, Eynzahr’s mad plan was a sound one, and once again corrupted crystals were the weapon that allowed them to turn the tides against Leviathan, as they had granted them access to Garuda moons before. When the monster at last crumpled, its body bleeding from hundreds of wounds, and dissolved into aether and sea foam, Kaede dropped heavily onto the deck, shivering in the cold and the wet. The wood under her hands was slick with blood and salt water, fishback viscera mingling with red blood that it took her too long to realize was her own. A dull ache in her side slowly made itself known through the fever and fear of battle, and it was all Kaede could do not to retch as she realized that several shards of the railing, longer than her own hand, had embedded themselves in her flesh even as they’d saved her from the depths.

There is no fortune without misfortune, no blessing without a curse, whispered the voice of her mother in the back of her mind, and Kaede almost laughed. Wasn’t that the truth – she’d gained fame and glory, regard and renown, hailed as a hero the realm over, but that same status came at the cost of bleeding out on the deck of a ship in the rain, felled not by the god she’d dared raise a blade to, but by some pieces of bloody wood.

It was frankly embarrassing, and she almost welcomed the encroaching darkness as she dimly registered panicked voices calling for a healer, and hands on her shoulders, holding her upright against the weakness in her body, her whole world narrowing down to the pain in her side and the taste of salt and iron on her tongue, a woman’s hand on her cheek bidding her rest. Whether it was a healer, or her mother, or Hydaelyn Herself, Kaede knew not, but she obeyed all the same, falling fully into unconsciousness as gentle warmth overtook the pain, and the smell of seawater was replaced with that of wildflowers. She was left with only one, singular thought, shining starlike through the haze of unconsciousness:

“‘Til sea swallows all” my arse, you great bloody piece of shite snake.

[see-arcane]

Of Debt and Death

And a dream that flows between them like a river.

Ao3 link here

“Centuries. Centuries he has been doing this.”

Jonathan looks up. He doesn’t remember how he got here. A moment ago he was sinking. Or was it floating? Either way, he drowned. Smothered. There is a certainty now as there was before that the Count is near. The closeness of him in Piccadilly had struck a deep and profound cord in him even in the crowd. Now that cord is an entire hellish violin playing until it screeches.

Here! He is here! Up, go, hurry!

But there was only the drowning. The sweet-bitter crush of a blanket around a strengthless babe who kicks and struggles to no avail.

Then, suddenly, here. The boat.

The ferryman has his back to him, hood drawn up against a frigid mist. Black shores hint at themselves through the fog.

“He has done this for almost half a millennium. Did you ever suspect as much in the castle, even with his dust-choked riches? An old monster, surely, but not ancient. Surely he couldn’t be. The people knew him. The people feared him. The people knew then all that the professor had to scrape from a library. You would not have lasted were it not for them and their holy icons, their gifts and knowledge. They know what it is to slay his kind.”

Still though he is, something thrashes violently in Jonathan’s heart. Wanting, needing, fighting to move. To be aware.

The Count is here.

Somewhere close. Near enough to touch. Jonathan eyes the mist warily.

“Do you truly think none have tried what you and your little pack mean to attempt in so many hundreds of years of horror under his reign? None at all? In times of war, in hours of bereft madness, they tried. Lances before the stake, sword before the saw. They tried. The most he lost were new conscripts and his temper. Ash to flesh, mist to teeth. He came back. Through steel and Cross and fire, he has always come back. And taught grave lessons to his enemies each time. He means to teach you all the same. Only he will not waste you on mere slaughter.”

Figures move on the black shore now. Watching them pass. Hazy as they are, Jonathan knows them all. Children. A mother. Sailors. Lucy’s wedding band glints as she waves.

“He will not let you go, Jonathan Harker. If he must lose any of the other jackals in potentia, you will still go on to suffer him. Through her. Through the cudgel he means to make of her and your heart. You have cost him too much to go free and he will have you bowed and bloodied at his feet. You may yet let him for her sake. Once he lures you back. All of you, so sure, so prepared, will lope after him to the genius loci, his realm of power. The land that worked against you from every angle, every muscle of Nature and Supernature. And there you will all do worse than die.”

Let me go. Please, something is wrong, I know it, I know the Count is close, he has done something, he is doing something, I need to go—

 “Oh, yes. He has, he is, he shall do worse. God has not seen fit to stop him in four hundred years. He left humanity a few holy tin shields and wished you all luck. And when the Devil’s best student marks a soul to be his in eternity, he shrugs and lets the game go on with a lenience to make Mephistopheles seem a prude. Both will burn you, burn her, as they have burned untold victims in the past. Which is all to say that you will do as all the men and women of history have done when pitted against him.”

The mist thins. What had been a sparse milling of figures now revealed itself as a legion. Dead faces staring out at the river in an endless menagerie of souls reduced to cattle.

“You will lose. Because you are only what all his enemies have been before, what he sold his own soul to conquer unfettered. Mortal meat waiting for the butcher. If you want to win, to save her as more than a lifeless corpse or a mobile one, you must be something other than that same heroic chattel.”

I am no Faust.

“Nor could you be if I desired someone worth making the offer. I may not have time to rest on my laurels, but I have counted him as a nuisance not worth bothering with so long as he kept to his mountains. There are so few of his kind that make true trouble. But now he means to play a global tyrant. England is only the first step. Its colonies will follow. Its neighbors after them. The world is a throat and he is the tick who wishes to drink it dry. If God and the Devil consider Earth forfeit to laissez-faire, it falls to us and our like to do the work of seeing him pay a toll long overdue. So, to you I make my offer. To make you something else. To make yours what is mine. To end what should have ended on a battleground lifetimes ago.”

Jonathan rights himself on the boat. The river is leading into a cave vaster and more lightless than the void between stars. He tries not to stare at it, to focus on the back of the ferryman’s hood.

I will make no promise I do not understand the facets of. I will not be trapped again by details never given to me.

“As is wise. But desperation ever makes decisions on our behalf, Jonathan Harker. Your choice will be no airy whim. It will simply be the only choice to make. I do apologize for that. Gods and devils are not alone in rigging their games. Know this, at least. There shall be no need for a contract. No signatures in blood or fealties sworn. Such pageantry is not for us. No more than it was the day Peter Hawkins signed you on. The offer and its vocation will simply be ready and waiting for you. Make the decision. It will be done.”

Jonathan’s hand lands on the ferryman’s shoulder.

The Ferryman turns.

His eyes are burning hollows. His eyes are all that is left that could be called a face.

“Wake. She is calling to you.”

And he is in the bed with Mina.

And he is in a nightmare.

And he does not wake from it as she tells them all of the Count’s visit, her blood and the Vampire’s staining his breast.

And his body sits and breathes and listens.

And as his mind swims back to a boat on the River, a sickle grows where his soul should be.

[limpfisted]

so. fun facts about the blood war! and devils vs demons, and how the distinction is important!

the blood war is this huge thing in dnd. demons are from the abyss. all they want is to cause chaos and eat the whole fucking world. devils are lawful evil, their entire economy and existence is war profiteering souls and afterlives as slaves to FIGHT the demons. the devils hink theyre doing the world a favor fighting demons, and are even “allowed” to corrupt souls bc theyre a necessary evil to fight the blood war. without the devils, demons would take over the universe. without demons, devils would have no purpose, as law has no purpose without chaos. devils in gen are p much forced to fight demons witnout fail, and the ONLY place they can really die and lose their immortality fighting demons in the blood war and like. there is nothing after their death as a devil. its a genuine sacrifice theyre making, putting themselves in danger!for the good of the realms.” and unlike devils—demons can never die, they just pop back up in the abyss. war, endless war, suffering, endless suffering. an economy of making more devils, even more devils, cant stop making more devils, cant srop profitting off of the war, even devils suffer, and anyone can become a devil thru deals or just being evil enough. (and the deals are never fucking FAIR but you get exactly what you pay for.)

zariel was once an angel. she wanted to get involved in the blood war so bad that she took wlturel’s hellriders down to the hells. they betrayed her and left her for dead and never told a SOUL, where asmodeus foundher under a “mountain of enemies she herself had slayed.” instead of killing her, he offered her the chance to fight demons forever

while zariel has literally done nothing right in her life, ever.

the devils in dnd 5e are incredibly sympathetic. (so is, imo, lolth/drow, shar, the druegar, orcs.) and zariel is not evil without reason, shes not some kind of pervert that is sexually abusing anyone. she tortures people SPECIFICALLY to make them better soldiers. i doubt she understands them anymore as slaves than she is to asmodeus. she wants to wipe demons off the map. she wants to end the war.

devils are reasonable to a fault. they are gendered and only by human expectations. they live and want to live full, rich lives of selfishness, but they are bound by the needs of an endless war they can never stop-#they have mansions, pleasure islands, they have jails, they have courts and paperwork. they are bound to the souls they corrupt, they are bound to each other and a hierachy of bureacracy and backstabbing and torturing each other all within the confines of evil unjust laws they themselves uphold.raphael and mizora are outliers in their amount of power, most are little more than slaves, “soldiers” like karlach who were once human, who sold their souls and lost their humanity and FREEDOM—but also examples of how they have to humiliate and debase themselves playing with mortals and “more powerful devils” like zariel who they hate who they must believe are beneath their station. (they have no shame, of course. but they have pride.)

it would be far easier to be a mindless demon. at least they would be free!

imagine you are judged by human morals, because you dare to give someone what they ask for in turn for them simply committing their service to the SAME war you did. that benefits THEM. that benefits their FAMILY and their CHILDREN, its not like theyll be a lemure forever. fight in the blood war, risk ur immortal life, bow to ur superiors, get tortured a bit by them like every devil is tortured and humiliated, ull get promoted, and then u can deal with whining humans talking about how evil and unjust you are for existing. even tho u may have been one of them, once.

i imagine raphael and mizora think wyll and karlach are the most exhausting ppl in the world

necessary evils, baby! and if u think devils ARENT necessary. well. look up dnd demon portals. and what happens when demon portals take root.

tho this is all. to play. devil’s advocate. lol

slavery is obviously wrong and u shouldnt torture people…. like… duh LOL

[mdhwrites]

Do you think if Owl House’s third season were longer instead of being crammed into 3 long episodes, it would’ve been better?

I actually did a blog about this literally the night before the S3 finale and the finale did not prove me wrong!

But I want to emphasize here that a lot of these problems... are due to S2 and S1. S3 is how it is BECAUSE of the writing choices the team made going into it. There were ALWAYS going to be problems with S3 because of how S2A was paced, because of the INSANE decisions made in the face of the shortening in S2B like the Collector. Just the insane amount of mismanaged time. But I like to provide evidence:

No usable villains: S1 had the most amount of threats that could be taken seriously and even they weren't treated the best. The EC were still mostly bumblers who could be taken out by Eda or Hooty with EASE, Lilith is used for comedy far more than threat in S1, even if her role as straight man works to keep some of her menace, Kikimora is barely there and Belos is introduced at the end of the season. All the one off villains are pathetic and usually defeated through brute force in their episodes proving that except by schemes, like Really Small Problems, they're all fucked going against Luz in S2 who now has actual power behind her. So by the end of S1, you have Hunter, Kikimora and Belos. S2A will then go on to make Hunter immediately not a villain, Kikimora a joke by the end of it and ignore Belos entirely until S2B while introducing no new real villains so now they only had BELOS and their time is running out. Also, their only human realm villain is a joke who got beat by Camila, let alone anyone with magic. Speaking of:

Edit: I straight up forgot to mention the coven heads but S2 does technically set them up... and then destroys the coven system, giving them no systemic power, and Luz literally saved all of theirs lives so they have no reason to fight her. Also because the Collector is straight up not a villain in S3, he would not be sending them out to kill people even if that were his style so they don't count as usable villains and neither does the Collector.

Power Scale Issues: In literally the sixth episode, Willow singlehandedly beats the shit out of an entire squad of trained MONSTER HUNTERS without even the element of surprise. She's just that strong. By S2's end, EVERYONE will be at her level. Luz at the START of S2, before glyph combos are introduced, takes down the Selkidamus effectively single handedly. She literally only needed physical strength of pulling the thing in and NO ONE acts like it's a question if she can slay it once she's given a sword. It's really fucking bad. And as they have magic in the human realm, all of these characters are still at that power level for what would have been the first half of the season. This means threats and villains are out of the question. How about character work?

Character Blandness: Willow has no character. She is wishy washy all the way through the series and this is true even in S1 where she is shy for half the episodes and also the most brazen person you know in the other half, sometimes in the same episode. Escaping Expulsion murdered about half of Amity's potential and Reaching Out made sure that there would literally never be a conflict about Lumity and made Amity only a bland love interest with daddy issues and her dad isn't in the human realm so you got nothing on her for the first half. Hunter had to have almost all of his shit dealt with by the end of S2 so he's a certified good guy at their side by the Day of Unity who at least half of the cast have accepted so all you have is backstory angst which they can only do so much of without it being repetitive or boring, especially if you want the BIG reveal to only happen shortly before his possession. Luz has her angst which can't be resolved until post Belos revealing it so you have half a season where NO ONE CAN DO ANYTHING. You theoretically have Camila fluff and Vee angst/fluff potentially but people got pissed at Hop Pop and Sprig getting episodes dedicated to them in the human realm instead of the plot. How would most have reacted to characters who have made barely an appearance stealing half a season from the entire Hexide Squad?

Human Realm is Bad: By the end of S1, the Isles has cellphones, it has televisions, it broadcast news, it will fight for a wrong unjustly done, etc. S2 only doubles down as it introduces robots, child endangerment laws and other things that are just part of the human realm. That's why ALL of the fish out of water jokes in Thanks to Them are utter shit and require characters acting like complete morons because the two worlds are the SAME. And they have almost always been that way. The only difference is that one has electricity, the other has magic. As such, going to the human realm is just not compelling. It doesn't even have thematic reasons to do so except I guess to FINALLY actually show Luz being bullied and they didn't even do that in the specials.

And sure, stuff with the resistance could have been neat in the second half. The first half could have included good fluff like Lumity dates and Gus freaking out about the human realm for an episode. But... It would still be needing to introduce elements. It would still be scrambling for ways to fill the time because S2 killed most of the potential for the characters and was so focused on that goal, even in S2A, that it didn't introduce compelling plot elements for drama or good villains to play into its adventure elements.

Could it have been better? Possibly. But a lot of people felt how much S3's specials were just padding. Just wasted time. Now TRIPLE the length of the season?

Yeah... The shortening was a blessing, not a curse.

=======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead, If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

[mortalkombartwistedreflectionau]

Mirror Harumi/TR Harumi

“My fellow Shirai Ryu. Today I stand before you as I receive the greatest of honors, and also the hardest of duties, one that I promise all of you I will carry in my shoulders. However, with the current state of the realms, I will also need your assistance, your full dedication and loyalty. That’s why I want to remind all of you, especially the youngest ones among us, our history.

Formed by a deserter of the Lin Kuei, the Shirai Ryu were originally even worse than the clan of heinous assassins he hailed from. Entire villages burned to the ground alongside all their innocents are proof of the evil which consumed us centuries ago. An evil so great that it was short-lived, for it would reach the ears of one of the greatest bringers of peace.

Princess Kitana, in her compassion, didn’t only slay our cruel founder, but she also opened our eyes. She had the chance the slaughter our ancestors, to make them feel what their warriors had caused the innocent, but she understood that our realm isn’t Edenia, that they hadn’t lived in the perfect society, that our clan could be reeducated into a force of good, the first example of the prosperity which awaits to Earthrealm as a whole once the pacification we desperately need arrives. All of us must be eternally grateful to our Princess, for it’s thanks to her that I can speak to you as another proud bringer of peace.

I was once like many of you are now. I knew conflict and chaos were out there, that evil needed to be eradicated. I knew I had the capabilities to do something, and yet I decided to stay aside. I selfishly chose my personal life of peace with my family, over giving it to others. I… unfortunately couldn’t see my mistake until I lost the one I loved.

Hanzo Hasashi, one of the greatest among us. Died in service, fighting against one of our enemies, those who refuse to let our realm advance to the future it needs. Since he was gone, I have put all my spirit in continuing our mission to prepare Earthrealm for its pacification, not just for him, but for all of you, and for everyone in the realms who prays for the forces of darkness to be stopped before they can take everything from them.

As your new leader, I will serve you faithfully, I will ensure peace remains dictated among us. In exchange, all I ask you is to not commit the same mistake I made once. Do not stay aside, knowing that the dangers of conflict are still out there. Follow the example of our admired Edenians, and do not fear to fight, for a peaceful future for all realms!”

-discourse of Grandmistress Harumi Hasashi of the Shirai Ryu, given on the day she received her position as the greatest enforcer of the Edenian Regime in her clan.

[bloomingdarkgarden]

Hello,

First things first, sorry for any grammar mistakes. English is not my first language.

Second, I would like to say I am beyond happy that I found your page, and the fanfiction. I have been reading since I was a little girl, and this fandom was the first, where I was ridiculed for liking two characters together (Elain and Azriel). So at first it really turned me off from anything relaring to them, since I didn't want to be bullied. But after discovering you, I have to say I love them even more! I actually would like to know what SJM thinks herself about this ship war and how Elriel shippers are being treated and made fun off. But, lets leave it for another time.

Third, I think I have never read anything so lovely as your writing. The world you created, the words and actions you put into these characters are nothing short of breathetaking. What made you love Elain and Az in the first place?

To me I think, it's the potential of the way they would fight for each other. Feysand and Nessian, sure, they're mated and all, but these two, oh boy. The way they burn Prythian to the ground for the one thay chose.

Anyway, thank you for this hope you give us. For this beauty. And I hope one day to read an original book written by you 🩷

'There will come a poet whose weapin is his word. He will slay you with his tongue' 🩷

Hi beautiful,

Thank you for such kind words regarding the story. I’m sorry you have experienced ridicule over faeries. All I can say is that people take these books astoundingly seriously considering how many massive plot holes there are. I don’t have the ammunition for it, only the bandaids. You are welcome to hide under a a rock with me away from it all. There’s tea there. And naked pictures of bat boys.

It’s hard to say what made me fall for Az and Elain. But I love this question.

I think it’s has something to do with defying expectation.

She’s been spoken for and consistently underestimated most of her life. There’s something intrinsically interesting about her staring wide-eyed into her own fate and turning away to choose another destiny entirely. Elain has a tendency to shock people and I find that telling.

There’s truly something beautiful to me in the dark fragility between them. I find it absolutely hypnotic. Something about sharing comfortable silence at odds with their mutually charged need and desire. The delicacy is 🤌

For me it has nothing to do with them fixing one another. But merely existing with their demons, somewhere sweet and dark and entirely their own. I think it really hit home for me when Az was the one out of everyone to recognize Elain’s powers.

All she has ever wanted is to be seen. She said that once, regarding Greyshit. And the day Az recognized her Sight he saw her truly.

"-as if the understanding, our understanding… it freed her from whatever murky realm she’d been in."

That was the darkest period of Elain’s life. And it was Azriel who saw her and delivered her from it. While her mate was in the room, at a loss. That's not something a girl ever forgets. Ever.

"𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙨 𝙝𝙚, 𝙩𝙤𝙤, 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙨𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙀𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙜𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙.”

This raw, organic understanding.

Why everyone has to be mates is beyond me. That sort of pre-ordained shit reeks of conservative undertones / ownership and makes me 😬. Maybe just because I am a polyamorous bisexual faerie myself idk. I would be cool with it if it were one out of every 20 couples in ACOTAR or something. There are lovely fun tropes with it, but also problematic ones.

Why can’t we just have good old fashioned, star defying, cast-system-breaking-jack-and-rose-titanic-etched love affair idk.

If it happens with Elucien I'll be happy too, but that's another bag. I worship Lucien's ass. I just worship elriel's asses marginally more. I want the world for all our character's asses.

In my heart, Elain’s trembling fawn era is OUT. Elain’s dark-laced self-evolved reputation era defying the gods with a very bad bf no one wants her to have is IN.

Damn the Cauldron. Damn the Stars.

Lets 🫰 fucking 🫰 go 🫰

[blackjackkent]

Quick chat with Jaheira!

Sadly we do not get to have the drink with her that we were promised, given the circumstances, but still a good convo.

"Traitors among us. A child taken. And still I can only feel relief. If they had taken Isobel too..."

"We were all caught off guard," Hector says.

But she has no patience for his reassurance. "Honesty will serve you better than charity," she says bitterly. "I blundered into their trap and it cost us. You have the honor of making up for my mistake." Her expression softens a little. "I trust that you will."

Hector then got to ask her some questions if he wanted to, which he does.

"I've heard your name before. Where?"

(Besides from Karlach like yesterday, Hector? Keep it together.)

"Some crusty ballad-monger, I expect. They have me slaying gods or laying with them, depending on the bard."

LOL. Presumably this is the game hedging its bets on the possibility you're headcanoning a Bhaalspawn who romanced her in BG2 and then ascended. Not relevant in this case, and Jaheira is squarely in the god-slayer category.

(I do enjoy the realization that Caden is most likely still alive and well, probably somewhere in Amn with Aerie and some little 3/4-elven babies.)

"So which was it?" Hector asks with a slight grin.

She shrugs. "There are as many versions of a tale as there are people to tell it. Let that satisfy you. And anyway, the heroics of old have done seemingly little to safeguard the present. We fight, we die, and we just hope that when our time comes, there is someone else to take our place."

:( Jaheira has definitely gotten a bit cynical in her old age. Then again, given what she has been through, I suppose she has reason.

"Surely you made more of a difference than that," Hector says.

"The songs would have you believe we saved the Realms entire. Perhaps we did." She smiles ruefully. "They simply refuse to *stay* saved."

[raaorqtpbpdy]

Phantom Boy (5)

When the Doctors Fenton lose their son in a lab accident involving a ghost portal, the distraught parents will do anything to get him back. Even if it means breaking the immutable laws of life and death. But that thing? That’s not their boy.

First Chapter | Previous Chapter

Chapter 5: Will to Fight (Read it on AO3)

[No applicable warnings]

When the train re-entered the Ghost Zone, any ghost there immediately ran and hid, but the ghosts aboard shouted out the windows that they were safe, that they'd been freed.

There were scores of parties and celebrations all throughout the Zone in the weeks that followed. Phantom was the guest of honor at so many he lost count. He met hundreds, thousands of ghosts, and even made some new friends.

One of the ghosts he'd saved from the circus, he learned, was an actual ghost princess by the name of Dorathea, who could turn into a dragon, which was pretty stinkin' cool. Her older brother didn't approve of her hanging out with Phantom, for some reason―he got the distinct impression her brother wasn't happy that she'd been rescued at all―but that only made her like him all the more. It wasn't long before she was sneaking out of her castle almost every day to spend time with Phantom and the rest of his friends.

For saving dozens of ghosts from that circus, Phantom had become something of a celebrity in the Ghost Zone, and even weeks later, word was still spreading to the far reaches of the Zone about his feats. The chief of a realm called the Far Frozen came personally to thank Phantom for freeing one of his yetis from Freakshow, and he received letters from leaders and citizens of all sorts of different realms as the ghosts he'd saved started to arrive home safely, thanking him for saving their friends and family members.

It felt good to be a hero.

However, being the center of attention for perhaps the first time in his entire existence was bittersweet. He became hyper-aware of everything he did, terrified of making a mistake and accidentally revealing that he was half human. Even the slightest slip-up could result in him not only losing his friends' trust, but maybe even being driven out of the Ghost Zone entirely. He didn't want to be run out of another home.

He told himself not to linger on his fears. Jazz―his sister, but also not his sister―would have told him to focus on the positives. Like how he thought about her good advice, and not the ache, deep in his chest... in his core when he remembered her apparently telling the Fentons he was against nature. Rather than his fear of being discovered, Phantom decided to spend his time and energy with his friends.

He spent a lot of time in Technus' lab. They were almost finished with the ecto-skeleton, although there were still plenty of bugs to be worked out.

Ember was trying to teach him how to play guitar. He wasn't good at it, but she was a surprisingly patient teacher, and he was enjoying the lessons.

Playing pretend with Youngblood and Skelton was always a fun way to pass the time, and Dora would often join them. Youngblood loved to play the valiant knight, saving the princess by slaying the dragon, with Skelton as his noble steed. Phantom, of course, played the princess. Dora didn't want to, and he wasn't the one who could turn into an actual dragon, anyway.

It was while he was hunting with Skulker, however, that they discovered something that threw the whole Zone into chaos.

In addition to ghost animals and rare game, which he loved to viciously threaten, even though he hardly ever actually hurt his prey, let alone killed it, Skulker was also an occasional artifact hunter. Following clues and outsmarting booby traps wasn't as appealing to him as the thrill of chasing live game. Or... ghost game, anyway.

Sometimes, however, when the mood struck him, or when he caught wind of a particularly interesting ghostly artifact, he would go search for it. Ember would often go on these artifact hunts with him. Skulker thought they made excellent dates, since they were less dangerous and the two of them could work together, unlike his usual hunts, where he would be too focused on his quarry to pay much attention to her. Besides, she didn't care for monster fights.

This time, though, Skulker was only going after the artifact because it was guarded by a ghostly beast called Behemoth, which meant Ember wasn't interested. Not stupid enough to fight the legendary behemoth without at least a spectator, if not possible back-up, Skulker invited Phantom along instead. He was something of a hero now, after all.

Granted, Phantom had absolutely no experience fighting monsters, and honestly hadn't really even properly fought Freakshow, but Skulker didn't seem to care. They were ghosts. That kind of eliminated the fear of death. This was just a way to kill an afternoon and entertain themselves. Worst case scenario for Phantom, as a half-ghost, was that he could end up dying the rest of the way and become a full ghost, which would actually solve his biggest problem at the moment.

At least, that was what he thought.

Until they reached the lair of Behemoth, and the beast was already defeated.

"Behemoth!" Skulker shouted at the beast, who appeared to be moping. "I have come to best you in combat and take your treasure as my own!"

Behemoth licked its wounds pathetically. Upon closer inspection, its body was curled around a splintered wooden chest.

"You're too late," said Behemoth, in a voice like an earthquake, rumbling and indistinct. "I am beaten. My charge, stolen."

"Well, get up, and I will beat you again!" Skulker demanded. "I care not for your Skeleton Key!"

"Wait!" Phantom said, watching the miserable ghost as it nudged the broken chest with a massive paw and moaned like a volcanic eruption.

Skulker had told him that the skeleton key could open any lock in the Infinite Realms. Some may have sought it out for glory, like Skulker himself was, but with an artifact that useful it was entirely likely they had another reason.

"Who did this?" he asked Behemoth. "And why? Do you know?"

"I know not his name, but his purpose I do know," Behemoth rumbled. "He wishes to free the Ghost King, and steal the royal artifacts and thus the throne."

"The Ghost King?" Skulker blustered. "The Realms have no need of a king, and no ghost needs that kind of power either! It's absurd! What could he possibly hope to accomplish by releasing that tyrant? The risk is too high, and the rewards are paltry!"

"He claimed his goal was to extend his rule into the real world, once he becomes king," Behemoth answered dolefully. "He intends to make the human world a part of the Realms, and command humans as he would ghosts."

"What a fool," Skulker sneered. "I didn't come here for stories, Behemoth! Fight me!"

"I have no reason to fight," the beast refused.

"FIGHT!"

"No." Behemoth turned its back on them and curled into a ball with its tail over its eyes.

Skulker growled in frustration but nonetheless turned his back to leave.

"Fine," he snarled. "Come, whelp. There's no sport in hunting a creature without the will to fight."

Phantom spared Behemoth a concerned glance over his shoulder before following Skulker back out of the creature's lair.

"Skulker... should we... warn the others about this?" Phantom asked. "Whoever stole the Skeleton Key is clearly dangerous. We have to stop them from taking over the human world."

"Why?" Skulker asked, sounding genuinely confused. "There's nothing for us to worry about, at least, not unless he fails and we have to deal with Pariah Dark, but he beat Behemoth easily enough, so I'm sure it won't be an issue. His plans for the human world are no concern of ours."

When the two of them returned to their usual corner of the Zone, Phantom tried to warn the other ghosts, too.

"Someone's trying to become the new ghost king so he can take over the human world!"

"So what?" was usually the response. "What do we care?"

"Humans are the worst," Technus scoffed.

"They fear and despise us," Dora told him, very gently, as if explaining an obvious concept to a small child who'd never come across it before. "They treat us like garbage, or worse, like monsters. I say, let them suffer."

"We have no idea what the repercussions will be if this person tries to merge the human world and the Ghost Zone together," Phantom pointed out. "It could have huge consequences!"

"Oh no!" Ember responded mockingly. "Could we all die?"

"I don't know!" he shouted back. "No one knows! That's the problem!"

"Fear of the unknown is a very... human quality." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He frowned.

"You tell me."

Phantom elected to shake his head and ignore her insinuations. "Look, I get it, you guys hate humans, but does that mean they all deserve to fall victim to some mad ghost trying to merge our two worlds into one? What about your families? Some of them are probably still alive. What about your descendants?"

"You're too soft on the humans," Ember sneered at him. "Some savior you are. What's the good in protecting your own kind if you also protect our enemies? You can't have both, Phantom."

He stilled, and tried not to panic. "I don't know what you're talking about," he responded in a measured voice.

She scoffed and scowled and crossed her arms over her chest. "Right, sure you don't. Just remember something, kid. You're either with us or against us. If you choose to help the humans, how can you even call yourself a ghost?"

"I... I am a ghost!" Phantom insisted. "This could have consequences for us, too! Whoever this is wants to release Pariah Dark!"

"Please, no one's that stupid," Technus snorted. "You must have misunderstood."

"Besides, the Ancients separated Pariah Dark from the royal artifacts when they defeated him," Dora pointed out. "Whoever it is can do whatever he wants to the humans, but we ghosts shouldn't have anything to worry about."

Everyone he spoke to had the same response. They either didn't believe him, or they didn't care. In the time he had left, Phantom told everyone he could about what this stranger was planning, to no avail.

All that time he'd spent worrying about their trust, and he now realized he should have been worried about their prejudice. What good was their trust, their faith in him, if they didn't care about what he was saying. They couldn't know―he couldn't tell them―that the people they so reviled were his people, as much as they were. It was like they'd forgotten that they'd all been human too, once.

As much as he wanted to convince them to take action, he also knew it was hopeless. Almost all of them had seen first-hand the awful way humans treated ghosts. He couldn't garner their sympathy for humanity when they had none to give.

Next Chapter

[thecrazyworldbuilder]

Sundum.

So there's this world, Sundum.

Here's the run-through:

Everything began with the Will - a power alongside Destiny that willed the world into existence. At first it was but a realm of forests and beasts. There were born the first gods, nature spirits of the Forest, Beasts, and Sea.

Through Will, Destiny was shaped - the coming of gods was all predicted and written to be. First came the Elven gods, eleven in count. They were of Summer (Sovë), Autumn (Suksu), Winter (Tylve), Spring (Kavyt), Fire (Tole), Water (Nasta), Air (Veëmy), Earth (Myy), Yin (Vylestos), Yang (Pemanti) and Balance (Syldi).

Settling in the northern regions of the continent, they evenly ruled the lands. Through their unity, the elves were created, and every god played their part in the first Creation.

Elves were unable to procreate, as they inherited their gods' immortality and endless youth. They were able to create new elves, though, through a ritual held between two elves of opposite sexes and a priest, symbolizing Yin, Yang, and Balance, at the central location of their sacred grounds - the Lake of Creation. They had an afterlife they departed to, which must be deserved. Elves, despite their immortality, didn't fear death for their souls were unshattering and immortal, and when judged by their gods, could be let into the elven Heaven within the skies above the elven mountains, or to be buried beneath them in the worse case.

The Will soon gave way to the Human gods, Negeuz and Nenganfa, the First Father and First Mother, who procreated the First Son, Nernte, and First Daughter, Neneid.

Negeuz ordered his son to kill the elven god of summer, for it he knew north would be too powerful against his family. Himself, he stole the elven Grace from their god of Yin and implanted it in himself and sharing it with his family. Thus began the line of demigods who had the Grace in them, humans with an ever-young face and way more powerful magic than anyone else's.

With the elven god of Summer dead, the North became a cold place, only kept alive by the goddess of Spring who had to marry the god of Fire as his second wife (after Earth) to keep the elven kin safe and alive. (The entire elven nation generally takes inspiration from Finland, as the elves' land is volcanic and cold in nature.)

Each elven god had a Grace, and Yin having none now turned a very twisted situation: The Good, male, light aspect of their pantheon became corrupted and weakened. An option was so all gods shared their Grace with him, weakening the entire pantheon by one eleventh of their general power. This indeed became the case, but this decision took a long time to take.

The Dwarven god - Rungunok - became the First King, ruling over the dwarven kin. After some time though, his existence threatened Negeuz, and he was killed by the human god, making Negeuz the First Emperor.

Negeuz was one patriarchal son of a bitch so his son, with huge daddy issues, slayed him, taking the whole Grace to himself, and ruling as the Second Emperor. Dwarves were long gone and living as nomads, waiting for their god to reincarnate, "wake up", so his Will would build the dwarven kingdom again.

Nenganfa - the mother of the First Son and Daughter and Negeuz's wife, withered from mourning her husband, despite not being treated well by him. She was sealed with him in the First Tomb, which was once the dwarven king's hall.

The wild gods of the Forest, Beasts and Sea were not influenced by the Great Will for they were not in its plan. All three spread chaos, trying to take what was theirs. From the will of the Wild Gods, lycanthropy, ailourothropy (same as werewolves but instead were-sabertooths), minotaurs, satyrs, mermaids, dryads and many other beast folk were born to protect the forests, seas, rivers, lakes and peaks from humans.

Nernte, showing himself to be a faulty leader, let his father's empire shatter, and his blood children were so numerous the throne was to be disputed for centuries.

Neneid at the time took interest in witchcraft, and her children - Riegam and Exeheid (son and daughter) continued her legacy. She gave up all her Grace to them, a part of her living in both.

Riegam built the Bibleoteca - a great library city where the magic of the Words was studied. Mages learnt there, as the demigod's human apprentices mastered many arts and discovered many truths in the ways of physics, anatomy, and astronomy. He was the First Mage.

Exeheid, on the other hand, spent her time in the wild, running with the beasts and soon understanding the will of the Wild Gods. She became the First Witch, giving humans a way into the wilderness and creating reincarnation for their souls, as before all humans' souls dissolved to become a genius loci, depending on the Determination (measurement of Will) of each given human.

Exeheid's reincarnation provided them way to become Forestfolk/Beastfolk (synonyms), and connect to the primal parts of their souls.

Elves at the time, being created by their gods and themselves, started allied cults to their gods, studying the Elements (Water, Earth, Fire and Air) and thus Alchemy, practicing Craft through the Seasons and discussing Philosophy in the temples of Yin, Yang, and Balance.

Inevitably, Half-elves were born through artificial birth due to the incompatibility of their parents' natures. On the side note, the way Dwarves reproduced was unknown, but some mages speculated it is through Mystery.

Due to corruption and aging, Nernte became withered and lost his Grace, instead turning to other ways of keeping himself alive. Some mages, willing to win themselves a spot in the halls of the demigod, went on to help him. His Grace was lost, but they gave him Determination. Immortal and withered, he sits on his bone throne, eyes filled with fire, defying death.

Soon, unexpected, Dwarves somehow outwilled the Great Will itself, becoming free of its plan, and becoming incredibly secretive to a point of becoming myth. Their Mystery allowed them to master both Birth and Creation, as soon, from their dungeons, monsters began to spread. Chimera and other monstrous creatures sent havoc all across the continent.

As turns out, Dwarves weren't the only ones to have Mystery. Gods from outside the continent were also spreading their influence via the same magic.

So was Tog, a god from the south. Brother to Desh, they had no one to rule over, but to them came many. Tog promised afterlife, Desh - immortality. Beastfolk, humans, elves, and primarily half-elves came to both into the desert sands of the south, where there was no Winter.

Tog and Desh were dual, and very well-allied at that. Tog ruled the monsoons and Desh had the droughts. Tog's influence turned his followers into Angels upon death, and Desh shaped his followers into immortal, fiery Demons. But so it happened that some of them inevitably went astray. Two particular ones were demigods of Nernte's blood, Lefeut the Archdemon and Lenge the Archangel.

Their demigod blood and Grace gave them great determination as they returned to the middle lands of the continent to spread their influence. Lefeut did not associate with Desh, for which he was cursed, and Lenge was but a devoted servant of Tog, spreading his faith as a way for the people of the shattered human empire.

The rulership of Nernte was disputed for many critics called him Lich (in which they were right), as his servants indeed practiced necromancy. This didn't give him support of the people, so the shattered empire was now but a great lot of kingdoms. Eventually, the human pantheon ended up having nine figures in it: the First Father and Emperor, the First Mother, the First Son and Second/Undying Emperor, the First Daughter, the First Witch, the First Mage, the Archangel, the Archdemon, and lastly the Great Will.

Dwarves at the time had a plan on using their Science (part of their mystery, steampunk/clockpunk) to create a body for Rungunok to inhabit and rule as an Eternal First King.

[cuemeinyall]

Sometimes, I think about old minecraft worlds and servers of mine. My first one will always be special. I remember the godawful, horrid, brick monstrosity of a "skyscraper" I built. The bottom floor acted as a traditional work office. There was a fake elevator with a ladder to go up. The third or maybe fourth floor had my living space. A small kitchen plus dining, a living room, bathroom, and bedroom. I was so proud of the space. Outside, there was another building, my chicken pen. Another skyscraper-esque build, this time of plain stone. Between them laid my pack of wolves. I can't remember their names. I eventually moved, wanted to start a survival style, and kept to the same world, though.

I wasn't the brightest, moved from a wonderful forest to a barren desert. I was probably 500 blocks away from my old base, so it was probably not much of an issue, though. I built this small, one-story sandstone home. It had a small garden out front. It may be the smallest build I've ever made. It was cute and quiet. I had a dog, kept it outside, I don't think I ever made it a home, or even gave it food and water. I regret that now.

I shared a world with my sibling, too. We only had one xbox account, so we would take turns on it. I kept with the ugly skyscrapers made of brick theme, but she made a small house and an unfinished mansion. A friend sometimes played on it, too. Built an ugly house behind mine. I'll never forgive her. We built an entire town, complete with restaurants, stores, hell we even built a museum. I miss that time my sister and I spent together working.

A friend and I made a world together. She played on her phone, me on the xbox. I built this small dark oak house. She claimed it was the best build on that world. She never really had a home there, I think I built her something small, but she was happier picking flowers. Netherite came out then, I had rushed to get some for myself. Kept a hidden stash of it. I built a baked potato store, best food in the game, in my opinion. We stopped playing after that summer, she got too busy and since she wasn't there I had no one to show off to and no one to help obtain items form.

I stopped playing for a while. It was my first year of high school, and I joined the marching band and went out with friends. I thought the time would last. Freshman year came and went, got on minecraft a few times, revisited old worlds, started a new one, god that world. Goddamn ugliest acacia wood house you've ever seen. I loved that piece of shit. Sophmore year came around, and I stopped again. Covid hit. Fell back into mcyts and a job to fill the loneliness.

I bought a laptop with that money. Saved up for 5 months straight, I bought a good gaming laptop. Couldn't afford any games, though. I eventually got convinced by new friends to buy minecraft and join their realm. We shared a house the two of them built. One of them I fell in love with. We explored, slayed the ender dragon, defeated the wither, laughed, and died alongside each other. We had mines nearby. Bird and I once mined for days looking for a jungle biome and diamonds for Sun's birthday. I went insane in those mines. Sun built a villager trading hall. Bird and I started a storage room. I built a gazebo, across the pond from our spruce house. Sun was mad at first, I made it of oak instead of spruce, but they eventually thought it was beautiful. I planted flowers, azeala bushes, and those glowberry vines. Bird brought over her jukebox and a record. We brought our dogs. My dog, Tilly, named after that mcyt Pearlescent Moon's dog in the life series, was one of my pride on that server. Damn I miss her. She was a good girl. She still sits at the gazebo waiting for me. After all, life got busy, and we stopped playing.

I made some more friends. One invited me to join a server they were on. It was a factions server. We allied but kept our personal factions separate. I built a beautiful white, gray, and teal tower. They had a beautiful cottage 200 blocks away. They bullied me into fighting the ender dragon solo, as I've only fought it with friends before. We built a tavern, well I built it. The plan was to make a conjoined city together for people on the server to visit. During the building of it, another friend joined the server. We finished the tavern, added food, fake prices, and decorations. They lived in it temporarily in one of the rooms I had set up for those new to the server to start out in. Barely a week of the tavern being finished, someone took tnt and blew up portions. We were able to get it replaced, but I'll never forget that destruction. The first friend and I then started a fighting pit build. Planned to host server wide fights for entertainment. Cleared out a large area and almost finished it. The server randomly closed. All the love we put in our work was never finished.

We convinced a friend to start a server a few months later. A bunch of us from the first server and some others joined in. I built another tower, the same style as the other one, just dark grays and blacks, instead of blues and white. I shared it with a friend. I slowly started moving out. I started work on a castle, made of diorite. It's mostly done, just some walls to build for the courtyard, but it's been months since I've done work on that. I had made it far away from the rest of them, all close together. I invited them to make small bases near mine, to fill out the area, have a vacation home. Only one person ever finished theirs. I went on to my next project, The Hole. A giant underground city, below my castle.

Everyone tells me I'm not going to finish it. I'm the only one who still plays on the server constantly. I feel like this says something about me. I feel as I hold on to things too tight and don't let go. I still want to go get on the xbox and play with my sister, I want to call up my friend from middle school and show off a new, admittedly, mediocre house. I want to sit in my gazebo with Tilly and talk with my friends and go crazy in the mines again. I want to finish that fighting pit and jokingly fight with my friends and watch as they all complete the fucking stupid initiation event of fighting an ender dragon we called Jean, while the rest of us watched from our perches. I want to sit in my castle with a feast for my friends, I want to finish my build and everyone to come see it and be so proud.

It's never been about the builds. It's been about the effort, the time, the tears, and laughs. The time spent with people I care about doing the thing I love.