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pokemonastro · 1 month

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18th Birthday Hurtday

Sunday, Decis 1, 2023, 7:00AM

Mooncrest, Calvada, Calnova

Climate: Cold, Wet, Windy, Foggy Skies

Brother Marek's Cabin

"When sudden change is filling you with dread and anxiety, remember to wear your heart on your poisonous horns and pierce on boldly. -Elkhorn Horoscope, Pokezine"

Andrew Diaz, just turned 18, reads his magazine as he arrives to his brother Marek's Cabin in a moving truck.

He spends most of the morning unpacking, settling in his new home with his older sister, Linda.

His room is upstairs with grey walls, reminded him of steel type pokemon.

He wishes his parents were around to see them, too bad they're busy out in space doing missions.

Andrew goes downstairs and his sister talks to him.

Linda: "Andy, i think it's time you go to the lab and get yourself a pokemon. You graduated highschool, you're an adult, and you don't even have a pokemon. Maybe its time to earn some badges."

Marek calls on Andrews Pokegear, and Andrew answers.

Andrew: "Hello?"

Marek: "Happy birthday Andickus! I'm sorry i couldn't greet you in person, but i promise you're gonna love the cabin this year, i finally got wifi."

Andrew: "I'll try, weather up here is going to be amazing when Summers over, not."

Marek: "Yeah! It can be, unless it snows too much! I know your weak blood circulation makes you freeze up, take care."

Marek hangs up the call.

Andrew: "I'm going to shower and change, unpacking made me sweaty."

Somebody knocks on the door.

Andrew gets a message on his pokegear.

Linda: "Who could it be?"

Andrew: "I don't know, you open the door."

Linda: "What if it's a Sesquacha pokemon trying to lure us into the woods."

Andrew: "It's 9AM in the morning, Those aren't out at this hour."

Andrew opens the door and his neighbor Zoe rushes in.

Zoe: "Hi Linda! It's great to have you back! I thought you were going to chicken out on returning to Marek's cabin. Hi Andy."

Andrew: "Hi."

Zoe: "Well, I'm off to the Professors lab! He has a razor fang for my little Eevee, Darwin. I'm going to evolve it into a dragon type eevee, Drakeon. It grows bat like wings!"

Andrew: "Can you wait for me? i have to shower and change."

Zoe: "You know where the lab is at. Just walk over! Don't act like you never been here to Mooncrest before, Unova boy."

Andrew: "It's been 10 years!"

Zoe: "10 years too many! Hurry!"

Zoe and Linda sit in the living room drinking coffee as Andrew showers and changes clothes.

He wore red underwear, white hair ties, black mesh tank-top with sky blue jeans, grey feraligator belt, white socks with white shoes.

He looked into his mirror with his amber eyes and saw himself:

He grabbed his keys, pokegear, and dashed down stairs.

Andrew: "I'm ready!"

Zoe salutes Linda goodbye and she leads Andrew to her indigo blue car outside.

They get inside the car and drive off to the pokemon lab in north Mooncrest.

Zoe: "Are you wearing deodorant?"

Andrew: "Oops, no."

Zoe: "Something smells nice, like Pecha berry."

Andrew: "Thats my anti dandruff shampoo"

Zoe: "Oh, your scalp is dry?"

Andrew: "Yeah, from bleaching my hair blond in Unova. I dyed it black and now it's dry and flakey."

Zoe: "I see, your hair is jet black."

Andrew: "Thanks."

They sit as Zoe plays her music and they drive in silence for 15 minutes.

The Songs she played in her car were:

Save your tears by The Weeknd

Toy Soldier by Martika

Beat it by Michael Jackson.

They arrive at the pokemon lab parking lot and get off the car.

A large Honchkrow attacks them with dark pulse from the tree up above.

Andrew flinches.

Zoe sends out her Eevee.

Zoe: "Darwin double kick the tree trunk!"

Darwin, Zoe's Eevee, kicks the tree twice and it shakes off the wild pokemon, it flies away.

Zoe: "That was a close one, return!"

Level 10 Darwin goes back in its pokeball.

Zoe and Andrew quickly rush into the Pokelab and go straight to the Professors office.

Sunday, Decis 1, 2023, 9:35AM

Mooncrest, Calvada, Calnova

Climate: Cold, Wet, Windy, Foggy Skies

Professor Bristlecones Lab

Zoe knocks on Professor Bristlecones office door.

Zoe: "Hello! Pawpaw! It's me, Zoe! Good morning! I have an old friend who wants to see you!"

Bristlecone: "How old?"

Zoe: "17."

Andrew: "18. Todays my birthday"

Zoe: "Oh yeah, you're an Elkhorn zodiac. I forgot Well, he needs a pokemon."

Bristlecone: "18, with no pokemon, thats outrageous, what if you get attacked?"

Andrew: "I never think about that stuff."

Suddenly A Honchkrow and two Murkrow bash through the windows and attack the office room with Gust, pages fly everywhere.

Zoe: "Go! Darwin, use Swift!"

Bristlecone reacts quickly too.

He offers Andrew a fire, grass or water pokeball.

Its contained Flaries, Virtian and Skruid.

Bristlecone: "Hey kid, hurry! Pick one and kick those pokemon butts!"

Bristlecone sent out his Calvada Beldum.

Bristlecone: "Don't just stand there, pick a starter pokemon!"

Andrew panicked, he didn't know what to choose.

He knew water pokemon were abundant so he didn't choose Skruid, the bubble krill pokemon.

Grass pokemon were also abundant so he didn't pick Virtian, the tool monkey pokemon.

He chose the fire starter, Flaries, fire pillow pokemon, which were much rare in the region, so he chose that and named him Machoman.

Andrew: "Go Machoman! Use tackle!"

Machoman the Flaries used tackle on one of the Murkrows and it was a critical hit, It flew off back outside.

Bristlecone: "Beldum use take down on the Honchkrow!"

level 19 Beldum used takedown on level 15 Honchkrow and it flew away.

Zoe: "Darwin, use swift!"

Darwin attacked the remaining Murkrow and it left.

Zoe: "Guess i have to clean all this glass in your office, grandpa."

Bristlecone: "No, no, it's okay, I'll sort everything. Run along with your friend now. Who evolves a Murkrow into a Honchkrow and releases it into the wild. Maybe it found a dusk stone."

Andrew: "My name is Andrew, Andrew Diaz."

Bristlecone: "You must be Marek Diaz little brother. Glad to see you. Aaron."

Andrew: "It's Andrew. Thanks for the pokemon."

Bristlecone: "Yeah, don't mention it. Zoe take your little friend to the restroom and use the emergency kit supplies to band-aid Andrews cheek, glass seem to have cut him and made him bleed, oh, you got a cut too!"

Andrew touches his cheek and feels the blood.

Andrew: "Ahh!!!"

Zoe: "Lets patch us up. Return Darwin."

Darwin goes back inside its pokeball.

Bristlecone: "Return, Beldum!"

Beldum returns to its pokeball.

Zoe quickly scanned Flaries with her pokedex, it registered Machoman at level 6.

Zoe: "Andrew your Flaries grew to level 6. It learned the steam type move hot breath"

Andrew: "Return, machoman."

Bristlecone grabbed a pokeball from his drawer and unleashed a Rotom.

Bristlecone: "Anderson, hand me your pokegear device."

Andrew: "It's Aaron, I mean, Andrew."

Bristlecone: "Rotom, enter Adrian's phone and transform it into a Pokedex."

Rotom went into Andrews pocket and went inside his pokegear phone and transformed it.

Rotom flew out the pocket and floated around Andrew.

Rotom: "You have one unread message from Dad."

Bristlecone: "Probably a birthday wish Aiden, Anyways you may now be able to research and study pokemon with this ghoulish device, just don't try to hack it or it will hack you andre, hahahahaha, ill go get the broom and dustpan."

Zoe grabbed Andrews hand and led him to the restroom where she used the emergency kit to find a bandaid and patch Andrews cut cheek.

Zoe: "Pretty scary huh?"

Andrew: "All that, nah!"

Zoe: "I seen those Swanna hair bumps on your arms."

Andrew: "Haha, no, for reals, I was chill. I felt safe around the professor."

Zoe: "Sure... What are your plans after this?"

Andrew: "Probably go home, pack up my pokebag and head to route 1."

Zoe: "What's on route 1?"

Andrew: "It leads me to Rednose, no?"

Zoe: "What's in Rednose?"

Andrew: "The closest Gym."

Zoe: "You may want to train your pokemon hard if you want to beat Ice Gym leader Kylie."

Andrew: "I have a fire pokemon, it will be easy."

Zoe: "But you don't know any strong fire moves."

Andrew: "I have TMs stored in PC lockers at the pokecenter. My parents left them over for me."

Bristlecone opens the restroom door.

Bristlecone: "Here Zoe, Here's that razor fang you asked for."

Zoe: "Thank you pawpaw."

Bristlecone leaves back to his office and continues to clean the window glass.

Andrew: "But, yeah, my parents left me TM moves Thunder, Flamethrower, Blizzard and Psychic."

Zoe: "Must be nice being spoiled.... not that i'm saying you're a brat."

Andrew: ...

Zoe: "We'll I should take you back home."

Andrew: "Yeah, but no thanks. I'll walk to the pokemon center from here."

Zoe: "Okay, I'm going to eat a moomoo burger at moomoo cafe, see ya later! Take these 10 pokeballs."

They leave the pokemon lab and Zoe enters her car and leaves.

Andrew began his walk to the pokemon center which was 15 minutes away from the lab by foot.

He let out Machoman and let him walk with him, to build up his stamina, he also played music on his Pokegear, now Pokedex.

He Played the Songs:

Toxicity by System of the down,

Void by Melanie Martinez,

Ring of fire by Johnny Cash.

He arrived to the pokemon center.

Sunday, Decis 1, 2023, 10:10AM

Mooncrest, Calvada, Calnova

Climate: Cold, Windy, Clear Skies

Mooncrest Pokemon Center

Nurse Joy: "Good morning, Welcome."

Andrew went to the basement to the locker room and unlocked his locker.

He took out his TM Flame blast."

Andrew: "Huh... it wasn't flamethrower, it's Flame blast..."

Andrew: "Rotom, can Flaries learn Flame blast?"

Rotom: 'No, Flaries cannot learn fire move. It's learnable at the 3rd stage however."

Andrew: "Wow, what about Thunder?"

Rotom: "No."

Andrew: "Blizzard?"

Rotom: "No."

Andrew: "Weird, what about psychic?"

Rotom: "No."

Andrew: "What typings are Laries 3rd stage.

Rotom: "3rd Stage Laries is Fire/Light Type."

Andrew: "What? What is Skruids 3rd stage type?"

Rotom: "3rd Stage is Water/Steam"

Andrew: "How does a big shell pokemon fly?"

Rotom: "Special Ability: Balloon Flight, lets it float with a snot bubble over the ocean."

Andrew: "What is Virtians 3rd stage types?"

Rotom: "Grass/Cosmic"

Andrew: "What!? I missed out on a Cosmic pokemon?"

Rotom: "I believe so."

Andrew: "Hey there's a 5th tm disc. Saber claw, light move. Can Flaries learn that?"

Rotom: "Yes."

Andrew: "Sweet!"

Andrew releases Machoman in the locker room and puts the TM disc in the pokeball.

Andrew returns Machoman inside the pokeball and the disc processes inside.

Rotom: "Congratulations: Machoman learned Saber claw."

Andrew: "Cool."

Andrew exits the pokemon center and waits at the pokestop.

Suddenly Honchkrow lands above the pokestop.

Andrew gets very nervous.

Andrew: "Alright, this bird has been following me for a while, time to take it down."

Andrew runs out from under the pokestop and sends out Flaries.

Andrew: "Go Machoman! Saber claws."

Machoman's claws glow white little lasers.

Honchkrow laughed, flew around Flaries and used peck.

Andrew: "Now! Machoman, Saber claw him!"

Machoman used saber claw on Honchkrow and burned its tail feathers.

Honchkrow got real angry and spoke:

Honchkrow: *Mimicking humans voice* "Xsshole!"

Honchkrow flew around Machoman and used peck.

Andrew: "Machoman, Saber claws now!"

Machoman grabbed Honchkrow's leg and used saber claw with its other hand.

The saber claw burned through its beard feathers and struck punch its chest."

Andrew: " Critical hit! Alright!"

Honchkrow showed signs of exhaustion.

Andrew threw a pokeball.

Honchkrow went inside the pokeball and the release button pulsed white 3 times.

Andrew: "Alright!"

Rotom: "Honchkrow, the tormentor pokemon, evolution of Murkrow. This pokemon is native to the Jhoto and Sinnoh region though became prevalent in the new world. Honchkrow is at level 16, it knows Gust, Peck, Nightshade and Dark Pulse. Would you like to assign a nickname?'

Andrew: "Yes, Raven"

Rotom: "Congratulations! Honchkrow is now Raven!"

Andrew: "Rotom, call the professor."

Rotom: "The professor sent you straight to voicemail."

2 notes · View notes

owlsandwich · 7 months

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The Mechanics of Magic

Read along with me :D - Chapter 16

Chapter 1 | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

I'm up to chapter 21 with my edits, but have fallen behind a bit with posting them. That's about half way through the book, and it's all kicking off.

Here is chapter 16.

The steps up to the palace entrance were as smooth as Matthew remembered, the grey stone worn by the passing of generations of feet. Behind him, another car pulled up in the gravel courtyard. Its occupants, dressed as finely as their expensive vehicle would suggest, joined the crowd queuing at the door.

He’d ridden in such a car himself, just moments before. Not that Felix Marek had been happy about picking Matthew up from their agreed meeting spot, a road not far from the palace. They now stood together in the cold shadow of the building, surrounded by the chatter of the other waiting guests.

The suit that Oliver had provided fit Matthew perfectly and he had no worries about anyone suspecting he wasn’t among his peers. Even Marek seemed begrudgingly impressed. Still, his breathing was restricted and shallow; each step he took felt forbidden.

At least he was now too close to see the building in its entirety. He hadn’t been able to take his eyes off the palace for the whole drive, the journey mirroring every memory he had of the experience as a child. Now, Matthew found himself scanning the carved entrance way, the familiar steps, the gilded doors, as if seeing them for the first time.

The presence of the natural magic pushed stronger against his mind as he got closer. Matthew resented its intrusion; Oliver’s explanation tainting what once brought him comfort. It was just another thing marking him as different. A remnant of an entity that no longer existed, like the building in front of him.

An impatient cough told Matthew he was holding up the queue. He rushed up the next few steps two at a time, earning a sneer from Marek and a smattering of murmurs and giggles from those behind them.

This wasn’t home anymore. He would have to be more careful.

Familiar smells of wood polish and musty fabric crashed him through a wave of emotion as they entered the hall. Morgan had changed the floor. The tiled image of the royal crest was gone, replaced with a block pattern of Heliodor gold and white that extended through to the opposite doorway. Two curving staircases ascended on either side, that Matthew knew lead to the state rooms above.

His magic sense told him that there were mages amongst the guards, likely sensing for spelled weaponry as well as being there for general defence. Matthew tensed as they looked him over, but none tried to stop him. Instead, they nodded a greeting as he and Marek walked across the glossy tiles towards the terrace doors.

Though it was overcast, the natural light of the gardens made Matthew squint as they stepped outside. Groups of guests were scattered across the patio and a gust of wind snapped at a marquee set up to his left.

“I don’t care what you want to do here — just make sure you keep away from me,” Marek hissed, breaking their tense silence. “I agreed to get you in, not to be your babysitter.”

The shorter man’s wispy hair caught the breeze, flicking up in a display that made a mockery of his attempted menace. Felix Marek had been compliant so far, though perhaps that shouldn’t be a surprise. It wasn’t often that Matthew flexed his full power, and as predicted by Oliver, he had found Marek quite amenable once he mentioned the wands and his direct involvement in the recent attack in the city.

Opening his mouth to firmly remind Marek of his position, Matthew was interrupted by the approach of a man in a cream summer suit.

“Felix Marek! Good to see you lured out from that country retreat of yours.” The man pulled Marek into an enthusiastic handshake and looked Matthew up and down before offering him a hand in greeting, too. “Rowan Greenstede,” the man said, then paused, expectantly awaiting an introduction in return. But Matthew’s mind had gone blank. What was the name Oliver had given him to use? He’d never been great with names, but before he could stutter something out, he was saved.

“Don’t mind him.” Marek waved Matthew away and leaned in close to the man’s ear. “An old friend called in a favour; his cousin is starting a business and needs to do some networking.” Marek raised his voice again so Matthew could hear. “In fact, he was about to head off and do just that.”

“Oh, I see. I was looking forward to meeting the beautiful lady that would accompany you to the party this year!” Rowan winked and Matthew realised his presence as Felix’s plus one might be more conspicuous that he’d hoped. “But in that case, your friend must tell me about this business venture.”

The exasperation Matthew saw cross Felix Marek’s face likely mirrored his own.

“It’s not—” Marek began before Matthew interrupted him.

“It’s power generation.” The answer came in a flash of inspiration. “Converting magic into electricity. We hope it will be an efficient way to bring power to areas that are not currently on the grid.” He hoped it sounded boring enough that Rowan would drop the subject, and Matthew made a mental apology to his son for that thought.

“Well, that sounds fascinating!” Unfortunately, Rowan looked like he meant it. “Especially for Ardveld, of course. Perhaps pass me your business card? I’m on the board of a few companies that might be interested in such a thing.”

“Uh, oh dear…. I’m sorry! I must have left my cards in my other jacket.” Matthew patted his pockets unconvincingly as Rowan gave him a confused look, and Marek silently fumed. “I’m just going to...” He indicated vaguely towards the drinks table, then ducked past an approaching waiter into a group of other attendees. A glance back revealed Marek visibly glowering before he was lost in the crowd.

The interaction had shaken Matthew more than expected. Without thinking, he found his legs carrying him away from the other guests, down the patio steps to the gravel path below. It wasn’t much quieter here, but the smell of summer flowers began to calm his nerves. Roses. Matthew’s sigh of relief caught in his throat.

He was inside. He just needed to hold it together until he got to Alex.

Music carried to him from a roped-off area to his right, where a second marquee rose in the background. That close to the palace’s east wing… Matthew realised this restricted area must be for Ardveld’s leaders and officials. Blood rushed in his ears as he scanned the distant attendees for Morgan, but if the man was among them, he wasn’t visible.

It was open here. Too open for Matthew to be shielded from view, no matter how many flowerbeds he tried to put between himself and that marquee. Before he realised it, he’d left the patio completely, music and voices fading, replaced by birdsong and the inescapable trickling of a fountain.

A cold chill dripped through Matthew’s body. He didn’t want to turn to look at the spot where his instincts had pulled him. In the nightmares, he could never look away. Now, even in the glaring light of day, he was certain that the scene behind him would be just as he’d left it all those years ago.

It was evening, then. Magelights glowing in the grounds. The smell of flowers mixing with the scents that wafted tantalisingly from the palace kitchens.

Xander had snuck them a fresh loaf and so many cheeses that Matthew had been sure the servers would notice the absence. But hopefully enough wine would have flowed by the end of the meal that the Velbian diplomats wouldn’t care.

He’d skipped enough formal dinners to know his father would give him a strong scolding that evening. Apparently, it was an insult to their guests for the Crown Prince to not deem them worthy of his company, though Matthew could never see why. It wasn’t as if any of them had ever spoken more than a few platitudes to him.

No. He’d much rather be watching Xander throw bread to the fish in the pond, than pretending he cared about his royal duty.

Of course, he should have predicted that Oliver would be sent to bring them in. Despite only being a Potential, the nineteen-year-old shadow of his father’s Tactician was more of a stickler for the rules than any of the actual Royal Champions. In contrast, Xander, for all his good breeding, spent enough time in the kitchens that you could be forgiven for assuming he was a baker’s boy rather than a potential Champion himself. This was something they both enjoyed using to torment Oliver and his delicate principles.

The initial shots from the palace were a foreign enough sound that Matthew first thought of fireworks. It wasn’t until Oliver collapsed, barely missing the pond, that they thought anything could be wrong.

He’d been cradling Oliver in his arms when he watched the same thing happen to Xander. He’d never seen an Awakening before. Had no idea then what it meant. If he’d realised...

The man in the Velbian uniform who emerged around the boxed hedgerow seemed at first as though he was there to help them. Oliver’s shouted warning came too late. Unconscious, with no magic to protect him, the bullet faced no resistance. Matthew could only sit, frozen, as Xander’s blood clouded the crystal water of the pond, ears ringing from the crack of the gun.

It was thanks to Oliver that he hadn’t faced the same fate. The older boy’s shield, strengthened with the magic of a fully Awakened Champion, encircled them both and the shot meant for Matthew ricocheted uselessly into the bushes.

He’d known he had to move, could hear Oliver begging him to get up, but he couldn’t tear his eyes from his fallen friend.

When he asked later what had happened to the guard, Oliver had been evasive. For his part, Matthew only remembered the flare of magic from beside him — the blast that fired the Velbian back beyond the hedge. Oliver hadn’t wanted to speculate on the man’s survival. When he’d finally dragged Matthew to his feet, they hadn’t looked back.

“Hey!”

Matthew looked up with a start. A server was coming towards him — for a second, he felt the urge to flee, but then he recognised Roy’s red hair.

“What are you doing all the way out here?” Roy hissed. “Took me ages to find you.”

Looking closer, Matthew saw that Roy appeared to have simply shrugged on a waiter’s jacket over his usual clothes — as a whole, his outfit didn’t quite match.

“Sorry.” Matthew shook his head rapidly to rid himself of the memories. Out of the corner of his eye, he was relieved to see clear water, disturbed only by the ripples of the fountain. “You’re right. Let’s go.”

Roy didn’t press for an explanation. Instead, he held a hand out to stop Matthew from walking back up the path. “About that. We might have a problem.”

“What do you mean, ‘a problem’?”

“It’s Marek. I saw him slip a note to one of the guards. I can’t guarantee it, but I’m willing to bet it’s about you. Let’s get this done quickly and get out while we can.”

Matthew swore viciously. His first thought was to confront Marek, but if Roy was correct, then it wouldn’t do much good now. “Okay, fine. Oliver’s plan was that we go in through the secondary kitchen. I don’t see why that should change.” Without waiting on a response, Matthew led the way towards the palace.

Due to the party, the smaller kitchen in the west wing would be in full use — a fact Roy had confirmed once he’d swapped onto the delivery shift. The west wing once contained the rooms of the Champion Potentials, then had become an academy for mages under Morgan’s rule, until recent years saw them shift to administrative use. As Head of Magical Affairs, that was where the woman’s office would be, and with it, their best chance of finding Alex.

“If we stick close together, it’ll just look like I’m helping a guest,” Roy said, jogging up beside him. “You’ll have to slow down a bit though, mate, or people are going to think something’s up. Walk like you belong, remember?”

Matthew inhaled deeply and slowed his pace. Roy was right; he’d be no use to Alex if he got caught.

As they drew closer to the entrance, glamorous guests were replaced by a stream of servers filing in and out. None of them looked their way as Roy and Matthew slipped in amongst a group entering the kitchen.

Inside was a storm of noise and organised chaos. Even sticking to the edge of the room, Matthew scarcely escaped a plate of canapes being tipped all over him. The rushing server sent a sharp word his way without looking back. Then, they were at the rear door and fell through it into a mercifully empty cloakroom.

Roy audibly exhaled in relief beside him and Matthew watched, bewildered, as he casually popped a canape into his mouth. “That went well, I reckon.”

This room was half as wide as the kitchen. Bags and clothes were piled and hung in every available space. Only the doors remained clear; there were two, other than the door they had entered through. Matthew knew that one led to the main corridor of the west wing, the other to the staff entrance hall.

He crossed the room and extended his magic sense to the area beyond the second door. As expected, he couldn’t reach far through the walls, but it was enough to detect the energy of at least one mage.

“A guard that way. At least one.” Matthew moved to the other door.

“They were checking IDs when I came in,” Roy replied. “You can feel them through a wall?”

The disbelief in Roy’s voice was obvious, but Matthew ignored it, occupied instead with the locking spell on the door to the corridor. “You think you can get this open?”

It was solidly complex, though not the kind of lock he remembered from his childhood.

“Yeah, easy.” Roy walked up beside him and put a hand on the door. “Just give me a sec.”

A tingle of magic emanated from Roy as he worked. Matthew stood in silence, shifting from foot to foot and listening for any change in their surroundings. Roy had sounded confident enough, and he didn’t want to draw attention by blasting away a spell he didn’t have to.

After far more than a second, Matthew felt the rush of dispersed magic and Roy stepped away from the door, grinning. “Told you!”

“Not bad.” Matthew had to admit he was impressed.

The corridor they walked into hadn’t changed since his childhood. Chipped panelling and faded blue carpet showed a lack of upkeep in stark contrast to the palace’s main entrance; the stale scent was so familiar that he half expected to hear voices he knew, echoing from the empty rooms on either side.

He remembered some of the layout. The first door to his left had once led to a dining room, and a little library that paled in comparison to the grand one in the east wing. Now, though...

As they walked further, Matthew felt a strong passive spell emanating from a room ahead. The plaque beside the door answered his unasked question: Head of Magic Affairs. It was locked.

“Do we go in?”

Roy had voiced Matthew’s own thought. He couldn’t detect anyone in the room, but his regular magic sense could be clouded by the radiating energy of the door spell. Closing his eyes, he instinctively reached for the natural magic from the ground instead, just as he had done when he was young. Immediately he was met with the distortion caused by several bodies of energy; some from the floor above, but two approaching rapidly from the stairwell ahead.

“Someone’s coming.” Before Roy could protest, Matthew grabbed him and dragged him through the nearest unspelled door.

They found themselves in what must be a disused classroom. Chairs sat upturned on desks, and heavy curtains blocked the light that would have streamed in from the palace courtyard. To his credit, Roy stayed silent beside him. Soon, footsteps confirmed what Matthew’s senses had already told him: two mages were heading down the corridor towards the room they were hiding in.

They stopped, too close, and Matthew cursed his luck.

“Door looks secure,” a voice said on the other side. They must be checking the office.

“Doubt he would have bothered with it anyway,” came the reply. “If he came through the kitchen, he’ll have likely headed straight to the palace proper. Nothing to steal around here.”

Matthew heard Roy swear under his breath, but was too distracted by the spell he was forming to acknowledge it. Hopefully the guards wouldn’t be able to sense them through the door, but if they did, he would be ready to fight.

“I’ll head over and make sure the guys at the entrance know no one’s allowed through. You tell the kitchen to keep an eye out. I’m sure they’ll be very pleased.”

The footsteps started up again and Matthew exhaled, letting his spell disperse. “Shit,” he hissed. “Looks like we aren’t walking out the front door, then.”

“Look, we knew Marek had said something.” Roy folded his arms. “At least now we have some idea what’s going on. It’s not ideal, but they’re looking for one person inside the main palace. That means we can pick up your kid and his friend and hang out ‘til we can leave.”

Matthew shook his head. “I felt some people on the floor above. It could be them, but if they’re under guard then we won’t be able to wait around. Someone’s going to realise and come hunting, plus Felix Marek will have given them my description.” He tugged a hand through his hair. “I’ll fight my way out of the staff entrance if I have to, but with Alex…” Matthew trailed off. The thought of his son in a battle turned his stomach.

“Sounds like it’s Plan B then?” Roy’s reply caused Matthew to look up in surprise, but the man just shrugged. “I heard you and Oliver talking. What is it, and why is it so dangerous?”

Plan B. He’d had the same thought himself, around the time he’d realised why he could feel the guards and the people upstairs; his old life was forcing itself into his present. Just being here was enough that he’d automatically reached into the ground magic to extend his range. As a child, he’d never even separated it from his own magic sense.

“Plan B means going deeper into the palace.” Matthew heaved a breath. “There’s another way out. Through the throne room. But getting there now won’t be easy.” He turned to the door. “Let’s find Alex first. We’ll decide what to do after that.”

Roy got there before Matthew could pull the handle. Palm against the door, he held it shut. “They’re only looking for one person. How about I give them someone to find?”

Matthew’s grip on the handle softened. “You’re going to cause a distraction?”

“I don’t intend to get myself caught. Once they see me, I’m bailing. But if they’re after me, it should give you guys a clear run to your exit.” He moved away from the door and extended a hand to Matthew. “Keep calm. Act like any other guest and with luck, we won’t have to deal with each other again. Just pray you don’t need any more doors unlocking on your way.”

“You won’t be able to get out. Not alone.”

“I’ll take my chances. This is what I do.”

Matthew narrowed his eyes. “Didn’t you get shot at last time?”

“Out of practice.” Roy didn’t lower his hand. “Won’t happen again. Besides, it’ll be much easier to hide out by myself until this blows over.”

Matthew hesitated, then grasped Roy’s hand in his own. “Okay, but listen…” He paused for a moment, not sure how much he should say. “If you’re looking to create a disturbance, head through the last door on the left and up a floor. You’ll end up in the state rooms; any of those doors should be alarmed. After that, if you need to get out quick, get to the library. The upper floor has a small window at the back on the left side. It’s a short drop out to the main kitchen roof, then from there you can get down to the gardens. It’s still in the grounds, but you’ll at least be out of the building.”

“That is... very specific,” Roy said, raising an eyebrow. “Do I ever get to find out how you know all this?”

Matthew inclined his head. “As you said. Hopefully we won’t have to see each other again.

#writeblr #themechanicsofmagic #fantasy writing #fantasy books

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bethany-sensei · 1 year

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“Who are you really?”

“Akieryon.” His voice came out in a whisper. “Formerly of the Fifth Sword. Son of nobody, out of the Sixth Sphere.”

“Why are you here?” Sir Marek persisted, his questions coming as demands. He stepped closer, a frail human shadow of Master Niseriel’s unpredictable menace. Akieryon’s gaze dropped to the flagstones beneath his feet.

“I had nowhere else to go.”

“And you just happened upon Tempest on the road? Less than a day out of the city?” Sir Marek’s hand shot out and caught Akieryon by the arm. “Now, when King Caspar’s life is in peril? You expect me to believe that this is all coincidence?” His grip tightened, his fingers finding pressure points and digging in. Akieryon looked at the hand that held him, observing in detached fascination. What did this man hope to accomplish? Sir Marek loomed close, too close, and gave his arm a rough shake. “Answer me,” he growled.

As soon as Akieryon released the tension holding his body rigid and his jaw shut tight, muscle memory took over. He broke Sir Marek’s grip and caught hold of his wrist in a single motion. Akieryon yanked him forward while thrusting one foot out, breaking his stance, overbalancing him. Then he dropped low, and a precise jab with one elbow sent Sir Marek toppling into the fountain with a yelp of surprise.

Akieryon stood over him, looking down, his expression as cold as Sir Marek’s voice had been a minute ago. “I am a Demonslayer of the Fifth Sword. If I meant your king harm, he would be dead already.”

Balances, chapter 5

The marker I initially started to use for Marek’s skin undertone picked up the weird pink pencil I use for sketching, and the result was not great. I’m not 100% happy with the fix, but I’m 100% done messing with it. Perils of mixed media and all that.

#art #character art #writeblr #excerpt #illustration #original fiction #fiction #mixed media #Akieryon does a violence #chronicle of the spheres

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touloserlautrec · 1 year

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Word Find Tag Game

@pandoras-comment-box tagged me in their fabulous post here!

My words were: pet, blast, secret, and mirror

Pet:

“Nancy wants me to track down a psychometrist once they bring her body home to see if they can find out what happened to her. I'm not built for this. Not anymore.” Marek rubbed at his face. “I'm built for figuring out janitorial budgets and HR initiatives. Not whatever the hell that’s going to be like to sit with. You know I'm working on getting a program started to bring rescue animals to agents housed here in LA? The Uranus Pet Program. The name's a work in progress. Gonna make agents feel happier and more at home here-- pets boost morale." He sighed. "That's what I'm built for. Not this."

Blast:

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. There was a blast of warm, stuffy air and Reeve stared out into the empty hall.

Secret:

“And Neptune is hands-down the best department. I’ve wanted to be in Neptune since I...Since I knew what Neptune was. It’s the final line of protection. They keep knacked people safe. They keep our secrets safe from the outside world. And they rescue Sol agents who’ve lost their way. Who wouldn’t want to be in Neptune?”

Mirror:

Penn’s fingertips went cold as he pulled up the news clip. It was never a good thing when the news was involved. It was his job to keep things off the news. He peered at the screen, shaking his head as he watched the news story unfold, complete with several cell phone videos of the incident. He fucking hated cell phones. He watched as the overly made-up newscaster spoke, “...Reports came in today from several sources cropping up across social media as the recordings went viral in a matter of minutes. A strange, ear-piercing sound emitting from a local Catholic school in Phoenix has shattered windows, mirrors, and even dishware in surrounding homes within a two block radius this morning. Several of the people who posted videos reported severe pain at the sound, and concerns have been raised about possible mass hearing damage to affected residents. One man told our reporters that he initially thought it might have been a child crying, but was soon overcome with ear-shattering pain. The sound lasted for about a minute before falling silent again, leaving residents wondering: what could be the cause of this strange phenomenon? We have Julianne on the scene now...” Penn rubbed at his forehead and, without taking his eyes off the screen, said, “Okay, what do we know? How long did it take for us to pick this up?”

I don't know who's been tagged in these recently, so very gently tagging @cljordan-imperium, @squarebracket-trick, and @junypr-camus + open tag!

Your words are: shrug, malice, grim, and slick.

#sunset a story #tag game

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prerodinu · 10 months

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He walks with the shadows of the moon, tugging trees from their roots to shudder in his presence. The rain was light, dared not diminish any flame that bit and crawled its way to the treelines from a pups need of something warm and excitement. Though, that fire never reached the dead trails, instead it bent, curved and bowed to the black beast that walked through it - sizzling under his giant paws and going out from a singular huff of his cold breath. Eyes, of two shades, turn to her. A small whelp, but a damaged one like many of this pack.

Velkan didn't make a noise more, only stare upon her with eyes deep and true. Watching and waiting for a moment's flicker, and his ear twisted to allow his trance to be broken. To turn his gait elsewhere, leaving his paw prints behind and frozen blossoms of sealed flames in his wake. Returning to the thicket and licking over his maw, his shrine was returned too. Greeting his loyal Hela and licking up the sacrifices of blood, deer heart and bone to crunch in one sitting.

Katia's shoulder was nudged by the grand beast, though no words spoken, he gave her his blessing as always. Pleased and amused at the new pups this pack brings him every month. Twisting from her once more and treading back towards the trees, his gaze flicks from his trail to Katia… then to the fire maker before his giant frame seemingly disappeared upon stepping behind the trees. Just a trick of the eye to some, but Katia has seen it. The cold vortex tear this beast treads with ease. Welcoming the embrace and disappearing before any other could follow.

She had heard of the thing that crawled through the forest. That had saved the older blonde of the pack. She didn’t need to say the name, everyone knew, the scars were hard to miss for the eyes of the supernatural.

She wished to be saved. Wished someone cared enough to save her like someone saved the other, but she supposed she was saved, living safely and able to process her shit, the lighter in her hand still licking flames into the night like she was waiting for something else to light on fire. Her eyes connected to his and she swallowed, fingers twitching like she would drop the lighter into the ground and burn everything down. That was the feeling in her soul, burn it down, light it on fire.

Then a twitch and the feeling was gone, her body lighter as if something took it all away, she didn’t dare say anything. Her fingers flicking the lighter closed with snap as she turned back towards the festivities. She was going to tend to the fire and maybe later she would think about what exactly when on around her and what exactly happened.

Katia, weaving her way through the trees with another basket upon her hip like her mother used to do when she was picking things up. The full moon bright and guiding her way as she walked. Marek was with her this time. Trailing white behind her as she wove her way around to the shrine that was her place of healing. Her place for him.

Marek knew not to speak, both of them wandering to leave of the gifts, the unspoken bond that she had with the being that had saved her so very long ago. She had left things, but Artem had baked again and she wanted to share the fruits of their labors, she had picked some choice bits and pieces before as well. Bare feet plodded against the frozen ground the cold not bothering her, the white trailing dress she wore showing off the marks across her back. Though her hair was long again, having grown back from the last time she chopped it off for an offering for them.

“Holy shit.” Marek’s voice did not catch her off guard, in fact, a warmth bloomed into her soul. Whiskey eyes dipped not look directly at him but showing him her favor as he did for her. She felt the way he nudged her shoulder, she did so back, her head leaning to the side as if nuzzling into him.

”Ahoj, môj priateľ, môj otec.” (Hello, my friend, my father) Her voice was gentle almost soft and swaying like the breeze around her. She felt his humor in his gaze upon the fire that was still blazing. Her head leaned against his own, fingers already placing the basket down for more offerings for him before she moved that one hand up to his features, touching him so softly, gently, as if in reverence.

“Najnovšie sa stávajú pohodlnými. Už toľko nekričia do noci.” (The newest ones are getting comfortable. They don't scream out into the night as much anymore.) She spoke, knowing he enjoyed hearing about the ones that were new and the ones he brought along.

What she wasn’t expecting was for Iryna to follow, or Marek to watch with a look of awe upon his features as she spoke and talked like nothing else happened like this was an occurrence for everything.

Then he was moving, lumbering away as he often did to go find someone else, to go find another to bring to her place, this sanctuary for the wolves that have been abused and forgotten.

“He’s-he’s real…” Marek spoke, awe in his voice as he did so while Iryna watched, flicking her lighter open and closed with soft clicks and shhhks of lighting it.

“Nech ti mesiac pobozká labky a ak ťa vidím naposledy, môžem sa k tebe pripojiť k lovu vlkov, keď budem preč.” (May the moon kiss your paws and if this is the last time I see you may I join you in the wolf hunt when I am gone.) Katia spoke, kneeling at the alter as she watched the cold swirl and swallow him up. She felt at peace, that she didn’t need to do anything else. That she was whole again that she always will be.

She stood, graceful movement of swirling fabric as she touched Marek’s shoulder as she passed. A way to bring him back to the fire and the crowd that was celebrating and enjoying themselves.

“Come, he has feasted as we did. Now we dance and enjoy what he has gifted us.” She smiled, Marek still standing there and staring in awe as Katia gathered up Iryna and pulled her back towards the fire with a tinkling laugh that seemed to echo through everyone else.

Their golden one. Their own Angel of Death. The Hela who will protect them at all costs. Golden and glistening as the fire that the somber one started. Everyone couldn’t help but to follow and love.

#◜ ╱ Asks ⟩⟩ talk to the pack. ◞#nvrcmplt #I love this and I love your muses fuck//

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sunset-a-story · 2 years

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Seven Snippets | Seven People

Both @winterandwords & @words-after-midnight tagged me in this one so here we go! Thanks for tagging me and giving me something fun to do on my lunch break! I took all of these from Arc 1 for a change.

[context: Hannah is currently invisible ] “Do you need to put some clothes on?” Gareth asked. “You can’t bring a weapon like that." She smiled even though she knew they couldn’t see it. “I got it covered.” She went through her clothes in a pile on the backseat and pulled out a small box of razor blades. She held one up, turning it to catch the light and then fit it in her mouth between her teeth and cheek. Once it was in her mouth it would be invisible like the rest of her. “I’m not gonna lie,” Gareth sighed, “that’s gonna stress me out.”

Marek del Sol couldn’t shake the, frankly true, thought that he wouldn’t have had to deal with this if he were still working in the Chicago Office. It was a selfish thought and he knew it but if he were still heading up the Uranus department of SolCorp’s Chicago branch when this whole Venus missing babies crisis hit, he would have been floored by it emotionally, obviously, but it would have fallen to the folks at SolCorp’s shiny Los Angeles Headquarters to manage the details of the fallout. Now here he was in LAHQ, promoted to one of Uranus’ top five ranked officers, Second in command no less, and it was very much his problem.

“You know that assignment in Tokyo you’ve been dreading because you have no appreciation for culture?” Grace narrowed her eyes at the playful teasing. “I like culture just fine--it’s just too friggin’ hot in Tokyo this time of year. Send me someplace cold and I’ll just add layers with zero complaints but it’s not like I can remove my skin.” “Well, it’s been canceled.” “Oh.” She sat back and cringed. “What’s the bad news?” “I’m going to need you to step up and take on a higher workload after I go under.” Grace’s eyes widened. “Ma'am, I’m sure I could figure out a way to remove my skin if you give me like fifteen minutes.”

“Do you know what they call people who need to get drunk after a mission in Mars? Gone soggy. Because they’ve been in too long and they should probably retire from the field.” He flicked a bottle cap off the edge of the porch. “Mars is crazy. You know that, right? They’ve got a weird-ass little culture of their own.” “All the departments do.”

“I noticed,” Rich muttered beside him, “that you canceled our meeting for tomorrow.” Here we go. “I’m not dealing with that until after this crisis is over,” he replied as firmly as he could. That tone of voice tended to end a conversation, but Rich didn’t feel the same sense of deferment that others did. Neptune was maybe the one department head that was more intimidating than Mercury, and Rich had held the position for a long time.

“Do you have a scope?” Reeve asked her. One huge benefit to being invisible is that she didn’t need to school her face when someone said something as absolutely stupid as that. “Are you asking if the sniper has a scope?” “I mean a spotting scope.” “Does the sniper have a--whatever, yes, here.” She handed it off. She started to get her rifle out but thought better of it and went over to make sure Reeve didn’t break it.

“Reeve talked about Sol’s big thing. What does Entropy do?” “I don’t know.” “What do you mean you don’t know?” “They never told me.” Alex gave him his least impressed look. “They never told you.” Gareth’s face tensed up. “You got a look at what it’s like there. Would you piss those people off by pestering them with questions?” “You obviously don’t know me yet, because hell yes I would.” He pointed the screwdriver at him. “I’m pestering you, aren’t I?”

Phew! Now I gotta tag 7 people so here we go: @hon3yquill @imbrisvastatio @lettiekorywrites @writerrelapse @thatndginger @kjscottwrites & @fictionalbullshitter - no pressure tagging of course. Not 100% sure if all you folks are into tag games but I tried to keep it to people who are down.

#writeblr #writeblr community #writeblr tag games #writer tag #original fiction #sunset a story

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ts2cambremon · 6 months

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Achemi: Welcome to our humble seat, Cambremons! When winds lay down buildings, we pitch our tents where the cold is less biting. These are my sons, Marek and Yakon.

Marek: *closely studies the newcomers*

Achemi: And this is Ansyl, Yakon's companion.

Ansyl: I can't believe it, it's really you! Dormund! Ren and Andra Cambremon, in the flesh! I hope you're not here on Edvin's behalf... There's been a few... changes since I left the Cambremon hub. *gestures towards her baby*

#ts2 #cambremon #ts2medieval #ts2fantasy #baranim #achemi #yakon #marek #ansyl

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mllelaurel · 1 year

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More Servant of the Shard

I’m about 40% of the way through, and on chapter 10.

Cut for... honestly more rambling than spoilers. But maybe also spoilers, IDK.

A little sad that the book hasn’t actually contained all that much Jarlaxle and Entreri interacting with one another so far, aside from the sparring scene in the beginning. One might even argue this book hasn’t contained much Jarlaxle period - his POV’s a bit sparse comparatively, and he’s thoroughly compromised by the titular shard so (probably I say, because I have not read other books,) doesn’t quite come off as his normal self.

Now that I think about it, I wonder if part of the sparring scene’s point was to establish a baseline for both Jarlaxle’s character and his interaction with Entreri. He does, in fact, feel very Jarlaxle in that. So we read that scene, and it heightens how weird he’s acting later, and we miss Our Dude.

On Entreri’s end, I rag on him a lot affectionately, and I especially rag on his quest for his own sketchy artifact to match Jarlaxle’s, but honestly? The book does a good job of selling me on why he wants and even needs Charon’s Claw. He’s surrounded by asshole mage and psionic drow who hate him. He feels deeply unsafe and is desperate for a safeguard.

I find it really interesting, the way fear seems to be the primary driving emotion behind SO MANY things Entreri does. Like. He’d hate that with the fire of a thousand suns and sooner die than admit it, but it’s true. Even his thing with Drizzt can IMHO be fundamentally broken down thusly:

“If I’m the baddest bitch in the room, no one can ever hurt me again” is not a GREAT trauma coping mechanism, but it’s a great one to jump on if you’ve got a lot of pride in your fear soup. And it works for a long time, because he makes himself almost good enough.

Meet Drizzt. Hello, Entreri. You are NOT the baddest bitch in the room.

Oops, that coping mechanism was brittle and cracks right down the middle once contradicted. And somewhere deep in his psyche, under what he tells himself is cold rage, ya boy begins to panic. Because Drizzt’s very existence proves he’s NOT safe. He IS hurtable. And it literally does not matter to Entreri whether or not Drizzt himself is a threat. The cortisol in his brain just registers that Drizzt broke his safeguards (which was not Drizzt’s intent and also he’s not psychic) and proceeds to skip all other steps.

Which results in him trying to kill a teenager repeatedly. GJ.

Related to all of this, I kind of love that Drizzt has 100% run out of patience with Entreri, per his POV segment. He’s not a saint. He’s a nice enough guy to hope Entreri gets better hobbies and grows as a person, but if Jarlaxle stabs him? At least he won’t have to deal with Asshole Who Keeps Trying to Kill Him again.

Drizzt’s POV seems on the whole pretty insightful as far as Jarlaxle is concerned. But then, there’s the honking Zak-shaped blindspot. “I don’t get how Jarlaxle can be close to my dad, but also THIS ASSHOLE.” To be fair, I don’t know if this is before or after Salvatore realized Zak and Entreri were huge character parallels and Jarlaxle had a mighty TYPE. But even if this was written after the realization, of course Drizzt would have a giant Zak-shaped blind spot. He loved his dad and lost him in a traumatic fashion (twice, even, I think.) Of course he wouldn’t put him in the same class as Mr. Murder Hobo over there.

But to go back to Entreri for a second, there’s another interesting note to make. Underneath all the fear and pride, there is some tiny, squiggly something, reaching for some kind of squiggly light. Even beyond his fondness for Dwahvel, there’s his surprise and anger at Soulez for abandoning his daughter. His going out of his way to spare Marek. For all of his buried self-loathing, Entreri keeps having empathy for people who remind him of himself. Adhania as a child betrayed by a parent. Marek as another rogue pawn of the Bregan D’aerthe. It’s crumbs of empathy, sure. But those crumbs are there, even if he will spend paragraphs justifying how it’s totally not that, nope, nothing of the sort.

I swear, my entire read of these books won’t be Let’s Play Psychoanalyze Artemis Fucking Entreri.

Really. I mean it.

What else have I forgotten to note?

The writing of women in these books so far? Not amazing; not as bad as I’d been led to believe, a gross scene early on aside. Dwahvel continues to be great. I don’t know what to think of Shalotta so far. She does have interiority, particularly when seen through Entreri’s eyes. He notes the fear and uncertainty under her cool facade. But as Dwahvel all but lampshaded, it’s hard to get a read on what she actually wants (aside from ‘not to die or be powerless,’ which can be inferred) and thus care. Also I feel like there are better ways to portray a female character who is power-driven and scheming than “sleeping with Jarlaxle and not accomplishing much.”

Kimmuriel’s budding frienemyship? with an illithid is kind of cute if you squint, and will end so, so, SO badly. Also I love that here we have Jarlaxle and Entreri scrambling for sketchy bad idea artifacts, and Kimmuriel is like, nah, not good enough. Meet my sketchy bad idea dude. He’s the only one who understands me, for we are both psychic.

Okay, I think that’s it for the moment.

#legend of drizzt

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