#NPC: Alden

[whyeverr]

"Not a bad party, huh?"

Everyone arrived in costume (some a bit more... inventive... than others). And there's music, karaoke, pumpkin carving, dancing...

Dawson fizzed a special batch of "Spider Cider" apple juice that seems to help spark an effervescent mood — and thank goodness, because someone (not pointing fingers!) decided to come dressed as a sad clown, and apparently that's a good way to bring down a crowd...

And a very honorable mention goes to Lydia the hotdog, Max the scuba diver, Skip the ghost, and Dasia the scary skeleton. All children automatically take home the gold in costume contests. I don't make the rules but I do award participation trophies! 🥰

[shadowsofthegun-if]

But what are the horses names tho?🤔

oh god. i tried to pick ones that kinda fit the characters

Ros friesian is named Esme<3

Asters mustang is named Phoenix

Jesses akhal teke is named Dawn

and Harrison's morgan is named Han

I think it would be kinda funny to name Mcs horse Jesse but ill actually let yall pick the name dont worry

[space-ninja-fashion-show]

Some of the random ppl found around Duviri are...oddly familiar, but only in small, lightning-strike ways, a bit like deja vu or mistaking someone for someone else

I ran into a random NPC today saying something along the lines of "When you're in this business for as long as me, you know things. You're not who you think you are. There is so much more to you than that." which when North randomly hears it just riding by makes them pause, bc for a moment, they could've sworn it sounded like Alden's voice. But the man is nothing like Alden, and his next words sound nothing like him either, so it must just be their mind playing tricks

It happens again and again, not enough to be something to dig into, not enough to be a bother. But through tiny cracks, the ppl North loves seep into the world of Duviri when they aren't looking

[crescentpaws]

kotlc sims time 🫡

- added alina

apparently she gets tense really easily…

- had her go to the vacker household to flirt with alden (to be lore accurate yk)

- unfortunately he did not gaf

- she became friends with della though and della asked if she could come over to alina’s house and i was like. ok why not

- i made them flirt as a joke but they ended up hitting it off 💀

they are bffs now fr

- they ended up hooking up LMAO. i guess alina was just disguising her crush on della by dating alden…. anyway i hope alden finds out about this because i want more drama i think it will be funny

- back to fintan… he summoned the grim reaper (of course he did)

- they were starting to become friends but then the grim reaper insulted him and i was like Oh Hell No so i made fintan insult him back

- they got into a physical fight which fintan unfortunately lost (i mean… he fought Death. idk what i was expecting there. at least he didn’t actually die)

- they are enemies now ❤️ fintan is slowly becoming enemies with every single npc and i support him

- i need to stop sending fintan & bronte on dates expecting it to go well. they went to a nightclub which was playing romance music which they apparently both HATE, and of course the paparazzi was there and they ended up getting extremely worked up & overstimulated about everything. they ended up fighting the whole time and somehow made their friendship bar go from full to almost completely empty 💀 in one date. what the hell guys

- alright now their relationship bar is in the red zone again…. greaaat (+ they’re back to the strained relationship dynamic lmfao) (they’re even doomed in the sims world that’s crazy)

[strawberrymilkcart]

(first ever comic <\3)

arthur ACCIDENTALLY goes to a gay bar and finds someone - expectedly.

this is all modern au.

edit: i think bill is embarrassed when hes vulnerable to other people [alden]

from left to right: Algernon, Charles C, a Gay NPC, Albert, Bill, Alden, Mr Black and Mr White.

[warywind]

Dergtober 9-13

Lots of loose black and white thumbnails coming up.

Day 9: Exalt; featuring a scared and slightly divine tundra cub. I was inspired by what @/Petall did for this one to work with what exalt means outside of flight rising instead of the mechanic. There’s an old draft of Mani’s background in his bio, but in short, he has the misfortune of being involved in one of the darker threads of lore in my clan. His egg was the first to survive a series of experiments a secretive group was doing on ancient ice artifacts that irradiate dangerous levels of pure ice magic. This involved his egg being exposed to way more elemental magic than an egg ever should, resulting in a dragon that has way more magic than a dragon really should. Mani was revered by the group and certainly had been raised into power, but it was hardly a childhood he wanted. (Things do work out okay for him eventually! But he has to do his own rescuing for a while.)

Day 10: Crossroads; I had two ideas for this one, one cheery to make up for sad tundra baby and one less so. I decided to sketch both, and you can tell which one I got more invested in. XD Version 1 is one of my clan's trading caravans reaching a literal crossroads and starting to debate on which way to go, featuring Cadmus, Merlin, Euryale, Aella, and Sandía. Version 2 is for a metaphorical crossroads where a certain dragon has to decide whether to change his path in life. Alden sits in a sort of an awkward, unresolved space in my lore-- waay back when Sandía was in a roleplay onsite I got attached to a semi-villain NPC I was using, then somehow hatched a dragon that was a close match of the colors I pictured for said NPC, then had the roleplay fall out soon after. So, I was still invested in whatever would have happened between Alden and Sandía but didn’t want anything from the roleplay to be canon to avoid stepping on material that deeply involved someone else’s lore. I know their story involves Alden working for kidnappers and at some point making the difficult decision to change sides and free her, but have never gotten around to ironing out the details.

Day 11: Pile; featuring a quick doodle of a sleep pile of the little found family Mani eventually gets. On the right we've got Mani cuddling his partner Pruino, who's in turn getting piled on by Pruino's apprentice Marco, and above them an adolescent Siku, who is basically a child Mani just showed up with one day. Mani probably told Pruino what was up with Siku immediately (it's related to the group that experimented on him, now his sworn enemy), but it takes him a long time to warm up to Marco and let him into their circle of secrets. It occurred to me later that I totally excluded Kilauea, who should count as part of Mani's circle, but then again Kilauea is on tenser terms with most of them and wouldn't have been very comfortable in the sleep pile.

Day 12: Scroll;featuring Dauen. He doesn't really have lore so much as vibes, but I'm sure he'll end up with a story one day. I decided there should be a updraft early on and just sort of went with it.

Day 13: Serthis; featuring an as of yet unnamed Serthis and Cadogan's egg. This lone serthis has stumbled upon egg, size:large and they are debating what to do about it. The answer is adopt child, size:large, but they haven't gotten there in their pondering yet. Just now they're probably trying to decide how big the parents must have been. The drawing is still at sketch-phase, but I ended up playing with colors for a while so it'll be that much harder to clean up the sketch if I decide to finish this after dergtober.

[synstoria]

do you have a list of full names & titles for the main & side characters?? I keep forgetting and have to zoom through the demo LMAO 😭😭😭

Hello here you are! Even I forget sometime ahah 

Among things I have to do right now, is to create a definitive list of all the nobles NPC mentioned in the game because I was bad at tracking them oops. 

Theodore of Faraam (Heir of the duke of Faraam)

Alexander Defer (General of Calydia)

Asha Isabis (Isirian ambassador) 

Alden of Valbleu, (Grand advisor ie: prime minister)

Leon of Voildor (Treasurer, brother of the Duc of Voildor)

Marjorie of Montilyet (Duchess of Voildor, Empress’ aunt)

Robert (Great Priest of Calidya)

------ minor spoilers from the extended demo ----- 

Yacine of Virois (adoptive son of the Virois Count, Empress’ half brother) 

Sophie of Vanhelie (Lady in waiting of the Empress, Master of Murmurs’ spy, daughter of the lord of Vanhelie) 

[hikariyuushiart]

A little fun fact: a lot of OCs that are in my original world of Sanctus oftentimes came from fandom OCs I've made previously.

Alden, for example, used to be a dark-variant of a Gaia Online NPC before I re-designed him to be a daemon for Sanctus/Snap Dragon Club.

He now has an alternate version where I've re-purposed him to be a demon from Greed in the Hazbinverse, and his boyfriend is another friend's OC. XD

A little niche, I know, but I hope you enjoy my art process nonetheless! Likes/comments/subscriptions are all super appreciated! And if you feel generous, I do have a Ko-Fi and Patreon!

[charlybird]

Modern Alden is probably semi-popular on tiktok. After a lot of convincing, he is allowed to post a tiktok with Bill in it. Bill’s general opinion about himself is that he isn’t anything special or handsome, and then the comments section goes *nuts* for Alden’s handsome bear of a boyfriend.

haha I love this <3 This is also funny to me as I feel like Alden looks older than Bill in the game. Maybe I'm wrong and he just looks older than he is but I do kind of HC Alden a little older than Bill. Maybe in a more modem AU Alden might use cosmetics (like creams and gels etc) to look a bit younger? or doesn't. I personally think he looks great as he is, I'm just thinking about what he might think. In game sometimes random NPCs ask "how's your luck" and Alden can sometimes respond with "I have a face like sour piss for a reason, what's your excuse" Makes me howl that he's so randomly catty sometimes. I can't tell if he's saying he's ugly because he's unlucky or because he's unhappy with his life and it's making him ugly or making him frown etc. Either way I still feel like in a modern setting he might be a little concerned with his image even if he's happy with his life overall. His social media content could be about cosmetics to look younger and stuff, but in more of a hobby way.

[torntruth]

Amy and Faith for the npc thing <3

introduction to npcs , accepting , @tornsurvivors .

here's a picture as amy as emphasis that she has a twin sister!! genius , i know. anyway , this is amy's twin sister JENNY WARE . jenny still has both her legs and is actually a lot nicer than amy ... and amy can be quite nice. ( amy can also be conniving ) . jenny is in a corporate job as an hr specialist cheering her paralympic sister on. she wears the other half of a matching heart necklace and she probably shouldn't have easily forgiven amy for stealing one of jenny's crushes right from under her nose. just because.

ALDEN ALDEMIR , the adopted son of faith seed and jade aldemir. his parents had died at the hands of highwaymen after an altercation. as it turns out , they were seeking refuge with the newly built up settlement of 'THE GARDEN,' faith's dream and the only singular reason she liked the cult. she took the only good thing from them and built it up and it became a piece of hope for at least one family. he's an extremely sweet boy and he and faith cuddle frequently while she sings to him.

[artsynanotech]

Dark Ages, Part Three

Alas, dearest readers, it is time for the final installment of this tale. I regret to leave you once again with my grandchilde’s drivel. But I am a busy man, and all good things must come to an end.

When we last left off, my coterie, Goratrix, and the nosferatu known as Andor, had made our way to a Tzimisce woman’s keep seeking shelter from an imminent storm. I believe her name was  Sherazhina. If we were being kind I’d call her eccentric. Though it’s been centuries and I highly doubt it will get back to her if I’m we’re not, so let’s call her completely unhinged instead. She inherited the keep after violently devouring her sire – an act which she proudly demonstrated on an unfortunate ghoul as some sort of grotesque entertainment – and had not left the premises since.

Luckilly for us, Sherazhina’s hunger for knowledge outweighed her depravity, and I was easily able to cement our group into her good graces by catching her up on the events of the outside world. Andor helped a bit with that, filling in the gaps where my own knowledge failed. Our hostess was so pleased that she didn’t inquire too closely about our backgrounds or destination. Goratrix kept his mouth shut, thankfully, so we were able to pass the rest of the night and the following day without any trouble. Sherazhina even gave us a new wagon and some horses at our departure. Depraved she may be, but I will not say I was not grateful.

The remainder of our time on the road was quiet and uneventful. I assumed that, the closer we got to our destination, the more effort Goratrix would put into hindering the journey. Yet he barely made a sound for the entire week we traveled! I supposed his nerves were finally getting to him. It didn’t stop me from keeping a close eye on him, however. I knew he would eventually try something. Eventually we found ourselves in the snowy mountains of Transylvania. Yet another storm forced us to seek shelter, though this time at a comfortable looking inn on a well-traveled road. By this point Goratrix was positively shaking with anxiety. He warned me that my coterie and I would face final death if we succeeded in delivering him to Ceoris – the rest of the Tremere would never let us leave if we knew their location – but I once again insisted that he stop such pointless arguments. I acquired lodgings for us with the innkeeper and we took a seat at a table (Andor waiting outside, so as not to startle the humans) while the room was made ready.

And here is where Goratrix tried his most ludicrous plan yet. He spotted a group of other travelers, Western European soldiers by their looks, and speculated that they might be former Templars. He then recalled a rumor he had heard that a group of Templars had fled France just before the destruction of their order, taking the Holy Grail with them in order to protect it. Can you believe that? The Holy Grail! He wanted to send us after the Holy Grail! It was absolutely preposterous.

By this point we’d been escorted to our room – I made sure to pay the innkeeper extra so we would not be disturbed during the day – and got into a small argument over just what course our journey would take. Erik and I were stalwart in our position. I didn’t care if the Grail was real or not; I had a job to do, a debt to repay, and I would not sully my honor for some pipe dream. Erik knew for a fact that the rumors Goratrix spoke of were false. After all, he’d been a Templar himself in life. Andor proved less reasonable. He believed Goratrix’s tale wholeheartedly and went to search the belongings of the western soldiers.  Small-minded fool. Goratrix kept trying to convince Erik and I.

Eventually I got sick of the drivel and made what was, in hindsight, something of a mistake. I attempted the Majesty aspect of Presence, hoping I could capture enough of Goratrix’s attention to make him shut his damned mouth for the evening. Needless to say, I failed. Goratrix simply laughed in my face. He then said one word, which was in a language I did not know and to this day cannot recall. Whatever it was, it made Erik and Genevieve and myself fall helplessly to the ground, paralyzed under some supernatural weight. Erik resisted it better than the rest of us but still could only move a couple of inched. Goratrix then walked out of the room. The further he got from us easier it became to move, however, and within a minute we were all able to gain control of our bodies again.

We followed him into the main hall of the tavern and were met with an unexpected sight. All of the humans in the tavern had been effected by Goratrix’s spell, though they were all unconscious now, and Goratrix himself was staring in complete terror at a group of robed figures standing just inside the doorway. I could only surmise it was the rest of his clan, come to collect him once and for all.

Their leader, the eponymous Tremere, was an absolutely horrific creature. Not quite as ugly as a Nosferatu – physically he only sported unblinking bloodshot eyes and permanent elongated fangs – but he had what I can only describe as an aura of the most disturbing, gut-wrenching fear one could imagine. And then he looked at us, *through* us, and the things we saw… Erik burst into flames before me, his skin melting away until there was naught but a skeleton that quickly crumbled to ash. Andor slowly became stone. He shattered his own leg trying to escape the transformation but it was all for naught. I witnessed my own flesh being sawed from my bones. I feel ill remembering it. But then Tremere turned his gaze to Goratrix, and the visions stopped. I’d never felt such relief!

Tremere order Goratrix to come to him, and Goratrix obeyed. I wish I had been fully able to appreciate it, but alas I was too shaken from the visions. One by one the clan of sorcerers left the inn until but one remained. He introduced himself as Etrius, and he offered each of us a gift for helping bring Goratrix back. Erik received a knife carved of werewolf bone which, from what he told me, was more lethal than the sharpest sword. Genevieve’s gift was a wooden cage that melted into her chest, encasing her heart so she could never be staked. Andor was taught a discipline, though I never did find out what it was. And as for me? Etrius gave me a magical concoction of his own devising, one that could turn a Cainite human again. He’d made it in case something went wrong with Tremere or his students when they stole the curse of Caine for themselves. But, as everything had gone according to plan, no one in the clan needed it. Honestly I’m not sure what he expected me to do with it. It’s still sitting in a drawer in my study, all seven doses worth. Honestly, who would really want to be human again?

And that is, as they say, that. I do hope you’ve enjoyed your time with me. I certainly know I have enjoyed this little foray into storytelling. Perhaps I’ll return to it again someday. Until then, dear readers, goodbye.

[meowdymista]

I just outright dont know who my favourite NPC is outside of the gang.

Hamish - love love love: so good for Arthur to have someone to fucking talk to that doesnt judge him, and someone to CHILL with. Let's go fishing let's go hunting oh yeah I've seen a shit ton of death too - EXCELLENCE

Charlotte- extra quadruple love. Let's us see Arthur being kind and selfless and thoughtful, but also takes care of him when he conks out from coughing. Looks after Arthur when he wont look after himself- honest friendship with no ulterior motives other than care for a friend in need. PERFECTION

Alden - all those kisses on the end of robbery tips. Such a goddamn flirtatious sweetheart that fucking loves to see a bIG sTRoNg mAN wiTh a bOunTY. He expresses the thirst we all feel and it smells a shit ton like VALIDATION

Albert Mason - a cutie that lets Arthur be a Big Strong Man cutie pie and do what he does best - protecting and teasing with a dash of flirtation. Artistic expression via images? Yes please let Arthur sketch you whilst you take photographs and you take photos whilst he sketches you and ugh FANTASTIC

The Trapper? Like? He's just grand. A good ol' pal in the woods that likes to shout like he's in the middle of a market but is in fact in an obscure, heavily wooded location with not a lot of passersbys. Also Canadian. I just love him ok

Also hats off to Mr Fancy Pants and Mr Scientist for making Arthur uncomfortable with a hug and making him a hat/letting arthur electrocuted himself and get v excited about a remote boat.

[waynedunlaptheorgandonor]

joke's on you, screen rant, i've been trying to forget about this character for years

[normallyxstrange]

Scintil (Alternate Dimension)

Note: This information was written a few years ago as I was developing Neoma’s character more in depth. I plan on expanding it and updating this post, but for now, the information below is correct.

***

Scintil is a world that runs concurrently to Earth, along a similar timeline. Technological advances are very similar, as is the climate. It runs warmer than Earth, and the summer season lasts longer. Winter produces snow in some regions, but not in the capital city of Fallshade. Political structure follows a monarchy, with regions divided up between lords/ladies or governors (the term changes depending on the region) that govern and rule under the king or queen’s authority. There are peacekeepers worldwide, employed by the ruling monarch, known as Arbiters, who enforce the laws and, as the name implies, keep the peace. The monarch is advised by a counsel.

The world is set in an urban fantasy setting, in which everything is modern, just like Earth. There are such things as computers, internet, electronics, paved roadways, indoor plumbing, and other modern conveniences. Despite the modern conveniences, many of the cities are old and still possess old architecture that would be similar to the architecture of ancient Rome (columns, arches, concrete, statuary). The city of Fallshade is particularly famous for this.

Magic and sorcery is commonplace and there are laws against the misuse of it. Humans are not a species commonly found there. There are those that could be considered humans, because they are humanoid, and generally powerless. They are called Nary or Naries (short for ‘Ordinary’ & ‘Ordinaries’ respectively).

Everyone, with the exception of the Naries (as they are genuinely very rare), is some sort of supernatural creature. They generally live within their own clans or districts, sometimes even divided by regions. Most of the creatures are humanoid in nature. Some creatures that exist are:

Vampires -both blood-drinking (or sanguine) and psychic (known as ‘Psirana’ here; more on that below)

Elementals – creatures who control/have abilities tied in with a certain element: earth, air, fire, water, light, dark, and spirit. ‘Elementals’ is a blanket term, as each element goes by a different name (more to come on that as I develop it)

Divines – These are the gods of the world—omnipotent creatures who have granted others abilities and are supposedly responsible for creating the Elementals and the Psirana (pronounced sigh-rah-nah). Divines are considered legendary and many do not believe they exist. They are the stuff of myths, though there is a lot of truth to their existence.

Shifters – creatures who can shift their shapes into any animal that pleases them. Most shifters usually choose one form, therefore giving them additional labels (ie wolf-shifter, cat-shifter, tiger-shifter)

Defilers – Demons, generally. These creatures are considered malevolent in nature. Some of them appear humanoid, but can also appear animalistic—walking on four legs, tails, horns, animal-like features. Defilers is also a blanket term that covers the many different kinds of Defilers. Powers and abilities vary among them as well, with some of them being quite powerful. They tend to live in the underground—most generally, this means literally underground within their own clans. Defilers also refers to Psirana who have been corrupted.

Witches – This is the most common species. They are humanoid with magical talents. Specific abilities often run in family groups or clans. Witches comprise the majority of the population of Scintil, particularly in most urban cities, such as Fallshade.

About Psirana:

Psirana – (pronounced sigh-rah-nah) These creatures are ones imbued with power from the Divines. They started out, generations ago, as witches. The legend goes that a witch was given a choice between aiding the Divines, or aligning with the Defilers. The witch chose the Divines, which earned a Divine Blessing, that gave them the power to understand the true nature of every creature they were to encounter—ie emotional states.

The Defilers, angry at being rejected, gave the witch a curse as punishment—The true natures they were to understand would be amplified and offer corruption. The witch was doomed to feel everything and have no choice but to survive upon it, even if it meant eventual defilement. Both a blessing and a curse, the witch became a new sort of creature: the Psirana.

They are rare creatures, each generation possessing the same cursed-blessing as the previous. They must always feel emotions, good and bad. They must always take the emotions and feed from them. If they do not, they will perish. When they do, when they feel the emotions, they are stronger and therefore almost half-Divine. They are considered god-like creatures and it was a Psirana, several generations after the cursed-blessing was placed, who became the first monarch of Scintil, and they have been for generations since. They are not immortal, but age slowly and retain their youth for some time. They are naturally gifted with magic and some of them–those who do not ascend the throne–may take on jobs as healers. They primarily belong to the royal family, though some previous generations of Psirana have produced offspring elsewhere in the world, though this is not very common to find.

[muffinsandglasses]

Parenting (Extreme)

[basalt-dnd]

The Ranger of the Hearth, and slayer of the verdant dragon, Ahkama. He was a hero himself in his youth, and despite his wishes his son has followed in his footsteps. It’s only fitting that the namesake of my blog, and one of my first d&d characters has become my 100th homebrew ‘monster’. Lore below the cut.

The image used is a no attribution required stock image. My apologies for the tediously long statblock. 

Basalt shooed Alden from perching atop the bar counter and started cleaning glasses. The tavern was empty at this time of day, but the fire was warm and it was quiet. 

“You never did tell me the end of that story,” the son started to organize the shelves.

“Which one?” Basalt asked, setting the glass down. He knew the answer, but it was better to ask. Alden took down a bow from the wall. It was a longbow of grey wood, scorched at the edges, and carved with a depiction of a snarling hydra.

“This one,” he went to shift the bow to his other hand, and its form burst into ash and ember and became a rapier. Drawing it back caused a plume of smoke and the wood broke into talon-like darts. 

“Alden, let’s not have weapons inside,” Basalt was gentle, but still took the weapon and put it back on the wall. Alden raised an eyebrow and Basalt smiled, “What, do I need to search your boots for daggers?”

“And who taught me to do that?”

“So you want to hear the bow’s story?” Basalt changed the topic. Somehow, even remembering the story brought the smell of smoke and the pain of hydra fangs. Yet there were no physical scars from the event. Magical healing was a blessing and a curse. It was worse for his son. Alden wasn’t all that young anymore, but he was the stepson of an elf. Basalt would outlive him, especially if Alden continued adventuring. The father winced at the thought. 

“You don’t need to tell it,” Alden put a hand on his father’s shoulder.

“No, it’s about time I did.”

“It was fall, and the forest was dry and cold. Frost hadn’t covered the branches quite yet, but many leaves had already fallen. I was cold. I had given my coats to Patience- she was always cold, even back then. 

We had been hunting down the hydra for hours, and dry mud was up to my thighs on my pants. We all just wanted to rest when movement caught our attention. The vile creature’s heads were rising up from the bog, not more than a few hundred feet away. It had heard us, and by the gods did it look hungry.

We had been told that the hydra was young and had only five heads. The green hags that hatched it couldn’t deal with a more powerful creature. I don’t think they counted on the beast being susceptible to Swamp Rot. Three of its heads were infected, so it had gnawed them off. Now, it had eight heads. You could still see the pus and scabbing where it had hastily removed its injured heads, and the new heads were awkwardly tilted. Its spine must’ve been warped or something. 

We didn’t come prepared to deal with this hydra, the one that had decapitated itself and grown larger. Luckily, the energy it consumed to grow six heads after being sick made it thin and frail, but we were still panicked. 

Elios managed to get one of the thing’s heads off, but it bit him before he could scorch the wound. Up until that point, I had never seen that much blood come out of someone. It was awful. He fell, and his alchemist’s fire went with him. The dry mud, peat, and autumn woods went up in flames as if it were tinder. I suppose that anything burns quickly when twenty bottles of liquid fire drop on it, but it was a surprise. 

Patience kept the hydra vulnerable by leading it into deeper mud, where it would sink more because of its weight. I tried to get Elios out of there. The smoke was… similar to what happened back at Torchlight when the forge went up. Embers were everywhere, and you’d be so dizzy you’d think they were stars. I don’t remember being able to breath.

Those were the days when I fought with just my magic. I had given my bow to your mother so that she could go hunting, and I really wish I had picked up something other than a hatchet on my way out. Elios was a genius artificer, and even when he was bleeding out he used this odd pulse of magic to create a sword out of the burning wood. He gave it to me and told me to go, and when Elios gave an order you had to follow it. He wasn’t forceful at all. He was calm.

When the day was said and done, I went back to where I left Elios. I shouldn’t have trusted him to lay there alone. He had started welding his armor to himself. Sure enough, that was his first step in becoming a golem. Let me tell you, when I was injured and that hydra was dead, it was a pretty horrifying thing to look through the smog and see my friend welding his wounds shut with metal. For some goddamn reason, it worked. Just like the bow worked.”

Basalt traced a spot on his shoulder, “It’s always upset me, how I can still feel the pain of the hydra’s bite but I don’t even have a scar. It all felt like a dream.” He shook his head.

“Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” Basalt smiled. He always had the kind of smile that would light up a room, and Alden couldn’t have wished for a better stepfather. The ranger’s smile faded a bit, “Can you do me a favor, Alden?”

“Yeah?” He asked.

“Please don’t get yourself killed,” Basalt started to clean some silverware. One of the forks was a bit bent, and was unmistakably from Westbarrow. He didn’t remember having any such silverware. Ah, memory. It was an odd thing. After all, memory was what had driven Alden to adventure. He just wanted to be remembered. Basalt just didn’t want him to go down in flames.

“I’ll try not to.”