#a high priestess/ arch mage?

[elven-butts]

so i’m back in class and u know how terrible i am with time management. so i decided to take away the indecision and executive dysfunction by spending all my time modding skyrim™

☾ my new boy and his tiny alfiq mom :3 all i know so far about them is that they are mages and worship azurah ✰

[mudaship39]

Lysander/Luciana Norwood character bio part 3

Occupation:

Scion of the Noble and Old House of Norwood. 

Scion of the Ancient and Powerful House of Delacroix. 

The Noble and Old House of Norwood have domains over the creation of mage schooling, magical research, & magical tools. 

The Ancient and Powerful House of Delacroix have a domain over the creation of weapons, armor, & shields. 

Guild Grandmaster of a Vanguard Guild an S rank Guild Order and Adventuring Guild

He/she/they are the high elder of the knight and paladin order. 

Commander of Timberwolf Mercenary Company.

Warlord of a City State. 

Shopkeeper and traveling merchant of Esoteric Emporium for magic users and Arcane Apothecary

Floating Magic Tower Grandmaster 

Chairman and CEO of the corporation Arcane Affinity. Arcane Affinity is the business of arcane supplies, magical weapons, & esoteric research that made his/her/their noble family their fortune. 

He/they as a grand magister on the magical council and circle of magi is a multi class magic user that is an imperial alchemist, master enchanter, arch mage, grand magician, high priest/high priestess, seer/oracle, supreme witch, grand sorcerer, great warlock, & master wizard. 

High King/High Queen of the Human Federation. King/Queen of the Human Kingdoms. Chieftain and Warchief of the Indigenous Magical Human Nations.

Place of Residence: When in magical human federation land he/she/they live at the Norwood Manor on the Norwood Estate. While in Indigenous magical human land he/she/they live in a dome shaped oblong, rounded, undulatory, & sinuous home. It has peaks and spires. It is rib vaulted. It has catenary arches. It is made out of gemstones and magical metals. It is filled with magiteck for accessibility. 

Citizenship: Tirione Kingdom, Human Federation of Magical Human Kingdoms and Indigenous Magical Human Nations, Alliance or Coalition, Federation of Aehinara, Continent of Aehinara, Contingent Landmass of Eisio, Giant Planet of Kaishi

Affiliation: 

Human Federation of Magical Human Kingdoms and Indigenous Magical Human Nations. 

Alliance or Coalition. Confederacy of Indigenous Goblinoid and Giantkin Nations. 

Federation of Aehinara

Sword and Shield Knight Order

Paragon Paladin Order

Vanguard Guild Order and Adventuring Guild

Cerberus Mercenary Company

Magic Council

Arcane Order 

Education:

High School graduate.

High School Diploma.

He/she/they were part of the magical go, magical shogi, & magical chess club. 

U-13 (or under 13), U-15 (or under 15) Magical Dueling first place champion, second place runner up, & third place finalist who took part in magical duels with a rapier, short sword and shield, & long sword.

 U-18 or under 18, U-21 or under 21, & 21 and over Magical Dueling first place champion, second place runner up, third place finalist who took part in magical duels with dual wielding short swords, one handed long sword and shield, and two handed great sword. 

U-13 or under 13, U-15 or under 15 Magical Archery first place champion, second place runner up, & third place finalist who took part in magical archery with a magical traditional bow and arrow, a magical crossbow, & a magical modern compound bow.

 U-18 (or under 18), U-21 (or under 21), & 21 and over Magical Sharpshooting first place champion, second place runner up, third place finalist who took part in magical gunslinging using a magical flintlock pistol, magical revolver revolver, magical semi automatic pistol, magical flintlock rifle, magical ten shot lever action repeating rifle, & magical carbine. 

U-13 (or under 13) and U-15 (or under 15) Magical Spellcasting first place champion, second place runner up, & third place finalist who took part in magical duels with a wand, magical baton, & grimoire.

 U-18 (or under 18), U-21 (or under 21), & 21 and over Magical Spellcasting first place champion, second place runner up, third place finalist who took part in magical duels with a mage stick, broomstick, & scepter. 

He/she/they/they took drama and theater where they met the Night Elf Bard.

He/she/they were the treasurer, vice president, & later student body president. 

He/she/they took honors classes and AP classes. He/she/they in high school were on the principal’s honor roll and was valedictorian. 

College graduate.

Associates Degree in Arithmancy

Masters Degree in Language.

Dual Major in Goblinoid and Giantkin

Minor in Common and Elvish

Master’s Degree in Military History.

History Major in Elvish History 

With emphasis in Dark Elven History

Minor in Draenei History

PHD in Magical Philosophy. 

Doctorate in Demonology and Necrology. 

He/she/they taught as a professor at the magical four year university. 

This is the magical four year university that they were alumni of where they were an English major that received their associate’s degree in Common (English).

They graduated cum laude as someone who graduated in the top twenty percent of their class. 

They were a Common (English) major that received their bachelor’s degree of the arts with a dual major in Goblin, Troll, Giantish, and Orcish.

Club member of the Divination, Numerology, Astrology, & Astronomy Club

He/she/they were club president of the Indigenous magical students association. He/she/they were vice president of the magical human students association. 

At the magical four year university they were the star-player of the magical sports team. 

He/she/they taught magical philosophy as a magical philosopher at a magical Ivy League School. 

This is the magical Ivy League School that they were alumni of where they were a Philosophy and Ethics major that received their doctorate degree in magical philosophy. 

He/she/they graduated magna cum laude as someone who graduated in the top ten percent of their class. 

He/she/they were part of the men’s and women’s magical basketball, baseball, softball, ice hockey, field hockey, soccer, volleyball, track and field, & rugby magical collegiate sports teams.

He/she/they were part of the magical fencing club sport team as Lysander. This is where they met the High Elf Cleric and Paladin.

He/she/they were part of the magical kendo, sai, kobudo, spear, kalaripayattu, stick fighting, bo staff, silat, & nunchucks melee martial art club sport team. 

He/she/they were part of the magical mixed martial arts (imagine karate, capoeira, krav maga, savate, muay thai, jiu jitsu, kickboxing, hapkido, judo, aikido, taekwondo, etc.) club sport team. 

He/she/they were part of the magical monk class martial arts (imagine bak mei, wushu, changquan, hung gar, xingyiquan, shuai jiao, wing chun, san da, choy li fut, shaolin kung fu, & wuzuquan) martial arts club sport team.  

He/she/they were part of the archery crossbow, traditional composite bow, & modern compound bow kyudo club sport team as Luciana. This is where they met the Wood Elf Druid and Ranger. 

As an equestrian that was part of the equestrian sports club they were a rider of magical mounts of alicorns, unicorns, & pegasi. 

He/she/they were an instructor at a magical military academy as a gun witch, battle wizard, & war mage. 

He/she/they at the magical military academy fought other fighters in tourneys with magical two handed greatswords, spears, two handed warhammers, & two handed battle axes. 

At the magical military academy they were the star player of the magical mount riding team as a rider of a drake and wyvern. 

He/she/they were part of the magical military martial arts competitive sports clubs at the magical military academy.  

He/she/they graduated from the military academy as a second lieutenant.

He/she/they graduated summa cum laude as someone who graduated top one percent of their class. 

He/she/they graduated from the military academy with a master's degree in History with a major in Elvish military history with an emphasis on Dark Elf history. 

He/she/they graduated from the military academy with a minor in geography. 

He/she/they as a grand magister who is a multi class magician graduated from a magical academy with certificates in metaplanes studies, astral studies, conceptual magic, quantum magic, magic theory, and theoretical magic.

Researcher and archiver at the magical library at the magical Ivy League university.

Companions:

Allies: 

Rose Winfield is a Magical human squire.

Nicholas Kaylock is a Magical human initiate.

Lillian Colfield is a Magical human aspirant.

Tobias Jenkings is a Magical human pageboy.

Adelaide Camden is a Magical human page girl. 

Zachary Leighton is a Magical human courtier. 

Helena Dixon is a Magical human apprentice.

Asher Covington is a Magical human esquire.

Phoebe Mast is a Magical human lady knight.

Preston Kahler is a Magical human knight.

Pierre Barnes is a Magical human lancer knight.

Josephina Lytton is a Magical human knight sergeant.

Liam Morgan is a Magical human knight lieutenant.

Henrietta O' Keefe is a Magical human knight captain.

Reginald Marple is a magical human knight templar.

Royce Harvey is a Magical human knight commander.

Cynthia Barrington is a Magical human paladin.

Joel Bradford is a Magical human high paladin.

Phillipa Belleville is a Magical human grand paladin.

Noah Marfont is a Magical human star paladin.

Daniella Blackwood is a Magical human paladin justicar.

Ian Asquith is a Magical human paladin commander.

Cornelius La-Minnings is a Magical human knight and paladin guild chapter master.

Harper Weston is a Magical human elder. She is the subordinate of High Elder Lysander/Luciana. She is Lysander’s/Luciana’s protege.

Peerage of Lysander/Luciana Norwood:

Genevieve Slater is a Magical human lady in waiting. Attends Lysander/Luciana when she/they is Luciana Norwood.

Luca Merriweather is a Magical human diplomat.

Tiffany Fitzgerald is a Magical human chancellor.

Jacob Weston is a Magical human minister. 

Vivienne Ashdown is a Magical human orator. 

Theodore Lynch is a Magical human baronet. Peerage of Lysander/Luciana.

Diane Carlyle is a Magical human baronetess. She is part of the peerage of Lysander/Luciana. 

Oscar Richfield is a Magical human baron. Peerage of Lysander/Luciana.

Charlene Haganis is a Magical human baroness. Peerage of Lysander/Luciana.

Michael Whitely is a Magical human viscount. Peerage of Lysander/Luciana.

Eleanora Ashbridge is a Magical human viscountess. Peerage of Lysander/Luciana.

Walter Beaumont is a Magical human count. Peerage of Lysander/Luciana.

Lily Bexley is a Magical human countess. Peerage of Lysander/Luciana.

Victor Herington is a Magical human marquess. Peerage of Lysander/Luciana.

Carolina Brighton is a Magical human marchioness. Peerage of Lysander/Luciana.

Clark Mavis is a Magical human duke. Peerage of Lysander/Luciana.

Gabriella Gainsborough is a Magical human duchess. Peerage of Lysander/Luciana.

Darby Rutherford is a Magical human archduke. Peerage of Lysander/Luciana. 

Viola Pierpont is a Magical human archduchess. Peerage of Lysander/Luciana. 

Harrison Tate is a Magical human vizier. He is the advisor of High King/High Queen Lysander/Luciana.

Margaretta Pierson is a Magical human grand vizier. She is the advisor of High King/High Queen Lysander/Luciana.

Members of Luciana/Lysander Norwood’s Court:

Courts are a web of conspiracies. It is a place of scheming, power plays, intrigue, & machinations. This was a decadent court.

Chika Nakagawa. Female Ambassador.

Artist. Sponsored artists. The monarch’s favorite artists. A group of the finest actors, cooks, dancers, directors, fashion designers, models, musicians, painters, photographers, playwrights, poets, sculptures, singers, theater thespians, & writers, etc in the empire, confederacy, & federation. They weren’t there for their own ambition. The monarchy and the upper class are inclined to support the arts. They wanted to show off their investments. So these artists are their accessories to show off. Though being in the court of a monarch is a good way for artists to increase their patrons.   

Bodyguards. Cadre of fogeign bodyguards. An elite group of highly trained, disciplined, & competent male, female, & two spirit hobgoblin, orc, troll, oni, goliath, & giant mercenaries. Mercenaries who distinguished themselves on the battlefield stood a good chance of being hired for a bodyguard job as a permanent exclusive contract. They are now a group of a praetorian guard to the monarch.   

Ahmose Idogbe. A male butler. The chief supervisor of all male manservants of a house.

Katlego Mba. A male castellan. The Castellan oversees the defense of a stronghold.

Andromeda Farmakis. A female chamberlain. Chamberlain makes decisions for the royal household in the monarch’s absence.

Liona Keawe a female chancellor. An officer of an order of knighthood who seals commissions.

Albus Ovius a male chapelmaster. A person in charge of music-making.

Nicholas Dupont a male chaplain. A member of the clergy attached to a private chapel, institution, ship, regiment, etc.

Phillippe Leclerc a male offerer of the Household. The holder who paid the wages of some of the servants above and below stairs.

Concubines. Full of male, female, & nonbinary members of more humanoid species such as aasimar, draenei, dwarves, elves, giants, gnomes, halflings, humans, ogre, oni, orcs, teiflings, & trolls.  

Alexander Seidel is a male confessor. A priest who hears confessions and gives absolution and spiritual counsel.

Anna Wolff is a female constable. A person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement.

Courtiers. Important not because of their inheritance or offices but because the regent has an affection for them. There is a certain charm, boldness, cleverness, honesty, strength, & beauty that caught the monarch’s eye. Their influence on the leader is not easily measured. 

Mira Benes is the Court Jester or Royal Fool. A professional joker or fool at a medieval court. They are typically wearing a cap with bells on it. They are usually carrying a mock scepter. A member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests. Jesters were also performers who entertained the common folk at fairs, carnivals, and town markets. Jesters are often thought to have worn brightly colored clothes and eccentric hats in a motley pattern. Jesters entertained with a wide variety of skills such as song, dance, playing musical instruments (a lute or a harp), spoken word poetry, storytelling, acrobatics, juggling, telling jokes, and performing magic tricks. Much of the entertainment was performed in a comic style. Many jesters made contemporary jokes in words or songs about people or events well known to their audiences. A halfling bard who was a former member of the king/queen’s guild party. They were a court wizard and spymaster for the sovereign in secret. They have the king’s ear and can speak freely using truth to power as an honest advisor under the guise of silliness. They are a power behind the throne. They are a very dangerous bard who spies on people for the king in other nations.  

Cup-bearer. A person who serves wine, especially in a royal or noble household.

Court Mage. The Court Mage has access to knowledge and cosmic powers none of the others understand and may be critical on the battlefield. Court mage was an arch mage. The court mage was a magic user for a sovereign to provide mystical advice and give magical services. This court mage was an alchemist, wizard, & sorcerer. They have high standing with other mages and the king/queen. Has bad relationship with other court members. 

The Chaplain. The Chaplain is the religious leader of the noble household.

Dapifer. An official who is appointed by the legal ruling monarch to represent them in a country, and may have a mandate to govern it in their name.

Doorward. A person given the responsibility of being warden of the king’s door: protecting the king’s property.

Falconer. A person involved in falconry and hunting.

General. The General is the highest military commander.

Gentleman of the Bedchamber. A person involved in waiting on the King when he ate in private, helping him to dress, guarding the bedchamber and water closet, and providing companionship.

Gentleman Usher. A person or people responsible for overseeing the work of the servants “above stairs”, particularly those who cooked and waited upon the nobleman at meals, and saw to it the great chamber was kept clean by the lesser servants. This person was also responsible for overseeing other miscellaneous services such as the care of the nobleman’s chapel and bed-chambers.

Grand Master/Grand Mistress. The supreme head of various orders, including chivalric orders such as military orders and dynastic orders of knighthood.

General. The General is the highest military commander.

Great Officers of the Crown. A person or head of a religious order or order of knighthood often conferring with the King and other members of the royal court.

Guard Captain. The Guard Captain is the commander of the house guard.

Harem. There is intense competition between them to carry the monarch’s favor. There is a tense relationship between them and the high queen of the magical humans and them and the empress of the Homo magi. Guarded by eunuchs. Ruthless and power hungry courtiers who had amassed a lot of power. 

Head of the Church. High Priest or Archbishop. 

Herald. An official employed to oversee state ceremonial, precedence, and the use of armorial bearings. Employed to make proclamations, carry official messages, and oversee tournaments. The Herald is an expert on nobles, heraldry, and etiquette.

Horsemaster. The Horsemaster oversees and tends to the domain’s horses, alicorns, unicorns, & pegasi.

Intendant. A title given to a high-ranking official or administrator.

Keeper of the Seals. A person entitled to keep and authorize use of the Great Seal of a given country.

King of Arms. An Officer of the King. A king of arms is the senior rank of an officer of arms. Only a king of arms has the authority to grant armorial bearings and sometimes certify genealogies and noble titles.

Knights are soldiers with noble rank. Former knights and paladins of knight and paladin orders. A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity.

The Ladies-in-waiting are noble daughters who act as servants for the royals while they look for husbands. A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court attending to a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. A lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom she attended. She received compensation for the service she rendered. A lady-in-waiting was considered more of a secretary, courtier, and or companion to her mistress than a servant. She functions as companion and secretary to her mistress. In courts where polygamy was practiced, a court lady was formally available to the monarch for sexual services. She could become his wife, consort, courtesan, or concubine.  A royal woman in the magical human kingdoms was free to select her ladies. The decision was not chosen by the sovereign, her parents, her husband, or the sovereign's ministers. 

Maid: The chief supervisor of all female manservants of a house.

Maid of honor. An unmarried noblewoman attending a queen or princessA Maid of honor is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position is junior to the lady-in-waiting.  

Majordomo. A person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another. Typically, the term refers to the highest major person of a household staff. They are a head servant who acts on behalf of the owner of a large or significant residence. A majordomo is a person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another. Typically, this is the highest major person of a household staff. They are a head servant who acts on behalf of the owner of a large or significant residence. A majordomo is also someone who oversees the day-to-day responsibilities of a business enterprise. They were usually also in charge of finances.

Marshall. Grand Marshall. The Marshall oversees the training of the troops.

Master Assassin. The Master Assassin deals with threats in the most permanent fashion.

Master of Ceremonies. Official host or organizer of staged events. Sometimes the one to give speeches or present performers. 

Master of Coin. Chief financial advisor charged with managing the crown’s money. Advised the monarch on commerce, trade, & economy. Oversaw all regions affecting transactions.

Master of the Horse. A person connected to all matters with the horses and formerly also the hounds of the King, as well as the stables and coach houses, the stud, mews and previously the kennels.

Master of the Hunt. Grand Master/Grand Mistress of the Hunt. A person responsible for the royal hunt. Often overseeing the care of the king’s hunting dogs and other animals cared for under the King.

Master of Robe. Officer in charge of the monarch's wardrobe. Especially for important events like coronations or annual celebrations. 

Page boy or page girl. A person of low rank who works as a servant to the King. A page girl or page boy is traditionally a young male or female attendant or servant of a noble. They also have been used as a messenger at the service of a nobleman.

Pantler. A servant or officer in charge of the bread and the pantry in a great family. In charge of pantry and food supplies. They are also responsible for serving the royal table.

Pursuivant of Arms. An officer of ranking below a herald. A pursuivant is a junior officer of arms. Most pursuivants are attached to official heraldic authorities.  These pursuivants of arms look after matters of heraldic and genealogical importance.

Royal Quartermaster. The Royal Quartermaster oversees the funding and the gear of the agents including poisons and magic items.

Royal Secretary. A person responsible for communicating the sovereign’s wishes to the other members of government.

Sage. The Sage is an expert on history and all kinds of lore. The sage may double as a tutor, herald, and court mage.

Secretary. Secretaries are generally responsible for communicating the sovereign's wishes to the other members of government. At times and places it may have a number of other duties. In most cases the royal secretary is a close adviser of the monarch.

Senescal. Administrator or supervisor. A senescal was in charge of domestic arrangements and the administration of servants which meant the seneschal might oversee hundreds of laborers, servants and their associated responsibilities. They would have a great deal of power in the community when much of the local economy was often based on the wealth and responsibilities of such a household.

Spymaster. The Spymaster keeps everybody informed about the state of the realm and any threats. The head of clandestine intelligence. This person handles the more delicate affairs of the court and country. They gather information not meant for their regent’s ears. They find blackmail is such a dirty word. They make minor and great nuisances to the king quietly disappear. A former rogue assassin and double agent. Was a member of the king’s adventuring party as a rogue. Their loyalty to the king is always questioned by other members of the court.  

Squire. Squires are knights-in-training who work as servants of knights.

Standard-bearer. A person who bears an emblem called an ensign or standard which is either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used as a formal, visual symbol of a state, prince, military unit, etc.

Steward. A steward is an official who is appointed by the legal ruling monarch to represent them in a country. They may have a mandate to govern it in their name. It is synonymous with the position of regent, viceroy, governor, or deputy. 

Stolnik. A person responsible for serving the royal table, then an honorary court title and a district office.

Treasurer. The Treasurer oversees the domain’s finances and sometimes literally its gold, silver, copper, & platinum coin reserves.

Viceroy. The Viceroy has the authority to rule in the monarch’s place. The chief advisor of the monarchy. They are the mentor of the high king/high queen. 

Warden. The Warden oversees a specific area of the domain like a forest or a village.

Former Companions:

Squire that he/she/they are training as a knight and paladin. Left his/her/their tutelage as a knight corporal. Promoted to knight commander and paladin commander. Is now chapter master of a knight order and paladin order. 

Apprentice that he/she/they are training as a magic user. Is now Senator of the Magical Government. 

Current Companions:

They all have a mark of life. They have attained the understanding of magic and they crafted a mark of life on the forehead of their warforged companions. This allows them to follow more complex commands of the user without direct input, allows them to speak, and allows them to remember things. 

Blade. Warforged Automaton. Envoy. Rogue. Assassin. Spy. Light Armor. Created by a goblin artificer. 

Church. Warforged Automaton. Envoy. Cleric. Druid. Combat Medic. Healer. Unarmored. Created by a draenei artificer. 

Book. Warforged Automaton. Envoy. Entertainer. Bard. Trained actor, cook, dancer, musician, painter, photographer, playwright, poet, sculpture, singer, theatre thespian, & writer. Is with them to catalog their memoir. Created by a gnome artificer. 

Scout. Warforged Automaton. Skirmisher. Scout. Gunslinger. Ranger. Sniper. Sharpshooter. Archer. Recon. Composite plating. Medium Armor. Created by a gnome artificer. 

Commander. Warforged Automaton. Heavy Assault. Paladin. Cleric. Shock Trooper. Juggernaut. Heavy Plating. Heavy Armor. 8 foot tall. 500 pounds. Created by a dwarf artificer. 

Enforcer. Warforged. Automaton. Fighter. Bodyguard. Heavy Plating. Heavy Armor. 7 feet tall. 450 pounds. Created by a draenei artificer.

Clockwork Assassin. 

Clockwork Servant. 

Clockwork Soldier.

Clockwork Guardian. 

[illumiera]

I was tagged by the wonderful @bougainvillea-and-saltwater and @kiir-do-faal-rahhe (thank you both!! 💖) to play this ask game about my Dragonborn, Elentari, and now I'm finally getting to it!

What’s your OCs favourite tavern?

It isn't all that often that Elentari finds herself in a tavern for recreational purposes—as the Arch-Mage and slayer of Alduin, she cuts a very recognisable figure, and she's conflicted with just how much her dragon soul enjoys all the accolades, drinks, and songs in her honour she receives—but when she does, she has a real soft spot for The Bannered Mare in Whiterun. It's full of familiar faces, and on a relatively warm evening, there's nothing quite like sitting outside, watching the light fade and the Gildergreen's petals drift down to the streets... 🥰

2. What about their favourite beverage?

Ellie, like many Bretons, is a firm believer in the healing power of a good cup of herbal tea. She's no alchemist—ask her to make you a potion of magicka fortification and she's just as likely to turn you green—but she does have a wide range of teas in her kitchen cupboards, as well as some honey to spoon in and a warm, cosy hearth to drink them by. As far as alcohol goes, she loves a spiced wine. You can tell she's a teeny bit tipsy because she'll start gesturing when she talks as opposed to staying rather still!

3. Who do they travel with?

Not long after arriving in Skyrim, Ellie ran into Lucien Flavius, who offered to pay her if she'd show him around. She was initially reluctant to travel with anybody, but she also hated the idea of such a trusting scholar trying to fend for himself and finding trouble, and so she agreed, promising herself that she wouldn't get attached to him due to her fears of losing those close to her. (Spoiler: she got attached and now he's her best/only friend.)

A couple of years into her journey, of course, strange things start happening on the island of Solstheim, and she discovers that Miraak isn't the enemy she was expecting him to be... but you'll have to read my fic to learn how that goes down, and to meet another companion she'll soon be gaining... 😊

4. Are they wealthy? How do they make money?

As Arch-Mage, Dragonborn, Thane of several Holds, an explorer, and a person generally incapable of resisting anyone's call for aid for any task no matter how mundane, Elentari is never short of money. Any market stall owner or shopkeeper who tries to give her something for free will find themselves roped into a vicious politeness battle from which there's no escape—if you refuse to charge the Dragonborn for the potions she needs, you'll soon find yourself in possession of a handmade satchel for your ingredients (yours was falling apart!) or a new cloak (it's getting cold, after all, and she had this warm fabric lying around...).

She's also a hoarder. You might think she doesn't act very draconic at first glance, and then you'll see the amount of jewels she keeps and the sheer amount of artefacts and other assorted shiny things in her basement and you'll quickly change your mind. 👀

5. Do they worship any aedra or daedra?

Ellie worships the Eight, and like many of High Rock's Bretons, elven gods like Magnus and Jephre, but she holds special reverence for Mara above all—and each time she absolutely has to take a life, she'll say a prayer to Arkay on their behalf. She's no priestess, but if that prayer has even the smallest chance of preventing a necromancer from raising her slain foe or stopping their soul from being used against their will, she'll do it. Growing up in Daggerfall, she volunteered amongst the healers in the Temple of Kynareth every Loredas, and sometimes does the same in Whiterun if she isn't too busy.

6. What is their biggest fear?

Having lost her parents and her little sister all in one night, she's petrified of losing those she holds dear, and as much as she craves companionship, she's very reluctant to allow herself to get close to anyone for fear of the same happening again. She also doesn't much like the dark; it makes her think of the absolute nothingness she saw when she died. The canopy of her bed is strung with tiny magelights, and she'll never go into any cave or barrow without a candlelight spell at the ready.

7. Any pet peeves?

Dog-eared books, books in weird orders (she would NOT be impressed with my by-colour bookshelf organisation system, let me tell you), bad manners, snoring, overly coarse language, anyone who openly underestimates her because of her size and stature (rare as that is these days!), those who make no secret of viewing themselves above everyone else, dropping pins when sewing and later finding them when stepping on them...

8. Do they like being Dragonborn? Or do they see it as a burden?

She readily rose to all that her role asked of her and she doubts she'd want to be any different, but it's a heavy weight to bear all the same. As well as the alienation that comes from finding kinship with neither mortals nor dragons (how fortunate that there's another with a dragon soul out there, hm? 😌), she knows that in any situation that arises, all eyes turn to her to fix it. Take the Civil War: she's not sure she wants to intervene, but there's pressure on her to decide it for one side or the other, and those draconic impulses of hers are like, "hey, why don't we just declare ourselves High Queen and be done with it?"

She also suspects that had she not been born to be Laat Dovahkiin, she'd have simply stayed dead when her family was killed as a result of a Dark Brotherhood contract. Her last act was one of love for her little sister, meaning that Mara might have tried to intervene for her regardless, but then again, if she hadn't had that destiny on her shoulders, would the gods have been paying any attention to her at all?

9. Favourite Skyrim faction?

Ellie's on friendly terms with the Bards College and the Companions (there was some tension there on both sides, but after it eventually grew to mutual respect, she helped Kodlak, Farkas, and Vilkas cure their lycanthropy), but she's the Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold. There's only one possible answer! 🥰

10. Any object they carry with high sentimental value?

When the Bellefeuille sisters each turned sixteen, Elentari first and Nienna just over a year later, they were each given a silver ring with their initials inscribed on the inside: E. A. J. B. (Elentari Anastasie Juliette Bellefeuille) and N. G. B. (Nienna Genevieve Bellefeuille). Ellie wears her own ring on her left middle finger and Nienna's on a fine silver chain about her neck, and she never takes either off.

11. What about hobbies?

Ellie has a variety of hobbies! She likes to study magic and history, as well as read for fun (she has a collection of smutty romance novels that are as meticulously organised as her spell tomes), and she loves to do that reading in a sunny spot in her garden. The garden itself is maintained both through her careful work and through magic so that her flowers can bloom all year round despite the cold, and sometimes she finds it grounding, being outside barefoot or dozing amidst the sweet-smelling lavender and buzzing bees. Singing is a regular pasttime of hers, as well as playing music on the lute or the violin. Oh, and she sews and embroiders her own clothes, stitching intricate little designs into each piece, some of them enchanted for various properties!

12. Favourite Skyrim city?

Without a doubt, it's Whiterun! When she's not taking care of Arch-Mage duties, she lives by a waterfall in the hills between Riverwood and Whiterun, and she likes that it's only a relatively short walk to everything she needs and some of the places that quickly became familiar and comforting to her when she first arrived in Skyrim, fresh from the confusion and fear of Helgen. Riverwood will always be her favourite place, though, thanks to its peaceful woods, the wildflowers, and the rushing of the waterfalls. 🌲

Now, I never know who to tag with these things, so I'm leaving it open: if you see this and you want to answer these questions, consider yourself tagged! 💖

[darkpetal16]

Can’t wait until Overlord gets posted!!! I’ve only ever found one fanfic of it I’ve liked and it’s a HP crossover

:)

Character Sheet

Name: Momonga

Title: The Strongest Magic Caster with the Appearance of a Skeleton

Level: 100

Race: Heteromorphic Race; Undead

Job: One of the Almighty 42 Supreme Beings; Ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick

Residence: Great Tomb of Nazarick; Room in level 9

Alignment: Extreme Evil; Sense of Justice - 500

Racial Level: Skeletal Mage lvl 15; Elder Lich lvl 10; Overlord lvl 5

Job level: Necromancer lvl 10; Ruler of Death lvl 10; Eclipse lvl 5

Creator: N/A

Personality: Cautious, loyal, avid collector.

.

Name: Lumière

Title: High Priestess of Light

Level: 100

Race: Heteromorphic Race; Angel

Job: One of the Almighty 42 Supreme Beings; Lady of Light

Residence: Great Tomb of Nazarick; The Hidden Tower

Alignment: Extreme Good; Sense of Justice 500

Racial Level: Angel lvl 15; Archangel lvl 10; Seraph Empyrean lvl 5

Job level: Light Priestess lvl 10; High Priestess lvl 10

Creator: N/A

Personality: Demure, loyal, romantic,

.

Name: Albedo

Title: Warm and Caring Devil of Pure White

Level: 100

Race: Heteromorphic Race; Succubus

Job: Great Tomb of Nazarick Overseer

Residence: Throne Hall; and a room in level 9

Alignment: Extreme Evil; Sense of Justice - 500

Racial Level: Imp lvl 10

Job level: Guardian lvl 10; Blackguard lvl 5; Unholy Knight lvl 10; Shield Lord lvl 10

Creator: Tabula Smaragdina

Personality: Loyal, yandere, extremist

.

Name: Jack

Title: The Smiling Ripper

Level: 100

Race: Heteromorphic Race; Undead

Job: Great Tomb of Nazarick Head Researcher

Residence: The Hidden Tower; and a room in level 9

Alignment: Extreme Evil; Sense of Justice - 500

Racial Level: Skeletal Mage lvl 15; Elder Lich lvl 10;

Job level: Necromancer lvl 10; Researcher lvl 10; Assassin lvl 10; Master Assassin lvl 5

Creator: Lucille

Personality: Loyal, yandere, cruel

.

Name: Aura Bella Fiora

Title: Renowned Trainer with an Indomitable Will

Level: 100

Race: Human Race; Dark Elf

Job: Great Tomb of Nazarick 6th Floor Guardian

Residence: 6th Floor Giant Tree

Alignment: Neutral ~ Evil; Sense of Justice - 100

Racial Level: N/A

Job level: Ranger lvl 5; Beast Tamer lvl 5; Shooter lvl 5; Sniper lvl 5; High Tamer lvl 10

.

Name: Mare Bello Fiora

Title: Unreliable Envoy of Nature

Level: 100

Race: Human Race; Dark Elf

Job: Great Tomb of Nazarick 6th Floor Guardian

Residence: 6th Floor Giant Tree

Alignment: Neutral ~ Evil; Sense of Justice - 100

Racial Level: N/A

Job level: Druid lvl 10; High Druid lvl 10; Nature’s Herald lvl 10; Disciple of Disaster lvl 5; Forest Mage lvl 10

.

Name: Cocytus

Title: Ruler of Glaciers

Level: 100

Race: Heteromorphic Race; Vermin Lord

Job: Great Tomb of Nazarick 6th Floor Guardian

Residence: 6th Floor Snowball Earth

Alignment: Neutral; Sense of Justice 50

Racial Level: Insect Fighter lvl 10; Vermin Lord lvl 10

Job level: Sword Saint lvl 10; Asura lvl 5; Knight of Niflheim lvl 5

.

Name: Demiurge

Title: Creator of the Blazing Inferno

Level: 100

Race: Heteromorphic Race; Arch-Devil

Job: Great Tomb of Nazarick 7th Floor Guardian

Residence: 7th Floor Blazing Shrine

Alignment: Extreme Evil; Sense of Justice - 500

Racial Level: Imp lvl 10; Archdevil lvl 5

Job level: Chaos lvl 10; Prince of Darkness lvl 10; Shapeshifter lvl 10

.

Name: Shalltear Bloodfallen

Title: The Bloody Valkyrie

Level: 100

Race: Heteromorphic Race; True Vampire

Job: Great Tomb of Nazarick 1st ~ 3rd Floor Guardian

Residence: 2nd Floor Burial Chambers

Alignment: Great ~ Extreme Evil; Sense of Justice - 450

Racial Level: Vampire lvl 10; True Vampire lvl 10

Job level: Valkyrie / Lance lvl 5; Cursed Knight lvl 5; Cleric lvl 10

.

Name: Pandora’s Actor

Title: Ever Changing Man Without A Face

Level: 100

Race: Heteromorphic Race; Doppelgänger

Job: Great Tomb of Nazarick Treasury Zone Guardian

Residence: Treasury Zone Manager Office

Alignment: Neutral; Sense of Justice - 50

Racial Level: Doppelgänger lvl 15; Greater Doppelgänger lvl 10

Job level: Expert lvl 10; Craftsman lvl 10; Lord of the Castle lvl 15

.

Name: Cheshire

Title: Cackling with Madness

Level: 100

Race: Heteromorphic Race; Fairy

Job: Hidden Tower Guardian

Residence: Hidden Tower

Alignment: Neutral; Sense of Justice - 100

Racial Level: Fairy lvl 15; Trickster lvl 10

Job level: Illusionist lvl 15; Shapeshifter lvl 10; Stalker lvl 10

.

Name: Victim

Title: Sacrificial Fetus

Level: 35

Race: Heteromorphic Race; Angel

Job: Great Tomb of Nazarick 8th Floor Guardian

Residence: 8th Floor Tree of Life (Sephiroth)

Alignment: Neutral; Sense of Justice 1

Racial Level: Angel lvl 10; Archangel lvl 10

Job level: Patriot lvl 1; Saint lvl 4; Martyr lvl 1

.

A Sneak Peek

In the year 2138 AD there was a term: DMMO-RPG. That word was an acronym for “Dive Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game”. It was a revolutionary new way to play games that used virtual reality and nano-technology. Among the myriad DMMO-RPGs that thronged the market, one of them stood head and shoulders above the others: YGGDRASIL.

That game had been painstakingly developed and released twelve years ago, in 2126.

Compared to other DMMO-RPGs of the time, YGGDRASIL’s selling point was player freedom; it had over two thousand basic and advanced job classes.

Every class had a maximum of fifteen levels, and so in order to reach the overall level cap of one hundred, one would need to take at least seven different classes. However, players could take as many classes as they wanted as long as they met each class’s prerequisites. A player could even take a hundred classes at level one each. As such, in that system, it was exceedingly difficult to make identical characters unless one was deliberately trying to do so.

One could use various creator tools (sold separately) to fully customize one’s armor, weaponry, flavor text, appearance, and other cosmetic settings. A vast playing field awaited its players. There were nine worlds in total: Asgard, Alfheim, Vanaheim, Nidavellir, Midgard, Jotunheim, Niflheim, Helheim, and Muspelheim.

In essence, YGGDRASIL boasted a massive world, numerous classes, and freely customizable appearances.

It was inevitable that it would skyrocket in popularity and infinite the muses of millions of creative players.

Of course… that was all in the past now.

.

A gigantic table carved of gleaming black stone sat in the center of a luxurious room, surrounded by forty two chairs. Of all of those chairs, only three were occupied.

One of the seated attendees was clothed in a magnificent black academic robe edged in violet and gold. The collar was excessively gaudy, but it still melded well with the overall design. The person’s head was exposed, revealing a bare skill. Points of dark red lights glowed in its large eye sockets. Behind that skull pulsed a halo of black radiance.

Further down the table was a being that was not human either, merely a mass of black, sticky substance. Its tar-like surface roiled and writhed continuously, never staying in shape for more than second.

At the very end was a person who at a glance could pass as human, if not for the pointed ears and wings at their back. That person wore magnificent priestess robes of silver and blue. Its halo at the back of its head illuminated its long curly white-blonde hair.

The first attendant at the table was an Overlord, the highest-ranked of an undead magic-caster. The second was an Elder Black Ooze, which boasted the most powerful corrosive ability of the slime families. The last was a Seraph Empyrean, the highest-ranked of an angel-raced healer.

One might encounter those monsters in the most difficult of dungeons in YGGDRASIL. Overlords could use powerful curses or spells of the highest tiers of magic; Elder Black Oozes were dreaded for their ability to degrade weapons and armor; and Seraph Empyreans were universally despised when found near bosses.

However, they were not game monsters, but players.

In YGGDRASIL, players could choose their character races from three broad groups: humanoid, demihuman, and heteromorphic.

Humanoids were the basic player type and comprised humans, dwarves, wood elves, and the like. Demihumans tended to be ugly, but possessed superior attributes to humanoids. Examples of demihumans were goblins, beastmen, ogres, and so on. Finally, heteromorphic races had monstrous abilities, but despite their stats being generally higher than those of other races, they also possessed various drawbacks. There were around seven hundred playable races in total, including the advanced versions of those races. Naturally, the Overlord, Seraph Empyrean, and Elder Black Ooze were among the high-tier heteromorphic races that were playable.

The Overlord—who was speaking at the moment—did not move his mouth. That was because even the most advanced DMMO-RPGs of the time still could not overcome the technological hurdle of properly modelling the changes on a character’s face in response to emotions and speech.

He spoke in a jovial tone, “It’s really been a while, Herohero. Although this is the last day of YGGDRASIL, we didn’t expect you to show up.”

The slime wobbled. “Indeed it has, Momonga.” The slime nodded in the direction of the Overlord, then at the angel who nodded back in return. “Lumière.”

“How has work been for you?” asked the angel.

The slime sighed, letting loose a small tirade of complaints. Momonga and Lumière listened patiently as their friend vented.

After about ten minutes, the torrent of words that flowed from Herohero dwindled to a trickle.

“...I’m sorry for making you listen to my whining. I can’t complain much IRL.”

“It’s really no worries,” assured Momonga. “We’re happy you were able to come by at all.”

“Ah. It was so nice to see you both after so long. I was afraid to find no one here.” Herohero’s tentacles waved at both of them. “But it is getting late… How long will you two be on?”

“Until we’re automatically logged out once the servers shut down,” answered Lumière.

“Since it’s still a ways off, we might get more visitors like you,” added Momonga.

“Ah. I hope so. I see you both have taken good care of this place.”

Momonga and Lumière did not respond, neither of them wanting to show the surge of mixed emotions Herohero’s words caused.

There were a few more parting words, but eventually, Herohero left and it was only the two remaining members once again. Momonga sighed again and Lumière spared him a glance. Their expressions could not be relayed through their avatars so she sent him a frowny face instead.

The quiet disappointment was understandable. Their guild, Ainz Ooal Gown, had slowly died out over the years as more and more members left the game. In the past two years only Momonga and Lumière regularly logged on. They had sent emails out to the other members of the guild asking for them to join them on the final day, but unfortunately only Herohero responded.

“I’m going back to the tower,” said Lumière. “Meet up later?”

“Yeah. I’ll talk to you in a bit.”

Lumière left after that point, teleporting to the Hidden Tower at the 10th floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

The Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick had once been a six floor dungeon, but it had been dramatically altered after Ainz Ooal Gown took control of it. Currently, it was a ten floor dungeon, and each floor had its own unique theme. The First to Third Floors were modelled after a tomb. The Fourth Floor was an underground lake. The Fifth Floor was a frozen glacier. The Sixth Floor was a rainforest. The Seventh Floor was a sea of magma. The Eighth Floor was a wasteland. And the Ninth and Tenth Floors were the realm of the gods—in other words, the home base of Ainz Ooal Gown, which had ranked among the top ten of YGGDRASIL’s thousands of guilds. In the Tenth Floor there were a few hidden areas, although only one was regularly used—The Hidden Tower.

The entrance was hidden in the Throne Room. It was a tower built by Lumière, Blue Planet, and Amanomahitotsu as a hidden level. Not that it mattered since the only raid that came close to it was stopped in the Throne Room.

The tower had five levels, the first three dedicated as testing areas for Nazarick’s lead Researcher, Jack. The fourth floor was a luxurious library with a big fireplace, and lots of comfy spots to lounge in. At the top of the floor was Lumière’s room.

Upon entering the tower Lumière stopped before the Tower Guardian, Cheshire.

In a game like YGGDRASIL, guilds enjoyed several benefits if they possessed a guild base of castle tier or higher. The NPCs that the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick could field were undead monsters. These automatically spawning NPCs—or “pop monsters”—had a maximum level of thirty. Even if they were destroyed, after a while they would respawn on their own, at no cost to the guild. However, players could not customize the AI and appearances of these “pop” NPCs. They were hardly useful in deterring intruders, who were universally players.

There was also another type of NPC; the ones designed from the ground up to their makers’ satisfaction. If a guild possessed a castle-grade guild base, the owning guild would be allowed nine hundred levels to be distributed between any number of NPCs they wanted.

Because the highest level in YGGDRASIL was one hundred, by those stipulations, a guild could make seven level one hundred NPCs and four level fifty NPCs, or any combination thereof.

When designing an original NPC, one could customize weaponry and other equipment in addition to clothing and appearances. As a result, one could create NPCs that were far stronger than the automatic spawns and place them in key locations. Of course, not every NPC had to be designed for battle. A certain guild which called themselves the “Kitty Kingdom” fielded no NPCs other than cats or cat-related creatures.

It was a nice guild to visit.

Cheshire was one of those specially crafted NPCs. It was a shapeshifting fairy created by Lumière. Its default form was that of a dark cat with stripes and an eerie smile that showed several rows of sharp teeth. It was heavily inspired by the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, albeit with a more malicious mindset. It was designed to use “illusions” to trick players when entering such as changing what they see on screen to something else, or swapping what keys did what and so on.

Cheshire always floated down to whoever entered the tower. Its default setting would be to greet whoever came. It had a special message tailored for all the Supreme Beings.

“Welcome back, Mistress!” greeted Cheshire. As Lumière was its creator, she designed it to greet her as mistress, or my dearest lady. She gave the same order to her other creation, Jack.

Jack was stationed at the first floor of the tower. He was near some desks in the lab designed to look like a mad scientist laboratory. Lumière made up his character, leaning into an assassin-lich trope. She almost went with the skeletal appearance, but Bukubukuchagama talked her out of it. Bukubukuchagama bemoaned how there were already plenty of other “scary” monsters in the guild. She tried to bribe Lumière to make Jack a genderswap like her Dark Elves, but Lumière resisted. She compromised as a bishie. Or at least as much of a bishie as an undead could get.

Not that anyone could see it since Jack wore a mask.

That way he could appear as a “scary” monster to befit the evil lab, but in actuality, he was a pretty boy underneath which satisfied Bukubukuchagama. A happy Bukubukuchagama meant free visual novels for Lumière which in turn made for a happy Lumière.

Win-win all around.

Lumière brushed past both of her creations, stepping in to the laboratory and looking around.

Well, it is the last day, she thought as she glanced over at her creations.

“Come with me,” she ordered both of them.

Neither responded, both simply stepping closer to her. Er, well, Jack stepped forward while Cheshire hovered closer. She guided them up the tower to her favorite spot in Nazarick; the cozy little library.

With a wave of her hand she turned the fire place on and took a seat on the lush, red couch in front of it. She let out a slow sigh as she stared at the flickering flames.

[23:55:48]

She hadn’t even realized so much time had passed, she had zoned out watching the flames dance. That had been happening with greater frequency the past couple of weeks. Lumière’s body in reality wasn’t in good condition. It was a struggle to even get out of bed, her lungs slowly filling with fluid each day. She’d need another draining surgery in a month.

Her fatigue caused her mind to drift away, not quite falling asleep but close to.

What will I do when they shut the game down?

It was a question that had occurred to her several times, but she never found an answer. It wasn’t that YGGDRASIL was the only game she ever played--Civilizaiton CXI and Warhammer were nice ways to pass time, but YGGDRASIL was special to her. Ainz Ooal Gown was a place she finally had proper friends.

[23:59:58, 59—]

Lumière closed her eyes. What a shame.

[0:00:00...1,2,3]

?

Lumière knew something was immediately wrong when the first breath she took was not one hampered. She reflexively breathed deeper and found that it did not incite a fit of coughing. Her eyes shot open and she abruptly stood up from her seat.

Even the movement came with ease.

What in the?

[0:00:38]

Lumière twisted her body one way to another, breathing in the scents of--

Scents?! YGGDRASIL couldn’t mimic smells.

But lo and behold Lumière could distinctly smell the fire. It had a odd woodsy scent to it, as if it were scented logs burning inside. Lumière had never gone camping before, nor had she experienced fire first hand in her life. She marveled over the odd smell it emitted, sniffing delicately at it.

I quite like this smell, she thought.

“My dearest lady?”

Lumière twitched in surprise, looking over at Jack. The NPC had approached Lumière, a hand placed over his chest where his heart would have been had he not been undead. Jack, like all of Nazarick’s NPCS, had two default outfits: battle and casual. The battle would originally have only been triggered during a raid, so he currently wore his casual.

Lumière had been pretty huge into Sherlock and anime at the time of his design, so he was heavily inspired by an anime version of Jack the Ripper.

He had a black ulster coat with the collar flipped up. Underneath was a white button up shirt, and black and red suit vest. He had the classic dark white gloves, and black slacks to complete the look.

Oh, and of course the famous top hat. Could never, ever, forget the top hat for someone inspired by Jack the Ripper.

Lumière opened her mouth to say something but rapidly closed it. She placed a hand over her chest, breathing.

I can breathe easy. I have a sense of smell and touch. Is it--did I die?

Isekais were rather popular. Given her sickly body it wouldn’t have been too much of a stretch to say she passed away and had no memory of it.

The end result was still the same: she was in her avatar’s body. A body strengthened by a hundred levels and not plagued by illness or frailty. A smile curled her lips and she said, “Jack, how are you today?”

A question that an NPC could never answer unless specifically programmed for. Lumière had never given such line to Jack which meant that if he answered--

“Lovely now that I can gaze upon you,” he answered, stepping closer.

A surge of embarrassed adrenaline shot through Lumière at his intensely warm tone. Ah, wait--

She had almost forgotten how she programmed Jack’s personality. Leaning into the guild’s theme of “monsters” and “evil” she pushed on with his serial killer design. Cruel, sadistic, obsessive, and dangerously smart. She went all out, using a character design sheet Tabula put together. Lumière wasn’t as inventive or imaginative in the edgy department so she asked Ulbert to help. Ulbert had already made a pretty evil demon, Demiurge, and was delighted to try his hand at an evil undead serial killer.

At the end of the design she, as giggling joke with Peroroncino she added that he was a yandere for her.

Ahahahaha… I’m sure it’ll be okay.

「Message from Momonga」 Lumière?

Uwa! Momonga’s here?

「Message to Momonga」 Momonga! You came here too?

「Message from Momonga」 Came here… you’re really in the game, too?

「Message to Momonga」 It looks like it. I can breathe without trouble.

「Message from Momonga」 Ah. I’m happy for you. I’m going to conduct some tests to make sure I can cast more spells. Do you want to meet up in the arena?

「Message from Momonga」 Yeah, I’ll meet you there.

“Cheshire,” Lumière said, raising her hands up. “Come here.”

The fairy disguised as a monster cat floated over with a wide smiles. “Yes, Mistress?”

She reached out and the monstrous feline leaned into her palm. She felt his fur, his warmth, and beneath it all a heartbeat.

Jack responded with an answer on his own, Cheshire is warm and has a heartbeat, I can move freely… I’m here. This is real. They’re real.

Lumière smiled shyly, taking Cheshire into her arms. He was fluffy and warm. “We’re going to the arena to meet with Momonga.”

“As you wish, my lady,” demurred Jack while Cheshire flicked his tail.

[heroineimages]

Tiefling Knights!

So for a while now I’ve wanted to design adventuresses from an order of knights, where all twelve D&D classes get to wear plate armor regardless of class. Designing my Jungle Fauns, I had so much fun playing with the horns and face/body decals that I decided to make my knights all Tieflings! Known as the Order of Hellblood, they wear different plate armors and carry Hellblood signet longswords, though not all of them use those.

Current headmistress, Countess Thynethor inherited the leadership from her adopted mother, the previous headmistress. A harpist with a lilting voice and masterwork breastplate, Thyne also carries her Hellblood longsword, great sword, and heater shield with the Order’s winged crest. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D22921785/

Descended from halfling grandparents, Sir Valreus is a scout and spearwoman for the order. Carries her Hellblood longsword at all times, but prefers her round-shield and polearms. Always travels with her cat companion and favorite breastplate. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D22931496/

Priestess of the Red Knight, Sir Skareus serves as Thyne’s religious advisor and an officer in the heavy infantry when not adventuring. Heavy plate armor, dual spear, Hellblood sword and shield of the Order, and favorite coffee mug. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D22923633/

A veteran adventuress and experienced battle-mage, Professor Valzire serves as the Order’s arcane advisor and trainer for their arcane knights. Half-plate and magic staff with Hellblood sword and shield. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D22929447/

Raised by Paladins of Helm, Sir Iashoon is less removed from her demon parentage than any of her teammates. A heavy infantrywoman in battle and heavy-hitter in the dungeons, Iash is skilled with sword and shield but prefers heavy, blunted objects. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D22924751/

Of Drow descent, Sir Malmong is a former mercenary invited into the Order of Hellblood by Professor Val, to whom she is now married. A multi-role combatant, Mal dual-wields her ancestral sabers but also packs a short-bow and Hellblood longsword. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D22926621/

An expert stealth-fighter, Sir Skamarir shares the Order’s scouting duties with Sir Valreus. Though proficient with the Order’s longsword, she prefers her fist-daggers in combat. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D22927257/

A skilled combat-rogue and Countess Thyne’s girlfriend, Sir Kallista fights as a high-dex tank and flanker in her light-weight breastplate. Like the others, she packs the Order’s longsword but instead prefers short-blades and daggers with her crossbow for ranged combat. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D22919489/

A battle-mage of air-genasi descent, Sir Ariaborys is one of Professor Val’s sharpest students, resplendent in her light plate armor. Electricity is her forte, but she’s skilled with her warhammer or Hellblood sword. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D22920244/

A former thug for corrupt kings, Sir Ridani is the only current member of the Hellbloods who’s fought against them in the past. In combat she typically fights with dual longswords but carries a bow and battleaxe as well. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D22922406/

Of obvious dwarven descent, Sir Necrya is patron of an arch-fey ally to the Hellbloods. Round-shield and longsword are her preferred weapons, but she’s known to carry battleaxes as well. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D22930397/

A heavy infantrywoman with hobgoblin blood, Sir Belmaya is one of the Hellbloods’ strongest front-line combatants. Skilled with many weapons, her usual MO is to lead with a javelin toss or two before rushing in to engage with longsword and tower shield. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D22928375/

[bard-llama]

WiP Wednesday: A Single Spark

I don’t think I’ve shared this whole scene before, but it’s one of my favorite scenes I’ve written, ‘cause there’s so much going on with everyone as they try to figure out where their political alignment is.

Premise: This is from a fic series called A Single Spark where Foltest orders the forest burned to destroy the Scoia’tael - only it does a lot more damage than just that (and the Scoia’tael survive, because they actually know how to care for forests and periodically burn the underbrush. Also, Roche and Fenn risked going into the forest to warn them, ‘cause Foltest has gone off his rocker.) With the help of Triss and Keira, the Blue Stripes manage to help the locals keep Ellander and Flotsam from burning down, and after the fire has burned out, everyone tries to figure out where things stand now that they’re technically all traitors in Foltest’s eyes.

Iorveth’s voice was entirely reasonable as he said, “all we want is the right to live freely. Is that truly too much to ask!?”

“He’s right, John,” Roche found himself saying and saw Iorveth turn to him in surprise. This was going to sound callous, but, “just look at the numbers. If we want a single chance to stop this from happening again? We need nonhumans. Is granting equality really that much to ask?”

The look on Iorveth’s eye made him feel strangely warm and he cleared his throat. 

Natalis shook his head, expression openly uncertain. “We are fighting for a Temeria where our king won’t burn down forests. But I don’t have the authority to promise that kind of change. The nobles would never support it.”

“Hang the nobles!” Roche swore. “They’ve already made their stances clear! If they stand for the reckless destruction of Temeria, then who cares what they approve!?”

“I know you’ve never been fond of us,” Maria Louisa La Valette chided calmly as she walked into the room, “but not all the nobles have betrayed Temeria, thank you very much. And that is a good thing, because I believe I have exactly what you need.”

“Oh?” he scowled. 

“You should know better than any,” Louisa sniffed, looking down her nose at him, “if we are to have a real chance of opposing Foltest and his loyalists, we’re going to need a viable option for someone to rule in Foltest’s stead.”

Roche opened his mouth to protest – and then his brain finally kicked into gear and reminded him exactly why Louisa La Valette would be the one to make this point.

“Foltest won’t claim them if they oppose him,” he reminded her softly. He didn’t particularly like Louisa La Valette all that much, but she was a proud woman and, unusual amongst her peers, she was actually invested in her children’s lives. And she knew Foltest, probably as well as he did. She had to know how this action would cause Foltest to respond.

Her throat moved in a quick swallow before she nodded sharply. “I know. I’ve discussed this with my family, and we’ve made the decision.”

John Natalis coughed light. “Pardon me for interrupting, my lady, but what–?”

Louisa cleared her throat, sweeping her eyes over the assembled group – not that there were many of them. She was the highest ranked noble present, and he had no doubt that she saw that as meaning command should automatically fall to her.

Unfortunately for her, neither Roche nor Natalis were the type to turn over command in the middle of a crisis. Which meant they had 3 commanders, a Scoia’tael elf who probably wouldn’t listen to any of them, a mage who rarely did anything she didn’t want to do anyway, and another noble. Great. No way that was going to be a problem.

“My children, Natalis,” Louisa said, gesturing towards the door as a young man with dark hair opened it and guided two small children with lighter hair inside. All of them were Louisa’s children, but considering the old Baron (may he rest in peace) had had black hair, and Louisa herself had dark hair, it was clear to anyone who looked that the young twins had a different father than the older boy.

Roche knew that people often did not look, but even so, there had been more than a few rumors about Louisa’s affair with Foltest. They were discreet – Roche knew this because often times he would be the one providing the discretion – but they were both nobles to their core. Nobles never noticed the servants, never thought about the fact that servants could gossip just as readily as other courtiers did. 

Natalis had obviously heard said rumors, because he stared for a long moment at Ari, the oldest child, then assessed the twins in silence for another long minute. Then he cleared his throat. “My lady, what precisely are you proposing?”

“I am proposing that Foltest’s children be his heirs to the throne,” Louisa was calm as she delivered the news, and in any other circumstance, her declaration would be cause for Roche to panic. A dispute over the line of succession could destroy a reign if rulers weren’t careful. But Foltest had been planning to claim the children as his own, once the right politically expedient moment had arrived. They were bastards, so there would still have been some dispute over the rightfulness of their claim to the throne – but Foltest had only one other child, and if their claim was viewed more strongly than hers...

Shit, Roche really should’ve invited her. He hadn’t even thought of it, and–

The door opened again and this time, Triss Merigold entered with a white-robed priestess of Melitele who was technically the Crown Princess of Temeria. Technically, because while the reality was that Foltest was her father, no one knew that. To the world, Princess Adda the White was Foltest’s niece, daughter of the late Princess Adda of Temeria. 

To a noble, a sister’s daughter was less respected than the primary family line – aka Boussy and Anais, Foltest’s direct children – but she was at least considered legitimate. Sort of. The cover story Roche had concocted when Adda had appeared – and he did mean appeared, as in, out of thin air in many ways – was that the late Princess had secretly married a nobleman, who had then hidden their child from the King after the Princess died. He’d had to specify that the nobleman had hidden Adda from Foltest, because none of them had known about Adda’s existence until a witcher lifted the curse from a striga. Eight years after the late Princess’s death. 

The public had accepted the story, fortunately, but the fact was that until the curse had been lifted, Adda hadn’t known anything but the life of a monster that hungered for human flesh. She was cured of that, but its effects remained even as the Sisters of Melitele taught her how to be a person. Roche was proud to say that he’d played some small part in that, in raising the young woman standing in the doorway.

He also had a recurring nightmare where Foltest decided that his former-striga daughter was too nonhuman to be tolerated. She wasn’t, of course. Adda was human. The witcher had cured her. 

Sure, maybe Roche had noticed little ways in which she was still a little… effected, shall we say? Like the way that her growl made all the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up. Or the way that she could hear people moving two rooms over when Roche certainly couldn’t. Or the way that she preferred her meat rare enough to still be bleeding. 

Little things. Not enough to make her not a human, though. It wasn’t as if she was an elf or a dwarf or a halfling or something. She was human. And just a little superhuman as well.

Triss Merigold cleared her throat and addressed everyone assembled in the room. “May I present Priestess Adda the White, Crown Princess of Temeria.”

Natalis, Keira Metz, Duke Hereward, and Louisa all bowed courteously, some noticeably lower than others. Belatedly, Roche remembered that he was supposed to bow too, which got him some odd looks from the others, but Adda just smiled at him. Iorveth didn’t move a muscle, looking at them all balefully.

“Gentlemen,” Adda’s voice was soft, yet it easily commanded the room, “ladies, I understand this is a strategy meeting to determine what to do next about Foltest.”

Natalis cleared his throat, “yes, my lady.”

“Wonderful. If you wouldn’t mind filling me in?”

“Of course,” every single one of them said, automatically assuming that she was addressing them as the leader. He’d known that was going to come back to be a problem.

Triss rolled her eyes and called on her fellow sorceress. “Keira? Would you mind?”

“Of course, your highness,” Keira nodded. “We haven’t exactly accomplished much.” The mage’s voice was scathing as she flicked a glance at Iorveth. “Roche brought Temeria’s Most Wanted Terrorist to the meeting, which understandably bothered some people.”

Roche rolled his eyes. “And Iorveth made the surprisingly rational argument that if we want to change Temeria, why not give nonhumans equal rights and protections, too?”

“The people would never accept it,” Louisa dismissed easily. 

“I rather think the nonhumans would,” Adda said, soft words ringing in the silence that followed. “I am not sure that working with the Scoia’tael is the right answer, but why not make this change as well? I assume you’re already intending to ask for Foltest to step down.”

“And his children,” Louisa emphasized, squeezing each of the twins’ shoulders. Anais and Boussy mostly just looked uncomfortable. “Will take their rightful place as his heirs.”

Triss arched an eyebrow. “Rightful place? You do recall that you are speaking to the Crown Princess, don’t you?”

“Who is Foltest’s niece. Not his direct descendant.”

Roche rolled his lips together, determined to take the particular secret that meant she was wrong to the grave.

“Niece?” Anais spoke suddenly, eyes fixed on Adda. “You’re Papa’s niece?”

Adda blinked down at Anais for a long moment and then knelt down and smiled. “I am. It’s nice to meet you. I didn’t know I had other family.”

And there was a rebuke in that that had Roche wincing, but nonetheless, there was something incredible about watching this meeting of Foltest’s three children. It was only right that they should know each other.

Louisa’s hand tightened around Anais’s shoulder. “I’m sure they’d be delighted to get to know you,” the noblewoman said, eyes sharp and hard, “provided you do not contest their claim to the throne.”

“My lady,” Triss interrupted, “with all due respect, they’re children. Adda is of age.”

Louisa was not moved, but Adda cleared her throat, smiling at Anais and Boussy as she rose. “I’m sure something can be worked out. More importantly, I would like to know where everyone stands on the nonhuman issue.”

“More important?” Louisa muttered, but obligingly shuffled her children to be seated around the table. Natalis, Keira and Hereward were all already sitting at the table, and Triss and Adda joined them.

But Iorveth didn’t move, and Roche twisted back to cock an eyebrow at him.

“That ‘nonhuman issue’,” Iorveth grit out, “happens to be my life, my people’s lives, and the survival of our entire species in the face of those who seek our eradication.”

Roche blinked, taken off guard by the venom in Iorveth’s words. But then, he supposed he’d never really thought about it like that before. To him, hunting elves was just – well, just following orders. He’d honestly never thought much about the experiences of nonhumans from their perspective. Foltest had never been interested in hearing that intel and Roche had never even thought to gather it.

Swallowing down the turmoil of emotions that thought caused, Roche looked at Iorveth and forced himself to see. To see beyond the enemy commander and the wily opponent and the talented warrior, down to the elf underneath all of that. To Roche, that Iorveth was an elf had never really mattered. Well, obviously it did, because those were Roche’s orders, but he’d just… never really thought about it. Iorveth was a terrorist, a criminal. Who cared that he was an elf?

Except… except Iorveth was a terrorist because he was an elf, wasn’t he? Because he wanted freedom and equality for his people. His elven people.

Weird how Roche had never thought about that before. It made him feel… something. Something uncomfortable and sour and a little too close to guilt for comfort.

“You’re right,” Adda said, and the whole room stared at her. She simply bowed her head to Iorveth. “I apologize for minimizing your fight. While I don’t personally agree with your tactics, I can understand what might lead you to taking such actions. That does not make them forgivable,” she was quick to say as Duke Hereward jumped to his feet, “but you are right to remind us that there are real people behind these issues, real lives affected by what we decide.”

Iorveth looked gobsmacked, but then, so did most of the room. Adda was certainly different to what they were all used to with Foltest.

The elf still didn’t join them at the table, but he did reluctantly ghost slightly closer, leaning against the wall behind Roche, which Roche was weirdly okay with, considering Iorveth could conceivably knife him in the back at any time. 

But why would he? At the moment, Iorveth needed him, needed his acceptance to keep from getting slaughtered. Of everyone in this room, Roche would bet that only Anais and Boussy were unarmed. Iorveth wasn’t stupid enough to start a fight he couldn’t win, and seven against one, even this one, was a fight he could not win.

“Your highness,” Hereward said, shifting uncomfortably. “You almost sound as if you support the nonhumans.”

“That would be because I do, Duke Hereward,” Adda’s voice was firm and spoke of absolute faith in her words. “I believe that Temeria should be an equal Temeria for all Temerians, regardless of species. That is the Temeria I stand for.”

Roche tried not to gape. It probably should not have been as much of a shock as it was to hear Adda’s words. In retrospect, she’d always been very insistent that Melitele looked after all people, no matter what their ears looked like or how tall they were.

“That’s absurd,” Louisa scowled. “Temeria is a human land. If nonhumans want their own land, let them go somewhere else.”

“You are sitting on top of the ruins of the city I was born in, dh’oine. This was my land long before it belonged to you.”

Louisa and Ari bristled, and Roche could see Natalis frowning in thought even as Hereward closed himself off entirely, clearly uninterested in anything the elf had to say. Keira looked phenomenally unimpressed, and Triss mostly just looked concerned, but he kept his focus on Louisa. If any of them might try to stick a blade through Iorveth’s throat, it was her.

Without really thinking it through, he held his hands up placatingly, “there’s no need for this to get heated–”

“Heated!?” Louisa snarled. “What happened to the Blue Stripes commander who defended Temeria against the nonhuman threat? You stand there and let him tell lies, you bring him here and vouch for him – what has he promised you?”

Roche frowned. “My loyalty is to Temeria, and it isn’t for sale,” he said firmly. “This is a meeting to determine our next steps, as people who are all considered traitors to Foltest now.” And oh, that hurt something deep in his chest, made it ache with the memory of everything Foltest was to him. Had been. Now? Now, Foltest was clearly mad, and Roche had to think of what was best for Temeria. “We’re talking about standing against the King and all his armies. If you believe we few have the capability to stand up to those forces, then you’re deluded. Even the men in your own service aren’t enough, Lady La Valette, and to send them into battle without support would mean a slaughter. Hundreds of Temerians dead, for no other reason than because you could not sit and discuss what might be possible if we worked together. Is that really something you want on your conscience?”

Natalis cleared his throat authoritatively, “what is it you’re proposing, Commander Roche?”

“I’m not proposing anything. I’m saying that the leader of the Scoia’tael is literally here, in this room. And all he’s asking is equality for his people. That sounds like the beginning of a negotiation to me.”

Hereward scoffed, wrinkling his nose. “Negotiate with elves? When have you ever known an elf to keep their word!?”

“Have you ever known a human to keep theirs!?” Iorveth growled, low in his throat, and the sound reverberated around the room, setting more than a few people on edge. 

Roche had to try hard not to smirk. These people didn’t understand Iorveth in the slightest. Maybe some elves were liars and oathbreakers. Hell, plenty of humans were liars and oathbreakers too. But Iorveth? Iorveth had his own sense of honor. It was warped by his morality, of course, but it was there. Why else would Iorveth save him in exchange for warning the Scoia’tael of the coming fire? Why else would Iorveth send his men out to look for Fenn?

“Enough,” Adda said, quiet voice somehow cutting through all protests.

The end result of this is gonna be 3 factions warring for control of Temeria.

The Loyalists

Foltest and his cronies, including a mage. They say a king can do whatever he damn well pleases and that’s the way it should be. Foltest fully intends to keep his position as king.

The Pragmatists

Louisa La Valette, John Natalis, Keira, and the others that stand with them that say kings shouldn’t be able to abuse their powers that way. They want Foltest to step down and his children to take the throne.

The United Temerians

Roche, Iorveth, Adda, Triss, and others who stand with nonhumans. They say that while Temeria is undergoing this change, why not include nonhuman rights as part of it. They want Foltest’s ‘niece’ to take the throne.

Of course, before this can happen, there’s all the build up with the forest fire which I still gotta write. But eventually, some of this ‘verse will actually be published and I am excited for that.

[jamiebluewind]

Fantasy High Characters 2.12

I'll go back to ep 2.11 eventually, but I wanted to get this one out while it's still the newest. As always, let me know if I need to edit or add anything and tag/ask/PM me about art and stories so I can check them out!

Warnings: canon typical violence, gore, blood, gross mention, vomit, fantasy racism mention, disturbing imagery, panic attack mention, threats, murder, alcohol, injury

***

Ally (on the fig/ayda kiss): Two young Sheldon's makeing out XD

Lou (on the second fig/ayda kiss): Yes-ah! Yes-ah! Yes-ah! Yes-ah! I bless this union! Yes-ah!

Brennan (on forgetting to change the music for the arcane crime scene): -this is the wrong music for this moment

***

New Characters

Craf-me Rootdrinker

Gnome and druid

Gave his life 200 years ago to reclaim Arborly from the curse

Was very kind

Avoided "cleric nonsense"

Nuathura (New-ah-thoo-ra) the Fox

Older red fox who was awakened as a pup by Craf-me (was his familiar/companion)

Spry and slinky despite his age

Fluent in silvian, elvish, and gnomish

Runs the town (basically the mayor) and offers the adventurers every resource in their village at their disposal

Appreciates it when he is shown respect and is more open to outsiders and outsider tech than Mira, saying that the Nightmare King was once defeated by a strange band of Solesians and that they were delighted to have them

Likes shrimp and was given one by Fabian and four (one on each paw) by Kristen

Was told the crown of the Nightmare King was kept deep under a pit under a pyramid where it could never be found (and was understandably upset to discover that it was instead kept on a shelf in a dean's office and now in the hands of Adaine's mom who is trying to get into the forest)

Mira Silverbough/Silverbow

Wood elf and leader of the rangers who guard the town (of which there are 40 standing on bolders with arrows nocked when the teens wake up)

Intense angular face with steal gray eyes and long black hair on the top of her head (that might hang down in her face) with shaved sides that appear to be turning gray/salt and pepper

Dressed in dark forest green with leather archer's bracers and gloves with

"Ah. Not TRULY children. These are almost adults grown. Come here!" *gestures for the teens to come over*

Racist against those with infernal lineage, goblins, and orcs, but seems to be racist against all other races in general

Was put off by technology she doesn't understand

Referred to Fig as a troubadour (poet who writes verses to music or specificly a French medieval lyric poet) and the van as very small house of wheels

Furrowed her brow at Adaine being the Oracle

Second to Nuathura and very protective of him

Krumpkin Springbill

Head of the Tinkerer's Hall

Round as a pumpkin with a shiny bald head and a mustashe like a push broom

Dressed in soot covered goggles (which he pushed up) and a leather apron filled with tools

He and the other gnomes come up to Gorgug's mid thigh

Two unnamed gnomes

Person with a huge handlebar mustache and a top hat with gear in the side of it

Woman with folded canvas ornithopter wings

Unnamed Bartender

Works at The Owl And The Harp

Was told by Adaine that she was looking for her mom and was shocked by her crystal (used to show him a picture)

Said Elianwyn was staying on the top floor, but thought the kids couldn't afford the substantial outstanding debt she left behind (after leaving without checking out) of 10 gold

Was paid 12 gold by Adaine, then 5 gold by Riz, then another 5 gold by Riz (which was wet), and shown a very round frog by Adaine

Told them that they were acting very suspicious despite being warned about them by the rangers

Most likely has no idea the damage Elianwyn did to the suite she was renting

Vraz the Mean

Executive Potenti of the Dominion of Avernus (first/topmost layer of hell) and Arch Secretary to Blozo the Undimenished who is the regnant of Sloth

Came through a burning oval doorway opened by Fig's magic (which opens to red firy sky and blasted red plane)

Dressed in black steal plate armor and horned helmet, covering all but her face

Beautiful woman's face with porcelain skin, ruby red lips, and a seem at the edge of her helmet where the rest of her skin had been flayed off her body

Burnt scarred skeletal remains of wings

Carrying a burning scroll to serve to Fig

Killean

Wood elf, resident of Arborly, drunkard, and a cruel man

Worked for Elianwyn and was rude to the tinkerers while picking up wax, ink components, and fiddle faddle for her

Had short cropped brown hair, hazel eyes, and a small amount of facial hair

Seen in scry as a puppet with a slit throat. Not wearing a shirt or boots as he left bloody footprints. Blood dripped from his burning dull red glowing eyes into his beard. His sternum was broke open and a fire was roiling within the open exposed wound where a gem was glowing.

Shone a dull red glow 20 feet ahead of the group which causesd a path to open in the dark, twisted, and grarled forest like a subterranean tunnel

Established Characters

Elianwyn (Adaine's mom)

Stayed at The Owl And The Harp for several months

Kept to herself, save sending Killean  to get things for her at the Tinkerer's Hall (they had spell components that could be used by both them and wizards)

Vanished with Killean and Aelwyn the night Aelwyn arrived

Murdered Killean and did a spell that left him a puppet with Gorthalax's gem in his chest

Went into the forest, using puppet Killean to cause the briars to retract

Was wearing a deep elven traveling cloak and covered in nasty scars related to a curse (but might be due to a Fallinel curse and not the original crown curse)

Aelwyn

Arrived at Arborly a night before the bad kids (and 2 nights before the bad kids talked to the locals) and was still uncontrollably and explosively gassy (which reaked), worse for wear, and started crying

Changed into wood elven travel garb and traveled with Elianwyn into the forest

Dispelled Adaine's scry without seeing it

Calina

Told Kristen that if they make it through the wall, she would kill them all (starting with Tracker) and that the only reason they were alive was because they were a nuisance (not a full problem) and never got between her and what she wanted

"I want you to stay out of that fucking forest."

Riz didn't see Calina despite being right there and the grass wasn't bent or disturbed where she was supposed to have been standing

Pok's sleeve wasn't disturbed where she was supposed to be standing either and she couldn't drink (or possibly hold anything at all)

She gave Riz sleep paralysis, but never hurt him

Most likely doesn't exist anywhere physically

Is in their heads, but still had to ask questions, so she can project herself into their minds but not read their minds

Note: The unmade goddess turned her familiar (a black cat) into a plague

Kristen

Told Tracker she shouldn't be guilty about passing on any kind of sickness because she believed it had to do with both of them due to her secrets combined with Tracker being a carrier

Suggested doing spells through a dental dam as she had a bunch from Jawbone (who kept insisting that she use them)

Found a bag of loose crab meat and used it to make crab nachos (which she always makes when she has the choice as her parents always made it for parties and never let her have any)

Got drunk and tried to make Riz kiss a shrimp when he got upset, offered Fig a "shrimp secret", tried to throw Fig 2 beers (which Gorgug smashes and she thought was awesome), called Gorgug a scientist when he said he was a little crab, and called Riz "king crab king!" when he was down on himself.

Saw Calina when nobody else could and responded by screaming "Fuck you!" at her

Drank a cortada and stayed cool while Calina was there (talking shit about her as Calina threatened her and the group) but freaked out after she left, asking everyone to hold her and dogpile on her before she vomited coffee and shrimp

Was okay once she was pressed into the grass by all her friends

Tried to get Tracker to stay in town and not go into the forest, offering handcuffs and asking as officer Kristen (and even colonel Kristen using an order)

Tracker

Still rocked after the Galicia sister thing saying that the elven church and the priestesses she knows are nothing alike, but they both worship the same goddess and what the elves did was causing her to have a lot of questions for the first time

Took precautions during things like the life transference spell to avoid passing on lycanthropy, but had never thought to protect herself from something coming back the other way

Had a good talk with Sandra Lynn and gave her a solid shovel talk

Translated the gist of what the others were saying in elvish (to Nuathura and wood elves) for Gorgug and Ragh

Got drunk, balanced crab nachos on her head, and told the others to "Let [Fig] use the shrimp tub!" which resulted in a "shrimp tub" chant

Comforted a freaked out Kristen by rubbing circles in her back

Shivered when she entered the Shrine of Thorns, her eyes flashing yellow as she suddenly felt nauseous and generally not good as the shrine basically repelled her until she exited it

Adaine

Had a message chat that's mostly jokes and memes (that Fig wasn't in on due to losing her phone)

Wanted a fluffy robe

Her crystal has meditation and non-fiction (like a hystory on mage hand) instead of music

Found bellinis and caviar to eat (instead of crab nachos) and shared with Fabian

Drank half a beer, got a little drunk, wondered where Fig was (but was silenced by Kristen), wanted to go in the hot tub with Fig, and pretended to be a crab

On rather they should be honest with the wood elves "Maybe? It makes me nervous. Everything majes me nervous. Sure. Why not?"

Slipped behind Fig during the wood elf standoff and held up a fist while saying "yeah!" to support her, but jumped in with her status as the Oracle, saying it was a prophesy and going into the forest was "A thing we have to do." (which made the wood elves lower their bows and whisper to each other)

Admitted that her sister and mother were trying to get into the forest too, but that they were working against them

Started searching for Calina nearby after her sister booted her from scrying

Told the bartender at The Owl And The Harp that she was looking for her mom (with picture) and paid off her outstanding debt of 10 gold for the suite (with a 2 gold tip) before going upstairs to discover the crime scene her mother left behind

Ragh

Found a bunch of kippers for Fabian

Munched on an entire bone in ham

Got drunk, got shirtless and started screaming "More lobster! You're not lobster enough!" at Tracker

Pointed out the obvious (one guy in town has 4 refridgerators) when Fabian was worried about introducing tech too soon

Gorgug

Got drunk, did a "crab stand", made his arms look like a crab, chanted "crab king" at Ragh, became crab king, said the shrimp tub was not for peasants (when Fabian told Fig about it), smashed the two beers Kristen threw to Fig out of the air (followed by a celebratory yell and him pumping both arms in the air while the bloodrush boys chanted "hoot growl!"), said "I'm a little crab." to Kristen, and finally gave Riz the crab king crown and said Riz? *points at him* You're the crab king now.

Walked up to Nuathura to say hello in gnomish when he heard Nuathura mention tinkerers

Told the tinkerers that he repaired the Hangman, but failed to make a working mechanical butt for him

"Showed" the tinkerers his crystal and headphone as well (and by that I mean the were crawling all over him like excited 5 year olds)

Riz

Started setting up a tiny conspiracy board in Hollyhill minutes after getting there

When asked how he got a certain picture of Kristen, he said "You know... you take pictures; you hang um. That's what you do."

Said "I'm gonna snoop around. In a suspicious way, NOT in a party way." and finds Spyre tech and receipts showing that the guy is expensing stuff to his corporate card that have nothing to do with his work, resulting in him telling the others that it was a tax haven and illegal, so he felt less bad about having a party and more like Robin hood stealing his beer.

Got drunk, somehow stated acting/dancing like a shrimp, pointed out that Gorgug was a crab, started crying and got emotional because "Shrimp are so little and sometimes they get caught in the nets and stuff!" and told Kristen "I'm not gonna kiss the shrimp! It's dead Kristen. And we killed it.", cried again before Fabian comforted him, and became the crab king saying "Honestly, I just wanted to be the crab king. This whole time I've just been the shrimp and I feel like I've been the shrimp my whole life and I just wanna be the crab king. It means a lot that you guys made me the crab king."

Is super hung over the next day as well as super sweaty and nervous about being around a bunch of people, but still tells the elves that there is a demonic plot

Saw that something was off with Fig and thought for a moment that she might have kissed someone, but ends up going with "Did you have... good crab?"

Discovered what his fate would have been if the group hadn't rescued him when Adaine scrys Killean

Vomited over seeing Kristen vomit

Didn't see Calina despite looking exactly where Kristen was and checked the grass with his magnifying glass to find that the grass wasn't bent or disturbed where Calina was supposed to have been standing

Gets super sweaty and unhelpful when trying to talk to the bartender

Had no idea when to stop trying to bribe the bartender and said that the money was so wet because he ate a lot of shrimp

Fabian

Got in a small argument with Adaine on rather or not it was okay to touch your dad's butt (he said it's fine)

Still has the sheet with him as well as the sword Faun-drang-goorh

Got drunk, excitedly said Riz was a shrimp and that Gorgug was a crab, said "I'm a little shrimp!" over and over while dancing, tried to explain everything that had happened to Fig (including that the hot tub upstairs was filled with shrimp), tried to comfort a crying Riz by telling him "The Ball, it's going to be alright. The shrimp will be fine.", and wrapped Riz in his sheet, looked him dead in the eyes (with one hand on either side of Riz while gripping the sheet), and told him "I believe in you. *licks lip* Spring break.", before giving Riz his first ever bardic inspiration

The next day, gave Nuathura a shrimp from his pocket

Rebbed engine of Hangman as Kristen tried to give an inspiring speech

Fig

When opening Hollyhill, said "What did I say? Has your girl ever not delivered?" followed by a resounding "Yes!" from the group

Found a ghost white mushroom with a black skull imprint on the top of it while looking for psychedelics and wanted to eat it

Hears whispering coming from the briar wall

"Sometimes one of the fun things about friendship is just being a chorus on nonsense together and you don't have to hear each other; it just feels really good to talk really loud."

Sees nonsense as a good way to escape when things get too heavy or dark

Talked down about her abilities, especially when compared to Ayda

The thorns don't try to attack her, so she used burning hands on the thorns and the vines sucked up the magic, moving it to the Shrine of Thorns and leaving behind a charred handprint

Didn't want Ayda to know she was a virgin

Cast greater invisibility on her and Ayda

Rolled bad on insight checks on Ayda (trackerbees take two! XD)

Is terrified of saying nice things to others and vomits a little in a bush before telling Ayda "I actually think you're perfect the way you are" before skateboarding away and down an 80 foot near vertical tree, coming out of invisibility so Ayda could see her trick.

Couldn't go anywhere on her skateboard in the ferns and dirt

Wrote up a "contract" after Ayda's confession that said if Ayda made fun of her for what she was about to say, she could give her a wet willy. Before Ayda could sign, she took Ayda by the chin, said "Just so you know, I've never done this as myself before', kissed her (as the fire on Ayda's head swelled out and she became uninvisible), and tried to skateboard away behind a tree, peaking out to see what Ayda thought of it.

Slinked out from behind the tree, apologizing and admitting all of it terrified her before Ayda asked for another kiss.

Admited she started the whole party so Ayda would stick around.

Made out with Ayda until a bit before dawn and tried very hard to get Ayda to stay

Gave Ayda the ear cuff from her left ear which has blood on it (Ayda replied that she will treasure it and can use it)

Went back to Hollyhill to find her drunk friends before locking herself in the room with the hot tub and was still kinda pruney the next day

Name drops Grover to the wood elves, explaining that he offered to let them stay there (to try and deescalate things with the rangers)

Shook hands with Nuathura the Fox

Was honest to the wood elves (that the group were going into the Nightmare Forest), resulting in the rangers pulling back their bowstrings (and her backtracking)

Random note: Try to contact your warlock patron Fig!!!

Burned 1 or 2 luck points to keep a perceptive Riz from finding out that she made out with Ayda

Found a charred handprint in the shrine of thorns and recognized it as the same one her magic left at the top of briars and that the vines took somewhere

Lied to Tracker and Kristen, saying she was up by the briars working on song

Used burning hands again, causing the fire to spread into a stretching oval shaped burning doorway

Was served a burning scroll by Vraz the Mean on behalf of the regnant of Sloth

Ayda

Was invited to the party (which the group decided to have immediately, starting at 1 or 2 in the morning)

Stood in a corner looking around awkwardly before/during the party before following Fig out

Thought nonsense was bad, but Fig showed her that it could also be good and made her willing to try it

To Fig about disguising herself "Uh... yeah. That's interesting. I... can't understand that because if I was you, I wouldn't want to be anyone else because you're... very exceptional."

On Fig saying that she was different than Ayda thought she was "Being mistaken about the nature of something and discovering its true nature is my favorite thing in the world to do."

Turned herself and Fig invisible (look like a translucent version of themselves, like a pale outline to each other) and flew to the briar wall to give Fig a closer look.

Lit with Fig in the low looped saddle of two treetrunks that were fused together right next to the briar wall

Ayda's flaming hair and wings still cast a dull glow on her surroundings, even while invisible

Complemented Fig on her magic

Analyzed the wall and saw it was a very powerful and old abjuration (keeping them out but also keeping other things in) keyed to powerful devils (arcons, princes, and monarchs) where even dimension door would cause all roads and pathways to lead them back out.

Thorns tried to attack her

Thinks that everything Fig has done has been cool

"We all have a nasty legacy, in one way or another."

Laughed with a squawk

Spent a lot of lifetimes building Compass Points Library

Is part phoenix, so when she dies, she comes back but with no memory from her previous incarcerations. She left extensive notes and instructions for herself. This incarnation is 17 years old, but an Ayda has been on Leviathan for a little over 150 years

On why she never just reinvents herself when she reincarnates "Every time I come back, I don't know anything and I guess I trust the versions of me that knew more? I don't have a lot of self confidence and I don't... want... to make mistakes."

Said she could die when she goes back to Leviathan attempting to shut down the library as it's a dangerous city.

"The future's never guaranteed. We don't have anything but today and even that might get cut short."

Said she had information for Fig, but would only share it if Fig signed a contract (on ancient wizard scroll held in a binder that turns into bright fire and whips up into her palm when signed) that stated that Fig wont make any inference based on the information or think anything judgemental or critical of her. The information is "At any waking moment outside of combat that you and I have been together, if you had tried to kiss me on the mouth, it would have been received favorably."

Said Fig's contract was less of a contract and more of a threat

After Fig ran to hide behind a tree, she asked if it's normal for people to run away after that (kissing)

Shed firy tears over Fig starting a party so she would stay, admitting parties frighten and terrify her, but she stuck around because Fig was there

"In this version of my life, this is the greatest moment of it."

Enthusiasticly initiated their 3rd kiss

Said the library meant a lot to many past hers (her current incarnation and 3 others)

Offered to research plane shift for Fig at no charge and said that people ask things of her, but even if she cared about them, they never cared about her (save Fig who does care which makes it different and that's exciting)

Pulled out a firy feather with a squawk and handed it to Fig (if Fig holds if aloft and says her name, she will know)

Said if anything happened to Fig in the nightmare forest, she would "... start over" because she would never be able to forgive herself

Said she would go back to Leviathan to research Plane Shift and would return after that, intending to shrink the library later

"Goodbye for now. By the nine winds and the seven stars and all the secret names of the earth and beyond, I shall see you again. This is my vow." (resulting in Fig replying "Fuck yeah [is/that's] my vow." and Ayda saying "God you're great and cool. Goodbye!")

Sandra Lynn

Was more affectionate with Gilear than she had been the rest of the trip

Left Hangman in charge while she slept in the van

Spoke to the wood elves and Nuathura on behalf of the teens (while they slept til 1pm)

Gilear

Was trying to move the van to get ready for the teleport to Leviathan early that morning. Had the van in neutral with the door open when he tried to let his feet skim over the morning dew on the grass. He had put his apple in his mouth to shift when his trousers caught in the axle of the wheel, tearing them and sucking him under the left wheel well (WHY DIDN'T VAN SAY ANYTHING to anyone!???)

Really had to pee even before he got stuck and only made it 10 minutes before he gave up

The apple was jammed into his mouth (and later covered in ants). He couldn't bite through it because it was pressed against the carriage of the van and he couldn't scream to loud because ants would get in his mouth

Overheard the dance and spent most of his day sweating and crying

Was found later that night, still caught in the front left wheel well, covered in rubber residue and oil, with a browing ant covered apple in his mouth

Didn't need medical attention, but admitted that he did piss himself while under there

Got a hug from Kristen, Gorgug took his apple and tossed it, and Fabian tried to be nice to him about Hallariel not noticing him missing until Gilear asked for an honest response, which he answered with "Of course not Gilear, don't be dumb!" to which Riz said "Guys, he's not dumb; he's just pathetic." (Also found out Hallariel ate all his yogurt)

Adaine mended one of the tears in his pants, but then said "I'm not gonna mend your piss pants, here's another pair." and gave him new ones from her jacket followed by a boot cut pair of pants, Chelsea boots, denim vest, chambray embroidered shirt, and a beret. The kids (including Fabian) approved of his new look. His favorite part of the outfit was the beret.

Said he preferred pants with very narrow ankles and a wide front and back carriage to the seat

Fig told him that she loved him and apologized for not realizing where he was

The teens gave him one hot tub to himself

Was given a massage by Sandra Lynn while laying on one of the day beds in one of the public rooms (when she told him that he needed to make it a part of his routine, he responded that he was extremely broke)

Slept in the van that night

Spoke to the wood elves and Nuathura on behalf of the teens (while they slept til 1pm)

Decided to make sandwiches for everyone for their trip and looked a little different than normal, stood up straighter, and was wearing his new outfit

Baxter

Sat on a branch on top of Hollyhill and slept outside

Grabbed Kristen and Tracker in his claws while Fig and Sandra Lynn road on his back to Shrine of Thorns

Van

Left inside fenced in area at Hollyhill (can't cast fly on him)

Hallow extends out 60 feet from him, so the kids camped outside on matresses from the house

Hangman

Was left in charge during the party, but told the kids "No rules."

In the middle of a dramatic speech defending Gorgug, the tinkerers jumped on him (to examine him with their artificers glasses), resulting in him very much wanting to run them over

***

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[princessamericachavez]

Fjorester Week | Day 7 | Seasons (Winter)

There’s a knock on her door and Jester is so excited that she nearly falls off her chair on her way to open it. Her heart is beating hard as she swings it open and comes face to face with Fjord.

“Wow,” is the first thing that leaves his lips.

“Hi,” she whispers.

With Fjord’s eyes on her, Jester becomes suddenly very aware of the way she looks. It might not be very cold in Nicodranas, but their nobility sure loves to go all out on the winter theme for their end of year ball. Her mother, of course, made sure Jester’s beautiful dress was perfect for the occasion. The white fabric of the dress is so smooth that it seems to float around her as she moves, catching the light to show off a gentle glitter that resembles that of freshly fallen snow. The cleavage is deep, much like her mother usually wears it, but a thin transparent fabric covers the space between her shoulder blades and breasts with a delicate snowflake pattern. Her hair is all up in a complicated do, though a few soft curls frame her face, still untamed despite her best efforts. 

It’s very pretty, of course, but it’s also a lot, and Jester is sharply aware that despite the efforts she still falls short to her mother’s beauty.

She tries not to wonder too much about what Fjord might think of her, if he will deem her too different to his usual travel companion, or see through the charade and realize that these nice fancy clothes fit her more like a costume, like she’s still a little girl playing pretend. 

Instead, she tries to focus on him. It’s easy to do because he looks so handsome that her heart nearly stops. His clothes are much more simple than hers, a blue shirt and a white long jacket that makes him look like a perfect prince charming. His hair is carefully tied back into a small ponytail, polished and proper. His tusks are fully grown and give the whole look a more serious shade, he looks powerful and in control, like the captain he’s grown to be.

Also, she notices, they match. She suspects she has her mom to thank for it.

“What?” She teases with a smile when his silence becomes a little too much for her to handle.

Fjord blinks as if waking up from a vision, his shoulders relax and he finally gives her a smile.

“Ms. Lavorre,” he greets, with a deep elegant bow.

“Mister Fjord,” she replies, trying hard not to giggle as she curtsies in return. Playing along, she puts a hand out for him, as if they were meeting for the very first time, but rather than shaking it Fjord brings her fingers to his mouth and presses a featherlight kiss to her knuckles.

After years of traveling together, she’s seen Fjord repeat this gesture countless times whenever they meet some new female authority figure. It used to drive her nuts with jealousy, but as she learned to tame her insecurities, she got used to seeing it as a powerplay on his part. It’s just a gesture, she thought, it means nothing. She definitely isn’t ready for the myriad of emotions it wakes up in her. Her stomach flutters with excitement, her heart beats fast like a hummingbird and her brain just halts for an entire second trying to process the memory of his lips against her skin. No wonder it’s so effective.

Jester laughs and ducks her head to hide the blush quickly spreading through her freckled cheeks. 

“You look very handsome, Fjord,” she says, in an effort to divert attention back to him.

“Thank you, Jester. You look beautiful,” he replies, and there’s an unusual softness to his voice, even more pronounced since he stopped borrowing Vandran’s drawl.

“Are you excited about the big ball?”

“I’m a little nervous, actually,” Fjord let’s out a breathless laugh, and the tension in his voice is enough to recenter Jester’s attention entirely on him.

“Why? Are you worried that something crazy will happen?”

“No, I’m just- I don’t think I’m a very good dancer. If I’m being honest, this is my first time attending this sort of party.”

“You’ll do great, Fjord, I’m sure. Don’t worry! It’s my first time too, you know?”

His eyebrows arch with surprise as he takes in the information.

“It is? But I thought-”

“Well, you know, I wasn’t supposed to exist at all, remember? So I wasn’t allowed to come to the big dances at the Chateau. I mean, I read about them a lot growing up and I would obviously spy on them and sneak in to play some pranks on the guests.”

“Obviously,” Fjord agrees with a chuckle.

“But I’ve never really gone to one of this. This is actually the first time I’ll be there with my mom in a big public event, you know?”

“Are you nervous?”

“Me?! Oh, no. No, totally not. I’m pretty sure that everything will go just fine and it’s going to be perfect and everything.”

If Fjord can see through her anxiousness, he doesn’t say it and she’s very grateful for it.

“I’m sure your mother will be delighted, Jester. She must be so proud to present her daughter to them. You’re a hero to the continent, a high priestess, a dragon slayer.”

“Well, technically, we all killed the dragon together, technically.”

“They don’t need to know that,” Fjord sends her a wink. “Besides, we’ve saved the world at least four times by now, we vanquished a demigod serpent, we fought mages and demons and vampires together. I’m pretty sure you’re invincible. This ball should be a piece of cake.”

Jester smiles at him, feeling her chest glow with warmth as the nervousness melts away with his words. She’s not afraid of anything when he’s around.

“Would you stay by my side?” She whispers.

“Always,” Fjord nods, offering his arm out for her.

Jester holds on to him, inwardly enjoying the excuse to touch his muscular arms. Her fingers explore his biceps before they settle on his forearm like a proper lady.

“Shall we, Jester?”

Later, when things inevitably go wrong in the ball, when her pretty dress is bloodied and muddied, when Fjord still by her side sweeps her off her feet on a heated euphoric kiss... she will think back of this moment, of the warm light caressing his face and the feeling like her chest is about to burst with happiness, and she’ll know that she’s found her very own fairytale after all.

[everlock101]

Idea

This is an idea I’m developing for a Skyrim x Dragon Age Inquisition crossover. I can’t decide if I like it or not but I figured I’d share it. Tell me what you think. 

(Please remember that this is just an idea and is in no way a final product.) 

General Idea: 

Lucy Stormcloak ran away from her home in Windhelm at the age of seventeen and has been living on the run for over ten years. However, being at the wrong place, at the wrong time, she is scooped up along with a group of Stormcloak soldiers and sentenced to death for the mere fact that she is Jarl Ulfric’s daughter. However, before she can be executed a dragon attacks Helgen and she manages to escape but is sent on destiny’s path when she discovers that she is the Dragonborn, a legendary warrior. Under the direction of the mysterious Greybeards and with a little help along the way, she organizes the Inquisition, a powerful force created to deal with the dragon threat. With civil war brewing, a vampire menace growing, and the dragons coming back to life, she’s going to need all the help she can get.  

Main Characters

Cullen-Former vigilant of Stendar who left after experiencing major trauma and seeing the too vicious ways Vigilants sometimes dealt with suspected Daedra worshippers. He became a member of the Imperial army quickly rising through the ranks to become one of General Tullius’s most trusted commanders. 

Lucy meets Cullen during a meeting with General Tullius. Tullius, eager to have this dragon threat extinguished but unable to help much due to fighting the Stormcloaks, sends Cullen and some men to join the Inquisition. Cullen, due to his military experience, is chosen to be the Commander of Lucy’s forces. 

   Leliana-Spymaster for Jarl Balgruuf and former bard of the Bard’s College. Leliana also spent time in the temples of Mara but left before officially becoming a priestess. 

Lucy meets Leliana at the beginning of her adventure, shortly after arriving in Whiterun. Jarl Balgruuf, after testing Lucy’s abilities and discovering she is the Dragonborn, orders Leliana to go with her. Leliana is one of the founding members of the Inquisition and had a large hand in its organization.  

 Josephine-Personal ambassador of Jarl Elisef the Fair. Josephine came to this land as a child and was raised in the Blue Palace. She grew up a close friend of high King Torygg.

Lucy meets Josephine through Leliana. They are close friends and Leliana knew Josephine would come in handy. Elisef, eager to prove her loyalty and under the guidance of General Tullius, reassigned Josephine to the budding Inquisition to be the ambassador.  

 Blackwall-A wandering recruiter for the Dawnguard. He sends people to Fort Dawnguard to fight against the growing vampire menace. 

Lucy meets Blackwall after Lelliana discovers his whereabouts and urges Lucy to recruit him to the Inquisition. The Dawnguard are powerful warriors and having their aid could be beneficial. Blackwall personally decides to join but offers no promise that the rest will follow.  

Sera-A wood elf raised in the murky streets of Riften. While not technically a member of the thieves guild she’s had dealings with them in the past and her network of contacts makes trouble for nobles who treat the little people poorly.

Lucy meets Sera in Solitude when she sends Lucy a hidden message. Sera offers to join her inquisition in order to help stop the dragon menace but also wants to stop the Thalmor.  

Vivienne-Master wizard of the mage’s college who specializes in ice magic. She brought herself up from humble beginnings and has high ranking connections in every city. She is also close with the Thalmor but is not technically a member. 

Lucy meets Vivienne at the Thalmor Embassy after receiving an invitation from Madame De Fer. The arch-mage has asked her to help put a stop to the dragon menace and she is curious about this budding new power in the land.  

  Iron Bull- an Orc spy from one of the many strongholds. He runs a band of mercenaries who have become famous as being the best in Skyrim. Because his name is so difficult to pronounce he chose The Iron Bull to keep things simple. He does send reports back to the strongholds of any interesting going ons.

Lucy meets the Iron Bull and his band of mercenaries outside of Riften where they are clearing out a bandits nest. The Iron Bull offers his services under orders from several of the strongholds Chieftens but is honest about his role as a spy.  

  Dorian- a Breton noble and mage from High Rock, he came to Skyrim to investigate rumors of dragons and to check out the Mage’s College. He specializes in necromancy although he keeps that hidden as much as possible. 

Lucy meets Dorian while working to gain the aid of the other mages at the College. Aware of the threat and eager to prove that Bretons can be trusted, Dorian joins up with her. 

 Cole- a Daedra with memory loss, he used to be a Golden Saint guarding the realm of Shegorath but became more human as he spent time in Skyrim. His abilities gave him unique powers to see into other’s minds and vanish. He took on the memories of a young boy named Cole by accident and is wandering the land as a mysterious helper who unknots emotional pain before vanishing. He is a ghost story.

Lucy meets Cole during the battle of the Western Watchtower when he appears to aid against the attacking dragon. He saves Lucy’s life and helps her learn about her Dragonborn abilities. 

 Solas-a powerful wood elf mage with a strong connection to Atherius, the realm of spirits, dead, and gods. He harbors dark secrets and prefers to travel the land alone to discover new places in Atherius.

Lucy meets Solas in Riften after discovering that he is an expert on dragons and Atherius. She ends up searching for him off of intel from both Leliana and Cassandra. 

Cassandra- a former Blade with a strong connection to the Divine Stendarr. When the Blades were disbanded, Cassandra stayed in Skyrim as a guard in Jarl Balgruuf’s court but spent her time watching for the return of the dragons. 

Lucy meets Cassandra in Whiterun at the same time she meets Leliana. Desperate to stop the dragons, Cassandra is the one to present the idea of the Inquisition, an unbiased force to rise above the civil war and actually do something about the larger threat. 

Varric- one of the last dwarves in existence although he keeps that information a secret, pretending to just be a really short Nord. He is an official member of the thieves guild and deals mostly with shipping companies. His main home is in Whiterun and due to his wits and riches, has become a powerful noble.

Lucy meets Varric, who has been a thorn in Cassandra’s side ever since he got away with smuggling tons of goods through Whiterun, during her time there. Because of his familiarity with the Thieves Guild and the Ratways where Solas is apparently hiding at the moment, he offers his assistance in finding him.

Other Characters

Corypheus- a man who has been to Oblivion and back, he is the one raising the dragons, Alduin being his most powerful. He is determined to kill Lucy and rule as a God. 

Samson- a member of the Vigilants of Stendarr and a former friend and mentor to Cullen. The whole order was swayed by Corypheus when he promised to rid the world of Daedra. 

Dagna- another of the last dwarves and a member of the Mage’s College. Although she can’t practice magic she is the best enchanter in all the land. 

Krem- a member of the Iron Bull’s band and a Breton. He is the Iron Bull’s right-hand man, and a skilled warrior with abilities to dampen magical power.  

(Just to be safe, I do not own any of these characters.)   

[mudaship39]

Lysander/Luciana Norwood: Profile, Record, & Archive:

Name: High King/High Queen Lysander/Luciana Norwood

Species: Human

Subrace or Variant: Magical Human, Indigenous Magical Human , & Homo Magi Hybrid

Racial Identity: Magical Human (poc coded). Homo Magi (white coded) .

Cultural Identity: Indigenous Magical Human (native coded).

Lighter skinned Indigenous person of color

Rank: S rank Guild Member. S rank Adventurer.

Level: 400

Class: Multi class magic User. Grand magister. Gunslinger. Fighter.

Subclass: Gunslinger. Arcane Gunslinger. Magic Marksman. Gunsmith. Alchemical Gunslinger. Sharpshooter. Adept Marksman. Desperado. Knight. Weapon Master. Sorcerous Knight. Mage marksman. Paladin. Rune Fencer. Rune Blade. Magical Swordsman. Vanguard. Tactician. Duelist. Wandering Duelist. Paragon. Cavalier. Soldier. Elite Mercenary. Commander. Mercenary Veteran. Sellsword, Warlord. Grand Marshal. Spellsword. Witch Hunter. Demon Hunter. Gun Mage. War Wizard. Rune Mage. Magic Knight. Sword Mage. Rune Smith. Gun Witch. Battle Mage. Rune Master, Magician. Battle Sorcerer. Arcane Tactician. Archivist Tradition. Magical Savant. Lore Mastery. Rune Smith. Swordplay Tradition. Ancient Magic. Arcane Origin. Empowerment. Destined Bloodline. Magus Bloodline. Enchantress Bloodline.

Magic User Level: Circle 10 Magic User specializing in tier 0 to tier 5 magic

Magic User Rank: Imperial alchemist, master enchanter, journeyman animist, arch mage, grand magician, greater necromancer, lesser psionic, imperial arcanist, channeler, supreme witch, greater summoner, master conjurer, grand sorcerer, great warlock, apprentice healer, lesser seer, great elementalist, greater illusionist, novice invoker, arch magus, supreme mystic, master transmuter, neophyte diviner, imperial mentalist, & master wizard.

Occupation:

Scion of the Noble and Old House of Norwood. Scion of the Ancient and Powerful House of Delacroix. The Noble and Old House of Norwood have domains over the creation of mage schooling, magical research, & magical tools. The Ancient and Powerful House of Delacroix have domain over the creation of weapons, armor, & shields.

Guild Grandmaster of a Vanguard Guild an S rank Guild Order and Adventuring Guild

She/they are the high elder of the knight and paladin order.

Commander of Timberwolf Mercenary Company.

Warlord of a City State.

Shopkeeper and traveling merchant of Esoteric Emporium for magic users, Arcane Apothecary, & Green Thumb Herbology

Chairman and CEO of the corporation Arcane Affinity. Arcane Affinity is the business of arcane supplies, magical weapons, & esoteric research that made his/her/their noble family their fortune.

He/they as a grand magister on the magical council and circle of magi is a multi class magic user that is an imperial alchemist, master enchanter, arch mage, grand magician, high priest/high priestess, seer/oracle, supreme witch, grand sorcerer, great warlock, & master wizard.

High King/High Queen of the Human Federation. King/Queen of the Human Kingdoms. Chieftain and Warchief of the Indigenous Magical Human Nations.

Background: Noble. Aristocrat. Scion. Noble Scion. Assistant. Merchant. Family Business. Family Tradition. Arranged Marriage. Runaway. Fallen Noble. Royalty. Prince/Princess. Heir of a Fallen Kingdom. Exiled Ruler. Sovereign (High King/High Queen). Squire. Knight. Apothecary. Town Apothecary. Chronicler. Cloistered Scholar. Sage. Researcher. Archivist. Lore Keeper. Student of Magic. Magic Scholar. Arcane Dominion. Military Asset. Dog of the Military. Soldier. Militant Assassin. Conscript. Mercenary. Bounty Hunter. Urban Vigilante. Adventurer. Adventuring Royalty. Arcane Augmented. Seducer. Lover. Folk Hero. From the Past. Isekai.

Height: 5′10. Male Form. 5’11. Female Form.

Weight: 150

Body Type: Lean, tone, & athletic body type

Hairstyle: Clipper cut, crew cut, high and tight, Ivy League, pompadour, or clean shaven in male form. Pixie cut, ponytail, Dutch braid, or French braid in female form when transfiguring with magic. Queue in two spirit or mahu form.

Hair color: Black. Jet Black.

Eye Color: Dark Brown. Almond.

Skin color: Brown. Terra Cotta

Age: 35 by humanoid standards.

Non magical humans can live to 200 to 300 years thanks to technology. Magical humans like Homo magi, Indigenous magical humans, & magical humans can live up to 500 to even thousands of years thanks to technology and magic.

Tattoos:

His/her/their body from their upper body (of their face, neck, chest, & back) are covered in traditional magical human tattoos as a poc coded human and traditional Indigenous magical human tattoos as a native coded human

Markings: Arms and legs are covered in Homo magi magical body markings.

Sex: Male. Assigned male at birth or AMAB

Gender: Nonbinary or Two Spirit

Gender Identity: Bigender or Pangender

Sexual Orientation: Omnisexual, or Polysexual

Religion: Magical human pagan. Polytheistic

Spirituality: Believer in Indigenous magical human spirituality. Believer in animism.

Disabilities:

Autistic as someone with autism

Neurodivergent: ADD or attention deficit disorder, ADHD or attention hyperactive disorder, OCD or obsessive-compulsive disorder

Prosthetic: He/she/they are a disabled veteran. He/she/they are physically disabled as someone who was disfigured in combat during war. He/she/they were disfigured by a magical arcane mithril longsword wielded by an officer of the Homo Magi Empire during the Human Federation and Homo Magi Civil War. At some point in the past he/she/they have lost use and function to a part of himself/herself/themselves. But through study of the arcane and the help of those who have already done so he/she/they have replaced it with an advanced prosthetic replacement. This augment functions as if it were the normal body part. These constructs are designed to replace lost limbs if magical healing is not available, or if the user desires to have an improved replacement. Once the prosthetic is attuned to its user it will behave and act as the limb it replaces according to conscious and unconscious thoughts and commands from its user. He/she/they have an electrical, steam, & gas powered automotive armored prosthetic arm. The automotive armored prosthetic arm is also a magically enhanced bionic arm. The automotive armored arm has electrical motors. The bionic arm is made with a full skeletal steel frame with steel armor plating to protect the wires. This prosthetic bionic arm is made of steel, fiberglass, chrome, nickel, copper, carbon fiber, & aluminum. The prosthetic bionic arm was later upgraded with mithril, orichalcum, & adamantine metal for combat situations.

Mental Illnesses: Depression, anxiety, panic attacks, & PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder.

Relatives:

Father: High King Elric Norwood

Mother: Empress Victoria Delacroix

Siblings:

Younger Sisters:

Barbarian and Fighter Paramount Chieftain and Warchief Charlotte Norwood

Princess Olivia Norwood the Grand Inquisitor of Inquisition and High Elder of the Templar Mage Hunters

Magic User Grand Magister Princess Sophia Norwood the Parliamentary Leader of the Magical Government and member of the Magical Council and Arcane Circle

Younger Brothers:

Druid and Ranger Chieftain and Warchief Mason Norwood

Paladin King Levi Norwood High Elder of a Knight and Paladin Order

Children:

Biological Children:

Marital Status: Married.

Relationships:

Love Interests:

Spouses and Partners:

Human Queen Jocelyn Newberry who is a fighter and magic user

Homo Magi Empress Olma

High Elf Empress Cellica Urigwyn an S rank paladin and cleric

Wood Elf Queen Ashryn Genmaris an S rank druid and ranger

Blood Elf Queen Liadrel Grandstrider an S rank multi class magic user

Night Elf Queen Nysa Swiftmight an S rank bard

Dark Elf Empress Falesh Doomcaller an S rank Rouge

Void Elf Queen Lynrea Richshade who is a necromancer

Female Half Elf Coxaris a summoner and beast master

Draenei Queen Sitia an S rank tinkerer and artificer

Female Goliath Chieftain and Warchief Maupeo Swiftstalker a S rank monk

Female high orc Chieftain and Warchief Dura Froststeel an S rank fighter, healer, & barbarian

Lover: Female Human Upri who is a Rogue and Fighter as an airship pirate captain, smuggler, & gunslinger

Base of Operations:

Fortress or Bastion as the High Elder of a Guardian Guild, a Knight Order and Paladin Order.

Vanguard Guild Hall as the Guild Grandmaster of Vanguard an S rank Adventuring Guild and Guild Order. The best way to hide a glyph of protection is by sheer scale. This is done through facets of a planned city such as walls, streets, lights, sewers, & buildings. This glyph of protection goes through the entire country. This glyph of protection protects the town, city, & kingdom that the Guild Order is inside of. The symbol passes unnoticed to all but only to a select few of powerful magic users who are grand magisters. It is later forgotten completely by the general public. It is discovered in blueprints and through birds eye view of airships, planes, or flying mounts. It is geometric magic that is hidden in plain sight that is a protection spell for the location. Built alongside the glyph of protection is a giant magic circle that channels energy for the magic users of the guild and adventuring guild.

Hidden away beyond the mountains in a kingdom in the clouds held up by magic is his/her/their own personal magic tower as a grand magister of the circle of magi, magical society, and the magic council. On the ground it has several bastions that protect it from invasion. The forts themselves are protected by outposts, guard posts, & guard towers. The magical tower has an unique design and layout tailored to his/her/their personality. The magical tower has an alchemist laboratory where alchemists can brew potions, concoctions, potions, & elixirs. It has a workshop for artificers. The magic tower comes with a personal study for wizards. It has a witch cauldron for a witch coven to brew and concoct elixirs, potions, antidotes, brews, & concoctions. It has a large collection of magical lore. It has an archive of magical artifacts. It has a large library of scrolls, manuscripts, parchments, tomes, & books. It has an arena for duels between magic users. It has a stable for mounts. It has an arena for duels between fighters. It has a training arena for apprentices. It has an astronomy tower with an observatory. It has apartments and homes for workers. It has a herbology garden. It has a maze with stone, rock, & metal golem guards. It has secret passages. It has a garden protected by a wood elemental, stone elemental, & nature elemental. It has a crafting lab to craft, repair, and upgrade equipment. It has an armory with weapons, armor, & shields. It has a treasure room with loot that he/she/they found from inside dungeons as an adventurer and quests as a guild member. It has a factory to create automatons. It has a viewing room magic mirror to scry on others. It has a room with a table with a crystal ball and tarot cards for cartomancy and divination for fortune telling. It has a summoning and banishing room for his/her/their patron as a warlock. It is even bigger on the inside cause of spatial magic. It is interconnected with other spires that connect to other magical towers. The magic tower is hidden away by illusions. The only way to reach it is by a portal network system. When an intruder attempts to access the portal when they aren’t supposed to it seals access from the portal network off. The magical tower is built on a magical leyline. It is built with a defense matrix. The magic tower is full of traps that deal with intruders. The magic tower has a room with magically bound guard monsters. The magic tower is defended against magic users with anti magic fields. The magical tower itself is protected by wards and charms and attacks intruders with hexes and curses.

Place of Residence: Norwood Manor on the Norwood Estate.

Citizenship: Tirione Kingdom, Human Federation of Magical Human Kingdoms and Indigenous Magical Human Nations, Alliance or Coalition, Federation of Aehinara, Continent of Aehinara, Contingent Landmass of Eisio, Giant Planet of Kaishi

Affiliation:

Human Federation of Magical Human Kingdoms and Indigenous Magical Human Nations.

Alliance or Coalition. Legion or Horde.

Federation of Aehinara

Sword and Shield Knight Order

Paragon Paladin Order

Vanguard Guild Order and Adventuring Guild

Cerberus Mercenary Company

Magic Council

Arcane Order

Education:

High School graduate.

High School Diploma.

He/she/they were part of the magical go, magical shogi, & magical chess club.

U-13 or under 13, U-15 or under 15, & U-18 or under 18 Magical Dueling Champion who took part in magical duels with a rapier and a wand

He/she/they/they took classes of drama and theatre where they met the Night Elf Bard.

He/she/they were the treasurer, vice president, & later student body president.

He/she/they took honors classes and AP classes. He/she/they in high school were on the principal’s honor roll and was valedictorian.

College graduate.

Associates Degree in Common (English).

Dual Major in Goblin and Orcish

Master’s Degree in History.

History Major in Elvish History

With emphasis in Night Elven History

Minor in Draenei History

PHD in Magical Philosophy.

Doctorate in Magical Archeology and Magical Anthropology.

He/she/they taught as a professor at the magical four year university.

This is the magical four year university that they were alumni of where they were an English major that received their associate’s degree in Common (English).

They graduated cum laude as someone who graduated in the top twenty percent of their class.

They were a Common (English) major that received their bachelor’s degree of the arts with a dual major in Goblin and Orcish.

He/she/they were club president of the Indigenous magical students association. He/she/they were vice president of the magical human students association.

At the magical four year university they were the star player of the magical sports team.

He/she/they taught magical philosophy as a magical philosopher at a magical Ivy League School.

This is the magical Ivy League School that they were alumni of where they were a Philosophy and Ethics major that received their doctorate degree in magical philosophy.

He/she/they graduated magna cum laude as someone who graduated top ten percent of their class.

He/she/they were part of the magical fencing team as Lysander. This is where they met the High Elf Cleric and Paladin.

He/she/they were part of the archery team as Luciana. This is where they met the Wood Elf Druid and Ranger.

As an equestrian that was part of the equestrian sports club they were a rider of magical mounts of alicorns, unicorns, & pegasi.

He/she/they were an instructor at a magical military academy as a gun witch, battle wizard, & war mage.

He/she/they at the magical military academy fought other fighters in tourneys with magical swords, spears, warhammers, & axes with shields.

At the magical military academy they were the star player of the magical mount riding team as a rider of a drake and wyvern.

He/she/they were part of the magical martial arts competitive sports clubs at the magical military academy.

He/she/they graduated from the military academy as a second lieutenant.

He/she/they graduated summa cum laude as someone who graduated top one percent of their class.

He/she/they graduated from the military academy with a master's degree in History with a major in Elvish history with an emphasis on Night Elf history.

He/she/they graduated from the military academy with a master’s degree in history with a minor in Draenei history.

He/she/they as a grand magister who is a multi class magician graduated from a magical academy with degrees in metaplanes studies, astral studies, conceptual magic, quantum magic, magic theory, and theoretical magic.

Transportation:

As grand magister. Broomstick.

As High King/High Queen. Flying chariot with pegasi or alicorns.

As Guild Grandmaster. Horse drawn carriage with undead skeletal horses.

As Knight Order and Paladin Order High Elder. Gas and steam powered magic airship zeppelin.

As a Mercenary Company Commander. Ironclad ship. Submarine.

As a traveling merchant, shopkeeper, & chairman of a corporation. His/her/their mode of transportation is a war galleon class flagship. The galleon commanded a fleet of merchant ships. The fleet had barques, bilanders, biremes, birlinns, boita, brigs, brigantines, carracks, caravels, clippers, cogs, corvettes, dhows, drekars, dromons, feluccas, fleutes, fluyts, frigates, fustas, galiots, galleasses, galleons, galleys, guinemans, juncos, karves, kelches, knarrs, lorchas, luggers, man of wars, pincos, pinnaces, schooners, ship of the lines, sloop of wars, snows, shebecs, sutters, tartanes, trireme, & zebecs. The galleon had seven decks. The galleon had 52 cannons. The galleon had three hundred crew members. The galleon supported two hundred and twenty passengers. The galleon had 7 masts and 18 sails. The galleon used square sails and triangular sails. The galleon had 400 ton cargo capacity.

As a magic user and fighter who is a guild member and adventurer

Taxi

Cab.

Carriage.

Hot air balloon

Gas, electric, & magically powered magic automobile.

Steamboat

Mounts:

As a knight and paladin. White alicorn. Blue unicorn. Black pegasi

As a fighter. Gold and brown griffin or gryphon. Black and white hippogriff

As a magic user. Battle Dragon. Guard drake. Adult winged drake. Young adult wyvern.

Familiars:

As a gun witch:

Black Cat.

Snake

Raven

Owl

As a warlock:

Imp

Will o the wisp

Homunculus

As a wizard:

Pseudo dragon

Pets:

Magical Pets:

Phoenix

Fire salamander

Celestial dog

Kitsune

Shadow Raven

Companions:

Former:

Squire that he/she/they are training as a knight and paladin. Left his/her/their tutelage as a knight corporal. Promoted to knight commander and paladin commander. Is now chapter master of a knight order and paladin order.

Apprentice that he/she/they are training as a magic user. Is now Senator of the Magical Government.

Current Companions:

Warforged Automaton.

Metallic steel dragon.

Metallic copper dragon

Apparel:

Magical reading glasses

Steampunk goggles

Pocketwatch

Steampunk watch

As a scion of a noble and old house and scion of an ancient and powerful house he/she/they wear fine noble clothes that include a suit or a dress. Interwoven into his/her/their clothing as a noble and aristocrat is gems and precious metals. As an aristocrat he/she/they wear jewelry of a silver watch, gold necklace, silver bracelet, & gold signet ring. He/she/they often wear a purse or a messenger bag.

As a magic user he/she/they wears a wizards hat, a grand magister robe, and a mage cloak. The wizard hat is jade and azure. Tied to the wizard hat are phoenix firebird feathers, pamola snow bird feathers, rain bird feathers, & thunderbird feathers. These feathers symbolize the respect he/she/they have and the honor he/she/they have gained in their family, clan, & nation as a magic user who reached the rank of Grand Magister. The silk and velvet grand magister robe is scarlet and gold. The mage cloak is pink with tangerine undertones.

Knight and paladin high elder clothes.

Duelist clothes. Gloves. Boots. Leather cavalier hat with phoenix feather plume.

Mage gloves

Mage boots

He/she/they used to have a sorcerer/sorceress’s cape but it was burned by an enemy monster.

Yellow and blue guild grandmaster robe with hood.

Red and Blue High Elder Robes. Tied to the high elder robes is a chimera claw, a fire basilisk fang, & a hydra scale. This symbolizes the honor and respect that he/she/they have in his/her/their family, clan, & nation as the High Elder of a knight and paladin order.

Magical jewelry set.

Mage Necklace with magical pendant. Amplifier artifact. Gives owner or wearer a titanic boost to whatever powers they already possess or unlocking latent powers.

Wizard Bracelet. Amplifier artifact. Gives owner or wearer a titanic boost to whatever powers they already possess or unlocking latent powers.

Warlock Earring. Amplifier artifact. Gives owner or wearer a small boost to whatever powers they already possess or unlocking latent powers.

Sorcerer/Sorceress Ring. Power limiter. Power regulator used to restrict his/her/their power level and control his/her/their magic power. When he/she/they were an apprentice of a grand magician and grand sorceress they gave him/her/them this ring to help them learn to control his/her/their uncontrolled and dangerous raw magic. In time he/she/they were able to use magic without the power limiter safely. This power limiter was also used in magical training as training with their full power suppressed helped increase their magical power.

Equipment:

Adventurer’s Backpack. Where he/she/they keep equipment as a guild member and adventurer. Has one hundred inventory slots. You can also strap items to the outside of the backpack with rope.

Items:

Magical map and compass. A compass points to magnetic north and is used by travelers to get their bearings and find their way. The magical compass also works on different principles to point to something else. The magic compass also points to different things at different times. The magic compass when not working as a regular compass points to cardinal directions. When the magical compass’s magic is activated the magical compass points to a specific person, place, or object that the user wants to find. The magic compass is used to lead whoever uses it to something or someone lost or hidden. Its method of operation is inexplicable as it is an artifact of an ancient wizard, sorcerer, or mage. The magical compass appears in the form of a lensatic compass. The compass glows when the user is going in the right direction. It lets the user know the distance they are from what they are seeking. The magic compass can also point up or down. The magical compass is used alongside a magical map. The magical map normally appears as a regular detailed atlas map. If you are looking for something or someone that won’t show up on regular maps. Something or someone hidden, something that is never in the same place, or something not of this world. The magical map will transform into a globe and with photo realistic details show you the location of anything hidden such as a person, location, or item.

Magical trunk. Has infinite storage space. Has hidden compartments. Has expandable and collapsible compartments. Is locked with wards. It is locked with 13 magical locks.

Magical Magical coin pouch. Unlimited storage space. Connected directly to a bank account at magical bank. Pouch to hold bronze, iron, lead, copper, tin, zinc, nickel, aluminum, carbon, silver, gold, electrum, & platinum coins. The bank account currently has millions of coins.

Magical Tools:

Magic mirror. Used for scrying on enemies. Used for long distance communication Is also used as a crystal prison to trap enemies. Used as a portal to travel through time and space. Used as a portal to travel to mirror and parallel timelines, dimensions, & realities. The magic mirror reveals a person’s true nature. The magic mirror reveals people if they are invisible or using illusion magic. The magic mirror is sentient. The magic mirror is quite fickle and does not work for everyone. Can be shrunk to the size of a handheld mirror to be portable.

Crystal Ball. Used for divination and fortune telling. Also used for dreams. Used for channeling. Sphere made out of crystal or gemstone.

Tarot Cards, Tarot Deck, & Tarot Bag that is part of a Tarot Set. Used for cartomancy, divination, & fortune telling.

Magical Portal. Used for fast or quick travel throughout the giant planet.

Indigenous magical human talisman, totem, and amulet. Magical amplifier.

Grimoire. Magical textbook of magic. Has instructions on how to prepare and create magical objects like talismans and amulets. Has instructions on how to perform rituals. Has a list of ingredients for potions, elixirs, brews, & concoctions and their magical correspondence. This grimoire is a spell book with various magic diagrams and incantations. It is filled with collections of incantations, calendars, diagrams, recipes, journal entries, and notes on magic. Used to store knowledge of spells learned from tomes. Used by magic users when they need to use more complicated and powerful spells or when spells are too long to memorize. The grimoire is a magic artifact itself imbued with arcane and esoteric potency. Magic is cast by wielding the book as it's an amplifier artifact. Magic is also cast by reading what is written in it. The grimoire is known as a black book or book of shadows. It is also used to preserve magical knowledge. The grimoire is a book of spells that is an encyclopedia of his/her/their Indigenous magical human, Homo magi, & magical human family’s magical knowledge. The grimoire when read by those who should not read them appears to them as a commonplace book in the form of an old leather bound book, a modern paperback book, or a modern hardcover book.

Magical ink and quill. Used for penning inside grimoire. Quill made from hippogriff and griffin feather.

Mortar and pestle. Made out of granite and metal. Used for mincing, grinding, & mixing powder or paste for creating medicine for a magical apothecary.

Crystal and stones.

Athame and boline. Athemes are associated with the element of fire and are commonly used to direct energy. Bolines usually have a more curved blade. They are used for more physical purposes such as cutting herbs or items in spellwork.

Dagger

Bell. A ritual bell. Used for opening and closing ceremonies. Also used for ritual cleansing energies and bringing focus. The bell is used to clear energies before, during, & after rituals or spells. Used in rituals for magic and healing as the user calls upon deities. Used in rituals for magic and healing as the user calls upon elemental powers and energies.

Chalice. Ritual chalice. Used for the element of water. Symbolizes the western direction. It is a feminine energy symbolizing the mother goddess. Used to hold appropriate liquid for magical offerings and or drink. Chalice is placed in the direction of the west.

Bowls and plates. Altar bowls and offering plates to put on an altar for ritual offerings to deities and elements. Also used for scrying, incense, herbs, water, & stones.

Candles and candle holders.

Incense, incense sticks, and incense holders. Used for incense burning and incense offerings.

Altar with statues to pagan gods of the Warring Kingdoms universe

Altar to the patron that he/she/they serve as a master warlock

Obsidian chambered gemstone crystal pendulum. Used for spiritual growth, guidance, self improvement, & psychic development.

Witch Cauldron. Made out of caste iron. Using magic it can be shrunk to the size of a tennis ball to the size of a giant beach ball. Used to brew potions, elixirs, brews, & concoctions as a gun witch. The cauldron itself is inherently magical. It has the power to make more copies of something than creating just one if you used a regular pot. Important tool traditionally used for cooking and brewing. It represents the element of water, the element of fire, & the direction of the west. Used for mixing herbs, oils, conctions, & brews. Also used for scrying. Usually sits in the west. Black and purple cauldron filled with an unknown glowing substance with bubbles.

Alchemist Laboratory Chemistry Set. Using magic it can be shrunk to be portable and appear as a kid’s small chemistry set or expand into an entire science chemistry laboratory. Has flasks, vials, & containers. Used to brew potions, elixirs, brews, & concoctions as an alchemist.

Rune Box. Box of runes made out of wood, stone, & gems. Twenty five rune letters. Runes have magical and mystical powers. They were used in spellcasting. They offer wise council. They have protective powers and warriors would engrave shields, weapons, & armor with runic symbols.

He/she/they used to have other wands. These were given to him/her/them by their mentors, a supreme witch and great warlock, as training wands. One wand was made out of oak wood. The other was made out of pine wood. The pine wood symbolizes creativity, prosperity, purification and protection. The oak wood symbolizes strength, power, wisdom, truth, endurance and protection. He/she/they used to have two exotic wands. One wand was made out of glass and another was made out of ceramic. He/she/they used to have an exotic wand made out of bone and elder wood.

Two Indigenous magical human traditional wands. These wands are kept in dragon hide wand holsters on his/her/their forearms. Left wand holster is made of dragon hide from a chromatic red dragon and the right wand holster is made from the hide of a chromatic black dragon. These wands were passed down to him/her/them from his/her/their Indigenous magical human and magical human father, a magic user and fighter, once he/she/they became a magic user. These wands belonged to his/her/their ancestors and were passed down for generations. The wands are magic focus objects or magic foci that directs his/her/their magical power. When dueling magic users he/she/they duel wield these wands. Wands have innate arcane energies of their own. This allowed casters to empower their spells. This also allowed wands to cast their own spells. Gemstones were added to wands to increase their effectiveness. Crafting stronger wands required more spellcasting skills from the crafter which they may not possess. Crafting any kind of magic item burnt some of the soul of the crafter. The stronger the item the greater the toll on the caster. Adding a gem was a way to increase the effectiveness of a wand without sacrificing the full amount of one's own life force.

One eleven inch and ¼ inches thick wand was made out of hazel wood and brass metal. The brass metal symbolizes communication, abundance, & protection. The hazel wood symbolizes wisdom, clarity, psychic work, nature magick, water magick and knowledge. This is a good all-rounder wood. Etched into the wand was a sigil of a letter. Etched into the wand was a pentacle. End of the wand was made out of clear quartz. The clear quartz symbolizes power, protection, & general magic. End of the wand had a hippogriff feather. This feather was tied to the wand with hair of an alicorn.

One ten inch and ¼ inches thick wand was made out of ash wood and copper metal, The copper symbolizes healing, prosperity, love, & luck. The ash wood symbolizes healing, protection, purification, wisdom, prosperity. This is a good all-round wood for a wand as it amplifies almost all kinds of magick. Etched into the wand was a sigil of a number. End of the wand was made out of jade. The jade symbolizes luck, prosperity, protection, & love. The end of the wand had a griffon feather. This feather was tied to the wand with pegasi hair.

[alittlepieceofwarcraft]

A Dying Dream (Perry x Khadgar AU)

Year 33, a few weeks after the Forsaken and human meet in the Arathi Highlands.

A candle served as the only light filling the dim room cloaked by the dead of night. Khadgar remained in the position he’d taken up many hours ago: quill intensely scratching upon parchment, ink spotted across the surface, an already sealed pile of scrolls building up on one side of the creaky desk. The chill from an open window crept in through waves of cold breeze, clinging onto the damp, bleak bricked walls of the circular tower but the Arch Mage didn’t even pause to give a shiver. His hands must have ached from the amount of writing he had produced over the course of the evening and now into the early hours. “King Anduin Llane Wrynn, highest regards upon you…”, “Warchief Sylvanas Windrunner, warm greetings…”. Endless streams of words strung together were printed in a messily handwritten flurry, the urgency of the matter boldly stated in his hurry to send them out. Khadgar was not naïve. This was his final effort to prevent an all-out warfare, a precedent that was at its breaking point.

 The young-old mage had already tried to meet with the leaders of the Alliance and Horde to try and extend the temporary ceasefire that had occurred during the Legion’s latest invasion, but was turned away at both attempts to speak with the respective leaders. Anduin had been absent and the stoic Greymane was not forthcoming with his current location, only bluntly stating that he would be gone longer than convenient to wait for him, almost moments away from ushering Khadgar out of the keep himself. Previous correspondence with a group of Forsaken, an elective party known as the Desolate Council, had slowly fizzled out over time, leaving Khadgar with great hesitation to try and be granted an audience with the banshee queen herself. Just a few weeks before this frostbitten night, Khadgar caught word of an undead and Stormwind civilian meet that had gone terribly wrong and he feared him being there as a human may be taken the wrong way. Sylvanas’ rumoured actions had been the catalyst for his obsessive writing sessions and attempted visits. While Sylvanas had made no solid moves, he knew the queen was hungry: hungry for power, hungry for a solution to her people’s decomposition dilemma, hungry for war. She died fighting, she was raised to fight again. And with the inability to harm Alliance members, she’d turned on her own people at the slightest signal of dissent. This made it clear to him: the factions would remain intact and at odds.  

 He’d made a tiresome journey to seek the Darkspear Tribe, the troll of the Horde remaining leaderless since Vol’jin’s untimely demise. He’d been greeted by an elder crone: a frail female hunched over a gnarled walking staff with a fiery tongue. He’d hoped the lack of an appointed leadership may have left the trolls with more independence and willing to be swayed into a refusal to bear arms against the Alliance in a fruitless war. The troll elder had scowled, shook her head and took no measures to hide her displeasure at the mage’s presence in her village. “Ya be wastin’ ma time,” she’d growled, “I be listenin’ to no little mon when I should be communin’ wid da ancestors. Ya be on your way wid ya murka ass, assumin’ ya be able to advise us when de dead speak through me”. Evidently, she’d not taken Khadgar’s attempts to ward away potential conflict with kindness, rather with heavy insult.

After a heavy failure of trying to reason with the trolls that resulted in indirect offence, Khadgar elected to discuss possible future events with those who understood the cost. Kaldorei, though a mysterious race, were one he had become fond of, for obvious reasons. They’d lived through it all: the War of the Ancients, the Great Sundering, all three wars, and they’d lost much because of it. The ancient continent as one became split into four; Nordrassil, though thank the Light it had recovered, was once destroyed in sacrifice of their people for the good of the world. They held a vast amount of knowledge and power yet also knew of what knowledge and power could do. How it could kill. Malfurion had been absent upon his arrival, gone to Silithus his student said, to see what could be done about healing Azeroth’s mighty wound. Tyrande too was not present. She had taken many of her sisters to nurse those who had been badly injured during the final battle of the latest war against the Legion. A druid elected to sit with Khadgar to listen to his plea. He knew of her before: the pine-haired, serpent-marked elf with strong restorative powers, the perfect individual to address his concerns and anxieties about what lay ahead. She was sympathetic, but her eyes glazed over with a sadness when he asked if her teacher would be willing to draw a line of peace between the two political oppositions even with the tension at hand. “My shan’do desires harmony among all else,” she explained, “but should harm come to our people, my Arch Druid and my High Priestess would not hesitate to call to arms our Sentinels, our Wardens, our Watchers. I fear that with the Banshee on the throne, harmony is not possible, she has a military heart and values strategy where we value sanctity. We will not strike first but should such a threat come to our gates and Elune compels us to fight then the entire kaldorei people will side with Stormwind’s king and bring with them the full force of the night elven people.” Khadgar had left, unsure of whether to be comforted by her words, or even more disillusioned with his dream of unity. He knew that was ridiculous to request no retaliation against a hostile onslaught but the silence he received from the Warchief had dug into him, ripping into a constant panic of desperation.

And so, he marched on. Meeting with as many races as he could to propose an infinite ceasefire. He gauged the same responses. Those wielding the banner of bright blue and gold helplessly reported the same sentiments of the kaldorei; that they would not allow their lands to be taken or their people harmed. Their Horde counterparts agreed, however were honour-bound to serve their Warchief. So Khagar returned home to continue spewing out letter after letter: if he could not see these leaders, he prayed he would at least hear from them.

 “That’s not how you spell ‘high elf’ in Thalassian.” A voice echoed out right behind Khadgar, his exhaustion so great at this stage that he didn’t jump, only flinching hard on his quill, snapping the pointed end off. He craned his neck behind to observe a pastel pink skinned elf; snowy hair glowing in the candle-light, ghostly luminescent eyes peering over his shoulder at his work. He’d been addressing Ranger-Captain Vereesa Windrunner and miswritten ‘quel’dorei’, making the ‘q’ a ‘k’ in his tired state. Peregrïn had entered silently to his study, cloaked in a thick woollen blanket that covered her night shirt, palms wrapped around a steaming cup of tea that she slid onto the desk. She slid off her knitted quilt and hung it over Khadgar. “I thought you would be cold.” Khadgar gave a fatigued half-smile to his bride.

“Thank you, it is getting quite chilly, now the summer season is coming to an end. How was Darnassus? I assume your parents were well?” It had been seen to be appropriate for Perry to meet with her family after the dangers of the Legion. In times like these, one couldn’t be sure if you would see your loved ones alive again after your last visit. Khadgar had chosen to investigate the Silithus wound and negotiate peace with the factions instead and, evidently, was still hard at work on it from the time she left until just now upon her return. She gave a little yawn, the length of her journey catching up on her and she began to sense the need for sleep growing heavier.

“An’da and min’da…” she paused, sleepily blinking and trying to find her next words with the ever-growing drowsy mind of hers, “they are well,” she finished, “I can’t remember the last time I stayed up so late.” Khadgar grinned. The couple spent most nights cuddled up by a crackling fire in their quarters, falling asleep side by side. Rediscovering the night life of the kaldorei must have brought her back several years to customs she wasn’t used to: night elves indulged in celebrating each full moon with an all-night feast. Stacks of tender smoked deer and roasted boar meat would be piled on top of each other; light cabbage, fluffy potatoes, sweetened turnips, all heaped onto sizeable bowls. Music would be played throughout a clear, starry night to honour Elune and her twinkling children in the heavens and the party would go on from the quiet hush of dusk to the rise of the brilliant sun. It so happened her visit coincided with these festivities.

“They tired you out?” He chuckled. Perry scanned over mess of letters Khadgar had been working on.

“Aren’t you tired?” she inquired, “We should sleep. It seems we have had long days.” Khadgar thought of the bed they shared: how warm and inviting it would be to slide in under clean cotton sheets and padded quilts, to let his head sink into big, feather-stuffed pillows, to cradle his worn out love in his arms. Wearily, he shook his head. 

“I cannot,” he grimly muttered, “I fear… I fear…” He needn’t have said any more. Perry nodded, knowing full well of the worries that plagued her dear’s thoughts. They both silently stared at the desk full of correspondence that, secretly, Khadgar thought would all be for nought. As they did so, the candle flickered, its wax nearly all burned away by the flame, dying out almost as if it sensed the fading of Khadgar’s faith as his dream became closer and closer to that: just a dream.

*Murka: “a foolish person”.

*Kaldorei: “Children of the Stars”, night elf/elves.

*Shan’do: “honoured teacher”.

*An’da: “father”.

*Min’da: “mother”.

Characters mentioned (if you want to learn more about them)

Ligani (old troll) recent/popular posts  x x

Mywin (druid elf) recent posts x x

Perry belongs to @drew-winchester

(Sorry if I got anything wrong about Perry! I will probably edit this a little bit anyway.)

[elderslightlyevil]

The terrifying demon, Rexor the Mighty. Like many powerful demons he made a warlocks pact with a powerful arch mage, but unlike with most pacts, the demon made himself the bonded servant. This grants him powerful arcane magic, swift ascension through the demonic ranks, and easy access to the material plane. You may defeat him, but he will return again and again, more powerful each time. Every time he is slain, he reforms from the primordial chaos of the abyss, as a demon greater and with more warlock powers, than before.

In his various dark endeavours, he has infected the chief of the Evandor Caravan and Menagerie with Shriving pocks, soon after being slain by a valiant paladin. He tore down the pillars of Lathandar's temple, slaying his high priestess in the process, and could only be stopped by the efforts of a valiant paladin.

He infiltrated the ruling family of Scornubel, causing untold strife and suffering on this world, and was defeated by... let me check my notes... oh, shocker, valiant paladin strikes again. He was a super fun villain for me to play, because it allows me to get comically evil, and engage in acts of pure malice, as demons do. But that party had multiple paladins in it, and if you have a paladin with good stats, demons tend to crumple like paper.

Help a DM out?

Tell me about your character, monsters, villains or NPC’s?

Mind reblogging or messaging me with a blurb? I need some notable adventurers and villains to pepper into some bard tales I forgot to prep. Name, Race, Class, Notable deed, battle or accomplishment and whether they came to a good or bad end? Please?

Thanks anyone who helps. Any will do and if you don’t want me to post it I won’t :D

[airlock]

I’ve also done that tally of popularity per class, so I might as well post that before I finally go tf to sleep

disclaimers on names and etc. from the previous post still apply

for the Awakening doppelgangers in Fates: Owain, Inigo, and Severa had their votes counted in total with their counterparts, and Owain was put in the class category that he got the most votes as; Caeldori, Asugi and Rhajat were regularly included as separate entities, but for each category that they qualified for, the character who would’ve made #10 it in their absence is also noted

=POPULARITY RANKING OF CLASS TYPES (based on the Top 10s; might do the actual full tally.... sometime, maybe) -#1: Lords (270,156) -#2: Mercenaries (86,616) -#3: Dark Magi (70,018) -#4: Myrmidons (69,818) -#5: Thieves (55,770) -#6: Pegasus Riders (50,092) -#7: Dragon/Wyvern Riders (48,863) -#8: Anima Magi (47,374) -#9: Armors and Soldiers (40,665) -#10: Riding Healers (40,539) -#11: Clerics and Light Magi (38,567) -#12: Melee Cavalry (36,024) -#13: Dragon Transformation (34,714) -#14: Archers (30,730) -#15: Beast Transformation (30,275) -#16: Fighters and Bandits (29,038) -#17: Refresh (27,101) -#18: Trainees (19,365)

=LORDS (Lord, Fighter(FE2), Priest(FE2), Knight Lord, Junior Lord, Nohr Prince, Nohr Princess) -#1: Lyn (49,917) -#2: Lucina (48,295 total, counting "masked marth") -#3: Roy (28,982) -#4: Hector (27,372) -#5: Corrin, both genders (27,200 total) -#6: Marth (24,547 total) -#7: Chrom (23,803) -#8: Eirika (16,423) -#9: Ephraim (14,908) -#10: Eliwood (8,709)

=MELEE CAVALRY (Cavalier, Paladin, Sword/Free/Lance/Axe Knight, Blade/Lance/Axe Paladin, Forrest/Duke/Great Knight, Silver/Gold Knight) -#1: Xander (7,511) -#2: Frederick (3,913) -#3: Peri (3,892) -#4: Seth (3,763) -#5: Titania (3,757 total) -#6: Finn (3,607 total) -#7: Silas (2,683) -#8: Stahl (2,611) -#9: Eldigan (2,256) -#10: Sain (2,031)

=ARMORS AND SOLDIERS (Knight, General, Soldier, Emperor, Armored Sword/Lance/Axe/Bow, Sword/Lance/Axe/Bow General, Baron, Halberdier, Black Knight, Marshall, Sentinel, Spear Fighter, Spear Master, Basara, Lancer) -#1: Nephenee (13,473 total) -#2: The Black Knight (10,195 total) -#3: Oboro (4,783) -#4: Arden (3,094) -#5: Kellam (2,129) -#6: Effie (1,974) -#7: Zelgius (1,888) -#8: Gilliam (1,142) -#9: Benny (1,055) -#10: Shiro (932)

=PEGASUS RIDERS (Pegasus Knight, Falcoknight, Pegasus Rider, Princess Crimea, Seraph Knight, Queen, Dark Flier, Dark Falcon, Sky Knight, Kinshi Knight) -#1: Cordelia (14,362) -#2: Caeda (7,243 total) -#3: Hinoka (6,851) -#4: Florina (4,012) -#5: Elincia (3,360 total) -#6: Caeldori (3,149) -#7: Sumia (2,982) -#8: Tana (2,849) -#9: Catria (2,746 total, gaiden including) -#10: Aversa (2,538) [Cynthia: 2,069]

=DRAGON/WYVERN RIDERS (Dracoknight, Wyvern Rider, Wyvern Lord, Dragon Rider, Wyvern Knight, Dragonmaster, Dragonlord, Griffon Rider, Malig Knight) -#1: Camilla (25,766) -#2: Cherche (4,498) -#3: Haar (3,558 total) -#4: Minerva (3,422 total) -#5: Jill (2,975 total) -#6: Beruka (2,561) -#7: Gerome (1,867) -#8: Scarlet (1,848) -#9: Cormag (1,308) -#10: Narcian (1,060)

=MYRMIDONS (Myrmidon, Swordmaster, Trueblade, Samurai) -#1: Mia (13,354 total) -#2: Owain (11,639 total) -#3: Lon'qu (10,002) -#3: Joshua (8,623) -#5: Ryoma (7,248) -#6: Marisa (5,398) -#7: Ayra (4,489) -#8: Hana (3,394) -#9: Navarre (3,374 total) -#10: Rutger (2,297)

=MERCENARIES (Mercenary, Hero, Dread Fighter, Ranger(FE9), Vanguard) -#1: Ike (51,555 total) -#2: Severa (10,743 total) -#3: Inigo (8,886 total) -#4: Soleil (4,333) -#5: Ogma (3,189 total) -#6: Raven (2,233) -#7: Priam (1,556) -#8: Gerik (1,489) -#9: Gregor (1,456) -#10: Dieck (1,176)

=THIEVES (Thief, Assassin, Rogue, Whisper, Trickster, Ninja, Ninja Master, Outlaw, Adventurer) -#1: Anna (15,445 total) -#2: Gaius (9,465) -#3: Niles (8,703) -#4: Kaze (4,069) -#5: Jaffar (3,921) -#6: Matthew (3,565) -#7: Sothe (3,332 total) -#8: Kagero (3,265) -#9: Saizo (2,221) -#10: Nina (1,784)

=FIGHTERS AND BANDITS (Fighter, Pirate, Warrior, Berserker, Brigand, Bandit, Barbarian, Oni Savage, Oni Chieftain) -#1: Dorcas (12,083) -#2: Charlotte (3,924) -#3: Lot (3,218) -#4: Rinkah (3,142) -#5: Arthur(FE14) (1,704) -#6: Vaike (1,096) -#7: Garcia (1,093) -#8: Mustafa (1,017) -#9: Basilio (994) -#10: Gonzalez (767)

=ARCHERS (Archer, Ballistician, Hunter, Sniper, Horseman, Bow Knight, Arch Knight, Nomad, Nomad Trooper, Ranger (FE8), Bow Paladin, Marksman) -#1: Takumi (12,662) -#2: Setsuna (3,292) -#3: Noire (2,786) -#4: Shinon (2,753 total) -#5: Rebecca (2,425) -#6: Virion (1,548) -#7: Rath (1,544) -#8: Innes (1,499) -#9: Jeorge (1,214 total) -#10: Wil (1,007)

=ANIMA MAGI (Mage, Bishop(FE1,FE3), Sage, Fire/Thunder/Wind Mage, Bard(FE4), War Mage, Mage Knight, Archsage, Fire/Thunder/Wind Sage, Empress, Diviner, Onmyoji) -#1: Soren (9,718 total) -#2: Lute (9,176) -#3: Nino (7,825) -#4: Lilina (5,730) -#5: Ilyana: (3,554 total) -#6: Rhajat (2,640) -#7: Merric (2,475 total) -#8: Katarina (2,162) -#9: Ishtar (2,076) -#10: Linde (2,018 total) [Erk: 1,951]

=CLERICS AND LIGHT MAGI (Priest/Curate, Cleric(except FE9~10), Bishop, Shaman(FE4~5), High Priest, Bard(FE5), Monk, Light Mage, Light Sage, Light Priestess, Saint, Chancellor, War Monk/Cleric, Shrine Maiden, Great Master, Priestess) -#1: Micaiah (13,491) -#2: Sakura (7,782) -#3: Lissa (5,279) -#4: Wrys (2,669 total) -#5: Lucius (2,204) -#6: Serra (2,203) -#7: Libra (1,668) -#8: Azama (1,180) -#9: Mitama (1,051) -#10: Brady (1,040)

=RIDING HEALERS (Trobadour, Female Paladin(FE4), Valkyrie, Cleric(FE9~10), Strategist, Maid/Butler) -#1: Felicia (9,121) -#2: Elise (8,962) -#3: Jakob (4,681) -#4: Maribelle (3,701) -#5: Mist (2,972 total) -#6: Flora (2,939) -#7: L'Arachel (2,425) -#8: Forrest (2,356) -#9: Dwyer (2,048) -#10: Priscilla (1,334)

=DARK MAGI (Dark Mage, Dark Bishop, Loptyr Mage, Dark Prince, Shaman(FE6~8), Druid, Dark Druid, Summoner, Necromancer, Dark Sage, Sorcerer, Dark Knight) -#1: Tharja (29,540) -#2: Leo (12,175) -#3: Henry (12,131) -#4: Ophelia (3,639) -#5: Sophia (3,150) -#6: Nyx (2,562) -#7: Canas (2,450) -#8: Lyon (2,434) -#9: Knoll (997) -#10: Raigh (940)

=TRAINEES (Villager, Recruit, Journeyman, Pupil) -#1: Donnel (10,479) -#2: Amelia (3,214) -#3: Ross (2,234) -#4: Mozu (1,990) -#5: Ewan (930) -#6: Kliff (239) -#7: Gray (115) -#8: Tobin (97) -#9: Atlas (67)

=DRAGON TRANSFORMATION (Manakete, Red Dragon, White Dragon, Black Dragon) -#1: Tiki (16,523 total, Awakening included) -#2: Nowi (10,571) -#3: Myrrh (2,317) -#4: Nah (2,031) -#5: Fae (1,332) -#6: Nagi (784 total) -#7: Bantu (348 total) -#8: Kurthnaga (346 total) -#9: Ena AND Dheginsea (231 total)

=BEAST TRANSFORMATION (Tiger, Cat, Hawk, Raven, Lion, Wolf, Taguel, Kitsune, Nine-Tails, Wolfskin, Wolfssegner) -#1: Selkie (4,800) -#2: Kaden (3,836) -#3: Keaton (3,724) -#4: Velouria (3,339) -#5: Ranulf (3,128 total) -#6: Panne (3,061) -#7: Tibarn (2,710 total) -#8: Lethe (2,616 total) -#9: Naesala (1,656 total) -#10: Yarne (1,405)

=REFRESH (Dancer, Bard(FE6~7), Heron, Songstress) -#1: Azura (14,198) -#2: Olivia (5,889) -#3: Ninian (2,799) -#4: Leanne (1,437 total) -#5: Reyson (982 total) -#6: Nils (730) -#7: Tethys (518) -#8: Silvia (203) -#9: Phina (196) -#10: Rafiel (149)

[emikostudio2018]

Literature review (with out bibliography)

What I read to feed my (art) seed.

I am often asked, what area of art am I studying, and sometimes I want to say I am a painter, or sculptor, because I feel like that's the familiar answer that people expect. But alas, I am neither, and maybe both, along with, drawer, writer and marginal infiltrator. I am (dis)assembler of grammatical structures, (de)colonizer of spaces, and (re)constructive meditator.

Is this what you would classically call ‘artist’?

No, I think it’s what you would classically call ‘con-artist’.

To be that confident-artist though, I have to know my shit…and so I read. This year, I am Modern Māori artist, who loves science-fiction and questioning authority, because like some punk once said, “authority is only a system of control”…maaaaan. But the more I read, the more I learn how much I don’t know, and that ‘authority’ has systematically controlled me from learning about my own culture. So the perks of a contemporary art degree is, I can use this time to study whatever I want. When you think of me, think of terms like ‘Space-Māori’ or ‘Astronesian’, cause here I come baby. I’m taking this spaceship into my own control and using the knowledge of my tupuna to guide me into poetic, futuristic Māori art-jams through time and space.

Matariki, the star of the year, 2017 Rangi Matamua non-fiction

Matariki, the star of the year. It is full of insights and knowledge of Māori astronomy that I had never encountered before. One of the most exciting things about this book, is that it is Māori knowledge, told from a Māori perspective. We are in the age of Māori taking agency of our knowledge and legitimizing it. In the past Eldon Best had written about Māori astronomy and gathering what he could understand of the vast knowledge—which at the time was far superior than the European counterparts (3)— but he couldn’t grasp it all, and also couldn’t understand properly the way Māori saw the stars. For example Best translated “Matariki’ literally, ‘mata’ meaning eyes, and ‘riki’ being a plural of ‘iti’ which means small, so he told the world that Matariki meant small eyes. But Matamua revokes this incorrect translation. The story of the word Matariki does indeed include eyes, but they are in no way small. The ariki Tawhirimatea was so distort with the separation of his parents Ranginui and Papatūānuku that he tore his eyes out and threw them up to the heavens where they landed on Rangi’s chest and stayed there, creating Matariki, Te Mata o te ariki Tawhirimatea, which means the eyes of the god Tāwhirimātea.

I have been reading this book, as research to feed into my own art practices and alsojust out of interest and wanting to know more about Te Ao Māori. There is a story inMatamua’s book about Te Waka o Rangi, captained by Taramainuku. Matarikimarks the prow of this waka. Taramainuku lets down his net and pulls up the spirits ofthe dead. They wait there on his waka until the next Matariki season where the wakacan be seen again rising just before the sun. When it is time to celebrate Matariki andthe coming of the new year, it is also the time to let go of the dead as Taramainukureleases all the spirits from his waka and they go into the heavens to become stars.Stories like these totally fall into my astronesian space Māori undertones of my workthis year, Māori been space Māori’s since way back.

The Lathe of Heaven, 1974 Ursula K. Le Guin Fiction

I read this book over the summer just been. While stuck in the hump of the book— which often happens to me—Le Guin just up and died. Her death wasn’t so unexpected to her family, I’m guessing—she had been sick for a while, and she was 88 years old—but the idea hadn’t crossed my mind, or rather the actuality. Probably because in my mind Le Guin was more like a hero, or the high priestess of sci-fi, or arch mage, maybe even close to divinity, but in actuality, she was human. So propelled by mourning and longing, I searched the pages of The Lathe of Heaven, looking for her. If at the time, I was worried at all about losing Le Guin and her genius I was quickly reassured in my faith. While a lot of Le Guin’s books have an anthropological base from which her social-political commentaries spring, The Lathe of Heaven moves more from philosophical questions. If you had the ability to change the world for better, should you? and could one even do such a thing against the formidable force of nature? Le Guin brings into focus human ambition to play God, only to back-hand that destructive notion by illuminating our very own human nature and “all the stuff we carry around in us”(125).

I guess the only relevance this book has to my art practice at the moment is that it is writing, and it is science fiction. I am mostly looking at Māori and Pacifika artists, but am not limited to this, and Le Guin is formative for me. In The Lathe of Heaven Le Guin challenges authority and warns about messing with nature, and reminds us how small we humans are. I think these are good things to think about and are a part of what I keep in my mind when I do anything.

Sleep Standing/Moetū, 2017 Witi Ihimaera with Translation by Hēmi Kelly Fictional, based on true a true story

In this fictional retelling of the battle of Ōrākau, Witi Ihimaera educates his audience on the historical three-day battle that ended the Waikato land Wars in 1964. I’m not a huge fan of Witi Ihimaera writing, but this seemed like a good way to learn about thebattle of Ōrākau without having to read a history book, and also from the perspectiveof Māori. I am Ngāti Maniapoto, and it’s frustrating that I know about the first andsecond world wars and the Oregon crossing but I don’t know about the Waikato landwars, which is where I am from and where I spent the majority of my life. I’m tryingto be this modern Māori artist, but because of colonisation, I don’t actually know ahuge amount of about my culture, and so reading this book helps. It also helps me torecognize writing that I wouldn’t call bad…just, not for me.

Nga Moteatea Volume I, 1928 (1959) Sir  pirana Ngata, Pei Te Hurinui Jones non-fiction

I first remember hearing about Nga Moteatea a few years ago when my mum and Aunty were talking about one of our tupuna in the book, my great, great, great, grandmother, Hēmā Spencer. But I hadn’t actually opened the book until a couple weeks ago. The books became relevant to me as research and inspiration for my own studio practice, one of the weeks when my mind and body are exhausted of creativity, so reading is the best thing to do.

I’ve been trying to read as much Māori poetry as I can over the past year, and Nga Moteatea are recordings of the oldest poetry that we have. I think what I find most beautiful is the rawness of the emotions in some of the compositions. Matangi-Hauroa, in lamenting for the brave, talks about being woken in the night by visions of grief and lost companions “Give me a sharpened obsidian to lacerate my skin…..take away my blood, my body’s essence…so that all you may see ’tis indeed myself” (227). There is so much reference to places and nature and gods in these compositions as well, which have more weight or something then when similar subject matter is mentioned in more modern poetry…Well it feels like that reading this book.

Puna Wai Kōrero An Anthology of Māori poetry in English, 2014 Reina Whaitiri, Robert Sullivan non-fiction

There are many politically charged opinions around the use of Te Reo Māori and English, but there is a nice line in the introduction of Puna Wai Korero, that goes something like, English gave Māori a whole new language in which to describe their poetic aspirations. The book is homage to Hone Tuwhare whom Whaitiri and Sullivan acknowledge as “Aotearoa’s poet laureate.” I have read only a handful of Poems in this book, and have so many more to get through, not that it is a task, I just tend to read poetry a lot slower than anything else, I like to take my time with it.

I don’t know if it's a strange or dangerous thing, but I am always interested in poems that are written to the dead, or about the dead, this seems to be a reoccurring theme in Puna Wai Kōrero, as well as other Māori poetry collections. I guess it would only be dangerous if I was to write about the dead in an incorrect way, or not follow proper protocol around tapu. I can use books like Puna Wai Kōrero to know how to write about such topics appropriately. Another very useful thing this book does, is introduce me to a variety of Māori poets and give me a taste of what their work is like.

Moon story, Small Holes in the Silence, 2006 Patricia Grace Fiction

Often Rona has been portrayed as a hot-tempered forgetful woman, in A.W. Reed’sMāori Legends, he opens the story with this quote about Rona; “She was loved by her husband but, as happens only too often, their lives were spoilt by her quick temper and the sharpness of her tongue”(41). This quote is frustrating on so many levels, (…I’ll mention only two) firstly Reed shouldn’t be so god dam sexist, which he is throughout the entire book, he makes it seem like her hot temper was the cause of all her marital problems, and if only she quit her blabbering, her husband’s love would make everything peachy, and secondly he shouldn’t be so disrespectful of the characters he had the privileged to write about. In Patricia Grace’s version Rona has been under a lot of stress from an enemy attack and has been left with too many tasks of holding the small hapu together after their defeat. In her hurry to fill the calabashes with water, she doesn’t just stub her toe and bang her shin like Reed tells, in Grace’sversion she full on breaks her ankle and is knocked unconscious. The moon—who inthis story has been described as a conjoined twin to the earth—has a beautiful butlonely existence. When the moon takes Rona, they become close companions andtogether “collate the seasons, and roll and unroll the tides” (118).

Patricia Grace’s work is what I remind myself of when I write about women. There are so many slippery slopes in the English language that are oppressive to woman, and to work around them takes critical analysis of each word you use. Its like unlearning all the things you have been taught, and then reconstructing them to tell the story you want to tell. Epeli Hau’Ofa does a great job of re-constructing thought of how the pacific is viewed in his essay “our Sea of Islands”.

Tail of the Taniwha, 2016 Courtney Sina Meredith autobiographical (non) Fiction

This book helped me shape my own poetry over the past year, I think it started when Courtney Sina Meredith made me cry. She talked about saying goodbye to her family at the Auckland airport when going on her OE, and that longing when you are overseas and miss your family. This particularly made me cry because I had that same experience. The last time I saw my nana was at the Auckland airport, she always had a taste for drama and so she decided to die the first time I ever left the country. Courtney Sina Meredith helped me to feel confident enough to write about losing my nana and express those cooped up feelings I was holding onto.

There is an accessibility to Courtney Sina Meredith’s writing that is very appealing to me. She often uses ‘simple’ words, nothing too flashy if you know what I mean. Often people mistake this for a lack of knowledge of the English language (in my writing this is probably the case) but I view it as more of an egalitarian quality. I think there is skill in finding ordinary words and showing their beauty, what can I say, I’m a minimalist.

Por Vida, 2015 Kali Uchis Album autobiographical (non) Fiction

I think more than anything kind of research of inspirational value, this album helps my soul. Sometimes when you go through big events in your life, the music you listen to at those times become sentimental or holds you in those places. But I have been listening to this album for a couple years now, over which I feel I have changed and grown a lot, and this album still cradles me in close, and sends me confident into the world. Maybe this is because me and Kali Uchis were born only 11 days apart and we share the same astrological sign, having a connection that is literally written in the stars. Well, I don’t know if Kali would agree with that, but she probably wont read this, so I’m claiming it. I love her smooth beats and how her lyrics talk about clichéd situations, but don’t come off as cheesy at all, well not to me. Kali shows us that she is a tough ass babe, while also showing us moments of vulnerability. This is what I’m all about.

Cokes, 2018 Coco Solid Mixtape Autobiographical (non) Fiction

In an interview with under the radar, Coco solid says that there is no over arching theme to the mixtape, but if she was going to look at all of her work over all the years, there is always an “enduring idea of sovereignty”. Coco made this ‘enduring idea’ pretty clear by releasing Cokes on Waitangi day this year. Coco Solid is one of those inspiring, multi-talented, pop queens, that there really isn’t enough of. Over the past 20 to 30 years there have been many Māori wahine who have done the hard work of making their voices heard. Names like Dame Whina Cooper, Merata Mita, Robyn Kahukiwa, Patricia Grace and Lisa Reihana are amongst the wahine we will forever be grateful for and look to for reassurance. These are the ones who laid down the road for the next generation to walk on, and Coco Solid is doing just that. I feel like a lot of our responsibility as contemporary Māori is to uphold exactly that title of ‘contemporary Māori’. In the journey a lot of Māori make in reconnecting with their whakapapa, we have to be careful to not become caught in oppressive, clichéd orstereotypical ideas about Māori and what ‘Māori’ ‘should’ be, relevant here is one ofthose oppressive ideas of Māori being ‘stuck in the past’, a culture of ancienttraditions, when in actuality Māori have always been innovators and quick to adapt.This doesn’t mean ‘out with the old, in with the new’ we don’t have to chose new overold, that is a particularly western idea of binaries, like I said Māori are innovators, andI think our cultures allows for growth. In the RNZ two-part show on AotearoaFuturism, Coco Solid talks about making Māori art that can be futuristic if we want,and not having to fit into the small box that colonisation would like to keep us in.Genre’s like science-fiction are not associated with Māori art, we are only left withflora and fauna to create our art from, and Coco Solid just wants everything andanything to be available to her, and ‘is that too much to ask?’ I find everything that comes out of Coco Solid—and she does it all—so empoweringbecause I don’t make classically Māori art, but I still want my work to be of Te AoMāori and Coco helps to give me the autonomy and agency to go on my SpaceMāori, Astronesian pursuits.

fafswagvogue.com 2018 FAFSWAG, NZ on Air Non-(science)Fiction 

What makes this website so good, is that these are real people, battling in real placesin Auckland, but it creates the (un)reality of some futuristic city, where fa’afafine runthe show and glamorously dance battle each other.

 So much of what FAFSWAG do inspires me. They are decolonizing spaces andclaiming them as their own. The art collective Witch Bitch, do spoken wordperformances, I saw them perform down here last year, and was in awe of theatmosphere they created. Tamatoa from the FAFSWAGvogue website is one of thethree members of Witch Bitch, you can watch him perform through his story on thewebsite. FAFSWAG encompass everything that I want in my art, they are futuristicand yet work from Polynesian backgrounds, and bring that poly flavor into their9performances. They are strong and proud and support each other, by creating safe,decolonized spaces.

[forevermagik]

Worldbuilding June Day 8

Governance, Power, and Hierarchy.

Oh boy, here we go!

Berthingtonn is a Kingdom of sorts. It’s hard when Berthingtonn the city is all that’s left of the Efrium Empire. It’s been only within the last few centuries that the King and Queen took on those titles as opposed to “Emperor” and “Empress.” Their current constitution as it stands has been in effect for three hundred years. In addition to the King and Queen, there are many lords and ladies. Berthingtonn is also a police-state. The police and the military are heavily entwined. 

Edanshe is a regency/military dictatorship. It’s a benevolent one, though. It’s highly expected for everyone to join the military and becoming an officer does wonders to name status. Many professions (like doctors) are linked to the military intrinsically. Government and politics are games for those with higher-ranked names. The Islands place a high regard on squeaky-clean names and a muddied name is both political and social death. Name and reputation mean more than class most times. Class moves up and down, name and reputation stick around for as long as people can remember--and elves have long memories. 

Eswaisil is a state theocracy that took over a previously intact confederacy. Oh, what you can do with religion. There’s an Arch-Priestess in official charge now. They have a caste system. The different castes are: clerics, warriors, trainees, various workers, and untouchables. The clerics (later priestesses) are the women with magical aptitude who will go out and make converts. Warriors can be male or female, the women are either non-mages, or did not have the aptitude to become clergy. Trainees are obviously young people on their way to one of those outcome. Workers are people who were given a place and a job, and expected to do it. Untouchables are the conquered who didn’t convert, or someone else who messed up. There is no social mobility upwards, unless a child is particularly magically gifted and brought into the Trainees. Downward mobility is always a threat. A broad or well-rounded education is reserved for those in the highest castes. 

Perinathia is under the control of the Cat Demon Lords and those willing to work with them. There is a Magister-Archon in the capitol, Shaddrach, and then those he keeps around him. To become a governor or a mayor of a town in Perinathia, you must personally be approved by the Magister. People pay tribute to the lords and the gods approved for worship. Kind of imagine Russia in the 1620s under Ivan the Terrible mixed with China in the Tsung Dynasty with the philosophy of “everything is awful but beautifully justified.” 

Schmiedland’s government is a Constitutional Dual-Monarchy supported by their Parliament (the Reichstag). There is no hereditary ruler in Schmiedland. There must always be two rulers (the King and Queen) and they must ascend the throne together, and leave it together. If one dies, the other must step down. The Ruling Pair is elected by the Reichstag from amongst their numbers and be pretty much perfect for the job. They must be within a given percentage of nearly Half-Elf-Half-Human. The parliament is racially proportional seats. Political parties are banned because those are divisive. However, there are political “clubs” that are totally not official. (Parties.) Campaign finances must be a nightmare because there’s no party to manage them, only the individual. Politics become a profession for some and a game for others. Outside of Himmelmauer, politics allow for pretty much anyone to run for office as a governor, mayor, etc. They just have to be a Schmiedish citizen. There is a lot of room for social mobility. 

Thadenopolis is simultaneously a dictatorship and a council. I’ll leave it at that. 

Timernis is a very small, libertarian government on all levels. There are social hierarchies, as there are in all cultures, based on who is the “best” at one given thing or another. 

Yurels-Well, if there’s one thing that’s consistent about the Yurels’ government, it’s that it’s inconsistent. Sometimes it’s a dozen different city states. Sometimes it’s two dozen. Each with their own ruler of sorts. At one point, there was East Yurel and West Yurel. At another there was South Yurel, East Yurel, and North Yurel. Currently, they’re the United City States of Yurel operating under one ruler. 

[cathcacen]

Rewriting old chapters of a 10-year-old fic, and I like these two so much more now.

She was still flipping frantically through one of Akara’s books when he came to her tent, her own rucksack fat with what he assumed were medicines, potions, and various other necessities. He wondered why they’d packed as much; between the two of them, they likely had enough medicines for several others. What a waste of time.

“Sorry, I’m almost ready.” She muttered at him, evidently aware of his impatience. “I just need to double-check the runes we have to look out for. I don’t know if we’ll make it to the Cairns today, and if we do, I don’t want to miss anything out.”

“Haven’t you already looked that page over nine times by now?” He peered at the sketches and labels on the open page. “At this rate, you might as well bring the book with you.”

“I asked, but Akara needs it to start translating some of the other runes we’ll need to get the Cairns to work.” She muttered, a little flutered. “I just have to commit this to memory—”

He pressed his palm to his forehead as she continued muttering to herself. Part of it amused him, but the other half wanted to get to the old man already. He gave her another minute, then grabbed the book. “Okay, that’s enough. You can probably decipher the runes on the Cairns in your sleep, so let’s head out already.” He handed the tome off to a passing rogue, gesturing towards the High Priestess’ tent as Cordelia made a loud, angry sound. “Come on, if we wait any longer, we run the risk of finding Cain’s corpse instead.”

She stared at him, slightly aghast, and it occurred to him then that he knew exactly what the source of her anxieties were.

“Don’t worry about pulling your weight.” He took her shoulders, and was glad to see her chuckle weakly at him. Aha. I was right. “Look, you’re a competant mage, and I’ll be glad to have you by my side. There’s no need to compensate for whatever weakness you think you have. Don’t second-guess yourself. This is war, but once we head out there together, we’ll be partners. We’ll keep each other alive, okay?”

The memory of her apologising over the Blood Raven incident was still fresh in his mind. Silly girl.

She blinked tiredly at him; he could see the dark rings beneath her eyes. But they were pretty eyes, a nice blue that reminded him of the frozen sea back home. “You’re not wrong in thinking that’s why I’m concerned,” She told him, after a moment. He arched his brow as a slightly cheeky smile brightened her expression. “But I’m curious, exactly what were you going to do if I wasn’t at all concerned?”

“Be very embarrassed and beg your forgiveness for suggesting you were less than competent.” He grinned at her, giving her shoulders a brief squeeze. “Shall we?”

She took a deep breath, then nodded and bent to pick her rucksack up, the contents clinking together.

“You’re aware we aren’t facing the lord of hell today, right?” He ducked as she swung her staff at him in response. “Hey!”