#and focus on my owlcatober wips...

[gutterspeak]

Guiding Star, Tormentor Mine

CHAPTER 7 / ? || commander x daeran. ~3k / ~32k total. post act 5 / true aeon ending. let's... get a little weird! :)

stealth update in the wee hours of the morning! another short one since, like last chapter, this scene is pretty intense. and I'm tired of staring at it in my workshop doc begone from me wretched thing

enjoy ♡

Without dropping his spell, Daeran looks over his shoulder. The only thing the Knight Commander of the Fifth Crusade wields now is a thousand-yard stare. He gazes vaguely upwards, towards the eye of the swarm and yet somehow past it, his hands hanging limp at his sides. He’s not fighting badly or ineffectively, like the others. He’s simply not fighting at all. A thousand scathing thoughts flit through Daeran’s head and catch on his tongue. It feels like striking the first match in an explosive chain reaction when he shouts, “Luthais!” And there is no answer. Not even a glance.

READ ON AO3 || from the beginning

[starlightcleric]

So, despite my miracle salad at the beginning of the week, my energy levels were not high due to poor sleep and my period starting, so I have not gotten any writing done. So am just realistically going to miss a September update for OFaS. And October my focus is going to be on Owlcatober (I have a minimum of four prompts I want to fill), so unless I'm way more productive in October than I expect, OFaS will most likely return November, which I was aiming to have be a month to work on languishing WIPs anyway.

[rollofleaf]

WIP Wednesday

Working on Owlcatober (and Kinktober prompts! I'm so excited!)

“Right, then we’ll set out for Varnhold immediately!” With the council dismissed, Ethyn sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. First her barony had been assaulted by hordes of monsters from the First World, now her neighbors had just vanished without a trace. It was no wonder no one had managed to settle the Stolen Lands yet, if events like these were normal. But Captain Varn, her missing neighbor, had been kind to her ever since they first met. His mercenaries had aided her barony against the animal attacks, he was a good trade partner, and he had even sent personal gifts of weapons and magic items to her. If Ethyn didn’t know better, she’d suspect he fancied her! Regardless, it was long overdue for her to aid him in turn, so she packed her bags and set off quickly, throwing the doors to her audience hall open and stepping out.

As the paladin passed through the doors, a brief bout of nausea overcame her. When she opened her eyes, she was somewhere else. She glanced behind her, the doors to her audience hall were nowhere in sight. She felt the tingle of magic brimming in the air, familiar from her last visit to the First World to destroy the flower assaulting her kingdom with monsters. And standing before her was Nyrissa, the beautiful nymph that broke her heart. The nymph whose heart had been stolen.

Ethyn's cheeks flushed with joy at the sight, but she held her composure and gave the nymph a calm, even look. Still, the question fluttered into her mind and she had to ask, "Nyrissa... Are you responsible for what is happening to Varnhold?"

The scorn in the nymph's eyes was replaced by a spark of surprise, quickly buried. "You... Know my name. Hmph. Even a simple hound can surprise on occasion. Come. Share some tea with me and I will answer your question.”

Suspicion sparked in the paladin’s golden eyes, but it would be rude of her to reject an invitation! And to sit across from the nymph, so close to her… No, Ethyn, focus! The nymph walked over to an ornate wooden table for two that had appeared in the mist, alongside some tea.

Ethyn closed her eyes and murmured a soft prayer, then walked over and took a seat. She smiled softly as Nyrissa poured her a cup. “Thank you. But… Why, if I may ask? Such civility, serving me tea, it’s so unlike you.”

The nymph flashed a coy smirk, making no attempt to hide the cold, loveless emptiness in her eyes. “Perhaps I am simply seeking to poison you, hound. Why, if I may ask, do you indulge in sharing tea with one who will destroy you?”