#formatting is weirder on tumblr oh whoops

[theruinsofalcion]

Chapter 1 - Ye of Good Faith

I'm so excited to post the first chapter here! Hope you all have a good time reading it, and I'll post the second chapter soon.

"There is work to be done in Foldreast. If you or any compatriots are available, I am looking for hired help. Research, Traveling, and More. Pay dependent on length of service.

If you are interested, Please come to the Good Faith Inn and show this Flier. Compensation for Travel will be provided. 

Signed, 

C.Galore."

That was the sign that had caught Malon's attention. It had been plastered on a signpost in Bridgertown. It had been old but the due date for the request wasn't for another month, and the numbers at the bottom that talked about payment had been promising. She'd needed to go to Foldreast anyway, there were some farmers interested in buying her flock of sheep, and the shepherdess needed the money for the oncoming seasons. 

That had been almost a month ago, and Malon now found herself in the bustling village of Foldreast. She had sold her flock already, saying goodbye to each one of the sheep before handing them away to the man who paid her three alems for each. That amount alone would keep her well fed for a while, but why not see what other jobs she could get done while in town anyway. 

Malon took her time walking around town. She didn't stand out in the small crowd of other people going about their day, she dressed in a brown skirt and beige blouse, the only color present in a long faded purple sash tied around her waist and long red hair that fell down her back. She had her satchel of things slung over her shoulder, filled with the bare necessities she needed to live. Azelma, her horse, had already been boarded at the Good Faith Inn, where Malon was now headed.

The town of Foldreast bustled with life. Right outside the Good Faith Inn were large bushes as well as rows upon rows of plant life. The roads weren’t paved but they were worn down enough by footravel that they might as well be. Benches and unlit lanterns dotted the road that the three were walking down, other shops such as a Tailors or Bookkeepers served as landmarks. As soon as Malon had entered the town, she had felt the buzz of magic around the town, the white noise that came with the constant use of magic in a small area.

The Good Faith Inn was fairly large. It was made of wood and a light brown stone that could only be found in the surrounding mountains. There were clearly parts of it that Malon could tell were added on later, extra rooms, a small shed behind it, the stables right next to it. The double doors were wide and welcoming, with colored glass giving the inside a warm appearance. Malon pushed through one of the doors, and was greeted with a dozen conversations all at once. Multiple people sat at tables and talked excitedly with one another, others played cards and drank, all of them were enjoying themselves thoroughly. 

The inn had two floors, the second floor having  a balcony that stretched across the main room, where people could sit and watch what happened below, or simply keep to themselves, two hallways and a staircase led to the multiple rooms that one could stay in for a night. The main room itself had many tables and chairs, and at the back a wide bar and shelves full of alcohol ready for purchase. There was a small set of swinging doors that led to a backroom, good smelling food being brought out every few minutes, steaming hot and ready to eat. Someone was playing a piano that sat on the top floor, a happy tune that didn't seem too complicated to replicate. 

Malon pulled the flier out of her bag and approached the woman at the bar. She had amber skin and dark brown wavy hair pulled into a bun, no older than thirty. She wore an apron covering a pale blue dress, and smiled when she saw Malon. She set down the rag she was cleaning the counter with and wiped her hands. "How can I help you?" Her voice was warm and genuine.

"Hey there," Malon's voice was cold in comparison. She cleared her voice and tried to sound lighter. "I'm here because of this." She showed the woman the flier. "Would you know anything about this?"

The woman's face dropped, what used to be a smile was now tired and resigned. "Yeah, I'd know what that's about. You wouldn't be the first to ask for him."

"Him?"

"Caleb, or Galore I guess. He's the one looking for people. He's going to hold a meeting talking about this job here soon, there's a few people staying here waiting for him."

"When's the meeting?"

"Tomorrow actually, you came just in time." She smiled again, trying to shrug off the tired look in her eyes. "I can set you up with a room if you'd like?"

"Sure, smallest you have." Malon pulled out her coin purse, happy with how full it was. 

"Don't worry about paying, the flier says compensation for travel." The woman assured her. 

"Are you sure? I can pay."

"I'm sure you can, but so can he." She said it with such surety that Malon didn't feel like it was her place to question her. "You can take room three on the second floor, here's the key, dinner is whenever you want it before ten at night."

Malon took the key and nodded to the woman. "Thanks."

"No problem, hope you have a good stay."

Malon found her way to her room. It was small with only a bed, a single pillow, two blankets, and a dresser drawer that held a lantern and a shallow basin filled with water. Malon checked inside the drawer and found nothing but a dusty cobweb and some abandoned paper. There was a window above the bed that looked out to the roads below, Malon closed the curtain that was provided to give herself some privacy before collapsing on the bed. It was late in the day, and she should get her food soon, but Malon was tired from riding and walking all day. 

So she closed her eyes, and slept through the entire night. 

The next morning was calm, Malon woke up surprised that she had been able to sleep through the entire night. There had been another person behind the bar that greeted her and given her a simple breakfast. She'd learned that the meeting would be held at noon, in one of the backrooms the inn had for small private events like this.

She was sitting in it now, alone because she was the first person to arrive. She kicked her legs back and forth, wondering when other's would start arriving. She'd began to count the floorboards when somone pulled the narrow door open. 

An Avia shuffled through. He was tall and lanky, with ashey brown skin. The wings on his back and feathers that crept up his face were a soft min green. He was able to make it through the door and waved violently when he saw Malon. "Hey there! I'm Kylyre, but you can call me Kyle!" He sat down forcefully, and tucked his wings behind him. "So about this job you posted about, consider me very interested."

Malon stared at him for a second. "I'm sorry, but I'm not the guy that posted about the job."

"Oh no, oh no I'm so sorry." Kylyre, or Kyle, was blushing violently. "I uh, I thought-" he trailed off into silence.

"Yeah." Malon bounced her head lightly. "I'm here for the same reason though, so you're not lost."

"Oh, oh that's good." Kyle looked away from her, still embarrassed. "I had my whole speech memorized too." He mumbled. 

"You can still say it. It's not like I'll tell him you had it planned."

"Would you? That'd be nice."

"Sure. I'm Malon by the way." She offered her name, since she already knew what Kyle's name was. 

Kyle perked up, and flashed her a wide grin. "Nice to meet you, Malon! You look around my age too, what brings you here?" 

Malon didn't even consider being candid "Money." The research and travel might end up being interesting, but she'd do anything if it paid decent and gave her something to do.

"Nice, me too. I saw this weird flier at a settlement that promised twenty five alems a month, that's a steal! So I had to come check it out and see if it's any good." He talked excitedly, waving his hands around as he spoke, all pretenses about talking to a stranger were gone. 

The door opened again and in came two teenagers, younger than Malon by a few years at least. The first was a boy with shiny blond hair and a poor man's excuse for armor. The other was a girl who was wearing a yellow dress and a bored expression. Both of them took their seats, not bothering to introduce themselves. A few more people entered, and Malon saw the first adult of the night. A lady with wrinkles on her face and a hard expression, and a man with a shaved head and few missing teeth. 

The two teenagers talked to each other, but the rest of them stayed silent. After a few moments of silence, the door was opened a final time. This time by the woman that Malon had talked to the night before, she was in a hushed conversation with a man behind her.

"-Can't we talk about this later Clarissa." He sounded defeated.

"Oh I'd like to see you try getting out of this conversation later." She sounded a little upset. There was a sigh, and the man strode through the door that she shut after him. He looked disgruntled, but shook himself and straightened his posture. 

He was a Tissian man who dressed finely with a crisp blue waistcoat and an undershirt that gathered at his sleeves and covered his neck. Decorated with a dark blue ascot. His silvery white hair fell in wisps around his face and was loosely pulled back, showing off his pale skin, thin face, and sharp, pointed ears that were decorated with gold earrings. Everything was tailored to fit him perfectly, and he held himself with all the importance of a king that was meeting with rabid thieves. Everything about him appeared perfect. 

Except for the hat. 

There was a brown deerstalker hat that was too large for his head haphazardly thrown on, and it looked utterly out of place. Ridiculous even. 

"Good afternoon everyone." He had a pronounced accent and a smooth voice. "My name is Cassius Galore, it's good to meet all of you."

Funny, Malon thought. Didn't that lady say that his name was something else? She waved that thought away and concentrated on what Galore was saying. She was interested in this job after all. 

"I’m sorry, your end goal here is what?"

Galore, sitting across from Malon, didn't hesitate to repeat himself. "I said my end goal here was to kill The Beast." 

"If your end goal is to kill the beast, why on earth are we here then?" She countered, "I didn’t sign up for a death mission?"

"I said my goal was to kill him. My goal for you is to have you all get some research done for me."

The Beast was the demon that had brought upon the apocalypse almost a hundred years ago. From what Malon could remember from word of mouth, had come from hell to take over their world as they knew it. There had been an earthquake, accompanied by a week of constant rain, snow, sleet, ash, and everything else imaginable falling from the sky. It scorched the earth for decades, and killed more than half of Alcion’s population. The world was just starting to get on its feet again. 

The beast never left Alcion. No, the shadowy figure had spent its energy destroying the world, and now hoarded itself in Alten, the once capital of Alcion, and is said to have never left the castle. Most people didn't know what it looked like, let alone if it could be killed. 

Another voice rose up "And how are we ‘sposed to just sit back and just do some research’n when we know your gonna try and up and kill that goddess damned thing?" It was the woman with the lined face.

"There are a lot of unseen factors, research is a very practical and important factor when it comes to-"

"When it comes to nothin’ I say." She got up. "I’m out of here, You said you’d pay my dues for traveling here and my stay at the inn?"

The man wordlessly pulled out a bag, and handed her Ten alems. "For your troubles then." She grabbed them from his hand, and left the room, leaving the others watching. "The research I’m looking to conduct is on lost ruins. I know that doesn’t narrow it down much seeing as we live in Alcion, but I am specifically looking for the three Temples of the Gods."

Malon couldn’t help but snort "Aren’t those lost? Since forever?"

"They happen to be, yes. Hence all of the researching and traveling mentioned in my flier. I don’t why any of you are surprised by this, it was all implied."

"I’m sorry, but killing the scourge of the living realm wasn’t exactly implied."

"And as I recall, I never asked you to partake in that particular quest." He sighed. "I’m looking for a group to travel around Alcion, and find the location of all three. They’re not as lost as some people might think they are."

"Then why are you asking us to do it?" The man with missing teeth asked.

"I’m not asking you to do anything, I’m paying you." Galore was growing increasingly exasperated. "I have some things that I need to do that will further my plans."

"So we’re just part of a plan huh?" He countered, sneering.

"If you’re intent on just picking arguments with me, you can leave."

He got up, and as Galore paid him his due, he tried to snatch the purse away from him.

Several things at once happened. 

There was a knife at the man's throat, held courtesy of Galore himself. Malon was also standing, ready to cast a spell if needed. Kyle had a long and thin sword drawn, and the two teens in the corner sat in the corner looking dumbfounded. 

The man let his hands drop, and stepped away. No one stopped him as he quickly left the building.

"Well" Galore put his knife down. Malon hadn’t seen where it had come from. "That was certainly unexpected." He eyed the rest of them. "Good to see you’re at least confident in your skills to fight."

Of course they were, Malon thought. Ever since the Collapse of Alcion, not one person left their hometown without knowing how to defend themselves. Monsters could be around any corner, not to mention thieves, or other unsavory persons. 

"You, are you a spellcaster?" He singled out Malon.

"I am." Spellcasters, or mages, weren’t entirely rare. Everyone in Alcion, or even the world, Malon didn’t know, were able to use magic to some degree. But it was a toss up on how good a person was, or what they specialized in.

"That’s good." He nodded, "Now please tell me that none of you are going to try and rob me, or argue nonsensical things that don’t matter."

Kyle shrugged, "That’s not why I’m here." He looked to Malon and the teenagers. "Are you?"

"What? No! But if I were, why would I tell you that?" The boy protested. The girl stood up and tugged on sleeve. Malon could hear him try to protest, but soon the two of them were out the door in a rush, arguing the way down.

Malon shook her head watching them go, "Anyway like I just said, I’m here to see what you're on about, killing the Beast or no."

Galore sighed, "Well I guess that would make two of you." He said, the room feeling quite empty with only the three of them."Do you two remember the Collapse? Well I guess not remember, you'd be a bit old if you did. Do you two remember the story of the collapse?" He paused briefly, but continued talking before Malon or Kyle were even able to answer his question. "The downfall of Alcion was a disaster decades in the making. But one of the direct causes was the Beast overtaking many sacred places, and loosening the grip of the gods on this earth. The god’s power on earth is directly linked to their temples, it’s their place of residence. Taking those out, by overpowering and hiding them was the most strategically important thing that the Beast had done, although taking out is a strong word, poisoning them is more correct. But without these points of power, gods couldn’t stop the Beast before it was too late. Only able to trap it in the confines of Aitan." He spoke like he was giving a history lecture. 

"Wait, is that why it never leaves the capital?" Kyle frowned, "I thought it just didn't like moving."

  "There are many reasons, I assure you. The popular myth that it was just too tired to leave Aitan is true, for the first part. It rested there for a time, and that is when the gods tied it down to the castle. So while the world still feels the effects of its rampage, the capital is still currently living it." He paused for a second "But I am getting horrible sidetracked. I believe that if we find these three temples and clear them, I’ll have a better shot at killing the Beast." Finishing his explanation he looked at the two of them. "Now it’s going to be your job to find them, no more no less. I have some leads, and the money to get you started." 

"I’m down!" Kyle responded quickly. "It’s a lot more than I was expecting, but it sounds alright!" 

Malon shrugged, "Sounds like a good way to kill some time."

"Well if you’re up to the task, your first is to visit a friend of mine, she has most of the equipment you’ll be using." Galore wrote an address down on a slip of paper, and passed it to them, Malon was the one to take it. As the two of them got up, Galore did as well. "If you two are the ones that I’ll be employing, after you are finished there please return to the Inn and we’ll move on from there."

They all agreed, and were soon out of the room, pushing into the much busier main room of the Inn. It was mid afternoon, and there was a large amount of people that were either getting an early dinner or a late lunch. The Lady who had been arguing with Galore and talked to Malon yesterday, greeted them as they exited. "Did you have a good time back there? I saw a lot of you leave."

"We had a good time!" Kyle chirped, "By the way, thanks for showing me back there Ms Kruger."

"It was nothing. And please, call me Clarissa." Malon stood as Kyle quickly caught Clarissa up on what happened. "So he’s sending you on a research mission?" Clarissa repeated "Well I hope you’re getting off on the right foot, Caleb can be quite-" She paused, "Difficult." Her voice grew colder as she annunciated the last word. 

"Wait- Caleb? I thought his name was Cassius."  

Clarissa shook her head and went back to wiping at the table. "He’s changed his name a few times. I wouldn't question it."

"Do you know each other then?"

Clarissa faltered for a second "We do. Although we hardly talk anymore."

"You don’t seem to like him a lot." Kyle added.  

"Well, things change."

"Did he do something?" Kyle kept on asking "See I’ve only known him for half an hour, but he doesn’t seem like the best guy to hang around with, really he feels like just another rich guy who’s a little bit rude to other people and-"

Someone cleared their throat, and Kyle stopped. Galore was standing next to the table with his arms folded. "Don’t you have someplace to be?"

Wordlessly, Kyle turned and walked away, Malon caught a glimpse of his blushing face. She followed, giving Clarissa a short nod goodbye. As she left she could hear a curt "Good to see you, Clarissa." followed by an even colder "Galore."

What the hell had she just gotten herself into?

[yossariandawn]

fanfic asks: 1, 4, 6, 9, 15, 20, 50, & 51!!

1. What was the first fandom you got involved in? Honestly, FDTD is the first fandom I’ve done anything approaching real involvement in! I was a long time lurker of many different fandoms, but this one is where I actually made accounts on the different platforms for myself, created stuff past a one off here or there (that mostly never saw the light of day lol) and actually interacted and even made friends in! However, if we are going for the first fandom I discovered, that would be Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

4. Do you regret getting involved in any fandoms? Since I’m only counting this one, nope! Though I will admit, several months ago I did start to see some of the rude or even nasty stuff that is scattered throughout probably all fandoms, directed at real people, normally over characters or ships. And I did make me think real hard about how much time I was putting into this, and whether it was something I wanted to continue to be a part of, even if it is pretty rare overall here. I decided to stick around, and I’m glad I did, but I definitely am trying to be much more conscious with disagreeing publicly when it comes across my dash.

6. List your OTP from each fandom you’ve been involved in. FDTD SethKate. Shoot, the only other kind of involvement in fandoms that I have OTPs in are Falling Skies Hal/Maggie. The Punisher’s Frank/Karen probably get in on just a technicality, since as much as I love them together, I could see them being happy with other people, but ONLY AFTER the events of the show and the impact they had on each other. I did make some vid requests waaaay back in the day for Life With Derek vids, since I couldn’t make any myself at the time! Here is one I found, but it’s not great quality anymore for some reason, and isn’t shippy, lol It’s Casey and her supportive therapist Paul, which is something I loved (VERY MUCH IN A NON ROMANTIC WAY) And I shipped Derek/Casey pretty hard, but I’m not sure they really reach OTP levels.  And a fandom I am very much not in does hold the only other OTP slot I currently have (General Hospital’s Jason/Sam) which I talk about for question 20. The truth is I’m not really normally an OTPer, most shows I watch I couldn’t care less about the ships by themselves as long as I think everyone is acting in character and in interesting ways. Which is a prerequisite for me liking a show in the first place, so 🤷‍♀️

9. What are the best things about your current fandom? The people and the talent. AND THE SHOW, which I adore, for all its faults! But the people have really made this into something special.

15. Is there an obscure ship which you love? Hal/Maggie from Falling Skies probably qualifies for obscure, as there is shockingly little stuff for my favorite badass alien invasion resistance fighters duo.

20. Any ships which you surprised yourself by liking? OK, so this one may also count as obscure, they have a big presence on youtube but basically nothing on tumblr. Jasam aka Jason Morgan/Sam McCall from General Hospital. I don’t watch soaps as a general rule (not knocking them, by any means, they just rarely have stuff I am interested in, and the nature of the format makes it hard for me to stay invested) and when I first got cable I started catching glimpses of the late night reruns on the SOAP Network of some of the weirder ones, like Passions (haha thanks Spike for referencing it enough to catch my interest) and Port Charles, General Hospital’s confusingly related (but not really?) spinoff show. And then one day I noticed one of the Port Charles actresses (Sam!) was now on one of the big deal soaps, but was playing a different character! IN THE SAME TOWN?! but during the day, with less/no vampires and more/all mob antics. ANYWAY, end result is I got increasingly sucked into her storyline, and THEN THE JASAM STUFF HAPPENED, which it was so my kind of thing it’s not even funny. PARTNERS! IN CRIME! AND IN LOVE! BADASS SOFTNESS AND TRUST AND PEOPLE WHO LOVE AND PROTECT EACH OTHER AND THEN REALIZE WHOOPS WE’RE IN LOVE OH NO WHAT WILL WE DO. And the downside of loving a soap opera character or pairing is you just have to accept the fact that at some point they will become completely UNRECOGNIZABLE, either through characterization or actual recasting. 🤣 So while I did stop watching after the god awful “Sam sleeps with her stepdad and Jason has a secret love child” arc, I did tune back in for both their Mexico Road Trip Reunion and their (First) Wedding! And I still rewatch their 2004-early 2006 storylines on youtube, and I will always scan the supermarket soap mags for little glimpses into how things are going for them, which seems to be pretty well actually! They are definitely a real Legacy Couple now, and Jason the Original is apparently back too, which is nice.

50. How did you get into reading and/or writing fanfiction? Spuffy 😂. I don’t know how I found the first fanfic I read (other than clearly way to much free access to the internet)  There’s a chance I was watching fanvids first, which led into finding out about fics. AND IN MY DAY THERE WAS NO YOUTUBE, so fanvids were much harder to find! RIP Buffyverse Database (i think that’s what it was called lol) But Spike was my favorite character on Buffy, and  I fell so hard in love with the IDEA of Buffy and Spike having a romantic connection and acting on it, right up until it started actually happening in Season 6. It was a wild ride for twelve year old me, but I learned a ton about what kind of things I like in relationships, and want kind of things I VERY MUCH DO NOT LIKE. And for anyone who likes Spuffy, this is completely a personal preference, not a dig at the couple. I do understand the appeal, it’s just didn’t end up being what I wanted it to be.

51. Rant or Gush about one thing you love or hate in the world of fanfiction! Go! Ok, so this is a bit of advice with some rant mixed in! If you send anon stuff to a writer, please remember you are talking to a real person, and someone who has put themselves out there in some way enough for you to comment on. If you choose to go anon, the very fact of your anonymity means that the only information they will have are the contents of that one message you’ve sent, and that you’ve chosen to not take the risk of putting yourself out there in the same way the person receiving the message has. And if all you are sending in that message is a correction, or disagreement, or (in more extreme cases) even an attempt to police your fandom by telling someone else that they are participating wrong (meaning not in a way you agree with) then your message? May not be given the good faith extended to people who DO put themselves out there, however imperfectly they do it. Good and effective communication is so hard, I really understand, and it’s a skill that all of us are still learning and sometimes failing at. I’ve been really impressed by how I’ve seen people handle messages  I know I would not have been able to do with such grace! Personally, at this point the cons of anon stuff outweighs the pros for me, but everyone gets to make their own choice on how they handle their inbox thankfully! (anon asks can be toggled off and on, and you can even block anons instead of answering them!) But anon or not, we should all treat each other kindly, even people we disagree strongly with. And if you do, you may even change someone's mind or learn something new yourself. I know from personal experience it’s way more effective than the alternative, which doesn’t make it easier, but does make it worth trying.

Thanks for sending these in @alwaysupatnight! 💖💖💖