#group of people come for the wizard and kill him with powerful demonic blade. blade is lost in the struggle. she finds it

[roychewtoy]

supergiant games are 3 for 3 [sorry bastion..... i haven't played u bastion.....] to me. transistor, pyre and hades BEEEELOOOOOVEEEDDDD

[jwillowwolf]

Magic and Miracles - Chapter 14

Sanders Sides Big Bang fic, Final Chapter!

< Previous Chapter | << Prolouge | Masterlist

Summary: Instead of speaking, Virgil simply pulled Logan in for a hug. Logan froze in shock for a moment before he hugged him back. He felt the tension leave Virgil’s body and just barely heard as he whispered.

“It’s finally over.”

“Yeah. It really is.”

“Thank the gods. It’s over.”

Warning/s: food mention, minor violence.

Characters: Logan, Virgil, OCs, Roman, Remus, Patton, Janus, Remy, Emile.

Tag List: @theimprobabledreamersworld @remy-please-come-back

Read on AO3

14 | Finale

“After the spell is performed, you should be able to make a porthole into the fae realm yourselves without going to the pixie gate. You would still have to make it outside of the fae city to avoid magical interference of course.” Nitya stated as the group followed it through the halls of its home.

Janus frowned. “That sounds like a big spell.”

“It is. In fact, it’s not normally used by anyone, but you should have enough magic to do it afterwards… Just double-checking, you’re all one-hundred percent sure you want to go through with this?” Nitya asked.

Virgil nodded. “We came to the agreement that this is what we need to do.”

“I asked if you wanted to do it.”

The group exchanged some glances and Logan spoke for them. “We want to help people and this is a way we can. We have to go through with it.”

Nitya smiled softly. “Well, whatever happens, I hope you all find success against your foes.”

It led them to a room that looked very much like a library, with the walls from floor to ceiling holding leather-bound books.

“This is my study. All of my notes from over the years are kept here. Since it won’t be of any use to me anymore, I suppose I’ll leave it to you all to do whatever you want.”

Everleigh’s eyes lit up. “I’m in heaven.”

Nitya chuckled. “You can look at them later. First, I need to explain the spell to you all.”

“About that, will we need to participate? Because Everleigh doesn’t know how to use magic,” Logan explained.

“Ah. Well, I’m going to need to teach you all what to do, so going into a little more depth for newbies won’t be too hard,” Nitya shrugged. “You do at least understand the basic concept of what magic is, right?”

Everleigh nodded. “It’s the essence of the world itself. Of the life that flows through all things in existence.”

“Correct,” Nitya grinned. “Ever present, never seen. Feared and admired by all beings. The life that bursts from the earth, the secrets hidden in stone. It dances in the fire’s flames; it gives the wind its mournful tone. Here it is, this is it. Defined yet unexplained. In the depths of the ocean, and of your own mind. In the veins of all creatures, including humankind. For magic is in everything, yet unknown all the same.”

“Woah, is that an old poem or something?” Willow inquired.

“Hmm, simply something I learnt from another strange being,” Nitya stated ominously. “But never mind that. I need you to stand in a circle for this to work.”

The group stood in a circle formation around Nitya, just as they had been directed. Unfortunately, due to the high-risk level of this spell, I can not explain the intricacies of it to you. But I will do my best to give you a description of what happened next.

Nitya looked around to make sure everyone was ready then held a hand over its head and began to chant in an unknown tongue. The light on its fingertips steadily changed colours, fading from one into the other as Nitya drew a myriad of interconnected glyphs. As the colours began to brighten, Nitya’s voice became… strange. It seemed to echo at different pitches. Almost like its voice was not its own, but rather that many different voices were speaking from its mouth at the same time.

The teens took this as their signal to begin drawing their own runes. And as they all finished, in unison they said, “Solhart.”

The runes and glyphs turned stark white before bursting like tiny fireworks and fading from existence. Logan looked around at his companions and thought that perhaps the spell had been unsuccessful. But then at the centre where Nitya had been standing, he saw that there was nothing left of it. No clothes or feathers or anything. Just an empty space at the centre of the room.

“Did it work?” Patton asked.

Willow shrugged. “Well, I suppose there’s only one way to tell. Everyone ready for status checks?”

“You’re going to need to talk me through that,” Everleigh said.

“Oh, right, uh here I’ll show you.”

Logan checked his own status and did a double-take when he saw it.

Logan Picani

Titles: Divine Friend, Legend Wizard, Wind Tamer, +...

MP: 500 - full

HP: 200 - full

Skills: Bond-Link, Wind Tamer, Magic, +...

“Uh, is anyone else seeing a way higher status than they had before?” Roman asked. “Because I swear I only had twenty mp.”

“It worked! We’re all at like master magic level now,” Remus said excitedly.

“This is definitely going to give us an edge for going back into the fae realm,” Willow commented.

Virgil nodded. “But first, let’s discuss a plan…”

---

On his stolen throne, Ynclementia sat with a deep frown gracing his features. “What do you mean she’s still resisting the poison?”

The alchemist gulped fearfully. “S-she’s wearing down, s-sire.”

“She should already be dead.”

“I’m sorry w-we miscalculated a step. But she’ll be gone before sunset.”

“She better be. Or I’ll have your heads.” Ynclementia snapped.

Just then, a guard burst into the room. “Sire! There’s been an attack.”

“Kill them off then. I told you if anyone tries to rebel, show no mercy.”

“It’s not rebels, sire. At least, not normal rebels.”

“What do you mean, ‘not normal rebels’? Are they too much for you idiots?”

“Well, sire-” the guard was cut off by static from his walkie-talkie.

“They’re on the tenth floor! We’ve lost six men! We need backup! The d- holy f-!”

The speaker on the other end was cut off by what sounded like a roar and multiple screams before the transmission cut out.

“What is that?” Ynclementia questioned.

“That’s what I was trying to explain, your majesty. A dragon, a wolf, a human, and two elves have stormed the tower.”

“Prince Virgil’s entourage,” Ynclementia muttered before his eyes widened in realisation. “The Prince, did you see him with them?”

“We’re not sure, sire.”

“Kill them all and bring the prince to me.”

“That won’t be necessary,” a familiar voice said from the doorway.

The alchemist, the guard, and Ynclementia all looked up to see Virgil standing there with a dark look on his face.

“Kill him!”

The guard ran forward first, unsheathing her greatsword to slam down onto Virgil. Vi was quicker than her though and moved out of the way before the blade could even graze his hair. He took advantage of the moment that the guard had her sword down, and threw a potion at her. She gasped and released the sword before falling limp to the ground.

“I’m paralysed!”

The alchemist then snapped out of their frightened state and pulled out a potion to throw at Virgil. He easily dodged it though so that the alchemist instead hit the guard.

“Gah! It burns!”

“I’m sorry!” While the alchemist was apologising, they had left themselves open, giving Vi the perfect opportunity to throw another paralysis potion. “Eep! Going down.”

“You useless wretches,” Ynclementia growled. “You couldn’t even handle a child.”

“How about you face me yourself, coward,” Virgil taunted.

The earl grinned devilishly. “Gladly.”

Ynclementia rose from his seat with his grin seeming to grow wider. Virgil’s eyes widened in horror as he watched the man before him morph into a creature that could barely be considered human, let alone fae. His limbs seemed too long in certain places while too short in others. His eyes had turned completely white -no pupil or anything- and his hair moved as if it was a fire burning him.

“You took a contract with a demon. That’s how you gained so much power.”

“Finally figured me out then, your highness? Well, you weren’t always the fastest to catch onto things. Hopefully, your death will be quicker than your mind.”

Virgil just barely got out of the way as the Earl shot a surge of hellfire at him. He ducked and dodged as Ynclementia sent beam after beam at him like a slew of large fiery arrows. Except the fire was the arrows and his mouth was the bow. Finally, the Earl reached a point where he couldn’t use the hellfire anymore and switched to hurling himself at Virgil.

While he was able to run just out of the fae-demon’s reach, Vi could feel his energy wearing down, and decided instead to turn around mid-run with his dagger raised to slash at him. Unfortunately, Ynclementia had seemed to anticipate this move and caught Virgil’s wrist before he could swipe at him.

Virgil could see the hellfire building in the back of his throat. In an instant, his life flashed before his eyes. His family, his childhood, his schooling, his school, his classmates, his friends, the memories hit him like a truck. He felt like he was about to die in that very second and all he could think was-

“AHHHH!” Ynclementia screamed as water hit his chest.

He released Virgil and fell to his knees in agony. Virgil stared dumbfounded at the fallen enemy then looked to the doorway where the stream of water had come from. Standing there he saw his grandmother and a very concerned Logan who immediately rushed over to him.

“Oh my gods, are you okay? Did he hurt you? Did any of them hurt you?” Logan questioned.

Virgil stayed silent.

“Why won’t you answer me? Did they put you under a spell? Virgil, please, speak up.”

Instead of speaking, Virgil simply pulled Logan in for a hug. Logan froze in shock for a moment before he hugged him back. He felt the tension leave Virgil’s body and just barely heard as he whispered.

“It’s finally over.”

“Yeah. It really is.”

“Thank the gods. It’s over.”

“Ehem,” the boys looked up to see Valeria smiling at them. “Do I get a hug too, or do you two want some space.”

“Nana! I’m so glad you’re alive!” Virgil declared, rushing over to hug her.

“I’m glad we’re both alive,” Valeria replied. “But what on earth possessed you to fight a demon?!”

“I didn’t know he was a demon.”

“Wait until your fathers hear about this.”

Virgil frowned. “Nana, they…”

“I can bring them back, dear.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Yes! … Oh, I am going to be in so much trouble…”

---

“Hurry up, kiddoes. The carriage is waiting for us outside,” Emile called.

“We’ll be down in a minute!” Everleigh yelled. “Does my hair look right?”

Logan rolled his eyes. “For the last time, Ev, yes.”

“Don’t roll your eyes at me. This is my first time in high society, you know.”

“Firstly, I’ve got about as much experience with this as you do. And secondly, we both know that you just want to look nice for your girlfriend,” Logan teased.

Everleigh blushed. “Willow and I aren’t official yet.”

“Yet.”

“Oh, stop. Also, you totally have the upper hand here. You’ve met two queens and a prince!”

“You’re friends with the prince and have met one of those queens. Under better circumstances than I did too.”

“Well, you did that magical license test thing publicly. Gods, I’ll still have to learn all the magic stuff you did. And in a more polished school too.”

Logan nodded. “That’s a good thing. You’ll get to make friends and have more than just Remy to teach you.”

“I don’t need any more friends, I think. Also, it’s totally unfair that you and the others got to learn everything before me.”

“I did offer to teach you.”

“You weren’t even sure you could teach yourself,” Everleigh pointed out. “Huh, you’ve actually come pretty far, haven’t you.”

Logan paused for a moment to think. In just under a year, he had gone from a struggling self-taught mage to an expert wizard with noble-born friends and hero status. Just two weeks ago, he’d snuck away from home with his friends to find a magical miracle and then ended up going to the fae realm and saving the fae queen from the brink of death. Saying he’d come a long way may have actually been understating it.

Just days before that he’d been worried about losing his friends to their high-class lives, and now they were all going to a ball hosted in their honour where they’d be officially receiving their hero titles and full magic licenses.

“Done! You look fabulous, if I do say so myself,” Everleigh declared.

Logan looked at himself in the mirror to double-check the make-up she’s done. It wasn’t too complex, just some eyeliner, blush, and blue lipstick to match his azure suit. Normally make-up gave him dysphoria, but since he’d completed the transition spell, he simply felt like a handsome young man.

“Wow.”

Everleigh grinned. “I know right.”

“Kids, come on- Woah,” Emile said, staring at his son from the doorway.

“Hey, dad. How do we look?”

Emile smiled. “You both look absolutely stunning. Gods, how did you grow up so fast?”

Logan rolled his eyes. “I’m only sixteen.”

“That’s too old already. What happened to my baby boy?”

“I’m still here. I just got taller.”

“Not by much,” Everleigh muttered.

Logan pouted. “Hey!”

Everleigh laughed. “Come on, let’s go! We’ve kept the carriage waiting long enough.”

The ride to the castle was short, smooth, and full of growing anxiety. Especially when Logan noticed how many people were out trying to get a glimpse at them like they were some kind of nobility themselves. The carriage stopped inside of the castle’s inner courtyard, where other carriages of nobility and foreign royalty were already parked. Remy came over to help them out of their carriage.

“There you guys are. Ready for the party?”

“Golly, there are a lot of people here,” Emile stated.

Remy shrugged. “Well, Thomas and Nico did invite everyone. Honestly, though, even I’m surprised at the turnout considering Thomas’s aversion to large crowds.”

“Perhaps it’s because Virgil’s finally making a public appearance,” Logan said, eyeing the people who looked to be around his age.

Many of them would probably be here to make a good impression on the crown prince. Perhaps a few of the bolder ones would even try to befriend him. A few may even attempt to romance him. That idea gave Logan a sick feeling in his stomach. Even worse than the anxiety of being at a high society event.

“Everleigh! Logan!” Willow called out as they ran over to them. “Hi!”

Everleigh giggled. “Hi to you too. Is it normal to run to your friends at these kinds of functions?”

Willow shrugged. “Who cares. This is kind of our party anyway. You look breathtaking by the way.”

“Th-thank you. You look lovely as well,” Everleigh stammered.

“Thanks. Your make-up looks really cool, Lo.”

“Thank you,” Everleigh did it. “Did you run away from Janus or are you here with your family?”

“Oh, my family is here, but I was just with Jan and Roman. I can take you to them then we can all hang out together.”

Willow led Logan and Everleigh away into the castle, to the huge ballroom where the majority of the party-goers were socialising. They found Janus and Roman at a table, looking as if they had just been dancing and were now resting their feet.

“Hey guys, great timing. Would you please tell Janus that I was indeed the first to confess my feelings?”

“Liar. I was the first to confess, and they’ll tell you so.”

“This is why I left them,” Willow whispered to Everleigh and Logan. “I swear, they’re an old married couple reincarnated or something.”

“It’s rude to keep secrets,” Janus commented.

“I said you’re both insufferable.”

“But I was the first to confess though. Right, Willow?” Roman prompted.

“You were not, you forgetful elf.”

“Forgetful, I have never forgotten a thing in my life, oh darling dragon.”

“Double D’s, an interesting nickname, bro,” Remus said as he popped up.

“Gah! Remus! Don’t do that.”

“Aw, but you look so funny when you’re spooked.”

“Weren’t you supposed to be with Patton?”

“I’m right here,” Patton said as he approached with a darker haired boy who looked quite similar to him, beside him. “Everyone, this is my brother Morgan. Morgan, these are my friends Janus, Logan, Everleigh, Willow, Roman and well you already met Remus.”

“Hi! Did you guys really defeat a demon?”

“Technically, Queen Valeria killed the demon. Everleigh, Janus, Willow, Roman, and Remus all fought its subordinates and I only snuck by to get to Queen Valeria,” Logan stated.

“Still, we’re all awesome,” Remus declared.

Roman grinned. “Agreed. We are indeed true heroes.”

“Speaking of, when is this ceremony supposed to start?” Janus asked.

As if to answer their question, there was a sudden sound of trumpets silencing the crowd before an announcer spoke. “Presenting, King Thomas the Just and his dearly beloved husband Prince Consort Nico.”

Everyone looked over as the King and his husband entered the room in their dazzling royal attire. They walked arm in arm to the dias at the end of the room, where three magnificent thrones were standing. As they turned around to look at everyone, the people bowed and curtsied respectfully for them.

“Thank you, all. You may now rise,” Thomas declared. “And another thank you to everyone for attending tonight’s ball. While we had originally planned for this only to be our son’s debut, as you know, things happened and now we have a lot more to celebrate tonight. But first, we’d like to proudly introduce to you our son; Prince Virgil of Srednas.”

The crowd looked back to the top of the stairs from which Thomas and Nico had descended. Now standing there they saw Virgil. Dressed elegantly in a deep purple suit with light purple makeup underneath his eyes and a gentle smile on his face. He walked with confidence and purpose down the stairs and to the dias where he joined his parents.

The people bowed and curtsied for him as well, and he said. “Thank you. You may rise.”

Everyone did, and then stared at the royals, waiting eagerly for what they would say next.

“As I was saying before. We have many things to celebrate. One being, my son, and the other being the valiant rescue that he and his friends did only a fortnight ago-”

Thomas wasn’t interrupted, but I figured you don’t want to sit through a retelling of events that you’ve already heard. Basically, Thomas retold everything that had happened from when he, Nico, and the council disappeared, up until when the teens stormed the tower, healed the queen, and defeated Ynclementia. The crowd was of course, quite captivated, and Logan found himself feeling quite flattered at how heroic the king described them all to be.

“-so, as thanks for their service, the young heroes shall of course be given the appropriate titles. Roman and Remus Leafstone, Patton Lilyhart, Janus Embryn, Willow Redrunner, and Logan Picani. Please come here,” Thomas requested.

The friends exchanged nervous/excited glances then went and stood in front of the royal family.

Thomas turned to Virgil, “You can stand with them if you want.”

Virgil nodded and joined his friends in front of his parents. He stood close to Logan and whispered. “You look enchanting.”

Logan blushed but didn’t have time to even say thanks in reply as Thomas continued talking. “As King of Srednas, I acknowledge your great deeds and grant you all the titles of Knights of the Miracle Order. May you carry your titles with the same honour and valour that you have earned them by, and let all your future escapades be just and victorious. Cheers to the Miracle Knights!”

“Cheers to the Miracle Knights!” The crowd echoed as they applauded the eight young heroes.

Logan and his friends turned around to face the crowd with bright smiles. The cheering and clapping went on for a few minutes still as they stood there. Once the cheers died down, Thomas spoke again prompting the party to continue. The musicians began to play again and everyone returned to socialising.

Before Logan could decide what to do though, Virgil had taken his hand and was motioning for him to follow him somewhere. Curious and still slightly dazed from the earlier compliment, Logan went willingly with him, away from the large crowd, outside the ballroom, to what seemed to be an empty veranda that looked out over the royal gardens.

Virgil released Logan’s hand and turned to face him. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Logan replied in the same soft shy tone. “Thank you. For the, um, compliment. Earlier.”

“Well, it’s the truth. You look absolutely mesmerizing,” Virgil declared.

“I suppose I have Everleigh’s makeup skills to thank for that.”

“No. Your enchanting beauty is your own, Logan. It’s something that you’ve seemed to have ever since I first saw you. Something that could outshine even the stars.”

“Well, you’re much more handsome than me. The first time I saw you, I nearly lost myself in those stormy grey eyes.”

As silence fell over the pair, Logan found himself getting lost in those eyes once again. Tonight, they didn’t reflect any firelight. Instead, they shone purely with Virgil’s emotions. That same bright ‘fondness’ that had been in his eyes the night they had talked about their futures. It seemed to be even stronger now somehow.

“Logan, I… I wanted to ask you something.”

“Yes?”

“Okay, so, I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. A very long time honestly. And I’ve made up my mind on it, so I can only hope you’d at the very least stay friends with me if you don’t like this. Of course, I would totally understand if you never wanted to see me again. I wouldn’t dream of forcing you to stay my friend. I also don’t want you to just say yes because I’m the prince or anything like that. Nothing will happen if you don’t want this. Or, if you really don’t want me to ever come near you again, then I-”

“Virgil, please breathe.”

Virgil shut his eyes. “I’m sorry. I am just really nervous. So nervous I forgot even my anxiety about being introduced to the public earlier.”

“Well, you made a very elegant entrance. You looked quite fearless to me.”

“Glad I learnt to hide my fear early on then,” Virgil laughed as he opened his eyes. “I still need to ask this question though.”

Logan nodded.

“Here it goes then. Logan. Would you please consider, maybe going out with me and, um, being my boyfriend?”

…

“Logan? Oh, geez, you ha-”

“Yes.”

“What?”

“Yes, I’ll go out with you. And be your boyfriend.” Logan stated. “May I kiss you?”

Virgil’s eyes widened. “Please.”

Without a moment of hesitation, Logan closed the distance between himself and Virgil and kissed the prince squarely on the lips. It was a sweet kiss. One that signified the beginning of a beautiful romance and the ending of our tale.

The tale of how Logan Picani went from being a simple baker’s son to a master mage, Miracle Knight, and the boyfriend of Prince Virgil. From being the underdog he rose, learning magic alongside those who outranked him, befriending his classmates and rising with them to become great magic users. From choosing to trust a friend and keep the secret of his heritage to later helping that friend save his grandmother and two entire realms from the greed and tyranny of a fae-demon. From making pseudo stars in the throne room to this moment where he was kissing the crown prince on a veranda. It had been one heck of a journey.

And Logan wouldn’t change anything.

---

A/N: Tada! The story has come to an end, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm done here of course. I have really enjoyed writing this story and getting comments during this past week of posting it, so I might make a sequel or at the very least some spin-off one-shots. If you guys would like that then please let me know. Thank you for reading! Here's hoping you have a magical day 💜

[thecomicsnexus]

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ADVENTURES #31-37 APRIL - OCTOBER 1992 BY STEVE MURPHY, ERIC TALBOT, CHRIS ALLAN, BRIAN THOMAS, BARRY GROSSMAN, JON D’AGOSTINO AND ROD OLLERENSHAW

SYNOPSIS (FROM COMIC VINE)

After the struggle against the demon Noi Tai Dar, our heroes seek activities to soothe their souls. Leonardo and Master Splinter train on a hillside. The Sensei explains to Leonardo that a true swordsman must empty his mind of all thought when doing battle - there must only be flow, the swordsman must become one with his blade. Splinter has little trouble disarming and defeating his student, and Leonardo tries to take in the lesson before the two break for lunch. The pair join the other Turtles, Fu Sheng, Chu Hsi, April, Ninjara and the girl Chien Khan kidnapped in the previous issue for some sushi. Raph isn't happy about the menu, and Ninjara needles him by saying "I thought you weren't afraid of anything!"

Leo notes that Japan is where all of their lives began - it is the home of Master Splinter as well as the Foot Clan. The Sensei agrees, and asks his students to explore their homeland, so that they can better understand their teachings and origins. The Turtles eagerly agree and ask where to begin, and Splinter tells them to first separate from one another. Mike joins the girl and the two head off to fly a kite. Ninjara takes Raphael to visit some stone monuments. Donatello decides to check on how the containment process is going at the nuclear power plant - but he chooses to go alone. Splinter asks Leo to continue his lessons. Fu Sheng is left alone, as April and Chu are wrapped in conversation. Ninjara and Raphael arrive at the shrine. The Turtle wonders why there are so many crows around, and the fox explains that they are probably drawn to the dark power contained in the Torii. Raph asks if these monuments are really a gateway to a dimension filled with demons, and Ninjara assures him that it is true - the Torii are a gateway to the Yomi, or Underworld or "Land of Gloom." Raph feels compelled by the Torii and Ninjara warns him to be careful, as they contain mesmerizing power over those who are open to it. The Turtle begins to stutter and Ninjara orders him to "Let it go!" in the nick of time. Shaken, Raph leans on the fox for support and thanks her for her help. Ninjara notes that Raph has an affinity to the Torii, and she tells him that she likes that. Suddenly, the foxy ninja smells something on the wind... cologne? We see four human figures hidden in shadows, spying on the mutants.

Donatello is watching helicopters pouring cement on the nuclear power plant. The men are burying the radioactive plant in concrete, the same way that Chernobyl was sealed. Don finds the solution somewhat pedestrian, but is impressed by the engineering involved. His thoughts are interrupted as two crows fly by - and then a strange white energy ball forms in front of the mutant. Donatello wonders if it's an after effect of the demon's sorcery, or of the radiation.

Leo and Splinter continue to train, but once again Leonardo is unarmed. Splinter reminds him, "Be one with your sword, Leonardo." The Turtle thanks his mentor and the teacher thanks his student as the sun begins to set. Mikey and his friend exchange haikus as they fly a large kite decorated with a yellow dragon.

Feng Shu trains Chu Hsi to control the spirit of the Warrior Dragon while April practices with her katana. After a time, Chu manages to shrink the gigantic form of the Warrior Dragon down to his normal height. April is impressed. Ninjara and Raph attack the people spying on them - it's the gang of youths from the sewer fight! Raph states that they mistakenly thought the Turtles were allied with Chien Khan's ninjas, and one of the men incredulously declares, "Mistakenly?! Yet you keep company with the greatest thief in Japan?!" Donatello watches the energy ball as it transforms into the Yin Yang symbol and speaks to him, explaining that it is all things feminine as well as all things masculine - for it is the Tao. Don is bewildered at first, but then smiles and introduces himself. The Yin Yang asks Donatello to follow it, and it leads him up a mountain. Once he reaches the top, Donatello can see that the men have finished filling in the damaged nuclear power plant, and the concrete forms the Yin Yang symbol. "There is ebb, there is flow," the symbol explains, "There is give, there is take. Every saving has its cost. Tao is all." And with that, the Yin Yang symbol disappears.

Raph and Ninjara put the finishing moves on their opponents. Raph wonders aloud why the men attacked them, and the last one standing notes, "It was you who attacked us! We came seeking.

April and Chu share a kiss by the moonlight. April breaks away and says that they need to slow down, and Chu agrees. He takes O'Neil by the hand and the pair head off to join Fu Sheng for dinner.

Leonardo and Master Splinter continue their training. The pair lunge at one another, and both their blades shatter upon impact.

The gang of youths that Raph and Ninjara had battled in the previous issue inform our hot headed heroes that they've come to seek help for a friend. On cue, the mighty Sumo wrestler named Tattoo arrives and tells the Turtles that his pet chihuahua, Inky, has been taken hostage. The mob has threatened to kill the massive man's best friend if he doesn't take a fall in his next match - Tattoo states that he can't lose the match as it will ruin his career. The TMNT vow to help him get his pooch back without having to throw the match.

While Tattoo is engaged in his Sumo match, the TMNT, Ninjara and the Warrior Dragon infiltrate the mob headquarters and rescue the fiesty pup. Tattoo wins his match and the Turtles return Inky to his beloved master. The wrestler awards Leonardo a katana as thanks for saving his dog.

Master Splinter has a nightmare about being caged and when he awakes, he determines that it's time for the Turtles to leave Japan. Splinter, Mike, Don, Leo, Raph and Ninjara bid farewell to April (who is flying home) and their other friends and set off for China.

After a very long trip, our heroes finally arrive in Tibet. They rent some yaks to climb the mountains on the last leg of their journey, and discover a four armed tiger named Katmandu in battle with Whirling Dervish assassins on the high trail. The TMNT help Katmandu and discover that he is headed to the same place that they seek - the Crystal Palace, which is home to Master Splinter's spiritual guide, Charlie Llama. Katmandu explains that he wishes to become a guardian of Charlie Llama to improve his karma.

As the group arrives at the palace, they discover that it's been attacked! Before anyone can get their bearings, a skeletal dervish escapes the scene, laughing as it goes.

Katmandu notes that this is very bad karma.

Master Splinter, Ninjara and the TMNT have traveled the globe to visit the Sensei's old teacher, Charlie Llama, in the Crystal Palace in Tibet. On their way they met a four armed tiger man named Katmandu who was on his way to the Palace to guard the Llama. Unfortunately, upon their arrival, our heroes find the palace in shambles - and a four armed skeleton escapes their grasp.

As Katmandu and Leo ponder where the skeleton may have gone, a young pregnant woman named Jang La explains that she has come to the palace in order that Charlie Llama (the fourteenth reincarnation of the Buddha) can serve as her midwife during the birth of her child. She also points out a distant palace among the mountains that the Dervish skeleton has escaped to.

Katmandu explains that this building is the home of the evil sorceror Mang-Thrasha. Typically, the wizard does not involve himself in the lives of men - so the tiger warrior is surprised that he has kidnapped Charlie Llama. As the protaganists decide what course of action to take against Mang-Thrasha, Jang La suddenly goes into labor. The TMNT take her back inside the Crystal Palace and make her as comfortable as possible. Soon, a group of monkey monks called the Tantric Monkeys arrive. Leo, Mike, Raph, Ninjara and Katmandu leave for Mang-Thrasha's palace as Master Splinter, Don and the Tantric Monkeys help Jang La during her birthing.

The group of heroes arrive at the foot of the mountain holding the evil sorceror's palace and soon run into a strange mist. Raph and Ninjara are separated from the others due to the fog. Mike, Leo and Katmandu are attacked by two dervishes. Meanwhile, Raph and Ninjara spot the palace and begin to climb towards it - when the mutant turtle loses his grip and causes an avalanche that carries both ninjas down the mountain.

Leo, Mike and Katmandu discover the four armed skeleton Dervish in the mist and Katmandu makes short work of the bone brain. The trio heads into Mang-Thrasha's unlocked palace and find the wizard accompanied by a large Chinese militia. The sorceror states that he plans to ally himself with the Chinese and hand Charlie Llama over to them. The Chinese government will then force Charlie Llama to tell his millions of followers that he is not the Buddha and that his spiritual claims were all lies, thus ending the any threat that the Chinese might lose control of Tibet.

Suddenly, Raph and Ninjara come crashing through the wall and a battle ensues. While the Turtles and fox fight the militia, Katmandu rushes to Charlie Llama's side - but as he stands guard over his master, the Buddha dies comfortably on his bed, due to natural causes.

At that moment, Jang La has her baby, much to the delight of the Tantric Monkeys.

With the death of Charlie Llama, Mang-Thrasha's plans are ruined.

That evening, Charlie Llama is burned upon a funeral pyre. Ninjara laments for Splinter that he has traveled all this way to speak with his mentor, only to lose him upon arrival. Splinter smiles and states that while the Master he knew is gone, he will return later, when the new incarnation of the Buddha (Jang La's child) has grown up.

Continuing their journey, the Turtles, Ninjara and Master Splinter find themselves in the deserts of Iran, where they sneak aboard an oil freighter heading for Oman. Our heroes then cross the sands of Saudi Arabia, heading for Al Hadidah, which is nearby Mecca, where the legendary Black Stone is kept. Ninjara reveals that the Stone is highly prized by thieves, and it is said to be fifth most difficult item in the world to steal. When the group arrives in Al Hadidah, a large crater in the Earth's surface, they decide to camp for the evening. While they rest, Master Splinter tells them the history of the area and that of the Black Stone and its importance to the religion of Islam. Splinter also states that since they are so close, they must at least take a look at Mecca.

The next day the mutants ride out on camels, and Ninjara tells the tale of a second stone. According to legend, two stones fell - the Black Stone, as well as a White Stone. Reportedly a nomad disappeared with the White Stone before anyone else arrived on the scene. Supposedly wealthy men have been selling the stone for the past 3,000 years and have been trying to steal its Black twin - as legend has it that the man who holds both Stones will live forever.

The turtles pass by another caravan of six camel riders. Pleasant greetings are exchanged and the groups continue on their separate ways - although one of the other riders seemed to recognize Splinter...

Later, the TMNT find an abandoned city, long ago forgotten when the trade routes changed. The team takes shelter, as a huge sandstorm looms on the horizon. Unbeknownst to them, a falcon has taken news of their arrival to an unsual eagle-headed mutant, who resides nearby.

Back at the abandoned city, the Turtles are attacked by a group of men. As they fight, the eagle-headed mutant flies into the fray and smashes into Michaelangelo. We discover that this new threat goes by the name Al 'Falqa, and he's under the impression that our heroes have stolen the Black Stone of Mecca. The Turtles and Splinter manage to convince their flying foe that they have not taken the artifact. Al 'Falqa explains that he was sure they had taken the Stone, as it was reported that six riders had escaped with it. Suddenly, the sandstorm is upon them. Everyone tries to take cover, but Master Splinter is overcome by the force and passes out due to lack of oxygen.

From a distance, the Shredder watches the scene via his binoculars and laughs.

Once the sandstorm has passed, Shredder arrives on the scene and lifts the unconscious body of Splinter, cursing his existence. Ninjara, Al 'Falqa and the TMNT arrive and a battle breaks out, but our heroes are soon trapped inside a force field created by a new villain, the cat mutant cyborg from the future named Verminator-X!

Verminator-X kicks the force field bubble and sends our team rolling through the sand. The villains then climb onboard their camels and take Master Splinter with them as they ride off into the desert.

Several hours later, the force field finally collpases and frees our heroes. Al 'Falqa sends his falcon ally, Talyn, to find their foes. The bird soon finds Shredder and his new henchman. Verminator-X spots Talyn and fires, but his shot only wounds the bird rather than killing it.

Talyn tells Al 'Falqa that Shredder is camped at a nearby oasis, and the eagle mutant leads the Turtles through a foggara (an underground aqueduct) to the spot.

Verminator-X and Shredder are waiting for a time-slip portal to open, which will give them the means to escape with their prize - the stolen Black Stone of Mecca.

The Turtles discover Foot Robot guards and attack, while Ninjara and Al 'Falqa battle Shredder and Verminator-X. The TMNT mop up the Foot bots with little trouble, but they soon find Master Splinter held hostage by Verminator-X and their arch enemy. Leonardo reminds Shredder that he owes the Turtles for freeing him from Krang. Shredder reluctantly turns the Sensei over to the TMNT, just as the time slip opens and the villains escape with the Black Stone.

Except they didn't escape with the Stone! Ninjara had used her thieving skills to replace the Black Stone with a fake while Al 'Falqa kept the criminals busy. The mighty eagle mutant is overcome with gratitude and kneels in praise with the real Black Stone of Mecca.

Our heroes continue to cross the desert when their old acquaintance Cudley the Cowlick arrives and informs them that Mr. Stump, head of the Intergalactic Wrestling Federation, wants them to appear on his show again. The Turtles are so tired of walking the desert that they agree to have Cudley take them across the galaxy to Stump's asteroid to see what he has to offer. Master Splinter isn't happy that they've cut their tour of the world short.

Upon their arrival, Stump tells the TMNT that he wants them to take part in his wrestling tournament. If they agree, Cudley will take them anywhere and anytime in the universe as payment. Donatello angrily notes that all they'll be getting for their appearance is a ride home, a fact that Stump acknowledges. Master Splinter points out that the Turtles had agreed to come here, so if they want a ride home.

The TMNT head to the locker room to don their wrestling costumes, where they meet Cryin' Houn', Ace Duck and Trap. Trap informs the mutant dudes that Stump has decided that this time, since it's a tournament, they'll have to wrestle each other! The winner of the tournament will then have to take on El Mysterio for the title.

As Ace Duck begins the tournament against a werewolf named Bloodbath, Master Splinter and Ninjara discuss her relationship with Raphael. The Sensei admits that while he intitially didn't trust her due to her partnership with Chien Khan, he has come to trust her completely - but it is difficult for him to accept her relationship with Raph, as it means that his sons are growing up. Ninjara hugs Splinter as they view the beauty of outer space through a gigantic window.

At this point, the main event begins - the TMNT in a free-for-all against one another. After a long bout, Donatello finally manages to pin Raphael and win the match. El Mysterio (Cryin' Houn' in a costume) arrives in the ring, but Don is too quick for the lumbering four-armed wrestler and quickly pins him as well. Donatello is declared the winner and receives a kiss from the ring girl.

Soon, Cudley is flying through space, carrying our heroes home.

REVIEW

Because of the whole situation with the Shredder travelling to the future, I would have imagined that the Turtles would have asked Cudley to take them there. But as far as I know, no one knows what year they were coming from.

These are very controversial issues that IDW considered too risky to reprint. And they were originally published by Archie!

They are controversial though. Not only there is a visual depiction of Mohammed, but he is also blue eyed (like the 90% of the characters in this comic). Then we have the Chinese caricature whose name I already forgot. I feel like these stories take the characters to places it does not dare to go again. And the story with Shredder doesn’t really make much sense for the character. It’s strange that the intergalactic battle becomes the highest point of these issues.

There is also an appearance of Inky, Eric Talbot’s favourite easter egg (that I just saw at the beginning of “City at War”).

The art manages to find iconic sequences. I think that, in general, this book’s art is very pleasing to the eye.

I give these issues a score of 5.

[bunny-wk-fanfic]

I’d love to see some Dr. Strange pieces (second request hehe). Like maybe wizard meets modern miko in the feudal era kinda thing? And then encounters her again in the future(present)? Ohhh what if it’s in the same universe as Daddy Dearest? :D

I apologize for the long wait, here is your request.

If the situation weren’t so… stressful, Kagome would be laughing. Inuyasha was currently a puppy, a fluffy little ball of yapping energy that was gnawing on Tetsaiga’s sheath.

“Um, was that really necessary?” Kagome eyed the man that turned Inuyasha into a puppy. Lips twitching at the high-pitched growls he was making as Sango pulled him off the fang.

“Are you saying I should have let him attack me?” the male asked in return as he fixed his appearance with a huff, eyeing her as if she had done him a personal wrong.

“I wouldn’t have allowed him to go that far.” her scratched behind a fluffy ear, only to pull the Kotodama out of his fur to the stranger’s gaze. “With this, he would have been subdued before he even got that far.” it was now her turn to eye him. Brows furrowing at his obvious outfit that clashed with their surroundings in color and style.

“You aren’t of this time.” his statement had her gaze locking with his once again.

“Nor are you.” her head tipped to the side. “Nor are you Japanese. So, why are you here?” while the man hadn’t made any further move against them, that didn’t mean much while they were hunting Shikon shards.

“Forgive me. I’m Doctor Steven Strange, and I require an item of great power.” he could only blink when they suddenly became defensive.

“What sort of item, Dr. Strange?” Kagome fingered her bowstring, wondering if a barrier would stop his magic from affecting them any further.

He raised his hands slowly, his cloak rippling against the wind. “A few items, honestly.” his hands made a few flicks until he was holding a sword. “But first, I need this sword blessed.”

Everyone looked at the sword. It wasn’t of Japanese origin, based on the design. It was straight and double-edged, looking something more like it came from Europe.

“Why?” the question was automatic from Kagome. Before she helped this stranger gain a blessed blade, she wanted to know why. How often had their group crossed paths with those that were using such tools to kill indiscriminately? Too many to keep count.

“Well… to fight against evil of course.” his reply was slow, as if it were obvious. Seeing that they weren’t convinced, he held the blade at rest. “I’m dealing with a minor leak from Hell. Everyone I come in contact with kept pointing me East and further into the past. So I would greatly appreciate if you could help me.”

Lips pursing, Kagome turned to Miroku, the both of them speaking in hushed tones until Kagome finally stepped forward. “Alright, hand over the sword.” when she wasn’t handed the sword, she raised a brow. “You want it blessed or not?”

He was hesitant in handing it over, not that she could blame him, she was a school girl in the past. Nothing that looked like a holy woman. The metal was cold against her skin, almost biting. There was a low thrum of power, possibly magic that had already been added to the blade or helped in its creation. “The magic it already carries, it might not allow the blade to be blessed. Or allow the blessing to last.” she didn’t wait for a response, instead, she began the process on blessing the blade per Miroku and Kaede’s instructions.

Her hands gave off a pale glow, the blade quick to swallow the blessing until it too began to glow. It took a few moments, but the blessing was finished, the glowing slow to fade. “Anything else?”

The Doctor accepted the now blessed blade, awed as his gaze went from it to the young woman. Her head tipped to the side as he continued to stare at her.

After that, Strange followed after the small group to gain the rest of the supplies he needed, after he returned Inuyasha to his true form, of course. Inuyasha had not taken to Strange’s presence very well, the only saving grace to the whole ordeal, was that he had no memories of being a puppy.

Kagome spoke with Strange every chance they were not moving, in turn answering his questions as best she could. Seeing her learn what she could from him, about his magic compared to her own and if they could be in any way combined. With Miroku throwing in his own theories pissed Inuyasha off, often spouting how it was his job to protect her.

Eventually though, he acquired all that he needed and it was his time to depart. Kagome was actually sad to see the Doctor go, but she understood that they both had things they needed to do. “Well, this is farewell Doctor. If only for now.”

Dark brows pinched as he took in her odd phrasing, and the mischievous look about her. “Yes.” eyes narrowing slightly, he gave polite words to the others. While he had not been as close to them as he had with Kagome, due to her origins, he was still a mature adult. “I wish you success in your endeavors.”

“And you in yours.” she offered a bow with a bright smile. “Don’t forget to come to this part of the world if you ever need help, Doctor!”

With a raised brow, Strange decided to ignore the statement and depart to return home. The talisman around his neck glowed as he activated the required magic and stepped through the portal back into New York, now fully prepared to deal with the demons leaking through from Hell.

With swift moves, he went directly to where the breach was, pulling the blessed blade to face the demons. He managed to deal with a few single demons, preparing a clearing to seal the breach entirely when a bright flash of light from behind alerted him to of a demon that snuck up behind him.

Spinning about, his eyes widened when his gaze landed on Kagome. It was her, perhaps a few years older, but it was her. And rather than the traditional bow he had seen her use while in the past, she now held a more modern compound bow.

“What’s up Doc?” the greeting was in English, though her accent was still present, the teasing smirk, and her bouncing steps threw him off. A waggle of brows, she began to fire into the hoard of demons. “You seal while I cover your back?”

Seeing her taking care of the demons with ease, as was due to her duties and abilities, Strange took the opening she was giving him and began to prepare for sealing the breach. Looking into it he would do afterwards, as well as after he spoke with Kagome to get some answers. With the items he had gathered in the past, he began repairing the breach. Once it was done, he too focused on the demons that were still present, fighting easily alongside with Kagome.

It was over quickly, some piles of dust behind that was quickly swept away with the wind. Strange began to use magic to repair major lingering damages while Kagome tended to the few people that got caught up in the chaos.

Kagome was seeing to the last person when Strange approached her. “Why did you follow through with me?”

She finished taking care of the long bloody gash on the person’s leg before turning to the Doctor. “Really? I got here the long way, Doctor.” she smiled at his confused expression as she slung her bow. “It’s been a few years since you left, Doctor. So that, plus a long flight from Tokyo, brought me here. If you’re not including the time it took to get here from-!”

“KAGOME!” the voice echoed from above, a familiar suit of technical armor hovering above drew everyone’s attention. Already, the people were once again filling the streets to record all they could on their cell phones. “I thought I said no, young lady!”

Strange could only frown. He knew of Stark, had crossed paths with him a few times while he still practiced medicine. Since his coming out as Iron Man, he also kept up with his ‘heroic’ feats. So he wasn’t all that surprised to see the billionaire present. It was his tone and words that were throwing him off. Instead, he watched the man land and stalk forward as the suit ‘peeled’ away to reveal the man himself.

“I said it was too dangerous. Not only that, I don’t want to have to tell your mother.” Stark slowed down as he got closer, shivering slightly at some memory. “That woman terrifies me.”

“Dad.” the long-drawn-out word had Strange whipping around to face Kagome in complete shock. Her gaze remained on Stark as she attempted to calm him down. “I told you, I’ve dealt with far worse while in the Feudal Era. And let’s not forget the Chitauri.”

Lips pursed as a raised finger drooping as his eyes narrowed on Kagome, her smirk growing as the silence stretched on.

“Wait. You’re Stark’s daughter?” he raised a brow at her cheeky grin.

“Freaky, isn’t it?” with a wink, she skipped over to Stark. “Come on, Dad, it’s time for some lunch. My treat!”

While she was hugging him and planting a noisy kiss on his cheek, Stark was literally giving him the stink eye to only which Strange could raise a brow instead. The suit snapped back into place, easily allowing Stark to pick up his daughter. “I’ll be watching you, Dumbledore.”

Kagome’s laughter quickly disappeared as Stark flew off. Shaking his head, Strange returned to the Sanctum, wondering what else was in store, now that he knew Kagome was also in the present. Not surprising as she had been wearing a school uniform in the past. And was Stark’s daughter of all things.

“What a strange universe.” 

[no1else-but-me]

Book Recs if you love Jaime and Brienne

This is a collection of all the book recs I could find from @briennesjaime​ tumblr books rec, the reddit, and my own. Please reblog your own if you have some. 

1. The Queen of Attolia which is book#2 of the The Queen’s Thief series

This is definitely more for the enemies to lovers trope. The thief even loses a hand like Jaime but under much different circumstances.  The Queen is like the colder version of Brienne.

Revenge When Eugenides, the Thief of Eddis, stole Hamiathes’s Gift, the Queen of Attolia lost more than a mythical relic. She lost face. Everyone knew that Eugenides had outwitted and escaped her. To restore her reputation and reassert her power, the Queen of Attolia will go to any length and accept any help that is offered…she will risk her country to execute the perfect revenge. …but Eugenides can steal anything. And he taunts the Queen of Attolia, moving through her strongholds seemingly at will. So Attolia waits, secure in the knowledge that the Thief will slip, that he will haunt her palace one too many times. …at what price? When Eugenides finds his small mountain country at war with Attolia, he must steal a man, he must steal a queen, he must steal peace. But his greatest triumph, and his greatest loss, comes in capturing something that the Queen of Attolia thought she had sacrificed long ago… 

2. The Lumatere Chronicles 

One of my favorite series of all time. It’s character driven and it’s has many surprises. Starts off with Finnikin has lost hope like Jaime but gains it slowly over time. Evanjalin her honor and her pursuit of her quest reminds me very much of  Brienne. 

Finnikin of the Rock and his guardian, Sir Topher, have not been home to their beloved Lumatere for ten years. Not since the dark days when the royal family was murdered and the kingdom put under a terrible curse. But then Finnikin is summoned to meet Evanjalin, a young woman with an incredible claim: the heir to the throne of Lumatere, Prince Balthazar, is alive. Evanjalin is determined to return home and she is the only one who can lead them to the heir. As they journey together, Finnikin is affected by her arrogance … and her hope. He begins to believe he will see his childhood friend, Prince Balthazar, again. And that their cursed people will be able to enter Lumatere and be reunited with those trapped inside. He even believes he will find his imprisoned father. But Evanjalin is not what she seems. And the truth will test not only Finnikin’s faith in her … but in himself.

3. Howl’s Moving Castle 

This one might be a stretch but hear me out. Howl is pretty much the embodiment of Jaime but probably more vain. While, Sophie really conveys Brienne self-esteem issues but still noble in her own right. Plus, their banter very reminiscent to Jaime and Brienne. 

Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl’s castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there’s far more to Howl—and herself—than first meets the eye.

@temporiibus recommends The Raven Cycle!!

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.” It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive. Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little. For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore. From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before. 

The Winners Trilogy

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.  One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.  But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.  Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone recommended by @realduality

Errand requiring immediate attention. Come. The note was on vellum, pierced by the talons of the almost-crow that delivered it. Karou read the message. 'He never says please', she sighed, but she gathered up her things. When Brimstone called, she always came. In general, Karou has managed to keep her two lives in balance. On the one hand, she's a seventeen-year-old art student in Prague; on the other, errand-girl to a monstrous creature who is the closest thing she has to family. Raised half in our world, half in 'Elsewhere', she has never understood Brimstone's dark work - buying teeth from hunters and murderers - nor how she came into his keeping. She is a secret even to herself, plagued by the sensation that she isn't whole. Now the doors to Elsewhere are closing, and Karou must choose between the safety of her human life and the dangers of a war-ravaged world that may hold the answers she has always sought.

The Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson. Hard SF, and the romance is definitely not a major plot, but one of the characters involved in the trope is legit my favorite fictional character of all time and that journey from enemy to friend to lover is a big part of it.

In his most ambitious project to date, award-winning author Kim Stanley Robinson utilizes years of research & cutting-edge science in the 1st of a trilogy chronicling the colonization of Mars: For eons, sandstorms have swept the desolate landscape. For centuries, Mars has beckoned humans to conquer its hostile climate. Now, in 2026, a group of 100 colonists is about to fulfill that destiny. John Boone, Maya Toitavna, Frank Chalmers & Arkady Bogdanov lead a terraforming mission. For some, Mars will become a passion driving them to daring acts of courage & madness. For others it offers an opportunity to strip the planet of its riches. For the genetic alchemists, it presents a chance to create a biomedical miracle, a breakthrough that could change all we know about life & death. The colonists orbit giant satellite mirrors to reflect light to the surface. Black dust sprinkled on the polar caps will capture warmth. Massive tunnels, kilometers deep, will be drilled into the mantle to create stupendous vents of hot gases. Against this backdrop of epic upheaval, rivalries, loves & friendships will form & fall to pieces--for there are those who will fight to the death to prevent Mars from ever being changed. Brilliantly imagined, breathtaking in scope & ingenuity, Red Mars is an epic scientific saga, chronicling the next step in evolution, creating a world in its entirety. It shows a future, with both glory & tarnish, that awes with complexity & inspires with vision.

The Folk of the Air

Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever. And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe. Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King. To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences. As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

Feyre's survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price ... Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre's presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.

 @swainlake recommends the darkest powers trilogy by kelley armstrong is really good

My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again. All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don't even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost - and the ghost saw me. Now there are ghosts everywhere and they won't leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a "special home" for troubled teens. Yet the home isn't what it seems. Don't tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on? It's up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House... before its skeletons come back to haunt me

@imladriss recommends: We hunt the flame by hafsah faizal

People lived because she killed. People died because he lived. Zafira is the Hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the king. If Zafira was exposed as a girl, all of her achievements would be rejected; if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways.  Both are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya—but neither wants to be. War is brewing, and the Arz sweeps closer with each passing day, engulfing the land in shadow. When Zafira embarks on a quest to uncover a lost artifact that can restore magic to her suffering world and stop the Arz, Nasir is sent by the king on a similar mission: retrieve the artifact and kill the Hunter. But an ancient evil stirs as their journey unfolds—and the prize they seek may pose a threat greater than either can imagine. Set in a richly detailed world inspired by ancient Arabia, We Hunt the Flame is a gripping debut of discovery, conquering fear, and taking identity into your own hands.

@moirindeclermont recommends  anything from Jacqueline Carey (she is a goddess and my favourite writer) but also Deborah Harkness (A discovery of witches) which is amazing, I’m obsessed with it. Nemesis by Isaac Asimov touches some themes similar to Brienne’s. Arn the knight

The land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassing beauty and grace. It is said that angels found the land and saw it was good... and the ensuing race that rose from the seed of angels and men live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt.  Phèdre nó Delaunay is a young woman who was born with a scarlet mote in her left eye. Sold into indentured servitude as a child, her bond is purchased by Anafiel Delaunay, a nobleman with very a special mission... and the first one to recognize who and what she is: one pricked by Kushiel's Dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one. Phèdre is trained equally in the courtly arts and the talents of the bedchamber, but, above all, the ability to observe, remember, and analyze. Almost as talented a spy as she is courtesan, Phèdre stumbles upon a plot that threatens the very foundations of her homeland. Treachery sets her on her path; love and honor goad her further. And in the doing, it will take her to the edge of despair... and beyond. Hateful friend, loving enemy, beloved assassin; they can all wear the same glittering mask in this world, and Phèdre will get but one chance to save all that she holds dear.  Set in a world of cunning poets, deadly courtiers, heroic traitors, and a truly Machiavellian villainess, this is a novel of grandeur, luxuriance, sacrifice, betrayal, and deeply laid conspiracies. Not since Dune has there been an epic on the scale of Kushiel's Dart-a massive tale about the violent death of an old age, and the birth of a new.

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

In a hail of fire and flashing sword, as the burning city of Acre falls from the hands of the West in 1291, The Last Templar opens with a young Templar knight, his mentor, and a handful of others escaping to the sea carrying a mysterious chest entrusted to them by the Order's dying Grand Master. The ship vanishes without a trace. In present day Manhattan, four masked horsemen dressed as Templar Knights emerge from Central Park and ride up the Fifth Avenue steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art during the blacktie opening of a Treasures of the Vatican exhibit. Storming through the crowds, the horsemen brutally attack anyone standing between them and their prize. Attending the gala, archaeologist Tess Chaykin watches in silent terror as the leader of the horsemen hones in on one piece in particular, a strange geared device. He utters a few cryptic Latin words as he takes hold of it with reverence before leading the horsemen out and disappearing into the night. In the aftermath, an FBI investigation is led by anti-terrorist specialist Sean Reilly. Soon, he and Tess are drawn into the dark, hidden history of the crusading Knights, plunging them into a deadly game of cat and mouse with ruthless killers as they race across three continents to recover the lost secret of the Templars. 

Irissa and Kendric Series

Irissa was the last of the sorcerous Torlocs, untutored in magic and abandoned upon this decaying world by her people. Kendric was one of the Six of Swords, gifted with a legendary weapon to guard the Realms from harm. But now he was an outcast, and his death was sought with reason by the other Five. Sorceress and swordsman, they were thrown together; each filled with ancient prejudices against the other. But only by combining her uncertain powers with his remaining skills could they survive. Survive they must, however. Rule was a world formed upon magic - but now magic was failing and there would soon be no place for it. And destiny in strange guise had chosen them to make one last stand against the dark forces that were waiting at the Gate of Valna, seeking to destroy their world

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Orphaned as a child, Jane has felt an outcast her whole young life. Her courage is tested once again when she arrives at Thornfield Hall, where she has been hired by the brooding, proud Edward Rochester to care for his ward Adèle. Jane finds herself drawn to his troubled yet kind spirit. She falls in love. Hard.

But there is a terrifying secret inside the gloomy, forbidding Thornfield Hall. Is Rochester hiding from Jane? Will Jane be left heartbroken and exiled once again?

Since its immediate success in 1813, Pride and Prejudice has remained one of the most popular novels in the English language. Jane Austen called this brilliant work "her own darling child" and its vivacious heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print." The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and her proud beau, Mr. Darcy, is a splendid performance of civilized sparring. And Jane Austen's radiant wit sparkles as her characters dance a delicate quadrille of flirtation and intrigue, making this book the most superb comedy of manners of Regency England

In the medieval and fantastic realm of Tortall, Keladry of Mindelan (known as Kel) is the first girl to take advantage of the decree that permits women to train for knighthood. But not everyone in Tortall believes a woman is up to the task, and Kel faces harsh discrimination. With unparalleled determination and a knack for leadership, she captures the hearts of her peers and proves that she is not a girl to underestimate! 

[nutwit]

5, 14, and 32 for the dnd ask meme, please!

o shit another one ok!

in the words of the good red man, here a we go i think i said that last time actually oh well

5. Favorite NPC

Oh that’s a tough one.  I think it’s tied between Bernard Tripsocket, gnome conspiracy theorist, Julian Montressor, the dapper physicist pirate captain of the Stern played by Christopher Jackson, and Mzumiel (Zoomy), a three-city-block-long beta fish eel monster, demon lord of the fourth column, master of the ethereal and lover of model trains, the billion-eyed and long-mouthed, and owner of the most soothing telepathic southern accent this side of the underdark.

this next one’s a doozy so its under the cut

14.  Introduce the other parties you’ve played in / DMed

I’ve DMed for just one other party, and played in just one other party too.  And technically speaking, the party i DMed for was part of the same story as all the characters in the last answer?  Here let me explain.

There are three parties:  the CFRP, the Freelancers, and the Librarians.  The CFRP stands for Center for Firmament Research and Protection, and they’re the party I outlined last #asked and answered.

The Freelancers are a team of legendary heroes *snrk* who do adventures for hire.  They’re honestly a more traditional dnd party, but we play the freelancer campaign in dungeon world, so fuck you.

Helios Amastacia, high elf paladin.

Remember Venus Amastiacia from the last post?  Her older sibling has been out looking for their wayward sister for years.  Helios is built like a brick shit house and bares the power of Tyr, the one-armed god of tactics and war.  They’re by far the most level-headed of the bunch.  Strong parent vibes but also strong sibling vibes, and also just generally very strong.

Tex McCree, human fighter.

Jesus Fucking Christ this man.  He’s fucked his way across half the continent, at some point toppled some kind of feudal lineage, accidentally got a lordship, peaced out of that and found A Shotgun, somehow, sweet-talked his way into bed with the chairwoman of the Shatterpeak Council (Keegan’s mom), he’s a mess!  He’s a mess!  He got grossed out by touching a dead body like a week ago!

Mira the Blade, human thief.

She’s the best thief in the world.  No, really.  I’m not just saying that, it’s important for her character arc.  She’s even stolen from the Amastacia vaults, which she and Helios have laughs about sometimes.  She likes to push the limits of her abilities and wouldn’t be caught dead in a bathing suit for a number of unspecified reasons.  Very gay, extremely gay.  Has an as-of-yet unidentified link with Nikolai Hoobluff from the CFRP campaign.  :3c

Hollik Bannagammer Merrilin, gnome bard/barbarian.

Baby boy.  He just wants to write good songs about his heroes, Mira and Helios.  Him and Tex are very good chaotic friends who have never caused problems ever for the party in any circumstances.  One time he bought approximately 2000 dollars worth of fish from a butcher at 4 in the morning.  His catchphrase is, “Hello, new friends!”  Also if you hurt his friends he will kill you.

Sunbeam Talbot, halfling ranger.

So this one’s fun.  In the second arc of the Freelancer campaign, before Talbot joins up, they get hired by Hollik’s brother Bernard to steal his notes back from the museum he recently got fired from because his notes prove some big conspiracy or whatever.  Talbot happened to work at that museum, and Mira tried to steal his ID to get in, but Talbot clocked her before she got away.  So now that the museum’s been destroyed by ancient death roots from beyond time (don’t ask), he’s hunting her down to figure out what the fuck is going on.  Also, in the CFRP campaign, he’s the head of the CFRP. 

So, for those of you keeping track, the timeline is super convoluted and intriguing.  I have a lot of reveals I really really want to get to, so hopefully we’ll be able to start playing again once school lets out after next week.

So that’s the Freelancers.

The Librarians are a group of relic hunters brought together by a mysterious pair of brothers to recover a mirror from an ancient ruin that totally isn’t made of rebar and concrete for undisclosed reasons.  We haven’t played much with them because Katie’s been busy but I’m totally in love with her world.

Alys al’Damo, half-elf wizard.

Alys is off looking for the chosen one to guide them on their quest for something something.  She doesn’t really know who or what she’s looking for.  All she has to go on is vague prophecy and tarot-like character descriptions that she adheres to vehemently.  She also has a very good hawk familiar and specializes in fire magic.

Vix Sen, half-orc bard.

Vix is a very strong very sexy fashion designer.  She’s the Edna Mode of dungeoneering.  She’s designed turtlenecks for the king of all turtles probably.  Mostly she spends her time nowadays casting three thunderwaves in a minute jesus fuck Vix please I like having EARS.

Jedediah Brookes, human warlock.

Doctor Brookes is very dirty and greasy and very nice.  He has a secret doctor’s office in the seedy part of town where he stitches people up for free if they’re down on their luck, but in secret, like batman.  But surgery doesn’t explain his witch bolts.  Turns out his dad is a god of healing or something?  And Jed, being great, begrudgingly made a pact with him to be his emissary on earth.

Cederus Dur-Barundeaunt, dwarf cleric.

This boy is mine!  Cederus is a very old, very wise dwarf who’s spent most of his life in the clergy.  He’s that sort of old man style rascal where your pop pop would smuggle you a sweet when your mom said no sweets.  The most important part of his characterization though, and the reason I love playing him so much, is because of a bit of worldbuilding I did with Katie.  Dwarves in this world calcify as they get old.  Cederus is getting on in years, and two parts have already started to turn to limestone:  his upper leg, and his eyes.  He is totally blind and relies on his familiar to see.

I had to do some homebrewing with Katie to make Cederus work right because clerics aren’t supposed to have familiars and I had to start at level 2 for this campaign.  He’s got an extremely thick french accent.  I love him.

AND FINALLY

32.  Your favorite role to play (tank, healer, etc)

I haven’t played many roles actually (I’m the DM it’s my curse), but honestly, I don’t even think of characters like that at this point.  I’m not really very interested in playing any particular “role“ over the others, because I’m not really into that kind of play?  The numbers and the mechanics are a lot of fun, sure, but the reason I play DnD is to write a good story with my friends!  I’d much rather play a character with a motivation or theme that I’m really into than fill a party role, although roles can be useful in coming up with motivations!

THIS WAS SO BIG IM SO SORRY and also very late!  but if anyone is interested in more of this, let me know!

[galaxa-13]

Underdark campaign is progressing nicely.

The group decided to start heading towards the deep gnome city to look for clues on the missing people. Sia was able to convince the group to head in that direction with her knowledge that deep gnomes are nice people and her ability to speak both Gnomish and Undercommon. On the way, though, they came across a wall that was not part of the map Hachi had made them.

There was a stone door in the wall that had a demon’s face on it. Sia tried knocking, but nothing happened. As Sorrow and Amon approached the door they heard (and saw) the door speak to them, welcoming those of infernal heritage and commanding they make a blood sacrifice of the child of Lolith (Lolith being the main god of the drows). Sorrow was able to shake off the compulsion. Amon wasn’t so lucky, but he was lucky enough to feel the warm embrace of something and words spoken in a language he did not understand before the compulsion left hi as well. Sorrow explained to the group that they needed Sia’s blood to proceed.

Sia refused to be a part of any blood-letting. She wanted to study any magic the door had and Amon wanted to search for a mechanical way to open the door. Neither seemed to be very successful and Sorrow decided not to wait around, instead drawing a blade and making a tiny cut on Sia’s arm. The single drop of blood was enough for the demon to open its mouth, thus opening the door. Despite not being grievously injured Sia will not forget this transgression.

Walking down the revealed hallway the group came to a room full of dead bodies and gore. In the center was a bit filled to the brim with bones. Three tieflings stood around it with a beat up drow tied-up between them. The tieflings seemed surprised, but not unhappy to see Sorrow and Amon, even calling out to them in Infernal. Sorrow asked what was going on and they admitted to doing a sacrifice to their god. Amon demanded that they stop at once and the triplets were no longer happy. A battle took place. One tried to blast Sia with fire, but she did a cool Matrix dodge and only got singed (though it still hurt a lot!). When the first tiefling died one of the remaining two decided to finish what they started, but fumbled his sword while trying to kill the drow (who was sobbing and begging for rescue in Undercommon). Gregor started to drag the drow out of the fray and he tiefling who had dropped his sword in a panic tried to punch the drow as he was dragged off, but he missed.

When all three were dead and Gregor had cut the bonds of the drow Sia went to investigate him. The necklace that was a gift from a other she had never known turned out to be a grand holy sybol of Lolith and upon seeing it around her neck the drow threw himself at her feet and thanked her for bothering to save him. He also introduced himself as Erol. He did not understand Common so only Sia, Sorrow, and Tafari were able to communicated with him.

They found out that he had been part of a party of 6, but they had all been captured by these tieflings. He was the only one left after their ritualistic sacrifices. He guessed he had been held captive by them for a few days at this point. He asked Sia if it was alright if he retrieved his things that the tieflings had taken from him. When she agreed they explored further into the decay filled dwelling until they found a grand library full of fine things. Everyone found an interesting bauble as they poked around, Sia’s was a dwarven music box that played Happy Birthday on someone’s birthday. 

Sia asked Erol if he knew of Master Orlereini and he was surprised to hear the name, saying that he was a grand wizard of much renown. Though his noble house was small no one dared attack it with him around. No one had seen him or his family in centuries, though. Sia excitedly explained that she was actually his apprentice! He was shocked he was still alive. While he may not know of where he was currently, Sia was happy to know that there was a possibility she could find something about her Master down here.

Sorrow, while poking around the books, found a ledger belonging to some drow family. Upon further investigation she discovered many of the books in the library were about this family. Upon asking Erol about them he shared that said family had been driven out of drow society when the matriarch had turned to making deals with the infernal to gain ore power, leading to all future offspring being tieflings. Those three they had just killed were probably the last of the family line.

Also looking through the books Amon managed to find a spell book, one with a name of ownership written on the cover. The very name of Tafari’s missing daughter. Tafari snatched the book away from Amon and began reading through it. Mostly it was just a standard spell book (a gift he himself had purchased for her), but near the back he found what looked like journal entries written in the margins. Apparently his daughter had simply woken up in the Underdark and began to wander around in confusion. She injured her foot at one point and started crying, but a drow found her and took her for a ride on his giant lizard. Her fate was still unkown, obviously the teiflings had come into possession of her book and put it with the rest of their loot.

Amon (relayed through Sia) asked Erol if he knew how to reach the gnome city. Erol did not. Their search of the library done with it was decided to rest. A bedroom of sorts had been discovered lower down. The beds were shabby. Sia opted to sleep on some of the nicer library furniture with blankets pilfered from the cleaner beds. Sorrow, Amon, and Erol were going to take shifts keeping watch.

While Amon slept he had the most curious dream. He was in a lavishly decorated room full of delicious food and cute winged monkeys. The monkeys lead him down a hall into another room that held a small pool full of fish. There were more fine fabrics, food, and monkeys in this room, but there was also a large, blue lady. She had a locked collar around her throat and drank from a goblet from her pile of pillows before saying it was nice to finally meet Amon.

[chaosunit0010]

DNDartober 2020

Here are the results of an October art prompt that I did for the entire month, created by Hugo Cardenas. This was a huge undertaking for me, testing my patience, adhd and consistency as an artist. All of these characters and items are going to be added to my DND campaign I'm running, to help flesh out the world some more.

DNDartober Day 1: Ex-Adventurer May I Present Clementine Soul Heart, renowned Artificer and Adventurer. Author of many books on magic theory, history of ancient civilizations and survival techniques.

DNDartober Day 2: Wandering Knight Spencer does not have a kingdom, nor a master, not much of anything to be honest. He woke with this armor and assumed he was knight, but no memory of who he was. Just a name Spencer.

DNDartober Day 3: Orc Hero Targhed a Barbarian chasing the dream of being a paladin. He's not the smartest man around, but he has a heart of gold and a desire to protect others no matter the cost.

DNDartober Day 4: Exiled Wizard Rodun was once the weakest of his tribe, living off his people's scraps. Until one day he came across a mysterious staff that granted him incredible intelligence. But the transformation led to his exile.

DNDartober Day 5: Deal Maker Devil Conroy is a slick demon, wandering the slums of the material plane talking up people down and out on their luck at a chance at a new life. Only to start a new life as his servant.

DNDartober Day 7: Sentient Weapon Forged from the broken armor of the Revenant that had chased down a legendary hero for many months. This blade wields his undying rage.

DNDartober Day 8: Troll Boss Grush was enslaved as a child by a cruel human master, forced to fight and kill for his master's enjoyment and to his suffering. But he learned while surrounded by the humans and then he became the master.

DNDartober Day 9: Info Broker Flinch was a githyanki adventurer, before receiving a brain injury from an illithid that left him with a permanent anxiety and a twitch. Now he trades for info so other people can get hurt rather than him.

DNDartober Day 10: Chromatic Dragon/Human Horizon was is the son of a Bronze and Red dragon that fought alongside a group of legendary heroes. Their hope was their son would unite all dragons to ensure their future of their race and the world.

DNDartober Day 12: Druid Des grew up in a village surrounded by untamed and ferocious lands. Filled with all manner of great and terrible beasts. One day she grew a connection with the land and beasts and learned the cycle of life and beasts.

DNDartober Day 13: Kobold Team Viss was once a common kobold living in the slums of a city, until she fell into aa deep despair. In the moment she stared into the void and it touched her granting her new insight. Now she has a new purpose.

DNDartober Day 14: Cursed Weapon Long ago a cruel and wicked Yuan Ti King conquered a rival kingdom and took all its people. The kings scarified their souls to empower a weapon that would lead to total control, only to die from its scorn.

DNDartober Day 15: Old rogue Mercenary Joe is old and with that comes experience and knowledge. As well as weapons and a tool for any situation. He didn't make it this long with dumb luck.

DNDartober Day 16: Thief Guild Leader Gold, street urchin turned, turned mastermind. He spent his days on cons in the pursuit of riches. But one faithful encounter would make him a legend.

DNDartober Day 17: Evil Wizard The Lord of Greed was once a powerful wizard ruling over the seas of his world. Until a great conqueror arrived on the world to take total control of it. And made this man into his new general, The Lord of Greed.

DNDartober Day 19: Magic Store Owner Owner of Black Water Oddities traveling emporium, Drench wanders the planes with his crew buying and selling magic items and relics for his patron to categories and research.

DNDartober Day 20: Metallic Dragon Human Form Zena is the older sister and bodyguard of her brother Horizon. Protecting him while on his mission to unite all of dragon kind under a common banner. Always prepared for any danger.

DNDartober Day 21: Parasite Weapon Ravager's Wrath was weapon from the remains of a ancient Barbarian Champion, mutated and modified to be a perfect warrior. Now this weapon strips it's wielder of blood in exchange of terrible power.

DNDartober Day 22: Shamed Hob Goblin Uzul was one the greatest Champion of his clan, which had conquered everyone of it's enemies and had become the biggest clan in the land. Until he lost his hand and leg in a duel and was exiled.  

DNDartober Day 23: Pirate Captain Sorgun is a member of the Groon, a race of ape like humanoids that have spent their existence amongst nature. Until war came to their land and were thrown into a new world and for him its opportunity.  

DNDartober Day 24: OG Monster Species The Ravager is the product of a virus, that infects and forces its victim into a terrible metamorphosis. Turning the host into a monster that thrives of violence and strength. Always hungry and evolving.

DNDartober Day 26: Traveling Bard Stripped of her name and family, Dorothy was exiled into a strange new world. Her journey as a bard collecting and retelling stories and tall tales. Using them to give people hope and strength.  

DNDartober Day 27: Lizardman Deserter Broken is a curious lizardman asking question about everything. Always wanting to learn more about world until he met humans and learn about emotions and decided he wanted and left to find emotions.  

DNDartober Day 28: Fragmented Weapon Heaven's Guard, the once proud spear of a divine guard. Left in ruin, shattered, waiting for the day it will be rebuilt.  

DNDartober Day 29: Hag Merchant Elsa is a wanderer, really has no place to call home and prefers it like that. She enjoys exploring new places and meeting new people. As well as collecting new trinkets for her collection.  

DNDartober Day 30: Head Hunter Sass a curious bird with a talent for hunting and a love for trinkets, specifically trinkets from the people she has captured or killed.  

DNDartober Day 31: Unique Monster The Horned Guardian, child of divine and fiendish union. He is the sworn protector of the world of Serune. Willing to do whatever it takes to protect the world and her people.

[chainedtm-blog]

Aaand here’s a campaign canon post and it is MUCH , much longer :

After discovering the ancient artifact and stealing it back from the guy that hired them to get it in the first place , they decided to figure out what it was. Q asked if he could be the one to hold onto it , as ancient artifacts are kind of his thing , and the group allowed it , far more trusting than he gave them credit for.

From there , they spent a lot of time together trying to travel around and figure it out , which is difficult when , in my canon , magic is not exactly welcome in most places. Luckily for the group , Q and Fang came from places where it was accepted , Dove was very accepting , Rae had magic , and Trixy just didn’t give a shit.

They bonded as they attempted to learn more about this thing , earning money and doing what they could to earn money to support themselves along the way. At the same time , Q was dealing with new and strange abilities manifesting , and trying to hide it from the people he was slowly starting to see as family.

Eventually they discovered an old wizard who told them about ancient gear known as Champion Relics , as they were bestowed upon mortals by very powerful beings like gods and demons and the like. This particular one was Balthazar’s Calling , and he immediately used it to summon demons into his home to kill the party so that he could keep it for himself. Unfortunately , the demons escaped the home and made for the town , intent on killing everything they saw.

The party stopped the demon invasion and turned in the wizard , thus becoming heroes of the town and inadvertently saving the king himself. When asked what they would call themselves , a group of metallic dragons flew overhead , one of each color , and the bard and barbarian declared them THE METALLIC GUILD. No one else got a say , but they liked the name anyway. They assigned their colors later that night.

Fang’s backstory arc began shortly after this , where his family sent him a letter calling him back home because his brother was killed by a werewolf. The MG went and slayed the beast , only to find that it had been his brother the whole time. The rest of the Vibrant Plains Clan said that it was necessary , and they would kill anyone else who got infected , but Fang nearly killed the lot of them for not trying to find a cure first. Disgusted , the party left to find a cure for future incidents after burying Fang’s brother. They are successful , and they leave after Fang convinces the Clan to split between the sympathetic and the merciless , and allies himself with the former.

In a mission to Champion Relics that occurs not too long after , Fang’s more reckless nature after the events of his arc gets him killed and resurrected. It puts things into perspective for him and he realizes his brother would not want him to die after everything that’s happened , even if he feels like he wants to. His party members are there for him , and try their best to help their friend heal.

After this , Trixy’s parents find her due to her fame and try their hardest to play up the fact that their daughter is a hero and invite the MG to a fancy dinner party , only to be publicly shut down by Trixy for her shitty childhood and how they’re only happy with her now because she’s famous. The party leaves and sets off for Zeftrix’s tribe next and have a much better dinner with lots of arm wrestling matches.

The crime ring Dove used to be a part of comes after her , capturing and torturing her about where she hid the money she took upon blowing up the base. The rest of the MG rescue her and kill as many of the remaining members as they can , though some surrender and are turned into the authorities. Dove dies temporarily in the effort. It is here that Q realizes he’s in love with Dove , through his sheer panic of losing her , but he says nothing about it.

Canorae’s goes much smoother , as they party simply has to go home for her grandfather’s birthday. But , it is here that they learn the most about the Champion Relics , which they had been learning about and trying to find to keep safe after the incident with the wizard. All of them have at least one by this point.

It is a nice respite after Dove’s arc and she and Q talk about what happened to her in the torturer’s chair. Dove eventually deflects and mentions how she knows there’s something that’s been going on with Q this whole time that he hasn’t told anyone about. He admits only to her that he’s been having strange visions about the past he cannot remember , and he is not sure what the pieces all mean. She advises he tell the rest of the group because clearly keeping everything to yourself helps no one and can get you tortured for information.

He doesn’t have to wait long because the Order sends Seekers and Defenders after him , as they think he completely defected and were going to kill him. Q knows in his heart he was very willing to , but plays it off as following multiple leads on Champion Relics.

He very much returns to his Initiate Mode , which unsettles many of the MG members because he is so emotionless and submissive and distant , like when they first met.

He returns to the temple with is friends and he is welcomed back , but the rest of his friends know this is not a welcoming environment. They are right because they are nearly assassinated in the middle of the night to protect the Order’s secrets. In the end , Quelrin has to confront the men he saw as his father figures , who tell him his true past.

Q was an ancient gold dragon known as Qyrenox , the Warbringer , that would act as an intimidation tactic by good forces in the world and incite loyalty and battle rage to fight against forces of evil. One such force , during the ancient war between the gods , working for the side of evil captured him and used a profane ritual to bind him to his current moral form. The Order is the remnant of that organization , once turned good after so many died now seeking to rebuild itself to its former evil glory under Drokol and Mevull’s rule , Remash nothing more than a coward they forced into cooperation. He then kills the two , with every intention of finding where Remash fled later.

However , Drokol had stabbed Quelrin with a poisoned blade that ultimately killed him , and then he was brought back by the remaining Order members who did not want any of this to happen. Dove confessed she was in love with him as part of the resurrection ritual , and he hears her.

He then calls together the remaining Order members and states that he will be taking over and making the Order good yet again , turning it into a hub of knowledge for those who wish to protect the world... but first he needs time. He tells the Metallic Guild that he also needs time away from them to work through this information and grief alone , but he promises to return once he is in a better place. Dove comforts him to the best of her abilities , but his mind is made up. He kisses her on the forehead , and his wings then grow from his back and he takes off into the sky.

A year later he returns to the Order , now only filled with those of good intentions , to properly help rebuild , officially taking over as Head Keeper. Remash is returned as well and resumes his role as Head Seeker , though some are wary they learn to accept him again as he was a tool like the rest of them. Another member that had been close with Q growing up was put in charge of the Defenders.

A year after that and things are stable in the Order , he returns to his party , who have since gone their separate ways. Fang returned to his fractured Clan and helped them reconcile into one once more , much more merciful this time around. Zeftrix made a name for herself in fighting for coin , no one being able to match her strength. Canorae told the party’s stories across the realm , making them even bigger in their time apart. Dove , meanwhile , could never really let the Relics go , her inquisitive mind always looking for a puzzle to solve. She is the one who has a quest ready to go for all of them again when the Metallic Guild ends their hiatus. But she waits until everyone’s caught up before talking about it.

Dove and Q flirt a lot in the reunion , now that they are both in a better place emotionally , but they’re both too chicken shit to say anything concrete.

So they go off in search of more Relics , as there are splinters of Dove’s crime ring , Fang’s Clan , Trixy’s family , Canorae’s bard college , and Q’s Order that all banded together to search for these artifacts too. There is a lot of collecting and storing at the temple as they continue on , but a fair number of “ side quest ” they go on as well.

On Q’s 55th birthday ( making him roughly 33 / 34 in human years , and yes he still celebrates his mortal birthday which was just the day he was found ) he and Dove get tipsy enough to admit they like each other and her present to him is a kiss.

For another year ( wherein Zeftrix and Canorae die temporarily ) they unravel the plot that they had apparently been following all along : there are evil gods and monsters that are looking for these Relics and this new group is trying to give them to these creatures for power , and to hopefully bring evil beings into the mortal plane to rule. They have been cutting off good being access to this plane along the way.

Eventually they discover that this is actually false , the neutral gods of the world demand the world be righted. Originally , it was only the neutral gods that existed , good and evil only came about when humans created morality , and so the now neutral gods lost power and many want it back. They tricked the cult into working for them , but many do not care at this point.

In the end , they battle the strongest of the cult members who still remain and cut off the ritual to allow the neutral gods complete control over their planes and reset the balance in the world once more.

Fang goes on to become a revered defender of the realm , becoming a wandering knight that defends all things good and bringing smiles wherever he goes.

Zeftrix goes back to fighting in a ring , loving the rush it gives her , but can be known to be more than willing to throw her hammer into a cause she thinks is worthy if you just ask.

Canorae went on to become a storyteller of legend , spreading the tales of the Metallic Guild wherever they could.

Dove Flint did have money she stole from the crime ring stashed away and used it to open a shelter for the poor that she contributes too regularly , and is known for helping out low income neighborhoods.

Q remained Head Keeper of the Order , and made it a public archive of sorts , knowing that not all knowledge ought be shared , for it could fall into the wrong hands , but everything that could be should. Anything of cultural relevance he returned to their respective locations , and anything dangerous was kept in a vault under the mountain.

Now , he is happy and he knows the truth of who he is. He is Quelrin Flint , Qyernox , Warbinger , half --- elf , ancient gold dragon , Head Keeper , and Legendary Hero.

[undeadimpulsereviews]

Bound by Flame

This is where I normally give context for why a review is well past it’s deadline; though I have no reason to give. Just some bad luck I guess; It’s totally not me just being unprofessional, and pushing it off because of how bad it is. Definitely not because I don’t want to go through the mental hell of recalling this terrible title. What makes you think that... Also there will be spoilers so if for some reason you wish to play this game, be warned.

Let me tell you a tale of fire and ice; in a land filled with monstrosities the likes of which you’ve never seen. The dead walk once more and the humans are powerless to stop them. A tale of a band of heroes in their fight to stop those who control the domain of winter... No I don’t mean Game of Thrones; this is the semi- next gen launch title flop Bound by Flame.

Bound by Flame is an fantasy, action RPG from developers Spider Studios. It was released early 2014 for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows; however, with the somewhat recent release of the Playstation 4, Spider Studios decided to also make it one of the first titles for next-gen. Now for those who don’t know what Bound by Flame is, don’t worry, because that’s understandable. The marketing for Bound by Flame was done rather poorly, or at least it was for us in America; little to nothing was heard on the game, and when it came to release, it left a few people in wonder, me included. If you’re like me you would see this game in stores, just sitting on the shelf; you heard little to nothing on the game and you get to thinking. Though honestly, it only took one look online to see that this game was probably not worth my time. Yet this was before I started this blog; now I write reviews, and I need to play whatever I can get my hands on regardless of quality. Now after playing the title I can say this; Bound by Flame is not only not worth your time, but also bad for your health; joking aside, I went into this game with an already lowered level of expectation. Usually this could enhance my experience; I think, going in, that this game is going to be terrible. Sometimes I leave with the impression that what I played wasn’t all bad; however, Bound by Flame did the exact opposite. There wasn’t one enjoyable moment for me as I played this game. The story is boring and painfully rushed; it’s characters are bland, and it’s visuals and graphics aren’t any better. Though above all the gameplay is unbearable; unfair battles, and crazy difficult spikes make this game a living hell. Bound by Flame does not deserve the scores it gets. It’s not an average game; it’s terrible. Though I’m getting nowhere just spouting off like this; what exactly is Bound by Flame all about?

In the land of Vertiel, a war is being waged; the elven forces, and their allies the red scribes, are fighting a band of necromancers known as the ice lords. The ice lords are raising an army of the dead to wipe out everyone and everything in their way. The red scribes have a plan to combat the ice lords, but if they fail it will be the end of everything. They ask the help of a band of mercenaries, known as the Freeborn Blades, to hold back the undead as they begin a ritual. You play one of these mercenaries, and you go by the name Vulcan. However, the ritual goes sideways and the “demon” summoned by the scribes has now entered your body. Now you as Vulcan must not only fight the ice lords, but the demon as well. Will you survive this war, or be taken by the many evils that inhabit Vertiel? Only time will tell.

On paper Bound by Flame seems like a normal fantasy tale; though in execution this story is one of the all time worst stories I’ve ever had the privilege of playing through. It’s painfully rushed from beginning to end; you’re told that the ice lords are the end all be all villains, yet in reality it’s the demon. There are a total of nine necromancers that make up the ice lords, only one of which you kill. After killing said ice lord, you don’t set out to kill the others in some grand adventure. Instead you enter the demon’s realm and fight him and a demon dragon for some reason. Then after this final fight you get one of three terrible endings; you either kill yourself, so the demon doesn’t take over your body and that some how kills the ice lord. You let the demon take control of your body and he burns the land, killing the ice lords and everything else, or you kill the demon and take his power; doing this you kill the ice lords and rule the land. Isn’t that great story telling; the big bad ice lords who were causing trouble, the ones that couldn’t be defeated, are just small plot points that are easily disposed thanks to a deus ex machina. It feels like you shouldn’t even be part of the story; the war that is waging has nothing to do with you or the freeborn blades at all; you could remove them entirely and nothing would change. There’s no motivation for your group other than money; even though you and all of humanity is in danger, it’s said many times that this is not your problem to bear. The story spans three acts; act one you find yourself in a run down town surrounded by the swamp. Your reason for being there is really obscure; then you go to the remains of the elven kingdom; because that’s where your contract leads and ends. Then you go to a the lair of the one ice lord, because now you have a reason I guess. Lastly you go to the demon’s realm to confront the demon. Extremely rushed and uninteresting to say the least. Though it’s not just the main story, but the characters and their stories as well.

Vulcan is a terrible protagonist, though it’s not just him/her; every character has their share of problems. Each party member is so bland that I would rather play with no one at all. Not to mention the AI in this game is terrible; though we’ll get to that later. There is no development in this game; both the story and it’s characters fall short in this regard. Vulcan starts out as this unknown mercenary, unsure of his past. Then as the game goes on he/she sloppily transitions into the hero type; throughout the game the freeborn blades state they have no stake in this war. Vulcan included, though near the end of act two for some reason you decide I need to fight the ice lords. It’s not based off your choices in the game, and it’s all set in stone. The turning point comes when Vulcan and his commanding officer have conflicting interests; throughout the whole game you are on good terms. You listen to your commanding officer; but then this one time when you bring a plan up and he says no, you flip and decide he’s no fit for the job. You get in a terrible, unnecessary fight and kill him; how does everyone else take this? They say absolutely nothing; there are actually people standing and watching this fight take place, and by the end of the fight it’s like it never happened. This is a problem through a lot of the game; you do certain actions in the game, and no one questions their circumstances or brings them to light. I was going down the path of letting the demon take over, and slowly my body starts to turn demonic. As I got further into the transformation, I thought people would question me, and be frightened of my new image. Instead it’s like I was the same Vulcan; I hardly ever got characters to talk about the demon near the end of the game. It felt like the demon and my choices held no gravity to the story and it’s characters. That aside, what about Vulcan’s past? Is it some well thought out back story? No, in fact after the prologue, it never is brought back up. I even forgot it was a plot point when I was playing the game; the only reason I remembered to put it in the review was because I found it while looking for information online.  The whole character of Vulcan is so poorly done, but why stop there. Every characters motives, emotions, and personality are awful; in the game there are five characters you can bring with you into battle. Each one different in their own way; it’s clear that each have a different morality to them, but that’s about it. These characters are hardly swayed by what happens in the story and they merely serve as people who change the epilogue ever so slightly. One such character is Sybil.

Sybil is a daughter to one of the main red scribes; she is also a red scribe and knows her fair share of magic. She’s a very lawful good sort of person, but when her beliefs are shaken she will begin to question her views... is what I’d like to say. There are so many moments in this game that would make anyone question what their true motives are. In one scene in act one Sybils father is said to have imprisoned a sorceress in the woods for unknown reasons. When you find her, the father is revealed to be following you; he doesn’t want you to set her free. So you get a choice, let her go or set her free. Though screw that, the choice doesn’t matter; either you set the girl free, or Sybil does for some reason, because the girl is a party member and has no reason to die yet. After setting the girl free, Sybil’s father goes to kill Sybil for some reason. Though the sorceress kills him, saving Sybil; now normally you’s think Sybil would mourn her father, but be pissed he tried to kill her and thank her savior. Though instead she call the girl a murderer, vows to see her killed and then this is never brought up again. Her father was an evil, and dirty wizard, who went behind the backs of others to get what he wanted; though this news and the attempted murder on her life don’t sway Sybil’s character. She’s just this stale unchanging character till the end, and every last one of the characters in this story follow that same trend. None of these characters hold any importance to the overall story, but instead are there as cheap half assed romance options.

The person I “romanced” was Edwen, the sorceress. To fulfill the romance, you must do every quest that someone gives you, and that’s it. Only two characters have a different method, though only slightly. For Edwen, you needed to do all her quests and also side with her in act two. Then in her last mission, suggest they have sex in from of some artifact in the middle of the catacombs; after this you get one small scene at the epilogue, and that’s it. There is no chemistry between these characters; I don’t feel love, hate, or any emotion from this cast what so ever. I didn’t do anything to make this girl want to screw me; and she had no impact on my character either. There are many problems these characters have; be it shared problems, or problems only they could have. There is nothing enjoyable about any one person in this game. The heroes are bland to the point that I don’t care the outcome of their story, and the villains hardly ever show themselves that they hold no gravity to the bigger picture. It felt like one big puzzle that someone tried to force together, but instead of making a masterpiece of art come together, it just make broken trash that was horribly put together. Now that covers the story integral part of the game, but before we get to gameplay there is the matter of how the game looks.

I played Bound by Flame on the PS4; now I don’t know for certain, but due to the time of the games release and other circumstances, I believe it was never truly intended for the next gen consoles. Though even by the standards of the last generation, this game looks and feels terrible. Though it’s not just how things look and if they’re visually pleasing; Bound By Flames visuals are so terrible, that they effect gameplay in some scenarios. We’ll save that for last, but what exactly makes this game look so bad? Well there are plenty of reasons; for instance, during cutscenes there are weird cuts that kind of take away from the experience. The textures used around the world look like many different effects were used, on many different items; leaving the objects to look gross. The character designs as well; it’s clear that the characters and the set pieces they go to tended to clash somewhat. So effects were put on them as well, but instead of making them look better, it created this awkward feeling for me. For example, when you are near a piece of scenery, or what not, a small black outline will go over the character from time to time. It’s hard to see some of the time, but the there are plenty of areas where you can create this effect. Though for me I lost interested due to things like this.

If you wish to watch the whole fight, be my guest, but I’m calling your attention to the breaks in combat. Go to just before two minutes in, precisely 1:55, and watch the little cut-scene that plays; you could even watch the scene at the end of the video as well. Though just look at the clipping of Vulcan’s sword to the enemies axe; there are so many moments in this scene where, technically speaking, you die. Though that’s due to bad clipping, and poor pacing of the fight. All the swings feel like they have no impact, and animations feel like their behind in frames. Then in the last scene, the use of cuts in that scene is done so poorly. Cutting away as Vulcan swings down on what you’d like would be the enemies head, then cutting back to the dead body. It’s clear as day that from Vulcans swing, and angle from where he’s standing, he missed the head. Not to mention a surprising lack of stuff like blood, or whatever bodily fluid is in that enemy. It feels less like a fight scene, and more like a dress rehearsal for some play. Though don’t worry, because if you thought that’s where it ends, you got another good few hours to go. Now there’s mediocre visuals, visuals on a budget, and just downright bad visuals; Bound by Flame is just down right bad.

As for the games music and atmosphere, it didn’t really leave to much of an impression on me; this was mainly due to the poor visuals, but the music still played a role in all this to. Now for context the music for Bound by Flame was composed by Olivier Deriviere; for those who don’t know he did the soundtracks for games like Remember Me and Assassin’s Creed IV. Now for Bound by Flame, he really wanted to capture the feeling of loneliness, or despair in his music. In all honesty, I think he missed the mark; though it’s hard to say, the soundtrack is very limited to what it has to offer. I can see where he was going with each song, though for me I don’t know how I’d put it, but despair doesn’t really come to mind for me. That aside, the soundtrack  also just sounds like one big repeating song. Each area has it’s own theme to go with it, but there are so many that sound too similar to each other and that just feels lazy to me.

These two in particular sound to close; they both take place in relatively close areas, so in hind sight you could have just made one theme for the whole area, but instead they made two separate tracks. The instruments used in both are the same, and are used to almost the exact same extent; and the same can be said for the vocals as well. Though I think the biggest problem with the game is that the music doesn’t feel like it fits a fantasy setting; the only thing remotely tying this to the fantasy genre is the vocals in the track, but even then that’s pushing it. I don’t even remember there being a separate track for when you get in a battle. When all is said and done the game does really provide an impact in it’s atmosphere either; it’s music is scarce and boring to say the least, and the visuals are just to bad to ignore. Though through it all, through the terrible story and it’s characters, and over atmosphere as well. They don’t compare to how bad the gameplay is.

Bound by Flame is at it’s worst during the gameplay; terrible difficulty spikes, invisible damage/attacks, terrible upgrades and equipment, you name it. There isn’t one thing about the game’s gameplay that felt good. Starting off the fighting in the game feels clunky and heavy to control; even the fastest weapon, the daggers, feels like there’s to much weight behind everything. Though you’d think that’s a good thing right? The more weight put into the strike the more impact, but that’s not the case here. Your hits feel like they do absolutely nothing to your enemies, you could have found some of the best stuff in the world, and yet they leave no dent in the opponents health. At the same times, your enemies are killing you in three hits or less. This is due to the fact that the develops wanted you to grind for gold to buy the better items in the store; the only problem being that the items in the store are overly expensive, and the games fighting being terrible doesn’t make me want to grind out gold. Leveling up is also a hassle; at the beginning of the game it wasn’t to bad, but around the end of act one leveling up starts to take way more time then it should. So grinding for levels or gold feels useless and like a waste of time. Though why stop there; all of these things and more are what add to the games difficulty. I played the game on normal, but I felt like I was on the highest difficulty; this was due to many things like a lack of healing items, and resources to make more. Though for me the biggest problem was my upgrades. You have three upgrade tree that enhance your fighting skills. One for quicker killing, one for stronger staggering hits, and the last for your pyromancy. This is all well and good, if it actually felt like they did anything; I tended to divide point between the three, but focused more on the assassin area for my daggers. Though my daggers still did nothing in the end. The only thing that helped was my fire magic, by putting fire on my weapon I did added damage; not much damage still, but a slight improvement. The only problem though is that I run out of mana fast and then in turn run out of potions to get more. Early fights this is no problem, but for fights like the final fight the moment you run out of mana and potions you’ve lost not only the battle, but the entire game. Now an interesting thing Spider did was change your character based on the path you chose, so I went with letting the demon take control and by doing this got upgrades as well. Yet these upgrades did little to help me; though what did effect me was the debuffs that were applied. Due to the fact I let the demon slowly take over I lost the ability to use helmets due to my horns; there by losing some added defenses that could have been useful, and I got a debuff where I take more damage from ice attacks. That’s all well and good, except my enemies ALL USE ICE!!! The debuff should have just said you have a one in four chance of instantly dying on the spot. Yet this only covers Vulcan’s short comings; lets add to the figurative fire shall we? The AI in the game, as I said before, is the worst AI I’ve every had the privilege of playing alongside. Your allies do nothing to help you; the greatest help they give is being an target for the enemy for a good minute tops. They die way to easily, their attacks to little to nothing to help you, and sometimes they just don’t follow you at all. Yet the enemy AI is overpowered. They can throw attacks out at unfair speeds, and hardly stagger to your abilities. Wait there’s more, like I stated before the visuals also play a role in this unfairness. In certain battle there will be attacks with effects to them; for example in the last battle, when you hit him down to half health, he summons a demon dragon for some reason. This dragon shoots white flames that stick on the ground and burn you if you stand in the flames. This is fine as long as the fire is visible, but the damage keep ticking away at you after the fact. Not because you have a burn ailment on your body, but the game still registers that the fire is on the ground. Then there’s the fight with that general above, his ice attack are either almost instant attacks, or have no easy to see visual effect to them that, you’re dead before you even get a chance to see the attack coming. There are so many problems with the game play, and the list never stops growing; I’ve played games like this before. Games that try to do something that others have succeeded at, but this is by far the worst of them all.

Overall I give Bound by Flame a 2 out of 10, the reason it’s not lower is that it’s clear Spider had some thought about the game. Ideas were present, but those ideas were not met and instead this terrible game was made instead. There is no saving grace for this game; every single inch of this game, from it’s story right down to it’s gameplay, is unbearable. If you haven’t heard of Bound by Flame, then consider yourself lucky; though if you are like me, I feel for you and I know your pain. This game is not worth your time, and in all honesty needs to be heavily reevaluated by people. I feel like I was given another game, or an extremely earlier build than those who gave this game a passing grade.

Next week will be the review for the next manga; I’ll try to post it on time, but just writing these and recalling all this crap is taking a toll on me. Until next time, have a good one.

[tokupedia]

Kamen Rider 45th Anniversary File: Wizard

2012:

The Metal Heroes Series celebrates its 30th anniversary with a mini-revival in the form of a film crossover with Gokaiger and a Gavan movie! Kenji Ohba returns as the legendary Retsu Ichijouji and a new Gavan appears: Gavan Type-G! Gavan also gets a crossover tie-in with Go-Busters to promote the Gavan movie! The Metal Heroes Space Sherrifs also crossover with the Kamen Riders and Super Sentai in Super Hero Taisen Z in 2013.

IT’S MORPHIN TIME! Power Rangers terms seep into Super Sentai with Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters, a series that tried to do some new things including a two front battle with the villains both on the ground and in a separate MegaZord.

The Symphogear Series debuts with its first season, showcasing superhero Magical Girls of a musical nature. Aoi Yuki (aka MADOKA!) , who would later be in Kamen Rider, is the main hero Hibiki Tachibana! (Ha! Tachibana!)

The Zetman anime debuts, featuring a hero called Alphas who is inspired by an tokusatsu-styled anime show.

Smile Smile Smile~ Smile PreCure! debuts and airs on the Sunday kids block with Go-Busters and Wizard. It features everybody’s favorite tokusatsu fangirl and the fandom’s unofficial mascot Cure Peace! Cure Peace’s voice actress would later go on to voice Sailor Mercury in Sailor Moon Crystal!

Ultraman Saga debuts in theaters featuring some members of AKB48 and a new fusion Ultra: Saga. A fusion of Zero, Cosmos and Dyna.

The first Super Hero Taisen film is released, in celebration of 10 years of Super Hero Time.

Takeru Satoh, aka Ryotaro Nogami from Kamen Rider Den-O steps into an awesome role as Kenshin Himura in the live-action Rurouni Kenshin movie! This is a great film, that it is- gozaru!

Cyborg 009 is revived in the film continuation 009: Re Cyborg. One perk of this film was minor changes to the 00 Cyborgs such as 003 seemingly gaining technopathic abilities and 005 trading in his stereotypical tribal marks and mohawk for a full head of hair and his markings being red “veins” that glow when he turns on his super strength. Both of these aspects would carry over to yet another incarnation.

During the time of Wizard, Japan was in pretty bad shape. It had been hit by a nasty earthquake and tsunami and Fukushima was now the location of the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl and became a ghost town. 

So after the tragedy, when it came time to choose the theme of the next series, Tsuyoshi Kida decided on one: Hope and overcoming despair. And given how the previous Rider was a mechanical marvel of science, the staff decided to go full opposite and have a Rider who was pure fantasy based by having a wizard as the hero. 

Kamen Rider Wizard saw a few changes, the transition from the use of Panasonic Varicams to Arri Alexa HD cameras for the cinematography, more CGI use including a few of Wizard’s forms that were fully CG. This series is also the last fall series to be premiered in September, as the staff decided to push for an October scheduling to extend the show and plug more merchandise. (In this case, the Legend Rider Wizard Rings) It also continued a trend from OOO that fans either love or hate: a “singing” Rider belt that plays a catchy tune with each form change.

But the biggest one that resonated with fans was a positive and progressive milestone, for the first time in the franchise’s history, an openly gay actor would be working on the series. Kaba-chan is also now retroactively the first transgender actor in Kamen Rider, as she transitioned from being a man to a woman after the series ended. Its certainly more progressive than western superhero movies were on that front until recently. (Ex.”Have you ever tried..not being a Mutant?”) .

Naturally, the LGBTQ community of the fandom were happy about the hiring as were activists who knew of Kamen Rider and this bit of news was featured in various articles on the web and drew praise on some forums. *Kuuga thumbs up*

We also see a more western inspired series in terms of mythology. Wizard’s dragon is European style in motif rather than Asian, the monsters are named after beings from myths and stories and have traits of those creatures in some cases. The myth of the Philosopher’s Stone is also referenced, which has an FMA bent to how it is made.

This also marked the first televised debut of a (sorta) original Female Heisei Kamen Rider...that actually lives! Granted, she does get taken out of play sometimes, but at least she survived! Though future installments of the franchise unfortunately would not be as kind (*fingers crossed for Poppy to live*).

We see how skillfully detailed some of the costumes Blend Master and PLEX would make, as the designs of the Wizard suits are fantastic. Wizard himself is very photogenic for a Kamen Rider, with a gemstone/wizard motif mixing primary colors with black and silver and a flashy leather duster coat. The gem on his face combined with the silver trim make out the “face” of the Rider and the wrists and ankles break up the black on the arms with gemstone wrist cuffs and anklets.

Sejii Takaiwa really gets a workout this season, as the Wizard costume is light enough for him to do flips, twirls and acrobatics and pull off some impressive moves and he even dual wields swords and does double gun kata this season. (He even shoots the guns Gangsta style again like he did in Den-O)

Having a magic motif, Wizard gained powers that no other Kamen Rider had ever used before as spells. Also, there are donuts, lots and lots of donuts. This is very important to know.

This series is brought to you by the magic of Plain Sugar.

There seems to be some love outside Japan for Kamen Rider Wizard in media, as a member of the Marvel Comics art team drew one of Wizard’s magic circles in a comic!

But now let’s show the Ringed Mage of Hope. Its Showtime Da!

WIZARD! PLEASE!

RIDER RIDER RIDER!

(Mr. Soma, ringed mage extraordinaire circa 2012)

Real Name: Haruto Soma

Haruto was traumatized as a young boy when his parents got in a car accident and he was the sole survivor. Before his parents died in the hospital, he was told by his mom and dad to never give up hope and be strong. 

He tired his best to live up to that and got a shot at being a pro-soccer player, but left the profession when his friend Kazuya got hurt because of him and because what happened next the following day.

Later the next day on March of 2012, he was an unwilling participant in a mystic sacrificial ritual called the Sabbath during a solar eclipse. In a moment reminiscent of Go Nagai’s Devilman, Haruto feels a demonic force emerging and nearly destroys him but his hope and determination to live drive the creature, known as a Phantom, back into his body. Most of the people around him though were not so lucky as they died immediately from their despair overwhelming them and spawned Phantoms of their own. 

This re-ignited Haruto’s survivor’s guilt and out of nowhere comes a white wizard who congratulates him on surviving after saving him from a Phantom, carrying a girl named Koyomi.  The white wizard offers him a contra-er, I mean belt and the power to save people from the Phantoms and asks to care for the girl in his stead.

Six months later, the Tokyo Police are investigating a crime and happen upon monsters in a warehouse. One of the officers, Rinko Daimon is saved by Haruto who transforms and drives them off. (Daimon...DIAMOND! I just got that. Oh, the terrible puns.)  The Phantoms were targeting Rinko as she is a Gate, a human with latent magic potential that can create another Phantom if they fall into despair. Haruto defends her again from the Phantoms and destroys Rinko’s Phantom by going into her Underworld to keep it from getting out. But as a side effect, she cannot utilize magic and is now an ordinary human.

Later, Haruto saves another Gate called Shunpei who is overeager to become Haruto’s apprentice as he has wanted to learn magic ever since he was a child. He ends up joining the group and Rinko takes an interest in Haruto’s activities using her connections with the police and communications with Section Zero of Japan’s National Security Agency.

Haruto goes around helping Gates find their hope again and in one holiday episode we learn how Santa Claus operates in the Kamen Rider Universe. (It is implied by the fact he can enter Underworlds that Santa is a wizard!)

Haruto faces some hardships as he further battles the Phantoms, but presses onward as the Final Hope of Magic and humanity, Kamen Rider Wizard!

Powers:

Agility, skill in kicking style combat and acrobatics (The kicking fighting style due to strong leg muscles from his soccer training).

Quite a lot of them actually via spells cast from the Wizard Rings:

Super Strength (Varies: Capable of becoming a buff Hulk-sized Wizard with the Excite Ring to holding a HUGE MEGAZORD SIZED AXE in Infinity form).

Skilled Marksmanship and Swordsmanship including dual wielding. Gun armed with silver bullets that can bend their trajectory to hit the target. Given the bullets are silver, yes, he can potentially kill werewolves as a bonus. Weapon can gain elemental augmentation to enhance attacks.

Strom creation: capable of creating gusts, hurricanes, thunder storms and blizzards. Capable of using wind energy to hover or propel himself in the air. Can generate massive bolts of lightning to shock his targets extra crispy. Freezing ability.

Creating localized seismic events and mystical terrakinesis (able to hurl boulders at targets, create sand or stone traps to hold enemies in), gravity distortions. Subterranean drilling.

Disguise generation or wardrobe changing.

Shield generation, varies in strength depending on what elemental form Wizard is in and how much mana he has left.

Size manipulation: Able to shrink in size to about half an inch or smaller. (A first in Kamen Rider, as J just shrunk back to normal size.) Capable of enlarging his arms to knock back waves of enemies or make his blade Zanbato sized.

Knockout spell

Light generation to blind foes or use as a way to navigate dark areas.

Create chains to bind enemies or use as a safety net.

Temporary cloning of both himself and his gear.

Elastic limbs

Creates holes for enemies to fall into/alter the environment (Ex. have water from a tank pour onto a monster) or for a quick getaway.

Noxious stink fumes.

Enter mirrors like Ryuki does

Time travel, maximum effect seen is 5 years into the past. Exact limit unknown. 

Teleportation

Summoning familiars to aid him.

Astral projection of his Rider form to defend his own Underworld

Portal creation, mostly utilized to grab things Haruto has left behind (like his donuts) or for handy storage of his gear in a pocket dimension to call upon when needed.

Rider Finisher spells

Flame and Water Generation

Water gel form like Black RX Biorider form.

Wings, Claws, Tail and fire breathing dragon head via merging with WizarDragon.

Can create Christmas joy by restoring gifts (temporary power given by Santa)

Summon other Kamen Riders to his location immediately in an emergency.

Weaknesses:

Despite the awesome power he wields, Haruto’s spells are governed by mana. Based on early episodes, the mana of this series operates under a kind of Equivalent Exchange methodology. Use a spell, it drains the body’s energy to create the mana to cast it. The stronger the spell or the more spells are used, the more energy the caster burns unless they “level up” thier magic by training their bodies and gaining more power from the Phantom inside them or external mystical devices enhancing the magic. 

As such, Haruto needs to eat high calorie foods or high sugar foods such as donuts to keep his metabolic rate stable enough to avoid going into shock or simply passing out. Resting does help too, so Haruto is a heavy sleeper when his mana runs dry. Mana can also be siphoned away from Haruto if a spell is used or some apparatus capable of such is present. If his mana gets low, his spells are not as effective and weaken and eventually the Wizard Driver will stop working

If Haruto’s spirit is broken and he falls into despair, he risks his Phantom getting out and that would result in him dying and the WizarDragon wearing his flesh as a suit to blend in until his next meal. (Though that danger is no longer 100% present as the two have made a mutual agreement and respect one another after the birth of Infinity form).

If his Underworld is entered by a Phantom or other mystical being, his powers could be destroyed if Dragon dies. This would render him Muggle and thus able to be killed as he would have no magic to defend himself.

The Wizard Driver can be jammed by sticky substances or prevented from being used by binding Wizard’s hands away from the Hand Author buckle of the belt.

The Wizard Rings are sometimes fickle, as some of them have spells that can be only cast when the target of the spell is wearing them (ex. Sleep Ring). The Rings are also somewhat fragile, as a Rider Punch can break them if Wizard isn’t careful. This puts a disadvantage to Wizard as he can only use grappling, spells and palm strikes in close combat and must compensate by using his weapons and legs. (Though the Dragon forms make up for that as Land Dragon and Infinity Dragon use claw attacks.)

Haruto was shown in the Wizard finale special as unable to defend himself against the super speed of the Worms, meaning speedier enemies or Riders such as Kabuto can possibly outmatch him.

Last is a more psychological one, Haruto has an acute case of survivor’s guilt that does affect him, but in a mostly positive constructive way. However, he does have weaker moments where his failure to help someone can weigh heavily on him (Ex. Koyomi), even distancing himself from his old life before becoming a Kamen Rider.

Gear:

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/WizarDriver

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Wizard_Rings

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Wizard_Ring_Holder

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/PlaMonsters

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/WizarSwordGun

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Machinewinger

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Wizard_Ring_Box

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Drago_Timer

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Magic_Stones - Not really part of the gear, but an essential for crafting new Rings to cast new spells.

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/WizarDragon

Signature Finishers:

Kick Strike: Wizard’s Rider Kick, comes in various elemental forms but mostly the same as wizard does some flashy acrobatics or jumps to execute the kick after charging power from the magic circle under his feet. A variation called the Strike End utilizes WizarDragon transforming into a giant flaming clawed boot and Wizard kicking it to smash his foes with the force of a meteor.

Slash Strike: Standard Rider Slash. Variants involve using elemental power, enlarging the blade with the Big Ring or cloning the WizarSwordGun for a double slash. The Dragon forms enhance the power of these attacks.

Shooting Strike: Standard Rider Shooting attack. Can be augmented with elemental power and can be used in a double shooting attack if Wizard could pull off scanning both WizarSwordGuns. The Dragon forms enhance the power of these attacks.

Dragon Breath: Flame Dragon’s finisher, a Rider Shooting attack. Wizard Flame Dragon scans the Special Ring and WizarDragon’s head on his chest comes alive and the Rider flies up and rains a massive burst of flaming dragon breath upon his foes.

Dragon Sonic: My personal favorite of the Dragon finishers. Wizard uses his wings and super speed as Hurricane Dragon to creates a powerful gust of hurricane wind around the enemy, lifting them into the air, he then scans the Thunder Ring and repeatedly zaps lightning bolts at the target then fries the Phantom with one huge skyscraper sized lightning bolt.

Dragon Smash: Wizard Water Dragon freezes his target with the Blizzard Ring, then skates to it with an ice magic charged Dragon Tail and uses the tail as a sword to slice the enemy in half.

Dragon Ripper: Using gravity manipulation via the Gravity Ring, Wizard Land Dragon pins down his foe and then slashes them with the Dragon claws.

Dragon Claw: Double Rider Slash with the Dragon Claws.

Strike Dragon: Wizard combines the elemental powers of his Dragon Forms into one shot as the magic of fire, water, earth and wind hit the target and then Wizard flies at super speed and kicks the enemy so hard they go FLYING INTO THE SUN. The downside is using it and All Dragon form depletes Haruto’s power really fast so the attack must connect or else he will be defenseless.

Dragon Shining: Wizard Infinity Form charges a massive amount of mana into the AxCalibur, which makes the axe grow to gigantic size. Wizard then goes into a leaping swing to cleave the target.

Shining Plasma Strike: Wizard Infinity Form hits the Hand Author repeatedly and then throws the AxCalibur and uses his magic to manipulate its movement to repeatedly strike the target. Its movements in this attack are almost similar to Den-O’s Extreme Slash.

Infinity End: Wizard’s ultimate Rider Kick. Using the power of Infinity Dragon form’s wings to propel the kick, the skull of WizarDragon appears on Wizard’s right foot and “bites” the target before it hits. There is also a spinning kick variation and an enhanced version when he goes to Infinity Gold Dragon form.

Finale DA!

Enemies:

Sou Fueki

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Sou_Fueki

Aka The White Wizard aka Wiseman aka Kamen Rider Wiseman 

A former physics professor who was desperate to save his little girl after she got sick, but his daughter died and he refused to accept it. He then turned away from his scientific profession and became obsessed with the occult and experimenting with it. He seems like a benevolent benefactor to Haruto as the anonymous white wizard, but he has much more sinister motives in mind for Japan and their magic users. He also pulls the strings of the Phantoms posing as their leader, all the while he does not care about them and simply wishes to restart his own plans.

As seen in his re-apperance in a Kamen Rider Ghost spin-off, he is a father who loved his kid a little too much and refuses to let her go and move on, as he proclaimed the whole world could be sacrificed of human life just so he can have her alive again. Ghost, being a hero who values life, was disgusted by Fueki and gave him a proper beatdown with the help of Wizard’s power in the form of an Eyecon.

Phantoms:

Phantoms are demonic beings that reside inside humans called Gates, individuals who possess the potential to use magic. The Phantoms goal is to try to create more of their race by repeating the process that created them; putting a Gate at thier absolute lowest by taking away thier hope and leaving them in soul-crushing despair and depression. 

This will cause the unborn Phantom to emerge from the Gate’s Underworld and kill them, with the Phantom then replacing their host’s control over their bodies, wearing them as flesh suits to hide among people until they need to change into monster form. However, if a Gate overcomes their despair and gains hope, the Phantom will be sealed back in and the Gate will have the power to use magic as a mage or wizard. Otherwise destroying it and the Gate’s magic potential is the only way to keep it from coming out. Some like Wizard’s WizarDragon are more benign after they are sealed again, though in Haruto’s case it was because he proved to his Phantom that Hope is more powerful than Despair.

While Phantoms have a clear goal, some have personality quirks that make them either uninterested in the mission or do things in a manner that go against what they were assigned to do. (Including the really dangerous ones like Legion)

Aside from Wiseman, there are three generals:

Medusa

Phoenix

Gremlin

To ensure they stay on task, the Phantoms are given Ghoul grunts to dispose of interference or aid in the endeavor. (Fear and intimidation also help as motivators for them to work) 

Phantoms are mostly extinct thanks to Wizard, but he remains vigilant as Gates are still out there. In times like these where it seems Hope is in short supply, he must prepare for any Phantom that comes. (or an evil Pac-Man)

[blaxicanjester-blog]

From a Prince to a jester ( Jester’s Prologue)

Keep running, keep running, don’t let them catch you. Aaron demanded at himself, giving him the will to keep going. He couldn’t let himself get caught. They’d kill him.  He knew he’d never be allowed back in hell. He didn’t WANT to be there anyways. That’s why he attacked Lucifer. Now every damned soul in hell was after him.

Aaron ran down the path he was told. The blood red, stone cavern that he was sprinting through lead to a portal back to earth. Out there the demons would never find him. He did a sharp turn around a bend, being careful not to crash into the stalagmites piled at the side. As he turned he was met by a group of Lucifer's soldiers. He turned around and saw the shadows of the people he was running from. The ones in front of him started inching closer “ You thought you could get away with what you did, you traitorous bastard.” said one as they all snickered.

Aaron gritted his teeth as he conjured his mallet that stretched farther than his own 5’5 stature. The mallet was jet black, making Aaron’s coal colored skin seem like a lighter tone than what it really was. He wasn’t gonna go down without a fight. He teleported behind the small group and struck the ground with a powerful swing. The ground shattered, broken chunks of earth fallen to the magma pool below. Aaron darted forward, continuing on his escape while the obstacle slowed down his hunters. He teleported down the rest of the corridor in hopes to create distance, but some of them could do the same.

Out of nowhere a wall of fire rose in front of Aaron, stopping him in his tracks, he turned to see of the generals of Lucifer's army. He snickered as one hand was smoking from the conjure of the firewall while the other held a flaming blade. The man’s red skin almost blended in with the colors of the cavern. “ I got you now young prince. I don’t know why you’d do what you did but you’ll have to answer for your crimes.”

   “Let me pass Grenadeel, I DON’T wanna fight you” Aaron stated as he faced the general. The oversized mallet looking heavier than it really was.

   “Sorry prince...I have my orders. Please forgive me.” Grenadeel said before swinging his sword and sending a wave of flames. He glowed with a orange-red aura, his eyes shined with the same color.

   Aaron swung his mallet and created a gust of wind to blow the flames away. “ fine,” he said with a hurtful tone “ I warned you.” he looked up at the general, his eyes and aura also glowed, but was a royal purple color. He dashed at the attacker and then disappeared. Showing up above the man, mallet up and ready to swing down atop of Grenadeel. Grenadeel easily deflected with a raise of his sword. “ Young prince did you think THAT was gon-” Grenadeel began to say before receiving a blow to the face with a giant purple hand,  Aaron’s aura. Aaron sent more fists at the general, as he did so Grenadeel easily deflected with balls of fire, even shooting one at Aaron. With a swing of his mallet Aaron hit the ball of fire towards Grendeel, teleporting to the side and making his aura latched on to Grenadeel’s ankles.

Grenadeel was trapped, absorbing the blow of his own fireball. At that moment Aaron closed his eyes, and created 3 clones of himself, all made out of his own dark matter, a black liquid that phased and solidified into whatever Aaron wanted. The clones all had mallets with them as well. Aaron teleported right to Grenadeel, the clones doing exactly the same. He cranked his mallet back, making it bigger and sending even more of his own demonic power into it “forgive me” he said in a quiet whisper before delivering a furious swing at Grenadeel’s head. The end of the high ranking soldier created a blast of flames, hurdling Aaron and his clones to the walls and ending the clones as well. All that was left was a black and red orb and a sword. Aaron groaned before getting up and walking over to the orb, picking it up and absorbing it within himself.

He sighed and looked ahead, the wall of fire was gone. He paused until hearing voices from behind. There was no time to grief he sprinted off once again and after another turn he saw it, the portal. It was an grey oval with the image of a small town. He teleported up to it and turned around, looking back as if having second thoughts. “ Fuck this place.” he said coldly before stepping through and vanishing within.

Several months passed since Aaron’s escape, and not once had he consumed a soul, this caused him to grow weak and if he didn’t do something soon, he wouldn’t exist anymore. He sighed, as he sat in an abandoned house and went through his options “ I’d have to kill a hundred people to get back to a normal state. I could hunt for a monster...but that would be too much and I ain’t strong enough to do that.” he thought some more and sigh. Suddenly he thought of one more idea “possession” he said with a smile. He just had to stay in whatever body long enough to get back to health, and the younger the better.

It didn’t take long to find a host. A small boy in town. Although the mom was annoying, with her screams and wails with every twisted thing Aaron did, it wasn’t that bad. He wouldn't be there for long though. As Aaron floated around the boy’s room, everything in the room was now on the roof, things were shaking and markings of hell littered the wall. It seemed as though everything was going smoothly, he was healing up pretty fast and would be leaving soon. Until HE arrived.

“ hello I’m bishop Fredrick. I’m here about an exorcism.” there was a tall black man at the doorway that was talking to the mother of “tiny Tim”. His blank look was as if he didn't want to be there, like this was just another job. The mother let him in and pointed to the boy’s room that Aaron resided in. Aaron darted to the back of the room. This was it, if he gets exorcised he’ll be back in hell and will most likely be killed.

Frederick entered the room Aaron resided in and Aaron tried to play it cool. Most of the powers Aaron possessed weren’t attainable while he was possessing someone. Aaron threw a couple books and toys at the bishop which he dodged with ease. “ I ain’t here to dilly dally. I got things to do! So lets get this over with.” Fredrick flung three projectiles at Aaron, pinning the demon to the wall in the same pose Jesus was on the cross. Aaron winced as he looked to what the bishop threw, Spoons..dipped in holy water. The demon began to hiss while the bishop started reading the exorcism with no hesitation. Aaron couldn’t go down like this, Whoever this guy was he was too good for his job. The demon had to do something, “ Wait, Wait! Please don't do this, I only did this cause I was weak, I promise I’ll leave.” Aaron pleaded, seeing no way out, he was pretty healthy now.

“You’ll just be inside someone else soon, and I’LL have to come back and get you again” Fred said in annoyance. He groaned, continuing with the exorcism.

Aaron groaned like a small kid being told no for something. “ Come OOOOOONNNNNN!!! I’ll do ANYTHING!!! I just don’t want to go back there. I’ll be killed there too” he gritted his teeth as thing started darting across the room, a demon tantrum.

Fred stood there, pondering on this. He needed more people for his plan, and he only had a wizard. “ Alright, leave that body and you can work for me…..FOREVER!’ Fredrick snickered at the idea and awaited the demons reaction “ you can be my….jester” He chuckled, A small gleam in his eyes.

“WHAT!?!?” Aaron was taken back by this proposal. “ Why would someone of the CHURCH want a DEMON at their side. You’re crazy” Aaron was at an uproar at this idea. But he needed to stay on earth. But why would a bishop need a demon.

“ That or exorcism.” Fredrick said pointing to his bible. He was amused with this and was actually kind of glad he came to this today.

Aaron couldn’t help but pause, taking the situation in and wondering how serious this guy was. Worse case I just kill him later. He thought and shrugged, crossing his arms and looked away “fine” he said in a low displeased voice. He was displeased with this  and without saying anything he left the boy’s body, reappearing outside the house and waited for the bishop. When the bishop came out he simply started to walk off. Aaron stood there for a minute realizing he had to follow. “ soooo what's your name? Mine’s aar-” Aaron began to say before being cut off by a raise of  the young bishop’s hand.

“ You are to call me Fred. As for your name, I’m calling you jester. Since that’s what you are to me.” Fred nodded to this idea, confirming that this was good. Aaron just looked at him shocked, opening his mouth as to say something till he saw the book then stopped and glared.

“ Yeah whatever. I don’t give a fuck lets just go.” Aaron said as he started to walk ahead. Not knowing what was in store for him at the hands at this man. He seemed off, different. Aaron was confused as to why, worried of what was ahead of him, angry that this guy had the nerve to do this, and anxious to see what happens.

[tsw-story]

Chapter 25 - Like Soldiers

There they stood within Deena's abode, five in total: Kevin the ginger warrior, Daveon the handsome druid, Deena the little witch, Renatta the fire ninja, and Eldrian the aspiring wizard. They were in circle looking towards one another, as Eldrian just finished explaining everything he knew to those who were out of the loop—about Asta, the thugs, and the upcoming battle.

“So we're expecting to run into a guy with mind control powers, and a guy who has indestructible skin, on top of a spellbreaker, which is apparently the thing that counters all of your powers?” Kevin asked.

“Yes,” Eldrian replied.

“You know I'll help you, but how do we deal with this? It sounds even more dangerous than the giant Dylan thing.”

“Planning, and a lot of improvising, like usual.”

Deena crossed her arms and gathered their attention. “Eldrian and I have been discussing what to do. They all have unique abilities that need to be dealt with. If only those three are there as threats, we need to figure out who is best made to handle each one. There's five of us, which means two of them can be dealt two of us instead of one, and I imagine Asta is on the top of that list.”

“You'll come with me, Kev,” stated Eldrian. “You're the only one Asta can't counter, because you have nothing to counter.”

“Thanks,” muttered Kevin.

“So Kevin and Eldrian will find Asta,” Deena repeated. “Ron has skin as hard as metal, so most attacks won't do much. But he can be bound and trapped, and I can still inflict curses on him. I'll deal with him.”

Daveon slipped off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. Quietly, he let out a sigh, but a moment after, he gathered himself. It was a lot to take in. But when he looked between his allies, a smile came to his face—one of determination.

“That leaves me and Renatta,” he said. “I only just met you, but if Eldrian trusts you, so do I.”

The redhead beamed with delight. “Thank you! I feel the same. Yes, this man Xeno is dangerous. He can control others, so there should be two of us, in case innocents are involved and need to be subdued. Eldrian told me you are a druid, yes? That is most useful for this situation. And you are very handsome, so it will be nice to fight along side you.”

“Uh. Thanks,” Daveon replied with a nod.

It was Eldrian who spoke once again. “So we all have a general idea of what we need to do, but the fact of the matter is that there's no way we can predict anything. Who knows what'll happen? We haven't even seen Asta fight. But she gave us this opportunity to confront her directly. At least she isn't a coward. It makes me feel kind of bad for doing this. I've never known a demon to be so fair.”

“But she's been trying to kill us,” said Deena.

“True, but she just seems odd. There's too much determination behind her intentions considering we didn't do anything to her. Something must have happened. You're right, though. We need to stop her. People could have died with Rend on the loose. Pachama did die indirectly from all of this. Kev's dad was shot, and Kev was kidnapped. Ren was forced to be an assassin for Xeno.”

Renatta giggled. “I like that nickname,” she whispered.

Eldrian cleared his throat—a little distracted. “And she's been dispensing this powerful artifact about like it's nothing. People could still get hurt. People might have died that we don't know about. If there's any of the Elixir of Strength left, we need to get it back to Huanca and Urco. As for the rest, I'm not really sure. It seems like Asta doesn't work with the government, but we can't just throw her to them for a multitude of reasons. However, we need to fight together nonetheless. We can't think about that right now, nor can we be distracted. I don't want anybody to come if they feel unsure of themselves, because know that this battle will be dangerous. So just to make sure, I'm going to ask one more time. Who's willing to come with me to confront Asta and her band of misfits?”

“Me, of course,” Kevin answered immediately.

“You already know I will,” whispered Deena.

“I've come this far from home already. I'll do everything I can to help,” Daveon said.

“Oh. Is it my turn?” Renatta asked. “Of course I am coming!”

“Good to hear.” Eldrian smiled.

He rose up his arms, and rings fell over him to replace his attire with his wizard's cloak. He was now garbed in dark blue, fantastical attire, as he normally would before a fight, and he turned from his allies to begin stepping from the room.

“We have until tomorrow. Until then, we make use of Deena's training cave,” he added. “I can't afford to be so easily halted by Asta like before. Not when our lives are at stake.”

So with that, they proceeded into the dimly lit cavern expanse. It seemed much smaller than Eldrian remembered it was when he practised here alone, but it would do for the time. He looked around, and it made him eager to see his allies start preparing so quickly.

Kevin summoned forth his magic blade, and it was obvious he had been training in his free time, because moves looked to come more naturally to him. He was light on his toes, and the blade's sharp edge cut through the air as if it was nothing. And beside him, even though Daveon's power was more potent where wildlife grew, he began summoning vines and transforming into various animals.

Deena was sitting on a boulder and reading a large tome. He assumed she was studying up on spells, which seemed to be more of her way, unlike himself. Though he preferred to learn more hands-on, he was comfortable somebody had the book knowledge situations might call for. Renatta was nosey at first, trying to read the book over her shoulder, but she eventually lost interest and went on her way to practicing her combat maneuvers. Smart, he thought, since magic might be stopped by Asta.

Eldrian, however, always focused mostly on his wizardry. He had a creative mind. He didn't know martial arts, nor was his body overly strong, but he was clever, and his attachment to magic knew no limits. That kind of wizard was to fear the most, for a wizard's potential reaches a peak relative to their determination, aspiration, and imagination. If one has no limitations for these, especially the latter, not even they would know their own possibilities. He tried out new spells. Dark Lightning was tricky to control, as it was mixing two different chaotic elements together, but it was powerful. Eldrian practised that, but also a few new tricks. He knew he needed them. It was only three opponents—hopefully—but two were affected by an ancient artifact and one was a spellbreaker.

The clock ticked onwards. Soon, it was time, and they were as ready as they could be.

***

There was only a run-down house next to a barn among the remnants of what was once acres of crops, presumably. Eldrian didn't know why they were to meet her at an abandoned farm, but it did make sense if none of them wanted to be seen. Plus, things could get destroyed. It still made him uneasy, even if the sun was still out. It looked like something out of a ghost movie from where he stood.

Eldrian, Deena, and even Renatta did look relatively clothed for the occasion considering them being wizards, though Kevin and Daveon still wore what they normally did. They marched, but it didn't take long to see Asta leaning on the front porch, Ron standing nearby, and Xeno arching over a cracked barrel. Both sides of the war were waiting for this moment.

The grey-skinned brute Ron slid the cigar out from between his teeth, and pressed the lit edge against the palm of his hand, sizzling out the flame without even a flinch. He flicked it aside, cracked his neck, and sprinted full-force towards the group without a word from the others.

Daveon, quick to think, tripped him with a vine at the same moment Eldrian released a wave of energy. Ron flew through the air, and crashed with a violent thud several feet away and near the waiting witch.

“I'm glad you came,” shouted Asta as she stepped down from the porch.

She rose up her mace, and she was dressed now in what looked to be a bullet-proof vest, like a soldier. However, something else was new as well. She had a silver ring on her other hand he hadn't taken notice to previously. It shone bright, and he saw that as she spoke, it transformed into a steel, disk-like shield strapped around her arm. It was decorated with a blue gemstone in the center, as well as four smaller ones around the outside.

“Aegis of Light!” she shouted, as a command phrase, to cause this transformation to occur, similar to Kevin's Drodias. “You and your friends, Eldrian, will be the first major step in removing all wizards from the world. Then nobody will have to be hurt anymore.”

He looked to his left. Deena had already begun dealing with the rampaging Ron. Making their way around the back of the house in a chase were Renatta, Daveon, and Xeno. This left only him and Kevin facing Asta in front of the building.

“Summon sword, Drodias!” yelled Kevin in response.

Asta raised a brow. “You have a magic weapon as well?”

“It was a gift from a friend,” he replied.

Eldrian looked to his friend. He nodded, and so did Kevin. They both the looked to Asta in unison and took deep breaths.

“Are you ready, Kev?”

“Ready freddy.”

Meanwhile, Deena was out in the fields facing the smooth-headed thug. His vacant white eyes started the witch down. He remembered what happened last time. However, it didn't seem to phase him. He grinned wide as they stood twenty feet apart in an uneasy stand-off.

“So you have magic eyes because of the Elixir,” he stated.

Ron shrugged. “Guess so. Don't know that much about all this magic stuff, besides what the lady told us. She said she'd pay us big if we took ya guys out of the picture, so that's what we're gonna do. And don't think I forgot how much pain a put me through. Witch? More like bitch.”

She glared. “You're always smoking. You know, that's unhealthy.”

“What the hell do I care?”

“Because I'm going to show you why smoke billowing from our mouth all the time is really bad for you.”

“Ya want to try something? Go ahead.”

A sweeping wave of dark flames came from Deena's fingernails as she clawed the air in front of her person, but as expecting, the heat brushed across Ron's face without even a flinch to his reaction. The burning didn't even affect his eyes. With a wave of his own hands, he cleared away the cinders and smoke and began running towards Deena to direct a hard fist to her face.

“I don't wanna beat a little girl, but—huh?” he gasped.

His fist hit nothing, as Deena was now behind him.

She rose up her arms to reach for the air above her. A presence swooped up her form that looked like nothing more than a casting shadow, but it twirled about her as if something was there, but the only evidence was the darkness it left behind. Directly where Ron stood, a similar thing occurred. A circle of shadow came up from his feet.

“Get dragged down to hell!” shouted Deena.

The claw of a creature made entirely of black burst up from beneath him and wrapped entirely around his body. It yanked him downwards, slamming his body's weight into a crater in the soil. It proceeded to hold him there. It wasn't unlike Daveon's entangle now, but at least ten times more spooky. Phantom Grasp!

His skin was unbreakable, but he still coughed as his spine made a powerful impact. He grumbled and struggled, but at least for the time being, he was unable to escape. Deena needed to channel this, however, so she maintained a pose of her arms and fingers.

“This is ridiculous,” he growled. “She said I was impenetrable!”

He swung out both of his arms, and tore through the demon claw enveloping his body. Deena stepped back. Ron lifted himself up and twitched an eye with an obvious show of rage, and now he was free.

“I told ya. Nothing can get through me, or stop me, and ya don't have someone to distract me from your fancy-schmancy voodoo like last time,” he added.

“That wasn't technically voodoo...”

“You're dead. What even are ya? This is a big man's world.”

Deena stood there. It was only the two of them around. She didn't know where the others were beyond them being somewhere around the farm, and she wasn't at the liberty to check. She couldn't worry either. The fight she faced was important, and she had to trust the others could manage. It was a strange feeling. Deena thought that a couple weeks ago, such a worry wouldn't have even crossed her mind in the first place.

“What am I?” she replied. “I'm a witch. And you're just another ant I need to step on.”

[meonlyred]

The Story So Far: Part 4

Transcript of our D&D game written by our DM Amy: Character Art by meonlyred or dreambled

It was decided early the next day they would head again to back Phandalin. Over the previous few weeks Corrin had made attempts to contact his orc tribe but had heard nothing back from them. After sending a letter to Gundren in Phandalin to see if he knew of any orc activity in the area and getting a response back saying it had been quiet, Corrin was concerned about what may be going on. So the group packed up and set out again down the High Road to Triboar Trail. After several more days travelling, something the kooky cadre had become proficient in, they arrived again at Cragmaw Castle to find the orc camp in ruins and signs of battles all around. Slowly making their way through the destruction, they were attacked by two large and strange looking creatures they later learned were called trollkin. After a somewhat challenging but still brief battle, the trollkin were defeated. Upon their bodies they found a strange symbol, a black fist holding a black arrow in a tight grip. Entering the castle, they were greeted by Sheshka, a spellcaster and trusted warrior with the Red Arrow tribe that aided them in Wave Echo cave. To their surprise she had learned a few words of common and ushered them to the alter room of the castle where her, Brughar, and several other warriors were holed up. They also found here a young wizard woman with wild red hair, calling herself Meriana. She had come to the ruins to study them, and was cautiously welcomed by the orcs. The learned then that a rival orc clan, the Black Arrows, had attacked Brughar and his people, proclaiming the Red Arrow tribe to be weak and a disgrace to orc kind. They killed many of the people, children included, but some managed to escape to the Neverwinter Wood where Brughar said they had caves and several other hidden safe spots. Brughar and the others stayed behind to try and keep the attackers distracted with the aid of Meriana. They were weary and injured, and supplies were dwindling, but now that Corrin and the others had showed up and taken out the trollkin they had a chance to retreat and join the rest of their people. Before they parted Brughar imparted on Corrin some words of advice he was surprised to hear coming from an orc, suggesting that war and vengeance were not always the best actions.

Taking Meriana with them the group continued on to Phandalin, where they discovered Gundren had become the new Townmaster of the village and that rebuilding was already taking place. One of the most notable additions was a small temple to Tymora. Where before they had barely a small luck shrine dedicated to her, there was now a small temple being ran by Sister Garaele, a cleric of Tymora and member of the Harpers who had requested the aid of our novice champions on their first visit to Phandalin. Mara also discovered her friend Halia Thornton had taken off and left the Miner’s Exchange in quite a hurry, and another member of the Zhentarim had taken her place and was looking for her. Once settled in the group was asked by Gundren to run a few small errands in support of the operations taking place at Wave Echo cave, which the group had a small share in. The first task was to make their way to Triboar and retrieve mining supplies that he had commissioned the creation of in hopes of opening up trade between the two villages.

They set out following the trail eastward and arriving 3 days later in Triboar, the journey being uneventful. They made contact with Nathan Redwater, the blacksmith in Triboar, who said he needed one more day to finish getting the rest of the supplies together and suggested they settle in and maybe partake in the upcoming festivities,  a holiday known as Ser Cuthbert's Day where the town celebrated their founding. They began to hear strange tells of a grey man haunting the fields outside the town, stories of animal mutilation, and of the disappearance of a young mother and her child. They were called upon by Cordelia Oldfield, the Lord Protector of Triboar, to look into these issues while in town. She had heard of the things they did for Phandalin and hoped they could be of aid to her people as well. The party began making their way through town investigating the claims, speaking to Dorn Stonewood the abusive husband to the missing woman, Travik Quickmoore a nervous Gnome farmer who had suffered the loss of cattle to strange mutilations, and Father Longfellow a half-orc priest of Tymora who told them of the old graveyard. They made their way outside of town where they themselves had a brief encounter with the gray man. They attempted to communicate with him but found it impossible to do so. Making their way to the Stonewood home, they found it badly damaged and signs of a struggle all around. Pip, being rather observant and skilled in survival, quickly picked up a trail and lead the group into the woods. As they followed the path to its end they were attacked by a ghastly pack of demon dogs. Upon defeating the beasts, they found the missing wife and child of Dorn hiding in a bramble patch. Injured, hungry and cold, but still alive. They quickly escorted the woman and child to the temple where they were given to the care of Father Longfellow. The crew then made their way to the old graveyard where they again had a run in with the grey man and again failing in an attempt to communicate with the apparition before it charged the group and disappeared. As they entered the graveyard they were surprised to see a group of undead wandering the area, and strange glow coming from the center. They fought their way through the skeletons and zombies, noticing many dug up and desecrated graves as they went. When they arrived to the center, they were attacked by the horrendous visage of an undead necromancer. It was then the group realized Corrin had been possessed by the grey man they encountered, and a battle between him and the necromancer ensued. Embolden by this divine power Corrin quickly defeated the necromancer, and the grey man left his body. They learned this was the spirit of Ser Cuthbert. He had been disturbed from his long sleep by the presence of this necromancer and had been attempting to warn the village of the danger facing them. Unable to gather the proper strength to do so, he took the chance to possess one of the group so he could help protect the village he founded and loved.

The festival for Ser Cuthbert's Day was full of food, drink and revelry. The adventurers, never ones to turn down a good bash, partook in as much as they could. Mara of course made sure to make the "rounds" with the townsfolk and got to know as many as she could. They set off the next morning with the mining supplies in tow and made it safely back to Phandalin, where Gundren once again asked them for their aid. He requested their assistance in scouting down south of the town through the mountains and the Kryptgarden Forest in hopes of laying a road and shortcut to the town of Red Larch. He informed them he had sent a scout ahead already and intended for them to meet up with her and give her aid. They set out, ONCE AGAIN, and made their way through a small mountain pass Gundrens men had created, leading to the Kryptgarden Forest.

Upon entering the forest it did not take long to realize something was amiss. The forest was unusually quiet and a strange smell filled the air. They cautiously made their way further in. After fighting several strange blighted plant creatures they ran into Gundrens scout, a tall woman with long dark golden brown hair, golden brown eyes, and a black as night dane by her side. She introduced herself as Vibeke Thorne of the Lords Alliance, and her companion as Petunia. She informed them of the weird and unsettling things she had found and took them deeper still into the woods. Before they could get much further they were confronted by an elf and a large bear. Fortunately it took only seconds for the elf to recognize them and for them to recognize her as the druid Reida from Thundertree. She introduced her ally as another druid, Olonan, as he quickly reverted back to his elven form. They informed them of the blight and corruption overtaking the forest and how their tribe had suffered many losses. They were lead to a hidden cave where the remaining druid tribe members were taking shelter and brought before the elder and archdruid of the tribe Torleth. She told them of the Life Tree they worshiped in the center of the forest, and that she believed the corruption started there. They could not help but notice the druids seemed to be acting strangely melancholy and somewhat combative. The group took it upon themselves to head to the center of the forest and search out the cause of what was happening. Reida left a head to check the site of the tree, and the rest were guided by Olonan.

The closer they got to the center of the forest the more they noticed decaying and dying trees and plants, the presence of strange fungi and a brown mucky liquid. Mara found herself much more affected by the foulness they were surrounded by and found her mood dropping quickly. When they finally arrived to the Life Tree, they found it to have been cut down. Its roots now surrounded by the dark murky liquid, covered in an odd assortment of growths and polyps as well as decaying corpses. Two dark elves stood at the center, one with flowing robes and long jet black hair, the other in a strange carapace armor. To their horror they had Reida in their grasp, and before the groups eyes slit her throat and dropped her body at the base of the tree stump. The two introduced themselves as the Black Star and Black Blade, sisters to Black Spider, seeking revenge for his murder. The one in robes summoned forth two demons and a harrowing battle ensued. They proved themselves formidable foes, but the group managed to defeat the demons and gain the upper hand, eventually converging on Black Star and killing her. Unfortunately Black Blade managed to summon a portal and escape. Checking Reidas body, they found she had perished, and noticed the growths and water appearing to absorb and feed off her blood. As they collected Reidas body, Torleth came through the forest edge and made her way to the stump of the tree, proclaiming it needed new life to cure the pollution. She exchanged words in an old sylan dialect with Olonan, before removing her clothing and kneels on the stump, giving her own life in sacrifice. In her place a small tree with soft pink leaves began to sprout.

The walk back to the shelter was quiet and somber. Once returned the druids took Reidas body to prepare it for funeral rites, and the group spent the night quietly gathered around the fire. They spent the next morning helping the tribe pack up as they prepared to leave and head for the High Forest, proclaiming the Kryptgarden unsafe to live in for now. Vibeke announced she was heading back to Waterdeep and the main headquarters of the Lords Alliance, and extended an invitation for the gang to accompany her, they agreed.

[vvtaverenvv]

Sword in the Stone

Hello everyone! Here’s the first chapter of my Fantasy AU, also available on my Ao3 account! Hope you enjoy!

Ao3

Word Count: 5572

Wind swept through the land of Extralia, a continent filled with fantastic kingdoms and ideal city-states. It touched every part of the land, from the winding canyons in the far west to the soaring peaks of the north, across the riverlands and into the sunlit plains of Embarr. With it came a sense of great change. The season was changing, of course. The winter snows had passed away and the springtime renewal was just about to begin, but that was not the change the wind whispered. No, the change came in the form of Fate. To those most sensitive to the ebb and flow of Fate’s fickle nature, they could tell that a great change was about to come to the land. Whether it came in the form of development and prosperity, or destruction and war, they could discern its nature. Even the wisest of sages could not tell if this change would benefit the world, they could only prepare for whatever possibility was going to come.

Izuku Midoriya watched the water as it passed by his family’s farm. He had just finished tilling the soil and decided to rest on the northern edge of his mother's property in order to watch the local river, called Ixlan, flow eastward. He found comfort in the way the water bent upon itself and straightened once more, and especially how it never stopped in its motions. No matter what, the power of the river could never be halted. Even with the advent of ice, a rare occurrence in the southlands of Embarr, the powerful water was likely to still be in motion underneath it. Only with a man-made dam could it be stopped, and even then the water would eventually prevail.

The air shifted and Midoriya turned around to look over the field he had just plowed. Rows of freshly turned dirt was that was there, and beyond it lay more farmland. Rows of dirt and grass, fields for both cattle and wheat. He lived in the village of Vestus, with barely more than five hundred other people spread over the countryside. Located in the kingdom of Embarr, they lived a happy, if not dull, life. There was little violence and little threat from war since they lived in the southwest corner of the kingdom, right on the edge of the great forest of Ulthuan. Monsters still lurked in the westernmost reaches of the forest and among the slopes of the mountains, but the patrolling soldiers made sure that they were no major threat to the kingdom. Their crops were bountiful and the tax, collected for Lord Kamihara, was bearable. If one wanted to live a life free from the worries of massive violence, they would want to live here. In a way, Midoriya was blessed, but to him that blessing was a curse.

Midoriya wanted to leave his home behind and pursue adventure, plain and simple. Already he decided the farming life was not for him. It was not about the long hours, or the countless chores, or the animals. No, it was the fact that he couldn’t do anything. Even though they were far away from the violence, there were still stories that came from seemingly far-away lands. Stories of rampaging orcs and goblins that burned farmsteads and killed innocents, of evil kings and wizards who gained their power from demons, of the violent struggles between city-states. Those stories were terrifying and he knew that he was blessed to be far away from the edge of death, but a part of him wanted to approach that evil. Could he stand against those that wished harm upon others? Could he stand against the demons and devils, against the dark gods that wished for nothing more than the complete destruction of everything?

“Izuku!!” A voice called out from the farmstead and Midoriya turned his head to see his mother waving at him from the doorway. She was an older woman, in her mid fifties but still had a youthful look in her eyes. He waved back and walked across the field to see that she stood there with a rather large basket in her arms. “I need you to take this to Miss Alzuca for me, it’s some supplies that she’ll need.” He nodded and turned around so she could slip the straps over his shoulders and secure it to his body. “Be safe ok? Word has it that there’s been some trouble far to the northwest.” She smiled and turned Midoriya around to lay a kiss on his forehead.

“Ok mom.” He reached out and gently gripped her hand, before turning away and heading towards the main road that ran through their village. He turned south towards the great forest that laid on the edge of their village once he reached the main road. Far to the west rose a range of small mountains cloaked in the green of the forest. Those were the Ukali mountains, which created a natural border for the southwestern corner of Embarr. Midoriya looked over the evergreens and snow-capped mountains, then continued along his way down the road. Slowly the rolling fields of the farmlands shifted towards the outermost trees of the great forest and the ground raised in elevation. Eventually the trees grew thicker and Midoriya slowed around in order to be able to watch the shadows between the trees with a closer eye. Even though their land was safe, wolves still existed.

The afternoon sun was shifting towards evening when Midoriya heard the sound of metal crashing against metal. Shouts of animals, no, something akin to animals but not quite, echoed through the wood. Midoriya stopped in his tracks and took a half-step back as the sounds of violence reached him. What was up ahead? What danger lurked around the next corner, or over the next hill? His hands came to the straps of the basket and he rushed forward, eyes wide.

Midoriya rounded a corner and spied a large clearing not three hundred feet away from him. The sound seemed to come from there, and as he crept forward he could see more of the battle. A lone knight stood against a large group of orcs and goblins. He wore silver-colored platemail and bore no helm atop his head, in his hands was a large bastard sword that shone with brilliant light and at his side was another, shorter, sword. Opposite to him was a ring of orcs and goblins, wielding crude spears or swords and adorned with leather and chainmail. Midoriya hid behind a tree when he was within view of the clearing and set his basket down on the ground. Part of him screamed that he should run, that he should hide until the monsters were gone. Then, another part spoke to him, to get closer to the fight, to see if he could help. Slowly he crept through the trees, staying low to the ground while he kept his attention focused on the clearing.

The battle continued even as Midoriya crept forward, and it was a wonderful sight. The knight fought with the vigor of one hundred men, slaying his enemy with ease even as they raged against him. It was as if he was dancing with the waves of monsters; each time they crashed against him, he danced away and felled those that came too close. The cries of the dying and injured filled the air, but they did not stop the storm. When Midoriya was at the edge of the clearing, crouched against the base of a tree, he could see the chaos that had begun. The bodies of orcs and goblins were littered everywhere, their black, foul blood seeped into the earth and the weapons they once held were scattered. The warband had been put into disarray with the appearance of this lonely knight, who still fought on against the significant odds. Midoriya watched frozen in fascination, until something changed.

One of the larger orcs, a brute wearing wicked scale mail and wielding a curved sword of black steel, was an actual challenge for the knight. His skill with the blade, while crude, took the knight by surprise and in a moment he had been disarmed. The once-glowing sword flew through the air and sharply fell at the edge of the clearing, not five feet from Midoriya. That did not stop the knight, however, who drew his secondary weapon and continued fighting. The skirmish continued even as the orcs began to retreat, however Midoriya was distracted by the weapon that fell before him.

Midoriya gazed at the sword. The light bent in a certain way there, he was sure of it. It appeared like any other sword; straight, with a blade of about three feet and a crossguard, the hilt wrapped in either cloth or leather. But, there was something different there too. The more he stared at the fine weapon the more he noticed. The holy aura emanating from the blade, almost familiarity of the hilt, of the way it called for him. He stepped out from around the tree and walked forward until it was within its grasp. There was a ringing in his ears, once faint, that grew louder as he approached. He reached forward and wrapped his hand around the weapon, and drew it from the earth.

A cry came from behind him and he turned to see an orc standing there, crude axe in hand and a maniacal look on its face. It had grey skin, similar to an ape, with a large flat face. It’s eyes were wide with red pupils, which framed a large nose and were set above a very open mouth. It charged Midoriya, its axe raised for the kill.

Midoriya pulled his sword back and leaned forward as he thrusted his sword out. It met a moment of resistance, then tore through flesh and bone. The orc stiffed and its eyes widened; a boy, a simple peasant, had delivered the final blow. It took a step back in surprise, then crumpled to the ground. Midoriya stood in shock over the body, then turned around as he felt another presence.

The knight stood there, his broad back almost casting a shadow over the smaller boy. His right hand was outstretched behind him, his other grasping the smaller weapon as he fended off a goblin. “Young man, hand me my weapon!” His voice was deep, and heroic, everything that Midoriya imagined when he was told the stories. He stuttered then quickly handed the blade over, and in an instant the fight began and ended. The goblin, and the next two orcs that still remained to fight, were cut down, and the once chaotic clearing turned silent once more as the remaining orcs retreated with their wounded.

Midoriya took a step back as the knight turned towards him and he was able to get his first full gaze of him. He was tall, easily more than six and a half feet, with broad shoulders and a muscular build that rivaled a minotaur. It was his face, however, that attracted the most attention. His jawline was chiseled, his chin broad, his face perfectly smooth and topped with bright blonde hair. His eyes were beacons of blue flame that brought Midoriya a comforting feeling, and while there was a determined line set in his mouth, it did not mean any malice.

Was he a hero, out of the stories?

“Young man, what are you doing out here alone in the forest? Don’t you know it’s dangerous?” The knight asked him. He sheathed his shorter sword and then produced a small cloth from his side, and began to clean his larger blade.

“I do know it’s dangerous, I had to make a delivery.” He stared up at the knight and met his gaze. There was something there, hiding behind the blue flame. Midoriya could only feel the piercing burn of that fire, but he was sure there was an element he could not quite discern.

“Hmph, and what made you charge out here and fight? You could have easily remained hidden behind that tree.” He gestured with his head towards the tree Midoriya had been hiding behind, and a red blush slowly began to creep across his face.

“Well, I, uh, your sword.” Midoriya pointed to the weapon and stuttered. “It was calling to me, you see, and so I decided to pick it up.” He paused for a heartbeat then added, “plus it looked like you needed help!” It definitely did not look like the knight needed any help, but saying that felt a little better than just wanting to hold a sword.

“I see.” The knight finished cleaning his blade and then held it up for both of them to see. It caught the light for a moment, and Midoriya could clearly see his reflection. “Young man, what is your name?”

“Midoriya, Izuku Midoriya sir.”

“Midoriya.” He sheathed the sword and half-turned to watch the fading image of the warband. “Midoriya, where do you live?”

“To the north, actually, northeast really. If you head east from here you’ll meet a road and if you follow that north you’ll come to my village.” Midoriya, beginning to feel the weight of the man’s gaze, turned his head to look down at the ground.

“I have a favor to ask you, Midoriya.” The knight laid a hand upon Midoriya’s shoulder, and the boy looked up. “There is a clearing, further to the west for about ten miles, I need you to come there in three day’s time at midnight. Bring nothing with you, save whatever you deem necessary for the journey. I will meet you there, this is of the utmost importance.”

Midoriya blinked and frowned at the request. “Why do you need to meet me then? I’m,” there was a pause as he considered his next words, “nobody.” He said with a slight sigh.

“I cannot speak of this here, you just need to trust me. Besides, I am sure you aren’t a nobody.” He smiled then, a smile that held a light which rivaled the sun, but those piercing eyes did not waver in their intensity. Slowly, Midoriya nodded. “Three days, at midnight. My name is Toshinori, remember that.” He offered a hand to shake Midoriya’s. Midoriya shook his hand and watched as the knight turned away and began to run deeper into the forest, pursuing the remnants of the warband he destroyed Soon, he was out of sight.

Midoriya watched where the knight had gone, and slowly turned back towards where he had come from. He collected the basket he left behind and took a deep breath. His body felt worn and numb and he could only focus on each step towards his destination.

It was another forty minutes until he reached Miss Alzuca’s house. She was a warm, if odd, old lady that lived in the woods, and was kind to his family and his village. Apparently, decades ago she had helped them replant their crops after an orc warband had ravaged their village. She seemed capable enough by herself, but the village still liked to send her gifts as a kind of tribute, and to make sure she was still ok. When he reached her house she was sitting outside on her porch, calmly watching him approach.

“That seems like a heavy load, here set it down on the ground and come have a seat.” She nudged a rocking chair next to her with her foot. Midoriya gratefully set his load down and then rushed over to the seat. He saw a small platter of bread and meat laid out on a table between them, and his mouth started to salivate. “Please, feel free to eat.”

Silence stretched for a time as Midoriya ate the offered food. He had made deliveries to Miss Alzuca before and she was always nice to him. Usually she passed the time while he ate with a story of what she was up to, but this time she was oddly quiet. When he was close to finishing his food she turned to look at him. “I see you’ve grown up.” Her voice was soft and the emerald green hues of her eyes froze him in place.

“Well, it has been some time since you’ve seen me.” He laughed and wiped some crumbs off his lap. The shock of the battle was beginning to set in as he finished eating. His hands shook, his muscles ached from the journey, and his stomach was filled with a dark pit.

“That’s not what I meant darling.” She reached over and gently moved some of his green curls out of his face. “There’s a different look in your eyes now, and I think you know what I mean.” Midoriya blinked and looked down at his feet. He knew exactly what she meant. His hand shook as he remembered what had happened; he had killed another living thing. That orc which meant to kill him, instead fell by his hand. He closed his shaking fist and took a deep breath, trying to settle his stomach.

“Don’t feel bad though, darling.” Alzuca spoke in a soft voice as she rocked in her chair. “It was an Orc, meant to destroy and kill in the name of Evil.” Midoriya remained silent, and she turned back towards him. A moment passed and she laid a hand on his shoulder. A green glow emanated from her palm, and the nauseating feeling began to fade away. Slowly he breathed in and sat a bit straighter, the exhaustion from his travels and the sickening feeling both were gone.

“How do you know?” He finally asked.

“Clairvoyance is a wonderful magic to learn, I saw the entire battle right here from my porch.” She turned her head back towards the forest. “There are other moments at play too, but do not fear. I sent word to your mother that you will be staying the night.” Midoriya stiffened and again she turned towards him. He met her gaze and found her eyes to be a comforting warmth, similar to the knight’s. “Thank you.”

“Of course dear, inside you’ll find a bedroom to your right. You can stay there for the night, dinner will be in a few hours.” Midoriya stood from his seat and bowed towards her, then hurried inside. Behind him he could hear the soft laughter of the older woman, and the wind in the trees.

Evening turned to night and dinner came and went. The meal was quite good, a nice roasted ham with more bread and a collection of vegetables from Alzuca’s garden. After they finished eating Alzuca ushered Midoriya to bed, claiming that he had a long day and needed his rest. Now, he laid on the small bed provided for him and stared up at the ceiling, deep in thought.

The battle he experienced today was both exhilarating and terrifying. To face something as harrowing as an Orc, to see adventure right before him, that brought an excitement to his heart. But, to face death, to defeat it and kill another thing, that terrified him. What happened next? Was he condemned for the slaughter of another? Everyone spoke of how Orcs were evil creatures who desired the destruction of the world, but did it really deserve to die? He played the moment over and over again in the depths of his mind, an animation of what happened. He took a step back and brought the sword perpendicular to the chest of the beast and made eye contact. All he could see was the depths of hatred in those bestial red eyes. He brought the blade back and then thrust if forward into the chest of his enemy. The rage and hatred faded from the Orc as its lifeblood sank away. Did he do something wrong by killing it? Or did he save someone by killing it?

He turned onto his side and stared at the wall. Who was that man, that knight who managed to kill so many? He managed to cause an entire field’s worth of devastation without any sign of weariness or hurts. Then there was that look in his eyes, so different from that of the orc. It radiated warmth and compassion and understanding. What did he want from him? Just a peasant boy who has no experience outside the realm of farming, what use was he to a knight like Toshinori? He then remembered the glowing sword, and how it called to him until he finally pulled it free from the earth. Something told him that the sword was important, but before he could think anymore he promptly fell asleep.

“Is he asleep?” A voice asked from the doorway of Alzuca’s house. The witch turned towards the door with a slight smile on her face. A gaunt man stood there, dressed in a simple blue and black outfit, his eyes the same blue as the knight from earlier. A bastard sword was slung over his right shoulder, the sheath wrapped in a simple white cloth.

“Yes he is, do you want to talk outside, Toshinori?” He nodded and turned away from the door to wait on the porch. She laughed softly to herself and walked out to join him, the door shutting behind her. Toshinori waited outside, his body turned towards the east with the pale moonlight casting a glow around his body. Alzuca settled on her chair and watched him for a minute, content to wait in silence.

“How was he when he got here?” Toshinori broke the silence and turned to face Alzuca, a grim look on the hollowed face.

“Tired, but what else can you expect? When I talked to you, you made it seem like he knew what he was doing, but all I could see was a little boy.”

“He killed an orc with the natural grace of a seasoned warrior. It’d be madness if he didn’t know what he was doing.”

“Hm. When I heard you were going to be in the area, I didn’t expect I would need to actually talk to you.”

“Should I take that as an insult?”

“Maybe you should, I’m not involved in your business anymore.”

“No you’re not, but you still took in the boy when I asked you.”

“Because I still have a heart.” Silence stretched for a moment while Toshinori looked away. “What did you want, you wouldn’t come just to visit me.”

“Midoriya, the boy in there, has been selected by the sword.” Toshinori’s voice was a whisper in the dark as the clouds grew close above the house. Alzuca’s eyes widened and she stood up.

“Him? But he’s incapable of using magic!”

“Oh? That, I did not know.” Toshinori shrugged and pulled his sword over his shoulder to hold it before her. “It’s been searching for an heir for a few years now, ever since the battle with that pit devil. I guess I’ve grown too weak to wield it, or it finally decided it’s time to move on.”

“You, too weak to wield it? Then how can he? He’s literally incapable of processing any mana, it was proclaimed at birth and again when he was very young.” Alzuca’s eyes were glued to the sword and she walked forward to gently take it from Toshinori’s grasp. It was heavy in her hands, and as her body bent forward under the weight Toshinori reclaimed it. Still, even in that brief moment, she could feel the power that blade held within it.

“I don’t know.” Toshinori whispered softly as he slung the sword over his back once more. “All I know is that he lifted it and killed with it, there is nothing left to say.” There was silence once again.

“What happens next? Does the Order know?”

“It happened in a span of a day, what do you think?” Toshinori answered in a dry voice. “The Order does not know, but I will send a message when I can. As for what happens next, he needs to be trained. In order to wield this blade, and handle the burden it carries.” For a moment Alzuca could see Toshinori’s back, bent after decades of wielding a sword that carried with it a heavy price.

“Will you kidnap him away from his life? Will you let him be drawn into the crazy mess you’re involved in?”

“...We shall see.” Toshinori answered as he turned away from Alzuca. “Perhaps it will decide Midoriya is unworthy after all, he still needs to pass the final trial.” He began to walk away from the house and into the darkening shadows of the forest, leaving Alzuca alone on the yard. After a moment, Alzuca turned and entered her home, her head shaking slightly.

The next morning, Midoriya left home with the blessings of Alzuca and a bag filled with a variety of herbs, a few jars of pulstice and other necessary supplies needed for the farm. When he returned home he was greeted by a rather scathing interrogation from his mother. Of course he dodged the questions as best he could, explaining that he had gotten a little lost and that by the time he reached Alzuca’s he was exhausted and couldn’t make the trip back before nightfall. His mother apparently accepted his excuse and held him tight for a moment, before sending him to his room to relax for a bit. He didn’t question her choice to give him a respite and quickly left for his room, thinking of a way where he was going to be able to sneak away to meet with Toshinori.

Three days passed before Midoriya knew it and it was time for him to meet Toshinori. His plan was rocky, to say the least. When the sky started to turn towards its orange glow and the chores were dealt with, he’d slip away into the forest. He wasn’t entirely sure what drove him, whether it was the excitement from the possibility for adventure or the desire to fulfill the expectation that was placed upon him. Whatever reason drove him, he needed to be at that clearing by midnight.

The time came and Midoriya slipped out of his house and made his way towards the forest. He followed the main road again, tracing the path he had taken only three days ago. When he entered the forest he heard a peculiar ringing, low like a whisper within the woods, and he paused to hear it. It came further to the west, deeper into the forest and further into the hills that would lead up into the mountain range. Midoriya paused for a second, then began to follow the road once more.

Hours passed and the sun sank behind the mountains, sending the forest into darkness. Midoriya’s pace slowed, if only to be careful of where he was going. The moon rose over the trees to give him some light to work with, but it was still slow going. Still, there was one thing that helped him, the incessant low-ringing noise. As he continued west the ringing slowly grew in volume, which he took as a sign he was getting closer to his objective. Slowly the landscape changed from the plains of his home to the hills that announced he was climbing closer to the mountains. The air grew colder and as Midoriya turned off the main road the path grew treacherous. Yet, in the distance, still some miles off and higher up among the hills that brushed the mountains, a bright light shone through a crown of trees. That was where he was supposed to go, he knew it.

The moon was high in the sky when Midoriya finally reached the clearing. It was located high in the foothills, near the base of the mountains where the air was crisp and sharp. As he climbed up through the crown he could see the flat clearing itself. It was set atop the tallest hill in the area, with a strand of trees strung around it. In the center stood a figure, a stark contrast to the knight het met before for he was gaunt and bent, with hollow blue eyes and limp blond hair. Beside him, however, was the same sword from earlier. It was stuck within a circular boulder, the hilt and about a foot worth of blade exposed to the air. The ringing stopped and that peculiar glow that guided him earlier was now gone. Midoriya stepped into the clearing and the figure turned towards him.

“Ah, Midoriya, I’m glad you could make it.” The figure called out towards Midoriya with a hand raised in greeting. Midoriya paused in his approach and looked closer. The hair did match the knight from earlier, and those eyes while they did look hollowed still had a fire burning behind them.

“Toshinori?” Midoriya asked as he approached the bowed knight. How could this have happened in the span of a few days? “Aye, that’s me.” Toshinori nodded and looked towards the east, avoiding Midoriya’s gaze. “A sight to see, aren’t I?”

“It’s a surprise, to say the least.” He looked over Toshinori’s body again then crossed his arm. “Anyway, what did you want to talk about?”

“About what happened a couple days ago.” The wind picked up and Toshinori turned towards Midoriya. “Anybody sane would have run away from the sounds of war, and yet you chose to run towards it. Why?”

Midoriya took a half-breath as he considered the question. “Because it sounded like an adventure.”

“Is that it? Such a simple answer.”

“Well, it sounded like an adventure yes, but someone could have been in danger.” Midoriya answered almost instantly, not putting much thought into his words. He bit his cheek then as he considered what he said, something was compelling him to speak everything that his heart wanted to shout.

“So you, a boy who has yet to see his seventeenth summer, decided to go into danger to save someone? Without having the means to save them?”

“It doesn’t matter if I wasn’t prepared. I didn’t know the circumstances, all I knew was that someone might be in danger. Maybe I could have done something.”

There was a pause as Toshinori considered Midoriya. “Do you wish to linger here, in the safe farmlands of your country?”

“No sir. I want to leave. I want to see the wider world and experience all that it has to offer.”

“Why? There is something more to that path, isn’t there?”

“I wish to fight Evil.” Midoriya looked down at his feet as he spoke, a red blush began to form on his face. What was he saying, how could he fight Evil itself? To fight that primordial Power which was constantly struggling against Good? What a childish dream.

Silence filled the clearing and Midoriya did not dare look up. Finally, Toshinori broke the silence. “That is a bold task, and a bold claim. Who do you expect to fight? The pickpockets in the day? Or do you intend to challenge the devils that stalk the land?”

“I will fight those who would harm the innocent, protect those that cannot protect themselves, and save those who need to be saved.” The words flowed like water down a river as he spoke, emptying his heart of all its possible secrets.

“Why? Why should you take on this incredible task?”

“Because I want to be a hero, like in all the stories. I want to save people from suffering and pain.” Midoriya felt the knight’s gaze upon him, and rose to meet it. A small smile was on Toshinori’s face, and his eyes burned bright.

“That is a noble reason. Even if you do not believe it, there is an opportunity for you to pursue it.” He stretched his hand to the left and gestured to the sword in the stone. Midoriya heard the ringing again, louder than ever before, and the blade began to glow. “Take this sword, pull it from the stone, and hear what your destiny holds.”

Midoriya looked away from Toshinori and to the blazing sword. Light shone from the blade and the hilt, a golden light that brought a sense of warmth to the cold night. He stepped forward until he could reach out and take the hilt, and the ringing began to rise. He stretched forth his hand and wrapped it around the cool hilt, and pulled the sword from the stone. He lifted the bastard sword, its weight the same as a feather, above his head with both hands. Golden light rushed around it, forming a cone around the sword, and Midoriya could feel a surge of power and energy, a power and energy he had never felt before.

The ringing shattered like glass, and in his mind Midoriya could hear a voice, echoed several times over. “Welcome, swordbearer, do you vow to fight this crusade?” The wind surged around him as more power flooded his body. Toshinori had a wide smile on his face and the fire in his eyes completely filled what hollowness there was. Midoriya felt a fire spread through his body, and in his heart he replied to the voice. He did not know this crusade it spoke of, but he knew the answer, he knew it all his life.

“I vow.”

Then, there was darkness as Midoriya hit the ground.

[swipestream]

New Release Roundup, 5 January 2019: Fantasy

This week’s roundup of the newest releases in fantasy feature a wayward Roman legion, a demon horde rampage through India, and the Sword of Truth.

The Darkest Revenge (The Elder Stones Saga #1) – D.K. Holmberg

Ages ago, powerful beings known only as the Elders left their mark on the world, gifting powerful stones to their followers. Through these stones, some have been gifted by birth with great abilities, while others search for them as a way to access that power. Scattered around the known lands, wars have been fought for them, and won by them.

On the outskirts of the city, living within an ancient stronghold, Haern longs for a life beyond what he knows—and away from the long shadow cast by his father. When an attack on the city renews a decades old battle, Haern volunteers to leave the city and find the one person who can lead their people to victory. His inexperience might kill him, but his instincts might be the reason they succeed.

For Daniel, a member of the ruling family, life in the palace is easy and his path is clear. Eventually, he will rise up to sit on the council and lead the people of the city. An injury to someone he cares for changes everything for him, and he must go to the one person he despises most for help. If he fails, he’ll learn what it means to lose everything he cares about.

Though born to power, Lucy longs for an understanding she can’t find in books. When a horrible attack leaves her forever changed, her quest for understanding leads her to those responsible—and a means of stopping them.

All paths lead toward the Elder Stones, for the one who controls the stones controls power.

Demon Days (The Valens Legacy #12) – Jan Stryvant

The war has finally begun and the duty of fighting it has fallen to Sean. Now if only he could convince the rest of the world that there really is a war on and it isn’t just another ‘art installation’ at Burning Man. Maybe then he could get some help. Fronting the costs of a war isn’t cheap, and while Sean may be making money hand over fist, he’s spending it twice as fast. If he doesn’t get help soon, the lack of money, food, and supplies will kill him faster than any demon.

Then there’s the demons themselves. What comes out of the gates at times seems almost as random as the gates themselves. Some of the groups are obviously coordinated and very well trained making Sean’s job of stopping them a hard one. As the gates are getting larger with time until the main one opens, Sean will find his resources and his people being stretched farther and thinner as the immortal demon lords bring their massive armies to bear.

Because humans are food to the demons and the larder is now very full, and they don’t intend to leave this time until they’ve eaten every last one.

Fortress of Radiance (The Karus Saga #2) – Marc Alan Edelheit

Surrounded by an army of Celts and facing certain destruction, the Ninth Imperial Legion, one of Rome’s most powerful military formations, has been unexpectedly transported to the world of Tannis. The legion, now under the command of Camp Prefect Karus, finds itself lost in a strange land. Cut off from everything they have known, they find temporary shelter in the abandoned city of Carthum.

They quickly learn an unholy army of orcs, goblins, trolls, and humans known as the Horde is on the march, sweeping across the face of Tannis like a dark tide, conquering one land at a time. No force upon this world has been able to withstand the armies of the enemy. Yet the Horde has never met the might of Rome, and Karus means to fight.

In the dungeons under the palace, Amarra, last of the faithful, is found. Together they are visited by Jupiter himself and given a series of dangerous tasks that sets them on the path of destiny. The first is to recover the dread sword Rarokan the Soul Breaker from the Fortress of Radiance. But the sword has a will of its own, and the enemy will stop at nothing to get the dangerous relic.

The Iron Trishula (The Iron Soul #8) – J.M. Briggs

A call from an ancient ally takes the mages to India. A Demon horde has found a way around the defense of the Iron Gates and is building an army to take over the Iron Realm. The Desai family, descendants of one of the past Iron Souls, welcome the mages with open arms, but how can Alex reconcile with an old family when she’s lost her modern one?

Lokpal was a warrior, trained from childhood to protect his home from the Demons who wander the land. Nothing prepared him for a god slipping into madness. When two strangers with magic arrive, he must navigate between his culture, his family, his beliefs, and the long-standing traditions upheld by the Grand Mages if they have any chance of stopping the Demons.

The Opal Throne (The Black Moon Chronicles #18) – François Froideval and Fabrice Angleraud

At the center of the empire was the Oracle… The Oracle announced the coming of the one who would change the world. This is his story. One day, when Heads-or-Tails was out roaming the forest, he comes across a nameless man. He christens him Wismerhill, and from that day forth, the pair are inseparable. They start out on the road of adventure, and sooner or later end up joining a gang of amiable war dogs, feared throughout the land. Wismerhill soon proves his worth, and begins to demonstrate some surprising powers. But just as everything is going well, the light comes, bringing darkness in its wake…

After transforming into a titan and vanquishing his enemies, Wismerhill has fallen, brought down by a power too great for him to control. This vast power has made an ephemeral God of him. Still, he is but a man, and he must return to mortality in order to continue his reign as emperor of the Opal Throne.

A Sellsword’s Will (Seven Virtues #5) – Jacob Peppers

Aaron and his companions return from Baresh with the truth of what the alliance faces, yet such knowledge is little comfort. Throughout the city, men and women whisper of demons, of monsters. But though they might disagree on the nature of Kevlane’s twisted creations, there is one thing they have in common. Fear.

For the creatures they face are not men–not any longer. They are death given form and function. They are, it seems in the darkest hours–and there are many such now–Telrear’s doom.

Crippled by indecision, the alliance leaders argue; they argue, they bicker, and they hesitate. A hesitation which, Aaron could tell them–if only they would listen–will kill them swifter than any blade or bow.

For shadows move in the night. Shadows which feel no pain or mercy, that have long since forgotten the meaning of compassion.

Meanwhile, confident of victory, Kevlane bends his dark desire to creating even more terrible horrors. Yet there is one thing he has not accounted for, one which the coming days and weeks will teach him–the strength of a sellsword’s will.

Siege of Stone (Sister of Darkness: The Nicci Chronicles #3) – Terry Goodkind

The Sorceress Nicci, the Wizard Nathan Rahl, and the young swordsman Bannon remain in the legendary city of Ildakar after a great internal revolt has freed the slaves and brought down the powerful wizards council. But as he fled the city, capricious Wizard Commander Maxim dissolved the petrification spell that had turned to stone the invading army of General Utros fifteen centuries earlier. Now, hundreds of thousands of half-stone soldiers from the ancient past have awakened, led by one of the greatest enemy commanders in history.

Nicci, Nathan, and Bannon have to help Ildakar survive this unbreakable siege, using all the magical defenses of the legendary city. Even as General Utros holds Ildakar hostage and also unleashes his incredible army on the unsuspecting Old World, an equally powerful threat arises out in the sea.

Nicci knows the battle won’t remain in the city; if she can’t stop this threat, two invincible armies can sweep across the Old World and destroy D’Hara itself.

Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: The Wayward Journey #3 – Yoshinobu Akita

Orphen is a Sorcerer drop-out from the prestigious Tower of Fangs. His journey to save Azalie, a girl he looked up to like a sister, has brought him to the bustling city of Totokanta. Here they are reunited for the first time in five years. But what is the truth behind her monstrous transformation?

Orphen’s journey takes a sour turn as a loan shark starts sending a deluge of hired assassins after him! But one of these assassins, Philietta the Fools’ Hound, notorious Sorcerer hunter, has her own plans for Orphen. Just what sort of mind-boggling mystery awaits our haphazard party in the remote village of Kinkhole…?

The Storm (Time of Heroes #2) – David Drake

The universe has shattered into chaos and monsters. Jon, the Leader, is dedicating his life to reuniting the scattered hamlets into a Commonwealth where all humans can live protected against the darkness and the things that live in that darkness.

But no man can reshape the universe by himself. Jon has Makers to build weapons and clerks to handle the business of government–but he also needs Champions to face the powers of chaos which will not listen to any argument but force.

Lord Pal of Beune is one of those Champions. He has fought monsters and evil on behalf of Mankind, and he will fight them again. But now Guntram, the man who transformed Pal from an ignorant rube into a bulwark of the Commonwealth, has disappeared. Pal must locate his friend and mentor–and then he must battle an entity which may be at the core of the splintered universe!

New Release Roundup, 5 January 2019: Fantasy published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames