#he knows the hunt he knows pursuit he knows blood and combat and speed and survival

[nonconstories]

Someday, I will buckle down and write my sexy monster fucking version of King Lindworm, where the prince stays at least semi-dragonfied. But see, I'm torn. Do I make the monster prince cis and he's semi-dragonfied from the wedding night, and now he's just the heir to throne and also a traumatized, aggressive monster boy married to a Very Weird peasant girl who's THE FUTURE QUEEN NOW and also yeah she's kind of a witch and oh by the way the prince is VERY MUCH not a regular person and oh by the way you know all those princesses he ate? Yeah their dads are like mad.

Or

OR

Is he only called 'the prince' because dragons are all intersex and their gender is always self-selected? Is his human form female and the peasant girl actually does complete the ritual and EVERYONE is surprised? And the king and queen just chuck their new 'princess' in a dungeon to rot out of sight and send peasant-queen home to her goddamn mill like you didn't see shit and she's like actually no I am angry AND fearless AND very horny for dragons and her trans dragon husband is all I WILL break out of here I WILL learn the magic it takes to get my real body back I WILL find my wife and the human prince is sweating goddamn bullets as Deranged Peasant Witch and Deranged Trans Dragon Prince and Idiot Moron Queen are all plotting different plots and several of these plots end with him dead.

[cheri-translates]

[CN] Gavin’s R&S - Ashes

🍒This R&S (浴火) is part of the Dream Heart Lake event which has not been released in EN🍒

This R&S makes reference to Tilted Time, so do read that first if you haven’t!

Cancelled Gavin R&S:

> minor’s memos

> tilted time

> little bro’s self-cultivation

> Ashes ♡

[ Chapter One ]

It is the thirteenth day of hunting down the wanted criminal.

This is Gavin’s first actual participation in auxiliary work, which is completely different from the simulations on ordinary days.

The criminal’s name is Qianyu, and his modus operandi is so cruel that it makes one’s hair stand on end. The Evol he possesses is temporarily unable to be analysed, and his excellent anti-reconnaissance skills have prevented the pursuit from proceeding normally. The situation does not look optimistic. 

This town is not large, and there are few places to hide. Even so, there’s not a single trace of him. Unless another explosion occurs somewhere--

Just as the captain of this current mission marks the previous explosion on the map, a ball of fire rises up less than ten kilometres away from the STF office. 

What follows is the sound of explosions reminiscent of thunder. 

It’s ear-splitting.

“Since it’s the daytime, there aren’t many people in the village. We’re currently confirming the number of casualties, but this entire village... is considered destroyed.”

Hearing yet another piece of grievous news, the pen in the captain’s hands snaps completely.

-

[ Chapter Two ]

It is Gavin’s second year in the Special Police Academy, and he has been assigned to this difficult task force. Aside from him, ten names belong to newbies like him, and thirty names belong to experienced Evol Special Agents. He didn’t think the situation would escalate to such a worrying state.

Gavin watches as charred bodies are carried out from the debris. What plays in front of his eyes seems to be another scene of a big, curling fire. It scorches him till his eyeballs hurt.

Liye walks over to him, his voice hoarse: “I suddenly feel that I’m very useless.”

Gavin gives him a glance, and Liye continues: “There was a time I thought my abilities could enable me to save many people. But it doesn’t seem to be the case.”

Gavin doesn’t speak, and simply clenches his fist. 

Liye, like Gavin, is a second year in the Special Police Academy who possesses a healing Evol. As comrades in the same squadron, Liye very much wanted to be Gavin’s partner during the task force formation. But from the looks of it, the organisation didn’t hear the prayer in his heart.

Liye also remembers the first time he met Gavin. Back then, they happened to just enter their second round of training. which involved arresting and fighting. When Gavin was brought into the training grounds by the instructor, he carried only a simple backpack, and the shirt he wore even had a few traces of dried blood.

Liye looked at Gavin’s face, which was filled with blackish-green hues. His interest was piqued. He knew very clearly that entering this Academy required one to go through a monstrous trial. And out of all the new students, Gavin suffered the most severe injuries. 

Was he too weak? Was it really okay for him to be here?

Liye thought about this silently, and he ended up getting punched squarely in the face.

A fellow trainee comrade looked at him apologetically, and then grumbled: “Why aren’t you fighting properly? What are you looking at?”

Liye wiped away the blood at the corner of his lips, sighing that his opponent couldn’t control his strength. But he didn’t experience any pain at all, and he had already gotten used to it since early on. He waved his hands, signalling that his comrade could continue.

During their evening rest, Liye discovered that the new guy was called Gavin. His comrades’ assessment of him consisted of just a few words: Cold, arrogant, and aloof.

It happened to be Liye’s turn to go patrolling that night, and he saw Gavin on the field. He was undergoing mandatory additional training in order to catch up with their current progress. Liye was just about to greet him, but ended up on the ground when Gavin failed to retract his punch in time.

When Gavin returned to his senses, he saw Liye on the floor, completely unscathed. Liye even shot him a smile. 

-

[ Chapter Three ]

Gavin furrowed his brows.

Liye climbed back to his feet and said: “I didn’t get to say hello. I’m Liye, and am a new student like you!”

Gavin turned away from him, continuing with his training:

“Stay away from me.”

Liye felt that Gavin couldn’t continue this way.

So of course, he didn’t listen to what Gavin said about staying away from him. On the contrary, he got even closer to him. For example, when it was Gavin’s turn to do night patrolling, Liye would secretly sneak downstairs to greet him. When Gavin was eating, another set of cutlery would inexplicably appear next to him. There were no need for questions - it belonged to Liye.

Liye didn’t have any intentions aside from feeling that Gavin was someone with a story. He was unwilling to watch him coldly isolate himself from his comrades and live a solitary life, especially when the fighting classes required a comrade to practice with...

The other comrades also felt that Gavin’s coldness made it difficult to get close to him - there were even multiple “Gavin is too cold - let’s put a stop to his power” challenges. But at the end of the day, they all belonged “to the same species”. Furthermore, Liye was such a peacemaker. Also, there was a time when a picture of a girl was discovered among Gavin’s articles of clothing, leading to collective hollering. 

As time passed, Gavin was no longer as resistant as before. Of course, he was still the same, not revealing much expression on his face.

Gavin’s fighting skills were top-notch. Even though he emerged as the best among the trainees in almost every course, his fighting was the “best of the best”. Several comrades who exchanged blows with him ended up with extremely shocking “decorations”. This made Liye even more surprised - why was such an amazing person in a pitiable state at the very beginning?

Gavin hurriedly caught Liye’s punch. Liye, with a face full of bruises, wasn’t sure how many times he had been thrown onto the ground by Gavin. Before a minute passed, the bruises had already vanished without a trace.

Someone shouted from the side: “Gavin, there’s no need to hold back - this brat doesn’t feel pain!”

Liye immediately waved his hands: “Even though it doesn’t hurt, I still sustain internal injuries!”

In the sixth month since joining the Academy, Gavin received a command from the main instructor. 

Gavin stood in a military posture in front of a large, solid wooden table. On the chair behind the table was a man, sitting straight and proper in his seat. He flipped through Gavin’s materials. After a while, he raised his eyebrows in amusement.

He lifted his head and looked at Gavin, asking: “You fight well?”

Gavin’s posture was as straight as always, and his voice was light: “So-so.”

-

[ Chapter Four ]

Once the words left his lips, the figure vanished from the chair. In a split second, Gavin leaned his head to the side, raising his hand to steadily catch the fist coming towards him from his rear left, and the other fist ready to deal a blow against his opponent. However, the other party flashed to the open window a full two meters away from him. 

The man laughed loudly and applauded: “Your speed is okay.”

He could see it - this youth was very stubborn. Gavin looked incredibly cold, but what was colder were his moves. 

Gavin saluted the man and quickly returned to position, standing straight.

The man squeezed his shoulder and said: “The 8th Warriors Competition will be held in two weeks. We will send you to fight.”

Gavin was aware of this competition. Not long after he enrolled, he happened to overhear his comrades mentioning it. During the competition, every country would send its most stellar new elite student to go through live combat in various areas. It would test the students’ holistic abilities, including - but not limited to - fighting skills. The student who emerged as champion would represent the country and receive the highest honour and stand on the podium where every Evol Special Police would know him.

This is where Evol Special Police from all over the world can interact and learn from each other, engage in the first battlefield of competition, and is the only stage recognised by the International Special Police organisation. 

Gavin refused without even thinking: “I’m not going.”

The man’s hand stiffened: “This isn’t a discussion.”

Gavin glanced at him: “There are people in the team who can fight better than me and want to participate.”

The man smiled and asked: “Is that so? Give me one more reason.”

He had brought in so many officers with special abilities - when receiving such an opportunity, all of them would be generous with expressing their gratitude. This was the first time someone had rejected him.

Gavin answered: “I didn’t come here to win a medal.”

When he heard this, the man chuckled and patted his shoulder. “I can respect you, and give you time to consider. But you must know that if you choose the Evol Special Police, you’re choosing to give up the freedom to act independently.

Not long after, the news of Gavin’s refusal to participate in the Warrior’s Competition spread throughout the entire organisation. Some comrades boldly flicked his hair and whistled, expressing that it was a very cool move. After pushing his comrade to the side, Liye’s big face appeared.

“When you refused, did you feel like you were explosively cool?!”

Gavin found Liye’s exuberant smile incredibly strange. In a rare good mood, he arched a brow and asked Liye: “You want to go?”

Thinking about it seriously, Liye said: “It’s not a matter of whether I want to. But if I have the chance, I might give it a try.”

“Why?” 

Liye crinkled his eyes: “My siblings admire the police the most. If I can become the most amazing policeman, they will definitely be very happy.”

In the end, Gavin didn’t participate in the Warrior’s Competition. The person who was sent was another student with the surname Bai. 

-

[ Chapter Five ]

On the thirtieth day of hunting down the wanted criminal, the two confront each other for the fist time.

He doesn’t know how long they were engaged in combat, but Gavin finally figures it out - this person’s Evol is the ability to construct barriers. No matter how one shoots, he will not get hurt. His only weakness is probably the head. Gavin stares at his head region, his eyes sharp. 

He isn’t sure how many explosives Qianyu is carrying - perhaps even Qianyu himself is a powerful bomb. It’s just that in this arrest, too many comrades have fallen.

Qianyu takes a punch from Gavin, and the force from the fist of wind causes his entire body to slam against the ruined wall. The moment he falls, a group of Special Police surround him.

Qianyu stands up, wiping off traces of blood at the corner of his mouth. He sneers: I didn’t expect that I’d fall at the hands of a small Special Police officer.”

Under the dazzling sun, a gust of wind lifts Gavin’s white windbreaker, causing it to flutter.

Looking at the youth floating mid-air, Qianyu suddenly glares and releases a roar. In an instant, his body muscles become swollen and firm, and even the colour of his skin turns a different colour - it becomes slightly blackish.

Gavin widens his eyes slightly, reacting immediately--

“Be careful!” Gavin shouts. As he dives downwards, he quickly pulls the nearest brother with him and drops to the ground.

There are an unknown number of powerful explosives detonating at the same time. The air rushes past, broken stones flying haphazardly.

The loud noise almost shatters Gavin’s eardrums. His head seems to have been fiercely hammered by something heavy, but he can still feel the rubble shifting against his body.

After an inordinate amount of time, the thick smoke dissipates. This place seems to have been stepped on by a giant beast, and has turned into a ruin.

-

[ Chapter Six ]

Gavin pushes away the stone weighing down on him. Suddenly, he spots a familiar figure not far away, lying in the pit, face down. His hands are outstretched as he supports himself off the ground, as though protecting something.

Gavin recognises that it’s Liye. Gavin does everything he can to push the stones away from Liye’s body, and sees his face coated in blood. There is also a broken stone piercing Liye’s abdomen, and from it continuously oozes viscous liquid.

Gavin lifts his body and finds two small figures curled up and unconscious - two children who couldn’t evacuate in time just now.

Liye sees Gavin’s face, and smiles: “You...”

Gavin removes his jacket and desperately presses it against Liye’s abdomen, which is bleeding uncontrollably. He roars: “Shut up!”

Liye smiles again: “Don’t be so fierce towards me, it hurts...”

Gavin clenches his fists, and hears a weak voice: “Are the two children okay?”

Gavin nods.

Liye channels a trace of a smile: “You must remember to bury me next to my siblings, or they will be scared.”

Gavin looks at Liye’s weak smile and suddenly feels ten thousand arrows impaling his heart.

Liye’s voice is so soft that he can barely hear it: “I used to blame myself a lot. Even though I have Evol, I couldn’t save my siblings...”

Gavin tightens his grip on Liye’s hand. He knows. He understands. Liye seems to want to say something, but his head is akin to a broken puppet. Just like that, it hangs loose on Gavin’s arm, devoid of life.

Gavin scans his surroundings. The ruins are filled with people who had stood in front of him just a few minutes ago, alive and breathing.

The corpses of his comrades are unidentifiable. It turns out that in their very first actual combat, they would face life and death. 

It felt like yesterday when they had smiled and hooked their arms around his shoulders, beckoning him to eat with them, mocking him for hiding a picture of a girl... 

No matter how cold his expression was, they would always respond with a smile.

When they went to fighting classes together, everyone would wave their hands and avoid him from afar. Only Liye would crinkle his eyes and say: “I’ll practice with you.” No matter how many times he was thrown to the ground, he never complained.

Everything that happened seems to have vanished in an instant.

There’s nothing left.

Gavin lies down amid the ruins, the scorching sun constantly stinging his eyes. From his cloudy vision, he sees the helicopter hovering above his head, and familiar voices near his ears. Some are angry, some are cold, and some are sad. He places a hand on his chest--

There, the girl’s photograph is completely intact. Only a corner of it has been stained wet with the blood continuously trickling downwards. He seems to hear the song played and sung by the girl - softy, gently, slowly and leisurely entering his body, and invading his heart. 

He remembers the book that was once held in the arms of the girl. The one he couldn’t understand no matter how he tried - “Byron’s Poetry Collection”--

For my part, I’ll enlist on neither side.

[Note] In Chinese, the line translates to: Neither ��Life” nor “Death” can constrain me.

Maybe now, he can finally understand it...

Gavin smiles broadly.

-

Other cancelled R&S: here

[hcs-on-the-loose]

Pillars and upper moons swap roles au?? I wonder what will they be like >:D

Pillar / Upper Moon Roleswap AU??? I GOTCHU DUDE

I only have a 5 character limit though so I picked out 2 Pillars and 2 Upper Moons! ENJOY THE FEAST

Yeet im dumb i forgot to put down uh possible spoilers aye

-

The Pillars

Shinobu Kocho - Upper Moon 4

Known as the Lady Butterfly, mistress of poison, she who had slaughtered Slayer after Slayer in single strokes. Some say the last thing you hear is a woman’s soft laugh and the flutter of butterfly wings.

Possesses a body that looks like an amalgamation of a human and a variety of deadly insects, particularly butterflies.

Her skin is deathly pale, transparent to the point where you could see her organs. Her limbs and back billow with purple monarch wings, though the rest of her is scattered with toxic spines. And hen she opens her mouth centipede’s mandibles scuttle from it, and her eyes are the compound eyes of a butterfly, bright violet and all-seeing with the number 4 carved into every facet. When she speaks, there is a chorus of wasps in every breath.

Instead of poison, the demon Shinobu being organically an insect as well now uses natural venoms.

Her Blood Demon Art is based on Shinobu manipulating her blood and turning it into various types of venom, each mix deadlier than the last. Unlike her Pillar self, who was limited to whatever poison she had in her sword sheath, her demonic self has virtually no limit on what she can create.

Her most powerful blood technique is known as the Hundred-Thousand Sting; she deploys her worst venoms with her own unaltered blood in the form of an extremely corrosive mist that once you breathe in, you’re a goner. If it touches you, it will seep in, and you’re a goner. If you’re so much in the range of the fog, you’re still a goner.

While outstripped in strength by Gyomei, Sanemi, and Muichiro– Shinobu still proves herself an exceedingly deadly opponent through speed and intellect.

Her personality as a demon is a mangled representation of her traits as a human; while seemingly calm and sweet, Shinobu holds the exact same demeanor while brutally killing others. But she is also notoriously quick to anger, sending her into furious fits as she attempts to reign it in. Make no mistake though, she is still wickedly clever.

As a human, she’d been cared for by her demonic older sister Kanae after their parents were killed and her sister forcefully transformed into a demon by Upper Moon 1 Gyomei Himejima.

Kanae had managed to resist the hunger for human flesh to be able to care for her sister– mercifully spared by Gyomei as she reminded him of a child from his human past.

Shinobu had desperately wanted to become a demon just like Kanae so that they could truly live together, though Kanae always rebuffed her– until the arrival of the Pillar.

The Snow Pillar, Doma. He had battled Kanae under the accusation that she had killed their family and paid no heed as he beheaded her in front of her terrified human sister. Maddened with grief, Shinobu drank her sister’s blood, vowing vengeance on the Snow Pillar.

It was Upper Moon 1 who found her, having been originally sent to recruit Kanae into the Moons. Seeing that Shinobu was far more bloodthirsty and willing to kill, he took her in instead.

Up until now, Shinobu hunts for Doma, and takes special care to kill any Slayer with ice or snow-related techniques slowly. A refinement of her most agonizing of venoms just for him.

Mitsuri Kanroji - Upper Moon 6

This one is insane.

She is Love, she is made of Love, and she will Love and Love and Love and she will take their Love as well until there is nothing left to Love.

It is said that Mitsuri is the kindest Demon Moon, taking her prey with the greatest expressions of Love that they could ever receive. But do they, really? When Mitsuri loves them with everything she has– from her horrific strength to her blood to her insatiable appetite?

Mitsuri is fond of shapeshifting, though her true form is… that of a normal human girl, albeit with pink skin, white eyes and a fanged mouth. She even keeps the unusual hair she had detested her whole human life. Did you think this embodiment of unquenchable desire would be a little racier?

When Mitsuri kills and devours, she does so in every way of loving that she can. She will embrace you until your spine gives way, she will kiss you until your lungs collapse and your lips are torn to shreds, she will lie with you until all is spent and blood seeps from every part of you.

It upsets Mitsuri so that her Love isn’t returned adequately. But she is a forgiving demon– so she will continue to express this devotion to every being until it is returned in full. Not even other demons are exempt.

The number 6 is written in careful script over the pale surface of her eyes. It is watermelon green and pretty and the last thing most of her prey see.

Her Pillar self believes in love, sweet and gentle and ultimately ephemeral. Demonic Mitsuri believes in giving and taking until there is desire to love anymore.

It was what was promised to her, when Muzan fed her his blood from the palm of his hand. She had been rejected for her hair, her strength, her need to love and be loved.

He had found her, cast out and alone, just one cruel husband after another. Muzan promised her that demonhood would let her love for all eternity, that in his world she would never be rejected. Mitsuri agreed. Can you blame her?

As an Upper Moon, her already prodigious strength has made her nigh on par with Sanemi and even Gyomei. Her flexible body surpasses superhuman limitations and weapons simply sink harmlessly as she softens her body to the blows.

Her Blood Demon Art, however, is not focused on her physical ability. If it were, she would have been placed lower on the rungs of the 9 Upper Moons. No; her blood is one that makes the mind bend and dance to her will. Love and aphrodisiacs. One whiff, one taste, and it’s all over. There is only love.

The pinnacle of this technique is her Eternal Ecstasy, where wounding her is suicide in itself if she does not cut her own flesh open first. Her blood becomes incredibly potent and drives men and women alike to madness in their desire to be loved by her– they will kill each other and let themselves be killed by Mitsuri if the initial violence doesn’t get rid of them initially. Her blood is the Marechi equivalent for humanity but is surprisingly more dulled towards other demons.

Await her battle with Hantengu. He thinks himself incapable of love, his Pillar’s skill and impeccable focus. He believes nothing will sway him, not even the rumored supernatural charm of Upper Moon 6. He secretly prays that it is enough when he draws his blade against her in the Swordsmiths’ Village.

—————–

The Upper Moons

Akaza (Hakuji) - The Destruction Pillar

For a Pillar, Akaza– Hakuji is a name he leaves at home for his wife– is unusual even for them.

While the Pillars carry weapons made of nichirin, ranging from blades to blunt force to guns, Akaza fights with his bare fists. It is the only sort of fighting that Akaza has known his whole life and he won’t stop now– not even as his fellow Pillars look to him in concern.

It doesn’t matter. Akaza’s happiest when he’s beheading demons with his own hands. He has gloves especially made for this, made from flexible nichirin, knuckles topped with the sun steel. Even his knees are capped in nichirin.

His breathing style? Some call Akaza a genius, some call him crazy. Either way, he had merged his adoptive father’s Soryu Style martial arts with breathing, creating the Destructive Kill Style. Before he had begun training in breathing, he had depended solely on his own natural strength, and this discovery of the Slayers’ method of combating the demons had raised Akaza’s power to almost how he had been as his demon self.

Hence, he is called the Destruction Pillar. It is an ominous title that, coupled with his roughened features and muscled frame, has even hardened Slayers steering clear of his path. His wife Koyuki knows better though, knowing him as grumpy Hakuji who had a soft heart under all the grit.

In the heat of battle Akaza is an unforgiving beast, relentless in his pursuit and merciless in his killing. At home, he is Hakuji; gruff and quiet but gentle in his selflessness, especially towards his dear Koyuki. Often you can find the Destruction Pillar walking beside his wife in the gardens, feeding ducks and sitting amongst the flowers.

While not tattooed with the criminals’ marks, shortly after becoming a Slayer Akaza had himself inked with a single bar for every ten demons slain. So far he has almost reached the amount of tattoos he has on his demon self.

His story remains nearly the same– but when Keizo told him that he was to inherit the dojo and marry Koyuki, it was not poison that came for them. When Akaza ran to his father’s grave, the two assassins by the well were beset upon by another; a particularly strong demon, a real one, killing then devouring the two before setting its sights on the father and daughter inside.

Keizo could fight, and he fought better than Akaza did when he first met him. He held off the demon just long enough for Akaza to rush to their rescue– only for fate to recall that Keizo had grown old, and he was never as blessed with endurance and strength as Akaza had been. The demon dealt a fatal injury, and Keizo fell.

In another world, Akaza’s hands were bloody with the scum of humanity. In this one, enraged he lunged at the demon and shoved both his hands into its chest. He obliterated its organs and yet… it was Akaza’s first demon, and this demon merely regenerated and laughed into Akaza’s face. In another world the blood had come from sixty-seven men. This time it was blood from the demon that he had killed sixty-seven times through the night. A demon could only be killed through nichirin or the sun itself; when Akaza tore its head off at his final attempt, the demon’s body simply gave.

Akaza collapsed out of exhaustion, and slept for three days. With Keizo dead and her fiance unconscious, Koyuki was in shock and was immediately wracked by a fit of weakness. It was only through the sudden intervention of the Moon Pillar that the couple were tended to; it had originally been Kokushibo who was supposed to slay the demon in their town and upon hearing that Akaza was fighting some unkillable enemy, sought a meeting with him.

It was Kokushibo and a worried Koyuki Akaza awakened to. After confirming that Koyuki was unharmed, Kokushibo then expressed admiration for Akaza’s fighting skill and offered him membership into the Demon Slaying Corps. Initially both Akaza and Koyuki refused. Why would they endanger themselves further with this talk of demon-slaying? But as Akaza thought of Keizo, who had died protecting Koyuki and with faith that his adoptive son would save her, he eventually agreed.

When Akaza rejected having a blade or weapon of any kind forged, Slayers shook their heads and muttered that Akaza would die. There was no Slayer in existence who had gone against Muzan’s spawn with their bare hands. But as they witnessed Akaza wrench off the head of a Lower Moon demon without the use of any weapon aside from his gloved hands, the whispers ceased altogether.

This time it is Akaza who is assigned to investigate the Infinity Train. Before every mission, he prays at the graves of Keizo and his father, kisses his wife goodbye. For some reason he prays a little harder, holds Koyuki a little longer– lately his dreams have been plagued with fire…

Doma - The Snow Pillar

This’ll be one of the only times I’ll not clown on Doma. Treasure it lmao.

Emotionless, capricious, and a known glutton for pretty women, Doma is an excellent Pillar and is frighteningly effective at killing demons. His being a moral citizen though is… highly contested.

As a Pillar, Doma lacks the cult he had as an Upper Moon, but he does have a loyal following of admirers from his pre-Slayer who believe him a sort of demigod for his pale hair and lovely rainbow-hued eyes. His charming personality and pretty face only serve to buoy his reputation amongst the populace as well– much to the chagrin of some of his Pillar colleagues.

Instead of a sword, Doma makes use of his fans; both are made of nichirin steel and hued gold in Doma’s hands. Despite their ornamented surface, they are razor sharp and can function just as well as twin short swords.

His is a pretty, almost gentle breath style; Breath of Snow is more a delicate dance in appearance than something meant for combat. And much like Doma, it is a death sentence to mistake beauty for the lack of deadliness– the Breath of Snow utilizes misdirection and inhumanly fast and precise attacks meant to cripple an opponent before the killing blow is dealt, with these strikes resembling the howling gales of blizzards.

More often than not Doma toys curiously with the demons he hunts, tossing them around with the nigh-invincible evasive ability of his breath before executing them, all in an effort to feel emotions. If the pleasures of human life could not elicit these so-called feelings his fellows had always talked about, then how about violence?

Pretty girls, pretty women; it’s not a real feeling that blooms in Doma’s chest (it’s hollow, Akaza hisses, hollow and cold as shit) but he enjoys them. Enjoys the rapturous expressions on their faces, from pleasure to fear to pain to happiness to despair– he puts his hands on their faces and smiles his best. The beatific one, the one that makes his eyes crinkle at the sides.

After his parents died, his father by his mother and his mother by himself, Doma continued to handle the cult, raised by devoted followers. He grew up the smiling, soulless leader of people he believed as foolish for putting such blind faith in him. It was only after the demon attack that the emotionless monotony of his life was shattered; wishing to devour the rainbow-eyed god the people whispered about, the demon disguised itself as a beautiful woman, hinging on Doma’s well-known desire for ladies. As soon as the demon was in Doma’s presence, it slaughtered all of his attendants and then announced its intention to feast on the leader.

More bemused than terrified, Doma was about to let the demon kill and eat him if only out of a detached curiosity. However, in its haste to eat Doma, the demon accidentally ripped open a curtain– letting sunlight spill into the room. Before Doma’s blessed eyes the demon burned to ashes.

Further curiosity led Doma to seek out the truth behind the sun and the thing that almost killed him. It eventually placed him on the path to the Demon Slayers, and his own desire to encounter the demons again brought him to his training, becoming a Slayer and eventually a Pillar. Discovering that killing demons gave him a semblance of feeling alongside his being with women, Doma strived to find the one kill that would give him a true rush.

This came in the form of a lonely flower-demon, whom the Slayers spoke of only in hushed whispers. Rumors of a demon who had killed her entire family and now atoned in some twisted way by caring for some child, a demon who only killed now to protect its pet. Needless to say that Doma was interested; a flower demon? Why, she’d have to be a very pretty demon indeed.

Kanae was a name Doma learned only after a long, fierce battle through the night. He had known the demon had caught his scent, and was already attempting to hide that human child she kept with her. Well, it wouldn’t do at all! It wasn’t difficult; the demon had no idea on how to fight properly whatsoever, and every flick of his fans and an intake of breath only weakened the demon further and further. It hadn’t taken long for him to bring the demon to her knees, and it was only as he had sent her head rolling into the snow that he heard a name being screamed into the wind.

It was nigh euphoric. The expression on Kanae’s face before he had taken her head was utterly sublime in its rage and grief and resignation, and Doma had felt a soaring glee at this particular hunt. It was a feeling, one that swelled to crescendos and made his blood run hot. The sun rose quickly and Doma left, satisfied. What a feeling to be alive.

Now the name of Kanae rings in Doma’s ears once again as news of Upper Moons circulate through the ranks. A demon borne through the blood of Upper Moon One at the same place where he had left Kanae to burn in the sun, a demon that demands his name with every kill and a demon that butchers any Slayer that dared wield breaths in vein to his. Doma only hums at the talk; another hunt to remember, then.

[blindhim]

VERSE  SPECIFIC  HEADCANONS :  the  100

* disclaimer, I haven’t watched Season 3 onwards and have mostly just pieced together a timeline from what I’ve been told or what I’ve read

PRE - SERIES  ARC  I :  bear  the  world  like  atlas Czibor was taken from his family by Queen Nia in order to be trained as Ontari's bloka (bodyguard) in preparation for the day that she succeeded Lexa and became the new Commander. His adolescence was spent with a singular purpose, to ensure the protection, safety and success of Ontari. Queen Nia would often pit himself and Ontari against each other in order to hone their skills in combat and send assassins and ambushes in order to test Czibor's skill and conviction to his task. Czibor proved himself to be committed to his task, ruthless and brutal his skills moulded into a perfect weapon of defense and execution until the day that Azgeda joined the Coalition. Czibor was stripped of his role as Ontari's protector and sent to Polis along side a handful of Azgeda warriors as a sign of cooperation and unity with Lexa's coalition.

SEASON  ONE,  ARC  II :  there  are  shadows  in  every  corner Czibor felt abandoned and aimless during his time in Polis without a solid purpose and struggled immensely to feel anything or care about anyone. He was among the warriors sent to Tondc when the first of the Skaikru descended upon the ground, assigned under Anya's command he participated in the ruthless defense of Trikru's territory and maintaining a strong offense when Skaikru attempted to approach Mount Weather. He is an active participant in the battle at the dropship and narrowly escapes the ring of fire with his life but suffers extreme second degree burns to his left arm. He is eventually taken to Tondc where he is offered medicinal aid but is recalled by an Azgeda scout back to Ice Nation following the crashing of Farm Station.

SEASON  TWO - THREE,  ARC  III :  with  blood  stained  teeth  &  a  grin  made  for  war Upon returning to Ice Nation territory, Czibor is ordered to join Tybe's strike clan to attack and assault Farm Station. He partakes in the killing of Farm Station civilians and hunts Pike and his other guardsmen across Azgeda lands until they are able to escape into Trikru territory, forcing Czibor to end his pursuit. Czibor returned to Queen Nia to report to her the escape of Pike and his guardsmen and remained in Polis as Ontari's guard as he had been trained to be since he was a child. Once Ontari murders the other Nightbloods and ascends as Commander, Czibor is sent to pursue Skaikru in order to retrieve the Flame but fails to follow Skaikru to Luna. Unable to continue the hunt, Czibor returns to Polis empty handed and is ordered by Ontari to take the chip. As one of Ontari's brainwashed footsoldiers, he becomes an even deadlier threat until the City of Light's destruction.

SEASON  FOUR,  ARC  IV :  which  screams  louder ; the  heart  or  the  soul ? Czibor mourns Ontari and struggles immensely with his grief as every painful loss and struggle he had ever endured is returned to him all at once. Czibor eventually abandons Polis in order to search for his family, his memories of them disorientated and faded from a lifetime of trauma. He encounters Trikru and Skaikru throughout his nomad period but has a difficult time feeling much of anything for anyone and is almost entirely focused on getting back into Ice Nation territory. He eventually reunites with his twin brother and father after years of absence and is welcomed home where he is able to recuperate and reconcile his memories until they are called to return to Polis for the last Conclave.

SEASON  FIVE,  ARV  V :  know  your  place  &  keep  your  place Czibor and his brother are chosen among the few to enter the underground bunker but are forced to abandon their father. They spend the next six years forced beneath the oppressive dictatorship of Bloodreina. Forced to abandon their Azgeda ways and become Wonkru or face certain death. For these six years, Czibor and his brother are inseparable, responding with quick and righteous fury whenever one or the other are threatened or harmed. Czibor, recognized as one of the warriors responsible for numerous deaths of Farm Station is targeted often by Skaikru survivors and both he and his twin have been forced to compete within the gladiator ring in order to survive but do try to keep their heads down throughout their time spent in the bunker.

SEASON  SIX,  ARC  VI : in  the  land  of  the  blind ; the  one  eyed  man  is  king We're ignoring this entire season and all seasons that follow it. The valley is not destroyed, the clans separate back into their individual tribes and cultures because fuck colonization and imperialism and Czibor and his brother spend whatever other time obsessed with technology and create a rapid terraforming device that speeds up the clearing of radiation and poison air through a large dispensary device co-built with actual geniuses Raven Reyes and Monty Green.

[tedntracy-forever]

From @the17thmuse

1. Villain Name: 

You may call me the Judicator or Judis, as my other moniker is not safe for use even here.

2. Competencies: 

High speed regeneration (including recovery from death) time dependent on the level of damage, hours at most; enhanced strength, reflexes and senses (both due to powers and combat experience); ability to sense or ‘sniff out’ divinity or supernatural—these three are common among my colleagues, but my particular ability is to sense depravity and corruption in others. Rich combat and weapons experience from fighting in several battles on worlds of varying levels of technological development, though I tend to favor equipping my executioner’s sword and an electric pulse rifle. I, too, posses knowledge on several 'alien’ (to this human world) creatures, monsters, magics and deities, though I am unsure how useful it may be here.

3. Please state your reasons for wanting to take down the Avengers: 

The mission aligns with your goals and that is enough. The gist is this. Several same-minded individuals including I have fought a losing war against gods and monsters for generation after generation. It was until a particularly benevolent (or perhaps bored) foe of my foe became impressed with our resilience and gave us the power to finally hunt down and slay them. But there were other worlds, other victims, other tyrants and depraved gods out there. And many dead because just 'heroes’ are never enough. My blood family and my world had long since died. Only my teammates—my family and the eternal war remain. And for you to ask for assistance for such a noble cause, how can I not answer the call?

4. Are you prepared to not end a life in pursuit of your goals? This is a zero-casualty endeavor: 

I kill only the evil and corrupt, but a 'zero-casualty endeavor’ will be an interesting change of pace.

5. You are stranded on a deserted island with only a pool noodle, a paperclip, and a bag of blue marbles.  What are the first three things you would do? 

Investigate the items to figure out possible uses (what is a pool noodle? It looks like something out of one of Moonchant’s sexual nightmares, but inert…), find a most useful rock (for carving other tools, shelter materials and weapons) to mark a suitably-placed tree as a temporary shelter and outpost against what nocturnal predators may be around, and establish the necessities of life: fire, water container, and tea leaves. The rest—hunting, foraging, clothing, exploration—can come later.

6. What else should I know about you to help me make a decision?

This war-born veteran is very old but ever willing to fight for a good cause (even if I gain another few centuries worth of bad reputation in the process yet again.) and perhaps have a few conversations on warfare, philosophy, religion and ethics over tea—my teammates have such passionate interests and I’ve retained some of their more heated arguments.  The fact Rattler will call me a closeted masochist for assisting a 'villain’ instead of going as an 'independent rogue’ is moot because I work better with a partner or a team. Going solo tends to turn me, as he said, into “a grumpy brooding statue of all justice, no fun, and many decapitated heads”. Also, I have to wait another five thousand years for your dimension’s Convergence which is how I got here in the first place.  But the choice is ultimately yours, Winter Soldier, if you will accept my company and my aid.

It sounds as if you have a great deal of knowledge and experience to impart.  If you would be interested, I believe many of our members could benefit from your instruction and mentorship.  In return I am sure you will find friends and comrades among us.  Welcome to the Winter Soldier Minions!

[chemicalmongrel]

Art of Combat :: Warwick

Strength [ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ]

Dexterity [ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✧ ✧ ] Vitality: [ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ]

Intelligence: [ ✦ ✦ ✧ ✧ ✧ ]

Wisdom: [ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✧ ✧ ]

Overall:

(( Similar to how he is in-game, Warwick follows those who smell of blood and misdeeds to exact punishment upon them. The stronger the scent, the more fervent his pursuit; the harder the battle, the fiercer he fights; the more blood’s shed, the wilder he becomes. As such, he seldom if not ever flees from confrontation. Self-loathing buried beneath the labyrinthine ruins of his psyche and potent desire to deliver Zaun from the monsters beleaguering its innocent drive him like a slaver. Until he drops dead, his utmost priority is to massacre the cutthroats and tyrants keeping the city under their thumb, to see those he’d once been a part of mangled and bleeding in the streets.

(( As such, Warwick is a fervent believer in Pyrrhic victories, such belief running deep enough to be self-destructive.

Combat Style: [Tank|Fighter]

(( Just like the game, Warwick is a bruiser--a tank fighter.

(( Due to his chimeric nature and various abilities, the mongrel will follow his nose and ears more so than his eyes, although this isn’t to say his eyesight is on par with or less than that of a human’s. Sounds and smells guide him to his targets, as well as direct his strikes and dodging. He seldom makes an attempt to avoid the clumsy weaponry of Zaun’s common thugs due to this, making use of the innate regenerative ability to negate most harm. But this did not hold true for those who could truly wield a blade, a firearm; sufficient enough trauma could still end him regardless of his healing capabilities. Such disregard culminating into a willingness to stand in the middle of a crowd of said goons and let them wail on him while he rips and tears. And since the city does have quite a few people that could present a legitimate threat to the Howler, he’ll identify said individuals and make sure to focus on them, dodging their attacks to the best of his ability while doing everything he can to snuff their lives as fast as possible.

(( Whether fighting with tooth, claw or his parts of his body, Warwick brutalizes his opponents. Hate blinds him to the concept of a quick, painless death, and alchemical rage ensures no one gets away in one piece. He’ll often open by springing out at one of the unfortunate souls and slam into them like a freight train. When they’re a lifeless bag of shattered bones and ruptured blood vessels flopped onto the ground, he unleashes a cacophony of roars and howls that shakes all but the the steeliest of cutthroats. Then he’ll lunge for the closest victims to tear into with his claws, dodging only the utmost lethal attacks while not so much as acknowledging anything less. If anything gets close enough or tries to run, he’ll leap and clamp his jaws around their neck or head, crunching and shredding whatever he can lock teeth around, violently shaking and thrashing them around until they’re limp. Rinse and repeat.

(( It isn’t until his chambers rev up and plunge down does he start to behave like an animal, a starving predator pursuing prey with dogged conviction. There’d be far less concern for any danger whatsoever, as the agony such an occurrence invoked numbs him to all external stimuli, and an utter lack of coordination. Whereas he might’ve gone for vital areas with claw before, he’d start to go for limbs and the body. Anywhere he can get his hands on. He’ll throw bodies aside like they’re trash, smash things into people, crash through anything standing between him and his prey, and pick people up and rip them in twain--everything to spill more and more ichor.

(( People considering him a nightmare is no stretch of the imagination when everything he does panders to such an epithet.

Strengths:

(( While size, strength, speed, augmentations and the plethora of chimeric abilities Singed begot in Warwick are overt boons, what no one realizes in Zaun is that there is the mind of a man inside the beast. Fractured and splintered it may be, its intelligence and know-how from the life once lived imparts the Uncaged Wrath of Zaun with a cunning that turned the vehement terror, the stuff of children’s nightmares, into a horrific reality.

(( It is this intellect that results in the death of many Zaunites, Piltovans, and whoever else he hunts.

(( Years of exploration and residency has bequeathed to the Howler an intimate knowledge of the thoroughfares, alleyways and every nook and cranny of the labyrinthine infrastructure of the sunken city, too.

(( And with his heightened senses, his effective field of view does not stop at his peripherals--it extends to a full 360 bubble around him. It’s how he’s able to avoid even attacks that originate from behind.

Weaknesses:

(( And for as many strengths as the beast possesses, there are a great many detriments to his day-to-day.

(( His altered physiology means that certain actions are impossible for him to perform, a fact that extends to his muscle mass. Flexibility, as such, is one of his weaker aspects. And, for instance, he cannot touch a majority of the front of his torso due to the structure of his shoulders and arms.

(( Memory can also lead him into hazardous scenarios, whether it be ones that spring up in the heat of the moment or during the downtime between. They beget anger, rage and pain. He often forgets them during the thrill of the hunt, when blood is shed, but they’ll always crop up anew in time.

(( And his utmost weakness is his blind pursuit of whomever he happens to be chasing, as well as the effects begot by his chambers when even a drop of crimson drips to the ground. Everything else will cease to matter when he’s fully invested in a kill, be it other sources of danger or individuals undeserving of his ire. This is especially true for when the liquid fury pumps through his veins--all become prey, meat to feed the monster’s insatiable appetite. Patience? Planning? Caution? Friend? Lover? All meaningless to the beast.

Tagging: @belluvoros, @bladeddancer, @rakkoran, @bulletbitch, @eciled, @quantum-shatter and whoever else may want to do this!

[shardclan]

It’s WBW, and I feel like focusing on Bestealcian’s training with Actias, so here we go.

Bestealcian doesn't really remember much about how Actias found her. She remembers her parents, big pedigree types, but there was no attachment and she doesn't care much one way or another about them.

What she remembers is her training, which she likes to describe as 'an entire eon of edging'.

Actias trained her in the basic first. Stealth, speed, combat, same as he was when he had been her age. But there was one thing she needed no training at. She had a talent that he had only acquired after extensive practice: the ability to kill without regret.

The Smoke Gyre existed as he did because Actias had crashed against killer's remorse and learned to overcome it. Bestealcian, on the other hand, reacted to her first kill like an Arcane hatchling finding their first meteorite.

When Actias scolded her and told her it wasn't a cause for celebration, she did have the emotional capacity to feel ashamed. It saved her life. Actias told her flat out that he knew all along she would grow up to be a killer and it was why he chose her. But he needed to know she had the capacity to feel something, anything negative about the act. It was the first in a series of tests of her character. If she could control herself, she would keep being his student. If she couldn't, she would be another corpse left by the Smoke Gyre.

She shadowed him for dozens of operations that required her to think about what she was doing and not get caught up. Situations where victim and aggressor were in close quarters and it would have been easy to kill both. When she was easily able to identify the innocent party, it was not difficult for her to hyperfocus on the guilty and suck all the enjoyment she could from them. She learned to cope with her impulses by killing anyone who deserved it. The darker and uglier their crimes, the better she was allowed to feel about ending their lives.

But a problem became apparent when she was placed in grey situations. The Smoke Gyre served the well-being of the clan, and sometimes that meant doing things that weren’t black and white. A skirmish to the harpy's roost nearly ended poorly for both because she was paralyzed by the moral dilemma of attacking a young male harpy.

He had started teaching corven mysticism to some of the few harpy women who had magic potential. He was sheltered and pampered and had little idea what was happening because of his academic pursuits. His sisters were honing the teachings into something that wasn't quite necromancy, but it was dangerously similar. And harpies were, if nothing else, numerous. Raising their fallen sisters, even if only as puppets, was a skill that couldn't be allowed to reach perfection. It meant all of their mages had to be exterminated, and it meant the male, as origin of the teachings, had to be destroyed as well.

But she couldn't bring herself to hurt him. He was sheltered and pampered and probably had no idea what a dangerous magic his words had paved the way to. How could he be guilty?

Actias cut him down right in front of her. They burned his lodgings, so that not even a written scrap of his breakthrough would remain.

Later they spoke on what had happened, and it became clear that Bestealcian could not abide gray situations. She sincerely treasured the limitations Actias had put on her. She felt more normal with them. And she felt that if she let herself kill someone who wasn't absolutely guilty and filled with foul intent, it would all fall apart.

As a result, the final stretch of her training shifted paths. Her goal was to kill the Smoke Gyre himself. At first she resisted the thought. But he reminded her that there might come a time when he, who no longer felt anything when he killed, might make the wrong decision. He reminded her that he was a grey entity, that his actions--like those at the roost--while productive for the continued peace of dragonkind and the clan, were often cruel. And most importantly, with his role changing due to Telos' crowning, what was best for the clan's peace might absolutely include having him hunted and killed.

He was very much of the opinion that he should not be someone she wasn't willing to kill if the command came, and Bestealcian soon came to accept this.

Catch him. Kill him.

That was all she had to do. But in spite of all her training, he still had eons of raw experience that she didn't. She lost. Again and again and again. He humiliated her. Toyed with her. Sometimes allowed himself to be put in a tight position just to demonstrate how simple it was for him to turn the tide on her.

She considers it probably the most exciting time of her life. In her eyes, the opportunity to use everything he had taught her without restraint was a reward. She had learned control. She had mastery over the ugly thing that had gestated with her in the egg and might have turned her into the type of person she now saw as a target. The restraint of it made the killings she could indulge in sweeter, but often they were pithy and didn’t call for all she’d learned.

Actias was not pithy. Actias could kill her whenever he wanted. It was the first lesson he taught her; the bedrock of her ability to properly understand the horror of being at the mercy of a killer. But in those last stretches of her training, she saw that truth fading. He had raised her to be his equal, and though he beat her time and time again, she saw the margin shrinking. Every time he won, he showed her something new, and eventually she came to understand his limits as he understood hers.

In the last days, Actias stopped evading. He met her in unyielding combat, even though it wasn't his strong suit. And the difference between them came into sharp relief. She was more vicious. She flowed from one action to the next like a swallow while he ducked and dived, seeming to disappear between attacks. While they were both focused, he was surviving and she was savoring. A question she wasn't sure she had was answered: She wasn’t meant to be a new Smoke Gyre.

Perhaps the revelation made her giddy. She struck him like a snake, digging her fangs into his neck. The moment froze him. The bite was far from lethal, but she had literally stuck her neck out. It had surprised him that she would do something so pronouncedly against everything he taught her. That single moment of hesitation was enough for her to have killed him.

And they both knew it.

But it wasn't time. She hadn't been ordered. He was, for now, still her teacher rather than her target. So she let him go.

At that moment, with the Smoke Gyre's blood coating her chin and an unmatched euphoria filling her from crest to tail, she became the Umbra Wolf.

[basementadvco-blog]

The Mystery of Darkwood Down Part 1: Secrets

Hello, this is the first campaign diary I’ve written so I apologize in advance if it isn’t the most interesting. My friends and I have been playing 5e for 2 or 3 years now, so we’re more or less comfortable with the rules, and with playing with each other. Whatever infighting you see with our characters is all in good fun, and in pursuit of telling an interesting story. On that, I’ll go ahead and post a brief character summary (just note that we’ve only just started playing, and if the other characters have secrets or details about their backstory I haven’t heard yet, I don’t know about them).

 Yukiko Mori– A human fighter and a tavern brawler (literally, at level 1 she took the human variant that gives you a feat). She hasn’t done too much yet, other than hit things like a truck, but she comes off as a family person, making mention of her family she’s supporting with her fighting money.

Black Philip – A Kenku wizard. He comes across as a major bird brain (pun intended) since Kenku repeat phrases and words said by others…and Philip uses that to intentionally mess with people.

Roseni Thornsten – a 10-year-old Halfling Warlock. Her parents are “sick” and she’s “taking care of them” with the help of her “friend” named Iggy. Every part of this is made out of red flags.

Novem – A warforged rouge, and my character, so expect most of the story to be told from her perspective. Novem was built to hunt and kill demons and devils, since they’ve become more of a problem in the city. She wasn’t alone though, she has 9 other brothers and sisters with specialties for demon killing. They’re possessed now by the very devils they were built to fight, so Novem has to stop 9 other highly dangerous kill bots possessed by demons on top of everything else going on.

Luther Blackwod – Paladin. Race? That’s tricky to answer. For the time being he’s a human, but we’ll get back to that later. He’s noble and probably one of the few truly good people in our setting. Too bad he’s dead.

 As with most Session ones in D&D, this was more of us getting the party together than proper adventuring. Our DM gives us a lovely opening description of this city in a slightly more modern Victorian England style setting, compared to the high fantasy games I typically run.

We started with Yukiko, engaged in a pit fight, with a huge crowd placing huge wagers and calling for blood. Immediately we’re in a (albeit short) combat, which is always exciting. First roll of the night? Natural 1.

We’re off to a great start!

Yukiko punches the Referee, and somehow ISNT disqualified, AND wins the fight. The pit fights in Blackwater are raw! Yukiko goes to collect payment from the owner, but instead of getting her gold, she is introduced to a scrawny, gangly man in a nice suit by the name of Mr. Gates, who offers her a job, and an envelope, with only an address enclosed inside. Theres a lovely exchange where Yukiko continues to give the boss a hard time so she can get paid…but…that’s not how their relationship works, she gets paid when he’s ready to pay her.

Next is Black Philip, living in the slums. From the brief description of the backstory I heard, Philip was studying magic…and killed his entire village…………..so…he lives in the slums now. Can’t say its implausible.

Mr. Gates shows up and tries to find a Mr. Phillip, a powerful wizard. It goes about as well as you’d expect with a Kenku that frequently repeats what you just said back to you.

 Finally, Phillip manages to convince Gates he’s a powerful Wizard by casting a spell…Chill Touch…ON gates. He seems to shrug it off, despite damage dice being rolled, which means he’s no normal commoner…which begs the question, what is he? Phillip receives his invitation and Mr. Gates moves on.

Roseni hears a knock at the door to her family manor. She answers is and converses with Mr. Gates, who’s looking for her parents, saying its very urgent they respond right away. Roseni explains they’re asleep and don’t like to be woken up. She asks her “friend” Iggy what she should do, and he tells her to just see what he wants and they’ll go instead.

Roseni convinces Mr. Gates that she’ll give the message to her parents, and receives the envelope, looking inside they see an address and nothing else. So, she grabs a map, and sets off for the address.

 Novem is finishing her rest in the sanctuary of The Church of The Nine. Novem believes in everyone being properly thanked for their work, and that often means giving thanks and tribute to gods most others ignore or don’t appreciate. After all, they’re gods…and if all they ask is to be worshiped and thanked now and again, why not…considering not doing so often incurs their wrath down the line.

A knock on her door, and the church priest introduces Novem to Mr. Gates, offering her a job…Novem, immediately suspects a trap, and starts grilling Mr. Gates on why all the secrecy, considering they’re already alone, and the only others who can hear them are the Priest, who can step away for a minute, and the gods…and he’s not hiding anything from the gods is he? Gates is just…not sure how to react to being interrogated and sassed at by a robot that’s acting like the fantasy equivalent of K-2SO.

Novem does eventually accept the offer, makes short prayer of protection, and heads off to the address, which she recognizes all too well, the mayor’s office.

 Finally, we have Luther. He was caught murdering the head of a human trafficking ring…who was also one of the most powerful nobleman in the city. With no trial, he was hung that day…and wakes up naked in a pile of corpses.

Luther is now a Revenant.

Mr. Gates is waiting there as he pulls himself out, offers him clothes and weapons, and an invitation to get more than vengeance…he can get justice as well.

Luther doesn’t exactly have a ton of options, so he accepts, and is given a magic helmet to hide his identity…but it’s a bit tight. That’s the enchantment though. If Luther dies, he comes back to life in a new body, and this helmet will always fit the wearer…but always be slightly too tight. I like this a lot, magic items with a clear benefit and an odd drawback opens up some great roleplaying opportunities.

 Luther is led to the Mayor’s office where the rest of the characters are waiting. It’s like 2 in the morning at this point so obviously the first question he asks is…why is there a 10-year-old here, and why isn’t she in bed? Roseni answers matter of factly that her parents are asleep so she came instead.

We’re all led upstairs by Mr. Gates…but…he’s wearing different clothes and seems just as confused that a little girl was sent here. Turns out Mr. Gates has a twin brother…still doesn’t explain why can take Chill Touch like a champ, but who knows.

We’re led into the Mayor’s office, where the 10-year-old continues to confuse everyone involved. She does manage to prove she has the ability to cast magic so…she can be helpful…Novem doesn’t like this one bit, but the Mayor doesn’t have the heart to tell the child she can’t come on the incredibly dangerous and secret mission that she was not hand selected for so…Novem defers to the mayor. She’s a servant of the city, and he represents the will of the city.

And then Luther takes his helmet off and shows everyone she’s the Paladin that was famously and publicly executed earlier that day.

Again, Novem defers to the mayor in him saying that he’s cool, don’t worry about it.

At this point we settle down enough to get the plot dump. The mayor is part of a secret fraternity that protects a secret seal of immeasurable magic. They have reason to believe that a secret ancient tome with instructions on how to control the seal, secretly hidden outside the city, has been discovered by an even more secretive evil organization, whose goals and identities are all hidden and secret. The mayor believes they are already attempting to retrieve the book, and we must go out into the woods to the secret location, enter the secret barrow where the book is hidden, all while not knowing anything about the secret defenses and traps that protect the book……

To quote the robot “I find that answer vague and unconvincing”

But he is the mayor, and he is agreeing to pay us, and we won’t exactly make much headway selling this incredibly “secret” information on the street…so we agree, despite there being a 10-year old Halfling magic user with us.

So we head off into the woods. Novem is pretty much the only one with darkvision so she hands one of her torches to the Paladin, and walks ahead of the group to look for any potential threats coming their way. Sure enough, we find a narrow path leading to where we were told the barrow is…and 6, shadowy, red eyed wolves with odd symbols on their heads emerge from the woods. Novem waits in a nearby brush, deciding that while time is of the essence, the Mayor is her direct superior, and gave her a team to work with, so clearly this is not meant as a solo mission, so she waits for her team to make the first move and support the inevitable fight.

I’ve played long enough to know rule number 1: Don’t split the party”

The wolves are all bunched up to block our path, so this is a perfect opportunity for the spellcaster’s to get out their cool area spells. Phillip moves forward and prepares…meanwhile Luther is trying to keep Roseni from walking straight into a pack of evil smoke wolves. She may be tiny and only have a speed of 15, but the little Halfling girl slips ahead, and casts Arms of Hadar at the wolves…which is the exact spell Philip was going to cast…meaning he’s also caught in the range of it…and he’s a level 1 Wizard with only 7 health.

And he fails his saving throw.

Probably should mention that most of the accidental deaths come from my friends not taking great care in their area-of-effect spells. One day they’ll learn.

Yukiko, Luther, and Novem easily mop up the remaining Wolves, mostly because the wolves all rolled terrible on their attack rolls. Each of the wolves disappears into a puff of smoke after they die…which is disconcerting, but they also leave a small, almost glowing red stone in their place. Definitely something to look into later. Luther heals up Philip, and we all hurry forward.

The next big challenge is the path itself, which seems to throw us all off the path, trying to get us lost. All but Yukiko fail their saving throw, while Luther, with the torch, rolls a Natural 1.

Thankfully he didn’t wander too far, so we call him back, huddle around Yukiko who can keep her mind straight and focused, and we find the secret Barrow. The entrance is blocked by a huge stone disc that requires most of us to move out of the way. Its at this point we start to suspect that the mayor may only be using us to get the book for his own ends, but Novem won’t switch sides without convincing evidence, so we begin to head down.

The spiral staircase inside leads us further and further down until it opens into a small room, where a green bound book rests on a pedestal waits for us. Novem waits for everyone to catch up as she checks for any traps. The rest follow behind, and we quickly realize a few decisions need to be made…who’s taking the book…and do we bring it back with us. Luther tries to mediate as Phillip and Novem end up in a surprisingly civil tug-of-war while having the most bizarre conversation, as a Kenku that repeats previously heard phrases, and a very direct sassy robot bicker over who should carry the book.

Roseni and Yukiko are suspicious of the whole thing though. They smell the book. Seriously. It pays off though…the book does not smell like an ancient tome, it smells like a new, freshly printed book.

Novem criticizes the others for being so suspicious of the mayor…after all, he’s the mayor. Not doing what he says is certainly going to be a bad idea. Besides, just because the book is still here, doesn’t mean he deceived us. It may well mean we beat the bad guys here. Now we have to find out if it’s safe here, or not, and if we can trust the mayor enough to bring the book back to him, or not. Novem proposes that they should all stay here through the night. If the bad guys show up, then we’ll know the mayor is legit. If not, we can leave the book in this safe spot and confront the mayor about what’s really going on. There’s agreement and they all put the book back down on the pedestal.

And then Phillip flips the book open to the first page, exposing all its secrets for anyone to see.

And it’s just a book on Frog anatomy.

So this leaves us with two scenarios. The mayor hired several, highly qualified, dangerous people, who know who he is, sent them on a wild goose chase, all as a distraction that he didn’t need to send us on because none of us had any idea about what the Mayor was doing in the first place. Or. The mayor was right, and the book has been stolen by a secret, evil group.

Novem apologies to Phillip for doubting him, and the group prepares to leave. They have a missing book to find, and it’s not going to be easy.

That’s where we left off. I’ll do my best to keep up and cover all the important details going forward.