#hymnofshadows

[nostomannia]

Bingo! || @hymnofshadows

Only one bingo smh.

"Well, even if it's only one, that's a lotta spaces crossed out..." Though, not goofing off or artistry was close to being a deal-breaker.

[hriobzagelthewanderer]

(@nabeandfriends - Nabe)

Oh good gods, there's a crow in the library!

Repeat, there is a crow in the library!

... Nabe would like help putting her birthday hat back on. oAo

"...ah, A Happy Birthday to you then, is it, Nabe? Hold on a moment-"

It would no be long before Hriob would give her not one, but two birthday hats- and a small bowl of berries for her to munch on to boot-

[sins-of-the-sea]

"Honestly, that was so pathetic I'm giving you the money anyway."

Here have half a million dollars, Guy. Maria just feels that bad for your brother.

He just doesn't question it as he takes the money. "Just when I thought he couldn't get any lower, there he goes."

[brawlqueen]

" .... okay. " a stoic and quiet nod and a small voice. it's clear the girl has a steel core; but beneath that is still a quiet unease. a sense and familiarity of when things go to the worst possible place. the cyclops serial killings taught her that - no, before that too.

so she likes to think she's prepared, right?

" mizuki. " she isn't sure if her name will be used against her, be it her maiden name or her adopted one. where was date? well, he hadn't been dragged into this mess. but his snarky and dry, often grumpy tone was something she admitted she needed to hear.

" . . twelve years old, sixth grade. well, i'll be graduating but - i understand. maria-san. or, er, miss maria. " she nods quietly. she's never seen anyone like maria before; but the coat certainly dwarfs her tiny frame. " . . . i don't have much information. i mean, i don't even know what's going on. " her eyes tighten.

" can...you tell me? "

"You can give it back later," she said, a warm smile on her face. "But it's just a coat, I can always buy another when I get home." Sure, an enchanted coat could be on the pricey side, but money's never been a concern for her.

She'd amassed a large fortune in the thousand years she'd been integrated in society.

"Most people call me Maria Mentar," not her name, just a title, but she wasn't going to explain that.

Probably a bit much to heap onto a human at once.

"What about you? What's your name?" The anger still lingered, but it was likely clear that whoever Maria was angry with, it wasn't the literal child in front of her.

[nabeandfriends-archive]

In light of the anons going around starting problems, I'm preemptively going to remind everyone that yes, this is a sideblog, but I don't send asks related to this blog anonymously.

All asks I send will come from @hymnofshadows, and will be prefaced with (@nabeandfriends - <character>).

Any asks I get starting problems will be blocked/reported.

[elementalnight-archived]

Archiving this blog

((Hey all. As much as the story and ideas I wanted to explore here interested me, I simply have more muse for other characters.))

((Y'all can find me at my other RP blogs: @shatteredwastes, @hymnofshadows, and @nabeandfriends, but I don't believe I'll be logging back into this one again.))

[godfrey-industries]

“Don’t you pencil me in with those anemic sacks of shit!”

“I am a demon. Vampires suck blood and dick. Demons suck souls and dick.”

“We’re inherently better than them in every way.”

[kingdom-of-mxginica]

Malik's smol and angy | @hymnofshadows continued from here!

He places his hands on her shoulder to push himself up so maybe she could hear him a little better if he said things louder.

"You say that like as if you're not talking someone who A. has military experience himself and B. has a literal anti magic amulet around his damn neck!"

For such a small guy, to Maria, at least, he sure had a temper on him when tensions flared high.

"Now put me down!"

[nostomannia]

‘TOL AND SMOL’ PROMPTS || @hymnofshadows

[ GIVE ]  for the taller muse to place their jacket around the shorter muse’s shoulders,  the garment essentially ‘swallowing them whole.’

The desert is a land of extremes. From the blazing heat in the day that scorched even the heartiest of plants, to the near-freezing cold when the sun finally faded.

Maria took her coat off, draping it over the shivering form of the human she'd found - the magic woven in it working to regulate temperature. "Let's get you inside."

Being out in the desert unprepared was perhaps the most unfortunate thing to happen to her as of late. Parched, covered in sweat, and most definitely not in clothes meant for such an envorinment.

Now that the sun was gone, it was even worse. Hrer fingers had gone numb. She curled and flexed them to try and warm her hands. Who the hell would ever live out in a place like this?

Too focused on how cold she was, she barely noticed the approach of a stranger, nearly jumping to her feet as something was draped around her shoulders. She looked up to meet the eyes of the pink-haired woman with some shock. She barely registered that the coat was unusually warm- chalking it up to leftover body heat from the stranger.

"I-..." Solita couldn't form words for a moment. Getting to her feet, she realized just how tall this woman was, staring up and blinking as words failed to form in her head. "Th-thank you."

[hriobzagelthewanderer]

“Hello!”  That crow has shown up again, perched on a tree branch.  Her soul stood out among the wildlife - marking her as something other.  Though today something else set her apart from the wildlife: a purple, patterned vest, perfectly sized to fit her.

Hriob wasn’t too fussed by her sudden appearance.  He still didn’t know much about the crow - who called herself Nabe, it seemed - but he had figured out that she somehow knew Lyth.  And that, apparently, his connection to his adoptive mother was enough to convince Nabe they were now friends.

“Hello, Nabe,” Hriob said, lifting his head to look at her.  “Staying out of trouble?”

“Yeah!”  She seemed proud of herself.  “And?  What doing?”

“I’m working on making a few final preparations for Samhain.”  He held an arm out, offering a place to perch.  “Though I still haven’t made a decision about a costume.”

“Costume?”  Nabe flew down to land on his arm as offered, sidling over to perch on his shoulder.  “Like.  Spook-o-ween?”

Hriob chuckled.  “It’s similar.”

“Oh!”  She wiggled excitedly!  “Nabe has!  Idea!”  Almost as soon as she was on his shoulder, she jumped off, landing on the ground and turning… human?

Hriob hadn’t seen her do that before, but it wasn’t that surprising, when he thought about it.

“Nabe was going to go visit a friend - the magic moth man - and borrow one of his masks for Spook-o-ween!  Maybe you can come with and borrow one too!”

“The magic moth man?” he repeated, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah!  He lives in a forest near Nabe’s home!  He makes all kinds of masks, and he and Nabe talk about art sometimes!”  She clapped her hands, eyes bright with excitement.  “And!  Nabe can take you to meet him, so you can be friends too!”  A short pause, before she added, “But you gotta do what Nabe says, ‘cause she’s heard that some fairies don’t like people?  So Nabe’s gotta protect you if you come meet him!”

“Your friend is a fairy?”  The thought intrigued him.  Hriob didn’t have much experience with interacting with other fae, he almost felt obligated to go along with it, just for the sake of learning more about his ‘cousins’.

He didn’t feel like bringing up that he was capable of handling himself.  If the forest Nabe spoke of was anything like his home - it was likely that having a guide around might be helpful.

“Yup!  He’s a, uh… Treedancer!  All pretty and pink and yellow!”  Nabe bounced up and down on her heels.  “So, are you gonna come?”

“Why not?  I couldn’t turn down a chance to meet another fae.”

Nabe did not have the ability to teleport of her own power.  Rather, from what Hriob could tell, she used a pendant she wore to communicate with someone who could - leading them to appear outside a small medical clinic that bore her name.

… Hriob was learning more and more about Nabe by the minute.

“This is Nabe’s home!”  She pointed at the clinic.  “Nabe and Elise live upstairs, but Nabe’s friend lives this way!”  Nabe grabbed his hand, tugging him along the road.

It was a fairly long trip out of town toward the forest - but Hriob managed to pass the time asking questions to learn a bit more about Nabe.  She called her pendant a ‘special rock’ that was connected to Elise - the woman who had raised her.  The clinic did, in fact, belong to Nabe - and she claimed to have medical degrees from ‘three different universes’.  Hriob also learned that Nabe was a crow before she developed the ability to assume human form.

Really, Nabe seemed to be a fascinating person in her own right, while also being someone surrounded by people who were just as extraordinary.

Eventually, they came to the edge of the forest, and Nabe took the lead - carefully navigating along between unusually tall and vibrant maple trees.  Though Nabe admitted that she usually just flew over the woods to her destination, she seemed to have a good idea of what it was like on the ground anyway.

Hriob could sense the magic in the forest.  But he could also sense they were being watched.  Though the fairy inhabitants didn’t show themselves, he could sense that they were (understandably) wary.

But, before long, they came to a small clearing.  Near which was a small cottage nestled among the roots of a tree.  Small was the emphasis here - the structure clearly wasn’t built with human proportions in mind, let alone someone as tall as Hriob.

“Mian!”  Nabe went up to the door and leaned down to knock on it.  “Nabe’s here!”

There was a short pause before the door opened - revealing this ‘Mian’.  He stood about half Nabe’s height, looking, for the most part, like a giant moth, standing up on its hindmost legs.  He wore a belt at his waist with a few masks hanging from it.  “Hello there, little crow,” his voice was warm, kind.  “What brings you here?”

Nabe took a few steps back, then sat cross-legged on the ground.  “Well!  Nabe was going to come visit to ask if she could borrow a mask for Spook-o-ween, but she met a friend who was also looking for Spook-o-ween costumes!”  She pointed at Hriob, beaming.  “So Nabe thought!  She should introduce you.”

Hriob gave a small nod, taking the cue from Nabe to sit down as well so the moth-fairy wouldn’t have to crane his neck so much to look at him.  “I have some fae heritage myself, so I will admit I was curious when Nabe mentioned you.  I hope it’s not much of an intrusion.”

“A-ah, well,” Mian was caught off guard, “Usually I approach someone else to offer a mask in exchange for their face.  Nabe’s been the only one to request my work directly.”  A short nod in her direction.  “And I am comfortable letting her borrow one, because I know she’s aware of how much work I put into my projects.”

“I’m sure we can work out some kind of deal,” Hriob said.  “Though I would like to see some examples of your work, if that’s alright?”

“O-oh, right!  Of course!” He pulled one of the masks from his belt, wings fluttering as he moved closer to Hriob.

The mask was porcelain - painted to the point that it looked almost identical to skin, resulting in an almost uncannily realistic appearance.  The mask was made to resemble an elf.

“I designed this one myself!  It took ages to gather the correct materials for it - realism is a bit… difficult at times, to get it right, you know?”  He put the mask up to his face - an illusion giving him the appearance of a much taller elven man.  “The clothing design, the minor details.  Even if it’s much harder to come up with it from scratch, the end result is my favorite guise.”  Mian reached up, taking the mask off once again, then flipping it over to show the back - carved in an intricate series of runes.  “It takes decades to master the craft, but I do consider this to be my masterpiece.”

Hriob’s mind was already buzzing with questions.  Wanting to know every detail of the process, to see if it were something he could recreate.  Wanting to get a closer look at the runes in the mask.  Wanting to know more about how the illusion worked, and how the material choice related to that.  “... Do you mind if I take a closer look?” he asked after a moment, reaching out his hand.  “It’s a stunning piece.”

Mian hesitated before handing it over.  “Do be careful.  Porcelain is difficult to work with.  I’d hate to have to replace it if it breaks.”

“You have my word.”

Hriob took the mask gingerly, turning it over in his hands.  It was exquisite craftsmanship - painstakingly detailed and using real hair, beads, and feathers for the hairstyle.  And the runes - though he didn’t recognize the symbols used in this world, he could still sense their meaning.

“Almost like some kind of code,” he muttered to himself.  That was it, really.  Every symbol, every line, every connection - effectively programming the illusory form as a part of the mask.  Sections dedicated beyond just the appearance - but also to tracking the motion of the wearer so that they could be seamlessly imitated in the illusory form.  And all of it could be powered with a nearly negligible amount of energy expended to do so.

The applications of this could surely go much further than simple disguises.  “Mian - can you tell me how you learned to make these?”

The fairy’s antennae twitched.  “Ah, yes!  It’s an ancient tradition passed down by our tribe.  I spent decades studying as an apprentice before I graduated.  The mask makers have always allowed us the ability to safely pass beyond our borders into the lands of humans.”  A small nod, as though he were proud of himself.  “I’ve worked hard to push my craft even further.  Collecting materials that haven’t been used before and learning how their properties affect the piece.”

“How important is material?”

“Absolutely crucial.  There are rare occasions where substitutions can be made, but for the most part, your base material heavily influences what the mask can become.  Not only that, but it affects the lifespan of the magic, as well.  Softer materials are easier to work with, but the runes will wear out faster - harder material can hold the enchantments longer, but are much less forgiving if an error is made.  And being able to fit all the runes necessary for the mask can often be difficult as well."

“I see.”  Though Hriob would have loved to keep the mask and study it further, he handed it back to Mian.  “I think I would like to commission one from you.  What would you ask in return?”

“Your face would be a nice addition to my collection.”

“Can I tempt you with knowledge instead?” Hriob asked - he was, after all, hesitant to agree to such terms.  “I know several different runic scripts myself, perhaps learning them could help with fitting your enchantments on the masks?”

Mian hummed thoughtfully.  “I would still love to have a mask of you, but I have to admit that’s a tempting offer.  If you are correct about the potential of other scripts, that could drastically change the process…”  The moth returned his mask back to its place on his belt.  “Very well.  I accept your offer - on the condition that you help to acquire any materials I may need to fulfill your request.”

“That seems reasonable.”  Hriob nodded in agreement.

“Great.  Let me just grab a few things from inside and we can get to work.”  He turned toward the door.  “Oh and Nabe?  Have you decided which mask you planned to borrow?”

“Nabe was thinking about it!  She likes the beast, but she knows that one is important to you, so she was trying to think of a different one.”

“I still have the old one laying around.  You can borrow that one.”  It didn’t have any magic left in it, but he knew that Nabe wouldn’t mind.

“So, can you tell me what you had in mind for the costume you wanted?”  Mian asked as he brought his sketchbook outside.  He gave Nabe a stylized mask similar to the other one on his belt before walking over to Hriob.  He sat down and turned to a blank page, poised to make his own sketches and notes.

“That I haven’t figured out yet,” Hriob admitted.  “As important as this is, I’ve had a lot to worry about as of late, and haven’t really had the time to figure out exactly what my plan for this year is.”  He shook his head.  “But costume choice is incredibly important.  I’ve gotten carried away when channeling the spirits of the season in the past, and I wind up in character - willingly or not.  So I am hoping to have a costume that isn’t likely to cause too many problems for people around me when I inevitably lose control.”

“A being with a calm persona?”  Mian tapped his chin thoughtfully.  “Perhaps some myth or legend?”

“Nabe read a book with a wizard in it!  He was a leader of a country, but it turned out he was just a stage magician and not actually magic,” Nabe chimed in.  “At the end he decides to go back to his old home in a giant balloon!”

Mian stared at his friend for a moment.  “Is that your idea?”

“Nabe thinks wizards are calm.”

Hriob tilted his head, deep in thought.  “That sounds… familiar, somehow.”  Was it something he’d read?  He couldn’t quite place it.

“I suppose that makes me the only one who doesn’t get it,” Mian observed.

“Nabe doesn’t think it exists in this world.”  A shrug.  “At least, Nabe hasn’t found any copies on Omnion.”

“Not very helpful, but alright.”  Mian wrote something in the corner of the page - something that more than likely translated to ‘wizard’.  “Do we have any other ideas, or are you going to go with that one?”

Silence, but neither Hriob nor Nabe seemed to be able to come up with any better solution.  Eventually, Hriob just gave a shrug.  “I suppose it’ll have to do.  I’m running out of options at this point.”

“Alright.  Can either of you describe this wizard?”

Between Hriob and Nabe, a design was eventually worked out.  A green vest and pants.  A white coat.  Shirt and tie.  How tall this wizard should be was a point of contention - but they eventually settled on letting the illusion stand at the same height as Hriob.  Though he did insist on preserving his wraps as a design element so that people would still be able to tell it was him - illusion or not.

Mian made a few further sketches, conceptualizing the mask itself in contrast to the illusion, then scribbled down a list of materials on another page - tearing it out and giving it to Hriob.  “Once I have everything I need, I’ll get to work right away.”

[sins-of-the-sea]

🌱

Questions for Immortals/Ancients

🌱 What is one thing about the world you’ve come to appreciate?

"That nothing is truly alien or beyond understanding in any part of the world regardless of the time, regardless of the cultural climate or the language spoken. Everything and anything can be learned as long as you take the time and be earnest with it. Our understandings of the world do change, but it can be caught up with, or rewound to see where we are coming from. But I always appreciate when that understanding becomes wider and more widely embraced."

[demonicdiligence]

@hymnofshadows

Zagan was just standing there in the doorframe, menacingly, as he stared over at Maria.

"You know dear, I had a fun idea...! Though I'm not sure if you'd be game or not. The two of us appreciate a good spar every now and again, yes?"

The President of the Underworld says as he treads over towards her.

"How would you feel about adding a little wrinkle to our spars. We know when we're going to set upon one another, but normal combat rarely affords us such opportunities. What if... we were to play around with ambushes?"

[godfrey-industries]

“I know I can just resist the summoning but what if it’s an opportunity to take some chump’s soul? Souls are hard to come by nowadays.”

[kingdom-of-mxginica]

[ GO ]  for the taller muse to pick up the shorter one and carry them away from a potential/just started fight. 

Tol and Smol | Accepting! | @hymnofshadows

It seems like old habits die hard, especially in Malik's case. Now, while his first interaction with the god wasn't particularly hostile, it didn't stop him from becoming hostile with others.

And that's precisely what happened. A group of thugs didn't take kindly to Malik mouthing off to them, and despite the fact Malik was armed and more than willing to fight, he didn't get the chance to as he had been picked up and gotten out of there.

"Hey!" He shouts. "Put me down! I could've fought them all at once!"

[nostomannia]

2023 is almost over! || @hymnofshadows

((i'm not great at expressing myself, but I know you've been having Doubts lately. We all get them sometimes. But genuinely, I do care about you. I enjoy seeing your writing on my dashboard and I love hanging out with you in vc when i have the chance. if you take nothing out of this, at least take this: your friends love you. your friends adore the work you put into your characters and the heart and soul you put into your art. but more than that they love to spend time with you, laughing at stupid jokes and throwing the blorbos into situations))

Thank you, KC. I've kind of been holding on to this just because I don't know how to reply in a good way. I can't say I'm good at saying words either.

I always enjoy being in call with you too, plotting or just getting up to causing Problems(tm)

I am really glad that I've gotten the chance to get to know you, and hopefully we'll just get closer with the coming year

[hriobzagelthewanderer]

((Kov. If you wanted crabs you could have just asked.))

[HOW DARE YOU FEED MY SHELLFISH DESIRES SO!!!]