#i'm free of this mess finally

[satohqbanana]

Dragonmage Pact

Drakenveyond AU times. Please enjoy this outline/summary/zero draft/whatever you call it.

I should probably write out some lore-related stuff next, if only to explain more of what exactly is going on here. It's actually more Aveyond than Drakengard; all I borrowed from DOD are lore and themes. (Also, I'm sorry that there are no evil flowers here that wishes to take over the world with flower power. I tried going that route once - I even had character designs in mind - but I just didn't like the ideas coming out of it. Fortunately, though, there's less fratricide.)

Summary: The world's most compassionate nymph incarnate and the world's most selfish noble enter a pact to save themselves from certain death, when an army of tireless, undead soldiers besiege it. Now bound as a duo of a large talking dragon and a nonverbal mage, Rhen and Lars navigate through their new self/ves, regroup with the other nymph incarnates and their guardians, and find a way to safely undo the pact. (And maybe save the world along the way as well.)

Warnings: Deaths; lots of deaths. Like major character deaths. Because there are deaths, there are also some killings. The nature of people's relationships are also mostly vague. Also this is way too long.

Edit: Added titles to parts to help any poor soul navigate this huge thing.

...

Part 1: The Curse of the Pact

A man named Ahriman is known to be the most powerful sorcerer of the land. While his actual abilities are limited to mind control, revival magic, and energy blasts, he is quite cunning. He protects himself by hypnotizing priests to defend him and hide his presence, and he manufactures an army by revitalizing the bodies of fallen warriors and using mind control to make them hack away endlessly.

He has once tried to take over the world before, and after a grand war with the Chief Goddess and her nymph daughters, has been sealed into a deep sleep. However, a prince who wanted power for his own reawakens him. After slaying the foolish prince and enslaving the boy's army, Ahriman's first target is the Kingdom of Thais. Rhen, the incarnation of a nymph who resides there as some saint figure, manages to escape the invasion.

While hiding in a nearby town, her foes catch up and seriously injure her. Fortunately, she finds Lars, a young traveling mage on the verge of death himself. To extend their lives, they hesitantly form a pact by merging their then-fractured souls. A pact is a magical contract that gives life and power to those who are willing to give up their most precious possessions. In this pact, it takes Rhen's identity and transforms her into a dragon, and it takes the main source of Lars' power, his speech.

Their relationship starts off rocky; neither one is willing to cooperate. As pact partners, they always hear each other's thoughts in their heads, and what wounds one gets, the other feels.

One of their first arguments goes like this: Rhen wants Lars to carry her now-useless possessions, one of which is a sword; he thinks they're uncool and she can carry them by herself once he gets them strapped across her body. She insults him by telling him he's basically an ordinary guy with no abilities, which forces him to carry the sword if only to look cool and powerful.

Their next major point of contention involves the treatment of their foes, majority of which happen to be brainwashed mortals. As the incarnate of the nymph of compassion, Rhen pities them; as a nobleman who thinks of himself first, Lars does not. They argue on the methods of dealing with these foes, on whether simply disabling them will keep them down long enough, on whether killing them is merciful or not, on whether a foe should simply disintegrate or deserved to be tortured with wounds before dying.

However, because Lars is unable to communicate efficiently and use stronger magic, and Rhen's current appearance frightens a lot of people which also affects her communication, the two realize they need each other. They form a truce that will take effect until they find a way to safely undo their pact and unbind their lives - because they have things to do and places to be, and they cannot afford to be tied down to each other until the end of time.

Part 2: The Incarnates and Their Guardians

Lars lets Rhen take him along to the other nymph incarnates, as they may know of a way to unbind the pact or so. Hence, they travel to the Land of the Mysten Far, where an older nymph incarnate, Talia, resides. To Rhen's relief, Talia is still alive and recognizes her from her aura. Talia informs her that one of the other nymph incarnates have fallen, so they must gather the rest before Ahriman's forces destroy them all. Hence, Talia and her guardian Devin joins them.

On the way to the next nymph incarnate, Talia learns that Rhen's guardian isn't Lars, but a healer named Dameon. Rhen confesses she hasn't seen Dameon since the fall of Thais, where they got separated. She cannot detect where he is and thinks he has been killed. Talia criticizes Rhen for forming a pact with a mortal to extend her life instead of reincarnating, for pacts are the double-edged blades of the desperate. Rhen however deems the pact a necessity for now, as haphazardly breaking it will kill her needlessly.

Meanwhile, Devin attempts to teach Lars swordfighting as an extra layer of defense, but fails terribly due to the lack of verbal communication. So, Devin helps him get books on magic in hopes of learning more spells that do not require speech.

Talia and Devin also notice that, while Rhen and Lars more or less accept each other as their pact partner, the two still have much room for improvement with regards to their new selves. Rhen is still clumsy with her dragon form, and Lars still struggles with non-verbal spells. Rhen assures Talia that this situation is only temporary and thus they would not require mastering their new selves. Talia doubts as there is no wide-known way to unbind a pact, but lets it be, since the two would simply end up frustrated.

The group arrives at the Kingdom of Harburg. There they find the next nymph incarnate, Mel, and her new guardian, Spook. Rhen and Lars temporarily part ways with their growing team to seek knowledge on pacts and magic based on Spook's lead, but find their journey to be a diversion when it drags on and Lars cannot sense potent magic in the area.

The two rush back to Mel - right on time. Talia had been drugged and lays unconscious, while due to thwarting an assassination attempt on Mel, Devin pays with his life. Spook reveals himself to be an excellent mercenary hired by Ahriman.

Rhen and Lars struggle in their battle against Spook. Spook has a form of power from both Mel and Ahriman. Several times Rhen has to defend Lars, but fails to counterattack. Several times, Lars tries to attack Spook, but is easily overpowered. Eventually, after much challenge, the pair manage to strike Spook down, but he rises, bloody and still full of life. As he lunges for an attack, Mel stabs him from behind, announcing that the incarnate chooses her guardian, and she chooses him to stop being hers.

Talia awakens and mourns for Devin. Meanwhile, both Rhen and Lars are mortified at their weakness and their reliance on the pact. Rhen, having been a swordsmistress herself prior to the pact, decides to mentor Lars in some form swordsmanship. Lars, as a master of magic theory, decides to help Rhen master her abilities as a dragon. Together, they discover that her sword can be a conduit for non-spoken magic, and that Rhen can now use the power of song, amplified by her bigger draconic lungs.

Meanwhile, Ahriman's forces grow ever bigger and stronger. He knows where Rhen and her team hides, for he uses her connection with her guardian, Dameon, to find her. Dameon is one of his priests now, having been corrupted by his desire to protect Rhen. Ahriman keeps him busy by preparing the ritual ground for the rebirth of the world in the Temple of Rebirth.

Part 3: Partners' Bonds

Back to the nymph incarnates, Mel informs the team that she had "lent" her former guardian, Edward, to a fellow incarnate, Stella, and suggests they visit her next. However, Talia prevents them from doing so just yet, as they do not have guardians strong enough to help them defend themselves, even with Rhen and Lars' pact or newfound skills. The powerlessness stings both Rhen and Lars with much humiliation and frustration.

They find Talia's words true enough during an ambush. Fortunately, a banished paladin and his vampress pact partner finds and rescues them: Galahad and Te'ijal. Though reluctant, the nymph incarnates employ the two to chaperone them. Galahad immediately takes to the task, while Te'ijal only agrees to add spice to her life.

As they travel together, the group learns of the duo's past. Galahad was loyal to a fault; he once served the corrupt King of Sedona, and in the greedy king's conquests, Galahad almost died. Te'ijal found him in this state, and since she had nothing better to do, she formed a pact with him. Their pact turned Galahad's right arm to stone and took Te'ijal's immortality, but thanks to it, Te'ijal has lightning speed and stealthy, silent movements, while Galahad has super strength that extends to the sword he uses. When Galahad went back to his King, he was dubbed a monster and therefore banished. Te'ijal on the other hand cannot live as a vampire would normally do, so she decided to make her days as fun and exciting as possible by persistently buzzing around Galahad. Galahad has survived thus far thanks to the blessed armor he wears, which automatically moves him out of the way from perceived oncoming threats.

The duo also learn of the nymph incarnates' agenda in full. Many centuries ago, in a grand war against Ahriman and his daevas, the destructive forces almost ripped apart the multiple realms of Aia. To keep the realms stable, the Chief Goddess of the World used herself and her daughter nymphs as Holy Seals. However, the power to keep the Holy Seals intact robbed them of immortality, so the seven goddesses must now reincarnate every few decades. The incarnation process is quick, but Ahriman aims to kill all seven incarnates within months to end the cycle, destroy Aia, and create a new world with him as the Chief God. The nymph incarnates now aim to gather their kin to unite their powers and use it to seal Ahriman and heal the world.

In silence, Lars supposes that this plan would also rob the incarnates of their lives and ultimately do as Ahriman plans. Rhen hears his thoughts and replies that if the incarnates are going down, then so is Ahriman. They agree it is not wise to keep the pact until such a time, and they must make haste.

The group soon reach the Kingdom of Naylith, which is currently being besieged by Ahriman's forces. They wade through the battle and successfully find Stella and Edward deep under the Naylithian caverns. While wounded, the pair are not in grave danger.

As the group recuperates from the weary fighting, Rhen and Lars find an old library and uncover different ancient scriptures that speak of sword magic, song magic, and dragon magic. With Lars being a fast reader and Rhen being quick to process magic, they take advantage of their shared mindspace to absorb the knowledge. Neither would admit it, but one or both of them at the time thought, 'Are pacts really so bad?'

Meanwhile, Galahad watches the other nymph incarnates. He thinks they are too young to be going through such a tragic fate. Stella appreciates the care, Mel finds that patronizing, and Talia laughs and calmly explains that their souls are older than anyone else's; it's their bodies and personalities that changes with every incarnation. Te'ijal then tells the three that Galahad doesn't 100% believe in magic and may not even fully believe that they are the highest-level deities only second to the Chief Goddess.

Before any argument can ensue, Edward suggests they leave immediately before the enemy can find them. Talia agrees with this and gets Te'ijal to retrieve Rhen and Lars from the library.

As the group leaves, Ahriman's forces follow them, so they split: Rhen and Lars will distract them, while Mel, Stella, Edward, Talia, Galahad, and Te'ijal make their escape. Rhen and Lars with their newfound powers decimate their pursuers - and immediately regret not taking any of their other companions with them.

Meanwhile, the other group struggle with the new addition to Ahriman's army: cyclopses manufactured from alchemizing people into one being. The fact renders Stella distraught and Mel has to calm her down. Talia, Edward, Galahad, and Te'ijal deal with the cyclopses. As the group triumphs, a weakened cyclops makes a final attempt to fight and takes Edward with it.

The two teams reunite. With the loss of Edward, Galahad offers himself as a guardian to the incarnates, but Talia says he shouldn't enter another contract with his pact intact. The guardian contract, like the pact, relies on binding lives together, so that the guardian may use a weaker form of the nymph's power. However, the guardian gets to live as long as their nymph incarnate lives in order to serve her sufficiently. As such, the nymph incarnates are sensitive creatures who assigns only those close to their hearts as their guardians, for the guardians are granted eternal life and youth, until they are killed in battle. As thus, the guardian contract is not something to make too light of, nor something that any stranger could be offered with.

Rhen and Lars briefly entertain the thought of having a guardian contract instead of a pact - then the guardian contract with the pact. Neither like it - Rhen does not think Lars can sufficiently aid her that way, while Lars dislikes the idea of having to actually serve somebody with his life.

Part 4: Conflicted Souls

Their next destination is the Kingdom of Sedona. As a banished paladin, Galahad stays behind. Something's off: the supposed nymph incarnate there, Lydia, is flaunting off her power at a time when incarnates needed to hide. She also has amassed a battalion of guardians. Furthermore, they do not sense the aura of a nymph from within her. The incarnates decide she is a fake and they ought to expose her, but where would the real one be?

They find the real nymph incarnate hiding in one of Sedona's provincial towns, Dirkon: Ingrid. She has her guardian, Boyle, with her. As the other older incarnate aside from Talia, she advises the rest to ignore the fake and proceed with their task, as the last nymph has been recently reincarnated and must be protected in her frailness. To boot, the goddess incarnate is being attacked in the Elven Vale. But the younger incarnates are stubborn about exposing Lydia.

Hence the group decides to split: Mel, Stella, and Te'ijal to confront Lydia and expose the fraud; Talia, Ingrid, and Boyle to find the new nymph; and Rhen, Lars, and Galahad to rendezvous with the goddess incarnate. They would later meet up in the Vale.

As the latter two teams leave, they are ambushed by Ahriman's forces. Lars finds their presence suspicious and wonders if, upon the death of the guardian, the contract expires. Rhen first considers dissolving the guardianship, but eventually decides against it. Even if he has betrayed her, Dameon is still important to her. So, the pact partners decide to sit down and meditate. Eventually, Rhen divines where Dameon is, and it's in the Temple of Rebirth, where he is trying to revive armies for Ahriman.

Devastated at the discovery, she falls into deep silence. She has no idea what she now feels for Dameon, and whether she wants him now to kill him to keep her memories of him "pure", to make him suffer for his betrayal, or to forgive him, if that will make him stay by her side again. Without her to verbally communicate for them, Lars tries to aggressively sign and gesture their way into being understood, a task made more challenging with Rhen's thoughts dominating his own. Galahad is confused. They're all frustrated.

Meanwhile, Mel, Stella, and Te'ijal observe the situation in Sedona. Despite the fraud, Lydia's "guardians" do have powers of their own. Hence, Mel uses her and Stella's status as incarnates to openly request a meeting with Lydia, which Lydia agrees to.

The confrontation turns into a battle of philosophies. Lydia claims that ordinary people need hope at a time of war and destruction, and she wishes to be that beam of hope. Mel accuses her of wanting to fulfill that role so that she could take advantage of the people's desperation and claim power, riches, and fame. As the two argue, Stella notices the peculiar necklace Lydia is wearing. Te'ijal acknowledges the jewelry as a soul pendant - one that binds people's souls to the bearer - hence Lydia is indeed controlling all her "guardians".

Heartbroken at this piece of information, Stella attempts to snatch the pendant from Lydia. Lydia puts up a struggle and calls her "guardians" to intervene. Mel and Stella hurry to fight Lydia alone, leaving Te'ijal to find creative ways to hold off the fake guardians. Lydia casts a strong spell, but Stella pushes Mel away to receive the attack in her place.

Angered, Mel relentlessly attacks Lydia. In the scuffle, the pendant slips away from their fingers and lands next to Stella. Stella manages to toss it out the window and smashes it to pieces. Lydia's control over the fake guardians vanishes, and she finds herself subjected to the mob's fury. However, the rest of Sedona gets thrown into massive hysteria and civil unrest at the loss of their "incarnate". Te'ijal immediately whisks the two incarnates away.

Meanwhile, Dameon grows weary of waiting in the Temple of Rebirth and working for Ahriman. Ahriman assures him that Rhen will soon come to see him, so he should prepare to welcome her. Dameon knows that dissolving a pact will require the contractees to give up yet another part of themselves, but he knows that the Egg of Resurrection, a relic within the temple, will help Rhen dissolve the pact without giving up her life.

At the Vale, the nymphs' group reunite. Talia, Ingrid, and Boyle brings along the last incarnate, Myst, who they found wandering by herself along a seashore. Talia gets everyone up to date with Te'ijal and Galahad's help, but Rhen stays quiet.

The group are met with a resistance force - at their head the guardian of the goddess incarnate, Ean. The resistance immediately serves the incarnates with food and bed. Stella's condition is serious, but she is unafraid to die now that the incarnates are all together again.

As the group enjoys a warm, hearty meal after long days of hiding and getting by on the road, the goddess incarnate makes herself known. She is a young girl named Iya, which concerns Galahad. Iya informs them that she had always dreamed of the events that now occur, but not many believe her, for the land itself was dying and the people's faith has decreased rapidly over the years. She foresees none of the current incarnates would continue the cycle - they were the last iteration in their lifetime. The power of the goddess has waned. At this, the incarnates fear - sans Myst, who is yet to understand her role, and Rhen, who is still deep in thought about Dameon.

Since Lars' head is filled with Rhen's endless questions and self-blame, he has been forced to simply follow the others' lead. Through this experience, Lars supposes that the pact had prioritized his voice over Dameon's, the way Rhen's thoughts sometimes drowns out his own, which is why Rhen hadn't been able to contact him. He takes the opportunity one morning, once they awoke, to ask Rhen if her connection with Dameon went down after they made their pact. Rhen confirms this, temporarily shifts blame on Lars, then apologizes to him and blames herself again.

The group's respite ends as the resistance informs them of the arrival of Ahriman's army. The nymphs and their allies deploy into the battleground to push the enemy away.

As the others prepare for what might be the last stand of all that is good in the world, Iya informs Rhen and Lars about the Temple of Rebirth and the Egg of Resurrection. The temple's powers does not only revive what has been slain or manufacture homunculi from parts that once lived. It also helps someone rebirth themself like a phoenix. Though Iya is unsure what will happen to their pact, the Egg will help Rhen regaining her nymph form and Lars his speech. That goads the pact partners into action and revitalizes Rhen once more.

As they leave, Lars hesitates. His thoughts are strong enough to make Rhen stop in her tracks as well. As Rhen asks Iya for permission to desert their post in the battlefield, Iya notes that the two of them seem so in-sync, like they have merged into one being. Nonetheless, despite the direness of the situation, Iya allows the two to head to the temple.

However, as Galahad assists the resistance, Te'ijal accuses him of curiosity towards Rhen, Lars, their pact, and their business in the Temple of Rebirth. At Te'ijal's insistence, Galahad decides to tell Iya and the other incarnates he will follow Rhen and Lars to assure their safe return. Though Talia, Mel, Stella, and Ingrid are unsure about this, Iya assures the group that this is for the best as well. Te'ijal whisks Galahad away to quickly catch up with Rhen and Lars.

The resistance reports to Iya that the enemy is surrounding them. The incarnates then stay in a magic room that would harness their energy, which then Ean and Boyle as guardians could use against Ahriman's forces and keep them away. Through Ean, Iya summons great divine beasts to aid the resistance. Until Rhen, Lars, Galahad, and Te'ijal return, all they could do is stand their ground.

With the power of the incarnates, the resistance manages to push back Ahriman's forces. Their victory and celebrations are short-lived. The battle continues; supplies dwindle and spirits dissipate. Ahriman's army is neverending. The walls to their fort are beginning to crumble under the enemy's onslaught.

Then the sky turns red. Iya's summons go down. Cyclopses tear through the Vale's fort. Wyverns cast hail storms. Massive armies of undead, tireless soldiers march through. The incarnates are forced to take arms and face the enemy on their own. Iya begins to pray that, whatever Rhen and Lars and Galahad and Te'ijal are doing, they can somehow make their way to Ahriman and take him down.

Part 5: The Seal of the World's Fate

At the Temple of Rebirth, Rhen and Lars go their separate ways - for the first time since they formed their pact.

Rhen eventually finds Dameon, but she can only stay still as he greets her and leads her around the temple. She is surprised that he still recognizes her as herself, when it is the incarnate who chooses her guardian, and Dameon confesses that he knows because he is her guardian. He fails to mention that he knows because he has used his guardian connection with her to identify where she is and has heard reports of a purple dragon among the other nymph incarnates.

Meanwhile, Lars finds the Egg of Resurrection. Through his mental link with Rhen, he sees that Dameon is leading her there, anyway. So Lars awaits with baited breath, not knowing whether to fight Dameon or welcome him as an ally.

However, Ahriman's presence shocks him. The evil sorcerer plans to use the Egg of Resurrection to become a god, and while Lars could care less about the old man's plans, he and Rhen need it to dissolve their pact and live separate lives once again.

Ahriman attempts to discourage Lars from pursuing the Egg of Resurrection, which only activates every 500 years or so. Ahriman uses his magic to subdue Lars and taunts the boy about his powerlessness, his reliance on the pact, and his plans to return to a life that will not be there for him. Lars cannot deny it: he is powerless without his speech, without Rhen, and that he gains only his independence and nothing more if he separates from her.

As Dameon leads Rhen through the temple, she weakens as she feels like being ripped apart. She realizes that the other incarnates are falling one by one, and the toll of the Holy Seal weighs heavily on her. She begs Dameon to take her to her sisters, but he instead convinces her to pursue the Egg of Resurrection, as she can locate their new incarnations later. She tries to explain Iya's prophecy of the last incarnate iterations, but she fails. With no other choice, she could only crawl behind him, plagued once again with self-doubt and self-blame.

Dameon then arrives at the Egg with Rhen in tow. Rhen is not in a good spot; the shared emotional turmoil between herself and Lars is too much. Lars too has almost succumbed to Ahriman's taunts. They thrash about on the temple grounds trying to ground themselves and fight invasive thoughts.

The sight worries Dameon, but Ahriman tells him to prepare the Egg of Resurrection. Ahriman has planned to use Dameon all along to simply activate the relic, and when the Egg is ready, Ahriman intends to swiftly kill everyone before using it for himself.

Fortunately, Galahad and Te'ijal arrive. Ahriman engages them in battle. The two understand they are no match for Ahriman's power, but they need to keep his attention divided. First, Te'ijal threatens to disrupt the activation of the Egg of Resurrection, and as Ahriman turns around to face her, Galahad attempts to land a hit. Next, Te'ijal gets the genius idea to make a show of trying to kill Rhen. That distracts Dameon, which annoys Ahriman, but Ahriman understands that to fully prepare the Egg, he needs Dameon's powers. Ahriman has no choice but to try to protect Rhen, Lars, Dameon, and the Egg - which proves difficult, when the Egg is a huge spheroid on one side of the hall, and Rhen in her current form is a huge dragon on the other side.

As the chaos ensues, Rhen manages to crawl over to Lars. Their thoughts never seem to settle down, and at one point the self-blame has began to bounce off each other. They also recall Iya's words - they must be becoming into one being, the final curse of the pact. The mental images horrify them as their own visions begin to divide, perhaps merge into one, in which they could see themselves from each other's eye.

Now, their thoughts begin to echo. Or perhaps, one of them is echoing the other's thoughts. They can no longer tell. Is this why the pact is a deadly contract? But didn't they grow stronger in different ways through the pact? What about the things they lost through the pact? The things they gained through the pact? The pact had much to offer, but much to take! The pact is too much to bear on one's soul!

At the thought of their souls, they realize one thing - their souls have already merged. Their thoughts get in a messy feedback loop because they are only one entity in the first place.They are reliant on the pact because they are already one being, in two separate bodies and two separate consciousnesses. The same way a single person fails to accomplish anything when they make two opposing decisions at once, these two cannot do much on their own when they fail to agree.

The single entity they are commands their bodies to get back up. Fortunately for Lars, Ahriman has become too busy trying to swat away Te'ijal and Galahad. Fortunately for Rhen, Dameon has finished preparing the relic. The entity demands that its soul be taken to the Egg. And so, Lars and Rhen summon their merged soul and walk towards the Egg, phase through its shell, and merge with it.

Meanwhile, Ahriman fumes at being played around with by Te'ijal and Galahad. He cannot let himself be outwitted by a mortal man whose lifeline had only extended through the pact, or a vampire who takes him too lightly. First, he tricks Galahad into harming Te'ijal, resulting in Galahad's sword stabbing her. Te'ijal falls from the immense pain, as does Galahad who is mentally linked with her. Then, Ahriman takes Galahad by the head, preparing to behead him - the quickest way to counter the effects of the blessed armor, which does not cover his head.

Suddenly, immense power pulsates throughout the temple. Ahriman shrieks - his plan has failed. His gambit with Dameon has come to bite him back.

The Egg of Resurrection cracks open, the first time since its previous 500-year-or-so slumber. A bright light engulfs the temple. When light dissipates, two pairs of wings unfurl in the air: one white and scaly and the other black and feathery. From the Egg rises Rhen, now in her nymph incarnate form, scales covering parts of her, and Lars, with horns on the sides of his head and feathers on areas matching Rhen's scale placements.

Lars can now speak, and his first words are expletives towards both Ahriman and Dameon. Though initially delighted, Dameon agonizes when he realizes the pact had not been dissolved, but rather strengthened. He pleads for Rhen to reconsider her choices, that giving up the pact will not be lethal for her, but she ignores his words. Instead, she takes him by his clothes. Lars assists Galahad and Te'ijal to their feet, and the group fly to a higher area of the temple, away from Ahriman's wrath.

Ahriman, humiliated, tries to do something, anything with the cracked Egg. There is no power from within it, so he resorts to using his own accumulated power to transform himself. To do this, he harnesses back all the magic he used to power all his army. He would later gain the power to be a god, after he kills Rhen.

Back in the Vale, the remaining resistance members are dumbfounded to find their enemies disintegrate into the air. They do not know what to make of it, but they are at least safer for a longer while. They recoup and survey the casualties. Ean finds Iya having been slain while trying to protect Myst, who too has perished. Boyle has died alongside Ingrid. Mel and Stella are lifeless next to each other. At last, he finds Talia, who is barely alive.

She tells him to gather the incarnates' bodies around her. She knows Rhen still lives, so Talia will use her remaining life to transfer the incarnates' now-dormant essences and powers to Rhen (and Lars). Ean does as he is told, and after completing the short ritual, Talia passes away.

The resistance mourns. The incarnates are gone. Their fate is still bleak. What will happen now?

When they exit the temple, the pact pairs are aghast at the discovery of a red sky. The ground rumbles, and they find Ahriman having transformed himself into a huge black beast with multiple limbs and no eyes, covered in all sorts of forbidden runes. He cannot move from his spot, but still he oozes with power. Rhen scolds Dameon for this mess, and as she does so, feels the surge of incarnate power within her.

Lars interprets Iya's prophecy as having come true. With the incarnates becoming one with Rhen, they now have acquired a goddess's power, or perhaps even greater. They would now be able to defeat Ahriman. Rhen decides that being merciful will not do anything here, so she swears to go all out on the battle. Hungry for violence and eager to get back at Ahriman, Lars agrees to this.

Ahriman summons hoards of unearthly creatures to aid him. Rhen reminds Dameon that it is the incarnate who chooses her guardian and not the other way around. She then uses the fraction of her power in him to summon Iya's divine beasts, now healed through the combined incarnate essences, and incites them to battle with Ahriman's new legion. Galahad and Te'ijal are to protect Dameon with what they can, as he acts as proxy commander to the divine beasts.

Rhen and Lars then fly to Ahriman, who creates more creatures to try and stop them. However, their magic has been amplified, so the pair easily defeats his new minions. They find, however, that Rhen's nymph magic and Lars' verbal spells do not work against Ahriman's new form. Rhen also sees that his magic is sufficiently countering theirs, so Lars suggests using the power of song instead.

The song they possess sounds like a harrowing banshee cry, with metallic bell-like tingles and sonorous cries reverberating alongside the noise. Back on ground, Dameon, Galahad, and Te'ijal cover their ears, disturbed by the haunting, broken melody that repeated over and over. The song magic casts destructive power onto Ahriman, and since he cannot move, he can only helplessly absorb this power that he does not know how to counter. Soon, his aura falters. His large body cracks into a hundred pieces and crumbles into black ashes.

The red sky brightens into a blue hue, and the sun is high up the clouds. In the unsure silence, Rhen feels the weight of the Holy Seal. She now shares the burden with Lars, but they still count for one entity. And, while they are safe right now, the one entity they are makes them a big target. If one of them perishes, this will also undo the Holy Seal. Rhen then thinks that with the goddess' power now in them, she could safely fragment their identity as one being into many different pieces they can scatter around the world. Lars isn't too fond of the idea, but agrees that there isn't any better choice.

Galahad wants to volunteer for the role (again), but Te'ijal beats him to saying it out loud. She expresses that she and Galahad wish to take a bigger role, no that their charges are gone and one with Rhen. Besides, her body having been stabbed by his sword is no longer as useful as before.

Though parts of the Temple of Rebirth is in shambes, some of its relics stay intact. Rhen makes Dameon draw power from the relics and do the ritual to transfer the seal onto Galahad and Te'ijal's shared soul - revealed to have not been completely merged like Rhen's and Lars' - then separate the shared soul into a thousand or so stable self-contained fragments, and spread these fragments across the world.

With no other way to show their gratitude for the companionship throughout their journey, Rhen and Lars share hugs and promises with Galahad and Te'ijal as they begin to vanish. Dameon completes the ritual and the starlight-like fragments scatter throughout the world. They all watch until the last glimmer of light disappears into the distance, before deciding to head back to the Vale, reunite with what is left of the resistance, and figure out what to do next.

But for now, the world is safe once more.

(Notes here for clarifications.)

[forgettable-au]

I'm very sorry for this but I may not be able to post the pages tomorrow, maybe sunday?

I DID NOT EXPECT TO BE THIS BUSY?? BUT I'LL POST THEM WHEN I CAN

Hopefully after this we can go back to the regular schedule 😭

[fatedroses]

I know I design him with the intention that he becomes an evasion tank, but there's an irony I find very amusing in making his new magitek armor lighter than his original.

[amburuthings]

– You summoned that demon! Except it was a spirit of wisdom at the time. – You made it kill. You twisted it against its purpose.

[quatregats]

I understand that for some people having to watch a movie and write up your thoughts sounds much better than having to take a test however I really am considering violence rn

[caluupin]

Father!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[giallos]

a truly terrible idea has latched hold of my gremlin brain which is, buck and tommy do break up so that buck can pursue eddie because either tommy thinks buck is in love with eddie or buck feels like he should be with eddie because everyone else keeps suggesting there's something more there BUT buck/eddie getting together changes their dynamic so much that neither of them are enjoying themselves (and they're worrying about losing what made their friendship so special because of all the changes to the dynamic) AND buck and tommy keep hooking up [air quotes] platonically (with tommy stumbling into inconvenient feelings and pining pathetically for buck while fucking him) while buck struggles to sort out intense feelings toward eddie (which obviously have to be romantic of course) vs. his calm, more settled feelings toward tommy (they're not as intense as his feelings about eddie so they can't possibly be romantic) blah blah long story slightly less long but buck realizes he's been in love with tommy the whole time and was having trouble separating strong but platonic feelings for eddie from his romantic feelings toward tommy and then tommy's like "newsflash asshole i've been in love with you the whole goddamn time"

i'll never write it because it's irredeemably stupid and i value my peace but it IS sitting in my hindbrain tormenting me right now

[lohstandfound]

Dumb deities au concept

Someone comes up with the brilliant idea to put Jake and/or Brooke in charge of some social media content, especially around this new exhibition

The problem?

Brooke has almost zero idea how to even work a phone properly and Jake doesn't understand social media

It becomes clear very quickly after watching Brooke and Jake attempt to make videos that maybe the 'youngest' out of them are not actually the best option

[fluffs-n-stuffs]

gamers has this been done yet

[coolrpblog]

Frank with a lover will view their body as a temple but when it comes to his own body, he sees it as no such thing. He finds his own body to be more as something not worth praising as he had been used and abused in the past to where he just no longer cares about it.

Frank was se.xually assa.ulted at a young age, even to the point of being used for profit from one of his foster families before he managed to get away from them. While he got away from that horrible situation, it left him feeling disgusted with himself and no longer finding himself comfortable with staying around people for too long of time before he would just outright lash out at them.

As he got older and started to take care of himself, Frank chose to sell his body to make any form of money or even to get drugs he wanted to take.

Even if he finds himself more comfortable with whoever he's in a relationship with and no longer selling himself for money. He will have trouble believing in any sort of praise when it comes to his body.

[unicorninfektion]

Day 1: Knife

I'm just super proud of the blood .___.

[javaaddiction]

Dming for the first time when I go back to school after holidays, drew some of my player's characters and one of the major NPC's for refs :)

[thenon-fictiondays]

Wait give us the wage theft story whatd she do

so like my former boss is one of those people who 1) underexplains everything bc she thinks everyone thinks the same way she does and 2) always thinks the other person is at fault for everything all the time. So we'd naturally have a lot of miscommunications in times when she'd leave me work to do and leave the office. Now the thing about sewing, especially when you're making a different thing every time as we did making custom gowns, is that you're constantly making decisions about how to do things and what order to do them in, and not just obvious stylistic decisions, but very specific decisions about minute details (you probably know this already, but clarifying for anyone else reading this). The bigger decisions are up to the designer (aka my boss), but when it comes to the smaller decisions, the designer has two choices: they can either make the decisions in advance and communicate that to the underling (aka me) or they can leave those decisions to be made by the underling. The issue with that second option is that you can't always assume your underling is going to make exactly the same decisions as you would, so if you want things done in a very specific way, you have to choose the first option.

.......or you can be like my former boss and communicate nothing but the bare minimum of information, leaving me to make many decisions, and then complain that I made the wrong decisions. And when I say bare minimum I mean bare minimum, like that woman wouldn't even give me a sketch or a reference picture so I would know what the final product is supposed to look like 🥴 so needless to say, there were A LOT of times when she'd text me furious about the job I did. The final straw was when she went off on me because she told me to sew the bottom of a gown skirt to the top part of the skirt- the whole bottom part was covered in feathers that were weirdly sewn on, and it had a train, so this thing was an unwieldy mf that barely went through the sewing machine (imagine if someone skinned Hawks from MHA and turned him into a gown), and her only instruction was "sew this to that", and then she had to redo the whole thing (that I'd stayed late to finish) because apparently by "sew this to that" what she actually MEANT was "sew up the back of the skirt and then sew the raw edge to the raw edge, yes there will be a gap between the feathers and the upper skirt but I'm going to cover that later so don't worry about it". Because ofc I wouldnt see a big ugly transparent gap and think "surely she meant for the hem of the upper skirt to cover that", why would I? /s. The kicker is I'd actually sewn it the way she wanted it the first time, then realized it looked like shit and torn the whole seam out and redid it the way I assumed it should be based on the knowledge I had (which was next to nothing), so she really wasted BOTH our time. And then she blows up my texts saying if she has to redo my work again she'll "take the hours" from me. Sent both in text and in video form, because if you're gonna threaten to illegally mess with your employees paycheck, always make sure you give them all the evidence they'd need if they wanted to take you to court!!!

[robo-dino-puppies]

went wild procrastinating with veilguard's character creator instead of doing things I needed to be doing :D and it was a fun distraction so I thought I'd share:

my warden Mahariel, my Hawke, and Anders

some ocs from a space opera sort of story i've had kicking around in my brain for 20+ years :D

...lmaooooo now I check nexus and see someone's already done Anders. well that was... uh... wasted time wasted haha.

I'm not 100% happy with my Hawke (her complexion is wrong - half of the freckle complexions seem to have five-o'clock shadow which is dumb! tho I see that's starting to be fixed now that mods are coming out - and I'm not sure about her skintone, also something isn't right with her mouth/chin/jaw) but at least she can have her correct hair compared to the indignity I forced upon her in inquisition T_T

I find the whole morphing-three-heads-together thing so. incredibly. frustrating that i'm pretty proud of myself for what I came up with! also I feel like I'm getting better at it :D

I've been neglecting dwarves and qunari but I'm sure I'll get around to them at some point haha

[unproduciblesmackdown]

being alive at the time i gleaned some general elements abt encanto but never actually heard we don't talk about bruno beyond awareness it existed popping off & i think i heard like the title recited off key off rhythm but in a way that indicates speak singing nonetheless lol so upon experiencing it it's like oh but it's the Verses? while the last refrain goes harder but prior to that it's comparatively underwhelming to said verses which feels appropriate like verses / pieces of a larger picture & that a "we don't talk about him" as a disappointing Lid on infinitely richer more characterful & dynamic "but: talking about him" instances. like well personally it'd be like um seven foot frame....anyway besides being able to firsthand go like oh damn Real (the kind of thing you know exists if alive at the time) it's like alright hang on lol. one thing when a core theme is yeah like "is it a refuge if 'especial' vulnerability ultimately gets pushed out rather than made safer" subset like the parties whose even observation of truths (problems) & drawing attention to them is seen as Ruining Things, like if you're painted as Making futures that aren't simply what's desired or reassuring rather than a guidance via just observing & sharing the truth. but then it's like whaddaya mean living in fear of bruno stuttering and stumbling you could always hear him sort of muttering and mumbling lmao like now that's just Association between the Truth Perceiving & Telling behavior & behavior that's just apparently distinctive of the same person. & like Not Accidentally when [what if people were magic] specifics are obviously primarily abt a metaphorical meaning & like, indeed it was made clear like oh this situation isn't Just b/c [boo we hate your prophecies] & that [an Ability that isn't directed towards what anyone Wants / is "weird" even by these magic standards] isn't Coincidentally given to someone who just so happens to already be "weird" in other ways & be set up to have a different perspective & be pushed away due to having the supposed "extra" vulnerability of unmet needs / insufficient support, same as someone who doesn't "correctly" have any kind of magic ability....like yeah banger and also like Oh Yeah Kind Of Devastating re: that metaphorical resonance allowing for like [set the metaphor aside] now hang on with this about this disabled family member lol. misinterpretation to The Ruinerrr / The Problemmm / The Maliciousss etc (i.e. the scapegoatinggg) despite their efforts likely entirely to the contrary. then despite like, efforts aside, Just Existing, always kind of muttering & mumbling like & what of it. & then like oh sorry weird pets. weird [auspicious for adaptable tenacious thriving surviving; either way simply creatures, existing] pets.

truly like As Is The Idea I'm Sure quickly becomes like hands behind back standing at the window Uh Oh Sisters musing on all the [disabled person] metaphorical & already literal elements there. blair witching it in contemplation like We've All Been There whether being so resented for the mere disruption of "existing in a group as the 'abnormal' odd one out" or like people talking shit abt anything associated w/you as soon as you've left the room, which is also made relevant like, this wasn't Only directed at this person when seemingly permanently gone, nor were they unaware / unaffected prior....pacing in the Musing parlor like things don't Have to be compared to billions but i only ever even see so many things & it's like billions sure is like "get scapegoated rword" & then said scapegoating is presented as only beneficial & we hate autists & even beyond that it's like, grabbing billions, Imagine If Things Meant To Be About Something Were About Something. quite a contrast when they are & furthermore like, deliberate thought & Care for [who gets scapegoated & why] & the truth of like, people getting pushed aside & out who have a key perspective & are primed / liable to come through for others similarly vulnerable & the supposedly Ruinous, Problems Generating disruptiveness is actually the strongest effort to make essential changes to a group. & come through with like, it'd be undermining thee point if it was "reassuring" us like oh haha people will be supportive b/c bruno will be more normal, so great that it Didn't like no, no Normality Reassurance(tm), presence of abnormalities(tm), Good, & everyone Can Deal b/c if you don't then it's pushing this person away, is exactly what happens, including even if they're still Around but are being mistreated b/c that is entirely part of that pushing away like anyone's victim blaming is ready to pounce at any time but if someone can't stand to stay / leaves b/c they can't see another option like that's not out of nowhere nor Regardless of what full support & flexibility they were getting lol. these Active Measures everyone loves so much, which are everywhere always & would include Staying & Trying To Make It Work & those efforts would be "disruptive" & resented & Bringing It On Oneself & etccc smh

that is to all say like. Woww when clearly basically the core thread was these beats of like, the crucial site of [thee scapegoated], & why that comes down on someone & how that plays out. endless ideas about how someone weird(tm) & disabled (&/or queer. but there's no Or here lol. & again like it's a Context like, to even be the one person without kids? likely not living up to "full" correct sexuality in that way alone; any oppression's logics of "inferiority" being logics of ableism, ready examples being that "inferior" race, gender, sexuality (& their experiences as people classed as inferior) all being pathologized as disordered) are seen & treated as someone Ruining Things & who cannot belong like whew. bracing. winding. which, i also recall like i was watching with headphones & during this one dialogue pause i was like "?? what's this Extra Sound i heard there" & had to go over it like twice before being hit upside the head like well it Was still the dialogue pause but it was also bruno Stuttering in a very quiet whisper for the duration of that pause before continuing like iiiiiiii x_x

[ddejavvu]

this is depraved, but grinding on logan’s happy trail to get off 🫢

Hands Free - Logan Howlett x Reader

send me logan requests!

contents/warnings: smut, minors dni, mean!logan, drinking, don't like don't read.

You've caught Logan at a bad time. The surly mutant is a complicated man, and one with less psychological damage than him might be eager to whip it out whenever, but Logan isn't. He's busy brooding, and he's not to be interrupted when he's got a bottle in one hand and a cigar in the other.

But you need him. There's a pit in your belly that's only made worse by the scowl on his face, and your cunt aches beneath your now-slick panties for something to envelop. You're desperate for Logan to fuck you, but there's no way you'll convince him if he's not in the mood.

"I can feel you staring," He grumbles, eyes still cast to the floor as he takes another swig of burning liquor, "What do you want?"

There's no polite way to say you.

"Uhm," You shift on your feet, thighs clenched, "I'm just feeling- I'm a little, um, I-"

"Spit it out."

"I need you." You breathe, ashamed by the sentence, but Logan's face remains untouched, nothing moving but the lingering smoke from his smoldering cigar.

"I'm not in the mood." He grunts, like it isn't obvious.

"I- I know." You fall awkwardly silent again, rising onto your tiptoes and falling back to your heels. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. Up-

"Don't make a mess." He shifts in the chair, lowering his hips until they're level with his abdomen, offering you the best seat in the house.

He's shirtless, which means that if you can't have his cock, or his fingers, you can get the next best thing. A combination of the friction from the waistband of his jeans, and his toned abs, blanketed with coarse, wiry hair.

You mount him eagerly, which isn't hard to do seeing as his chair has no arms. It's got a back so that he can lean against it, but your support system is his chest, where you firmly plant your hands in preparation to get yourself off.

There's a dark line of hair that trails from the bottom of his navel and disappears beneath his waistband, flanked on either side with a sharp line of muscle that tapers down towards his cock in a V. His body is a work of art, and you only wish his equally gorgeous face was pointed your direction.

No matter- you won't push. You're lucky he's letting you get off on his lap, you'll take what you can get.

"Easy," He grumbles, rocked by the sudden jerk of your hips. As you settle into a steady rhythm you realize you've already failed his one directive of not making a mess, but there's no way to stop or slow the steady stream of slick that's pouring from your weeping cunt. It's sobbing, slobbering, begging for a cock, but you drag it flush against Logan's abs and mat his happy trail down with your translucent arousal.

"One fuckin' job," He gripes, reaching down to swipe two fingers through the slick that's glistening on his stomach as you find better friction near the waistband of his jeans. The texture of the denim is rough, and you realize with giddy desperation that he's getting hard in his pants despite his insistence that he wasn't in the mood.

He sticks his fingers in his mouth for a taste, his cigar left behind in its ashtray on the side table. He doesn't relinquish the bottle, but he takes equal sips of that and of the mess you're making on his abs.

Finally, thanks to the sizeable bulge in Logan's jeans, you're able to hump your way to completion on his stomach. It's not hard, considering you'd been achingly horny before, but without something inside of you your release feels empty and wasted. You'd use your fingers if you could, but you can't move your hands or you'd faceplant on Logan's chest, and you don't want to invade his space any further in case he decides your privileges have been revoked.

"Poor thing." He murmurs when your hips slow and you're panting against his chest. You glance at his face but he's staring at your cunt, not at you, "She's so hungry."

It takes him one, two, three seconds to reach for his belt, "Well, c'mon. Up now, there y'go." As you shimmy up his abdomen, slicking his happy trail up with your release once more. As soon as he's able to free his cock he slides a hand under your ass, boosting you up so that you're finally able to sink down onto his red-tipped, leaking cock.

"Jesus, she's sucking me in," He grunts, his voice gruff and ragged, "How long were you waiting to ask me?"

"Too long." You whine, pussy already sensitive from your first orgasm, and now in utter bliss from finally being penetrated after all that teasing, "I- hnngh! My toys don't work anymore. They're- they're nothing like you, I can't use them. I can't ever finish."

Logan scoffs, still in a mood as sour as the liquor on his breath, but his hands find their place on your waist as he helps bounce you on his cock, "Shame. Those were supposed to keep you busy. Guess I'll have to do it then, hm?"

You nod vigorously against the crook of Logan's neck, your nose buried where his neck meets his shoulder, and where sweat accumulates sticky on his skin. You lick it up, and Logan hisses against the mouth of his bottle as he takes another swig.

"Fine." He grumbles, butting the bottle up to your head and forcing it against your lips, "Take this, take a nice big- there you go. That'll make you sleepy," He vows, and the head rush comes just like he'd warned. His hips begin shifting, circling slightly in gyrations that only add to the pleasure of bouncing on his dick, "And this'll knock you out, crazy."