#my emotional support blood mage

[milesmentis]

top 5 things about Jowan that make you smile

"Send me an ask for my Top 5 anything"

His voice: Apparently I'm in the minority on this but I positively adore Desmond Askew's voice and find it very soothing to listen to. The number one reason I played ESO (aside from hanging out with Daisy) was the fact that he voiced like half the male dunmer

The way he makes fun of the Chantry: Jowan is easy to push around and traumatized as heck, but the biting sarcasm that he reserves for talking about the Chantry is delicious. He's so bitter about his lot in life, but does a good job of hiding it. It only comes out in little bits and pieces with someone he can confide in (like the player). Also his "The sun grows dark, but Lo! Here comes the Dawn" quip always makes me giggle

His potential for growth: even without the companion arc he was intended to have (yes, I will die bitter about this), the way he changes between the Circle and the Arl of Redcliffe is telling. He admits his faults, expresses his regrets about Lily and the player, and offers to make amends. If you send him into the Fade, he resists the demon - proving that he DID have the strength to pass the Harrowing all along. And in the end ... he accepts whatever fate you decide: Death or Tranquility ... his greatest fears and faces them with courage. Of course I would never choose either, so he is either recruited into my party (thank you mods!) or off protecting commoners as an apostate. "Master Levyn" my love

Being a Warden: because if the game won't give me Warden Jowan content, I'll just make it myself! Joining the wardens makes so much sense for him! Blood magic isn't outlawed there ... in fact it's respected and studied. I like to think from time to time about Jowan, a decade or two older, studying Avernus/the Architect (either in person or using their notes) and doing intense research into anatomy, surgery, blood magic, Blight, and the way they all interact to become an INCREDIBLY accomplished physician. Someone who has the respect of his colleagues ... a sense of purpose ... confidence ... yeah ...

His parallels with Morrigan: so I am down bad for Morrigan/Jowan, there is simply no denying it. I like the idea of Morrigan/Amell, and I can see a relationship with Jowan hitting a lot of the same beats. She mocks him, pressures him, scoffs and derides him ... but also takes time to teach him skills that the Circle never would. And although she would never admit it, she eventually opens up to his softness instead of having a knee-jerk reaction to his "weakness". Basically I could see them being really good for each other in the long run and doing a great job raising Keiran together

[giorno-plays-piano]

House of Chains

Part VI

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x mage!reader

Warnings: noncon, yandere, obsession, canon-typical violence, chase scenes, death of minor characters.

Words: 1.4k

Summary: In return for help to come back to your home world, you have been faithfully supporting the Greens to put Aegon on the throne. But when your promise is fulfilled, neither Otto nor Aemond are keen on letting you go.

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V

P.S. Finally, the long-awaited twist!

_________

At first, Daemon's face betrays nothing as if he hadn't heard you. You think he might consider it a joke as anyone else probably would: you don't look like a lunatic, asking to be burnt by a dragon. Hell, you went as far as travel to Dragonstone, to the lair of your worst enemy, for this, somehow evading soldiers and Rhaenyra's supporters on your way. Daemon surely thinks there is some catch.

"So dramatic," he muses, making an imperative sign with his hand to make Caraxes quiet, the dragon restless behind his back, eager to have you between its teeth. "There are enough dragons in the Red Keep. Why mine?"

You feel yourself trembling, droplets of sweat sliding down your back from fear and pressure. No, no, you can't. You must stay firm, or it'll all go to Hell. Daemon should believe your lies.

"I am pregnant with Aemond's child," you declare, loud, the sound multiplying and echoing deep in the cavern, and Daemon's face finally changes, eyebrows raising. "He forced himself on me. His payment for all I've done for him and his brother, I suppose. And I better die in flames than work for him again."

Luce whimpers softly against you, a bit of blood staining his grey collar.

Before Daemon can ask you questions and ruin your story, you continue, "Why should you care? Because you don't want me alive. You know I'm not truly a Hightower, don't you?"

There's a recognition in his eyes, and Daemon bows his head mockingly as you draw a deep breath, griping the blade harder so it won't escape your sweaty palms.

"I am behind the murder of the White Worm and most of her spies," you smile, baring your teeth at him like an animal. "I killed Ser Harrold Westerling when I found out he supported Rhaenyra's claim, and many others who thought they could fake their promises to King Aegon II. I've been spying, torturing, and killing your wife's friends in the Red Keep for more than 2 years. But Hightower betrayed me, and I'd rather die than give birth to Aemond's child."

The more you talk, the more Daemon's face twists in cold fury, his hand clenching a torch like it was a sword. Does he believe you? It is, perhaps, difficult to trust a word of a woman who looked too young and too feeble to do any of those things, but you have arrived to the Dragonstone undetected and even took Lucerys hostage despite the castle being full of guards, lords, and servants. It isn't a coincidence, and Daemon has always been too suspicious of you, a girl appearing out of nowhere and serving the Queen with too much vigor.

The anger and a thousand of other emotions in his eyes give you some hope.

"Burn me, Daemon Targaryen." You exclaim loudly, trying to make him act, your hand trembling. "Send my charred remains to Aemond as a gift. I'm sure it is a fair price for the sins I've committed."

"Why going such a long way?" The man suddenly asks, and you freeze, afraid you won't answer his question. "You could have jumped from the balcony and killed yourself instantly."

You lick your lips nervously. "I could, and Aemond would grieve me. But when he knows I prefer to go to his greatest enemy and have my body burnt rather than marry him, he'll be enraged."

Finally, you see a ghost of a smile on the Rouge Prince's lips. Yes, this is violent, resentful enough, a good reason for him to believe you. Mysaria's murderer wouldn't want to die like a faint lady-in-waiting. She'd want revenge. She'd want her betrayer to hate, not mourn her.

Daemon makes a move with his hand, and Caraxes crawls closer. There isn't much for him to lose.

"Let the boy go, and I'll burn you," he simply says, and you are ready to burst from the surge of adrenaline, your heart beating wildly.

He said yes. Daemon said yes, and you'll be going home.

"But please, burn me for long!" You almost cried out, too excited to keep calm and almost releasing your grip on the boy. "Burn me till there are only bones left."

Lucerys weeps in your grasp, but you don't hear him. You don't even feel the handle of the dagger in your own hand, eyes on Daemon as he smirks, recognizing a fellow monster he thinks you are, a daring creature dressed in white cloaks's robes and armor that don't even fit you. It is impossible to not recognize a woman in men's clothes, and yet no one asked questions when you boarded the ship. No one saw anything suspicious when you landed. No one demanded an explanation why a woman was marching in the Dragonstone castle among the Kingsguard. No one saw you kidnapping Rhaenyra's son.

Perhaps it is true you murdered Misariya and her spies. He knew somebody did. You are sure he thought of Larys, the slippery bastard, but tracking down so many spies in such a short time seemed very unlikely for him without someone's intervention.

Someone who could point at the right people as if by magic.

Truly, you are a creature he would never understand, but Daemon is not a fool. Leaving a dark horse like you alive is too much of a luxury when you are conveniently asking for death right in front of him.

The man nods, and you gigle like a madwoman.

"I'll let Lucerys go on the count of three," you announce, and Caraxes steps closer, his monstrous, clawed feet leaving giant imprints on the ground, and you feel the earth tremble a little. "Shoot the flames then."

It's a horrifying feeling, but you are electrified, every part of your body filled with magic you saved for the last incantation. You are going home. You will be back to the Tower, free to join your teacher and family. No more gloomy stone castles with their ice-cold chambers and pesky kings. No more swords, heavy armor, pretentious dresses, and silly jewels. No more spying and murder.

No more Hightowers and Targaryens.

"I'm sorry, kid," you whisper to the boy before you start counting. "One. Two."

Luce stills against you, color drained from his face.

"Three."

You drop your dagger, and he dashes to the side, holding his neck as if it bleeds profusely, but you don't look at him. Your eyes are on Caraxes and how it unclenches its massive jaw, fire building up inside its throat like in a forge of a blacksmith. It should be enough. Caraxes is not a young dragon, and his strength might rival Vhagar's. It will be enough.

When it unleashes its flames, the words of the incantation are ready on your tongue, and you feel the glow filling you up like hot air fills a giant balloon. It's working. Caraxes' fire is enough.

You chant, and you chant, and you chant until the world starts spinning around you, and the cave, the dragon, and the men finally blend into the great nothing.

________

Subtle wind plays with your hair.

You stand in the midst of the dead gardens of Babylon, surrounded by hollow grey trees that had dried up a thousand years before you were born. Their crooked forms don't scare you: you are far too familiar with the view, wandering here after each of your trips to the other worlds. On the contrary, if anything, it is comforting.

You have arrived safely back to the world of the Tower. You can even see it from here, its tall, proud form making you tranquil and nostalgic.

Unbelievable. You are home.

You have to wipe away the tears with your dirty hands before you can take a step towards it. You've made it. Soon, you'll be sitting on the red and yellow pillows in the great hall, listening to your teacher berating you for such a dangerous journey, eating barley soop and garlic bread, and wearing a long embroidered tunic and your many necklaces and rings. You will never see Westeros again. You won't even step out of the Tower before you feel whole again, pulling your old self back piece by piece before you remember nothing of the stupid, cruel world you have been a prisoner for two long years.

You are free to do as you like.

But when you make a step towards the Tower, you hear someone's sigh behind your back. And when you turn your head, you see a man dressed in black leather who sits on the trunk of a fallen tree.

__________

Aemond Targaryen stares back at you, a crooked smile spread over his face.

Part VII

Tags: @heavenly1927 @yazzzmints @devils-blackrose @lost-and-founds @kennafild

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Welcome to Emelan

My (super subjective and objectively non-empirical) experience has been that Tamora Pierce's Tortall Universe is where most of her fans begin, and it seems to be her more popular universe. Heck, I started in Tortall. But as I read more, and found more of Pierce's books, I found the Circle Universe, and I gotta say, for all my love and nostalgia for the Tortall Universe, I think my heart lives in Emelan with Sandry, Briar, Daja, and Tris. I certainly tried to balance my Rosethorn half with my Lark tendencies and my extremely Niko academic oeuvre when I was teaching, and I love that the Circle Universe gets away from more traditional medieval europe settings. Let's talk The Circle of Magic Quartet.

Sandry's Book introduces the world, the magic system, and our four protagonists. Sandreline Fa Toren is almost royalty in two countries and has exactly zero compunction about hopping back and forth between "just Sandy" and "Lady Sandreline" as the occasion calls for it. We love her, and honestly she's perfect. Joining Sandry at Discipline Cottage in Winding Circle Temple are former street rat Briar Moss, neglected and rejected merchant daughter Trisana Chandler, and orphaned and exiled Trader Daja Kisubo.

This book brings the four together and they learn that they are ambient mages--mages who manipulate the power inherent in the world rather than mages who use power inherent in themselves (academic mages). The magic system in the Circle Universe is objectively my favorite, because it is so detailed and so nuanced and so tied to craftsmanship. It's something I've never seen done better than it is here. And because our four protagonists are incredible, they also manage to spin their powers together, making them exponentially stronger together than they could have imagined being individually--which is just a stunnign thematic tie-in. A+ no notes.

Tris's Book explores Tris's past, her magic, and the choices she has to make to keep her terrifyingly powerful weather magic under control despite her deep emotional wounds and temper. Tris is honestly one of my two favorite characters in this series because this girl just has SO MANY feelings and she has to literally learn to take herself in hand to not accidentally hurt or kill anyone. It also explores Tris's relationships to her blood and found families, and Pierce makes no bones about how sometimes family can be irredeemably toxic, and that it's ok to choose the found family that loves and supports you. Honestly Tris needs a hug, but good luck getting through the lightning to give it to her.

This book also really deepens the relationships between each protagonist and their teachers. I love how much time Pierce spends in all of her books focusing on student-teacher relationships, and the ones here, in a literal educational setting (non-traditional though it is), are top tier. This continues to be expanded in later books, but Niko and Tris's relationship really cements here and I love them as a student and teacher.

Also, there are pirates in this book. That's pretty cool.

Daja's Book takes reader and protagonists beyond the walls of Winding Circle and expands the world at the end of a difficult, dry summer that was poised for a firey fall and a possible starving winter. The Duke of Emelan is touring the outer estates to assess who needs what help and what he can do.

Meanwhile, the book explores Trader culture and Daja's relationship to it. This is done so spectacularly that I am loath to give any spoilers, but suffice it to say that not only does this book explore the downsides of exclusionary cultural practices, it also explores the complex emotions of being excluded and both knowing it's wrong but desperately missing being included. Disability is also handled spectacularly in this book, and I love it for that.

While Daja is exploring her own culture from the outside, Sandry, Briar, and Tris are dealing with the aftermath of spinning their powers together in Sandry's Book. This is very much a subplot, but it works beautifully to expand the worldbuilding and magic system.

Briar's Book sees everyone return to Emelan proper, and this book hits DIFFERENT after 2020. Winding Circle must deal with a mysterious plague, and honestly after Covid, I can't actually read this book without sobbing. It's damn good, and Briar and Rosethorn are just the absolute peak student-teacher relationship. This book also really highlights Briar and Tris's relationship, which will continue to grow and develop throuhgout the Circle Universe books.

I absolutely recommend these books. Tamora Pierce is technically YA, but the protagonists are between 10 and 12 in these books, so they might feel more middle-grade than YA at times, but that truly does not diminish any of the very human themes and challenges.

These books also have absolutely stunningly performed and edited full-cast audiobooks, and I cannot recommend those enough either. I now read these books in the voice actors' voices, and that just makes the whole experience more magical.

[officialleehadan]

Alternative Uses

hello darlings! Prompt month continues! Hopefully I'll be able to get the stories out a little faster in the coming weeks. Today's story was brought to you by Six! Darling, thank you so much for your support!

Prompt: Blood Fire

+++

Keeli never knew that Morzan could heal.

Generally, healing was the domain of light-path mages. The realm of those who were capable of magic other than destruction. Keeli couldn’t do it. She had thought healing as a dark-path mage was impossible.

Except Morzan wasn’t just a dark-path mage, he was a blood-mage­, and apparently that came with more than just his preferred flavor of ghoulish murder.

His temper, however, remained as fiery as ever.

“If you move, I will take your leg off at the knee and leave you to bleed out,” he snarled to the man he was attempting to save. The farmer caught the wrong end of an axe during the bandit attack. He was bleeding terribly when Keeli and Morzan reached him, but Morzan pulled his dark, bloody magic around his hands and got to work. “This is difficult enough as it is!”

Despite his harsh words, his hands were swift and as gentle as could be managed. The farmer’s blood wove around his fingers in ribbons until they flowed back into the man’s veins, and stayed there.

“Can you mend it?” Keeli asked, primarily serving as a source of power, although Morzan gathered plenty off the bandits they killed. He had stored the death energy away in a pocket full of crystals, ready for use later. He was probably gathering power off this man’s pain too. The power was there, whether or not he drew it from the air, after all. It didn’t harm the many any for Morzan to take the magic that naturally gathered around strong emotions. “His wound?”

“Not like a true healer could, but I can keep him from bleeding out, and I can close it up,” Morzan said, and focused hard on his work. Keeli slipped into his thoughts to see what he was doing, and watched intently. He pulled on her power and she fed it to him in a steady stream. “I can clot it. It won’t serve to heal the damage. If there wasn’t a true healer available, he would still be in danger.”

It was just as well that the man himself had passed out as Morzan worked, and also that the town did have not one but three healers, one of whom had a pair of apprentices as well. They were making the rounds of the wounded, but Keeli and Morzan were doing their best to help.

Morzan’s unexpected talent for saving lives, rather than taking them, seemed to surprise them both.

“I’ve mostly done this on myself,” Morzan explained when one of the healers reached them, traded thankful nods, and took his place to begin mending the worst of the damage. She probably wouldn’t heal it completely; there were still a lot of wounded who needed attention. The bandit attack caught too many people outside the walls, and the death toll was still mounting. “After… well. It works. That’s what matters. Blood doesn’t have to be used the way I usually use it.”

“It’s good to see a blood mage using the power for something useful, for once.”

It was the most senior of the healers. An aged man who leaned on his walking stick as if he hadn’t just used it to bash in he head of one of the bandits. He had a swing like an ogre. Keeli didn’t want to be on the wrong end of that stick.

“Most of us are fairly mad,” Morzan said wryly and joined the healer at the next patient, a woman who sported several nasty cuts on her arms. The reward for saving the lives of several young children. The healer brushed his fingers over her forehead and Keeli caught her and eased her to the ground as she fell asleep on the spot. Kinder than the alternative, given the healer was pulling out supplies to stitch the cuts. “If she doesn’t need magic, I can do that.”

“She needs both,” the healer said, and offered a hand to shake. “My name is Feverfew. You’re Morzan, yes? And Keeli? Heard the others call you by name.”

“You have us,” Keeli said. He pointed to hi satchel and she retrieved it for him. “How do we help?”

“You’re already helping by taking some of the load off us,” Feverfew told her briskly and got to work, cleaning the cuts. He passed a bottle to Morzan. “Coat all of them in that. Be generous. I have more.”

“As you say,” Morzan said and got to work. Keeli wondered at how obedient he was being, and jumped when he gave her a little mental snap for the thought. He also offered an explanation. (I respect healers. Always have. They’re the other side of my work as a blood mage. They gain power by helping as I do by killing.)

(Healers don’t gain power by healing,) Keeli pointed out, and moved to hold one of the cuts closed so Feverfew could stitch it closed with tiny, neat stitches. (We’re the only ones who gain power by spending it.)

(Are you so sure?) Morzan asked and tilted his head at Feverfew. (Look again. Properly.)

Keeli blinked at him, but let her magesight slip over her eyes as he instructed. In this, he was very much her superior and she was inclined to take any instruction he would offer.

At first, there was nothing but the glow of Feverfew’s magic, contained and cleverly-used not for healing, but for warding the wound against infection. It was a good use of power, and would have a longer lasting effect than simply closing the wounds right off.

Then she looked more closely, looked more carefully, and felt the shiver of wonder slide down her spine.

(Low magic,) she said to Morzan triumphantly. (I never saw it before because it’s not magic they’re using, it’s magic that is reacting to them, right)

(Right,) Morzan said. He sent her the tiniest curl of pride that she got it so quickly. (And it gives me an idea for how to deal with my Mistress. We can’t fight her. She’ll tear us apart. But her tower… how much do you know about rubies?)

+++

Blood Fire: (FULL COLLECTION)

Blood Mist

Flower Crown Dreams (Subscriber Only!)

Runes Written

Blood Fire

Red Salt Warning (Subscriber Only!)

Hunter Cry  (Subscriber Only!)

Cool Water Bond

Runes Written Gold

Argument Array

Dreamless Sleep

Forget Our Yesterdays

At the Last Moment

Healing Touch

Unbound, Unbroken

Blood Runes (Subscriber Only)

Ink in Water

In Dreaming Promise (Subscriber Only)

Rupture

In Conflict

Heading Out (Subscriber Only)

Dream a Life

Unexpected Salvo (Subscriber Only)

Alternative Uses (New!)

+++

MASTERLIST

[milesmentis]

I SAID 🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣

Bring Jowan Back For DA4 Challenge 2k22

[its-jaytothemee]

Until I Met You - Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Familiar Faces

Pairings: Halsin x Tav

Word count: 5,514

Rating: Currently M, will be Explicit in later chapters.

Read on AO3

Previous Next

Summary: Tav and the gang work to free up the tiefling prisoners from Moonrise. When they finally return to Last Light, someone new is there waiting. Part 27 of the slow burn fic. Tav and Halsin POVs.

Tags: Slow burn, mutual pining, hurt/comfort, emotional hurt/comfort, fluff, eventual love confessions, eventual smut, angst, implied past rape/non-con and abuse, graphic description of injuries, brief suicidal thoughts.

A/N: Bit of a longer chapter but it'll be worth it! So thankful for everyone who has continued reading and supporting <3

Tav wiped the sweat from her brow as she examined the small group of dead guards at their feet. The overwhelming odor of death and decay sat in a thick haze around them, stinging her eyes and nostrils. 

Karlach had immediately started a fight with the guards at the bottom of the stairs when a scrying eye startled her and she slammed it into the nearest wall.

“What’s the point of having a safe word if you’re going to dash ahead of us anyway, darling?” Astarion scolded Karlach in a low whisper as he wiped his daggers clean on one of the cultist’s robes.

“Sorry, there’s just something about the way those scrying eyes feel when I throw them against the wall. I got excited.” She yanked her sword out of the chest of the mage she had killed.

Tav kept a wary eye on the doorway in front of them. If any other guards had heard their little kerfuffle, they were being remarkably quiet about it.

“Let’s move the bodies out of view and keep moving.”

They were able to stash the bodies in a side room before moving into the main prison area. Blood and gods only know what else clung to every inch of the place. With each step, her boots stuck to the ground ever so slightly, making a light popping noise each time she picked up her foot. She took note of the two guards patrolling the large chamber containing a row of prison cells with a large central tower overlooking the room.

And another scrying eye.

“Chk. I do not like these humming purple orbs that seem to be prevalent among this cult,” Lae’zel hissed behind her. “I can feel their gaze following me no matter where I turn.”

“We’ll need to take care of both of them before we can get any prisoners out,” Tav whispered, “otherwise they’ll cry for reinforcements and then we’ll be well and truly fucked.” To her side, she saw Karlach’s hands twitch.

“Not yet, Karlach. We need to find the prisoners first,” She kept her voice low as they approached the cells.

To Tav’s relief, one of the first cells they passed held a few familiar faces. Multiple tieflings sat in the cell, two of them were leaning on the bars at the front.

No Zevlor or Mol though.

As they continued her stroll through the dungeon, she spotted another cell, filled with gnomes. She started to approach them, but one of the True Souls stopped her.

“You! True Soul! These prisoners are for Disciple Balthazar’s attention only.” She glared at their small adventuring party.

“Then it’s a good thing I’m a loyal assistant to him, isn’t it?” Tav snapped back. “He sent me back from the Thorm mausoleum to question these prisoners on his behalf. Shall I make the long trek all the way through the shadows to tell him why you stopped me from following his orders?”

“A-apologies, I wasn’t aware.” Tav’s sudden outburst seemed to startle the guard. “Please, carry on, and do pass on my apologies to Balthazar.” She gave a quick, nervous bow before hurrying away.

The True Soul continued her patrolling of the prison. Tav could feel the eyes of the prisoners on her as she studied the guard’s path, trying to make sure the mess from their previous encounter wasn’t discovered. Satisfied, she approached the cell holding the gnomes.

“I’m looking for someone named Wulbren,” Tav kept her voice soft, “is he still alive?”

“You bet your sorry ass I’m still alive, you cultist freak,” he shot back at her.

Tav smirked. “I’m not with the cult, someone named Barcus Wroot sent me to find you.”

“Barcus…” The suspicion in his eyes started to fade. “But you ordered that guard about as if you were the godsdamned Absolute herself. Why would a True Soul want to help us?”

“I’m not really a True Soul,” Tav looked around, keeping an eye out for the guards to return, “I’m here to get you–”

She was cut off by a guard returning.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked, his questioning eyes scanned their small group.

“I’ll handle this one.” Astarion took a few graceful strides up to the True Soul.

“Dreadfully sorry, these prisoners are being so stubborn. Nothing for you to worry yourself over, my brother under the Absolute.” He flashed a dazzling smile at the guard, Tav just groaned.

“Disciple Balthazar never gave orders for these prisoners to be questioned. They’re to be taken below once his research is completed.” He ignored Astarion’s reassurances with ease.

“Oh, fuck it,” Astarion rolled his eyes, “Karlach, darling?”

She perked up next to Tav, the temperature around them began to rise with the heat from her skin.

“I think this guard needs a healthy dose of whizbangs.”

“Fuck yes.” She grinned as she swung her sword up high over her head before bringing it down into the soft flesh where his neck met his shoulder. Just for good measure, Lae’zel drove her own sword into his abdomen.

He fell to the ground, the muscles on his face frozen in a look of shock. His blood seeped from the gaping wounds to add its crimson to the stained floor.

“And that’s how we handle that.” Karlach brushed her hands together and gave a proud nod.

An ear-piercing wail rang through the dungeon. 

Tav whipped around to see the other scrying eye had joined them. The reverberation from its cries bounced off the walls and echoed throughout the rooms.

The other guard on patrol whipped around to face them.

“Shit…Karlach, now would be a good time to crush that scrying eye against the wall before it calls this whole fucking tower down,” Tav growled as she launched an arrow into the shoulder of the advancing guard.

“Right!” She made a frantic lunge at the purple orb, but it swerved away at the last second, sending Karlach tumbling to the ground.

Lae’zel started making arcing swipes at the guard as they closed in, catching them in the side and slicing through their armor. Astarion finished them off with a frighteningly quick stab of a dagger in their throat.

Yet another scrying eye let out a blood-curdling screech.

“Anytime you’d like to take care of those scrying eyes, Karlach, it would be most appreciated!” Shadowheart bellowed as a bolt of radiant energy flew right past it.

“How many of these fuckers do they have?!” Tav yelled as she fired an arrow at one of them. It bounced off the orb without even leaving a scratch.

Gale spun around to focus his attention on the closest one. A loud crack of thunder sounded in the room, leaving a small crater where he had cast the spell, and a pile of dust that used to be a scrying eye.

“C’mere you little shit!” Karlach snarled as she chased down the other one.

Just the one scrying eye left, so far so–

“What in the nine hells is going on out here?!”

The fighting came to a screeching halt at the newcomer’s voice.

Another True Soul came marching out from the tower that stood tall in the middle of the room. Her ornate robes and intimidating presence made Tav guess that this was the Warden of the prison.

Tav stood poised with an arrow on her bowstring, Karlach next to her palming a scrying eye, arm cocked back and ready to throw it against the nearest wall.

They shared a brief look with one another before Tav shook off the shock of the new addition and fired an arrow into the Warden’s leg. She recoiled with a groan but kept her balance.

With her movement, the rest of her friends resumed their attacks.

Karlach turned and hurled the scrying eye into the Warden’s chest. The orb cracked against her breastplate before landing on the ground in fragmented chunks.

Thank the gods those are gone.

Gale’s and Wyll’s hands came alive with magic. Lines of fire and pure force shot from their fingertips at their new opponent.

The Warden had recovered from their initial attacks and aimed her crossbow at Karlach. The bolt soared through the air to hit her bicep, causing her grip to falter on her sword.

Astarion had dashed ahead of them, evading multiple shots from her crossbow before reaching her side and driving a dagger into her shoulder. She stumbled, but once again recovered quickly.

Karlach scrambled to pick her weapon off the floor. Blood poured from the wound in her arm in pulsing streams as she ripped the arrow out. Tav stashed her bow and ran to her side.

“Cover us!” she yelled at the others as she started a quick healing spell. It was enough to stop the bleeding, but not enough to close the wound all the way.

Astarion continued dancing around the Warden, slicing at her limbs and dodging attacks as they came.

Lae’zel charged in behind him, making the most of his distraction. The Warden was only able to get one more shot off before the greatsword pierced her throat, causing her to fall to the ground with a gurgling gasp.

“Fucking hells…” one of the tieflings yelled from their cell.

“Shadowheart! I need your help,” Tav called out. She came running over to Karlach and took over the healing. Between the two of them, they were able to get her wound mended.

“Ah, look at this,” Astarion flashed a small key ring in his fingers, “the perfect ingredients for a jailbreak.”

Tav walked up to the tieflings’ cell to get a better look at the people being held there. She counted only four prisoners.

“It’s you! You were the one who saved us at the grove!” one of the tieflings shouted from the back of the cell.

“Do you know where the rest of your kin are?” she asked, craning her neck to see around the corners.

“We’re the only ones here, friend.” The tiefling that spoke up was Lia, if she remembered correctly. She had convinced her and her two brothers to stay in the grove after the goblin attack.

“You haven’t seen Zevlor? Or Mol?”

“Mol wasn’t with us, and Zevlor can suffer below in every layer of the hells for all I care,” Lia snapped back.

Okay, we don’t have time to learn what that was all about right now.

“What about Arabella’s parents?”

“Komira and Locke? They weren’t captured with us, I saw them running away,” another tiefling answered.

This is all that’s left?

Tav shook the grief away, forcing herself to focus back on the task at hand.

“Okay, now in the nine hells are we going to get everyone out of here?” she asked, out of breath.

“I might just have a little solution to that problem,” Wulbren shouted from his cell down the way. Tav jogged over to speak with him.

“I need tools before I can do anything. If we can break through this wall, I’m almost certain there’s a dock nearby that we can use to escape. Should we be fortunate enough to find a boat, that is.”

“We’ll look around, if they confiscated your belongings, I’m sure they’re here somewhere. Sit tight.”

Tav scoured the central tower, grabbing anything useful. Gale seemed particularly enamored with an amulet they found. She snatched a few of the maps and letters scattered about, hoping they could provide some additional information about the cult’s plans. Multiple weapons and backpacks had been stored in a large chest labeled ‘Evidence,’ she assumed they belonged to the prisoners.

Satisfied with their looting, she led her companions back out to the row of prison cells.

“I assume this is yours?” Tav held up a small, well-crafted hammer in front of the gnomes’ cell.

“I’ll be damned, your feet fly fast, friend. This should have us out of here in no time.” He snagged the weapon from her hands. “If my assessments are correct, and they always are, there should be a dock somewhere behind this prison.”

“I’ll grab the tieflings and we’ll get out of here,” Karlach offered as she ran off with the Warden’s keys.

Wulbren started hammering away at the crumbling wall at the back of the cell. After a few minutes, they had created a hole large enough for everyone to crawl through.

With all prisoners accounted for and no further reinforcements rushing in to intercept them, Tav waved the rest of her party to follow them through the wall. Wulbren had been correct, there was indeed a small, secluded dock. A single boat bobbed on the water with metal chains anchoring it to the dock’s posts. She helped the gnomes and tieflings get situated as the others watched their backs for any additional guards.

“My plan is to hide out on the water for now, unless you have another solution you’d like to share?” Wulbren asked, out of breath.

“You won’t last long out there among the shadows. We’ll come with you, we know a safe haven. A place called Last Light Inn.” Tav motioned for everyone to get on the boat as she broke the chains holding it to the dock.

Their sail across the lake would have been silent if not for the sound of oars slapping against the dark water. Luckily, it wasn’t long before the shining moon shield came into view.

Tav pulled their boat close to the dock of Last Light. As the tieflings and gnomes unloaded, an agitated Harper came running down to greet them.

“Have you gone mad?!” He yelled as he panted to catch his breath. “You can’t just show up here and start unloading strangers, there are protocols damn it!”

“These people need sanctuary. I’m sure you can still go through your precious protocols on the dock. At least give them the dignity of standing on solid ground to do so.” Tav whipped around to glare at him.

“Fine, but no one goes inside until they pass the test. We can’t chance another infected infiltrating our ranks.” He gave Tav an apologetic look. “Erm, present company excluded I suppose.”

“What test? What is he talking about?” Wulbren stormed up next to Tav. The grim, weary expressions around her shifted to panic.

“He just wants to make sure you’re not infected. It’s safe and painless, I promise.”

“Okay everyone, line up against the wall there, we’ll have this over in no time.” The Harper pulled out a jar with an illithid parasite and began his tests.

Tav and her companions made their way back up to the inn. Everyone else went to mingle and trade while she reported to Jaheira.

The High Harper sat at the same table where they had their conversation the day prior. Her brow was furrowed in concentration as she poured over the maps and books sprawled over the table’s surface. A glass of wine sat to the side, her fingertips idly strumming along the base, another glass sat across from her.

“So, what did you decide to slip into my glass today?”

“Nothing but the finest swill I could scrounge up from the basement,” she shot back without looking up from her book.

Tav couldn’t fight back the smile her quip drew forth.

No wonder Tev liked her so much.

“We made it into Moonrise.” Tav sat down with a grunt, just now realizing how badly her legs ached. “Ketheric was there to greet us. A goblin threw a halberd into his chest, and he plucked it out like it was a splinter.” She took a large swig of the wine in front of her. It was a bold and dry red with a slight spice that warmed her entire chest.

“A gruesome sight, no?” Jaheira looked up at her. “What have you learned?”

“Not much, I’m afraid. But we were able to keep our True Soul identity intact while we were there, at least for now.”

“You are afraid you will have that cover no longer?”

“Well, we did just free all of their prisoners from the dungeon,” Tav admitted. “They’re being tested down at the docks.”

“How many witnessed this?”

“We left no witnesses, but there were tthree scrying eyes. We took care of those too, but we still have no clue who is monitoring them,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Good girl.” Jaheira smiled at her. “Is there anything you learned that could help us?”

“Ketheric is calling himself a ‘Chosen of the Absolute’ now.”

“Our paladin is not picky it would seem,” Jaheira scoffed. “Another True Soul in this Absolute army?”

“That’s the thing,” Tav drummed her fingers along the surface of the table, “he wasn’t infected with a tadpole.”

She thought back to her attempt to penetrate his mind like she had done so many times before on other members of the cult.

“Are you sure?” Jaheira seemed surprised by this revelation.

“Certain. I tried to influence his mind using mine but there was no response.”

“So, he’s aligned himself with mind flayers willingly, abandoning Shar in the process? What does he stand to gain from this?” Jaheira’s mind was visibly racing as she considered this new information. “Was there anything else?”

“We were asked to check on one of Thorm’s trusted advisors. Apparently, they lost contact with him after they went to retrieve something from the mausoleum on his behalf.” Tav swung her bag around to grab the items she nabbed from the dungeon. “Also, we stole a few invasion maps and letters that I figured could be useful.” She added them to the small stack in front of Jaheira.

“I see you have not forgotten your training, little ranger. The tiefling prisoners have been released, and this advisor seems like a promising lead, the best one we have had in some time.” She paused to take a sip of her wine. “So why do you look so downtrodden?”

Tav pursed her lips. “There was still no sign of Zevlor or Mol, Arabella’s parents are still missing. We learned nothing of Duke Ravengard. And we still don’t know the source of Ketheric’s invulnerability.”

Jaheira looked around the inn, checking to see if anyone was within earshot.

“Tav’ahria, do not do this to yourself.”

“Do what?”

“Do not take on the weight of guilt that does not belong to you. We Harpers have more than enough to go around, those of us with longer lives have even more so.”

“I’m not a Harper anymore, Jaheira.”

She smirked. “If you say so.”

A commotion off to her side stopped her from responding. The Flaming Fists that had stayed behind when Counselor Florrick left for Baldur’s Gate were gathered in a nearby room.

“What’s happening over there?” She craned her neck to try and see past the small crowd.

“Supposedly they found someone out wandering in the shadows. They believe him to be one of their ranks.”

“Could this be another trick?” Tav’s mind wandered back to Marcus, the Fist that had attacked the inn on Ketheric’s orders.

“They tested him, he is not infected,” she assured her. “But he did seem rather nonsensical. Feel free to visit with him if you wish, you never know what could link back to this accursed cult.”

“Thank you, High Harper. We’ll keep you updated on our progress.” She took one more sip of her wine before standing up.

“You’ve done the people here a great service, Tav. Do not be so hard on yourself.” Jaheira’s words were more of a command than a suggestion.

“I’ll try.”

Tav wandered through the crowd, catching bits of information here and there.

“…lost his mind he has…”

“…Cullagh…Duke Eltan…”

Duke Eltan?

Grand Duke Eltan had been the duke and leader of the Flaming Fist while she still lived in Baldur’s Gate. But that was over one hundred years ago, he couldn’t still be alive.

As her mind began to race with questions, she tried to strain her ears to catch more of the conversations around her. At the edge of the room, a young man laid unconscious in a bed. He was singing.

“Mm, mm, Thaniel and me are…are climb, climbing up a tree.” His melodic mumbles were almost lost in the loud bustle of the room.

Did he say…Thaniel?

“EVERYBODY SHUT UP!” Tav bellowed to stop the constant chatter around her. It at least seemed to startle everyone into silence, but she did receive some glares when they realized she wasn’t a ranking officer giving them orders.

She knelt next to the bed, listening intently to his song.

“Thaniel and me…climb, climb, climbing a tree.”

“Can you hear me? Did you say you know Thaniel?” Tav spoke in a low, hushed tone, not wanting to scare the man.

“We found him out in the shadows, just…wandering. Nothing survives out there for long, I don’t know how he made it here. We haven’t had any luck in waking him up.” Another Flaming Fist stood on the opposite side of the bed.

“I know that name he’s singing, Thaniel. I’ve heard it from a friend of mine.”

Halsin…

She snapped her attention back to the present. Regardless of her awkward encounter this morning, he would want to know that she had found something.

“You have? Do you think you could bring him here? Maybe he could help tell us what’s wrong,” the Fist asked, her voice hopeful.

Tav reached out to touch the man’s forehead. He had a thin layer of sweat and grime coating his skin, his dark, curly hair was a tangled mess. But there was an aura about him that she couldn’t quite place, something cold and dark. Whatever plagued him was no physical ailment.

Halsin seemed to think Thaniel had been imprisoned in the Shadowfell. If this man had met Thaniel, then he had likely been trapped there too.

“Yes, I’ll bring him back here. We’ll see what we can do to wake him up.” Tav stood up and looked the man over.

“Here, we found this on his person.” The Fist produced an envelope and handed it over to her.

“It looks like he was at the House of Healing.” She scanned the assignment letter in her hands, it was indeed signed by Grand Duke Eltan. The unconscious man’s name appeared to be Art Cullagh.

And it would seem he was here one hundred years ago when the shadows were unleashed.

“Tav! There you are.” Karlach came barreling through the room. “Some of the others already went back to camp. What’s all this?”

Tav couldn’t form the words. She could hardly believe it. She may have just found the solution to the shadows, to the curse.

“Come on, I’ll explain on the way. We need to get back to Halsin now.”

***

Halsin had begun to pace around the plot where he had set up his tent. Shadowheart, Gale, and Astarion had returned an hour or so ago, but the others had not followed yet. Part of him worried that he had scared Tav off, that she was taking her time at Last Light to avoid him after this morning. Another bout of guilt ripped through him. In their short time together, he had come to cherish her company, her friendship.

What if she kept her distance from now on? What if she stopped seeking his company early in the morning before the others woke? What if he closed the door on them being something more in the future?

Another, much more bitter thought crossed his mind.

What if she no longer wants to help lift the curse?

He shook it away as quickly as it came. How could he even begin to think so little of her? She had proven her selflessness time and time again, she would not doom an entire land to eternal darkness over having her advances rejected.

As his pulse began to quicken with his rising anxiety, he heard voices approaching the camp. Tav jogged up to the campfire and started talking to the others who had returned earlier. Her hands gestured excitedly with a piece of parchment clutched in one of them. Astarion pointed back at Halsin and Tav’s head whipped around to where he paced in front of his tent.

The movement caused his breath to catch and his heart to skip a beat. Those pesky wisps of silver hair that had escaped her signature braid fluttered in the wind behind her like tiny ribbons as she trotted toward him. He fought the urge to open his arms to her, letting her run into them so he could hold her there for the rest of the night.

No, you’ve gotten her hopes high enough as is.

He waited patiently for her to approach him, his arms stiff at his sides as he forced his desires deep down once again.

“Halsin!” she yelled. She didn’t sound upset to his surprise – and relief.

“Hello, Tav.” He flexed his hands by his hips as they itched to rest on her arms.

She took a moment to catch her breath, bending over so she could rest her hands on her knees. Judging by the light gasping noises she was making, she had run all the way here from Last Light.

“Are you alright?” He started to reach out to her, but hesitated. “You’re absolutely covered in blood.” 

“Yeah, yeah it’s fine, it’s not mine.” She stood back up as she waved a dismissive hand, blowing the runaway hairs out of her face. “I had to run back here to tell you…I found something.”

Tav held out the piece of crumpled parchment in her hands. It looked to be a letter of some kind.

“Who is Art Cullagh?” Halsin’s confusion must have been plain on his face as his eyes scanned it.

“He’s a Flaming Fist currently in a magical sleep at Last Light. They found him out wandering the shadows. Halsin…” She paused to take another deep breath. “He keeps singing a nonsensical song that mentions Thaniel.”

He snapped his attention back to her.

“What did you say?”

“He keeps muttering something about him in his sleep. He’s completely delirious, but he definitely said ‘Thaniel.’ I can’t say for sure, but I think he’s been trapped in the Shadowfell.”

Halsin stood with his mouth agape. She did it, she actually did it. Unable to help himself, he closed the gap between them and grabbed her by the shoulders.

“You’re sure? You heard him say this yourself?”

“Yes.” She smiled up at him. “The other Flaming Fists are watching over him at Last Light.”

“Then I must speak with him.” Hope swelled within him. It took all his willpower not to give her a back-breaking hug.

“Nonsensical or not, he knows something. I need to leave at once, you should join me when you can.” He tried to turn and walk away, but Tav caught his arm.

“We’ll go with you. I’m as curious as you are to see what he has to say.”

“Surely you’re all exhausted after today.” Her offer caught him off guard, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t want her to accompany him.

“I’m sure we can catch our breath there for a bit if needed. Besides, I’m not letting you go wandering off in the shadows alone. We don’t need to take everyone, just a few so we can get there safely.”

“That’s…that’s very kind of you, thank you.”

“Of course. And um…” she started tugging on her braid, “about this morning…”

“Tav, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” He felt the familiar stab of shame in his gut as he spoke.

“It’s okay, I uh, I just wanted to say that I hope I didn’t ruin our friendship. I’ve come to enjoy your company a great deal, and I’d hate to think I did something to damage it.” She cleared her throat as she finished speaking. The faintest hint of tears shone in the corners of her eyes.

“Of course not.” His hands made their way back to grip her shoulders. “I already consider you a very dear friend and as long as you’ll have me, I’ll remain that friend to you as well.”

She nodded as she let out a long sigh.

“Let me gather some of my things, then we can leave. Oak Father willing, we could see these shadows banished soon, my friend.” He squeezed her shoulders before letting his hands drop to his side again.

When he looked up at the others, Karlach stood with her arms crossed, glaring at him. He assumed she knew of their conversation that morning.

Tav waited outside of his tent for him before leading him back to the others. Gale, Astarion, and Karlach agreed to accompany them back to Last Light. He felt a bit silly traveling such a short distance with a convoy, but it obviously made Tav feel better, so he wouldn’t complain.

“Ready?” She turned to face him with a smile.

“After you.” He placed a hand on her shoulder but heard a small huff from Karlach.

His first lead in one hundred years. Not just a distant echo or whisper, but a living witness. Someone else who had met Thaniel.

He recited the ritual in his mind once more. The words he had kept close to his heart for decades. They caused him to bristle with anticipation as they started the short walk to Last Light Inn. A grin came over his face as he followed Tav out of camp.

Her ivory braid swayed from side to side as she set a brisk pace in front of him. The mesmerizing movement calmed his anxiety and reminded him how close he was to seeing Thaniel again, how close he was to fulfilling his promise.

How close he was to being free from his duty.

***

During their short time among the shadow curse, Tav and her companions had already become accustomed to tense walks in the dark woods. She would have thought by now that they would be used to wraiths and shadows jumping out of every corner, but it still caught them off guard more often than not.

“I do appreciate the escort, my friend, but it really was unnecessary. It’s quite a short walk and I know these woods well, even in this darkness.” Halsin was walking next to her, the two of them just a few steps in front of their other companions.

“Oh, please. How would you react if I said I was going for a walk, alone, in the woods while we’re here?” She rolled her eyes.

“Fair enough. I would highly advise against such an action,” he chuckled and bumped his shoulder into hers.

Right on cue, Tav heard a rustling in the bushes ahead of them. She drew her bow, signaling everyone else to stop.

Here we go again.

Crouched low, she started creeping forward. Once she was close enough, she realized that it was just a light breeze blowing through the leaves. She let out a relieved sigh as she stood back up. Little tendrils of shadow swirled around her ankles, taunting her.

“You seem a little tense, Tav. Is everything okay?” Halsin stepped up behind her.

“Of course. This whole place just sets my nerves on–” She was cut off midsentence by several shadows and shadow cursed corpses approaching their position from behind.

“Fucking hells! Can we not go on one godsdamned walk without these unnatural fucks bothering us?!” she yelled as she fired an arrow through one of the shadows.

“Remind me why we left our cleric in camp again? We could use a bit of radiant light right about now,” Astarion snarled as he barely dodged a swipe from the massive wraith that had appeared.

“Because we thought we were just going for a pleasant stroll through the woods!” Tav conjured a large circle of thorny vines on the ground, trying to deter the shadows from advancing.

“It’s never that simple though, is it darling?” Astarion drove a dagger into the neck of one of the animated corpses.

Halsin had wild shaped into a bear and was taking furious swipes with his paws between the enemies. As the corpses made their way through the vines, she saw that it was another group of cursed Harpers. Seeing so many of them constantly reminded her of–

Her thoughts were interrupted when one of the Harpers grabbed hold of her arm. She spun around and yanked it away. Once free, she kicked the corpse’s legs, knocking it to the ground. Tav grabbed her sword from her belt and moved to drive it into the Harper’s chest. But as soon as she saw the face, she froze.

The eyes were twisted beyond recognition, a mix of churning necrotic energy and shadows. His skin was a sickly color, the face cracked and lined with dark magic, warped by a century in darkness. But the hair…the hair may have been matted and dirty, but the unmistakable white curls fell in a familiar pattern over his face.

“Tev’aron?” she whispered.

[wouldntyou-liketoknow]

Sol Magee

(For a little extra context about this character, go here.)

My very first fanego based off of Ash from GtLive

Since EldritchPlier has a human friend/ally/follower, it’s only fair that LeviathanPat gets a mortal companion, too. (After all, I created him—along with Caliban and my other EgoPats—because I wanted some characters to parallel some of Mark’s egos.) This means Sol gets some sick bragging rights due to being one of very few humans who can hang out with L.P. without the risk of death or insanity.

Her friendship with L.P. revolves around The Abnormal Orchard, a macabre museum built on the primary portion of L.P.’s territory on Earth. On top of showcases a collection of preserved specimens and oddities (many of which are the results of L.P.’s “experimenting hobby”), it also doubles as a  horror/surreal art gallery (many of which come with some nasty old curses). 

In fact, Sol actually came to the museum before they ever even met L.P.. She inherited the property a couple months after the former owner—a relative of hers—died under very strange circumstances. (That’s a story for another day, but let’s just say professional morticians were…a little shocked. Flabbergasted, you might say. Bamboozled, even.) 

If you’ve read this story of mine, then you already know that L.P. was kept imprisoned in an underground cavern for at least a few millennia. However, despite all the distance between him and other living entities, he still had a strong psychological connection to his territory. So, of course, he can sense pretty much everything that goes on in/around The Abnormal Orchard. Meaning he sensed when Sol arrived. It didn’t take very long for her to hear his voice in her head while she moved into the private suite that was built close to the museum itself. 

Now, irl Ash is nothing if not the personification of “Be Gay, Do Crime” and Sol here is no different. Much like Cruz, they have a disturbing knack for being casual when faced with the supernatural. Only, Sol has even more unconventional energy when it comes to their projects. Enough unconventional energy to have ended up genuinely impressing L.P. (Yeah, that's right! Sol is the type to go for LEATHER JACKETS instead of CLOAKS for rituals!)

Interactions between the two of them were symbiotic at first, but that still managed to grow into legit casual bonding (as casual as you can get with an outer monstrosity, that is). All the while, L.P. decided to teach Sol the ins and outs of occultism, whereas Sol put rituals/offerings together for him.

When L.P. finally managed to escape his prison, the first thing he did (after taunting the unfortunate characters who released him by accident) was travel to The Abnormal Orchard and officially meet Sol in person, who welcomed him with open arms and helped him make a proper lair in the building's attic.

In the way of a ceremonial tool, Sol has a trusty flint-striker knife! Yes, it's smaller than Cruz's gut-hook skinner knife. NO, YOU SHOULD NOT UNDERESTIMATE IT BECAUSE OF THAT. It's absorbed plenty of paranormal juju from all of Sol's shenanigans; it can cut much, much deeper (and therefore draw much more blood) than you'd think. Oh, and its striking half can produce both simple sparks and lashing flames. Just depends on circumstance. (Also, Sol would totally go out of her way to use rainbow flint for the striking. Because, again: "Be Gay, Do Crime...")

Macaroon ain't the only vaguely cat-shaped monstrosity out here! Enter Charcoal: Sol's questionable emotional/moral support, based off of irl Ash's very own Charlie! Where Macaroon was a gift from E.P. to Cruz, Charcoal was a stray alley cat that L.P. guided Sol to find and take in. One complex-yet-strangely-wholesome ritual later, she learned that some cats out there have apparently evolved from DRAGONS. (Hey, c'mon, I've gotta keep a fire-theme going.) Since Charcoal is allowed to roam The Abnormal Orchard at pretty much all hours, he has a glamor to wear around humans other than his owner. But when it comes to rituals, black fur pulls away to reveal a dark scaled, horned, fire-breathing, wyvern-esque wing and barbed-tail having lil' beastie.

Their ritual protection mask is heavily inspired by this one I just happened to find one evening. Of course, I don’t want to plagiarize, so I had to make a few tweaks to the design-concept in my head. For one thing, the eye-holes would come with a pair of small glass lenses; that way, the user can still see without risk of going blind or having their eyes turn into baby-heads or whatever.  For another thing, rather than leather, the material would likely be painted porcelain or something similar—since irl Ash and Matt were both theater kids, I wanted to reference those classic masquerade costumes. And for a final thing, it comes with the outline of a mouth. Specifically speaking, a toothy mouth like the one of this other mask. Here’s the catch, though: Sol’s mask would have a combination of smile on the left side, and frown on the right side (again, to reference classic theater masks. Specifically Comedy and Tragedy).

@sammys-magical-au @inkbedou

[milesmentis]

DeeDee what the fuck

do it.

What if I let Zevran tattoo lilies on Jowan’s chest over his heart, as a treat

[heylittleriotact]

@chaezaru is my favourite enabler and asked what Amina’s bond is like with her other companions.

Contains spoilers through the end of act 2 so putting it under the cut:

Harding: Grief isn’t an emotion exclusive to people dying - Lace is running the gamut, grieving the person she was before her new powers, grieving the injustices her people were subjected to, and grieving the person that she thought Solas was. That’s enough to really mess someone up if they don’t have a solid support system, so Amina takes extra care to make sure Lace is included and looked after. She spends a lot of time in the greenhouse, asking her to teach her how to grow things. It turns out this is good for both of them: Amina isn’t accustomed to the practice of cultivating new life and finds it very rewarding, and Harding gets to feel like she has some control over *something* in the damn world for a few minutes.

Bellara: She carries a lot of guilt that manifests in self-doubt and over-caution. She’s afraid to fail because she’s haunted by the consequences of past failures. Amina relates to this more than she’d care to admit, and doesn’t really feel equipped to help Bellara with her feelings when she’s still struggling with her own guilt. She knows she should encourage her to grow past it, but wouldn’t that make her a hypocrite if she’s still caught up on her own regrets? She does enjoy spending time with her though - the two of them start writing a smutty romance together, trading a thick leather bound notebook back and forth every few days. Anyone who inquires about this activity is met with feigned obliviousness.

Neve: It’s a professional relationship through and through. Amina is still very much figuring out that outside of Nevarra, being mortalitasi is either a conversation starter or a conversation ender: there’s no in between. More often than not when she alludes to her work when talking to Neve because it’s really all she knows outside of her own name, it’s a conversation ender. Amina is low key jealous that the wisps of the lighthouse prefer to converge in Neve’s office. That doesn’t stop her from finding ridiculous excuses to visit the mage just to spend time with the wisps.

Davrin: Sometimes Amina wonders if Reda and Gortan experienced similar frustrations with her as Davrin seems to experience either Assan. Granted, she was a person and not a griffin, and Reda and Gortan specifically volunteered to raise her when she was found in the Necropolis as an infant. But still. Raising a child that isn’t your blood is different than raising one that is - no denying that. She likes spending time with the warden and Assan, and while she thinks Davrin is indeed a knight in shining armor straight out of a fairytale, she’s rather disillusioned with the fact that he seems committed to the idea that his existence is meaningless if it doesn’t end in a heroic death.

Lucanis: Amina catches Lucanis off guard by how completely unbothered she appears to be about Spite. She was more taken aback by how much he spends on coffee in a month than the fact that he’s inhabited by a spirit. She sees how other people treat him and act around him because of it and feels bad for both Lucanis and Spite: none of this was either of their faults. So she just treats Lucanis like she would anyone else, and any appearance by Spite is met with patience and kindness that surprises the spirit too. Most mornings at the Lighthouse start with Amina and Lucanis sitting at the dining table in complete silence as they drink their coffee. Lucanis tried to strike up a morning conversation once, but was met with a series of one word answers and distant “mhmmm’s” until he realized that Amina was either unwilling or incapable of conversing before she found the bottom of that first cup after waking.

Taash: Amina doesn’t seem to unnerve Taash quite as much as Emmrich does, but she doesn’t understand why. Sure she’s not a mage and she doesn’t do *exactly* the same work that Emmrich does, but she converses with spirits, bathes, embalms, and dresses the deceased, repairs undead, and leads funeral services just like anyone else in Watch is expected to do. If anything Amina thinks Taash should be MORE creeped out by Amina because of how casually and optimistically she talks about her own eventual death. Maybe it’s Emmrich’s moustache? Either way, she tries to find common ground with them that is unrelated to anything death-ish. They work out a lot. Amina is determined to out-plank Taash one of these days. Amina really dislikes Taash’s Mom. Having been envious of other children that grew up knowing their parents, Shathann’s relationship with Taash diminishes Amina’s idealized view of what parents should be like - what hers would be like if she had them. She struggles to understand why a parent who has put so much effort and sacrifice into raising their child would treat them with such coldness when they’re clearly trying to live up to unattainable expectations.

Emmrich: Amina is so incredibly smitten with him. He makes her feel seen and valued in a way that no one aside from her adoptive family has, and she considers herself incredibly lucky to have found him. She’s never had more engaging and fascinating discussions with another person, and though they have very, very different perspectives surrounding death and mortality, the contrast compliments their relationship. Amina is comforted by the idea of mortality and the natural cycle of life and death: the order and guarantee of an End, but having Emmrich in her life gives her pause and reason to take better care of herself and approach battles more cautiously instead of throwing herself into them like the armour-clad Reaper that she is. She’s very understanding of Emmrich’s thanatophobia, however: it’s an incredibly common affliction, and the fact that he’s a scholarly necromancer who happens to be terrified of his own mortality doesn’t diminish his accomplishments or make him a fraud, and it doesn’t change the fact that he is an amazingly kind, compassionate person to everyone he comes into contact with - alive or dead. Sometimes he has nightmares about dying. She makes him chamomile and lavender tea and writes gentle love notes on his back with her fingertip till he falls back asleep.

Bonus - Solas: From their first meeting in her dreams, she felt there was something different about him, but dreams can be misleading and mercurial, so she didn’t put much stock into it at first. Once it was revealed that Solas was a spirit that manifested physically, Amina’s entire perception around their interactions changed: what was Solas if not another lost spirit in need of assistance? Sure, she’d never encountered a spirit of his magnitude, age, and power before, but… the fundamental approach to handling him couldn’t possibly be that different, right?

[milesmentis]

It's always a good day to share the Jowan theme song :)

[choccy-zefirka]

OC info under the cut! (The list is not exhaustive, I just 1. Have not made much content for others; and 2. Run out of poll options)

Yvie is a half-elf, half-dwarf from a small mountain village from Orlais. I often tag her as Lavellan because that's her father's last name; he was, however, fully adopted into the extensive family of Yvie's mother, the Kaders, and Warden Kader from Awakening is Yvie's older sister. Yvie is a humble and peaceful gardener, but getting the Mark essentially turned her into a DnD bard (in that she casts spells by singing). She bonds with Alexius over her unusual magic, which intrigues him enough to feel almost not depressed from time to time, and over her overall compassion for her fallen enemies. Posts about her can be found here, here , here and here

Una is a Carta thug with a secret passion for nerd shit, which she hides out of insecurity. The Mark also turned her into something of a mage, though she favors elemental battle magic that she uses in unusual ways, similar to ATLA-style bending. She bonds with Alexius after he discovers her two deep dark secrets: that she sneaks into the mage tower at night to read books, and that she has a little son whom she gave up for adoption to keep him away from the Carta. Posts about her can be found here, here , here, here, here and here

Pilar is a former Antivan crow assassin that was trained in blood magic. This weighs heavily on her conscience, and she acts pretty much like a broody gothic antiheroine. She bonds with Alexius because she considers them both to be villains on a redemption arc. Posts about her can be found here, here, here, here , here, here and here

Sophia is a Circle mage who, despite being an elf, grew up Andrastian and landed with heavy religious trauma. She is afraid that if she ever strays from the straight and narrow, even by as much as thinking an "impure" thought, demons will snatch her up. She bonds with Alexius after a long and painful period of silent agonizing over her tragic villain crush. Posts about her can be found here, here, here, here, and here

Solange is a Tal-Vashoth that got her fashion talents recognized by Duke Bastien and Vivienne when she saw the former gallantly throwing down his ornate cloak so the latter could walk across a puddle, and heckled him for ruining good fabric. Since then, she's been rubbing shoulders with Orlesian courtiers, amid much grinding of teeth because how dare an oxwoman be so talented. She bonds with Alexius when she comes to him and Dorian with ideas over how they can incorporate Tevene robe design into Inquisition mages' uniforms for better casting (yes, Dorian talking about fashion has poor optics, but my idea is that Tevene mage robes have practical elements to buff their wearers, like glyphs hidden among embroidery etc.). Solange is also a mother who loves and supports her child instead of shaping them into her own image, which is similar to how Alexius supported Felix despite him not being a mage. Posts about her can be found here, here , here and here (with a bit of an outdated horn design). Bonus post about her family story!

Elgara (named so by her parents because she was supposedly a real ray of sunshine during her alienage childhood) is a Tranquil who failed her Harrowing because she took pity on the demon meant to test her. The Mark cured her, and she now has twenty years' worth of emotions to grapple with, which she handles as best she can with the help of her new friends and some calming elfroot now and then. She bonds with Alexius because she is not as afraid of being vulnerable and emotional around her former enemy, as around people who look up to her as a hero. They've already seen each other at their worst, so might as well! Posts about her can be found here, here , here and here. Bonus long-ish fic about the exact circumstances that began Elgara and Alexius' eventual friendship. Also this one of the most on-point faceclaims I ever had for an OC!

Issala is a former Tamassran who was briefly engaged in sex work but was then reassessed and appointed to teach the Qunari children and help new converts adapt. (She did contribute to breeding a couple of times, and one of her biological children grew up to be Hissrad/Iron Bull, though he was raised by a different Tama and Issala did not keep track of him). Only one of the children in her care turned out to be a mage, and even though she'd read about the process of subduing a Saarebas, seeing it happen proved too much for her, especially considering that the terrified child turned into an abomination and had to be put down. Shaken by the experience and blaming herself for not mentally preparing her student enough, Issala left the Qun (choosing her new name, meaning Dust). She struggled to find a purpose at first, but managed to fit into the Inquisition. She bonds with Alexius over them both being teachers; she also flexes some of her past Tamassran skills and offers him to become friends with benefits for stress relief... Unless... Posts about her can be found here (bottom left, also featuring Solange and Vhenas!) and here. I ought to repost fic of her some time too!

Vhenas is, probably, one of the most chill and mentally stable characters on here. She is a Dalish Keeper who was getting ready for retirement when the whole Breach thing happened. Irreverent, adventurous, slightly crass but intelligent underneath, she is the Cool Mom TM to her three adopted children, now young adults by the time of Inquisition. She bonds with Alexius because she can sympathize with a fellow parent, and he is incredibly fun for her to tease; also Dorian and Warden!Felix are also her sons now, she just has a knack for taking in troubled youths. Posts about her can be found here, here , here and here. Bonus time loop fic that's Alexius-centric but features Vhenas as the active Herald/Inquisitor!

Lira is a self-taught shapeshifter; her favored form is a cat, and she is stuck with a tail after messing up her first few transformations. Originally coming from a broken home in an alienage, she used her covert magic to break her neighbors out and seek out the Dalish, earning a place of respect in her new clan that weighs heavily on her because she feels like she peaked at the age of fifteen, and will never be able to do anything as grand as her escapades as a teenage elf liberator. When the Conclave, in a manner of speaking, promotes her to saving the world, her gifted kid burnout leads to impostor syndrome. Lots of struggles under that cutesy cat girl exterior! She bonds with Alexius after he vents out his disillusionment with Corypheus, regret over pushing Dorian away, shame over how low he's stopped etc. etc. to what he thinks is a regular stray cat lounging around Skyhold, but is actually Lira in disguise, hiding from Josephine because she is terrified of war table meetings. This turns them into each other's confidantes, and then, well. Posts about her can be found here, here, here (butt warning!) and here.

[i-cant-believe-its-not-silk]

Dracula flow quotes but they're so much worse

We smoking that childhood friend netoraie.

No one expects that Morgan Freeman gussy.

We was smoking melatonin, Got that Sandman asking for hazard pay.

I was out charting the gender spectrum when the kill squad came, They should have known, They didn't.

They sent me too the mines but I just started peeling carrots.

Smokey the bear with that smoking hot wear, You're a furry now bitch.

I taught my woman how to do math, now she spitting fire like a witch.

My granola bars ask for permission.

The doors are screaming and I'm in the shower eating soap.

I pay my enforcers in exposure.

I expected the Spanish inquisition.

Vampire tried to steal my blood little did she know I was zooming on that brimstone and garlic butter.

I get bought by the Blahaj I'm moving different.

The last thing he heard before I ultra booty blasted his ass with my revovler was me screaming my attack name before I let the shadow wizards take him.

I sold my soul for 67 human teeth.

Team rocket challenged me to a poke battle I pulled out that Glock.

My fingers were itching I pulled out that bonesaw.

I put the fire mage in a cave, we smoking vacuums.

we smoking dungeon cores.

I don't care if I get vaccinated I'm already autistic.

Call my bitch Autistic Enterocolitis the way she destroys my asshole.

Musicians summon me by playing tritones.

We smoking bubonic doctors.

I'm Nurgle's wet dream walking different.

I kept my bones from joining skeleton war.

My trans-gun stuck on corpse mode.

I jumped on the trampoline until i fell through it.

I don't move around the fire, I just sit inside the smoke.

we in that campfire pinewood smoke.

we snuffing them M1 Garand vapers.

ambulances slow down for me.

we sniffing that swamp fog.

I say … out loud in my conversations.

I go for the kneecaps I don't even care if they sue me.

Ain't no one gonna see me without my emotional support racoon girl.

I've never even seen a marvel movie.

Reach for my armpit I'll turn you into a musk slut.

Its over now you are welcome.

I take no responsibility for my autistic rizz.

[a-drama-addict]

🎲🎮 🥪🎒 for Chloe, Chronos, Dari and Sigrid? c:

Thanks for the ask laya!! :] RAMBLE TIME WEEEE [Ask game]

🎲 If your OC played a pen and paper RPG, what class would they pick? Warrior, mage, thief, ranger, cleric, paladin, druid, necromancer, bard (or other, if that’s not enough)

Chloe: Ohhh she would pick thief no question about it. She would see the opportunity for the most ‘little-shit class to pair with a little-shit backstory’ and THRIVE

Chronos: Chronos would probably pick mage (it’s the only thing he knows) or necromancer! He already finds it fascinating enough in DAI itself but in an RPG? He’d love all the lore so much

Da’revas: Druid!!! He loves nature!!!! He wants to turn into a silly creature!!!!!!

Sigrid: Oh she’d also pick necromancer no doubt. Her special interest unfortunately is death and everything around it- BUT she would also love to pick something like Monk or Druid. Those classes radiate such peacefulness to her that she would really yearn for even if only in a pen and paper RPG

🎮 If your OC lives or would live in the modern world, would they like video games? What would be their favorite game?

Chloe: No they’d give her headaches <3 staring at a screen too long would give her headaches (<- woman who refuses to get glasses and then sits way too close to her screen)

Chronos: Yes but only farming sims. He would fuck with Stardew Valley so hard it wouldn’t even be funny anymore

Da’revas: He would not like video games to be honest, he’s a board game fella you know, he can’t be video-gaming, he’s frolicking in the grass

Sigrid: She’d love old video games, like from the 80s-90s, like: The Legend of Zelda 1986, the original Fallout games, Prince of Persia, Street Fighter II and Super Mario 64. She loves old shit

🥪 On a scale from ‘burns water’ to ‘5 course menu’ how well can your OC cook?

Chloe: She knows how to cook, but not spectacularly or anything like that. It would be edible, and some things she can definitely make well- but most things are like “This is okay”. Once Bela moves in semi-permanently into Hawke’s estate they cook together, which makes Chloe think she’s a master chef “LOOK at me cooking for my GIRLFRIEND”

Chronos: He’d be a good cook definitely, he learnt baking from his dad when he was a kid and cooking from both his moms. He definitely enjoys it too- whenever he gets the chance he helps around in Skyhold’s kitchen

Da’revas: Noooopeeee. He can’t cook. He’s good at GETTING food (i.e. hunting), he knows which stalls in the market have the best foods for the best price- DONT ask him to cook it he will BURN everything

Sigrid: Can’t really cook too bad but not well either? She’s never been taught, she didn’t live with her adoptive family (before bhaal) long enough to learn. And when she was in the temple of bhaal she didn’t really… cook much (Because of the cannibalism). When she’s out on the road with the others Gale and Will try to teach her how to cook- so now she’s certified “Okay at cooking”

🎒 If your OC had to pick three things of all their belongings to keep, which would they chose?

Chloe: Oh EASY. Her favourite (not blood magic related) knife, her mabari and her journal <3

Chronos: NOT easy. I think he’d keep his hair brush, the compass he got from his parents and gloves he and Iron Bull made together once (for combat reasons only. No gay reasons at all.)

Da’revas: Necklace he got from Merrill and Tamlen, the ring Morri got him aaaaand because he’s a sap a drawing Kieran had made once (one of those ‘my family’ drawings most kids make at five years old)

Sigrid: Ohhh tough one too actually. I think Sig would keep her weapons (practical), a locket with a strand of Karlach’s hair in it (she’s also a sap) and probably the owlbear cub (that’s her emotional support creature)

[glowing-blue-feathermage]

feather's writing prompt list

Updated 7.19.24 Favorite Romantic Pairings: Fenders, m!handers, kanders, fenhanders, fenhawke. I will happily attempt other pairings with a few exceptions (with no judgement whatsoever, (I support all ships), just for me no Anders x any templar past or present, no Anders x Sebastian).

Favorite Friend Pairings: Anyone! Doing anything!

My OCs: I'm obsessed with them! I love writing about them. My HoF and my Hawke are blood mages, my Inky is a Dalish mage. In my headcanon my Hawke and my Inquisitor are a couple. Some Prompt Ideas (but throw anything at me): What Are We ? Emotions Beautiful Words (give me a word, a pairing, and anything else you want to see)

You're Blushing...

Angry Love Confessions

Setting/Location Prompts

'Like A Moth To A Flame'

Aesthetic Words (give me a word, a pairing, and anything else you want to see)

Angsty Dialogue

Halsey Song Lyrics

[sororalice]

Purification, Consecration, And Opening Of The Temple By The Elements (With Commentary)

Ritual written 6-9-24.

Purpose: To purify (see commentary) and consecrate (see commentary) the mage and the ritual space in preparation for magick. This ritual would be done first, before other opening rituals (see commentary) and serves as a general “Opening Of The Temple”.

Required:

1. An altar facing East

2. A small cup of water (preferably the magickal tool of Water: the Cup)

3. A small container of salt (and ideally the magickal tool of Earth: the Pentacle)

4. An incense brazier with appropriate incense for the magickal operation at hand (and ideally the magickal tool of Air: the Dagger).

a. Note: I like a mix of 1 part frankincense, 1 part myrrh, and 2 parts hyssop for a basic temple blend.

5. A lighter (and ideally the magickal tool of fire: the Wand).

6. A magickal tool representing Spirit. Some traditions use another dagger (sometimes called the “athame”), others use an oil lamp. I use a prayer rope that I wrap around my right wrist and then use my right hand/fingers to trace pentagrams, draw circles, etc.

Preparation:

1. Arrange tools of the elements on the altar according to their associated directions in your tradition, with your tool of Spirit in the center.

2. Prepare incense and brazier in an appropriate way so that you can light the incense in it at the appropriate time. This may require a charcoal if your incense requires this.

Ritual:

1. Stand before the altar facing East.

2. Take a moment and ground and center according to your tradition.

3. If it is your will and in accordance with your values, do a land acknowledgment (please see this link for more information https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/informational/land-acknowledgment ).

4. Invoke Water:

a. Raise your Cup and hold it in both hands reverently before you and above the altar.

b. Visualize or otherwise internally represent elemental Water as blue, cool energy flowing through you, coming into you from the universe around you, focusing into the Cup, circulating through you, and then coming out again into through the Cup and back out into the universe, as if you were a conduit in a giant system of waterworks.

c. Verbally enunciate the properties of elemental Water as best you know them, ending with the phrase “Water is sacred.”

i. EXAMPLE: “Water. Water flows. Water is cool and water is moist. Water purifies. Water cleanses. Water cools. Water is the water in our oceans, our rivers, our lakes, our ponds. Water is the water in our homes, in our pipes, in our water bottles. Water is the blood within our veins. Water is our emotions, ever flowing. And Water is sacred.”

ii. Place tool of Water back down in the appropriate location on altar.

5. Invoke Earth:

a. Raise your dish of salt and Pentacle and hold them in both hands reverently before you and above the altar.

b. Visualize or otherwise internally represent elemental Earth flowing through you as green, heavy energy coming into you from the universe around you via the dish of salt and tool of Earth, circulating through you, and then coming out again back into the universe via the dish of salt and tool of Earth, as if you were a conduit in a giant system of circulating stone, moss, and soil.

c. Verbally enunciate the properties of elemental Earth as best you know them, ending with the phrase “Earth is sacred.”

i. EXAMPLE: “Earth. Earth is a disk and the disk is a wheel, ever-turning, ever-changing. Earth is cool and Earth is dry. Earth solidifies. Earth manifests. Earth supports. Earth grounds. Earth is the ground beneath our feet, upon which we walk and live. Earth is the rich soil that brings forth life. Earth is the physical plane. Earth is our bodies. And Earth is sacred.”

ii. Place the dish of salt and tool of Earth back in the appropriate place on altar.

6. Mix Earth and Water, both within yourself and within the Cup, by mixing three pinches of salt into the water in the Cup while saying:

a. “Let the salt of Earth admonish the Water to bear the virtue of the great sea”.

7. Hold up the Cup with mixed water and salt in your left hand and hold your right hand cupped over it facing down and say:

a. “Water and Earth, be thou adored!”

8. Anoint yourself with the mixed Water and Earth according to your tradition (such as a Rosy Cross/Celtic Cross on the forehead, a pentagram on the forehead, etc) and say softly to yourself:

a. “So therefore first the priest/exx/ess who governeth the works of Fire must sprinkle with the Water of the loud-resounding sea.”

9. Circumambulate clockwise starting in the East and sprinkle the mixed salt and water in a circle as you go (or dip your index finger in the mixed salt and water and trace crosses or Rosy Crosses/Celtic Crosses at the cardinal points) while saying authoritatively:

a. “So therefore first the priest/exx/ess who governeth the works of Fire, must sprinkle with the Water of the loud-resounding sea.”

b. Note: Make sure to say this so that you are finishing it as you finish the circle at the altar in the East.

10. Returning to the altar facing East, hold the Cup with the mixed salt and water in both hands reverently in front of you and above the altar and say:

a. “Thus purified, thou mayest approach the temple of the wise”.

11. Return the Cup to its place on the altar.

12. Invoke Fire:

a. Raise the lighter and Wand and hold them in both hands reverently before you and above the altar.

b. Visualize or otherwise internally represent elemental Fire as red, warm energy flowing through you, coming into you from the universe around you, focusing into the lighter and Wand, circulating through you, and then coming out again into through the lighter and Wand and back out into the universe, as if you were a conduit in a giant system of circulating flame.

c. Verbally enunciate the properties of elemental Fire as best you know them, ending with the phrase “Fire is sacred.”

i. EXAMPLE: “Fire. Fire burns. Fire is warm and Fire is dry. Fire sparks. Fire smolders. Fire spreads. Fire warms. Fire comforts. Fire destroys. Fire is the fire in our homes, in our hearths, in the electricity in our wires. Fire is the fire in our factories, in our forges, in our foundries. Fire is the fire in the core of the Earth, boiling and churning. Fire is the fire in the cores of the stars, burning forth to give us light. Fire is our will, our passion, our drive. And Fire is sacred.”

d. Place lighter and Wand back down in the appropriate location on altar.

13. Invoke Air:

a. Raise your incense brazier and Dagger and hold them in both hands reverently before you and above the altar.

b. Visualize or otherwise internally represent elemental Air as yellow, buoyant energy flowing through you, coming into you from the universe around you, focusing into the brazier and Dagger, circulating through you, and then coming out again into through the brazier and Dagger and back out into the universe, as if you were a conduit in a giant system of circulating, expansive wind.

c. Verbally enunciate the properties of elemental Air as best you know them, ending with the phrase “Air is sacred.”

i. EXAMPLE: “Air. Air is a blade, and the blade is a bridge. Air is warm and Air is moist. Air surrounds us. Air connects us. Air separates us. Air allows for sound to travel, allowing us to hear and be heard. Air gives us breath and life. Air is the the stick and the rope, dividing and connecting. Air is our speech, our communication, our thought. And Air is sacred.”

ii. Place brazier and Dagger back down in appropriate place on altar.

14. Mix Fire and Air, both within yourself and within the brazier, by lighting the incense (or the charcoal and then putting the incense on it) with the lighter while saying:

a. “Let the Fire and Air make sweet the world!”

15. Hold up brazier with incense burning in left hand and hold right hand cupped over it facing down (be careful not to burn yourself!) and say:

a. “Fire and Air, be thou adored!”

16. Cense yourself with the smoke from the burning incense in the brazier according to your tradition (such as a Rosy Cross/Celtic Cross across the body, a pentagram across the body, etc) and say softly to yourself:

a. “And when, after all the Phantoms are banished, thou shalt see that holy and formless Fire, that Fire which darts and flashes through the hidden depths of the Universe; hear thou the Voice of Fire.”

17. Circumambulate clockwise starting in the East and cense the circle as you go, saying authoritatively:

a. “And when, after all the Phantoms are banished, thou shalt see that Holy and Formless Fire, that Fire which darts and flashes through the hidden depths of the Universe, hear thou the Voice of Fire.”

b. Note: Make sure to say this so that you are finishing it as you finish the circle at the Altar in the East.

18. Returning to the altar facing East, hold the brazier with the burning incense in both hands reverently in front of you and above the altar and say: “Thus consecrated, thou mayest approach the temple of the wise”.

19. Return brazier to proper location on the Altar.

20. Invoke Spirit:

a. Raise your tool of Spirit and hold it in both hands reverently before you and above the altar. Visualize or otherwise internally represent elemental Spirit as an oscillating mixture of white and black, scintillating, and tingling energy flowing through you, coming into you from the universe around you, focusing into the tool of Spirit, circulating through you, and then coming out again into through the tool of Spirit and back out into the universe, as if you were a conduit in a giant system of light and shadow.

b. Verbally enunciate the properties of elemental Spirit as best you know them, ending with the phrase “Spirit is sacred.”

i. EXAMPLE: “Spirit. Spirit is above and Spirit is below. Spirit is light and Spirit is dark. Spirit is within and Spirit is without. Spirit is projective and Spirit is receptive. Spirit is ouranic and Spirit is cthonic. Spirit is beyond and between all of these things, transcending all dualities. And Spirit is sacred.”

21. Taking the tool of Spirit in your right hand, symbolically attune yourself with the tool and with Spirit as a whole in whatever way best suits you and your tradition (such as crossing yourself with a Rosy Cross, making a pentagram across your body, etc) while saying:

a. “Holy art Thou, Sovereign of the Universe! Holy art Thou, who nature hath not formed! Holy art Thou, the vast and mighty One! Sovereign of the Light and of the Darkness!”

22. Raising the tool of Spirit above your head with your right hand, circumambulate the circle clockwise saying authoritatively:

a. “Holy art Thou, Sovereign of the Universe! Holy art Thou, who nature hath not formed! Holy art Thou, the vast and mighty One! Sovereign of the Light and of the Darkness!”

b. Note: Make sure to say this so that you are finishing it as you finish the circle at the altar in the East.

23. Returning to the altar facing East, hold the tool of Spirit in both hands reverently in front of you and above the altar and say: “Thus led by Spirit, thou mayest approach the temple of the wise”.

24. Return the tool of Spirit to the center of the Altar.

25. Raise hands grandly and say:

a. “Thus purified, thus consecrated, and thus led by Spirit, the temple is opened!”

b. Ring bell, stomp foot, or knock the appropriate number of times in an appropriate pattern for the working at hand according to your tradition. Common patterns are 3-3-3 for lunar workings, 2-2-2 for solar workings, and 3-5-3 for general magick.

26. Proceed to the rest of your opening rituals as appropriate to your tradition.

27. Do your magick.

28. When done with closing rituals, return to the altar facing East, raise your hands grandly, and say:

a. “These rites being duly concluded, the temple is closed.”

b. Ring bell, stomp foot, or knock the same number of times in the same pattern that you used when opening the temple.

COMMENTARY:

1. Some readers will recognize various elements of this ritual from the “Watchtower Ritual” of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (which in turn quotes liberally from “The Chaldaean Oracles of Zoroaster”) and “Liber XV” (The Gnostic Mass) by Aleister Crowley, which in turn quotes from “Liber AL vel Legis”. Other elements, such as the ritual affirmation of “[element] is sacred”, are taken from rituals common among the Reclaiming Tradition of witchcraft. I make no apologies and ask no forgiveness. In the words of Sir Isaac Newton: “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

2. All quotes from other texts have been amended for sexism and gender essentialism. Gendered words for the Divine have been rendered gender-neutral and terms for the mage performing the ritual have been amended to include inclusive terms for other genders.

3. I have chosen to modify and simplify certain aspects of this ritual for accessibility.

4. Purification is defined as “removal of elements extraneous to the working at hand”, and is not in any sense related to any moral or religious code. That said, feeling guilty because you have done wrong by your own value system is definitely an extraneous element to just about any working. Similarly, consecration is defined as “dedication to the purpose or purposes of the working at hand”. As “Liber AL 1:44” says: “For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect.”

5. All Enochian elements present in material taken from the “Watchtower Ritual” have been removed for the sake of both simplicity and accessibility. I believe Enochian magick and the Enochian language (which are inseparable) are best worked with on their own terms and that mixing them into other systems without proper training in the Enochian system and language proper can invite unfortunate errors with unfortunate consequences.

6. I have moved this ritual to the beginning of my opening rituals, before my other opening rituals such as the Lesser Pentagram and Hexagram rituals. This is contrary to the order practiced by many of my contemporaries. My reasons for this are as follows:

a. It is my opinion that someone who has not been properly purified and consecrated probably shouldn’t be creating sacred space or calling in external spiritual forces such as the archangels in the LRP or the various ally spirits in other traditions. At best, one is diluting and diverting one’s energies and attention at a time when one should be most focused. At worst, the rest of the opening rituals will lack effect entirely or misfire because the mage is so distracted and disturbed. Neither case is desirable.

b. It is my further opinion that a space that has not been properly purified and consecrated probably shouldn’t be used for any other magick. While rituals like the LRP, LRH, and other rituals that create sacred space define a sacred space, situate that sacred space through directionality, and connect that sacred space to the Divine through asserting relations, they do not explicitly purify and consecrate the mage or the space. While I am sure that some mages will assume that purification and consecration of the mage are automatically accomplished during grounding and centering and that purification and consecration of the space are automatically accomplished by the creation of sacred space, I must regretfully disagree. These are different magickal acts, and I think it is wise to differentiate them.

7. The “temple” mentioned in the ritual is conceptual and astral as much as (or more than) the physical space wherein which the mage does their magick. The temple one is approaching to more and more closely until the temple is declared open is an ideal temple, a conceptual space the mage is approaching by stages over the course of the ritual until the mage can finally declare truly that “the temple is opened” because the physical space has taken on the necessary magickal characteristics of the conceptual and astral space.

Art: Jan Brueghel the Elder, “Abundance And The Four Elements”, (~1615)

[misericordel]

the "other lady veyle" meta

— aka veyle’s relationship with her fell dragon blood and what the hell even IS this “other lady veyle” shit

from the beginning of veyle’s introduction and reveal i’ve always wondered why the other lady veyle acts that way. why does she love to see people suffer? well i think it’s actually more than just zephia’s magic or the “inherent nature” of a fell dragon at work. i do believe that zephia's magic drew out the negative emotions and feelings in veyle’s mind, with a bit of fell influence.

bear with me here as this is going to get pretty long, since i intend you use multiple quotes from the script in order to back up my thoughts.

 at first, i just put it off as zephia’s magic influence making her evil and that’s that— it’s a convenient setup for her character, but i think there’s more to it than just ~* oooo evil magic ooooo *~.

i believe that the personality of the other lady veyle is a derivative of her desire for family and to have a parent who loves her again. first, i’m going to talk about her mother for a bit.

from what we know of her mother, veyle’s mom was incredibly kind and sweet to her and a powerful mage dragon.

chapter 25 — veyle speaking about her mother

“She was kind. And affectionate. And there was so much love within her. But she died before I could truly appreciate what I had. She always did the best she could to keep me safe. And she told me that if Papa ever broke free… If he did, and if he started doing terrible things ─ as his family─ I had to find a way to stop him.”

clearly veyle had a loving parental figure in her life for a long time, but she was eventually persecuted for being a mage dragon and mating with sombron.

hortensia’s support — veyle speaking about her mother

She was also the Fell Dragon's mate. Humans hated her for it and persecuted her. She died.

after her mother died, she was completely alone. all she had left from her mother was her own dragonstone and her mission to stop sombron if he ever broke free and did horrible shit. veyle notably buried her dragonstone, which i headcanon to be after she transformed out of an explosion of (negative) emotions and injured a good amount of people after they killed her mother and persecuted veyle too for being a fell dragon.  i personally believe that veyle buried her dragonstone with her mother after everything was over. (see this drabble here)

hortensia's support — veyle 

When I didn't age, the humans knew what I was, and they persecuted me too. It was...terrible.

now, with that in mind, by all means veyle should have ended up incredibly depressed and lonely. wishing vengeance on humans, etc. etc. there is one shining moment in her life that kept her the way she is now, and that’s her meeting with her sibling (alear).

chapter 16 — speaking to zephia about her sibling’s dragonstone

“A thousand years ago, I was crying and one of my siblings gave it to me. I remember it well. "Even though I can't stay with you, I'll always be your friend. If you're sad or lonely, remember...if this stone is intact, that means I'm still alive.”

chapter 20 — mauvier speaking about veyle to alear

“All this time, Lady Veyle has been sustained by a desire to meet her sibling.”

this is something that kept her going for a long fucking time. her sibling promised to always be her friend even if they were separated. as long as the stone was still intact, it would mean they were still alive. this meant everything to veyle after losing her mother, her only friend in her life. she could look at the dragonstone and know that she still had someone in this world that cared for her no matter what.

but, that doesn’t completely eliminate her loneliness or her desire for family again, unfortunately. it’s a long while after she meets her sibling that she meets the fell dragon worshipers. 

chapter 21 — mauvier talking about veyle’s past

Mauvier

“Then Sombron was imprisoned and Lady Veyle's mother died, leaving her alone. She could find no friends in an age when it was rumored a last Fell Dragon child had survived. Lady Veyle lived in hiding, knowing that─were she discovered─she would be killed.”

Alear 

“A thousand years, living like that... All alone that whole time?”

Mauvier

“Not exactly. A few centuries ago, she came into contact with worshippers of the Fell Dragon... In their care, she slept in a hidden temple─until Lord Sombron's release. She had been, long ago, close with those in that temple. But when she recently awoke…”

Alear

“They were all dead, weren't they…”

Mauvier

“So, Lady Veyle was relieved, even overjoyed, to find herself reunited with Lord Sombron. He detested her and proclaimed her a defect lacking a Fell Dragon's abilities and character. Sombron required her obedience, however, so he ordered Zephia to tamper with her nature. [...]”

so my version, including my interpretation and headcanons, of what went down is that veyle transformed into a dragon and went on a rampage. after realizing she had killed a few of the humans, she went into hiding and was both afraid to kill anyone and get killed herself. thankfully, she was able to find fell dragon worshippers who liked her — if only because she was a fell dragon (and boy did that fuck up her self esteem). unfortunately that didn’t last long, as she was back to being alone again when she woke up centuries later.

mauvier goes onto mention that she was incredibly happy to be reunited with sombron again. that was her family! even though her mother had warned her about her papa, she was so devastated by the repeated loss of people close to her that she was desperate for any sort of familial affection. she wanted her papa to like her and love her. she just wanted that figure in her life. 

chapter 25 — speaking about facing sombron

I am. I'm not afraid to stand up to him. I was so lonely, I couldn't admit it, but... he stopped being my father long ago. There's no bond left to break.

veyle speaks up directly about how lonely she was pretty often. to the point that she just wanted sombron to acknowledge her as her, not as a defect. she literally just wanted a loving parent like her mother again.

chapter 22 — in the afterlife with alear

I tried so hard. I wanted Papa to look at me and not see a defect. I wanted him to forget about the other worlds and just be with me. I'd always think, "If only I tried harder..." But it never mattered! I kept getting crushed over and over…

we know too that sombron isn’t really a caring father like. at all. it’s pretty easy to tell from just face value, but veyle also remarks about how they never spent time together here.

chapter 26 — veyle facing sombron

[... ] We never spent time together as father and daughter, like I wanted.

it’s mentioned that zephia uses her magic on veyle in order to tamper with her kind and innocent nature (and directly seen in the game lol). now this is where the other lady veyle comes into play. if veyle wasn’t so lonely and hadn’t suffered repeatedly from the loss of people she cared about, i actually don’t think zephia’s magic would not have worked on her. or at least had very little effect.

zephia merely manipulated the feelings of loneliness and desire to prove herself that were already there.

so, with all that in mind, why does the other lady veyle act so cruelly and delight in the pain of the others? well, part of it is clearly zephia’s magic at play. the other part is that she wanted her father to actually look at her and spend time with her. she was also incredibly lonely as mentioned, and so the other lady veyle is more actively bitter in her place in life. the other lady veyle has remarked about how lonely she is to alear as well. the other lady veyle is also  actively insecure about her place next to her father, seen here.

chapter 21 — the other lady veyle talking about emblem marth to alear

His fellow Emblems, stolen away. You turned your back on him. Oh, lonely thing. Just like me. But I'm here for you, little Emblem. I'm all you need. Now, had I known I had a sibling who survived the years...I would have killed you. I'd like to make sure I'm my Father's one and only child.”

“you turned your back on him. oh lonely thing. just like me” is most definitely a reference to the humans turning their backs on her when they persecuted her mother (and perhaps to all the fell dragon worshippers dying while she was asleep). her insecurity about her place next to her father is also seen here, with the way she threatens that she would have killed her sibling if she knew they survived. part of this is a cruelty thing, but the other part is the fact that she’s a defect. the other lady veyle definitely understands this. if she was his only child left, then she didn’t have to worry about being cast aside again. 

problem = fell dragon sibling still alive and they can summon emblems

solution = kill them and then i can have papa all to myself and he won’t cast me aside :D yayy

i’m not sure where else to put this, but i do also think that veyle being so cruel and inflicting so much pain on others (mostly humans) is because of what she experienced after her mother died. they reacted to her and treated her cruelly, so why shouldn’t the humans get the same treatment? type thing. it would make sense that the divine dragon is included in this treatment then, since they are an obstacle to her being loved by her father.

now. here is the most damning evidence i actually have, in regards to the other lady veyle just being a negative extension of veyle’s already existing feelings. these lines right here.

chapter 22 —the other lady veyle fighting against the real veyle

Shut your mouth! You are nothing but a defect! Mark my words, you quivering little baby! [... ] I don't want to go! Help me, Father! I beg of you!”

first, you can see proof that the other lady veyle genuinely believes she is a defect. however, the more important part here is the plead for sombron to help her. this isn’t evil magic dragon speaking. this is a little girl who has lost so many people she cared about. this is a little girl who is scared to die, and in her last moments looks to sombron— her dad.  — to help her. to actually be a father to her and keep her safe and loved.

the other lady veyle reacts and acts cruelly in so many ways, but in her last moment, she just wanted her father. which is kind of really sad, if you think about it.

the whole time all she wanted was to be loved and respected. but sombron casts her away just like that.

and then after that we have veyle returning from the Death Void with renewed vigor and ambition. it would make sense that veyle is able to break the helmet at exactly this point. she was able to talk with alear about how lonely she was and how much despair she faced, and that she could finally die in peace and happiness now that she was reunited with her sibling.

chapter 22 — veyle speaking to alear in the afterlife(?)

Hey. Why don't we fall asleep...together? The world will end with or without us. And...I feel happy because I finally found you.

then alear tells veyle to revive him as a corrupted, and we get this 

chapter 22 — same thing

Alear

My friends told me it doesn't matter where you're from. What's important is how you live. How you live and what you do shapes your future. So...who do you want to become?

Veyle

I've never thought about that. But if it were possible for me to change now, I suppose… I'd want to be like you. I'd want to become a dragon who saves the world.

THIS. this is is so important. alear, her sibling, is the first person(dragon?) in centuries to see her for who she is, not  for a fell dragon. (mauvier is a derivative of the fell dragon worshippers and one of the four hounds so he doesn't really count here) the last time anyone made her feel like this was when her mother was alive.  alear literally gives her active motivation to live again.

her motivation this whole time was the dragonstone and her sibling being alive. she found her sibling again, so naturally that was the end of her motivation to live right? she didn’t need anything else, in her mind. but alear gives her more than that this second time alive. alear gives her the chance to be herself, not a fell dragon.

so it makes incredible sense for me that veyle is able to come back and destroy the helmet here.

and that’s the end of the other lady veyle. however, i also wanted to touch on the lack of memories that veyle has when it comes to her actions as the other lady veyle.

chapter 17 — the other lady veyle speaking to alear

“You know, seeing as how I don't share memories with that pathetic little girl…”

WARNING below for discussions of some heavy stuff regarding childhood PTSD and DID. please caution when reading if this can affect you negatively.

to me, veyle’s other self was born out of childhood PTSD and, with a help of a little dark magic in the fire emblem universe, dissociative identity disorder. veyle watching her mother die and then being persecuted herself, as while as losing so many people in her life and being treated so cruelly attributes to the development of her childhood PTSD.

veyle mentions more than once the loss of memories. the other lady veyle doesn’t have memories of the “regular” veyle, and the “regular” veyle doesn’t have memories of the other lady veyle. loss of memory is a very common issue when it comes to alters, and alters commonly do not have access to the host’s memories when they aren’t in control.

it would make sense then, that veyle’s loss of memories is a result of her “other self”. i did some research on the type of alters that DID systems can have and it's of my firm belief that the other self is veyle’s persecutor alter, born from the harsh treatment and persecution she faced from both humans and her own family. persecutor alters often start out as protector alters then turn into persecutor alters, which aligns with veyle here. they're also violent against the host and often physically and mentally abusive towards the host and towards those around them. basically everything from the page i linked points to her alter being a persecutor alter.

in the game, the persecutor alter (other lady veyle) supposedly dies after she breaks the helmet. i don’t actually think she dies, but rather goes dormant. of course, there aren’t really words to explain the DID system in the fire emblem universe, so veyle is most definitely completely unaware of all of this. as far as she’s aware, the “other lady veyle” was just zephia’s dark magic and that’s it.

with the realization that the other lady veyle is actually her persecutor alter, i do also believe that the “other lady veyle” is not completely gone, or dead as the game likes to have you believe. if she was in enough peril similar to what was inflicted on her by sombron and humans, and with a little bit of dark magic most likely, then her persecutor alter could most certainly come back.

important note — though i have experience with mental health disorders myself, i do not have DID and anything presented here is just as result of extensive research of both the engage script as well as how systems and alters work and form. please please please dm me if any of my portrayal is either wrong, offensive, or insensitive to DID systems in any way and i will rework the theory according to your advice. thank you!

you've reached the end of this meta! thanks for reading!