#now I am thinking about jace stroking blue and telling him how pretty he looks wearing his clothes. j2 is sooo whiny and into it he doesnt | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

joshslater · 5 years

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Grimsby pt. 5

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Declan greeted us with an “Oi, lads” as he walked past us to the kitchen. He took me completely by surprise. The beer, the weed, the fatigue, the everything had me zone out and only concentrate on what was immediately in front of me. The beer, the weed, the heat and smell of big Jace next to me, and the FIFA game I was slowly losing. I had completely forgotten the possibility of Declan. He returned from the kitchen, Stella in one hand and a Lidl bag in the other.

“O'Rourke down at 2 lit the grill. I bought some bangers for us. You coming Jace?” “Always”

He threw down the controller on the table and got up. I still wasn’t grasping what was going down. Jace looked down at me as I aimlessly was moving my team around while trying to comprehend what was happening.

“You’ll lose. Come.”

I accepted what he told me, pressed pause and got up to join them outside. The afternoon sun made everything too hot and too bright, after smoking weed in front of the TV for hours. Jace and Declan talked about something as we walked down the street to number two. I was too buzzed to try to comprehend. I could see a small group standing at the end of the street, in front of us. They looked young, all dressed similar to us, perhaps with less shirts on, and everyone holding a can or a bottle in one hand.

“I got one left” “What?”

I looked at Declan, followed his eyes towards his hand. He was holding out a nicotine patch towards me. I took it, removed the package and stuck it up inside my T-shirt, somewhere on the chest. Fuck, I’m still wearing the track suite from work, I realized. The one that didn’t smell like weed. Didn’t.

“This is Chayse. Lives in 10. He’s cool” “Cheers mate!”

I took a swig out of the bottle of blue wkd in my hand and nod towards the group. Where the fuck did I get that from? Who drinks that kiddie stuff? Just how fucked up am I, really? If they could tell I was high as a kite, which of course they could, they didn’t appear to give a fuck. Everyone was busy chatting, having a beer and whatever else they were doing. This wasn’t so much a party as it was a bunch of lads having a beers on the street, spilling out into the main road. A white, plastic outdoor chair was placed outside the door of number 2. An extension cord snaked its way from the house and was draped over the arm rest, with nothing plugged in. The BBQ setup turned out to be a couple of single use grills, coal on aluminium trays, probably bought at the nearest petrol station. Declan got a pack of vacuum packed hot dogs from his Lidl bag, tore it open, and dumped the sausages on one grill. One of the unfamiliar guys I’d just greeted turned towards me.

“Aight, did you catch Chelsea Arsenal?” “Of course”

It was one of the games I watched with Declan, and I wasn’t even drunk or debilitatingly high, like now, when I did it. I even remembered some of what the commentators said.

“What you think about the first score?” “It was his first for the season, was it?” “Was it? You might be right, mate. What’d you think about it?” “I can’t even describe it.” “With you, mate. Fucking epic doesn’t cut it”

I shocked myself that I could string together some commentary fragments with empty statements and pass them along as conversation. Not wanting to press my luck I tried to be as agreeable as possible through all the footie talk.

“Oi! Bun!”

Declan threw a hot dog bum at me, which I didn’t catch, but quickly scooped up from the ground. Not trusting my dexterity I put down my blue wkd next to the plastic chair. I stepped over to the grill and grabbed one of Dec’s sausages in the bun. I realized I was starving, as I bit into the hot dog.

“This is fucking great, mate!” “Lidl deluxe onion pork bang. Best there is. Farewell bang, innit” “You’re leaving?” “Want to beat the traffic. It’s been fun.”

I didn’t know what to feel. Most of all I was annoyed he’d drop the news on me like five minutes before he’d drive away. Communication wasn’t his thing though. But it felt like I was going to miss him. Without him I was back to knowing no one here. No, I knew Jace, I immediately realized. It’s like a relay, where I’m handed over, moving further and further away from where I started. Declan didn’t know who I was, but he knew I wasn’t Chayse Brown, at least not this version. Jace only knew what I was now.

Someone from the group took a seat in the white plastic chair, and another one connected a clipper to the extension and started to buzz his head. I couldn’t see a difference, as it was short to start with.

“Hey, Declan. Thanks for everything.” “Safe. Keep your phone charged.”

He walked away towards the car, stella in hand. I stepped back to the chair and grabbed the blue bottle. I took a swig out of it, and almost choked on my big gulp. It wasn’t my blue wkd but something far stronger. I looked at the label and saw a bottle of MD 20/20 blue raspberry. Still fucked up, apparently, because those bottles are nothing alike.

“Hey, are you stealing my shit!” shouted the boy in the chair, jumped up and started to puff his chest. “No, I’m... mistaken” “It fucking looks like you are stealing.” he was staring right at me, just inches away when he suddenly relaxed. “I’m just messing with you. That is yours?” he pointed at the blue wkd still standing next to the chair. “Yeah, I think so.” “Here, take over from Liam” “I don’t know how to... I’ve never used a clipper before.” “Nothing to it. Just move it around until it looks even.”

Liam handed over the clipper to me as the boy got back in the chair. He was right. There was nothing to it. In a few more strokes, though probably much slower than proper, he looked “even”. Not that I would know.

“Here, take a seat and I’ll fresh you up for Friday. Yours looks pretty mint, but I’ll fresh the sides for you.”

I had no idea what he meant, but took a seat to go with the flow. He lathered the sides of my head all around with shaving foam, and then picked up a Gilette razor from a kitchen plate and started to shave my head. It was all bizarre to me.

“You do this a lot?” “What?” “Hairdressing” “Just taking turns freshing up the lads for Friday. It happens.”

Someone new came up to me and stuck a can of Fosters in my hand. “Oi. I’m Connor”

I could feel the headache pulsate with my heartbeat as UK Bounce blared out of the phone’s alarm app. I was in my bed, no, on my bed, again without remembering getting there, and fully dressed. I would take the bus to the dock, I already knew that. Should I snooze or bother with a shower?

As I walked to the bathroom the door to the second bedroom was open, and I was reminded that Declan left yesterday. I wondered if he brought the plastic bag with my old clothes with him, or if he had already binned them. I looked into the room. A couch and a cheap home gym. I’d forgotten that it was even here, since I hadn’t looked into the room since the first day. Fuck, that was only days ago.

My eyes were red and I looked like I was decomposing. By contrast my skull was shiny, like a doorknob with a round little carpet on top. The slits in the eyebrow were more pronounced too. Apparently someone touched them up, though I had no memory of it. What was the name of the guy? Liam?

I took a shower, and some of the magic was back. It felt so good. I was hoping that some 3-in-1 would wash off some grease, and make me less shiny. I didn’t really do much, but then the people at the dock didn’t appear to give much of a fuck. I put on the the clothes I had on me when I entered the bathroom, lit a cigarette, and left the house. I felt like a zombie shuffling to the bus stop in the morning darkness.

I’d finished my cigarette by the time I got there, but still craved more, so I lit another one and inhaled deep. Why didn’t I bring a morning beer? Because that’s not what actual humans do, a little voice in my head whispered. Still, would have been fucking nice right now. Luckily the bus peeked around the corner, so I didn’t have to wait for long. I should probably learn the time table.

There were a few people on the bus, but not many. They were all staring like I wasn’t welcome. I guess I didn’t look my best after what I’ve been through. Saturday couldn’t come fast enough. I decided to sit at the back to avoid the glares of people. It wasn’t until I was just about to stomp out my cig I realized I was smoking on the bus. Fuck. And no one told me not to, not even the driver. In fact, I just realized, I hadn’t even paid fare. Why didn’t he tell me?

One glance at my reflection in the bus window, and I had my answer. I looked like trouble, and he didn’t want any. I felt guilty all the way to the dock, and plonked down two pounds at the driver as I exited the bus. Regardless what Liam, or whatever, said I did not intend to become a thief.

Drudge time.

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allducksloveloveloveme · 5 years

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all the best ones drool

This is inspired by @aria-lerendeair and her awesome fic. I hope you like it!!!!

_________

It's cold when Magnus wakes up. The weak morning sun is just beginning to rise, and the Chairman is curled up next to him.

Magnus stretches his arms above his head, and cracks his back before checking his phone.

There's a message from Alec, sometime after midnight, which simply says: going to stay at the institute, don't wait up

It's a simple enough message, short and crisp, which is exactly what makes it so uncharacteristic.there are no i love yous, no emojis, infact, the message may as well be written by someone else.Its easy to imagine that Alec was preoccupied with a mission, or perhaps some excruciating paperwork, but a part of Magnus knows that that's not the case. And Alec still hasn't returned, which further deepen Magnus’s suspicions. Maybe he should call, or text, or should he wait for Alec to return, whenever he does and then ask him?

Magnus settles for making breakfast, and then some light reading to distract himself. The chairman struts out of the room, meowing for treats and pets and Magnus obliges as Percy, Annabeth and Grover lounge in Lotus Hotel and Casino, and the sun rises overhead.

By the time Alec comes home, Magnus's head is swimming with Greek lore and Luke's betrayal. Sometime around Sally's death, Magnus had slid off the couch and onto the soft, carpeted floor, which means that Alec hasn't seen him just yet, He's leaning against the door, facing away from Magnus, his forehead pressed against the door. Ichor and blood are splattered against his jacket, and Magnus has half a mind to wrinkle his nose and tell Alec to burn that jacket, so that some of the tightness in Alec's shoulders eases.

When he turns around, it takes him a grand total of five steps to notice that Magnus is sprawled on the carpet, book in lap, and the Chairman snoring on the couch above his head.

"Magnus," He exhales. Magnus doesn't wait much after that, he drops the book, page unmarked and stands up so quickly his head spins, because Alec looks like he's going to collapse.

If Magnus ends up half sprinting to him, then he's really not embarrassed. It looks like Alec is trying to smile, but he looks so tired that the smile looks more like a grimace.

As soon as Magnus is close enough, he throws his arms around Alec, rubs his hands up and down Alec's back, and shivers when Alec presses his cold palms against his back, and then there is the sticky wetness of tears against his shirt and Alec's trembling, Magnus can hear his rattling breath and sniffles and can only rub his back softly while murmuring nonsense in his hair.

It doesn't take long for Alec to stop crying, and Magnus sways him gently towards the couch, till they can fall onto it. The Chairman (bless him) crawls into Alec's lap. His eyes are red, and stray tears fall across his cheeks and Magnus wipes them away softly, while Alec pets the chairman and boops his nose.

Magnus pulls the table closer to the couch, and Alec slouches till his legs end up on the table and his head on Magnus's chest.

"Can we watch some T.V.?" Alec asks, he sounds cautious, like he's sure Magnus is going to say no, and badger him about whatever's making him upset. And Magnus is going to do that, just not now, later when Alec doesn't look like he's going to collapse if he says more than five words a sentence.

So Magnus switches on the T.V. and they watch Casablanca, as Alec slouches further into the couch, and then begins to snore. Soon there's drool on Magnus's shirt, and Alec's arm is thrown around his waist, holding him in place. The Chairman goes to sleep next, he'd been trying his best not to sleep but Magnus has pulled all the blinds down, and has put a thick, blue comforter on Alec's sleeping form and by extension on the Chairman, and when Magnus has made sure that the comforter is covering Alec's toes too, the Chairman stares at him, blinking slowly and when Magnus has blinked back slowly, he purrs and goes to sleep.

Magnus cards his fingers through Alec's hair, and wakes him when the end credits are rolling. chairman yowls when Alec wakes him up with a smile so warm that Magnus has to looks away. Alec yawns and presses his cold nose against Magnus's neck whilst petting the Chairman, his breath is warm and Magnus kisses his forehead.

Alec only lets him go when his stomach rumbles, and he smiles sweetly. Magnus gets up, and makes enough cheese pasta for the entire Institute while humming along to the Harry Potter soundtrack.

Alec pours the Chairman's lunch in his bowl by the couch, and then all of them dig in. On screen, Harry presses his palms against Quirrell's face, which burns and then disintegrates, along with his whole body.

When Magnus has left the plates to soak, Alec sighs deeply and lowers the volume of the T.V.

He runs his hands through his hair, and then looks at Magnus with tired eyes, and Magnus rubs his back. When he starts speaking his voice is soft, like he doesn't want Magnus to listen to all of it, "After the patrol was over, we recieved intel about this Raum nest close by, it was nothing big, so jace, andrew and i decided to check it out." he took Magnus's hand in his, twisting around his rings and when he smiles, it's rueful "Turns out, the intel was wrong. there were so many of them, Magnus, i was sure that...that none of us were gonna live. luckily, Andrew had called for backup."

Magnus nods.when Alec doesn't add anything, Magnus prompts gently with an "And?"

Alec murmurs something like "You always know," with a smile and then "After the backup came, it didn't take all that long for us to get rid of the demons, but Jace and Andrew..." Alec swallows, his voice quivers when he continues "They were both pretty critical-severe internal injuries, multiple fractures."

He stops, and Magnus dropped his head on Alec's shoulder, nosing along his cheek and Alec sighed “It's just I could, I could feel Jace's pain, and Andrew's chest was so scarred it looked like a battlesite by itself...And I couldn't help but think..."

"That it's your fault." Magnus guesses, Alec nods and rubs his hand over his face in frustration, and by extension over Magnus's nose.

His hand is cold, so Magnus takes it between his, and strokes his thumb against the back of Alec's hand.

Alec huffs suddenly, before saying "It's just...I know that I am not supposed to think this way, and that it's okay to ask for help and-and that I deserve to be the head and more, but..."

He looks at Magnus, biting his lip, and then looks away, again.

Magnus doesn't say anything right away, this is important and it's more important that Alec knows that-- "It's okay, Alexander. Its okay to think this way, and then to remember that you are much more than whatever your mind tells you. Its just... that you expect so much from yourself, and i'm not saying that you shouldn't, but like you said it's okay to ask for help and-and I'm so glad you told me." Magnus smiles, and pats Alec's hand, and Alec smiles back easily.

"But I want you to promise me something," Magnus continues, he sounds fierce, even to himself, and Alec nods "Next time, something like this happens, you call me, doesn't matter what time, or where you are, or the severity of the situation; you just call me. Promise?"

Alec grins, and Magnus can't help but smile too "Pinky promise."

Alec's smile widens, and Magnus has an idea.

"We can visit Jace, if you want to?" He asks cautiously, and Alec grins, abashed and shakes his head "Izzy said if I returned to the Institute before tomorrow evening, she'll force feed me her stew."

Magnus laughs "Does your sister know I love her?"

Alec's answering grin is warm, his cheeks red and so Magnus says "What about you?" Alec looks up, confused, "Do you know? Or did you forget"

Alec beams, and then leans in, pressing his forehead against Magnus's, then their noses, and Magnus sighs, feigning impatience(he has all the time in the world for Alec), Alec laughs and then presses his palm against Magnus's cheek(his hand is warm, and Magnus drops a kiss against his palm, and Alec breathes deeply) and he says "Magnus Bane, how could I ever?"

So Magnus kisses him.

#drabble turned fic #this turned out pretty sweet #malec #magnus bane #alec lightwood #!!!#bookqueeen #miavivisol

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goallin1shortstory · 6 years

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Amilia Upchurch - Short Story

Back in 2002 on a cold October night, me and my twin brother was born in our home on a hill cliff. I was told of a blinding light, screams, and deep red blood. Our maid Ella said she was told to take us and leave our parents behind to fight. It was not her fault but she said that she felt bad, but i told her that it was not her fault and that she had to do it. Because the beast had killed them.

Even though I don’t remember that day, it’s still a constant nightmare on replay of what Ella told me. And for some reason this night was different both me and my brother were awake walking in the darkness not knowing what our destination was. Then we heard a voice that sounded like it had not drank any water in ages. It was so loud that it made my head pound and my stomach twist in knots. Saying, “Go to the door I’ll give you your parents back”. Even though it sounded too good to be true. Anything weird and non-human like this was something we are used too and bringing the dead back to life was not far from it.

In our view was a huge black door that was too heavy to push but for us it was easy as ripping a piece of paper. The voice had said, “yes push the door realise me”.I knew there was something wrong but i still wanted to try. Once we pushed the door open a powerful wind spet us back. When we looked up it was a huge body emerged in black. Ghouls and beast alike came out crawling by its feet. We sprung into action ready to fight but as soon as they were there they vanished. And at that moment we knew we had screwed up.

I felt shame at how we could be tricked so easily, and that we unleashed a horribly terror upon the world. I put those feelings aside and started to make a plan to save the world. If only that was as easy as it sound. I got a phone call from Hack he sounded pissed. All in all he told us that we needed to fix this mess and that we also need help,because we can’t fix it on our own.

The two people he asked for help were human to my surprise a boy and a girl to be exact. The girl’s name was Clair a cheerful girl with long black hair and an obsession with guns. And there’s Jace the mute but he’s not really mute, he just does not talk as much. Hack said they are good fighters so we could use them. The first time we ever meet was months ago.

The first few times we had somes encounters with Death that did not end well,but we are still here and now were in the Desert. Jamel and Jace had a fight about who killed the most ghouls. It was me and Clair but it’s fun to watch them fight. “We need to find the mother before she finds us“, I say and they stop and shake their heads in agreement. We walked in the Desert heat following the cloud of black smoke. Everytime we follow his trial we always have shortcomings about finding him it’s like he knows we’re coming he’s always one step ahead and I hate it.

The Desert heat was scorching, like all the energy was being drained out of my body. But out of the blue we found an unnatural cave that has water, we couldn’t help ourselves but to drink. To our unknown knowledge it was how the mother captured her victims. But what she didn’t realize was that we didn’t drink enough water for her presence to go unnoticed. So we attacked her,

killing her incessantly. What we finished what we came here to do we left before we fainted from heat stroke. Hack greeted us with a smile and a look of approval. He asked, “ did you make progress on finding Megdeath”. I replied with a solid No, and keep moving to my room to remove sand from my shoes and to take a cold shower all that heat makes me wish for snow.

That feeling quickly goes away as I get out of the bathroom. I flop on the bed wanting sleep to come but it never does,and I can’t help but wonder what would've happened if Hack never decided to help us. Probably dead. Now I can’t help but think why am I the leader, I can’t even come up with a plan to find Megdeath let alone kill him. And to be honest with myself I’m scared at the fact that I don’t have any control. And it’s been a few months sense the world was plunged into this darkness because of me an Jamel. By the time I collect my thoughts an alarm goes off alerting us that Megdeath is on the move. We get our weapons and gear up ready to fight.

Hack: “He’s moving to a small field in the east of you hurry you can catch up and take him out the school.”

We rush to the jet and fly of at full speed. I see a huge black figure and tell Clair to shoot it out of the sky. But as soon as she does he fires back and one of engines get hit and we crash land with him at the nose of the jet ready to kill us. We jump out shooting our guns until the clip was empty. It doesn’t make much damage as we want but it’s enough to get him to his knees. Jamel and I come in with kicks and punches that knocks him back a couple of feet. When Jace is ready

we move out of the way for him to come in with his katana cutting him down until each cut is deeper than the last. Now it’s time for Clair to deliver the final blow, however we did not expect him to move after all of that and once he did he ran straight for Clair pushing his hand through her stomach.

She couldn’t even scream out before she fell to the ground. Jamel and Jace runs to her side trying to heal her and stop the bleeding, I on the other hand is blinded by rage and charge straight toward him punching him in the jaw. He hits me back through the Air and vanishes. I run to Clair seeing that she’s stable for know. I call Hack to come get us and to tell him about Clair, he said he’s on his way. As soon as we get there we rush Clair to our Infirmary in one of the rooms down stairs.

Hack: “put her on the table!”

All three of us put her in the table as quickly as possible.

Hack: “Jamel heal the small cuts first, while we x-ray the hole to see if anything got in it.

Jamel: “ok”

Me: “what do I do?”

Hack: “nothing till you get the blood off of you”

I hurry to the bathroom knowing that Jamel can’t heal her completely without my help. I come back all cleaned up and ready to start. Hack said he didn’t find anything so I can help heal her. His hand went completely through so there is going to be a scar but other then that she’s going to be ok. And she’s going to be on bed rest for a couple of days. As I walk back in the room I see her sitting up on the bed looking off into space.

Me: “how you feeling”

Clair: “Alive And well thanks to you guys”

In the silent room out of the blue she said “I want out”. It took me a while to comprehend, but once I realize what she had said I looked at her dumbfounded.

Me: “what”

Clair: “I want out,I almost died hell I’m pretty sure I was dead until you guys brought me back and I don’t want to go through that again”.

I wanted to yell at her and say that she’s being selfish,and stupid,and that people are dying right now but I don’t I can’t bring myself to do it.

I just stare.

But I can tell by the way she’s looking that she’s having doubts about what she just said. I’ll give her some space to figure it out. But in the meantime I need to figure some stuff out myself. I say ok and leave her to her thoughts.

I walk past Jace and he ask me what’s wrong I said nothing and walked right past him to my room. I close and lock the door behind me. And I break down and fall to my knees crying and screaming not caring if anyone can hear me not caring if the world knows I’m just a small girl in a world that’s too big for her to handle on her own. I cry till my eyes are dry and my throat is raw and even then I’m whimpering still trying to feel something other than pain. Right before I close my eyes I think maybe I should give up, but then I realize that I can’t just give up I need to protect my family and friends even if it means giving up my life.

It’s been a couple of days Since that mess and Clair has agreed to stay only because she didn’t want to lose the only family she had. And I can’t say that I blame her either, this is the closest thing to a family that me and Jamel has ever had besides Ella of course. Hack said that once Clair is 100 percent sure she is ready to fight Megdeath again so we can end this once and for all.

She said, “yes of course”.

And know we can end this nightmare.

Hack: “I’ve been tracking Megdeath back to this one location.”

A huge ice mountain in the South Pole. If only we had something that’s faster than that jet.

Me: “do you have anything that’s faster than the jet so we can get to the mountain quickly.”

Hack: “ duh,what do I look like not sending you here without the right equipment to get the job done.

Me: “ ok then let’s go.”

From where we were it took us a couple of days to get there but that was more than enough time to prepare.

Me: “listen when we get to the ice mountain we land about 100 feet away then we walk and climb the rest of the way”.

Jamel: “ then we sneak in and hide, and set up traps.”

Clair: “when he’s trapped we attack.”

Jace: “then I come in to take off his head.”

Me: “if that doesn’t work we spread out and attack together. If you see an opportunity to strike take it.”

All: “let’s end this!”

It took us a few hours to get there and it was really cold but it’s better then the Desert. It was beautiful. I feel bad that it’s all going to be destroyed in the crossfire.But we have to end this now I can’t sit back and watch as the world crumbles and fall to Oblivion. We set traps in every possible corner we could find. Making sure that we had the advantage. It was hard to tell if it was night but we had a watch to check. As soon as it was night we had to hide and wait. It was boring, very, very boring and I was praying for him to come. And I’m glad that my prayers was answered.

He came flying looking around as if he expected is to be there. But then he did one finally swep around the cave and !BAM! Walked right into a trap. Which was metal bars that was blessed by a priest and then dipped in holy water. It stung like hell I know because I touched it. So I know for a fact that it hurt him to. We rushed in attacking making sure to leave enough space between

us to not get hurt. And I could tell that the bars was draining his energy quickly. But unexpectedly he broke free trying to make a run for it, but Jace came in and cut his right leg clean off. Megdeath was screaming in pain and agony, bleeding heavily.

MD: “ you little s*** ,I’ll kill you all you won’t make it out of here alive.”

Me: “no you won’t make it here out alive.”

And with that Clair shot him in the arms, letting them fall limp to the ground with him screaming even more. Jace walked over to swing his sword but then looked at me.

Jace: “ would you like to do the honors leader.”

Me: “ with pleasure.”

And with one finally powerful swing it was over as his head rolled over to a corner, his eyes open with shock and blood oozing everywhere.

It was over at last what a relief.

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planarchaosproject · 8 years

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Planar Chaos: One Shots

Return to Alara

Marthel touched down in the kingdom of Valeron to find it much changed. The once grand cities were scorched and stained with ash. What had happened to Bant, and where were the angels? Marthel ducked behind a wall as a band of brigands raced through the city street. He'd laid the cobblestones for this street when he was a boy.

A roar split the sky. A huge dragon soared overhead, scorching the trees outside the city's walls. A lone angel flew up to face the beast. Marthel held his breath as the dragon let out another roar and snapped its jaws around the angel. Her wings hung out of its mouth on either side and they fell away, plummeting to the earth below. He thought he was going to be sick. The dragon, which shouldn't be here, had just eaten an angel whole. It destroyed something that was sacred. Marthel closed his eyes, but the sight replayed in his mind's eye.

His eyes snapped open and his nostrils flared as a flurry of feathers gently floated down around him. The dragon would die in the most painful way Marthel could imagine. He fixed on it and hurled a spell filled with rage and hatred, suffering the only thing on his mind. The dragon began to falter in the air, tumbling from the sky as its heart exploded in its chest and its skin burst into flame.

A cool touch brought him out of tunnel vision. A soft, white hand rested on his outstretched, shaking arm and brought it back down to his side. A familiar voice whispered in his ear, "Stay your anger, Jace Marthel. The deed is done."

Nadia embraced her chosen hero, stroking his hair as a mother would for a distressed child. "It's been a long time. Many things on Bant have changed."

"But what caused this?" Marthel demanded, breaking away from the angel. "Was is Jhessian pirates? Did the inner kingdoms destroy Valeron? Or is this the work of that fell storm?"

"The storm that you disappeared in swept over Bant, bringing with it creatures from other worlds. Our world expanded, but also shrank. Bant as you knew it is lost forever, Jace Marthel. I have gained and lost many sisters since your sudden departure."

"I should have been here," Marthel said bitterly. "I just didn't know how to come back."

"You have returned now and that is what matters." Nadia looked up to the sky. "Bant will live on in you."

It was then that Marthel had an idea. "Nadia, you could come with me. I could bring you with me to the other worlds I've visited. Then Bant could live on in both of us."

"My place is here with my sisters protecting the mortals from these new threats. Undead monstrosities roam this land. How can I abandon the people to such a fate?"

"We could do so much more together, out in a larger world. Nadia," Marthel brought her face close to his, willing her to see his memories since he'd left Bant, "please come with me. There are worlds out there that need you more than Bant does. Worlds that can be saved."

"I understand." Nadia closed her eyes. She did not see what Marthel meant about worlds needing to be saved, but rather saw that he needed a companion. A constant friend to pull him back to the light when darkness threatened to consume his soul. "Very well. I will accompany you."

"First, though, I want to see what's happened to Bant. I want to see what you meant by it's expanded."

Nadia led him out into the streets of the city, exiting it through the main gate and walking in a vague southeastern direction. "The events that created the storm we saw before your disappearance became known as the Conflux. Five worlds collided in a storm of magic called the Maelstrom. Beings from those five worlds began to intermingle and strange magics flowed between their borders. Bant was overrun. We held out as long as we could, but in the end we failed. All five kingdoms have succumbed to the same fate you see before you."

Marthel bit back tears. "I want to see."

"I can show you."

They kept walking towards the direction from which the storms had come. Few creatures bothered them. On the horizon Marthel saw something that seemed to glow from within. The light wavered as the creature creating it lumbered forward. Marthel stopped and waited for the creature to come to him.

As it drew closer, he could see someone sitting on its back. The person appeared vaguely human and seemed to direct the giant elemental. It had to be at least fifteen feet tall at its shoulder and strode with a low, long, and incredibly smooth gait. Its legs and feet appeared to be living wood wrapped in vines and coming to points where they touched the scorched earth. A molten center gave off the strange, wavering yellow light and now Marthel could see a glowing cloud of blue enveloping the creature's head. It was in this cloud that the person sat. From what Marthel could tell at least one of his arms matched the limbs of his elemental mount.

"You know it's not safe out in the open, right? Something just wrecked a dragon's face after it ate an angel," the person said. Marthel got the distinct feeling that this man's face wasn't quite right. He was also uncertain as to whether the stranger's hair was the same color before Marthel blinked.

"That would have been me," Marthel said darkly.

"Wow." The stranger signaled for the elemental to take a step back and kneel down like a large crab. Marthel watched as he slid down its back and onto the ground, landing with a soft thud. His body seemed to ripple with a shockwave. "Then maybe I should be careful."

"Maybe you should," Marthel said. He then turned his attention to the elemental. "Also, what in the name of the five layers of New Phyrexia is that thing?"

"Oh," the stranger looked up at the elemental. "I call him the Maelstrom Wanderer. I found him during the Conflux. Or I should say he found me. It's kind of neat. I just ride on his back and nobody bothers us."

"Surprising since there are things like that roaming the skies," Marthel looked up to see a large dragon that had been infused with a kind of metal flying lazily overhead.

"Oh yeah. Etherium dragons are a thing now. Personally I think they're neat, nothing spectacular. But then I never was one for artifice in any form. Last time I tried I exploded several square city blocks." Marthel looked back at the stranger to see he had manifested another arm and was using it to scratch his head while his other hands were occupied searching the pockets of his blue and red robes.

"How are you doing that?" Marthel's curiosity got the better of him and he reached out to grab the extra arm only for it to melt away in his hand.

"I was mostly in pieces when I wound up in the Maelstrom. I guess it put me back together with a few improvements. I take it you aren't from around here."

"Formerly of Bant, haven't been back in some time."

"Planeswalker?"

"What?"

"You're a planeswalker. I could tell pretty easily. Not just anyone can take down a fully grown dragon with that kind of power." The stranger found the object he was looking for, a small pendant decorated with a stylized tree in blue and green. Marthel had seen that symbol before during his travels in Ravnica and recognized it as the Simic Guild signet.

"I suppose you're one too?" Marthel readied a defensive spell just in case. He'd met walkers he could do nothing but fight with before. The battles could get incredibly nasty. Sensing his tension, Nadia drew her own weapon. A low rumble from Maelstrom Wanderer caused both of them to take a step back.

"You see, Maelstrom doesn't like fighting much. In fact, he and I would prefer to go on our merry way and just leave you to whatever it was you're doing." The stranger sighed. "And here I thought we could be friends. I haven't met many others like us. One of my friends is a real firecracker. Totally insane. But she's at least always up for a good experiment."

"So... you're asking for introductions after riding in on that?" Marthel laughed. This guy might be fun. "Fine. I'm Marthel, the Maelstrom Mage, and this is Nadia."

"Pleasure," Nadia said, doing little to conceal her distaste for the newcomers.

"Maelstrom Mage, huh?" The stranger raised one eyebrow that had begun to glow slightly. "I've never seen you in my wanderings through it."

"When the Maelstrom began and beings began to emerge from it, I had my first planeswalk."

"So you've never been inside of it?"

"No. I haven't. But I am of the Maelstrom just as it seems your mount is. Just as you are."

"Listen, buddy," the stranger said, "I don't think you can just go around calling yourself the Maelstrom mage if you haven't ever actually been inside the Maelstrom."

"Well what do you call yourself?"

"I'm Odom. Right now I'm thinking of calling myself the duplicant. I'm pretty good with illusions and copies."

"Well then I can call myself the Maelstrom Mage. You don't have a claim on the title."

"See... That's like me saying I'm a member of the Gruul just because I bounce between the Izzet and Simic. I mean... I am a member of the Gruul, but not because I just happen to be a member of two guilds that share colors with them. I've actually been through the initiations and such. Let me tell you getting buried alive is way worse than staring down a ragebeast. Granted I only go there anymore because of the parties."

"You're not making any sense. I am of the Maelstrom. When those other beings awoke, so did my spark. I have a unique nature," Marthel countered.

"Yes. You're different. But that doesn't make you special. We're all different. That's why we're planeswalkers." Odom climbed back up onto Maelstrom Wanderer's back.

"I think you need to shut up before I come over there and slap some sense into you."

Odom looked down and patted Maelstrom Wanderer on the side. "Come on, Maelstromo. We don't need this kind of negativity in our lives."

Marthel watched as the large elemental turned around and lumbered away.

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