#rune caster

[capricorn-constellation-defender]

grand chase characters aesthetic 10 / 21 — mari ming ornette, the last survivor of kounat; don’t repost without credits. ©

[janamensch]

Knight Xantheus!!! Very gold!! His armor is strengthened by magic runes and is therefore more sturdy than it looks.

[thunderberryart]

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[Source]

[crownconstellation]

okay one more azuma post for the day before i go to bed because i have to do work at my job in 7hours:

i think it’s incredibly telling that as soon as hashimoto is not credited on something related to the series we get:

1. more noticeably adult looking designs for the characters as a whole (even if i’m not a huge fan of the 3d models’ art style)

2. actual skin tone variety for a large chunk of the cast that’s not just 98% pale and one to two characters who are possibly some sort of greyish in tone

[feyarchived]

i told myself i wasn’t allowed to start tlo until tomorrow so I would actually go to sleep but now all I want to do is start tlo

[der-schweizer]

There's my portal

As i said on @bet-on-me-13 'Where is my portal' post, here is my short about their idea. please enjoy.

Danny sipped his coffee, slowly shuffling towards his lab. It had been a long time since he had a ‘run on two coffees and some ecto’ weekend but here he was, Monday morning, on his way to work.

He really wanted to be in bed but he had bills to pay.

Quietly he shuffled into his lab, which he found oddly drafty and oddly bright, considering he hadn’t turned on the lights yet. After flicking them on he moved on towards his desk, passing a big gaping hole in the wall and—

Danny paused, shuffled backwards a bit and then looked at the place where his portal used to be. For a long moment he just looked, then did a slow blink and took another sip of coffee.

After making sure that his portal, including parts of the wall, were really gone, he let out a sigh and held his face. “Who the fuck stole my door?”

With a sigh he pushed his bangs out of his face and walked to his PC, to check the security footage of his Cameras. For once it wasn’t Vlad who stole his shit, Vlad at least had the courtesy to leave a note that he ‘borrowed’ something. It was safe to say that he was surprised to find the footage gone. There weren't many people that could hack through Tucker's programing.

Danny sat there, looking at the black screen of his PC for a long moment before thinking aloud. “Okay, we have one or more people who can; One, break through Tuckers firewalls. Two, physically move a portal weighing around ten tons and, Three, knows their way around Arcane Runes so as to not cause a mass ghost invasion.”

He thought about it for a minute before throwing his hands up. “Fuck this, I’m just going to use the other side to find it.” He got out of his chair before transforming. 

Danny focused his power into one of his fingers before poking the air in front of him, the tip of it pierced the fabric of space which he then used to rip it open. He quickly flew through the tear before it sealed again. Despite Wulf teaching him how to do it he still sucked at it, which was the main reason he built his portal.

Once in the Zone he looked around for it. He found it after over two hours of searching, which only served to piss him off to the point where he began muttering curses under his breath.

Standing in front of it, he gave it a quick inspection. After inspecting the Runes, Danny had to admit that, whoever had stolen it, knew his way around them. They pretty much locked out anyone not authorized and or approved by the Caster. Too bad for them, Danny had the ‘Masterkey’ and went through anyway.

John Constantine was holding his face, quietly counting to ten. Neither smoking nor drinking would help in this situation. After reaching fifty he ran his hands over his head, looking at the assembled brigade of idiots in front of him.

“Okay, let me get this straight.” He started, “You,” he pointed at Batman, “found an ‘unknown energy signature’ and went to investigate. Then you found a high security lab with had an active portal to ‘who knows where’ and your first decision was to fucking steal it?!?!”

Superman moved forward, opening his mouth to counter but Constantine didn't let him. “AND you moron helped him steal it, not to mention you!” he pointed at flash, “Help install it here, in the watchtower, without telling anyone from JLD about it?”

Flash looked a bit sheepish at him. “Well, in my defense I didn’t know it was stolen.”

Constantine wanted to bash his head against the next closest bulkhead, maybe that would help.

“Okay, okay.” Constantine facepalmed, trying to stop the aneurysm from building up more.

A deep chill suddenly filled the air and sent goosebumps all over his back, “Oh this is just getting better and better.” Constantine reached into his pocket for a warding charm, before turning around and swearing. He stopped swearing when he saw who had come through. “Oh, hey Phantom.”

“Constantine, why the fuck did you steal my portal?” Danny wasn’t even pissed anymore. He knew the English drunktard too well to blame him. Granted he was obnoxious, didn’t pay back his debt and came whenever it suited him, but Danny liked the man. He didn’t exasperate problems and always did what was necessary.

“Look, I didn’t.” He then threw a thumb over his shoulder, “Those morons did.”

“Constantine, do you know this entity?” Batman already looked on high alert.

“Excuse you! I have a name. And that is my Portal. Explain why it isn't where it is supposed to be.”

“The sensors of the Watchtower found an unknown energy signature, upon investigation we found an unsecured pathway to a different dimension, so we secured it.”

Danny stared at Batman for a solid minute, then simply said, “Oh I'm going to sue your ass so hard your grandkids will feel it.”

[orakia]

But what if I want to be Medea's personalized Garage Kit Master? She'd probably want to show the work off out of pride, but is that so bad?

I’m gonna come out and say it: for all the dickwizard jokes the Fate fandom makes about Merlin, were he real I think he’s probably be one of the like… three casters I’d actually trust to do magic bottom surgery without being maliciously weird about it.

Probably yeah. He'd be weird about it, but in the way that like your weed smoking friend would be to rib you before being forever chill about it.

[meet-again]

OH SO THIS WAS THE PLAN???

I thought the train went rogue but no this was the fucking plan

[forcefemdemonprincess]

I finished a little fantasy themed short story I've been cooking up for the last few days, with lots of corruption and forcefem kinks, if anyone wants to give it a read!

One ordinary day, I sense something reaching out to me, from the faraway depths of the material plane; the feeble presence of a summoning spell, beckoning me towards it's caster. It would be simple to ignore the call, yet as my curiosity gets the best of me, I deign to answer, following the thread of conjuration magic to it's source.

My senses take in the sight of a stone tower, a summoning circle scribed upon the very center of the floor, the candles surrounding it flickering with a faint orange flame. Beyond it there is a wooden work desk and chair, a simple bed, and walls covered in bookshelves, all with disorganized tomes and scrolls strewn about; and a large window on either side through which the starlight shines in a moonless night, curtains billowing in the breeze.

Standing before the circle stands a half-elven wizard, seeming to be in his twenties in human years - though elven blood makes it difficult to ascertain, he could be anywhere from two decades to a couple centuries old - with short brown hair and the lithe, frail frame of a scholar and a smooth face with rather comely features. He chants the summoning spell, his voice filled with uncertainty as he slowly sounds out the incantation as if the words were alien to his lips.

And they likely are. Far from an archmage of yore, the young man seems to have little more skill than a mediocre apprentice. The binding runes around the summoning circle, meant to keep the caster safe and the fiend contained, are all written incorrectly, not that it would have worked with a demon of my caliber to begin with. Even the spellbook he holds is old, certainly passed down to his hands by another, perhaps a mentor or loving relative.

The candles flicker, then go out entirely. The wizard stops his chanting and takes a step back startled, and slowly I rise from the summoning circle. I choose a relatively nonthreatening form, a scantily clad, mostly human-looking woman, save for the pink skin, curved horns, and a thin tail which ends in a heart shape. The candles light up again, their flames painting the room a bright, pink hue.

He immediately looks surprised, as if he'd never expected his spell to work to begin with, but once the shock has passed, he speaks in a shaky voice:

"I-I am the mage Theodoros! I bind you to my service, o' fiend!"

It takes great effort to stifle the urge to laugh. Not only did the fool forget to put up wards or use any binding spells to speak of - not that it would have mattered - he made the oldest beginner's mistake in the book and told a demon his name, not to mention his utter lack of confidence and authority, the wizard paints a laughable picture.

Yet, it's been so long since I've had a mortal plaything to toy with... And this one is so cute and pathetic I simply must have him. And thus, I decide to play along:

"Of course... Master," I smirk deviously. His ecstatic grin makes it clear the half-elf holds no suspiscion of my subterfuge whatsoever. His naivete is baffling, truly. "What is it you desire? Power? Knowledge of dark, forbidden spells? Or are you simply looking to fulfill your wordly lusts?"

The adorable blush of embarrassment that quickly takes over his pale cheeks at the mere suggestion of sex is almost enough to make this worth it already. Virgins are especially fun to break.

"Uh, the spells and power, yes." He calms himself with deep breaths. "I want to become a powerful archmage."

"And you decided to take a shortcut, did you? Very intelligent. Why slave away over dusty old tomes if you can drink directly from the fountain."

He smiles wide at but a few honeyed words. "Exactly! You get it. Well then... Go ahead and uhm, make me stronger. With your demon magic and all."

"Gladly. Could you give me your hand, for but a moment?"

"What? Hells no, I'm not letting a demon touch me, that sounds far too dangerous!" Oh, now he's thinking about risks and consequences. I almost roll my eyes.

I pout. "Come now, it's only through contact that I could lend you my power. Besides! I'm bound to your service, remember? I couldn't harm you if I wanted to."

"Oh... That's true. Alright, do it." He extends his hand, as if for a handshake. I grasp it tightly, and pull him closer into the summoning circle, nearly making him trip, and bring his hand to my lips. They sear with infernal flames, branding a lipstick mark into the flesh of the back of his hand despite how he whimpers and uselessly tries to pull it away.

Before he can issue any further complaint, the blissful heat and raw strength of my demonic mana flows into his being, making him gasp, his eyes momentarily flashing a bright pink hue and his dick becoming painfully hard, his size... Unremarkable. Slightly below average, perhaps.

"I... I thought you said you couldn't harm me." Theodoros says, out of breath.

"Oh, don't be such a baby... A little bit of pain is no harm at all. Quite the opposite, in fact! Don't you feel it?"

"I feel... Hot?" He raises his hands, the tip of his fingers shimmering, brimming with arcane might.

"Go on, try it out!" I grin.

He walks over to a large window that leads to a balcony, trembling with anticipation. He extends his hands, and an unending torrent of fuchsia colored hellfire, hot enough to melt steel, erupts up into the air. He laughs maniacally, drunk with the power and the demonic magic seeping into his body and mind from the infernal brand on his hand. The lustful magic overtakes him, and his concentration in the spell is broken as he orgasms on the spot.

"Hah... I only ever managed to make sparks and light candles before. This is incredible!" He says, with a giddy smile and an unfocused gaze.

"And it's only the beginning," I reply with a smirk as he walks back to me.

"What more can you teach me?" He asks excitedly.

"Oh, plenty. You can manipulate hellfire, bend minds, change into whatever shape you like... And that's not even mentioning the libraries worth of knowledge I've accrued over the years."

"That's... Fucking hells, that's everything I wanted and more." His chest heaves up and down, the adrenaline not going down in the slightest... Nor does his raging arousal. "Can you... Do something about this?" He asks, pointing to the tent in his robes, which refuses to go down despite him already having finished once.

"Oh, plenty! Why don't you come over here and let me show you?"

"I meant more... Just make it stop? With magic or something? It's driving me mad!"

"It's a side effect of demonic magic. I can't make it go away... But I can help relieve you of it in a more direct, and much more pleasurable manner." I say, sliding aside the strap that holds my upper garments to my shoulder, revealing one of my beautifully shaped breasts, while pumping more arousal through his brand. "Just let me out of this summoming circle and I'll show you," I say, dropping the other strap to let my chest bare in it's entorety for his viewing pleasure. I could step out of the circle any time I wanted, but it's far more delicious to make him submit willingly to my whims.

"Hhrn... Alright, fine!" He walks over and rubs his sole on the chalk circle, opening a passage. I step through and put my hand on his chest, giving him a slight push against the wall before pressing my lips to his, forcing a delicious throaty moan out of him as I press my body into him.

My longue, forked tongues explores his mouth, swirling around his in a long, sloppy kiss, grabbing onto his ass roughly enough go make him squeal again. He eventually pushes me off to gasp for air, a strand of saliva lewdly connecting our mouths.

"Mo... More..." He pleads in a breathy voice. "I want to fuck you." He nearly growls, consumed with lust.

"As you wish," I say with a grin, and touch his forehead. With a flash of light the mage is teleported onto the bed, his clothes dropping onto the floor where he stood.

I slowly walks towards the bed, taking off the rest of my garments, making him writhe with anticipation as my curvy, hourglass shaped frame comes into view. I run my hand along my smooth pink skin as I get on the bed, getting between his legs.

He bites his thick, luscious lips as I lick his length from shaft to tip, nearly shooting his load then and there, before I hold it down with a bit of magic. Not yet.

I take his tip in my mouth, wrapping my lips tightly around it and swirling my tongue, feeling the cutie wizard get all wet for me with his pre. I suck aggressively hard, making him moan and twitch and give pathetic little bucks of his hips into my mouth as it envelops his unimpressive member completely.

I make him ride on that very edge of release for countless minutes each stretching on to feel like hour, watching him melt and turn into a writhing, mewling mess, trying everything, from thrusting his hips, to grabbing my horns to try and push me away, all to no avail, until he's barely forming coherent sentences, begging and pleading with tears in his eyes.

When I suddenly pull it out of my lips and release the spell, letting him drench himself in his seed in a mind-numbing orgasm that goes on and on endlessly, the wizard's wjole body shaking and spasming, howling moans escaping his throat.

Each spurt of his seed, that becomes increasingly thin and watery the longer his peak goes on, drains his already somewhat petite member slowly of it's size. When it subdues at last, he's lost about half of it, and with it, you can clearly see how his body and face have gotten softer, his hips wider, waist slimmer, and nipples puffier as his chest begins to form into breasts. His irises begin to glow with that unnatural pink glow from before, and two small pointy protrusions begin to subtly grow along the sides of his head.

Theodoros is, however, too much of a giggly, horny mess at this point to notice, let alone care. "His" eyes half-lidded and a giddy, drooling grin rests on the "man's" lips, nary a coherent thought in the mage's mind... Yet that diminutive dick remains hard, hips bucking needily. Theo's eyes find mine with a pleading look, and the slut manages to speak, in a moany voice:

"Ple... Please..."

I smirk wide, straddling the weak-willed wizard, and letting their now diminutive dick enter me. The pleasure of having it in me as I start riding it is negligible, but the delight and satisfaction of watching this pretty little thing unravel under my will more than makes up for it.

I bounce on it, roughly, wrapping my hand around the wizard's throat as they look into my eyes, pinned under my body as I fuck their brains out, riding their cock until they're chaining one orgasm right into another without stop.

This time, there's no spell to make their dicklet hold back. They cum over and over and over again, shallow spurts of weak, watery seed shooting again and again inside me as I quickly drain away their virility and the rest of their size until there's nearly nothing left anymore of the wizard's dick.

Their last spurt comes with great difficulty, painfully making them writhe and yielp until they shoot out a tiny, pretty little gemstone, brimming with life. Theodoros cums her soul out, and with it goes the rest of her masculinity and self, sealing her transformation into a lesser demon, with a cute, lithe frame, a pair of small horns on her head, a tail, with a heart shaped tip, and pink eyes with slitted pupils.

In a moment, a large demonic cock forms onto my crotch, and Theo instinctively spreads her legs, presenting a smooth, bare crotch. I press my tip between her legs and push, her body yielding to my will and my cock, shapeshifting her pussy and womb into existence to better serve my needs.

"Good girl. You'vrle yielded your soul to me, and now... You're bound into my service, eternally. From now on, I rename you... Theodora. And you may adress me as mistress, Thea."

"Yes... Mistress." Her mind seems to object momentarily to the idea, but the thought is quickly discarded. Whilst holding her soul, Thea's mind is as malleable as her body. The fledgling demoness can't even will herself to want to resist. The very thought brings her pain... And obedience brings bliss.

"That's my good girl... You and I are going to have a lot of fun."

[hellllooooobeeeeeees]

cr4 predictions and desires because i feel it in the air

• laura bailey - NEEDS TO PLAY A PALADIN. she loves huge damage output, and she’ll get a mix of healer, buffs, and tank

• liam obrien - i need him to play a cleric so bad. i miss it when he was a full caster. maybe something like tempest or peace

• ashley johnson - she should play a full rogue, maybe sci blade or arcane trickster. theres not too much to keep track of, and she get up some devious nonsense with that expertise

• taliesan jaffe - some evil fucked up sorcerer multiclass. he has the range

• marisha ray - ranger. she loves having one million different abilities and that is the class of one million different abilities

• sam riegal - some fighter, like echo knight or rune. i think rune is really cool and i want someone to do it. he could do the tragedy of a fighter soooooo well

•travis willingham - wizard. wizard every day. he’s gotten so damn smart at this game, and i want to see the shenanigans that he can get up to as a full arcane caster. i need it so bad.

god i need these so bad. i miss wizards, and they need to have a paladin for my soul. they are sorely lacking

[whumpsday]

Ancient Evils

Whump Oneshot - Writing masterlist

find my G/t blog here: @smallsday

content: g/t whump, giant whumpee, demon whumpee, magical whump, isolation, claustrophobia, burns, forced to obey, rescue, hurt/comfort, caretaking

Whumpmas in July Day 21: Abandoned GT July Day 21: Coveted Hug a Giant Day

dammit i did that thing again where i write a oneshot and it turns into the setup for a miniseries. will write a followup to this eventually lol but it also works as a standalone <3 (edit: might just leave this as a standalone, who knows)

-

The tomb was covered in glowing runes Berian knew from his studies, but had never encountered in use until today. Symbols carved painstakingly into stone by ancients, covering every inch of the thirteen-foot stone box, all screaming a single purpose: keep whatever lies inside sealed within.

The magic used to activate them was powerful, powerful enough to seal the tomb for two thousand years, powerful enough that the caster had surely died, given what they had to work with back then. It was likely all they could think to do in their desperation, back then. Berian uttered a quick prayer for the caster who came before him, who had sacrificed themself to save countless: long-dead, but not forgotten.

At least he wouldn’t have to follow in their footsteps. Two thousand years was, thankfully, enough time to develop a better solution. A way of utilizing the demon’s own magic against itself.

Though it was always in the back of his mind as a backup, in case something went wrong. Hopefully, the knot of anxiety in his stomach would dissipate after it was done.

Berian looked to his watches, lined up one after the other on his wrist, all still in sync, and waited.

As soon as it hit twenty seconds until release, he began chanting as practiced, his staff pointed directly at the tomb. He had to time it just right, or his colleagues out at the entrance probably wouldn’t even be able to come retrieve his corpse.

“Finis.”

Precisely at the same moment Berian bound the spell, the runes ceased to glow, a forceful BANG sounding from within the tomb.

He exhaled slow. The lid stayed shut. After only a few seconds, the runes resumed glowing once more. He’d done it.

The entity inside screamed.

Berian jumped back. The screaming did not stop, a wail of agony and despair. Barely audible under it all, his phone beeped, the least of his worries.

“Hello?” he called out, hesitant.

A voice roared from inside. “LET ME OUT.”

In all his wildest imaginings, Berian had never imagined the demon would speak to him.

He could, he realized. The spell had bound the demon to his will: it would have to obey him even outside the tomb.

And it was the only chance he would ever get. And they had backup plan after backup plan in place in case things went horribly wrong.

“...Okay. Don’t move.”  This would at least be a good test of whether the spell would hold, he told himself. It was safer this way, really.

Berian tried to lift the lid, but it was simply too heavy, a gigantic slab of solid stone. He pointed his staff to it, muttering just the right words to let it slide off to the side.

The demon looked like a man. He hadn’t expected that. He was as tall as the tomb was long, easily more than twice Berian’s height, with large, curled horns protruding from his head, but other than that, he looked human.

True to Berian’s order, he did not move a single muscle. His body lay stock-still within, his arms raised and palms up–he’d been attempting to push the lid off himself. Overlapping scars streaked down his skin wherever it touched the stone in the pattern of the runes, burned in as though with a branding iron. Massive shackles cinched tight around his wrists, ankles, and neck, chains binding him to the inside of the tomb.

The demon did not speak again, his eyes wide with overwhelming alarm.

It was only after a moment of taking him all in with awe that Berian realized it was him preventing the demon from doing so.

“You can move,” he amended. In addition to forcing the demon to use his own magic to re-activate the runes, the initial spell had contained a command preventing him from leaving the tomb. This would just be going overkill.

The demon gasped, his chest rising and falling rapidly. “OUT. OUT. YOU WILL RELEASE ME.”

Berian winced. “I can’t do that. You’ll hurt people, like last time, right?”

To Berian’s continued amazement, the demon began to cry.

“ONLY YOUR ENEMIES. OR NO ONE AT ALL. WHATEVER ARE THE TERMS. WHAT MUST I DO TO BE RELEASED?”

Berian could have sworn he heard that powerful voice break, just a little.

“NAME YOUR TERMS,” the demon insisted. Berian was sure now, the desperation palpable.

The demon shifted slightly, and everywhere the stone touched new skin, it burned.

“You–you will harm no one,” Berian started, before he’d even thought how this was going to work. “You will stay in this section of the cave. You will not touch my staff or any other conduit of magic. You may exit the tomb.”

Berian had never seen something so huge move so quick. The demon burst from the stone box like a firework, chains snapping like rubber bands under his freed might, the ends hanging limply from his shackles. The cave ceiling was not tall enough for him to stand and he did not try, scrambling as far away as he could get and huddling against the wall there.

His phone beeped again.

The demon glared at him, his chin tucked into the metal wrapped around his neck, breathing heavily.

This wasn’t right. This was a demon that had wrought terror across lands, responsible for thousands of deaths, a giant among men. He wasn’t supposed to be… pitiful.

“Hey–”

“I WILL NOT GO BACK IN.” Now that he was out of the tomb, Berian could see the true extent of the damage, the burns even more intense on skin that had been pressed against the bottom. As huge as the box was, it had been built scarcely larger than the man before him, big enough to fit him and no more. Skin that had been pressed against the bottom was particularly scarred, so much so that it was essentially a giant burn, the symbols impossible to make out.

“I’m not going to make you go back in there,” Berian promised. Maybe a stupid promise. What the fuck was he going to do? “So just… it’s okay. You’re going to be okay.”

He certainly wasn’t expecting that. The demon’s glare gave way to surprise. “GOOD.”

Berian took an experimental step forward, like he was coaxing out a feral cat. “Do you have a name? Mine’s Berian. I’m–” Don’t say caster. “...A researcher.” It wasn’t a lie, after all.

The demon picked his head up. “THEY CALLED ME ALARIC. ALL-POWERFUL.” The words rang bitter.

“Were you… awake in there, all this time?” Berian asked, dreading the answer.

The glare returned. “I DO NOT SLEEP.”

“We didn’t know you were awake. You weren’t supposed to be awake.” Berian took a couple more steps forward.

Alaric put his hand up, huge, sharp claws protruding from every finger. Berian flinched, squeezing his eyes shut with a small yelp, but there was no attack: his commands prevented it. When he opened his eyes, he found Alaric merely motioning for him to stop.

“DO NOT BRING THAT NEAR ME.” He pointed to Berian’s staff.

“Okay! Okay.” He set the staff down on the ground, bringing his hands up in a placating motion. “See? You follow my commands, I follow yours, it goes both ways. I don’t have it.”

Alaric lowered his hand. “YOU MAY PROCEED, MAGE.”

Heart fluttering and permission granted, Berian did. He walked right up to him: even huddled on the floor, Alaric was taller than Berian was standing.

“STATE YOUR PURPOSE HERE.”

“Right! I, ah, I was sent to… re-seal you. But I won’t!” Berian clarified hurriedly. “Really, I was just sent to make sure nobody gets hurt. Like–like the last time you were out. That’s fine, right?”

Alaric narrowed his eyes. “IT IS DONE.”

“Good! Good.” Berian hovered a hand inches from his skin. “You’re hurt.”

“YES. THAT.” Alaric nodded toward the tomb and shuddered.

In order to create something that could contain a demon, they’d had to make something so totally opposed that it had harmed him. Berian didn’t blame the ancients: they had to stop the massacres one way or another, and they worked with what they had. They were desperate.

But there was no massacre now.

Without his staff, the kinds of spells he could perform were limited, but not nothing. While he couldn’t cast outright healing spells–would they even work on a demon?--he could at least cast something soothing. “I could… help. If you want.”

Alaric eyed him silently for a few moments before responding. “DO AS YOU WISH.”

“I can touch you?” Berian asked.

The demon nodded. Berian laid his hand lightly against Alaric’s back, red with harsh welts. He could feel Alaric’s muscle underneath, tensed, twitching slightly at his touch.

His whispered incantation didn’t do much. It was the magical equivalent of putting aloe on third-degree burns. But it was something, and Berian felt Alaric relax just slightly under his hand.

Berian performed the spell again and again, touching wherever it looked the worst. Between this and the earlier binding, he quickly exhausted himself, but that was fine.

“Better?” he asked.

“...YES.” Alaric looked down at him with a little less apprehension now. “YOU WILL BE SPARED, MAGE.”

“Haha, great!” Berian squeaked. “Just–just like everyone, right?”

“THOSE WERE THE TERMS,” Alaric agreed.

Berian wanted to get those shackles off. He wanted to take Alaric out of here, bring him to the lab. No, the lab wouldn’t be big enough to house him comfortably. Nowhere would. They’d have to build a custom facility, and there was no way he’d get permission for that, much less the funding. He couldn’t so much as let anyone know the state in which he’d left Alaric, or they’d find another caster and find a way to finish the job.

His phone beeped twice.

“I have to go, okay? You just… stay down here for now. I’ll be back soon,” he promised. “I’ll bring you things.”

“BRING ME A SHEEP,” Alaric demanded.

“I’ll bring you a sheep! Sure! And–I’m sorry about this, but if someone finds you, it’s going to be really bad, especially for you. So… be quiet,” Berian ordered.

Alaric did not respond. He couldn’t. His features set back into a glare, but he nodded: he was the one who stood to lose, after all. At least he understood.

Before Berian could think better of it, he leaned in and wrapped his arms around the demon as much as he could manage to. Alaric did not push him away, even though he could have. If anything. Alaric leaned into it slightly.

He stayed like that for a good minute before stepping away. “I’ll protect you. That’s my job.”

Berian raced out toward the entrance, already planning his next visit.

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[ink-flavored]

Urban Fantasy Gender Transition

I've got lots of trans characters in both my anthologies, so naturally I've been thinking about how they go about transitioning in a society with magic AND scientific advancements. These are a few of the details I've thought of so far! You can find this and more world-building details on my Neocities site! Tales from Athendrolyn Taglist: @foxys-fantasy-tales @auroblaze @thelaughingstag @auntdarth @damageinkorporated Athendrolyn After Dark Taglist: @foxys-fantasy-tales @auroblaze @noblebs @thelaughingstag @auntdarth @srjacksin (Check out my Google Form to get added to either taglist!)

Mundane Transition

Mundane options (for HRT, surgeries, binding, breast forms, packing, tucking, hair removal, etc. etc. there are so many things) are still available for those who don’t want to use magic, or can’t use magic (at all or effectively). In general, mundane options offer more reliable and predictable changes than comparable magical options, especially in medicine, so if you’re intimidated by the breadth and variety of what magic transition entails, there’s always a simpler option. It’s also common to switch from magic to mundane transition options over time, from mundane to magic as a slow ramp-up, or to mix and match mundane and magic options as you see fit.

Magical Hormone Therapy

HRT ritual spell: While there is, technically, a way you can cast a transition spell instantly, it would be ridiculously complex and require far more magical capacity than any known wizard that has ever existed. A ritual spell, cast once a week/every two weeks depending on the user’s magical capacity, that goes through all the changes gradually and uses magic from the world in addition to the caster, is much more sustainable. It can also change things that mundane HRT can’t.

A doctor can prescribe a specific combination of runes to help guide their patient’s transition most effectively. However, it can take a while to see dramatic results, because even precisely tailored magic can fuck up a lot of stuff in the body—use of healing magic, even used in hospitals by trained professionals, has to be carefully monitored to make sure it doesn’t “over-heal” the patient and make everything worse.

HRT potions and salves: Much less customizable than a ritual spell, but an easier option for those who don’t want to go through the hassle of casting. One dose of a bulk-ordered potion a week, with potency gradually increasing over time, is a very simple way to transition. Magical salves don't increase in potency, but the doses are easier to measure, and are easier for those who have trouble swallowing or dislike the flavor of potions. Both have faster results and the ability to change things mundane HRT can’t.

They can be picked up from a pharmacy or made at home, but brewing at home isn't recommended because of how difficult it can be to source ingredients—fresh ingredients, at that. The ingredients list can be adjusted for the individual, but it all depends on what's available.

More under the cut!

Magical Gender Affirming Wearables

Magic binding: Most magical binders look like the mundane ones at first glance—either a full or half-shirt that flattens the chest. The trick is in how they work. Instead of compressing the breast tissue, the inside of the magical binders has two ritual circles woven into the fabric that act as transportation circles that contain the breast tissue in a separate plane of existence.

Where, exactly? Nobody’s sure, which may put off some potential wearers. For some, the promised flexibility in no time limit on wearing it and being able to exercise without risk is convincing enough.

Swimming, however, is still not recommended, because of the risk that water could flow endlessly into the binder and dry up the entire water source. It’s also required to be hand-washed or dry cleaned, and you have to take precautions not to stick your hand in the active transportation circles.

Magic breast forms: Enchanted breast forms—whether they were enchanted from the start or mundane-turned-magical—are common. The most popular use of enchantments is making them more realistic to the touch, and some enchantments allow for minimal sensation. Enchantments that makes them more realistic compared to the rest of the body are frequent, but so are enchantments that intentionally make them intentionally unrealistic. Some creatures naturally without breasts (like nagas, dragonfolk, and some merfolk) enjoy simulating what it feels like to be a mammal with enchanted breast forms.

Magic packers: Mundane packers can easily be enchanted and packers that are enchanted from the start are also common. Enchantments include STP, ability to feel minimal sensation during play, and even independent movement. The enchantments require “calibration” to the body before they work properly, and it can take some getting used to, especially learning to switch between enchantments (don’t turn on the erection runes while you’re trying to use the STP runes).

Magic tucking: Magical tucking gaffs look like standard gaffs or underwear. However, similar to magical binders, the inside of the gaffs have a ritual circle woven into the fabric that acts as a transportation circle that send your junk to a separate plane of existence. Nobody knows where!

The risk of such a sensitive area being a mysterious “somewhere else” may put off some potential wearers. Others are willing to take the risk for the smooth appearance and relative comfort. Frequent wearers report the other dimension is a bit chilly.

Again like magical binders, swimming is not recommended, because of the risk that water could flow endlessly into your gaff and dry up the entire water source. They also have to be hand-washed or dry cleaned, and you have to take precautions not to stick your hand in the active transportation circle.

Magic Gender Affirming Surgeries

“Magic” surgeries, of all types not just the gender-affirming kind, are used in tandem with mundane practices. Mundane medicine acts as a failsafe, a buffer, and an essential tool of operation, because there are some things even magic isn’t ideal for. All doctors with the ability to use magic are trained in the mundane ways to do the same thing, and doctors without magical ability are trained alongside their wizard peers to make sure they’re all on the same page about what’s possible and what isn’t. All this to say—magical gender affirming surgeries are as complicated as the mundane kinds.

Magic facial reconstruction: Incorporating magic into facial reconstruction surgery can be dramatically helpful for aesthetics. If the patient has some particular look in mind, it can be recreated to extremely subtle detail, as magic can be used to warp bone, reroute muscle, and more easily reconnect blood vessels.

Magic top surgery: All the regular mundane methods are able to be used in tandem with magic to make the process smoother, and can enhance certain outcomes. For example, retaining nipple sensation is much more likely with magic, or allow for intentionally odd-shaped scars. Magic healing can also help the healing process, and there are plenty of magical methods to make surgery scars fade faster.

Magic metoidioplasty: Simple release often doesn’t require much magic to be used in anything other than the healing process, but it can be used to make the surgery area more aesthetically pleasing if the patient has any particular requests. A full metoidioplasty (with UL, vaginectomy, potentially scrotoplasty, etc.) does involve more magic, both for aesthetic and structural purposes. Magic can lower the risk of some common complications, with the ability to be more precise with the delicate processes, like reattachments of skin, nerves, and blood vessels.

Magic phalloplasty: Depending on the size, requested appearance, any other specific requests, and if the patient is receiving a scrotoplasty as well, magical implementation can vary. Regardless of where the donor area is taken for the phalloplasty, magic makes it much easier to attach the nerve and blood vessel. Aesthetic requests are easier to implement with magic, both for the phalloplasty and the scrotoplasty, and the neophallus can even be enchanted to become erect on its own instead of receiving an implant or pump, and even ejaculate (though it isn't viable sperm).

Magic vaginoplasty: Depending on whether the patient is receiving full-depth or no-depth, the requested appearance, and any other specific requests, magical implementation can vary. For a no-depth vaginoplasty, the main use of magic is to create an aesthetically pleasing end-result, while the mundane surgeons take most of the wheel. For a full-depth vaginoplasty, precise reattachments of skin, nerves, and blood vessels are where magic shines. Retention of sensation is much higher with use of magic, and complications are lower risk. The neovagina can also be enchanted to self-lubricate, if requested, and even ejaculate (i.e. squirting. You can get a squirting enchantment).

Altersex surgeries: Magic makes any sort of alternate surgical request much easier to implement. A penile-preserving vaginoplasty, a vaginal-preserving phalloplasty, an unburied meta with a phalloplasty on top, genital nullification—you name it, magic makes it easier to retain sensation, lowers the risk of complications, and can help create the genitals (or lack thereof) of the patient’s wildest dreams.

Other Magical Body-Mods

Magic hair growth and removal: Magical hair growth can be factored into an HRT potion, salve, or ritual spell, and regrowth spells/potions/salves are common without a prescription. Magical hair removal is much easier, less painful, and more popular than laser hair removal—it can be done at home with a potion or salve, or at a clinic with a spell. A lot of hair removal salves are used in medical settings to shave an area before surgery, and can be (infrequently) used for personal shaving. Overuse increases the risk that all your hair falls out, an uncontrollable level of hair growth, and skin irritation, so it's important to dose properly.

[thunderberryart]

So the last couple of days have seen some pretty exciting updates for Silent Hope. An interview with producer Makoto Shioda and scenario writer Honoka Moriwaki from Gamescom 2023 was published a few days ago, and today we got a new English gameplay trailer as well as a major update to the official English website, which not only provides insight into the gameplay, but also a bunch of tasty info about the lore of the game and the profiles of the protagonists, including their backstories. I've done my best to compile most of the important story and gameplay info here in as concise a manner as possible, but there is still a LOT to go over. Buckle up, because this is going to get long!

Story and Lore

Silent Hope's story exists as an old fable within the world of Rune Factory, and presumably takes place in the distant past.

In regards to the appearance of the Story of Seasons cows and chickens: Honoka Moriwaki explains they were considering unique creature designs, but because Rune Factory originated as a spin-off of Story of Seasons, they decided it only made sense to reuse the iconic bubble cow designs. (I'm still suffering whiplash knowing buffamoos and bubble cows now exist within the same canon.)

We already know that the King stole away the world's words following a period of civil unrest in his kingdom; when he did this, he not only took away his subjects' ability to speak, but also their ability to write. In other words, very concept of language itself no longer exists. The individual sufferings of the protagonists are caused because of their inability to adequately communicate important ideas or their feelings.

With no way to communicate through speech or writing, communication has been reduced to facial expressions, gestures, and noises such as cries or laughter. (Even though the people can't talk, they still have their vocal chords!)

The Princess, the only person in the kingdom still capable of speech (albeit through telepathy), serves as the narrator and recounts the history of the nation as the protagonists progress through abyss. Additionally, the protagonists will discover stone steles in the Abyss that tell the story from the King's perspective.

Everyone in the world has their own power, with the effects varying between individuals. The Princess and the King have the strongest abilities, and it is the Princess's blessings that protect the heroes as they journey through the Abyss. (Ex: Rather than dying when defeated by a monster, the heroes are instead teleported back to the safety of Base Camp.)

Princess accidentally reveals a spoiler on the site in that the Abyss apparently wasn't there when she was young. It did, however, already exist when the king sealed away the world's words. It has undergone many strange changes since then and is incredibly dangerous.

Gameplay

Unlike its parent series, Silent Hope lacks town-building elements and the facilities remain the same throughout the game. Each one has a different purpose: Rogue's Workshop and Caster's Atelier produce wood and material stone respectively, Warrior's Forge is used to enhance equipment and weapons, and Archer's Fields and Farmer's…Farm produce ingredients that Fighter can utilize in the Kitchen to cook dishes.

Although the facilities don't change, they do gain levels, which improve the production and efficiency over time.

It's been mentioned elsewhere, but Wanderer has no specific facility tied to him; instead, he will fill in at any facility should the character running it be used by the player in the Abyss. (Ex: If you decide to do a run in Abyss as the Warrior, Wanderer will take over the forge.)

Before entering Abyss, you can ask the characters in charge of the various facilities to produce items, which will be available upon returning. (For instance, if you desire turnips, ask the Farmer to grow them.)

While you don't need to play as every single hero, you do get special buffs if you swap between heroes using the crystals found in Abyss. Honoka Moriwaki recommends a strategy revolving around 2 or 3 characters when you go into the Abyss.

Characters

General

Each of the seven protagonists hails from a different country; growing up in a world with no language, none of them have names and are instead referred to by their occupations.

According to Princess, Base Camp was built from scratch through the teamwork of the seven heroes. In terms of where everyone sleeps, she explains that everyone has their favorite resting spot, although with how she describes it, Moriwaki likens the situation to a cuddle pile. (Aww...)

Note: The following character profiles were all directly taken from the Official World Guide section of the English site.

Wanderer

After turning 17, life began to feel a bit empty. He realized that he had no real dreams of his own to chase. Everyone seemed to have a calling. Except for him.

Even as a kid, he didn't stand out. However, he always learned fast, watching and imitating the experts as they worked. While he was decent at any trade he tried, he was never exceptional—a frustrating reality, for he wanted to find something he could devote himself to heart and soul.

Finally, he decided to embark on a journey around the world to find his own path. The more he met people during his travels, the more he wanted to talk to them. "If only I could ask how they chose their jobs!" he thought. But in a world without words, all he could do was wonder. Still, he needed to know…

Wanderer's birthday is October 22nd. In her comment, Princess describes him as "friendly and considerate," and he's still struggling to determine his future. His favorite food is omelet rice, he dislikes tomato juice, and excels at replicating the skills of others. Growing up, he lived with his father, mother, older brother, and older sister.

Wanderer's advanced classes are the Adventurer and the Drifter.

Warrior

As a child, she admired anything that could be described as awesome or impressive, however impractical—a love she inherited from her three older brothers.

And nothing made her eyes sparkle more than the huge swords hanging in her family's weapon shop. She dreamed of forging the coolest sword in the world for herself one day.

She took her first step toward becoming a blacksmith by apprenticing at the village forge. Unfortunately, the owner refused to train her, filling her days with chores instead. Years went by, and he still wouldn't teach her anything. "He probably thinks a woman couldn't handle it. I'll show him. I can do anything a man can do!" But in a world without words, she could never truly stand up for herself. Before long, she grew tired of waiting and set off on her own journey.

Warrior's birthday is January 19th. In Princess's comment, she's says Warrior is "brimming with confidence and so very passionate!" In terms of food, she loves ice cream and dislikes peppers. As mentioned in her profile, she grew up with her father, mother, and three older brothers.

Warrior's advanced classes are the Paladin and Berserker.

Rogue

Spent her childhood in an orphanage. Knowing she needed a job to survive, she eventually found employment as a maid.

She first worked in a mansion, home to a seemingly happy family. Given her unpleasant memories of her own family, serving them was a bittersweet experience.

One day, she came across her employer abusing their only son. Was this family's happiness nothing but a lie? Unable to control her anger, she lashed out at her employer in a rage.

After that, she never worked in one place for long. That wasn't the first time she'd witnessed such cruelty, and it wouldn't be the last. "How can people abuse one another like this?" she began to wonder. "I'd love to ask what's going through their thick skulls when they pick on those weaker than them." But in a world without words, her grievances went unheard.

Rogue's birthday is July 19th. As a maid, she's excellent at housework and enjoys tea; however, she dislikes rice balls. (Princess theorizes that she dislikes eating food handled by others.)

Rogue's advanced classes are the Trickster and Ninja.

Archer

Lived with his family in a quiet home near a jungle. One day, a terrible storm caused a landslide, which reduced his house to rubble. He returned from picking mushrooms to find himself the sole survivor.

After that, he learned to survive on his own. However, he was never truly alone, for he befriended many animals living in the jungle.

Sometime later, the jungle was engulfed in a raging fire. He led as many animals as he could to safety, then charged into the blaze to search for more survivors. There, amid the flames, he discovered the source of the fire.

"Why would anyone do this?" he thought as he stared down the cruel arsonists. "If only I could say something. What kind of monster would want to harm innocent lives?"

But in a world without words, he could only silently flee the flames.

Archer's birthday is February 2nd. According to Princess, while he comes off as a loner, he's actually very friendly and spends much of his free time napping. Unlike Rogue, he loves rice balls and doesn't dislike any food in particular; however, he struggles using eating utensils and is self-conscious of that fact.

Archer's advanced classes are the Bomber and Sharpshooter

Farmer

Born in a rural community of mostly elderly farmers. With so few kids around, her older neighbors spoiled her as if she were their own child. Of course, her grandparents treasured her most of all.

One day, an old neighbor passed away. For the first time, she knew true grief and loss.

She realized then that someday soon she would have to bid a final farewell to her own loved ones. "Before that day comes," she thought, "I want you all to know just how much I care!" But in a world without words, she had no way to express those feelings.

Then, she had an idea. She would set off on a journey to collect the world's most delicious sweets as a gift for her beloved grandparents.

Farmer's birthday is March 14th. According to the Princess, she loves cute things and enjoys parfaits. She dislikes milk, and is described as having a unique talent for making others smile.

Farmer's advanced classes include Ranger and Geomancer.

Fighter

Born to a rich family of great repute. As the eldest daughter, she embraced this prestige and wore it like a badge of honor.

Yet beneath this calm facade was a young woman with a very short fuse. She took great care to prevent that anger from taking control.

And she succeeded, until the incident. At a gala, one of the guests spilled their drink over her dear friend on purpose. After witnessing this shameful display, she cooly tried to correct their behavior. But this proved near impossible in a world without words. Soon she grew impatient with the guest's dismissiveness and surrendered to her temper. When she returned to her senses and saw the fresh red handprint across the guest's cheek, she ran away, ashamed of letting her rage get the best of her.

Fighter's birthday is August 25. Owing to her rich upbringing, she has excellent manners and is well-educated; according to Princess, she manages to be charming even while angry. She loves drinking milk, but dislikes eggplants, especially grilled eggplant. She also greatly admires her father.

Fighter's advanced classes include Battle Master and Destroyer.

Caster

Grew up alongside many brothers and sisters. Since they weren't very wealthy, everyone had to work to make ends meet. He hated watching his siblings suffer, and so decided to learn the art of alchemy to make a living. After a mere three years, his intellect and abilities surpassed even that of the world's most renowned alchemists.

So great was his skill that he soon amassed a sizeable following of admiring apprentices. But in a world without words, none of them could quite keep up with his genius. While he tried his best to communicate through simple vocalizations and invented scripts, these would mysteriously vanish as soon as they manifested.

"How can I pass on my knowledge without words?" he thought. "There must be some way to break this spell constraining our speech..." Determined to find an answer, he set off on a journey, his carefree smile masking confident conviction.

Caster's birthday is September 16th. According to Princess, before he became a member of the party exploring Abyss, he'd deliberately cut corners or make mistakes to discourage requests for teaching, and is an extremely curious individual. He loves fruit sandwiches, but dislikes pickled foods, and is the oldest of thirteen siblings. (His younger siblings include seven brothers and five sisters.) He also knows how to play the lute!

Caster's advanced classes include Sage and Summoner

Princess

Once upon a time, there was a small, peaceful kingdom. Its King committed a terrible crime by stealing all the world's words. He then abandoned his subjects, hurling himself into the seemingly bottomless depths of the Abyss. His only daughter, the Princess, mourned her father with an endless flood of tears. She cried and cried for 100 years straight, until her tears had encased her in a beautiful crystal teardrop.

Many moons passed… The people's memories of the Abyss, the old kingdom, and the Princess grew dim. Then one day, seven rainbow-colored lights flew from the mouth of the Abyss.

Recalling a story her father once told her about shooting stars granting wishes, she prayed to these miraculous lights. "Please… Let my voice reach someone. Anyone. Bring me heroes to brave the Abyss and find the King!"

As if answering her prayers, seven travelers then arrived one by one at the Great Crystal by the edge of the Abyss. There, they miraculously heard a voice—the Princess's voice, as she began to call out to them.

Princess's birthday is December 31st. She loves pizza and doesn't have a specific dislike for any food; however, she's apparently a poor cook and envies the abilities of her father and the Fighter. Tragically, her mother died shortly after she was born, although she's said to be a lot like her in personality.

And that's everything I could scrounge up! Silent Hope releases on September 28th in Japan for Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam, with its overseas release scheduled for October 3rd. If you have the cash to spare and are interested in preordering, orders are open for the standard version as well as the physical-only Day 1 Edition, which includes an artbook as well as a physical copy of the soundtrack.

[paeliae-occasionally]

Strands and Simple components

Thank you @satohqbanana for asking about this!

Ok so it has come to my attention that I have a lot of strand and simple components lore that I have not fully explained so let’s get on that.

Alright so firstly:

In my world magic acts essentially like a different form of matter. It has no physical mass but can be measured and quantised like a particle. Creatures with a soul can interact with this matter, creatures without a soul cannot.

So what are strands and simple components?

Ok, so imagine the air around you. It is everywhere but if you zoom in close enough, you can see it is made up of compounds like N2 and H2O

Strands are like compounds.

A bunch of magic atoms with bonds between them form larger molecule called a strand.

In the same way, simple components are like elements. They bond together to make strands, and you can imagine the table in the magic systems post here like the periodic table of elements.

You can also think about it like a strand of DNA and the simple components are like bases.

————The types and mechanics of bonds are still under development. ————

So to recap, Magic is everywhere but at a base level it is made up of strands (compounds) and simple components (Elements) .

Refined and Unrefined spells:

So Unrefined spells cast full, naturally occurring strands (Druids)

Refined spells perform a ‘Reaction’ first to break off either a portion of a strand (Mages) or an individual simple component. (Runics)

Ok, so going deeper into the lore:

What makes an ability require less or more power?

This is actually a really interesting one.

It depends on 3 factors:

weight of the components

stability of the components

The strength of the bonds

Weight

Ok so when I say weight in reference to magic, I don’t mean physical as they have no mass, it just means how that component reacts to magical fields.

So in the ‘periodic table’ weight increases down the group and across the period. Particles that have a higher weight are more likely to exist in shorter strands or alone. It is easier to break bonds between heavier components to remove them from their strands.

It is however harder to cast heavier elements as they are harder to manipulate with your soul.

Stability

This means how likely a component is to decay. Stability decreases with weight, so the heavier a component is the more likely it is to decay.

Heavier components are usually more powerful because they release energy when they break down which can add power to the spell.

Less stable components are much harder to cast as you need a lot more control so they don’t decay when you interact with them.

The strength of the bonds

Typically lighter components form stronger bonds. Bond strength only matters for the types of casters who break bonds. (Mages and Runics)

Again the details of bonding are still under development so I will leave it here for now.

Mages usually only break 1 or 2 bonds to get a specific section of a strand. They don’t have enough power to break every bond in the whole strand.

Runics use runes as a sort of catalyst so they can break every bond by an alternate route that requires less energy.

Hope this answers the question. Let me know if anything doesn’t make sense.

@thelovelymachinery, @an-indecisive-nerd, @the-letterbox-archives, @oliolioxenfreewrites, @winvyre

@happypup-kitcat24, @wyked-ao3, @leahnardo-da-veggie, @alnaperera, @dearunreliablenarrator

@rumeysawrites, @urnumber1star, @seastarblue, @thecomfywriter

[shootingstarwritings]

"Old Men are Cute"

Maria was a young woman with an obsession to two things: cute things and the occult. Combined with a particular knack with spells, she was an entertaining member of her university’s underground witch club. Those lacking the innate talent relied on her to cast a spell on them to live out their fantasies. Her seniors would often laugh and enjoy the little misadventures Maria would tell to the club. “It’s another tale of the witch Maria, cuteness maestro,” she would sometimes proclaim before launching into another tale.

The title had little competition as all of Maria’s club members agreed that her definition of “cute,” was as eccentric as she was. “Old men,” she had responded when asked about her type of guy. “They’re the cutest. By far.”

It was due to that talent and unique mind-set that her friend, Frankie, would figure she would put the new spell he had found to good use. “Astral… projection?” she read out loud. Frankie had come bursting into her room, brandishing the sheet and babbling away far too quickly for her to understand. “Frankie, dear, what’s this new spell you got cooking?”

“Found it in my granny’s old stuff,” he said, a sassy hand on his hip. “Think a freak like you can handle it? Seems difficult to pull off.”

“Spells, dick, our landlord, I can handle anything,” Maria said, her chest puffed up with pride. The two looked it over for a while, exchanging notes as they tried to translate the runes. Handling the weathered page was difficult, but after a few hours and a tea break later, they finally had a firm grasp of the spell.

“Phew! Girl, are you sure you’re gonna be able to handle something like that?” Frankie asked her.

“Yeah, of course! Stuff like this is really useful. Like, body swapping into hot guys and jerking off is fun, but it’s difficult to handle because there’s always a straight guy just going, ‘Nah bitch, give me back my body. Hate this lower back pain and mentally ill brain.’” She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know that my boobs aren’t big, but c’mon! Just enjoy the ride. And shapeshifting is also tricky. Boys don’t like it when they suddenly have a long-lost twin trying to pick up guys at the club.”

Frankie sighed. “You really are a freak on a whole ‘nother level. Well, I can keep an eye on your body and cast a spell to make sure it’s nice and healthy until you come back.”

Maria grinned. “Thanks, bestie. You always know exactly what to say.”

“But you gotta cover my rent for the month.”

Maria’s smile dropped, but she still agreed. Taking a deep breath, she allowed her mana to gather. The room darkened as the very light in the space she occupied gathered around her. She raised her hand and grasped an object that came to existence in that very instance.

“A bottle…?” wondered Frankie. Magic always took on the eccentricities of their caster. What exactly was Maria doing…?

Maria twisted the cap and slowly pulled it out. Frankie let out an aggravated sigh as he saw the plastic bubble wand in her hands. Maria, unperturbed at her rude audience, took a deep breath and blew through the hole. A barrage of bright pink bubbles flew through the air, heading straight for a closed window.

Before Frankie could think of opening it, the wave of bubbles phased through the glass. Meanwhile, Maria’s body grew limp before finally collapsing onto her bed. To any oblivious party, she appeared fast asleep.

“Well, guess I get a quiet afternoon,” said Frankie as he prepared to cast a few protective wards on Maria’s body.

Meanwhile, Maria’s soul flew through the air like a pack of hot-pink, hungry locusts. She had the perfect target in mind for her little playtime. Her literature professor, Mr. Jeong, was a stoic, well-dressed, and masculine hunk of a man. That’s why he made the perfect guy to invade first. With Maria in the wheel, she could bring out a sort of ‘contrast,’ that only men like him could pull of.

Mr. Jeong’s office hours were just about to wrap up, so Maria flew towards his office. People looked up and stared at the mass of bubbles that somehow knew where they were going, but Maria merely drank up the attention. All they could do was look up and stare as Maria soared without wings. Much of her life was spent as as a ‘have-not,’ but with magic she would become a ‘have-it-all.’ That was her promise to herself, and she intended to keep it.

As expected, Mr. Jeong was wearing another dull suit and a boring pair of slacks on a Friday afternoon. He was too busy sitting by his desk, scrolling through essays from his students to notice Maria’s myriad of bubbles staring at him through the window. ‘You’re mine, Mr. Hunk!’ thought Maria as she flew through the window. To experiment, she allowed just one bubble to phase through his back.

Mr. Jeong’s body tightened and shivered. His hips jerked forward, almost propelling him off his chair. For Maria, she could feel just a bit of Mr. Jeong’s weighty form. Her experiment was over. Now it was time for the real thing. Maria’s bubbles all surged forward and slammed into Mr. Jeong’s back and ass. Mr. Jeong let out a high-pitched moan as waves of pleasure surged from his back and focused on his ass and dick. “Argh…! Ah! Ahhh…!” His back arched into a C as Maria’s soul ruthlessly pounded and flowed into him. “N-No…” He gripped the armrests on his chair and tried to lift himself up, but there was little he could do as Maria’s essence flooded and overwhelmed his on. His fat ass slammed onto his chair as his whole body convulsed. Soon, his eyes shut and his body relaxed.

Maria let out a moan with Mr. Jeong’s deep voice as she stretched her stolen body. “Oh yeah…” she whispered to herself, smirking as she ran calloused hands down the tight and thick thighs hidden beneath the boring slacks. She took out his phone, relying on the face recognition to unlock it, and turned the camera on. She pused his lips, smirked, and stuck his tongue out with his eyes staring up at the ceiling. With each out of character face, she made sure to take a selfie and send it to her own number. She needed to make sure she had proof to show the club of her little escapade.

Satisfied, Maria pocketed the phone and began to run her hands down the nice, hunky chest. “Now what should we do, Mr. Jeong? It’s Friday, your office hours are up, and we got all weekend to show the campus another side of you.”

A few hours later, Maria browsed Mr. Jeong’s phone once more as she leaned back into his old recliner. She searched for the latest picture she had taken of his body and sent it to Frankie.

It took only a few seconds for the phone to start blowing up with messages containing nothing but nonsense. Then, she received a phone call.

“Are you crazy?!” Frankie yelled from the other line. “What about his private life? Are you gonna just ruin it all?”

Chuckling, Maria said, “Relax, bestie. I got it covered. His girlfriend’s out for the weekend, so it’s just me, this DILF bod, and the four walls I’m gonna stain with his old man cum. Maybe I’ll even stain his brand new Hello Kitty slippers that I bought with,” she clicked her tongue as she patted the fat wallet in her pocket, “all of his credit cards.”

“I dunno. Still seems kinda risky…”

Ugh, how annoying. Frankie always got nervous ever since he had nearly turned his father into a vegetable while rewriting his memories. Even after Maria had fixed up the spell and even made Frankie’s dad a little bit more bisexual as a treat! However, Maria knew every single chink in Frankie’s armor.

Taking a deep breath, Maria leaned back on the recliner and let out a guttural moan. To add to it, she made sure to spread her powerful legs.

“Uh, um, uh… w-well…”

“And get this, Frankie,” Maria chuckled as she put the cherry on top. “Y’know when you were guessing just how much this body was packing?” She patted Mr. Jeong’s crotch, grinning madly as his cock began to swell and even leak. “You underestimated him.”

“...I’ll be right over.”

[monstersdownthepath]

Herald of Lissala: Kurshu the Undying

CR 15

Lawful Evil Large Outsider

Adventure Path: Shattered Star: Into the Nightmare Rift, pg. 88-89

"Lissala?" I hear some of you ask in confusion, "who's Lissala? I've never heard of her!" And as I turn from the chalkboard to explain, the unfortunate who asked is teleported before the decrepit and mummified Kurshu to receive a fate worse than any I could bestow: an in-depth history lesson of an empire which survived for thousands of years before being struck down by an apocalypse. I speak, of course, of ancient Thassilon--the very same empire ruled by the archmages known as the Runelords--of which Lissala was the chief deity. When Thassilon was destroyed by Earthfall, so too was Lissala's faith, an organization of millions reduced to a fraction of its glory in mere moments, which inevitably dwindled until basically nothing was left. Lissala was not killed by this event (though many believe she was), but faded into total obscurity on Golarion, leaving behind countless markers upon history and a great many of her divine creations, Kurshu included.

Even in the modern day, there are very few beings in existence who even know about Lissala, let alone worship her, but nevertheless there are some who still fervently hold onto their faith that she may one day return, chief among them Kurshu herself and the Rune Giants who remain slavishly devoted to both Lissala and the dwindling Runelords. Now and then a true Cleric of Lissala will rise up and show actual divine power, but it's a coin flip as to whether they've truly forged a connection with the lost Thassilonian deity or are being deceived by some other entity... and if they ARE, then they have Hell to pay when Kurshu tracks them down to investigate.

Having spent many thousands of years wandering Golarion and the Great Beyond in the hopes of finding traces of Lissala's presence to soothe her (which the book hearbreakingly describes as "similar to a widower smelling his dead wife's clothes in the hopes of sparking a lost memory"), Kurshu has grown to possess a paradoxical resentment for her deity and creator for abandoning her to wallow among the filth and ruin left in the wake of Thassilon's fall. Though she remains devoted, this devotion is described in a way that almost feels like a drug addiction than a true bond, with every part of Kurshu screaming for any sign of her goddess even while she's is painfully aware of how pitiful it's making her and how much she desires to simply stop and find something else. She hates Lissala. She loves Lissala. She resents her, and yet is fully aware she would gladly crawl back into her master's lap if it meant never again feeling the longing she does now. She is pitiful, but she despises the idea of being pitied. Do not bring up how relieved she looks when a Cleric of Lissala shows true promise, or when she finds some artifact or place which resonates with the power of the lost goddess.

While many Heralds possess duties they're expected to perform, Kurshu is a free agent, able to pursue her own goals. These goals continuously revolve around Lissala and Thassilon, but she is free to pursue them with her endless time, pausing only occasionally for a snack break, but we'll get to THAT in a moment. Unlike other Heralds, Kurshu has no goddess to direct her and is free to respond to the summons or prayers of ANY being that invokes her regardless of alignment should see use in it. She is also able to track down anyone wishing to learn more of Thassilon and its rune magic to teach them, and can actually replace the target of a Greater Planar Ally spell being cast by a Lawful Evil-aligned caster if they're not careful in how they word their requests for knowledge. Guarded by her own obscurity, most beings don't know just who or what they're dealing with until it's far too late, and she's seized control of them. But what will she do once she has someone on a leash? Let's find out...

Kurshu has two primary motivations in any encounter: survive first, and locate more Thassalonian lore after. To aid in her survival, she often has a menagerie of Outsiders of varying alignments and strengths at her beck and call, a small army she is prompted to stock with subject hovering between CR 8 and 10 due to her horrific hunger. You see, without Lissala's divine power flowing into her, Kurshu suffers from Divine Separation, an affliction which imposes 1 negative level every day she goes without devouring the corpse of an Outsider (including Native Outsiders; tieflings and aasimar beware!), which often means that--if she's trying to be economical with her livestock--she's encountered with anywhere between 2 and 6 negative levels to sap her otherwise potent skills.

Further confounding the issue is the fact that she refuses to consume Lawful Evil Outsiders on principal (but will if she's desperate), AND that in order to alleviate her hunger, the consumed victim must have at least 8 Hit Dice; she cannot simply feed upon Quasits to stave off her decay, she must at the very least be slaying creatures like Succubi, Choral Angels, and Pelagastr, creatures which can actually fight back against her. Every HD from a consumed Outsider instantly removes an equal number of negative levels, meaning she can "waste" her food by eating Outsiders with too many HD, something she's painfully aware of and which can often cause her to wait a little longer than advisable between feedings, weakening her if her enemies are trying to hunt her down. Similarly, if she knows she's being hunted she may burn through her supply faster than she intends trying to keep herself at full strength, forcing her into a desperate catch-22 as she runs out of minions to slow her adversaries down.

But how does she keep this army of hers in check? Limited Wish. Unlike many monster entries where Limited Wish is simply a blank check, the book goes into a lot of detail about how Kurshu manipulates this powerful spark of divine magic she retains and can use, for free, 3 times a day. She primarily uses it as Charm Monster to snare the minds of her prey, keeping them docile and willing to listen to her for two weeks per casting, weakening them with a Wished up Mind Fog if need be, though she can also save a wish casting by instead heightening her spells with a 3/day Power Surge, a swift action she can invoke to raise the save DC of the next spell she casts by +2.

In case you thought she only had her wishes available, this is far from the truth. She has a LONG list of 3/day spells available to her, including but not limited to Cure Serious Wounds, Hold Person, Stinking Cloud, and Slow, with simple but potent offensive options like Fireball, Lightning Bolt, and the reliable Vampiric Touch. She can counter enemy tricks with Dispel Magic and defend herself or a valuable ally with Displacement, and of course she can use all of these while flying*, leaving her foes to tangle with her ground-bound allies while she rains debuffs, damage, and debilitation upon them.

*NOTE: There's an error in her Archives of Nethys sheet; she's supposed to have a 60ft Fly speed (Good) maneuverability!

The book amusingly notes that her tendency to have a flock of Chaotic Outsiders with her, and her own withered appearance, causes many of her enemies to waste powerful anti-Chaos or anti-Undead spells upon her in the mistaken belief she is also some minion of chaos or undeath, often giving her just enough time to retaliate with a powerful blow of her own. In especially dramatic cases, someone may rush up and hit her with a powerful Cure Wounds or Heal spell in the hopes of ending her, only to watch her HP refill and invite her retaliation.

She's no melee fighter and prefers to keep at a distance for fear of death, but the token melee abilities she has are quite potent: her lashing tail can slam victims for 1d8+2 damage, then Grab and constrict them for 1d8+5 damage each round until they either escape or succumb to whatever spell she prepares to melt their brains with via Limited Wish (such as the crushing, no-save-allowed Geas, a spell that LW allows her to cast as a standard action!). And speaking of brain-melting, I'm sure there's a very select audience reading this that will enjoy knowing the snake woman can also shave 1d4 Intelligence off any creature she strikes with either of her two slam attacks (1d8+5 on their own), allowing her to literally beat someone stupid.

Defensively, Kurshu is a tank to a degree matched by few other casting-focused Heralds. 30 AC, DR 10 that's only bypassed by a magical cold iron weapon, and a decent 26 SR to fizzle most spells being cast by the creatures she's hoping to face. She's also got 30 Resistance to (almost) every element but Force, severely cutting down on any attempt to damage her with elemental power... unless that power is Acid damage, which not only does she have no resistance to, but is the only damage type that shuts off her Regeneration 5, an ability she will take full advantage of by keeping out of reach or even teleporting away to heal up.

Kurshu does not wish to fight to the death, and will use her 3/day Greater Teleport or Plane Shift to escape any encounter that begins to turn against her, and trying to counter that with Dimensional Anchor or similar may see her using Limited Wish to break the effect without risking a dispel check failure... or simply teleport her enemies away instead of herself. "Wait, that's not a spell effect in Pathfinder!" To which I smile and point at the fourth line in Limited Wish: "Produce any other effect whose power level is in line with the above effects, such as a single creature automatically hitting on its next attack or taking a -7 penalty on its next saving throw." The example lines on LM's spell card are merely to show the power level it can manage, its actual effect can be anything that roughly matches a 6th level Wizard or Sorcerer spell in terms of power, which a hostile Dimension Door effect to send multiple people hundreds of feet away falls into. Even if she can't get the full party with it, splitting them enough to let her either pick off one or two key members or simply flee the combat is a good enough use in her eyes.

Having spent millennia avoiding her own death with a fear matched only by mortals, Kurshu has no end to emergency options. As mentioned, she can Greater Teleport or Plane Shift away from conflicts she wants no part of up to 3/day. In addition, she has both Craft Wondrous Item and Scribe Scroll, but can combine them with her unique Spell-Like Crafting, allowing her to use her spell-like abilities to meet the prerequisites when creating magic items, something that would normally prevent her from having three or four Limited Wishes on her belt waiting for her personal supply to run out. The same can be said for her transport spells, or scrolls of Tongues (which she can use at-will), Stinking Cloud, or Slow. Such valuable items also act as potent bribes to make other Lawful creatures more likely to serve her by their own free will, if she doesn't simply wish up a pile of valuables to pay them.

Kurshu can be a frightening and powerful foe, even moreso than most other Heralds due to the lack of divine restriction she operates under. She does not need to be invited into a situation by Lissala's worshipers, she can simply show up of her own free will with a small army of fiends, monitors, and celestials at her beck and call, and now everyone simply has to deal with her presence and whatever nonsense her ensorcelled "allies" are getting up to. Why is she here? That's probably the true mystery of the adventure, and solving it brings the party one step closer to making her leave without provoking her potentially apocalyptic wrath.

You can read more about her here.