#she likely could have within a normal lifespan. the last two elections have brought us a lot closer to that

[howtobeamagicalgirl]

I got up a 6 this morning and ate breakfast with my girlfriend and then drove back to the driver's license office and the woman who looked like my professor wasn't at the check-in desk this time but she was the person in the little cubicle they sent me to and she was so nice to me and her voice also sounds a lot like my professor's

[bird-of-fyre]

Empires SMP x Wynncraft AU

Been playing a bunch of Wynncraft (an MMO in MC co-owned and I think also created by Grian) and the two BIG plot devices in it are Corruption (Wyyn Province) and Decay (Gavel Province). Both are similar and have ties to the same catalyst.

What’s going on in Empires right now? Corruption. So my brain went brrr and we have this. Feel free to write for, make fanart, etc. with this AU just tag me so that I can see it!

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There are 2 realms in Wynncraft that are constantly at odds with each other. The Realm of Darkness (Dern) and the Realm of Light. When the two forces meet, corruption is formed and the battlefield of their war took place within the Nether. In Wynn, Human miners unearthed a Nether portal and entered, the magic within corrupting and changing them; they returned leading armies of undead that still terrorize the province today. In Gavel, a parasitic entity emerged from a Dern portal and began to infect the magic-enriched land with the Decay.

Corruption spreads like a weed through roots spanning under the entirety of Wynn; the only known force to stall it is Ice Magic. Decay spreads like an infection and slowly consumes the land, it is weak to Light Magic.

The land Empires SMP takes place on is going to be known as Empiria because I feel it deserves a name for this AU. A strange magic protects this land that is believed to be a result of the banishment of Corruption by the Gods before they fell into slumber. Empirians call it "Respawn Magic” as upon dying one is revived at perfect health (though scars may remain depending on the cause of death). Death to age is still a thing, however lifespans of most inhabitants are extended two decades with the exception of elves who live even longer.

Several Empires already existed  before the present day crew, these being the following: Rivendell, Mythland, The Overgrown, The Ocean Empire, The Lost Empire, and Smallhold. The rest only came to rise in the past decade

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Characters:

Fwhip: A human that hails from the Wynn province. Him and his sister Gem lived in Detlas together as their parents died in a battle against the endless armies of undead. Fwhip was fascinated by the corruption in their land and sought to study it, perhaps maybe even find out a cure. Gem stopped him from this obsession, reminding him that those that went down that path all ended up becoming harbingers of the corruption. They moved to the land of Empiria shortly around the present day where Fwhip found the Grimlands and the crystalized redstone that tainted it drew his attention. Gem wasn’t fond of the idea but it was a different kind of corruption than that back home so she let him study it. Somehow manages to come off as unhinged yet still in complete control.

Gem: Hailing from Wynn, Gem and Fwhip left for new lands to escape the corruption and undead armies. She settled in a mountainous biome full of amethyst crystals so that she could keep an eye on her brother as his fascination with volatile crystalized redstone worries her. She knew basic fire magic pre-Emperia but now is a bit more adept in her powers and has also learned many more spells. She joined the Wither Rose Alliance with Fwhip and Sausage simply to keep the two chaotic gremlins in line.

Jimmy: A Cod-Hybrid from the Ocean Empire and the adopted brother of Lizzie. He left home to found his own empire in the nearby swamp with his sister’s well wishes. His kingdom is small, but he is a kind and generous ruler that doesn’t see himself above his subjects. While working on paths he found a human washed up on the shore in poor condition; this individual was Joel, a nobody from a far away land who really had just given up on any form of future. Jimmy tends to be the person that generally gets picked on by other rulers for having the smallest empire and because he’s very gullible. Close friends with Pix, who he eagerly loves hearing stories of Corkus from.

Joel: Originally from the port town of Nemract in Wynn, Joel tried to start a religion called Jeremyism in memorium of a donkey he lost to the corruption that never took off due to the Bovemists and their own religion. He cheated some pirates in gambling so they took him hostage and forced him to be part of their crew, not that he was complaining, it was way better than the life he had before. Unfortunately, this didn’t last very long as a battle against some rival pirates during a horrible storm ended with him getting tossed overboard. He awoke on the shore of a swamp where he encountered a cod-hybrid who, with their sister, helped him get back on his feet. After experiencing the Cod and Ocean Empires he decided to start his own in the mesa across the ocean so that he can remain close allies with the duo that saved his life. Him and Lizzie marry a few years later.

Joey: A parrot-hybrid that rules over the Lost Empire as its emperor. He is extremely flirtatious and has questionable morals, but despite this he does care for his people. Fascinated by supernatural forces such as immortality and corruption and also always is looking to grow more powerful in any way he can. He has wind magic but doesn’t tend to use it very much.

Kathrine: A fae whose ancestors were originally from the Realm of Light in a time before the Decay took root in Gavel and Dernic forces made their way into the said realm. When she learns of the origins of several new rulers she is surprised as she had only ever been told of Gavel and Dern. Her and Scott are close, given both their ancestral homes were in Gavel.

Lizzie: An axolotl hybrid who rules over the Ocean Empire. She is a generous and humble ruler who takes pride in he empire and her people. She found a young cod-hybrid caught in a fishermans net when she was still a princess and saved him, declaring him her new brother (which he was happy about). When she was asked to help with a human that had washed onto the shores of Jimmy’s empire she had not been expecting to fall in love with the stranger and is now married to Joel. Wields powerful water magic and takes nonsense from nobody (including her husband).

Pearl: The carefree ruler of Smallhold, an Empire that originally started out as a poor farming village that was struggling on hard times. Pearl is a nymph who took pity on the town and used her magic to help the village through hard times, eventually having them elect her as their queen. Despite her title, she prefers to see herself on equal terms as her people.

Pix: A human from the province of Corkus with great enthusiasm, ambition, and taste for the occasional mischief. He left the island province for new beginnings after accidentally breaking several Corkian laws that would have ended him in prison. His dedication to The Vigil is something he learned from interaction and time spent with the Avos; a race of bird humanoids that were the only inhabitants of Corkus before humans settled there. Pix is fantastic when it comes to metallurgy and uses this knowledge to his advantage when it comes to the copper and other metals he uses in his Empire.

Sausage: Born in the province of Fruma to a poor family Sausage always desired more and often had dreams about becoming a royal and learning magic as only they were allowed the luxury of such. He acted as the robin hood of Fruma for a time before he was eventually caught by the Fruman army and shipped off to Wynn as a soldier to aid the said province in their eternal war against the undead. Unlike most Fruman humans entering Wynn, Sausage did not loose his memories and took the first chance he got to stow away on a ship to new lands. Unfortunately, the ship in question was destroyed in a storm and he washed up onto the shores of Mythland (a smaller town without leadership at the time) and was made its king a year or so thereafter. Given he has no magical abilities of his own due to his origins, he turned to Blood Magic as it’s the closest he’ll ever get.

Scott: The elves of Rivendell originally hailed from Aldorei in Gavel, leaving to escape the Decay. Scott was young when they left for the new lands and, unfortunately, several of the fleeting group were lost to creatures of Dern and Decay; including his older brother, Xornoth. There had been no time to retrieve the bodies of the fallen so those that were left behind were assumed dead or infected. While cold and normally detached from the affairs of others, he does care about his fellow empires. He has light magic but struggles to wield it properly.

Shelby: Gone from her village Shelby returned to find it overun by the Decay and the monsters that come with it. Unable to do anything for her people, she left for new lands. Gavel’s best and brightest couldn’t find a cure for the Decay in their homeland so she hopes that maybe, in this new one, that she might find something to save her people.

Xornoth: Once an elf, now a twisted demonic entity with a lust for destruction. Wounded and separated from his family in an attack while attempting to leave Gavel, he was captured by an acolyte of Dern named Bak’al who brought him back to the realm of darkness. It is here that Xornoth was slowly and painfully corrupted in both mind and body, becoming yet another agent of the beast that governs the dark realm.

[gaiabamman]

Get the whole book on Amazon for $3.99 ^_^ 

Thank the Lars, Min’s skill does not really rewind time, because my day couldn’t have been any longer. I endured eighty-four broken fingers, six broken femurs, a ruptured stomach and even three cardiac arrests. I wasn’t able to heal any of them.

I feel a million years older, but I don’t fear pain anymore. Knowing it will not kill me, the sudden searing sensation is nothing compared to the fear of endless cold and hunger I endured during my childhood. Nonetheless, Min looks exhausted, and I feel worse.

Lethal, as always, looks mostly pissed. He did not manage to scratch me, but I’m not even sure he tried. He says, amused, “Hey, Dumb, are you sure you got any skills at all? Maybe we can return you.”

Ghost chides, “Lethal, it’s her first day. It doesn’t matter that she’s almost your age.”

I say, “Get me a biosimulator, Ghost. I’ll show you what I can do in a lab.” Lethal walks away without even acknowledging any of us, and Ghost shakes his head, eyes lingering on his back. “Biosimulator?” I ask again.

“Yeah, right. I mean, no. Nala, read first a little bit about Cursoi culture, and then we’ll see if you still have questions.”

He fishes out of his tunic’s pocket a tiny, ancient looking text. Maybe it’s even older than Gray’s Anatomy. The cover is supple, dark leather embossed with a gilded horizontal eight: the symbol of infinity, split in two identical halves by a vertical line.

I take it as delicately as I can. “A book? Why not hyperspace?”

“We cannot risk hacking. The less is known about us the better, but we do have a few copies.”

I can see why he’d rather not have me do research.

Just then the alarm goes off. Brain says in my head, Foyer. Hold back and observe. Stay beside either Min or Lethal. Either of them will keep you safe.

As if I’d feel safe with the psycho who crushed my organs all day. I’m exhausted. I can’t believe we have another mission now. I want to cry, and even more so I’d like to sleep. Yet, I’m running down the hallway, losing ground on everyone else. By the time I get to the foyer, Apprentices are already gathered there, scowling at me.

I hate my life.

Ghost yells, “You know your orders! Dime, let’s go!”

And in the blink of an eye, we’re gone.

-------------------

We appear on a high floor in the Freedom Skyreacher. I can tell by the shops and the view out of the big windows, Cerulean Crests and all. I can see two giant holo-screens being smashed as an angry mob is going at each other’s throat. I glue myself to Min, but everything happens within seconds.

“Bonking Lunarites!” someone screams. “Terrorists! All terrorists!”

A guy drops, people wobble confused, holo-screens go back to being whole, normal activities resume, and we blink back in the foyer.

“What the Merc just happened?” I blurt.

Min laughs. “Routine. I only knew my orders, but my guess is that Drama identified the main culprit, some fanatic either for or against Crash, I promise. Browser found if he had any intel, Lethal killed him, Zera erased everybody’s memory of any accident, Emo made everyone happy, and I brought the scene back to damage free, or as damage free as it was one minute and ten seconds earlier.”

My mouth is open. “What happened to the body?”

Min nods toward a tall guy with long, smooth, black hair, and almond shaped eyes, a bit like mine. “Vulture took care of it. He accelerates decay. A lot.”

Gross.

After the report confirming Min’s assessment, I can’t wait to go crash at my place, possibly to learn a bit more about Cursoi thanks to the little black book Ghost gave me, heavy in my pocket.

--------------------

I settle in the hammock strung beneath my nest. The sun drips like liquid fire from the boughs and lianas, tinging the grass orange. The stridulations of grasshoppers fill the late afternoon. It smells like the burning logs that are popping a few yurdas from me. I open the book, and the breeze ruffles its old, greasy pages.

Apparently Cursoi lived for eons among humans, unaware of their own nature, and typically estranged because of their gifts or unsettling aura.

Oh. So it wasn’t me? I keep reading.

Early on during the Dark Ages that preceded space colonization, a Carlo Teofrati rescued a Louise Cligné, who had been found guilty of witchcraft, after making flowers blossom in an orchard. He kept fire from burning her at the stake.

Talk of a hot romance.

Back then, Cursoi had lifespans comparable to humans, and Carlo and Louise were quite old for their time. Nonetheless, they became sexually involved, quickly becoming obsessed with each other.

Eeeeew!

At first, they thought their high energy level was the effect of falling in love, but soon they realized that not only had they stopped aging; they were getting younger.

Louise theorized they must be different from other humans. In spite of previous marriages, they both had been barren. Yet, Louise got pregnant well in her sixties, and it became apparent they might be part of a different species altogether, which she named Cursoi: the cursed ones.

I feel you, Louise. I take a bite of a trad-apple, careful not to stain the book.

Carlo and Louise set out to find other sterile outcasts with special skills, gathering the first Unit ever. The task was arduous, because during the Dark Ages humans were still isolated geographically and displayed distinctive physical features similar to Cursoi.

Whoa! Humans were hot!

In an effort to level differences due to separate cultural backgrounds, nicknames took root. Louise and Carlo became Lymph and Fire.

Lymph observed that, once gathered, Cursoi tended to engage in promiscuous sexual behaviors, at least according to human standards. They engaged in sex frequently and with different partners, males or females, often at the same time.

Dung! I close the book, feeling my face on fire. Am I even supposed to read this stuff? For school? I take a deep breath and open the book again, trying to move past my dancing hormones, visualizing the passage a little too graphically.

The first generation of Cursoi, including Lymph and Fire, carried a sense of shame and guilt with them. Conversely, Cursoi born within the Unit and away from human influence dealt with sex as they did with eating, studying, and playing. It came naturally to them and it helped build strong bonds and friendships. Older Cursoi that abstained, because of their human beliefs or religion, aged at human rates and died within a human lifetime. Cursoi that indulged in their instincts aged much slower and lived up to a few hundred years.

Holy cow! How old is Brain, then? Am I aging at the speed of light?

Cursoi started nurturing their skills rather than suppressing them. Lymph observed that skills developed at puberty and aligned with the inclinations of each Cursoi.

It makes sense. I wanted to be a curer, and I healed Seria. But what about Vulture? And Lethal? A shiver runs down my spine, thinking about what inclinations a very young Lethal might have had to end up crushing people’s innards. Bonking psycho. An image of him running a hand over his forehead, pushing back his sweaty hair, fills my mind. I shake my head and snap it back to the book.

Within a couple of generations, it became apparent that Cursoi pregnancies were possible only after fifty years old, and even then no more than two or three babies were ever delivered by one woman. Fertile Cursoi were referred to as Masters, and sex before fifty was renamed merging, since it was just as important, but had nothing to do with procreation.

So, Ghost is at least fifty! Whoa! He must do lots of merging—nevermind, let’s not go there. I shake my head, trying to dismiss the disturbing thoughts about what Ghost might do in his private time.

Masters raised and trained young Cursoi gathered in Units. After skills manifested at puberty, Cursoi were named Apprentices and assigned to specific locations based on the skills of the Unit. Around fifty, once they were fully trained and developed, they became Masters. Cursoi above one-hundred years old became Elders, playing important leadership roles within Cursoi Units.

Within a thousand years, Cursoi grew from abject outcasts into a threatening force. Cursoi were peaceful and kept to themselves, but were perceived as a threat and attacked by the 132nd President of the United States and his allies under the premise of conniving against freedom and harboring weapons of mass destruction. The conflict, known as the Sixth World War, was a blood bath that lasted three minutes and twelve seconds, during which Cursoi took out all major world leaders.

Cursoi did not care for ruling or human politics, but they needed to ensure Earth was safe for their own survival. They also had an interest in relative human wellbeing, since most of them enjoyed the variety humans provided for their merging needs.

Oh my Lars, that’s disgusting!

Therefore, Cursoi Elders organized the election for the first United Terrestrial Democracy. The president was voted by Cursoi and humans alike, and Cursoi became sacred peace enforcers, bound to protect the president. Units became self-contained military societies, under the orders of one Elder, typically a telepath who could coordinate missions with ease. Obedience was engrained in young Cursoi toddlers from birth.

Which might explain why I don’t feel as compelled to go along with this dung. Also, the darn book says nothing about why or how Cursoi are the way they are. This is just lore.

Nala!

I hear Drama’s voice in my head and I close the book, leaving for later the appendix describing the lives of famous Cursoi. What now? I wonder. It’s funny how I know that Drama is in the park. That’s where the call came from. I just know it without being able to explain it. I crawl off my hammock to reach him. I am drained, but seeing Drama might be a great pick-me-up.

-------------------

The grass in the park looks purple in the dusk, and a long wooden table illuminated by paper lanterns stretches above it, with two crowded benches on either side. Only the Apprentices in my Unit are here. Other Cursoi may use other sections of the dimension. Younger Apprentices keep to themselves.

Lethal, Drama, Dime, Zera, Emo, Min, Browser, Kino, and a bunch of other Cursoi I haven’t met yet, are all sitting around the table. Lethal laughs, and I swear fireflies stop to watch. Drama instantly turns to me, his face a mask of fury, which is completely unjustified by the hatred I feel for the bonking angel face. Is Drama jealous?

“Of this idiot? Not at all,” he answers my unspoken question. He scoots to make room for me and I sit beside him, trying to act like our skin touching does not send me reeling. He seems to relax against me, and I wonder if the Libre glowing golden in his glass helped.

Is he drunk?

He mutters in my ear, “He’s a jackass, and you know it. And I know you know it.”

Lethal apparently heard, because he turns to us and asks, “Does she, now?”

“I sure do,” I growl. I hated Lethal to begin with, and as much as he just did what he had to, the afternoon didn’t exactly make me warm and fuzzy.

Lethal smirks. “Whatever, Dumb. Given that your skill is nonexistent, I’d say puberty didn’t quite hit you yet.”

Drama cringes. “How many bones crushed?”

I shake my head, but I know he knows, first because he can feel it, and second because I’m afraid all Cursoi go through the same training.

“What’s wrong with him?” I whisper.

Drama shrugs. “He was a cool kid. We were friends, but then puberty hit and… Lethal happened.”

“Whoa. Really? Ever take a peek in his head?”

“Not if I can avoid it. It’s hell in there.”

I can only imagine.

On my other side, Min pours me a cup of Libre and raises his to me. “Say what you may, but the little one was badass. She took her broken bones like a champ.”

Did I?

“Little one? Did you see her fat ass?” Lethal snarls.

“Oh, you noticed?” I reply, furious, because I starved for most of my life and yet my hips are so wide I could send him to Neptune with one bump.

Drama laughs at my thought. He leans closer to my ear and whispers, biting his lower lip in a way that is way too sexual to be allowed in public, “I looove your fat ass, Nala. It’s my new favorite thing.”

“Are you drunk?” I ask.

He clinks my cup with his. “Maybe.”

“What if there’s a mission?”

He answers, “Emo will clear the Libre right out.”

Emo, whom I noticed is never too far from Drama, winks and hiccups, spreading her gaze over Drama and me. She licks her lips, and I look away, trying not to think about her merging with Drama.

I try to swallow my jealousy, but I do sound snappy when I ask, “Whatever. Why did you call me here?” I am full of hope and fear, staring at my untouched Libre.

Drama leans his head on my shoulder, and I’m surprised he does not start to purr like a cat. “I missed you. Just wanted to hang out.”

Yeah, right. Even if I lost my mind and suddenly decided to merge with Drama, I’m pretty sure I’d be arrested for drunk rape. It might be worth it though.

“I hope you find out,” he says and winks.

Holy Lars.

I shake my head, rolling my eyes, trying to keep my thoughts in check. I’ve never been able to afford Libre. I look at the ripples the glowing liquid forms on the inside of the smooth surface of my cup, and I take a small sip. It’s warm and sweet, yet quenching like water. I gulp more. “So, what were you and Lethal arguing about?”

“He’s just a weirdo,” Drama says. “He won’t merge with guys, only girls.”

“Really?” I whisper. “That’s even stranger for a Cursoi.”

He nods. “So you learned some lore, huh? It’s not natural. Also, he thinks Cursoi are a superior race—”

“It’s obvious that we are!” Lethal snaps.

“Oh my Lars,” I say. “It’s like hearing Crash drool all over himself, except he thinks he is the best.”

“He’s all right,” Lethal says. “Too bad he’s human.”

“The end justifies the means? Really?” Drama says.

“Isn’t that what we do, as soldiers? Don’t we slaughter for the greater good?” Lethal retorts.

“You, maybe,” I reply.

“Yeah, because someone has to do the dirty work for everyone else to enjoy their bonking freedom and their balmy skills!”

I hate that he’s right, but Drama switches gears. “Crash denies pollution. He wants to blast Venus and Mars to prevent immigration to Earth!”

Lethal rolls his eyes, taking a swig of Libre. “Oh, come on, he just said it to get votes. No one’s getting blasted.”

That causes me to lose it in zero point one seconds. “Oh, really? I thought people liked him because he just says it like it is!”

“Oh, go bonk yourself! At least I’m not a hypocritical idealist!”

“Forget him,” Drama says, shaking his head. “Like I said, he’s a weirdo.”

I drain my cup of Libre, and it’s starting to get to my head.

Drama says, “Drinking on an empty stomach? Not wise. If you need insta-food, or Libre, or clothes, or anything else for that matter, just will them in front of you.”

“Really? Is this some innate Cursoi skill? Because I willed food a lot in my pre-Cursoi life.”

Drama laughs, “I wish. It’s a perk of the place. Courtesy of Dime.” He nods toward Dime, raising his glass to him, but Dime doesn’t even notice, lost as usual in one of his reveries.

I realize Lethal is still scowling at Drama and me, his brow knitted together.

Drama says, “Yes, Lethal. I like her. A lot.”  

I did not hear the question, likely in Lethal’s head, but I quiver, warmth building up in my core. The feeling must be too much for Drama, because he jolts, then looks at me, his eyes darkening.

He brings his head back down to my shoulder and says, “Wow, your feelings are as addictive as Emo’s tricks.”

Am I jealous? I drain my second Libre and will more into the cup, thinking I might just do something stupid tonight.