#she's the greatest original character to come from Arcane

[disordercinema]

Also, I am so excited about the (possible) future story in Noxus because we've got an amazing tease for it already. With the hint that Swain has already been keeping an eye on everything that happened in Piltover, and in Mel, because of the three eyed raven, we can imagine that he is going to invite Mel to be the third leader of his new Noxian government

We always knew that Swain was Vision, Darius was Might but the Guile representative was linked to Leblanc somehow but we didn't know who they were. We knew that they visited the Wolf's sanctuary in Noxus and that they wore a mask. With Ambessa's death it seems like Mel is going to Noxus, she'll probably pay a visit to the Wolf to honour her mother's death and she has her mother's mask, which she'll probably start using from now on. She said she saw "the witch's face" which means she knows who Leblanc is and she made herself an enemy of the Black Rose.

Swain, since apparently he already has his demon of secrets, probably already knows about the existence of the Black Rose and Leblanc and will want an ally to defeat her. So he will most likely ask Mel to be Guile. Then we'll have the Noxian trifarix, the three people government, represented by Swain, Darius and Mel.

AND I AM SO FUCKING STOKED MY GUYS

[acesw]

The Timekeeper group but instead of arcane skills, they have bending arts

Welcome to A.D. once again going insane in the head with character analysis and reverse 1999. I decided to analyze the characters in the timekeeper group and associate them with bending arts from ATLA that suit them best.

Non Benders: Vertin, Sotheby

Benders: Sonetto and Druvis (Water), Regulus and Lilya (Fire), APPLe (Earth), Vertin* (Air)

1. Airbending is a defense-reliant but versatile bending art, and it's associated with freedom and seeking enlightenment in life through that and peace. I think it's fitting for Vertin to have been born with this art, or it awakened in her after the spiritual convergence in TLOK. (In TLOK, the harmonic convergence in 171 AG awakened airbending in several non benders around the world. Though this is only a possibility.)

Although, at the same time, I think it would be more fitting for Vertin herself to be a non bender. She's more known for her physical strength after all. It highlights the fact that Vertin is significantly weaker in mythic power as opposed to a lot of main characters. Rather, she adapts and adjusts using her current strengths: physical ability and high perception. So I think for that matter, she would be knowledgeable in bending but also utilize chi blocking in her fighting style.

2. Waterbending is about change taking focus on the constant flow of the water and energy to utilize their art. Its fighting style is fluid and graceful, with its benders acting similarly and making it able to maintain this constant flow within their techniques and themselves. It's quite fitting for (especially) Sonetto and Druvis. In Druvis' case, she's able to manipulate the plants around her thanks to plantbending, an extension of waterbending that allows one to manipulate plants because all plants have water—from vines to roots, to even trees on the full moon.

Meanwhile, Sonetto's steadfastness and gracefulness compliment really well as we see when we look at her usage of her arcane skill. She would be quite focused and skilled at mastering this bending art; and as we see in its weaknesses, water bending relies on the user's internal life energy, thus its power and control being reflective on the emotional state of its user.

A known flaw in Sonetto is her passion and tendency to become emotional when faced with certain conflicts, and on occasion she overuses her power with a lack of control. It fits the description of weaknesses found in waterbending. But otherwise, her strength in being able to learn fast and her overall style of casting spells reflects greatly on the general style waterbending follows.

3. Firebending is an aggressive bending art that has quite a straightforward meaning: power. It originally developed and fostered on one's unwavered determination to reach their goals and desires, but was twisted into being fueled by hate and rage because of the 100 year war in the series. It still maintains the same principles, but its power intensifies from hate, rage, and anger. Its fighting style is easily used for offensive with very aggressive strategies, but these offenses can be turned into defenses too.

For Regulus, I can see her originally utilizing her anger because of the intensity of her emotions (and her tendency to be easily annoyed /joke), but as she learns more about herself and continuing to develop her art, she slowly shifts towards balancing it with her dedication towards the role she leads in life, and her unwavering resolve to give up on what she wants to do.

Lilya on the other hand can initially come off as her power coming from her temper and aggression as well, but it's not exactly the case. Because she’s skilled at what she does as a pilot, this will reflect her mastery and skills in her bending art for fire. She’s determined to be one of the greatest, and consistently victorious, and that drives her power in her skills. And in spite of her coming off as careless because of the behaviors she exhibits, she's excellently agile and precise, all the while taking the offensive in her attacks.

4. Earthbending is a bending art that relies on acting decisively with one having a wide range to their environment and many opportunities at hand. It has a maintained balance of offense and defense capabilities, and mastering it requires utilizing the neutralization of jing, or in other words, knowing how to rightfully time an action and the decisions that follow. Even then, the lack of precision is a great benefit, as Earth is reliant on brute strength rather than agile and precise movements.

With APPLe, I think he finds a good balance between strength and knowledge, and utilizing that when it comes to using his power. He knows that he does not need great precision, but being able to time things just right as well as being knowledgeable on the environment around him is enough to make good use of his bending art. His personality reflects the way he fights, and I see it being more defensive + counter attacking, while also being very clearly capable and not afraid of going on the offensive.

5. Lastly, as we know, it's possible to create potions in the world of ATLA. Thus, it's possible for Sotheby to maintain her role as a potions maker. It's hard to think of the possible bending art that Sotheby can have, so I rather settled on her being a non bender since her main highlight is her knowledge on potions and the environment around her. I like to think that she utilizes this and the growing technology to be able to create opportunities to help her friends, with the guidance of Vertin and APPLe.

I like doing these associations as well as creating ways to integrate their abilities in other universes (i.e. JJK). I might do this more or start a series with these👍👍

[the-goblin-cat]

whole hog: henry sinclair

Time for the man, the myth, the legend...

Henry is the protag of my novel, read it here

✨- How did you come up with the OC’s name?

There's nothing behind this name at all. It sounded both bougie and old timey American, which I was going for due to him originally being from New England.

🌼 - How old are they? (Or approximate age range)

Henry starts off Dream Quest at 14, and turns 15 at some point during the story. Like Cherise and Neville, he will continue to age as the stories go on and be in his 20s in the final arc

🌺- Do they have any love interest(s)?

Henry's primary love interest is Ayane, the dream spirit/tulpa of a popular fictional character he brought home from the Dreamlands. However they aren't going to get together just yet; he'll date a couple other girls before they come to terms with their feelings.

🍕 - What is their favorite food?

Chicken parmesan for dinner, baklava and black coffee for dessert

💼 - What do they do for a living?

Henry is a student at the current age. His family is too affluent for him to have to work for a living. The trajectory of his life is such that he will likely either join the magic council of San Francisco or be shipped off to Greece to apprentice under his "grandfather," really his immortal ancestor Lelantos. However, most likely, he will not do any of that.

🎹 - Do they have any hobbies?

Henry loves to read heavy tomes, usually fantasy novels if they aren't arcane grimoires.

🎯 -What do they do best?

Henry's greatest talent as a practitioner is to alter the shape and properties of earthen materials. He can make stone and metal soft and spongy on contact or shape it with his hands, which he is quite good at.

🥊 -What do they love to do? What do they hate to do?

Henry loves to sing, and will probably lean more into music as an escape after returning him. He is starting to learn that he hates being told what do do and will soon enter his rebellious phase.

❤️ - What is one of your OC’s best memories?

We explore it in the dream quest novel! He remembers going to the beach as a toddler with his mother. This is one of his last memories of her before she died.

✂️ - What is one of your OC’s worst memories?

Probably what came right after the last one, being told that she had died. I have not fleshed out the details of that incident however.

🧊 - Is their current design the first one?

Like Neville, he underwent a latinization lmao. He was originally a pasty white boy and is now mixed white/afro-latino. I think of this era as the "punished Henry" design since he has grown his hair out long and lost his arm, which were both absent originally.

🍀 - What originally inspired the OC?

the deep lore is that he was based on a big name fan's homestuck fankid. I don't remember either of their names. Just know that someone else made up a black haired child with a big blue coat who was interested in the occult.

🌂 - What genre do they belong in?

Seeing as he was raised among magic with it as his birthright, and is in the process of becoming even more magical, he could only ever be a fantasy character. He would probably do well in one of those political fantasies about warring houses though, mind you.

💚 - What is your OC’s gender identity and sexuality?

Henry is cis and bisexual. I know I said he mostly dates girls back there, but he will show interest in at least a couple boys at one point.

🙌 - How many sibling does your OC have?

Henry has no siblings. He does however have a younger cousin, Ruby, with whom he has been raised, and they see each other as siblings.

🍎 - What is the OC’s relationship w/their parents like?

Henry really wishes they were still alive. He instead is being raised by his aunt. She is a cold woman and difficult to please, but can be loving now and then. He is starting to distrust her, however.

🧠 - What do you like most about the OC?

He just has a certain je ne sais quo...

✏️ - How often do you draw/write about the OC?

There was a period where I didn't talk about him at all because I was unsatisfied with his original introduction and wanted to write a new one. Then when that was done I never shut up about him.

💎 - Do you ever see yourself killing off the OC?

If Henry dies he will simply hatch out of the corpse like a cicada.

💀 - Does your OC have any phobias?

Surprisingly no.

🍩 -Who is your OC’s arch-nemesis or rival?

For nemeses he has his evil genderbent doppelganger from the mirror dimension, Leila. I suppose they could also be construed as rivals due to being in the same age range and having similar abilities. literal foils and such. He is also going to come to hate his grandfather.

🎓 - How long have you had the OC?

November of 2013. I remember because it was a NaNo project.

🍥 - What age were you when you created the OC?

21...

[ruiniel]

Prickly thorns, tender roses

Fandom: Castlevania series (2017-2021)

Rating: Mature🔞

Relationship: Alucard/Original Female Character

Characters: Alucard, Original Character(s)

Summary:

Set after the events of Castlevania (Netflix) Season III. After the betrayal of his young apprentices, Alucard feels barely alive in his lonesome castle. Days wear on, chipping away at his mind and sanity. And what is the son of Dracula to do with this unwanted visitor, suddenly come at his doorstep? Often the prickly thorn produces tender roses - Ovid

Chapter tags & warnings: Inspired by Castlevania, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, POV alternating, Post-Castlevania Season III, Non-Canon Relationship, Paranoia, Not Canon Compliant, Angst, Personal interpretation of post-season III Alucard

PART I

Also on AO3

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XIX. Rue the day

The night was dewy, her steps were swift and floundering. The lone figure traversed the forest path leading away from the castle, her gaze ever watchful. This was, after all, a most surprising country in its savagery, as Ravenna had discovered firsthand. But even though she was afraid, need and fury drove her more than anything else. A need to fly and be away, one which not even her fear of the night and its terrors could suppress. But anger was the most potent of them all: she’d been somewhat of a fool.

Her boldness had been daft, and it was a foolish err to think she could have anticipated him. But most of all, Ravenna felt the greatest idiot for thinking she could help someone like him, in any way, shape, or form. A part of her still wondered what had driven her to act as she did. She pondered on what had made her goad him so shamelessly into intimacies he clearly had no intention of pursuing? Ones she herself had no notion of, apart from sparse teachings and forbidden writings. All of it had brought about such distress that Ravenna thought he may actually harm her, such was the insane spark of resentment in his eyes.

Hateful. Ravenna bit back a sob as her steps gained in speed. But not at first. At first, his mouth had been warm and welcoming, his body so perfectly arrayed to hers, his touch so unexpectedly nourishing and enveloping. And it felt so right to meld into him and all that he was; so honest and raw, as if his own life force surged within her through some arcane sharing... Her brow furrowed.

The blood.

Of course, there had been surely something he did not tell her, either from reluctance or an aversion to delving deeper into what was an uncomfortable topic. Ravenna figured it all had a role, but it was not the primary cause. More fool you, for dreaming of valiant deeds, of caring for vampires and shapeshifters.

In her hasty flight she’d taken nothing except her dagger and the clothes she now wore: a pair of worn leggings and a long knee-length tunic, which she cinched with a leather belt. She’d also taken a dark hooded cape from the few abandoned garments found in her borrowed bedchamber.

When Ravenna fled from an irate and feral Adrian, she ran straight to her room, and as she became engrossed in her hasty arrangements, the gifted manuscript caught her eye. She recalled herself standing still and gaping at the tome for a good few moments, open as it lay on the bed where she had left it.

How could he think I did it all to use him, when I had not even the slightest idea this existed?

He could not have been more wrong, but what was the use of wondering about it all anymore? Unfortunately, this creature was clearly lost, whatever he lived through bursting violently against any attempt of connection. Pridefully, Ravenna at first made for the door, intent on leaving his gift behind if only to prove her mettle. But then she recalled the higher need which drove her, and the principal goal leading her weary travels into this godforsaken land. For better or worse, it had been a gift. And she had nothing to prove, despite those delusional and hurtful accusations. It would be put to good use, for his own redemption, among others. No matter that he would never know of it. She took the tome.

Now, as Ravenna trudged through the forest, she turned her head up to the sky, only to feel drops of wetness caress and tickle her skin in sharp cold beams. Wonderful. Just what I needed.

She pulled the cloak and hood tighter around her shoulders, and grasping her dagger closely beneath the folds of her garment Ravenna pursued through the forest. She would not rest, she could not afford to. Firstly, it was perilous to linger, and secondly, she wanted to reach a human settlement as soon as possible. She had very little coin left, but it would have to do. Her return journey would not be an easy one, but what mattered was for the tome to reach master Ovidius. Ravenna would have needed more time to read it here, matching with other information she still had to sift through from the vault. But as things stood, even a partial aid was better than none.

She walked for most of the night with a mind full and an aching spirit, fortunately encountering no setbacks of any kind. Well, there must be some balance, Ravenna considered her luck. She only stopped to rest for a short while, taking shelter beneath thicker crowned trees when the downpour became stronger. It was yet predawn when her wearied eyes caught a flickering light in the distance.

The rains returned. A curtain of mist veiled the view of the world from the castle, and the sound of water striking against its stone walls hammered its tune savagely into his mind. Alucard closed the book which had failed to capture his attention, and rising, replaced it onto the shelf. There was peace, there was quietude. And then there was the half-empty beat of his heart, yet to be free of a burden he never asked for.

Why this place? Why, out of all the places and people sent on one quest or another in this whole damned world, did it have to be her? He still felt her presence a day after her departure. Or perhaps it had not even been that long.

As his feet took him to the study, Alucard tried and failed to forget and bury the trembling words thrown at him before he angrily sent her away. They milled and ruminated, leaving him more confused than he ever recalled, and more wanting than he dared to admit.

I feel for you.

And the dreadful irony of it all was that the moment the words left her mouth, he believed them. Alucard had wanted to believe the truth of them, but still failed to go past the wall so suddenly raised between them—one of his own making, at that.

His tired gaze flitted to the window, and the dhampir went to lean with his palms against the pane. Well, she was gone now, and there was nothing he could wisely do about it. Nor did he want to, no matter how vividly her taste lingered on his tongue, no matter how much he wished to feel her hands on him again. Alucard had hoped this was all mainly owed to the remnants of her blood still wreaking havoc on his insides, but the stubborn feeling of loss and need persisted. He’d done it only to protect himself, to keep it all from spiraling into disaster again.

And this is so much better, his divided mind quipped, and he grimaced before lowering his head. Alucard turned and looked to the narrow table, where two wine glasses still sat. Hers was yet half full.

Pride had never been his major sin, and so that prevented Alucard from savagely rejecting the following thought. Had he made some sort of mistake? He could not run after her at the time, with his mind yet on fire and his spirit confused. The damage had been dealt and there was more harm than good to come of it.

It mattered little now. Once the darkness had receded from his manner that evening, he’d sought Ravenna in her chamber, though what for, he knew not. Alucard may have wanted to speak with her further. He may have wished to at least retract his threat and give her more time. But when there was no response, he saw that the woman had kept to his conditions. She was already gone.

With his thoughts as torn and being pulled apart by doubts akin to ravenous wolves, Alucard left the study to pace through the castle. The structure had regained its aura of pressing emptiness, and his ghostly steps were the only ones discernible in the gloom. The castle was barren, its gates barred once more. There surfaced a wish to be free of it, to leave the confines of its walls, where yet another memory of loss now dwelt.

Alucard hastened his stride, and wearing his long coat and sword, went outside. The heavy rain dampened his hair and garment, and he raised his head to the skies, allowing the cold droplets to fall and drench his fevered skin and eyes. He began walking again, straight toward the Belmont Vault.

Once there, he pulled the lever which kindled the lights. What struck him rather unexpectedly was that even here, she still permeated the air. The memory of red forest berries and wine, and something of her on his skin nearly caused him to curl in on himself, such was the longing to taste it again. What have you done to me? Alucard wondered dryly, knowing full well it was unfair to think so. The blood... it’s only because of… the blood. Soon it would weaken, and he would be free of it. Or so Alucard hoped as he absently touched one tome, still spread over the reading table Ravenna used during her time spent here.

Have I made a mistake?

The stubborn question formed again, just as his eye caught another remnant of the past. Not far stood an object that made him frown: a tall, cracked mirror with an unknown script carved into its frame. It was the distance mirror he and Sypha had used to find and capture the castle of his father, once upon a time. It all felt like ages ago.

Alucard tried fighting it. He really did. But the hellish question remained, as did the torment of a longing he failed to completely smother. But there is no other choice. And it was all his doing. He approached the mirror, another thought brimming with ruthless insistence.

If only to know she was alive, if only to see she was well. He removed his glove, and using a clawed finger, etched the required arcane symbols into the metal frame of the mirror. Alucard propped his hands against the metal edges. He looked downward with a sigh, a last moment of hesitation.

“Show me the Styrian,” he spoke the brittle words unto the mirror, and before his eyes, colors and patterns seeped through the reflective surface in uneven waves.

And then there was her face, the eyes Alucard had always found so unnerving and intriguing. His chest burned like a raging inferno, consumed by the vivid image of her so far and out of reach. The longing in his heart quickened, creating a raucous storm that crashed against the walls of him. The scent of longing filled the air, mingling with the bittersweet taste of unfulfilled desires. She was cloaked, and there was resignation in her tired gaze. Alucard could not see more as details blurred.

His hands trembled, and he rued the day she set foot into this tomb. The realization that his fear had gotten the best of him struck its blows, and guilt began its torture. Deep within himself now lay the ruined remnants of a possible friendship. Alucard rested his forehead against the cold glass. His sigh misted the mirror. His hand came splayed over the surface, fingers clawing over the vision of her face. “If only you had less pride, and I more sense...”

I would never harm you.

Alucard stepped back from the mirror as if burnt, and the image disappeared. He placed his head in his hands, and under the weight of his mind, heart and the added burden of his choices, his knees buckled and he fell. But she was alive. She survived the night, and as he had guessed and hoped, this woman seemed to thrive on willpower alone. She would make a successful return and continue her work. She had to.

Now all was well and good, if only he could cease thinking about her. Alucard rose after a good while, wanting to busy himself with the mundane work of arranging items in the vault, an attempt to keep his mind anchored into the present.

No sooner had he turned away from the mirror than a shrieking sound filled his ears. Screaming. There was struggling. And then his heart was beating wildly, as when faced with impending peril. No, these sensations, though alive and real, were not his.

He swiftly approached the distance mirror again, placing his hands on either side. He took a deep breath, and before he could change his mind, spoke the words.

“Show me where she is.”

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[thecrossoverwriter15]

Okay guys, I can’t just sit and wait for Dreamwork to make the Rise of the Guardians sequel. I just can’t. This movie has been keeping my spirits up since I lost my beautiful little pup, Chloe.

She was so young and was suffering to a lung disease and died a few months back. I’m still mourning her loss, but am slowly getting back into my old grove. One movie in particular has been my anchor since then, Rise of the Guardians. This movie gave me hope (no pun intended) for the future. It’s almost like I have an emotional attachment to it. That is why I can’t let it sit and rot in the dumpster. I want to come back, fresh and clean and ready for the whole world to see. I thought, if Dreamworks won’t write a brand-new story with the holiday Avengers/Guardians of the Galaxy, then I will. So, I turned on my computer and wrote out a sequel idea and want to share it with you:

So, this sequel will be inspired by the early concept art that was done for the movie.

The Guardians will look the same as they did from the film, but they will have more book accurate origins and settings. The cast will remain mostly the same, except Jack Frost and North. Look, I LOVE Chris Pine, but I didn’t feel that his adult voice fit the young 17-18 year old winter boy. Like TMNT Mutant Mayhem, he will have a teenage actor to voice him. Along with this, I casted David Harbor as North. Hugh Jackman, Isla Fisher and Jude Law will return as their old characters! Now, I was on the fence of adding a new Guardian in the mix. I enjoy reading Jack Frost/Original Characters just as much as you do, but I sometimes feel as though the new characters need depth or just need to be on their own for themselves to grow. That is why I decided to use a pre-existing character from the novels, Emily Jane AKA Mother Nature.

A bit of background, she is the daughter of Pitch Black, is Mother Nature and is known for being mysterious and unpredictable. As I was designing her for this sequel, I was stuck on making her a Goddess type character who serves as healer for the Guardians or an unpredictable, to-be villain like Jinx from Arcane. If you guys have any suggestions on Emily, please write me. I would love to hear your thoughts. Anyhow, Jamie Bennett and his group of friends (Cupcake, Monty, ETC.) will return, older and ready to help out their newfound friends! Since Jamie Bennett’s voice actor is now an adult, I will have a younger actor take his place. Now, it’s time for the nitty gritty…story and setting.

When watching ROTG, we get a scene where Tooth explaining to Jack Frost how each Guardian’s past is linked to their center. In between the conversation, North says, “You should have seen Bunny!” and laughs. Bunny’s expression hardens as he corrects him, “Hey, I told you never to mention that!” Don’t tell me that his response had didn’t have you raising an eyebrow. There’s another scene in the rising climax when Bunny shouts at Jack after he becomes invisible due to the children not believing in the Easter Bunny anymore. After he yells, he composes himself, “Easter is new beginnings, new life. Easter’s about Hope and now it’s gone.” See in the books, Bunny came from a race of powerful rabbit warriors known as Pooka. They had incredible abilities and were one of Pitch Black’s greatest enemies. When Pitch became evil, he sadly dissolated the population, leaving Bunny as the very last Pooka. Well, ladies and gentlemen, you will see his origins in this sequel.

This sequel will be cut into two acts - Act 1 and 2. There will be flashbacks interwoven when a main plot line ends. The first act will be set in Burgess/The Pole, Tooth Palace and the Warden, the locations from the first film. The second act will be set in an underground nightmare city that sprits such as the Groundhog or the Leprechaun go to collect and trade trinkets they encounter on their journeys. This city is ruled by Pitch Black and Emily who is working with him to find and defeat the Guardians. The city’s design is inspired by Knowhere from GOTG, Silco’s Nation of Zauhn (I believe I’m spelling that right), Pitch’s underground lair and the Coraline house location! You will see MAGIC!!

Finally, Score and how it will be written!

The score is complete! As you may know, I use specific music scores and songs that create a rhythm/plot line so when one goes to listen, they have an understanding of what will happen! Well, I have completed the score! If you wish to listen, here’s the link!

Now, how will I write this story???

This might have been the hardest decision! See, I was debating on a fanfiction or a script that will be posted on Wattpad when I get time to finish my other works! I was really struggling with the idea! I asked my dad who actually works in the film industry! Then, I though, “Hmm. If I wrote a fanfiction, it might just be treated as a silly fanfiction. I want it to feel genuine.” So, I decided on a script. Besides the fact that I write fun scripts for my class and have knowledge about films, I though I could structure things out! It would be easier!

Well, that’s it! If you have any ideas, let me know! Comment, ask, whatever!! The world is your oyster! Thanks for stopping by and reading! I’m just a fan of this movie and want to see it succeed! Remember:

[aquadestinyswriting]

WIP Series- The Wizard's Tale

Genres- High Fantasy, drama,

Themes-  Power and corruption, vulnerability, fate and free will, relationships (both romantic and platonic), mental health, politics, betrayal of trust, grief, guilt, growth

Synopsis-  Selene Frigidwake is the Grand Magus of the city of Toreguarde, the jewel in the crown of the Drakemarie Empire. Considered one of the greatest wizards of her age, she has left the adventuring life far behind to play politics with a greedy and corrupt city council instead. Not exactly the life she had been hoping to lead after defeating the demonic armies ten years ago, but she's managed. Unfortunately, the failure of the Seal beneath the wizard's tower starts a chain of events that threaten everything she holds dear. Unable to act due to the Edict put in place by Toreguarde's City Council, she can only watch from the sidelines and hope that her guidance will be enough to allow those who now follow in her footsteps to succeed.

Main Characters

Selene Frigidwake: Grand Magus of Toregaurde and the one whose story we'll be following.

Thazaar Clayrmantle: Selene's Second and the one who takes over the duties of Grand Magus when Selene is out of the city or unable to perform her duties for any reason. A half elf with tanned skin and bright red hair, Thazaar is a kindly man, who takes care of the more mundane, day-to-day running of the wizard's tower

Thaddeus Darkmantle: Head of Academics and a dour and somewhat cynical man. As his title suggests, he takes care of the members of the wizard's tower who are responsible for teaching those who are interested in becoming apprentice wizards. He is also technically in charge of the Arcane Library, but rarely does anything in there because he is more than aware of Selene's background as a certified Arcane Librarian (and the fact that she'd rather take care of the place herself).

Dwena Diamonddust: Dwena is in charge of the tower's magical defences and security. Her Planeshifter abilities ensure that she can appear from seemingly nowhere whenever and wherever required. She also helped to design the interior of the tower, ensuring that, by using portals, everything that was required could easily fit into the available space. Dwena has also taken it upon herself to act as Selene's Personal Assistant, keeping an eye on the Grand Magus and making sure that she isn't taking on too much all at once (as she is prone to do at times).

Reginald Schreiber: Toreguarde's Chancellor from its inception until his untimely death. He is responsible for looking out for the financial interests of the city's nobles and trade guilds and does so with vim and vigour. Unfortunately, as with any career politician, Lord Schreiber is prone to being rather.... single-minded in his aspirations. Sincerely disliked by both Selene and General Strucker, he is not known for following the spirit of Toreguarde's laws unless it suits him, especially when it comes to the Edict banning the remaining Heroes of Toreguarde from acting in the city's defence without prior authorisation by both the full City Council and Lord Drakemar's vassal.

Edwin Goodwin: Originally the Abouna (or High Priest) of the Temple of Galana within Fangthane, he came to Toreguarde to minister the temple there instead when the dwarves of Fangthane declared an official Grudge against Toreguarde due to events outwith his control.

Minor Characters

Elowyn O'Toreguarde: Selene's 'niece', unofficially adopted as part of the Grand Magus' found family during the Demon Wars ten years prior. A Watchperson turned Paladin who has been sent off by 'Destiny' to save the world, following in the footsteps of both her mentor and Selene herself, despite the latter wishing it were otherwise. (Note: I know this is Dru's character, but I do have her permission to use Elowyn in my writing as it's a bit hard not to. Pre-established relationships between characters and all.)

Egrim Shiverstaff: The original Abouna of Toreguarde's Temple of Galana. An old adventuring partner of Selene's and one of the Heroes of Toreguarde who has a statue in the central plaza. He is a kind and gentle dwarf, who is more than happy to offer up a cup of something and a willing ear when Selene needs to let off some much-needed steam.

Tag list (dm for +/-): @druidx, @strosmkai-rum , @homesteadchronicles , @writeblrsupport

Stories

The Failing of the Seal (Multiple Chapters) Ao3

A Circle None Can Break (Multiple Chapters) Ao3

The Guardian's Dilemma Ao3

A Stand on Holy Ground

A Letter to You Ao3

Take My Hand Ao3

To Heal a Broken Soul (Multiple Chapters) Ao3

When Forever Comes (songfic)

The Wise Man is a Fool Ao3

Once More Unto the Breach

Comedi Vivit Ao3

Seeking Insight

Apologeticum Debet

The Librarian's Lament Ao3

Where the Flowers Grow Ao3

Mundi Finis

[ao3feed-piltovers-finest]

The Things We Love Most Destroy Us

by ClexaOtaim

CaitVi Hunger Games AU

Panem is strong as ever. The Hunger Games are beginning again. All eyes are hungrily awaiting 24 new tributes, 24 new lambs to the slaughter. Caitlyn Kiramman is the daughter of a wealthy family, a proud student of the Peacekeeper Academy. If she is reaped, she will not let her District down. Violet 'Vi' Layne is an orphan who works day after day in the fields, picking crops she will never get to taste. If she is reaped, she has no-one to let down but herself, and she won't go down without a fight. 24 people will enter that arena. 23 are expected to die. But what if the greatest victory comes not from winning the Games, but winning a heart?

Words: 1469, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Arcane: League of Legends (Cartoon 2021)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M

Characters: Caitlyn (League of Legends), Vi (League of Legends), Jayce (League of Legends), Mel Medarda, Viktor (League of Legends), Jinx (League of Legends), Ekko (League of Legends), Sevika (Arcane: League of Legends), Heimerdinger (League of Legends), Silco (Arcane: League of Legends), Vander (League of Legends), Benzo (Arcane: League of Legends), Cassandra Kiramman, Ambessa Medarda, Elora (Arcane: League of Legends), Sky (Arcane: League of Legends), Scar (Arcane: League of Legends), Marcus (Arcane: League of Legends), Grayson (Arcane: League of Legends), Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s), Salo (Arcane: League of Legends), Singed (League of Legends), Huck (Arcane: League of Legends), Claggor (Arcane: League of Legends), Mylo (Arcane: League of Legends), Deckard (Arcane: League of Legends)

Relationships: Caitlyn/Vi (League of Legends), Jayce (League of Legends)/Mel Medarda, Sky (Arcane: League of Legends)/Viktor (League of Legends)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Hunger Games Setting, Hunger Games, Hunger Games-Typical Death/Violence, Inspired by The Hunger Games, The Capitol (Hunger Games), Careers (Hunger Games), Hunger Games Tributes, Caitlyn and Vi are in Love (League of Legends), Badass Caitlyn (League of Legends), Lesbian Caitlyn (League of Legends), Vi Needs a Hug (League of Legends), Protective Vi (League of Legends), Lesbian Vi (League of Legends), Jinx is a Menace (League of Legends), Protective Jayce (League of Legends), Character Death, Near Death Experiences, Blood and Violence, Threats of Violence, Violent Thoughts, Heavy Angst, Forbidden Love, Love Confessions, Blood and Injury, Blood and Gore, Blood Loss, Fights, Arena (Hunger Games), Alliances, Sibling Rivalry, I'm Bad At Tagging, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping

Read on A03. from AO3 works tagged ‘Caitlyn/Vi (League of Legends)’

[dailyadventureprompts]

Adventure: The Lost Marbles

“While some may be born into wild magic or have it thrust upon them by otherworldly forces, beware most of all your fellow students, for we know full well the danger of magic yet choose to trifle with it still”

- Archmage Urathil, instructing his class

“Yeah no shit teach, wizards going to wizard”

- Ember Quinsworth, problem student

Hooks:

An explosion stirs the party from their lazy morning at the inn, drawing them out onto the street just as a hail of rubble and wild shrapnel begins to fall upon the district. The tower that had for so long loomed above the neighborhood ( and acted as a landmark by which the party found their way through the unfamiliar town) has erupted into a cloud of cotton candy colored smoke and far-flying debris, leaving those not forced to run for cover to wonder just what the hell kind of experiment just went wrong up there.  Just as they’re in the midst of helping civilians, the party realizes that some of the embers streaking form the tower like wayward fireworks are infact self-willed, and the small blazes they start migrate to consume new kindling growing in size all the while.

Over the next few days the rumormill will be working overtime, spreading stories of not only who or what might’ve caused the explosion, but of the strange things over the tower’s for or so hour eruption. Folks say that they saw imps and greater fiends flying off through the smoke, the street preachers insist it was an act of divine wrath ( though fail to agree on a source) and pretty much everyone agrees this never would have happened under the old wizard, who was a respectful, civic minded sort of dame, even if she did have a fondness for skeletons.

The local markets have likewise begun to fill up with magical jetsam, most of it unidentified and a good portion certainly fake, their owners looking to offload their ill gotten gain before the officials sweep through in a confiscation spree. Speaking of ill gotten gain, while out at the market the party are introduced to a local fence by the name of Dexell Wheeler and his gaggle of adopted urchin children/pick pockets. He’s got a scheme to make it big, but he’s going to need the party’s help in securing a bit of start up capital in the form of salvage directly form the recently exploded tower.

While the city watch has established a perimeter, the party could easily slip past it with the help of Dexell’s pickpockets, allowing them to line their haversacks and investigate the source of the blast at the same time. That is, provided they don’t mind braving structural instability, rogue arcane defenses and whatever chaotic elementals were generated by that alchemical blast still roaming the halls.

Setup: Otor the Inordinate was never the most exemplary wizard. Sure he had the hat, and the beard, and the crazed look in his eye that said he’d turn you in to a toad just to watch you hop, but that was just his problem. He wasn’t just an archetypal wizard, he was an unoriginal one, a poser, too concerned with affecting the aesthetic of a soothsayer to actually go and develop enough eccentricities to actually be one. While his bag if tricks might’ve been a greatest hits collection of mages that’d been dead for well over a century, what Oltor did have going for him was getting things to blow up in big, flashy ways, the sort of flashy that impresses know nothing nobles who want a wizard to entertain at parties and lay waste to their enemies upon the battlefield. Otor did both with aplom, earning himself a cushy tower and a generous stipend which he spent researching more ways to cover up for his lack of talent and originality.

Though many of his experiments failed, the real problems began when Otor began working with a local fence who he’d started paying to smuggle him components that others might have thought dangerous or profane. This fence (You’ve guessed it, Dexell) happened to know a group of shifty characters who’d recently come into possession of a number of arcane tomes, including the notes of a brilliant transmuter who was working on a process of literally crystalizing thoughts. Otor thought he was very clever when he created a rock garden that would do his thinking for him, right up until he discovered the ideas grown from a half baked destruction mage would not only be unsound but violently unstable.  

Further Adventures:

If you want more of an intro for the adventure, consider having one of the party’s first quests be for one of Dexell’s agents, sent out into the wilderness to gather some components only to have her hired muscle thrashed when the creature they were supposed to be hunting proved a little too dangerous. When the party report in to collect their reward, she’ll insist that they make the delivery to the fence themselves and save her the trip back into town, giving you a perfect reason to have the party traveling out of the starting area and towards a major center of the campaign.

What Otor failed to understand about the spell he was ripping off is that the crystals he was growing didn’t just come out of nowhere:  like all good ideas they built themselves from existing thoughts and concepts, in this case literally transmuting the figments of the fail-wizard’s ostentatious imaginings into a physical form and allowing them to affect both matter and ideas when the crystal shattered. Being so close to a metaphysical explosion literally blew Otor to bits, with different fragments of his personality and memory torn from his incinerated body and unleashed upon the world in the form of mephits. A few will linger around the tower, but one will fly to the home of Otor’s noble patron looking to entertain and pester him for money, while others will fly off to places the now dead wizard had strong mental attachments to. If left unchecked, these mephits will evolve into dangerous crystalline horrors, requiring the party to hunt them down in future adventures.

The chain reaction caused by the explosion of unpredictable magic actually created a few stable idea crystals, fragments of the upper rooms of Otor’s tower reduced to marble sized chunks of idea frozen moments before their destruction. Some of the local kids found these glittering treasures among the wreckage, and have included them in their games.  Winning these marbles will give the party a chance to loot the best stocked portions of the tower at their leisure, provided they realize that a dispel magic effect will cause the marble to fade and the trapped portion of room to materialize.

Otor’s patron will not be happy to have watched his years of investments go up in a cotton candy colored smoke and fireworks show and will be moving fast to claim everything he can that the wizard once owned. The party stands to make a powerful enemy if they’re caught with this conjuror’s contraband, but might be able to spin this into an opportunity later on down the line. Some weeks to months later, word will reach them that the noble is looking for a new court wizard, which could earn one of the party members a prestigious position should their skills prove up to muster. They WILL have to find their own tower though.

[aspiringwarriorlibrarian]

Characters that we are (probably) not going to see in Arcane but are definitely canon to Piltover and Zaun so you can imagine them running around in the background:

This is Ezreal, aka Lara Croft reskinned as a Kingdom Hearts protagonist. Born to two archaeologist parents and frequently abandoned by them in favor of long expeditions to ancient sites, Ezreal dreamed of going with them, learning skills like lockpicking, cartography, and ancient history to make himself worthy of their attention. Unfortunately, these trips kept getting longer and longer until they eventually didn’t come back at all, and his attempt to track down their last archaeological dig showed no trace of them. From that point on, Ezreal decided to become the greatest adventurer in Runeterra, going on wild exploits all over the globe and telling his stories to anyone who would hear them, in the hopes that if he becomes famous enough his parents will return.

(Also in the Pulsefire alternate universe, it’s heavily implied that he and Ekko have an on again off again relationship complicated by time travel, it’s good.)

A primordial wind spirit, Janna gradually waned in significance and power with the end of the age of sail in Piltover and Zaun.However, when a collapse left several districts below sea level and rapidly flooding, the few who still remembered her called out her name and she arrived, beating back the currents and fires to allow them to escape their flooding home. Since then, she is venerated as a goddess of clean air and a protector of the downtrodden in Zaun.

I’m also showing you her Wild Rift design because her main one is terrible.

Seraphine, a pretty pink pop star with empathic powers, born to Zaunite parents in Piltover. She can feel the discord between the cities and is initially overwhelmed by her ability to hear the pain and suffering of everyone around her, but is inspired/taught by a magical artifact which, unknown to her, is actually the imprisoned soul of an innocent creature. Using the music they teach her and her own powers, her song enables others to empathize with each other, even temporarily. Would be a much better character if Riot decided to properly utilize her.

This is Twitch. Turns out if you pour enough weird magical/scientific/whatever pollution into a sewer, you get a giant talking rat who collects garbage and shoots people with a crossbow. Is also planning the downfall of humanity, maybe. Riot’s never bothered to give him much lore.

This is Zac. Was originally meant to be a evil mutated blob monster for a chem-baron, but his scientist parents decided to bring him home and raise him with love, so now he’s a kind, friendly himbo who uses his powers to help the helpless and rebuild broken infrastructure.

[johnnycranes]

Through the Cracks: a Silco x Original Female Character fanfic

chapter 1: Surprise Guests

Read on AO3

words: 3.7k

summary: Anita has always known the fabulous and privileged lifestyle in Piltover. But when her mother dies, her family finds another way to keep their airship business afloat. Who knew smuggling Shimmer would be so lucrative? Silco is intrigued by his business partner. Anita finds freedom outside the picturesque, prim and proper world. Takes place between Acts 1 and 2.

rating and warning: m but will bump it up to e for eventual smut in later chapters(!?). chapter contains language and sass

a/n: i quickly fell down the arcane and silco rabbit hole, and over the weekend decided why not add another ship and another fic to my plate, hmm?

“I’ll see you at dinner? Mother said she’s having a chef prepare your favorite pasta.”

“Yes, now go on. You have reports to submit.” Anita smiled and placed a quick peck on her fiancé’s lips before he winked at her, placing his enforcer hat back on.

She watched Adam make his way towards the offices of the Council until he was but a speck in the horizon. It was a day well spent with him. They finally picked out a gorgeous venue for the wedding as well as narrowed down their choices in catering.

Anita had no idea why her future mother-in-law, Juniper, insisted that they bump up the wedding two months earlier but luckily everything still seemed to work in their favor.

Anita raised her hand to gaze at the beautiful engagement ring Adam gave her. It still awed her that soon she’d be married to her best friend, one of the greatest men in the city if she said so herself.

She smiled, staring at the ring before putting her hand back down.

Piltover during sunset was always a gorgeous sight, and Anita basked in its glow as she made her way to her father’s house. Ever since her mother died, her father seemed to be a husk of his former self, like what was left of his heart was clinging to life. But every now and then Anita would see that sparkle in his eyes when he laughed or smiled, and she knew he was still as strong as ever, just heartbroken.

She made it a habit to see him whenever she could, especially now that she spent most of her days with her fiancé, planning and preparing the wedding. She made sure she carved a few hours to check on family, it was the least she could do.

Anita fetched out the house key from her purse to open the front door, but as she clicked it into the keyhole, she was surprised to find it was already unlocked. Her father probably forgot to lock it again after coming back from his usual afternoon walk.

If he weren’t so against it, Anita would’ve already hired a guard for the house, but her father would insist it wasn’t necessary and that he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself.

Putting the key away, she turned the door knob and her brown eyes immediately zoomed in to see a black coat hanging from the coat rack. Her father didn’t have black coats, hated them, they reminded him of death, he’d always say.

So her father was going through a phase, someone actually really just died, or that was someone else’s coat.

Anita barely took five steps down the corridor towards her father’s study when a muscular figure blocked her path.

She’d recognize that armor anywhere, dreading every time she saw the figure it belonged to. Her brown eyes narrowed as she glared up at Sevika.

“This couldn’t wait until after sunset?” Anita hissed. She was having such a wonderful day too. And now it felt like she ran right in front of a train. Almost quite literally too for how strong Sevika was.

The taller woman shrugged. “Got other important shit to do later, dunno what to tell ya.” Sevika said, bored, mocking and obviously knew it would piss Anita off.

It did.

Whenever Sevika showed up at Piltover, at her father’s house, it always put Anita in a sour mood, a reminder that the Gil family was living a lavish lifestyle precariously balanced on top of the filthy business with the undercity. It was like a dream induced by toxic.

By Shimmer.

“Where’s my father, then?” Anita asked, tone harsh and clipped.

Sevika on the other hand was the picture of serenity. “In his study.”

Anita glanced at the coat rack. She was too annoyed not to pick a fight with the woman who could crush her like a toothpick. “No offense but that coat over there looks a few sizes too small for you. Who else is here?”

Sevika leered down at Anita like a predator playing with its prey, humoring her. “I mean, you’re here. I’m here, your father’s here.” She hummed, as if pretending to be deep in thought. “Who am I missing?”

Before Anita could tell Sevika to fuck herself, a door clicked open and both women turned to see Anita’s father, Harold, step out of the study at the other end of the corridor, looking frazzled.

It broke Anita’s heart to see her father, a usually proud and confident man, turn into a nervous wreck. Like the alpha male of a pack who lost in combat, shrinking away.

He was staring at something or someone that had yet to leave the study after him. “The airships will be ready by tonight, you- you have my word.” Harold stuttered, his voice shaking and Anita wondered who aside from Sevika would make her father so anxious.

“And what exactly is your word worth, I wonder?” A rich, smooth and husky voice echoed from the study, and Anita held her breath as the seconds ticked by. If that was the man she thought it was… making a personal visit himself, then just how much trouble was her father in this time?

Even from the other end of the corridor, Anita could see her father’s breathing was shallow, his chest rising and falling rapidly. “I promise.” Harold said, voice steadier, like he was trying to convince himself and the mystery visitor. “This is as important to me as it is to you, Silco.”

Anita’s eyes widened just a fraction.

So it was him.

Like uttering his name summoned him from the darkness, the criminal kingpin himself stepped out of the study, his ghostly pale skin and lanky body making him seem like a ghoul.

From where she was, Anita only saw one side of his face as he continued to stare down at Harold. It was hard to imagine such a cruel man would have such beautiful blue eyes, like a siren calling you in before sinking claws into you.

Anita instantly felt a chill in the air. Just seeing him, being in his presence, he commanded the entire room, the entire house. Silco wasn’t even that much taller than Harold and yet her father looked like an insect standing next to a god.

“I would hope so, Harold.” his voice was venomous as he spat out her father’s name. “I can’t imagine what Piltover’s residents would think if the Gil Airship Company suddenly lost its biggest client.”

Her father stayed quiet, brown eyes behind reading glasses staring straight into the jaws of the shark.

And said shark seemed to enjoy playing with his food. “Sevika will be waiting at the usual spot with this week’s shipment. Don’t be late and make sure tonight’s pilot doesn’t ask too many fucking questions.”

Silco straightened his back and turned...

Turned and saw Anita. Giving her a view of the other side of his face.

Her father told her stories about it, like it was a horrible disfigurement fitting of a monster like Silco.

And yet she couldn’t find herself disgusted by it. More intrigued, in awe, of it.

If his blue eye was a lure then the other one was a blackhole that wanted to pull you in.

His stare was intense and Anita stayed frozen, like the slightest movement she made would set him off. It was almost as if she couldn’t breathe, yet her heart was beating rapidly, thudding in her ears as the man continued to gaze at her with a look that seemed to burn through her entire being.

Harold turned to see what suddenly caught his guest’s interest, and the older man blinked rapidly in shock. “Anita? I thought you’d be having dinner with the Drydens.” Anita paid no mind to her father, afraid to break the little staring contest she was having with Silco.

But her father’s voice seemed to have broken Silco out of his concentration. Smoothly like he wasn’t in some sort of trance earlier, the criminal kingpin’s lips curled up into a smirk.

“So this is your daughter?” He asked, with a hint of amusement and curiosity in his tone. “Have you been waiting long, my dear?”

His voice was rich as he slowly slithered his way towards her. “I apologize for keeping your father. Meeting took a bit longer than I wanted it to.”

He was only a few steps away from her when he turned his head back towards Harold. “Very rude of you not to introduce us. Where are your manners?”

That seemed to shake Harold out of his stunned and anxious state as he took quick steps to stand beside his daughter. “Anita, this is Silco. Our family’s… most important client. Silco, this is my daughter, Anita.”

She did well staying quiet for this long, but seeing the man who intimidated her father up close made her forget all of her mother’s teachings on proper etiquette and being polite. That and she still had pent up frustration from Sevika’s mocking earlier.

”Are your lackeys so drugged up on Shimmer that you have to do the footwork now?” She spat out.

Her father whipped his head to her so quickly that his glasses almost fell off. “Anita!” he scolded, fear laced in his voice.

Sevika’s eye twitched and so did her fingers - well, the non-mechanical ones anyway - like she was just waiting for a reason to hit the privileged little Piltover girl, as the muscular woman loved to say. Anita expected Silco to react just as violently, maybe send her tumbling to the wall with the back of his hand.

So it came as a shock when the kingpin simply chuckled, a mischievous glint in his blue eye.

A smirk more intimidating than any she ever saw in her life graced Silco’s lips as he gazed at her. “Are all Piltover ladies as feisty as you are? I thought you the picture of grace and poise. You must be quite the party guest.”

It was only her father’s hand on her shoulder that stopped her from biting back.

Not here, not in his house, not in their perfect peaceful little neighborhood. No matter how pissed off Anita was that Silco and his bodyguard showed up to ruin a great day. There was also still no telling how short the criminal’s patience was, for all his teasing, and she at least wouldn’t want to test that limit around family.

So she counted to three in her head and let out a breath, and with an elegant smile on her face worthy of a proper Piltover girl, she said, “The next time we host a celebration, maybe you can see for yourself.”

Maybe meaning never.

She wasn’t sure but Silco seemed… disappointed at her reply as his lips twitched down for a fraction and his shoulders sagged, like he expected her to say something else.

Hey, he wasn’t the only one upset.

But the look soon changed and his smirk was back. “If my duties allow me, or I don’t have to do the… footwork for my people." he said, echoing her words earlier. "Then perhaps I shall make an appearance.”

Anita wanted to scoff at how he made it seem like she needed him at a party, as if she’d be so lucky to be graced by his presence.

Harold continued to hold her steady and she kept her smile in place.

She could scream her frustrations into a pillow later.

Silco tilted his head towards Sevika, who was a looming presence throughout the whole exchange. “We’re leaving.” was all he said and with a nod, his bodyguard came forward, walking past everyone and grinning smugly at Anita as she bade a See ya, princess before opening the front door and stepping outside.

Silco used that time to gather his coat and quickly placed it upon himself, rolling his shoulders as he fixed the collar. The coat made him all the more menacing and Anita was properly reminded that this man was the most dangerous criminal to walk around topside and under.

And here he was about to step out the front door after having a fucking business meeting in her father’s home like he was any other client.

Silco nodded at her father. “Good talk, Harold. Always a pleasure to converse with a fellow entrepreneur.” he said, voice too sweet and too innocent.

Then his mismatched eyes turned to Anita. She was frozen in the spot as he stared at her, his lips curled into a smirk that made her think of the snakes that used to slither in the garden.

Without warning, he took her hand in his and bent down to plant a kiss on her knuckles, his hand was rough and calloused while his lips were surprisingly soft as he pressed them upon her sunkissed skin.

He kept his eyes on hers the whole time. “It was a pleasure to see you as well, Ms. Anita. I’m surprised it took us this long to properly meet.”

She shivered as his breath ghosted on her skin. “Yes sorry, I’ve been busy.” she said, her voice dripping with honey as she feigned her apology. “I have my wedding to plan.”

Silco thumbed the diamond on her engagement ring as he hummed. “So I see. Your fiancé is very fortunate.” he said lightly, and Anita would be lying if she said she wasn’t curious about what he meant by that, his reaction catching her off guard. She thought he’d think nothing of it, dismiss it and be on his way.

But she knew what curiosity did to the cat so she dared not think more about it.

After what felt like eternity, he finally let her hand go and stood to his full height. “Stay safe, you two. It’s horrible how anyone can simply waltz up to your doorstep these days.”

Both father and daughter watched silently as the criminal kingpin walked out of Harold’s house. The Gil patriarch didn’t even wait for Silco and Sevika to leave the yard before he slammed the door shut.

“You’re lucky he didn’t hurt you.” Harold said as he walked towards the bar in the living room, already grabbing for his favorite bottle of whiskey.

Anita followed him to the next room, moving to sit on the barstool. “Why was he here? He never comes here.”

And it was true. As far as she knew, Sevika was always the one who met with her father over the airships. Silco didn’t seem like the type to suddenly concern himself with something so trivial as making sure an airship would make it on time for a little shipment of Shimmer.

Harold poured himself a glass and did the same for Anita. She waited as her father finished downing quickly downed the liquid. “Something about this batch being important.” He said, voice hoarse from the whiskey. “Securing more funds quickly, something or other.”

“And you’re okay? Everything is fine?” she asked, worried for her aging father. He was still the authoritative figure he always was, capable of delivering a stern look that would send a shiver down the spine of even the bravest enforcers.

So seeing him lose his nerve in front of someone like Silco, someone younger yet frailer-looking than him, made Anita pause to think just how terrifying the kingpin was.

Or maybe her father really was getting old and she refused to see just how much.

Harold nodded as he released a deep breath. He glanced at his daughter, brown eyes meeting brown eyes. “I handled it, Annie.” He smiled sadly as he stared at his empty glass. “But your mother would’ve done a better job.”

Mother wouldn’t have let this happen in the first place.

Anita kept quiet, knowing it was useless to say. They both already knew anyway.

Her mother was the one who kept the airship business running smoothly throughout the years, the one who made it possible to live amongst the elites of Piltover. Anita was so proud to have such a hardworking woman to look up to, aspired to learn from her and do the best she could when the time came that she would take over the business.

But when her mother suddenly died…

Anita squeezed her father’s hand. “You’re doing what you can so we can still,” she glanced around the room. “live comfortably.”

Her father barked out a humorless laugh. “And all I had to do was make a deal with the devil, help bring Shimmer to and from hell.” Then he poured himself another glass.

Harold couldn’t do what her mother did, couldn’t be as successful in gaining the favor of Piltover prissies, didn’t have as much social skills to jest and schmooze with them, so he did what he had to so they could survive.

Anita raised her glass and smiled. “To the fruits of our labor.”

Her father grinned and raised his own glass. “To the good life.” he said wryly.

They toasted and drank. Anita felt the hot liquid burn her throat, already feeling a bit lightheaded from that one sip alone. How her father could have several glasses without falling over was a skill he clearly didn’t pass down to her.

“Speaking of labor…” her father started as he kept his eyes on the remaining liquid in his glass. “The meeting I had with him earlier, it’s the first of many with the man himself.”

Anita’s brows furrowed, Silco’s intimidating figure flashing in her mind. “You mean he’ll be coming around here more often?”

Harold shook his head as he forced himself to look at his daughter. “No, I told him we can’t risk it. People will talk about… eccentric figures coming around here, even if he paid off enforcers, which I’m sure he does.”

“Then how will you be having those meetings with him?” She suspected how, but she wanted to be sure first, wanted to hear him say it himself.

Her father didn’t even pause. “I’ll be going to his office in The Lanes myself.”

“Dad!” Anita yelled as she jumped out of her seat, the barstool screeching against the wooden floor. She expected it of course, but it still came as a shock that it took him that long, like he needed the liquid courage first. Damn, and two glasses too.

Harold raised one hand up as if he meant to calm her down. “Annie, it’s ok. He assured me that I’ll have safe passage to and fro-”

“Breathing in the air there for someone your age means death! Or what if a Shimmer addict gets you or-or” Anita’s breathing turned shallow, her mind going through all the worse-case scenarios from that idiotic arrangement of theirs. It was suicide.

Of course Silco assured safe passage, but Harold’s old age and health was another damn thing. The man wouldn’t survive a second in the undercity, maybe five if Sevika was there to guard him.

For all of her father’s mistakes, for being absent for most of her life until her mother passed, he was trying so very hard to make it up to her, to keep her happy. She wasn’t about to let him die for her, and for something as insane as that.

Silco wouldn’t care if Harold died. Probably thought that once he was out of the picture, Anita would take over anyway and-

Her eyes widened as she had her a-ha moment. She flashed a grin at her father, who looked at her in confusion and concern. “Let me go instead.” was all she said.

Harold blinked at her. “You drunk already?”

Anita rolled her eyes. “Dad, I’m serious. I can go to the meetings. You were thinking about having me handle more of the business anyway, right?.”

“Yes, sweetheart but not exactly that side of the business.”

Anita almost screamed and begged for her mom to maybe show up as a ghost and tell Harold himself that she could do it. But alas, no ghost. “Dad, please,” Anita pleaded, “I want to protect you. I promised Mom that I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you.”

“Well I promised her the same about you so…” he shrugged nonchalantly, like he already won.

He didn’t.

“I can’t lose you too, dad.” she said softly. “Let me do this. I get to learn more plus you get to stay here and enjoy more of that ‘good life’. And this will build character for me!”

Harold tilted her head at her and pursed his lips. “You’ve never been to undercity.”

“And neither have you!” her eyes were wild as she frantically tried to reason with her father. If he were a younger man, Anita wouldn’t have as much trouble with letting him go to The Lanes, but her father was old and nursing heart ache and tired bones. He might be going to the hospital more times than he’d go to the undercity.

Anita took another deep breath. “Trust me, dad. I’m a Gil too.”

Her father stared at her long and hard, and Anita was reminded of the time she tried to ask for permission to go on her first date back in high school. Honestly that was harder than presenting a whole ass thesis defense.

Finally her father let out a heavy sigh. “Ok fine, but you have to come here after each meeting. I need to know you’re safe.”

Anita’s eyes brightened up and she squealed at her win. “I will.”

He smiled softly as he shook his head. “You’re impossible to win an argument against, just like your mother. Now,” he said, more seriously. “You only have to go there once or twice a week, at a set time, with one of his people meeting you by the bridge to escort you.”

She nodded before pouring herself a little victory shot. “I’ll be fine. The most thrilling adventure I’ll have there is if I get to piss Sevika off first.”

When her father was done explaining more of what she’d need to do for the meetings, Anita went over to her future mother-in-law’s house for dinner, and she melded back into the Piltover lifestyle, knowing it was just a matter of time before she’d be tumbling back out again.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #182

Today marks the end of the Dead Heat Summer Race builds as we finish up with today’s sponsor, Ishtar (Rider)! “Ishtar is best girl, and you should give all your grails and QP to her!” Now that the ad copy’s out of the way, let’s get to her build. For this build we’re re-flavoring an old UA to create the Traveler Sorcerer (original names for everything can be found in the character sheet.) We also dip into Monk for a level because the 20th level of sorcerer is bad.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: BB 2: Electric Boogaloo

Race and Background

Ishtar’s still a Protector Aasimar and she’s also still a Goddess Alliance Anarch, which means she starts out with +1 Wisdom and +2 Charisma, Darkvision, Celestial Resistance to necrotic and radiant damage, Healing Hands to slap healing into people as an action, and the Light cantrip to help out racers with dumb human eyes.

She also gets Animal Handling and Religion proficiency from her background, as well as extra spells. We’ll get into detail about that last bit as it comes up though.

Ability Scores

Not a whole lot has changed since last time; make sure your Charisma is as high as possible for good spells and good Tricking People into a Race, then make Dexterity number two to stay on your scooter as you warp between continents. Your Wisdom should also be pretty good if you want to keep an eye on anyone trying to cheat by entering a rocket into a- hold on a second.

Where were we? Oh right, after that is Constitution. Gods don’t die. Your Strength is a bit low, but we’ll make up for that with technique and speed, so dump Intelligence. Once a Useless Goddess, always a Useless Goddess.

Class Levels

Sorcerer 1: First level sorcerers get proficiency with Constitution and Charisma saving throws, as well as two sorcerer skills. Grab Deception and Persuasion so we can get this show on the road. As a sorcerer, your Spells (which you can cast using your charisma) come from a special source, which in your case is the magic of Travel. You picked a pretty bad time for it, but I’m pretty sure gods can’t get sick? Humans can though. Stay home if you’re a human. At first level, you have a Soul of the Race, giving you a swim speed equal to your walking speed, and you can breathe underwater. DHSR is probably the least water-based summer event so far, but you get a bonus in all the other ones too, so it’ll pay off if you’re patient. You can also invoke the Curse of the Race after hitting a creature with a cantrip, lasting until the end of your next turn or until you curse another creature. Once per turn, you can trigger the curse by hitting the creature with a spell that has one of three requirements. If it deals cold damage, their speed is reduced by 15′ for a turn, or by the amount the spell already slows them by, whichever is greater. (You say you don’t play favorites, but that’s a lie.) If it deals lightning damage, it deals extra damage equal to your charisma modifier. If it forces movement, add 15 feet to the distance moved. Perfect for when you have to ground a rocket. You get a lot of spells this level, like Sword Burst for a good melee option while we wait to multiclass, True Strike so your punches can be slightly less bad, Friends to help coerce people into the race, and Prestidigitation to make yourself some free gems. For leveled spells, grab Chaos Bolt and Chromatic Orb for ways to trigger your curse with plausable deniability. Chromatic Orb even uses a diamond to cast, flavor win! You also get plenty of spells from your background for some more... “explosive” results. You get the cantrips Fire Bolt and Produce Flame, and the spells Compelled Duel, Speak with Animals, and Thunderwave.

Sorcerer 2: Compared to level 1, this level’s got a lot less going on. You become a Font of Magic to get your sorcerer level in sorcery points each long rest, which are mostly going to be useful at third level, and you can cast Distort Value to make your gems even more beautiful just by being around you.

Monk 1: Yeah, let’s just slide this in right now, why not? First level monks get Unarmored Defense to make your AC 10 + your dexterity modifier + your wisdom modifier. It’s not quite as good as mage armor, but it’s free. You also get Martial Arts, meaning your unarmed attacks use dexterity instead of strength, deal 1d4 damage, and you can attack as a bonus action if you attack as an action. Honestly you could’ve just used a knife before, but this is more flavorful. You also get to unleash your Radiant Soul as an action. You transform into a fancy shiny version, granting you flight and extra radiant damage once per turn.

Sorcerer 3: Third level sorcerers can spend their sorcery points on Metamagic to mix up your magic in a meta way. Extended Spell doubles the length of a spell’s duration, (very useful later) and Twinned Spell lets you take any spell that hits one target and make it hit two instead. You’re going to make a scooter fly eventually, it might be worth it to make sure you fly too. Fewer broken bones that way. For your first second level spell, grab Alter Self as one last preparation to trick people into racing by transforming into those close to them. You can’t change your general body type though, so you can’t turn into Charon to get Achilles to help out. Alternatively, you can use this to make natural weapons that deal 1d6 magical damage, and get a +1 bonus to your attacks and damage. Even sorcerers can do monk stuff faster than monks. You also get more background spells, like Beast Sense and Shatter. If you need to knock a rocket back to earth in the first place, it deserves to get wrecked.

Sorcerer 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Charisma for stronger spells. You also learn Dancing Lights to put on a show at the opening ceremonies, and you can cast Find Vehicle from the Modern Magic UA to summon your scooter. Technically it can be any nonmilitary land vehicle, but no matter what it is it comes with some perks. You’re automatically proficient with its handling, and double your proficiency when making ability checks about driving it. Also, spells you cast on yourself can also effect the vehicle, so I guess that twinned spell doesn’t help here. At least it gives you more damage.

Sorcerer 5: Fifth level sorcerers have Magical Guidance, making them just a bit better at everything than normal people. By spending sorcery points, you can re-roll a failed skill check, hopefully doing better. You also learn how to cast Haste to speed up your scooter to the maximum. You also learn Conjure Animals and Conjure Barrage from your background. The latter doesn’t really see play, but the former will make it a lot easier to recreate your final ascension art.

Sorcerer 6: A sixth level Traveler can use their Accel Turn to avoid damage as a reaction. When you get hit by anything dealing bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage, you can reduce it by your sorcerer level plus your charisma score (not your modifier, your entire score) and move 30′ away without provoking attacks. You can use this once per short rest. You can also cast Fly now. I don’t think you ever actually touch the ground, do you? (You get resistance to fire damage too. Suck it, Icarus!)

Sorcerer 7: Seventh level sorcerers get fourth level spells, like Dimension Door. It’s not a fantastical trip through the world’s greatest capitals, but all teleportation has to start somewhere. And for you, that somewhere is 500′ away.

Sorcerer 8: Use your next ASI to become a Magic Initiate to steal a couple spells from the Wizard spell list. Grab the cantrips Gust and Minor Illusion for an easy way to trigger your curse and so you can make cool holograms to go with your communications (coming later). You can also cast Find Familiar once per long rest to make a little doll you that can help out the racers. You can also cast Charm Monster now. It won’t be enough to convince Lobo to change sides, but it’ll make it much easier to find judges for the other legs of the race.

Sorcerer 9: If your DM’s a stickler against UA, you can use your fifth level spell slots to cast Animate Objects instead to bring a chair to life or something. You also learn Destructive Wave. Probably shouldn’t use that one while riding.

Sorcerer 10: Grab the new Metamagic option Seeking Spell for more accurate spells, re-rolling a failed spell attack. Your curse is based entirely on being able to hit people with your spells, so it’d be nice if you could do that. You also learn how to use Message to keep up communications with the racers even if they’re, say, stuck in prison somewhere, and you can use Far Step to teleport you and your scooter around in short bursts, using your bonus action each turn.

Sorcerer 11: Use your fancy new sixth level spell slots to create an Arcane Gate, creating portals between a point within 10′ of you and a point within 500′ of you. You can also spin them around as a bonus action, so feel free to get Looney Tunes with it.

Sorcerer 12: Use this ASI to max out your Charisma for stronger spells, then use that last remaining point to bump up your Dexterity. That doesn’t really help yet, but trust me on this one.

Sorcerer 13: Good news; you can finally Teleport now. The bad news is it’s a seventh level spell. Also, it has a slight chance to mess up, and if you’re traveling across the globe “messing up” by even one percent means you’re several hundred miles off course.

Sorcerer 14: At fourteenth level you finally get another Travel Souvenir, the ability to open a Maana Gate without using spells, making it easier to move around a battle field. When you move on your turn, you take half damage from opportunity attacks, and can move through enemy spaces (as long as you don’t end your turn there.) You can also pass through solid objects, as long as there’s at least a 3 inch diameter space to move through. (again, you can’t end your turn there.)

Sorcerer 15: Fifteenth level sorcerers get eighth level spells, and I highly suggest you go with Sunburst. Being able to teleport all over the place is fun, but if you’re trying to replicate Ishtar’s NP you actually need a payoff at the end, and that’s this spell. Deal tons of radiant damage with all those shiny stars, and blind creatures that fail their constitution save.

Sorcerer 16: Use this ASI to become more Resilient when it comes to dexterity saves. You gain proficiency in them, and you also get +1 dexterity for your troubles. That bumps you up to an even number again, so your AC improves, as do your unarmed strikes.

Sorcerer 17: Seventeenth level sorcerers get their final level 9 spell, and yours is Gate. This lets you create a portal to a precise location for up to a minute, with no chance of mucking up unless a nearby deity isn’t a fan. The downside is this specifically only works on extraplanar trips, but I’m sure you can find enough sightseeing locations to make that work. To make travel even faster, you get your final Metamagic option, Quickened Spell. Cast action spells as a bonus action now, yay.

Sorcerer 18: At eighteenth level you receive your final souvenir, a Traveler’s Soul. Now you don’t need to eat, drink, or sleep, you can ignore critical hits against you, as they only count as normal hits, and you have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. People seem to focus on the “useless” part of your title way more than the “goddess” part. Show them why they shouldn’t do that.

Sorcerer 19: Use your last ASI for the Tough feat to grab 40 more HP. Goddess or not, nobody wants to get Power Word Killed.

Pros:

Your various defensive features make you surprisingly tanky for a spellcaster, with plenty of ways to negate common damage types and stay out of trouble.

Speaking of, thanks to your flying moped and teleporting you can be extremely mobile when you want to be, making it a real pain to keep you pinned down long enough to fight you.

You come packed with plenty of social spells giving you plenty of options to get away with stuff you shouldn’t. Break into secure areas, impersonate people, and charm foes.

Cons:

Your subclass’ features mostly focus on lightning and cold damage. Your damage dealing spells mostly come from your background, which focuses on fire and thunder. This means you can’t use your early subclass features to their fullest potential, which can make early fights difficult if you’re playing to character. That’s why I recommend you start off with Chaos Bolt and Chromatic Orb- they can be used practically at the start, then Ishtar-ly later on.

The curse of the sea is finicky, and it’s the only offensively minded feature you really get. It restricts your damage types, and it comes into play only every third turn unless you’re using nothing but cantrips. You can definitely feel this is a UA class.

You only have about 140 HP, and very little way to deal with magic damage. All of your defenses only worry about damage types associated with physical attacks, so most spells can still chew through you if you’re not careful.

[kitzatara]

Okay useless discussion about the lore of DC Comics’ Earth-13, a. k. a. Arcane Earth.

So technically speaking there are at least 2 different versions of Earth 13 with a possible third that could also just be part of the backstory for one of the other two.

First we have the technically noncanon version referred to as Arcane Earth. It had it’s first comic appearance in Infinite Crisis: Fight For The Multiverse #4 (Oct-Dec 2014) written by Dan Abnett, and fearures characters that appeared in the short lived infinite crisis moba game (March 2015). Which in turn was based on the original infinite crisis story arc of 2005-2006.

Not much is known, all we know is that some time ago in the past the league of shadows tried to extinguish the sun. The sun was rekindled using magic and because of it’s new magic core, earth 13 became more magical by being constantly exposed to mystic sunlight. We also know that many great abd terrible beasts such as doomsday were sealed away in tombs to slumber until prophesied to rise again in a lovecraftian fashion.

We only meet 5 characters from this world, Zatanna The Silent Sorceress, General Zod, Supergirl, the Titan Doomsday, and The Emerald Knight Hal Jordan.

Of the 5, Zatanna is stated to be more powerful than Supergirl and Zod due to her wielding blood magic through her scythe. And that through the sacrifice of her voice the sun was rekindled (implying that she alone is responsible for the mystic sun). Hal is considered to be one of their greatest heroes. Supergirl uses magic she calls “the flamebird” and general zod wields an axe that grants him necromancy and kryokinetic powers. (Called Icy necromancy, and said to come from the phantom lords). Kara says krypton was home to the hidden ones and that during the extinguishing of the sun she is the last survivor. sort of implying that Kal-el didn’t survive either.

Then we have the second version of earth 13 which made it’s comic appearance in “the guide to the multiversity” written by grant morrison in March of 2015.

We know less about this earths history but what we do know is that it’s an occult world with 13 hour days, 13 month years, and is in a perpetual state of twilight. In this world the league of shadows are the good guys. And we meet the whole league in multiversity #2

The league is lead by Superdemon, who rocketed to earth from Kamelot by Merlin. His league members are Annataz, Deadman, Enchantress, Hellblazer, Ragman, Swampman, Witchboy, and Fate (Jared Stevens). We only see 3 of them in action where Annataz speaks fully reversed sentences, and Fate and Etrigan dispatch vampires.

Personal thoughts:

I find the very different yet similar versions very interesting. I think they both have a lot of potential but I think itd be best to merge the two. Seeing as Arcane earth came first and Earth-13 is canon. I much prefer Silent Sorceress Zatanna but i think it’d be cool to make her a woc character like in morrisons version. Enchantress looks so cool, hellblazer does not. The others looks I’m indifferent about. I hate superdemon being the leader or this worlds superman because almost all of the other magic heroes could defeat him and that’s just facts. His backstory is a clever twist on the superman story but in my opinion Zatanna should be this earths“superman”. I like the 13 hour and 13 month thing but the sun should be magic like in the arcane earth history.

While i enjoy arcane versions of other characters, they should not be considered as powerful as the normal magic users. This is tge arcane, magic earth of the multiverse so the magic heroes absolutely deserve the spotlight and recognition as most powerful.

The end

[ice-bjorn]

Forest of Shadows and Frozen 2

I think this book addresses some of the things that have been widely speculated and despaired about since certain bits were leaked regarding the potential ending, and it really gives me a lot of hope for the upcoming movie, so I thought I’d share.

I know this got long, but bear with me; hopefully it’ll still be an enjoyable read.

There will be spoilers in a sort of general sense, but I want to try my best not to give away anything too specific plot-wise, because I really think people should give this book a read. I wanted to touch more on some of the themes and a few small moments.

I didn’t go into the book with any expectations, not having any experience with the other Frozen novels, but I was surprised and delighted by Forest of Shadows. It was more intense that I expected- slightly more like an epic quest than I anticipated- and I spent all of Saturday engrossed in it.

I love the bits of world building this book has that fleshes out the landscape and the myths and legends beyond Arendelle. We’re treated to lore of fantastical creatures and heroes of legend- going as far back as the creation myth of Arendelle.

It does take place a few months before the start of the second movie, but by the time we get to the end- the epilogue is the brief glimpse of Anna waking up to discover Elsa’s ice crystals hovering over Arendelle- so it takes us right into the movie.

So, to get into it…

The biggest thread for Anna through the book is not feeling good enough. She’s afraid that if she is not useful, not needed in some specific capacity, then Elsa will leave her behind- she won’t need her help with the kingdom and she’ll move on without Anna. Her greatest fear (as directly stated in the book), is losing Elsa.

Elsa’s biggest challenge is essentially the same; not feeling good enough to rule Arendelle. She has a near pathological fear of failing her kingdom- failing to protect it, failing to provide for it, failing to live up to the expectations of her people and the legacy of her forbears. And of course her greatest fear: failing to protect Anna or -directly or indirectly harming Anna herself.

Throughout the book Anna has fixated on the fact that Elsa has been using “I” instead of “We” (meaning her and Anna) when talking about responsibilities to the kingdom. It hurts Anna because she wants Elsa to be able to lean on her, and it seems to Anna an indication that Elsa no longer needs her- when in fact it’s a manifestation of Elsa’s fear that she is not enough and that if she cannot bear the burden of ruling herself, then she has failed.

Because the two sisters are so intertwined, their fears bleed into one another and manifest physically in a monstrous way, forcing them to confront the insecurities that have plagued them since childhood in the only way they can: together.

There were some adorable bits scattered throughout- like the fact that Olaf has a pair of Elsa-made reading glasses, and that he enjoys philosophy the most (especially if they contain things that are hot). 

We get a nice dream sequence (until it turns into a nightmare), where Anna dreams she is dancing with Elsa, and Elsa is dressed as the embodiment of Winter while Anna is clad in the garments of Summer.

At one point Anna and Olaf stumble upon some of their parent’s secrets- including some arcane books, one of which is partially translated by her mother and references some things we’ll see in F2. Anna holds onto it and it’s possible this is the book we’ve seen her with in the trailers.

In a moment near the end, when Anna finally has her epiphany about how Elsa truly sees her- she is shown Elsa’s study on the ship which is meant to take Elsa away on a world tour of sorts. It is covered floor to ceiling in sunflowers- Anna’s favorite flower- and a portrait recently done of the two of them. As if the only way Elsa could bear any time away from her sister would be to feel utterly surrounded by everything that screamed Anna.

One of the founding myths comes into play during their quest, and they are desperate to find a legendary blade with the power to perform great deeds and defeat monstrous foes. In the saga, they refer to the creation of the sword like this: 

It’s clear that the ‘revolving moon and spinning sun’ of the legendary blade can only refer to Elsa and Anna- and with the name of the blade being an anagram for “True Love”, I believe there can be no doubt. (I quite like that this book has given us confirmation of the widely held headcanons of Elsa and Anna representing both the Moon and the Sun, and of course Winter and Summer).

Then there’s THIS:

Haha

ha

ha

Wow.

By the end of the book they have come to the understanding that together is the only way they can move forward. And that Arendelle is where both of them belong- which Elsa says and demonstrates by inviting the dignitaries from the countries she had planned to visit to Arendelle instead. So that she and Anna would not be parted, from Arendelle or each other. 

And as far as all the speculation that Elsa might prefer or enjoy ruling over a magical land more than staying in Arendelle, based on her character and judging by this book, I don’t really see that. Elsa cares so much about the kingdom of Arendelle and her people, is so terrified that she might let them down in any way, that the fear of it literally tortures her. There doesn’t seem to be any indication that she would want to give up that responsibility, or that it would give her any relief to do so. (Also- if I remember correctly, it seems like one of the released book spoilers talks about her finding peace and bringing it back to Arendelle?). 

Now, obviously anything can still happen in the movie, but this book does have the discomfiting set up of the sisters splitting up for an extended time, only to have them stay together for the whole of the book, even discarding the great tradition of their grandfather, in order that they might not be separated- even for a few weeks. 

Certainly the book (which I can only assume has the full blessing of the Frozen creative team) would have taken far less time to finish than a fully animated movie- and the author seems to have the characterizations down very well- an author who is not even the originator of these characters. So how much more thought and care would the creators of this world and its inhabitants take with their immense labor of love?

I don’t know… nothing is for certain and there’s always the potential for things to be unsatisfying… but it definitely gives me hope for where the movie will take us, regardless of what we might see or hear before it actually comes out. 

Long story short, if you were on the fence about it- please, please read this book. I truly don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

[kaistome]

Magic Weapons: More Than Just A ‘+1 Longsword’

So often as DMs we hand our players a +1 or +2 magic weapon and move on. To the player this weapon now only has a purely numerical and mechanical value. It does not feel special or unique. In most fiction when a character receives a magic weapon, its is given a sense of weight or the weapon has some sort of unique quality that has nothing to do with its capabilities as a weapon.

This should be true of the weapons your players receive as well. This item may be their trusted weapon for several levels. It should feel iconic or special in some way. Even if at the end of the day from a pure numbers perspective its just a ‘+1 Longsword.’

Perhaps the weapon has a history. And it was handed down through a family for generations. The weapon could be clasped in the hands of long dead hero, or king, completely untarnished by time. There could be a local legend about it, such as a noble warrior losing it in a cave in a battle with a giant beast.. Or it struck the killing blow against a foul villain in times past, thus earning a reputation.

Another way to make the weapon feel special is to give it a name. This alone can be the difference between just a pretty good sword and the chosen weapon of a hero. These names could be related to the deeds that were mentioned previously. Named by the hero who wielded it, the smith who forged it, or the common folk who knew of the deeds it was involved in.

Example “Using a quick spell, the wizard remarks about the swords magical qualities. The bard rolls for History getting an 18. Through his travels, he's heard of a blade that matches this ones description. Long ago, it was wielded by the hero Felia Redmane. She and her party faced off against an evil warlord named Volgaz, who had terrorized the land. It was near dawn, when Felia and Volgaz crossed swords. They exchanged blow after blow, and Volgaz eventually knocked her to the ground. On the horizon, the sun began to slowly rise and as Volgaz raised his sword for the killing blow, Felia did the same to defend. Her blade had an unnatural gleam, catching the first rays of sunlight. Blinded, Volgaz staggered back, allowing Felia to rush in, and thrust the blade into Volgaz's heart. He was defeated, and the land was saved. Because of the tale, the people of the land gave the blade a name.

Dawn's Hope”

The story of the blade does not have to be as epic as this one. It could have a humble origin. Enchanted by a local hedgewizard, and wielded by a farmer.  Who used it to fight off and scare away a group of bandits, and thus became a local town hero. The story could even be silly. Forged by one of the greatest smiths in the land for the crown prince. It was a masterwork, worthy of great praise. However, on his first journey with the sword, the prince accidentally dropped the weapon into a lake, where it sank to the bottom, never to be seen again.

As mentioned above, many magic weapons in fiction have some of unnatural quality about them, that makes them special. Beyond just hitting things good. Listed on the table below are a list of minor magical qualities a weapon can have. You can choose them randomly or cherry-pick a few to fit your purposes. Some of these qualities could also apply to other magic items to give them more flavor, and uniqueness.

Weapon Quality table 1. Blood, grime and dirt slide off of the weapon, and it always stays perfectly clean. 2. The weapon does not cast a shadow 3. It is faintly warm, tingly or cold to the touch. 4. Runes, filigree or other arcane symbols are inscribed on the weapon. 5. The weapon glows a certain color when a type of creature is near. 6. The weapon responds to a particular school of magic, vibrating or resonating when that particular magic is near. 7. The weapon has a faint visible aura around it. 8. The weapons handle or blade is set with a precious gemstone that pulses with magical light 9. The weapon creates a contrail of light when you swing it. The light may even have certain patterns inside of it. Like flowers, stars, or snowflakes. 10. While you hold the weapon, your eyes faintly glow. 11. The story of a hero who wielded the weapon is engraved upon it in some way. 12. The weapon has a certain murderous intent. When you touch it, you can sense it wants to be drawn and used.

On the more mechanical side of things. Here is a selection of tags and enchantments that you can mix, match, and apply to magic weapons. Much like the first table, some of these qualities could be applied to other magic items. (A note on ranged weapons. Most of these qualities listed below can be applied to a bow, crossbow or the like. Its magic enchanting any projectile shot from it with the enchantment)

New Magic Weapon Tags

Frostforged(Any weapon): This weapon was crafted using ancient techniques of frost giant smiths. It is frigidly cold to the touch, ice and frost sometimes collecting on its surface. As a bonus action, you can speak the weapon's command word, and cause it to be completely consumed in an aura of frost. While the aura of frost is active, you have resistance to fire damage and the weapon deals an extra 2d6 Cold damage on hit. The cold aura lasts until you use another bonus action to dismiss it.

Thunderfury(Any weapon):This weapons was forged to have a powerful resonate quality. As a bonus action, you can speak the weapons command word, and make it resonate with powerful sonic vibrations. While it resonates, you cannot be magically deafened or silenced, and the weapon deals an extra 2d6 thunder damage on hit. The sonic resonance, lasts until you use another bonus action to dismiss it.

Stormblessed (Any weapon):This weapon was created using well kept storm giant techniques. It makes anyone who touches it faintly tingle, hair standing on end. As a bonus action, you can speak the weapon's command word, and make it crackle with lightning. While it is surrounded with lightning, it deals an extra 2d6 lighting damage on hit. In addition, as an action, you can make a ranged weapon attack with the weapon, firing a bolt of lightning from it. The bolt has a range of 30/60 ft, and deals 2d6 lighting damage on hit. The lightning aura lasts until you use another bonus action to dismiss it.

Mithral(Any metal weapon or armor):Mithral is a silvery white metal that is lighter than steel, but as hard as dragon scales. It is extremely rare, and highly prized for its qualities. Weapons and armor forged from mithral weigh half as much as their other metal counterparts. Mithral weapons have the finesse quality even if they are heavy, or two handed. Heavy armor made from mithral is considered medium armor for the purpose of proficiency and stealth disadvantages.

Lucky(Any weapon): This weapon has been blessed by fate, and it passes on this blessing to its wielder. This weapon comes in 3 different tiers Rare, Very Rare, and Legendary. A Rare lucky weapon has the following qualities. Once per long rest, whenever you miss with this weapon, you can reroll the attack roll, taking the new result. A Very Rare lucky weapon can use this ability twice per long rest. A Legendary lucky weapon can use this ability 3 times per long rest. And in addition, its wielder has advantage on Death saving throws.

Shadowborne (Any weapon): This weapon was forged in one of the dark places of the world. Perhaps by Shadar Kai, or smiths of the Underdark. While in dim light, or darkness it deals an extra 3d4 Necrotic damage. And while you wield it, you have darkvision out to 60ft. If you already have darkvision, its range increases by 20ft

Heartseeker (Any weapon that deals piercing): This weapon faintly pulses and has a sublte bloodlust that you can sense as you hold it. This weapon crits on a natural roll of 18,19 and 20. If you crit with this weapon, you automatically pierce the heart of the creature, if it has a heart. If the creature cannot survive without its heart it dies instantly, if it can, or does not have a heart to begin with, it takes 6d6 Necrotic damage that cannot be resisted. The GM may also rule that the creature is too big for you to pierce its heart. In which case it takes the previously mentioned damage.

Keen(Any weapon that deals slashing damage): This blade is unnaturally sharp, and never loses its edge. It crits on a natural 19, or 20.

Sundering(Any weapon that deals bludgeoning damage): This weapon breaks through armored foes, shattering their defenses. If you roll a Crit against a target with this weapon, and they are wearing armor, or have natural armor, you reduce their AC by 2. This effect can stack and reduce a target's AC by a maxium of 6.

Armor Piercing (Any weapon that deals piercing):This weapon is made specifically to deal with armored foes. It ignores 1 point of AC on any target with armor or natural armor.

Cleaving(Any weapon that deals slashing or bludgeoning):If you hit with this weapon, you can make a second attack roll with the same action against another target within 5ft of the original. On hit, you deal half the damage you dealt to the original target.

Bane:This weapon deals double damage against a creature of a particular type. (Fiend, Dragon, Undead etc.)

Aetherium(Any weapon that is made of metal): Aetherium is a very rare and expensive alloy. Made from a composite of several metals and quenched in liquid magical energy. Any weapon or armor forged form Aetherium naturally has a +1 to hit and damage. Weapons constructed of Aetherium have the ability to deal extra damage to ethereal beings, or creatures made of made of magical energy. Such as ghosts, elementals and the like. Such creatures take 2d6 extra damage of the weapons damage type from this weapon. Armor made from Aetherium grants wearer protection from magic, granting them advantage on all spell saving throws. And immunity to any spell that is 2nd level or lower.

Gleaming(Any weapon that is made of metal): This weapon sparkles and glitters with an unnatural sheen. Once per encounter, if you are in bright, or dim light, you can use a bonus action to reflect the light around you into a creatures eyes who is within 5 feet of you. They must make a Con save against a DC equal to 8+ attack modifier+proficiency. Becoming blinded until the end of their next turn.

Vampiric(any weapon):Whenever you deal damage with this weapon, you gain temporary hit points equal to your damage modifier.

Brutal(Any weapon with the two handed, or heavy quality):Whenever you deal damage with this weapon, you may add your Strength modifier to the damage roll twice instead of once.

Hellforged(Any weapon):A weapon forged in the fires of the 9 hells of Baator. It has an unholy aura and hungers for conflict. Any creature that is Chaotic, or Good aligned takes 3d6 extra damage of the chosen damage type. Fire, Cold, Lightning or Necrotic(this damage type is chosen upon its forging and cannot be resisted)

Giantslayer(Any weapon):A weapon forged to kill giant beasts and humanoids. Any creature that is Large or bigger takes double damage from this weapon. You have advantage on all attack rolls made against such creatures.

Ominous(Any weapon): This weapons gives off an aura that gives nearby creatures a sense of unease. While you carry this weapon, you have advantage on all Intimidation checks.

Feyblessed(Any weapon):This weapon was forged by fey magic and touched by their blessing. While you wield this weapon, you have advantage on saving throws against being charmed. And on any Perception or Investigation checks to see through illusions.

Venomous(Any weapon): This weapon drips with deadly venom. Weapons of this type are a favorite of Assassins. On hit, this weapon deals 3d4 poison damage. If the venomous weapon is of a higher quality or potency it deals 4d4 instead of 3d4 poison damage. And it has the following benefits. Its poison damage cannot be resisted. Any creature who takes damage from this weapon, who is not immune to poison and is below 50 hit points must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw. Dying instantly on a failed save.

New Magic Weapons

Blink Dagger, uncommon, Weapon, This finely crafted dagger is perfectly balanced and is set with a shimmering sapphire. As a bonus action, you can speak the Dagger's command word. As long is the dagger is within 1 mile of you and is on the same plane of existence, it appears in your hand with a small burst of blue sparks. It is otherwise a normal dagger.

Tsukikage, Legendary,Weapon,Requires attunement

“This blade was said to have been forged in the Astral Plane by the legendary smith Murasame. It was their life's greatest work, and the sword is known throughout the multiverse. Its blade shimmers with an ever shifting pattern of the Astral Plane, never losing its sharpness.”

This weapon is considered a +3 Masterwork, Keen Vorpal Longsword. In addition to dealing its normal damage die, it also deals 1d8 force damage on hit. The sword also holds powerful illusion magic and can cut through the fabric of planes. Up to a number times per day, it can allow you to cast the following spells

3 times/day:Blur,Mirror Image 2 times/day: Dimension Door 1 time/ day: Plane Shift

Glint And Glimmer, Very Rare, Weapon, Requires attunement

“A pair of finely crafted shortswords. Many generations ago, a meteorite fell toward the earth, streaking across the sky like a shimmering ball of light. As it crashed, the meteorite was split into two halves. An elven smith, by the name of Arandel happened upon the crater. He was struck by the beauty of the glittering ore inside of the rock. Upon smelting, he forged the ore on one of the highest mountain tops. Where his workshop was bathed by the first rays of the sun each morning. Seeming to be blessed by the gods of light and the sun, the blades were soon complete.”

These paired +2 Shortswords are made of an iridescent gold metal. Though they are two weapons, they only require 1 attunement slot to attune to both.

Whenever you hit a creature with one of these shortswords, it explodes with a burst of light, dealing 2d6 radiant damage in addition to its normal damage. As an action on your turn, you can cross the swords together, to create a burst of blinding sunlight in a 30ft sphere around you. All hostile creatures that can see you, and are within the sphere must make a Constitution saving throw against a DC equal to 8+attack modifier+ your proficiency. On a failed save, the creature takes 3d6 radiant damage, and is blinded until the end of its next turn. If the creature succeeds, it takes half damage and is not blinded. This ability can be used up to 3 times per long rest.

Thunderchime, Rare, Weapon, Requires attunement

“In the hills to the north, a clan of hill dwarves was beset by a Wyvern. All the warriors who were sent out to slay it, were injured or worse, slain by the ferocious beast. Seeking to put an end to this, a humble dwarven smith, named Trista Gildsong, put all of her blood sweat and tears into the crafting of this weapon. When the last hammer blow came, the weapon let out a powerful chime, like the tolling of bell. It was a sign, foretelling of Trista's victory against the beast the next morn.”

This +1 Morningstar is made of a silvery shining metal. It has a powerful resonate quality, like that of a bell.

Whenever you hit a creature with this weapon it takes an additional 1d8 Thunder damage. The weapon can also be struck on a solid surface to create a powerful wave of sound in a 10ft radius. All creatures in the radius must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw, becoming deafened for the next minute on a failure.

Heart Piercer, Very Rare, Weapon, Requires attunement

“Long ago, a lone woman returned to her home, to find it ransacked. Her family devoured by a giant beast. With anger and vengeance in her heart she tracked down the creature that had done this. Her arrows and spear however, could not pierce its thick hide, and so she sought the help of a Ranger conclave. She learned their ways, seeking to become the ultimate hunter. Upon the completion of her training she poured all of her anger, malice and hunger for vengeance into the creation of a bow. A bow that would finally slay the beast who took her family from her.”

This finely crafted Ominous Long Bow is made of dark red oak. The face of a roaring beast, made of inlayed gold, decorates its surface. Its ominous aura is a ferocious killing intent, and a thirst for blood.

All arrows fired from this bow have a +2 to hit and damage have the Heartseeker quality, and are considered magical. A contrail of red energy follows in the arrows wake and transforms into the face of a hungry beast. Seeking to devour its prey.

Trollbane, Very Rare, Requires attunement

“This masterwork greatsword, was forged by an azer smith on the plane of fire. Through happenstance, it eventually found itself in the hands of a dragonborn paladin. He took the blade with him on many adventures not fully knowing the blades true power. One day, the paladin found himself against a monstrous Troll king. The two battled in a titanic struggle. In one final desperate move, the paladin shouted a curse in ancient draconic tongue and struck. The blade responded, igniting in flames, the runes upon its blade shimmering red. The troll king faltered and the paladin cleft him in twain, his body burning to ash. And thus, it earned its name”

This +1 Masterwork,Bane(giant),flametongue greatsword is set with a ruby upon its pommel. The weapon's guard is the mouth of a dragon like beast, the blade extending from its mouth like a giant tongue.  When the sword's command phrase is spoken 'Chikok wux wer wlekjr' (Curse you to the Nine) it ignites in flames and crimson runes glow along its surface.

Winterfall, Legendary, Requires attunement

“On the coldest night of winters, in the highest mountains of the north, this weapon was forged. An ancient frost giant named Hildr was reaching the end of her days. She knew she did not have long. And so she sought to create her last great work. With the finest steel, she began to work. Her forge burned with magical flames that were as cold as true fire was hot. Within that forge, she crafted a hammer. Pouring her heart, and soul into its creation. Through the night, she worked and worked. Never stopping. It was morning when the last hammer blow fell, then looking upon her work, she smiled. Her life then left her, granting the weapon its name with her dying breath.”

This +3 Sundering, Frostforged maul, is marked with its name, in ancient giant runes. The runes glow the deepest blue in the dark, and the weapon is always cold to the touch. When its command word is spoken, its strikes are infused with the blessings of the frost giants. Its blows striking like an avalanche and its touch as cold as the deepest winter.

Tongue Of Dendar, Legendary, Requires attunement

“Long before men walked the earth, Yuan ti ruled. In that time before man and the other races we know today, Dendar, the night serpent blessed one of his greatest priests with a powerful gift. A weapon that held a fraction of his essence. It seemed to move as if it were alive, slithering and writhing. Eager to strike at any who would dare speak ill of the night serpent.”

This +2 , Venomous, Ominous, whip deals 1d8 slashing damage instead of 1d4. Its length is coated in thick dark scales, several curved blades jutting along it. And tipped with one final blade. While you are attuned to this weapon, your mind is plagued by horrifying nightmares when you dream. Each time you have a nightmare, you must make a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, you suffer one level of exhaustion. This exhaustion cannot be removed until you succeed on the saving throw. Even when you are awake, you can occasionally hear it whisper to you faintly.

Also while attuned to this weapon, you can speak with snakes at will as if by the Speak with animals spell. You can also cast the following spells a certain number of times per day.

5 time/day Dissonant Whispers 4 times/day Darkness 3 times/day Fear 2 times/day Blight 1 times/day Cloudkill

Albion, Very Rare,Requires attunement

“Long ago, there was a silver unicorn, who protected one of the many groves of the feywild. She was considered a queen among the unicorns, respected and revered. One day, a portal to the shadowfell encroached upon the grove and a nightwalker strode into the grove. With all her strength, she battled the beast and was victorious. However, her wounds were fatal, and she began to pass on. With her dying breath, she poured the last of her magic into her horn, and separated it from her body. The horn was later found by a group of Fey nobles who used the horn, to forge a powerful weapon that would be used to defend the feywilds. In memory of the Unicorn queen, Albion.”

This +2 Masterwork, Lucky, Armor piercing, Feyblessed rapier's blade is made from the spiraling horn of a unicorn. The horn glitters faintly in the light like silver dust. Its guard and basket hilt are composed of iron wood, weaved into a complex, delicate pattern. This weapon has a subtle will of its own, and will not willingly harm Fey creatures. Any attack made against Fey with this weapon has disadvantage.

[degenerate-perturbation]

Chapters: 12/? Fandom: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Female Amell/Female Surana Characters: Female Amell, Female Surana, Anders, Velanna, Nathaniel Howe, Oghren (Dragon Age), Justice (Dragon Age), Sigrun (Dragon Age) Additional Tags: Established Relationship, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Self-Harm, Blood Magic Series: Part 2 of void and light, blood and spirit Summary: Amell and Surana are out of the Circle, and are now free to build a life together. But when the prison doors fly open, what do you have in common with the one shackled next to you, save for the chains that bound you both?

Yvanne fled.

Her loose robe tangled among her legs, and her slippers did nothing to protect her clumsy feet from the hewn stone of the castle’s passageways, but her only thought was to escape. More than once she slammed her shoulder into a wall, hard enough that it would bruise. She made it to the stables and was wrestling her favored rowan mare into a saddle when it occurred to her just what it was, that she was sacrificing. She was leaving everyone behind. Didn’t she owe it to them to explain?

No—she didn’t owe anyone shit, she decided, and anyway, she couldn’t stand the shame, couldn’t stand to be cared about, couldn’t stand to be loved. Her first and only need was to be far away from here, immediately.

The mare was recalcitrant, feeling its rider’s disturbed mood in that careful way horses had. Yvanne calmed it with a spell, all but took the mare’s mind with her so-called healing magic, and as soon as she mounted, it was off. Yvanne could barely stay upright as it bolted. Belatedly she realized that the main gate was down, and barely in time cast a spell of pure force. The gate exploded open, and only magic kept the mare from panicking and throwing her.

She clung to the horse’s neck, galloping down the road in the dead of night. What road, she couldn’t say, only that it lead away from Vigil’s Keep. The air rushed past her, stealing her warmth, deafening her senses.

All she could think of was Loriel’s face. Are you telling me to go? And the long, meaningful silence that had followed.

Every time she remembered it—and this was every handful of seconds, now—it hurt all over again.

She had tried so hard! She had done everything right! She had supported her at every turn, even when it had been hard, even when it hurt. Because they had been through so much together, because their lives were each other’s, because this thing between them mattered.

And this thing between them, wrested from the jaws of Chantry and Circle both, this beautiful shining thing so precious and so rare so hard won and mysterious—Loriel had thrown it away like it was nothing. And Yvanne had let her.

How could she just throw it away?

How could it mean nothing?

How? How? How? The question rattled around in her head like a deafening echo, so total and central to her attention, that she failed to notice the lowered quality of the road ahead—how could she, in the dark?—and the mare’s leg disappeared into a sinkhole. She barely heard the snap of broken bone as she was thrown from the panicking mare.

Pain exploded in her shoulder and head. She’d landed not exactly well, but not badly, either—she was still alive. She sat catching her breath, feeling the pain radiate from her shoulder across her whole body, barely noticed the layers of skin scraped away in the fall. The mare was worse off; its eyes rolled wildly in pain and bewilderment, laying on its side.

She healed herself first, then went to the horse. Normally an injury like this was death to the animal; the bone would never heal right. Even magical healing was essentially normal healing but faster. She was a decent healer, but not amazing; the shoulder she’d just healed was still stiff and smarting, and probably would be that way for a while. It would have been kindest to let the poor animal die.

“Sorry, old girl,” she said, gathering a cohort of wisps to help her.

After several minutes of struggle, the mare was up again. The leg hadn’t healed quite properly, and the horse’s eyes were filmed with pain. But there were spells for that.

She remounted, and rode hard. The mare didn’t stop or slow or stumble, enveloped as she was with layers and layers of creation magic. Yvanne didn’t know how long the magic or the mare would last, and she didn’t care.

By the time the sun broke over the horizon, she had driven the animal at full gallop for nearly the whole night, and no amount of magic could keep it from expiring of exhaustion out from under her.

This time the fall was less abrupt, the poor creature slowing gradually and collapsing. Yvanne narrowly avoided being crushed beneath it, scrambling to heal it again—but there was no hope this time. The mare was dead, and Yvanne couldn’t bring back the dead.

She sat by the side of the road, leaning against the corpse of the mare, and cried. The mare had been a good horse, sweet-tempered and faithful, and for almost no reason at all Yvanne had killed it. Suddenly the mare’s death was the greatest tragedy in the history of all Thedas, made all the worse by the beauty of the sunrise and song of the morning lark. Yvanne sobbed until she couldn’t stand it anymore.

After a while she looked up. The sun had fully risen by now, but the air was still cold. Gradually it dawned on her just what a bad way she was in—half-dressed, not a thing to her name, filthy and tired and hungry, stranded on the highway in the middle of nowhere in particular. The whole ride her head had been filled with the grand emotional tragedies of love and loss and disappointment, but all that faded rapidly, to be replaced by a prosaic, deeply banal fear.

Whatever was going to become of her?

She looked back the way she’d come. Her whole life was there, her friends, her things, her vocation. Everything she’d built, everything she’d striven for, was back at Vigil’s Keep.

That way was barred to her now.

She could stay here with the dead horse, or she could go on.

Struggling up, she faced the road before her, and began to walk.

—

She walked for most of the morning. By now her thirst had outstripped her hunger. Her throat was parched, and she struggled not to sway as she walked. Even magic was no help; weakened as she was by her own rash foolishness, her mana restored too slowly to be of any use.

When the sun was nearly at its zenith, she heard the creak of wagon wheels and clop of horse’s hooves behind her.

There was nowhere to go; this section of the road crossed through wide open plains and gently rolling hills. Even if she’d wanted to hide she couldn’t have. She had no sword, no weapon at all, and all her half-forgotten training as an arcane warrior was worthless without one.

Whatever was coming, she would have to deal with it.

She got out of the road, stepping over the gutter to stand in the grass. A cart leashed to a pair of mules approached. The driver was a round-bellied man dressed not richly, but neither like a peasant. His cart was well-laden, judging by the patient speed his mules walked with.

He slowed as he approached, tugging on the reins. “Ho there, stranger. What circumstance has brought an unaccompanied young lady of such beauty to travel alone and unladen?”

She struggled not to glare at him, looking at the ground. “My business is my own.”

He laughed. “Very well, then! Am I to assume that dead horse I saw some miles behind me was once yours?”

No point in lying. “Yes.”

The merchant sadly shook his head. “Poor creature. What happened to it?”

“It died.”

“Alright, then. I see you have the situation well in hand. I’ll be on my way.”

Electricity surged through her. “W-wait!” she stuttered, swallowing a great deal of pride as she did.

The merchant stopped halfway through flicking the reins.

Yvanne hung her head, humiliated. “Ser, where are you headed, if I may ask?”

“To Highever, my dear.”

“How far is it?”

“Not far, not far. Less than a day at an easy pace, by cart.”

Less than a day. She was closer to Highever than to Vigil’s Keep. Highever would do.

“Could you take me there?”

“I could,” the merchant said. “But how will you make it worth my while?”

She took off one of her amulets. She had bought it in Amaranthine, and Loriel had said it was one of the gaudiest things she’d ever seen, and Yvanne had retorted that surely she had, she’d seen the rest of Yvanne’s jewelry. “Will this do? It’s enchanted.” She went on, half-manic. “It protects the wearer from harm. Ask any enchanter when you get to Highever, they’ll tell you it’s real, I swear.”

The merchant’s eyes glinted as he saw the gem glitter on its chain. “Yes, that will do nicely.” He snatched it up,  as though she was going to take it back, and tucked it into his coat. Then he moved over in the driver’s seat to make room for her. “Come and sit by me, young lady. You can enchant me with conversation, as part of your payment for passage.”

She really just wanted to sleep in the back of the cart, but she could tell she had no choice. She took her seat.

“Will you do me the honor of telling me your name?” the merchant said.

“It’s...Leliana,” Yvanne said.

“Leliana. That’s a beautiful name. Is it Orlesian?”

“I dunno. I’ve never been to Orlais.”

That was the right thing to say; the merchant had been to Orlais, and was content to spend the next several minutes telling her all about the glory of the markets of Val Royeux, the colored silks, the fine clothing, the masks and intrigues of it all. While he prattled, Yvanne let herself relax.

“Forgive me—I’ve been rude,” the merchant said, startling her out of her stupor. “You must be weary.”

He offered her a waterskin, dried jerky, and bread that was only somewhat stale. All this she devoured so quickly it hurt going down. The merchant chuckled to see it, and she didn’t have nearly enough energy to be irritated at him for it. She was too busy being grateful.

The food and water granted her enough energy to restore her magical resources; at least enough that she could layer enough creation spells over herself to feel alert and capable again. Subtly, subtly, so as not to alert the merchant. She didn’t need him knowing what she was, Warden or not. She so badly wanted to sleep; the back of the cart was so tempting, there among the sacks of goods. But she didn’t dare sleep, in this stranger’s cart.

The whole road to Highever he prattled cheerfully about his journeys, requiring only the most token of responses from Yvanne. This was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing, that she didn’t have to do much talking; a curse, that it left her mind free to wander.

That’s just it, isn’t it? You don’t understand, and you never will. You never will. You never will. You never—

“But I’m boring you, aren’t I?” the merchant said jovially.

“No!” she said. “No, I...I’m just tired. How much further to Highever?”

“We’ve just passed the village of Hornbill, so I wager not much longer than an hour,” said the merchant. “Plenty of time, in fact, for you to explain how you managed to escape your Circle.”

Yvanne froze.

“Oh, come now,” said the merchant. “Surely you don’t think me quite so dull as all that. You are a mage, are you not? Don’t try to deny it.”

“What makes you think I’m a mage?”

“I’ve been here and again, I can tell a woman on the run when I see one.”

“That doesn’t mean mage. You don’t know what I’m running from.”

He chuckled. “True, true. Only you stink of lyrium. I wasn’t sure until you came closer, but at this range? No question of what you are, my dear. Come now, tell me where you’ve escaped from? Wycome? Kinloch? Surely not Kirkwall.”

“I didn’t escape,” she said. “I’m a free mage. A Grey Warden.”

The merchant snorted. “I’m sure. I suppose you were there atop Fort Drakon when the Hero of Ferelden slew the Archdemon, too?”

“I have papers—”

The merchant chuckled. “Papers, hah! Good one. As though I’ve never forged a document in my day. You must think me very stupid—but I assure you, I’m merely old. Now how about telling me the truth?”

Yvanne said nothing. What could she say? She wasn’t in uniform. Right now she wasn’t Warden-Commander Yvanne Amell, local hero to thousands, an imposing Grey Warden who deserved respect. She was underdressed and unkempt and covered in mud. Even she wouldn’t have believed herself.

“Very well,” the merchant harrumphed. “Keep your secrets. Don’t worry, I don’t intend to turn you over to the Templars.”

“You aren’t?”

He smiled at her. “Of course, my silence isn’t free. You can start by turning over the rest of your pretty baubles.”

At first she didn’t know how to respond. “You’re extorting me for jewelry?” she managed, then scoffed. “This stuff’s worthless, you realize.”

The merchant shrugged. “I’d wager they’re all as valuable or more than the one you gave me, as you were so willing to part from it. Come on, now, I gave you a valuable tip about the lyrium smell. You’ll want to find new clothes in Highever, maybe cut your hair. That’ll help hide it.”

Yvanne’s mind raced.  The jewelry she’d been wearing when she’d fled, most of it enchanted with runes to make her spirit magic stronger—a lucky thing that she’d fallen asleep still wearing it—was far from worthless. In fact it was probably her only source of income for the foreseeable future. And she had no guarantee that this wretched man with his piggy eyes and curdled smile wouldn’t simply rob her and call the Templars anyway.

She had the legal grounds to challenge them, but since when did Templars mind the law?

“Thinking of killing me with magic, my dear?” the merchant said as her silence stretched on. “I wouldn’t recommend that. My route is well known to many, and I would be missed. Any fool would be able to tell I’d been killed by unnatural means, and that means Templars investigating, and I’m sure you’d prefer to avoid that.”

At that point the cart hit something in the road; something big enough to break the wheel and send the whole thing pitching to the side. The mules brayed and the merchant, swearing, brought them to a halt. He sighed and muttered something about always some damn thing and nobody maintaining the roads properly these days.

He got out of the driver’s seat and went around to look at the damage. If he had looked carefully, he might have noticed the ridge of earth that had splintered the wheel, with its sharp ninety-degree edges, was clearly unnatural. If he had not been so self-satisfied with his extortion scheme, he might have noticed Yvanne casting the spell that had put it there. And he might have noticed the glyph of paralysis she had placed by the wheel while he had wasted precious moments walking around the side of the cart.

As it was, he did none of those things, and found himself frozen in a half-bent position for the next minute at least.

Yvanne let out a breath.

“That’s not true, you know, about it being obvious you’d been killed by unnatural means,” she said. “I could slit your throat right now, and everybody would assume it was bandits.”

The merchant said nothing. Predictably.

“That was a very stupid thing to do for some jewelry,” she said.

She could have just slit his throat. No one would ever be the wiser, and she’d never have to worry about him again. She could even take his cart, and trade his goods, sell his mules; live on the income for months. If she let him go, she’d always be looking over her shoulder. Maybe get into altercations, with Templars, with others. Maybe have to kill even more people. More probably, get killed herself.

She remembered what it had felt like, to threaten Rolan, to really consider killing a helpless man, and—no, she would not do that.

The paralysis glyph was wearing off. She replaced it with a force cage just in time. The merchant regained the use of his limbs and fell to his knees, beating at the inside of the force cage with both fists. Whatever vile things he was shouting, Yvanne couldn’t hear them.

“Thanks for the tip about the lyrium smell,” she said. “And the food. I wouldn't have been able to cast anything without that. So thank you for that, and the ride, as well.” He couldn’t hear any of it, but she felt the need to say it.

Yvanne reached into the Fade and drew from it a spirit of Forgetting. It was a small thing, not much more than a wisp, just barely beginning to form an identity as Forgetting rather than an amorphous blob of Fade-stuff. It fluttered around her, curious, eager to take what memories it could. She gently directed it away from herself, towards the merchant.

She saw the panic in his eyes as he realized what was happening; she supposed he thought she was putting a demon in him, or something heinous like that. The spirit entered him, and he collapsed.

She hoped that the spirit would only take the past couple days from him, recent fresh memories—Yvanne’s face and existence at the least—and not much more. A few weeks at the most. Some larger spirits of this nature could erase a person’s whole life without meaning to. Victims would forget their lives, their names, every skill they’d learned since leaving diapers, ended up as drooling infants blank as the day they were born. It was horrifically sad to behold.

But this wouldn’t happen to the merchant, Yvanne assured herself. The spirit was small. A few weeks at the most.

The force cage faded, but the merchant didn’t move. He’d be unconscious for some time. Best that Yvanne be far away from here by then.

While he lay in the dirt she retrieved her amulet, then rifled through the contents of the cart. He carried mostly fine fabrics. She took the finest she could easily carry, and unharnessed one of the mules. It gazed at her with what she imagined was reproach. The merchant would only need one mule, with his lightened cart-load. He’d be fine. Confused, sure, but fine. It was more than what he deserved, for what he tried to do to her.

She ought to have killed him, she thought, leading the mule away. Vigil’s Keep had softened her, weakened her. It had made her forget what people were like.

She wouldn’t be forgetting again.

—

In Highever she sold the bolts of fabric and the mule first, just to be rid of them. It all came to far less than she’d hoped, and she came away thinking she ought to have bargained more, but it was enough for a change of clothes and a room at the first inn she saw. Not a nice room, but she got a hot meal and a bath in the bargain. There she scrubbed herself until she was sure the lyrium smell was gone. She’d grown so used to it that she’d forgotten how acrid-sharp it smelled to others, though she could only hope that the innkeeper and the merchants she’d traded with hadn’t recognized it. She thought about cutting her hair to be sure, but couldn’t bear it. Surely this one thing she could keep.

There she finally slept, in her shift and all her jewelry. Whatever dreams haunted her, she could not recall in the morning.

When she woke, evening had fallen again. The dark, the unfamiliar room, and the hard mattress disoriented her—this wasn’t her home. This wasn’t her bed. Why did her shoulder hurt? What had happened to her feet?Then she remembered.

You don’t understand, and you never will.

Maker, what had she done? Had the others noticed her absence yet? It had been nearly a full day, but she sometimes went many days without seeing those she counted friends. It might be a week or more until they all knew she’d fled. What would Loriel tell them? Would she tell them anything at all? Was she even thinking about her at all anymore?

She half-snarled and stumbled off the sagging mattress—and immediately slammed her foot into a bedside table so hard it splintered her big toenail.

She swore, bending to heal it—and hesitated. What if somebody saw? What if calling on magic at all made it easier for someone to spot her for what she was?

But she had Loriel’s parchment...didn’t she?

She rifled through her few possessions; the irrevocably ruined slippers, the torn and muddy house robe, the one bolt of cloth she wasn’t able to sell, a leather belt hung with pouches (mostly missing, now) of herbs, the plain linen dress she’d bought, though who knew if it would even fit her...

No parchment.

It was hardly surprising. She’d haphazardly jammed the document into her belt, and since then had fallen off a horse, twice. Who knew how long ago she’d lost it?

A heaviness settled in her chest, a weight like being deep underground. Now she didn’t have even the flimsiest of legal protections. And worse, she didn’t have Loriel’s handwriting, the only physical trace she had of her.

She hadn’t even read the full text before fleeing.

Loriel had done this to her. Had turned her out with nothing but a sheaf of parchment to her name. Had somehow foolishly believed that Loriel’s written word would protect her. The sheer arrogance of it all! To the void with her, to the void with her stupid bloody parchment. If Yvanne had still had it she would have burned it to a crisp. Her fists trembled, her eyes burned with fury, but she pushed herself up. To the void with her!

Yes, she was alone, she had almost nothing, and if the Templars found her, they would surely drag her back to Kinloch, and who knew what they’d do with her there. But she was damn well still alive, and she was going to live. And if Loriel didn’t want to do it with her, that was her fucking problem.

And, before the cloying darkness could settle in her chest again, Yvanne went downstairs to get a drink.

[twitchesandstitches]

Crossthicc Metroid: Groups and Sub-Factions

Federation: Don’t really exist in Crossthicc, but it’s fair to use any similar organization that might already be there and put the Metroid characters into it, giving them different species and histories as would be appropriate.

Space Pirates: A staggeringly massive armada of salvaged battleships or ships armored up and weaponized into battleships, crewed by the most vicious and cruel killers known to the galaxy, comprised of all known species from humans to Eldar to Decepticon to Tetramand, and headed by the mot horrifically evil of them all: the pirate queen Mindfang, whose insatiable cruelty is matched only by her subordinate and favorite plaything, Ridley.. They work with the Cartels and swoop upon travel routes to prey upon entire worlds and leave nothing behind. They often act as a means to scare people into cartel obedience; they wipe out worlds, leaving the survivors desperate, and they take up the wares the Cartel offers to take the pain away or arm themselves. Otherwise, they just roam around, a massive army of killers who generally been chemically altered to lose inhibition and gain pleasure from inflicting pain, on purpose. They are very numerous; in any encounter, assume there are ten space pirates for every individual on the other side. Mindfang is their broodmother queen, endessly gestating cloned hordes of them to rampage on her behalf, and when she takes the field herself, entire planets vanish without a trace, as do any Space Pirates; her hunger knows no limits.

They may also be combined with the Dark Eldar of warhammer 40k, to the extent of having a headquarters in an extradimensional realm of nightmare and horrors.

Chozo: Sadly extinct, but this may be changing. A noble precursor race largely wiped out in the cataclysm, a few of them survived in isolated enclaves, leaving behind relics to inspire and teach the young races to come, and then accepting their fates. One such enclave, surviving with a sustainable population, took in the orphaned Samus, who at her request, became their champion. But she couldn’t save them from the Space Pirates/Drukhari, and upon the broken bodies of her adoptive family and the final extinction of the Chozo, she vowed she would avenge them.

With Samus’ rise in power and thus fertility, she has spontaenously become pregnant with baby Chozo, capable of interbreeding with other species, and wtih her annual prengancies, she gives birth to several hundred at a time. Already, the Chozo have a sustainable population again, and the species has been brought back from the brink by the woman they now regard as a divine mother, and has rescued their people from certain doom.

Some of them may even be reincarnation of the ones who rescued Samus and adopted her. What goes around, comes around.

Physically, Chozo look much as they do in canon, but with much thicker feathering. They are tall avians, about thirty feet or so on average, and possessed great understanding of how magic interacts with the multiverse as a whole; their technology is often magical in nature, and many sorecerous techniques (from Jedi instruction to arcane wizardry) has some Chozo influences.

Metroids: Ancient Chozo superweapons originally created to combat the purely spiritual entities such as incarnate fiends that plagued the multiverse in ancient times; to their surprise, the metroids took on greater intelligence as they consumed, developing into more curvaceous forms as they did, and they were eventually treated as citizens of the ancient Chozo societies, and masters of energy production for civil uses. When the Chozo fell, so did the Metroids, periodically being used as superweapons here and there. Mother Brain, their greatest queen, was originally awakened as part of a warlord’s attempt to weaponize them; that warlord was consumed long ago, but her plans continue.

Metroids, once they consume enough to advance to the next stage of development, tend to acquire various traits from what they have consumed; those who mainly eat energy become glowy. Those who have consumed living things acquire their attributes. In vairably, if intelligent, they become more humanoid; imagine a very stacked jellyfish monster girl, with ‘hair’ of a huge poofy cap, several eyes, a maw for draining energy or gulping prey down, and a lower body that looks like several tentacles for grasping. Often they just float about, and levitate to move around. They get bigger, and bustier, as they get more powerful.

As they continue, they become more insectoid, growing heavy armored plates and fierce claws, becoming progessively larger, a bit similar to xenomorph monster girls, and they continue to get larger and larger.

As it is, the Endowed Fleet has a large number of Metroid girls in its ranks, and they are not often found else where, save as rampaging monsters. There are a few who have abandoned the Fleet and turned against its honor, and they make for dreadful foes.