#sowrd of the storm

[flybcll]

these are mostly throwaways lil hcs for orochi!kai but gotta put 'em somewhere

— one  hundred  percent  abstains  from  alcohol  and  similar  types  of  things.  considering  the  legends  either  go  yamata  no  orochi  drank  when  deceived  into  thinking  they  were  devouring  their  sacrifice  or  simply  drank  because  it's  in  front  of  them  doesn't  matter  much.  given  the  centuries  to  stew  and  plot,  no  more  sake. — goes  out  of  their  way  to  defile  and  desecrate  things  associated  with  anything  divine.  petty.  a  grudge  that  spans  eras. — uses  a  bastardization  of  kusanagi  no  tsurugi  which  came  from  its  own  tail.  the  original  being  given  to  amaterasu  by  susanoo. — in  some  tellings,  dark  clouds  roll  wherever  yamata  no  orochi  roams.  the  kusanagi  no  tsurugi  which  roughly  translates  to  heavenly  sowrd  of  gathering  clouds.  these  clouds  still  follow  orochi  meaning  dark  clouds  and  treacherous  storms  follow  them  even  in  their  current  state. — while  kai  normally  fights  rather  evasively,  orochi!kai  fights  with  more  direct  methods.  tearing,  breaking,  shattering  and  the  like  as  displays  of  strength.  — skins  a  bit  rough  like  scales  to  the  touch.

[kfans-writerblog]

Pain and revenge

🌟 aegon targaryen & y/n targaryen rhaenees targaryen

In a quite village between lush hills and shimmering sunlight , a brave king named aegon targaryen roamed the land, his heart heavy with longing. He had heard tales of a beautiful maiden, Lady y/n , whose laughter could brighten the darkest days. One fateful evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a golden glow over the village, king aegon resolved to find her. his shining armor, he ventured into the enchanted forest, where whispers of magic danced on the breeze, guiding him toward the heart of his destiny. Little did he know, Lady y/n saw him him, her own heart yearning for adventure and love.

-then 2 years after dating you both got married and one day you were out for a walk with your body guards to buy some clothing and you got a message from the kings assistant that king aegon got burnt by princess rhaenees*

*you go to his chambers and found him all patched up with blood and burn scars on him and I tear up* "my love"

*Aegon is in the healers' chambers, shirtless, burns and scratches all over his chest. He looks up when he hears your voice, a pained expression on his face as he sees you run towards him*

"Ah, love. You shouldn't be here."

"Who did this ??"

*He winces as you get closer, the healers finishing up bandaging him*

"It was Rhaenys. We had a little disagreement and it escalated... quickly."

"How dare she" *i grab a sowrd and go*

*He grabs your wrist firmly, stopping you from storming off*

"Hey, hey, hey. Calm down. You can't just go and confront her with a sword, you'll get yourself killed!"

"You almost died! Now look , you are burnt because of her!"

*He sighs, his grip on your wrist loosening slightly*

"I know, I know. But it was an accident, okay? We were fighting, and she accidentally set my skin on fire. I'm fine, I'll heal."

"No its not fine let me at least slice something off her"

*He lets out an exasperated sigh, knowing he can't reason with you when you're this angry*

"No, absolutely not. You're not going to slice anything off anyone. You're going to stay here with me and make sure I don't bleed out, got it?"

*i go to rhaeness place* I need to speak to her now!

*Rhaenys is in her chambers, reading a book when you burst in, clearly not happy with her. She looks up, raising an eyebrow at your sudden appearance*

"Well, if it isn't the new maid. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Well well well look who still looks good after almost killing my husband! "

*Rhaenys smirks, setting her book aside and leaning back in her chair*

"Ah, you're here to lecture me, are you? Don't worry, I've already heard it from my brother. He was quite... vocal about his displeasure."

*i scar your cheek with my sowrd*

*Rhaenys gasps in shock and pain, her hand going to her now scarred cheek. She looks at you with a mixture of surprise and anger*

"You... you attacked me! How dare you?"

"AND HOW DARE YOU ATTACK THE KING MY KING ! MY HUSBAND ! "

*She glares at you, her eyes narrowing as she slowly stands up*

"I didn't mean to attack him! It was a mistake, an accidental blast of fire. But you, on the other hand, are clearly out of control. You need to learn your place, maid."

"well now you have a scar not as big as his but at least theres something to give my love your blood"

*Rhaenys' expression darkens even further, her voice low and menacing*

"You think a little scar will make him love you more? You're just a toy to him, a plaything he'll grow tired of eventually. You're nothing."

*i go back to aegon show him my sowrd*

*He looks at you in disbelief, a mixture of concern and irritation on his face*

"You attacked Rhaenys?! Are you insane? You're going to get yourself executed for this, you do realize that, right?"

"I dont care ! "

*He stands up, his face mere inches from yours*

"You should care! You can't just go around attacking people because you're angry. I understand you were trying to defend me, but you've crossed a line here. This is not how things work, my love."

"She attacked you! I need her blood! An eye for an eye blood for blood"

*He grips your shoulders firmly, trying to make you see reason*

"I know she attacked me, but you don't need to shed blood to defend me. I can handle myself, and I don't want you getting yourself in trouble because of me. You need to calm down and think about what you've done."

"Shes alive dont worry why are you so nice to people who harm you ?"

*He lets out a deep breath, his eyes locked on yours*

"Because I have to be. I am the king. I can't just turn my back on my family, no matter how much I may want to. We have to maintain appearances, keep up appearances. It's not easy, but it's what I have to do. Do you understand that?"

"Your the king i need to protect you"

*He cups your face in his hands, his touch gentle*

"And I love you for that, but you're not my bodyguard. I can take care of myself. Your job is to be by my side, not to fight my battles for me. Understand?"

"Yes but i just feel bad for u"

*He smiles slightly, a hint of sadness in his eyes*

"I know you do. And I love you for that too. But I'll be fine. I always am. Now, can we please just forget about Rhaenys for now? I don't want to talk about her anymore."

*you nod and hold his hand and kiss it*

*He lets you kiss his hand, a small smile playing on his lips. He pulls you into a tight embrace, burying his face in your hair*

"I love you, my fierce little dragon."

"I love you too my king"

[elliemarchetti]

Modern RQ characters moodboard: 4/13 Evangeline Samos

[ziracona]

You're lovely anon here! I'm so sorry you were ill last week! :( I hope you're feeling better! Also for question of the day (that I missed yay life XD) - What other video games do you like playing besides Nancy Drew?

Thanks! It wasn’t super fun TuT. But I’m doing okay mostly right now at least!

Uhhh haha, I play a ton of other games. I have a PS4, 3DS, Wii, and for the past two months now, a Switch. On PC, I’ve got ancient Oregon Trail on CDrom I still boot up sometimes because man the strategy is just way too involved it’s a solid game!! It is. I haven’t used Steam to try out much, but I did buy & play The Fall, and The Fall part 2: Unbound last year, and they were good! Especially part 2, which I loved. It’s been a while since I used my Nintendo systems sans the Switch, & the only game I’ve played on the Switch is Pokémon Sowrd, but that’s fun. I used to play Zelda games all the time & the Paper Mario franchise, and they’re /really/ good games. I also have played the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney franchise on my phone, and I 100% recommend that to anyone who likes the ND games. You solve mysteries & it’s very funny & just well written with good plot lines & stellar twists. The first case is free on IPhone & I think the games are very cheap for almost any system.

Mostly, I play PS4 though. The first game I ever played on it was Fallout 4 (also my first open world game ever), and I still play that a lot—it will always hold a special place in my heart. I spend a lot of time playing Dead by Daylight with friends—it’s an online 1 vs 4 game kind of like ultra freeze tag mechanically? Four of you are survivors & one plays killer, and you try to fix 5 generators to power the exit door so you can escape, while the person playing killer tries to hunt you down. If you get caught, you get put on a meat hook, but friends can save you (like unfreezing basically). If you get caught 3 times though, you die. I like the characters you can play as a lot. : )

Other than that, mostly I play Adventure & Decision Based games (Decision Based is my favorite!). Telltale made a lot of super good games where you choose what you want your character to do, and can get a lot of different endings (The Walking Dead Game Season 1 is one of my favorite games I’ve ever played and devestating. Tales From The Borderlands is hilarious & an incredible space action comedy thing. I just love Telltale games a lot. I also enjoy Quantic Dream’s games (Heavy Rain—an amazing Film Noir Mystery & one of my favorite games of all time, Beyond Two Souls—a great game to play w a friend bc it’s very unique two-player, you play as a girl & an entity she’s tied to that protects her since she was a baby, and Detroit Beocme Human—which is about Artifical Intelligence & about minority issues & was really solid. Markus breaks my heart :’-). I’ve played others too (Until Dawn—solid but v upsetting, Life is Strange—great till the end which is horrible and leaves you like 🤷🏻‍♀️ @ the story, Before the Storm—LIS’s prequel which is much better and /doesn’t/ have a bad ending, but does have suuuper weird timing in the last ep). I also play & enjoy Adventure games a lot. The Uncharted series, Watchdogs/2, Persona 5, etc etc. But this was already waaaay tmi, lol. If you’re ever on the prowl for games, I’d for sure recommend both Phoenix Wright and Heavy Rain, because they’re great mysteries. Heavy Rain is much more dark though, whereas Phoenix Wright is pretty lighthearted.

How about you, Abby? Got any non-ND faves?

[julibf]

Interesting find! I never thought of looking at the order of chapters, so I also looked it up. Check out Jons chapters

I know. I am now actually paying attention to ALL the chapters locations. In A STORM OF SOWRDS right after Jaime Lannister says that his story can be whatever he chooses it,  we have a JON chapter. I literally screamed in the library. Of course he is going to choose JON.

In A GAME OF THRONES, if you pay attention, Jon Snow first chapter in between Catelyn and Eddard. Those are his referencials of a father and a mother, a husband and a wife. And here is the thing about referencials, they pretty much guide our lives. We are attracted by what is familiar to us. Its normal to Sansa to feel safe next to Jon because he remind her of Ned; while is completely normal for Jon to be attracted to Sansa, since she has so much of Catelyn on her and as badly as Jon’s relationship with Catelyn was, she was his referencial of a mother, wife and Lady. 

BTW - Jon’s chapters are almost all followed by or following Catelyns chapters and thats is SO FUCKED UP, its delicious. But then again, most of us always thought he had a mommy issue, so…..

[sassyblazewasteland-blog]

the wicked legends by PowerMaster14

The Infamous Twelve’s Power Items

1)Ganondorf’s Giant Sowrd (The Legend of Zelda)

2)Jafar’s Cobra Staf (Aladdin)

3)Maleficent’s Cepter (Sleeping Beauty)

4)Bakura’s Melenium Ring (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters)

5)The Storm King’s Staf (My Littile Pony The Movie)

6)Rasputin’s Midalion (Don Bluth’s Anistasia)

7)Steale’s Colar (Balto)

8)Ursala’s Sea Shel Neclece (The Littile Mermaid)

9)Carface’s Sigar (All Dogs go to Heaven)

10)Xehanort’s Dark Master Keyblade (Kingdom Hearts)

11)Voldimort’s Wand (Harry Potter)

12)Rothbart’s Cloak (The Swan Princess)

[passiveplayersonly]

Chapter 8 – Night 4

The Boundary had expanded faster than I could run, emptying the streets and leaving my footfalls as the only noise in the quickly darkening night. The rain soaked through my hoodie in a matter of seconds and the heavy fabric clung to my skin, slowing me down, but I couldn’t stop running. Allowing Snow to catch me before she had at least a little time to cool down was not an option.

 Anger is a natural emotion. It happens to everyone. Unfortunately, when you combine anger with supernatural levels of strength and training it can result in a somewhat explosive concoction.

 This is why teenagers should NOT be heroes. I stand by that statement and will argue it with anyone, anytime, anywhere. They can even specify if they would like my points in list or PowerPoint form.

 As I ran I forced my mind to settle. Easier said than done. However, with a handful of calming breaths I was able to get a decent hold of myself and begin to formulate a plan.

 Step One: Decide where I was headed.

 While running is an excellent strategy in the short term, it’s effectiveness is severely diminished if the person chasing you is faster than you.

 Snow was without a doubt faster than me.

 It had to be somewhere close enough for me to reach before she caught up with me. It also needed to be somewhere I knew relatively well, somewhere that I would have somewhat of a home field advantage to at least try and balance out the severe mismatch I was about to experience.

 I didn’t know how long it would take her to finish setting the Boundary, but I had to assume the worst.

 I grit my teeth as a destination formed in my mind.

 “Damn it.”

  xXx

 I normally do my best to avoid returning to school once I’ve left it. It actually doesn’t have much to do with avoiding routes, though I will admit it is a factor. Really, I just don't particularly like school buildings, or any buildings, after hours.

 They give me the creeps.  

 This school was no different. Even though it wasn’t that late yet under normal circumstances there would still have been at least a few faculty members milling around, finishing up grading tests or preparing for the next day. As I raced up the steps and into the entryway it was clear that this wasn’t going to be the case tonight.

 The Boundary had indeed reached this far. It had been a long shot but I had hoped the school would have been outside of Snow’s range.

 Well, at least I was safe from the rain. I ran a hand through my rain slicked hair to shake off some excess water and started to make my way down the hallway.

 Step One had been achieved and now it was time for Step Two: Hide. The school with its man rooms would provide ample places to bunker down and wait out the both literal and metaphorical, storm.

 Sadly, Step Two was almost instantly put on hold as a window just ahead of my shattered as Snow dove through the window. Shards of glass cascaded from her armor and clinked soft against the floor.

 She turned her eyes on and drew her sword.

 “Asher Mara.”

 I held my hands up.

 “Ah, you found me. Greeeat. Did you lock my door before you left? I’m pretty sure I turned the stove off.”

 Snow lowered her stance and brought her sword up high.

 “Don’t run.”

 “Yeah… About that…”

 I turned heel and took off in the other direction. Snow gave chase instantly, her heavy steps echoing loudly in the empty hallways. It was a sound I did my best to ignore. I need to create distance between us. Just ahead of me and to the left was a staircase to the second floor. Going up was not a preferable choice and I sped right past the stairs and down the hall. I began to hook a hard right when I heard the air behind me hiss.  

 I threw myself to the left and just barely managed to avoid getting impaled by Snow’s thrown sword. The lockers in front of me were not so lucky and the sword hung imbedded to the hilt in the metal door.

 I didn’t stop moving, taking my newly decided course, grimacing at the shrill sound of metal on metal as Snow pulled her sword free from the lockers before continuing after me. I slammed through a pair of double doors and found myself in the gymnasium. Turning around I quickly locked the doors behind me. I had no doubt Snow would get through, but it would at least provide me a few extra seconds to think.

 Think.

 I was in the gymnasium. The sports clubs used the gymnasium. They had equipment.

 The doors behind me rattled as Snow slammed against them. As large dents appeared in the metal I quickly made my way over to the storage room. The door was locked.

 “Of course.”

 The doors were shaking violently from Snow’s attacks, it would only be a few more seconds now.

 Sighing, I lifted up my foot and drove my heel into the door, close to the keyhole.

 My first kick sent a thick crack through the door. Most school doors are actually pretty well made for the safety of the students and faculty in event of an emergency. This door, however, was not on a classroom. As such it had not been worth the extra expense.

 My second kick managed to fully knock the door open, sending a handful of splinters to the floor. Normally I would have felt bad about destroying school property, but as Snow had set a Boundary anything that happened inside of it wasn’t permanent.

 Allegedly.

 The Storage room was quite large, but most of the things inside of it were useless. I picked up a basketball and dribbled it absentmindedly before tossing it away. Somehow I doubted that challenging Snow to a game of HORSE would provide a positive outcome.

 I sucked at basketball.

 Boxing equipment.

 Soccer equipment.

 I spied the Kendo and fencing club equipment to my left. I picked up one of the fencing foils. Wiggling it back and forth I watched the blade wibble and wobble back and forth. I put it back down and picked up one of the Kendo clubs, shinai. It seemed to be sturdier, but I still doubled it would stand up well to Snow’s sword. I returned the weapon to its place.

 “Coward!”

 Leaning back out of the storage room I watched as Snow finally pushed her way through the remains of the gymnasium doors. I really didn’t want to do this, but it seemed I had run out of time. Frowning I grabbed a baseball bat in each hand and stepped out into the gymnasium.

 Snow bared her teeth at me, her sword igniting into a brilliant white and filling the gymnasium with light.

 “Have you finally stepped running?”

 I brought one bat up in front of me and lifted the other high. It wasn’t the best choice against a sword, but the thickest part of the bat would hold up against Snow’s sword.

 At least it would in theory.

 “Seems that way.”

 “When you fall to my Blade the defender of this world will be clear. The Light of the Divine will-”

 I threw the bat in my right hand towards Snow. It wasn’t a very hard throw, but it was enough to surprise her. She abruptly ended her speech and swung her sword around. I was dismayed to see how the bat was turned into nothing more than an explosion of splinters almost as soon as her blade made contact with the wood.

 Still, it gave me a moment to rush around her. She turned with me but I flung the second bat towards her, this one with a little more force. With a dazzlingly display of hand-eye coordination Snow simply lifted up her hand and caught the bat mid spin. She spun it around one before whipping it back towards me.

 With decidedly less grace I ducked under the bat, rolling across the ground before scrambling back to my feet. I hopped through the remains off the door and took off down the hallway. Snow yelled something after me that I couldn't quite make out, but it sounded negative.

 As I came back up on the entryway of the school I found myself having to make a difficult decision.

 Go up the stairs or leave the school?

 “Damn it.”

 I chose the stairs. Despite what I said earlier, when the choice is go up or be killed, going up is the better choice. In the streets I would be completely exposed, at least in the school I had a semblance of a chance of survival.

 Reaching the second floor I took a moment to catch my breath. As I sucked in deep breaths of air I saw a fire extinguisher attached to the wall.

 In case of Fire Strike on Vertical Lines

 While this wasn’t a fire it was an emergency. I slammed my elbow against the casing, breaking the plastic, before pulling the red cylinder free. I turned around as I heard Snow begin to ascend the steps. She stopped at the top of the stairs, her eyes glancing down at the fire extinguisher.

 “Are you going to throw that at me too?”

 “I was considering it.”

 She spun her sowrd around.

 “Then come at me!”

 I held up the fire extinguisher, my hand loosely holding the nozzle.

 “Uh, this might be a strange time to ask this question, but how durable are you?”

 Snow blinked.

 “What?”

 “How… How durable are you?”

“This armor was crafted by the finest metal smiths from the House of White. My body has been tempered for battle since birth. I am-”

 I held up my hand.

 “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to insinuate anything. I just needed to know. Also, Sorry about this.”

 I pulled the pin on the fire extinguisher and squeezed the handle. Snow let out a shout of surprise as she was enveloped in a cloud of white. With a grimace I stepped forward, placed my hands against her shoulders, and pushed.

 Listening to Snow’s shriek of surprise as she suddenly fell backwards down the stairs is not what I would call one of the high points of my life, but I did feel better with the knowledge that she at least wouldn’t suffer any real injuries from it.

 I still flinched when I heard the final thump as she hit the bottom. Gingerly I peered down the stairs.

 That was a mistake.

 Snow’s sword came hurtling towards me. I threw myself back and narrowly avoided being skewered. The sword passed by my face with enough force to ruffle my hair before continuing on and out the window. I landed hard on my back, a good amount of air being forced from my lungs. I sat up with a cough but didn’t have the luxury of recovering fully. Forcing myself back to my feet I stumbled forward and up the next set of stairs.

 Reaching the third I started down the hallway when Snow’s voice reached me.

 “Stop you Coward! Turn and face me!”

 While I didn’t stop I did glance over my shoulder to see Snow make it to the third floor, but something was off.

 I came to an abrupt stop as a realization came over me.

 I was outside of the Boundary.

 Snow realized it as well, stopping inside of the Boundary and staring at me from down the hall, her eyes burning. Sighing in relief I leaned against the wall and ran my hand over my face. I was exhausted, but alive, and not munch worse for wear.

 My relief was short lived as Snow snarled and pushed through the barrier and out into the real world.

 “Shit.”

 She was on me just as I began to push off from the wall. Her foot connected with the center of my chest and sent me flying backwards. My hand dragged against the wall and my fingers managed to catch against a classroom door. My arm was jerked painfully, but it was sufficient to stop my momentum.

 Not that it helped all that much as Snow had already caught up with me, her hands wrapping around the front of my hoodie.

 “Hey, hey, hey, you know we’re not in the Boundary anymore, right?”

 Hey eyes narrowed.

 “I don’t care.”

 For such a small girl, Snow really did have incredible strength. This was made very clear to me as I was lifted off the ground with apparent ease and tossed into the classroom. Landing on my shoulder I was able to roll back to my feet and narrowly avoid being grabbed again, but in doing so ended up with my back firmly lodged against a corner.

 This really was not going at all how I would have liked.

 Snow advanced on me.

 Normally in a situation such as this, I would recommend a swift and immediate withdrawal. Screaming is an individual preference, though I normally go with terrified silence, it’s easier on the vocal chords. Stuck in my corner, I was not able to utilize this plan as effectively as normal.

 Snow was fast and her small hand deftly caught me by the throat. My feet kicked out uselessly as she lifted me from the ground, cold fingers curling into my skin.

 “Do you understand what you have done? Can you even comprehend the gravity of the situation?”

 There is a time when sarcasm is not welcome. In times of panic I have admittedly been known to not know when that time is

 “No. Enlighten me.”

 Snow did not seem amused as her grip tightened to the point where I could no longer speak clearly. I tried to pry myself free, but her grip was like a steel trap.

 “I have trained my entire life.”

 “Can’t. Breath.”  

 “I have mastered the ancient sword styles.”

 “Seriously. I’m dying.”

 “It was my destiny and you… You… You stole it!”

 She tossed me across the room with a hiss of disgust. The good news was I was able to take in a gulp of fresh air. The bad news was, she had just tossed me across the room.

 Again.

 Desks do not make the best of cushions, but they did slow my momentum quite effectively. I gave myself a few moments to groan before getting unsteadily back up to my feet. Snow was in front of me immediately.

 I threw up a hand.

 “Wait!”

 She had her fist back, ready to strike. I was quite surprised she stopped. She seemed just as surprised, a look of shock crossing over her face before quickly returning to the more familiar anger.

 “What?”

 I ran my hands over my face, trying to compose my thoughts. Not an easy thing to do when your head is still spinning and the person in front of you is quite intent in doing you bodily harm.

 I had tried to run. I knew I wasn’t going to fight her. It was time to try something a little more… unorthodox.

 “So…. So you have been training your whole life for this?”

 “Yes, you idiot. I was to be the one to restore balance. I was-”

 “So do it.”

 She faltered at that, her hand lowering a few inches.

 “What?”

 “You’ve got the training, right? So do it.”

 “What are you even saying?”

 She shook her head back and forth rapidly, her hand dropping down to her side. The confused look was actually pretty cute on her. Though, any look was better than blind fury.

 “Look, if you’ve got the skill and the training, just do it.”

 “But… But you were chosen in my place! The Light of the Divine marked you!”

 “So what?”

 She actually took a step back at that. I righted one of the desks my flying body had knocked over earlier and sat down, resting my face in my hand. She looked down at me and while I’m quite sure she still wanted to hit me a few more times, she was also waiting for me to continue talking.

 “If you’ve got the training, who cares if you’re chosen or not? Look, I have no training. I have no desire to do this. Hell, before that stupid ray of light hit me I didn’t even know any of this stuff was going on. I was just walking to school.”

 “But the Light did shine down upon you. It marked you. Your destiny… my destiny, has been sealed.”

 “Why?”

 I could almost see steam rising out of her ears.

 “Because… the Light…”

 “Look, do you want me to be the Hero of this story? Your story?”

 She bristled at that, slamming her fist down on my desk with enough for to crack the wood. We would have to work on the whole ‘breaking things’ thing in the future.

 The far future.

 “Of course I don’t!”

 “Do you want to see someone other than you bring balance or whatever?”

 “Never!”

 Her fist came down again, pulverizing what was left of my desk and nearly both of my legs in the process. I slipped from the mangled desk and dusted myself off.

 “Then screw it. Do what you want. Go be the Hero. Save the world. Bring balance.”

 “But the light!”

 Our conversation had calmed her down and she was beginning to waver. I needed to press the attack here and keep her from falling back into what the Route dictated, but I needed her to help me break it.

 I pulled out my phone and snapped a quick picture of Snow. She recoiled back as the flash illuminated the room and blinded her for a moment.

 “Look at that. Looks like some Divine Light just shined on you. Good work, Hero.”

 Snow shook her head back and forth vigorously.

 “No! It doesn't… I can’t… You have the mark?”

 I marched over to the teacher’s desk and grabbed a marker. Snow didn’t resist as I grabbed her hand and drew the symbol I had seen on my back.

 “There. A mark as well. Now tell me, do you feel any more powerful?”

 “No, but-”

 I didn’t let her finish, I couldn’t.

 “Well neither do I. Because I’m not supposed to be the Hero here, you are.”

 “But… But…”

 I placed my hands on her shoulders and forced her to meet my eye. It wasn’t exactly an easy task for me, either, but I had come this far. No going back now.

 “Look, Snow. We all get to decide our own destiny. Now you either want to be a Hero or you don’t. Now me, personally, I don’t want to be a Hero at all. I don’t want to be at my school, soaked in rain, trying not to die. I just want to go home and go to sleep. So you tell me, right here, and right now. What do You want to do, Snow? What do you want? Not what the elders tell you. Now what some Prophecy says. But you?

 Snow stared at me for a long time before finally giving her head a small shake.

 “You are a strange person.”

 I decided now was not the proper time to point out that she had stalked me, infiltrated my school, attacked me with a sword, and then finished by tossing me around a classroom a few times for good measure. I’m relatively sure that would make her the stranger of us.  

 “No, I’m just a coward.”

 That actually got me a smile. I finally was making some progress that didn’t involve me getting punched.

 “So, you gonna do it, then? Bring this balance stuff?”

 She lifted her head up and gave me a haughty look.  

 “Of course. I can see now I can’t leave the fate of the world to a pathetic fool like you. I’m glad you were able to see it as well.”

 The words had a harsh bite, but her eyes twinkled in amusement as I sighed.

 With her mind made up, and seemingly finished with me, Snow made her way to the window and gently lifted it open. She put one foot on the edge and readied herself to jump. I moved to the window beside her. It was a long way down.

 “Well then, I suppose this is goodbye. Sorry I didn’t give you such a great tour of the school.”

 She smiled down at me.

 “Oh don’t worry. I’m sure there will be another opportunity Asher Mara. Very soon.”

 With those parting words, she launched out the window and into the night. Leaving me alone. 0

 To clean up the mess.

 As always.

 Perhaps I should consider just being homeschooled.

 Still the Route was ended and that was all that mattered. With a slight smile I pulled out my phone and reset the timer. With that done I started to right the desks when the wall imploded and I was showered with a rain of splinters. An armored male walked into the room, a long red black swishing behind him. From beneath his helm Cole Black looked at me.

 “You there! I have come to challenge the one who has impudently stolen the Light of the Divine! Prepare yourself for mortal combat!”

 I fell back into a desk and sighed.

 “Well, shit.”