#stay tf away from the iron throne

[arcielee]

I think mushroom should sit the iron throne

Absolutely not. As I mentioned, he is absolutely unhinged, but in a funny ha-ha way, definitely not a ruler of the Seven Kingdoms 💀

[fuckingfinwions]

it's pretty fucking rich of curufin to call the servants perverts for doing what he/his family forced them to do! omg! also i love the detail that sometimes fingon is just like 'suffer bitch' and doesn't stop curufin from getting his own self in trouble. i wonder what celebrimbor thinks about all the tension between the three of them--he must be terrified, poor bby. also i love the detail that maedhros believes in thematic/ironic punishment. i imagine he does it a lot to curufin esp when hes str

*stressed abt ruling the noldor and whatnot. i wonder if he ever directly tells curufin that if he actually put any effort into it that he *might* be the best sex slave/concubine? just to have more 'competition' btwn him and fingon? (and maybe its just a ploy, hes much fonder of fingon just for actually just getting on with it and not being so annoying). also maglor and his elaborate shows. maglor sounds insufferable. is he rlly perfectionistic and dramatic with his directions/ideas/visions? ver

*very particular and demanding? i can also see some really dark domestic humor with like, maedhros being like 'tf are my sex slaves' and it turns out they're all tied up in rlly weird ways running through 'rehearsal' for the 50th time that night or sthg and maglor is like 'oh damn its morning? i hadnt noticed' and ends up having a very very weird party a few weeks later full of avant-garde noncon horror that his pretentious artsy friends who all applaud his 'vision'. also i had wondered, if maed

*maedhros ever feels like he needs to punish nolo or fingon but in a more 'ironic' way, does he do it by forcing them to punish or touch eac other? like if fingon winces or flinches at jsut the wrong moment or something 'oh if i'm so disgusting then i'm sure you'd prefer him to rim you' and nolo is ofc desperate to fix the situation with his son hurt as little as possible. cant imagine curufin wouldnt be very upset too if celebrimbor is brought into his own punishments. cant see that ending well

Celebrimbor is rather terrified by the whole situation, but luckily, all of the other Servants are interested in keeping him safe. Curufin of course wants to protect his son. Nolo doesn't want this to be happening to anyone, and Celebrimbor is the only one he's currently able to make things less terrible for. Fingon thinks that Curufin deserves everything he gets, but Celebrimbor is innocent; and also that Curufin is probably bad at caring for people in general and a bad father. Curufin's defiance, coming at the same time when Fingon learns just how much his own father sacrificed for him and his siblings, just cements that belief.

In practice, this works out to Fingon teaching Celebrimbor a lot about both how to navigate life as a servant and just general socialization. Celebrimbor is torn between trusting Fingon's advice, because Fingon is acting like an older sibling/uncle and Celebrimbor misses that type of connection; and doing his best to stay far far away from Fingon, because Fingon hates his dad and might use him as a proxy, and also look what just happened with Celebrimbor's uncles.

(Also, I think just before he comes of age, Celebrimbor is going to decide he wants his first kiss to be with someone who is NOT Maedhros or Maglor. He might find one of the normal servants' teenage kids, or he might kiss Nolo, as the least scary option. Maedhros is unlikely to notice, and wouldn't be too upset as long is it didn't go any farther - there'd be a punishment along the lines of wearing a stimulating plug and a cage for a day.)

I like the idea of Maedhros encouraging competition, but I think he'd go for it sightly differently. "You always thought you were so special. So smart, could've been a genius at anything you chose, the only reason you didn't make a marvelous invention was because all the easy breakthroughs had just been discovered. But now I see you're mostly an idiot. You perhaps have a little natural talent at forgework, but with different birth could have spent your whole life making nails and horse shoes and never thought of anything greater. You can imitate if someone has already shown you the steps, but you have no creativity of your own. Nor can you figure out how to apply your skills to a new area, instead guessing blindly and patternlessly. Poor Inke, can't even suck a cock without someone smarter telling him how to do so."

Maedhros purposely avoided directly mentioning Feanor. That tends to just make Curufin more defiant, reminded of his pride and that he ought to be a prince. Also, Maedhros is not sure Feanor would actually approve of his actions, and Feanor's potential anger on his return is a bit of a mood killer. Being immortal, Feanor never felt a need to discuss in detail what would happen if he died and Maedhros took the throne. Maedhros is confident he's following Feanor's example, but some instructions might have been nice.

Curufin is now going to try and be the best lover Maedhros has ever had, purely out of spite.

Yes, dark comedy where Maedhros wants Fingon to ride him, but he's too exhausted from practicing double pirouettes where he jumps and lands with his cock an inch away from a spiked post. Maglor says it symbolizes the short distance between despair and desire. Curufin then fucks him using a strap on that he's wearing backwards (symbolizing fear of intimacy) while Nolo does the splits and fingers himself (symbolizing the loss of community in modern society).

Maedhros just thinks that, as king, there ought to be someone with enough energy to get him off the way he likes. Maglor says he's an artist, you can't expect him to make a masterpiece without using all the instruments. Maedhros is privately thinking maybe he should have made Caranthir crown prince, then he'd only be down two at once as Caranthir pretended to be a sadist rather than a masochist, or maybe one of the Ambarussa.

I think Maedhros ends making Nolo officially allowed to refuse sexual orders from Maglor it's been going on for longer than five hours. Also, despite Maglor's protest of artistry, if it involves nudity or genitalia it counts as sex. Nolo isn't Maedhros's favorite, but he's pretty enough, and both Curufin and Fingon would totally take advantage of the out.

Maedhros makes Nolo and Fingon punish each other sometimes, by making them be the one to inflict pain. But he doesn't use sex with each other as a punishment. They''re just so hot, he wants to watch them touch each other multiple nights a week, and he's not the type to make up new rules as an excuse for punishments. And the point of a punishment is that it's something the person involved dislikes, true, but it's also supposed to be something that they can avoid, so that you actually change their behavior. Maedhros likes ordering Nolo to kiss Fingon, and kiss a line down his body, stopping to caress every inch of him as if he's the most beautiful thing in the world. No one believes that Maedhros would stop ordering it if Fingon didn't disobey, so it doesn't work well as a deterrent.

Re: Celebrimbor being brought into Curufin's punishments, I had an idea for "power play" which I didn't end up using. Maedhros is trying to get Curufin to behave, and Curufin is being stubborn, and also insulting Maedhros. So Maedhros beats Curufin with a crop, then ties him to Maedhros's bed.

Maedhros sets oil and a very large set of anal beads on the bed. Then he draws the bed curtains.

"I'm going to have my dinner here by the fire tonight. Celebrimbor is going to bring it to me, and wait on me throughout. When I've finished eating, I'll check on you. If you have all the beads inside you and your cock hard, I'll send Celebrimbor away for the evening while I play with you. If not, I pull back the curtains, and he gets to sit by and watch you. Do you understand?"

Curufin nodded. "Are you going to gag me?"

"Why would I do that? I don't mind if your son overhears you moaning."

[emsartwork]

Oh, could you tell us about specific festivities or holidays each planet has? Like, are they significant to events or locations, are they based on legends or mythos, that kinda stuff!

They’re based on all kinds of things! 

below the cut this is hella long

Starting with the basics, Day of the Rose is a reference to a famous lady magic user(Lesya) who focused on caring for outcasts in society, she used a mix of Fairy transformations and Witch style magic but her title is Mage of Roses. When she died, thousands of people placed roses over her grave, and started giving roses to women who were similar to Lesya and the flower itself became a symbol of honor and respect for compassionate and inspiring women.  It originated on Magix but is celebrated Dimension wide. Mothers are the most common recipients of roses, but anybody can give a rose to any woman they want to show appreciation for.  Magix city has a large parade with floats and dancers and street food and carnival games, other parades vary.

Hala, or, The Storm Celebrations. Andros has a a lot of rain in general, but early spring is monsoon season, boats don’t go out and people stay inside unless absolutely necessary. Hala is both a celebration of the rainy season which brings life afterwards, and a ceremony that is supposed to ease the potential damage from the storms. Always held on a full moon, Hala is celebrated with feasts, traditional/ceremonial dances, and large bonfires in the evening(with more dancing and food). Hala also includes a commemoration of Queen Nephele, who protected the capital city from a record breaking storm for more than a week(she survived but had lasting health complications due to over use of magic). Aisha is pictured here in Hala ceremonial dance wear, featuring a headdress, braided cords, shells, and fan leaves. 

The most practical of Holidays, Zenith “celebrates” the end of winter with a few days off and a relieving breath of fresh air. Zenith technology keeps the most bitter cold out of communities, but the difference in air temperature can lead to the snow melting and re-freezing at the boundary. Eventually this leads to a build up of packed ice creating a “zenith snow globe” as its jokingly called. Once the temperatures rise enough that the dome won’t reform, the dome is shattered and the ice packed up and shipped out for various purposes. The shattering of the ice dome is considered especially beautiful to off-planeters, but zenithians consider it a matter of necessity.   

Solaria has the Summer Center Festival, held twice a “year” when the planet is in the center of it’s orbit. It a huge, three day party, Solarians feast, dance, drink, and decorate themselves, their hair, and literally everything else with ribbons gemstones and glitter. Each day is supposed to represent one of Solaria’s suns, the Dawn Star, the Dusk Star, and the Second Sun of Solaria(not a real sun, a magical power source), but much of the distinctions between each day have been lost as the festival has gotten older. Another holiday on Solaria is a much less popular one called Iahlayculi (ee-ah-lah-koo-lee, don’t ask its a mash up of like three words and languages) or the Night of Many Eyes. Its celebrated once a year, whenever the most moons will be around the planet (calculated with astronomy and physics and shit). It’s much more somber than The Summer Center Festival, and is considered a time of great self reflection and magical potential. Practitioners wear a loose draped dress, a wreath around their head, and craft a lunar lantern(usually magic but sometimes by hand). The wreathes are burned, and the lanterns released to the sky as offerings to the moons of Solaria. This celebration is a favorite of witches(especially Mediums and Psychics) but the general population views it as a little too occult. 

Firefest is held at the height of summer. There isn’t really a central location for the celebration, though the capital city is known for it’s fireworks display. Each community puts together it’s own local festivals featuring a large bonfire, large and small fireworks, and food/game booths. The Firefest honors the first king and queen of domino, Volenae(queen) and Zaphiric(king). They were also the first holders of the Dragon Flame and Phoenix Flame.  They aren’t a married couple but siblings, sharing a joint reign over Domino and eventually creating two bloodlines for the dragon and the phoenix to flow along. Volenae’s symbol is antler like horns, and Zaphiric’s symbol is a black feather, both of these feature prominently in folk art and Firefest masks.

Celebrated in late summer, The day of the Singing Whales is the one time a year the whales surface for a breath of air. It is unknown if the Whales are Natural Animals, Fairy Animals, or Ethereally Blessed beings. While the Whales only surface in one specific bay, music festivals are often held inland, and everybody participates in fireworks and festival type games after sunset.

The day of Returning is an odd holiday for non-Lynpheans. While Lynpheans are known for their nature preservation and association with living plants, the Day of Returning celebrated the ever present death in nature. Lynpheans are very familiar with death, and don’t view it as a “bad thing” most of the time. Untimely death or unwarented violence is frowned upon but Lynpheans understand that death follows life and life follows death. In fact in some Lynphean dialects, “death” is refered to as “returning” (ex: Old Uncle Bush returned peacefully in his sleep last may.)  Mushrooms are the central icon of “returning” being organisms that live off of death in a very tangible way. The Common Lynphean Green Cap is the most popular to use. The cap of Green Cap contains psychedelic substances that can very often result in death. However, the stalk of the Green Cap contains the anti toxins. When taken alone the cap results in severe hallucinations and eventual death. When the stalk is taken alone it clears the body of toxins and has pain relieving effect. When taken together the cap and the stalk produce a mild euphoria, sometimes with (usually auditory) hallucinations(basically its kinda like acid). On the Day of returning Local Temples/Sanctuaries open up the use of the mushrooms as a way to come in to hear the voice of nature and connect the spirit with the physical manifestation of death. These Mushrooms are easy to get addicted to, and are a controlled substance limited to ceremonial or pharmaceutical use, but possession isn’t criminalized and the Lynphean community is very involved with addiction recovery programs.

A Lady I’ve mentioned in passing a few times, Reagis the Cruel, Fairy of Lace. When the Anscestrals first started looking for the Dragon Flame, they placed a Fairy on the throne of Eraklyon as pawn, “blessing” her with their power and tying her core magic to the planet itself. Reagis is Eraklyan, and reigned with an iron fist. She had no empathy for basically anyone, but hated men especially(bad childhood and lots of trauma combined with a superiority complex and power equals big yikes), placing them lowest on the social status and promoting women like her above them. Compassion was a social sin, an act of kindness towards another could lead to public censure and imprisonment, and the people of Eraklyon started to abandon each other emotionally. Sky’s Grandfather and Grandmother, Oris and Edra(along with a young Erendor), resisted and became anonymous figures who helped people in trouble. Eventually they had enough of a following to hold a proper rebellion. Oris and Edra lead the charge and Edra(a warrior) fought with Reagis while Oris(a magic user) worked on disconnecting Regis from her power sources which revived her every time Edra did manage to land a blow. When Reagis was finally un-linked her magic core freaked tf out and Edra landed one final blow with her spear to make Reagis’s magic go completely berserk and burn her up. Edra unfortunately took too much damage and passed after that. Oris was crowned king, established New Earklyon Day, and ruled for a few years before also passing away (due to complication in his core magic because of the way he un-linked Reagis’s from the ancestrals and the planet), and Erendor took the throne. New Eraklyon Day is celebrated with a parade in the capital city and is a national holiday(ie, day off work). Street fairs along the parade route are also common. Reagis’s reign is partially why women aren’t trusted in positions of power or the emotional realm of decision making, and are instead usually pushed towards physical fighting and enforcement.

Vaonaa celebrates the Festival of Threads! The festival is to honor the Ethereal Fairy known as The Threaded One. The Threaded One is unusual for Ethereal Fairies, in that they have regular, benign, interactions with a specific people at a specific time in a specific place (ethereals are usually much more unpredictable). But for whatever reason, The Threaded One seems to enjoy the Festival of Threads. The Festival is centrally located at the Woven Temple, but smaller scale local festivals are also common. The event happens over four days, with a different activity and group each day. The first day the grass fibers are gathered by the youths in the community, this is preformed as a game with kids leading lines with a flag and running/ducking in a pattern across fields to grab the grasses. The second day the adults preform the spinning dance, rotating and using drop spindles to spin the grass fibers into threads. The third day is when the elders groups together and weave the story of the year into the textile in a mix of group chants and oral poetry. The fourth day is for everybody, and the fabric created for the ceremony is burned in a hug bonfire as a sacrifice to The Threaded One. The bonfire is usually when The Threaded One publicly appears but some years they appear periodically through the other four days.

(psa: Vaonaa is very heavily based on Navajo native american culture, I very loosely based this festival on some of the four/nine day healing ceremonies, but ultimately I didn’t want it to just be a weirder version of a religious and culturally significant ceremony so I changed and added a lot. As always, please let me know if you have issues with this im always willing to listen and learn.)

Another practical society, Zhen’s featured festival is the Spring Shear. Just as winter is ending, local communities on Zhen start a flurry of activity. The domestic herds of Argali are sheared, and the wild herds are searched out and counted, hunted, selected for domestication, or moved to a different location. While Argalis do produce a wool like substance, they do not absolutely need to be sheared the way our sheep do. Their wool is shed or scrapped off by the sheep naturally, and it comes off in fluffy chunks, but the Zhen people find it useful and easier to shear their herds for a clean fleece. The fleeces are carded, spun, and wound onto spools in huge huge amounts, a lot of weaving is done at this time as well but its not the main focus. After the majority of the work is done, Zhenese relax and eat/drink/play in a fair like environment, usually held in market squares of estate courtyards. 

On Koyu, the Koyuvian Silk Moths are an iconic animal. Uniquely adapted to it’s environment, the Koyuvian Silk Moths are one of the only creature to live in the outer reaches of the Tangles, feeding off the radiation and burrowing into the living fungal limbs. However, the pupal stage is too fragile to survive the outer Tangles, so the moths travel inward to lay their eggs. The caterpillars eat a the leaves of a luminescent plant called Naemtaj, and eventually produce a silk strand cocoon and transform into the moth. After the moth wiggles out of the cocoon, they’re wings begin to glow and they begin to flock together to travel to the outer Tangles. This is the signal for the Koyvians to begin hunting for the cocoons when begin to give off a faint glow as they deteriorate with out the moth’s body chemicals to keep it intact. The Koyuvians must move fast and usually have several locations in an area with a boiling pot to stabilize the strands as they hunt for the cocoons. Eventually the searching dies down and the silk strands are brushed and wound onto spools for future use. The anticipation before the moths are born is buzzing with energy and bets are placed on who can find the most cocoons. After the work, the Koyuvians relax with food and drink. 

[moonlightjeno]

swashbuckle and islands

a/n : this boy will be the death of me i love him so much. excuse my horrible grammar. my fav gif, and has nothing to do with the story lol but enjoyyy

genre : angst + fluff

pairing : readerxjeno & readerxmark

word count : 2.6k

okay,

okie, be ready for this mess

and excuse any non spaced words my space bar isn’t working properly

cool so your from an island

which imma call Skye bc i can

now your mum is originally from Skye, and had like second cousins of a cousin or whatever to throne but she married you father who was from the mainland 

which is a big no no but at the time she didn’t care bc she was so in love

skip forward a couple of years and the father is a complete ass

doesn’t work or really do much except order your mum around

anyone who has a wonderful father or really good parents im sorry don’t attack me this is for the story

:)

so, mum has had you and your older brother, whom your brother continues to admire your father bc he really just wants love and is hella lost in this mess of a world

Moving on

you used to have a really good relationship with your father until he changed.

cheated on your mother, and would blame it on you mum

in response you really just tried to help you mum get through this mess

big big mess

your brother, at the beginning helped and tried to calm your father  

boy kinda gave up, hela understandable

and left to the mainland to study medicine

wooot go him

but you were devastated because you were now alone 

now bc your brother has left your father has really worsened and blocks your freedom more and more

The point where you were literally only allowed to like go to school, work in the fields and be a servant

sksksk 

now remember how your mum was like the second cousin or smth to the royal crown?

Twas was importanttt

that managed to get you a study abroad year in london, 

queue your best friend mark entering

this boy showed you what freedom was and felt like for the first time since your father went off rails

iss been like a good 13 years and you're like 16 ??

I digress

mark literally made you feel more yourself because of his natural outgoing and easy behavior

It really was pretty amazing

And then the hiding and going out late at night was over

It was back to no friends, working at the field

sad life tbh

I must note, that because mark lived in canada bc why tf not 

y’all couldn’t really communicate

this is set when pirates where a thing, think of pirates of the caribbean 

I love those movies 

okie, progress two years 

of you thanks to you mum’s second cousin related human lol

you became friends with the cousins friends daughter 

y’all really had known each other since they were smol 

but hadn’t really been friends, bc the girl was pretty quite and a beaut

even her own father treated her better than she treated her own daughter

smh, ik this is a cliche live with it

but overall she was a really good person and kinda managed to sneak you around the island when you weren't on “duty” for your father

though its not that you didn’t like working in the fields bc you loved helping out with the animals and occasionally give food to those who were less fortunate than you and really couldn’t afford it

being a trooper, that you are you often told your friend idk wanna give her a name so y’all could come up with one if it were up to me it would be lilith about what you would see around the island and how the country was pretty not doing a okay

she would listen and talk about her own problems and how she wished she could travel and paint everything 

Bonding over traveling yep yeo

one day, you were supposed to work in the fields as you tend to have to do to the cows, and sheep and horses, while picking up the apples? from the trees ??

Idk i don’t farm

either wayyyy

you had finished your tasks early, and had struggled, and i mean stRuGgLed to get away from your father

he was in one of his moods today, shouting at everyone and refusing to admit he needed help

it was a constant reminder of every bad thing every failure that could happen in your life every thing you didn’t want for yourself or your mum who had slowly been getting sick and y’all had some money that could have helped her but your father thought that she deserved the illness

and i quote he said “everything happens for a reason child, if your mother had treated me and had been a good person this wouldn’t have happened to her, but alas some people deserve what they get”

skskskks 

he continued to say how “i on the other hand, have been a good man all my life, have always helped others so i don’t get sick”

this man i swear to god this has actually happened help

being very much done with your father who you really wished would just disappear and leave you and your mom who no longer lived with you but now lived with lilith to be

you had thought of running away for a very long time, though never knew how to get off the island it seemed impossible

sure you knew how to fight, somewhat by watching the guards and the little training mark you had taught your two years ago. 

missing mark hours but it wouldn’t compare to the guards of the royals who would never aid you

and even if they had, you had never learned how to sail which was ironic as the island you lived in wasn’t very large. Your only method of transportation has been your legs and your families faithful horse lethian ?? who really was your favorite out of all the animals 

running away from the trapped life had always felt like a dream, one that you had lived for for the small year in london with mark

you thought about running away again, the idea of sneaking into a trading boat slowly forming in your mind

you could take her your mum and lilith and travel the world go to london again and paris and canada and re-unite with the friend you missed the most

a smile had formed on your previous grim face, the dream something you held onto until your eyes opened and smoke covered the sky

a ringing began in your ears and you tried to stop it, your hands covering your ears in an attempt to stop the noise but the ringing only got stronger

the sky was black, shots were heard were the village people yelled in panic

you looked out towards the sea and could see the outline of a ship

a very large ship

oh shit 

a pirate ship

the flag blew proudly in the boat and from where you stood the bone white skull that contrasted against the black around it was made visible everytime the wind blew 

you gasped, everything anyone had told you about pirates were that they weren’t to be trusted

they were ruthless and would do nothing to stop from getting what they wanted

the stories you'd heard all came to the same conclusion you see the flag you run in the other direction

you pace quickened and in small time you were running towards the blazing village now up in smokes fire and fog covering the bakery, and fields

the school that had taught you the basics of reading and writing until girls weren’t allowed to attend was a blaze royal guards their black and purple uniforms waved their hands around and pointed their too heavy too unbalanced swords not being of much use

mom 

she should be safe

safe with lilith you thought, looking back towards were the small castle stood its bold flag still flying proudly in the grey and black sky

safe , shes safe you keep telling yourself a constant buzz that you repeated over and over to yourself in order to continue moving towards the castle walls

you only lasted a solid five minutes before the guards were holding the civilians back

you sighed angry these idiots being more preoccupied with holding back the citizens who were trying to get to safety behind the castle walls than actually dealing with the threat at hand

who hired them really??

being the stubborn human you are you decided to head towards the back entrance as yuo saw a flash of blonde hair headin towards the back gate of the castle 

oh no was your immediate thought their gonna get to lilith and mum

all the guards had been directed out of castle except a few that had stayed inside to keep the royal fam safe the infirmary had been left unguarded

you looked around trying to look for a familiar face, a familiar guard who youd seen at a practice lilith had dragged you too she had said it was too “admire suitors” you had shaken your head and laughed 

you had no interest in tying yourself to a man that would treat you like something to throw around but you let her revel in her fantasies 

no familiar face was found so you turned and ran towards the blonde head you had seen walk towards the back entrance grabbing a sword from one of the dead guards 

your cursed the clothes women were given making it impossible to run in impossible to fight in 

the blonde boy turned around at your approach, he was young you noticed

probably your age, his grin was deviant and his eyes were mocking as she approached 

“please” you tried “don’t hurt hurt anyone else” 

the boy looked at you with a puzzled look at laughed, slashing away at the thorns and vines that encircled the back door to the castle as he found the lock and tried to break it open

you got closer, looking at the broken glass bottles that littered the floor and torches that lit up the fogged street 

the boy was too busy with the look to realize the girl that had come behind him and hit him in the back of the head with the swords dull pommel the boy let put a yelp before collapsing at your feet

your small victory lasted a small time and before you noticed the boy you had tied with the thorns and vines from the door, which continued to be locked 

your mum and lilith as far as you knew safe

began to stir and as his eyes opened another boy appeared at the end of the alley

his hair seemed to be part of the night sky, falling over his dark eyes. 

“mark!” the black haired boy cried, his hand at his scimitar pointed directed towards you his other hand had managed to slip a dagger out of god knows where and sliced mark’s binds

mark the name sent a shock through you and you took a closer look at the young boy whose eyes were now wide open no anger shown

 but instead amusement and the joyous spark you had once known

he looked so different 

the black haired boy still had a sword at your throat and you swallowed briefly 

“mark?” you gasped feeling the tip of the sword against your neck a small movement and it would nick your skin, blood would swell

‘Mark’ looked at you again and laughed, 

the black haired boy looked confused “let her go jeno” 

jeno was like ‘excuse me ? she knocked you unconscious no i'm not doing that’ he didn't say it but mark understood and laughed again this time it was more mischievous a feral grin adorned his features

“let her go, she’s coming with us” jeno and you were both like huh? has this boy gone mad?

probably letss be realll

“umm no im not” you snapped at the boy you once knew, you glared at jeno who had regrettably removed his sword away from your neck but had placed the dagger threateningly close to your back ashe forced you to move along

you didn’t get an answer from mark who still seemed very entertained by the whole situation

he had changed so much since you’d last seen him *sigh*

you three walked back towards the village and you hadn’t realized how the screams of pain and fear were no longer heard

more than a few guards littered the floors and you tried not to gasp as jeno forcefully continued to move you towards the sea its waters black 

the walk to the pirate boat seemed to last ages, the sun had begun to set in the sky casting dark purple and red shadows above the black water that didn’t reflect any light. It broke your heart to see the usually clear water be black, the animals that lived in the waters probably struggling to survive.

when you finally arrived, the panic began to settle in again. you didn’t know if your mum and lilith were safe, you didn’t know what would happen and the boy you knew two years ago had changed so much that you could no longer read what he was thinking 

the ship loomed in front of you, you hear the small buzz of chatter from the ship and laughter

why was there laughter in such a horrible place ??

“Come on” mark said, already walking getting onto the ship, not looking back at the mess they had left behind

You no longer felt the sharp prick of a dagger or sword at your back, but instead it had been replaced by a strong hand guiding you towards the ship

the contact startled you, and you straightened and continued to walk forward the ship only a few feet away, you still held onto the rock that you had hit mark with, your sword taken away by jeno

you forced your feet to stop moving, because one more step and you’d be on the pirate’s boat, and ducked, and made a weak attempt at attacking the black haired boy behind you hitting him with the small rock you had on the leg

you begin to move away from the boat. The victory lasted a solid second before jeno had his arms around you, pinning your hands behind your back. No longer smiling, or understanding in his dark eyes. you glared at him and then at mark who had finally turned around, a sort of sadness passed over his features before he spoke

“you can’t run away y/n” he said calmly. “remember in london? when you dream about running away, leaving this island and  exploring the world? away from your father?”

his words shocked you, but you didn’t want to leave your mum she had no one else 

“i can’t just leave mark !! my mum, she’s still there and i can’t just leave her with father” a look of recognition and understanding flitted through jeno’s face and reflected in mark

“i know, i know but if you stay here and go back” the boy shook his head, the dark of the night making his blonde hair a dull light in the fog, 

you knew, that in many ways he was right. if you did go back the villagers had seen you with the pirates, being taken by them as the village had burned down and you weren't scared. the worst scenario would be that if you did go back they would imprison you, ask you for information 

hurt mum, hurt lilith even is she was part of the royals

you felt the tears well up in your eyes, and refused to let them fall

“we aren’t all that bad” peeped jeno’s voice who had softened again, until you looked at him and his gaze hardened

you forced yourself a small smile, and placed your foot on the board of the boat 

“Let’s go swashbucklers” you said, 

after all, the stories you’d heard had come from your father, and all his stories were a lie.

a/n : i hope y’all enjoyed that. ik there wasn't much jeno lol but i’m planning on king this a series if you want? send me an ask, if you do! either way, 

peace out luvs,

stay safe

[agathaarts]

TF: Toku - The Weirdest Day

When Orion is kidnapped by the Decepticons- he expects the worst. Instead, he gets the strangest.

THE WEIRDEST DAY A short story from Transformers: Toku

-----

Orion had seen miracles. He had spoken with the first Primes, touched technology so ancient as to be magic, stood before the light of Vector Sigma. He had experienced things so unique he doubted any being save for Ariel and Dion would believe him if he told them, about Predacon Kings and leaping across the surface of Luna One as no-one had in decades.

So it was no small feat that this?

This took the oilcake for the weirdest day of his life.

By far.

First had come fear. The Seekers who had taken him must have been laying in wait, hidden in the ruins he'd been spending the past week exploring, and they'd struck when he was alone- guard down, distracted, Ariel would've admonished him but no one was ever prepared for a streak of blue and a streak of purple to hit them simultaneously. They’d dropped out of nowhere and yanked him up off his feet and into the air so fast the wind had been knocked from his vents. Even with all the practice he’d been getting flying in the armor lately, the whole world had flipped upside-down and a mix of disorientation and surprise left him flailing uselessly.

The Seekers (dangling by his ankles from their hands, it was easy enough to recognize them- Starscream’s lieutenants, Thundercracker and Skywarp, and he thought about the fights they’d had with them. About their powers- to stun and to teleport and, wait, to teleport!?) were saying something that he honestly couldn’t focus on, spark going so fast he was hearing static and watched helplessly as a smattering of purple sparks flickered across Skywarp’s armor- and then Thundercracker’s, and his- and-

VWOP

Oh. Teleporting like this sucked.

At least he was spared the indignity of screaming by the fact that he had to keep his mouth pressed shut to avoid purging his tanks when all momentum and gravity twisted and vanished and then came back in a godawful rush. Suddenly, he understood why Ariel had hated fighting this guy so damn much. He hit a purple, metal floor and struggled for air as he pushed himself to sit up, realizing that his vents were steaming in cold, cold air.

Skywarp collapsed into a heap next to him, and it all came together quite terribly.

The teleporter’s sudden exhaustion (Skywarp moaned pitifully as Thundercracker tried to pull him back upright with a curse), the sudden piercing cold- he looked up at a sky pale with clouds and rippling with electromagnetic bands of color, and found snow drifting down through the fog of his breaths. It hadn’t been the cold season, in the Iaconian territories. Not for a while, yet.

“Kaon.” He breathed, finally managing to swallow half-digested bile. Kaon, seat of the Decepticon empire, situated in Cybertron’s arctic circle. Skywarp had just teleported him a quarter of the way across the planet without using a groundbridge.

He turned to look at the Seekers again, and found himself face to face with a charging cannon.

A quarter of the way across the planet, directly to the Decepticon stronghold, by the looks of things. Mostly, now, he was focused on the glow of the cannon in his face, and then up to the huge violet mechanism it was attached to. “Rise.” Shockwave ordered in a wheezing growl.

Orion had been Optimus Prime. Primus-appointed warrior, a myth of power and nobility, he had fought dozens of Decepticons, Insecticons, Predacons, he had fought Shockwave to a standstill and assisted in even more battles. Optimus Prime would have said something defiant, noble, something to show that the mechanism was incapable of fear.

“‘Kay.” Orion squeaked, getting to his feet, clutching at his own arms as a cold wind picked up, suddenly wishing he’d at least bought along insulated armor. He’d seen images of this place, albeit from outside, studied possible defenses in the event that they ever found a weakness in this fortress. Like he hadn’t agreed with Ariel and Dion that an assault on the Decepticon stronghold would have been suicidal. Still, he recognized the jagged shapes of the towers, the high, reinforced walls, and his spark sank with the thought that no-one was reasonably going to come for him.

Shockwave prodded him, and he walked mechanically, past the Seekers (Thundercracker now having given up and just poking the snoring Skywarp with his foot over and over) under Shockwave’s directions and into a set of huge, carved doors.

Orion felt spectacularly small, in the huge, empty halls. At least it was warmer inside, but the walk was just slow enough to make anxiety creep in and knot in his gut, and just fast enough that keeping pace in front of Shockwave’s long steps was uncomfortable. He expected to be guided to some sort of holding cell, a brig, his processor conjuring up images of torture chambers and gallows for execution, between half-formed thoughts of how did they find out? How did they know? Are they going after Ariel too? Are they going after Dion? Where did we slip up?

 And he thought about the communicator in his subspace.

If they left him alone for a moment, maybe he’d have time to get a message out before they noticed, warn them, somehow-

He was not taken to a cell. Or a small dark room. The throne room was, somehow, bigger than it looked on Decepticon broadcasts, and on the broadcasts it had looked enormous. It wasn’t...opulent, no, but something about the sheer size of the arched ceiling, the huge crystal screens along the walls, a space big enough to fly in (in fact, a few fliers hovered overhead, guards with heavy energy rifles who were tracking their progress) and big enough to pack in a few hundred Decepticons. The walk went from uncomfortable to downright agonizing when he realized who was waiting at the far end, standing up on the raised platform that held the nightmarish throne.

Even from this far away, Megatron and Starscream looked larger than life, without the benefit of the Optimus armor to raise him up and shield him. Orion had thought he felt small and undefended before, but every step closer to them was like shrinking, like his spark was falling through the floor. His standard armor may as well have been tinfoil for how vulnerable it felt.

Don’t cry in front of Megatron. He tried to berate himself, internally, in Ariel’s voice. Baby. It was already bad enough that he couldn’t keep an optic on them and had resorted to watching his feet, ventilations ragged and too-hard. Hyperventilating probably wouldn’t be a great response, either, but hey, it wasn’t breaking down. And it let him focus on other things, like the unsettling quiet of the throne room. Especially given the usual interplay of sharp arguments he’d been personally witness to between Megatron and Starscream. He really was slagged, if they were both staying quiet just to wait for him.

“My Lord.” Shockwave rumbled as they came to a stop. Orion kept his helm stubbornly down. “I present to you; Orion Pax, of Iacon.”

There was silence for a moment, before Starscream sucked in a loud ventilation and Orion winced. “Pax. That’s ironic. Peace.”

“It is the order most responsible for taking in war-orphans. The Order of Pax accounts for nearly sixty-seven per-cent of orphaned sparkling care among the Autobot territories.” Shockwave drolled out. True enough. Orion had known dozens of other Paxes, most of them without creators like him. He counted his ventilations, and looked at where the deep, grey-purple floors were scuffed by countless pedes before his own.

“You are certain this is him?” Megatron finally spoke up, voice low and smooth and Orion felt dizzy. It hadn’t been easy to fight Megatron, but it had been so much easier as Optimus Prime. Armored and armed and he was certain if he tried to get his utility axe out here and now he’d be dead before he even finished drawing it from subspace, but Optimus Prime would have stood a chance. “If there is any room for error-”

“There is not.” Shockwave put a heavy set of claws on Orion’s helm, and he let out an undignified whimper. Ariel would’ve been yelling at him, he just knew it. “My tests were extensive. His genetic coding is a perfect match.”

Oh Primus. Oh Primus, had they gotten ahold of his energon as Optimus? He thought of every time he’d been injured in the armor. Where could they have gotten a clean sample? Testing spilled energon was tough, the code degraded so fast when exposed to air or the surface of Cybertron, and it wasn’t like he hadn’t spilled energon in turn to further complicate things- had they somehow gotten into the Iaconian databases to read his own coding on file? He realized after a moment that he wasn’t even ventilating anymore, holding a breath hot in his chest. Did they have samples of his friends? Maybe it was just him, maybe they were still safe-

“As if any more testing is needed.” Starscream cut in. “Look at him! Look at that!” Starscream’s clawed hand came into Orion’s downturned gaze and talons pressed to his chin and tilted his head up, and he wondered if he was in shock, given how easily he let Starscream move his head up, and then tilt him side to side.

Megatron was looking down at him, but his expression was...inscrutable. No smug smirk of victory, or grit teeth of anger (he thought about the absolute rage Megatron’s face had held when he’d defeated him, when Optimus Prime had beaten him and then been refused the killing blow before he’d had to retreat.) Lips pursed tight, optics intent as if studying him. Trying to rationalize the adolescent who didn’t even have his final armors with the warrior who’d bested him?

Starscream turned his face the other way, and the Seeker locked eyes with him- their expression far more obvious and unguarded and...well, unsettling. Starscream was smiling, wide and wide-eyed and the smile split into a grin. “Will you look at those eyes.” The Seeker breathed, oddly quiet and soft given their usual harsh voice. Not a hint of malice or manic violence in that face, not like the fights he’d seen through Dion and Ariel’s eyes.

“Uhm.” Orion was rapidly realizing that, maybe, he didn’t know what was going on, here. This didn’t feel like an execution. Or an interrogation. Something was missing, something obvious to everyone else in the room. Starscream released his chin and he worked his mouth for a moment, but couldn’t find a word to say, instead glancing side to side. Maybe he’d hit his head when the Seekers grabbed him? Jarred his perceptive circuits.

Megatron was kneeling down, between his own height and the raised platform still more than large enough to be looking down at Orion from this position, but closer. Way too close for comfort, enough so that Orion could have reached out and put a hand on his helm with room to spare. He tried to look anywhere but Megatron. Up at the ceiling, to one side where Shockwave waited, to the other, where Starscream was still grinning and doing some sort of shuffling step side to side while those wings bobbed and flicked up and down in excitement.

Megatron cleared his vocalizer and Orion’s optics snapped back to him unwillingly. Say what you would of the warlord, but he had a presence that filled the room and demanded attention. “You know who we are?” He asked, and Orion mused over how very quiet his voice could be, when he’d only ever heard him barking order or bellowing promises of violence.

Orion gulped and nodded, unable to break focus with the burning red eyes of Megatron.

“Of course you do. I suppose it would be impossible not to, no matter who has had you.” Megatron’s gaze dropped to the autobot sigil on Orion’s chest. “Tell me, what do you know of your origins?”

Too confused and startled to do much of anything by way of resistance, Orion blinked a few times. They’d obviously had access to some form of his records, they must’ve known- Starscream’s shuffling half-dance of anticipation was growing louder the more he fidgeted. “Uhm.” He started. “I was raised by the Order of Pax, uh, when I was a mechlet, and then I was taken in by an archivist?” Something held his tongue on Alpha Trion’s name. Maybe his caretaker would be safe, still. Boy, he hated the sound of his voice, right now. Wavering and pitched with fear he was trying not to show. “And, uhm. That’s it. That’s all I know.”

Internally, he was screaming. WHAT?! WHY?! WHY DO YOU CARE WHY AM I HERE WHAT DO YOU WANT?!

It must have been obvious on his face, given the way Megatron’s expression quirked to something almost like amusement. A crooked sort of smile. “So you know very little. Perhaps nothing.”

“Uh.” Orion shrank down a bit. Because if the fear and confusion weren’t enough, he needed to feel a bit embarrassed for how little he knew, even if that wasn’t...atypical. It wasn’t as if he’d ever felt the need to look, not when he’d had Alpha Trion to care for him, to reassure him that no matter how he’d wound up in the care of the Order of Pax, he was wanted and loved at the archives. But the question caught in his throat until he croaked it out, voice breaking with a crackle of fearful static. “Why?”

Megatron rested his chin in his hand, elbow propped on his knee, thinking. “...You really do have his eyes.” His smile grew, and his expression was downright relieved. The warlord turned to his second, and Starscream only grinned wider if that were possible. “I suppose there is something to be said for a seeker’s genetics, even if he is wheeled.”

Orion silently mouthed ‘what’, because his processor’s frantic theorizing ground to a halt so abruptly that his vocalizer couldn’t quite function.

“Of course there is!” Starscream swooped around him and there were clawed hands on his arms but they were so careful, downright gentle in how they squeezed him and how Starscream peered over his shoulder with a crooning hum. “Thank goodness my coloration bred true, the poor boy wouldn’t deserve to be as dull as you!” Starscream grasped one of his wrists in a hand and it occurred to him that Starscream’s arms weren’t just blue, they were the same rich matte blue, a perfect match to his own.

“what” Orion whispered, choking on the word. Oh, the dizziness was back, and he was having trouble focusing his gaze. In fact, thinking about it, Starscream’s vibrant red plating would have been just about the right shade too. Red and blue were hardly rare colors, especially amongst Iaconians, but Starscream was certainly far more primary than most Seekers.

“Don’t mechhandle him-” Megatron sighed, rising back to his feet and gesturing for Starscream to shoo off. “Give him space, before you terrify the poor boy. Orion-” Starscream released him with a grumble, and swept forwards to stand beside Megatron, and the two of them were every inch the tall, proud, terrifying warlords who had swept across Cybertron. Made all the more terrifying by how they looked at Orion like...like...well, certainly not like an enemy, like a captured soldier. Hopeful. Relieved. Adoring. “-we have much to tell you.”

Megatron extended a hand down to him, open and palm up. Orion stared at it, mute with confusion. “what?” He mumbled, again, and tried not to think about those huge, powerful hands crumpling his armor, trying to beat him to death as Optimus Prime.

“Beginning with your heritage.” Megatron flexed his fingers, and Shockwave nudged him in the back with a sharp prod of a claw, startling him into placing his own small, unarmored hand in Megatron’s palm. He was held, and pulled up onto the raised platform before Megatron and Starscream, barely keeping his pedes under him in the process with a yelp. “You are not of Iacon, Orion.” He rolled Orion’s name smoothly, as if testing it, as if appreciating it. “You were created in Tarn, born in the great southern fortress at the border of Vos.”

Huh, thought Orion, caught in a dreamlike state where nothing quite seemed real. Maybe he really had hit his helm back there. Maybe this really was some sort of hallucination. That would have been the heart of Decepticon territories, decades ago. All that made it out of his mouth was another “w-what?”

“Orion Pax of Tarn.” Megatron practically purred it. “We believed you lost, a war was no place for a sparkling-”

“-And our fortress was destroyed-” Starscream interjected, claws on Orion’s arm again on one side, and then Megatron’s heavy hand on his other shoulder. So very trapped.

“-but fate has brought you back to us.” Orion could feel some sort of glitch turning into a cascade failure. Dizzy. Trouble focusing. Trouble moving. His body felt fuzzy and far away. “My son.”

“Our son.” Starscream added. And they looked at him like he was pricelessly important to them, unguarded and honest.

It would’ve been better if it didn’t make sense. As it was, Orion gawped, and managed to not simply say another confused ‘what’ or choke out another senseless ‘uhm’. He actually managed a full sentence, through the shock. Unfortunately, that sentence was “I’m sorry, I’m going to crash.” followed by his vision cutting out. There was a distant awareness of someone, multiple someones yelling and he didn’t fall far before there were arms around him, catching and supporting him, and then…he was out.

Megatron carefully arranged the adolescent in his arms, ignoring Starscream’s shrill cries, very aware suddenly of how small Orion was, in nothing but basic armors and without so much as a weapon on him, frowning at the autobrand that looked up at him. “Stop that.” He growled at Starscream, who whined. “He is fine, I can hardly blame him for glitching.”

“Be gentle with him!” The Seeker hissed.

“He is fine.” Megatron reassured. As it was, Orion simply vented soft and slow in his arms, slack and unconscious but unharmed. “Shockwave, have a medic sent to his quarters. I-”

“We!” Starscream added.

“-will bring him there.”

“At once, my Lord.” Shockwave would have sighed if it weren’t unprofessional. Ah, well. He could endure the inefficient softness Megatron was going to display around this...mechlet for now. If it pleased his Lord, he could see the benefit of having kidnapped his offspring. And one had to suppose, better than waiting for an Autobot to find out...and make their own plans for him.

[badchoosey]

The Crown & The Flame, Book One. Chapter 1: The Broken Alliance

(Some choices in TC&TF lead to death. For the sake of actually finishing the story, I shall only make the choices that do not lead to death, otherwise we’ll be here all day.)

(Now playing as Dominic Hunter)

You’re one of the best hunters in Stormholt, the smallest realm of the Five Kingdoms.

Dominic Hunter: Are you sure you want to do this? The queen will never forgive me if you go back to the castle wounded.

Your best friend, Princess Kenna Rys, smirks as she raises her practice sword.

Kenna Rys: Trying to back out? I think you’re just worried I’ll bruise that pretty face of yours.

Dominic Hunter: Oh? So my face is pretty now?

Kenna Rys: Typical. You only hear what you want to hear. Ready to lose to a princess?

Dominic Hunter: Go ahead and try. You haven’t gotten the better of me in six summers.

Kenna raises her sword… You swing at her and her in the side!

Kenna Rys: Oof!

Dominic Hunter: You were saying about losing to a princess?

Kenna Rys: You haven’t won yet!

Kenna lunges forward and ends up right against you, your faces only inches apart.

Kenna Rys: Maybe you should spend more time on your swordplay and less time with the kitchen girls.

Dominic Hunter: I think I’ve got time for both.

Kenna Rys: Is that so?

Dominic Hunter: Careful, Princess. You’re starting to sound jealous.

Kenna Rys: Jealous? I…

You knock the sword out of her hand.

Dominic Hunter: You let yourself get distracted. Maybe you are getting jealous…

Kenna Rys: Dom!

Kenna tackles you, reaching for your sword!

Gabriel Amarne: Ahem…

Turning, you see Gabriel, the Royal Bodyguard.

Dominic Hunter: Gabriel! We--

Kenna Rys: I was just--

Gabriel Amarne: Leaving. Nobles from the other four kingdoms will arrive shortly. The queen expects you to be there to greet them.

Kenna Rys: Of… of course.

Kenna hurries off to the castle, but Gabriel lingers back.

Gabriel Amarne: What in the three hells do you think you’re doing? She’s the Princess of Stormholt.

Dominic Hunter: Honestly, it was nothing.

Gabriel Amarne: Nothing? Maybe it was nothing to you. But she cares for you, Dom. More than she should. More than you deserve.

Dominic Hunter: I know I’m a commoner, but…

Gabriel Amarne: You’re worse than a commoner. When we found you, you were a child with no name, abandoned half-dead on the castle steps and covered in burns.

Dominic Hunter: Whatever my origins, I’ve been a loyal friend to Kenna. Even you have to admit that.

Gabriel Amarne: A childhood friend, but childhood ends. Adults do as they must, royalty most of all. The princess knows that. Don’t make it any harder on her than it has to be.

(Now playing as Kenna Rys)

You and Gabriel enter the throne room and find your mother dressed in her finest gown, talking to Leon, the Captain of the Royal Guard.

Queen Adriana: You’ve increased security as I requested?

Leon Stirling: Yes, of course, your Majesty. A dozen guards at each entrance, and a company of archers on every wall.

Your mother turns to you and smiles.

Queen Adriana: It’s nice to see you indoors for once, my little butterfly.

Kenna Rys: Where else would a butterfly thrive but indoors?

Queen Adriana: Funny. I trust you’ll be on your best behaviour tonight. You just might meet your future husband.

Leon Stirling: Kenna, married? Now that, I’d like to see. There are beasts in the Blackspine Mountains you’d have an easier time taming.

Queen Adriana: Now, Kenna, it’s time for you to get dressed! I had something special made.

Kenna Rys: I don’t suppose it’s armor like the kind Leon has, is it?

Queen Adriana: Better. I had one of the finest dressmakers in the Five Kingdoms work for months on a silver and black gown unmatched in beauty… I can’t wait to see it on you… and I know our guests will be very impressed!

Kenna Rys: I’ll just stick with the clothes I have on.

Queen Adriana: I can’t say that I’m surprised… but I had to try.

Kenna Rys: Heh.

Queen Adriana: I do wish your Aunt Eloise was here to advise you. She was always the fashionable one…

Kenna Rys: She hasn’t returned yet?

Queen Adriana: You know my sister, Kenna. Always being entertained by some dashing gentleman on a foolish adventure. The luxuries of not being queen.

Trystan, a castle servant, approaches.

Trystan Blake: Your Majesty, the nobles from the other four kingdoms have arrived.

Kenna Rys: Already?

Queen Adriana: Come now, little butterfly. You just need to smile and look pretty. I’m the one who has to listen to old King Amanth drone on about his hunting conquests.

Kenna Rys: You think he’s going to tell the story of how he killed a bear with a rusted spoon?

Queen Adriana: He always does. And I’m pretty sure the bear gets bigger and bigger each time. Come. Let’s go welcome our guests.

Servants throw open the grand doors to the throne room. The kings and queens of the four neighbouring kingdoms enter, each with a group of courtiers. Your mother takes your hand.

Queen Adriana: Remember today, Kenna. The alliance formed here may stand for a thousand years, even against our common enemy, the Iron Empire.

Kenna Rys: Let me say, this is a mistake. Peace can never be obtained with the stroke of a pen, only by the swinging of a sword.

Queen Adriana: I know you’re weary. But we must place our trust in our neighbours.

Gabriel Amarne: After a hundred years of border skirmishes, it’s a miracle they’re considering this alliance at all.

The first of the royals approaches you. Trystan clears his throat to announce them…

Trystan Blake: May I present King Amanth Drammir of Fydoria… and his son and heir, Prince Tevan Drammir.

King Amanth bows and kisses your mother’s hand as Prince Tevan bows to you.

Prince Tevan: Princess… Truly, you’re lovelier than the Thousand Statues of Fydoria.

Kenna Rys: Prince Tevan… Weren’t those statues destroyed by the Iron Empire?

Prince Tevan: All beauty is fleeting. All the more reason to treasure it.

Kenna Rys: Or fight for it.

Prince Tevan and his father step aside.

Trystan Blake: May I present King Luther Nevrakis, ruler of Abanthus…

King Luther: Queen Adriana.

Trystan Blake: And his son, Prince Marco.

Prince Marco: Bow when you announce us, boy!

Prince Marco strikes Trystan, knocking him to the ground!

Kenna Rys: I’m sorry this servant offended you. Please, don’t let him ruin this moment.

Queen Adriana: Prince Marco, this is Princess Kenna.

Prince Marco: How nice to meet a ruler who knows the value of discipline.

Kenna Rys: How else would we maintain order? Trystan, I believe you have something to say…

Trystan Blake: Forgive me, Prince Marco.

As the other kings arrive, you spot a familiar face among the assembled crowd, watching from a distance. Dominic’s attention turns toward some of the other ladies in attendance…

Kenna Rys: (Maybe I should have dressed up…)

Queen Adriana addresses the assembled crowd.

Queen Adriana: For too long, we have fought amongst each other, squabbling over land while our shared enemy abroad grows stronger. Today, we change that. Today, the Five Kingdoms become one, a clenched fist that will stand strong against all threats. To seal the alliance, please raise a glass with me to a brighter future… for us all!

The assembled royalty cheers! Everyone raises their golden goblets and drinks… everyone but King Luther Nevrakis and his son, Prince Marco.

King Luther: Before my father died, burned alive by the Iron Empire, he told me one thing… Our lands will never be safe from them until we are one. One kingdom. One king. There will be no alliance. There will be only my kingdom.

As Luther speaks, you hear the clank of armor coming down the hall… then the screams of servants.

Queen Adriana: How is this possible? The gates are sealed and the bridge is drawn.

Leon Stirling: The secret passage into the castle…

Queen Adriana: How? The only people who know about it are you, me, Gabriel, and…

King Luther: Your sister, Eloise. Beautiful woman, but far too trusting. She never even suspected her latest lover was one of my spies.

Queen Adriana: No…

Kenna Rys: You monster.

King Luther: She struggled valiantly. But you’d be amazed at the secrets a person spills when you gouge their eyes out.

Luther raises his glass to his lips and takes a sip.

King Luther: Now then. Let’s get this over with.

The doors fly open. Men in strange, glistening armor charge in, leveling crossbows at all the assembled guests!

Nevrakis Soldier: Die!

Queen Adriana: Kenna, look out!

Kenna Rys: I…

Queen Adriana: Kenna, get down!

Adriana pushes you to the ground. As you fall, you see a bolt from a crossbow pierce straight through your mother’s heart. Her eyes go wide as she collapses.

Gabriel Amarne: The queen!

Kenna Rys: Mother!

Queen Adriana: Kenna…

You crawl across the stone floor to her…

Kenna Rys: Mother… Nevrakis will burn for this. I swear it.

Queen Adriana: Be strong, little butterfly… be strong.

Your mother tightly grips your hand as she draws breath for the last time. Tears blur your vision as Dominic pulls you away from her.

Dominic Hunter: Kenna, we have to go…

Kenna Rys: No! I’m not leaving her!

You look up, just in time to see Prince Marco gleefully disarm and cut down another nobleman with a flurry of quick strikes.

Prince Marco: Ha! I’ve had better fights against my stablehands! Pathetic!

Nearby, Gabriel fights back, impaling one Nevrakis soldier with his sword and dropping another with a gauntlet to the skull.

Gabriel Amarne: Kenna, I need to get you out of here. Now!

A Nevrakis soldier bars the door to the outside hallway. He hefts a massive axe. King Amanth tries to flee, but the soldier swings the axe at him, beheading him instantly. Then, the soldier spots you.

Nevrakis Soldier 2: You’re next.

Looking for something to use against the soldier, you grab the turkey leg from the table and toss it at the soldier! The turkey leg bounces off the soldier’s armor…

Dominic Hunter: What, did you think he looked hungry?

The soldier charges toward you, brandishing his axe…

Dominic Hunter: Stay away from her!

Dom removes a hidden dagger from his boot and jams it through the soldier’s eye-slit!

Kenna Rys: I… thank you.

Dominic Hunter: Thank me after we get you safely out of here.

Before you leave the room, you turn back to see a soldier with gold trim on his armor looting your mother’s body.

Kenna Rys: My mother’s signet ring…

Dominic Hunter: Leave it! There’s no time! Your life is more important…

Kenna Rys: Forgive me, Mother.

You take Dom’s hand and run. As you look back one last time, you see the soldier take the ring.

Nevrakis Soldier: This’ll fetch a fine price.

As you flee into the corridor, you find the floor slick with the blood of slaughtered royals and their children.

Kenna Rys: Dead… all of them… the entire nobility, wiped out.

Dominic Hunter: Not all of them…

Wounded and leaning against a column. Prince Tevan tries to fight off a Nevrakis soldier.

Nevrakis Soldier 3: Die, Fydorian scum!

Prince Tevan: Not without a fight…

He brandishes a torch at the soldier.

Kenna Rys: We’ve got to help him!

Gabriel Amarne: It’s too risky. My duty is to protect you, not a Fydorian Prince. You are the Queen of Stormholt now. You must live.

Kenna Rys: I know… but what kind of queen am I if I leave him behind?

Dominic Hunter: We can take Prince Tevan with us. He could be valuable. But it’s up to you, Kenna.

Kenna Rys: We must run now, before it’s too late.

Prince Tevan: No… not like this…

The soldier plunges his sword up to the hilt into Tevan’s chest.

Prince Tevan: Agh!

Kenna Rys: Prince Tevan… I will bring Nevrakis down for this.

You, Dom, and Gabriel turn to flee.

Gabriel Amarne: This is unfortunate. The Fydorians have been our strongest allies. Fydoria custom does dictate that they send 100 soldiers to avenge their rulers.

Kenna Rys: That’s nothing compared to the army Tevan would have provided if… if he were still alive…

As you enter the dungeon, you see three soldiers rushing by, all carrying weapons wet with blood.

Kenna Rys: Wait… that one… he’s the one who stole my mother’s ring!

Dominic Hunter: Which one?

Looking around, you spot a crossbow in the hands of a fallen soldier. You pull it from his grasp.

Kenna Rys: Only one bolt… better choose the right man…

Your bolt catches the soldier right where his helmet meets his armor, plunging into the base of his skull.

Dominic Hunter: Great shot, but that was the wrong soldier, Kenna. The one with your mother’s ring had gold trim on his armor…

Kenna Rys: Then I’m going after him! I’m not leaving without it!

Nevrakis soldiers begin filling the dungeon.

Dominic Hunter: It’s too late for that! We have to get out of here!

Kenna Rys: You’re… you’re right…

You flee down the stairs.

Dominic Hunter: Where do we go now?

Gabriel Amarne: The passage they used to get in… We’ll use it to get out.

Gabriel pushes a brick into the wall. You hear stones shifting and suddenly the rock wall swings open, revealing a secret door.

You and your friends dash in. Gabriel tries to seal the door behind you, but Nevrakis soldiers are already closing in!

Gabriel Amarne: They’ll figure out how to get in. We won’t make it out before they catch us.

Kenna Rys: Then we have no choice but to make our stand and fight.

As you pass through a metal gate, you see Dom hesitate on the other side…

Dominic Hunter: No… we do have a choice. I’m going to hold them off! At least I can slow them down, buy you some time.

Dom slams the gate closed, locking himself in!

Gabriel Amarne: Dominic!

Kenna Rys: Dom! What are you doing? Don’t do this!

Dominic Hunter: It’s the only way. Go!

You hear shouting as the soldiers close in on you.

Kenna Rys: Dom… I have one last thing to say… Be careful. Stay alive, and I promise to do the same.

Dominic Hunter: I won’t let you down. We will see each other again, my friend.

The sound of shouting interrupts you.

Dominic Hunter: Now go, Kenna. Gabriel, keep her safe.

Gabriel Amarne: I will guard her till my last breath.

You and Gabriel flee down the tunnel.

(Now playing as Dominic.)

After leading the soldiers away from Kenna, you emerge from the passage and find yourself in the castle kitchen, the soldiers right behind you!

Nevrakis Soldier 4: You there! Stop!

Nevrakis Soldier 5: Ready to fight?

Dominic Hunter: Nope. Not even a little.

You spin around and take off running, bolting through the cluttered kitchen!

Nevrakis Soldier 4: Get back here!

At the far end, you come to a wide open firepit. Flames crackle over sizzling coals. You’re moving too fast to dodge. You leap boldly over the firepit! And strangely, as you cross through the veil of flame, you feel no heat or pain. The flames almost seem to arc, bending away from you, making a path…

Dominic Hunter: That’s… odd.

You land smoothly on the other side of the pit. Behind you, the soldier scrambles around… And in from of you, tugging on a locked door, is Margaret, the castle cook!

Margaret Blake: Dom! What in the blazes…

You’re cornered!

Margaret Blake: Please, don’t hurt him! He’s a good man. He’s just a servant, like me.

Nevrakis Soldier 4: He was running with the princess and her bodyguard. He’s got to know where they went.

Dominic Hunter: I’ll never talk.

Nevrakis Soldier 4: Then I’ll kill the old woman. See if that loosens your tongue.

Dominic Hunter: No!

The solder slams his fist into Margaret’s head! She falls! He pulls out a dagger and kneels beside her… You feel something stirring inside you. Rage. Fury. Fire. You let your anger explode! The fire burning in the kitchen jumps, the flashing lashing out to twist around the soldiers!

Nevrakis Soldier 4: Hey!

Nevrakis Soldier 5: What the…? AGHHHHH!

They writhe and scream as the fire burns them alive, roasting them in their armor.

Dominic Hunter: What… what the hell did I just do?

You rush to Margaret’s side. You take her hand and she begins to stir…

Margaret Blake: What… what happened? I thought…

Dominic Hunter: I… took care of the soldiers. Don’t ask. Where is everyone?

Margaret Blake: All servants have been ordered to the throne room. So if we mean to live, we must go there now.

Margaret grabs your arm and pulls you along after her.

You and Margaret reach the throne room, where all the castle servants stand terrified. Two servants run up to Margaret.

Rose Blake: Mother! We were so worried about you!

Trystan Blake: What were you doing out there?

Margaret Blake: I was fetching your fool brother Dom here. He’d gone and gotten himself in trouble.

Rose Blake: Our… brother?

Margaret Blake: Listen here. Luther is executing anyone who could be a threat. If he finds out that Dom has trained as a scout and can use a sword, he’ll kill him! So from here on our, he’s your brother, a knuckle-headed servant in the kitchens. Understand?

Dominic Hunter: We’re going to circle back to ‘knuckle-headed’.

Rose Blake: I understand… but what if someone else betrays him?

Margaret Blake: I’ll get the word out. We’re all allies here. The other servants will keep Dom’s secret. And if they don’t… it’ll be moss cabbage every night, so help me!

Nevrakis Soldier 6: Silence, everyone! Quiet down! Your new king is about to speak!

King Luther: Hear me, people of this castle. I know you have long served the former queen. But her reign… has ended.

King Nevrakis gestures and one of his soldiers holds up the head of the queen. Rose whispers to you…

Rose Blake: I think I’m going to be sick.

Dominic Hunter: This is the least of our problems. We’ll be lucky if we get through this night with our own heads still attached.

Rose Blake: Gods…

Luther continues…

King Luther: There are no warriors left among you. My men have seen to that.

Soldiers march in, wheeling carts full of bodies.

King Luther: I give you a choice now. Pledge your loyalty to me…. Or add more carcasses to the pile.

One of the soldiers unsheathes his sword.

Nevrakis Soldier 7: Who’s first?

As the servants line up to take the loyalty pledge, Rose plucks at your sleeve.

Rose Blake: What do we do?

Dominic Hunter: We pledge our loyalty. We bend the knee. We promise Luther our service. And when the time is right… we strike.

(Now playing as Kenna.)

A few minutes later, you’re riding through the forest at night, away from Stormholt. You come to a fork in the path.

Kenna Rys: Where are we going?

Gabriel Amarne: Don’t worry. I’m taking you somewhere safe.

Kenna Rys: And where is that?

Gabriel Amarne: There’s a monastery deep in the woods. I trained with the monks there for years. They’ll hide us from Luther.

Behind you, the lights of Stormholt recede into darkness.

Kenna Rys: My home…

Gabriel Amarne: Don’t despair. You’re alive. That’s all that matters.

Kenna Rys: I promise you, I will see Dominic again. He is everything to me… I know he survived… I feel it. And now King Luther has him. He’s destroyed everything I’ve ever known. I will take Stormholt back. I swear it.

Overall Progress:

Prestige: 5 out of 15

Power: 2 out of 2

Weapons: 0 out of 0

Allies: 5 out of 10

Troops: 2 out of 4

Significant Choices: 5 out of 10

Army Score: 19 out of 41